blackleatherbookshelf: (Flames)
I Wanna Go Hot Rockin'
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Sandwiched as it is between two five star metal classics, "Point Of Entry" suffers from being buffered by "British Steel" and "Screaming for Vengeance." There's plenty of high energy rocking coming of the disc, but it's only average high energy as opposed to classic stuff like "Breaking The Law" and "You've Got Another Thing Coming" from opposite sides of this release. There are a couple of tracks here that just feel like filler, which was rare for a Priest album.

But when the going is good, Rob Halford and crew were still delivering the goods. "Heading Out On The Highway," "Hot Rocking" and "Desert Plains" are as good as Judas Priest gets, but then you're saddled with the iffy stuff, like "Don't Go." There were some other inconsistencies, like the lack of the trademarked twin-guitar attack that is a huge part of the band's signature sound. It's also worth noting that most of the songs clock in at under four minutes, which means the band was given no room to stretch out. Perhaps it is because of the "large quantities of alcohol" the band admits to using in the liner notes or the fact that the songs were written in the studio without some road-testing to see what would or would not work.

Be that as it may, "Point Of Entry" lacks the drive and inspiration of most of the Priest albums in their discography and especially in the fertile period between "Hell Bent for Leather" and "Defenders Of The Faith." What makes Judas Priest so inspirational is simply missing, and there are many other better albums to pick up on.


   
blackleatherbookshelf: (Flames)










From this weekend in Atlanta GA.
blackleatherbookshelf: (Flames)
I'm really happy to say this:

Hello Tim Brough,
I wish to congratulate you on being chosen the Recipient of the 2013 Pantheon of Leather Mid Atlantic Regional Award.

http://www.theleatherjournal.com/index.php/pantheon-of-leather/619-recipients-of-the-pantheon-of-leather-2013-regional-awards-announced
blackleatherbookshelf: (Flames)
This past Saturday, I overslept. This was not a good thing, as the rainbow Book Fair I've been telling everyone to come to was better than two hours away and I had two and a half hours to get there. I bolted from bed and ate a hasty breakfast, then hit the highway. I was smart enough to have loaded the books into the car trunk the night before. I still made it to the event in time, including picking up my friend and fellow author David Stein. A friend snapped this picture of the two of us.


Tim and David book fair


Despite the minutes to midnight sort of arrival, we were set up well before patrons began arriving. In another break of luck, the table next to ours was a no-show, so I used it to spread more books out. Thanks to the Square device that turns a smartphone into a cash register, I did a brisk business, mostly on my new book. I was pleased. I got to see some old friends, and Thor stopped in for a visit, bearing bagels.

Now if you are wondering why I am wearing those groovy hippie glasses indoors, it was I forgot to change from driving with my sunglasses to my regular spectacles. Which was a mistake, as I left them on the passenger car seat. Which means that David, unwittingly, sat on them. Oh Snap was exactly what it meant in the literal sense. Driving home was a real trial, as I had to balance the frame on half of my head while adjusting the nose piece about every 5 to 10 miles. But I made it home safely, and my new book is already getting some very positive feedback. (Always good for the insecure author's ego.)

In less than two weeks I'll be headed for Cleveland's CLAW event, where I'll be moderating "Dirty Words: The Erotic Author's Forum." Everyone gets to do a reading, which is always fun, and the audience tends to be very responsive during Q&A time. With the new book to lead the vendor table, I am also hoping to do well sales-wise again.

I'm so pleased to have the new book out that I've started working on another. I've finally started the Amish Zombie novel I've been batting around in my head for a few years now. "Mennonite Of The Living Dead" is the working title (groan all you want to, but now you won't forget it, will you?).
blackleatherbookshelf: (Flames)
Stop by and visit me at

Rainbow Book Fair

I'll be promoting my new book...which is also now available for Kindle!

 
blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
Hell bent and heaven sent
4 Out Of 5 Stars

As each Judas Priest album became more and more successful,the band felt the need to top itself with each release. This album, "Hellbent for Leather," was a significant jump from "Stained Class." It also advance the groups image as leather clad bad boys playing the heaviest guitar rock out of England. As the title song put it the band was in a take no prisoners mode.

The album kicks off with a sexual innuendo "Delivering the Goods." Rob Halford delivers the song with grunts and a low-key growl. That doesn't mean he hasn't given up his operatic howl, evident on "Evening Star" and "Before the Dawn." "Before the Dawn" also showed the versatility of the band. Played as the acoustic set piece, it slips in the middle as a curio along with the band's cover version of Fleetwood Mac's "The Green Manalishi with the Two Pronged Crown."it joins the ranks of great Judas Priest cover songs like "Diamonds and Rust." They may have been a hard-core heavy metal, but they had visions outside the format.

"Hellbent for Leather" contains a pair of classic Priest songs. Both the title song and "Living After Midnight" preserved the image of the band not just leather clad rockers, but knowledgeable about the way with a hook. By their next album, the five-star rated "British Steel," they would have that mastered. But for the moment, "Hellbent for Leather" added to the growing mythology of this great rock band.


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blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
It's taken me several years and a lot of prodding, but my newest collection of short stories is now available via Amazon. "Bounty Hunters and Kick Ass Cops" wraps up seven white hot kinky stories from the sexual underground. Everything from Cops behaving very badly to Soldiers captured for particularly intense interrogations.

I'll let my friend and fellow author Alex Ironrod do my bragging for me:"Tim Brough is at it again with more than half a dozen stories of fierce man-sex, spiritual adventures and sadistic revenge. His writing is as graphic, as detailed, as elegant as ever. There’s Officer Malloy, the bad-ass in his tight blue uniform and tall Dehner boots tying up and flogging a new virgin victim in his private dungeon, and then mashing it up with Luke and Frank, two tough bounty hunters, playing for revenge and a sack full of money with guns barking and whips biting into naked flesh. “Android Police” offers a futuristic world of renegade PS9400s battling sadistic humans. “Code Name Swuffy” is a totally today tale of US intelligence gathering and depraved torture in the Middle East, while other stories deal with human sexual redemption through violence and deep male submission at the end of a single-tail whip. If you haven’t read anything new from Tim recently, let me tell you he sure as hell hasn’t lost his devilish touch to stir your darker imagination and to stimulate your one-handed reading with Bounty Hunters And Kick Ass Cops. Let’s have some more soon.

Click through the cover for more information. PS: It goes without saying that this is a volume of material for adults only. Not Safe For Work reading.
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blackleatherbookshelf: (Santa Brough)
I am for a change, excited and less depressed than usual. I am putting the final touches on a new book, "Bounty Hunters and Kick Ass Cops."

It's my first collection of short stories since 2003 and it's not safe for work.

I was ahead of the curve when it came to that "50 Shade of Grey" stuff. Look for me to debut it at this January's Mid Atlantic Leather.
blackleatherbookshelf: (Brutal Kombat)

My friend Mikal Bales sat down with me in 1996 for an Interview in that was ultimately published in Rubber Rebel #5. In light of his passing Saturday, I thought I'd share it again.

********** 

GREAT VULCANIZED ZEUS!
The Daddy of Leather Gods and mortal heroes adds rubber to the family.
Head Zeusman Mikal Bales speaks to the Rubber Rebel.

Rubber Rebel: For starters, what led to your decision to begin incorporating more rubber into Zeus videos?

Mikal Bales: I believe that if you’re going to produce fetish videos, your efforts should be to try and reach everybody. I’m a fledgling rubber appreciator myself and I wondered if there were rubber appreciators in the Zeus mailing list, so I gave it a try. The response was impressive, as far as sales were concerned.

RR: Which video was the first?

MB: Rubber Roughhouse & Auditions 4. I’m frequently accused of designer bondage and Hollywood SM anyway, so my approach to latex and rubber videos is kind of Hollywood rubber...because I love color! I’ve always thought that the smell and feel of rubber was primary as far as someone being interested in it, and my company being a visual one, then I would try for color. That’s the reason it started out as an experiment, but now I’m even more interested in the filming of rubber as wardrobe!

RR: Rubber fans are already catching on; at the beginning of this issue is a letter pleading for Kyle Brandon in rubber for a Rubber Rebel cover after the writer saw Rubber Roughhouse.

MB: Interestingly enough, Kyle is the bottom in Rubber Roughhouse, and Kyle’s an experienced bottom. Now as I was getting him dressed for the shoot and brought out red rubber, he questioned it. He said, “I’ve never worn red rubber before,” and I said “I’ve never shot rubber before.” It turned out, with Kyle as the bottom and Brian Dawson as one of the consummate Tops in the country, it was a very hot session! Then Kyle wanted to borrow the red rubber outfit to go to IML, so apparently he approved after the video shoot.

RR: Sex Wrestling #3 is almost all rubber, and it sure is hot.

MB: I don’t think anything fits the body quite the way rubber does. I don’t think anything makes the body sweat like rubber does. As the body sweats under the rubber, it fits even tighter. That’s a very provocative visual. For those people out there in jack-off land who can’t smell or feel it, I want it to fascinate them. I want it to attract them, and color has always attracted people for whatever their fetish may be.

RR: Zeusmen always seem to be handsome and masculine but not impossible; like men next door who just happen to have a dungeon in the basement.

MB: It’s nice of you to recognize that, because Zeus works very hard at selecting men with well muscled bodies. It’s always been my philosophy that if you’re selling fantasy, it had better be pretty. I’ve admired the Colt products for years, I don’t think anyone touches Jim French at what he does. I think his art form is pure. But...the idea of you or me scoring with some of those Colt men in all their airbrushed perfection takes away from the sexuality or the eroticism of the photography for me. I would like to think that, on a good night, you and I could score the Zeus models I choose! These are real people. I never use airbrushing, never use make-up, I never take away from what they bring to me on the shoot. There is a realism there that translates to sexuality if people watching think ‘I might be able to score that!’

RR: Your videos also tend to go one up on others in the essence of affection and lust. The actors almost always seem to make that connection. In Sex Wrestling #3, the physical sport gives way to lust and the camera follows, and in Brute Force, the magnetism is obvious. How do you get that chemistry?

MB: I don’t know how to separate sensuality from SM. I don’t think there’s anything closer, more intimate, than SM or fetish play. That includes rubber or flogging or mummification or breath restraint...I don’t know how you separate sensuality from the scene. So not only do I not separate it, I emphasize it. In fact, I even titled one of my videos Brutal Passion because SM is brutal, but it’s passionate at the same time. I think that the passion is part of the whole fantasy.

RR: BRUTE FORCE has got to be the most intense video of the last five years. Was that what you were aiming for or was it something that just happened as the camera captured it?

MB: Both! I tried for the intensity because, as I said earlier, Zeus is dismissed by a lot of people into the scene as being Hollywood bondage. Anybody who watches Brute Force and thinks that it’s Hollywood SM, I don’t think knows what they’re looking at! Even though we went after something that was much heavier than the ‘typical’ Zeus video, there was such a connection between Fred Katz and Casey Battle, then Jeff Burnam and ‘Ponyboy’ Spike, and such a sexual connection between Brian Dawson and David Keefer, that anyone coming away from watching Brute Force has to realize that it’s tough to separate the passion and feeling from the SM.

RR: It was great to see Fred Katz back on film. Was it his idea to wear his full rubber suit in the whipping scene?

MB: Fred is a close friend and exclusive to Zeus, I’m happy to say, and it was his idea to wear that suit. I think he’s one of the finest Tops in the country and it’s always nice to do business with someone who is at the top of their form. I was concerned, with the way the scene was lit, that we wouldn't see enough of Fred because he would disappear into the shadows. Then it turned out to be fabulous, because he seemed to emerge from shadow as this specter in rubber from head to toe! It made the visual all that much stronger. By the way, I just got back from New York where we were shooting Casey in Brute Force Two which will be subtitled Expect No Mercy. And Fred tops him again. (Chuckles) In rubber, of course.

**********

In the spring of 1999, Mikal Bales approached me about potentially being in a Zeus production. While I am sure he was just being polite (after all, who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to be part of an afternoon where four extremely good looking Zeusmen are strutting their stuff while you’re with them?), I modestly agreed. The result was the Can-Am/Zeus co-production Brutal Kombat. In it, I got to play Brutux Khan, evil overlord who entertains himself by having newly captured slaves wrestle and fuck in his presence. With a cast that featured Eric Evans, Robert Black, Beau Bradley and Brent Banes, Mikal essentially offered me what many men only get to dream about. I was garbed in full body black rubber and a pair of bizarre glasses, and seated upon a throne as my subjects were paraded before me, and had really hot sex as I looked on, trying to appear above it all. Believe me, trying to be detached while these men were going at it may have been the hardest acting gig I’ve ever taken on. The other trip is when the Brutal Kombat DVD version was released, it is my rubber clad stare that takes up half on the DVD menu screen. Brutal Kombat became the focal point for Vulcan America’s sixth issue, the first to appear entirely online, and gave me a listing on the popular Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB.com).

blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
Mikal "Daddy Zeus" Bales passed away today. He was a huge help to me in my time in Los Angeles, and his photography adorned many of my magazines, including the inaugural issue of Vulcan America. He even cast me in one of his movies as a lark. We enjoyed many laughs, shared a few tears and a lasting friendship. He was 73.

.02MikalBales

RIP Mikal. Calling you "Daddy" was never a superlative
blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
Camp was a delight this year. I had a four guests with me this time around and several folks who stayed over with me and Joel before the weekend even started. You could also add that I had several new members attending that I'd sponsored from last year and a bunch of new friends that were there for the first time.

I had some nice, if sporadic play this year, including two very intense sessions (one with one of my guests). But I also had to fight back my depression, even there. Despite being in the woods with 250 kinky men, my anxieties were really getting the better of me and I kept running back to my cabin and hiding. There was always a reason to venture back out, including some book sales, and to see people as they wandered around Command Central.

I really missed my friend Robert (from Copenhagen), who was not there this year, but will visit the states in October. Looking forward to that. I did retain my post on the board and will be continuing my role as secretary. The general meeting and first new board meeting minutes are already in the bag and awaiting approval. (Being severely unemployed has some perks.) Now we start planning for 2013!

I have to add to that. I have a part time job lately. I work at an FYE Music and Video store at the local mall, a mere ten minutes away. When I say part time, I really mean it. 10 hours a week over two days, at minimum wage. Beats nuthin'. I do get a discount though. I bought the new ZZ Top (really good), but can't afford to really take advantage of the savings. Such is life.




blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
Dear Tim Brough,
Congratulations. On behalf of Pantheon of Leather, I would like to inform you that you have been nominated for the Pantheon of Leather Lifetime Achievement Award.
blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
I am joining the Kindle age with this new Collection: Brutality! It's a pun on that it's the totality of my work and the correct pronunciation of my last name, Brough,  Gor for it, Kindle readers. It's better than 50 Shades of Grey.

Click on the image for more info.


Fun in SF

Jun. 15th, 2012 12:20 am
blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
You can identify some of these folks!



A stop at Whatever! (Thanks Daddy Cougar!)





And while at BootCamp, my friend and the gent I am working on a book with, Trooper Frank (right) and his boy Paul



And a campside critter....


blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
IML tends to fall on the weekend of my Birthday, so when I go I get lots of birthday cuddles. (Among other things.) I did well in the book sales department, enough to want to try again next year. It was nice to spend special time with friends Dion and Bert, along with BoyCubAble's delicious pulled pork.

My long term friend Dave Rhodes was given recognition for his lifetime achievements through The Leather Journal. I shot this picture of him and another friend, Dr Larry.



And then the Mr Friendly guys got a visit from this Puppy.



I love making another trip around the sun when it ends with this many friends around.
blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
CLAW weekend was a total delight, but the highlight for me was being moderator to the Author's Panel. I knick-named it the "Black Leather Bookshelf" in the shameless plug division, at the same time, the panelists were like a who's who. The order was me at the end of the table, with Guy Baldwin, Gloria Brame, Jack Rinella and Race Bannon seated along with me.





Gloria I had never met before, and she promptly became a thrill to be with. She was funny, flirty and very smart, and her antics with Guy were all but show stealers. We all read from our works, and then took questions. The audience eagerly participated, filling almost 90 minutes as we each took turns responding. Guy was his usual irascible self, adding to the entertainment value.





I feel so damn lucky to have been a part of this. Joel took the pics, and there are more through the link.
blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
"This is my family, this is my tribe"
5 Out of 5 Stars

For those unfamiliar with International Mr. Leather, it as an annual event where literally thousands of Leatherfolk gather every May in Chicago. The centerpiece of the weekend is the International Mister Leather contest, in which men from around the world compete for the chance to promote the Leather Lifestyle (among other activities).

But it wasn't always like this. In a DVD that is destined to take a place next to the book "25 Years Of Champions," "Kink Crusaders" chronicles the humble beginnings of IML in 1979 (12 contestants from 6 states) to the extravagant pageant that it is today. In 2008, documentarian Mike Skiff traveled to Chicago for the chance to capture the 30th year of IML as it unfolded. So as you would expect, this is the kind of film that is laden with imagery of Homomasculinity at its hottest, with pictures, interviews and event clips documenting every year of International Mr. Leather. (Including a brief but explanatory clip as a postlude from IML 2010.)

But once again, I have to repeat. "Kink Crusaders" is much more than a tableaux of hot men in leather. Perspective comes from a rare "Mr Gold Coast Leather" film clip to ongoing interviews with contestants and commentary from Guy Baldwin, founder Chuck Renslow and others (including the odd interlopers who found themselves inside the hotel as the contest was occurring). Mike Skiff and a host of contributors have created a grand history of this culture of leather in this magnificent 90 minute documentary. But if the thought of all those concepts and heavy thinking intimidates you, fear not. There are contest videos, and did I fail to mention that the pictures are hot? If you missed that earlier on, forgive me. I reiterate; the men are HOT. Get "Kink Crusaders" now. It's going to look great on your widescreen.



     



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blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
"The Rise of the Protocoholics, or Your Protocols are Getting in my Peanut Butter"

http://www.leatherati.com/leatherati_issues/2012/03/the-rise-of-protocoholics-or-your-protocols-are-getting-in-my-peanut-butter.html
blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
Saturday AM, I hopped bright and early into my car with three boxes of books for the annual Rainbow Book Fair, which Daniel Kitchens has been doing a great job of running these past few years. It's always an enjoyable outing, and - like last year - David Stein and I split costs on a table. As lucj would have it, the vendor next to us failed to show, so we expanded our space.




Perfect Bound Press is David's company, I list mine as Black Leather Bookshelf. There were an awful lot of folks there this year, including this year's "get," Samuel R Delaney, Sci-Fi and kinky writer. (You think I'm kidding? Read "Hogg" someday.) he has a new novel about Rural Gay America out, which I picked up and had autographed.



Another author friend was there, Christopher Trevor.



As per usual, lots of friends arrived to say hello and pick up some books. My buddy Colonel Al propped in to show off his workout improved figure.


All in all, a good day. I think that David and I sold enough to have made some profits, but I was ready to head for home. I'm psyched to catch the premier of "MadMen" later this week (it's on the DVR waiting for me).

Have a Great week, all.


     



blackleatherbookshelf: (Default)
A Good Fit
4 Out Of 5 Stars

This low budget gay classic has just the right touches of drama, humor and camp to be endearing and memorable. "Leather Jacket Love Story" was shot in 10 days in and around the Silverlake area of Los Angeles, as wanna-be poet Kyle tries to escape the pretensions of West Hollywood, and falls for dark and sexy construction worker Mike. Kyle is a awkward twink, Mike is a weathered older 30 something with the experience Kyle lacks.

The opposites attract almost immediately, and the sparks do fly. In particular, Christopher Bradley (as Mike) is charismatic and lights up everything he does. There are several nude love scenes, for those who buy "Gay Movies" based solely on body-part count, but Mike and Kyle give convincing fling. But can love bind two men so many worlds apart from each other? Hey, this is a gay fairy tale, complete with drag queens, sunny skies, packed leather bars (Los Angeles' notorious Faultline) and little capital D Drama. When the gay bashers inevitably show up, they get whupped in more a funny manner than anything else. The low budget soundtrack even tips its hat to the tacky sounds of 50's sitcoms.

"Leather Jacket Love Story" is a feel good movie and will give you plenty of smiles. I found it surprising that, in a very tiny way, I had a small part in the film. When Mike and Kyle head into a store to buy Kyle's first leather jacket, there are magazines on the background wall. To the left of the screen, ever so briefly, a copy of the eighth volume of "Rubber Rebel" magazine can be seen, a publication I edited and produced in 1996. It was a pleasant surprise and endeared "Leather Jacket Love Story" to me all the more.



     
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