House of Pain

 One of my favorite musical acts of all time and I still listen to this very day is the Irish hip-hop trio known as the House of Pain.

House of Pain consists of lead rapper Everlast, emcee Danny Boy and the amazing DJ Lethal although Lethal was of Latvian descent.

They were one of the best things going in music throughout the 1990s and I enjoyed every single of them. Though I was young during their run, I was introduced to them thanks in large part to being around my big brother Cody and his friends and I have enjoyed House of Pain ever since.

One of best shots out there and it is still being played to this very day is the song Jump Around which was one their debut album House of Pain (Fine Malt Lyrics) back in 1992. I really love this song and it never gets old no matter how many times people play it.

However, what I will say gets old is how people call House of Pain a one hit wonder. In my humble opinion, they have had some many amazing songs that it is criminal that people don't know about them. Heck, their debut album only had some many incredible songs outside of Jump Around. Songs like Shamrocks and Shenanigans, Top of the Morning to Ya, Come and Get some of this, Life goes on, etc.

House of Pain had three albums during their run. And the songs are those albums are amazing too! 

My personal favorite song was On Point (Lethal Remix) although the original version was amazing as well. I also liked the Have Nots song and also the Who's The Man but then again, I enjoyed all of their songs really lol.

They did manage to come together in another awesome rap group called La Coka Nostra for a period and I really enjoyed that as well and introduced me to some awesome talents like Slaine and Ill Bill.

Also, if it wasn't for House of Pain, I wouldn't have found out about other groups like Cypress Hill and even not hip-hop groups like Helmet.

Today all three members are out there doing amazing things and works and I pray for all of them to find continued success.

I also want to thank House of Pain for helping me fall in love with music and writing and creating art and being able to express myself in artistic ways. And proud of my Irish heritage 😁! But more importantly, I would love to see one more House of Pain album drop! One can only hope 🙏🙏🙏

God Bless you House of Pain!

Evans Blue

 One of my favorite rock bands to listen to was a band called Evans Blue. To be honest, I am not really sure how many people even know who these guys are.

The band was based from our neighbors from the north Canada back in 2005. The band got its name "Evans Blue" in reference from the dye of the same name that is injected into the bloodstream to measure blood volume.

The band had produce five albums in their careers and different lineup changes as well. But either way, I enjoyed them all the same.

List of albums:

The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume

The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends

Evans Blue

Graveyard of Empires

Letters From the Dead

What I love the most about this band was the theme of their lyrics. A lot of them deal with pain and loss which I go through a lot of times and these guys helped me through all the tough times and I very grateful for that.

Evans Blue got to perform with such bands like Staind, Alice in Chains, Breaking Benjamin, Flyleaf. It is ashame that these guys haven't created some new music since 2016 because I really love listening to their songs and music.

I personally enjoy Erase My Scars and Cold (But I'm still here), they have really spoken to me.

Hope you guys enjoy listening to Evans Blue! You can find them on youtube and a variety of different music streaming services! I highly recommend you watch them play their unplugged show. It was amazing!

Until next time, God Bless and Be Safe!

Blue Man Group

 One of the most unique groups I remember ever seeing in my life was the performance arts group called the Blue Man Group.

Created back in the late 1980s by the trio of Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton in New York. They originally wore blue masks before moving onto the face paint. 

After a few years of performing in the streets, the Blue Man Group got to play in the Astor Place Theatre in Manhattan in the early 90s.

The group had their first studio recording in 1999 with Audio which was an instrumental album. 

One of the cool things about the Blue Man Group was the look. The blue face paint, the black clothes. Of course I do admit, I was a little creep out about how they never spoke. But now that I am older, I think its pretty cool 😆.

Another thing I learned about the Blue Man Group was the fact that they usually appeared in groups of three. However they usually employ seven to nine members full-time through different casting calls.

It is crazy to me how the Blue Man Group is still involved within music and just the arts in general. For nearly 40 years now this group has been entertaining people from all over the world and has done work numerous artists throughout their careers.

I really hope these guys will continue their work for many years to come because I believe that art can come in many different forms and it can help inspire others for generations to come.

Blue Man Group Website:

https://www.blueman.com/

God Bless and Be Safe!

Blue (Da Ba Dee)

 Can you believe that it has been 25 years since one of my favorite songs came into existence in the form of Blue (Da Ba Dee) all the back in 1998.

The song was created by the Italian music trio of Jeffrey Jey, Maurizio Lobina and Gabry Ponte. Collectively known as Eiffel 65.

It was originally released in Italy back in 98 before coming to the US in 1999 as the lead single for their debut album Europop.

This song was amazing! I have never heard of a sound like it before, it kind of made me feel like I was in a sci-fi movie. 

To be honest with you guys, I had absolutely no idea what the lyrics are even about when it first came out. I just sing along with the song. But as I did my research and I discovered that the song was about someone who was feeling blue because he got no one to talk to.

But also speaks about random stuff that is also colored blue, like his house, his windows, his car, you get the picture 😆.

The music video was awesome! It was just like a a sci-fi movie. The story was the lead singer Jeffrey Jey was abducted by a group of blue aliens and the other two members of the band chase after them. After freeing their lead singer, they ultimate return to the planet and perform a concert for the blue aliens.

Now many people like to trash the video, but hey, they were on a tight budget. 😁. Watching the documentary about the song on the channel Vice, the group talked about how they were inspired by such things like Star Wars and Blade Runner.

That's right there is a documentary on the how the song came to be and I highly recommend seeing it.

Here is a youtube link to the music video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ugkg9RePc

Here is the link to the Vice Documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epnsRRPtoeU

God Bless and Be Safe out there everyone!

Linkin Park

In my humble opinion, one of the most influential bands of not only my generation, but of all time is Linkin Park.

Although they were formed back in 1996 under a different name. Linkin Park did not release an album under their  new name until 2000 with their debut album called  Hybrid Theory, heck it has been over 20 years since its debut.

And to they came out with a bang is putting it mildly. The album was certified gold within weeks of its launch and eventually found its way to 12x Platinum by 2020.

It is no surprise because of all the amazing songs that were on that album. Songs like, One Step Closer, Crawling, In the End, Papercut, just to name a few.

What of the things that I love about Linkin Park was their mixture of rap and rock sound. I grew up listening to rap groups and rock bands so hearing it mixed together was amazing.

Personally though, the lyrics by Chester Bennington had a major impact on my life. Listening to lyrics and hearing the voice of Chester singing still hits my soul even to this very day.

Heck hearing what he went through in his life and seeing him use his gifts as a way to help touch so many people's lives is truly a beautiful sight to be hold.

I really enjoy listening to the song Breaking the Habit, it has always spoken to me and video itself was incredible. Somewhere I Belong was another incredible song that I really enjoyed.

It still it a painful loss when I saw that Chester had killed himself. In fact, I can't believe it has been over five years since we lost both Chester and Chris Cornell (RIP). As someone who deals with mental health, it was heartbreaking to see what happened to them. 

I can not speak on what made them feel this way, but all we can do is pray and support their love ones who are affected by this.

With that being said, to anyone out there who are struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts, please seek out help and know that you are not alone and that you are loved and that there are people who are willing to support you in anything you do in life.

I also want to send a prayer to the other members of Linkin Park. I pray nothing but the best for you guys and wish all the luck with whatever you do in your lives.

Thank you so much Linkin Park for helping me and countless others were struggling with their lives. Again I pray for all you guys and for anyone who is struggling with depression and suicidal thought.

There is always hope!

God Bless and Be Safe!