February 2004

             Finally went to see the final installment of the LoTR Trillogy yesterday. (so sue me we've got a newborn) We went into Chch to the Palms Shirley theatre (nice comfy seats & GREAT sound. We arrived a bit late, sos not to have to sit through ALL the trailers. Spider Man 2 looks awesoms.

Anyway,

The first hour or so of this movie is the BEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN.
Specifically, the opening sequence with Smeagle & Deagle is exceptional & I believe that Peter was thinking "my precious" about the oscar he wants & hasn't been given. (yet)

My prediction is Lord of the Rings wins all eleven oscars they're nominated for. If they don't, they still deserves them all.

Anyway, that's how I'd vote.

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             My friend Jed Brophy (who plays Grizhnak the Orc in Lord Of the Rings, and was one of the black riders in the trilogy) keeps on bugging me wanting to know when and how he can see "The Legend of Crazy George"

I'm thinking(monkeythinking) this high profile anticipation can be exploited in some way...a private screening at Peter Jackson's cinema, perhaps...hmmmm... I'll keep y'all posted on how this goes. As we (I'm sure) all know, the multiple Golden Globe, BAFTA and Oscar winner baegan with low budget splatter (Bad Taste, Brain Dead, Meet the Feebles etc) so who knows, maybe he'll recognise some of himself in our own gifted and twisted twosome, George and Mike...

Love, light and peace,
Marcel

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             In the middle of the busy mess of writing the script for Crazy George II, the effort of finding a market for the Legend of Crazy George, working at my day job, and searching for a better way to change my daughters diapers, I’ve stopped everything at the discovery that Nehi Grape Soda has vanished from the Cookeville market.

Where is Nehi Grape? Oh, why is he absent from the battlefield? Is he too good to be bothered with Cookeville or has he become too old fashioned and yielded the field. We may never know the answer. With the lose of Nehi, I have set out to review every grape soda in Cookeville so that you my friends won’t suffer the loss as I have.

1st place : Genuine FAYGO dee-licious GRAPE
A surprise appearance, this mid range grape soda has shot up into into 1st place. It contains no fruit juice and has a nice blend of Red 40 and Blue1. Its grape flavor pays homage to legendary great Nehi and includes a long and satisfying after taste. The price of this varies but about $1.09 can be expected. This beverage is highly recommended and will remind you of your childhood – dee-licious.

2nd place WELSHES
At $1.39 a two-liter, this sparkling grape beverage is not for beginners. Welch’s is the flagship of grape sodas now that Nehi has mysteriously and tragically disappeared from the Cookeville soda market. Welsh’s offers a strong southern berry taste – clearly a generous supply of high fructose corn syrup and/or grape juice concentrate; a fine mix of natural and artificial flavor. The soda offers a powerful fizz, which leaves a credit card thin layer of foam in the glass. Welch’s warns, “contents under pressure, cap may blow off causing eye or other serious injury – now that suggests a well seasoned beverage. Unlike competitor Fanta, Welsh’s uses Red 1 and Blue 1 to color is soda. With 1990 postmodern bottle art Welsh’s is a winner.

3rd Place: BIG K GRAPE
A clear semi-dry synthetic grape flavor, Big K Grape is first in its class. It’s so pleasing that at $0.59 for a two liter it competes with high dollar sodas like Welch’s and Fanta. Big K has the most powerful fizz on the market with out creating cumbersome foam. It contains no fruit juice or caffeine. The container art is circa 1975 lava lamp air bubbles among ice cubes and grapes. Be warned the bottle cap has a flaw, don’t tighten the cap too much or you’ll be stuck.

OTHER CONTESTANTS

FANTA
The artificial food flavor in Fanta creates a realistic grape flavor. Fanta Chemist chose a blend of Sodium Benzoate to protect its rich grape taste. At $1.39 Fanta represents one of the premium grape sodas, but falls far behind industry favorite Welche’s. Still Fanta offers a dry grape flavor enhanced with citric acid and can boast that it is caffeine free with very low sodium. The purple appearance of the soda is created with industry favorite red 40 and blue 1. The soda has a moderate fizz that disappears quickly. The bottle art is very 1980’s.


SAM’S CHOICE GRAPE
Sam boasts that he has an “innovative product that have been made to our own higher standards with the finest ingredients from around the world. At $0.50 a two-liter Sam’s claim is over stated, the product is average – which is nothing to be ashamed of. The soda offers a good fizz and a grape flavor almost comparable to Big K. The most that can be said is that I like Sam’s Choice of container art – a clear Chinese influence.

FOOD LION GRAPE
The fizz dies fast on this soda leaving the drink wanting, at $0.69 a two-liter it appears to have put its resources entirely into flavor. The soda is so confident that there is a satisfaction guarantee. Food Lion Grape is a $0.50 beverage; demand your $0.19 back. The container art is however entertaining with exploding grapes in a razor sharp ice pile.

SUNPOP- BILO
This $0.50 soda has the most modern label on the market – 2000 is screams. A dry grape flavor with a quality guarantee or your money back Sun Pop is a safe bet. Its moderate fizz dies quickly but brings forth the grape flavor and the rich colors of Red 40 and Blue 1.

REDROCKS GRAPE
No fizz of any significance this $050 soda has not changed since the 1050’s judging from its bottle art. The soda is O.K with a rich Popsicle flavor that would satisfy any 8 year old. This soda is not for adults.

LOTSA GRAPE
This $0.79 soda is overprices and belongs with its $0.50 brothers. It has a good fizz but its watered down Popsicle flavor leaves it wanting.

CLOVER VALLEY (Dollar General Stores)
Dead Last, this soda is the worst on the market: no fizz, very weak flavor and it smells funny. It taste like a diet cola with out the diet cola rewards. It’s two for a dollar every day – that’s $0.50 a two liter if you can’t do the math. This soda is a fucking rip off and I’m embarrassed to say its made in Tennessee.

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             Still, very busy, what with a new baby & all.

A Perfect Circle were awesome, the crew were really cool & their flights got all fucked up, so one wonders how the Wellington show went. Also, I left out the fact that they have one badmotherfucker of a drummer in session artist Josh Freeze. Kick Ass! It was great to catch up with my mate Manolo (formerly of Frontier Touring Co.) too.

Finally watched Geoff Murphy's Utu - Highly Reccommended!

Moving tv5 into new offices

Found Great website on Tennessee SkunkApe Action!

AND found a great movie on the WENDIGO

Waiting for a few people to CALL ME BACK.

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             McCaleb gets to drive for
A Perfect Circle while they are in Christchurch for a few days.

Their new album Thirteenth Step ROCKS!

For the uneducated A Perfect Circle are:

Maynard James Keenan (lead singer from TOOL)
James Iha (lead guitarist from Smashing Pumpkins)
Tool/Fishbone/NIN guitar tech Billy Howerdel
Jeordie White a.k.a. Twiggy Ramirez (ex-Marilyn Manson)

so fucking excited.

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             new noisufusion album is a reality.

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             McCaleb has been absolutely flat out working on a few new projects. Very excited about the news of an upcoming recoding session with NoisufusioN courtesy of Zack in Hot-Lanta.


Jeremy Averitt (guitar) & supposedly the loose unit in NoisufusioN chimes in with his new DJ This, That & Th'Other compilation & website. Very adventurous jazz-fusion loops!DJ TTATO nice looking website!


The demo reel for mccaleb's new production company tv5 is up

http://www.tvfive.com

& we've used an awesome track from Ree Mitchell's brother-in-law's band LUNASECT. Check out their music & news on the band -



The song, BLEEDING THROUGH is track 8 from 2002's POINTS OF DEPARTURE

mp3's are available for a listen on their website & the album is highly reccommended.

Lunasect is an electronic band in the more classically "new wave" sense, taking their cues from Depeche Mode not Deepsky, the Cure not the Chemical Brothers...slinky - suited for low lit lounges not large scale raves - Lunasect were anything but another Crystal Method, though there was a chemistry there. Must have been a combustible one,though,because on the release of their latest, Points of Departure, Lunasect is now comprised of Jonathan Hyatt,Daniel Farris and new lead vocalist Jessica Grant.
Simmering sensually, Grant brings to Lunasect a more forceful attitude. Though she carries a touch of the Tori Amos, as is seemingly ever present in this "genre", she doesn't overshadow the music, which has become increasingly fluid, moving past the breathy vocals-and-breakbeats stage. It's almost like Lunasect now take a more Pink Floyd approach to using synthesizers in moody progressive rock, not progressively trying to rock moody synthesizers. The Pink Floyd influence can be heard most in tracks like "Next Exit", which screams "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".
Don't fear that Lunasect have gotten lost on the dark side of the moon, however. For fans of their established sound, the sinister live baritone guitar of the forefathers New Order and the Cure still wanders in on candy-stripped legs, and ambient washes float alongside eerie melodies. They may have computers, but Lunasect are more Cocteau Twins than Aphex Twin. The band has simply tightened its grip, not transferred its focus, on its ambitions. With POINTS OF DEPARTURE - Lunasect have shown they are not a band that has plans to be boxed in. -Tony Ware

FURTHERMORE, DVD copies of The LEGEND of CRAZY GEORGE will be available VERY SOON. Check back often!

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