Summer Status Quo Sunday Slam Masters

This week's jam, straight from Rock Band 4:


Yeah, Rock Band 4 news came out Monday, which means we were late again. And be we, I mean me.

KICKSTARTER/ALBUM NEWS:
OK, so I know I said the Kickstarter would be ready by Monday, August 24th. That day is passed, and while I have the copy all written out, the best I can guarantee is that it is being worked on. It's a big deal for me, and trying to get people to proofread it is like pulling teeth. However, it's all set to release in time for NEXT weekend.

UPCOMING SHOWS:
Umicon Daytona! All I need is confirmation for When. The bands play Friday, and I'm going to see what time that all starts so I can let you know and make the arrangements. S.S. Hanami will also be playing, so you can look forward to that. Gonna have a couple more new songs added to the repertoire. I really liked the set I played at Orlando Nerd Fest, so I'm going to build on that, since I would presumably have more time than 30 minutes, but for me, I'd rather have an intense 30 minute set than an hour where a lot of stuff gets thrown in.

MORE MUSIC:
Stuff is being conceptualized and written, but nothing to talk about yet, since I want to get the Kickstarter off the ground first.

STREAMING?
Been doing it more, actually! Last Saturday I played The Consuming Shadow (GREAT GAME, BTW) and Lovely Planet. I'm going to try and stream Wednesday once I receive my IndieBox for this month.

WARNING! WRESTLING TALK AHEAD!
NXT: Takeover was great, as usual. I'll probably have it in the BG while I stream Wednesday which is certainly not today. Bailey finally gets her due by winning the NXT Women's Title, Finn Balor remains top dog in an intense ladder match, and Blue Pants helped the Vaudevillains to victory.

Summerslam, less so. Cena/Rollins and Undertaker/Lesnar were great matches, and Stephen Amell, while a bit "off rhythm" did a way better job than I was expecting so good on him.

Jon Stewart became America's Greates Face by hitting John Cena with a chair, then Cena revealed himself as a puppet of Fox News and World Dirtiest Heel by giving Stewart an AA the night afterwards. Even Stephanie McMahon was like "Yeah, you beat up Jon Stewart who everyone loves, what the fuck is wrong with you". If this isn't indicative of a heel turn, then fuck wrestling. Or not. I'll still watch it.

Status Quo Sunday's Ten Lessons Learned.

Album's going strong, a little ahead of the game, so, let's look back 2014!

Cesaro's on RAW and he's talking about how-

Oh, right. Um, something relevant... OK-

MY TOP 10 (IN NO ORDER) CONVENTIONS OF 2014! (and the lessons learned)

1. Sands Of Anime
Location is everything. It was by this really nice, beautiful beach, and with some time, it could be a destination con, ala Umicon Daytona. But, they also put the music act opposite the voice actor panels. And the merch tables were out of the way.

2. Miami Hurricon
BRING A FUCKING MIC STAND.

3. Omni Expo
Never underestimate the power of a good connection. I met up with a lot of people there, who I would go on to work with and become good friends with, such as the guys from Orlando Nerd Fest and Sci-Fried, DJ RoboRob (who's producing Status Quo Radio), and Geekapella.

Also, KNOW WHAT DATES OTHER THINGS ARE AT.

4. Hero Hype Con
Learning from your mistakes. Hero Hype Con picked up the slack, and knowing what to expect and being prepared for anything, let me perform better. Also, I got a really sweet spot, before the cosplay competition.

5. Anime Festival Orlando
You don't need to hustle 100%. I feel like I need to at these things, but I was having way more fun once I settled down and played some Magic The Gathering. Really, A LOT of Magic The Gathering, lol. My concert went well, but again, cons are supposed to be fun, and I don't have to be on the clock.

 6. Creator Owned Expo
Supporting the little guy feels really good, and as I'm watching RAW, it reminds me of the benefit of putting guys over. Which they don't do on RAW. Be like Ron (Kerronian, head of COE), not RAW.

7. Orlando Nerd Fest
Hard work feels great when it pays off. Like Creator Owned Expo, it feels really good putting guys over, and when that person does the same to you (like what MC Lars did to me), the feeling is euphoric.

8. Umicon Music Initative
Act like you never made a mistake. A string broke, I was inbetween two other acts, and I only had so much time left. I just translated everything and went along with it, and became EVEN MORE OF A DORK.

AARON DISMUKE, I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!!

9. Chibi Pa: Suki Desu
Putting the artists alley infront of the Dealer's Room is a REALLY smart idea, and it's almost TOO obvious to think of.

I was also going to put something here about good turns deserving another, as when I lent my amp to the staff to borrow for an event, fate rewarded me with Andrew from S.S. Hanami helping me out on drums, but con organizers should also take note of this list.

10. UltraCon
Putting the panels and what times they're at RIGHT OUTSIDE THE PANEL ROOMS is another REALLY good idea.

But, there's also another bonus lesson here: Know your limits. I'm not at the point where I'm marketable enough yet to where I can sell merch at cons via table. I'm a hard sell; original content in an environment based off of fandom.

So I'm going to be less aggressive in trying to snag cons this year. I'm definitely not quitting, but I'm not going to shotgun everything, and waste money on tables and stuff like that. I might even try to snag some small shows on Clematis Street, like a REAL musician.

It's a big world out there, and 2015 is going to be a big year.

Huh, my birthday's on a Sunday this year....

Status Quo Sidelined

Yeah, this week's been kinda bleh for me. I've got a lot of concepts up in the air, my Dad's still recovering and his eyesight hasn't recovered fully, so I've had to be on call to help him with all the work he's doing from home.

HOWEVER, I have been in contact with some cool peeps regarding the cover art for "Status Quo Radio", so that's been pushing me along.

Also, UMICON RECAP VIDEO!

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 Slam Masters

Oh, that's a good way to start RAW: old dudes talking about John Cena. Also, the Bella Twins """acting""".

Not a lot to show for this week, unfortunately.

I do want to get the SQR train moving, so this week will be getting emails for my artists list, so that next week I can send out the official "HEY GUYS WE'RE DOING IT!!!" thing.

Two songs in the works, and my Dad getting his craniotomy has thrown a wrench in a lot of things right now. Neither of these two songs are directly related to Status Quo Radio, it's more suited to my show at Umicon Daytona next weekend, which will officially be called "Umicon Music Initiative" or "U.M.I.". The two songs I do plan on releasing simultaneously, since they are so wildly different in content. I'm currently jobless right now, so while I'll be on the job hunt, I won't have a 11-hour block of time where I STRAIGHT UP CAN'T DO THE THING.

Since this week's a little light, I'd like to talk about something my brother said to me in the car the other day:

"How come you don't right about anything real?"

Now, one philosophy I've always had with my music is "Themes, Not Memes". When I write a song about a thing, I want to attach something else to it. Take for example, my latest song, "Hunting Bigger Game" Yes, it's obviously about Magic: The Gathering, but it IS the attitude I have when I go out on Friday nights to play. I'm seeing old friends, meeting people, and we hang out plenty outside of the comic shop. The feeling that the weekend started, and you're set to kick some ass? That's something everyone's felt.

So I asked him, "What do you mean?"

He responded, "Well, have you ever thought about writing a song about [an old girlfriend of yours]? You don't write about love or anything that much."

I shrugged it off, but keep in mind a couple things:
1. I don't want to write about the same things everyone else. Songs about love are everywhere, and songs that cover the subject without feeling generic ("We Are Never Getting Back Together" and "Fuck You" come to mind as recent examples) are few and far between.

2. My songwriting process is different than that. I don't see my songs coming from any place, emotion is just one of the pieces I use, and I make a song, I'm combining riffs, and parts and trying to find new ways to have the different instruments work together. I guess that's the engineer in me.

3. He likes Train, and that song "Rude" by Magic! so his opinion on music should be disqualified.

See you next week!

Status Quo Sunday Gets Its Money In The Bank

Yeah, another PPV/SQS crossover.

Two new conventions were added to the list:
ANIME FESTIVAL ORLANDO- Not a lot of guests now, but I can't wait to see what's coming up!
Anime Festival Orlando has given anime fans the best deal in “otaku friendly” convention entertainment. Conventions seem to be more popular than ever these days, and we will still give you the best anime themed weekend of your year. Anime Festival Orlando was brought about by a group of Orlando otaku in the year 2000, and for the last 15 years we have brought you the finest in Anime and Japanese Culture entertainment.

UMICON DAYTONA- Loved it last year, looking forward to more this year! Umicon Daytona is an anime, gaming and comics convention right on beautiful Daytona Beach.The main purpose of Umicon is to celebrate and promote American and Japanese video gaming, Japanese animation also known as anime, manga which are Japanese graphic novels, cosplay which is the act of creating and modeling costumes based on characters from Japanese and American media, and the melding of Japanese and American pop-culture.

Like Seth Rollins, 2014 is looking out to be Money In The Bank!

Lotsa prep work on music, and working on more new stuff to play live!

Old white people sure were whiny this week:
Gary Oldman, blaming political correctness for a lot of America's problems and defending Mel Gibson
Basically, "Why can't I call people k--s, n--gers or c--ts? DAMN PC POLICE!"

Ann Coulter Says That Soccer Is The Reason For Moral Decay
Because soccer NEVER has moments where an individual ever makes a difference. Also she doesn't like it which means its horrible and boring.
Also co-ed sports are bad somehow.

My knee jerk reacition is to call her the c word, but comparing her to that part of the anatomy would imply she's capable of providing life or satisfaction. Plus, that's a hate word, and showing respect for people is part of being a good fucking person the liberal thing to do

This is the Rhythm Bastard reminding you to not be a lemon, but rather, a Rosebud:


Also, please donate to the "Damein Sandow Really Deserves Better Fund" and the "Get Rusev A Better Haircut Center"

Status Quo Sunday Goes U-Mi U-My

UMICON RECAP MOFOS!!!

-To all of you I gave a card/CD to, WELCOME!!! Sorry about the mess...

I got there on Saturday a little after noon. It's about a 3 hour drive, but a straight shot down I-95. First thing I did was check in, and WOW the room was nice. I decided to stay there since it was only one night, and it was worth it, especially considering lugging my equipment is not something I've gotten down to something I can handle in one trip.

However, I did manage to pack up all my sound equipment in the box I got my USB Audio Interface in, and put that alongside all my merch in one box. I dubbed it the "Cardboard Roadie".

After I got my room all set up, I played some Magic in the Tabletop room, before settling into the Dealer's Room with S.S. Hanami before the show. I sold some CDs, and turned a couple people on to Dino Hunter MD.

S.S. Hanami BTW? Super nice guys, one of two reasons I have any live footage. The other reason? 16GB Micro SD Card.

Funny story: a girl tried to buy some stuff from me with Yu-Gi-Oh cards. She only wanted buttons, so I sold 2 for 2. It's no Voice Of Resurgence for all the merch I have, BUT I GUESS IT'S OK.

Another sidenote? Playing with the giveaway 30 card Magic Decks was a fun way to pass the time at the booth.

So, on to the show itself:
First up, The Cog Is Dead. While they do have more members, they had a skeleton crew of their guitarist/lead singer and drummer. Even stripped down, they had a fun jazzy sound to them, and it's a shame the hall wasn't more crowded, because it could have gotten the people dancing. The best way to describe them would be like a Steampunk The Black Keys.

Then ME! Sound was a bit off at times, since I couldn't hear the laptop, but I was suggested an in-ear monitor, and will be looking into that.

Then came S.S. Hanami. I probably already talked about their music in a previous recap, but they still put on a good show, and I even got to play the koto (the Japanese harp used in some of their songs) when we were at the booth on Sunday. I got live video of them which I'll have to sort through and torture my poor computer with the frightening task of "Making A Video Brighter".

 It was fun. but suffered the same fate as AFO: it was kind of out of the way. Granted, it was all in one direcection, so you would pass it by on the way to something else, but the sound couldn't reach beyond the immediate area.

Also, they commited what should be a cardinal sin of cons: NO SCHEDULES IN FRONT OF THE ROOMS. Instead, they had one chart by the registration desk.

Then I got booze, and hung out with two guys dressed as Aquabats, and I got pretty drunk. It didn't help that The Aquabros had a backpack loaded with beer... And the hotel gave me free drink tickets...

The big thing of the night was the Quinton Flynn 18+ Panel, where he joked around, did some impressions, and answered some questions. Then Todd Haberkorn and John Swayse showed up, and they all goofed around. It's good to see guys who probably do a lot of conventions have a good time together instead of looking like they're sick of it all.

Really that was it for me, Sunday I couldn't stay too long, since I had a three hour drive ahead of me. I managed to get a couple more games of Magic in, and get a good breakfast before heading back.

 Umicon, I would love to be back next year!









  

It's Still Status Quo Sunday Somewhere

PAST MIDNIGHT!!!

Because A. I'm on the East Coast and B. I'm a little drunk right now.

However, most importantly is C. I'm working on a new song as I type.

It's one of those "This is an awesome riff! Let's make a song about it!" type deals. Right now, as it stands, it's heavy, it's groovy, but it's got no lyrics. But who knows, I've gotten ideas from video game loading screens and random YouTube videos.

The objective of this week is my set at UmiCon. The good news, there's some good guests and lots of Magic Drafts. The bad news? Only one half hour set, and I'm 3 hours away from Daytona Beach. Good news? It's a nice hotel with a beach view! Bad news? Can only afford to stay one night. But I will be staying all day Saturday and leaving relatively early on Sunday (like, midafternoon).

EDIT: One project I'm going to be working on today is "Con In A Box". I was looking for a decent sized box to hold my CDs and posters so I'm not carrying it around in a Staples bag. Then I thought, since in addition to that, I'm carrying around a box that also has all my sound stuff (most of which I really don't need), so why not try to put that in there as well?

So that, and fixing my streaming set up is going to be my Labor Day.

And of course preparing for UmiCon :)

Speaking of conventions, I did a write up for Florida Geek Scene, and they posted my videos!

Status Quo Sunday Is Trying His Hardest GODDAMN IT

Not much work was put into the album since, A. the song I'm up to is a rerecord and B. The Music Video has been taking its toll on my brain due to my shitty laptop. It'll be released in time for YouTube's Geek Week (which is apparently a thing)

Saw Zombieland this week and it was AWESOME!!! The writing team behind that are also behind the (most recent) draft of the planned (because it's still coming out at some point) Deadpool movie. Let me just say, those guys LOVE their text superimposed on the background.

Also, I updated my con shows for the next few months, including Umicon and OMFG!

Sorry this was so short, but this week's podcast update will be worth it.

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!)