Scott Ian
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - Scott Ian
Usually my blogs will have some sort of narrative thread running through them. Less, bloggy, more story. This week’s entry is going to be a bit all over the place as it reflects where I am at which is all over the place. In the last month I’ve been from Los Angeles to NY to Vegas to Aruba to Japan and back to Los Angeles yesterday. Sitting on my couch I feel like someone pulled the emergency brake in a car going 100mph, spinning into a crash of jet lag and physical exhaustion. So before my brain melts out my ears for a day or two…
Aruba was a blast. What else could it be? UB throws the event of the year in my opinion. Ask anyone that was there and the smile on his or her face is all the answer you need.
This was my third Aruba trip and it was my best so far. What made it better/different? Having a much larger UB & AP pro team there for sure. There was a real sense of camaraderie amongst the pros and we were hanging out all the time. From instigating the chaos at the pool during the opening party (where Phil gave out 10K to basically skinny-dip!) to hand analysis and poker tips for the UB players to closing the casino most nights to once again making the closing party a blast, teams UB & AP were representing!!! I really felt an all for one, one for all spirit and it makes the brand that much stronger.
I also felt that having all of the UB senior mgmt there to oversee everything was important, especially to listen to the players in the focus groups. I expect you’ll see a lot of your opinions reflected on the site very soon. Seeing UB CEO Paul Leggett on a day to day basis, being a part of the event seemingly everywhere at once absorbing it all was a real treat as well. Paul’s hands on approach and attitude really made me feel a part of something strong and the excitement about the future of the brand was tangible.
Regarding poker, I finished 62nd, 17 from the money. Second year in a row I got so close to cashing. I am happy over all with how I played and I probably could’ve grinded my way past the bubble but I was playing to win it, not to just cash.
On day one I had a hand that I was stoked about. I had overheard the chip leader (who was at my table) after losing a few pots and dropping down to around 78K from over 90K say to the guy next to him that he was on a losing streak. I made a mental note and decided if I had the opportunity I was going to try and make a move on him. A few hands later I had A8 suited in the BB. Blinds were 150-300. The chip leader raised to 950 UTG and it folded to me. I popped it to 3100 and he calls. The flop comes QQ6 rainbow. I check, he checks. The turn comes a J to complete the rainbow. I bet 5100, he calls. At this point I commit to the bluff and when an 8 comes on the river I shove my final 12K. He stands up and tanks for three minutes and then he calls the clock on himself. He was really confused by my shove. He hadn’t seen me turn a hand over at all and didn’t know what to do. He asked the floor man if he could show his hand. The floor man said if he shows his hand to try and get a read he’d have to take a one round penalty. I was thinking, “go ahead and show, you’re not going to get a read off of me, I am Mt Rushmore!!” The floor man counts down the final ten seconds and he folds. Jason Gray who was on my left asked me to show the bluff. I showed the 8. Chip leader sighs and turns over pocket 10’s. Whew.
I had a lot of fun in the cash games in the casino. Especially the UB table one night where we were playing 1-2 and the first raise would come in at $35! Then my friend Enigma4U4ME would shove blind and get three callers. Basically your typical 1-2 game with an average pot of $700.
Crazy but fun.
After Aruba I was home in LA for 36 hours and then took off to play a festival with Anthrax in Japan. The show was amazing. Here’s a link to a clip from the show: http://www.twitvid.com/05F93
I’m home now for a couple of weeks and I’m looking forward to getting back on UB and playing. See you all this week at the tables.
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Anthrax, AP, Aruba, japan, Los Angeles, New York, Paul Legget, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Tips, ub, UB Players, Vegas
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - Scott Ian
It’s September and summer is “officially” over, the kids (if I had kids) are back at school and we’re on a fast train to Xmas, with one really nice stop on the way…Aruba.
I can’t believe it’s that time of year already. Twenty-five days until I’m in Aruba for UB’s tourney of tourneys. This is the big one my friends and it’s not to be missed.
This is going to be my third time in Aruba and I am looking forward to this trip even more than the previous two. It definitely doesn’t get old. It’s the one place I can play poker and relax at the same time. The poker environment in Aruba is as intense as anywhere but it’s much more kickback at the same time. I can only guess it’s the sea, the sun, the air, and the DRINKS! Can I get a bucket of Balashi’s over here right now?? If this is going to be your first time to Aruba, Balashi is the local beer and it’s good. There’s my tip of the week.
My first trip to Aruba was in 2007. I won my seat after winning the VH1 Rock & Roll Poker Tourney. I had just started playing poker seriously at the time and I have to admit I was really intimidated about Aruba. I had no idea what it was going to be like. It was also going to be my first big live tourney!! I was going there without knowing anyone except Phil Hellmuth Jr who I had met for five minutes. My fiancé Pearl and I got there and were immediately welcomed by Jo Priam and all of the UB pro’s, management and staff into the family. It’s that kind of atmosphere. UB really goes out of its way to make everyone feel like a part of the team in Aruba. You’ll see. There’s a reason for such strong brand loyalty and it all stems from how cool everyone that works for UB is. This may sound kiss-assy but it’s true. The hospitality provided for all is five-star.
We became fast friends with Phil and Debo and Poker Ho and Shawn Rice and Annie and her man Joe and Hollywood Dave and Wisco and Jim “Krazy Kanuck” Worth and Robert Williamson III etc etc. I got to play a lot of poker and even got some lessons from these masters while having a blast every night. It was a great way to go to poker school.
My first big tourney started OK and about half way through level three I ended up getting all my money in post flop with a set of J’s on a Q high board. Poker Ho was standing across the table from me and saw me shove and gave me a “You got the nuts?” kind of look. I raised my brows back at him thinking I was about to double up when the caller turned over his pair of Q’s and I was done. Oops. My first tourney and I’m out set over set. I wasn’t bummed at all; at that point in my poker career there was no way I could’ve folded. These days my Spider-Sense would’ve been going off like a fire alarm and I’d make an amazing lay down. At least in my dreams that’s what happens.
So I bust out on day one and I’ve got a week in paradise. That’s what’s great about Aruba. And, there’s so much poker going on non-stop that you’ll never be looking for a game. Last year I was heading to Aruba a different poker player. UB had signed me and I’d had a year of lessons and tourneys and thousands of hands played. I also knew everyone going in so it was basically going to be a poker vacation with my friends. Once again the whole operation was first class. I have to mention Matt Savage and his crew as well because he is a huge part of making this a great event. Matt’s tournament philosophy is to give the players great value for their money and this structure provides that.
I made it to day three last year and was grinding towards the bubble. I was short stacked about twenty-five from the money when I shoved UTG with KK. The BB talked and talked for three minutes and he finally calls with AJ. I was hoping to take the blinds and antes and keep grinding but a double up would’ve gotten me past the bubble for sure.
He flops and A and the turn and river show me no love at all and I am out. I couldn’t believe it. I had never made it to a day three before and I just couldn’t accept that I was done after all that work. I was going to win it; I couldn’t be out. I got up quickly and headed out of the room. I dimly remember Debo saying something to me from his table as I descended into a darkness that I was not familiar with. The walk back to my room took five minutes and by the time I got there I didn’t know what to do with myself. Pearl was in the room and she asked me what happened and I couldn’t even speak. I was sitting there with my head in my hands in disbelief that someone pulled the emergency brake and my tourney was over. Pearl told me she’d be down by the pool and to come meet her and the rest of our friends down there when I was ready. She’d also never seen me like this and decided it was probably best to get out of the way. It was the weirdest feeling, my sane brain was saying “dude, calm down it’s just a game and you’ll get’em next time” and my insane poker brain was saying “SCOTT SMASH AJ, SCOTT DESTROY YOU AAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Interesting conversation my brain was having with itself. After a half an hour of trying to calm down crazy Scott-Hulk I got off my sorry ass and found Pearl at the pool. I grabbed a lounge chair, set it down in the shallow end of the pool, was handed a GIANT Pina Colada by Victor Bigio and I let Aruba wash the insanity away. And it did! Twenty minutes later my anger had melted away and it was all fun the rest of the trip. That’s Aruba.
Year three coming up, see you there my friends.
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Annie Duke, Aruba, Debo, Hollywood Dave, Jo Priam, Krazy Kanuck, Matt Savage, P0ker H0, Phil Hellmuth, Play Poker, Robert Williamson III, ShawnRice, ub, Wisco
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - Scott Ian
I can’t believe summer is over. Granted, I live in LA so it’s never really over, it’s more the idea of summer being over. You know that horrible “back to school” feeling? Not that I’m going back to school and if anything I worked harder this summer than I have in years so, don’t listen to me. I think the insanity of my summer may have done permanent damage!
Going into the WSOP main event I knew what I was in for and I committed to it. Last year I didn’t get to play the main event and this year it literally took an act by the scheduling Gods and the planets aligning just right for me to play. I had this insane window where I would be arriving in Vegas from Anthrax’s European tour hours before the start of day 1D, flying to Tulsa OK to play a show the day after day 2B and flying right back the morning of day 3. If I were to make it to the final nine, I would be on a plane as soon as it ended back to Sweden to play a show the next day. How this all worked out is beyond me and I wasn’t sure if I could mentally and physically do it. Of course I could bust on day 1 and everything would be so much easier but the whole thing had this “meant to be” vibe about it so I committed to getting through the week and playing my game no matter what.
Amazingly, everything went according to plan. After finishing day 2B at 1:30AM I was at the airport by 4:30AM for my flight (through Dallas) to Tulsa. That all worked and I played the show, kicked some OK ass and was back at the airport at 4:30AM for my flight (through Denver) to Vegas. Not only were my flights on time, they were early and I got back to Vegas hours before the noon start of day 3. My nightmare of sitting in Denver airport as my stack blinded off didn’t come true.
Now I was about to play day 3 of the main event having not slept in almost 48 hours. The mind is an amazing thing because I stayed focused and locked in all day and at the end of the marathon I had 152K going into day 4. I had no trouble sleeping that night.
Bubble day was a mix of anxiety and excitement for me. Of course I was excited to make the money but I had this feeling gnawing at me that I didn’t have much left. When it got to hand for hand it killed me. The slow pace for over an hour knocked me on my ass and my focus was gone. I could feel the last three weeks catching up to me like a locomotive and I was going down. I think making the money in a way was bad for my game because I lost the tension I needed to remain locked in.
I busted out shortly after when I ran my J7 into AA. I was in the BB (6K). The SB limped and I checked. Flop comes 10 7 2 rainbow. He bets 6500 and I think he’s lying so I re-raise to 17,500 with 59K behind. He shoves. I should’ve folded but like I said, I’d lost my focus and I called. He turns over AA! A 9 came on the turn increasing my outs but the 4 on the river sunk me and that was that. 637th out of 6484. I was stoked. A sense of relief washed over me as I left the Rio and a huge feeling of accomplishment. I cashed in my first main event. I set my mind to making it through the week and I did. Would I have liked to have gone deeper? Of course. Next year it’s on. Thanks to everyone at UB for making my life easier all week as well. Your support was invaluable!!
Last week UB hosted my second “Home Game” and it was a blast!! Vinnie Paul was first out for the second time in a row I believe. And that’s no knock on Vinnie’s game. Just bad luck. Guy rivered a flush against him. Kirk Hammett was tearing it up most of the game, taking down pot after pot and was the chipleader for a while. He lost a big pot, KK vs AA if I remember correctly and then got whittled away. I thought he was a lock for top 3. I had a crazy hand against Phil. I’ll let the picture do the talking!!! Greg Tribbett and I made the final table and finished 4th and 5th . Adam “Roothlus” Levy finished third, getting knocked out by the same guy that busted me and both of us against a set of 5’s!! BeantownBoy77 finished 2nd and won $1000 TD’s. Congrats to SMGKAG for taking it down and winning the Aruba package.
We’re planning Home Game #3 for the end of October. There will be some new faces there this time as well. Hope to see you there!!!
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Adam "Roothlus" Levy, Aruba, Aruba Package, Aruba Poker Classic, Greg Tribbett, Kirk Hammett, Phil Hellmuth, Rio, summer, ub, Vegas, Vinnie Paul, WSOP
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Sunday, June 28, 2009 - Scott Ian
I’ve been in Europe since May 31, all over the place. I spent the first two weeks doing promotion for the new record. Basically traveling from city to city doing interviews and photo shoots (UB shirts in every shoot!)12 hours a day. London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo. It was a brutal schedule but the reaction to the new songs has been amazing!!!! I have an iPod with the new mixes on it and the writers get to hear them right before they sit down to talk to me. The instant reactions are great. It really makes me excited for all of you to hear it!!! It really feels like the press/media is hearing the songs the same way I hear them. They can hear all the energy and time and blood and sweat and hard work that we put into this record. The two years we spent writing and then the six months we spent recording were some of the toughest and best times I have ever had in Anthrax and listening back to the finished songs now I can say it was well worth it. This new record is the best representation of our career that I could ever imagine and our new singer Dan Nelson sounds like he’s been with us forever.
Anyway, wait until you hear this record. Worship Music is a fucking great metal record and it will be out on October 12.
After the two weeks of promo we started our summer tour in Estonia. It was our first time in Tallinn and we had a blast!! Found a killer bar called Hell Hunt and we drank a hellish amount of beer! My friend Renee offered to take me to a poker room but I was too drunk and thought it would be a bad idea to be playing with hardcore Estonians and Russians drunk. The show in Estonia was great (even though it was raining really hard) and the new songs went over great. We’ve been playing three new ones; “Fight’em ‘Til You Can’t”, “New Noise”, and “Earth On Hell” and the reactions everywhere have been thrash-fucking-tastic.
We played the Metal Hammer Awards in London and that was great. Since then we’ve been in Paris, Luxembourg, Clisson France for Hellfest (which was amazing!!), Bilbao, Bologna and now Switzerland. Somehow amongst all of that I cashed in Sundays 200K, 41st place.
At the Hellfest in France after our show I got to watch Heaven & Hell from the side of the stage and they were incredible. Ronnie Dio is metal perfection. He really is the best singer ever. And, getting to stand so close to Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler is so surreal. I know these guys and have had conversations with them and I know they are just normal guys but they INVENTED HEAVY METAL. It’s like standing next to Gods.
That’s it for now. See you on UB and I’ll be in Vegas for the WSOP Main Event and don’t forget to WORSHIP MUSIC!!!
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Anthrax, Heavy Metal, music, ub, Vegas, Worship Music, WSOP
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Sunday, June 7, 2009 - Scott Ian
The WSOP is here! Non-stop poker and partying for six weeks! Vegas is ripe with cash for the taking!!
And I’m on a plane from Paris to Madrid.
DAMN!!
Schedules can really be an asshole!!
Last year I played a whole bunch of events in June but had to leave town the day before the main event.
This year I am missing all of June and I get to Vegas in time to play day 1D of the main event. How’s this for a schedule: I play the Sonisphere Festival with Metallica in Hockenheim Germany on July 4th, drive to Frankfurt after the show. Fly Frankfurt – Dallas – Vegas on July 5th and should be checking into the Hard Rock around 6PM. I’ll head over to the Rio that night to buy-in for day 1D and then hopefully be able to sleep (jet-lag is an asshole too) and be 100% for the tourney. After I play days one and two I have to fly to Tulsa on July 9th for a show and then right back to Vegas the morning of the 10th for day 3. I’m sure you’re probably thinking, “Jesus Christ, that’s nuts, he’ll never make day 3” by now but I look at it as a sign that I am supposed to be there. Usually my schedule is so insane I have to miss a lot of stuff that I want to do in my life so the fact that it’s worked out that I can be there makes me feel good. It’s put a fire under my ass that I’m gonna ride to the final table. Oh yeah, I fly back to Europe on July 16!! The planets are in alignment!! Now I just need my hands to hold up.
I am currently in Europe on a promo tour for the new album, on a plane flying from Paris to Madrid.
I was just in London for two days and Paris for one doing interviews (29 so far) and the reaction to the record has been massive. Everyone is loving it. It feels really good to hear this kind of response after working so hard on Worship Music. I haven’t felt this kind of anticipation around a record release in forever.
I was in the studio in NYC up until two weeks ago and now the entire recording for the new Anthrax album Worship Music is finished. We were working non-stop, late night, early morning, 24/7 to make sure this record is going to be everything we’ve wanted it to be for the last two years. Dave Fortman (Slipknot, Mudvayne, Evanesence) started mixing and there are five songs finished so far; Earth On Hell, Bleed, New Noise, Burn The Past and Crawl. It’s sounding fucking great!!
Over the last week it’s been great to finally hear these songs with all the parts done. I can finally really feel what this album is about and it’s definitively Anthrax. There are so many little things on the record that bring me back to 1987 or 1993 and somehow it all works and sounds like 2009. All I can say is I’ve been listening to the mixes over and over and it’s so fucking cool and heavy and I can’t wait for all of you to hear this. OK, enough of me talking about myself, you my friends will make up your own minds!
I did get to take a break the other day and go see the Iron maiden movie Flight 666. The theater was packed and the atmosphere was more that of a concert than a movie.
The movie is amazing. The cameras follow the band on their World Slavery tour all around the globe with band, crew and all of their gear on the plane (Ed Force One!!) and Bruce flying it!! The movie looks and sounds great and the narrative is compelling. It’s really a great window into an amazing organization that we’ve been lucky enough to work with over the years (and hope to again!). If you’re a Maiden fan you have to see this. Actually, even if you’re not a fan of Maiden or Metal or even music you will like this. Maiden will
make you love them!!!
OK, I’m out. We’re starting our descent into Madrid.
I’ve been hitting the tables ($50 – $100 SnG’s) late night here in Europe. Maybe I’ll see you there. If not, I’ll see you in Vegas!!!
Cheers,
Scott
PS Good luck to Team UB this month. Take’em down to Chinatown!!!
Tags: Anthrax, Evanesence, Hard Rock, Iron Maiden, Mudvayne, Slipknot, Team UB, ub, Vegas, World Slavery Tour, WSOP
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Monday, May 25, 2009 - Scott Ian
Ah spring, rebirth, the flowers are blooming and the air smells like orange blossom (well it does in Los Angeles, here in NYC it smells like pee and exhaust) and the weather is getting good and an overwhelming sense of optimism grips me like Hellboy’s fist.
I am an optimistic person by nature but for some reason right now it’s on ten. I’ve got so many things coming to fruition right now, new Anthrax record, Pearl’s debut record, my Lobo book for DC, kicking ass at poker on Ultimate Bet (I must admit I am still excited about winning the 200K weeks back), the WSOP right around the corner and of course eating and drinking like a maniac. I love that word, maniac. It’s hilariously descriptive. Willard Scott is a maniac. And Michael Myers is a maniac. That just kills me.
One of the definitions of maniac is an obsessive enthusiast and I guess you can say that I am an obsessive enthusiast over everything I do (I guess that’s why I got so deeply into poker so fast) so when I was approached to be a part of this crazy idea, a wine pairing where wines are going to be paired with Led Zeppelin songs, I maniacally answered yes. My friend Joe Bastianich (restaurateur, winemaker, guitar player and headbanger, he co-owns Babbo, Osteria Mozza, The Spotted Pig etc etc with Mario Batali) came up with this concept and asked me what I thought about it. At that moment I realized Joe was a maniac like me and I told him I thought it was a great idea. I wasn’t sure how he would pull it off but I loved his passion for it. To take Jimmy Page’s riffs and figure out what wine would go best with let’s say Kashmir or Whole Lotta Love was a leap only an obsessive enthusiast could make.
Who wants to drink great wine and listen to Led Zeppelin?
Show of hands please.
If you have a soul, you just put your hands up.
OK so a few months ago I was at dinner in LA with Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali and it turned into (as they always do) a late night Amaro (it’s like Italian Jager but stronger) session. It was a Friday night and I realized that the best Zeppelin cover band in the world, Six Foot Nurse was playing at Molly Malone’s. I rousted a bunch of the crew out of their liquid-herb induced haze with promises of “I swear if you close your eyes IT IS Led Zeppelin.” Now I’m going to have to ask you, the reader to take me at my word on this and if you ever have the chance to see the Nurse, take it.
We made it to Molly’s in time to catch the last twenty minutes of the set and if memory serves, three seconds into The Ocean Joe turned around to me with huge eyes and said “Holy shit.”
The rest of the evening was just piling on more wood to the already raging fire and before Joe left he said to me, “We have to do something with these guys, have to bring them to NYC and do something.”
Joe being the man of his word that he is called me the next day and asked me if I thought the band would be interested in coming to NYC to do an actual live show where he would pair wines with specific Zeppelin songs. Take his idea and realize it!! He didn’t have any other details other than the most important one which was, let’s do this.
Of course the band was excited about the opportunity to go to NYC and we worked it out where I would play a few songs with them as well. I was nervous about this because as strange as it may sound, other then Rock N Roll, I don’t know any Zeppelin songs on guitar. Or, I don’t know any Zeppelin songs on guitar correctly. I’ve never sat around and learned Zeppelin. Crazy right? Well Nalle Colt (guitar player for The Nurse as well as Pearl) knows it all note for note so on one hand I knew that if I learned something wrong he could show me the right way to play it and on the other hand I was stressed because he knows it all note for note and I didn’t want to come in to rehearsal like an idiot. It would be like playing hold’em with Annie and playing like a donk.
I woodshedded and learned The Ocean, Rock N Roll, The Rover, Whole Lotta Love and Heartbreaker. At rehearsal I learned Good Times Bad Times and then day of show learned Tangerine and Since I’ve Been Loving You. After rehearsal I felt really good about where I was at with the songs and after Nalle showed me a couple of little Page-isms, I was ready to rock. The band sounded sick with the rhythm guitar.
We had a pre-show meeting at the Spotted Pig the night before where we ate and drank for five hours and discussed how the show would run for fifteen minutes. That’s pretty much how the whole week in NY went. Pearl and I would make one plan, like “let’s stay in and be mellow tonight because we’re super hungover” and that would turn into Joe texting me and saying “Come into Del Posto for dinner. Please let me feed you. Pasta will heal your soul.” How do you say no to that? So we go for dinner and that turns into Pearl and I and the Nurse guys in the private room at Del Posto drinking all night with Joe, Mario, Jay McInerney and NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. Weird, random and totally in context with my life. Jay and Jimmie were both really cool and Jay had some great Michael J. Fox stories (but those are for the book my friends, sorry). Jimmie said he’d take me out on the track and I plan on taking him up on it.
Anyway, I digress.
Show time at the City Winery, a killer new venue from the people that started the Knitting Factory in NYC. Live music, food and a wine program where you can make your own wine with help from an expert and with grapes flown in from the world’s best regions.
The show was oversold. Four hundred and change packed around tables. Six glasses in front of each person with a place mat explaining what each wine was and why it was paired with the accompanying song.
The show was being hosted by Joe and his buddies Mike Edison (ex editor of High Times and Screw magazines) and David Lynch (wine expert, not the Blue Velvet guy). If anyone can make the unlikely coupling of fine wine and rock music work, it would be these three eclectic mofo’s. They all took turns on the mic explaining as best they could to the crowd how this evening came to be and even had the band kick into short five to ten second bits of songs to whet their appetites. I could tell the evening was going to be a success. Besides the obvious fact that the place was sold out, as soon as the band played the first five-second tease, the place went nuts. These people were starving for rock!! Lots of mid to late 30’s white whiteys that have the cash to drink well and would never go out to a rock show. They didn’t even know they wanted this night and we gave it to them.
After Mike Edison described Zeppelin as like “the moment right before penetration” they introduced the first wine, Henriot Blanc de Blanc Champagne that was paired with Immigrant Song. Try and think about the acidity of Champagne and then think of Plant wailing and Page’s biting riff and it makes sense. Or it doesn’t and it doesn’t matter because you’re drinking killer booze and getting your ass kicked by the Nurse. I can’t remember all of the pairings as I was getting ready to play (I was to get up for the last pairing, Bordeaux and Whole Lotta Love) and then I would stay up and we would play all the rest of the songs. There was a Chablis with Misty Mountain Hop which worked as the edgier notes of the Chablis (compared to the Champagne) matched Page’s deliberate phrasing in Hop. Kashmir was paired with a Barolo and the wine, like the song both took their time to unfold their epic bodies.
By the time the six glasses of wine were finished the crowd was well oiled and when we kicked into The Ocean, spontaneous dancing broke out all over the room. Amazingly, as buzzed as I was I didn’t fuck up once. The energy got better and better with each song and Rock N Roll closed it out in true bombastic Zeppelin style. The reaction to the band was so overwhelming you would think these people really saw Led Zeppelin. Maybe it was all the great wine? We came back and encored with Since I’ve Been Loving You and said goodnight. After the show we “helped” Joe finish off some triple magnums of fine Bastianich vino.
It was an insanely decadent week. Being fed by Joe and Mario everyday is amazing and brutal at the same time. I swear I gained 190 pounds. I’ve been on tuna with oil and vinegar since.
So since this unlikely pairing worked I started thinking about pairing poker hands with Zeppelin, or for that matter, any songs. There are the obvious ones like Killer Queen or Number Of The Beast (set of sixes). I’m looking for a deeper connection. Feel free to chime in and I’ll let you know how I progress.
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Led Zeppelin, NASCAR, Rock N Roll, Scott Ian, ub, Wine, WSOP
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009 - Scott Ian
Hello my friends how the hell are ya?
We’ve been burning the midnight black tooth grinding away at the new Anthrax record. I’m on my way home from NYC where we just spent a week working on vocals. I’m home in LA for the weekend and then I go right back to NYC on Tuesday for more recording. We’re getting close to finishing and it’s sounding great. There is so much energy in the tracks it’s like a physical, tangible thing. We start mixing on May 6 and we should be giving birth to a really heavy baby by June 1!
A couple of weekend’s ago we took a break from recording to fly down to Bogota Columbia to play a show with Iron Maiden. When Maiden invites you to a party, you show up. Especially in Bogota. It was a long trip there from LA but when we got in Friday night the hotel bar was still open and we dove into the local brew called Club Columbia. It was good.
Saturday was show day and we got to the venue in Simon Bolivar park (it’s like their Hyde Park or Central Park) at about 3PM. Our dressing room was a huge tent fully catered and boozed out with white jacketed waiters. Strange but nice. Everything was 5 star. I guess I didn’t expect the white glove treatment in Bogota. Everyone treated us great and we really felt the vibe of how stoked people were that we were there. You could feel it in the air. Thousands of people were on line for a week waiting to get a good spot up front. Seriously dedicated these Columbians.
Our show was amazing. 45,000 strong, the Bogota metalheads went fuckin’ nuts. They sang every word. It was our first time there and it won’t be our last. I haven’t felt that kind of energy from a crowd in a while. It really felt like the whole thing could at any second just completely dissolve into chaos. And that’s a good thing.
Iron Maiden and their crew treated us as usual, fabulously. We have been playing shows together since 1988 and they have always been by far the best band we’ve ever played with. Their attitude has always been about giving the kids the best show they’ve ever seen and that includes letting the support bands shine. They’ve never had that attitude where they would sandbag an opening act to make themselves look better. Maiden and their organization, from their manager Rod Smallwood to Squid the monitor tech are all consummate professionals and it’s a fucking honor and a privilege to share a stage with them.
When Maiden hit the stage the roar from the crowd sounded like what a tsunami must sound like. It was a deafening monstrous roar that never stopped. I was in actual tears of joy watching Maiden rip into Wrathchild. I headbanged the rest of the night away. Maiden are the Kings.
We got to hang late into the night with Steve, Bruce, Nicko and Rod. I can’t wait to do it again.
Oh, and Dave Murray plays poker!!
See you at the tables.
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Anthrax, Dave Murray, Iron Maiden
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Monday, April 20, 2009 - Scott Ian
I flew to Vegas today to play in Doyle Brunson’s Beer Pong tourney. The event was being held at Hogs And Heifers in downtown Vegas. If you’ve never been to Hogs And Heifers, I highly recommend it. It’s a real dive bar with the right attitude. It’s definitely worth the cab ride from the strip. It’s only a couple of miles but it feels like a universe away from the bullshit fancy pants places in the casinos that charge way too much and everyone looks like a Rock Of Love or Tool Academy cast member. I paired up with UB’s own Debo and we figured we’d have a good shot at winning the thing. My hand-eye coordination is really good and even though I’d never played beer pong before, I have had drinks on stage before and still played my guitar perfectly!
Guitar playing has got to be harder than throwing a ping pong ball into a cup right?? In the first round we drew last years champs who also happen to work at H&H. Debo and I weren’t scared. We beat them and then we’re the team to beat. Send a message! The match started off ugly for us as one of the players on the other team named Mitch hit like 6 in a row. Jeez!!! We started to come back and I made 5 or 6 shots and we closed the gap from being down like 7 to 2 to 4 to 2. They hit again and we had 1 cup left. We got them down to 2 cups but then they hit and we couldn’t tie it. Oh well, there’s always next year. I had a blast any way. The shit talking was epic and the bar was crazy with 4 tables of beer pong going at the same time. A whole group of us, me, Debo, Poker Ho, WiscoMurray, Tracy “Fatcats” Scala and a few others made a $100 a man last longer bet but we made the mistake of inviting the ringers as well so nobody collected. Everyone was having a blast. The Binger brothers lost a tough match. Michael Binger was on fire, hitting 6 in a row at one point. Liv Boeree also kicked ass in her first match. I was out but stayed to cheer on my pals and drink a lot of PBR. Debo came and found me and told me that a bunch of guys were heading over to Caeser’s to play a $200 tourney and I decided to roll with them because if I stayed at H&H I would get REALLY drunk and not be very happy on my 7:25AM flight to NY the next morning.
So we phantomed to Caesers. Myself, Debo, Ho, Wisco and Tracy all bought in. Wisco and I were at the same table. There were only about 100 people in the tourney and I felt good about my chances with 5000 in chips and 40 minute levels. I played so patient, winning pots, playing my image, chipping up to around 15K. At that point the blinds were 2-400 with a 50 ante and I woke up with AA on the button. There was a raise in front of me to 2K, I call. The flop comes Q,6,2. He shoves, I call. He’s got 10’s. The turn is a blank and then he spikes his 10 on the river. I felt the air go out of me a bit and now my 5:30AM wake up call started to loom large. I really didn’t tilt, what can you do? I got my money in good. That shuffle is an asshole. That’s all it is. That beat took me down to a little over 5K in chips and now the blinds were 3-600 with a 75 ante and I shove the next hand with A3c. The BB calls with 89c. My A high wins it. I was still a bit loopy from the KO blow of the rivered 10 but at least I had around 13K. A few hands later I steal the blinds open raising to 1800 and then the next hand I have 99 and I open raise to 1800. Wisco shoves, I call. He’s got AJ and he hits an A on the flop and that leaves me with 1200. I’m all in a few hands later with Q8 vs AK and I’m off to bed for my
7:25 AM flight to NY.
All in all a blast of an day/night and I can’t wait to hang with Team UB again soon.
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Beer Pong, Caesars, Debo, doyle brunson, Michael Binger, Vegas
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Monday, March 30, 2009 - Scott Ian
GOD DAMN WOO HOO AND CAN I GET A HELL YEAH!!!
10:45PM Sunday night March 29. At least I think that’s wha time it was. I could be off by a bit as I was excited and freaking out and not paying attention to the minutiae of the moment because after over nine hours of poker (I started at 1:35 PST in the Dime tourney) I won the 200K. GOD DAMN WOO HOO AND CAN I GET A HELL YEAH!!!
Wow, after final tabling the 200K three times, I took it down. It really felt good.
I’ve been working my ass off for a year and winning this on the site that had the faith in me was extra special.
OK, more on this later. Let’s get in the time machine and take it back to Wednesday. Yeah, my time machine is pretty ghetto, it only goes back five days. Wednesday night was the first of what I hope will be a regular home game that I have started with a bunch of friends. It’s taken us forever to get it together and even Wednesday night an 8PM starting time quickly turned into 10PM start time by the time we got set up, counted chips, stopped eating, talking, etc. UB was nice enough to send us a felt so we didn’t look like a bunch of hoboes. Being that it was the first time we were playing and there were a lot of different skill levels, some beginners, some who kind of knew what they were doing, some decent players and some really good players; we decided to play a few nine handed SnG’s, $40 buy-in. I wanted $100 buy-in but the beginner’s union objected. I argued that beginner’s luck would swing in their favor but all they saw was my beard snatching their money like an octopus’ tentacle.
The games were fun, the food was great, the booze was boozy and all of a sudden it was 2AM. I was having fun playing/teaching/getting sucked out on except I was feeling weird. I had been at the studio all day working on the new Anthrax album and I just thought I was tired, but that turned into a full body ache and what felt like a fever. I didn’t want to be the party pooper so I kept playing but by 2AM I was ready to drop. Pearl and I left, and the games continued until early in the morning. When I got home I had the chills and was shivering uncontrollably. I got into bed and passed out instantly only to wake up thirty minutes later as my feet were already running to the bathroom like Fred Flintstone starting his car. I puked what seemed like more than I could’ve physically had in my body, took my temp, fever, and then passed out again. I woke up the next day less pukey but still sick. Doctor says flu. Boo. I never get sick, haven’t been in years. And the flu? Maybe when I was a kid? Anyway, I was on my ass.
I was stressed out because I was supposed to be going to Phoenix the next day (Friday) for my aunt and uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary/ family reunion. It was really important for me to be there. It’s not often that my family gets together and I was looking forward to it. I had already decided to not go to the Poker News Cup in Austria because I wanted to be at my family reunion and now I’m down with the flu and I’m not going to make it. It was really bumming me out, making being sick even worse. I woke up Friday still sick, there was no way I could fly. I spoke to my dad in Phoenix and everyone in my family sent their get-well wishes from the bar at the pool at the Phoenician. Stupid flu!!
So with my travel plans dashed, I spent my time catching up on 24, Lost, South Park, Poker After Dark and everything else in my DVR. I couldn’t even play guitar as just holding the guitar made me tired. By Saturday I was feeling better but definitely not 100%. Maybe 45%. No energy at all. Just walking outside for some air winded me. The flu is worse than a hangover. I woke up Sunday feeling the same, this thing hanging on my neck like impending danger. At least I knew I had the Sunday tourney’s to help pass the time.
I bought into The Dime and was doing OK, but I didn’t feel like I could focus. With my energy so low I wasn’t feeling like myself and I couldn’t put all my strength into my game. I figured when the 200K started I’d just take it easy and be patient and if I bust early I’ll watch some 24 and take a nap.
The best laid plans…
I’m sure there were many pivotal hands over the course of the tourney. Usually I’m good at recalling hands but with my flu brain, it’s all a bit hazy. I do remember a hand where I had QQ UTG, I think blinds were 3-600; I raised 3X, the SB called, and the BB reraised big. I thought about it for a minute and folded. The SB shoved and the BB called. SB also had QQ and the BB had AA! AA held. As my good friend Phil Hellmuth Jr would say, “I can dodge bullets baby.” Actually, I think being sick helped me make the fold there. My normal aggression was definitely tempered by all the meds and lack of energy.
The tourney rolled on and on and all of a sudden it was two tables and then I was 9 out of 11 and then it was the final table. I was on the short side of things for a while, down to 135K with blinds at 10-20K at one point, totally card dead and then I woke up with AA and QQ back to back and was breathing easier with around 350K. At that point it was five handed and I got way more aggressive, stealing blinds, knocked out a guy and I really chipped up. I was delirious. I had never done better than 7th in this tourney so it was already a personal victory for me. When it got down to 3 we looked at one deal. I was in 2nd by only a little and the deal was really good. Basically 1st and 2nd same money with a big drop off for 3rd. We all agreed and then asked to play it out only to be told the tourney would terminate.
I didn’t want that. I wanted to win it and I said I wanted to play it out. One of the other players, Quizzle1 I believe asked if we could at least play a few hands to finish it and the manager said yes. My last hand was KQ and I took it down!
I turned around to Pearl and told her I won and she was freaking out. I was too although I was so physically wrecked. It all caught up and it was hard for me to even write thank you to all the congrats that were coming in let alone jump out the window and go get reallllyyyyyy drunk like I wanted to. I did realize that if it wasn’t for the flu, I would’ve flown to Phoenix and I would’ve been on a plane on Sunday coming home and I wouldn’t have been able to play. Weird. Yay flu!!
Now it’s Monday morning and I’m still recovering. Feeling better but still weak, maybe 70%. Winning definitely helps!! That’s it for now. I gotta eat something I didn’t eat a thing yesterday.
Cheers my friends,
Scott
PS Thank you so much to Phil, Annie, Debo, Wisco,Shawn, Ho and everyone at UB for believing in me.
Tags: 24, Anthrax, Lost, Pearl, Poker After Dark, South Park
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Monday, March 16, 2009 - Scott Ian
I just busted out of the 200K in 12th place. I’m not one to harp on bad beats and I am what you would call an eternal optimist. I guess that’s why I play poker. I guess that’s why I started a band and knew I would make it. I just have to get this off my chest or my head is going to explode like in the movie Scanners.
I was having a great tourney, really feeling good about my game. Can’t think of a mistake. Got KK cracked pretty late when the all-in I called made 4 to a flush with nothing but I made the right call. I chipped back up and was having a blast at the table with Liv Boeree and Matt Vengrin.
So here’s my whiny bitch moment. Please allow me this momentary catharsis. I have just under 150K and I’m in the BB with 82os. Blinds are 5-10K, 1K ante. It folds around to Matt Vengrin (I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE MATT!) who completes from the SB. The flop is 2 8 Q. I am thrilled, why wouldn’t I be? Matt bets 10K, I call. The turn is a 9. Matt checks. I think I’ve got him so I bet 1/2 the pot, 23K. He bumps it up to 115K. I shove and he calls. He has Q4. Can you guess the river card?
A NOT SO FANTASTIC FOUR.
If it wasn’t for my lady Pearl sitting in the same room as me watching me scream bloody murder, cursing the Gods as I stomped around the room swearing at the walls, (A F**KING FOUR AAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!), I don’t know what I would’ve done. Burning my whole block down came to mind. So I’m out 12th. I’ve finished 7th in the 200K before but if I double there I make the final table in 5th place out of 9 (2 people went out literally while I was screaming so I just missed the final table) and that’s the most chips I’ve had going into that final table. I can win it.
OK, I’m done crying. There’s always next week.
In happier news, my Home Game last week was great. There were a few glitches like Slash and Phil Hellmuth being late and their seats being taken away (doesn’t UB software know that rock-stars and Phil Hellmuth are always late???). Also, DOC31 from the UK got booted from the list for no apparent reason. We’ll make it up to you DOC. Jerry Cantrell finished 12th I believe. He’s a great player and ended up busting out set over set against Annie Duke. I went out 8th and Annie took it down. I’m proud that Annie won my first home game. We’re planning on another one now. Maybe we’ll do it live this time and have the winners come play with us. Now that would be sick.
See you on UB/AP.
Cheers,
Scott
Tags: Annie Duke, Liv Boeree, Phil Hellmuth, Slash
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