Lions, and Tigers, and Van Halen...oh my!

WHO STOLE MY LIGHTER? (and everything else of value)

I took this picture a few months ago with my camera phone. I included it here simply becuase its great and to show what the rest of the pics could have looked like had I remembered to to reset the resolution settings...

Just the same, I hope you can see how awesome my recent trip to the San Bernardino, CA was. Or at leas the part of the trip that didnt include some asshole stealing my ray bans, fully loaded 30G video ipod, and my digital camera from my bag. Oh yeah and they also toll my rental car keys...what a drag man. All I can do is picture some little prick kickin back in the sun somewhere in front of his trailer jamming out to the misfits on my ipod while he takes pictures of his feet on my camera...i hope you die....

Anyways...on a more positive note, we had yet another successful event as part of heinekens rock the bells sponsorship. this time the festival took place at Glen Helen which is a massive outdoor ampitheatre and festival ground in the middle of nowhere aka san bernardino desert/mountains. the venue is pretty awesome and the show was sold out at 65,000 which is nuts even for rage against the machine.


This time around we set up in guerilla unions air conditioned VIP tent and turned it into the Heineken Red Star Lounge. Once again we brought our good friends SEN DOG & DJ MUGGS (CYPRESS HILL), SCOTT IAN (ANTHRAX), and RAHZEL together for an amazing and intimate performance. this one almost killed me, but the kids seemed to love it...


After the dust cleared (literally) I got some nuch needed sleep and then drove back out into the desert to do an encounter at Amazing Animals.


This place is literally in the middle of the desert. I had to drive down this windy dirt road, then an even windier gravel one that was like 3 feet away from an active train track.


The trip was only part of the adventure though. once i got to the ranch, I was greeted by Sky and the rest of the crew who introduced me to baby lions and tigers and bears. oh...you get it...(5 weeks old), a grizzly bear named cheyenne who I got to wrestle with. (thats her biting my hand...but i showed HER who was boss...), plus some fully grown and huge lions, wolves, hawks (that i flew), gators, pumas, and more. takes the whole zoo thing to another level. I still have some claw marks in my arm that are pretty rad. Those animals were sooo awesome. I dont think Ive ever had such a good time with nature in my life. thanks again to everyone involved for making this happen.





Sadly I had to leave the ranch and head back to NYC once again, only to get it together for this weekends rock the bells fest in SF. This one should be amazing as well, but Im really looking forward it to it because its the last one.

Once thats over Lori, Harley, and I are headed up to Brookings, OR for some R&R up river. Man do I need it....
Pictures from that trip on my new camera comin in the next addition...


VAN HALEN the new old version?
OK - So by now Im sure most of you have heard the news about the Van Halen tour with david lee roth. Anyone who knows me, knows I am pretty stoked that this happening and have been waiting my whole life for it, but why must even this be a tainted version of the real deal? Not bringing Michael Anthony along in favor of Eddies 16 yr old son wofgang is weak. Im sure the kid can play, and I welcome him to jump in as second guitar for support, but not instead of a foudning member who deserves it more.

Like the obsessed fan I am, I have checked the site and web for news daily since there was an internet and cringed the whole way through false starts, Hagar tours, and even the recent press conference where they go on and on about the "new band"... I dont know, I hope its great. I will definetly go to the show and be air guitaring just in case...

This should have happened 10 yrs ago when they first duped Roth at the VMAs, but I guess its better than not at all. or is it?
Where have all the good times gone...indeed.

This is a picture of the current lineup from the press conference...


but I prefer to remember them from the good old days like this....


WEIRD PIC ALERT!
Oh yeah. I found this pic clearing off my phone...This guy was set up in a parking lot at a park in Clifton, NJ. He is in full vegas Elvis get up and was rockin' hunka burnin love through his karoake machine like a champ to whoever came by.
god belss brother...



MY TOP 5
Uncle Marks BBQ'd Tuna Ka Bobs
The Coup Live @ Rock the Bells LA
Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo
In & Out Burger
Bear Wrestling

MORE UPDATES COMING SOON!!

Rock the Bells (& everything since the last blog...)

ROCK THE BELLS JULY 28 & 29 RANDALLS ISLAND www.rockthebells.net



Back once again is the incredible, rhyme animal, THE Public Enemy #1...WOW did PE kill it at Rock the Bells or what? Hopefully some of you made it out to Randalls Island this past weekend to witness some of hip hops finest in action including Public Enemy (with our freind Scott Ian as a guest on Bring The Noise), Cypress Hill, Rakim, Mos Def, and loads more. But of course it was the mighty Rage Against the Machine who headlined the whole weekend long shebang who really tore the roof off the place.

WAIT!

Can you say tear the roof off when its an outdoor festival? well I just did so...



We were lucky enough to be able to work with Heineken who sponsored the festival and tour to create an amazing experience including a packed tent complete with AC, a custom bar, and of course some stellar talent. Who played our tent? a pack of amazing DJs like ODY ROC & JS1 (rocksteady crew), the 4 man Beat Box Entertainment crew, and special guests SCOTT IAN (ANTHRAX), SEN DOG (CYPRESS HILL), and DJ MUGGS (CYPRESS HILL) straight from the main stage. yeh. sick. sick...







SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY GRAND OPENING



Heres a weird one...I worked on a deal with Pepsi and Justin Timberlakes new BBQ restaurant which led to the grand opening in NYC. Im not one for the red carpet nor the paparazzi scum that line it, but due to the size of the venue and being a part of the insanity, I wound up in a lot of the pictures and madness. This is kind of funny pic of me with my "boys" JT & Jay Z. Its like Zelig or something...anyone actually get that reference?

Lori made it out to this one as well, and we wound up staying out waay too late with our freind Justin Kern. Man can he drink! I was so blasted that I forgot my bag (w laptop in it) at a bar way up on the UES , but Justin (not timberlake) was cool enough to go get it, bring down to the West Vill to me. What a guy! He got a sandwich from the deli for his valiant efforts...


and then theres the earth...

LIVE EARTH www.liveearth.org



OK....what else? Oh yeah, LIVE EARTH! man, was that a trip....My old buddy John Trepp and I reunited lke peaches and herb promote recycling on behalf of Pepsi at the US leg of the Live Earth concerts which took place around the world to raise awareness much like Live Aid & Live 8 before it. This time around they had The Police, Roger Waters, Dave Matthews, and hundreds more to make it fly.



Pepsi actually did some pretty cool promotions to get the recycling message out. From making tent tops and handbags out of used Pepsi Billboards to custom artist painted recyling bins and more.




What a looong day for my feet....

Aside from that I havent had much else going on in my life lately. its been a work a thon, but I will be back soon enough with more stories and pictures from my life.

MY CURRENT TOP 5
Marys Fish Camp vs Pearl Oyster Bar (MARYS WINS!)
White Stripes "Icky Thump"
NYC Water Taxi
Sailor Jerry Rum
TUK "Kamikaze" Shoes


NEXT UP: My triumphant return to Brookings, Oregon!

Blogzilla vs Mothra

Dang Mang it sure has been a spell since my last attempt at a frequent update, but what can I say - shit has really been hectic, and I have been travelling, and working, and drinking, and....you get the vibe.

Today I read my good freinds the Anthony's blog chonicling the pregnancy of their first child, and aside from being very entertained by their words and pictures, I realized it was time to put fingers to keypads once again and to really try and keep this sucker live pics n' all.

So heres the highlights since the last entry, hopefully I wont leave anything out...

APRIL -

COACHELLA!
Coachella www.coachella.com was awesome this year. I was lucky enough to go out there with Heineken who sponsor the festival and caught some awesome bands including PEEPING TOM (mike patton & dan the automator), WILLY NELSON, CHILI PEPPERS, and of course RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE who were superb. I have to give a shout out to my man Mike McCann from Heineken for being a great festival wingman and to David Corso for being a gracious host. The whole experience was choice, but if I had to pick the best part, surely it was the pre/post show poolside acoustic jams we had at the Heineken Hacienda at PGA West. Bueno!


2xTAYLOR
Another stellar april event was when Lori and I caught a double dose of Corey Taylor (stone sour / slipknot) in nyc. the first dose was at our friends Scott & Pearls semi monthly event at Scotts club, Retox Rock Bar. Scott & Frankie from anthrax jammed a few unplugged tracks with Corey and they sounded awesome. Then to top that off, the next night we all went to see Stone Sout at roseland and partied with the band after til the wee hours. man i talk a lot when i drink.... yayyyerrrrr!





MAY -

MAX
This has been an insane month for me. i met my new born nephew Maximillian David Liles on mothers day and even managed to hold the little fella without dropping him or my beer! max didnt say or do much cept look cute all day, but you cant expect much from a someone who has only been alive for like a week right?


RETOX
Once again Lori and I rolled over to retox for Scott Ian's monthly ho down. this time around Scott had Bo Bice (american idol) as his guest, and they rocked some great classic rock songs. man that southern boy can sing.


HOLLYWEIRD
If that wasnt enough, I flew off to Hollywood for a cool art event for Mt Dew, with my buddy Ron Alan. We stayed at the roosevelt hotel in hollywood blvd near Graumans chinese theatre. The Roosevelt hotel is sliiiick. Im kind of a hotel snob, and really like the boutiquey / cheeky spots like that, but this one had something else. maybe the old skool hollywood flair mixed with modern design. the pictures of Brando & Ziggy Starduston the walls, the poolside firepits...all that I guess. I also got to see my good freinds Evan & Freddi C, Nick Stecher, Jonathan Bird, and Logan Hicks AND make it Neptunes Net in Malibu for some shrimp. wicked.



REVLON RUN/WALK NYC
Enough? hell no! Lori , Harley, and I walked in the Revlon Run/Walk for Cancer from Times Square to Central park.
What a nice day and a great cause. I must be getting soft... Oh and Mandy Moore was there, she wants it...




VR!
And then....my old touring pal Smilin' Jay Camerlengo, Lori, and I were lucky enough to see VELVET REVOLVER at Nokia Theatre in Times Square. What a great venue. Thanks to Jay & Matt Davis at Heineken for hooking it up. I think al the bands today should go see those guys for a primer on "how to rock 101". If Slash isnt the greatest rock n roll guitarist alive today, i dont know who is.




THIRSTY?
And last but certainly not least, Lori and I were in Las Vegas for Heineken Thirst Studios. Once again Im giving it up to Mike McCann from Heineken for some great time. I also have to thank Dirk from TAO for mad love at the door, and Glen at the Venetian for being a gracious dealer. I actually won like $1k playing black jack! Well, as my wife will tell you, I only made like $800 cus I "gave all her money" to glen as a tip...instant karma?



MY CURRENT TOP 5

MUSIC - DEFTONES "DRIVE"
TV - THE GIRLS NEXT DOOR
FILM - SPIDER-MAN 3 (IMAX)
STUFF - AVEENO SPF 45 SPRAY
FOOD - PAELLA DE NEGRA (SQUID INK!)
TRAVEL - SONG AIRLINES IN FLIGHT AUDIO/VIDEO
GUILTY PLEASURE - LINDSEY LOHAN
TECH - MY NEW LG LWHD8000R AIR CONDITIONER
FASHION? - MY NEW LOBSTER BOXER SHORTS
DRINK - HEINEKEN PREMIUM LIGHT CANS

OK, thats it for now, its almost 9pm and Im still at the office. Im off to the Golden Trailer Awards www.goldentrailer.com

More pictures & BS to come in the hours, days, and weeks ahead. seriously.

upcoming matt sightings:

June 9 - deftones @ roseland NYC
June 9 & 10 Big Apple BBQ Block Party @ Madison Square Park NYC
June 10 reverbnation presents: The Nillaz @ Cutting Room NYC
June 14 - Scott & Frankie with Special Guest @ Retox NYC

My Dog Ate My Blog 3

Here I am blogging away again...3 times in like 2 months...not bad eh?
Since my last entry, much has happened so I figured it was time for me to share once again.

Where to start? Music? Life? Cookies?

OK Cookies it is...

My wife brought home these amazing cookies from Trader Joes the other day. You should find them and eat them. With Milk if possible. I promise you a moment or clarity. The cookie is basically a typical choclate chip cookie, but infused with peanut butter so its really a peanut butter choclate chip cookie. This may not sound as exotic as say a sausalito (my personal favorite pepperidge farm offering), but Im telling you, you will not be disapointed. I was actually at work today and was looking for a snack in the kitchen, and the next thing I knew was thinking about those cookies. Someone asked me something about a project we are workig on and all I could come up with was "Im going to choclate later". What does that mean? Anyways, like I said, go get some of those sweet choclaty peanut buttery morsels in your mouth ASAP, youll be glad you did...

Alrighty then. Lets see if I can write abot Music now that I have cookie on the brain...

I am making a huge effort to find and listen to new music. Not actually NEW in the sense that the band is unknown, unsigned, etc, although a lot of of the stuff Im checking out lately is just that, but also new to ME. I realized the other day that Im not on as many music promo lists as I used to be, and not getting all those sweet ass monthly new music compilations and demo subissions as I used to so I have to take it upon myself to do so. I also realized that my ipod is rampacked with a ton of great music, but most of it is stuff I know by heart (Van Halen, Guns n Roses, The Clash, The Who, Beasties, etc) I love all that stuff to death and I dont ever really tire of it, cus its soooo good, but I simply need to find some new meat for my sandwich feel me? So the first thing Ive done is to diligently (nice word eh?) download and listen to the free downloads that I get via email almost daily from thetripwire.com, itunes single of the week, billboard, cmj, and so on. I also got a hold of some Vice CDs I found lying around the office. Those joints are chock full a good tunes. I must get back on that mailing list! On top of that I was lucky enough to be sent to SXSW in Austin, TX for my job. All expenses paid. No real agenda aside from research. Hard to beat. I made it to some great shows by some bands Id heard of and some I just came across. Some of the highlights were Valient Thorr. These guys are insane and really rip it. VietNam. I thought for sure these Williamsburg hipsters were gonna be another Yeah Yeah Yeahs or indie alt rock thing, but instead I was treated to an awesome display of bluegrass inspired sounds that really made the Lone Star Beer in my mouth taste like heaven. That said, I am really in search of my new favorite band, so if you hear of anything that moves you and think it might move me, send me a link or whatever.

OK...How about Movies then?

I still havent seen 300. I hear its awesome. I will try and catch it asap. maybe even at the IMAX. Im dying to see Grindhouse. Tarantino & Rodriquez double exploitation feature. How can you beat a girl with a machine gun for a leg and Kurt Russel? Box Office Gold... Saw Flags of our Fathers on DVD. Very impressive to watch, but not a great film. More like Fags of our Fathers....Thank you for Smoking...decent...not blown away...Tenacious D...hilarious!...oh yeah and Babel...very good....Departed...VERY Good...and the other one with the dysfucntional family and the kids pageant...better than I would have guessed...and of course I did see Zodiac. I read that book when I was in middle school so I have to say the second I heard they were making it into a movie I was interested. Then I heard David Fincher was going to direct and since I loved Seven & Fight Club, I figured it would kick butt and although I wouldnt say it actualy kicked any butts, it was a great movie and worth going to the theatre for. I liked the soundtrack, the feel, the acting, and the fact that they showed a clip from dirty harry which kind of bit the Zodiac by calling their SF area killer Scorpio. Niiiice....Next big one for me is probably Spider Man 3 although I have to admit that even though Fantastic Four sucked soooooo badly I wil probably check out the new one featuring the Silver Surfer. C'mon the silver surfer is awesome, they have to realize F4 was crap, and really go big right? right?
god I hope so...my wife will kill me if I even try to make her watch it after I dragged her to the first peice of shit.

Speaking of my lovely wife....

I recently had my 2 year wedding anniversary. Hard to believe its been 2 whole years since we tied the knot. Just the same sometimes its hard to believe its only been 2 years. I guess thats good either way. Married life hasnt changed me much in some ways, but it has a lot in others. I dont think anyone really knows for sure whether things are going to go as planned or wind up as a major trainwreck on the evening news, but if you spend all your time worrying about things like that instead of enjoying your life it probably will go up in flames. So for me, its all about making the most out of the situation. Enjoying the good times, minimizing the bad, and really living instead of existing.

I think thats it for now. I ve got a great week ahead of me starting with tonight. My god buddy Scott Ian is going to be tearing the roof off RETOX rock bar in Chelsea with special guest Corey Taylor from Slipknot / Stone Sout. Holy Crapola!

Later.

>MH

KOTORI MAG & THE LAB 101

If you havent already, head on over to www.kotorimag.com and check out the latest and greatest issue of KOTORI magazine. They are now officially monthly as a free downloadable PDF although you can still subscribe to or buy the printed issues.

For the record: THIS IS NOT A PAID ENDORSEMENT!!! I happen to like Kotori Mag. I like the folks who run it. I like the stuff they write about and the way it looks. Maybe you will too. So with that I once again reccomend you check it out and maybe tell a friend to do the same. I also love the good people at the lab 101 in LA. My old roomates Evan & Freddi C are fine and talented young minds. They used to call me "the parrot". Now I just miss them a lot. Go visit them and tell them the parrot sent ya. SQUWAAAUUUAAKKKK!!!

As long as Im doing the free plug bit, I may as well suggest that you if you happen to be in the LA area, to get on over to THE LAB 101 gallery space in Culver City, CA www.thelab101.com for this weekend opening.

Heres the gist:

~I WISH I WAS HERE

new paintings, sculptures and installation by ANDY HOWELL

MARCH 3 - MARCH 28, 2007

opening reception: Saturday March 3rd, 6-10pm
the artist will be signing copies of his book "Art, Skateboarding and Life" from 6-7pm

Guest DJ : MARK RAE

THE LAB101 GALLERY 8530-B Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232
310 558 0911 / http://www.thelab101.com (map & directions)
gallery hrs. tue-fri 11am-6.30pm sat 12.30- 4.30pm

Press Release / ANDY HOWELL solo exhibition at The Lab 101 Gallery

Andy Howell grew up immersed in the 80‚s Virginia and DC punk, skate, surf and Hip Hop scene. Turning Pro In 1989, he went on to become a major influence in the style of street skating that help set the tone for the next 10 years. During his career as a top professional skateboarder, Howell received his Visual Communications degree and co-founded New Deal Skateboards, Element Skateboards, 411 video magazine, and Giant Distribution.

Through these outlets Howell developed his own unique graphic style of graffiti and cartoon influenced designs for skateboards and t-shirts. He founded Zero Sophisto Clothing, MTN, Girly Things Clothing, Freedom Video and Rowdy Industries. As Founder, President and Creative Director of Imagewerks, branding/advertising agency in California, Howell was responsible for major campaigns and promotions for such clients a McDonalds, Coca Cola, Activision‚s Tony Hawks Pro Skater Series, K2 Snowboards, Time Warner‚s Transworld Media Group, among others. After selling Imagewerks he set forth on adventures traveling across the globe for six months, hiking live volcanoes, surfing famous reef breaks in Bali, living on an island in Thailand, whitewater rafting at the source of the Nile, and trekking with the endangered mountain gorillas of Rwanda. Through these explorations he connected with many old and new friends along the way and interacted with artists from around the world in different languages and cultures. One central theme carried through it all: create new and exciting works of art.

While Howell‚s last solo exhibition in 2003 dealt with the painfully human reaction to the loss of his father, this current solo exhibition examines a human dilemma in a more playful manor. Howell chooses an array of mixed mediums that include all new works on paper and large sculptural formats to reflect his pictorial goal to examine∑'A history of the cultural dichotomy between abstract organic and synthetic geometry in the lost social tribes of tomorrow'.

ŒI WISH I WAS HERE‚ opens Saturday March the 3rd and runs until March 28th, 2007
For further information please contact The Lab 101 gallery @ 310 558 0911 / freddic@thelab101.com

'A history of the cultural dichotomy between abstract organic and synthetic geometry in the lost social tribes of tomorrow'
The goal is to show the currently existing tribes through the paintings and how they regress over time from organic abstraction to synthetic geometry, in their cultural understanding, social interaction, and self image. Basically we continue to evolve through a definitive series of regressive steps. We started as beautifully ornate organic abstractions filled with creativity and complexity, expressed though organically changing creative mood patterns. Our direction was unified, and we were all moving foward and working together as part of a whole being. Through religion, social institutions (like gangs, Hollywood, and business school), and technology we gave ourselves the illusion of progression through complexity. We added dimension to our personalities, we multitasked ourselves into splintered version 9.0, and our actual depth decreased. We could do more, but we continued to dilute our quality in order to produce more content. Thus the multiplicity of each person, his possible yield from a purely marketable product perspective, increased exponentially, while the value of each dimension of us as individuals decreased. We became complex configurations of one dimensional shards of personality, beautifully decorated monotone shells of our former selves. Empty input producing massive throughput without any significant output. We positioned ourselves on a grid of predictibility, in order that there be no new topics of conversation, just pre-processed blocks of jibberish that could easily be regurgitated in between meetings. 'How are you?' became an empty redundancy that could only be answered with the exact same phrase in same tone of voice. There was no answer, no exchange of feeling, just verbal filler that gave the illusion of interaction. And over time that emptiness became enough for us, and the meaningful content in our lives was provided by media. The grid of this new plastic society locked each one in, and our media addiction allowed us to medicate on others' dreams and tragedies, while we let go of our ability to share our own emotions. Our connectedness was replaced by connectivity, we cleared our hard disks to make room for RAM, disconnected from the network, and we became known as 'The Lost Social Tribes of Tomorrow.' - Andy Howell / Feb. 2007
http://www.andyhowell.com


Anywho, its Friday and almost 8pm EST and Im still at the office which is super lame, so Im gonna finish this sentence, click publish, then head out on the town.

enjoy your weekend. get out and do something for yourself and maybe someone else.

-MH

Blogzilla

Per my usual hesitance to jump on any bandwagons, I have tried to resist the current trend of blogging, but since I have a lot to say, and need an easy way to say it, here I am Bloggin' Away...

Since this is my first official blog, but by no means my first published peice (yes I have been published outside of the net too...) I thought I would take a few moments to tell you who I am, and maybe what you can expect from this blog in the future. Assuming there is a future and I actually take the time to blog again.and again....

Sooooo about me...I was born and raised in Southern CT, just outside of NYC, where I now live (again). I grew up thinking I would be an artist, guitarist, or club owner. Although I professionally worked in all of those fields at one point or another, I currently keep the bills paid by working as a freelance marketing consultant to corporate brands and indy bands who want to take a stab at reaching the public eye in a hipper fashion than your typical ad campaign allows. Some of the cooler clients projects I have overseen include tour sponsorship campaigns for AT&T Wireless, RadioShack, American Express, and bands like The Rolling Stones. You may have heard of them? You can check out more about all of this at www.kingsize-usa.com

Ouside of work, I watch a TON of movies, a little TV, , eat out and cook to the best of my ability, and when time allows, or Im up to it, I go out to clubs/bars/concert halls for music events and the occasional comedy show. Sometimes I work out. Sometimes I dont. I play my guitar as much as possible. I sleep in on weekends. I have a gorgeous wife (2 yrs 3.27.07) who see's through all the scruff, bad habits, and temper issues enough to love me. We have no kids (yet?), but we do have a small dog named Harley, who pretty much gets what she wants...

I tend to make top 10 lists based on current things in my life. So why not, post one here & now:

MY Current Top 10:

DVD: The Departed
BEER: Pacifico
BAR: The Other Room
TECH: Lacie External Drive
EVENT: Pete Townshends Attic Jam
FOOD: BLT BURGER
MUSIC: Deftones Saturday Night Wrist
OTHER: IKEA PAX System
LIFE: Bringing my dog to the office
JOKE: Britney Spears on the Rampage!

OK then...enough for now. Im going to publish this and hope for the best!