David Lee Roth- Vocals
Tommy Lee- Drums
Peter Criss- Drums
Gene Simmons- Bass Guitar
Rick Neilsen (Cheap Trick)-Lead Guitar
Ace Frehley Lead Guitar
Paul Stanley Rhythm guitar

Now those are the living. If I got to do a band of the dead-
Randy Rhodes-Lead Guitar
John Bonham- Drums
Ronnie Van Zandt- Vocals
Phil Lynott- (Thin Lizzy)-Bass Guitar
Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd)Lead and Rhythm Guitars
Jerry Garcia- Guitar

Do to an evil phone company switching me without my permission
and resulting in my DSL being lost I am without a home
computer until at least Tuesday of next week. My phones
went down at my house and I was like what the fuck?!
So I will only be on here during the day here and there
because I will have to sneak time when things slow at my
office. Once my DSL comes back up I will be back here
full time posting and responding. Please also go to
www.soulsgate.com and review poems (please be kind)
as I will have only a small amount of time during the day.
I may not be posting any new poems until my DSL is back
up because I do my best writing at night. I do have an
extensive library of writing so maybe I'll post some of that.
Thanks for understanding. JIM

Dedicated to a very special friend-

"Free at last. Free at last. Great God almighty,
free at last!"
Martin Luther King, Jr.

My heart got the best
of me and I lost my way.
I could not find my way home.
I was lost in a forest filled
with testosterone and fueled
by emotions. Everything
became very dark for me.
I had spent too much
time in this desolate place
and night had now fallen.
The hours pass so quickly!
Suddenly you were there
with a light.
You made me see things
in a new way and
you pointed the way home.
Thank you angel.

"There's an empty spot where your love used to be."
is an excellent line. I like what you wrote.
Sorry I got sidetracked. I'm back on track now
thanks to someone putting me back on track.

Ontario,
You're not getting my goat this time.
lmao!!!

Spoken like a man who meant it.
You're pretty cool!

bump

I guess occasionally even Simon Cowell likes
one of the performances. A nice word from you
is making me think you're not quite the bad guy
after all.

Dedicated to all the great people who write on this forum

There are many critics out
there that do not care
if their words provide
some hurt. It's freedom,
they say, to fill a heart
with decay and they think
their work's full of merit.
All I can say is after
reading your words, Mr. Critic,
is that I could hit you on
top of the head with my
words...
and you still wouldn't get it.
Life's too short to worry
about a bad opinion or two.
I'd rather worry that I don't
run out of beer or money,
then I would really be thru.
The only opinion I need
are the opinions of my peeps.
I have friends in low places,
the best friends I could ever
think of. So tonight we raise
our glass to you, Mr. Critic.
You gave us a reason to get
together and have a few.
Tonight we'll get drunk and
get rowdy, tomorrow we'll
tell our lovers we're sorry
but one thing's for sure-
after this first toast
WE WON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOU!

I'm writing this on behalf of my fellow artists in this
forum.

"Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one."
Toby Keith

Ontario,
This is not American Idol and why are you using
phrases like artistic freedom and artistic merit?
Do you even know what they mean or did you just
make them up. It is okay to say you like or dislike
something. We put our work up here to share, not
to get shit on. We are not American Idol contestants
and I have to say I'm kind of offended to be lumped in
with that shit. We are just ordinary people who have
a message in our hearts that we share with you here
for free. We are not charging, nor are we making any
money here. The American Idol contestants at least
walk away with something. The most we can walk away
with is a kind word. The worst we can walk away with
is ignorance. Artistic freedom means that the artist
should have the ability to do whatever is necessary
to get their message across. Artistic merit means
that the work is honest and from the heart. Criticism
is not an art form. Critics are not artists. Therefore
the terms artistic freedom and artistic merit do not apply
to a critic. What DOES apply to a critic is that they
have freedom of speech. Yes, you can say any silly fucking
thing that comes to your head and you are guaranteed by
the US constitution to be able to do it. The writers of
the poems on here are artists. Artistic Freedom and Artistic
Merit are terms that apply to the artists. At this point
you are a critic, not an artist. You are not expressing
yourself as much as you are expressing your opinion. That's
cool. Just keep in mind that people who write the stuff
that's posted here really dig deep inside and make
themselves vulnerable to criticism by the mere fact that
they post. I can tell you from experience that writing
is hard fucking work and I don't get paid for it. Not even
on my own website have I made but 22 cents in advertising.
So not getting paid is bad enough. To lump us in with
American Idol contestants is simply ignorant. There is
no MERIT to your comparison. I am not some wannabe pop
singer. I am actually a member of the American Society of
Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). Ascap counts
among it's members some of the most well known artists
of our day. I'm proud to be a member. I guess what I'm
trying to say is that we do the best we can here
and take a chance of getting hassled by even posting here.
Please don't make what we do harder by offering criticism
that often times just doesn't make sense and can be taken
by sensitive people as being downright mean. I just thought
of something- If we are like American Idol contestants then
you are like a poor man's Simon Cowell, only you offer criticism
and no advice on how to do better.

Firstly, Ontario I do have to give you credit where
it is due- You have started a very interesting thread.
Now to the part where I think you're full of shit on-
artisic merit DOES NOT belong to the tough and true.
I've met various artists thru a friendship with a
guy who does concert security. The guitar player from
Pearl Jam ran into a stall like his ass was on fire because
he saw me in the bathroom. He hid in that stall while I
scored free tickets to his concert. I also met Stevie
Wonder. He is a very quiet and humble person. He is
EXTREMELY sensitive. Now Bruce Springsteen is a whole
different story. He had no entourage, the backstage was
quiet as a mouse, and he did not want to sign an autograph
for me until I told him I had lost my job and started a
new business. He then happily signed and wished me good
luck with my business. Meat Loaf had so much energy that
you could feel that he was gonna burst from his skin.
The songwriter for Meatloaf was as quiet as a church mouse
and is very shy. Steve Perry from Journey is also a very
nice, but very shy guy. His bodyguard was walking him away
from me but when Steve saw I had a backstage pass he called
for me to come over to him. You could tell the guy was
nervous as hell. We talked for a moment and he signed
an autograph for me but when he got to the backstage door
to get in his limo he looked like a man who was scared of
the world. The only artist I met that didn't seem nervous
or sensitive was Bruce Hornsby. Bruce Hornsby played with
the Grateful Dead. Once you got this man talking it was
like being with an old friend. He even whipped out his
wallet and showed off pics of his kids to my wife and I.
But can I give you the biggest case I can that artists
are very sensitive people? Let's examine Kurt Cobain.
He used to be homeless at various times and slept under
bridge overpasses and in cars and at various friend's
houses. He struggled to get Nirvana going. He writes
in his journal of having to go to gigs in a car that kept
breaking down. You would think that having a few bucks
to his name would make this guy happy. He made an album
called Bleach that costed $500 to make. At the time of
it's release nobody could've cared. Now it sells even today.
Then... Nirvana got an offer from a major label and recorded
an album called Nevermind. The record label thought it might
sell 50,000 or so copies. I'm sure Kurt and the other bandmembers would
have been ecstatic had Nevermind sold 50,000
copies. Nevermind was released and on the backs of the
song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" sold MILLIONS of CD's. I've
bought at least 3 or 4 copies myself because I keep losing them
or scratch them up. Back to story. Nevermind came out and
caused a musical revolution. The status quo of hair metal bands
and pop singers got blown into the water. Nirvana changed
music. Kurt suddenly found himself with a shitload of money
and married a beautiful, if slightly off balanced Courtney Love.
She is another great example of an artist that is sensitive.
I saw her at a festival once but that's for another story.
So Kurt's married, has all the money he needs, Nirvana is
an overwhelming success. He should be happy, right? Not exactly. Kurt
did not know how to deal with the money
or trappings of fame and success. He started doing heroin.
He desperately wanted a normal life back, at least life as
he knew it before Nevermind came out. If you listen to
Nirvana's third album "In Utero" you will find that it
reads like a 45 minute suicide note in music and lyric.
In one of the songs Kurt says, "I miss the comfort in
being sad." As a matter of fact the very first line in
the very first song on the CD "In Utero" is "teenage angst
has paid off well. Now I'm bored and old." A song recorded
for the album but not put on it was called "I Hate Myself
and I Want To Die." It comes as no surprise after reading
that song title that Kurt got a gun, went into a room above
his garage, and blew his brains out. The music revolution
was over and Kurt fired the last shot. I know this is long
but it's the best case I can make to you Ontario that art
does not belong to the strong but is rather populated by
people who at various times are on the edges of sanity.
Please be kind to them.
Jim

There is a difference between criticism and just being
ignorant. I got jumped on all over by alot of people
on a songwriting website because what I wrote didn't
have alot of rhymes in it. I then stated my case by
listing a variety of successful songwriters who have
popular songs that don't have a rhyme scheme in them.
That started a rather long thread and I started a pretty
decent debate. It's okay to say you don't like something.
I think all that's being asked is to realize that people
put their heart and soul into what they wrote. It may
not be your cup of tea but they worked hard on it. Please
take that into account when you respond to things. Try
to find SOMETHING positive to say because writers are very
sensitive people by nature and need encouragement.

I liked that!
You need to put more poems up!

Alright Lady,
I want to hear your thoughts. Even if you don't beleve
you still believe because you believe in not believing.
So what is your take on this whole situation? Why or
why do you not believe?

I am a Christian, but not a bible thumper. Those people I
leave alone. I personally believe that Jesus Christ died
on the cross for me as a sacrifice for my sins. Does that
mean that people who don't won't get into Heaven? Who am
I to say. That judgement comes from someone higher than
me. The reason religious people won't admit they could
be wrong is because of faith. Faith is the belief in
things that aren't seen. To me there's "religious" people
who like to show off, judge others, and act like they're
better than everyone and then there's people who have
a relationship with God but realize they are human beings
with human failings and are no better than anyone else.
Faith is the reason religious people won't admit they could
be wrong. That, and pride. I have my own theory-
I believe in Christ and that I am saved by his grace
but what about the other large part of the world that is
hindu, muslim, jewish, and other religions? I don't think
that the God I worship would let all these other people
go to Hell. I also think that maybe, and this is just
my THEORY that the other religions worship the same God
just in a different way. What about people who don't believe
in God? Do we have a God who would let all these people
go to Hell when he is loving and caring about us and
is perfect. Keeping in mind that God is perfect would
he let about 50% of the world's population go to Hell?
I think not. I think God has a plan that we are not
able to comprehend because the human mind can only
process so much thought. Hope my answer provides some
insight.

Good to see you back. Missed you.

Instant messaging would be VERY cool.
By the way I think the site is great
and it is cool that you are always
looking for ways to improve it.

Sometimes there are places you don't want to go.
You may out the player and then people could
turn on you, a kind of kill the messenger kind of thing.
If it were a close friend of mine being played I might
tell them. If it were a close friend and they
came and asked me for advice I would definitely tell
them but otherwise I would stay out of it.