PAX Unplugged/Holiday Matsuri/2018 Recap Video!

WHERE YA BEEN BASTARD?

In Philly for PAX Unplugged, playing tabletop games!

In Orlando for Holiday Matsuri, playing kick ass shows!

At home, for holiday stuff!

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PAX Unplugged Games:
Trash Pandas- https://gamewright.com/product/Trash-...
Smack Talk Showdown- https://smacktalkshowdown.bigcartel.com/
Boss Monster- https://www.amazon.com/Brotherwise-Ga...
Big Trouble In Little China- https://www.everythingepic.us/big-tro...
SuperHot: The Card Game- https://www.greyfoxgames.com/games/su...
 

Holiday Matusri People:
Stanpai- http://twitter.com/TheManlyStanley/
Robert Schilling - http://schillingconcepts.artstation.com
Genel Jumalon- http://geneljumalon.com/

NEW PODCAST I MIGHT BE INVOLVED WITH?
RPG Pals Club- https://twitter.com/RPGPalsClub

VERY BELATED ANIME IWAI ORBIT RECAP!

ANIME IWAI RECAP! FRIDAY!

That was a looooooooooong weekend. Really busy, but really fun!

First off, these were the belts we were giving away to the champs:

I know, we felt bad about giving them away!

These were made with the assistance of Zach and Marlent from the 3000 Brigade and they came out fantastic. The plates are galvanized steel and the belts themselves are faux leather.

Since I wasn't sure what kind of time we'd have, all tie brakers would be settled by the game Smack Talk Showdown.
Basically, it's FunEmployed for cutting wrestling promos. So after 5 minutes, if no winner was declared, they'd face off and the best promo wins. 

Our winning team, Team Frozen Grape, comprised of Mineta from My Hero Academia and Inuyasha, won handily with a 3 Count pinfall.

After that was one last dress rehearsal,and then on to Saturday, the LOOOOOONGEST day of the con.

ANIME IWAI RECAP! SATURDAY!

HOOO! Where to begin?

Oh yeah, at the start of the day with the My Hero Academia Sports and Games Festival!



Here I am, cosplaying as Tenya Iida, or the protagonist from a 1970s Sci-Fi movie.

This was a thing I got involved when I found out who I was going to be playing in the 3000 Brigade Show back in May and wanted to reuse some of my Iida cosplay stuff. It was a simple affair, there was a cast cosplayers already dressed as MHA charachters to some games, some the audience would get involved in, all in all, more fun than I was expecting, and I got some eyeballs on to the 3000 Brigade show.

From there, I had to rush to Snatch Game 3000, which is basically the Match Game, but with 3000 Brigade people dressed up as various characters.





I was a Team Rocket Grunt! I have a Pikachu just for the occasion, but I didn't get to my car to bring it!

Then nothing for like 5 hours.

THEN THE 3000 BRIGADE SHOW!

here's some pics, try to guess what the show is about (images courtesy of Nerds Know)








 







 




It was a great show, and like always, it's been an honor to work with these talented, sexy assholes.

In this show, I was a member of B12, Chris Redfield (Particularly his RE5 incarnation) and Tenya Iida from My Hero Academia.

These costumes were a lot easier than I though initially.

For Chirs's shirt, I had a jersey the same color, and simply had to paint the sides black. A friend was able to provide most of the accessories, like the belt, holster, and gun, and I bought the rest. Also, I made the pattern for the sleeves.

Tenya Iida's school jacket was actually REALLY simple: I got a gray suit jacket at Goodwill, and the blue parts are just bias tape that's been Liquid Stitched on.

After that was a meet and greet, and then I was done FOR NOW...

ANIME IWAI SHOW RECAP! SUNDAY!

My show can be summed up as such: Sound was bad, crowd was terrific.

No shots for that yet...

This Week's Status Quo Sunday Has A Picture Of Me Flexing In It, You're Welcome

ANIME IWAI SCHEDULE IS OUT!

Let's brake it down day by day:

FRIDAY! 3000 Brigade Presents: Iwai-vor Series!
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Panel Room 3

A Tag Team Throwdown where you and a partner can pummel your way through the competition to win the Championship Belt in some old school N64 Wrestling games! There will be thrills, chills, spills, and maybe one of the commenters will wear sly costume! Flashy outfits and ridiculous promo cutting encouraged.

We will also be playing Smack Talk Showdown to break any ties.

The belts are looking really nice this year, and actual effort is being put into them!

SATURDAY! 3000 Brigade Presents: Red Carpet Brawl
8:00 PM to 9:30 PM, MAIN EVENTS

This year's 3KB Extravaganza! A smashing Smash Bros. Show! Who will show? You'll have to go to know! Sexy dances, pulse pounding action, and a beloved Nintendo Character may or may not die!

Also, here's me as Wii Fit Trainer from last year's show:

I look even better from behind ;)

I can't say who I'm going to be in this year's show, but it will be making the most of my beefiness. There is a piece of fanart I would like to recreate if I got 1000 Facebook Likes or something like that, but it's too close to do such a thing. 

Afterwards, there will be a Meet and Greet where we can answer all your questions in character.

There will also be another event on Saturday I Might be a part of, but that's All tentative.

SUNDAY! Hardcore Nerdcore Punk Rock (aka my concert!)
3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Panel Room 1
I've been working on A LOT of new stuff, and I'm going to be playing it live to close out the show!

I'll also have copies of Dino Hunter MD: The Sound Track back on sale, and of course the usual headbanging madness that ensues. A lot of stuff I did at Mini Iwai worked well, so I think I might have done something right for once... 10 years in...

SPEAKING OF 10 YEARS IN...
This Saturday at 8 PM, I'm going to be doing what the original purpose of this blog is/was:

Playing through all of the songs from the original Rock Band on a real guitar...

 ...via Rocksmith 

That way it's all organized, less stressful, and I can even level up certain parts if I want to git good as a little incentive.

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Hellbent" by Mystery Skulls


The latest in the "Mystery Skulls Animated" Series, this covers a track from Mystery Skulls's 2014 album, Forever, "Hellbent". The rest of Forever is slower paced, meant to let the lush tracks more room to breathe and be felt. "Hellbent" is WAY MORE AMPED UP, but it doesn't suffer at all.

Even the music video, animated by an independent team lead by MysteryBen27 is able to keep up. What I loved about previous animated outings, "Ghost" and "Freaking Out" is that there is movement on every beat, even if it's a simple head bob. Obviously, it's a faster song, so the actions are going to be closer together, but it's all spaced out enough to where it's not confusing.

HOWEVER, the same is happening to this series as what happened to Kingdom Hearts: The first one starts off on a simple premise, the second introduces more elements, and the third builds on it even more as it goes deeper and deeper into its own lore.

Also, here the song doesn't start until about 2 minutes in. The story is still easy enough to follow, and everything is clear enough on a careful watch. 

Even if you want ALL THE LORE, you only have to watch 12 minutes of well done music videos, instead of 100+ hours of gameplay.

JAM OF THE WEEK: 10/7/2018

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Immigrant Song" by Hotei


Hotei is Japanese guitarist best known for his instrumental song "Battle Without Honor Or Humanity" that's been featured in numerous movies, most famously "Kill Bill Vol. 1".

Here, he has covered the song "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin.

AND IT GOES SUPER FUCKING HARD. This isn't a "Jam Of The Week" so much as a Public Service Announcement. The EDM flourishes make it feel more intense and have the song hit harder, as it shoves the rest of the sound spectrum out of the way to make some room for that iconic riff.

Led Zeppelin's version doesn't feel weaker after this, it feels sweeter. There's WAY less going on in the background, and it gives Robert Plant's vocals more room to shine. You can barely hear Hotei in the cover, and it doesn't matter because

JAM OF THE WEEK: 9/30/2018

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Break The Contradictions" by Man With A Mission

Man With A Mission are the Jam Of The Week again, and this is another one you can blame on Owen.

I was telling him on Discord about how Little Boots was a previous JOTW, and recommended him a few recent bands I was into, like Studio Killers, Mystery Skulls and Man With A Mission. MWAM he was familiar with, as it was the theme song for the G1 Climax, New Japan Pro Wrestling's major tournament. There's no music video here to really talk about, just some NJPW footage. It's great, and that scene has me way more interested than what's going on in the WWE.

On to the song itself: Man With A Mission knows how to build. First, the bass riff. Now, it's a mighty fine riff, and you could ride on that for quite a while. But then come the kick drums that sound like the rest of the song is about to burst out of the ground. In come the snares to round out the beat, and the first verse begins. I want to give Tokyo Tanaka credit here: for a band that's primarily Japanese, the guy can do a solid rap in English, and his delivery becomes stacatto, it makes each syllable hit like a bullet. Everything fade out before the chorus, save for the hard hitting precussion, and then:

WHENEVER YOU ARE DOWN BELOW
YOU WANNA GO HIGH
YOU WANNA GO LOW
BREAK THE CONTRADICTIONS!

WOOOOOO!!!!!

Just when you think it get into a flow you can follow, at 3:22 in, the DJ goes absolutely nuts! The only other song where the bridge is this disparate and made me just as hype, was "Get Up" by Unwritten Law.

Friday Night Mysteries Presents: Danganronpa 2 #1

FRIDAY NIGHT MYSTERIES PRESENTS: DANGANRONPA 2 #1


We're back to school, and on an island!

JAM OF THE WEEK: 9/23/2018

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Voyage" by Leningrad

A couple weeks ago, I covered "Ju-Ju", another Leningrad/Ilya Naishuller joint. This week brings you "Voyage".

When I first researched Leningrad, they were described as a "ska punk" band, and being used to 3rd Wave American Ska, I didn't see it in "Ju-Ju", since that was more . It's a lot "dirtier" than what I'm more familiar with, and it works with the band's more aggressive style. The bass sounds more intense and electronic, the band curses, and the female singer has a background in jazz, so you know she knows how to belt out that chorus.
 
The song is about taking selfies, and going on lavish trips and shit for the Insta, but the language barrier and the electrifying chorus keep it sounding from too cynical.

Alexander Pal, plays the main charach brings it all together with his chain-smoking and "I Am Beyond Dead Inside" Eyes, and it sells the notion that this is all a little "off". Also, that lead in to the final chorus is so perfect. Naishuller knows how to give transitions a bigger impact, and his calling is these shorter features, if he's going to be this ambitious and intense with his concepts. Then, a piano explodes.

Status Quo Sunday Lets You Know About Upcoming Fall Conventions!

UPCOMING CONVENTIONS!
Anime Iwai (November 9th to November 11th)This weekend is going to be a VERY busy one, because:

• I'm playing Hardcore Nerdcore Punk Rock! Time is yet to be determined, but I will have a concert, and given the big show I had at Mini Iwai, I'm looking to make it even bigger and better! (Currently slated for 3 PM on Sunday)
• The 3000 Brigade Show For 2018! I'm serious, it doesn't have a name yet. This is my second year as part of the 3KB and it is a big, awesome extravaganza filled with sexy dances, raunchy jokes and more violence than you can shake a Switch at!
• Iwai-vor Series! A Tag Team Throwdown where you and a partner can pummel your way through the competition to win the Championship Belt in some old school N64 Wrestling games! There will be thrills, chills, spills, and maybe one of the commenters will wear a silly costume!
  Flashy outfits and ridiculous promo cutting encouraged. (Currently slated for 7 PM on Friday)
• Still PLENTY more to announce, but I'm getting EXHAUSTED typing ALL of this up, and I MIGHT let a hint or two slip out.

PAX Unplugged (November 30th to December 2nd)

Not quite a concert, but I'm having some fun with friends in Philadelphia for PAX's Table Top only event. If you know anyone from Philadelphia who wants to put on a nerdcore punk show, sent an email to rhythmbastard@gmail.com!

Holiday Matsuri (December 14th to December 16th)
Panel Room 11, Saturday 11:15 PM to 12:15 AM (tentative)
You've heard it here first, folks! I'm playing at Holmat again, and at a late night show! What can I do to hype up this incredible performance, to make it out to be the Science Fiction Double Feature Grindhouse Sexploitation that we all know it can be? Find out *WINK*!

PATREON UPDATE!

A song will be happening this month, and I am doing another MTG song, so that'll happen either this or next month. STAAAAY TUUUUNED!

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Headphones" by Little Boots

Blame/Thank Owen for this one.

I didn't have much planned for this week, (hence why I missed last week), so I pitched it out to my discord for help.

The first thing I thought when listening to this was "Blondie, but more disco". It doesn't do a lot new, but it's really catchy, and the bass work, while not complicated, is a really good hook. Usually for these I only try to listen to the songs a couple times to get a basic feel for them, but I'm typing this on my 5th replay, so it's doing something right.

Also, I like the concept of a music video: people watch their "Party Selves" when they hear Litte Boots's song on their headphones. It ties into to the song's attitude about dancing to your own beat.

"Headphones! At The Disco!" is the name of my EDM Panic! At The Disco! cover band.

JAM OF THE WEEK: 9/2/2018

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Movies" by Alien Ant Farm
Normally for these, I like to take a look and show off a song I've been enjoying recently. This one is... Well, it's more of a dissection than anything, brought about by the fact that it was just released in Rocksmith.


Alien Ant Farm is a band you might recognize as the band who got famous for their cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal". It's a really good cover. But we're not talking about that, we're talking about their biggest single, "Movies".

First the good: I like the energy in the song, and there's some neat bass work. The chorus also gives the song a unique sentiment:

I want you to be free
Don't worry about me
And just like the movies
We play out our last scene

You won't cry, I won't scream

It's a break up song but one that's not bitter. Like, "Nah, it's fine. It's fine. IT'S FINE! I'M NOT CRYING!", but like in the movies, everything turns out OK!

The rest of the lyrics make little sense and it reads like a first draft. There's nothing to latch on to when the most common refrain is written like a caveman did it:

In our short years, we come long way
To treat it bad and throw away

I know we don't have the fancy tech like Reaper and shit so you can play that part over and over again until you can get a decent line, but WOW I want to know what's going through this guy's head.

The music video is about what the song deserves: it's simple and every member of the band has a fantasy about how each of these girls can turn out like a horror movie. It's fine.



However, this is the one that actually got released to the public.

It looks more polished, but it lacks something to grab on to. It's just the band playing on a Hollywood sound stage. Like, nothing goes wrong, Zombies from a neighboring movie don't barge in to ruin it or, a girl from a romance movie tries to hit on them, or Godzilla doesn't wreck everything in the BG, all that's changed is that there is a budget.


Then after "Smooth Criminial" became a hit, they tried again with "Movies"

Don't let Dryden (a White People name before the mid-2000s? Dang) move without a microphone in his hands. He looks like a fucking dork whenever he tries to dance. He's not doing cool punk moves, he's imitating someone with a very serious brain disease and a Dad trying to dance at the same time. A.K.A. Your Dad. Zero charisma.

Why is he staring at the hot dog? Fuck it, this is a better breakdown than I can write.

Anyway, it looks like the band is having zero fun, and everyone is kinda going through the motions. Because, as I mentioned earlier, this is the THIRD TIME THEY'RE DOING THIS. Pat Morita you deserve so much better.

"Movies" is the Roman Reigns of music: Pretty good, but the push should have been abandoned when it became clear it didn't take. Difference is Roman Reigns can improve.




Then to promote their new album they crashed the BET Awards. That goes past Cultural Appropriation and straight into colonialism.


In 2016 and 2017 they were part of the Make America Rock Again Tour with bands like Lit and Buckcherry, followed by the Gen-X Tour in 2018, also with bands like Lit and Buckcherry and Drowning Pool.





I'd like to take this point in time to apologize to Roman Reigns.