I haven’t posted a blog in almost a month but I have had some pretty interesting things take place lately--many of which I shared on facebook, getting lots of feedback--and today’s Cugine Corner will be a recap of events (I don’t mean gigs just daily occurrences) in the life of Johnny Meatballs which I will try to edit together with some sort of “flow” so it all makes sense and will include parts of some recent status updates.

First came Friggin’….now comes Frankenfood…

Let’s start off with the biggest news yet ladies and gentlemen…Set your DVR, VCR, TIVO, check your cable guide for channel number, circle it on the calendar, I got official word from SPIKETV producers that my episode of the new show FRANKENFOOD will air June 29 @ 10:30pm est. titled “NEW JERSEY.” The series premiere is this Sunday @ 10pm, I encourage you to watch them all to follow the story, not sure if I will be in any others but I filmed 2 full days and that could mean 1 minute of airtime but definitely the 29th I will be appearing…I am featured briefly in the current commercial and on the website trailer right now.

Yes I've been back on TV many times since my Vh1 “Big Friggin’ Wedding” run and no disrespect to FOX5, MY9, PIX11 and all the amazing news programs who gave me awesome media coverage to keep me in the public eye… but this is my big return to national network reality TV and I’m hoping show #3 will be my own show. Sharing screen time with Philly's Cheesesteak King Tony Luke and some master chefs was a real trip, just wait till you tune in. I cannot disclose any more info since this is a cooking competition but it is really nuts so please watch!!!

Balls-On-Wheels Derailed…

So for the first time in my 5+ year history I had to postpone an appearance on the morning of it--something I never recall ever occurring and it was for reasons beyond my control. I could not get the Ball Bus started this past Monday so unfortunately I was not able to visit Van Saun Park in Paramus as planned with Cupcake Cutie for our duel trucks-in-the-park lunch & dessert service program. She made it over there and had a great day and hopefully I can get up and running again and join the fun and continue on with the season at various other gigs--but as of this writing the bus is still in the shop.

I disclosed some of my woes regarding this situation but not the entire story. I had initially tried to go the cheap route and hired a craigslist mobile mechanic to come and check out the starting issue (which I learned could not be the starter or alternator since it was cranking good just not kicking over and the battery wasn’t being drained). See I look at craigslist just like I look at facebook and twitter and any other social media site--it’s a community chat board where people are posting and sharing information….buying and selling….looking for work and looking to hire people for jobs, and/or barter for goods and services. The difference is yes there is more along the lines of monetary services more than the others but to me the one main constant is that you go to a site like that because it’s an unorthodox style of fulfilling a need which one does in lieu of the “traditional” route. With that yes indeed comes an expectation of getting something free or low cast, that’s the point of going online. I have been very successful in the past there, I found my cameraman, the painter of my bus and a great mechanic who comes to your driveway and changes your brakes for a quarter of what a garage charges--but he only does brakes so I could not call him. In every instance (and many others) we had some special arrangement or deal in place and everyone made out happy.

Well this guy who I will call “Neil” was a scam artist who clearly did not know anything about cars, let alone a diesel truck. He first made me go buy a new battery which didn’t do anything and then made me replace all the glowplugs he claimed were the cause (they are like sparkplugs), and then when that didn’t do anything I had to get a new glowplug control box which he said was fried. All said and done he charged me $200 (plus all the parts) and still very angrily demanded me to pay him another $200 even when none of that stuff made the van start! He was borderline threatening me to pay and finally I got him to leave. I left the situation with a lesson learned to be more cautious and go more with my gut feeling. When I had it towed to a real professional he said none of those things were related to the cause and it was rather a fuel pressure related issue. I understand the diagnosing process is a process sometimes but you cannot just sit there guessing--I could have done that myself! A mechanic needs to treat his customer like any other professional treats their customer--with understanding if they are unhappy. If I did a catering job and ran out of food or brought the wrong food or had to leave early I would not be demanding money I would be trying to make things right. Hopefully the bus gets going soon and all will be right with it from here on out.

The Cup of Life…

Well it’s once again World Cup time, I know a lot of you are pumped up and I am personally pumped up for the parties and food because I am down with any excuse to eat and drink. So a few friends posted interesting things recently which is that most Italian Americans probably cannot name the starting lineup on the Italy roster yet root for them and also they could not understand the allegiance to a land most of our grandparents come from but we are here so why don’t we root for USA. Well that is a very simple thing if you ask me…See USA has NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL....Soccer will never trump any of those we just aint as good at it as the Italians or anywhere else even the USA coach admits that.....But.....soccer IS a worldwide sport so what do we do here to not be left out? We turn it into an ethnic pride event like Columbus Day or Italian heritage parade or a mega feast/carnival. Wearing the Italia jerseys is just part of the festivities.

So while there may be a percentage of die-hards who do know the starting lineup, I would say most paisans aren’t really sitting there rooting for Italy as a country/team---like I said just another way for many Italian Americans to get together. I don't see it as disrespecting America we just all know we are not as good at the game. And lets face it if we are gonna celebrate a nationality (rather than not do anything at all and just follow the hockey/basketball Finals which is the other main option besides baseball) lets eat pasta and cannolis instead of hot dogs and apple pie since we can all agree that's better too right? Plus we got 4th of July to barbecue and wave the stars and stripes. Last week I walked out of a pizza place where they had Italy jerseys on and I said what happens if USA and Italy play each other. Their answer was: both sides love pizza! Well if they do face off I will flatten out a Johnny Meatball, melt mozz’ on top and boom---Italian American burger---hopefully the game ends in a tie, we drink some vino and a few cans of PBR…Hey everybody wins!

Business Breakdown…

Okay on another business note, a guy writes me the other day saying: “you’re no Sinatra, stop price-gouging people because you were on TV.” Hmmm ok that’s a new one. I do not look for celebrity treatment of any sort and of course I’m not Sinatra or anywhere close! When you book the Ball Bus & wagon for your home you get dinner-theatre style service and I set up like you’re at a carnival that is just my way---no pun intended---but…..... that has no bearing on my pricing packages. Most of you “get it” though for those who don’t I can break it down no big deal…

So if I drive to your home with my equipment right there I need to put diesel gas in the bus, gas into generator, propane into 2 tanks all before I arrive. Then cost of materials + labor for the food, paying a staff for the day. I don’t even factor in my own personal time/labor at all. Then we calculate an estimate of total sales which is the “average” earned during say 4 hours at a public venue and deduct those other things. What’s left from that we even knock something off since obviously a private affair is less guests---although I don’t have to do that because one could argue I’d earn more by being at a feast then coming to you---but it’s my pleasure to come to you! At the end whatever quote you get, my personal “pocket money” is less than 1/3 of the figure and that’s for a day’s work which is not “regular” work, these are sporadic gigs so I hope that puts it in better perspective. People can look up what food trucks charge to come to homes and you’ll see I am less than all the rest and offer a premium service. And I understand budgets so I also offer just regular straight catering where I deliver trays of food and leave them on Sternos. I have a very generous nature, I give friends and family discounts and freebies all day long and I would drive to you for free if I could I love what I do so much. But…my wife would divorce me and I’d be living out of that bus somewhere. (But couldn’t drive it since I’d have no money for gas!)

The Meatball Pot of Life (Some philosophy from the Meatball King)…

Mostly I am all positive vibes but that doesn't equal perfection. See, life boils down to 2 things: motivation and moderation. Ya gotta have focus to balance it all and never neglect one area or overdo one either. Getting that aint easy and most need help which doesn't come from "environment," so moving/vacationing isn't a cure-all. No matter age, race, location, social/economic status, nobody is perfect and most don't have it all. Don't think these celebs have it all together, they are just like us. Whether it's sharing inspirational memes on social networks, watching underdog flicks like "Rocky," religion/higher power, music, meditation, medication, affirmation by others--real or even not totally genuine, to stay course, faith/strength comes in many forms though you must in the end find inner peace psychologically and physically. The point? Nobody should judge if you are trying and are staying strong. Don't get too comfortable, content or cocky, and expect curveballs not clear waters. Do good as best you can and savor the good moments, don't "instagram" them to view later cause nobody knows what later will be.

Look, I'm no philosopher. I just observe more emphasis on "escape" not "focus" in our society. Seems backwards that's all. I have seen in many cases folks who do have a lot pretty well set both monetarily and family-wise but stay in dark rooms all day letting life just pass by. So certainly it’s not just about having money or family/friends, it is in one's heart and mind what they view as living well and what success is. No scientific formula or automatic adrenaline accelerator, a combination of many factors.... Whoever says they got all the secrets or answers is not truthful but being positive is always better than being negative. The environmental stuff does enter in regarding occasional extenuating circumstances we face but the idea is we can't "rely" on any place or count on a "plan" as we find being in that right place at the right time dictates direction even if we have all the talent, a tool to execute may be missing...

We are not robots that's why you cannot just look to science, we have to heighten all our senses and emotions to attain greatness… Even if one doesn't believe in God there is a part of our fate that's unknown. Some say "luck" is fake too. I don't, but I don't RELY on it so we must always work as hard as we can to get our goals. Bottom line is I just try to do my best and let the chips fall where they may. Stay humble and stay hungry. Eye of the tiger! The world's a big pot of meatballs we can and should all enjoy!!!!