Victory Over The Status Quo On Sunday

This weeks jam is... oh... oh... oh........
Wow... Friday the 13th was a son of a bitch... When you have to #PrayFor six different countries, you wonder who fell asleep at the wheel.


-Been out the past week or so because Comcast is Comcast and comcast is awful. I was ready to have CDs on sale, but I wasn't able to submit designs.

-Chibi Pa was the BIGGEST thing going on this weekend. My set took place in what was dubbed "The Society Lounge" which was a little nightclub style place with lots of different kinds of seating with a bar in the back. Wasn't a bad place to play, and the sound was on point. Still need to get used to actually singing more better.

Set went good, premiered a new song, that went good, and I got to drink a lot!

HIGHLIGHTS!
-Seeing all the familiar faces again! From people I've featured in Recap Videos, to So Flo Con Bros, to people who've seen my shows before to SS Hanami who hosted a Koto and Wine Party and played on the days I wasn't there.

-APPARENTLY I DON'T KNOW HOW A SELFIE STICK WORKS SORRY JAMES

-Werewolf looks to be the thinking man's version of Cards Against Humanity in that it's the hip new card game to play, and there's actually something a thinking man can work with.

For those of you further behind, Werewolf is a game for a around 8+ people, where villagers try to find a werewolf among them, and the wolf has to kill everyone else. There are other roles like the Bodyguard who can save a player if a werewolf targets them, or the seer who can point out werewolves.

It's great, because who doesn't love a good mystery? If you have a good GM, it's a lot of fun.

However, what would seem like an interesting logic puzzle devolves into people throwing around random accusations for various reasons, since there's nothing for people to go on in the early stages. For example, I was singled out because of my chest hair.

There is a One Night version, where there's a lot of switching roles and everything, and that works because there's only one night, so the goal is the main focus, and there's less fucking around.



-Also on the events was a "Hentai Variety Show". Now, part of me was expecting the worst, because the only other "Hentai" panel I was at was a "Dub That Hentai", which was jackasses yelling over porn.

This was the opposite because it was good, and funny, and entertaining in which everyone had a fun time. Basically, it was a crowdsourced burlesque show, with a striptease/cosplay contest, where both genders went after the top prize with gusto. Though I think the winner for the men might have been a professional. Or at least practiced.

WILL YOUR DUMBASS BE LATE WITH THIS CHIBI PA RECAP VIDEO?
... Later than usual.... I do have Ultracon this weekend and a bunch of other stuff on my plate, so hopefully I can get some free time.

-Oh, and I went 4-0 at FNM. NBD

-New song is coming.... SOON. I got some feedback on the mix and playing with the EQ a bit, lots of little things I might not have known otherwise. I'm having cover art done by ciphir on Tumblr, who's in the bizness of mking some really funny MtG related stuff.

So, when both those elements come together, I'll make a post about it, and you'll have some sweet new tunes to listen to. Until then, I'm going to be at Ultracon!

Status Quo Sunday Fights HItler

This week's jam:

That was a selection from one of my favoritest bands, Crowd The Airwaves, an all girl alt-rock group fronted by my friend Heather. Who's all the way back in NY.

Why am I bringing this up NOW you ask? Yesterday, they played a show with S.S. Hanami, a band, for those of you further behind, I play a lot with at conventions in Florida. S.S. Hanami was looking for a band to play with in the Northeast for their tour, and I got two sets of friends together.

It was great seeing both bands be really impressed with each other.

Anyway, ON TO THE UPDATES!!!
ALBUM/KICKSTARTER:
I'm ready to launch it as soon as the reward designs are ready. Anything not 100% complete, it's OK, because we have a full 30 days to work on it. Getting all the design stuff together.

MUSIC UPDATE:
This week I'm think I'm going to try something new:
At lunch, sketch out one song/lyric concept a day. If they're any good, or I really get attached to them, then they'll become full fledged songs.

Still a couple other songs in the tank, but I've been preoccupied with 10-hour days and errands and shit this weekend.

 Also, I uploaded my MTG songs to YouTube:


This week I recently watched two things that both involve killing Adolf Hitler:
Danger 5, an Austrailian show that parodies the spy movies of the 60's (and then the action movies of the 80's):

and Kung Fury, a movie that was Kickstarted that parodies 80's action movies:


While Kung Fury had a few laughs and some really great effects, Danger 5 gets the edge. Both attempt to recreate the look and feel of their respective time periods, but Danger 5 plays it THAT MUCH straighter.

Granted, Kung Fury, over the top as it is, kind of lets everything speak for itself. The effects are over the top and look incredible well done, leading to a couple good sight gags in the beginning and a ridiculous fight scene toward the end. Part of me was expecting the protagonist to state some of the weird shit he's gotten into, but it managed to avoid that. But there's plenty of bull shit that feels unnecessary, like the fact that he's fighting Hitler, who knows Kung Fu (for some reason). Cause Hitler's funny I guess?

The most accurate thing in the movie was David Hasselhoff's single "True Survivor", which screams "One Hit Wonder". There's nothing that particularly stands out about it, but everything, from the synth arpeggios, and "lyrics about love even though (thankfully) there's no romance subplot in the movie" lyrics makes it blend so well.

Danger 5 scares me with how well they did recreating the look of a 60's spy film. Like, look at the trailer. I also like the small running jokes the series has going through it, like character reciting perfect drink recipies on their death bed, and pretty much everything going on with Claire.

Still, everything is kept to one consistent plane of existance. Weird shit happens in Danger 5, but it feels like it's part of this bizarro alternate reality World War 2. In Kung Fury, the weird shit happens because it's cool, and it'll get the "LOL!" and "EPIC!" comments in the section. And that's a bit of a turn off.

Both are quick, entertaining watches, and worth your time for this week.

See you next time, and remember your mission.... KILL HITLER!


Courtesy of Joe Hunter

Status Quo Sunday Recruits You For The U.M.I.

I'm patting myself on the back for that one. Show went as best as it could be. A little harried from the early morning drive, but I got to meet up with everyone, play some Magic and shoot some pool, which I haven't done since sophomore year of college.

It's another week where RAW's on, and I was too wiped out Sunday to do this, so let's go with two sentence recaps, shall we?

UMICON MUSIC INITIATIVE- While it wasn't that big, I loved working with all of these people and I feel that if they advertise it as a "Big Event" for next year, even with the same lineup,

S.S. HANAMI- Solid as always, and ended the last song with James, their bassist, played the ending with a violin bow. It's good when bands let the rhythm section let loose.

RHYTHM BASTARD- Obviously the most talented and best looking act on the card, who can lift 2000 pounds and had sex with ALL the groupies. Even with a small crowd and a broken string, RIDE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT.

THE COG IS DEAD- Good crowd, good music, good times. Covered "Still Alive" and "Firefly Theme", but if they REALLY wanted to play to the crowd, they would have played "Freebird" when I yelled it one of the 80 times because I really meant it and wasn't trying to be obnoxious I swear you guys.

GEEKAPELLA- They perfectly rounded out the U.M.I. Where everyone had a mix of genres and instruments, they had none and switched on the fly. YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!

MAGIC THE GATHERING CELEBRITY DRAFT- Played some Limited Magic with Aaron Dismuke and Justin Cook, alongside some newbie drafters who passed me some AWESOME stuff to where I could make a UB Constellation Deck. Played against Aaron in the Semi-Finals, lost, but he gave me two packs of Journey Into Nyx.

SATURDAY NIGHT- One arrest, like, seven very awkward drunk people, and a million rounds of pool. An older drunken gentleman showed me where he got stabbed, which did make the night feel pretty badass.

SUNDAY- Didn't catch much actually, played a couple guerilla shows then read "Half Life Full Life Consequences" for a group of people. Was told I had a voice for radio and a face for TV by one of the voulenteers.

Also, I met one of the guys who I met up with last year before the Quiton Flynn Panel. They ended up get super drunk and loud.

Music coming next week! Just sent out the e-mail to all the artists.

Status Quo Sun- HOLY CRAP THEY'RE REPRINITNG FETCHLANDS!!!!

The Onslaught fetch lands are back, baby! #mtgktk
— Mark Rosewater (@maro254) August 31, 2014

Where was I? Oh, right. I do music on this blog!

UMICON DAYTONA
Septmeber 6th, 2014
The Plaza Resort and Spa
600 N. Atlantic Avenue
Daytona Beach Fl 32118 USA
Plaza C, 12 PM
Along with Geekapella, S.S. Hanami, The Cog Is Dead

So, I can guarantee that not one BUT TWO new songs will be played at UmiCon Daytona, with one available for download for all of you sexy people who have signed up for the mailing list.

It's going to be great seeing everyone again in the Florida Con Scene again, and now I have a Square!

The Square is a device that plugs into your cell phone so that you can process credit card transactions. It's free to pick one up, but you they take a 3% cut of the transaction. It seems like a pretty good business plan when you think of how much you're getting at any point in time.

Most importantly, this means I won't be paid in YuGiOh cards (this is a Thing That Happened)

I'm going to be there Saturday and Sunday, hoping to play as much Magic as possible, play a lot of guerilla shows, and get my free drinks. 

Speaking of shows, I'm also going to be at Chibi-Pa in November. More details as they're confirmed.

After I set this up to post, I'm going finish up work on the new song, and OTHER THINGS. See you next week!

Status Quo Sunday Gets Back From OMFG at AFO and Listens to AFI

HEEEEYYYY MISS MURDER CAN I? Please? No? That's cool... Yeah. no, I'm fine. Actually, I'm not that hungry anyways...

Right, so I just got back from Orlando where I played at Anime Festival Orlando and KILLED both sets. None were particularly full, but the venue was a bit out of the way, this was OMFG's first year, AND the sound system, while great in the venue itself, couldn't be heard beyond the hall.

But honestly? I've never felt more on top of my game as a performer.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, shout out to Emilio, the sound of OMFG, who caught both of my sets, as he was the sound guy, and who I also met at PAX East, running the MAGFest Jam Session.

I also took a crap ton of pictures, and will be doing one of my famous Con Recaps. There's going to be live video for sure, but I'll see what I have to got through.

SO, I'm going to do the Cool Dude (TM) thing and give y'all a brief rundown.

First, the bands!
-End Hibernate was actually the last of the groups I managed to see on this list, as their set was on Sunday. They were cool enough to give me a couple CDs, which are currently filed under "Give A Listen To On My Commute To and Possibly From Work"

A rap duo consisting of a rapper and keyboardist/DJ, they put on an energetic set, and the raps were faster than my commute home on the Florida Turnpike, which has another name that deserves its own bulletpoint. They were kind enough to give out lyric sheets with the chourses on them, which is good, due to aforementioned hot rhyme spitting.

-Final Weapon I caught the tail end of their set. They're all the way from Alabama (a 10 Hour Drive!) and they play video game composition inspired rock music. Defintely the kind of stuff you want to see live.

-HD Ninja is a nerdcore duo who dress in fine suits and/or straw hats. Split MC Chris in half, put them both in ninja outfits, and you're only halfway there. They even covered some old-school gangsta rap, which well appreciate in the quickly progressing techno-future we're all living in. During the song "Sarlacc Pit" the audience walked around in a circle (because we were digesting Boba Fett over 1000 years) and they joined in.

-Philonius Phunk went on right after me on Friday. A nerdcore trio, that uses all different kinds of beats, and, like me, appreciate the subtle genius of the "Super Mario Bros." movie, especially how boss a song "Walk The Dinosaur" is. They get bonus points for having inflatiable Ghostbusters gear.

-S.S. Hanami who I'm also going to be playing at with Umicon and Sands Of Anime, rock a koto, because the lead singer though it sounded awesome. AND they claim their songs are not music, but the soundtrack to their own anime, which is called S.S. Hanami, which is band that plays songs, except they're not songs, they're part of the soundtrack... TERMINATING TEMPORAL LOOP.

It's one of those sentences that make you say either "Ohhh...", followed up by a "Got it!". It's melancholy, it's intense, it's got a koto!

P.S. That would sound wicked good on a cover of something like "Bohemian Rhapsody" or "Are We The Waiting", in which case I would like to volunteer myself as the Freddie Mercury and/or Billie Joe Armstrong

Now the other stuff!
-Divekick is the hypest game ever, and works really well when everyone takes it seriously. A fighting game with two buttons: dive (jump) and kick (kick).

-The Florida Turnpike is also named the "Ronald Reagan Turnpike". Fuck that guy, thinking this trickle-down bullshit would work.

-Reborn! is about a teenager that becomes a better hitman under the tutelage of a gun-toting infant.

-I went to this thing called the "Kanto Region Challenge". Basically, was the game of Pokemon stripped down, where you'd do battle with gym leaders, and Pokemon would battle using Rock, Paper, Scissors. Catching new Pokemon and evolving them cost money, which you earned by battling or playing Blackjack with Team Rocket. I lost at both.

-GOT TO MEET BULK AND SKULL!!!

-Also participated in a random Magic Draft (2014 Core Set). While one WOULD assume that I'd be satisfied for a good long time so I wouldn't have to spend my 15bux on FNM this week... NOPE! Maybe...
I don't know. Though I DID come to the conclusion that Simic would make a pretty sweet Commander/EDH Deck.

-Saw a couple people in Welcome To Night Vale cosplays. Between Slenderman and WTNV, Something Awful's been owning Popular Scary Internet Things.

So, you know the drill guys: Podcast post tomorrow/Tuesday, Minimum Wage Gaming stream on Tuesday. I'm editing together the highlights from the first episode of all my big fails/combos.

Status Quo Sunday Gets Your Love Coming

That was just the last song I PT'd for this week's Rock Band Network.

"Pass The Class" is in Peer Review, "Robotman's Lament" and "Playin' Invisiball" are still in Playtesting. 

ANYWAY, what's been going on with the album?

Not a lot, but right now there's a bit of stuff going on behind the scenes. My brother's helping writing the lyrics to one song that I'm redoing, while I'm getting started on a later track. It's stalled, but not stagnant.

I sent out what I have to some fellow podcast bros, and have gotten back good feedback. 

This week was mostly job hunting and my brother's birthday, but I do have two podcasts to recap. Good news is that they're both associated with E3, so I can kill 2 late to the party birds with one late to the party stone.

Right now, I have 2 cons on the horizon: Umicon Daytona in Daytona Beach, FL and Sands Of Anime in Cocoa Beach. Both of which I'll be playing with S.S. Hanami, a band that takes a lot of its influence from J-Rock and Anime. I'd recommend checking out the track "Intervals" off their album "Original Soundtrack". If I have (let's say) 5 cons under my belt by the end of the year, I'll make a "Special Edition 2013" version of either of the posters I have made up so far with all the cons, sort of like a "Tour List".

ALSO, I've gotten all of my streaming stuff set up, so follow me on Twitch.tv so you know when I start streaming tomorrow night. (Magic 2014!)