Monday, June 29, 2015

A Much Better Sunday

This week's much nicer jam, while the Status Quo is still changing. Or maybe this always was the status quo, but the powers that be finally recognized it.


Like most of you, I’m very pleased about the Supreme Court decision Friday.
However, don’t unfriend somebody just because they disagree. Instead, be a constant reminder that this change is positive, and, if they’re adults, they’ll suck it up, and you might even change their minds.
Also, if they make arguments like “WHAT NEXT? WE CAN MARRY DOGS?” you can safely assume that they want to have sex with dogs. Do them a favor by posting up sexy dog piuctures on their wall. For kids!


There's also the matter of the Confederate Flag being disregarded by pretty much everyone, save those with the most foolish of prides, but we talk about that a lot in the Echo Chamber Podcast, so I think I'll save it for then.

Either way, this week's SQS was a complete 180 from last week.

ALBUM UPDATE:
#RBforTHPS5 is now in full effect!
I want to be in the next Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game!
So, as a little nudge, I released a new track into the wild (albeit cut down) and set it to a quick recording I did of some Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X:


Track is called "Bastard's Reunion", and while it won't be available until the album comes out, I'm proud of the track looking back, and I think this is the one. 

I'm excited to see what THPS5 has in store, since while I didn't mind the open world nature of the latter games, like Underground and Sk8land, going back to play THPS2X was challenging in a different way.

Though the San Francisco Streets level sucked. A LOT.

ALBUM UPDATES PT. 2:
The artist is working on the poster print, and I'll be tackling the T-shirt design. It's a simple little thing I whipped up, so that it won't be too much to print. Most of my time will be spent on the "boring" stuff like liner design and what not.

NEW SHOWS ON THE WAY?
Hmmmm.... I do, but I'm not in the position to announce anything juuuuust yet. But I will tell you that they're both shows I played at last year, and am happy to play at again :D. That and I'm updating during WWE Raw when I'm working 10 hour days, so life is short.

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS....
Yeah... I don't know how to link my profile or anything, but I'm RhythmBastard on there as well. So far I've been doing really good with Garen and Kayle, and like TF2, I don't really have a preferred role, just kinda go wherever.

While TF2 has me playing for longer, League has me going back for more. TF2 I could play for hours in the same server, because it keeps games going until the map changes. With League, the fact that it has clear "stopping points" makes me come back to it, since I don't hit that "OH SHIT, I gotta stop point" as fast. The shorthand I use to describe it is World of Warcraft meets Football. Only this is, well, something that doesn't bore me.

But I keep myself to one game a day, I swear.

I can quit anytime....

Maybe I should take up something else... like jogging.... or heroin....

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

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. 

Image result for {puppies

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!








Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Echo Chamber Recap Episode 128

I'M GRYFFINDOR IN THE STREETS, BUT SLYTHERIN IN THE SHEETS- JOSH PECK



-
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I call her/him/it Janellemon as a tribute to Janelle Monae and Pokemon.

 -There is such a thing as a trolley buggy.

-The relative isolation is why a lot of touring bands don't come south of Orlando. Only large bands that can afford the trip go all the way down to Miami, and even then it's rare. West Palm Beach gets skipped altogether, except for something like Warped Tour, which is here on a Saturday, except

-FLORIDA MAN CAPTURES PICTURE OF RACCOON RIDING AN ALLIGATOR

-
At 4:32 it has that UNTIL ONE DAY... (record scratch)

-J.K. Rowling did mention there is an American Equivalent of Hogwarts. I like the idea. It's not like magic would localize itself to England. It could be a great opportunity for a satirical look at how America would handle that shit. Like, we'd use Magic to kill brown people fight terrorists. Also, we probably already elected our version to public office under the Republican Party:

https://truthmissiles.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/img_2635.jpg


OK, to cleanse your pallette, here's American Hermione:
http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140410182859/degrassi/images/4/44/Jessica-simpson-dukes-of-hazzard-lg.jpg

-FUN FACT: I've never seen Revenge of the Nerds. It's one of those things I only know because of numerous references on Family Guy. Though these days, I think you would be less likely to root for the nerds. You still would, cause they would be the protagonists of the movie, but these days nerd shit is so ubiquitous, that one of those jocks would be wearing an Iron Man T-Shirt or some shit.


-"#BigAnime wants you to believe that Kids can be Squids"- Arcanon

Paul Splart: Arowana mall cop-












-Hahaha, Epic Memes Blo! (Blart Bro)
 photo Inkleberg_zps8ukwwmg0.png













-Nice Splememes (Splatoon Memes) Blo (Blart Bro)

-Paolo has the BEST Amiibo names:

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-Rock Band 4 PICK DRAFT!!

Looking back at this, I would replace "Danger! High Voltage" with "Do The Evolution" by Pearl Jam.

This is going to be a close one though. We all have one SUPER obvious one, and a couple hopefuls, so it all comes down to the Daft Punk and Maroon 5 songs.


OWEN (1)
Uptown Funk Bruno Mars
Get Lucky  Daft Punk
Sing Ed Sheeran
Magic Pilot
Shake It Off Taylor Swift
Sugar Maroon 5
Sk8r Boi Avril Lavigne
Superman Goldfinger
Die Young Kesha
All About That Bass Megan Trainor



ERIC
Shut Up and Dance Walk The Moon
Locked Out Of Heaven  Bruno Mars
Gold On The Ceiling The Black Keys
Tightrope Janelle Monae
Chelsea Dagger The Fratellis
Danger! High Voltage! Electric Six
Calling All Destroyers Tsar
Light Up The Night The Protomen
Let's Dance To Joy Division The Wombats
Sellout Reel Big Fish


PAOLO
Pompeii  Bastille
Rude Magic
Hey Jealousy Gin Blossoms
Come With Me Now Congos
Flagpole Sitta Harvey Danger
Animals  Maroon 5
Sweater Weather The Neighborhood
Remember Disturbed
Lightning In A Bottle Summerset
Gimme Chocolate BABYMETAL

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Status Quo Championships 2015

This week's jam:


Now, unlike most songs where I reconize the tune, but not the name of the song, this is one of those songs where I've seen the title, but never bothered to listen to the song until just recently, and as a song with jangly guitars, fast lyrics, and a sound straight from the 70's, I was naturally intregued. It was available for the Rock Band Network, then taken off.

Right, this is Sunday, right? Uh.... Damn, keep kayfabe, don't tell everyone how hype you are at 360 Backwards compatability, the new Star Fox game and the bazillion other games at E3....

HERO HYPE CON RECAP VIDEO!!!


Which dovetails nicely into my second point...
RB Kick Drum Logo T-Shirt main photo

RHYTHM BASTARD T-SHIRTS ARE NOW ON SALE!
You don't have to worry about shipping, I want to see how the first couple orders pan out first.

Other than that, I moved all my stuff off my laptop to my desktop computer, I'm working on new material, and just generally cleaning house on certain things in the future.

On Sunday WHICH IS TODAY, two major events competed for my attention: Money In The Bank and the Nintendo World Championships.

MITB was underwhelming and when I found out Shaemus won the contract, I stopped giving a shit. Rollins vs. Ambrose will never not be golden, but, eh....

But the Nintendo World Championships? SUPER HYPE! This needs to be a thing at EVERY E3, especially now that speedrunning and Let's Plays are more of a thing.

I started watching about halfway through, when the second round began, and they were playing Metroid: Federation Force. One cool thing they did is that if you didn't place in a round, you went to a loser's bracket and played a game there. If you won that round, you were still in the loser's bracket, but you stayed in the game.

That was Super Metroid, where there first one to beat the end section got to stay in the game. Then Mario Kart 8 (top 3 finishers of a 3 track cup), and Balloon Fight of all things. Arin from the Game Grumps lost the Balloon Fight elimination round by a hair. Turns out he's pretty good at video games when he doesn't have to talk over them.

After that was Super Smash Bros. and the final round was Mario Maker, with ridiculous levels designed by Treehouse members. I think that, more than anything else, sold me on the WiiU. Between the Kazio insane levels, music making ones as seen in Little Big Planet, and, GUARANTEED a functioning computer system.

So my goal for this week, expect to see my MTG songs on YouTube, and a couple videos from me. This weekend is Treasure Coast Comic Con, so I'll be heading there to hand out a couple business cards.


Thursday, June 11, 2015

Echo Chamber Post Game Episode 127

YOU'RE A KID NOW, YOU'RE A SQUID NOW, YOU BEEFED IT!

-I'm ultra salty because I don't have a WiiU yet, so I'm going to ignore the Splatoon talk, and focus on the other thing they brought up: JET GRIND RADIO! (or Jet Set Radio?)

I'm a sucker for a game with an awesome soundtrack. The controls are jank, and unlike Aggressive Inline, or Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, it's not like I can just focus on the mechanics and get better. I also have to worry about platforming, tagging rivals and avoiding enemy fire. ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER. Granted, the game wouldn't be as memorable if it wasn't so weird and had such a unique concept. I haven't played JSRF, the sequel, so maybe it refined the engine. Who knows.

-Speaking of weird games with killer soundtracks, Katamari Damacy.

Never got that much into the sequels, but Katamari always had this great sense of progression as you go through the levels, especially the final Moon level in the first game. For those of you further behind, you start out with a ball 1m high, and have 25 minutes to roll up stuff so that you reach 500m in height. Zen. That's the word for it, right? The sensation that you've started with a large goal, by moving but mere grains of sand, and at as you reach the end, you can look back and see all the progress made.

-Big ups to Owen here, because thanks to him, I will soon be in possession of the Jigglypuff Amiibo. Don't have a WiiU, but I FUCKING LOVE JIGGLYPUFF.

-I was going to go into some tirade about the difference between Shadow and Sonic, or how Sonic Boom is actually pretty decent, maybe even post that Boxer Hockey comic where Robotnik/Eggman called Shadow "Original The Character: Do Not Steal", but I think I can just post this:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/3b/38/e2/3b38e2aa44466ac2476ff81ee1c35ebc.jpg

-Speaking of Sonic, here's the scene with Robotnik and Eggman from Sonic Generations:


-Chance The Rapper: Social Experiment


-YA DAMN RIGHT I DO ALL THE MUSIC! YOU CAN BUY IT RIGHT HERE ON BANDCAMP:

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Echo Chamber Post Game Episode 126

The Echo Chamber
 DOWNLOAD NOW! NEWER AND SEXIER!


-FUN FACT: I was sent the raw files for "Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock" and had to reconstitute the song using the ProTools file, and add my own distortion. Part of me wants to try and finish it for the Custom Creators Collective, but that would be disrespectful to Lars. Also, my C3 energy is better spent on the Best Song Pack Ever consisting of "Super Rad!" by The Aquabats, "Let's Dance To Joy Division" by The Wombats and "Anal Cunt" by G.G. Allin.

-"Only God can judge me"- Jeff, an atheist.

-Arcanon is working on an Adult Content pack for C3, so "Anal Cunt" by GG Allin might be a possibility.

-BUTTS

-Vocals in Rock Band were always hit or miss, and if Rock Band 4 allows for more expression, then I'm all for it.  It's really a buzzkill when, even on Easy, someone who just wants to sing karaoke fails out and is given negative feedback. No Fail Mode as the default helps a little bit, but it's crushing when a player onjly scores 50%.

"I suck! I'm never going to play again!"

There's a colloquialism in Magic The Gathering for when there's a mechanic that can be seen as discouraging to players not quite ready to handle it: "Feelbads". For a game that invites such a casual playerbase, you want to avoid as many "Feelbads" early on in a player's career as much as possible.


-Final Fantasy X: HAHAHAHA! HA HA! HAHAHA! HA HA! HA! HA!! 

-Canary Mary in Banjo Tooie was regarded for being very difficult. While Mystakin and Arcanon tried to argue the best ways to tackle her, I'll be lazy and post some tips from GameFAQs:
"No-one can beat Canary Mary in less than 13 seconds (not even a giraffe) as she cheats and adapts her speed to match the player’s skill. If you play too well she always seems to win. We never did fix that one properly…" (Translation: WE DUN GOOFED!)

"The main thing to remember with Canary Mary is to keep the interval between your button presses constant" (Translation: Wicked rubberband A.I.)

"If you're into mashing the button as fast as possible, go ahead. However, if you feel like you're slowing down, press start to pause and get the blood back into your thumb... or finger or whatever (nose?). As long as you can stay ahead, it's all good" (Translation: Stop playing. Fuck this game)


The last method is one more suited to those who are a little more desperate. If you're sick of trying everything and anything and just want to finish the game 100%, buy yourself a turbo controller from an online store or your local retailer if they stock them. Turbo controllers allow the user to hold down a button and get the same effect of mashing it at an extremely fast and constant speed - perfect for beating Canary Mary. (Translation: Fuck this game, just cheat)

Also recommended:
-A spoon
-A pen
-Rock Band fret button

But, it makes sure to note that they fucked up the programming, so this won't work either.

Video Time? VIDEO TIME!
-"Barkerville" by John Drake


-Illuminati Lady Does Ducktales


-There Will Be Brawl's Kirby Is As Hardcore As America Wants Him To Be


-

-AHAHA HAHA HA!

Monday, June 8, 2015

Status Quo SHIRTS MOTHERFUCKER!!!

This week's jam:

a.k.a. expect to see this song covered at my next show. It's one of those Pop-Punk One Hit Wonders With a Ridiculous Premise that was so popular in the early 2000s.

BIGGEST NEWS:
T-SHIRTS MOTHERFUCKER!!!

















Currently, I'm not putting them up on the store yet for two reasons. First, DNOS Collectables is still selling them at the (over by this point) Hero Hype Con, and second, I want to confer with Luke Herr, my logo's designer, before I go full wide spread with it.

Oh, right, Hero Hype Con. I played there!


Despite some technical hiccups, playing was good, and my stage mate (aka guy who was there to play the rave) DJ Power Glove was a cool dude.

Also, one of his friends played some Magic The Gathering with me, and I got to be on an episode of a Let's Play show "Just Guys Playing Games", who are using my music for future episode.

Some really impressive cosplays showed up, and it was a blast to watch the competition. 

Hero Hype Con, while again, a nice meet up, was a lot smaller than last year. A few reasons that I won't go into now, but the biggest mistake they made was:
NOT HAVING A SCHEDULE OF EVENTS READILY AVAILABLE.
A schedule of events is more than just a convenience, it gives people a reason to stick around. If someone knows that something they'd be interested in is going down, then they'll be more likely to check out other events and spend more money in the interim. Especially at a small con when you can do all your shopping in an hour, regular distractions are a necessity.
Announcements were made as to what was going on, but someone who just showed up wouldn't know if there was anything going on later that might convince them spend the day there. 

BIGGER NEWS: 
I was recently featured in the spring 2015 issue of Carpe Nocturne, a magazine for the creative culture. I met them at Geekfest Florida and they were super nice to me, and I was really honored that they chose to have me featured in their latest issue.

I'm not entirely sure when the print version comes out, but you can get the online version on their website, or check them out on FaceBook.

BIG NEWS:
DID YOU KNOW?
The Echo Chamber has a new website!

R U A KEWL, KRAZY KID? Jam out in the ECHO ZONE!!!

-Fun!
-Games!
-Attitude!
-Say NO to DRUGS!

Basically it's a way for all of us to kinda do our own thing, and spare Owen the embarrassment of being associated with us.Also, I'll posting up my recaps up there the day before they go up here.

There's talks of a couple other podcasts going up as well, it has embeds to all of our streams, and I'm aiming to set up a radio station that will play blocks of old podcasts as well as music from our picks and made by us. In a way, I was fine with the way things were, but maybe the rebranding is a way to reignite that flame we once had.

After these big weekends, I usually have a lot of crap to do while RAW is on. Hopefully it's a dull episode...


Monday, June 1, 2015

Status Quo Status

HOLY SHIT KEVIN OWENS JUST BEAT JOHN CENA CLEAN!

Anyway, this week's jam:


Right, big thing for this week is I finished my Omni Expo video:


This is another case where the story for this one kinda wrote itself as the weekend went on.

Anyway, HERO HYPE CON EVENT!

Not any guests of note, but hopefully everything works out all right. I'll be at the booth with DNOS Collectables, selling these babies:


Thanks to the Fine People at The Fine Print Shoppe!

This week is just me practicing and stocking up on CDs and Posters.

As far as stuff goes, there's not much in the way of big guests, it's a very low key convention. Still, some fun events are happening, and I hope to see some vendors selling some cool stuff, and some neat cosplays. Plus, I'm always the highlight :D

There is laser tag, which has the opportunity to either be the coolest thing I've ever done at a con, or be the equivalent of the Dashcon Ball Pit.
http://cdn0.dailydot.com/cache/e8/d9/e8d9c465a5006e0b426ea98e25068dc6.jpg

Then again, Hero Hype Con is run by adults who know about things like "money" and "contracts", so it'll be closer to the former. 

At this time I'd like to put over BTL Collectables, who usually have awesome stuff, and sell pretty much everything, from figures, to trading cards to comic books. 

After this, I don't have any cons for the next month or so, and it'll be around that time when I'll start getting the Kickstarter ready.