Status Quo Sunday TRAVELS?

*blows dust off this place*

All right then!

NEW MERCH DROPPED!

First up, the Hardcore Nerdcore Punk Rock shirt!

 

Featuring the INCREDIBLE cover art by Hellbreakfast, this shirt comes in red and black, and all kinds of fabrics.

Next up, Kick Drum Vans!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enbiety helped design these, and WOW they look nice! Also pairs well with the Rhythm Bastard skateboard...

BASTARDTHON UPDATE!

 

You can see ALL of the segments on Youtube, save for the concert and the freeplay stuff at the end. Like I said at the outset, even though I didn't raise much, it still was a fun day! It was a chance to reconnect with people I haven't spoken to in a while, and I got to dip my toe into games I either haven't played in a while, or have always wanted to try

This ran A LOT smoother than the last Bastardthon I ran, since I now know what I'm doing, and I figured out a pretty good flow to how to run things.

What I'd do for next time?
-LONGER SEGMENTS-  Even when segments were feeling long in the tooth, some of the stuff we wanted to do was cut off RIGHT THERE, and it was like "OH, OK NEXT ONE!" Maybe an hour and a half slotted out instead of just an hour.
-Test the sound levels for my concert before hand and then MARK EVERYTHING FOR LATER
-Wider green screen. My current Green Screen is just two pieces of green fabric clamped together. Please give me money so I can afford a third.
-More crossover opportunity! I did have someone want to do Left 4 Dead 2, and others can join in, but the weekend I rescheduled it for didn't work out.

UPCOMING CONS!

Not ALL of these dates are set in stone YET, but I am working on the logistics SO:

Furry Weekend Atlanta- May 5th to May 8th
Mizucon- May 28th to May 30th
Biggest Little Fur Con- June 2nd to June 5th
Anime Festival Orlando- June 24th to June 26th

Mizucon's an annual mainstay and AFO I've played a few times, and am happy to go back to, but FWA and BLFC are brand new to me! I just hope I can be able to afford them, and at least get some decent buzz going. There's still A LOT to be sorted out, but I just hope I can make it worth the trip!

JAM OF THE... TIME I'M WRITING THIS: "Fancy" by Orville Peck

I've said for a while now that all the good country is being made by weirdos, like Trixie Mattel (drag queen that can put out fun pop-rock jams), Sturgill Simpson (MY ALBUMS AN ANIME, FUCK YOU) and Orville Peck (deep voice, cool mask, all atmosphere) because most of the mainstream stuff is either:
1. Trying to get a commercial crossover hit by being LITERALLY in a commercial
2. Boyfriend Country, which isn't BAD perse, but it's Pop or Adult Alternative but twangy
3. Facebook Grievance Country, aka "I'm a Boomer Dissapoointed in My Country (aka my kids are different entities than I am)

Orville Peck has this bassy voice that is just haunting. Not deep in the way Anthony Fantano would make fun of singers who ape grunge rock, but legitimately otherworldly, and he uses that to great effect in his songs.

"Fancy" is a cover of a Bobbie Gentry song that was made famous by Reba McIntire in the 1990s about a girl who gets sent away to whore herself out to escape poverty. It's a compelling story, which is at the center my favorite country songs, and Orville Peck by just changing one word, ("There stood a woman where a half grown kid had stood", replace kid with "boy") makes it sound more desperate. When it's all backed by a sparse, but well utilized instrumentation adds this gothic layer to it all.

Orville Peck is good.

Status Quo Sunday Catching Up With Cons

 Yup, one of these again! You'd THINK I'd learn to be more on top of these, huh?

Welp, let's start from the beginning...

MEGAPLEX!

First off, credit to Wolico/ToxicFreakHound for the promo picture:

Because the show was VERY late, I needed something to hand out. It was still a fun time, and I was able to collapse in my VERY nice hotel room. Considering this is my second time around, I saw more familiar faces and tried to know more people beforehand via Telegram chats and the like, and hey, turns out a lot of furries are nice people!

I also got paid to play a party, so that's on the table for future cons!

Still maintain that Megaplex has the best solution for the artist alley: $10, 4 hour shifts, first come first serves. It's a great way for artists to get their foot in the door since it's not a lot to set up, and you're not wasting a lot of time and money if you're too new to really sell well. Though finally having Swoletariat tanks for sale also helped.

 Telegram was ALSO a good place to learn how to take on a certain project, namely...

 

Making a Thrash Panda head! At this point it was very rough, I didn't even have a back, but getting it to this point was a work in and of itself. I'll make a video highlighting the process, but it was so satisfying to get to at least here. I really felt I leveled up during this project because I learned how to work with foam, work with leather and work with fur, and at the end, I had a head I can wear.

MIZUCON!

Primetime show, baby! Also had BastardMania for sale on CD!

This show had another thing that I'll never go back from: BLUETOOTH. P A SYSTEM. Made the show much easier to work with. Mizucon's staff was also very on top of things and VERY helpful with the show. I'm eager to see what they come up with next year when we have more elbow room.

Also saw the premiere of Thrash Panda Mark II

 

 Thrash Panda, drinking a Salty Raccoon

ANIME IWAI SHOW!

 2:30 on Friday, in Main Events

Hope to see you all there!

I'm also booking for room parties if anyone is interested, provided you let me carry a backpack o' merch!

NEW MERCH! SWOLETARIAT TANKS AND BASTARDMANIA CD!

New for fall! These have been selling very well, and it's great to have this stuff upfront, in person, since people always walk away happy. You can't ALWAYS rely on people to remember to check out your Bandcamp or Threadless page.

FUTURE STUFF? 

I've been juggling around some projects, and one of them is a visual novel that will go out to my patrons first, then I'll post up on itch.io, akin to many other VNs, like The Echo Project. 

Still don't know how I'll peter it out to the levels of Patron, maybe
$1 - Build of the game
$5 - Soundtrack
$20 - Script

But all that's up in the air, and I'm adding these VN updates in rotation with original music and covers, so it will be sporadic. 

Status Quo Sunday Is Revving Up Again

IT'S BEEN A COUPLE MONTHS

Honestly, it's been a rough couple months, with my day job throwing me for loops on top of loops with a very irregular schedule, I'm never 100% where I'm going to be the next day, so it's hard to get a consistent schedule going.

Every time I wanted to do anything, my body just needed sleep so bad and it kept perpetuating this cycle of staying up late to catch up on lost time and sleeping in late to catch up on sleep

ANY CONS COMING UP?


Mizucon, Lumi-Con and Anime Iwai have all cancelled their conventions for 2020.

I, like many of you, am disappointed in the cancellation, but they made the right decision, especially since Florida's governor and the rest of his administration is making a bad problem worse by putting profits over people.

There's a lot that's still up in the air right now, but I'll let you all know what's going on the second I am able to.

As far as what CAN be done, Megaplex and Anime Iwai are doing online events, and I'll let you know about any upcoming concerts.

The 3000 Brigade show WILL happen in a different format

In the meantime, I CAN promise you more Twitch concerts and stuff on YouTube, but again, anything comes my way, I'll let you all know.

AFO is still on the table, and Holiday Matsuri is still up in the air but WHO KNOWS?





NEW STUFF?

Yes, actually!

There's a new Radical 80's Tank Top in the TeeSpring store!



PLENTY OF NEW EPISODES OF I'D RATHER NOT!
Including:
-The Ghost of Charlie Daniels
-Oscar's Fursona
-Polycules

PLENTY OF NEW EPISODES OF RPG PALS CLUB
-New Games!
-New Systems!
-#FreeOi

RETROMANIA WRESTLING? STILL DOING MUSIC FOR IT! 
In fact, you can hear my music in a recent video!


JAM OF THE WEEK: "A Good Look" by Sturgill Simpson


Country music gets real fucking good when you leave the Radio Stations.

This is "A Good Look" from Sturgill Simpson's most recent project "Sound and Fury". It's an album that has a short animated film attached and this is one of the song segments. Everything I've heard is emotional whiplash from one track to the next.

"A Good Look" has its feet very firmly planted in funk, and your feet are moving through out the whole thing. The bass work on the track is solid, and provides a solid groove while every other instrument does its own thing. The guitars screech enough to get your attention, but the licks never overstay their welcome, and the synthpop elements here are used to great effect.

DEFINITELY looking at more Sturgill Simpson in the future!

I have yet to see the full thing because I want to be context free as possible, but I 100% respect the concept of it being concieved as both an album and short film simultaneously, ala 5555.

Status Quo A Lot Of Shit Hasn't Been Confirmed Yet So Here's What I've Been Into Recently

Now, here's the thing about my silence: It's not that I HAVEN'T been working, it's that what I've been working on either:

• can't be talked about (legally)
• can't be talked about because it isn't done
• can't be talked about because it isn't confirmed.

So, here's some stuff I CAN tell you:

RETROMANIA

Hey everyone, here is something I just through together to show some alpha footage of the game. Again, this is pretty early and we have a LOT of work to do. But just wanted to show what we are working on. (There is a track of music if you want to listen to it. ) pic.twitter.com/Tbnd5eQLtf

— Retrosoft Studios (@RetrosoftStudio) May 27, 2019

Not much to say YET, but if you're a fan of old wrestling games, you might want to check this out.

I got to do a song for it! That is the most I can comfortably say I'm involved with it, AND THAT'S GONNA BE A RUNNING THEME.

CONS

I was at Mizucon in May, and it had a REALLY good comeback! The hotel they used is beautiful, there were a lot of people there, and my panel, Mizu-Mania II (Under New Management)! had a full house!

Also, I invested in a new type of goodie: BADGE RIBBONS!



HOW CAN I GET ONE?  YOU ASK:

1. Buy at least $5 in merch at my table


2. Return 25 MTG Cards that I threw out into the audience


My next cons are Mini Iwai (with the 3000 Brigade) and Megaplex. WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE?


JAM OF THE WEEK: "Godzilla" by Bear McCreary feat. Serj Tankaran


The intro makes it sound like they're either announcing the coming of a God or at least erecting a big-ass statue of them lest they have their thatched roof cottages burninated. Serj Tankaran has a unique, operatic voice and it suits the song well, since it takes a more "HERE COMES THE FUCKING APOCALYPSE" take on the still great Blue Oyster Cult originial.

Some of the production in the way certain notes hit makes me feel this was produced to make it seem more "trailer friendly". For another example of this, see Gary Clarke Jr.'s version of "Come Together" for the movie Justice League, and how some of those guitars sound like the Inception BWAAAAA.

Still great workout fodder. Moreso than the original.

SINCE IT'S E3: THE BEST E3 PRESENTATION EVER



If you want to see a bit evolve over the course of 25+ minutes, watch this.

All I want to say is: Fuck The J-Haters.

WHAT I'VE BEEN OBSESSED WITH: SONIC 2006 REAL TIME FANDUB


First, nice Marching Band cover of Ke$ha's "Die Young". Second, nice Zebrahead cover.

This is an example of just throwing shit out there, and seeing what people latch on to. It's over an hour, but surprisingly consistent in all the bullshit it makes up.

Status Quo Monthy? Nah, Just Busy

WHEW, LET'S GET SOME SHIT OUT OF THE WAY!

Not that I haven't been active, I've just been busy, and the site just works as an aggregate of what I've been up to, and since I've been flying by the seat of my pants for a lot of it, I haven't focused on the site as much. A lot has happened since the Spring Update video, and I will share it all with you...

ULTRACON 2019!
This was the return of Ultracon after a couple years, coming back to the MACC. It had a great turnout, even though the layout wasn't that good, with panels on a top floor where other events went on at the same time, and the dealer's room was on the bottom floor.

Thankfully, I was helping run ULTRAMANIA! on the same floor right before my event.

I made a lot of new fans that show, but like Omni Expo, I hope it can learn to use its space better.

BASTARDMOBILE STREAM!
So a couple weeks ago I ran a 12 hour stream to raise money to help fix my car. To recap:
1. A bunch of friends and fans were eager to help me out in a time where I could use some help
2. I organized a big event with minor technical fuckups.
3. I put on a damn good concert
4. I made Twitch Affiliate.

So there was a broad swath of games, and a broad swath of guests, and here's the recap of the schedule:
12:00 - 1:00 PM - Fallout New Vegas w/ Steven from S15 Costuming
1:00 -  3:00 PM - Torchlight 2 w/ RPG Pals Club
3:00 - 4:00 PM - MTG: Arena w/ WeffJebster
4:00 - 5:00 PM - Dicey Dungeons w/ Hupfen
5:00 - 6:30 PM - Diddy Kong Racing w/ Ben Briggs
6:30 - 7:30 PM - Sunset Overdrive w/ John GM
Concert at 8
Halo and Rock Band 4 Open play afterwards

Special thanks to everyone who watched and everyone who came on to play!

I really want to do another one sometime in a couple months just for a "Hey, let's build a warchest and hangout with all these cool people I know"

MIZUCON PLANS!
So far it's just Mizu-Mania on Monday, but we are working hard to bring you an excellent event! It will be on the main stage, and since we've got a couple of these under our belt, we can deliver high impact digital wrestling action with MINIMAL technical fuck ups!

JAM OF THE... WEEK? "Rose Colored Boy" by Paramore


So, new Paramore kinda rules actually? More poppy, and apparently they don't want to play "Misery Business" anymore, but who cares?

Hayley Williams's acting in this REALLY sells the story as she becomes more and more detached and disinterested with each segment of this cheesy 80's news show. "Rose Colored Boy" is also about a rarely expressed sentiment: "No, I'm not happy, and fuck you for thinking I could just get over it"

Status Quo Sunday Is Going To Conventions!

NEW SONG: "Preacher Of Lonely Street"

The Goon, one of my favorite comic series is back! In Comic Form! So now the song is on YouTube and Soundcloud and all o dat!

Youtube:


Soundcloud:


UPCOMING CONS!
As you may have seen on the sidebar, I have a couple new cons on the horizon:

Ultracon Of South Florida! (April 12th-14th, 2019)

This was a con that's been away for a bit, but now it's back! I'm not sure what else is on the schedule yet, but if you're a collector, it's a really good con for that since the dude that runs it is notroious for having a big G.I. Joe Collection.

Mizucon! (May 26th-27th, 2019)


Mizucon I've had a lot of good times at in the past, but they went away last year, and are now under new management, some of whom are from Anime Iwai. There's a lot I can't confirm yet, except that I do know they will give me a show, and another panel that we're going to bring back!

Hint: Mega Ran was part of it.

Other Convention I've Never Played Before!
For an audience I never played before!

PAX EAST HYPE!
What am I looking forward to?



PAX East Rumble! It's a royal rumble at PAX East! It will be an absolute clusterfuck.


DJ Roborob! All his stuff! He, Ben Briggs and other friends are going to be at the Jamspace at 10 PM on Saturday for a big VGM Dance Party!



The Improvised Post Mortem! Pat Baer is always good for an entertaining time, and he brings some improv fun times to PAX East in one of my favorite panels in any con ever. The premise is simple: Given a game title, these people make up a game and how it could have gone better/worse.

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Tempted" by Squeeze

This song is my goddamn white whale in Rock Band 4. I have YET TO FULL COMBO IT!

But it's a nice song.

Status Quo Sunday Is Expanding The Empire

MIZUCON RECAP
Boy, where do I begin?

-I FINALLY got to see "Cosplay and Me", a documentary by some of the crew behind Just Guys Playing Games,

-MY SHOW! I played really loud, got to preview a new song and then I had some drinks afterwards. Yeah, it was deece.

-Playing a shitton of One Night Ultimate Werewolf. It's really fun to piece things together and have everyone work together. Until you play as the werewolf and your eagerness works against you. At least I don't get killed in the first round because I have a hairy chest.

-Mega Ran's show! Good as always, and I picked up some of his albms I was missing, so I listened to Black Materia and Mat Mania: The Revenge on the way home.
 
-Speaking of Mega Ran, he was kind enough to be on commentary with me for MIZU-MANIA! I do plan on doing more of these events at other cons that lend themselves well to clever puns. I'm taking suggestions for the names of my virtual wrestling empire.

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Tifa's Theme" by Mega Ran


Really, I'm not necessarily picking the song because of the tune (FF7's music will always be considered excellent), or the vocals (It does paint a sweet picture). No, this gets jam of the week because I saw him live, and it gets even better live.

Why? First, he gets the audience to sit down on the floor as he tells the story between Cloud and Tifa like a parent telling their children how they met the love of the their lives. Then, at the end, it launches into a rendition of Biz Markie's "Just A Friend", which is one of the greatest sing alongs ever.



PROVE ME WRONG.

FUTURE STUFF
So, my next show isn't until (presumably) Anime Iwai, and that means I have more than two months to work on new songs (which I have a queue of), fix up my live show and design some new merch. Also, I'm thinking of some other longer running projects, like a Patreon. I figure now is the time to do some back end stuff while I have some time off my regular day job.

SUPLEX SAGA UPDATE
Suplex Saga, while a very solid idea, is not likely to make its Kickstarter Goal. They're still intending on making the game, which is great, because I'd like to see it come to fruition.

However, I'd like to work more game soundtracks in the future!

Status Quo Sunday Fights With Literally Everything All The Time

MIZUCON AND WHERE TO FIND ME!











SATURDAY
COSPLAY AND ME SCREENING
1:15 PM-2:00 PM
PANEL ROOM 1
I was a part of this movie, and promised the filmmakers I'd be a part of at least ONE of the Q & As. It's been making the rounds a couple of the Miami cons, and I have a music video in there!

HARDCORE NERDCORE PUNK ROCK
3:30 PM-4:30 PM
MAIN EVENTS ROOM
Me playing music! I'm also working on a new song that I hope to premire there!

MEGARAN CONCERT
10:15 PM-11:15 PM
I likes me some Mega Ran!

SUNDAY
MEGA RAN WRESTLING CHAT
1:00 PM- 2:00 PM
I likes me some Mega Ran and some wrestling


MIZU-MANIA
3:45 PM- 4:45 PM
I likes me some wrestling, and I likes expanding my brand. I did something similar in the AFO Rumble, so I'm bringing that brand here to Sooooouuuth Florida!

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Imperfect Cells" by Richie Branson

Richie Branson has had quite a couple of years: he was diagnosed with cancer, got treated, it went into remission, then got hired by the Bleacher Report to do memes, and is now getting around to his long awaited Kickstarter Project: "From The Underground To The Stars". He's best known for songs like "Bring Back Toonami" and his Otaku Tuesdays series of EPs.

"Imperfect Cells" is basically his comeback track, going over what happened since the Kickstarter started. It's catchy, it's sunny, it's everything it needs to be. Hell, it's even apologetic at times, telling everyone that he's sorry for the wait like three times.

"Still remember when my album was the most anticipated/Now I be surprised if anyone remembers what my name is"

Richie Branson, welcome back.




SUPLEX SAGA ON KICKSTARTER!

Status Quo Sunday Grabs That Cash

MIZUCON!

Mizucon has been on an upward swing in the past couple years. While they lost the 3000 Brigade, with some bigger guests like John Swasey and Mega Ran, and a new location it could be getting better.

I also submitted for an AFO Rumble type event called Mizu-Mania!, but I'll confirm that when I getmy hands on a schedule. I can promise new songs and new merch though!

JAM OF THE WEEK: "Money Grabber" by Fitz and the Tantrums


Fitz and the Tantrums are one of those bands who are technically indie, but their songs are used in a shitton of commercials and video games. Part of this is why I can't stand the Alt Rock stations anymore because this is the sound that all alternative bands getting radio play sound like: pop music but old. Whether it's pop music made by people who are just older than what's marketable so it's softer, or influenced by older genres, alt rock feels not like an alternative to what's popular in rock, but an alternative to what's popular in Top 40.

But for some reason I've been listening to them a lot.

I was going to pick their song "Hand Clap", but then I realized listening to it, I didn't like it all that much. It was the bland "let's put this in a thing" type music that typified what passes as "Alt Rock".

Then I went further back to their previous album "More Than A Dream", and was going to pick "The Walker". The intro of phasing organs and peppy whistling is dizzying, where your brain is trying to be just awake enough to move forward in line, but you're slowly going insane. I liked that song enough, but I couldn't quite sink my teeth into it.

Last, I went back to "Money Grabber", the song that first got them noticed. THERE WAS EFFORT! THERE WAS ENERGY! Yes, it's yet another throwback jam, but it was the gold at the end of a grayscale rainbow. Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs can show off their powerful vocals, without having to drone through 90% of the song like "Hand Clap".

Huh. This hasn't been a Pick as much as it has a treatise on the state of indie rock, but I'm not like mad or anything. I just need to keep looking.


ZONECASTS WRESTLING LEAGUE/SATURDAY NIGHT GRAPPLESPORTS
This is a thing I'm doing now.

\
I'm playing around with Fire Pro Wrestling, and one thing I've been doing on Saturday Nights is stream a mini e-Fed made up of mostly ZoneCast personalities.

This past Saturday was kind of a bust since I had to wrap up early, but I'll be redoing it Tuesday Night.

Here's a recap of the first night:
July 22nd, 2017
Tiger The Dark def. Tiger Mask
Team Video Games (Soldier 76 and Carlos from Zero Time Dilemma) def. The X-Men (Cyclops and The Wolverine)
Rhythm Bastard wins 8 Man Battle Royal for Zonecast Championship Wrestling

Status Quo Sunday Was Innuduated With So Much BS That It Happened On Saturday

TRANSGENDER LIVES MATTER


Just felt like throwing out that reminder

"IMMINENT DOOM" RELEASED THIS WEEK



Especially given the most recent Magic Story... Damn!


JAM OF THE WEEK: "Bleed It Out" by Linkin Park


Yeah, the news came out last week that Chester Benington of Linkin Park had committed suicide. The band has always had a reputation for being "whiny", "emo", etc. but as I got older, my knee just didn't jerk as hard, especially once I was dealing with my own mental health issues, and my attitude became less "UGH QUIT WHINING" and more "Yeah, get it all out there, dude". Sometimes a cry for help IS a cry for help! Check in on your friends, kids! It's really easy!

"Bleed It Out" my be my favorite track for them, because it has all the vocal intensity of Linkin Park, but DOES NOT SLOW DOWN. Mike Shinoda's rapping, while not the most intricate, is the perfect flow to make a primo workout track. I would be remiss to not mention Chester, you know, he being the reason I picked this and all. He doesn't do much, but he does it with CONVICTION.

Also, a HUGE fan of the music video. The audience played out the scene as usual, and then the footage was played in reverse, while the band, would be green screened in later as they would be played normally.

RHYTHM BASTARD CONFIRMED FOR MIZUCON!



















MORE DETAILS TO COME!

Status Quo Wednesday Whoops And Whoa Ohs

MIZUCON RECAP? ALREADY?
Yeah, weird, right? First, I'd like to thank the con chair for being such a chill guy and hooking me up with a show!

After I got a monitor so I can hear myself, the show went well, and the new song I've been playing (so far) only at cons has been really fun to play, and has gone over big! I don't plan on keeping it "live only", but I think playing it first to a much smaller crowd (i.e. Not The Internet) helps work out some of the kinks.

A group of people I see at a lot of South Florida cons and events is/are The 3000 Brigade. I didn't know what they were for the longest time, whether they were a podcast, an indie studio, a creative collective ala Chaotic Neutral, etc. However, I was able to catch their stage show Saturday night, a Super Smash Bros themed Telethon.

I learned two things that night:
1. They only play once a year at Mizucon, which is why a lot of the jokes were about the stage quality and low ceiling
2. They put on a damn good show with music, choreography and costumes, for what is essentially gonzo crossover fanfiction.
3. #DicksOutForToad

Mega Ran also performed that night, and as a rare treat was joined on stage by YTCracker. My only regret is that I didn't have something silly on hand for Ran to freestyle rap about.

FUN FACT: While Mega Ran was the first rapper licensed by Capcom, who were the other two to come later?

THIS WEEK'S JAM:

How did I go so (12 days) long with out mentionin Green Day has a new song?

It's all right. Heavier than their usual fare, got a kinda Sex-Pistols thing going on.

Now, what I'd like to draw your attention to is the name of Green Day's new album: Revolution Radio, which comes out October 7th.

There was a similar album released October 9th last year with a similar title...

YOU DIRTY MOTHERFUCKERS.

WHOOPING LIKE A MILLENIAL:
Normally any news article with Millenial in the title wants to make me punch my monitor and crack the spine of the old motherfucker who wrote it like I'm Bane:


However this article I think warrants some discussion, because the shift from the switch from the fifth to the third, or as the author calls it "The Millenial Whoop" is one of those things that once you notice it, you see everywhere.

"Whoa-oh Whoa-oh". Click the link to hear what I'm talking about, but it's a lot quicker than pop-punk whoa-ohs. Here's a supercut that's kinda what the author's talking about:




Though it's unfortunate that the example used is The Lonely Island's song, "Fuck Off" is the most clear (and catchiest) usage. There are a couple good examples he lists, like Katy Perry's "California Gurls" and Owl City/Carly Ray Jepsen's "Good Time", but the rest that come up aren't as solid. Some are songs made by people who came before millennials.

Overall, while it's an interesting trend, I'm not entirely convinced it's a Millennial Thing or a Whoop. It's more of a vocal HOPO (Rhythm Gamer term y'all!) then something that can be properly established.

Still, I'd love to see if there's something similar in previous generations where there's a similar vocal shift used in a lot of the same songs if there's any social externalities or influences from other popular genres outside the Top 40.

Status Quo Wednesday: Does No Man's Sky and Stranger Things Take Place In The Same Universe?

MIZUCON!!! 
Working my ass off to get my set perfect for this weekend. If you were at Mini Iwai, you heard a new song I've been working on, hopefully by Mizu I'll have another one ready.

Regardless, Mizu was one of the first cons I played down here in FL, so I'll definitely be down to have a good time, especially to catch Mega Ran's show. Friends Chaotic Neutral will be running a shiiiiiiitton of panels, and they have been pretty fun. 

Also running a special deal: If I get 500 FB likes before Mizucon, I'll play shirtless. ;)
You can tell how desperate for attention I am because of the clickbaity title.

THIS WEEK'S JAM:

Much appropos, since Mega Ran. Any time he's got Xavier Woods/Austin Creed on the brain he puts out some good stuff. I hope that one day he makes it as the official theme to one of the PPVs. One day, him and Keith Apicary will show up on a proper WWE event, and at that point, wrestling will finally be real.

Shovel Knight's got a great soundtrack, and I think only Undertale rivals it in how many awesome remixes I've seen from a recent game.

I MADE A GAME!Giant Bomb held a community Game Jam called "Giant ROM" and I made a game for it! It's a top-down shooter called "The Last Game You'll Ever Play"

The thinking behind it was to make a game in the vein of something like Ridiculous Fishing or Indigo Prophecy (in theory at least with the latter) where the better you do in one half, the more challenging the second half is.

So for TLGYEP, what I thought of doing was an E3 presentation where you pitch a game to a bunch of cyborgs, who you eventually have to fight. Right now there's only five options and one question, but fixing the game and expanding it is on the greater priority over fixing the art and presentation.

Status Quo Wednesday SEEKS A WAY OUT!

MINI IWAI: 
Mini Iwai, for those of you further behind, is a "sampler" show before the proper Anime Iwai in November. Other than a couple sound issues, the show went well! It was a really small event, and felt more like a party with vendor's tables set up as opposed to a proper con. No guests and a lot of panels that are interactive, like Discussions, Trivia and Game Shows. Still a fun time, though.

I'll get a table for the bigger event, since by then I should have some more, cooler stuff to sell by then.

THIS WEEK'S JAM:



Comes back to us via hologram as well. Hmm....



I've finished playing VLR. It's a really good game if you liked Newgrounds Escape Rooms, and dumb pseduoscience. Next on my list is the final entry in the trilogy, Zero Time Dilema. Hopefully that provides a "happier" ending, because VLR ends on kind of an "Empire Strikes Back"-esque note.

Still, it makes me want to check out other visual novels and see what the genre has to offer. Of course, the pinnacle of the genre has been accomplished with "John Cena's Sexy High School Adventure"



FUTURE STUFF:
Mizucon!

...Still don't know what time I'm playing....!

STATUS QUO STREAM:
Status Quo Streaming will come back... eventually. I think I'll go back to the old style of just playing whenever and uploading it on YouTube. I would like to make it a regular, planned thing, but my schedule is all nuts from my new job.

This Saturday will be the next one though. 

On a positive note, here's Ep. 3!

Status Quo Sunday GETS READY TO RUMBLE!!!

AFO RUMBLE!
Yes, I'm all set for Anime Festival Orlando this weekend, there's an event page for the show, and you can pre-register here:
Sign up now to get a later spot!
 

THIS WEEK'S JAM:

Boy, it's sad how relevant this song is across the pond and 5 years later. The Republican and Democratic National Conventions are winding down, and I am among the many disappointed that voted for Bernie Sanders and came up short.

A lot of my friends are voting 3rd party because they prefer to "Vote With Their Conscience", but that attitude is what got Nixon and Bush Jr. into office.


Trump is all the bullshit of the Republican Party coming home to roost, and if all of this pent up rage and bluster is rejected by the American people, then hopefully that will cause them to finally calm the fuck down and take some time off.

FUTURE CON THINGIES:
Anime Festival Orlando:
The AFO RUMBLE!
Saturday July 30th, 2016
11:15 in the Lime Room (Panel 1) on Saturday!

Get ready to rumble in the hypest fake wrestling event that Florida has ever seen! 30 combatants enter fighting for glory in WWF No Mercy, one leaves with the championship belt and a special prize!
 
If you pre-register here, you will get a later spot in the rumble, increasing your chances of winning!
https://goo.gl/forms/MvBdzy4xV4eA4uup2

Iwai Mini:
Sunday, August 8th, 2016
Bastard No Rhythm Rockademia
3:30 in Main Events

This is a ploy to get more eyeballs on my event, but it's my first show in a few months! I will be premiering a new song at Iwai Mini. Yes, the Overwatch one.

Mizucon:
August 19th-21st, 2016
TBD

Still waiting on a schedule for this one, but it is on the docket!

Status Quo Sunday TO BE CONTINUED

Not a lot of news to report on this week, but I figured I'll update the whole con board:

CON NEWS!
FLORIDA FANDOMANIA
Still going on, not a lot of new updates on that front. 

MIZUCON 
Now I'm 100% confirmed for Mizucon! More guests have been confirmed including fellow SoFloConBros, but I'm sure there will be more and bigger guests as the date gets closer. Last year they got Johnny Young Bosch/Eyeshine, and this year's big voice guests have a lot under the belt. Also, Mega Ran.

 
Fun last year if only for the one night I was able to go.

THIS WEEK'S JAM:




...I may have been binging on JoJo memes... Not watching any of the anime mind you just the memes.

Mostly, as always I'm inbetween several big projects, and really the TO BE CONTINUED is me half waiting for the other shoe to drop, half stuck because I'm working on a million different things.

My voice coach suggested I go to this thing she was putting on about "making it" in the industry, and normally I'm cynical about these things, but I feel like it helped a lot. Both speakers, Marcus Majors and Rachel Galvin did a good job of providing the motivation and laying out the steps we can/need to take, and really it was advice I knew all along but was too scared to try, again because I have been so scatterbrained.

The goal is to have something new for you next week, so we'll see what turns up!

Status Quo Radio DROPS THIS WEEK!!!

This week's jam:


Putting Status Quo Radio into Bandcamp/iTunes/THE WHOLE SHEBANG! Pre-orders will be up... soon.

Status Quo Radio comes out OCT 9TH!

So, this weekend...

FRIDAY: Mizucon!
There were equipment screw ups aplenty AND I missed Eyeshine/Johnny Young Bosh. Still got to meet up with some cool people, INCLUDING, someone who went to my Mizucon Show in 2013. He said I got better!

They gave out free Magic practice decks (nice!), a robust table top room (NICE!) and a dealers room that closed when I got there (not so nice). Really, the con itself seemed solid, but I was only able to go Friday night, so while I had fun, I didn't leave with the best impression.

Shout out to the Gamers With Gains YouTube channel, who will be doing a way better job of covering it than I will.

SATURDAY: Marc with a C/MC Lars/Peter Pepper/Random Encounter
Missed Marc but talked to him at the merch booth and was a super nice dude, MC Lars was great as always and a friend of his proposed during the set, Random Encounter put on a great show featuring older members, rivaling The Aquabats in former members.

Peter Pepper is like a more metal Foxy Shazam which was a more metal Queen. There was a mosh pit every song, which in the shallow venue of the BackBooth was a welcome respite from nerds standing shoulder to shoulder.

Yeah, it was worth 2.5 hours in a car both ways

SUNDAY: Battle For Zendikar GPT Atlanta
Went 1-2 drop and then went to the gym and watched some Competitive Smash Bros.
Battle for Zendikar is still a foreign language to me. 
Today wasn't terribly exciting, but I'm glad I don't have too much to do the coming weekend.

Also,
Status Quo Radio comes out OCT 9TH!

Status Quo Sunday and the Return Of The King

This week's jam:


OK, so I moved recently.

Not to a new city or state, mind you, I'm actually closer to work. But we did downsize if just for a little bit. I'm still setting things up down here, but between work, and unpacking, the music's been rough going.

Now, I don't want this to be entirely a post where it's like, YEAH KICKSTARTER'S STILL GOING...
 etc. But, here's some lessons I've learned over the past couple weeks:

1. Promoting shit is INCREDIBLY difficult on a phone.
Mobile browsers are very limiting, and you can't trust shit typing in an email on said mobile phone. I had to spam this goddamn thing everywhere, and I received messages on KS for people who would gladly help me with that.

I went to an UltraCon single day event, and collected some business cards for some interesting opportunities, but I couldn't do anything for the past couple weeks, and ON TOP of that, the Rock Band Road Crew had its deadline set for September 17th, while I was still out. So, without a desk and internet, I had to cobble something together that I eventually got rejected for.

Really, it felt like my life was on pause, waiting for all the bullshit to clear so I can get back to work. That's no excuse, and I'm learning to deal with that, but holy shit it's stressful. Oh, it's possible to get by, but impossible these days if you have anything that needs to be shared with the world.

2. Sometimes you feel like the only capable one...
Still living with my family, and the "We're fucked in a zombie apocalypse" short version is this: My Dad's suffering from back problems, my Mom can't lift heavy things and doesn't want to lighten the load, and my brother is more concerned with making sure his PS3 games are alphabetized than keeping everyone on task or learning what a Phillips-head screwdriver is. I feel like I'm the only one going anywhere in life and these people are holding me back.

It's one of those times when "Going Galt" (referring to the book Altas Shrugged, when all the rich people leave) seems tempting, with the weight of the world bearing down on your shoulders to just shrug it off.

Just imagine them struggling putting together a desk or moving a box that's "too heavy" and they'll have to learn to DEAL WITH IT. They might learn something! Holy shit!



Randian Objectivism is bullshit. It seems that you're needed for everything all the time everywhere, but you are still but a human being, dealing with other human beings and there is a lot other people have to put up with. I was at work most of the time everyone else was packing, so I couldn't see what they were going through.

So at this point, communication becomes key.

Let others know when and if so, how, you're feeling overwhelmed, ask others for help, to lighten your load and make your limits perfectly clear.

Though me and my brother carrying heavy shit up a narrow flight of stairs and you say "Don't scratch the walls?"

Fuck that noise.

3. Learn to let it go
Want to know how to piss off a serial hoarder? Play this while you're moving...


I'm still unpacking everything and learning how to put it away. It's incredible how much STUFF you can acquire over the course of a couple years. I've gotten into Magic the last time we moved, I've started selling T-shirts, etc. But I've tried to keep it manageable. I'm making a run to donate what I don't need, thinning out my bookshelf and looking for stuff to throw out. I'm trying to decide what stuff I need

Meanwhile, my Mom was trying to move every damn item we acquired to a smaller place, to the point where we had to get a storage unit. If you have to get a storage unit, it's time to get rid of it, I say.

I voulenteered to pay for anything we've missed provided we get the bullshit over with sooner, she said no.

I still remember when we originally moved from New York, she was almost in tears because we might leave behind a jug of laundry detergent. Granted, any armchair psychologist can tell you it wasn't about the detergent, it was that we could leave behind something. And we couldn't throw anything out, because "We Might Use It In The Future".

This sounds like petty complaining, but I'm trying to parse this into a clever little saying you can keep in your pocket, so I'll leave you this:

Ask yourself these three questions, always:
Why do I hold on to what I have? 
How can you better use what you have?
Who can use what you don't need?

Dear Hallmark, please give me all the money dollars for this greeting card bullshit.
Sincerly,
R. Bastard, esq.


MIZUCON ON FRIDAY!!

Status Quo Sunday Finds Out What A "Mizu" Is

Mizu? (Hungarian for "What's up?") How was your Father's Day?

Anyway, MizuCon (which means "water" in Japanese, which I guess makes sense, since we're in Florida) was a GIG OF LEGEND.

THAT I GOT ON VIDEO!


I was opposite some very stiff competition, but everyone who showed up loved it! Really, there was very little I would look back on and say "OOOOH! WHY?"

It was the best setup I've had for a gig in a long while, and the staff there was super helpful and super accommodating.

SETLIST:
1. Status Quo Radio
2. Axe Cop: The Song
3. Force Of Nature
4. Cliffhanger
5. Holiday (Green Day Cover)
6. Plug In Baby (Muse Cover)
7. From A Mile Away (Boom Headshot)
8. Knowledge (Operation Ivy)/She (Green Day)/Freeze Frame (J. Geils Band)/One More Night (Maroon 5)/Duck Tales (Theme) Medley
9. NEW SONG
10. Hell Yeah

NOTES:
-Holy shit I'm (comparatively) old. Average age was easily too young to drink.

-Homestuck is a ginormous thing, ala Dr. Who, that I'm clearly missing out on. It was so popular that it has it's own tag on Tumblr.I'm not reading it, however, out of some sort of hipster spite. (Actually it's because it's one less thing that I need to get involved in right now, since I'm still looking for a job and working on Status Quo Radio. See, there I mentioned it!)

-Sweet Rolls would go AMAZING with Coffee. You're thinking "OH SNAP! I sure wish I had a nice cup of joe right now!" Well, it's 10:30 by me, so no, not right now. So basically I plan on scoring some ASAP. I tried them for the first time at this little side shop they had. It wasn't the food stand, which had the usual soda/pizza/chips combo, but this room they dubbed the "maid cafe", which had a lot of Japanese Snacks like Pocky, Sweet Rolls, Almond Buns, Ramune, and Ramen (which is just confusing).

Ramen was going for $3 a bowl, which would normally cause one to scream "RIPOFF!!" However, that's GOOD compared to how much they were selling it for on my college campus.

-The way it was set up took me back to how I-Con was set-up, where people would be walking past your panel as they go about their business, and that did get me some foot traffic, as opposed to Hero Hype Con, where I was on the center stage.

-You know, the Hungarian translation of Mizu works just as well, since it's a convention, and people are going "What's up?" to each other. And since I saw a lot of people from Hero Hype Con there, I said "What's up?" a lot. 

-"Hell Yeah" was easily the highlight of the show, and my camera ran out of battery after my medley.

-I taught someone how to play Magic The Gathering. It gets a little confusing at first, but I think she got it.
Yu-Gi-Oh was BY FAR the card game of choice there, but one should never doubt the power of the MtG. I think there was a 6 person game going on.

-Also got in another game of "Cards Against Humanity". This one was different, because we actually decided to stop at a point (First to 7). Usually CaH games go until the deck is completely emptied out. 

The Hero Hype Con AND Mizucon shows!

So, since Florida is the Convention Capital of the World, I'm going to be appearing at a couple of them!

Saturday, June 8th, 2013-
The Hero Hype Con 
It'll be a 15 minute set, but it's a new convention looking for some support, and it's only $10 if you buy before Wednesday at midnight. I'm excited to see what the turn out will be. There's supposed a lot of cosplayers, so if you liked my PAX East recap, then I might have some new material. 

Saturday, June 15th, 2013- 7:00 PM in the A/V Room
MizuCon
This will be an hour set, and in the A/V room. Whereas The Hero Hype Con is more comics focused, this one is for all you otakus out there. Again, it's got a heavy bent toward cosplay as well, and hopefully I can step up my game when it comes to on stage costumery.

I'm a little light on funds, so I won't be selling physical CDs, I'll be selling download cards for Dino Hunter MD: The Sound Track on BandCamp and posters (designs coming soon)