I'm back. After hours and hours of serious...

The greatest band you've never heard.

First off, it's good to be back on here and I want to thank everyone who's sent along a kind word or two.

I did the first installment a while back as kind of a knee-jerk reaction to the news that I was getting laid-off my full-time day job: a bland, ultra-corporate gig that in hindsight, drained me of most all of my creative instincts. The upside was that it did provide me the time and resources to work on my music and film writing, where I was able to salvage the last vestiges of any creative thought—after eight or so hours of serious skullfuckery.

Although I'd love to still live in the fanciful world of rock 'n' roll abandon (which I was lucky enough to experience firsthand, last decade), and keep fantasizing about my cinematic ideas coming to life (it still could happen), I'm realistic. And in reality, the rock 'n' roll lifestyle—at least from an unsigned band's point of view—is only really exciting maybe 5% of the time, when you're actually on stage or engaged in a serious jam. The rest? 95% is comprised of getting screwed, ripped-off, patronized, marginalized, infantilized and well, kinda let down in the end. Yet, once you've got it in the blood, it's hard as hell to shake.

Anyway, I'm still doing my music and film columns, plus regular web features and keeping myself in the loop, even if it's from the outside veering in. Look for my stuff in AMP and Hails & Horns magazines at Border's, B&N, Hot Topic, etc. You'll also find me on IGN.com.

During the day, I oversee content creation and help in hatching strategy for a major ecommerce site. I know. But, in a weird way, it all works. And I'm pretty happy with the balance.

Oh yeah, before I forget, the pic here is of one of the greatest bands you've never heard—The Wildhearts. Combining the snarky, power-pop witticism of Cheap Trick with driving Motorhead riffs, this under-appreciated UK act was featured in my AMP column a couple months ago to coincide with their stunning new reissues from the great Cherry Red label. Cheers to that!

Hello Rock 'n' Roll!

After months of nudging from friends and colleagues, I've finally gotten the gumption to do this blog to share thoughts on music, film, pop culture and the like—the kind of stuff I write about each month for my various freelance gigs.

After being informed that I 'm about to be laid-off from my full-time, non-journalism gig after nine years of loyal service, I've finally found the time to explore the blogosphere in earnest, and get one of these newfangled things of my own.

My main gigs right now are with national print publications AMP Magazine (American Music Press) and its sister mag Hails & Horns, plus IGN.com and a few others for online things. I'm quite fortunate to have columns in print, as magazines are few and far between these days. Nothing beats the heft of holding a favorite mag in hand, anticipating a new angle, a wayward notion or a perfect pictorial...and every now and then, even a killer ad.

But the Web is pervasive. And quick. It's quite gratifying to see my work published within a day or two of writing it. And IGN.com is a solid operation, so it's always a safe bet my reviews and features will be up fast and kept intact. Phew.

Keep an eye out for musings on CDs and DVDs you may not see in too many other places, especially when time and space constraints prevent me from featuring in the official outlets.

Right now, what's hot on my platter is Criminal History Revisited by '80s Hollywood sleaze-urchins The Joneses (Full Breach Kicks Records). For fans of New York Dolls–styled vintage punk, this comp kills. More on it coming soon.

Thanks for hearing me out.

Cheers,
Jim Kaz