Goodbye 2010

So everyone's done their "wrap" of 2010 so I might as well share my own.

Truth be told my 2010 started much like my 2009 had gone, nothing to brag about. But things changed as quickly as a thunderstorm appears on a hot summers day. One of my closest friends since college got engaged and kept his word and asked me to be his best man. I'm still amazed and honored by that at this time and the wedding was two months ago.

I also saw my brother's heart broken by someone who swore they'd never do such a thing. But my brother is a stronger spirit and soul than the person who broke his heart and has closed that chapter and is possibly on a new chapter with someone new.

My brother and I have done something I never dreamed we would attempt and that's own and operate our own radio station (Bullspike Radio) and are continuing our effort to fight Muscular Dystrophy with our fundraising group Rock Against Dystrophy.

I began to realize my time on this earth as I attended a funeral of a high school friend. Accel, you are not forgotten and will never be. And that was the followed by reuniting with a group of high school friends that I occasionally wondered about.

I've also added friends to my already huge list of friends and had those who I've considered friends become family (unofficially) that I always knew they were.

For once in more years than I wish to remember I am financially comfortable and can thank my cousin Jon for making that possible. To be working is something that I had tried too many years to attain but with no luck. I can now look forward to things instead of having to wait for things to be planned out perfectly.

Health wise it was a great year, minus my brief hospital stay after telethon for exhaustion and dehydration. I burned myself out with so many things by Labor Day that my body just couldn't handle and said "enough". Sometimes we all need that to realize to pace ourselves.

I finally got the tattoo I've wanted to get since I was eighteen and having my grandfather's nickname for me on my arm has brought a sense of calm and sense that anything is possible for my future just as long as I try and continue to be true to myself.  Plus the addition of our pups Theo and Harley have added that extra bit of love, nothing like a dog saying hello in the morning to start your day.

If 2011 can continue on the current flow of things for the most part than I'll be content.

THE ASYLUM Playlist for 12-29-10

The last visit to THE ASYLUM for 2010 rocked out the year as we await the start of 2011, here's what you might have missed.

• It Snows In Hell by Lordi
• Snow Blind by Ace Frehley
• The Return by Killswitch Engage
• Exiled by Judas Priest
• The Judas Kiss by Metallica
• Beauty Through Order by Slayer
• Ecstacy by Megadeth
• Refuse To Be Denied by Anthrax
• Southern Dissolution by Black Label Society
• Little Whispers by The Saints Of Pain
• Jesus Frankenstein by Rob Zombie
• Our Time by Moth Eater
• Wight Spider by Marilyn Manson
• Don't Talk To Me by Atom Strange
• Knight Of The Vasa Order by Yngwie Malmsteem
• A Jewel Traced Through Coal by Dimmu Borgir
• Can't You Hear Me Knocking by The Rolling Stones
• Rainbow In The Dark [Live] by Dio
• Seize The Day by Avenged Sevenfold
• Psychosocial by Slipknot
• Be My Druidess by Type O Negative
• Beautiful Dangerous by Slash featuring Fergie
• Closer by Mudvayne
• Carry On Wayward Son by Stryper
• The Final Countdown by Europe

Catch THE ASYLUM every Wednesday from 2-5PM EST on BullspikeRadio.com and send your requests to Turbo@bullspikeradio.com.

Rock Against Dystrophy: The Album Coming February 15th

Rock Against Dystrophy: The Album will be digitally distributed on Tuesday February 15, 2011 for iTunes (US), iTunes (Aus/NZ), iTunes (Canada), iTunes (UK/Europe), iTunes (Japan), iTunes (Mexico), Myspace Music, Zune, Rhapsody, Napster, eMusic, Amazon Mp3, Last.fm, Spotify, iLike, MOG, Tesco, La Curacao, Synacor, GetPlaylists, Secure Media, Intertech Media, InMotion Entertainment, Fox News, Moozone, WaTunes, Guvera (coming soon), GetGreenMusic, Immergent. All proceeds will benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Here is the track listing:

• BLACK WATER RISING – RISE
• MISERY – MY TIME
• SNEW – WE DO WHAT WE WANT
• KILLCODE – BROKEN HEEL
• THINNING THE HERD – ON FIRE
• ATOM STRANGE – COSMIC DISTURBANCE
• BORGO PASS – ACEDOWN
• PANZIE* - DANCE (MOFO)
• TIRED WINGS – SCORPION
• GODS GREEN EARTH – TEARS OF THE BALTIC SEA
• GAS – BELIEVE NOTHING
• THE SAINTS OF PAIN – LITTLE WHISPERS
• WORLD FAMOUS SKULLS – GENTLEMAN GEEK
• ODD ZERO – SURREAL VOLATILE

THE ASYLUM 2010 Holiday Show Playlist

It was a good time in THE ASYLUM as the jolly fat man himself stopped by for some holiday fun.  Here's what we played to celebrate:

• What's This? by Fall Out Boy
• Making Christmas by Rise Against
• Naughty Naughty Christmas by Danger Danger
• Yellin' At The Xmas Tree by Billy Idol
• The Lonely Jew On Christmas by South Park
• Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel by South Park
• Oh Come All Ye Faithful by Twisted Sister
• The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) by The Chipmunks
• I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas by Bon Jovi
• Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy 2010 by Jack Black & Jason Segel
• Mary's Boy Child by Tony Orlando & Dawn
• Santa's Back In Town by Roxx Gang
• Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Joey Ramone
• X-M@$ by Corey Taylor
• Grandma Got Runover By A Reindeer by Elmo & Patsy
• Christmas With The Devil by Spinal Tap
• Christmas Time In Hell by South Park
• Santa's Lament by Father Guido Sarducci, Joe Walsh & Joe Vitale
• The Lost Christmas Eve by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
• Dominick The Donkey by Lou Monte
• I Tawt I Taw Ol' Tanty Claus by Bugs Bunny & Friends
• Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Santa Claws Is Coming To Town) by Alice Cooper, Billy Sheehan, John 5 & Vinny Appice
• White Christmas by Zakk Wylde
• Blue Christmas by Tom Keifer
• Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon
• The Halle-Looney Chorus by Bugs Bunny & Friends
• Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree by Firehouse
• All I Really Want For Christmas by Family Guy Cast
• Heavy Metal Christmas (The Twelve Days Of Christmas) by Twisted Sister
• Christmas All Over Again by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Rudy Sarzo, & Simon Wright
• Frosty The Snowman by Bumblefoot, Chris Chaney, Kenny Aronoff, & Steve "Lips" Kudlow
• Winter Wonderland by Stryper
• Christmas Is Here by Buckcherry
• Father Christmas by Warrant
• Run Rudolph Run by L.A. Guns
• We Wish You A Merry Xmas (We Wish You A Metal X-Mas) by Bruce Kulick, Bob Kulick, Ray Luzier, Chris Wyse & Jeff Scott Soto
• Alfie, The Christmas Tree/A Carol For A Christmas Tree/It's In Every One Of Us by John Denver & The Muppets

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

THE ASYLUM Playlist for 12-15-10

Here's the playlist for this weeks show which included the first ever Cell Block 5 featuring Rammstein.

• Hell Of A Time by Hellyeah
• Black Sunshine by Rob Zombie
• Atomic Punk by Van Halen
• What You Don't Know Sure Can Hurt You [Live] by Twisted Sister
• Rammlied by Rammstein
• Fruhling In Paris by Rammstein
• Benzin by Rammstein
• Du Hast by Rammstein
• Engel by Rammstein
• N.I.B. [Live] by Black Sabbath
• Down The Drain by Chickenfoot
• Enemy by Fozzy
• Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper
• Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple
• Paradise City by Guns N' Roses
• Mountain Song by Tired Wings
• Pissed Off And Mad About It by Texas Hippie Coalition
• Face Of War by Zandelle
• New Abortion by Slipknot
• Another Night Alone by Phoenix Reign
• Last Of The Wilds by Nightwish
• Blank And White by Marilyn Manson
• In Your Words by Lamb Of God
• I'm Not Afraid by Lacuna Coil
• Here To Stay by Korn

Tune in every Wednesday from 2-5PM EST on BullspikeRadio.com and send requests to Turbo@bullspikeradio.com.

THE ASYLUM 1-Year Anniversary Playlist

Still can't believe that THE ASYLUM has been open for one year already.  A big thank you to all my friends and family for support, the bands for sending me great tunes to play and becoming friends, and to all your lunatics that listen.  Here's to many more years and here is the shows playlist.

• For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) [Live] by AC/DC
• Deal With The Devil by Judas Priest
• United by Judas Priest
• Painkiller [Live] by Judas Priest
• Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles
• This Love by Pantera
• N.Y.C. Streets by Rebel Meets Rebel
• While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Beatles
• Sweating Bullets by Megadeth
• Feedback And Distortion by SNEW
• Infected by Systematic
• Even Flow by Pearl Jam
• Aftermath by Moth Eater
• Set It Down by ODD ZERO
• I Don't Wanna Grow Up by The Ramones
• Prostitutes by GAS
• Murmaider by Dethklok
• Haunted by Disturbed
• Dead Man's Mile by Ashes Within
• Aerials by System Of A Down
• Inner Strength by Zandelle
• The Number Of The Beast [Live] by Iron Maiden
• Pussy by Rammstein
• A Rite Of Passage by Dream Theater
• Aquiescence Of Illusion by Desdemon
• Born Ready by Scream Arena
• We Are One by KISS

Remember to catch THE ASYLUM every Wednesday from 2-5PM EST on BullspikeRadio.com and get your requests to Turbo@bullspikeradio.com.

How Apple Should Freshen Up

The holidays are just around the corner, or here and gone depending on when your reading this, and everyone is going tech crazy. When talking tech there's one name topping everyone's list; Apple. Whether it's an iPhone, iPad, or iTouch doesn't matter. Customers want it or other companies are trying to duplicate it. But is it worth spending on last years crop or wait and hope Apple freshens up these red hot items.

The first item that is one everyone's list is Apple's iPad, quite possibly the most sought after tablet on the market but was stale upon it's release. For Apple to release a tablet without a camera of any kind made the iPad an automatic no buy on my list and keeps it there. Not to mention that the pricing on it being absurd. So how does Apple correct this stale upon release item?

For starters add the same duel camera system that the current iPhone has. This will double the camera function of other companies tablet's already out now. Secondly the size is still a bit clunky compared to other tablets. By shrinking it a bit it'll be that much easier to carry around while still being large than the iPhone.

And while we are mentioning the iPhone it would be amiss of me to forget how it's latest version is nothing but a glitz and glamour version of it's previous version. The iPhone 4 wasn't completely stale upon release but it was close when compared to the iPhone 3GS. Updating graphics, redesigning the case and adding a new feature that can't be used all the time is far from groundbreaking. But how should Apple improve upon this so that the iPhone 5 (due in June 2011) is a fresh piece of equipment?

The first thing is update the memory capacity. The latest version of the iTouch (basically iPhone minus phone feature) has a 64GB memory version and even larger. It's time the iPhone's memory went higher than 32GB. Two years ago when it was just apps and music that was good, but now with books and movies being added it's time to jump up drastically in it's memory. Secondly, FaceTime needs to be useable without WiFi. What good is having a feature that only good half the time, that's like having a stereo with only half your speakers working. The last thing that needs a minor tweak is the OS. While we are all happy about being able to multitask on the iPhone we should not have every app automatically tossed into the running in background multitask mode. It's annoying that if you go into an app once every few days that you got to remove it from the multitask bar so it doesn't drain your battery. Can't be that hard to do, just make it a drag and drop option like the folders.

So if you didn't already run out to buy an iPad to be one of the cool kids, don't buy it cause it's stale and the fresh crop (2nd generation) will be here soon. As for the iPhone 4, if you have a working iPhone 3GS just wait until June for the iPhone 5. If your iPhone is an older version the decision is yours. But don't wait too long as June isn't as far as you think and you don't want to buy something stale when the fresh crop isn't too far off.

Has The Changing Of The Guard Begun?

The rock and metal community has lots of colors that are flown and some have been at the forefront of the battle to support it for years. Those bands include Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, KISS, Scorpions, Judas Priest and several others depending on your preferences. And for years those were the bands we all look for on tours and such. But could that guard be changing to the next generation? Scorpions announced their Farewell Tour this year and today Judas Priest has announced that 2011 starts the beginning of their Farewell Tour, which is rocking the rock and metal community as we speak.

First reactions I'm noticing from people online is "yeah, sure. It's a PR move." And I can't blame those speculating about this announcement because we all know how KISS, a band I am a HUGE supporter of, announced a Farewell Tour 10-years ago and yet they have toured several times since. KISS even put out a new studio album this year (Sonic Boom) and they are already talking about doing another. So the argument can be made that Judas Priest might be doing the same thing.

But if you know them and followed them over the years you know that Judas Priest does what they say they are going to do. When they first announced that they were going to do a concept album everyone joked and said that it wouldn't be because concept albums don't usually work for rock and metal bands nowadays. Yet in the summer of 2008 they delivered with Nostradamus, which two years later is still a questionable album from them. So if they say that after 40-years of screaming for vengeance and making sure all those in the rock and metal community are united that Judas Priest is calling it quiets then I say believe it.

This rocker is anxiously awaiting the US dates as I'll be hitting whatever the local destination is by hook or by crook. And I'm left wondering two things; who'll be next of the guard to bid farewell and is the next generation after them ready to take the reigns?

THE ASYLUM Playlist for 12-01-10

Here you go lunatics, this weeks playlist.

• Safe Home by Anthrax
• Disasterpiece by Slipknot
• Almost Gone by Mushroomhead
• My Eyes by Life of Agony
• Heavy Metal In The Night by Dream Evil
• Eye Of The Beholder by Metallica
• Black Sunday by Black Label Society
• Iron Man [Live] by Black Sabbath
• Speed of Sound by Halford
• Fearless by Ozzy Osbourne
• Zerstoren by Rammstein
• Dead Skin by Crossfade
• I Wanna Know by Shotgun Messiah
• Let It All Bleed Out by Rob Zombie
• Blood On The Moon by World Famous Skulls
• No Shelter by Accept
• Private Hell by Alice In Chains
• Face To Face by Warpath
• From The Abyss by Charred Walls of the Damned
• Crucify The King by Iced Earth
• One On One [Live] by Judas Priest
• Dangers Of The Faithless by Testament
• Stranded by Alien Ant Farm
• Beyond The Shades Of Grey by Arkaea
• Road To Nowhere [Live] by Ozzy Osbourne

Catch THE ASYLUM every Wednesday from 2-5PM EST on BullspikeRadio.com and get your requests to Turbo@bullspikeradio.com.