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!