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Game Review: Batman: Arkham City
Why Should Local Music Matter?
Someone asked me recently “Why should local music matter?”. I was, at first, dumbfounded. I thought to myself, “How could it NOT matter?”. I grew up on the local scene in Houston. Bands like Deadhorse, Taste of Garlic, Spunk and 30footFALL were my life. I never knew any different.
If you were to take a moment and actually listen to modern radio you would hear what Clear Channel wants to sell you. There is a reason that NickelBack and Lady Gaga sell so many records. Its because they are played ad nauseum. The sheeple can’t help but rush out and buy this up. I am a musician. Every close friend I have is also a musician. I have listened to the current music being fed to the masses and tried to understand why they are so popular. There is no redeemable quality to this. It’s all protools digital cookie cutter music. Its missing one of the very key elements to music. Soul. It is merely a product being manufactured for the purpose of making money or to sell merchandise to make money. Its not an outlet for the artist to release pent up aggression or anxiety.
Listening to someone like Katy Perry talk about “paying her dues” is a joke. Give me a break. What the fuck do these modern kids know about “dues”? Ask any of the OMBG crew about paying dues (except Dean) and you will get the same answer. Its about heart and soul and hard work. Its not about how many units I moved last week or how quickly I sold out this venue or whatever. Its about Soul. I know that I am repeating myself here, but its really that simple. Heart and Soul.
This is a holiday weekend. Most of you have some extra time off work. Go out and see some live music. If youre in Houston hit up Fitzgeralds, or Rudyards, or Mangos. There are tons of places in town to get your musical feel. There is SO much undiscovered talent out there just dying to get in your earholes.
Remember, the scene isn’t dead.
-Mike Hutson
TripleJXX01 on ‘Let’s Playing”
Hey everyone, this is TripleJXX01. As the odd username implies, I’m indeed a Youtuber looking to make it big in the publicity of internet fans, trolls, flamers, and more. However, the style of my videos, though not necessarily rare, is called “Let’s Playing.” Yet another odd internet name, well it’s actually more literal than you may have guessed. What do people usually play? Games, of course! Video games of every kind! Though I’m not the goddess of gaming, I am in fact a faithful gamer girl.
Anyway, “Let’s Playing” is when someone records themselves playing a video game while they commentate in the background. This type of commentary can be comical, informative, or even the equivalent of a vlog. I’ve personally found most people watching “Let’s Play’s” for the comical value of the player rather than for gaining information on the game. Though this isn’t always true, most people looking for a video to guide them through the game turn to “Let’s Playing’s” counterpart in the searchbar–a walkthrough. Though “Let’s Players” can indeed be purely informative on the game, this is how most differentiate “Let’s Plays”and walkthroughs.
Now that you know a little bit about what “Let’s Playing” is, let me explain the reason people “Let’s Play” and why they choose to share their often nonsensical ramblings on the internet while holding a game controller. Well, why do you play video games in the first place? To have fun of course! However, there is one drawback to the fun of pushing buttons, eager to see what happens in the other world inside your television’s/computer’s screen. It’s the awkward/frustrating/painful/infuriating/tear-your-hair-out-of-your-skull moment when you can’t figure out what the hell you’re supposed to do next in order to progress. That’s the name of any game. Progress. Even if the game has no story, if you can’t progress, what’s the point of playing it?! Exactly, there is no point.
Now imagine, you’re about to throw your gaming device out a window in hopes it explodes against someone else’s car when you remember man’s one gift to the human race: the internet. Yes! A guide to defeating the next boss or finding the next power-up is a mere click of the Google/Bing search button away! of course, sadly, no one likes or has the time to read anymore which makes the complicated guide you just found completely useless. That’s where the beauty of “Let’s Playing” comes into effect.
“Let’s Playing” is considered a hobby, a money-making opportunity, or even simply something to do to halt the strange stares received when yelling at your video game. Most people do it for the fun of playing video games. Others have a desire to fulfill the gamer’s natural urge to complete their newest game. some people even do it so they have something to do while they talk about their everyday lives.
I like to “Let’s Play” in my free time away from school to unwind and talk about my passion for gaming, as well as other random things in my life. It doesn’t always have to be about games. Now, I’m by no means a “professional” “Let’s Player,” in fact I just started my first “Let’s Play” of the Legend of Zelda and the Minish Cap. I’m up to 15 episodes and I’ve gained 8 subscribers. Trust me people, it’s not all about the numbers. If you really care about numbers, I still say you should deviate your eyes away from the 0 beside the number of subscribers you have when you first start out. Give it some time, and that number will rise before you can remember how depressed that little 0 made you feel in the beginning.
Lastly, what makes a “Let’s Play” that people want to see? Quality. That’s all I can say. Quality is NOT holding up a camcorder to your television screen while you talk to your buddy in the background. I only spent twelve dollars to begin “Let’s Playing,” and that was on a headset to record my voice with and I’ve often been praised for the amount of quality in my videos even though I can only get the actual video quality up to 480p which is standard definition.
This has been TripleJXX01, just a girl and her games. Thanks for reading!
TripleJXX01′s Introduction Video to her Let’s Play Youtube Channel.
Being There new video released
Wet Black Ghost
Arkansas Indie Comic Superstars
Bio – Wet Black Ghost Publishing is Adam Smith (the words,) and Matt Fox (the art.) We’re based out of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Mule was our first self-published attempt at a sci-fi one-shot. Long Walk to Valhalla is a bit longer and currently underway as a webcomic. Pages are updated every Monday.Contact – Website
Lionize
Members: Chris Brooks – Keys Henry Upton – Bass Mel Randolph – Drums Nate Bergman – Guitar (and sometimes) Tim Sult – Guitar
Bio: Genre-bending reggae/rock band Lionize have announced that they will release Superczar and The Vulture, their fifth album, and first on the Pentimento Music Company label on 12/6/11, with distribution by Redeye. The release sees Lionize heading back to Magpie Cage Recording Studio (Against Me!, The Promise Ring, Murder By Death) to record with the legendary J. Robbins. On it, they weave together 70s-influenced heavy psych rock riffs with reggae grooves and deeply soulful vocals, resulting in a record that both challenges and embraces the genres where it finds its roots.
Lionize spent this past summer as stand-outs on the Vans Warped Tour, and followed that success with a string of dates across the United States co-headlining with friends Larry and His Flask. This fall sees the band once again on the road, touring the country with labelmates Streetlight Manifesto, Rodeo Ruby Love and friends Reel Big Fish. You can view dates at the bottom of the page. Lionize are no strangers to the touring life, having spent the better past of the last decade touring virtually non-stop with the likes of Bad Brains, Clutch, Steel Pulse, and CKY among numerous others.Larry and His Flask
Larry and His Flask — Oregon Punk Folk Rock
Members: Jamin Marshall Jeshua Marshall Ian Cook Andrew Carew Kirk Skatvold Dallin Bulkley
Bio: Musical anthropologists interested in the study of just how fast a band can evolve need look no further than the six upright, upstanding men in Oregon’s Larry and His Flask.
Formed by brothers Jamin and Jesse Marshall in 2003, the Flask (as the band’s expanding army of fans calls them) spent its first half-decade stuck in a primordial, punk-rock goop, where a blood-sweat-and-beers live show took priority over things like notes and melodies. Don’t misunderstand: The band was (somewhat) skilled and an absolute joy to watch, but the goal was always the party over perfection. Over the past two years, however, Larry and His Flask has gone from crawl to sprint at breakneck speed. First, Jamin Marshall moved from gargling-nails vocals to drums. Guitarist Ian Cook became the band’s primary voice. And a trio of talented pickers and singers — Dallin Bulkley (guitars), Kirk Skatvold (mandolin) and Andrew Carew (banjo) — joined the family. (And no, you didn’t miss something. No one is named Larry.) Determined to make music for a living or die trying, the six brothers set out in a van, intent on playing for anyone, anywhere at any time. From coffee shops to dive bars and street corners to theater stages, the Flask honed their sound and show through experience, attacking each gig like buskers who must grab and hold the attention of passersby in hopes of collecting enough change to get to the next town. By 2009, Larry and His Flask’s train began gaining steam. The band’s new songs are a blurry blend of lightning fast string-band picking, gorgeous nods to old-school country, and sublime multi-part harmonies, all presented through a prism of punk chaos. The boys have grown and changed, yes, but their shows are still gloriously physical displays of live music’s sheer power. In other words, keep your eyes peeled, or risk taking the heavy end of Jesse Marshall’s flailing, stand-up bass right between the eyes. A slot supporting the Dropkick Murphys in the Flask’s hometown led to an invitation to open for the Celtic punk kingpins across the eastern half of the United States, as well as an opportunity to finally record their new, twangier sound. The result is Larry and His Flask’s three-song, self-titled 7″ record, pressed in a limited run that’s quickly being snapped up by the band’s new fans, who’ve been clamoring for a sip of aural hooch to call their own. In mid-2010, the Flask is holed up in their crash pad in Central Oregon, working on songs for their first full-length, playing gigs here and there, and, in the words of Jesse Marshall, “fixing the van and all our broken shit” in anticipation of the next leg of a lifelong tour. Keep up with the band’s never-ending tour schedule at www.larryandhisflask.comWizard World Interview — Nigel Sade
About the Artist ::
Nigel Sade was born on a bright and sunny day nearly to some, and exactly to others, 30 years after D-day. Some consider this meaningful whilst the rest laugh at those people, but I digress. He was raised in hell … or rather Ohio but I don’t want to split hairs. In a smallish county called Portage. As a child he could be found drawing on any surface he could make a mark on, and with all the moving security deposits were more like donations. In School this A.D.H.D. Toth wannabe (but with hands) was considered a bit strange by his peers, … a malady that never left him as it turned out. As a teenager he was a rebellious youth, A Technicolored street Freak, delving into every aspect of art, from Drawing to painting to Music to Religion to Science to Philosophy in general. Then there were the dark times … the marriage! When his soul was crushed by evil and doubt. He Dreamt of being an artist but that was not a real job … how could you feed a family with that pipe dream? However, In just 6 and a half long agonizing years it was over. On the Up side His torment was not without reward; He now has 2 lovely Spawn with which to explore life. Shortly after his divorce Nigel graduated college with a degree in Philosophy. So Armed with his freedom, his offspring, and an amazing ability to argue points that even he may not believe, he set out on the high seas of art! This was a joyous thing! There was much weirdness, art, travel, debauchery and Success. Stories were made and told. Currently travel the amber waves of grain, questioning whatever reality they are presented with, chewing that up and spitting it out in the form of art. Then Nigel shows that art to the hapless masses in hopes that it moves them as much at it moved him to create it.
His art in form is Symbolism represented in either a realism fashion or Symbolic Abstracts, and in function it questions basic ideas we hold dear as a people. It is mostly driven by philosophical motifs and just plain old strangeness. Nigel’s belief is that art should spur conversation, not just match ones curtains. Now you may ask, “What does all this have to do with piracy?” Well, he was always a grungy, bandana wearin freak. His family was and is highly Piratical What with their last name Rogers all the family businesses are Jolly Roger this and Jolly Roger that … Not to mention their propensity for Rum. So with his families’ nautical background and the new Pirate craze, the public proclaimed him a pirate, and a pirate he was. Yet, having always loved pirates, one can say Nigel got peanut butter in his chocolate!
Contact ::
Website
