I have been a fan of Deftones for over ten years now. I was introduced to them by My Own Summer (Shove It), Back To School (Mini Maggit) & Change (In The House Of Flies) being played on the radio, but the day I decided to buy White Pony was the day after I saw them open for Godsmack in 2001 (my first concert no less).

The band, Chino in particular, has since then had a major influence in my musical outputs. Each of their albums was filled with beauty, aggression, enigmatic imagery, and each album showed a musical progression. Diamond Eyes is no different. The album is definitely a treat for fans of the “old school” Deftones as tracks like the lead single Rocket Skates & the brutal CMMD/CTRL serve you an ass kicking with vintage Around The Fur flavor. Other tracks like Prince & Sextape sound at home in the White Pony era. The album as a whole kicks it like they used while mixing it up with styles from every era all while managing to stay fresh.

Now there is a downside. Diamond Eyes is great album but it’s not the album we were going to have at first. The band was working on Eros,an album that Chino stated was closer to White Pony, when tragedy struck. As many know Chi Cheng was in an automobile accident in November of 2008 leaving him comatose for months, and he is now in a semi-conscious state. Opting to not give up, the band stepped up to the plate & recruited Sergio Vega (who has filled in for Chi before) and put Eros on indefinite hold. The result is an amazing sonic assault that was birthed out of a tragic situation.

I will be seeing Deftones live in August so expect a concert review then. Also please check out the website www.oneloveforchi.com for updates on Chi’s progress, and should you want to donate to help out the Cheng’s with medical expenses, World of Meh! is currently having a charity fundraiser to help them out, along with chances to win fantastic prizes. For all the details, check out this article here.

Alright friends of Meh, I promised that today we would be getting something special in the mail for our One Love for Chi/Blogathon fundraiser, and it’s here!

Originally the delivery was slated to arrive around 3 in the afternoon, so I was surprised when the FedEx guy came around 11. Each box weighs about 26 pounds, and it reminded me of the days when I worked at GameStop as an Assistant Manager. I loved shipment days.

Courtesy of the amazing folks at Activision, Team Hero, and Dan Amrich (otherwise known as OneOfSwords), we were given not one..not two…not three, but FOUR complete Band Hero kits to give away as prizes during the Blogathon starting on July 31st!

Each kit includes: the Band Hero game, a microphone, guitar, and drum kit. This is the real deal folks! We have two kits for the Nintendo Wii, one kit for Xbox 360, and another for Sony PlayStation 3. All Band Hero equipment is fully compatible with Guitar Hero, which is awesome, and all kits are retail sealed.

Band Hero comes with an impressive 65 tracks straight out of the box, with some notable songs and artists like:

• Bravery, The – Believe
• Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
• Cheap Trick – I Want You To Want Me (Live)
• Culture Club – Do You Really Want To Hurt Me
• David Bowie – Let’s Dance
• Devo – Whip It
• Duran Duran – Rio
• Everclear – Santa Monica
• Fall Out Boy – Sugar We’re Goin’ Down
• Filter – Take A Picture
• Finger Eleven – Paralyzer
• Go-Go’s, The – Our Lips Are Sealed
• Hinder – Lips Of An Angel
• Jackson 5 – ABC
• Janet Jackson – Black Cat
• Joan Jett – Bad Reputation
• Katrina And The Waves – Walking On Sunshine
• Maroon 5 – She Will Be Loved
• Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine
• Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Impression That I Get
• N.E.R.D. – Rock Star
• No Doubt – Just A Girl
• No Doubt – Don’t Speak
• OK Go – A Million Ways
• Papa Roach – Lifeline
• Pat Benatar – Love Is A Battlefield
• Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn
• Roy Orbison – Oh Pretty Woman
• Snow Patrol – Take Back The City
• Spice Girls – Wannabe
• Styx – Mr. Roboto
• Taylor Swift – Love Story
• Taylor Swift – You Belong To Me
• The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Woman
• Tonic – If You Could Only See
• Turtles, The – Happy Together
• Village People – Y.M.C.A.
• Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue
• …..and many more!

Band Hero has some pretty awesome features as well. With Party Play, your friends can drop in or out of any song, without fearing you’ll fail it, and at the push of a button. You can also switch your personal options, such as instrument or difficulty. Sing-Along mode allows you and up to 3 friends to jam out, karaoke style. Just like in Party Play, Sing-Along allows your friends to drop in or out. Perfect for harmonizing at certain places in songs.

Should you wish to have four singers, four drummers, or four guitarists, you have that option in Band Hero, amongst other combinations. Xbox 360 players who have Xbox Live Gold subscriptions can use their Avatar characters and rock out in any mode, whereas Nintendo Wii gamers have access to an exclusive mode called Mii Freestyle. In Mii Freestyle, players can create their own songs, and be able to record/edit/share their videos showcasing their Mii’s. In addition to being able to use your Avatar or Mii, both Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 frontman, Adam Levine, are playable characters. Guitar Hero owners will love how you can import your tracks from Guitar Hero: World Tour and Guitar Hero 5 straight into Band Hero. So much better than having to constantly change out discs, no?

Want to win one of these? Then donate, or help spread the word to earn entires into our raffle. Each one of these kits sells for around $150.00 retail, not including tax, so wouldn’t you love to win one just by donating $10 dollars? I’d say that’s a pretty good deal!

I can’t even begin to express the amount of gratitude I have right now, because I am completely overwhelmed by Activision’s generosity. They have gone above and beyond, and I can’t thank them enough.

So donate, tell your friends, get them involved, and spread the word about our great cause because it’s all about Chi!

- Me

Hello there World of Meh! readers. Last month I told you all that we would be doing the Blogathon again this year. I also hinted at what our charity would be. I did get a couple of guesses, but nobody got it right. With sign-ups officially starting on July 1st, I figured I should let you all in on who we have chosen this year. Think you know who it could be?

I’m proud to announce that this year, World of Meh! will be blogging for One Love For Chi. Both Chris and I are big fans of Deftones, and I’ve been following Chi Cheng’s medical progress for some time. For those of you who are unaware, Chi was in a terrible car accident back in 2008 that left him in a coma. Through his family’s hard work, love, and dedication to his recovery, Chi is now in a mildly conscious state. If any of you are familiar with how expensive medical bills can be, you can begin to imagine how expensive its been for his loved ones.

Chi has an opportunity to go to a state of the art facility in New Jersey where he will be under the care of some amazing neurologists. Those neurologists were even featured on a recent episode of MTV’s True Life: I Have A Traumatic Brain Injury that aired on May 3rd. The treatment Chi would receive has an 80% success rate, but like everything else, this will cost money. One Love For Chi has been furiously trying to raise the funds necessary through auctions, concert benefits, songs and CD’s made specially for this, and through donations. As of today, they have managed to raise over $5,000 of the $500,000 needed. Here is where we come in.

Due to our current situation, Chris and I are unable to contribute financially. We can, however, donate our time, and the Blogathon is a perfect way to do so. While I can’t go into too much detail right now regarding our big plans, just know that we have some tricks up our sleeve. I’m working on getting some pretty incredible prizes to give away during the Blogathon, but you must donate in order to be entered. More information on how that will work will be posted on July 1st, and details about the prizes and more will trickle in throughout July.

Chi Cheng has given us beautiful and amazing music, so the least we can do is help out and hope that our readers and their friends can donate whatever they can. I’m really excited to be doing this, and I really hope that we can all come together for this amazing cause. I also ask that you help spread the word, and get as much buzz going because that will help us make the Blogathon successful.

So, there you have it. The charity we’ve chosen is One Love For Chi, and I can’t wait for when I have more good news to share!

• Check out the Official One Love For Chi website here.
• If you have a Twitter, follow One Love for Chi here.

Headup Chi!

- Me