2012: That's A Wrap!

The year that was, what a year it was. This was the year I did more than I ever thought possible. Instead of assuming I didn’t have time for things, I decided to find out how many things I could do with my time. There was some sadness, sickness and death, but overall 2012 was outstanding.

It was by far the best year for my acting career. I worked multiple days on four feature films with such stars as Tom Hanks, Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet, Sandra Bullock and Steve Carell, one TV movie and the web series Cheerleaders vs Redneck Zombies with included a fun filled day and night for our premiere at Six Flags New England in October.

Saw some great movies that lots of others did too; Hunger Games, The Avengers, Ted, Django Unchained and some of my favorites that it seems almost nobody else went to: Cabin In The Woods and Looper top that list.

Didn’t make it to a lot of concerts, but the clear highlight of the year, if not the decade and possibly my life was Metallica’s Orion Music and More Festival. At the two-day extravaganza in Atlantic City Lori and I both got to be in the snake pit for night 2 when they played the Black Album in its entirety. There was also my dream lineup on The Tour - Motley Crue and Kiss, plus Tesla, Scorpions, and System of A Down.

In the world of fun, I drove a Lamborghini and Lori drove a Ferrari on her birthday. And of course there was another trip of a lifetime as we visited the Galapagos Islands in December. That was an awesome trip, I love visiting places where animals have no fear of man. There aren’t many such spots left in the world. We enjoyed outstanding weather, scenes, activities, animals and people and I now love snorkeling.

I don’t think I’ve ever attended more courses, classes and live training events. The list includes Reiki, Photo Reading, Project Management, Positive Psychology Certificate, Social Media Expos, Brendon Burchard’s Experts Academy and High Performance Academy, Product Launch Formula… JJ Virgin turned my food world upside down and I enjoyed a full year of Group Power and Centergy exercise classes. At a time when many people are setting weight loss resolutions once again, I’m weighing less than I have in over twenty years.

I became officially certified as an Enwaken Coach and had more energy coaching clients than ever with NavitasCoach.com and I joined forces with other energy coaches at EssenceCoaches.com, I also taught my first live workshop and had my first paid speaking engagement. I tried cranial sacral massage, reflexology, got certified in Reiki level II, got a new tattoo, took part in multiple master mind groups and did Holotropic Breathwork for my sixth time.

This was the first year without Patriots tickets after 10 years of sitting at Gillette Stadium, and surprisingly I never wished I still had them. And I was once again thrilled that I sold my Super Bowl tickets instead of witnessing a Pats loss in person.

What is 2013 bringing….
More learning, teaching, and growing. More concerts (Lady Gaga and another round of Orion are definite), acting, and the goal travel destination is Antarctica. Lori and I have been talking about speaking together for a while, it is actually happening January 12 when we’ll both talk to a local NAMI group. I’m preparing more Larry The Lizard books, my own book, live workshops and an online course. And whatever else catches my eye in the next twelve months. Bring it on!

Guest Blogging and Positive Psychology

I've had the pleasure of being a guest blogger on a couple sites this week.

I invite you to check out "Keep The Good Going: The Choice Is Yours" on the NAMI Mass blog. NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness and I spoke at the Massachusetts convention last October.

The other blog post is at EssenceCoaches.com, a new group of energy coaches I'm part of. I'm a featured coach this week and wrote a short piece on Transformation. I was also interviewed along with two other coaches on the Meet The Coaches Blog Talk Radio program Monday night. Check out my bio page to learn more about essence energy work.

Both posts were greatly influenced by the Certificate in Positive Psychology program I'm currently taking. It is being taught by professor and author, Tal Ben-Shahar and has been outstanding so far. Earlier this month I spent an immersion week at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the Berkshires of Western Mass as part of the program. It was an amazing week of lectures, exercises, new friends and many things I don't normally do, like yoga every morning and dance yoga with a hundred people. It made for quite a strange transition going from Kripalu to working on Cheerleaders vs. Redneck Zombies!

I've visited Kriplau a couple times before for Holotropic Breathwork, but had never been there for a full week or had time to explore their many offerings. This time I tried Cranial Sacral Therapy, Reflexology and Neuromuscular Therapy.

Cranial Sacral was not at all what I expected! I thought it was some sort of head massage but it was a full-body, slow-motion wrestling sort of thing. I was twisted into all sorts of shapes and positions that I was surprised I could be in, yet I was so calm and relaxed I could have fallen asleep. And it definitely put me in altered state - swear I was seeing sound waves at dinner after my session, and it felt like I was on a major delay from someone asking me a question and me having any clue that I should respond. Very, very trippy. My altered state only lasted for an hour or so (I think) and I will definitely try this again.

I've heard of Reflexology for many years but this was my first experience with it. It was quite cool and relaxing. Nothing near as trippy as Cranial Sacral. It was wild to have so many sensations in my feet which I thought had two options; ticklish and numb. Bizarre to have my lip twitch or an arm jolt due to touching one point on a foot.

Neuromuscular Therapy, which is the most painful thing I've ever experienced, was much more than a traditional massage. I was so close to screaming STOP! Great practice for going to my happy place and breathing into pain. Whoever created this must be a big fan of banging his head against the wall because it feels good when you stop.

I get to do it all again in April when we have another immersion week. Already looking forward to it.

Cheerleaders vs Redneck Zombies

It has been a banner time for my extra work, or background performances as snotty people might say. This year I've been in scenes with Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, and Steve Carell to name but a few. Three cheers for being blurry bits in the background!


Zombies and Cheerleaders in a gentler time.
AF Grant with Meredith Prunty

For the second time in my illustrious career I get to play a zombie. Not just any zombie, but a redneck zombie! What might that mean for a zombie? You'll have to wait a bit until this web series premieres later this fall to find out. Ever since I got into the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in 2008, I've only gotten extra work, but on this project I'm a featured human once again. At least before becoming a zombie. Most actors rush to review a script for how many lines they have or try to figure out how much screen time they'll end up with. I prefer to see how much killin' I get to do or how grisly my death is. This project covers both criteria nicely.

Zombies love making new friends.
With Emmy March and Taylor Kudalis

Last weekend was publicity day and most of the cast and crew got together for some video and stills mayhem. The real production will be in September and episode one should hit the web around Halloween.

You can actually be a part of it by making contributions to the project. You can give as little as a dollar, but giving more will get you some goodies, all the way up to being an executive producer. How sweet is that? You can buy yourself a title, just like in Hollywood. So if you want to see me kill some cheerleaders, or if for some reason you want them to survive, consider a contribution.


Check out the official site. You can also follow along on Facebook.



Stand back. It's a slap fight!

The CvsRZ cast and crew.

Part of the zombie horde.
With Savannah Reinitzer and Mark Burzenski.

Orion Music & More - much, much more

Metallica's first (annual?) Orion Music & More festival was easily the best festival of any kind I've been to. Top notch location, planning, transportation, logistics, bands, set times, staging.... even prices were reasonable. Bottles of water I've seen go for $8 at most venues were only $3, plus there was free water refilling stations. The last big giant outdoor mess I went to was Woodstock '94 and it was a big giant mess.

Lori in Kirk's Crypt

James Hetfield said repeatedly from stage that they decided to have "a backyard BBQ" and thanks for showing up, but it was so much more. This was really a Metallica Theme Park - between the Custom Car Show showing off a few vehicles from James and 100 others, Hit The Lights Films curated and hosted by Lars Ulrich, "Kirk's Crypt" showcasing a sampling of Kirk Hammett's massive horror movie props and memorabilia collection - complete with live girls and ghouls making it more of a haunted house than just a tent full of stuff, Skate board ramps with pros and Robert Trujillo showing their stuff, a Metallica Museum of art and artifacts, 30+ bands hand picked by Metallica playing on four different stages, and most them were introduced by a member of Metallica. This truly was Metallica's back yard and they played perfect hosts.
I must admit I only went to this for Metallica and I hadn't even heard of many of the bands playing, but I left a fan of many of them and isn't that the point of this sort of eclectic festival?

Day 1, June 23, 2012
We are on the 1st shuttle bus from our hotel, the Borgata, at 11am (only 4 people on it) and were at Bader Field before gates opened at noon and started meeting people from all over the world right away. I've been in the Metallica Club since 1994 and my fellow clubbers have consistently proven to be the coolest people on the planet.
We had tickets to see Lars' dad Torben Ulrich's film "Before The Wall: Body & Being" and were in the front row for an hour of discussion with Lars and Torben and the "gift of gab" is definitely a family trait. It was a fun and funny experience.
Since we had bumped into comedian Jim Breuer that morning at the Borgata (he really does always look stoned) we hit the comedy portion next (it was also the only stage with shade). Lars showed up to introduce Don Jamieson and then James introduced his good friend Jim Breuer who is living his dreams combining metal and comedy. He was a blast!

Rob jams with Suicidal Tendencies

By this point in the afternoon I had yet to see a band, though I did hear The Sword cover "Cheap Sunglasses" from afar, so it was time to take my position for Suicidal Tendencies, a punk/skate/metal fav of mine since the 80's, and since this was Roberts first band I was confident of a reunion. I placed Lori near the sound board and moved deep into the crowd at The Damage Inc. stage. ST were introduced by Robert, who said he wouldn't be here today if not for this band. They opened with 'You Can't Bring Me Down" and then right into their biggest/oldest hit, "Institutionalized" (the infamous "all I wanted was a Pepsi" song) and the place went frickin' nuts. I was scared a few times. Boots, bodies and blood were flying. I didn't know till later that someone went down hard and was taken away on a stretcher. I tossed a few willing participants up for some crowd surfing and had an awesome time. Robert did indeed strap on a bass and jammed 4 or 5 tunes from "Infectious Grooves" - a bass heavy side project from ST. Heaven. When I turned to leave I couldn't believe how large the crowd had gotten.

Then it was Metallica time. Ride The Lightning night - the first Met album (yes album!) I bought back in high school. Our outstanding Met Club Ultra package got us into an exclusive area up close to the stage. As the thousands behind us chanted "VIPs suck!" I smiled to myself with metal glee.
Lori made some friends as I left her behind to go deeper by another 20 feet or so towards the stage.
Metallica played arguably the best show (this was #29 for me) I've ever seen complete with four songs I've never heard live before and one song, "Escape" that they played for first time ever! James joked right until the very start of it that he didn't want to play and could they just skip it. It's a song the entire band never wanted to see on their set list.  While it is the weakest song on the album, I've always liked it and thought it sounded great live. Another highlight was "Trapped Under Ice," a personal favorite they've only played a handful of times.
They opened four epic favorites: "Hit The Lights", "Master of Puppets" (my sides already ached from singing/screaming), "The Four Horsemen" (holy shit!!), and "Sad But True" -- followed by new song "Hell and Back" (from EP of 4 tracks from Death Magnetic sessions) then into all of Ride The Lightning, for the first time anywhere, but played in reverse order to keep me having to think, I guess. The amazing night ended with "Battery," "One," and "Seek & Destroy". Wow.
But there was still another day. A day with passes into the Snake Pit - the hole within the Metallica Stage!!

Day 2
Decided today was going to be about seeing bands. We caught a few songs by the moody, distortion heavy three-piece A Place to Bury Strangers and then checked out Liturgy - a two piece band. Two guys shredding on guitar. Nobody else. Interesting. Their bio lists four guys, so maybe two slept late, I don't know.

Ghost

I had been told ahead of time to see Ghost and I'm glad I did. They were on the main stage at 2pm and were introduced by James who said, "it's never too early for scary." Ghost are a group of anonymous ghouls from Sweden under white masks and robes lead by a skull faced Pope. I loved the music and the act. It felt so good to get a subtle head nod of approval from the Evil Pope. They were the most polite satanists you could ever meet and a good time was had by all. James stayed for the whole set and was rocking out at stage right.

Robert Introducing Soul Rebels

Next we caught the Soul Rebels, a brass group from New Orleans who opened for Metallica at their 30th anniversary Filmore Shows in December. They got introduced by Robert, and were a lot of fun. They even covered "Enter Sandman". Saw another first - moshing to a brass section.
Next up was another comedian, Shuli Egar, from the Howard Stern show. He was pretty funny, but I needed some metal. So I left Lori there and went to see Volbeat, a metal band from Denmark who are a top 10 act in Europe.  I'd never heard of them, but everyone I met talked about them, which was verified by the massive crowd at the Fuel stage waiting for them. James introduced them too and stayed for their set as well. They did a Johnny Cash cover and that fit them well, all dressed in black and rocking hard. They won me over.

Eric Church

Then it was time to prepare and get into the snake pit. I even persuaded Lori to join me there for Eric Church so she could decide herself to stay or not. Eric Church was another act I'd never heard of but I guess they are a pretty big deal in country. But they aren't country like I expected - they had pyro, smoking guitars and Black Sabbath riffs. I'm shocked to say I was front row and going off for a country act.
After that we could hear a blazing set by Avenged Sevenfold from across Bader Field as we waited for the return of the Mighty Metallica and the first time playing of the Black Album in North America. I was one person away from the front stage barrier. In front of me was a 5' tall woman from Japan at her 50th Metallica show. I made it my mission to keep her safe - cuz I wasn't gonna have clearer lines of sight over anyone else.

Kirk

They opened with the same two songs as Saturday night then varied it with "Fuel", "Bellz" and another rare personal favorite from Justice For All, "Shortest Straw".  Then into the career changing, blockbuster, Black Album, in reverse order. I absolutely loved the deep tracks "Struggle Within", "My Friend of Misery" and "The God That Failed." Hell, I loved every single song, even the one I never really cared for, "Don't Tread on Me." As I did the previous night, when they played "Nothing Else Matters" I thought of Lori. (when we first met 16+ years ago she didn't know what a Metallica was. Then a few live shows, "Nothing Else Matters" as our wedding song and BANG, she's in the fucking pit! How lucky am I?)

James

At the end of Sandman I abandoned my front position to dig into the back and find Lori for the encores, "Blackened" (SWEET!), "One" and "Seek & Destroy."  I caught a pick from Kirk after having one tossed by James rebound off my head earlier in the show and we limped away exhausted, enthused and grateful for yet another amazing show.  Can't wait for next year.

James & Rob

Final bow at Orion

good night!

The Pilgrimage

Long time, no post. It's been a jam packed year so far - and ALL GOOD.  I've worked as an extra on two films (with more expected), and last month alone I was in three different training programs, the highlight of which was Brendon Burchard's Experts Academy. Next month I start a 10-month Positive Psychology course that I'm very excited about.
But all of that pales in comparison to what I've got going on this weekend and how it relates to last fall when I was feeling suicidal. Boils down to one word... Metallica.

If you are in New England, join me at my full day energy workshop July 21 - "Mastering Your Personal Power." Have a great summer!

Holotropic Breathwork Round 6: The Joyous Millipede

Yesterday I took part in my sixth Holotropic Breathwork experience and it was the most fun-filled one yet. My prior experiences have ranged from traumatic roller coaster rides of emotion with lots and lots of tears to extremely blissful meditations free of any visuals or sensations.

In fact, my prior session in September 2011 was so uneventful I was in no rush to breathe again. Luckily, I've turned Lori onto this and she wanted to do it again. This weekend was her fourth time and the third time we were partners. In Holotropic Breathwork each breather is teamed up with a sitter for a breathing session, then roles are switched for the next session so each person does both roles before the day is done.

Lori went first and seemed to have a very happy and content experience. Her hands flowed and danced about while she had a big beaming smile on her face for almost the entire first hour. Then she went into a long period of stillness and quiet only to have a more visible experience singing and sliding about on her mat for another twenty minutes before being quite and still again until the music stopped after 2 1/2 hours.

This round for me was the first time I truly had no expectations. I had already had life changing experiences and experiences that felt like glorified naps, whatever was going to show up today - I was cool with it. I was rewarded with a very cool and joyous ride. It was the most flat out fun I've ever had in breathwork. There wasn't a single tear shed.

The music is a huge component of breathwork and the soundtrack was full of great tribal drumming and the most vocalization I'd encountered. None of it was in English, but I was converting some of it into messages that fueled my experience.

I don't really recall the music starting. There was a point I felt like I'd just landed on the mat, noticed the music was cranking and I thought I better get my breath cranking because I have no idea how long I've zoned out for. I started my deep, non-stop breathing and the music had all sorts of singing in some language, I'll guess Hindi, that started creating the most amazing scene. It was a combination of Muppet sort of folks, dozens of Plush Larry's, and the Star Wars cantina band. Characters were all sorts of shapes and sizes, a few blue puffy guys were even playing the cello. I was smiling so much, filled with such joy and entertainment I was laughing out loud as I lay on the mat with my eyes closed. This "show" went on for a while and it felt like the most fun I could ever have inside my head - or where ever this was happening. At times all the Plush Larry's created a chorus and were singing to the music playing in the room.

At one point I realized I was a millipede and I was racing through the jungle trying to get to the source of the music before the song stopped. It was a very tribal sounding piece of music with some singing and I wanted to find the people and join in on the fun. On the mat I was moving my feet, legs and shoulders a lot - in fact Lori later told me I was moving my mat and lots of the stuff around me, but my arms weren't used. Which makes perfect sense since I was a millipede. As the tempo of the music sped up I moved faster and faster, yet my millipede self never felt panicked. He was so digging the music, full of joy, he/I just hoped to find the party before they stopped. At one point I burst out laughing again because I saw an old blue VW bus and Hurley from Lost was driving. He yelled out an encouraging, "Dude!" to me and was gone.

The music changed to another track but it was close enough in theme to keep my millipede-self going and I came upon a fire where a bunch of natives were dancing and celebrating. I tried to stand up and join in. I wanted to dance with them. But millipedes can't stand up. I kept trying and falling down. But there was no sense of frustration. There was never a time when I was going to give up. Trying was fun. It made me think about learning to walk - that kids just keep trying and the trying is fun. During the time I'm shifting, squirming and shimming up and down my mat and I was going into a bridge pose trying to get my millipede self standing up. It was an insane amount of fun.

My mandala March 10, 2012

Next thing I recall was that my legs turned to roots and I became one with the earth. I started having a bit of ayahuasca flashbacks and swear that old taste was in my mouth as I became a plant and then the earth. So I was the entire planet for a while, knowing, realizing and feeling that all the creatures and people I had seen were me. They were part of me and created by me all at the same time. Then some metamorphosis happened I shot up into the sky as pure energy and spent something between 20 minutes and a millennia soaring through the cosmos and floating amongst the stars.

Pretty, pretty cool.

Live Workshop: Energy Tools To Rock Your Life!

I happily announce my premiere workshop, “Energy Tools To Rock Your Life” on Thursday April 5, 2012 at Heaven on Earth in Pembroke Ma.
To register online CLICK HERE

Do you ever feel scattered, disconnected or scared to take the next step in your life?
Imagine being centered, focused and excited about your journey.

Do you ever feel disempowered, not heard or maybe even invisible to the world?
Imagine reclaiming your personal power, decreasing struggle and creating your life instead of reacting to it.
See yourself living a life free of doubts, fears and limitations.

As Oprah said in her farewell show:
“You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you’re responsible for the energy that you bring to others….All life is energy and we are transmitting it at every moment. We are all beaming little signals like radio frequencies, and the world is responding in kind.”

Energy work is much better experienced than explained and this evening will be all about experiences. You will experience your own energy. You will learn tools that you can use on a daily basis to better your life; such as how to get yourself present in any moment, to feel more grounded, to tap into the joy of life. You will learn how to reclaim your own power and better create boundaries so you will no longer feel like some people suck the life out of you. There will also be laser coaching for a brave volunteer or two, discussion about other modalities such as EFT and Ho’oponopono and plenty of Q&A.

Come out and play!

April 5, 2012 Energy Tools to Rock Your Life 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Andy Grant Heaven On Earth Pembroke, Ma $45 (for 1) $40 (2 or more)
Register Online CLICK HERE

10 Years with The Patriots at Gillette Stadium

My seat of 10 years at Gillette Stadium

Back in August of 2000 we signed a 10 year contract for four Club Seats in the under-construction new home of the Patriots, which after first being named CMGI Field, became known as Gillette Stadium. As I pass the time waiting for Super Bowl 46 tonight, I've been reminiscing.

Our journey with the Patriots began with tickets to the AFC Divisional Playoff game on January 19, 2002. The final game at the old Foxboro Stadium. The game which came to be known as The Snow Bowl (or the Tuck Rule game for Raider's fans) and started the legends of Tom Brady, Bill Belichik and Adam Vinatieri. Lori passed on going so I got to bring three of my best friends. Lori never passed on another game.

Lori says goodbye to her seat.

Our final game was the AFC Championship game between the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens on January 22, 2012. I really let all the details soak in since I knew it was our last game. Loved the "Go Pats" written on the belly of the transport plane that did the flyover during the National Anthem. The anthem was performed by Steven Tyler who then sat in owner Robert Kraft's suite, which was just over our head, and the big screen cameras found him every time an Aerosmith song was played during the game. He would get up and shimmy and sing along with the whole crowd - very fun.  Another treat was the honorary captains - four of my favorite Patriots; Tedy Brushci, Drew Bledsoe, Troy Brown and Ty Law. They too all were in the owners box and anytime they stood up the crowd went nuts and the old familiar cheers of "DREEEEEEW" or "BRUUUUUUUSHCI" would erupt. I loved every time the Minutemen fired the muskets (took me a few years before that stopped making me jump, and I always enjoyed noticing opponents get freaked out by the guns). Also noticed how they started using more pyro for field goals once it became apparent how the game was going to unfold.

We brought Larry The Lizard so he could enjoy his seat one more time and took pictures throughout the stadium. The Patriots have won every game he's ever attended.

The reason my family of two bought four club seats was because that was the only way to guarantee Super Bowl tickets if the Patriots ever made it to the big game. So before the new stadium was even open we were able to go to Super Bowl 36 - the most amazing sports event I've ever attended. We went just hoping for a competitive game, we left with the foundation of a football dynasty. I still get chills watching any clip from that game. I thought it was a once in a lifetime experience.

Then we went to Super Bowl 38, this time as VIPs with the team. We were guests at the Patriot's victory party following the game. AMAZING! Robert and Myra Kraft walked right by me with the Lombardi Trophy. We mingled with Willie McGinest, ( Willie's family sat a few rows in front of us at all the home games) Jarvis Green, Ty Law (he owned the two seats next to me for his last couple years with Pats), Matt Light... Lori got to meet her favorite player, Ted Johnson. Aerosmith and Kid Rock played live. And I'll never forget listening to Rodney Harrison telling the story of breaking his arm in the game but not being able to get off the field and having to make another play.

I had a bad feeling in the undefeated season of 2007 and sold my tix to Super Bowl 42, very glad I did. I sold them to a friend who was a Giants fan, so I could at least feel happy for someone after the game. I feel so gross when forced to see clips from that game, but the Giants earned it. That David Tyree catch that I can't watch was awe inspiring.

Celebrating another AFC Championship, 2012

I am so grateful to the entire Patriots organization, the NFL (even when they threatened to sue me in 2006 for images on this very website), to Cisco stock for making it financially possible, the fans who sat around me, especially my boy Chuck Smith and his family who bought the four seats behind me and shared many games and two Super Bowl trips with us, to our friends and family we brought to games, to all those who bought tickets from me (I really like you, LOL), to the players families we got to know in the Club, for eight (I think) home playoff games, five Super Bowl appearances, seeing three championship banners raised, two live Super Bowl experiences, one undefeated regular season, and one totally sick Halloween/Anniversary party.... "WOW!" is all I can say.

Still hard to believe. Ten years of Patriots games and they went to the Super Bowl five of those years. Stunning! Beyond all expectations. These are the good old days. How can it get any better than this?