A few years ago, a coworker friend of mine brought to my attention a quartet of cellists from Finland who were playing all-cello covers of Metallica songs on YouTube. I learned that this band was called Apocalyptica and I later bought their CD of Metallica cover songs. On a vacation to Rochester, I picked up their 6th album and was impressed by their fusion of classic cello sounds with rock guitars, drums and vocals.
This week I picked up Apocalyptica's latest CD, 7th Symphony, and it seems like they've picked up right where they left off! I've been hearing the first single "End of Me" on the radio lately, and I have to say that while I enjoy the vocals by Gavin Rossdale of Bush, I know it's not the best song on the album. So far my favorite is the 3rd track "Not Strong Enough" featuring a strong performance by Brent Smith of Shinedown on vocals. The song was written by pop/rock songwriter Diane Warren (who penned Aerosmith's first #1 hit "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing" and scores of other pop/rock hits), and I'd be surprised if this song doesn't become a hit single.
Keeping in tradition with their last album, 4 of the 10 tracks feature vocals, while the other 6 songs are instrumentals. Standout instrumental songs on this album include "2010," which features Dave Lombardo from Slayer on drums, "Beautiful," which feels like it would fit right in on a John Williams score, and "On The Rooftop with Quasimodo." If you're a fan of this group, or enjoy a good classical/rock "mashup," then I'd definitely recommend this album for you!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Highway 61 Re-Revisited
Last Saturday at this time, I was probably making my way through the road construction in Mora on my way to my cousin Jay's wedding in Tofte. I was remembering that the last time I was up that way was about 5 years ago, not long after my high school 15-year class reunion, when I spent a week in Duluth. That time I ventured as far north as Grand Marais. While I didn't make it quite that far this time, I did make the drive back on Highway 61 again (after even more construction in Duluth), and enjoyed a great weekend on Lake Superior with family and friends.
I got to my hotel in Schroder, about 5 minutes south of Tofte, about 2pm. When I learned my room wasn't ready yet, I trekked in to Tofte and had a nice relaxing lunch at the Bluefin Bay restaurant, taking in the scenic view. An hour later, I scampered back to the hotel to unpack and hastily change for the ceremony. I drove back to the restaurant, not really knowing where the ceremony was going to be held. Fortunately, I got directions at the same time that some of my cousin Jay's friends arrived, and we walked the short trail to the cove.
The ceremony was held on the cove at the Bluefin Resort, right on the shore of Lake Superior. The whole ceremony was over in about 15 minutes, and before I knew it, I was walking the steps back up to the resort to congratulate the new couple and converse with family and meet the bride's family & friends.
The reception was at the Surfside resort about a mile down the road, and I followed the crowd in the building before dinner began. Over a hearty steak dinner, I enjoyed some good conversations with Ann's relatives and my uncle, aunt and cousins. Jay's sister Katherine also put together a great slideshow of the couple too.
The conversations moved out to the patio, where we could enjoy a calm August night while the dinner hall was being converted to a dance floor. While I didn't know too many people at the reception besides my cousin, his family and my brother & his girlfriend, I had a good time getting to meet Ann and some of her friends, as well as some of the couple's friends & acquaintances.
After 11 pm, the party finally broke up and I drove back to my hotel, still amped up from the evening's energy to doze off right away. The next morning, I grabbed a quick breakfast, filled up and made the trek back home, already looking forward to the couple's get-together next month, because some of my family that weren't able to make the wedding will be attending this event.
I got to my hotel in Schroder, about 5 minutes south of Tofte, about 2pm. When I learned my room wasn't ready yet, I trekked in to Tofte and had a nice relaxing lunch at the Bluefin Bay restaurant, taking in the scenic view. An hour later, I scampered back to the hotel to unpack and hastily change for the ceremony. I drove back to the restaurant, not really knowing where the ceremony was going to be held. Fortunately, I got directions at the same time that some of my cousin Jay's friends arrived, and we walked the short trail to the cove.
The ceremony was held on the cove at the Bluefin Resort, right on the shore of Lake Superior. The whole ceremony was over in about 15 minutes, and before I knew it, I was walking the steps back up to the resort to congratulate the new couple and converse with family and meet the bride's family & friends.
The reception was at the Surfside resort about a mile down the road, and I followed the crowd in the building before dinner began. Over a hearty steak dinner, I enjoyed some good conversations with Ann's relatives and my uncle, aunt and cousins. Jay's sister Katherine also put together a great slideshow of the couple too.
The conversations moved out to the patio, where we could enjoy a calm August night while the dinner hall was being converted to a dance floor. While I didn't know too many people at the reception besides my cousin, his family and my brother & his girlfriend, I had a good time getting to meet Ann and some of her friends, as well as some of the couple's friends & acquaintances.
After 11 pm, the party finally broke up and I drove back to my hotel, still amped up from the evening's energy to doze off right away. The next morning, I grabbed a quick breakfast, filled up and made the trek back home, already looking forward to the couple's get-together next month, because some of my family that weren't able to make the wedding will be attending this event.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Where Did The Time Go?
I woke up last Sunday morning after very little sleep (I think I nodded off after 4 am) but with a big smile on my face after attending my class reunion the night before. I couldn't believe it had been 20 years since my high school classmates and I had graduated from ROCORI. Where did the time go?
I got to the party at River Station right on time at 7pm, and met a few classmates. Some of them gave me big hugs and wishes of thanks for putting our reunion in the Cold Spring Record & the St. Cloud Times, something I was glad to do anyway. After a few brief chats with my friends to catch up, we positioned ourselves at a table in the back so we could see and identify more classmates at the front door who came to join the party.
After 20 years, it's funny how some of my friends look just like I remember them. While some of us have lost weight and/or hair or gained a few love handles, for the most part, we really haven't changed a bit! It's also funny how some friends look totally different. In fact, I didn't even know some of them had attended the party until a bunch of us were talking in the wee hours of Sunday morning. One of them wasn't even our classmate - the spouse of the ROCORI baseball coach showed up in his stead, and I had to remark how much he'd grown (he's kinda short)! We also had our old sociology teacher show up and say hi to everyone. He's also the father of one of my classmates, so I wasn't too surprised to see him there and was glad to talk to him too.
I stayed at the party until closing time, enjoying the conversations and laughs with the old classmates. About 20 classmates and their spouses had also gone to a golf scramble at River Oaks that afternoon, something I never thought of doing on a muggy August day. Outside the River Station, some of us gathered as lightning struck and small drops of rain fell. Most of us left weren't ready to finish partying, however, so we gathered at another classmate's house just a few blocks away. There we enjoyed refreshments and good conversation, moving outside when the garage became too muggy.
The party finally broke up about 3:30 in the morning. As I drove home that early Sunday morning, I kept thinking back to the conversations, laughs and hugs I had shared with classmates at the reunion. While I didn't get to talk to all my classmates who attended, I did talk to most of my old friends, and I really enjoyed catching up with them and reveling in stories of bad behavior in our elementary, junior high and high school years. The reunion was my highlight of the weekend, and it made me feel that the toils of the daily grind were all worth it. I'm already looking forward to more good times at our 25th reunion!
I got to the party at River Station right on time at 7pm, and met a few classmates. Some of them gave me big hugs and wishes of thanks for putting our reunion in the Cold Spring Record & the St. Cloud Times, something I was glad to do anyway. After a few brief chats with my friends to catch up, we positioned ourselves at a table in the back so we could see and identify more classmates at the front door who came to join the party.
After 20 years, it's funny how some of my friends look just like I remember them. While some of us have lost weight and/or hair or gained a few love handles, for the most part, we really haven't changed a bit! It's also funny how some friends look totally different. In fact, I didn't even know some of them had attended the party until a bunch of us were talking in the wee hours of Sunday morning. One of them wasn't even our classmate - the spouse of the ROCORI baseball coach showed up in his stead, and I had to remark how much he'd grown (he's kinda short)! We also had our old sociology teacher show up and say hi to everyone. He's also the father of one of my classmates, so I wasn't too surprised to see him there and was glad to talk to him too.
I stayed at the party until closing time, enjoying the conversations and laughs with the old classmates. About 20 classmates and their spouses had also gone to a golf scramble at River Oaks that afternoon, something I never thought of doing on a muggy August day. Outside the River Station, some of us gathered as lightning struck and small drops of rain fell. Most of us left weren't ready to finish partying, however, so we gathered at another classmate's house just a few blocks away. There we enjoyed refreshments and good conversation, moving outside when the garage became too muggy.
The party finally broke up about 3:30 in the morning. As I drove home that early Sunday morning, I kept thinking back to the conversations, laughs and hugs I had shared with classmates at the reunion. While I didn't get to talk to all my classmates who attended, I did talk to most of my old friends, and I really enjoyed catching up with them and reveling in stories of bad behavior in our elementary, junior high and high school years. The reunion was my highlight of the weekend, and it made me feel that the toils of the daily grind were all worth it. I'm already looking forward to more good times at our 25th reunion!
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