From the folks that brought you “The Texas Chainsaw Musical”:
Presented by New Millennium Theatre.
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Direct Youtube Link
Here’s new video for the second single off of Dig Out Your Soul. This is probably my fav off of the new album. Plus, it was written by LG, so that’s cool.
Guns N Roses announced today that there will be listening parties in select cities for thier highly annticipated new album, Chinese Democracy. In all seriousness, I am really looking forward to getting my hands on this album when it comes out on the 23rd of this month. So if you are in any of these areas, do yourself a favor and get out there to enjoy some good (well hopefully) music. Oh and one is in Chicago so I expect someone from our crew to get out there and review the event. Details as follows:
“CHINESE DEMOCRACY” LISTENING EVENTS!
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Pre-order “CHINESE DEMOCRACY” on BESTBUY. COM and bring your receipt for “front of the line access” plus receive a FREE exclusive “CHINESE DEMOCRACY” T-Shirt at these events, while supplies last.
NYC
11/17 at 7PM
ALL AGES
WEBSTER HALL – THE STUDIO
125 E 11th St.
New York, NY 10003
DALLAS
11/17 at 8PM
21+ OVER
WHISKY BAR
1930 Greenville Ave,
Dallas, TX 75206
CHICAGO
11/17 at 8PM
21+ OVER
JOE’S
940 W. Weed St .
Chicago, IL , 60622
LOS ANGELES
11/18 at 9PM
ALL AGES
THE ROXY
9009 West Sunset Blvd.
,
West Hollywood, CA 90069
MINNEAPOLIS
11/18 at 6:30PM
18 + OVER
FINE LINE
318 1st Ave
N Minneapolis, MN 55401
ATLANTA
11/19 at 7:30PM
ALL AGES
TABERNACLE
152 Luckie Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
SAN FRANCISCO
11/20 at 7:30PM
21+ OVER
MEZZANINE
444 Jessie Street,
San Francisco, CA 94103
BOSTON
11/20 at 8PM
ALL AGES
CAVERN CLUB at HARD ROCK CAFÉ
22-24 Clinton St.
Boston, MA 02109
DETROIT
11/20 at 7 PM
ALL AGES
St.
ANDREWS HALL
431 E Congress St.
Detroit, MI 48226
The boys are joined by Josh Campsey and Jo Feldman, from rival Chicago podcast Second City’s “We’ll Be Right Back”. They talk the origins of their feud, why Jo is obsessed with High School Musical, and candy parades, in this, Episode 24 of Nerd City.
Pics and links after the jump…
Woo… This looks like the shiz!
From the Chicago Theatre Site:
Video Games Live is a multimedia concert experience featuring the best music and exclusive synchronized video clips from the most popular games from the beginning of video gaming to the present. Performed by top orchestras and choirs, the show combines exclusive video footage and music arrangements with synchronized lighting, solo performers, special FX, electronic percussionists and unique interactive segments.
Find out more at the Official Video Games Live Site Or at the Chicago Theatre Site
Yeah the title of the article is a little weird but this video is too good not to share. She is playing on some funky keyboard that is probably from the future, but it sure sounds good. Below is her video of the Kirby theme song and some Back To The Future stuff. You can check out her full Youtube page HERE
Great news coming out of the video game front this morning. It has been revealed that the in limbo Ghostbusters game has been picked up by Atari for distribution. Now the bad news is that it will not be released till next summer, which will make it coincide with the 25th anniversary of the original movie. At least we will see the game come out, we just have to wait a little bit longer.
Also on today’s’ news front, Rock Band has acquired the exclusive rights to The Beatles catalog of music for their game. It is a very interesting to see this happen considering The Beatles music isn’t even licensed out for iTunes yet. I’m guessing that we will see a huge advertising campaign for this whether it be for a full Beatles game or just for DLC. Rock Band might be able to bring in an older demographic to their game with the introduction of The Beatles, so it will be interesting to see how this impacts their sales. In my opinion, even though The Beatles are talented musicians, Guitar Hero Metallica will be better just from the fact that their songs are more guitar orientated where as The Beatles are more vocal based. No word yet on what songs will be first to be released.
And finally, as reported earlier, customers are still having issues related to drum sensitvity for Guitar Hero World Tour. Activision has addressed this issue and will send you out the cables and software you need to “tune” your drums to the sensitivity you want. You will need to access customer support through Activisions web site and they will send you the USB-Midi cable you will need and provide the link to the software download needed to complete the set up. Zach, our buddy at Activision, says the software works fantastically and you can tune your whole drum set to the sensitivity you want.
For those not familiar, Le Merde is an artist from Portland, Oregon who creates hand cast and hand painted resin figures of his original characters. The vibrancy of the color of each of these figures must be seen in person in order to be truly appreciated. To achieve such richness in color, Le Merde employs both acrylic and cel paint. Along with these figures, he also creates brilliant paintings that also utilize cel and acrylic paints. What is truly amazing is how seamlessly his style transitions from figure to canvas. Or is it canvas to figure?
I’ve casually been aware of the work of Le Merde for a couple of years now and have always been strongly impressed by the reverence with which people speak of his work. In a gallery setting, his pieces certainly live up to the hype. Kudos to Kirby and Whitney at Rotofugi for their setup of the show, as it truly accentuated the preciousness(maybe I should have said “awesomeness”, or something) of each piece. The music of choice at the show was particularly cool as well- a rockin’ mix of all of the stuff that Le Merde was listening to while working on the stuff for the show. At one point, we chatted as Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak album played in it’s entirety- but, I’m getting ahead of myself.
LeMerde, himself, couldn’t have been a cooler guy. Although he wasn’t particularly jazzed to do a video interview, Max and I talked with him for well over an hour about everything from 8-bit Nintendo to The Beta Band to 80’s action figures to Vanfar and Boko Raton.
Vanfar is the lead guitarist for the band Zeu, a central element of the Le Merde universe. Vanfar and Boko Raton are loosely based upon John Lennon and Yoko Ono, but as LeMerde was quick to tell me, Vanfar’s pop sensibilities are more along the lines of Paul McCartney. The central theme of this show was that of Vanfar striking out on his own along with Boko, and the ramifications of that upon the LeMerde universe. Not only did we get to see a series of color variations of the Vanfar figure, but also many paintings such as Vanfar’s Trying New Things and Vanfar’s Ghostly Passion Project. These paintings help out to flesh out the storyline, along with a few new color ways of the John McEnroe-inspired Hollis Price and Zeu’s biggest fan, Pony Falcone.
All in all, this was a totally badass show by one of the nicest guys I’ve had a chance to meet since doing this Nerd City thing. Simply put, Le Merde is the shit!
Check out Le Merde’s blog here.
Le Merde’s photos of the Vanfar and Boko Raton are here.
Well, I guess things can’t always be perfect. Since the launch of GH:WT this past Sunday, many people have been reporting sensitivity issues related to their drum kits. I myself have had issues with my yellow symbol not reading everytime I hit the damn thing. So for now I’m dealing with the issue, but we do have possible solutions. One from Activision themselves:
We have learned that certain drum kit controllers manufactured for Guitar Hero World Tour have sensitivity issues. We believe that these controllers are limited to ones in the earlier manufacturing stages. While we believe that this was an isolated manufacturing issue, we are stepping our efforts to randomly test our drum kit controllers so customers can be assured they work properly. In the event any consumers do experience problems with their drum kit controllers associated with sensitivity issues, Activision will soon be offering a drum tuning kit that will enable players to fully optimize their drums.
Our goal would be to immediately address any hardware issues Guitar Hero World Tour players have with the game. Consumers should visit the Activision Publishing customer support website at www.activision.com/support website or call 310 255-2050 in the U.S. where a customer care representative will assist them. Activision is fully committed to the highest quality manufacturing standards, and to satisfying every Guitar Hero World Tour fan so they can enjoy the best musical gaming experience ever created
The other option, which I will be trying when I get home, makes things a little easier. Follow the instructions on the video and you should have no issues going forward and no modding of your drums is needed.
This past weekend I attended Music Box Massacre 4, the 24-hour all horror film festival, for the first time. And while I only stayed for a 7 hour chunk of the festivities (I do need my beauty sleep), I can assure you all it’s was an amazing experience, one I will most definitely attend every year from now on.
I arrived around 5:30pm, shortly after the film May began. I had been very familiar with the film, but watching it with a crowd put it in a whole new light for me. People laughed at things I never before thought were funny, and shouted things at the screen ala Rocky Horror Picture Show. Very fun stuff.
After a short intermission, Clive Barker (!) took the stage and talked about his new film Midnight Meat Train, which he was about to screen for us. He badmouthed Lionsgate, which everyone applauded. Such is the stress of being a horror filmmaker: your visions aren’t always going to be to the big studios likings. It was exciting to hear that the version he was showing us would never be up on the big screen again. The film displayed all the nuances you’d expect from Barker: An overly curious person uncovering Hellish tenants, graphic deaths and gore, but also relationships between the characters that are as important as the scares. After the film, the ever gracious Barker signed autographs in the lobby.
Last on the list was Friday the 13th 4: The Final Chapter. Director Joseph Zito took the stage and talked about what a pleasure it was screening this film for big audiences. He wryly joked about how the studios in 1984 told him to “kill jason once and for all”, because, “we want this to be the final Friday“. Ha! Again, the film was met with RHPS-esque comments from the audience; hooting at the nudity, laughing at the poor acting, and cheering the graphic deaths. It ended with a partial standing ovation.
The Music Box has always been a favorite place of mine. They show every type of film there, but for a horror fan it’s like time traveling back to the year these movies came out. It’s incredible! They have my full support…and I will be seeing them again next year.
This Saturday, Oct. 25 beginning at noon, The Music Box is holding their fourth annual 24-hour film festival featuring an appearance by the Hellraiser himself, Clive Barker. Screenings include Barker’s new film “The Midnight Meat Train“, “Pieces“, “Dead Alive“, and “The Exorcist“. Nerd City’s Joey is man enough to be in attendance. Are you?
3733 N. Southport Ave.
Chicago, Il
I was lucky enough to have a friend who worked on Guitar Hero: World Tour. Below is the fantastic interview I was able to do with my buddy Zach Parr.
Mike: So first of all thanks for doing the interview and giving us some insight on your work
Zach: No problem, I really like what you guys are doing with your site so I was happy to do my part.
M: Alright, let’s get into this. How did you get hired at Activision/Neversoft? What is your school background?
Z: I submitted a resume to Activision which got passed down the Neversoft. The two major qualifications which got me the job were a masters in computer science as well as a music background. Since it is the case that Neversoft is currently in the business of “rhythm games” my qualifications fit the profile of the type of person they were looking for.
M: What is your official title/ what do you do at work?
Z: My title is UI Programmer. I primarily work on game screens involving stats, menus, and HUD (heads up display) elements
M: What was it like having Guitar Hero 4 being your first project to work on and where you a fan of the series beforehand?
Z: Being assigned to GH: World Tour as my first industry job was truly amazing. It is a triple A title and most people don’t get the pleasure of working on such a popular game when they first enter the industry. I was a fan of the series before hand but only in the “party” since, I hadn’t really gotten into the game until shortly before i had my interview while doing research on the company’s current titles. I quickly became an addict. Guitar Hero aside I’ve always been a huge fan of the Tony Hawk series.
M: Experiences (best and worst) working on the project? At what phase did you come in on the production of the game?
Z: I started at Neversoft midway through development of GH:WT, this was quite daunting at first. I would in fact chalk this up to the worst experience so far. The learning curve is very steep when jumping into such a massive code base. At the beginning I wasn’t sure what i had gotten myself into, i was constantly breaking the game and having to reboot and reload into the portion i was working on just to have it crash again! These games are very fragile while in development and this can be quite frustrating. The best experiences for me come during the development of a new idea. Game elements are often reiterated over and over until all the producers/designers/directors are happy with that particular element. The best experience is when I put my own twist on some element I am working on which gets a consensual smile of approval among the leads.
M: Being a drummer, what are you thoughts on the drum set along with the new features on the guitar?
Z: The drum experience in the game is the most realistic out of all the instruments (excluding vocals) this is both a good and bad thing. In my opinion its very cool how realistic the experience is, but I’ve spent years behind an actual drum set developing the necessary coordination to play the instrument. So playing drums in the game feels very natural to me. On the other hand it is very difficult for me to imagine what it must be like playing the game without such a background. The general consensus is that it is very difficult; I guess you’ll have to start on easy folks. In my opinion difficult is good, people have already gotten 100% on through the fire and flames from GHIII, we have to cater to all skill levels and the challenge is part of what makes this game so addictive, the drums add a whole new dimension to the “challenge factor”.
At first I was not a particular fan of the new slide guitars, I really like the look and feel of the les paul, though after using the new slide guitar it wasn’t long before i preferred the smoother strum bar as well as the beefier size. (I still like the look of the les paul better though, I’m not a big fan of the sunburst)
M: What is your favorite thing about your job?
Z: There is a natural creative energy that emanates from the studio, this is created by the folks who work there. My favorite part of the job is how amazingly well the people interact, everybody has their own ideas and visions of what the finished product will be like. These ideas all differ in their own ways. Everybody must support the team and make decisions as a team. I am amazed on a daily basis at how well a team of over 100 people can fight it out and always come to a compromise leaving everybody in agreement
M: What are your thoughts on Rock Band and the other music games being released?
Z: Harmonix is a great company and have been making rhythm games for a few years longer than us. (you know they did develop the software for GH1 and GH2). I don’t really like the fact that you have to replay songs through the career progression of the game in order to get everything unlocked, but oh well, ill survive. You won’t catch me talking smack on them but there is a general level of competition between the two studios. I think this is quite healthy and keeps massive pressure on pushing the genera forward. We often compare what we are doing to what they are doing. We feed off their ideas as well as I’m sure they feed off of ours.
M: Now for some rapid fire questions, lets see what you got.
M: Favorite Smash Bros character?
Z: Fox on melee, Mario on brawl (lame I know)
M: Favorite Song in GH4?
Z: Rebel Yell
M: System preference and why.
Z: Xbox 360, its got the most games and largest online community. And you can have multiple people signed in online at the same time, Sony really screwed up not allowing that on ps3, I heard a rumor that they are changing that with the new sdk : )
M: What games are you playing right now?
Z: Metal Gear Solid 4, Dead Space, Rockband 2, COD 5 beta, Warcraft III (ill never give that one up), god of war on PSP (what ever the name of that one is) *Editor Note: it is called Chains of Olympus* and Spore.
M: What games are you looking forward to?
Z: Little big planet, StarCraft II and Diablo III.
M: What games should people check out that they have probably missed?
Z: Braid and Castle Crashers both xbox live arcade titles, Odin Sphere (ps2), Warcraft III (PC)
M: And finally, what are you working on next?
Z: Sorry, can’t tell ya.
Well there you have it kids, I hoped you enjoyed yourself. And remember Guitar Hero: World Tour comes out this Sunday (10/26) for PS3, Wii and the Xbox 360.
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