Tom Savini and Tony Todd, Discussion about Robert Rodriguez 10-21-18

Tom Savini and Tony Todd, Discussion about Robert Rodriguez 10-21-18

Tom Savini, acclaimed director, actor, and makeup artist, talks about his experiences working with Robert Rodriguez at a local comic book convention event. 

Tom Savini directed the 1990 re-make of George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. He appeared as the character Sex Machine in From Dusk Till Dawn, written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriguez.

He also appeared in 2007’s Planet Terror, written by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Planet Terror was part of a suite of movies known collectively as Grindhouse. In this particular movie, Mr. Savini played Deputy Tolo. 

Working frequently with Robert Rodriguez, Mr. Savini also appeared in Rodriguez’s  Machete (2010) as Osiris Amanpour, a hit man who was hired to kill the main character, played by Danny Trejo. Not coincidentally, the full movie of Machete was based on a mock trailer of a then-fictional film called Machete that appeared as part of the aforementioned 2007 Grindhouse suite. 

You can read more about Tom Savini in his Wikipedia entry here.

At the beginning of this video, Mr. Savini is joined by fellow actor Tony Todd, who played the part of Ben in Mr. Savini’s re-make of Night of the Living Dead. Mr. Todd is best known for playing the titular character in 1992’s Candyman, directed by Bernard Rose.

Former Journey singer Steve Perry's return to music

Former Journey Singer Steve Perry's Return to Music

In October of 2018, completely by surprise, former Journey frontman and vocalist Steve Perry released his first album of original material since 1994! Nobody saw it coming, not even me! I was totally  convinced we were never going to hear Steve Perry sing, again. 

I've been a fan of Journey since I was little kid. My mom had Journey's "Departure" album on cassette tape, back in the early '80's, and she used to listen to "Walks Like a Lady" over and over again. She wore the tape out so much, that it pretty much became unplayable, squeaking and screeching like a dying rodent, whenever we played it.  I think I still have my mom's "Departure" cassette, somewhere. 

This video is about the release of Steve Perry's 2018 release "Traces", a collection of 10 very personal songs dealing with the death of his love,  Dr. Kellie Nash, who passed away of breast cancer in December of 2012. This album features a very different Steve Perry from the Steve we once knew and loved. This Steve Perry has had to deal with loss, grief, pain, and sadness, and it shows in the music. His singing is as expressive, lyrical, and melodic as ever. Even in 2022 (the date of this text update), I still have the songs from this album flowing through my head. 

One of these days, I'll tell the story of how I tried and tried to meet Steve Perry in person, back in the mid-90's. I failed in my pursuit, unfortunately, but I learned a great deal about the man behind the music, in the process. During that time, I met and spoke with quite a few people who had prior experiences with Steve, including at least one close family member of his, who just happened to live in the same town I lived in.......but that is another Hero's Tale for another time......

Steve Perry - Most Of All

Steve Perry - We're Still Here

Steve Perry - Inside Traces: No Erasin’

Steve Perry - No More Cryin'

Steve Perry - No Erasin'

Hero’s Chicken Milanese Sandwich on Garlic Bread (Recipe)

Hero’s Chicken Milanese Sandwich on Garlic Bread (Recipe)

Chicken Ingredients: 

6 thin-sliced chicken breasts

1 cup breadcrumbs, Italian-style

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

2 Eggs

1 cup milk

Fresh-ground pepper to taste

Vegetable or olive oil for pan-frying

Sauce Ingredients:

1 can (15 oz.) crushed tomatoes

1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp honey

4-5 whole garlic cloves, peeled

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp water

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Garlic Bread Ingredients:

2 loaves French or Italian bread

6-8 garlic cloves, crushed

4 tbsp butter, melted

4 tbsp olive oil

6 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Chopped parsley, dried or fresh

The Sandwich Toppings:

Grated mozzarella cheese

Grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Part I:  The Sauce:

In a saucepan or skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the whole garlic cloves, and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until soft. Add the crushed and diced tomatoes, salt, and pepper, stir, and heat for 1 minute. Add the sugar and honey, stir, and heat for 1 additional minute. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, partially covered for 20 minutes.

Note: This sauce recipe can be used for spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, or any Italian-style meal requiring red sauce.

Part II: The Chicken

Using a meat mallet, flatten chicken breasts between sheets of wax paper so that they are approximately 3/8’ thick. In a pie plate or shallow baking dish, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and pepper. In a separate baking dish or bowl, whisk egg and milk together until blended (you can use a hand mixer or Magic Bullet to save wear and tear on your wrists). Dip chicken into the egg batter, then into the breadcrumb mixture. Set aside.

In a large skillet, pour in enough oil (vegetable or olive) about 1/4” deep. Heat oil to medium-high heat thoroughly. Add chicken (2-3 pieces at a time( and pan-fry until cooked through and golden brown, approximately 4-5 minutes per side. Be careful not to undercook chicken. Drain fully-cooked chicken on wire rack or paper towels. 

Part III: The Garlic Bread

In a microwave-safe dish or medium saucepan, combine crushed garlic cloves, melted butter, and olive oil. Heat combined ingredients in microwave oven for 1 minute, or saucepan for approximately 3 minutes. 

Pre-heat oven to high broiler setting. Toast bread under broiler for approximately 1 minute, or less (NOTE: watch the bread CAREFULLY while it is in the oven so that the bread does not burn!). Remove toasted bread from oven. Using a basting brush, brush the toasted side of bread with garlic oil mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top, then sprinkle parsley on top afterwards. Return bread to broiler and toast an additional 30 seconds, watching it VERY carefully so as not to burn. When cheese is melted and edges turn golden brown, remove from oven IMMEDIATELY.

Part IV: Assemble Sandwiches

Place 3 pieces of breaded, pan-fried chicken on bottom half of each loaf, lined up single-file. Spread sauce on top of chicken pieces. Sprinkle Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses on top of sauce. Return bottom half of each sandwich to oven on broiler setting just long enough to melt cheese on top (30 seconds or less; watch carefully!).

Remove from oven, and cover each sandwich with top half of bread loaf. Cut each sandwich into 3 sections, so that each chicken piece forms its own sandwich. Serve while hot. Start a new diet the next day…..

Hero's Chicken Milanese Sandwich on Garlic Bread (Recipe)

6 thin-sliced chicken breasts 1 cup breadcrumbs, Italian-style 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated Fresh-ground pepper to taste Vegetable or olive oil for pan-frying 1 can (15 oz.) crushed tomatoes 1 can (15 oz.)

Hero’s Italian Sausage and Peppers Sandwich (Recipe)

Hero’s Italian Sausage and Peppers Sandwich (Recipe)

Hero's Italian Sausage and Peppers Sandwich

2 lbs. ground sweet Italian sausage

1 lb. ground beef

Salt and pepper to taste

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped

1 large yellow or red onion, chopped

1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 can (15 oz.) crushed tomatoes

1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp honey

4-5 whole garlic cloves, peeled

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp water

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

8 sub rolls

Sliced provolone cheese

Grated mozzarella cheese

Grated parmesan cheese

Sauce: 

In a saucepan or skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the whole garlic cloves, and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until soft. Add the crushed and diced tomatoes, salt, and pepper, stir, and heat for 1 minute. Add the sugar and honey, stir, and heat for 1 additional minute. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, partially covered for 20 minutes.

Vegetables: 

in a separate skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the green, red, and yellow/orange bell peppers, the onion, and mushrooms. Sauté for 3-6 minutes, or until soft. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, plus 2 tablespoons of water. Reduce heat, and cook uncovered until water evaporates. Remove from heat, and cover with lid.

Meat: Prepare another skillet on medium heat. If using cast-iron or stainless steel, add 1 tbsp of olive oil. If using non-stick, no oil is necessary. Crumble ground beef into skillet, and begin browning. Season ground beef with salt and pepper as desired. When beef is half-browned, add the crumbled ground Italian sausage. Cook meat mixture thoroughly until brown, inside and out. Break up larger chunks of meat into smaller pieces as necessary. When meat is well-done, drain the fat, and remove from heat. Before meat cools, add layers of mozzarella and provolone cheese on top of meat, and cover pan to melt cheese.

Assemble Sandwich:

Split sub rolls open. Add sausage and melted cheese. Spoon vegetables on top of sausage. Spoon sauce on top of vegetables. Top with Parmesan cheese, and serve.

Tip: The leftovers go great when served on top of pasta noodles. 

Hero's Italian Sausage and Peppers Sandwich (Recipe)

2 lbs. ground sweet Italian sausage 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped 1 large yellow or red onion, chopped 1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 can (15 oz.) crushed tomatoes 1 can (15 oz.)

Message In A Bottle

Message in a Bottle

I always wanted to play bass in a Police tribute band. I've been a fan of The Police since I was 9 years old. The first song of theirs that I remember hearing was "Don't Stand So Close To Me", in 1980. In 1983, my mom bought me "Synchronicity" on cassette. I still have that tape around here, somewhere. From age 12 through age 16, I managed to score all 5 Police albums on cassette, and absorbed every note of every song. I found myself singing along, and emulating Sting's voice so closely, that even when I don't sing Police covers, I still sing, inflect, and emote like him, sometimes. I even had a signature Fender Sting Precision bass for a while. Unfortunately, I had to sell it during a time of financial crisis back in 2019. I regret doing that to this day.

I started recording this version of "Message in a Bottle in December of 2008, and released it on YouTube in January 2009. It's just me, a Brian May "Red Special" replica guitar (which I also had to sell during that financial downturn 😢), and the aforementioned Sting bass, which by the way, was the BEST bass I ever had. I feel like a piece of me died, when I had to sell that bass......and no, I don't feel like telling the story of why I had to sell it.......too painful.....😞

Anyway, enjoy the music......🎵🎶

Happy Man

Happy Man (Chicago Cover Song)

Ahhhhh, my cover of "Happy Man".......

This cover goes wayyyyyyyyy back to December of 2008. I remember posting on Facebook and asking my friends what songs I should record a cover of. One of my college buddies, Eric, suggested Chicago's "Happy Man". I wasn't originally going to do it, but I figured what the hell. Turns out, to everyone's surprise, I could do a pretty passable impression of Peter Cetera's voice! Even Kenny Cetera, Peter's younger brother, agreed and told me how impressed he was. 

I originally recorded this song on a homebrew PC running Windows XP, into a DAW program called Samplitude by Magix. I used a combination of plugins by IK Multimedia, including Amplitube 2, and a couple of software synths and samplers for the drums. The guitar and bass were real. I played a Brian May Guitar's "Red Special" replica guitar and a Fender Sting Signature Edition Precision bass. I don't have those instruments anymore. I encountered a major financial downward spiral back in 2019, and had to sell all of my instruments and gear. I haven't written or recorded any new music, since then. It could be a while before I can rebuild my finances enough to resume making music. Given a few behind-the-scenes circumstances that I'd rather not get into, making music isn't exactly a priority of mine, right now. 

On a positive note, I can still do a pretty decent impression of Peter Cetera. 

If you'd like to hear other cover songs by me, check out my cover of a Journey song here:

City Of Angels (Journey)

City Of Angels (Journey)

City of Angels (Journey)

This is a cover of the song "City of Angels", as originally recorded by the band Journey. The original recording was released on their 1978 album "Evolution", which was the 2nd Journey album to feature singer Steve Perry. 

I recorded this cover version back in December of 2008. My digital audio workstation at the time consisted of Magix's Samplitude, and several VST plugins by IK Multimedia, including Amplitube 2. I programmed the drum tracks using Samplitude's visual MIDI editor, while I played the guitar and bass tracks live, using my Alesis iO26 Firewire audio interface. I sang all the vocal parts using an Audio-Technica 3525 condensor microphone. As of 2022, I use absolutely none of these products, ironically. I still use IK Multimedia plugins, but I upgraded to Amplitube 3 eventually. I haven't recorded any new music in several years, due to some major changes in my life behind the scenes. I hope to return to recording new music one of these days, but it could be a while before I'm able to do that, again. 

If  you'd like to hear one of my original songs, check out 2014's "The Dream", on my YouTube page, which you can visit here:

https://youtu.be/IXUaY2vFhCI

Also please feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel here, as well: 

https://www.youtube.com/user/Elpdude

Mazinger Z: Anime vs Manga

Mazinger Z: Anime vs. Manga

I made this video years ago, in June of 2016, when I was working on my second master's degree: Music Production and Sound Design for Visual Media. I've gotten a bit.....side tracked, since then.

I was taking a class for audio production, in which I had to learn the inner workings of Pro Tools, and how to sync music and audio to video. The Mazinger Z video wasn't done for the class; I did this as a personal interest, but I applied all of my knowledge and skills for the class to the video project. 

This started as a desire to produce more Mazinger Z-related content by YouTube, but the first Mazinger Z video I posted got me struck down with an extremely painful copyright strike. It took me a ton of research and about 3 months to get the copyright takedown notice removed, and an additional 3 months for the copyright strike itself to finally go away. I had lost my YouTube monetization during that time. It's all a moot point, anyway. About 4 or 5 years ago, (it's 2022 at the time of this update), YouTube changed its monetization policy so that I no longer qualify for monetization, so none of my videos, including this one, are currently earning any revenue. One of these days, I'll probably resume making videos. 

If I remember, I started with the music. I wrote a short musical intro, loosely based on the tempo and key of the original Mazinger Z theme, but the melody, chords, and accompaniment are all original, and all me. I meant to expand the intro into a full-blown song promoting an unrelated business endeavor, but I never had a chance to finish the song. The drums you hear were programmed in Logic Pro X. The live guitars were played by me. I don't remember which guitar I used. It may have been my Gibson Les Paul studio, which unfortunately, I no longer have. 😞

Once I finished the music, I wrote and recorded a voice-over, using all the techniques I learned from my audio production class. The voice you hear is indeed me. I used a CAD Trion 6000 condensor mic, played through an ART tube pre-amp, into a ZOOM TAC-8 Thunderbolt interface. I still have those items in my project studio, but unfortunately, that's pretty much all I have left. All my other instruments, mikes, and equipment are gone. 😢

If you get a chance, please also check out my related video on Voltron here:

https://thethousandeyes.blogspot.com/2016/07/voltron-old-vs-new.html

Van Halen-Unchained, Runnin' With The Devil; She's The Woman

Van Halen-Unchained, Runnin' With The Devil; She's The Woman

Ordinarily, I don't post bootleg videos, but this was one of my rare exceptions. In light of Edward Lodewijk Van Halen's death in 2020, I feel that my recording of this particular performance should be preserved.

I shot this video of Van Halen myself back in 2012. I spent a pretty penny on tickets, and managed to score 2nd row center seats. I originally wanted to take someone really close to me to see the show, but she declined when I asked her. I brought her back a souvenir package with a cloth VH bag, a VH sweat shirt, some VH postcards, and some EVH guitar picks. She and I are no longer together, but I do believe she still has those items. 

I was totally jazzed to see Van Halen, and up close, too! Eddie was performing strongly and consistently. David Lee Roth put on a strong performance. Alex's drumming was on fire. Most notably, Eddie's son Wolfgang was playing and singing to his heart's content, filling in for former bassist and vocalist Michael Anthony. 

I had backstage passes to that show, but none of us got to meet the band, though. We did get to watch the sound check, however. I got to hear them rehearse "Light Up The Sky", which Ed had been trying to convince Dave to add to the setlist, but to no avail. I think they managed to squeeze it into the set list later on down the road, though. 

I still think about this night very often. It was one of the best concerts of my life, and I wish Eddie had lived to put out another Van Halen album. 

Eddie Van Halen Solo-Greensboro, NC 04-21-12

I shot this video myself, while attending a Van Halen concert in Greensboro, North Carolina, on April 21, 2012. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen, and one of the best nights of my life. 

Easy Steak Pizzaiola Recipe

Easy Steak Pizzaiola Recipe

(Note: This recipe is for big eaters. You might not finish all of this in one sitting. 😳)

Sauce Ingredients:

4 tbsp. olive oil

4 whole cloves garlic, peeled

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

3 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped

1 Vidalia onion, chopped

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Steak Ingredients:

4 boneless steaks (ribeye, New York strip, or filet mignon)

2 tbsp. olive oil

Kosher salt

Fresh-ground pepper

Other ingredients:

1 box pasta noodles (spaghetti or linguini), boiled

Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

In a large saucepan, skillet, or dutch oven, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the whole garlic cloves, chopped bell peppers, and chopped Vidalia onion, and cook until all ingredients are softened. Add the canned diced and crushed tomatoes, chopped oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper, and stir. Heat all ingredients for 1 minute, then add 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp honey. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes, or until sauce thickens. 

Season the steaks with kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper to desired taste, and then tenderize the seasoned steaks with a meat mallet. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the steaks for approximately 4 and 1/2 minutes, then flip the steaks over and cook for an additional 4 and 1/2 minutes, or until the steak is cooked to your preference. Remove the steaks from heat, place on a cookie sheet or in baking dish, and cover tightly with aluminum foil for a minimum of 5 minutes. 

Serve pasta noodles on each plate, cover pasta with the steak (whole or sliced), and top steak and noodles with sauce. Top the sauce with Parmesan and/or Mozzarella cheese, and serve.

Yields 4 servings

Hero's Easy Steak Pizzaiola (Recipe)

Hero's Easy Steak Pizzaiola (Recipe) (Note: This recipe is for big eaters. You might not finish all of this in one sitting.