Fight Life: MMA Documentary by James Z. Feng

I've heard 2 interviews on podcasts that I listen to from James Feng who is the director of an upcoming documentary about mixed martial arts called Fight Life. His goal is to show the public what it's really like to be a fighter. Although a select few make a lot of money fighting MMA the truth is that the vast majority of fighters cannot support themselves from their earnings, instead they have to work regular jobs, usually in local events and hope that they can make it to the top. They do not have health insurance. So why do they do it?



I'm really looking forward to watching this film as I am an avid fan of MMA in general and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in particular. In an effort to help spread the word (even though nobody reads this blog) I wanted to have the preview available. From the looks of it this should be a very entertaining and serious look at what goes on in the MMA world. I'll be keeping an eye out for more information as it becomes available.

12 Inch Singles - True Believers - The Rain Won't Help You (When It's Over)

My soon to be three year old and I have started listening to my old vinyl albums while eating lunch recently. As a matter of fact when I tell him it's time to eat he first goes to the cabinet underneath the record player and calls out for me to join him. Once there I select which lp to play, then get the food, say a prayer and we're off. Yesterday I chose to play a bunch of 12 inch singles that I bought back in 1987 at a flea market here in Tulsa, after coming back from Basic Training and AIT for the Army National Guard. There are about 10 of them, give or take, and all are promotional discs that weren't supposed to be sold but of course luckily for me they were. Some were groups I had heard of before however and some weren't. I can honestly say that I liked every single one that I bought without exception and witout having heard the songs before (except for one I think).

More than likely they were sent to a local radio station for airplay but since it didn't fit the format (then or now)they quickly found there way to the flea market where I happened upon them. It seems like I bought them all at the same time but with as much time that's gone by I can't say for sure. Some memories stay and some don't. I'm sure I didn't put much thought into it since it seemed such a trivial thing at the time. I was just buying music and hoping some of it would turn out to be good. So what I am going to do is every few days I'll find a video or at least the song and talk about it a little. First up is a group called True Believers.



I bought this one mainly for the way the cover looked and if I could I'd scan the cover so you could see what I mean. You'll just have to take my word for it. It intrigued me and so I shelled out my hard earned dollar and bought it. Unbeknownst to me at the time the band featured Alejandro Escovedo, his brother Javier and Jon Dee Graham. I say this because there wasn't one bit of information about who was in the band anywhere to be found. You have to remember that this was in the days before the internet made such information readily available. The only source for finding new music was 1. radio (fat chance there of finding anything good) 2. MTV (yes they still played videos back then and there was a chance of seeing something cool, after about 1 AM) 3. word of mouth (this required knowing someone who knew about such cool music and wasn't very likely) and finally (my most used option) 4. Finding something that looked interesting, taking a chance and getting lucky. Well I definately did the latter with True Believers and it later led me to finding Alejandro's music all over again many, many years later. But that's a story to be told all by itself.

Rank & File - Amanda Ruth

In my never ending search for music that had an impact on me I bring you Rank & File's song "Amanda Ruth". Rank & File were one of the first bands to mix country and punk with a bit of roots rock but never really caught on with the mainstream public. Brothers Chip and Tony Kinman formed the band with former Nuns member Alejandro Escovedo after their band The Dils broke up. Alejandro left after the first album Sundown which came out in 1982 and band membership changed during the following 2 albums. Here's a live video of the band performing their song "Amanda Ruth" but you'll notice that this is after Alejandro had left the band.



Back in 1986 I worked a summer job for the city of Dewey here in Oklahoma and there was a new employee who had an unusual taste in music for this area. I had always enjoyed different kinds of music and was open to finding new music that was off the beaten path. You know, something that local radio wouldn't touch in a million years. The thing is this guy was looking to make some extra money and was selling off part of his music collection. Every week he would bring in some cassette tapes in a shoebox and I would question him thoroughly as I pored over them. Unfortunately I only did this for 3 weeks before being laid off which I really regret because who knows what other bands I could have gotten into if only I had more time. The first cassette I bought was Sundown by Rank and File and although the singing took some getting used to the music had me hooked. This was exactly what I had been searching for. Back in the early 80s cassettes usually didn't have any band info or liner notes on the inside of the cover so at the time I had no idea who was in the band. All I knew is that it was different from anything I had evre heard before, and I liked it.

For the record, the 2nd cassette I bought was from The Undertones and I cannot remember what the 3rd one was althought it could have been The Blasters. In a sad note, after returning to college I loaned all of my carefully selected treasures to a friend and they were destroyed in a fire that consumed his music shed. Many years later I aquired a cassette of Sundown from someone in England after winning an auction on Ebay. I took it to see Alejandro play at the Blue Door in Oklahoma City where I was able to prevail upon him to sign it for me. Al was quite surprised and asked where I had gotten the tape from. I related the above story to him and then making my day as he started to sign it he asked me "How do you want me to sign it? Chip or Tony?" His band broke up laughing as did I and then I went to my seat and waited for the show to start. It was a great night of music and I got a special story out of it to boot.

The Slackers new album coming in April - The Great Rocksteady Swindle preview

I've been lucky enough to see The Slackers several times back when I used to live in West Virginia. They are by far one of my favorite ska bands but you really can't just call them ska. They are that and so much more and are constantly adding more and more musical influences into the mixture of their personal music recipe. Here's a preview mix of their forthcoming album "The Great Rocksteady Swindle" coming in April on Hellcat Records.



Now if only they would allow themselves to be lured to Tulsa whereupon I could see them again, in all their sublime glory. Here's another taste, this time the full song "Anastasia" from the above mentioned album.



Hope you enjoyed the music and if so help support the band by buying "The Great Rocksteady Swindle" on April 20th out on Hellcat Records.

Devo have a new song out

Okay, apparently Devo played at the Winter Olympics a few days ago (I haven't paid much attention to the Olympics so I missed it) and played their new song "Fresh" and then made it available to download for free for a limited time. Of course now plenty of other sites have put the mp3 up as well so it's available if you look around. Personally I think it sounds very good although when it started I wasn't so sure but a little bit in a knew it was a keeper. You can stream it at www.clubdevo.com or search for it but since someone else put it up on youtube why don't I just embed it for you?



Devo is one of the top bands/artists on my never before seen concert wish list so perhaps I can eliminate them from the list if they tour this summer to support their new cd that comes out in May. One can only hope and pray that they'll be somewhere close by.

The Police - So Lonely

I've always liked the earlier songs by The Police more so than the later (for the most part). I guess because of the energy that they put into them. Songs like Canary In A Coalmine, Man In A Suitcase and todays video look back (catchy huh?) So Lonely.



Back in the day, my best friend Tommy went to a ton of concerts and while I wasn't lucky enough to go to all of them with him I went to a few. Alas, the Synchronicity tour wasn't one of them. I remember thinking that I couldn't go so I'd just catch them on the next tour. Perhaps it was because I was away at college (okay it was about a 45 minute drive which is not an unsurmountable distance) or because I didn't have any money (a more likely culprit) but they came to Tulsa in either late 1983 or early 1984 and then promptly broke up a little while later. My memory is a little fuzzy on the when and why but it has been a long time. Well that "next tour" proved to be in 2007 when I was able to catch them in Dallas. They still sounded great even though it was 20 plus years since I had missed my chance. I can always check with Tommy to get the exact date but that would take too much effort. Just enjoy the video okay?

Jason & The Scorchers "White Lies"

I'e been in the mood for some good music lately and since Jason & The Scorchers have a new CD entitled "Halycon Days" due out any day now (already pre-ordered thank you) well then why not enjoy a good video from their awesome "Lost & Found" album. It's a great album that showcases their mix of rock, punk and country sound from back in the mid 80s. Gotta love the energy coming from this band. Hopefully they'll tour somewhere reasonably close to me but knowing my luck probably not. Anyway, here goes.............................