Are you ready?

I was stoked on Sean Penn winning Best Actor last night but I’m undoubtedly a Mickey Rourke fan, as well. If you haven’t seen The Wrestler yet then I would suggest you find a way to see it ASAP. What I like about Rourke is his eccentric antics and that I-don’t-give-a-fuck-how-crazy-you-think-I-am attitude. I came across this extremely funny acceptance speech he made this year at the 2009 Film Independent Spirit Awards. But as funny as it is, he’s completely himself and honest – I think that’s why he’s been getting so much press and attention. He’s not putting up a fake front and trying to act like his shit don’t stink. Laugh your ass off at this and go see The Wrestler.

I can’t get into their new record. Anyone give it a whirl? I love U2 but I just couldn’t wrap my head around this CD after a couple listens through. It has to be extremely difficult to be in such a well-revered and respected band in music history, while at the same time, trying to still find success in current music culture. What I’m saying is it’s a hard duty trying to stay relevant, continuing to push the limits, attempting to stay fresh – just a laundry list of “how to’s” after being a band for so long. Either way, I’ll always love U2 because they were such HUGE risk takers – and they still are. But sometimes those risks don’t shine through like previous attempts. Go to their Myspace and give it a whirl: http://www.myspace.com/u2

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve updated. Here’s what I’ve been doing the past week:

- Got the chance to see my old buddy, Joe Mullen, bust some SERIOUS drumming in his band Endless Hallway.. actually, I saw them twice. Got to peep out Circa Survive on the same bill which was interesting to watch, as well. In any event, pick up Endless Hallway’s record that’s coming out shortly.

- It was nice seeing my boy Jonny kill it with Emarosa over the weekend. I also saw a band called This Is Hell, who I had heard of in the past but never checked out. They killed it as well. It’s great to come across heavier bands with a punk rock influence.

- I’ve been watching a lot of documentaries. Hooray for Hulu.com

- These have not left the stereo in my car: A Day To Remember ‘Homesick’ – Loving this record a lot! Been listening to a lot of Blinside. I miss this band a lot and I hope they’re putting something out soon. I realized after listening the other day that I’ve blatantly ripped off riffs from them for Underminded material. Haha. Not ashamed. Also listening to Mika and Bring Me The Horizon… and lots of Mute Math!

- Tonight I’m cruising out to House of Blues in San Diego to peep out my boys in Pierce The Veil. Should be good times, of course! From what I’ve heard, their live set on this tour is BLOWING people away so I’m stoked to see what they have in store. Pumped on seeing BMTH in a smaller venue too.

- My dad scrounged up a video tape of my first band performance in existence. It was in 1997 which would’ve made me 13 years old. I have it ripped onto a DVD right now, but after watching it, I’m not sure I want to put it up yet. Haha. It’s hard for me to watch actually. The name of my first band was Diaper Rash and our set list was: Inspector Gadget (cover), Wasting Time (blink-182 cover), When I Come Around (Green Day), and an original tune that I made up lyrics for on the spot. Needless to say, it’s god awful.

- I have a big crush on Anne Hathaway at the moment.. But, no one surpasses Elisha Cuthbert.

- New Cinematic Sunrise material is sounding amazing! I couldn’t be more happy with it. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it. It’s a mixture of Dillinger 4 meets Slick Shoes meets SR-71.

- Anyone done the P90X workout?

- I love the movie La Bamba.

- I think I’m getting sick.

That’s my update. I leave you with a die hard Slayer fan. Talk about awkward..

A buddy of mine told me about a documentary coming out about the explosion of the punk rock in the 90’s. It looks really interesting! They talk to a lot of great people from that time that really changed my life in music. I can’t wait to see a screening of it – hoping that it’s shown somewhere in San Diego. Watch a trailer for it below.

I have seriously found a new love. I need to buy a big bottle of this this weekend. Put it on my cereal in the mornings.

Yesterday was an interesting day. The past few weeks I definitely had some things hit me – both in my personal life, but definitely music-related things, as well. The idea and project going down is something I’ve become very excited about; although being in its early stages, we’ll see what happens. Maybe its time to fuck some shit up again..

After seeing this video, I’m somewhat certain he’s just pulling everybody’s leg with his rock-bottom’ness. I think it’s smart really. Nonetheless, the video is still funny to watch – you can definitely tell Letterman is pissed at the end of the interview.

I don’t need to warm you up on this one. Just watch and enjoy.

Dude, killer pants.

More recently I’ve seen him raving a lot about a band called Manchester Orchestra. I looked through my iTunes and found “I’m Like a Virgin..” – I never even knew I had any music from them. But I must say, it’s a pretty damn good band. My fav right now is “I Can Barely Breathe”. I’m definitely late on the bandwagon with this band but I suggest giving it a whirl.