One Special Nite

Last nite I was able to be a part of something very special and memorable. My Great Uncle Frank "Frankie"Sciulli was inducted in to the Pittsburgh Penguins hall of fame. Man, what an honor...and what a person he truly was. Sadly, my Uncle didn't live long enough to see his name enshrined with the immortals but his spirit was ever present and alive in his family which was all together. I was so sad that he wasn't there to see the fruits of his labor but I was so proud of his accomplishments. His life was a lesson that we all should live by. Of small things, great things come. He was small in stature and small in voice but large in love and large in the thing that matters most...Respect....I find it hard to believe that any one man could have left a lasting impression that covers decades and generations like my uncle did. He carried himself with a dignity that I could only hope to have one day. Though he wasn't there in body he did something that hasn't happened for a very long time. My Cousin Diane pointed out that the family had never been to a sporting event all together at one time. I thought about that last nite when it was all quiet and realized that only you Uncle Frank could do that. You continue to provide the guidance and strength even though you are gone. Look at what you did...you brought us all together once again. I am a young man but this nite will be one that will never fade away. The colors, the laughs, the tears, and the pride will always drive me to chase that feeling over again for the rest of my life. To my family, I love you guys so much and am so proud to be a part of your lives. Frankie and Biba, you have raised beautiful children and they reflect your class and humility. I hope someday my children are as beautiful. Greg and Diane, your boys are stunning, young men and have the whole world as their playground. I want to be them so bad!!!! Rosella, I love you so much I wish you knew. Everything that you and I have shared thru the years is something that I keep locked away inside so I know it is always there for me and I don't have to share it with anyone. In the end, it didn't matter who won and who lost last nite because we all won. I hope this thanksgiving we can all stop for a moment and recognize the gifts we have been given. The biggest one being Life...it is something that always is mystical, magical, and ever changing. Life will always go forward and we will go with it. That is the way Uncle Frank, Pop Pop, Dad would have wanted it. It is the only way I know.

Could This Be The New Singer of Journey

My guess is that Arnel Pineda is the guy that will replace Jeff Scott Soto in journey. I can't believe how much this guy sounds like Steve Perry. If you close your eyes you think you are listening to Journey again. I think this is what Neal Schon meant when he said Journey was going to try and go back to the sound of the 80's. I think they may have found their man. My sources say first performance with this guy is in February of 2008. Mark it down...Holla if you hear me....

GO WEST - WE CLOSE OUR EYES

The Best Albums You May Never Have Listened To

I know everyone has their favorite records in their home collections and so do I. Recently though I was looking thru my collection and found some real hidden gems in my collection that I thought you might like to listen to sometime. Now understand some of this music is from a period of my life when I was growing up so you might not have even have heard of any of these groups. Here is the list...

1. Go West--Go West--These guys were like the synth pop equivalent to The Pet Shop Boys but with a more rootsy feel. They had a hit in 1989 with King of Wishful Thinking but to me their first album killed and was a fantastic feat of great pop music. Only 9 songs on the record but a tremendous job was done in making 9 standout songs. I don't know if they ever recaptured this magic again. Check out the post of the video..you will see how great they really were...

2. Boston--Corporate America--After the success of the first record and Third Stage this band really had reached their creative peak. In 2003, the band regrouped and released a very strong album called Corporate America. Tom Scholz finally relinquished some of the song writing duties and what came out of it was a new fresh sound that still had the Boston sound. Sadly, this would be Brad Delp's last album before his death. When I hear him sing I Didn't Mean to Fall In Love, I hear how great he was and how much I miss him.

3. The Beatles--Revolver--I know that any album by The Beatles has been heard but I think this album because of Abbey Road and Sgt. Peppers has gotten a little lost in the mix. With tremendous songs like And Your Bird Can Sing, Good Day Sunshine, Doctor Robert and more how can you go wrong.

4. Winger--Pull--One of the kings of hair metal. Sadly, this third album by this group showed a great deal of growth in song writing and sound in a time when grunge music was taking over the scene. The song Who's The One is a great acoustic song that came out at the wrong time.

5. Europe--Out of This World--The follow up to The Final Countdown and barely noticed by any fans at all. Personally, this is the one and only record by these guys that I enjoyed. It was a great, slick, produced album. These guys could really sing and play but no one really cared. Sad....

Holla....