Conversations with Keefy

Once again I found myself in good old Worcester, MA for the Rock and Shock Festival. Held every October this combination rock/metal show and horror convention is one of the most fun times you can have. I certainly was in all of my glory with the combination of two things I love dearly. I was really only interested in the Friday night lineup of bands and I saw a bunch of great ones. From THE OCEAN, EARTH CRISIS, OTEP, THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and the headliner MUSHROOMHEAD; everyone put on a good show. I especially loved seeing Otep Shamaya, Devin Townsend and Max Cavalera; three of my musical and lyrical heroes back to back to back on the same stage. Mind blowing! As I said I had no interest in the other musical acts although a funny thing happened to me the next night when I bumped into some ICP fans. You can read about the loathing part here. You can read about the loathing part here . Max Cavalera leads the way! I spent the rest of my time at the...

Written and Directed by Kevin Smith (Harvey Boys/Smodcast Pictures) Right in time for Halloween is one of the most suspenseful movies I have ever seen in the form of Kevin Smith's new movie, RED STATE. Earlier this year Smith (CLERKS, CHASING AMY, DOGMA) caused an uproar at The Sundance Film Festival when he announced he was going to stop making films entirely. He took his finished film on a D.I.Y. tour across the country, holding his now familiar Q&A sessions to raise money to release it himself. I took in the film some months back at a screening At The Wilbur Theater hosted by Smith. Between the tour, pre-release paid VOD viewers and special packages , he has already made back his money in time for a limited wide-release. Michael Parks as Rev. Abin Cooper Based on the controversial Westboro Baptist Church and their leader Fred Phelps , Coopers Dell is set in the rural Middle America and is home to the Five Points Church. Led by fanatical Rev. Abin Cooper whose view...

Next to Thanksgiving, Halloween has always been my favorite time of the year. I celebrate the entire month long in some form or another. Decorating the house, watching horror movies, costume parties, various parades, haunted houses and of course candy too. Halloween in the hood was a bit of a mixed bag for a me growing up as a kid. My family always decorated the house. My mom made individual candy bags to give out. For a costume I often wore a homemade get up, like being a clown or a cat. One year I got a “fancy” Spider-Man costume from Woolworth's . Oh those suffocating plastic masks with strangulating rubber bands and costumes made of sweaty plastic. My costume was torture, but I was so happy. Growing up in the “ Summer of Sam ” my dad had to take us around for candy. Older kids would go “bag snatching” “egg bombing” or other forms of mischief to terrorize little ones. Halloween also means horror films! I grew up on the classic Universal Monster movies , from there it was ...

When the morning Sun bakes my eyes awake I do not know what this day will bring. Still, I cherish every moment of this unpromised, uncompromised life. I rise day after day like a ritual since not living life is also a form of death. The paralysis of analysis can cripple or empower. What you do when you choose to know the ledge is crucial. I choose to live unbound in the water rather than feast on mental slavery in the burning wastes of life. I long to sleep on a pillow of winds and not the thorny brush of memories. I will do what I must to get by with devotions. Not of gods or false masters, just my free will. Guiding me straight and real as ever. And continue to hope someone hears my whispered pleas of “what if, this time.” I will not play Apollo’s lyre of woe or feel the chariot lash on upon my back. As I toil on this coil braced for fire, I push the bloody pen along the page. Trying to reason with the deaf, blind, yet wise gho...

Written and Directed by Evan Glodell (Oscilloscope Laboratories) I had the opportunity to screen the new indie film BELLFLOWER and I must say it is a powerhouse of a flick. The film is released by Oscilloscope Laboratories who is building a reputation for great out-of-the-box movies that make you think and produced last years HOWL which I loved. Written, directed and staring Evan Glodell (BEFORE BREAKFAST); who is not just a triple threat here, but may be bringing back the Auteur Theory in the best sense of the concept. Glodell turns conventional film making on it's ear with an exciting visual style, original story-telling and his own emotional performance. The Medusa Car is one more step to awesomeness..and ruin.  As for the story it is eye-opening and full of smart left turns. It centers around two best friends Woodroe (played by Glodell) and Aiden (Tyler Dawson) who grew up together in Wisconsin obsessing over the Max Max films and plotting a more interesting life. The ...

How do you ever heal in this life if you never let the wounds stay closed? How does your resolve fade away if you never had a spine in the first place? When lies and heartache are your currency it doesn't matter what your intent is or was. I have whittled away every visage of your countenance only to be tortured by inescapable thoughts of madness. You were a weapon of choice I could not stand against. All my powers of deduction rendered ineffectual. An army of spirit warriors by my side could not save me. Shattered confidence on the shores of self-discovery. Alone in a sea of desperate narcissists and mental invalids I just want to breathe the soft air of kindness again. Feel the lasting embrace of someone dear. Someone to rebuild the wreckage with and reclaim the chi. I want to smile on the outside and be more than a mannequin. Shallow footsteps echo the coldness of a reality I snap back to. My face is ever the convenient liar, apologizing for the many fallacies...

I barely ever sleep, but often I dream of my funeral. The day I am laid to rest. Goodbyes said in silence. Empty prayers to an empty sky. Curses under swallowed breaths. A bronze urn to hold the remnants of my person. Who will weep for me and who will piss on me? True loves, true friends and the truly fake. All gathered together sharing a begrudged moment. Regrets, lies, blinding truths and the inescapable finality. Knowing that time is up and things don't get resolved nicely. The dark danse macabre of the moment beguiles the sufferer. The pretentious and the false will offer the aggrieved to “be there for them if they are needed”. Even though few were there for me when I needed them in life. Meanwhile a few selfless pilgrims will do what must be done. Some will sob, others will make inappropriate jokes. Others still will reminisce over me in uneasy low tones. Few will come to understand the measure of this man. Frenemies I never showed a glimpse of solace to ...

There are nights when I feel unstoppable. Tonight is not one of them. Sometimes I could rule the world with an iron fist. But often my hands are covering my wet eyes and wiping my foaming mouth. I'd like to be as armor plated on the outside as I feel vulnerable on the inside. For once I'd like to hone my aggro instead of giving in to my inner emo. Talking loud and saying nothing. Self-absorbed brilliance is a fake reality. If I could quiet the noise in my head   I might hear what my heart is trying to tell me. I'd stop plugging up my ears   if I knew what else to do with my middle fingers. Master of a destiny as yet unwritten. Weighed down by the crutch of yesterday. Holding on to nothing right now. Creating the perfect monster. Me.

TRUE BLOOD returns to HBO tonight and you can color me excited! I recognize we are all hitting the high time where supernatural TV shows with themes of vampires, zombies, mutants, aliens and everybody else is due to suffer a cultural burnout any day now. As for me and the other “Truebees” I think we will survive just fine. Tonight kicks off Season 4 and while I won’t give away too many secret plot points (Witches? Check! Do Sookie and Eric hookup finally? Yup!) I’ll just say I’m psyched to see where the show is going next. Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse. Based on the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries series of book by Author Charlaine Harris, TRUE BLOOD hit the scene like a lightning bolt in 2008 and has grown in popularity exponentially ever since. Since Executive Producer and show creator Alan Ball optioned the show following his run on SIX FEET UNDER he has vastly improved over the stories in the books to create a mature, sexy show full of exciting plot turns an...

"if  I can't have everything  then  just  give me a  taste" Tall as the trees and twice as graceful. You danced like a feather trying not to catch fire. Entranced by you. Eyes, lips, arms and hips write a silent plea in the air. Telling tales of a secret pact. Everyone captivated by a dazzling display of symmetry. A narcotic has less traction on the soul. A narcissist to the very last drop. Only one saw the soft underbelly. Past the desperate longing and through to the pain. When we met I was a child. You were the learner. Another was the master. The mentor to your mission gave encouragement and accolades. But not the love you needed. Spurned, yet sanctified. Your pursuit doubled in effort. Already a slave to unrequited passions. They threatened to engulf you. Caught up in the moment a declaration is made. A vow hangs in the air unanswered and now you can’t take it back. A promise made is a promise dead when a promise wasn’t required in the first place....