Personal Reflection: Since June 11, I have published exactly two pieces for Pop Break — my interview with Asbury Park’s Tide Bends and predicting the results for AEW’s Forbidden Door with senior wrestling columnist Kimmy Sokol. And if I’m being honest with myself, those were not two of my best pieces — my apologies to Kimmy and to the band. My heart and soul were absent from these pieces.
There’s been so much over the past 8+ weeks, that have just completely derailed me. Career stumbling blocks and frustrations (IYKYK), too much travel, my wife having surgery (she’s fine now), the oppressive heat, the nerve-racking election season, the fears of a potential COVID rise, and just the general wear and tear that comes with being Bill Bodkin (aka a lot of things to do, and not a lot of time to decompress).
It’s not just my writing either. My podcast appearances have been lackluster (in my opinion), I haven’t been able to keep up with the people I care for and I feel utterly burnt (and it doesn’t help that my seldom off days have been consumed by intense emotional situations).
Yet, the thing that has impacted me the most is the loss of one of our own — Mike Vacchiano.
Mere days before Father’s Day I received a call from my good friend, Rob Crowther aka Rob Williams — a senior editor on Pop Break and founder of the Bob Culture Podcast/BCP+. When my phone rang, this quote from Chip from Chip & Dale’s Rescue Rangers came to my mind “My phone is ringing, and I don’t like it.” And there was good reason about it, my friend was calling me to tell me about his lifelong best friend (Mike) didn’t have much time left to live after a medical situation that I still cannot wrap my mind around.
In the Summer of 2018, Michael Vacchiano began writing for Pop Break. He was brought in by Rob along with his cousin “The Big Cat” Matt Widdis with his first piece being a review of the film The Girl in the Spider’s Web (a long forgotten part of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo universe). He would go on to write dozens of pieces on the WWE as well as film and TV reviews. He wrote a Mare of Easttown weekly review series, was a major contributor in our 1999-aversary series, and wrote extensively about Breaking Bad and The Sopranos. He was a guest on our Moneyball-centric 100th episode of Socially Distanced. His final piece for the site was last year when he reviewed Ben Affleck’s AIR.
Sadly, the last time Mike and I spoke one-on-one was a few days/weeks after his father-in-law had passed away. He was determined to write a review of Unfrosted, the Jerry Seinfeld movie about Pop Tarts. His father-in-law had been a huge Seinfeld fan and this was going to be written in tribute to him, classic Vacch.
Mike Vacchiano was a hell of a writer, but more importantly he was a hell of a man. He was a dedicated husband and dad who put his wife and children above all else. I knew he often worked two jobs. I’d watch him leave wrestling PPV parties at Rob’s house because it was time to say goodnight to his daughter. He’d often emerge an hour or so later because he’d end up spending time with his wife, then would return to hang with the guys. Vacch was always there for a good joke, he was an ear you could bend for hours, and he had this uncanny ability to do wrestling impersonations. From Paul Heyman to Dusty Rhodes, Vacch was a hysterical natural.
A few weeks ago, Vacch was laid to rest. His birthday was a mere few days later. His loss is devastating one for those who knew him. The pain and sadness I saw etched into his loved ones broke me in half as I know firsthand how it feels to lose such a major, humor-filled and loving presence in your life.
Mike will be missed not just by Pop Break, but all everyone who met him. We love you, Mike and we’ll see you in that big wrestling ring in the sky.
If you have a few dollars to spare to help his wife and two young children, please feel free to donate here.
And now somehow, I’m going to try and write the rest of this column, because if I don’t I’m just going to cry for the next hour.
***SPOILER ALERT***
I Read Comic Books Now: Marvel’s Blood Hunt. By the Power of Grey Skull this has been an epic event series for Marvel. For those who are unaware — this series finds the sun has been blotted out as all those who use “the darkforce” has been put under a trance and the darkforce is being funneled out of them to cause “sun death.” Sun Death has allowed a massive global vampire incursion resulting in multiple heroes being turned, mass human casualties and it turns out the best weapon against vampires — BLADE — is actually leading the invasion. The main arc has been a fantastic, if not short monthly read, while the one-shots and crossovers have ranged from excellent to solid (although some inclusions have been a head scratcher).
The best books, outside of the official Jed Mackay Blood Hunt issues, have been the Wolverine and Amazing Spider-Man official limited runs, as well as the X-Men one-shots (Jubilee, Magik, Psylocke). The Avengers tie-in has also been a ton of fun. The oddest book has been the Union Jack run, which while a solid story, is a bit of a head scratcher as why it needed to happen.
Oh the Random Things You’ll Hear: This the name of my ever-evolving Spotify playlist that was created back in 2011 (currently at 2,857 songs). Every month I’m going to give you some recent cuts from this list that I’ve added that are in heavy rotation…
“The Viper” – Soulive: Soulive was the gateway band for me into the nebulous world of jam bands. The trio of Eric Krasno, Alan Evans and Neal Evans are amazing musicians and over the past 15 years have come together on a number of EPs, most recently Cinematics Vol. 2. A fantastic record, the best track is “The Viper” which starts off with a very brooding Budos Band-adjacent darkness to it. It has this fantastic syncopated piano rhythm that juxtaposes itself wonderfully to the drums and guitar. Ugh, just phenomenal stuff here.
“Glad” – Traffic: When I was about 12 my dad, a huge vinyl head, received a ton of records from his brother before he moved to Florida. Now, most of these records were just stuff he “borrowed” from the various bars he worked at in the Bronx mixed with “Record of the Month” albums from Columbia House. In this mountain of vinyl was, at minimum 10 copies of Traffic’s seminal album John Barleycorn Must Die.
Tangent: The title track is an “iconic song” from the ’70s and quite frankly it’s an absolute piece of folksy trash. I will gladly listen to the Greatest Hits of every boy band from ’90s than being subjected to this pretentious piece of shit song. End Tangent.
However, there is a phenomenal hippie jam instrumental on the album titled “Glad.” It’s terrifically cinematic and is so of its time. It’s got a great pace to it and works perfectly on an extended jam mix for BBQs and outdoor parties.
“You’re Gonna Get It” – 311: 311 is always going to 311. For nearly 30 years, the dudes from Oklahoma produce banger after banger that has a melodic groove, funky bassline, and heavenly vocals from Nick Hexum. Sometimes, however, they end up breaking one out that has super crunchy riffs and more bass bombasticness than you could ever expect. This is a complete workout anthem. LFG.
Reeeee-Watch: Blue Eye Samurai. Holy shit, did I watch anime? Yeah, I think just did. Blue Eye Samurai is a 2023 Netflix series that took the world by storm and surprise at the end of the year. So many people told me to watch this series as it was “made for me.” Normally, if I were told this I’d ignore it. I have been infamous for being a bastardly contrarian who ignores constant recommendations. “If you keep talking about it, I won’t watch it” was my grumpy mantra. Thankfully, that mantra has been placed inside a big old suitcase along with 10 gallons of Irish whiskey, and 600 lbs. of anxiety and depression and tossed off the side of a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Blue Eye Samurai is a tale of bloody revenge not unlike Kill Bill where a wrong, lone swordsman named Mizu (voiced by Maya Erskine) cuts a path of visceral vengeance across Japan. The animation is absolutely breathtaking as it seemingly stitches computer animation with traditional animation to create an awe-inspiring, “so real you could touch it” version of Japan. The voice cast is top notch with Kenneth Branagh, Randall Park, Ming-Na Wen, Brenda Song, George Takei (in an excellent role), Darren Barnet, Stephanie Hsu, Heroes’ Masi Oka, and OG Mortal Kombat baddie Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa delivering masterful performances.
The story and dialogue is absolute crackling and this comes as no surprise as Michael Green of a little film called LOGAN (and the highly underrated Blade Runner 2049) and his wife Amber Noizumi penned the series. Even if you’re not anime fan, this series is a must watch for fans of revenge films, martial arts films, Tarantino fans, and fans in dire need of a action-filled, artistic, emotional and beautiful series in their lives.
Of Course, Wrestling: AEW Dynamite 250. Tonight (as of this writing), AEW celebrates 250 episodes of their flagship show series, Dynamite. Pop Break has been covering the promotion since the very first episode, and it has certainly been a wild ride. From the rough and ready early episodes, to their extended residency in Jacksonville, to their return to the road and the loaded roster they toured with, to the abysmal post-(CM) Punk era to the current “restore the feeling” run — I’ve personally seen nearly episode. AEW, to me, has been the alternative in pro wrestling that I’ve personally wanted since ECW closed its doors in 2001. I’ve had hopes with Ring of Honor, TNA, Chikara and the British Wrestling Scene circa 2017/2018. I know it’s not perfect — from storytelling (although that’s improved by leaps and bounds) to backstage stuff — but week in and week out, I’ve found myself glued to my television set on Wednesday nights. It gives me a buffet of wrestling styles and personalities. It celebrates what I love about pro wrestling — the in-ring competition, bloody violence, ridiculous humor, and emotional storylines. I’ve been in for 250 and will be here to the wheels fall off. Here’s hoping they announce that new media deal soon too.
