Addicted to Octane

The 'Singles' Scene

2009-03-23T11:12:00.004-04:00

Division band meeting last night which meant a lot of administrative stuff, some jockeying for action items, reviewing schedules, etc. The interesting part was the philosophy discussion on marketing a band's release schedule in the modern, digital age. There are two conflicting views. Let me explain both.

First, the traditional album (or CD or cassette) model; go into the studio, record 10-12 songs and release them as an entire album with flow, potential an underlying theme and maybe even a story that weaves all the songs together.

Second, release songs as they're completed, one at a time or in smaller groups, so that they become more easily accessible and the band stays on the charts or in the minds of fans more consistently.

The problem with the first model is that fans who want to buy the song that they love must buy the disc. The proponents of digital distribution call this the "two good songs cost you $17 at Best Buy" model. The issue with the latter model is that the band becomes a singles band. The album flow is gone (and Noodles argued that it has been dying since CD's were released and people could skip songs without effort). The band may release three songs at a time, but (as Mike pointed out), going back and listening, the band repeatedly writes the same three or very similar songs.

There is a happy medium between the two models and that's where Division is at the moment. We'll be researching and experimenting with different distribution models until we have our happy hybrid approach. We'll also be playing live @ JAXX Nightclub with Evergrey on May 27th. That's going to be a lot of fun.

So, from all that discussion, here's today's question. Did you ever buy an album or a cassette and listen to it for a specific song? I'm guessing you have. If you listened to a few songs to get up to the one you were hoping to hear, did any of those other songs become your favorite later on?

If the answer is yes, I'd love to hear specifics (and so would the proponents of the album model). Stay tuned this week for a guest you won't want to miss.

One love,

nK

Bleak before bleak was cool

2009-03-11T13:40:00.003-04:00

Lords and Ladies of the Court,

The following is a list of words which I could go decades without hearing. Please adhere to these rules and refrain from usage of these terms until this decree has been lifted:
"economic downturn", "financial crisis", "bailout", "stimulus package"*, "layoffs"**,"foreign dependency" and "recession".

*(including all emails about male enhancement and discount adult DVDs)
**(unless in the context of the Good Times theme song....R.I.P. Esther Rolle)

I've heard them all, and I've heard them enough. Including these terms in every conversation does nothing to promote positive thinking, and keeps everyone miserable. So, that's it. They're gone from my vocabulary until I'm talking to my grandkids about the horrors of the early 21st Century.

I like bleak. I like dark. I like ominous. (I also like spicy tuna rolls, but I digress). I was fortunate enough to receive a pre-release copy of Jack Kilborn's novel, "Afraid". It is all these things in abundance. I'll get my horror and suspense from great writing and great music. That's enough for me. Besides, the characters in "Afraid" are much more likeable than talking heads like Wolf "Show me the burning bodies" Blitzer.

Horror has played a large influence on my writing, both as a novelist and as a lyricist. As we continue the vocal sessions on the upcoming Division CD, "Control Issues", I'm delighted to dig into the macabre and sadistic. This CD is largely a compilation of stories, each of which has its origins in something dark and frightening. Some folks use music to help them write (myself included). In this case, I've used books and movies to help me write the music that inspires books and movies. Art comes full circle, and in this case, that circle has burning candles and chants to evil spirits involved.

I hope to have some great new tidbits of information to you this month about music, writing, writers and some special announcements. "Control Issues" is still being created. If you'd like to hear some of the songs performed live, check out the Division site for show details.

In the meantime, stay so black that people may ask "how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black. " as Nigel would say.

One love,

nK

Recording: Psychosis, Pin-Up Models and Profanity

2009-03-01T18:38:00.002-05:00

Just arriving home after another solid recording session for the upcoming Division CD, "Control Issues". Mike (Blevins) and I had three uninterrupted hours to bang through material and, other than the threat of snow and making one another laugh, we managed to stick to the schedule.

Maybe it's coincidence, or maybe not, but the last two songs that I've gone in to record are both songs about a slow and steady descent in which the person singing the song crosses over from normal to psychopath. Mike, who is engineering the disc, was really helpful with some ideas on how to deliver melody lines, how many harmonies lines to have and how hard to hit them. I think his guidance has helped to deliver more of the 'slow burn' journey instead of me just delivering each line as hard as possible. He really understands dynamics, and probably missed his calling. He could be a great director in Hollywood...in the demented, Kubrick, "no you can't go to the bathroom" kinda way.

Today's song was ".45 Intent", about a young man who gets the girl of his dreams only to find out she's not what he wanted at all. It's sort of like "Blind Date" meets "The Tell Tale Heart". The entire song came from a line that crept into my head while I was at a goth bar in Louisville: "In this bar surrounded by the ghosts of Bettie Page". The pin-up queen has since left this life and I'm not sure if that's profound or I just sort of want it to be as an artist.

The song also features optimal placement of the F word. Shocker.

Division is performing in two short weeks at The Broad Axe in Hagerstown, MD. March 14th will be our first trip to the place and we welcome anyone who wants to come down, check out the new tunes and have a drink. Till then, back to work, slackers! Be careful in the snow!

One love,

nK

Billy Blanks' Big Adventure

2009-02-03T21:18:00.003-05:00

Ok, this story doesn't really feature Billy Blanks doing ANYTHING, but he is involved...that evil mastermind!

Sybir and I were workin' out at our favorite gym, Powerhouse Gym (UN-official gym of Just Wanna Play) and I noticed that the wave master they usually have on the ground floor was gone. (A wave master is like a heavy bag used for punching and kicking, but it has a base typically filled with water (or sand) to weigh it down.) How did I notice it was gone? It was pretty easy. This particular wave master is BRIGHT yellow, with the Tae Bo logo and silhouette of Billy himself on the side.

The investigation ended quickly when I saw said wave master out by the dumpster, which I found curious. While the pad is pretty beat up, the base and core of the thing were in good shape. I asked Kelly about it and he said a new one was coming in and there wasn't any room. Eureka! I instantly thought of bringing it over to The House, Inc. and adding it to the exercise equipment available to the kids there.

Here's where it all goes awry. See, I was under the assumption that moving it out to the dumpster had involved removing some of the water from the base to cut down on the weight. Wrong, Cat. Very, very wrong. So, let's just say the first two attempts at getting it into the truck were not only unsuccessful, they were downright comical.

Anyway, after dumping out a bunch of the water, Sybir and I got the thing into the truck, delivered it to the kids at The House, and called it a night. I learned the important lesson about picking up heavy, wet objects after doing chest and abs, and anyone watching got a good laugh.

In other news, Sybir and I continue to grow our nutritional supplement business at a good clip and welcome anyone with health concerns to contact us or to take a look at the Wolfpack site. If we can help you get well, we're happy to take the time to assist. JWP is not playing on February 21st, so stay tuned for a make-up date. Division is recording and will next play live on March 14th. More to follow.

Okay, off to write.

One love!

nK

What Kind of World Do You Want?

2009-01-21T21:24:00.003-05:00

What Kind of World do You Want?

Pretty simple question for most people, I'm sure. It's the "and how would you make that happen" part that stumps folks.

This is the very question posed by John Ondrasik, singer from Five for Fighting, in the group's song, "World". John and his team put together a website to help make a difference. It's named whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com. It's a video repository where viewers can go and watch user-posted videos. For each viewing, a dollar goes to an associated charity.

I was made aware of John's amazing site from Lowen & Navarro's fan club. One video on the site is the gathering of ALS-diagnosed individuals singing the chorus to the song, "Learning to Fall". That's the title song from Lowen & Navarro's most recent CD, and was inspired by Phillip Simmons' book of the same name. Want to check it out and help out ALS research, click HERE.

I managed to get corporate approval for a video of the amazing SE Volunteer Day back in October. I'm hoping to get it posted (it's uploading on another computer as we speak). Once it's up, I'll update everyone on that very cool event and who and how we helped.

More to come...

One Love,

nK

He who limits his interests...

2008-12-29T21:45:00.009-05:00

For those who visit this blog regularly, first of all, thanks. Second, it's no surprise to many that I'm a big fan of the legendary Vincent Price. I was searching for a good quote for BNI a few weeks ago and ran into a great one which I think sums Vince up pretty well. His words: "He who limits his interests, limits his life." Gotta love it. Especially from a guy who was a stage actor, movie actor, radio talent, chef and art collector (among other things).

I've learned a lot from Sybir in our time together and thankfully, I'm still learning. This week has been focus through meditation and concentration, with lessons from Bruce Frantzis and Dr. Andrew Weil. Before this, I would stumble sometimes into the periods where I gave myself information overload and largely lost sight of the identity I was trying to synchronize with through the white noise...that I created!

Now that I have the pathway to keep my head above it all, I'm working on prioritizing things and making sure that the most important things get to the forefront. For instance, it's more important to make sure Pup gets to school on time than it is to stay up writing interview questions for the star of "Return to Sleepaway Camp." (Crap, I have to get those done this week...)

As everyone is making resolutions, try to use these two different but complimentary ideas in place. Research and expand your interests. At the same time, focus on who you are and who you strive to become. Very often, you'll find the two ideas aren't so far apart after all.

Thoughts?

One love,

nK

Friday Morning...Already?

2008-11-21T00:16:00.002-05:00

As economists call today's situation anything from a crisis to a recession to a downturn, I've found a few of us willing to cry B.S. on any of those titles. Look, I've seen the problems that people have. My mom has to work when she should be retired. People with no ability to support local live music can't afford to go out a night a week anymore. It sucks, but it's not an absolute.

While I've watched big companies claim they no longer have budget for this or that, I've watched just as many small companies or self-employed people willing to spend a few extra dollars. Why? Because if they get sick, their business makes ZERO. That's it. Zilch. Kaput. Nada, senor.

If you are in control of your destiny, whether that is a business, a personal goal, a fitness goal or anything to advance you in your life path, being forced to the sidelines isn't an option. Let's talk about how we can work together to ensure your physical, mental and natural health. There's too much at stake in this doom and gloom society, and hey, it hasn't even snowed and turned the beltway into dangeresque central yet!

One love!

nK

Pennsylvania in the Fall

2008-11-11T21:21:00.002-05:00

One of the worst parts about having a sales support job is that I get to travel. One of the best parts of having a sales support job is I get to travel.

In this case, I write to you from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on a cold night. The brilliant light of the full moon is lighting the rooftops, but unfortunately, there are no super heroes or super villains in skin-tight cat burglar outfits to watch. Instead, there's the sound of the couple (at least a couple) in the room next door, and the occasional train whistle. Yes, I said Pennsylvania.

I'm originally from Philadelphia, and while Harrisburg isn't exactly the Philly suburb, it's great to hear the accent and dialect I was born into. A long sandwich isn't a sub here, it's a hoagie. A slice of pizza is a slice of pie, and a soda is a coke, regardless of the brand in the can.

I get to hit Hershey, PA tomorrow, home of the very fun Hershey Park. Of course, just as my last few visits, Hershey Park is closed when I come here, so I'll have to forgo the roller coasters for a few extra hours in the Passat. There are enough stretches of I-270 or route 15 that I can make it a roller coaster ride anyway.

Division is recording guitars and that means it'll be time for vocals soon. We're excited about our progress and I think those of you who have heard us will agree that the latest disc is the most like our live performances. JWP returns to rehearsal this week (full rehearsal that is. D's new baby, my trip to New Orleans and election night kept us from having a full roster the last three weeks.)

Everything else is chugging along as well. The day job is a bit headstrong more than just plain steady. School is tough during the winter months when it's dark so early you feel like a vampire just trying to research. It's just a two-day trip and I'll be back home post-rehearsal tomorrow night. Hopefully I'll see some of you under the same full moon.

One love,

nK

All present and accounted for.

2008-10-26T23:26:00.005-04:00

Everyone survived the Halloween party...or so I hear. After dealing with children for much many more hours than I thought possible, the adults descended into a low key party featuring a meat tray and Leslie Vernon.

Let me explain.

After testing for a new belt in Tae Kwon Do on Friday night, my blushing bride and I decided that a party for the kids was a great idea. This way, the kids could have an extra chance to wear their Halloween costumes. Great idea, except there were like 18 kids. with cupcakes. and lollipops. in costume.

I had the honor of playing Spider-Man for the little ones, and it was an absolute blast but there isn't much ventilation when you're the web-swinging, wall-crawling hero of comic book lore. So, four hours or so were enough for me to call it a night, throw on my Tampa Bay Lightning jersey and host the adult-only party.

The adults, much lower in volume level and blood pressure than the kids, celebrated a night out with a viewing of The Addaams' Family, Tales from the Crypt, and a personal favorite, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Trust me, horror fans, Leslie is worth buying and watching on DVD. Check out my interview of the lead actor over on Horrorview.com.

This week it's more day job stuff, followed by some rehearsal, maybe some recording, trick or treating and the premiere of Ninjas vs. Zombies on Halloween night! Be careful, my ghouls and ghoulettes!

One Love!

nK

Caped Crusaders & Everyday Heroes

2008-10-24T21:38:00.003-04:00

My graphic novel kick continues. In addition to The Walking Dead, Awakening, some of the classic Spider-Man novels, and a great Iron Man book called "Extremis", I found a cool compilation called "Batman: The Long Halloween". Man, that one has everything. More villains than you can shake a stick at, a bizarre murder case, organized crime, Harvey Dent and a great film noir feel. I highly recommend it.

As for the undead, Division has apparently found our niche. In addition to submitting a song off of the upcoming Control Issues CD to a zombie movie soundtrack, we were also asked to write the theme song to a comical undead flick titled Dead Sucks. We're wrapping up some of the writing and I expect that one will see the light of day in the next month or so, so keep your ears peeled for news on that front. Division's next gig is at The Clubhouse with Cab Ride Home on December 19th. It's going to be a mess. haha.

As for everyday heroes, moms and dads and regular folks (no, I will not use any "First Name" the "Blue Collar Occupation" titles here), I had a chance to be a part of an amazing effort during my recent visit to New Orleans. 165 volunteers put in eight hours each to help rebuild Laurel Elementary School. That's no small feat! It was a wonderful experience and I feel that I'm a better person for being a part of it. Kudos to all my co-workers who made that a success.

I realize this is more of a "What I've been doing" post than a "What comes next" post, but hey, I wanted to turn everyone on to some good reading and brag about some of my friends. Who can blame me...they're awesome!

One Love!

nK

PS - The Spider-Man/Black Cat story, "The Evil that Men Do" is another winner. Check it out.

Iron Man is Cool

2008-10-01T20:39:00.003-04:00

There's just no doubting it...Iron Man is cool. The movie was great when Sybir and I first caught it in theaters, and we picked up the DVD yesterday so we could watch it with our son. It's got enough humor and action to fill up the entire running time, and there's not a lot of violence. Most, if not all, of the deaths happen off-screen, kind of like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Iron Man is a good flick about a human who embraces technology to make a difference. Wow, and here I am working on a book (my fourth) about a Metahuman who had technology forced on him and is trying to do his best to figure out if he's good or evil, or whatever. It's always fun to look at other "hero" offerings (comics, movies, novels) and compare and contrast. With Iron Man and Catwalk, it's pretty easy. Both are humans driven by high-tech gadgetry. They both have a conscience driving their actions. They even both have beautiful, highly intelligent women working closely with them and providing emotion to the story. (That's not original, I have the same situation at home!)

Here's the difference. Iron Man is a fighter jet. He's a sleek, supersonic, high-flying, heavily armed speedster. Catwalk is a sportbike. He can't fly, but he can motor fast as hell, he's agile and quick, and his only weapons are things he carries (guns, the self-defense baton, etc.)

I think the series has plenty of action in it, but it's a darker world he plays in. I used to equate Catwalk as part Spider Man, Blade Runner and Akira, but I think there are definitely similarities to Iron Man, Batman and some of the old school film noir characters as well.

As for real life, the Health and Wellness business is growing with some great folks coming on board to grow our businesses together. The day job is pretty hectic this week with a lot of travel (I was in frickin' Newark this morning). JWP plays this Saturday. Divsion plays next Friday with Jon Oliva's Pain and Circle II Circle.

Comment or message me for show details.

One Love!

nK

Two More Days

2008-09-18T23:25:00.002-04:00

We're just two days from the Rev Your Engines 2008 event. 90% of me is really excited. 10% of me is relieved. For those of you who have done a fundraiser, you completely understand that last statement.

Anyway, the event includes a motorcycle ride, live music, face painting, an appearance from Slapshot of the Washington Capitals, temporary tattoos, race cars, fire engines and more. if you're in the DC area, come on out. Details here.

As for all the other things, they're sort of on hold for the next 48 hours. I'll update once we're on the other side.

One love!

nK

I Am Available!

2008-09-09T14:12:00.003-04:00

No, I'm not suddenly single. I am still happily married to Sybir and that ain't changing until one of us is brought back from the dead as a horrible pile of rotting flesh hell-bent on eating the living.

What? Too soon with the zombie talk? Sorry. I'll save that for the end.

By available, I mean there are more ways than ever for my friends, fans and family to get a piece of me. In addition to this site and the official Nick Kelly MySpace page, there are now official Nick Kelly FaceBook and Twitter pages. Plus, there's Instant Messenger, Email, phone, etc etc. You'd think for a guy who is into so many things, I'd be hiding behind a keyboard and making sure no one could find me. That doesn't really help any of my efforts succeed. Tim Sales is right - it's all about communication.

So, here's the update from Camp Kelly on the current fronts. We had a great recording session on Sunday night with Division. We are almost done the song, "Feast", which is about the aforementioned zombies. I had a fun time writing that one, including a conversation with Ken Foree, who starred as Peter in the original "Dawn of the Dead".

The next public appearances are September 20th for Just Wanna Play at the Rev Your Engines 2008 charity event to raise money for Stop the Silence. We're having a motorcycle ride and a family fun day to help build awareness and donate to prevent and treat child sexual abuse. It's a great cause and will be a fun day. There's all sorts of stuff for the kids to do. We look forward to seeing you there.

The next Division gig is October 10th with Jon Oliva's Pain, Circle II Circle and Manticora. That's right - both Savatage singers I've been compared to will be performing!

Finally, Sybir and I have starting building up our health and wellness business (as stated last post). A few of you have listened to what we're doing, and a few have joined the cause to "Love life and live it to its fullest in happiness and health". (Dr. Myron Wentz, Ph.D.)

Feel free to contact me on one of the many channels (new or old).

One Love!

nK

The Opportunity That Will Change Your Life!

2008-08-31T21:25:00.002-04:00

You didn't really buy that, did you? Opportunities don't change people's lives. People change their lives. Opportunities, at best, provide the catalyst for change, and most often, people willing to change make the opportunities anyway.

Sybir and I are finally home from an outstanding convention in Utah. Yes, I said, outstanding and Utah in the same sentence. We had the chance to meet with many other small business owners in the wellness industry, and came away positive about the changes that we're going to make in our lives to take advantage of the opportunity before us. And by "us", I mean my wife and me, and everyone reading this blog who might have the slightest interest in owning their own business, having more time with their children, making sure their parents can live in peace, or even just having the desire for better health.

My brother, DB, and I debate about a lot of things, but there's one point we repeatedly agree on and openly brainstorm on. If you want to be financially free, you have to own something. More specifically, you have to own something that's making you money. Otherwise, you're tied to a desk or a business, or the books, and it's no different than working for someone else. You're slave to your own businees, instead of slave to someone else's.

I had a chance to watch a line-up of brilliant financial minds this past few days. Tim Sales (author of Brilliant Compensation), Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad), Robert Allen (author of Multiple Streams of Income) and Paul Zane Pilzer (author of The Wellness Revolution). That was just the guest speakers. I won't even list the presenters from our networking group. It was a fantastic dynamic of different minds and messages, and with each, I seemed to realize what I'd been missing.

Opportunity knocks sometimes, but not always. In this case, it's been sneaking around my house for about seven months. My wife has been working on this business while I've remained blissfully ignorant, working on band stuff, my day job, and charities. It took everything I've mentioned to open my eyes.

Why now?

It's easy. Taking the steps now to increase this business (and yours) is the right move. The wellness industry is poised to be a Trillion dollar industy. That's why it makes money sense. Our product offerings help people improve their health with vitamins, essential minerals, foods and nutrionals that no other company can offer. That's why it makes product sense.

My son is four. I don't want him to work until he's in his mid-thirties before he understands money and the dynamic of the rich and poor in America. My parents are in their 60's. There's no reason they should still have to work. I'm making it my goal to get financially free, so that they can enjoy their lives, instead of commuting, answering phones, undertaking needless stress, and then give a third of their money back to the government.

If you've read this far, you probably have a similar vision of your own. You don't want to spend three hours a day in the car. You don't want to tell your child she can't have something after she's done her chores and earned it. You don't want to watch your parents struggle because the economy took a nosedive. Maybe your reasoning is different.

Message me. Email me. Call me. If your health and your family are important to you, give me a listen. I'm not asking you for millions, or to put your savings on the line on some longshot. I'm going to tell you exactly what my wife and I have done, and offer you the same chance at financial freedom. If you don't call me, expect a call. This is a chance to change lives for the better. I'm not going to pass it up.

One Love!

nK

Heaven on Earth and Hectic Planning

2008-08-24T17:23:00.003-04:00

Critics will tell you that multi-tasking is less efficient than being focused. This week, unlike most, I'm inclined to agree. Usually I'm a proponent of mentally investing in different directions but over the past few days, I think I'm a little too scattered.

It's been a while since my last post, so let me try and put it into perspective. My last post was before a Division gig, which was an absolute blast. Check out the post-show blog over on Division's MySpace page. After that, we had a band meeting to try and solidify our to-do lists, recording schedule, marketing opportunities, goals and plans for the next few months. That filled our brains up, as well as our calendars.

I went to Bermuda for five days with Sybir. It was amazing. We went kayaking, mountain biking, snorkeling, sailing and drinking...did I mention drinking? It was a refresher that I didn't realize I needed until I was there.

While in Bermuda, I finished up Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" novel. I'm excited about getting a chance to see him speak next weekend. I also finished "Heaven and Hell" which is Don Felder's book about his time with the Eagles. As a lifelong Eagles fan, I wasn't necessarily surprised, but I enjoyed it immensely, and it provided a new perspective on some of the songs.

Just Wanna Play had our first gig at Yak-a-Doo's in Fredericksburg the night after I got back. It was an absolute blast. I think reading Felder's book is helping me devote more attention to my musical practice. Tonight is a Division rehearsal.

I managed to get some writing in the last two nights, as well as finish drafting a paper for school and returning to Tae Kwon Do class. Oh, and I met Chris Flick, creator of the web comic Capes & Babes. I'm really not sure where I am at the moment, so maybe if I figure it out, I'll let you all know. Till then, it's back to planning the Rev Your Engines 2008 event.

Musical Mayhem!

2008-08-07T23:08:00.002-04:00

Well, with less than a week before the upcoming Division gig, we found out we would be headlining. Turns out the national act had logistical issues. Bummer for them, but hell, that means we get to sell cheaper tickets, and we get the whole stage. Awesome!

We'll be playing Saturday night at Jaxx in Springfield, VA. We have some new songs plus some surprises so don't miss out!

On the writing side, I finished up the first edits on the third Catwalk book and began some preliminary ideas for Book Four. This one can get really seedy if I allow it to, which of course means I will. That means some interesting research though, so someone anchor my soul to the white light before I go into the abyss :)

Okay, I'll blog more after the Jaxx gig. Really, don't miss it. It's going to be primal.

One love,

nK

Batter Up!

2008-07-17T23:29:00.004-04:00

It's the heart of summer and we're celebrating baseball style!

Just Wanna Play, the party band I'm in with some great friends and better musicians, is performing before and after the Potomac Nationals baseball game Friday night, July 18th. We are going to immerse ourselves in the baseball experience and just enjoy the heck out of it, and I think anyone who comes out will love it, too. It's ladies night, so the grrls get in for free. They're giving away hats, and college kids are a buck off, and the young'n's get to run the bases. Info on the gig and directions are available HERE.

Ok, more on JWP. We're still looking for sponsors and vendors for our September 20th Rev Your Engines event to benefit Stop the Silence. We need help to raise money for this worthwhile cause - stopping child sexual abuse. Anyone interested in volunteering, sponsoring a kids' activity, or setting up as a vendor, drop me an email at Nick@CatKlaw.com. We managed to line up a few more gigs as well, so expect much more on the JWP front.

Division, my metal band, is not taking a break either. We're performing August 9th with Metal Church and again October 10th with Jon Oliva's Pain. Busy Busy Busy.

Life is as insane as ever, and it's only partially due to reading really graphic and twisted horror anthologies. The latest is Dark Arts Books' collection, Like a Chinese Tattoo. It features some of the most bizarre storytelling I've ever read. If you have a weak stomach, do two things. One, don't read it. Two, go to confession and light a candle that there's no one weird enough to buy the movie rights.

Alright, it's off to organize stuff for the gig and the Braveheart Ryderz BBQ on Saturday.

One Love,
nK

Fireworks and Frustrations

2008-07-06T22:23:00.002-04:00

The holiday weekend is coming to an end, and despite the rain, we've had plenty of fireworks here. It's looking like the rescue project dog we invited into our home has been discovered by its original owners. That may sound great up front, and I agree he deserves to be in his real home, but I have no idea how to translate that to a four-year old boy. Our little guy is likely going to be heartbroken, but then again, he routinely surprises me with his intelligence and empathy.

It's back to regular rehearsal for Division in preparation for our August 9th gig with Metal Church. We're rusty, to be sure, but we've got some lofty goals and I think we'll surprise a lot of people come showtime.

I'm wrapping up the second round of edits on Catwalk:Messiah which then goes into the hands of some fellow writers for constructive criticism. Then it's time to make the choice: shop it or find an agent. We'll see how that unfolds.

Ok, plenty more on tap between a class final in Criminal Procedure tomorrow, work from my day job and JWP gearing up for a set of gigs in the next two weeks. More to follow.

One Love,

nK

You Can Help Missing Kids!

2008-06-09T15:30:00.004-04:00

One of my many hats is that of the Chief Technology Officer for CatKlaw, Inc. We're a small company helping normal people understand technology and build their businesses up using technology for organization, marketing and communication. Sounds pretty dull, right? Actually, it's pretty cool when you can enable a small business owner to be successful and not go work for "the man".

We held a training session last week about the Code Adam program from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. This program trains employees on how to handle an incident if a child goes missing on the premises. It's pretty straightforward, but the bottom line is that the employees are looking, not just the concerned parent. That's only one way a company can help keep children safe. Other programs include the Amber Alert system, Missing Children web page gadgets, and the Poster Partner Program. Check out the link for some of these programs HERE.

CatKlaw's annual charity event this year is Rev Your Engines, to benefit Stop the Silence. The event will be held on September 20th at Parkway Ford in Woodbridge, VA. Drop me a line or stay tuned here for more information. We're also happy to announce that we are in the initial stages of establishing a nonprofit corporation to assist in the protection, education and training of children. Stay tuned for more on that.

Ok, it's off to the new Powerhouse Gym for Mind-Body Fusion class tonight.

One Love!
nK

Gone Gone Gone...Been Gone Too Long

2008-06-05T22:48:00.003-04:00

Did I really just reference Chiliwack lyrics? Yeah, I guess I did. There's a clear sign I've been spending too many hours watching the bug zapper and drinking Jack Daniel's.

Things are going slow and steady here at Camp Catwalk. The edits for Lineage were completed a while back and I'm bringing myself to rinse off the scalpel and take a run at Messiah before I start shopping for an agent. I've learned so much from some of my fellow writers like Joe Konrath and Heather Brewer, and I'm excited to be taking the step into full-fledged novelist.

Both JWP and Division are recording and I finally have the home studio set up the right way, so it looks like I'll be cutting vocals for most of June and July, while juggling the family, writing, the day job, and all the other band necessities like management, booking, networking, artwork, layouts, web design and more. If that sounds incredibly busy, let me reinforce this: EVERYONE in Division is doing at least as much as I am. There is so much going on behind the scenes right now to make the upcoming CD as great as possible. We're very excited about the chance to have a killer product that shows our identity and our passion as effectively as possible.

Just Wanna Play's new demo is really coming together also. We're saddened at the closing of a number of places we have played in the past or were planning to play in the future. Bogey's and O'Meara's come to mind immediately. With the economy in the tank, these places are going under and live music is suffering as a result. God forbid we get to the point where artists will only stream shows and not tour because the expenses outweigh the turnout.

Okay, one last check of school work tonight (Criminal Procedure - gonna be a tough one!) and then it's off to crank up the tunes and kill orcs. Oh yeah, I got talked into playing Lord of the Rings Online, which is a great game. Now I just need to find a pill that gives me eight hours of sleep.

One Love!

nK

A Tribute to the Lord of the Dead

2008-05-05T20:34:00.002-04:00

Most people who know me know my love of the horror film genre through its many iterations. There are so many instantly recognizable horror icons; Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Barbara Steele, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff...Claude Raines. But of them all, if I had to pick a favorite, it would most likely be the delightful Vincent Price.

Among his many talents, Price was a gourmet chef, a stage actor and an art collector. And so, in my pursuit to emulate the man I'd consider an entertainment hero, I decided to repeat something Price did in his lifetime. Cook a gourmet meal? Purchase a Rembrandt? Take the stage in a dramatic one-man show? Nope, none of those things.

I bought a bug zapper.

For those who remember Price's brilliant Citibank commercial circa 1985, the image of Vincent smiling with glee at the deaths of insects is priceless. For those who don't, it's linked here.

Now that the shows are behind us, Division is hunkering down to get the final sessions recorded and begin editing the upcoming CD, Control Issues. We've made sure to record video of some of the sessions, and we'll be posting a recording diary blog on the official and MySpace sites.

In the interim, it's repetition to cut down time on the clock once we're there. Special thanks to everyone who made the show at Mac's The Club last month. It's the last one for at least four months. See you guys on the web or maybe at Jaxx?

One Love,

nK

How to De-Vegas Your System

2008-04-27T12:46:00.004-04:00

And so I have survived five days in Vegas, and one night in Essex, MD.

I'm not sure which was harder on my health.

Vegas was an interesting combination of experiences. Let's see if I can recap the agenda as accurately as possible. Monday, I flew out, landed, checked in to the Venetian, and headed up to meet the impromptu band, Sales Machine, for a five-hour rehearsal. It was pretty grueling, but it gave us a few rays of hope that we might actually be able to pull off the gig we were scheduled to play.

Tuesday started with a two-hour rehearsal before team meetings and the best introduction to a sales conference I've ever seen. We had a flag ceremony and welcomed the athletes from the Special Olympics that the company is sponsoring this year. After a few hours in meetings, it was one more rehearsal, after which, we felt like we actually had a chance of not sucking too bad.

Wednesday included meetings and classes all day, after which, we headed to the big room to prepare for the gig. When I say big, picture a convention hall. This place was HUGE. There were eight soccer matches going on as part of a round-robin tournament. There was food, beverages, air hockey, human bowling, pool, ping pong, a batting cage, and more...plenty more. In all, there was somewhere around 2200 people in the room.

The stage setup was unbelievable. There were two separate risers (drums and keys), a big screen TV, great light show, as many mics as we needed, six monitors and even tele-prompters, which we didn't use because we're idiots. haha. We played a 45 minute set, with some issues opening and closing songs cleanly, but in all, it was pretty damn good.

A few songs on the list: The Heart of Rock n' Roll, I Want You to Want Me, Jenny (867-5309), What I Like About You, Twist And Shout, Money (That's What I Want), I Feel Good, Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, Secret Agent Man, and Soul Man.

As you can tell, we were all over the road. We had two guitars, drums, sax, bass and two vocalists. (And yes, Malena, your tambourine got to play Vegas!) It was fun. Everyone seemed to appreciate us, since I didn't pay for a drink the next two nights. (And didn't have another one for two more nights after that! haha)

The rest of the conference went well. I was pretty much beat by Friday. We got up at 6 am Saturday (to the sound of a few guys and a paid escort in the next room) and flew home. Only, I didn't fly home. I flew to BWI, met the guys in Division and played a gig with Black Widow USA. Many thanks to the great support we had there, plus the Sudafed, Excedrin and Usana vitamins that got me through the show.

It's so great to be home. Today is all catchup time (479 emails!), so anyone who dropped me an email or MySpace message, standby. I'll get back to you soonest.

One Love!

nK

Gigging in April...No Foolin'!

2008-04-09T00:18:00.002-04:00

There was a five-week stretch last year that included a very odd sequence of shows for me. Apparently, that full moon is back again, because April is proving to be a very strange month for this performing artist.

Tonight, Just Wanna Play scrapped rehearsal for recording, and it was a productive (if way late) kind of night. We got the music recorded for six songs, with a few more and vocals planned for the next session. This means the long-awaited new demo will be available soon, so keep your ears tuned to the JWP MySpace page.

Now, the weird stuff. I'm supposed to be doing a guest spot on someone else's show this week. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I'll mention that it's a band that hangs out with Division A LOT...and it's a very appropriate tune for us and them. So that's Friday night (at Jaxx). Then, here comes the big news...

I'm playin' VEGAS!

Yep. I'll be singing and playing guitar (guitar, not bass..eek!) at a sales conference in Vegas that includes roughly 4500 people. It's with a made-up band, and we get one rehearsal before the gig. Expect horrible things, but I'm excited. I've never played Vegas before. Maybe I can channel some Dean Martin and get all boozed up and be the next big star. Or, I could suck. Whatever works.

I fly back from Vegas on the 26th...with four hours to spare before I'm supposed to be on stage with Division. That show is going to be fun. It's a CD Release Party for Black Widow USA, and we're doing a new cover, and a song we haven't done in a few years. I expect a fun, and tiring time.

I'm not sure yet if it tops last year's stretch, which included a bar gig, a car show, a gig at an elementary school, and an open house for a custom home builder, but it's going to be a fun month. Be safe and be well.

One Love,

nK

Leather, Lead and the Undead

2008-03-23T22:40:00.004-04:00

I'm still working on edits of Catwalk:Lineage, including a fresh visit to some vampire scenes. It's always fun to try and figure out where your vampires fit in the grand scheme of fang-toothed evildoers. In this case, I think Lineage minions (not the elders, they're different) fit somewhere between the hordes in Underworld, the colorful beasts of Vampire Hunter D, and the feasting brood of 30 Days of Night. They certainly don't have the elegance of Anne Rice's brood, that's for sure.

They have the Underworld fashion sense, and feature lots and lots of guns, that's for sure, but a different education. So, at any rate, Cat's story is wound around a vamp war in book two, and it's a lot of fun.

Also in the postmortem category is the subject of one of the upcoming Division songs. I'll go as far as to confirm rumors that we do indeed have a zombie song on Control Issues CD. Previews will have to wait, but if you want a glimpse into how your might sing it, go watch Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

From a writing standpoint, I got introduced to F. Paul Wilson's series of Repairman Jack novels. Good stuff.

Okay all, you're supposed to be writing, marketing or being generally productive right now. Don't let me interrupt.

One love!

nK

Indiana Jones and the Morbid Speed Metal Band

2008-03-12T22:49:00.005-04:00

This post is going to be totally random...no, not totally, but enough that it makes very little sense to anyone sober. I logged into my obligatory MySpace page (yes, you have to have one if you're in a band, write, act or are a webcam chick). I got to see an in-screen scene from the new Indiana Jones movie, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Is that for real? I don't have a problem with a 60+ year old guy cracking a whip and beating on fake Nazis, but the title?

Did they go dumpster-diving behind J.K. Rowling's mansion?

That title is pretty weak. Right along the lines of, oh, I dunno, Attack of the Clones? That doesn't work for a multi-billion dollar movie franchise if you ask me. Not when there's a Nickelodeon game called Jimmy Neutron: Attack of the Twonkies. It's bad. It's comical. It's like the Tribbles on the old Star Trek. Or like when Frank Drebin from Police Squad would get a towel thrown in his face and wrestle with it for twenty seconds like an Alien facehugger.

Skip that. That wasn't bad. That was priceless.

So, where the hell is the title of your blog coming from, Cat? Oh yeah. Division is playing on Saturday night at our club sweet home, Jaxx. We'll be on stage with some very thrashy and heavy bands, including Arsis, Veil of Maya and Skeleton Witch. We'll also be following our buddies in Cab Ride Home...slightly unsober since 2006.

So...if you were one of the Hollywood folks churning out remakes or rekindling old movie franchises, what would you call your latest project?

One Love...

nK

What Fuels Your Fire?

2008-02-24T22:34:00.003-05:00

As I sit down to go into editing mode again, I found myself comparing my different writing experiences. For instance, when I'm writing Catwalk, doing drafts or free form stuff, I find the heavier the music, the better (unless it's a sex scene or something meant to be dismal but not upbeat). This is night and day from when I'm writing for work or school, where I find instrumental music helpful but vocals distracting.

So, to the creatives our there, what inspires you to write/paint/sculpt/etc? Is it music, is it sunlight (I'm particularly limited to what I write depending on how bright the setting is)? What do you find that helps you to stir the creative juices?

One Love,

nK

one word - FIERCE

2008-02-20T21:53:00.003-05:00

I can't explain it in detail, but let me tell you this...the upcoming artwork for the Catwalk novels is going to blow you away. Michal, one of my selected artists, has decided on a sort of facelift for Cat that makes him perfectly horrific. I can't wait to unleash him on the public!

In the interim, it rests on those of us here at CatKlaw, Inc., to solicit some agents for publication, or to simply self-publish. In the growing digital age, literary publishing is so much like musical publishing, it boggles the mind.

Division had our photo shoot for our newest CD, Control Issues, due out over the summer. Check out Mike Gong's amazing work, and then hit our MySpace page to let us know what you think!

Division's first show of 2008 is March 15th @ Jaxx. Click anywhere in this paragraph for a link!

One love,

nK

Lawyers, Guns and Money

2008-02-06T22:43:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist citing the brilliant Warren Zevon as I tried to describe the disparate chaos of my week. I'm working with Litigation Support Teams regarding e-mail archiving and discovery for my day job, studying terrorists and identity thieves for my school, and trying to handle re-distributing equipment for the bands. So there you go...lawyers, guns and money.

On the band front, both JWP and Division are busy. Check out the schedules for March, April and May often. We're about to get really busy!

On the Catwalk front, I tracked down the artist from the 2001 Comic, and I'm working with artists from Texas to Slovakia to find the best cover for the novels. Stay tuned for more on that front.

This is a brief checking in sort of post as the rain pummels the house and ruins my hot tub plans. Too bad, otherwise I'd be more introspective later I guess. Ah well.

Hey, it's Bob Marley's birthday. Celebrate accordingly.

One Love!

nK

The Preview You Are About To See..

2008-01-26T23:43:00.001-05:00

Ok, so a chapbook is to a novel what a trailer is to a feature film. It's time for me to slap together this chapbook and start teasing you all about how much fun you're going to have when you read the first Catwalk novel, Catwalk:Messiah.

I'm working with an amazing artist on a cover while we go through one more round of edits and start soliciting an agent. Let's see how all that goes.

Real life is going well too, but I don't wanna talk about all that right now, just about the Cat stuff, since it's been so much effort. I'll write about real life some other night!

One Love!

nK

The Surgery Continues...

2008-01-20T23:43:00.000-05:00

Ok, the edits continue, including what I think is the most powerful scene in the first book, Catwalk:Messiah. I had to make a few passes at it. I hope it translates well. Poor Cat, I've made him suffer quite a bit. I'm 25 pages away from the first round of edits being finished, but it will take a few more nights. I've hit the end of my editing ways tonight, and tomorrow night...Cloverfield!

Sybir has been awesome throughout, completing her massive daily regime and helpin' me with Pupzilla, who has been fun and tiring over the last few weeks. We had a chance to check out Eddie from Ohio on Saturday night which was fun. It was good to hang with bandmates from JWP.

Speaking of JWP, we'll be back at Bogey's on Feb 2nd. Bring yer dancin shoes!

Division continues to record, as we go through more revisions of artwork and photography. Standby for updates on that! Ok, time to go shut down the brain for a bit. Best to everyone and Happy MLK Day!

One Love!

nK

Bring Me My Scalpel

2008-01-13T22:16:00.000-05:00

Joe Konrath was right. Editing is like being a serial killer. I'm on page 33 of Catwalk:Messiah at the moment, and I've sliced away so many words, it's silly. I apparently had a love affair with the word, "instantly" for no good reason. Anyway, things are flowing much better. I'm in need of a cover artist for the Chapbook, then I'm lookin' for an agent.

As for life, I got back from the P.R.O. convention in Camden, New Jersey today. It was three days of being on the Motorcycle Club set and learning sooooo much. Special thanks to C. Money and Teddy B from 502, and to T.C., who has been on iron longer than I've been alive. It was a humbling experience to meet several individuals this weekend.

I finished my next class in Criminal Justice, got to catch up with some cousins, aunts and uncles, and I was home to get some things done, hit the hot tub and re-acclimate with the real world. Now that I have all that done, it's back to edits.

Oh yeah...Just Wanna Play @ Bogey's, Feb 2nd...spread the word!

One love!

nK

Serial Killers and Re-Writes

2008-01-06T22:08:00.000-05:00

As I eagerly await my turn at recording my parts for the new Division CD, I'm still pounding away on the classwork and preparing to edit "Catwalk: Messiah" for consistency and adrenaline. I like what I have, but every time I read J. A. Konrath's blog, I feel like I'm in grade school again. The most recent post had me howling.

2008 has entered with a bang, and Sybir and I decided on a new tradition for ringing in the new year. Hopefully we can continue it. If I could say more, I would, but this is a family show.

Speaking of, I had a chance to write about schools of crime causation for a paper in class. That was a fun week of researching, drafting, editing and re-writing. I wound up handing in a 2000-word piece on Albert Fish. Read the linked article if you want to read about a gross killer and massive sexual deviant. This week is a team paper week, so I'm limited to mentioning Armin Meiwes, the German cannibal, but I take my shots where I can get them.

"Dexter in the Dark" was a great follow up to "Dearly Devoted Dexter" on my reading list. Now, if Showtime will get to releasing the Season Two DVD, I can get caught up on the show as well as the books.

No real goals or resolutions in this post. I've been far too scattered to have that degree of focus. That changes this week, since I have so much to do!

One Love,

nK

2007-12-27T21:38:00.000-05:00

It's almost the end of 2007, and I'm spending my few days off entertaining, researching and cleaning the house after the Christmas excitement. Fortunately, I have some time to read the stories that really interest me, and use that as something to chew on as I develop and improve my own writing.

So what is Cat reading these days? First up is the second Jeff Lindsay novel, Dearly Devoted Dexter". Since someone bought me the first book (and I devoured it on the plane to Vegas), I have really grown into a fan of Lindsay's whimsical (yet horrific) style, and the titular serial killer. The second book is even better than the first, IMHO. The Showtime series based on the character does a remarkable job of expanding the happenings from Dexter to his team and his family. Two thumbs up...as they say.

The second book I've been digging through is an anthology titled "Gratia Placenti : For the Sake of Pleasing". It's warped. It's nicely, disgusting, gagging, shaking your head warped. GP is a collection of short stories by some very talented authors, including Jim Reilly, my editor-in-chief at Horrorview.com. I had no idea the bastard could actually write. haha! J.A. Konrath also has a short in there, written with a perfect mix of comedy and gag reflex.

After those, I'll be pouring over "Dexter in the Dark", "These Guns for Hire" and a new Harold Schechter book. I do enjoy his work, especially his serial killer stuff, since it's all historical. I based my last paper on Albert Fish, the nasty old bastard I read about in Schechter's "Deranged".

That's about it. Time to drink about New Year's resolutions...I mean think. Ahem. Tomorrow night is another "get out and research" night, so I'm sure I'll be in touch soon. Cheers!

One Love,

nK

A Christmas Post from Catwalk

2007-12-06T22:11:00.001-05:00

I felt it only fitting for a view into Catwalk's life at this holiday season. Let's just say his view on the holidays isn't the same as mine!! One Love - nK

It was cold, bitter cold, in the dangerous depths of Downtown Nitro City. Winter always seemed to bring out the desperation in the less-fortunate inhabitants. Burglaries increased, as did the counts of missing persons, arsons, and robberies. The fight for survival was easily quantified in the number of cases recorded by local law enforcement. Catwalk had seen firsthand how many cases went unrecorded. Usually, they resulted in a job and a paycheck for the so-called “killer with a conscience”.

Several stories below, the people shuffled about, in greater numbers than usual. Cat knew the reason; he’d seen the fliers drifting in the cold winter air. There was a chorale concert, a voluntary gathering of singers, of all things, to be held in the spot which used to be Peterson Memorial Park.

The sun has just set, or at least fallen into obscurity behind the skyscrapers that clawed their way toward the heavens. Uptown was where the real money existed; home to the celebrities and the wealthy. Down here, Downtown, the remainder of society existed; outcasts, renegades and those never given a chance.

Cat preferred it here. As a former orphan, a former invalid, and a member of the police force back east who never seemed to fit in, he could understand those who lived Downtown. He had accepted this place, and it had welcomed him. Once he’d grown accustomed to life in the bowels of the city, he couldn’t picture living anywhere else.

Cat gazed upward for just a moment. He’d finished a number of jobs that had gained him respect and notoriety Uptown. None of them had provided him the ability to balance and center as this place had. He felt himself chuckle and scoff at those labeled “better off”. He pulled his collar up against the spiraling winter breeze as he directed his attention to the gathering people below.

The fascination grew within him as we watched from his perch. The carolers lined up in uniform fashion, armed bodyguards taking their places on each side. The small crowd gathered in the makeshift park, the grounds painstakingly cleaned up and picked over by the singers over the past three hours. As they began their song, he could see the faces of some of the onlookers mouthing the words.

To Cat, Christmas was a curious event. He’d been taught the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of God, and how he was born in a manger to a loving father and virgin mother. He’d learned that Jesus grew up, gathered his apostles, was persecuted, crucified and rose from the dead. Anyone who believed in him could gain eternal peace, and their sins would be absolved.

He exhaled sharply, the steam from his breath forming in the cold air. Eternal Peace. The promise of that was reward enough. He didn’t need pure angels with trumpets and wings, or contentment for all eternity. He didn’t need blinding lights, festivals and food on which only the divine could feed. Peace itself would be a welcome change from the chaotic life he’d played out so far.

As much as he’d like to think the Bible stories were truth, he had grown too calloused…or too much of a realist…to believe they were anything more than fairy tales. God had created Man in his own image, and yet, everyday in Nitro City, there were thousands of people paying fortunes to remake that image, preferring their own take on creation. Most of them did so willingly. Others, like him, weren’t really given a choice.

Try as he may, there was still something sympathetic in the heart of the hitman. Instead of watching in fascination or feeling the so-called “spirit of Christmas”, he scanned the crowd, his hand gracing the palm of his pistol. While he may not join in the caroling, he caught himself protecting the carolers from anyone who might destroy their special moment. His spirit might be weak, but his flesh was willing.

In that moment, he envied them; the singers…the hopeful…the believers. Had the lessons of his past not been what they were, who knew…he might even be among their number today. Though he couldn’t find it in his heart to believe, something within him respected their hope, and that something was willing to protect them.

-In our own special way, Merry Christmas from Catwalk and myself, and a very special “I Miss You” to Criss Oliva (1963-1993)

“I am the Way, I am the Light,

I am the dark inside the night,

I feel you hope, I feel your dreams,

And in the dark, I hear your screams,

Don’t turn away, just take my hand,

And when you make your final stand,

I’ll be right there…I’ll never leave,

All I ask of you is Believe.”

-Savatage, “Believe” (1991)

THE NOVEL IS DONE!

2007-11-29T22:38:00.000-05:00

Alright, that's not entirely true. I still have to revise, edit, format, and add an Epilogue, but the first version of book three is done. "Catwalk:Mercy Killing" is the third book featuring the Nitro City cop-turned-independent-contractor who once again finds himself in the midst of the nastiest villains in all of the city.

This time, Catwalk faces off against a ruthless power monger bent on enslaving all of society with cybernetic enhancements, goes toe-to-giant-toe with an armored Russian Mech, and has to deal with his own psychosis. How will our sometimes-hero, sometimes-ruthless-bastard survive? Only time will tell.

Mercy Killing came in around 53000 words, and that was after a few trim-the-fat sessions, so I'm really glad with the way this story evolved. NaNoWriMo, for those aspiring writers who haven't tried it, is one intense month. Don't ask how much Jack Daniel's I went through.

For those with an interest in Catwalk, Click Here.

One Love,

nK

Catwalk, Division and Lyrical Goodness

2007-11-19T23:29:00.000-05:00

"Don't waste your breath. Don't waste my time. If I hear one more excuse, I'll lose my mind."
- Lowen & Navarro

That's good stuff, isn't it? I love powerful lyrics. Friday night was a marathon night with JWP. Sunday night was an impromptu gig with Division. In all, not bad, and I'm glad work was slow enough Monday that I could recover.

I love music that holds a message and just sweeps over you like a wave burying a sandcastle. I got hit with one of those from an unlikely source. I was watching Scrubs, Season Two. There's an amazing episode ending including a musical number and a character named Elaine. Those who are familiar will already know where I'm coming from on this. Those who don't, go buy Scrubs from Season One on DVD and start there. You'll like it.

Catwalk is up to his helmet in trouble in the third book, "Catwalk: Mercy Killing". Progress is going better than I'd expected. Prostitutes, Russian assassins, political ambitious, arms dealers and more....stay tuned :)

Have a great holiday everyone. If you're traveling, stay safe!

One Love!

nK

Catwalk progress

2007-11-09T21:38:00.001-05:00

Time for major re-writes. I figured out tonight what the missing element was from the third Catwalk book, "Mercy Killing". I hadn't clearly designed the target of ire and hatred. What's a Catwalk book without a proper vehicle for ire and hatred? Well, I got it now (since the work week is wound down and i finished my first paper for school).

Now, 17000 words in, it's time to go back, add some cut-scenes a la all the cool video games, temper a few things to make the story gel more, and then it's back to blood, mayhem, gore and violence. In other words, time to unleash Catwalk again.

Stay tuned for more updates and samples!

One Love!

nK

Therion and NaNo

2007-11-04T23:15:00.001-05:00

Division and I had such a blast Friday night, playing our last show of 2007 and playing host to a great band. We had the honor of playing at Jaxx (last time till March, kids!) and it was the last date of the U.S. tour for what-the-hell-do-you-even-call-them band, Therion. The easiest way to explain Therion is this. I have no idea how it works.

The band features four vocalists, two male and two female, and an instrumental section that makes its living kicking people in the head. The music is heavy and straightforward, and the vocals provide such a myriad of textures that you simply don't know what's coming next.

Minnesota-based Aesma Daeva was Therion's touring partner, and they are a damned laugh riot. They interrupted the encore by appearing on stage with a cardboard boat, plastic viking helmets and axes. I thought I was going to cough up a lung, I was laughing so hard.

Locals Burning Shadows and Almost Human opened the show and really set the stage for us. We were so thankful that every band played and mingled without ego or incident.

Special congratulations to the contest winners; Candy Caine, Alicia Smith and Suzanne Glover. It was fun to finally break out "The Collector" on people.

Now, it's November, which means more NaNoWriMo. Time to get back to writing episode THREE in the Catwalk series, tentatively titled "Catwalk: Mercy Killing". More to follow.

One Love!

nK

Happy Halloween and Get Ready to Write!

2007-10-31T12:24:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone! It's that time for one of my favoritest of favorite holidays, and as much fun as it's been, it's just getting waylaid in the storm of all that is going on. We're on what amounts to Day Five of our Halloween celebration, including parties, Trick or Treating, more parties, Candy, parties...well, you get the idea.

Pup is the coolest Optimus Prime of all time. Far cooler than the crappy Gorilla version in the last few years, even cooler than the original, trailer with Rolly and all that. He wow'ed and dazzled everyone at my day job last night, and was spoiled as a result. Shocker.

Tonight is the culmination of our Halloween celebration. More Trick or Treating, and then I'm off to see Lizzy Borden on his new tour. Should be a riot. Cant' wait to see Jaxx tonight. I'll be there again Friday for Division's gig with Therion. We get to close up our "Dying to Be in a Division Song" contest that night, so it'll be a good time.

School is fun and exciting. Trying to fit in the reading and posting has been a little challenging with all else going on, but it's nice to be back in a learning environment. Not that I'm not always reading and learning for my day job, but now it's double the workload.

It's also 12 hours til we kick off the 2007 version of NaNoWriMo. The Third Catwalk book is on its way!

Ok, busy is as busy does...or was that stupid. Ah, either way. One Love!

nK

Charity Event All Wrapped Up

2007-10-22T20:53:00.000-04:00

Special thanks to everyone who made our Bottles and Throttles Charity Event the great time that it was. I had a chance to meet some wonderful people, and got a lot of support from a number of different organizations.

The weekend with the other Lou-Evil Psycles was up and down and a lot of fun. The ride was incredible and the weather couldn't have been better. We had three groups including a host of MC's, and I really enjoyed the camaraderie we shared, sport bike and Harley riders alike. Raider and the boys from the NoVa chapter of Military Veterans MC were great. They have an event on December 8th. If you're local, please support them.

Apparently, recovering from the weekend is going to be hard for some of us. The truck for the Psycles broke down on the way back to Louisville. I managed to get pummeled a few times by a wasp or yellow jacket or something, so I've got a swollen left hand. I then tried to manuever the house late last night and crashed into a glass picture frame, so I've got bandages and Benadryl for a couple of days.

Now that it's all behind us, it's time to focus on the next few things. School starts for me tomorrow! We have a Halloween party to prepare for, and Division's gig on November 2nd with Therion.

Thanks for listening...One Love!

nK

Back to School

2007-10-10T21:49:00.000-04:00

Cue the Danny Elfman music, this Cat is going back to school!

I finished my enrollment papers today to go back to school and finish up a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. I have an Associates in Business Administration now, but it doesn't really apply to what I'm doing. It helps to have market knowledge and economics, but not so much on the creative side.

With the courses I've already taken, I'll be at the halfway point by January. It's exciting. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage this in conjunction with recording the new Division CD, participating in NaNoWriMo, maintaining everything else I have going on, but I've always managed to get it done before. Just time to juggle.

For now, it's all about the Bottles and Throttles Charity Event on the 20th, and Division's last show this year with Therion (Nov 2nd)!

One Love!

nK

A refreshing visit from the past

2007-10-02T23:18:00.001-04:00

When I've described Catwalk in the past, I've sometimes said it's part Spider Man, Blade Runner and Akira in one. This past week, I got to dig a little deeper into one of those ingredients.

Fans of Blade Runner know that there are several versions, and several possible endings, but the biggest debate usually comes around the presence of Harrison Ford's voiceover track as he plays Deckard. It's either loved or hated in most cases. Regardless of anyone's stance on what it adds or takes away, it's obvious that the studio wanted to create the Film Noir detective flavor to Deckard's character. It's a throwback to the more famous detectives in the past.

This week on Sirius satellite radio, the Radio Classics channel (118) had "Detectives Week". That meant an endless marathon of Dragnet, Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, Johnny Dollar, Sam Spade, and more. It was so much fun to immerse myself in the old school suspense around Private Investigators and the like. The timing couldn't have been better as I'm sitting down to edit Catwalk:Lineage before taking part in NaNoWriMo to write the third installment of the Catwalk series. (Messiah was written over the past year but hasn't undergone edits yet.)

Among the shows I enjoyed was The Saint, featuring Vincent Price as Simon Templar, aka the title character. Price's off-the-cuff delivery to clients, bartenders, cabbies or even villains made for a great visit to some of Catwalk's own sarcastic traits. Fortunately, I get a chance to listen to more of it, thanks to the online stores that sell that material, and Sybir's aunt carrying a similar love for the detective classics.

That's it for now. Back to the scalpel and editing Lineage. Don't forget the Bottles and Throttles Event on Oct. 20th.

One Love!

nK

Bottles and Throttles

2007-09-12T16:11:00.000-04:00

That's right, kids. Attention is now demanded since we are moving full speed towards our 2nd Annual Charity Event for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

The date is OCTOBER 20th!

We now have the support of Motorcycle Factory, Inc, in Woodbridge, VA. We'll be staging there so if you want to shop in the morning, expect us from 9-11am. Then we're off for the ride, ending at Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA for an afternoon concert, raffles, prizes, games and more. It's totally a family-friendly experience.

Our goal this year is $3000 so we need help! Donations and information are located at the following: www.catklaw.com/charity

Brother Bob said it best...ONE LOVE!

nK

End to the Messiah

2007-09-04T23:33:00.000-04:00

Grab your attention? I hope so.

Tonight marks the finish line for the second Catwalk novel, "Catwalk:Messiah" at a rough draft of 55,925 words. This is the precursor to last year's "Catwalk:Lineage" which is about to get severely edited as a result of ten months of new learning. Messiah is the name of the first book, and the first villain, a religious radical who unleashes a technological army on the city in an attempt to meet his demands.

To read the prologue, hit the Samples page. Very soon, the chatbook will be available with the prologue and chapter one to help generate some interest.

Special thanks to the many influences and supporting cast who helped me finish this milestone. Plenty more to come!

One Love,

nK

2007-08-22T21:28:00.000-04:00

What's the right adjective here....blessed? honored? excited? I don't think there is one, so I'll defer to my usual - revved up. (Thanks to Jim Steinman and Meatloaf)

Today was a very interesting day. While dodging the contagious chaos running amok at work, I managed to track down and discover a great number of very cool resources. Some were literally dropped in my lap (thanks Sybir and Lin). Others took a little phenaga....fennnaga....(sigh) others took a little effort.

Courtesy of author J.T. Bock, we learned of a search engine where you send a penny to your charity of choice with every search. It's titled GoodSearch. check it out here.

Courtesy of the radiant Lin, we learned of several places to virtually volunteer your time! Check out DoSomething.org for info.

We also solidified Adopt-a-Highway efforts for both my day job and our own company, CatKlaw. I can't wait.

Off to write. One Love!

nK

Honored and Beaten Up

2007-08-19T23:18:00.001-04:00

This weekend was awesome. It was an educational mix of good and bad, with plenty of lessons filed inside my spinning skull. First of all, Mike and I stayed after rehearsal on Thursday night to record vocals for Division's upcoming demo. I haven't recorded anything with Division in a few years (despite doing some of my solo stuff). It was fun to see how different things are when you're trying to do it all yourself, rather than have a dedicated engineer. The demo is being mixed now (poor Mike!) and we'll have a few songs on hand in Chicago next weekend at Midwest Metal Anthem.

Friday night, Division performed for a sold-out crowd at Jaxx Nightclub (opening for Kamelot). Before we played, Jaxx owner and long-time friend, Jay Nedry, announced the band's induction into the club's Hall of Fame. It was really breathtaking, having been on that stage dozens of times and watching the club stand firm and prosper for the last thirteen years.

Sore from the festivities, I wound up knocking about twenty things off of my "take care of the house" list on Saturday. It also meant contacting a potential staging partner for October's Caring for Kids Charity Event for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Much more on that in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled.

Saturday night, Sybir and I had the night to ourselves and elected to write and research instead of go out. Too bad neither of us is writing an erotica novel at the moment...that research is always so much fun. haha.

Sunday was mostly a recovery day, other than the website updates, the networking, chores and another rehearsal. It's back to the work week tomorrow morning, so it's time to get the next piece written to Catwalk:Messiah.

Be good out there. One Love!

nK

HorrorFind Weekend in Baltimore

2007-08-11T23:42:00.000-04:00

This afternoon and evening, Sybir, Pup and I trekked up to Hunt Valley, MD to check in on the semi-annual HorrorFind Weekend. This was not the first time Sybir and I have been to that location, having attended a few sci-fi conventions in the past to help sell some of our old works. Thi was, however, Pup's first time at a horror con.

For the adults wondering why anyone would take a toddler to a horror convention, save it. He was prepped with a few week's guidance that skulls and brains and fake blood were all just rubber and latex. They weren't any scarier than the punching dummy at Karate class. How did he do? The only time he even looked twice at a "scary" person was when he questioned the Toxic Avenger for wearing a tutu.

I got a chance to meet a number of people and drop some Division CD's in the hands of folks who I think we'll partner with in the future. As for the talent there, Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters, Congo, The Crow, Oz) was absolutely drawn to Pup and embraced him like they'd know one another forever. The local crew filming Women's Studies was very kind. The guys behind the upcoming film, Hatchet, were very engaging, and there were several other actors and actresses who were very sweet to Pup as well.

There was a ton of stuff there to help promote the film I've been raving about, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.

In the near future, the results will be engaging a lot of these folks either with Division or through Horrorview.com so keep your eyes peeled on results!

After that, we hung with my buds Andrew and MB and attended an art exhibition opening down at the Ottobar in Baltimore. The artist is a talented young lady named Erin. If you get a chance to hit Ottobar this week, head upstairs for a sneak peek.

One Love!

nK

The Writing Mindset

2007-08-09T19:14:00.000-04:00

The last few nights have been very productive from a writing standpoint. I completed a few more chapters on Catwalk:Messiah, including a fight scene that lasted two pretty long chapters by itself. Fortunately, I get into Cat's head pretty easily, so I managed to find the writing mindset again. The problem has been that this story is essentially four different things - a comic book type novel, a romance, an action movie and on some levels, a comedy.

Of course there will be edits and rewrites, but for right now, the core product is really coming along well. Cat gets to take on quite a number of nasties this time around, while still trying to keep himself human between the ears.

Fortunately, work has lightened up some, though I've added a few more community projects through the Outreach Committee. Of course, we're still doing our Caring for Kids Event on October 20th to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

A non-marketing post

2007-08-05T22:37:00.000-04:00

I have nothing to sell you.

Alright, well, that's a load of chit since I'm a performer and therefore I'm always selling myself out to anyone who will listen, but for this post, I'm putting that on hold. Yes, there are shows coming up. Yes, there is a contest going on. Yes, we're busier than ever with both bands, but tonight isn't about that.

Most of you know I'm the father of a positively amazing toddler. Tonight, we decided we would try to expand his knowledge by watching The Safe Side's video titled "Stranger Safety". This film was put together by John Walsh (America's Most Wanted) and Julie Clark (Little Einsteins). It's intended to teach children of dangerous situations and how to react to them. The film includes safety tips, scenarios and a host called the Safe Side Super Chick.

My son enjoyed it so much, we watched it twice.

What was astounding was not that he found it entertaining. He found it important. At a toddler's age, to differentiate between a Transformer or Lightning McQueen or Dora the Explorer to something that means a great deal outside of simple entertainment on a screen, I found that positively breathtaking.

I give all the credit to his mom. ;)

Stay safe out there. Plenty more to discuss soon...

One Love!

nK

Dead Girls, New Songs, Aliens, Movies and a Nod to History

2007-07-30T21:54:00.000-04:00

That sound like enough stuff to handle at once, well, you know how The Cat likes to roll by now, I hope.

First up: Dead Girls. The "Die to Be in a Division Song" contest is rolling along nicely with several very very convincing entries, including a few drownings and a damn convincing corpse. Details are here:

Entries now in for the "Dying To Be In A Division Song?" Contest! Click for Details!

After that, let's go to New Songs. The Band is recording demo tracks now for two of our brand new songs, and we'll play 'em for the crowd at Midwest Metal Anthem in Lansing, IL in August. Don't miss out. First new Division chit in THREE YEARS!

Aliens? Well, that's a guilty pleasure. As a writer, I love drawing resource material by playing my characters in RPG's. This week, City of Heroes launched Issue 10 (read: expansion pack) where the aliens come back and assault the city. Very cool stuff.

Movies? Too funny not to share. My pup and I watched the 1959 debacle, "The Giant Gila Monster" yesterday, invoking fits of laughter from us both. Look for a review at Horrorview.com!

Finally, a nod to history. It goes without saying that I respect Bruce Lee, not only as the baddest MF ever to walk the earth, but as a very inspiring philosopher. Sybir and Pup have both recently returned to the Dojo, and with that, I felt a need to open their eyes to the work of the Dragon. Last weekend, "Fists of Fury" was the feature film. This weekend, Jim Kelly, John Saxon and Master Bruce himself will be on display when we sit down to enjoy "Enter the Dragon".

Take care out there. See you all soon!

One Love,
nK

Killer Weekend, and More Dying to be in a Division Song updates!

2007-07-18T21:49:00.000-04:00

So, this past weekend, we played two shows. One in which everything went horribly wrong, and the other where everything went so amazingly well, it was hard to believe. Special thanks to everyone who came out to Rocks in Richmond on Saturday night and Jaxx in Springfield on Saturday night.

There's plenty of talk about it over on the Division official site.

While we were in Richmond, some of the Divisionettes got together and took pics for the "Dying to be in a Division song" contest we're running.

Division Announces the "Dying To Be In A Division Song?" Contest! Click for Details!

They'll be posted to the gallery soon. Since then, work has been a whirlwind, but I got to the gym today and Sybir walked me through an arm workout developed by the late, legendary Bruce Lee. I'm already feeling it so it's time for some bourbon and the hot tub!

One Love!

nK

Division Weekend

2007-07-14T01:18:00.000-04:00

It's a three-pronged Division attack this weekend, when the band hits Rocks in Richmond on Saturday night, then Jaxx in Springfield on Sunday night. What's the third prong? Heh, several of the Divisionettes will be snappin' photos as part of the "Die to Be in a Division Song" contest!

Check out all details on www.division-usa.com/contest.php

There may still be a ticket or two if you feel like comin' out Sunday night to watch Testament with us.

One Love!

nK

Giant Robots, Wire Work and Killing Chicks

2007-07-09T00:55:00.000-04:00

What a weekend!

I caught Transformers on Friday, that was everything it was cracked up to be. I'm sure I'll be back to see it again before it leaves theaters. The rest of the weekend was spent suspending disbelief while watching movies heavy on action and light on plot. That haul included Elektra, Ultraviolet and Bulletproof Monk. The kid and I even watched Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, which was a riot.

Did you realize the same guy who wrote Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, and Bat Thumb also wrote Patch Adams? Steve Oedekirk is more talented that most people will give him credit for. He's also a whack job.

Once again, I have to announce Division's contest to kill women to be in one of our tunes.

Division Announces the "Dying To Be In A Division Song?" Contest! Click for Details!

Check it out, at your own peril! haha

Alright, a week of hell at work coming up, followed by a busy Division weekend.

One Love!

nK

End of Quarter - Division and JWP get Busy!

2007-06-29T21:05:00.000-04:00

Not like that kind of "get busy", get yer head outta the gutter!

With my day job in a sales organization, it's end of the quarter which means a huge exhale and maybe a chance to lay low for a bit. We'll see.

JWP is jammin downtown at Asylum tomorrow night at the After Party for the DC Roller Girls. Hit the site for details.

As for Division, well, we're live twice in July, and like I mentioned, our contest launched this week, as well as our virtual street teams. gonna be a blast!

Much gratitude to everyone who's responded so quickly, and thanks to DJ Angel on The Cape Radio for helpin us out in the virtual world!

one love!

nK

Die Die DIE!!!!

2007-06-23T00:49:00.001-04:00

How do you celebrate the end of an overworked week with way too little sleep? You do something completely off the wall!

In this case, Sybir and I designed a contest for Division's summer tour, in one of the oddest twists ever to cross our minds.

Short version - We have a song where a guy kills a bunch of women. We're asking Division fans to snap shots of themselves and post them to our gallery in order to become the victims and be immortalized in song.

Sybir went so far as to goth out tonight, lay down on our garage floor and go with black hair. In all, we had so much fun branching off from the day to day routine crap. I hope it's a huge success.

Details are available at THIS LINK.

one love

nK

Along for the Ride

2007-06-18T22:11:00.001-04:00

Wow, ever have one of those stretches where you felt like you were behind the wheel but not controllin' the car? That's me right now.

With Division playing a ton of gigs and recording, and Just Wanna Play really taking off in our gig schedule, the hours I have outside of work are disappearing. Work has picked up considerably too, with a new product set and an expanded territory. I really dig what I do, and I think the company is moving towards a landscape-changing time with the upcoming Endpoint Protection product.

Our son is still the same full-throttle little dude he always is, and he's so much fun. Tonight was Spongebob, baseball, Thomas the Tank Engine, Freak Kitchen and Tim Easton. Whew! After what Sybir had me doin' at the gym (not THAT!), it's hot tub time. God bless the Ghost of Jack Daniel.

Anyway, Saturday, JWP hits the stage at the Big Boy Toy Show in Fredericksburg. Come on down if you wanna check out cars, boats, chicken wings and good music.

One Love!

nK

Division Returns To The Stage

2007-06-11T23:55:00.000-04:00

Okay, ow, my neck is sore. Why shouldn't it be? Division, the metal band I front, returned to perform our first live show in seven months last night. We had the fortune of playing with some great local talent, as well as some long-time legends in Metal. Doro Pesch, formerly of Warlock, headlined the show. Joey Belladonna from Anthrax and Chris Caffery from Savatage also played. What a great night.

It felt phenomenal to come out on the Jaxx stage and rip peoples' heads off. Not literally, but hell, almost! The new material is infectious, and to see the crowd getting into things from the first note was a great experience.

We won't be waiting this long for the next show. It's almost exactly a month away when we tailor our set to be even heavier and open for the Bay Area thrash gods, Testament! Details up on the official Division site.

Today was a recovery day in which I didn't get to recover. Work went crazy, I was yanked in twenty different directions around a potential gig for JWP and little man wanted to take two hours to fall asleep tonight. Hey, when it rains....what's the rest of that, drink Jack, right?

One love!

nK

JWP - A Year of Change...In a Good Way!

2007-06-06T22:21:00.000-04:00

If anyone would have asked me a year ago what Just Wanna Play would be doing in 2007, I'd have missed the mark with my guess...by a long, long shot!

JWP came together in quite a chaotic manner. Several of us were playing in a sort of party rock formula band called Suckerpunch. We decided to try a nice, modular approach that could go do acoustic shows, or scale up and have a full-blown six-piece band with more harmonies than you could shake a tuning fork at.

Ok, so we got that part down. There have been two-person, three-person, even seven-person performances in the past six months. It's just the nature of the performances that comes as a surprise. In addition to doing shows like the DC Roller Girls Anniversary Party and our regular gig at Happy Endings bar in Fredericksburg, we're branching out. This year we've done wedding receptions, charity shows and even a Family Fun Day at an Elementary School.

A lot of it comes from the fact that we're the most accurately named band in the known universe. Everyone in this band just loves to play and sing music. I think there are plenty of rehearsals which we enjoy just as much as gigging out (and I have NEVER said that about any band I've been in). From my perspective (warped as it may be), I'm hitting 20 years as a "gigging" musician, and this band is the most fun I can ever remember.

We hope we get a chance for everyone who reads this (and plenty of others) to get together with us and enjoy the music as much as we do. Be safe, have fun, and we'll see ya soon!

nK, JWP

(Next Gig - June 16th: Happy Endings Bar - 1315 Princess Anne St, Fredericksburg, VA)

Gigs, Baby, Gigs!

2007-06-03T23:41:00.000-04:00

Danny, Cheyanne, Ray and I just wrapped up a great gig at the Family Festival at Chevy Chase Elementary School. We played nice radio edits of a number of our tunes we crank out in Just Wanna Play. Obviously, stuff like "I Touch Myself", "Crazy Bitch" and "Suck My Kiss" were withheld from the set list!

Three more gigs this month...Division cranks it out with Doro Pesch, Chris Caffery and Joey Belladonna on Sunday, June 10th. JWP is out on the 16th at Happy Endings in Fredericksburg, and then the 30th at Asylum in DC with our babies, the DC Roller Girls!

Saturday night, the Cat is loose! Join me with Sybir and Mijo at the DC Sportbike Riders' 5th Anniversary Party in Oxen Hill, MD. It's gonna be reeeeeeeediculous!

One love!

nK

Back to Basics

2007-05-29T01:09:00.000-04:00

Tonight involved so much developmental training, it's absurd. I took a broader view of the latest Catwalk writing project and decided I needed more structure. As a result, I went and wrote out a more defined outline of Catwalk:Messiah.

In addition, I watched a film regarding demons and the supernatural. "Fallen Angels" by Jeff Thomas was pretty good! I was surprised by how many industy vets showed up in that film.

Anyway, back to work after a great weekend in the company of Sybir. See you this week!

One Love!

nK

Unique Experience on my Bday

2007-05-18T21:00:00.000-04:00

Alright, so it's completely out of the norm, but duh, it's me. Today, Danny and I represented Just Wanna Play (since we're the founders and all) and played one of the most unique shows I've ever played. We performed at Chevy Chase Elementary School for 600 students, sending them off on their way on a 1.3 mile walk to benefit the Cistic Fibrosis Foundation. We played for them again when they returned, logging probably 45 minutes of music total, but it was an absolute blast.

One of the participants was a student with Cistic Fibrosis, whose mother assisted in setting up this leg of the CFF Great Strides event. The last estimate was that the kids raised almost $3000!

We made a lot of new fans, a bunch of new friends, and even got a visit from Montgomery County's police department. It was a strange day. Anyway, my best to Danny for helping me do something strange and creative on my 34th bday.

One Love!

nK

Happy Birthday to MEEEEE

2007-05-18T00:39:00.000-04:00

Yeah, yeah, it's my birthday.

No more 33 for me, just on the jersey not the driver's license. Ah, well. When you're as happy with your life as I am, you tend not to give a chit about how old you are.

I'm still greatly reveling in the Lowen & Navarro concert from last week. What an inspiration. If things go as planned, I'll have a very cool story from scheduled events in the next two days. That's what we call a teaser, kids. Make sure you check back this time tomorrow. I think I'll have some cool stuff to discuss.

In the interim, I aced an exam and am now an agent for U First Financial, meaning I can help homeowners' pay off their mortgage in as little as half the time it would take now. I know, it sounds like a gimmick. I wouldn't believe it myself if we didn't use the program here at home. Ask me more about it via email if you want, and we can discuss your free analysis.

I had a writing session last night with the girl who created Delilah Dupree, which was fun. We kept missing one another. It was great to finally sync up.

JWP had a fun and productive rehearsal on Monday night. Fun, productive and slightly intoxicated I should say... Anyway, the idea I had for Desert Skies worked, so expect to hear that one on the site soon.

Division continues to ramp up for our June 10th gig with Doro. Our bassist is back in the country, so that helps. haha.

Enough blabber. Go get some sleep! One Love!

nK

A Lesson In Dedication

2007-05-12T00:33:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, timing is everything.

I finally listened to Mike and Malena and agreed to go see an act I've long put off seeing, for the stupid, selfish and readily available excuses most people put off things. Daily routine, tiredness, business, blah blah blah-ness, whatever. Tonight, I am very glad I didn't let one of those little things get in the way of leaving the house.

Sybir and I joined M&M to watch Lowen & Navarro perform a captivating set live at The Birchmere in Shirlington, VA. For those who don't know, this duo wrote the Pat Benatar hit, "We Belong", which has recently resurfaced in The Office, Talladega Nights, and other places. The other amazing thing to understand about the band is that Eric Lowen suffers...no, not quite...has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).

We watched a wheelchair-stricken man and his writing partner perform uplifting and heart-touching material for one of the rawest emotional concerts I've ever attended. I think we all, honestly, were grateful for the chance to see this show.

The ALS Association's Advocacy Day and public press conference this year take place on May 14-16th in Washington, DC.

Next time you let something little get in your way from accomplishing a big thing, don't.

One Love,

nK

Sick and got what done?

2007-05-08T22:32:00.000-04:00

Ok, day three of being sick and hobbling. Let's see, for all those folks who marvel at the pace at which Sybir and I manage to keep going. Yesterday: Up at 6 am, Cardio. Showered, Shaved, got all my stuff together, went to work (which was just more getting accustomed to the new role), drove home. Pup and I switched out the solar lights for eight new ones, mulched some of the front yard, ran the sprinkler. Got him in, gave him a bath, he sacked out in the truck during a little drive intended to do just that. Got back home, hit the hot tub, drank some Jack, wrote just about another thousand words in Catwalk:Messiah, imaged a desktop to do a restore, watched a 38 minute training video, rapped at a few friends, and set up everything for work today.

Can't wait till I'm healthy again.

Don't forget - June 10th: Division @ Jaxx with Doro and Belladonna
August 17th: Division @ Jaxx with Kamelot

get yer tix from us by hitting the link above.

One Love!

nK

Back Home = Hell Yeah!

2007-05-03T23:03:00.000-04:00

Welcome home, Cat!

Work-
Man, four days of Chicago is enough of Chicago when you're bustin' in a new job, meetin' new peeps, learnin' new products, and trying to keep all the other stuff I'm usually juggling.

Music-
Division is juggling a few new tunes to play for our June 10th gig with Doro and Belladona. We have some never-before-heard material that people are definitely going to wanna catch. Cool stuff, plus maybe a new cover, who knows? Also, check our MySpace page for a live version of Greed!

Writing-
I tried to sleep on the plane tonight. No dice, so instead I managed to sketch out Pestylence; one of the villains in the current Catwalk novel draft. I have a few of the others already designed and written out but Pest is the first one I decided to sketch. I'll post some to this site when they're done as an update to the book.

Ok, I've seen enough power point in the last few days to choke a mule so I'm off. One Love!

nK

Moving Forward - Division, JWP, MC and Catwalk

2007-04-24T23:16:00.000-04:00

To say it's been an eventful night would be the equivalent of saying the Jim Jones mass suicide was "kinda upsetting". In the past ten days, I've had my day job change 180 degreees, my wife really dive deeply into her new role, our Motorcycle Club potentially double in size, my favorite team bounced from the playoffs, and my son prepare for pre-shcool. That's quite a deep-dish pizza, my devoted friends.

Sybir swapped my schedule, leading to some cardio at 6:30 this morning, which should set the tone for this post. She's awesome, and the camo pants are just a tempting little finger drawing me to go to bed early. JWP finished another gig at Happy Endings this weekend, having an absolute blast while eating the fact that we played on the first gorgeous day of summer.

Meanwhile, Division continues to work on selling tix to our next gig, June 10th with Doro. Old school metal heads will not want to miss out on this gig with the former vocalist from Warlock!

Other than that, the edits continue for Catwalk: Messiah. Stand by for more free samples on the writing page!

one love!

nK

Messiah update

2007-04-19T01:51:00.000-04:00

I didn't even touch the latest Catwalk novel till after 1 am, but fortunately, the creative juices are flowing. I managed to get close to the 20k word count from just a 20 minute sprint or so. Cat has his true enemy in mind, while readers can expect a callback to the prologue and a little more insight into some of Cat's allies. Stay tuned!

Brief time away from writing...Sin City and JWP

2007-04-17T00:42:00.000-04:00

Ok, on the briefest of breaks from workin on Catwalk:Messiah. I'm over 18000 words already, and that's after hacking...or as Joe Konrath or Sybir would say...editing...a few scenes.

I'm solidifying a few scenes and the techniques that come into building them. I'm excited about how much the story is writing itself as well as guiding me to put some cohensiveness to what I have so far.

On the music front, a three-plus hour rehearsal tonight puts Just Wanna Play in a prime position for our gig Saturday night at Happy Endings! Come on out and support us.

Other than that, Vegas was a blast, including clubbing with David Hasselhoff, meeting Penn and Teller, and drinking more than a normal human's share. Now that I'm home, it's back to focus on education and safety for the kids, and community work while JWP works up to more regular gigs and Division finishes the touches on the next CD.

I also had the chance to meet author Chris Gardiner, whose book, The Pursuit of Happyness, was recently adapted to movie form, starring Will Smith. It's an amazing story, worth a long, hard look from anyone who grew up without a parent.

One Love!
nK

Division continues, Catwalk update, NCMEC and More

2007-04-07T00:15:00.000-04:00

No April Fool's jokes, just more writing.

Division had a band meeting last night. We're almost Nine songs into the next CD, with the probability of writing more before deciding on a studio, mastering and duplication. We want to do this RIGHT, not necessarily quick, so stand by, be patient and enjoy the surprises that will be coming from us in the next few months.

With some very cool HELP, we've taken the first steps toward the 2nd Annual Caring for Kids Charity Event, to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. That's going to be a very fun event, so check back often for details.

The Catwalk fans out there should know that the working draft of Catwalk:Messiah is over the 17000 word mark, with some fun emotional rollercoaster stuff coming out tonight.

Next gigs: Just Wanna Play - April 21st at Happy Endings
Division - June 10th at Jaxx with Doro and Belladona, August 17th with Kamelot

One Love!
nK

New Division Song - almost

2007-04-01T22:56:00.000-04:00

How does a song find the page and the recording media to become a real live entity? It really depends on the individual or group putting it together, and what dictates the feel and flow of the music. In the case of lyrics, often times it's something that isn't at the forefront of your thinking, but rather something lurking in the background.

Tonight, Division made a lot of progress on song #9 for the upcoming CD, and the evolution of the lyrics was really in sync with the music. We were sort of direction-less for a while, but once we decided on a flow for the song, the framework for the words came together as well. It sounds too vague in those terms, but let me dig a little deeper and explain.

I tend to write from the chorus out, meaning I want a good powerful hook first, and then I'll work on the verses, and the story surrounding it. That's what has been the most effective in my experience, and it's helped to make the kind of song that fans go home singing to themselves. (For an example, check out Hunt on Division's MySpace page.) In this case, I did just that. I started with a hook and wanted to build the rest of the song around it.

The problem was, it was just too vague. I had sort of a "fight through it all to get back to the one you love" beginning vibe, but as we started to drive the song and write more, I started getting more specific. It moved to more of a parent-child vibe, and then got really specific when I realized how much I was affected by a friends' situation.

Two good friends of mine are married and have been for a while. The husband has a child from a previous marriage, and until recently, his son has been in the custody of his mother. His mother is a lunatic, and decided to plant the child in front of a computer screen as a babysitter instead of giving a shit what happened to him. Given the Internet and curious hormones of a young teenager, the child found one thing, then several, and eventually was psychologically diagnosed as having an addiction to pornography. I can't begin to think where his life would wind up if he continued to have that level of exposure to unfiltered images on the world wide web.

His father recently got custody, which is where the song fits in. While not addressing that specific issue, it addresses a father fighting to get back to his child, who has been told he is the enemy and has no place in that child's life. Not sure if that makes any sense, but for those who are totally wondering what sort of thoughts go into the evolution of the new Division material, there ya go.

Be safe out there!
One Love,
nK

JWP @ RNR

2007-04-01T03:03:00.001-04:00

Special thanks to every guy and grrl who came out and supported Just Wanna Play's successful debut at RNR Bar and Lounge in DC tonight! We had such a blast breaking out some of our new material, even just to watch the shock on several faces at our new medley blocks!

RNR was gracious enough to give us a good spot, even with some bumps in the road, including a first-time soundguy and a pretty jumbled lineup. We want to extend our support to Flo Anito who opened the night, Omega Band who followed up with us, and the closer, who suffered through having half their lineup not post.

Another thank you goes to Christine behind the bar, who helped us keep a smile on our faces all night.

Next stop - April 21st at Happy Endings! You know that will be a good time!

See ya there!
JWP

Yet More Writing and Updated Links

2007-03-29T22:57:00.000-04:00

Updating a links page may not be big news, but in this case, I feel like it is. Not only did we review code and get the Family Watchdog information posted (the site for the National Sex Offender Registry) but also the java applet for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. So, take a look at those very important sites, as well as the other great people I have linked on that page.

I topped 14000 words on the Catwalk:Messiah working draft, and I have the rest outlined pretty well. It should be a good time as I move along here. Got a few great character tie-in ideas the other night.

JWP plays Saturday night at the RNR Bar and Lounge in downtown DC. We're on around 10, so if you're in DC, come on by.

Division is halfway through another brutal tune for the upcoming CD. We also added a new LIVE performance from last year to our MySpace page. We've got tickets already for the next shows, so don't hesitate to drop me a line for tix to see Division with Doro in June and Kamelot in August!

One Love!
nK

Writing Continues - More Messiah

2007-03-24T23:20:00.000-04:00

I just fleshed out the plot some more for Catwalk:Messiah, and it should be pretty damn good once it's done. The plot outline alone is 1300 words already, with the draft of the story over 12k. I'm sure the word count will go up and down with edits, but isn't that the point?

JWP rehearsal in the morning. One week till our gig at RNR Bar and Lounge! Have a good weekend, everyone!

One Love!

nK

New Tune!

2007-03-19T23:36:00.000-04:00

Well, they hit you out of the blue from time to time but I wrote another song tonight, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Just Wanna Play handles it. After adding my insomniac song last month, "I Don't Wanna Dream Tonight", we added Danny's compassionate tune, "One More At The Bar" last week. Tonight, I finished a song called "Envelope" about a woman finally seeking out her independence from an unhappy relationship that goes really sour. I'm excited. I've rarely intentionally written something for someone else to sing, and I'm hoping this one works for the targeted, talented songbird in mind.

if all else fails, I still have the tune "Pool Boy" that I'm wrapping up, which is essentially bad pr0n to a groove tune.

One Love!
nK

Hurricane of a Weekend

2007-03-18T22:14:00.000-04:00

Okay, where to begin? Let's start with Saturday. Once Comcast decided it was okay for us to have internet connectivity again, I managed to get a few things done. Just Wanna Play had a gig at our little hole in the wall, guaranteed good time of a place, Happy Endings, in Fredericksburg. We had some technical difficulties, breaking a power amp, a tuner, a guitar string, a door handle and a light fixture within two hours. Happy St. Patty's Day!

Sybir is now a Doctor, having her dissertation approved. Wow. I'm as proud as it gets!

Horrorview is chugging along. If you haven't checked it out, Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon had it's theatrical release this weekend. Totally worth checkin out!

Division rehearsed tonight after another two hour JWP rehearsal. Division's hitting the stage again in June. JWP is in downtown DC in two weeks at the RNR. Don't miss it!

Ok, back to the day job bright and early tomorrow, so sweet dreams all! Lata!

One Love!
nK

Ocho Down, More To Go

2007-03-11T22:33:00.000-04:00

As a finale' to a marathon day, Division rehearsal resulted in the final touches to song number eight for our upcoming CD. It's another touching song where a not-so-innocent victim gets nixed by the storyteller. With three songs specifically not killing people, there's still a double-digit body count. Things are looking good and bloody.

What made it a marathon? Well, for starters, my brother came into town and we hit the party for Pure Elegance and hung out with our homies in DCSR. We got home at 4 AM or so, then it was up early for a 10 AM Just Wanna Play rehearsal. We're all ramped up for our gig Saturday night at Happy Endings for our St. Patty's Day celebration. Then it was working on the cars and motorcycles in the afternoon. Our pup had his bday party this afternoon, then it was off to Division rehearsal. Ack.

Anyway, it was a good long time, so tonight, it's blog, post some notes from the CD, toast to the Ghost of Jack Daniel, and hit the sheets around midnight. I hope everyone had as much fun this weekend as we did!

One Love!
nK

New Catwalk Novel Begun

2007-03-08T23:04:00.000-05:00

I managed to get the outline written for the Catwalk novel in the works. The humorous part is that it's the predecessor to the one I already finished in November. The goal is to have this one finished by next November and write book three in the next NaNo, though, this may wind up as Book Two and Lineage Book Three. So I'd have to write Book One or Four.

Never mind.

JWP is ready to roll, almost. Going to be fun. D sent out the new mix of Take It Easy by the Eagles. We'll put it up on our site so check it out. Next gig: St Patty's Day, March 17th, at Happy Endings in Fredericksburg. Stay tuned!

It's the pup's 3rd bday today, so it's good to be home from the insanity of VA Beach. I like my job but offseason, that place is a nightmare. Road stuff is fun, but when you have a Sybir and pup at home, there's nowhere better.

One Love!
nK

Writing Frenzy

2007-03-02T00:04:00.000-05:00

Since I got back from vacation, I've been in the mood to just write, write, write. I blame J.A. Konrath, author of the Jack Daniels mystery series.

I first read Joe's writing in a short story in the book Thriller, which is a compilation of short stories from a ton of different writers. As it turns out, he's a knowledgeable instructor on writing techniques as well as getting published, and marketing yourself. I'm looking forward to meeting him, like Rogue Poet had a chance to do at Backspace.

Division is close to completion on yet another tune, which gets us very close to the mark we want for CD #4. There's still more to come, though, so don't think we're done just yet. We do have tix for our next show already, so drop a line if you wanna come visit.

I got pics from vacation today...3.5 Gigs worth. God bless my shutterbug buddies who were there with us. From my son's spot as Guest Conductor on the train, to the fireworks, there are some great shots. I got to spend a morning in the shark cage with some Atlantic Blacktips, Nurse sharks, and Sand Tiger sharks. (they go through like 22000 teeth in their lifetime. wow!)

Ok, back to writing.
One Love!
nK

Back from the Sunshine State

2007-02-27T22:09:00.000-05:00

Yep, I'm back, with the family, alive and well. We had a blast this vacation, including trips to Disney parks, Sea World, Discovery Cove and a whole lot more. I ran in to the drummer from Autograph, got in a shark cage, and even got my tail down to Tampa Bay to catch a Bolts game. In all, it was the best vacation I've had in years.

The crew was me, my better half,our son, and my mom-in-law. We met up twice my my co-worker and his partner, and those two boys know more about the unwritten areas of Disney than anyone on earth. It was a great vacation.

I'm off tomorrow, going to recoup with the writings of one of my new favorite authors, and I'll see ya later this week with details of new info from Division, Lou-Evil Psycles and Just Wanna Play!

One Love!
nK

Off to Florida

2007-02-21T23:55:00.000-05:00

Hate on me if you want, but I'm off to sunny Florida for the better part of a week. Sybir and I are heading southbound. I get to embark on some serious Disney action, along with a couple of Bolts' games and some good times with some buddies who are down there the same time. Stay warm and safe till we get back!

One Love!
nK

Lots of new stuff on the sites

2007-02-18T11:14:00.000-05:00

After doing some reading last night, I went through and made some sweeping changes to the Division official and MySpace sites, as well as a few to my own. Now it's up to viewers to find 'em and check 'em out.

The links page got a ton of new material on it, most around education and protection of children, since that's a near and dear cause. Also, check out Cassandra Lee's link on the page. She's a very focused and vocal horror author.

Rehearsal tonight. Still chugging away on new songs for the CD. Really excited about what we've got so far. Disturbing stuff, which is fun. As Jimmy Neutron says, "Gotta Blast!"

One Love!
nK

Balancing Act

2007-02-15T22:50:00.000-05:00

Since Sybir relaunched our company's online magazine, we've had a fun time covering many different topics. I recently had the chance to write about balancing music endeavors as well as personal life and a career. Check the post out over on Claws in Creativity.

We also came across a great campaign to educate teens about information exposure online. It's called 2 SMRT 4U and is in conjunction with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Check it out and get your ring today!

One Love!
nK

Holy Fort Knox Batman

2007-02-13T00:34:00.000-05:00

So by forgetting to hit record on a little four track, I recovered two old tracks which are not bad tunes at all with a little updating. While recording the new tune, "I Don't Wanna Dream Tonight", I found versions of both "Winter Sky" and "Music Box Dancer" that I would have recorded over if I had remembered the steps in the user manual.

Lucky me, they're both good tunes. I'll post the demo version of the new tune soon to the JWP site. Stick around for plenty more news.

One Love!
nK

Songs come from the oddest places

2007-02-10T02:10:00.000-05:00

So what do you do if you are an incurable insomniac? You stay up and write a song about insomnia.

Thanks to my inability to sleep, I just finished the lyrics and music to a new piece titled "I Don't Want To Dream Tonight" which will most likely make its debut at the next JWP gig in March.

As for the band, we finished up a chaotic night at our bar away from home, Happy Endings, featuring a load of good music, plenty of beautiful women, and a lot of imbibing. Our next stop is the RNR Bar and Lounge just across from Verizon Center on March 10th. Do NOT miss that gig!

One Love!
nK

Drrrrrrrrum Roll Please!

2007-02-09T09:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight's the night in Fredericksburg, VA. Just Wanna Play returns our happy asses to the set of Happy Endings, a great little bar we call our home away from home. It looks like we'll be doing a Valentine's themed night since this is as close to the Greeting Card holiday as we'll be playing.

Everyone have fun out there tonight and this weekend. Guys, five more days to cover your butts and get your lady something for Cupid Day!

One Love!

nK

Early Valentines' Day Wishes

2007-02-07T01:34:00.000-05:00

So it's a two-fold message tonight. Part of it is the inevitable self-publicizing engine at work again. Just Wanna Play is going to be back at Happy Endings this Friday night, so come down and sing a few love songs with us. If not, then sing one really loud to your loved one on Valentine's Day.

The second is an odd one. I'm not a huge fan of radio rock or the Emo-esque genre rolling out nowadays. I did stumble across a very well constructed and lyrically sound tune called "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie. It's pretty damn heavy if you just read the lyrics. I had to sing it to Sybir tonight, cause if there's anyone I'd give heaven and hell up for, it's her.

That being said, I still wouldn't mind hitting heaven when it's all said and done, and if not, I'm pretty sure Division could be the house band in hell. haha.

Be good, everyone. One Love!
nK

Metal Church!

2007-01-30T23:31:00.000-05:00

Last night, Mike, Ron and I decided to represent Division and go see one of our favorite bands in one of our favorite places. Metal Church crushed the small but insane crowd down at JAXX. For a Monday night, it was an absolute blast. We hung out with some familiar faces, made some new friends, and had a great time. Too bad that whole day job thing had to come back around today...

Short but sweet. Back to working on my stuff and watching Sybir toil away in the name of promotion and marketing!

One Love!
nK

God Bless The Roller Girls

2007-01-28T17:09:00.000-05:00

Alright, so there used to be a beer ad out there that said "It just doesn't get any better than this!" even though, considering the beer in question, it did. Still, if anyone wanted to describe last Friday night, that'd be the phrase I'd choose. The Anniversary Party for the DC Roller Girls was phenomenal, representing the largest and rowdiest crowd Just Wanna Play has ever performed for. We had such a blast doing our 80's party, hell, we didn't even have to sing half the stuff since the crowd knew it all.

Now we're hoping to turn that into a huge debut at the RNR Bar and Lounge on March 10th. That's the new place that's gonna be a blast.

On top of that, it's just good to be home instead of on business travel. Now I can chill out, write my Horrorview reviews, hang with Sybir, play with my kid and his Thomas trains, and go back to rehearsing and writing with Division.

that's the plan. An' I'm stickin' to it!

One Love!
nK

Da Vinci, Rich Dad and the Goddess to my right

2007-01-21T00:51:00.000-05:00

So the last few nights have been spent re-focusing on financial planning, business development plans for our core businesses and a quick re-tooling of the easy ends of the marketing initiatives. As a result of reading some of the Da Vinci writings, and more recently "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", my better half has inspired us both to take more focused actions in the proper direction. She's right on, and I have some immediate results of her guidance.

Friday night was a scouting trip to the Rock and Roll Hotel. Hello Tokyo kicked ass. It's our turn Friday night with the DC Roller Girls.

Sybir is going to destroy this year. Keep an eye on her. We have new fliers and bulletins for the shows coming up for JWP and Division has the code boxes built out for our official and MySpace sites. Toldja, easy stuff, but totally worthwhile. Stay tuned for more on the ebook side of things too.

One Love!
nK

Rock n Roll, Roller Girls and Hair Metal

2007-01-18T23:27:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah, more rehearsals in the works as next week and the next few months mean a busy Cat. Just Wanna Play can't wait to do our gig next Friday night with the DC Roller Girls at the Rock n Roll Hotel in DC. Tomorrow night we're heading up to the Hotel to see our Brooklyn buddies, Hello Tokyo.

We met with a new club owner who is going to be a good time for us...The RNR Bar and Lounge. It's across from the Verizon Center in DC, where Coyote Ugly used to be.

Division cranked out another rehearsal tonight. The new disc is going to be sick....

One Love!
nK

JWP rollin along!

2007-01-14T00:31:00.000-05:00

Just Wanna Play finished up our recurring fun at Happy Endings in Fredericksburg last night. It was another great night with the boys and gals of our little bar away from home. Next up is our gig with the DC Roller Girls at the Rock n' Roll Hotel on the 26th. That'll be a blast.

We added some new tunes, and have five hours of rehearsals tomorrow. Going to be a long one. Division has to get our next CD written and JWP is set on adding some more roller skating music for the girls, so we have a full plate.

I'm off to VA Beach, Richmond, Norfolk, Baltimore, Hunt Valley, DC and Dulles in the next five days for work. That's on top of the band stuff.

On a lighter note, I watched a great flick tonight - Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Too damn funny. Picture Halloween, Scream, The Blair Witch Project and VH1's Behind the Music rolled into one and you've got a good starting point.

One Love!
nK

Philly Nostalgia - A Night Out With Rocky

2007-01-05T23:35:00.000-05:00

Sybir and I decided that we had to go to the movies. We simply haven't gone but once since Pup blessed our lives with his presence, so we got a new babysitter, explained it to him a week ago and off we went. The plan was just to see something that had some buzz, suspend disbelief for two hours, and just enjoy the night out.

We hit our local Hard Times (try the Inferno Chicken Samich, btw) and ran into Division guitarist Mike Blevins and his lovely wife Malena and their cool chicklet daughter. That makes four or five nights a week Mike and I have seen each other in the past three weeks...ugh.

Anyway, we decided on Eragon, but when we hit the theaters...no such luck. Sold Out. So we went with plan B....Rocky Balboa.

I know Sybir liked the film. She's a big big fan of the original. I really enjoyed it. Being a Philly kid, there was enough nostalgia in the flick that I spent half of it remembering my own childhood in the City of Brotherly Love. The casting was perfect; both Marie and Robert could come right from the Irish side of my family. Paulie is Paulie, and there are some great flashback shots. What's a Rocky flick without a little Mick, right?

Anyway, it was better than expected; no self-congratulatory Hollywood crap a la Ocean's Twelve, and no overblown effects or supernatural junk. It was much simpler and more personable than the Rocky franchise got with the third, fourth and fifth movies. Stallone portrays (and writes) Rocky as the same awkward hero he was when he first hit the screen in the 70's. I'd recommend it.

That's it for now. Off to play a little Drunken City of Soft Core Heroes. Ok, it's really City of Heroes, but the characters can't be ugly and by midnight on a Friday 80% of the player base is hammered. Should be fun. Go Bolts!

One Love!
nK

Roller Skates, Rock Music and BLOOD!

2007-01-04T00:05:00.000-05:00

So, the last few weeks have been a juggling act of all the different creative pieces of my silly leetle existence. I finished up the edits on Catwalk:Lineage, the first full-length Catwalk novel I've written. Then, Division poured ahead and knocked out another song for the upcoming CD. Now, Just Wanna Play is rehearsing like madmen (and women) for our January gigs. The first is Jan 12th at Happy Endings in Fredericksburg, which is the perfect little party bar. The second is the 26th, celebrating the Anniversary of the DC Roller Girls! That's at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Downtown DC. Gonna be crazy, as we rehearse more roller skatin' 80's hits then most people can remember.

Finally, I've conducted several interviews and written a number of reviews for the online horror site, www.horrorview.com. Among the folks I've chatted with are Elias from Biff Juggernaut and Ewan Telford from Cinescope. In addition, I got a chance to catch the brilliantly acted Hard Candy, the great psych-twist High Tension, the better-than-I-thought Silent Hill, and the classic brutal and gory Cannibal Holocaust.

Quite a few weeks. Finally I'm back in touch with my day job and trying to balance, but that's always the challenge. Much love to everyone out there for the new year. See ya soonest!

One Love,
nK

Studio Time

2006-12-27T14:14:00.000-05:00

As usual, there's a ton on my plate. This week includes some recording of the new full-band demo from Just Wanna Play, instead of the acoustic demo we put together a few months ago. Looks like we'll have some fun tunes on there, which will of course be on the obligatory MySpace page.

Christmas was fun, if something of a marathon. We visited my parents on Christmas Eve and I spent far too long fighting with their computer, but they always love seeing their grandson so it was ok. Christmas morning started off a bit rough cause he was sick but he was better by noon, must have just been a bug. He's a resilient little dude.

Then we had eleven of us, two cats and a dog in the house for about 13 hours. Brunch was delicious, dinner was WAY too much food, and the gin-tasting event in the middle of the afternoon was a definite highlight.

Alright, off to the gym.

AND..it's 127 days till Spider Man 3. I'm such a geek. haha.

One Love!
nK

Old Times and New Years Fun!

2006-12-20T01:50:00.001-05:00

So maybe it was coincidence or maybe it was fate. Either way, I ran into three of the musicians I played with in a band called Sexsist a few years back in the past couple of months. So, I decided to scan in a bunch of old pics and send 'em along to my good ol' buds this week. That got me thinking about the past some, but what would pile right on top of that but some more re-living the old days?

Just Wanna Play has been invited to play the DC Roller Girls' Anniversary Party on Jan 26th at the Rock n Roll Hotel. That's a huge honor to me. We're going to play an 80's night for the girls, so we were widdling down a set list Monday night, which made me go scan in a ton of old CD's. I forgot how much I loved Tears For Fears' "Songs From the Big Chair" and Depeche Mode's "Some Great Reward". Good stuff.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a chance to be around the ones they love in the next few days before the holiday. Stay safe, stay warm, ride fast, live well, and I'll see ya soon.

One Love!

nK

Band Biz and Booze

2006-12-17T12:45:00.000-05:00

Too much fun....

Friday night, Just Wanna Play visited our favorite place to play, Happy Endings bar in Fredericksburg, VA. Division had our own holiday party last night, which was a blast. It's great to have a band where everyone gets along, and has fun. We're still writing and chugging along for the next disk.

We're also happy as punch because Division's CD, Trinity, is now available on CD Baby!

It's Sunday and Christmas is coming soon. Brew up some hot chocolate, put on some football and relax. Happy Holidays!

One Love!
nK

No need to drive home...

2006-12-03T23:37:00.000-05:00

Gotta love it when the party's at your place. Sybir and I threw our annual holiday party last night, at least I seem to remember something like that. We had a blast but inviting motorcyclists, musicians and our particular brand of friends made for some serious liver impairment. Eddie seems to have my fondness for Jack Daniel's. I remember shots....lots of shots.

Next up, the company Christmas party.

Division rehearsed tonight, and we are ironing out a chorus to one of the new songs. It's really coming together. We have an aggressive schedule, but we should be able to do what we want to, in order to have a CD out in 2007.

I have to go back and continue my edits on Catwalk: Lineage.

Congrats to Rogue Poet on finishing in crunch time! I'm going to go read some more of Sybir's Fire Goddess book. I really love the job she did on the characters and the spiraling plot. It's good shtuff!

Be good to each other this holiday season, there's some crazies out on the roads!

One Love!

nK

ENFORCED!

2006-11-26T00:08:00.000-05:00

So, completing Catwalk:Lineage wasn't enough, right?

My first novel was wrapped up this month, topping 56000 words before edits. I'm loving the way it flows, though of course, there will be a few changes.

So then came ENFORCED! For those who don't know, my day job is with Symantec, and we have a competition internally to develop a marketing video. After a day and a half of shooting and a half day of post-production, my entry is submitted and I love the way it came out. Thanks to Team PX, Noodles, Dirty Dee and the girls for participating. Once the competition is finished, I'll see if I can make it public. It's pretty darn funny if I do say so myself.

One Love!
nK

The Novel Is FINISHED!

2006-11-21T00:56:00.000-05:00

Can't believe it myself, but low and behold, the book, Catwalk:Lineage, is diggigy-done! My first full novel is all wrapped up and ready for edits. Sybir and I cleared the 50,000 word target Friday night. It came down to actually resolving the story in the last few nights. I like the wrap up, and where this allows me to venture next. I'll be posting excerpts soon. Check back for a sample of Catwalk and his newfound and unexpected enemies.

One Love!
nK

Catwalk - Lineage

2006-11-17T00:29:00.000-05:00

I think you're going to totally dig this story. It's one thing to find your characters writing themselves into a manner you wouldn't expect. It's another for the story to drive itself to locations you never would have expected. I'm 90% completed with this story, and I haven't resolved it yet. I'm sure after edits, it will totally fluctuate. Hell, without edits, it took me all of three paragraphs to drop the F bomb, ha!

If I didn't say it before, thanks to Sybir and to all my writing friends for getting me into this. Now, the real life influence for Fracture needs to get back to me on a few details. He's on a plane, but I bet he calls me the moment he lands.

One Love!
nK