Interested in having us play your music? Send your bands .mp3s, band contact info, and a short band bio to our e-mail.
Benefit for The Freakouts.
I’m sure a lot of you remember the Freakouts. If not, you should. They are a bad ass band out of Houston, TX and were our feature artists a few months as back as well as a feature in the first issue of our print zine. On the way back from a gig in our hometown, they had an awful wreck that totaled their vehicle and pretty much all of their equipment.
There have been various benefits for them to help them get their equipment back as well as help to put out their first album. If you are interested in helping out a band in need, there are multiple ways that you can help.
DONATE! You can donate online here. There is more information on that page as well as more details about the wreck.
There will be a benefit show in Houston as well. If you can, try and make it out to that. All money made goes directly to The Freakouts. You can find more information on the show as well as a lineup on the EVENT PAGE.
We are also doing a few things on our side as well. Our good friend and film maker Anthony Pedone is doing a double feature this Saturday at the Victoria College in the Johnson Symposium. All proceeds from this event goes directly to The Freakouts. For more information on this event, be sure to check out the EVENT PAGE.
Lastly, we are personally throwing a show on December 21st for the so called end of the world and part of the money made at the door will go to help them out as well. Check out the EVENT PAGE HERE.
I can’t say how much we at OMBG would appreciate any support for The Freakouts by doing any or all of the above things. I can’t stress enough that anything at all will help out.
Bad things happen to good people sometimes but they don’t have to go at it alone. This is one of those times that we all need to come together as musicians and fans to help these guys get back on their feet and do what they do best, make music!
So go out, support, and help in any way you can!
Over and out.
-Bitter Girl
RTX 2012 — Motus Digital and Larry the Zombie
So far it has been a crazy morning here at RTX. It got even crazier when I met the lovely boys at Motus Digital and their latest project, Larry the Zombie.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="324"]
Motus Digital Presents Larry The Zombie[/caption]
I spoke with Kyle Blietz, the executive producer of Motus to see what their project was all about.
Bitter Girl :: So what exactly is Motus Digital about?
Kyle :: Motus Digital is a motion capture animation studio out of Dallas, TX. We do a lot of animations for video games mainly regional in the southwest area but we’ve worked with people all around the US.
BG :: And what made you guys decide to start this project?
K :: Well, mainly there was a need for mo-cap in this region. But why we’re here at RTX is that we came up with a way to do live animations. So basically as the actor acts it can be translated directly onto a CG character that we can record and broadcast on any kind of medium.
BG :: So go into a little bit more detail about how the process works.
K :: Basically, we get an actor in the studio we marker them up on all the joints and all the bones of their bodies and glue markers on their face. The cameras then triangulate the markers to tell exactly where it is in 3D space. Then that data all goes into the computer. It’s applied, labeled. Says this is an elbow, this is a nose. It then gets translated onto a CG character. From there we take it into another computer that can broadcast it live on Skype, or uStream or whatever media we choose.
BG :: So you’re going to be having some upcoming projects soon. Tell us a little about that.
K :: With this live animation we have three ideas that we’re announcing that will be coming out in the next few months. One is Larry the Zombie. He is a talking zombie who’s able to interview people and do skype calls with people and he’s gonna have his own weekly show. We’re gonna cover cos-play, movies, tech, video games, comics, toys, tv and cool shit in general. Then we’ve also got Bush and Clinton and they’re gonna cover the 2012 election. They’re gonna travel around on the campaign trail and make fun of politics. I’m excited about that. Then we’ve also got Herby. Herby is an elf and we started that this last Christmas. We went around to different hospitals and schools and had the kids talk to Herby and tell them what they wanted for Christmas. We Skyped with 500 kids. We did about 250 personal messages at one hospital two schools and we did that in four weeks.
As I spoke with Kyle and watched their promo videos I was rather intrigued, but nothing could have prepared me for the experience I was about to have with Larry the Zombie. For those that know me well, you know I’m not a big zombie fan but this guy was great. He was interesting, quick to the draw on underhanded comments nd hilarious to interact with.
For more information on Motus Digital and their upcoming projects, check out the following sites ::
www.motusdigital.com
www.partycrashersusa.com
www.elfhotline.com
www.larrythezombie.com
Motus Digital Presents Larry The Zombie[/caption]
I spoke with Kyle Blietz, the executive producer of Motus to see what their project was all about.
Bitter Girl :: So what exactly is Motus Digital about?
Kyle :: Motus Digital is a motion capture animation studio out of Dallas, TX. We do a lot of animations for video games mainly regional in the southwest area but we’ve worked with people all around the US.
BG :: And what made you guys decide to start this project?
K :: Well, mainly there was a need for mo-cap in this region. But why we’re here at RTX is that we came up with a way to do live animations. So basically as the actor acts it can be translated directly onto a CG character that we can record and broadcast on any kind of medium.
BG :: So go into a little bit more detail about how the process works.
K :: Basically, we get an actor in the studio we marker them up on all the joints and all the bones of their bodies and glue markers on their face. The cameras then triangulate the markers to tell exactly where it is in 3D space. Then that data all goes into the computer. It’s applied, labeled. Says this is an elbow, this is a nose. It then gets translated onto a CG character. From there we take it into another computer that can broadcast it live on Skype, or uStream or whatever media we choose.
BG :: So you’re going to be having some upcoming projects soon. Tell us a little about that.
K :: With this live animation we have three ideas that we’re announcing that will be coming out in the next few months. One is Larry the Zombie. He is a talking zombie who’s able to interview people and do skype calls with people and he’s gonna have his own weekly show. We’re gonna cover cos-play, movies, tech, video games, comics, toys, tv and cool shit in general. Then we’ve also got Bush and Clinton and they’re gonna cover the 2012 election. They’re gonna travel around on the campaign trail and make fun of politics. I’m excited about that. Then we’ve also got Herby. Herby is an elf and we started that this last Christmas. We went around to different hospitals and schools and had the kids talk to Herby and tell them what they wanted for Christmas. We Skyped with 500 kids. We did about 250 personal messages at one hospital two schools and we did that in four weeks.
As I spoke with Kyle and watched their promo videos I was rather intrigued, but nothing could have prepared me for the experience I was about to have with Larry the Zombie. For those that know me well, you know I’m not a big zombie fan but this guy was great. He was interesting, quick to the draw on underhanded comments nd hilarious to interact with.
For more information on Motus Digital and their upcoming projects, check out the following sites ::
www.motusdigital.com
www.partycrashersusa.com
www.elfhotline.com
www.larrythezombie.com
Shiner Summer Songwriters Series — Live Stream.
Well, last weekend was the kickoff show for what has seemingly become the annual Shiner Summer Songwriters Series and man, let me tell you, it was a blast. We were there in all of our drunken glory helping to cover the event. There are random bits and pieces of video and photos strewn about the interwebs of the event itself and there will soon be interviews and more randomness that will be posted later. However, the thing I’m here to tell you about is something new that we will be carrying out through the end of the showcase, a live stream.
I’ve always wanted to delve into the world of live streaming but have been very cautious as to how I do it simply because you cannot control live events and although I’d like to think I’m prepared for everything, in a situation such as Sunday, you can’t really be completely prepared. Aside from some minor sound issues in the beginning, it went really well. And because of that, we will be doing a live stream each Sunday as the event unfolds.
So, if you can’t make it out to the best bar in the world to hear the best music, you can sit in the convenience of your own home and enjoy the festivities with us!
To view the live stream, simply go to our ustream channel and press play. We will have better sound and video equipment this go round and will be archiving the event as well. The music kicks off around 4 and ends around 8 with some breaks in between.
For up to date information be sure to follow us on our Twitter page and our facebook!
Over and out,
the one and only bitter girl.
Victoria Spring Break Art Walk — Live Performances
There were tons of amazing bands at the art walk on March 10. I took it upon myself to try and record a few of their songs. To view performances by other bands, click the square box in the bottom bar of the current video. Hope that you enjoy!
Victoria Spring Break Art Walk
OMBG @ Victoria Art Walk.
Victoria’s First Spring Art Walk
Since I was a wee lass I’ve loved art. I was lucky to grow up in a musical family. My mom played guitar (and later learned the mandolin and ukelele) and sang, my dad was a drummer in rock bands. My grandmother and great aunt taught me to sew, make jewelry and other arts and crafts type projects. My aunt taught me to paint and draw. That was my childhood. I was pretty lucky. So needless to say, since a very young age I’ve been in love with the arts and all that they have to offer.
Recently, a few friends of mine, Chris and Melissa Ordonez contacted me about a new project they were working on. Victoria’s first Art Walk. Now, there are cities that have things similar. Corpus has their first Friday Art Walk. San Antonio has something similar as well. However, I’ve always hoped that Victoria would do something similar. There are so many creative and amazing artists, musicians, poets, and photographers in this city. But aside from the few shows that happen on the Friday or Saturday, there really isn’t a place for this underground community to come together and celebrate the art we so passionately create.
Well, this Saturday the chance for Victoria to come together to celebrate the beauty that is art has finally arrived.
The event will be taking place at the new location of D&D Novelties off of 59. It begins at Noon on Saturday and will end at 10 that night. There will be vendors of all sorts there.. Artists, Painters, Jewelry Makers, and tons of other random bits of awesome. There will be live performances by toxic fuse, cherry bombers, just go, strange angels, the loveletter, something called nothing, corpus gold, and cavegirl. The event is free and is open to people of all ages.
For more information on the event, check out the FACEBOOK PAGE.
OMBG Takes On Staple!
Well, this years Staple! has come to an end once more and what a weekend it was. It was a pleasure meeting everyone of you that stopped by our table. Although by the end of day two I was pleasantly drunk on the PBR the bar was offering and probably slurred our ‘talk’ or forgot it altogether more than once, I think the overall weekend was a massive success.
I’ve always looked forward events such as this. There are multiple reasons of course, but that is not really the point of this post so I’ll skim over them. The Staple! Expo brings an entire community of people together to celebrate art, comics, and other various things (such as our podcast) from all over the place. You never really know who you will meet or what you will see but it is always an adventure. I love meeting these people. I love hearing the passion in their voice and the excitement in their eyes as they talk about their latest piece or project. And the people who don’t have booths set up? The Expo goers? They all come together to this one place for the same reason I do. To find the next best thing. To get that one print to hang on your wall. To meet your hero (as Allynn did). To get that custom sketch that no one else has. I absolutely love it. I view these type of things as a celebration of art. And it’s wonderful.
This year, I made my rounds as I always do. My first quick round to take in the venue, the people, and to make quick mental notes as to who catches my eye and who I will revisit in more depth and then the second round in which I spent my time talking to the vendors in more depth about their products. I spent most of my time in the Annex at our booth, but the few times I did get away to see what else was out there, I was not dissappointed.
Alongside the new faces we met, there were a few old friends we got to catch up with :: The lovely Miss Halo, Drew Edwards from The Halloween Man, Jon David Guerra from Nightmare Pro-Wrestling, and Nicole Guerra from The Minted Mouse, Cody Schibi and our table buddy Scott Free from Apples For Eyes.
The Old Man and I chose our loot wisely.. Tim settled on a ton of new books and me, well I bought more prints.
On my rounds through the halls, I met TONS of indie artists, publishers, and more. There are a few that stood out though.
Silver Sparrow Comics — www.silversparrowcomics.com Silver Sparrow Comics is written and illustrated by Brian Delaney. He has two web-comics that he updates. One, entitled “The Silver Sparrow”, a comic that focuses on a young girl spending the summers with her Grandpa who is a scientist. The comic revolves around the young girls summers with her grandad and his experiments. The other entitled “Blood Machines” that focuses on a teenage boy who wakes up in a strange place with some type of amnesia. The comic revolves around him trying to remember who and what he is and what happened to him. Brian’s comics in themselves are rather interesting, especially since his pitch to me was that he was trying to write comics geared more towards the female gender in a way that doesn’t involve crude, scantily clad woman. (I immediately brought up Tank Girl, to which his response was, well, yes, the opposite of that). He mentioned his young daughter stating that he wants to show her that it is possible to be a respected female without being that way. All of this was intriguing to me. Granted, how he can write comics with that in mind and get inside a woman’s head is beyond me. I don’t understand men.. and I sure as hell don’t understand my own gender. But I took a look at the episodes of the comics that are currently posted on his website, and well, he didn’t disappoint. Granted, I am a huge fan of sci-fi and both delve very deeply into that world. The writing and the art for the comics is top knotch and am looking forward to seeing where the story line goes in both of the comics he is working on. And in particular, am looking forward to meet the lovely girl he sketched out for me at Staple! which he said will be introduced very soon.
After Twilight — www.aftertwilightcomics.com I had the pleasure of meeting Gary Watson early on at Staple! as he was sitting across from our own booth. So I stared at his booth for a few hours wondering what everything he was doing was about. I saw videos, a nazi cap, some comics, and other various odds and ends on his table so I was a bit curious. When I finally got the chance to go and speak to him at length, I was very intrigued. In short, After Twilight started out as a short screenplay and has grown into a monster of its own. Currently, they are releasing a six part comic to coincide with a full feature length film which is still currently in the works. The story itself is very intriguing. Excerpt from www.aftertwilightcomics.com ::
A senseless act of terrorism has galvanized the population of Texas, leading to the rise of a fanatical religious government. The powerful new regime establishes a one-faith theocracy and begins a reign of terror against everyone and everything deemed unholy by the state. Texas seals its borders and wages a bloody war against the United States to become a separate, extremist Christian nation. Democracy is replaced with oppressive biblical laws and unspeakable punishments. Reason is outlawed — blind faith rules. Jen Frazier, a young librarian, tries to stay out of trouble, hoping to remain invisible to the theocracy. All that ends after the arrest of her sister by Sgt. Streetman, the sinister head of the brutal religious police. Despite her fears, Jen joins The Underground; but her first mission is a disaster and she becomes a hunted fugitive with nowhere to turn, no one to trust. Sgt. Streetman has her in his sights and within his grasp. But The Underground’s mysterious leader has other plans for Jen to expose the atrocities committed by the theocracy in God’s name. It’s a dangerous and pivotal task that takes Jen deep inside Camp Purity, a hellhole of Old Testament punishments where sinners are taken for redemption…if they survive. In a fierce, face-to-face battle, Jen finds out just how dangerous it is to fight a state with God on its side.We have the first issues of what is looking to be an amazing run of comics and will hopefully be discussing it on the podcast itself in the near future. There were of course other artists that I fell in love with :: Jenner Carnelian, Errol Rivera, Feeping Creatures, Jose Esquivel, Michael Mauro, and Monica Gallagher!
Staple! Independent Media Expo.
Last year around the beginning of March, the Old Man and I made the trek to the mecca of music and culture known as Austin, TX for the annual event called Staple! It was my first time going, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. To top that off, the wonderful boys from Busygamer.com not only let us tag along on their massive drinking adventures, but let us share a table with them for OMBG. It was a lot of firsts for one weekend.
I wasn’t sure what to expect about Staple. But needless to say, I was not disappointed. A convention hall filled to the brim with independent everything. There were comic book artists and writers, artists, indie media groups, comics, and a ton of amazing fans and con goers everywhere. I was quite impressed with this gathering.
And well, March 3 and 4 of 2012 it happens again. This time however, OMBG will be going out on their own. We’ll have a table full of swag (with the majority of it being FREE, a gift from us to you) alongside some other odds and ends. We will also have some goodies from projects we’ve been working alongside and some cool things from a few of our featured artists. Be sure to come out if you can and say hi!
To see some of the major artists and events dealing with Staple! Check out the flyer below or go the website by clicking HERE.
Wizard World — Artist Alley
People go to comic cons for tons of reasons. There are celebrities, artists, nerd swag, comic books, and well, if you can imagine it, you’ll probably be able to find it somewhere among the hundreds of booths spread out around the hall.
Personally? I love comic cons, but not for the celebrities or the swag. I love the environment, the camaraderie, and seeing people from all walks of life coming together and celebrating the love of all things nerd.
I spent the majority of Saturday walking around and taking in the atmosphere. There are all kinds of cos-play characters to be seen. I saw everything from Tank Girl to Darth Vader there. There were art booths, comic booths, toy booths, and even a tattoo booth. After the initial walk-through, I focused on the second reason I go to these events, the art. You can find all types of artists at these things. This particular event held a gold mine of indie and comic book artists alike. I took the time to talk to a few of my favorites. We will be posting interviews with a few of them as the week progresses, but I’ll take the time now to mention the ones that stood out to me.
Jon David Guerra — www.NightmareProWrestling.com — Interview coming soon!
Nicole Guerra — themintedmouse.wordpress.com — Interview coming soon!
Jon and Nicole were two of the nicest people! What Stood out to me even more was that they were married and they work on their projects together. Jon does NPW, a comic book based on a monster who wrestles. His wife, Nicole, helps write it. At the table, he had printed comics, but every Monday he posts a new comic on his website.
Nicole however, had her own swag at the table. She wrote and illustrated a childrens’ book about a small monster girl who goes on a grand adventure. The coolest thing about her book, is that the books are hand made. The cover, the binding, all of it, she makes by hand by herself. This impressed the hell out of me since I am such a believer in the DIY ethic. You can read the book on her site and purchase it here.
Best of luck to the both of you! It was a pleasure meeting you!
Jaclyn Di Ann – www.jaclyndiann.com — Interview coming soon!
Jaclyn’s art caught my attention immediately. Ever since I’ve been a wee lass, I’ve had an affinity for monsters and ‘monster love’. Jaclyn’s table was full of monsters and monster creations. The prints she was selling were amazing, with one of my favorites being Frankenstein and the bride of Frankenstein. However, what really caught my attention was her jewelry. She took her drawings and sketches and put them on bracelets and necklaces. It was really awesome to see such a cool chick putting her stuff out there in such a creative way. If you are interested in purchasing any of her cute jewelry, awesome prints, or other artsy endeavors, click here.
Eliza Frye — www.elizafrye.com — Interview coming soon!
Eliza’s art caught me by surprise and she did as well. I wasn’t expecting such a gorgeous gal to be standing behind a booth! But her art, it spoke for itself. Her use of color and negative space in her designs were impeccable. As I was going through her book of original art (she only had a few prints for sale, the majority were original pieces), I found out she was going to be putting a book out soon called “Regalia” with 9 short stories and illustrations in December. The pieces in the book she had there were almost all for that book and the majority of them were done with chalk. I was quite impressed with this lovely lady. If you’d like to purchase her book once it’s released, check it out here.
Cody Schibi — www.codyschibi.com
Cody’s art was different and I mean that in a good way. Tim and I ended upbuying his ‘The Thinking Demon Print’ which was hand splattered with demon blood (a very nice touch). His prints though, were an awesome, very low brow, type of art. He did very cool takes on quite a few well known characters including Link, the Ninja Turtles, and Wolverine and Mario. The majority of his art was based on monsters, mutants, and demons, because well, everyone needs a little bit of chaos in their life. I absolutely love the horrific detail he used in his art. And his color use, when he used it, was amazing. If you’re interested in purchasing one yourself, go here!
Sean Dietrich – www.industriacide.com — Interview coming soon!
Sean’s art is something else. There are things that just catch my eye. Certain things that just draw me in and intrigue me. There were probably hundreds of artists at this event but this guys art caught my attention immediately. What did it was his Fear and Loathing art. But even so, I looked at the rest of his pieces and they were amazing. Some were rather dark others were clever and funny, and all of them were very well done. As I spoke to him about his pieces, he told me he was on tour and that almost all of his art was done ‘live’. Confused? It’s simple really. He goes to a venue, sets up his paints, and a dj spins while he and a few others paint their art. You can sit back, drink, and watch as the magic happens right before your eyes. It’s a cool concept. You can’t argue when art and music come together hand and hand. If your interested in catching him while he’s on his tour, you can check out the dates here.
Nigel Sade – www.nigelsade.com — Interview coming soon!
Nigel was dressed as a pirate. I liked this. I also liked the fact that when I actually got up there to talk to him, he would answer any question, talk about his art with this passion that not many people could begin to understand. His art, in itself, it’s beautiful. He tends to have a dark approach to a lot of his pieces. But what I liked best about them, is the fact that each of them have a meaning that isn’t necessarily easily decipherable. Symbolism is one of my favorite things to play with and Nigel, well, his art is chock full of it. As our conversation moved forward, he began talking about some of his newest pieces that are going to focus on the seven deadly sins. However, the trite and overused ways to depict these sins is not the approach he is taking (thank god). To keep up with his work, buy art, and more, be sure to visit his website.
There really were TONS of artists there and honestly, had I the time and the patience, I would have written a blog including all of them. A few others that stood out that I didn’t get to talk to as much were Mark A. Nelson, Alain Viesca, and Miguel Aguilar. It was a pleasure meeting all of these wonderful artists! Until next time! See you in the bars! -Bitter Girl
Jon and Nicole
Jaclyn Di Ann
Eliza Frye
Cody Schibi
Sean Dietrich
Nigel Sade
There really were TONS of artists there and honestly, had I the time and the patience, I would have written a blog including all of them. A few others that stood out that I didn’t get to talk to as much were Mark A. Nelson, Alain Viesca, and Miguel Aguilar. It was a pleasure meeting all of these wonderful artists! Until next time! See you in the bars! -Bitter Girl
