The Chronicles Of PiercingKen

Record Factory that is. I was recently browsing through some old collections of stuff and found some old magazines, LP’s and of course those wonderful 45′s that so many of us had in our possession as vinyl people back in the day. So anyway, a good handful of the 45′s were in this little bag and I snapped a photo of it to remind us of a time so long ago.



Since many of the PiercingKen blog readers are not from this exact region let me explain a little bit about the historical significance of this find. Way back in the day when you could still find pre-recorded albums on cassette and 8-track tape, the LP ruled the roost. They lived in bins that spanned large floor spaces and new releases were up on the wall. The 45′s were in a bin behind the register and this was the bag you left the store with at the establishment known as Record Factory. Going to this place on 86th off 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge was always something you did with your friends and you almost always left with something. Over the years I can easily say that I dropped hundreds and hundreds of dollars in this place. I smiled a little bit thinking about those treks to the store with my band buddies as we looked for the latest Hard Rock and Metal release.

Eventually the tapes went away, then the albums to make room for CD’s. Finally the store went away as well and in its place stands a cell phone outlet for one of the big providers. Close by the Record Factory was another haunt called The Little Record Store which was also loved since it always had Metal imports to browse. That’s gone too. If you wondered, there are now no less than eleven cell phone stores between 4th Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway on 86th Street. Some of them majors and others these little fly by the minute joints. The times they are indeed a changing.

I’ve already mentioned how I was once a very active drummer on the local circuit with some really cool bands that managed to do some musical good for the fans that enjoyed the presentation and while this is not a narrative about any one of those acts its instead more about the process and function of doing something like this. You see, just this past weekend I was tasked with the arduous adventure of moving all of my drum equipment from out of my parents home and into my current residence (which is a much smaller space without a doubt). I know what you are thinking, “well, he said drummer so that means four or five things to deal with” and believe me you could not be more wrong. Growing up in the Hard Rock and Metal scene of the middle 80′s it seemed that all of the drummers had decent sized kits in their possession and while some went a little overboard to a ridiculous extent, I pretty much locked myself to a large but very functional kit. Having been influenced by both Peter Criss and Eric Carr of KISS and Alex Van Halen of Van Halen, I liked the aspect of having a lot of things to hit. Oh so you want the rundown of the tech then? OK, here goes nothing.

I was a fan of Ludwig drums even though my first small kit was a Gretsch so when I began building my own kit for Metal and Hard Rock adventuring, I ran with the Ludwig stuff. At first I bought a single bass drum and a few rack toms (which I think were the 12″, 13″ and 14″ for the beginning). Also a 16″ by 16″ floor tom. I heard some horror stories from the working drummers I knew who said how bottom skins were often cut by sound crews at some places to get a microphone up in there so I chose to have my toms be ones that were made with no bottom head. They called them Melodic Toms. Eventually I would have a 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″, 13″, 14″, 15″ and 16″ for rack mounted toms and two floor toms. The second floor tom was an 18″ and usually would be placed on my right while the smaller 16″ was on my left near the high hats. The cases in the photo below feature my snare drum and the rolling trap case as they called it. The smaller hardware like the snare drum stand, x-hat, drum throne and various other easy to lose pieces all went in there. You might think that the snare case looks big and yes indeed it does. It was a Coliseum snare that was about 10″ deep and it served me well.

These cases in the picture below contain all of my toms and the larger floor tom. Sorry if you were looking for complete set up photos. I will do those for another blog posting sometime in the future. The smaller toms that I said I had were wrapped up in cloth inside the larger cases. At the time of my intitial purchase of the stuff I don’t remember them making cases for the smaller drums like that. You learned to make due when you had to roll out from city to city that was for sure. I hope you like my USA stickers. Yes I am a patriotic sort but the other reason to have them on all the cases was that they were easy to see when moved over to the corners of dark venues. Also you didn’t want to lose track of them when you needed to pack everything away. There are also some Machine stickers on a few of the cases and that was because it was the only band that actually made stickers out of the ones that I was a part of. I might still actually have one of those somewhere.



I mentioned starting out with one bass drum but eventually I would need two and at the time those double pedal things were not that great nor commonly used. It’s a different feel as well. Here are my bass drum cases and the second floor tom case. My bass drums were two inches longer and had a second set of legs on them. That kept them in place better while thundering on them and I felt the additional two inches gave them that much more of a punch.



So when you take all of the stuff that I just presented and add in the dual guitar amplifiers, bass cabinet, the respective heads and some minor stage effects, its kind of amazing to think that we seldom used more than a small U-Haul truck like the one pictured below. I know you are saying that I left out the guitars but we often carried those in the trunk of the main car we were driving in if possible. Sometimes the band was lucky and had a friend with a van who wanted to be our driver and we would fit the same configurations into the back and also have some additional room for extra friends who wanted to make the trek. The fee was usually reasonable and included free access to the gig and a couple of the bands beers. Not a bad deal since that was just about what we were going to get at the end of the night. Of all the bands performed with Machine was probably the most active and hence had the most “staff”. That was usually Trig, Sal and Ralph. Other friends would stand watch or keep the truck safe while loading in. Luckily we never ran into any issues like stolen trucks that we hear all too much about today.

Closing up I just want to give a world of thanks to anyone who ever donated their time to help me haul this stuff around from gig to gig, I really appreciated it then and as I reflect upon the times I still do now. They’ve kept in solid shape thanks to the cases and I cannot stress enough that any working drummer worth their salt should have these items protected from the elements and from travel woes. Plus it makes them easier to store like I had to do. I’ll say that having them closer to my reach might find me jamming out somehow again even if its just for fun more than profit. That all depends on what I wish to musically say. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.

I’ve mentioned in a few of my narratives how I was once a little more active musically than I find myself able to be today and just this past weekend while cleaning around some of my packed away gear I discovered this unexpected surprise. The first and second set list of tunes that was performed by my Ramones tribute band “The Ramoniacs” during one of our gigs. I just had to share it with you and I hope you like it.



The Ramoniacs was a three-piece unit that featured Scott Koblish on guitar and vocals, John Conroy on bass and vocals and myself on drums and backing vocals. The initial premise was to do a lot of Ramones for people and as you can see by the pair of nineteen song per set lists that is exactly what we did. To my knowledge there are not any photos of the group in action, but be aware we were not a tribute in the sense where we dressed like them anyway. Scott did bring a wig to one show and we took turns wearing it and for one set at a show I attempted to wear a motorcycle jacket. That was not too easy.

We only did about a handful of gigs before parting ways but our set was an interesting one to say the least. It was about 90% Ramones covers from across their entire catalog (with a heavy emphasis on the classics) and the other 10% was used for a few originals and songs we liked and did as if The Ramones had offered them up. We had no official logo or band photograph for gigs and that actually kind of surprises me when I think about it. Like all bands there were some fun times and there were also some harrowing ones. That’s music life for you. I’m still in touch with Scott today thanks to the likes of Facebook and he is currently drawing “O.M.A.C.” for DC Comics. Be sure to check it out. If I find any other stuff about the band in my archeological digs I will be sure to share it with you here.

Many thanks to SkeletonPete for taking these two photos and putting them together. The set list was a double sided card. Maybe I should laminate this.

Hey everyone, nice to see that you are finally awake and have gotten a start with your day on this brand new 2012. Did you have a fun New Year’s Eve with a cast of characters one can only imagine in the funny papers or did you just chill out in a calmer setting and raise a glass when the bells brought us into the new one? Whatever the case may be I hope it was a great one. I’m starting off the New Year 2012 with a visual from a little celebrity who is on an up and coming rise of his own. Yes, the Red Solo Cup. I caught up with him around lunch time when I found him just chilling out on a neighbor’s porch reflecting upon his night, his very popular theme song and how he will be approaching adventures of his own in the New Year. He didn’t seem to mind my snapping a photo of him, but he insisted that the exact location not be disclosed and of course no autographs were permitted. Hey, to each their own right?



Don’t feel bad if you were not aware of his now popular song, as he seems to be a forgiving sort, and will not be holding any grudges in the New Year. The song was done by Toby Keith and its a Country number of course. It’s a quirky little bit of melodic fun so I have embedded the video from a YouTube.com channel for your enjoyment. It speaks to the value of the Red Solo Cup family and if you have ever been at a BBQ, Tail Gate Hang, or some kind of band function you are very familiar with their benefits. Enjoy.



From the secreted think tank of the PiercingKen offices, I wish you and your families a very amazing 2012. Stay tuned for more.

Is it just me or was that a very fast year? I know I cannot be wrong in this because a lot of people felt as if they blinked and shazam, here we are a the end of another one. One of my friends said that this is the sign of getting old – the whole time moving quickly. These are people I don’t need to hear from LOL. Anyways, so this was clearly a year of good and bad. In some cases good and absolutely terrible which is unfortunate. We found births and deaths and the whole circle of life going on from the beginning of 2011 until its close. Of course I am not here to get all preachy but I will say let’s continue to strive to celebrate the moments that we have together since we can.

I am here to share some images that reflect the whole New Year’s Eve spirit in some sense and you readers might be surprised to learn that I shot these few photos back in March of 2011. I was on my way to a show (a usual occurrence to me) and as I glanced up at one of the buildings in Times Square I realized it was the one with the famous ball drop.



My guess is that they were dismantling the ball or testing it for issues even though the New Year was already three months deep. It was interesting to see being the case so out came the trusty snappy camera and some shots were snared.



As a card carrying New Yorker, I sometimes find the visitors to the city surprised about my lack of interest in being in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. and I’ve not gone once. It looks like fun, but I am in enough crowds at popular shows and the idea of several hundred thousand people right on top of me is just not appealing.



I don’t begrudge those who love it, as I know several people who will cancel everything in order to be there, but its not my deal. I realize I don’t sound like much fun by saying this but trust me I still am more often than I am not. It was cool to see “the ball” being giving the once over. It was a very quick occurrence as well, so I was lucky to get the few clear images that I did.



I would venture to guess that I was down around Grand Central Station when I shot these and that just shows how good some of the zoom lenses are on these point and shoot cameras. Barring this next shot of course as it flashed bright and I could not get the focus to be right on target. Oh well.



These next two managed to do the trick. Loved the bluish light on the ball and felt that at least by seeing this live in an approximate region to the larger festivities when they would normally take place that I was good to go. Now there is no need to really be there unless I want to take shots of millions of pieces of confetti after standing in place for 14 hours.



If you are one of those folks who heads up there I hope you have fun and I shall speak to you afterwards. Try not to mass text people because apparently their replies are also en masse to the recipients. Let those who impact your life in a positive fashion receive a text all their own. It takes only a moment to do.



That being said…..Goodbye 2011, and welcome Mr. 2012. Happy New Year Everybody. I hope that it’s an amazing one with more good memories and positivity than anything otherwise. Be the best person you can to each other while you can do so. Live life outside of Facebook and Twitter but be sure to come visit us from time to time on this little blog because we love having you drop by. I thank you all for the attention you have given my music and regular life adventuring.

A couple of days ago I posted a blog with some quick photos of a scenic view I had while on a family gathering. We had all convened at a Spanish/Portuguese restaurant called Villa Verde and it is located in Wayne, NJ. Anyways, I am one who sometimes considers himself a foodie and while not someone with a upper echelon palate I like what I like, and Spanish cuisine is one of them.

After seeing how the Foodspotting website worked with its members taking pics of food and sharing it with the member community, I figured I would practice for my own submissions by taking photos of the fine far being offered up here at Villa Verde. Starting us off here is a plate of mussels. They were very tasty but my only problem with mussels is how the actual mussel is so very small. You end up eating a bunch of them if your really hungry I will say that much.

Next on the table were some amazing chorizos and I did a number on these since I don’t get to eat them all that often.

Some stuffed mushrooms. I liked but did not love these. I am still kind of amazed at how I even eat mushrooms now considering for many years I avoided them like the plague. Not sure why but I do use them a lot nowadays. Hmm, that makes me think that a nice chorizo and portabello mushroom dish might be nice to make. If I do it, I will post the recipe here in my cooking with Ken section.

Here is a pretty standard but still tasty fried calamari. Don’t get me wrong as they did a fine job of it but I have been spoiled to this kind of cuisine ever since I went to my now favorite Vietnamese restaurant Nha Trang and sampled their crispy squid in garlic. OK, I am hungry just writing that down.

The baked clams were a popular hit at the table and as you see I could not even get my photo fast enough without someone snaring one of the plates occupants. They did a nice job on the clams for sure.

I saw these shrimp listed as “Riojasm Shrimp” and I am sorry that I do not know what that means. I guess its the way they prepare them. As a shrimp lover there are really no ways you can offer me shrimp and not have it appease my appetite. Suffice it to say there was a lot of seafood going on at the place. Never a bad thing unless you are allergic to the stuff. Oh in this shot you can see the bread as well, and I believe they made this in house. I love bread. LOVE it.

This was a simple plate of yellow rice. It was nice to have this on the table as well. I usually order this kind of rice with black beans when I order Mexican food but this was not a Mexican restaurant of course.

One of the folks at my table had ordered salmon as their entree so I snapped a photo of this for you to see. As you might notice it comes with a veggie medley and some in house prepared potato chips. I’ve seen this at a few places of late and I enjoy it if they do it properly.

I ordered the Filet Mignon simply because it was Filet Mignon. I’m not going to pass that up. It was good.

Cake. What else should I say?

More Cake

This is flan. That’s a tasty caramel custard for dessert.

Check them out if you are ever in Wayne, NJ or close enough to visit them. I liked it enough and should I be in the region you know I will be heading there for sure.

Website: http://www.vilaverderestaurant.com/main.html

I was doing some family stuff not too long ago and right across the street from the restaurant where we had all gathered was this river inlet kind of setting. For some reason the view I had of this waterway just prompted me to take out the trusty Canon snappy camera and grab it for posterity. Sometimes I do that and end up wondering how to use the photo going forward. It’s a nice shot isn’t it? Kind of a calm serene setting. It was quiet today and you would not know from standing there on its bank that it was right next to a very active roadway.



On the way home I looked at the photo again and played with it without color in my mind. Once I was back at the computer I did this with the software and felt that the image now appeared to be something we might find on the cover of an Opeth album. It had that certain “Bleak”ness to it (pardon the pun and use of one of their songs names, but I could not resist). Do you agree that this could be this kind of bands album visual? I like to think that you are nodding your head right now. If not, I shall not hold it against you.



Oddly enough when I took this same image and turned it negative it took on an even more ominous aspect. Now it looked like something from an old Traditional Black Metal release of some kind. Sinister, foreboding, dangerous. Questionable about where it leads and what awaits you when you get to the end. I think that you get the picture. Anyways. It’s so fascinating what simple manipulation of an image can bring to mind.


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That’s all I have for you my friends, I just wanted to get this out of my brain and onto a post for you to absorb. As always there is more to come.

Hey there readers, its that “Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” again and as we mentioned to you in last year’s posting of this nature, we celebrate Christmas Day here at the PiercingKen domicile and with that in mind I wanted to share with you some of the photography that I observed that best captured the seasonal spirit in my eyes.  The response to last year’s adventures was well received so why not run with it again.  So without any further adieu please enjoy the now annual presentation of Christmas themed images that I’ve seen while doing my normal adventuring around the city.

I’ll start with this charming little foldout snowman. I used to have a lot of paper decorations like this growing up.  Sadly most have worn to the sands of time.  Oh well. Moving along

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It’s with great modesty and flair that I inform the readers of the PiercingKen Blog that we are now rocking one of those sweet Official Facebook Fan Pages AND a new and hopefully exciting Google+ Page. I think you already know that we have been using Twitter for the blog since its launch day and if you don’t, well, please allow me to add to the mix that we have a Twitter account connected to this blog’s activity as well. Nowadays it appears that one needs a strong presence on the vital Social Networks to keep the visibility going and since I’ve found some success with them over on the PiercingMetal.com site I figured let me tend to the PiercingKen.com house in similar fashion.

The Facebook page for the website gets the most attention right now because its been used a little longer. I was not originally going to create one but figured why not with so many other websites tossing their hats into the fire. We surely don’t want to be bypassed by stuff that doesn’t work as hard for your viewing time either and even the lesser websites of the Interwebs have their own pages. I connected the Facebook Page with their Networked Blogs feature and this allows a new post to be broadcast over to the Twitter and our Fan Page. I then share these posts on my personal profile and of course you are welcome to do the same on articles that you like (or even all of them – I surely don’t mind the views being proliferated).

I do ask that comments on the blog postings be focused on the actual posting and not on the Facebook Page because that does not let your voice work within the greater context of the piece. Just my own thoughts on that and believe me we approve every topical comment that speaks to the readers interests about the subject matter. I tried to make the Facebook Page easier to “Like” as well by adding a “Like Box” to the main page of the actual site. I saw this as a plug in and love how it works. Now onto Google+. This is apparently the up and coming hotness but many writers, photographers and fans of the Social Nets are not yet sold on it. I don’t blame them because its moving too slowly. I do like having an additional location for the blog sites postings but nothing is automatic. If I want a post to be on our Google+ Page I need to paste it in there for you. There are worse things that can happen.

Similar to the Facebook Page and even Twitter, you can share the content that you enjoy the most. This is their version of retweeting I guess and its able to be shared with one or all of your Circles. Fans of the blog are encouraged to “Follow” it as opposed to adding me onto their Circles of friends. Without trying to offend anyone please know that I love all my readers but let’s face it, a little privacy goes a long way. Real time friends and business associates all know how to reach me and I do interact with those who are following the site as well so there is nothing missing. Also in similar fashion to the Facebook page is that comments can be left on those shared posts. I maintain the same view on this practice that while I don’t mind you doing it, I really prefer to help the context of the blogs by leaving your views on the actual posts. It beefs up the views and of course the same topical, clear thinking rationale is what we love most. Angry belligerence and soap boxing with no apparent point has yet to be given the thumbs up and I don’t see that happening any time soon (sorry).

Now back to the sorting of images and ideas. My hope is to keep delivering some really cool stuff in 2012 and even getting some older things that just merited sharing with you in this little space. Thanks for listening.

You are an illegally parked shopping cart from the nearby Foodtown supermarket. I happened by this interesting site while heading back to my Metal HQ after mailing out some packages before the holiday madness crowd arrived.



Clearly the sign reads easily enough and I apologize for the slightly limited sunlight. The powers of good ole Sol were not pointing down on my subject and I could not wait for him to get to work.



I even tried a slightly different angle to no avail. Mind you I was also using my little Sony Cybershot and not one of the full on DSLR’s or the ever trusty Lumix.



I laughed at the audacity of there actually being two stolen shopping carts at the pole as opposed to only one. I had seen this before at this very same location on 4th Avenue and 90th Street and am guessing there is a his and hers setup going on now.



Sadly, no one from Foodtown could come and retrieve them since the carts were chained to the pole as if they were the thieves own property. Sigh. Be sure to give a yell to those folks handing out flyers who sport these as their conveyances. They are the reason that you can never get a shopping cart quickly in the store and likely the reason that prices keep on rising as well.



Foodtown is getting a serious makeover at the time of this posting, so maybe one of their charming cashiers will be sent over to this corner with bolt cutters to free the kidnapped carts and return them to their brothers and sisters in the market. I will keep my fingers crossed.