Status Quo Sunday Is Feeling The Feels

NEW SONG: "The Most Epic T-Shirt" (From Patreon)


My first Patreon Song, now available to all of you!

This was an idea I had for quite a while, looking at all of those crossover shirts both legitimate (See my song "Think Geek Is Not Nerdcore") and illegitimate (See, like 90% of Redbubble, Etsy and Your Local Con).

So really, why not just make a T-shirt with a million references on them?

And yes, the T-shirt will be real... very soon.

ANIME IWAI IS THIS WEEKEND! Just a reminder of the events I'm going to be at:
Hardcore Nerdcore Punk Rock Featuring Rhythm Bastard 
Saturday, November 11th
3:00 PM- 4:00 PM
Panel Room 2
MY CONCERT! Again, working on the setlist for this one is fun, since I can throw in SO MANY more new songs, and I'm working on having a new piece of merch ready by then.


I just got off of Fantoku: An Orlando Nerd Fest Show, and I'm ready and raring to go with a killer new set!


3000 Brigade Presents: Mushroom High Rules!

Saturday, November 11th
Doors Open at 8:00 PM
Main Events
OR Fast Times At Mushroom High
The 3000 Brigade is the largest active cosplay performance troupe in the country! They are proud and excited to bring their next performance to anime Iwai. It is a comedy variety show with amazing costumes, wild sexy dancing, stage combat, and many of your favorite beloved characters acting very inappropriately. This year marks a decade of 3KB shows. Please come celebrate with us!

3000 Brigade Meet And Greet
Saturday, November 11th
10:00 PM
Main Events

Did you enjoy the show? Did you hate the show? Did you forget to get there early and want to know what you missed? Come and ask any and all questions from the cast and crew of the latest 3KB show.

 

I did this late, and RAW is on, so I'm kinda rushing through all of this.

Iwaivor Series

Saturday, November 12th
3:00 PM-4:00 PM
Panel Room 2
A Tag Team Throwdown where you and a partner can pummel your way through the competition to win the Championship Belt! There will be thrills, chills, spills, and maybe one of the commenters will wear a silly costume!

It will be on WCW/NWO Revenge for the Nintendo 64 until we can find another game. Bring your own Nintendo 64 if you want to ensure that they'll work.

FANTOKU: AN ONF EVENT

I forgot to post it up on here because I was given the slot 48 hours before the show, and I was ALL HANDS ON DECK preparing. The great thing is that I tried a lot of new stuff with regards to my live act, and it went over well! Look forward to that for future con shows!

I played the opening slot on Saturday, and there were people there ready to rock out! Unfortunately, there might not be much in the way of video, since the stream wasn't up by the time I began.

However, there will be pictures, some of them shirtless!

Overall, it was great to see everyone again after so long. Orlando Nerd Fest's description isn't kidding when they that it's also part family reunion. While Orlando is probably the capital for Nerdcore music, there's a lot of us spread throughout the country, and major events like ONF and MAGFest are good opportunities to reunite with people you've only talked to and worked with online. I got to meet with Twill in person, watch her crush her set with Wreck The System and reenact the infamous MIRACLES! scene, I got to see DJ Roborob after so long, and I reunited cool Orlando guys Marc With A C, Eye Q, Sci-Fried, Jackson Parodi and Ben Briggs.

I challenged the lead singer of Sci-Fried to Hearthstone, because they have a song called "Boom Boom C'Thun". He declined, because he knew what would have happened:




(Picture by Zippo514)
(I'd be Gul'Dan BTW)

For breakout acts, ONF 2015 had (in my opinion) SkyBlew and Navi. This year, was Wreck The System's year to shine. 


Wreck The System are 4 MCs (Cam3, Lady J, Osiris Green and Twill Distilled) who've banded together to create awesome music and put on kick ass shows. Seriously, they were intense and their stage show was well choreographed.

Which I can aprreciate, since 3000 Brigade practice is making my body feel stupid.

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Berserk" by Wreck The System

They have another single that release last month, "Hotel Party", that captures the feeling of 1 AM debauchery on the Friday Night of a con, but this one better shows  their skills on the mic.

Don't Not Start Status Quo Sunday

PATREON IS STILL GOING ON!

I just posted an update to all of my Patrons about some cool stuff I got planned, and will be releasing the first Patreon song THIS WEEK!

CON NEWS! IWAI AND HOLMAT CONFIRMED!
I just confirmed with Holiday Matsuri that I will be playing a show AND hosting another very special event!

Combine this with my upcoming show at Anime Iwai AND being a part of the 3000 Brigade Show, the next couple of months are going to be VERY busy for me!

I will post my Anime Iwai schedule next week when I have a better idea of what time all the other stuff is, but the one thing I do know for sure is the 3000 Brigade show will be at 8 PM on Saturday night!

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Don't Let's Start" by They Might Be Giants

I know nothing about The Adventure Zone other than the fact that the McElroy brothers do it, and what I saw in this. I chose this particular video since it was actually cleaner than the "official" versions.

"Don't Let's Start", like many other songs by They Might Be Giants, doesn't scan very well on a focused listen, relying on little lyrical gut punches as opposed to a cohesive whole. When they appeared on A.V. Undercover to cover "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba, they said that Tubthumping was most like a They Might Be Giants song, because it is composed of smaller episodes, and that really helped put this song into perspective: It's just meant to be a catalog of small, dark moments that apparently mean nothing, and according to the band were made up to compliment the melody.

Just like depression!

ORLANDO NERD FEST PRESENTS FANTOKU: FANTASY TOKUSATSU NERD FEST

Orlando Nerd Fest is (kinda) back! Fantoku is a two day nerd music extravaganza with lots of DJs and musical performances and awesome vendors in probably the nerdcore epicenter: The Geek Easy!

I'm looking forward to it, and AT LEAST going Saturday, since on Sunday I've got 3000 Brigade Rehersals, and it's literally the next weekend.

Giving You A Shot Of Status Quo Sunday

MINI IWAI RECAP
I played Punk Rock and was in a Boy Band, and had a fun time!














I also had a merch booth!



















While my concert went well, the 3000 Brigade show was 1000% OVER. We've worked so hard the past couple months to put it together, and not only did it go well, but the crowd was SUPER into the boy band. 

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Girl, You Need A Shot Of B-12" by B-12

This exists in some weird intersection of like 5 different things: 90's Boy Bands, 00's Let's Try Boy Bands Again Revival, K-Pop, etc. I liked the nods to some of the Backstreet Boys's videos like "Backstreets Back" (the horror movie elements), and "Larger Than Life" (all that future shit)

The American Dad episode this is from didn't impress me much, but goddamn is that song catchy. My favorite low key gags are Toshi with blonde Bieber hair and without his glasses, and the music video changing background every measure.

FIRST FRIDAY
This is going to be cool, because on top of being a concert with two awesome DJs, it's also a Hearthstone Tournament!

7:00 pm - Tournament Sign-Up
8:00 pm - Tournament Starts
9:00 pm - Third Impact Productions (30 min set)*
10:00 pm - Rhythm Bastard (30 min set)*
11:00 pm - DJ TONX (30 min set)*
12:00 am - Spider-Man tickets given away*
1:00 am - Tournament Ends*
(*) - Subject to change.


ORLANDO NERD FEST ON PATREON
Florida's greatest nerd music institution, Orlando Nerd Fest, is on Patreon and is looking to start up a yearly festival for 2018. There's also a SECRET MYSTERY EVENT in November, so hopefully this leads to a revival!

Status Quo Sunday Rides Into Valhalla

This week's jam:

KICKSTART THE JAMS (FROM STATUS QUO RADIO) MOTHERFUCKERS!

Now, back to the main course:
-I'M MOVING?
Wait what?

-YEAH, I'M MOVING
So naturally this is going to throw a wrench in things as far as music goes (as if my normal schedule is anything to go by), so it is doubtful I'll make Umicon, as we're getting the keys late and all my stuff is in constant flux.

-NOOO!!!
That doesn't mean it's all bad, I'll just be grounded for a little bit and probably miss posting after Friday. Tomorrow's Labor Day, so I'm going to try and make a couple videos before the "real" fun starts.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IN THE MEANTIME?
Watch me at Orlando Nerd Fest:

Watch live video from OrlandoNerdFest on Twitch

Play Until Dawn
-No, seriously, it's like a AAA horror game starring Agent Ward, The Cheerleader and Mr. Robot that took a look at the Telltale Game's version of The Walking Dead and went "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED MOTHERFUCKER". Even watching through LPs is fun because so far no two people have played the game quite the same.

Kickstart Status Quo Radio
-Because You Know you want to...

Watch The Back Half of RPG Limit Break
-It's a speedrunning marathon for the mainline Final Fantasy Games. It's interesting to see how something that's meant to be grindy and epic be speed-ran over the course of this Labor Day weekend, but they seem to make quick work of these games, with the longest game being FFX clocking in at 10 and a half hours.

Subscribe To Echo Chamber Homies on Twitch:
BONESAW GAMING- Jeff of Single White Infidel and friends bullshit over video games.

MYSTAKIN'S STREAMTACULAR SPEEDRUNPORIUM- Speedruns in the morning, casual stuff in the evening, good times all around!

Register For A Political Party- Whether to make sure Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic Primary, or that known rapist and contributor to the death of Earth Donald Trump doesn't win, here's some information for the state of Florida, so the process should be similar in other states, but
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT HOW TO REGISTER! 

Any other states I 

DO YOU REALLY WANT THIS IN YOUR FUTURE?

LIVE VIDEO: Rhythm Bastard at Orlando Nerd Fest 2015

Watch live video from OrlandoNerdFest on Twitch

Status Quo Radio Kickstarter and Release Date! I mean, Sunday?

Uh... take us to the fridge?


Don't hate, knowing this rap won me and my team paintings in the trivia contest at Orlando Nerd Fest:


For those of you further behind, (from their site) Orlando Nerd Fest is an annual celebration of nerd music and culture.I was there last year, this year was in the Orlando Science Center. Not the worst venue, but it was an interesting one. Like, it would make a great Rock Band/Guitar Hero level.

I performed at the day after show at The Geek Easy on Monday. Other than my pinky cramping up during one of my songs, it went pretty good. For me. Then Navi and Picnibus owned bones.

But yeah, it ruled.

I already posted up my impressions on Facebook, so I'll skip that for now.

Instead, I'll go to the two relevant things I announced at my show:

KICKSTARTER FOR STATUS QUO RADIO AUGUST 24th!

It'll be modest, to help with printing CDs and merch. Rewards will include the usual CDs, posters and T-Shirt, with hopefully the added playmat, and a private concert/MtG Draft.

I'm also setting up stretch goals where I can get a budget going for a music video and other things

For a $10,000 stretch goal, I will barge into Harmonix HQ to give them the entire album as DLC for Rock Band 4. 

(I picked this date, as it's the date of the original release of the OG Team Fortress Mod)

That'll give me more than a month to finish things up for....

STATUS QUO RADIO RELEASES ON OCTOBER 9th!!!

The release of the Orange Box, aka the released date of Team Fortress 2.

"Status Quo Radio" is a concept album about a former rock star to tries to forge his own path in the world after his bandmates die. Originally inspired by the game Team Fortress 2, the concept goes beyond that into a tale of love and revenge.

END COPY

Orlando Nerd Fest was a motherfucking blast, and the fact that I'm only kind of tired from my long work day is just icing on the cake.

5 thoughts as I put together Status Quo Sunday and make sure my car is already unpacked
1. Different venue that kept things PG (I SCIENCE PEOPLE!), and less HUGE HUGE names (MC Chris being the biggest), but it didn't really feel like a step back, more like a step to the side. Keep in mind last year was technically another side step as it came out of the ashes of Nerdapalooza.

If Chozo Ninpo and the rest of the ONF crew use this year as a base to build on for 2016, then it can grow into something really special.

2. Not as many big names left a lot of other people to impress, with Rapper SkyBlew and Psychadelic Punk Hop group Navi + Picnibus (who also played with EyeQ and Dj RoboRob during their sets) probably being the breakout stars of the show. Also Askmeificare propmted a "DUDE WHERE DID YOU FIND THESE GUYS?" in Chozo's direction. Navi described them as "Bad Brains meets ODB" which is pretty apt.
Also, finally saw Mega Ran in concert, and preordered ‪#‎RNDM‬ on the spot.

3. This scene is diverse! So many different kinds of people CREATING so many different kinds of art and music, all who consider themselves "nerds". In a world where that's defined by consumption, creation and contribution is, at least in my opinion, a sign of maturity.

Which makes this news anchor ESPECIALLY cringe worthy:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/…/os-orlando-nerd-fest-20150…

"I'm not a nerd, but apparently these nerds are going to making their nerd shit at NerdPlaceLand, they got all kinds of nerds, from door nerds to butt nerds, maybe you hot anchor ladies I want to bang are too cool for this gay baby nerd shit, but STEAMPUNK? VICTORIAN ERA? THAT'S WEIRD HAHAHAHA! It's weird how nerds are infesting- I mean taking over Orlando with their cooties- I mean nerd germs! Laser shows are fucking corny."

That guy probably thinks you take pot via needle.

Gamergate has NOTHING to bitch about: "Wah, cultural critics and marginalized groups are finding our medium of entertainment relevant enough to have opinions on it, and instead of making gaming better and more interesting with their feedback, we're going to be acting like dickbags and whine about framerates. WE'RE SO PERSECUTED!!!!"

ONF was like: "Hey, here's something within nerd culture that celebrates creation instead of consumption!"
"PFFT. fuck that"

4. Time for some negatives: The video game sellers leaving before 4 PM. I was all set to purchase some stuff after RPG-Unit's set (and see if they had Buck Bumble), but then BAM, left without a trace.

5. I've got a loooooong way to go as far as just about everything, especially after seeing Navi's and Random Encounter's sets.That should be the attitude, right?

Shout outs to other people I saw over the weekend:
The Cog is Dead
Richie Branson
Valentine Wolfe
ProjektZero
Quanstar
Twill Distilled
Press B
StarF
MagiTek

Status Quo Is Setting Up The Tower

This week's jam:


Yeah, it's unfortunate, and the WWE could use more "out there" characters.

ARE YOU READY?

STATUS QUO RADIO UPDATE:
SOON.
Me and Roborob finished up mastering the tracks this past weekend.

I got the print back from my artist, who's doing an EXCLUSIVE print for the Kickstarter, and it looks AWESOME.

Everything's been budgeted out.

All I need to do is shoot the video, finish the copy and we're good to go! GUARANTEE by the end of the month. The family's moving by September, so in between all my preparation for that and ONF, I want to get this done ASAP.
 
Speaking of which:
ORLANDO NERD FEST!!!
I'll be there on Sunday, and playing on Monday at the Day After Show at 7 PM! Really looking forward to it, and getting my set-list ready now. I go on after SkyBlue, and before MagiTek.

I've only got half an hour, but it's thirty minutes of all the best, so the show will have a mosh-heavy intermission. 

DEADPOOL TRAILER:


Yo, I'm down, but if I hear the word "Chimichangas" my hype goes from a 10 to a 5.

Waypool = Worstpool.

Status Quo Sunday Remembers Iwata, Then Gives It To Ya

First the bad news: President of Nintendo Satoru Iwata just died.  The man was nothing short of awesome. He was an amazing programmer, and his accomplishments include helping debug Super Smash Bros Melee to make its release date, rebuilding Earthbound from scratch in record time, porting the Pokemon battle system from the Game Boy Games to the Nintendo 64 for Pokemon Stadium, AND compressing Pokemon Gold and Silver to fit the Kanto region in there.

On top of all of that, when the Wii U wasn't meeting sales expectations, he cut his salary in half so that his employees wouldn't feel the burden. Can you imagine an AMERICAN CEO doing that, let alone one in the gaming industry?

RIP Iwata.

This week's jam:


Sigh...

I saw the leaked Deadpool trailer. I didn't want to see it, go in fresh, and let the movie impress me... but I really liked what I saw.

I read the leaked script, so I was expecting a couple of the story beats, save for the ONE NEW CHARACTER, but it looks like there will be enough to surprise me. Also, I didn't hear the word Chimichanga ONCE, so while they're leaning hard on being an over-the-top R-Rated action/comedy, there will be no Waypool.

For those of you further behind, Waypool refers to writer Daniel Way, who wrote the character for most of the late 2000's. Now imagine someone wrote Deadpool based on cosplayers and 4chan "Best Of" Posts from 4chan's /b/ board. Not /co/ where you might get some discussion, but /b/.

Also, it was announced that Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness, the team behind the first year of Deadpool's first ongoing series, will come back to write a Deadpool/Spiderman series.

Now, for the bad news: President of Nintendo Satoru Iwata just died.  The man was nothing short of awesome. He was an amazing programmer, and his accomplishments include helping debug Super Smash Bros Melee to make its release date, rebuilding Earthbound from scratch in record time, porting the Pokemon battle system from the Game Boy Games to the Nintendo 64 for Pokemon Stadium, AND compressing Pokemon Gold and Silver to fit the Kanto region in there.
On top of all of that, when the Wii U wasn't meeting sales expectations, he cut his salary in half so that his employees wouldn't feel the burden.

RIP Iwata.

OK, Rhythm Bastard News!

MUSIC/MAGIC NEWS:
Played at my prerelase! Went 1-2 and dropped.

My "Try To Write Something, Anything During Lunch Break" is working out pretty good. Should have new stuff soon. I wanted to finish my Origins Rap, but I might just put up my section for Jace as a little preview. The verse is ready to go, but I still need to find 3 female MCs (not a lot of people there), who play Magic (a very limiting Venn Diagram)

KICKSTARTER NEWS:
Art times fun times! The poster design is being worked on and looking spectacular, and my T-shirt design is in the beginning stages. Once those are finished and I nail down the budget, we'll go live!

Basically the main theme of this week is that I'm finally committing things to paper, and at least it's better than me talking in generalities.

UPCOMING SHOWS:
It's almost midnight, and I want to do this by Sunday, BUT next week I'll hopefully have more details regarding my shows. Sometime throughout the week, I'll update the sidebar and send out a newsletter.

FOR THOSE OF YOU FURTHER BEHIND:
Chibi Pa Sampler- 
July 26th
 Doubletree by Hilton
Deerfield Beach, FL

Orlando Nerd Fest- 
August 10th
The Geek Easy
Orlando, FL


 YO, SHUT THE FUCK UP I FOUND A BETTER TRAILER THIS WEEKEND:

Sunday

By now, you've heard about the murder of 9 people in a domestic terrorist attack. 

The perpetrator is a 21-year-old white kid with a terrible bowl cut and is a fan of apartheid and white supremacy movements, who told his victims "You're taking away our country".

Nobody's taking your country away from you. Other people want the same country you, a white male (like myself) have.

We should be the generation that puts and end to this. With all the mistakes of our ancestors combined, and the technology you're using to read this to connect each other and gather information, it boggles my mind that there's young people who stand behind the Confederate Flag, support Gamergate, and whatever other bullshit reactionary movement to try and preserve the world that's being dumped upon my generation.

Maybe it's because I'm doing OK for myself and have a strong support from friends and family, but my mind wonders: are these people so bereft of anything positive about themselves or in their lives, that having a lack of melanin and a penis are the ONLY qualities they have? Is the Status Quo the only thing in their life that works?

I want to end this on a positive note, so here it goes:
There's no shame in losing to someone better.
There's no shame in recognizing someone else is better.
There's no shame in recognizing the flaws in yourself and wanting to become better
There's no shame in asking for help to become better.
The most valuable capital us Millenials have is Human Capital. Don't waste it by being a dick.
When in doubt, just as in wrestling, put the other guy over.

The title of this week is Sunday, because fuck the status quo:



Sorry about that, it's something I had on my mind for a while. 



UPCOMING GIGS:
Orlando Nerd Fest this year! Last year I performed at the JamSpace, this year I'm performing at the Day After Party at the Geek Easy, which I feel like is the next level, not unlike a Guitar Hero. Anime Festival Orlando is still on the table, as I don't know if the concert's been accepted or rejected at this point yet.

Treasure Coast Comic Con was this past weekend, and it was PACKED. For a small con that mostly relied on its guest to bring the people in, it was really busy. Clearly it's an early lacking, since there's nothing really between Orlando and Miami. West Palm Beach has Palmcon, but that's it really.

It's a great example of a disruptive technology in the convention scene.

ALBUM NEWS:
This week I'm going to be starting on doing some of the interior design work. It's not a big thing, but I do need to get it done EVENTUALLY, and one thing I do now, is that much sooner the album is in your hands.

KICKSTARTER NEWS:
I'm going to be taking a more hands on approach with the T-Shirts, since I do have a design in mind. It's just a matter of working out something efficient with the distributor/printer

OTHER SONGS:
Working on my Magic Origins tracks. Not one, but TWO rap songs, hopefully coming before the set is released.

THIS WEEKS GOALS:
FIVE NEW VIDEOS ADDED TO THE RHYTHM BASTARD CHANNEL!

JUST YOU WAIT!

Status Quo Goes EXTREEEEEEEEEEMMMMEEE!!!

This week's jam:


We're talking Seth Rollins/Randy Orton CAGE MATCH EXTREME! Or at this point post-show RAW EXTREME!!!

ALBUM NEWS:
Going to be checking in this week, not much on that front. You know what would make my producer SUUUUPER happy? Buying his new album, Solaris Part 3!



MUSIC NEWS:
Finished some lyrics this weekend, recording vocals this week, and hopefully releasing something next SQR!

KICKSTARTER NEWS:
Still in conversations with people right now, hoping to go with local businesses to try and get this stuff made. So far the feedback I've gotten haven't been THAT different than what I originally anticipated, so we're all good on that front.

I've put a poll up on the sidebar to get an idea of how much of each shirt I should bring with me to cons.

Recently, I put my money where my mouth is, and delved into Blender, using this tutorial:


It's for a special reward that I've mentioned earlier, but I want to email Valve first to ask them if it's OK to have an item as a Kickstarter reward.

SHOW NEWS:
Vendor? Orlando Nerd Fest's got ya covered.

DUMB SHIT I BOUGHT NEWS:
Got me a turntable.... THAT ALSO plays cassettes, CDs, AM/FM radios and has an aux in jack for MP3 players, and it currently sits handsomely on my dresser. Haven't played a lot of stuff on it, but so far it works, and it's good to free up space on my computer so I'm not distracted by clicking off on YouTube or Twitch and watching everything else. It's like when I listen to Slacker Radio when I work or am in the gym.

What record did I listen to? Well, you'll just have to find out on next week's Echo CHamber, which I'm starting riiiiiiight....now.

See you then!

Status Quo Sunday 26.98 Times

Turning 27 a week from LET'S SAY TODAY, and that's when I'll do the State Of The Bastard. Right nowm this is my jam:



Status Quo Update: I've got a good buffer going, so all is well on that front. I want plenty of time to finish up the last little bit of the songs I'm not rerecording. I'm still going to be making new stuff, but anything for the album I'm going to play close to the chest. If you're on the mailing list, however, then you got a free track that's never before seen! I'm in the home stretch, and I'm getting some good stuff back, so fingers crossed!

In other news, Awesome Games Done Quick is going on, so I'll be donating to that sometime this week :D. 

Also, Orlando Nerd Fest is now accepting performer applications! So you know I got all up on that.ONF is one of the places I'm looking to go back to this year.

Been getting into some other video games, like Assassin's Creed II and Persona Q. ACII feels almost more like a racing game/platformer, with stealth coming in a distant third. It's an interesting story so far, and I'm excited to play it once AGDQ is finished. Persona Q is me hanging out with the crew from the Persona games again, so I'm 100% on board.

One last video game: Drift Stage- A throwback to 64-bit era racing games that's pretty cool.

Status Quo Sunday's Ten Lessons Learned.

Album's going strong, a little ahead of the game, so, let's look back 2014!

Cesaro's on RAW and he's talking about how-

Oh, right. Um, something relevant... OK-

MY TOP 10 (IN NO ORDER) CONVENTIONS OF 2014! (and the lessons learned)

1. Sands Of Anime
Location is everything. It was by this really nice, beautiful beach, and with some time, it could be a destination con, ala Umicon Daytona. But, they also put the music act opposite the voice actor panels. And the merch tables were out of the way.

2. Miami Hurricon
BRING A FUCKING MIC STAND.

3. Omni Expo
Never underestimate the power of a good connection. I met up with a lot of people there, who I would go on to work with and become good friends with, such as the guys from Orlando Nerd Fest and Sci-Fried, DJ RoboRob (who's producing Status Quo Radio), and Geekapella.

Also, KNOW WHAT DATES OTHER THINGS ARE AT.

4. Hero Hype Con
Learning from your mistakes. Hero Hype Con picked up the slack, and knowing what to expect and being prepared for anything, let me perform better. Also, I got a really sweet spot, before the cosplay competition.

5. Anime Festival Orlando
You don't need to hustle 100%. I feel like I need to at these things, but I was having way more fun once I settled down and played some Magic The Gathering. Really, A LOT of Magic The Gathering, lol. My concert went well, but again, cons are supposed to be fun, and I don't have to be on the clock.

 6. Creator Owned Expo
Supporting the little guy feels really good, and as I'm watching RAW, it reminds me of the benefit of putting guys over. Which they don't do on RAW. Be like Ron (Kerronian, head of COE), not RAW.

7. Orlando Nerd Fest
Hard work feels great when it pays off. Like Creator Owned Expo, it feels really good putting guys over, and when that person does the same to you (like what MC Lars did to me), the feeling is euphoric.

8. Umicon Music Initative
Act like you never made a mistake. A string broke, I was inbetween two other acts, and I only had so much time left. I just translated everything and went along with it, and became EVEN MORE OF A DORK.

AARON DISMUKE, I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!!

9. Chibi Pa: Suki Desu
Putting the artists alley infront of the Dealer's Room is a REALLY smart idea, and it's almost TOO obvious to think of.

I was also going to put something here about good turns deserving another, as when I lent my amp to the staff to borrow for an event, fate rewarded me with Andrew from S.S. Hanami helping me out on drums, but con organizers should also take note of this list.

10. UltraCon
Putting the panels and what times they're at RIGHT OUTSIDE THE PANEL ROOMS is another REALLY good idea.

But, there's also another bonus lesson here: Know your limits. I'm not at the point where I'm marketable enough yet to where I can sell merch at cons via table. I'm a hard sell; original content in an environment based off of fandom.

So I'm going to be less aggressive in trying to snag cons this year. I'm definitely not quitting, but I'm not going to shotgun everything, and waste money on tables and stuff like that. I might even try to snag some small shows on Clematis Street, like a REAL musician.

It's a big world out there, and 2015 is going to be a big year.

Huh, my birthday's on a Sunday this year....

Status Quo Senpais and the Art of Being Noticed

I am a 26 year old man with a job. This week, after I sort out all the numerous business cards I've gotten over this past weekend, I am going to set up a doctor's appointment and then find a place to get my windshield repaired. This morning for breakfast I had Cheerios w/ Protein, which also has the fiber I need. After taking my multivitamin this morning, I drove to work, a commute which takes 40 minutes on average. I have very strong opinions about driving on the I-95. It sucks. A lot.

Yet, the last words I said after my long weekend of two cons and two shows were, in a giddy voice: "SENPAI NOTICED ME!!!" I ain't even watch that much anime. 

The end cap for this weekend was catching MC Lars's set at Orlando Nerd Fest this past Sunday, being brought up on stage to skank to "This Gigantic Robot Kills", and then him giving me a shout out on stage for putting his music in Rock Band and playing earlier that day.

Made the whole weekend worth it.

Anyway, there have been two main takeaways from this weekend:
1. Giving people money for something they worked hard on feels really good. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I always like to pick up stuff from the artist alley and the guys publishing their own comics. It helps them out more, and I know I'd want someone doing the same for me. Like, I could get that Wobbuffet plushie, but I'd rather get someone's CD.

2. It also feels good to be remembered from stuff. A couple people have seen me from an Orlando show or two, and of course, my SoFloConBros from every con south of where I live. Also wearing the same at every show helps, like MC Lars and his A's hat.

But I think the two "scenes" have a different feel to them: Orlando cons tend to be bigger, and more focused on anime/Japanese culture, where as the ones in South Florida are more genereal interest, but smaller.

Creator Owned Expo- They asked me to MC the cosplay competition and do all of the raffles. It was really fun. The sound setup was OK, and for the last song my mic gave out, but still managed to put on a good show. Definitely want to go back next year!


-Recap Video!
Will be coming soon! I just need to fix the sound and add subtitles.

-COE was started by Ron Kerronian, who some call "Black Wolverine", since he has the mutton chops and cowboy hat.

This year, it seemed

like everyone

decided to cosplay as him.

Maybe we should start calling Wolverine, "Short, White Ron"


- (WARNING: MAGIC THE GATHERING SHIT AHEAD) Bought a Funko Pop! Nissa, then pulled a Brimaz and Iroas, God Of Victory from purchasing 3 Theros Block packs. Though unfortunately, not one game of Magic was played all weekend :(
To my credit, it's the only non-creator owned thing I bought.

-One of the guys I sold a copy of Dino Hunter MD to at Miami Hurricon actually had a booth there at We Are Chaotic Neutral.

He loved it, SO MAYBE YOU SHOULD PICKUP A COPY.

-Shout out to all the prerequisite SoFloConBros:
Grifter Cosplay
BTL Collectables
Irving of UltraCon South Florida
Martin of Cosmic Times
Zippertan and Mervyn of Paperlab Studios

Orlando Nerd Fest- WOW this was awesome. I totally regret not going when this was called Nerdapalooza. My set was tight as hell, and the crowd was about as good as I can say for an 11AM show the day after "LET'S GET CRUNK EVE" in the smaller stage area.

The set right after me was Random Encounter, doing a lighter set with Professor Shyguy on bongos.
Random Encounter does a lot video game music, with like a pirate rock tinge to it. It was a pretty solid show. Then afterwards we went to get some Dennys.

-Fortunately for me, there was a freeplay arcade in the Jamspace to keep people in. I played OutRun, and I bodied some mofos as Sagat and caught some of Doug Funnie's set.

-Next group I saw was RPG Unit, a nerdcore supergroup that recently put out an album based off Borderlands.

-Then I saw MC Lars and all the good stuff happened.

See you next week! Next show is Umicon Daytona!


-

Status Quo Sunday Goes A-Hunting

NEW SONG! "Hunting Bigger Game"


Join the mailing list, and you get a FREE download!
 NEW VIDEO! Anime Festival Orlando 2014 Recap



TWO NEW GIGS!!
CREATOR OWNED EXPO-

Creator Owned Expo is designed to encourage Literacy, Artistic Creativity, innovations in Technology, and Social Interest in the sciences via panels, workshops and Q&A,s which are geared towards Art, Sequential Art, Science fiction, Fantasy, Novels, Creative Nonfiction, Folklore, Historical Fiction, Mythology and other related genres.

This event promotes Independence in the areas of creative media, comics, art, animation,film, and self-published literature.  We are a close knit ecosystem, a community built to encourage communication between the creators and the audience.
“This event celebrates creators of various media, genres and the fans who love them.”

ORLANDO NERDFEST- The Orlando Nerd Fest is an annual celebration of nerd music and culture. The festival is commonly referred to by it’s acronym ONF. (ie. #ONF2014)

This is going to be ONE HELL of a weekend for me, but after that, I'll be resuming work on Status Quo Radio. I'm looking for artists to do album art, and will start contacting them after this weekend, since I want to have the first two acts done.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, SEND ME AN E-MAIL TO rhythmbastard@gmail.com
  Also, I'm looking to update my link bar, so hit me up!