Missed last week... but will more than make up for it!
But first... The Jam:
OK, so to make up for it, here's the big news:
ALBUM NEWS-
The last song has been send to Rob for mixing/mastering, meaning that the album is conceptually 100% done. After all that's back, production will kick in to high gear, but for now, I'm keeping it chill.
It's done. There's interstitial tracks left to work on, but A. Someone else may record those, and B. any work done with that can be done on my end since it's just removing the noise and leveling it out.
So, I'm going to spend April finalizing stuff for the Kickstarter, which will launch on May 1st, and while THAT'S going, put the finishing touches on everything.
Still trying to plug away at Dragons of Tarkir, but between finishing the album and Hurricon, that took a backseat.
HURRICON?
Yup, played again this past weekend!
Here's the Flickr Files.
Show went well. Had a few people just passing through, Everyone who stayed around for the whole thing loved it a lot and that makes me more happy than anything. No table, but gave out some posters and CDs to the loyal few.
I also saved like, 5 panels. I travel with A LOT of sound equipment, and for Christmas, I got a handtruck that made everything REALLY easy, so there was NOTHING I could handle.
Other than that, it was a really solid local con. Played some rounds of Magic, HMK was there, along with Paul St. Peter, the voice of Xemnas from Kingdom Hearts. I'm not a big anime guy, but it's a delight seeing all these pretty anime characters being played by guys who look like my Dad. It's sweet it it's own way!
Mad props to a SoFloConBro, Gaijin Takiyaki. DELICIOUS treats in a bunch of flavors! Unfortunately they were out when I got there.
MUSIC STUFF:
All my Rhythm The Bastarding songs are now available for download. I originally disabled it for the mailing list peeps, but I think the statute of limitations
Speaking of which, the mailing list peeps WILL get a new track sometime this week!
Also, HOLY SHIT THE DEADPOOL MOVIE IS FOR REALZ!
Monday, April 6, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
10 NEW Bands Who I'd Curbstomp Babies To See In Rock Band 4
So like I did last week with returning bands, I'm doing with bands that haven't had a song debut in Rock Band, Guitar Hero or Rocksmith yet. This cancels out some I wanted to do like The Misfits, but these should be reasonable.
1. THE AQUABATS
The ONLY downside I can see with the Aquabats is that the loss of keys hurts some of the songs, but there's plenty straight rock songs in their library that would fit in well. Plus, their stock is rising with The Aquabats Super Show and Yo Gabba Gabba! so the younger kids will be familiar the everyone's rock and roll superheroes!
If Harmonix ever has a brain hemmorage and releases Lego Rock Band 2, The Aquabats should be front and center!
SEE ALSO: "Super Rad!" "Look At Me, I'm A Winner!"
2. DAFT PUNK
Another band that feels the loss of the keys, but there's still workarounds, it just requires very liberal interpretations of "guitars" and "vocals". Maybe not on disc songs, but it's time for add some Robots to Rock Band.
SEE ALSO: "Digital Love", "One More Time/Aerodynamic", "Harder Better Faster Stronger"
3. FOXY SHAZAM
With operatic vocals that could give Freddie Mercury a run for his money and the energy of nine coke-fiends crammed into 5 guys, Foxy Shazam is a rock band in every sense of the word, who's soujnd has changed enough over the years to give a wide variety of play styles. You want thrashy, trashy and in your face? Go with something off of their album "Introducing Foxy Shazam". Harder rock? 2012's "The Chruch Of Rock and Roll". Found out that you don't have a lo9t of hard songs on vocals? Anything off of 2010's self titled album will have the guy with the mic putting in A LOT Of work.
SEE ALSO: "Unstoppable", "The Church of Rock and Roll"
4. JANELLE MONAE
Have I mentioned I fucking love Janelle Monae? Another artist that bounces all over the place with genres, Cindi Mayweather captures the more mellow side rock, while adding in a ton of funk and hip-hop influences, which Rock Band is sorely lacking. A few of the songs on RB3 that tried to fall into this category were either too spastic or too easy. No keys is a bit of a loss, but depending on the track, you wouldn't even notice it. Any vocalist worth their salt should be begging to have these songs included.
SEE ALSO: "Q.U.E.E.N.", "Tightrope", "Cold War", "Many Moons"
5. JAPANDROIDS
Imagine if the Black Keys got their influences from Arena Rock, and you'd have a pretty good idea of The Japandroids. It's really good "Drive With The Windows Open" music that's plenty of fun for the whole group.
SEE ALSO: "The House That Heaven Built", "Adrenaline Nightshift"
6. THE PROTOMEN
The Protomen make concept albums based off of Mega Man and try to sound as 80s as fuck while doing that. If that sentence alone doesn't convince you, let me repeat it: The Protomen make concept albums based off of Mega Man and try to sound as 80s as fuck while doing that.Keys are missing, but we can still give it the old college try, right? RIGHT?
SEE ALSO: "The Hounds" "Hope Rides Alone" , "The Will Of One"
7. REEL BIG FISH
While "Beer" might not be the most "family-friendly" song from the Boston ska band, it's the song that suffers the least from losing the keys. Like most ska (see "This Gigantic Robot Kills"), the bass is challenging, and the small licks on the lead guitar keep the mostly chord focused song interesting to play. Also, "Beer" was MADE for harmonies. It has "Whoa-oh-oh" part! Bitches love "Whoa-oh-oh" parts!
SEE ALSO: "Take On Me", "Sellout"
8. BOWLING FOR SOUP
We have "Nerd Rock" in Rock Band with "Still Alive" by Glados, Brony music and Kirby Krackle, but we need more "Dork Rock" and Rhythm Bastard, while awesome and cool and talented and well endowed, it's JUST NOT ENOUGH. Bowling for Soup are a bunch dorks that make some really sweet pop-punk, and everyone's guarantee to know AT LEAST 1985.
SEE ALSO: "Girl All The Bad Guys Want", "High School Never Ends", "Punk Rock 101"
9. WALK THE MOON
I'm really surprised these guys haven't had a Top 40 hit yet. Hopefully by the time RB4 comes out they will have gained some mianstream attention, but it could still be an opportunity for Harmonix to be kingmakers.
SEE ALSO: "Tightrope" "Different Colors"
10. THE WOMBATS
Another alternative rock band that's been around for a while, but only managed one radio hit recently. The accent and British Pop Culture references my throw a couple vocalists off, but the relentless energy makes up for it.
SEE ALSO: "Kill The Director", "My First Wedding"
1. THE AQUABATS
The ONLY downside I can see with the Aquabats is that the loss of keys hurts some of the songs, but there's plenty straight rock songs in their library that would fit in well. Plus, their stock is rising with The Aquabats Super Show and Yo Gabba Gabba! so the younger kids will be familiar the everyone's rock and roll superheroes!
If Harmonix ever has a brain hemmorage and releases Lego Rock Band 2, The Aquabats should be front and center!
SEE ALSO: "Super Rad!" "Look At Me, I'm A Winner!"
2. DAFT PUNK
Another band that feels the loss of the keys, but there's still workarounds, it just requires very liberal interpretations of "guitars" and "vocals". Maybe not on disc songs, but it's time for add some Robots to Rock Band.
SEE ALSO: "Digital Love", "One More Time/Aerodynamic", "Harder Better Faster Stronger"
3. FOXY SHAZAM
With operatic vocals that could give Freddie Mercury a run for his money and the energy of nine coke-fiends crammed into 5 guys, Foxy Shazam is a rock band in every sense of the word, who's soujnd has changed enough over the years to give a wide variety of play styles. You want thrashy, trashy and in your face? Go with something off of their album "Introducing Foxy Shazam". Harder rock? 2012's "The Chruch Of Rock and Roll". Found out that you don't have a lo9t of hard songs on vocals? Anything off of 2010's self titled album will have the guy with the mic putting in A LOT Of work.
SEE ALSO: "Unstoppable", "The Church of Rock and Roll"
4. JANELLE MONAE
Have I mentioned I fucking love Janelle Monae? Another artist that bounces all over the place with genres, Cindi Mayweather captures the more mellow side rock, while adding in a ton of funk and hip-hop influences, which Rock Band is sorely lacking. A few of the songs on RB3 that tried to fall into this category were either too spastic or too easy. No keys is a bit of a loss, but depending on the track, you wouldn't even notice it. Any vocalist worth their salt should be begging to have these songs included.
SEE ALSO: "Q.U.E.E.N.", "Tightrope", "Cold War", "Many Moons"
5. JAPANDROIDS
Imagine if the Black Keys got their influences from Arena Rock, and you'd have a pretty good idea of The Japandroids. It's really good "Drive With The Windows Open" music that's plenty of fun for the whole group.
SEE ALSO: "The House That Heaven Built", "Adrenaline Nightshift"
6. THE PROTOMEN
The Protomen make concept albums based off of Mega Man and try to sound as 80s as fuck while doing that. If that sentence alone doesn't convince you, let me repeat it: The Protomen make concept albums based off of Mega Man and try to sound as 80s as fuck while doing that.Keys are missing, but we can still give it the old college try, right? RIGHT?
SEE ALSO: "The Hounds" "Hope Rides Alone" , "The Will Of One"
7. REEL BIG FISH
While "Beer" might not be the most "family-friendly" song from the Boston ska band, it's the song that suffers the least from losing the keys. Like most ska (see "This Gigantic Robot Kills"), the bass is challenging, and the small licks on the lead guitar keep the mostly chord focused song interesting to play. Also, "Beer" was MADE for harmonies. It has "Whoa-oh-oh" part! Bitches love "Whoa-oh-oh" parts!
SEE ALSO: "Take On Me", "Sellout"
8. BOWLING FOR SOUP
We have "Nerd Rock" in Rock Band with "Still Alive" by Glados, Brony music and Kirby Krackle, but we need more "Dork Rock" and Rhythm Bastard, while awesome and cool and talented and well endowed, it's JUST NOT ENOUGH. Bowling for Soup are a bunch dorks that make some really sweet pop-punk, and everyone's guarantee to know AT LEAST 1985.
SEE ALSO: "Girl All The Bad Guys Want", "High School Never Ends", "Punk Rock 101"
9. WALK THE MOON
I'm really surprised these guys haven't had a Top 40 hit yet. Hopefully by the time RB4 comes out they will have gained some mianstream attention, but it could still be an opportunity for Harmonix to be kingmakers.
SEE ALSO: "Tightrope" "Different Colors"
10. THE WOMBATS
Another alternative rock band that's been around for a while, but only managed one radio hit recently. The accent and British Pop Culture references my throw a couple vocalists off, but the relentless energy makes up for it.
SEE ALSO: "Kill The Director", "My First Wedding"
Monday, March 23, 2015
Status Quo Sunday Fest Presented by Ultracon
This week's jam:
A.K.A. Gang Beasts in music video form.
This week was another 10/4 week for me, so while I had the extra day off, unfortunately, I still had a busy weekend.
BUT FIRST "YO RB WHATCHA GOT?"
ALBUM UPDATE-
Two songs to go! Really, only one song to finish writing and one song to re-record. Also finishing my Dragons of Tarkir song which leads me to....
DTK Prerelease! Went 3-1, going with a White/Blue flyers deck. Some MVPs:
-Misthoof Kirin: A 3/2 flier with vigilance that you can play as a morph for 3, and then turn up for only 2 mana, which enbables you to also play...
-Palace Familiar: 1/1, Flying, for 1 and a blue, AND when it dies, you draw a card? Definitely worth drafting. Small fliers, cheap blockers and even cheaper draw is WORTH IT!
-Illusory Gains: Control a creature, then control the next creature that comes out? Really took to this one, since there were a few games where my opponent didn't want to cast anything else, in the event that I'll control that too.
KICKSTARTER...?
Right now, the plan is to focus on finishing the album, then worry about the Kickstarter. So, nothing has been set forward with that yet.
UPCOMING CONS?
Good news everyone!
Miami Hurricon is coming up VERY soon, April 4th!
Ultracon has been moved to July, making me 100% FREE to do Omni Expo!
Ultracon and Hero Hype Con are not confirmed yet, but I should be hearing back from them soon.
In the next couple days, I'll be updating the site with times and whatnot.
OH YEAH, I DID GEEKFEST!
I didn't have a show at GeekFest, but the card was pretty full, and any place with a stage was too crowded. I DID take pictures, and that video will come soon once my workload is a little lighter. Under Ultracon's wing, it took a big step up from where it was in 2013, but still kept it nice and manageable.
I'd be remiss to not to shout out that I met up with Zach of ZifProd, who recorded my Chibi Pa Concert:
A.K.A. Gang Beasts in music video form.
This week was another 10/4 week for me, so while I had the extra day off, unfortunately, I still had a busy weekend.
BUT FIRST "YO RB WHATCHA GOT?"
ALBUM UPDATE-
Two songs to go! Really, only one song to finish writing and one song to re-record. Also finishing my Dragons of Tarkir song which leads me to....
DTK Prerelease! Went 3-1, going with a White/Blue flyers deck. Some MVPs:
-Misthoof Kirin: A 3/2 flier with vigilance that you can play as a morph for 3, and then turn up for only 2 mana, which enbables you to also play...
-Palace Familiar: 1/1, Flying, for 1 and a blue, AND when it dies, you draw a card? Definitely worth drafting. Small fliers, cheap blockers and even cheaper draw is WORTH IT!
-Illusory Gains: Control a creature, then control the next creature that comes out? Really took to this one, since there were a few games where my opponent didn't want to cast anything else, in the event that I'll control that too.
KICKSTARTER...?
Right now, the plan is to focus on finishing the album, then worry about the Kickstarter. So, nothing has been set forward with that yet.
UPCOMING CONS?
Good news everyone!
Miami Hurricon is coming up VERY soon, April 4th!
Ultracon has been moved to July, making me 100% FREE to do Omni Expo!
Ultracon and Hero Hype Con are not confirmed yet, but I should be hearing back from them soon.
In the next couple days, I'll be updating the site with times and whatnot.
OH YEAH, I DID GEEKFEST!
I didn't have a show at GeekFest, but the card was pretty full, and any place with a stage was too crowded. I DID take pictures, and that video will come soon once my workload is a little lighter. Under Ultracon's wing, it took a big step up from where it was in 2013, but still kept it nice and manageable.
I'd be remiss to not to shout out that I met up with Zach of ZifProd, who recorded my Chibi Pa Concert:
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Echo Chamber 117 Post Game
PAHK YAH CAH IN HARVAHD YAHD!
-Rick Scott, Voldemort lookalike and Florida Governor, is a vehment Climate Change and Global Warning denier, thinking thart "THE LAWS THAT GOVERN OUR FUCKING UNIVERSE" is the same thing as an invisible sky man.
And now he's forbidden government offices to use the term, even though it's a real thing, but thiScott doesn't want to upset his industrial backers, so FUCK HIM.
-In response to that, have some lava cake:
-Freezepop JEM!
-Frank Turner's I Still Believe music video.
Yo, I legit cried at work when I saw this news. Rock Band has been the focal point of so much for the past ALMOST decade, and it's coming back.
-While I have to get an Xbone, and I've got a lot of games in my backlog for 360, I guess it can be my Rock Band AND Magic: Duels Of The Planeswalkers machine.
If I can draft in this new MTG game, I'd be SO HYPED YOU GUYS.
-The downloadable Rock Band thing would only make sense if there's backwards comparability with instruments and DLC. But hopefully this is going to be HUGE in brick and mortar store if its to be successful.
-"You can't hold a grudge against someone who's dead"- Mystakin
-"The internet isn't a country!"- Arcanon
"It's THE BEST COUNTRY! It has porn and lava cake!"-Rhythm Bastard
-NEW MUSE! "Psycho"
Right off the bat, it sounds like a Buckcherry or My Darkest Days or any of the other shit bands my brother listens to. Then Matt Bellamy's vocals come in, and mellows out a bit. Still, it reminds me of Uprising. Yeah, it's the same band, but for someone that's as unique as Muse, it's a little
Still, it fucking rules and should be in Rock Band 4.
-Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes:
-The (concept of the) Magic Circle!
-PAXAMANIA which will probably end up better than Wrestlemania Play Button.
Now I want to do this at the next con I play at.
-YUGIOH PRO is a FREE PROGRAM. Between this and Duel Network, YuGiOh has Magic and Pokemon TCG BEAT when it comes to "free thing I can play and test decks on".
Cockatrice is fine to test decks on, but the fact that Wizards of the Coast has slowly been hovering on the "DETONATE" button regarding that program, makes it way less convenient.
-Rick Scott, Voldemort lookalike and Florida Governor, is a vehment Climate Change and Global Warning denier, thinking thart "THE LAWS THAT GOVERN OUR FUCKING UNIVERSE" is the same thing as an invisible sky man.
And now he's forbidden government offices to use the term, even though it's a real thing, but thiScott doesn't want to upset his industrial backers, so FUCK HIM.
-In response to that, have some lava cake:
-Freezepop JEM!
-Frank Turner's I Still Believe music video.
Yo, I legit cried at work when I saw this news. Rock Band has been the focal point of so much for the past ALMOST decade, and it's coming back.
-While I have to get an Xbone, and I've got a lot of games in my backlog for 360, I guess it can be my Rock Band AND Magic: Duels Of The Planeswalkers machine.
If I can draft in this new MTG game, I'd be SO HYPED YOU GUYS.
-The downloadable Rock Band thing would only make sense if there's backwards comparability with instruments and DLC. But hopefully this is going to be HUGE in brick and mortar store if its to be successful.
-"You can't hold a grudge against someone who's dead"- Mystakin
-"The internet isn't a country!"- Arcanon
"It's THE BEST COUNTRY! It has porn and lava cake!"-Rhythm Bastard
-NEW MUSE! "Psycho"
Right off the bat, it sounds like a Buckcherry or My Darkest Days or any of the other shit bands my brother listens to. Then Matt Bellamy's vocals come in, and mellows out a bit. Still, it reminds me of Uprising. Yeah, it's the same band, but for someone that's as unique as Muse, it's a little
Still, it fucking rules and should be in Rock Band 4.
-Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes:
-The (concept of the) Magic Circle!
-PAXAMANIA which will probably end up better than Wrestlemania Play Button.
Now I want to do this at the next con I play at.
-YUGIOH PRO is a FREE PROGRAM. Between this and Duel Network, YuGiOh has Magic and Pokemon TCG BEAT when it comes to "free thing I can play and test decks on".
Cockatrice is fine to test decks on, but the fact that Wizards of the Coast has slowly been hovering on the "DETONATE" button regarding that program, makes it way less convenient.
Monday, March 16, 2015
Status Quo Sunday Rides The Bomb To Hell
This week's jam:
Can I get this entire music video tattooed on me?
So I'm posting this ASAP when I get home from work Monday since I'll be working hard to set everything up for the next couple tracks I'm sending out: Two are for Status Quo Radio and the other is for my Dragons of Tarkir song, which is more or less complete.
Time's short for me this week, so I'll go into a little bit of detail about the songs at what to expect this week:
DRAGONS OF TARKIR- Heavily based off of Metal-Influenced punk acts such as The Offspring and Rise Against, especially since I've been listening to the band above.
I guess since this loosely follows the plot of the block, I guess that means this is a KHAN-cept album?
...I'll see myself out.
BAD DOCTORS- Rerecording this song. I've improved a lot since then, and the main thing I'm working on is both my singing and my meter.
CLASS 9- Codename right now, but I think it rounds out things rather nicely. Since you know the drill by now, you can kinda have a general idea of whatr of who the song is about. But really, as TF2 drifts further and further out of relevance, I've been making it more personal, and the original idea for TF2 concept album is more of a framework than an idea of itself.
But for this song I was planning on having be a little more mellow, like some Talking Heads, but as I started writing it, and really wanting something a little more intense, so it's a lot more classic punky, like The Buzzcocks.
Everything else is a deathmarch right now, as I'm trying to get stuff into Rob as he's getting married in April, and things aren't lost in the shuffle.
RAW was phhbbbt, so here's some good wrestling stuff:
And finally, I'M HEADED TO MIAMI HURRICON!
Can I get this entire music video tattooed on me?
So I'm posting this ASAP when I get home from work Monday since I'll be working hard to set everything up for the next couple tracks I'm sending out: Two are for Status Quo Radio and the other is for my Dragons of Tarkir song, which is more or less complete.
Time's short for me this week, so I'll go into a little bit of detail about the songs at what to expect this week:
DRAGONS OF TARKIR- Heavily based off of Metal-Influenced punk acts such as The Offspring and Rise Against, especially since I've been listening to the band above.
I guess since this loosely follows the plot of the block, I guess that means this is a KHAN-cept album?
...I'll see myself out.
BAD DOCTORS- Rerecording this song. I've improved a lot since then, and the main thing I'm working on is both my singing and my meter.
CLASS 9- Codename right now, but I think it rounds out things rather nicely. Since you know the drill by now, you can kinda have a general idea of whatr of who the song is about. But really, as TF2 drifts further and further out of relevance, I've been making it more personal, and the original idea for TF2 concept album is more of a framework than an idea of itself.
But for this song I was planning on having be a little more mellow, like some Talking Heads, but as I started writing it, and really wanting something a little more intense, so it's a lot more classic punky, like The Buzzcocks.
Everything else is a deathmarch right now, as I'm trying to get stuff into Rob as he's getting married in April, and things aren't lost in the shuffle.
RAW was phhbbbt, so here's some good wrestling stuff:
And finally, I'M HEADED TO MIAMI HURRICON!
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