Once in a while, a band comes along that makes you really perk your ears and take notice. Last year, Apple’s iTunes department made the good decision to acquire Stride’s “Music Machine” CD and make it available for online purchase. I had heard a couple of tracks from it on Progged Radio, which made me purchase the music from iTunes, and I couldn’t stop listening to it!

Now comes “Imagine”, their second offering. Their last CD was purely instrumental progressive rock, and it showcased stunning virtuoso work on every musician’s part (Joel Gregoire: guitarist, Mike Martin: bassist, Rick Flores: keboardist, Matt Kanzler: drummer). This new album, in addition to all the other musicians, now adds powerful vocal work from Gary Belin. This guy’s voice, range and style, is just as stunning as the other musical muscles being flexed in each song. Stride’s work on this CD comes across (some reviews say) as kind of Journey meets Kansas meets Dream Theater. There are only two instrumentals out of the nine songs on the CD, but the rest of the band simply astounds the listener in this area, conveying ideas and feelings no vocalist could emote; “Endeavor” is simply jaw dropping. The rest of the songs switch off between great vocal work and technically proficient soloing from the guitarist and keyboardist. My favorite so far is “Face The Day”, where the singer switches between vocal styles in a most mercurial way, while the band later keeps the listener on their toes with shifting time sigs and rhythms. A musical adventure from start to finish!

This CD is not available on iTunes, unfortunately. I had to ask for it as a Christmas gift (thanks, Mom!). It’s available from their website, www.strideonline.com, as well as Amazon.com. To all those who only listen to artists featured on popular radio, this band is a radical departure from what you’re used to. Only listen to this CD if you crave better musical talent than what’s being offered on the radio. If you’re a musician, get this album and you won’t be disappointed… I promise!

I found this in my wallet the other day. I forgot I even had it in there! It made me smile the first time, and it made me smile when I saw it last. It was just my thought that I’d share it with everyone, so here goes…

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sunshine warm upon your face
May the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again…
… may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

The ever-eloquent Irish; I love the culture, and it’s my wish to visit there someday. I’d have to be fair, though, and schedule a trip to Germany for my honey-bunny as well!

(downs another Guinness…) Cheers!

Well, I was going to expound on the nice gifts that were given to me, the gifts we gave, the food that was eaten, and all of the good times we had this holiday weekend…

… But Christmas is not about all of that, is it? It’s about family, it’s about being together, it’s about being thankful to be alive to see the end of the current year. Most of all, it’s about the birth of a very special man a couple of millenia ago. What He did for us, no amount of gifts or repayment will ever suffice. He gave us a gift that is comparable to none. A gift we ALL need.

I don’t use this blog to push my views onto others, especially views of this magnitude. All I can say to close this entry is this: If anyone stumbles onto this blog entry, and you want to know why Christmas exists (let alone what humankind’s purpose is on Earth), find a Bible and open it to Matthew 1:18. It’s a good read, trust me.

Cheers!

Christine and I would like to wish everyone we know, and everyone who reads this, a very Merry Christmas! May you all be blessed with family to be with, bountiful food to eat, and good feelings in your hearts and souls. Take care of yourselves and each other! I’ll write again soon (before next year!).

(as I raise a glass of Guinness…) Cheers!!

Y’know, when I first heard of PC games that were classified as MMORPG games, I wasn’t too impressed by them. Maybe it was because of the newbie vs. bully scenario that’s far too prevalent in online gaming. I’ve heard of fellow gamers that have played games such as Warcraft and Diablo and had the tar kicked out of them by someone online who’s spent waaaaay too much time honing their “skills”. Some say, “Oh, that makes them learn to play better, faster.” That’s when I say no, that it just encourages newbies to give up, because no computer opponent is going to be as hard as an experienced gamer living 2000 miles or so away. (And in case you’re wondering, MMORPG stands for Massive Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game)

Enter Vendetta Online! The first online game of it’s kind that will actually penalize you for picking on the little guys! That’s not all, folks. A Mac gamer like myself can’t seem to get 3D space battle sim games made for the Macs that will actually have 1) good, easy to learn gameplay, 2) awesome graphics and 3) smooth operation. This game has all three elements, IMO. Not just for Macs, it’s also available for Windows and Linux!

Click on the link I gave above, and go to the screenshots section of the Vendetta site. You won’t be disappointed!