#grumpamas

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some of my faves from dan’s AMA on sunday

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Some Dan answers from his AMA!

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Some of my favorites from Dan’s recent AMA on r/gamegrumps

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Here is a visual representation of the types of things you don’t ask people in AMAS/Panels/Cons/Or anywhere else. Ever.

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i can smell the love (and musk) from here

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Dan’s AMA answers about music!

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mystery solved

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god dammit, ninja brian

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[looks into the camera like i’m on the office]

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From Dan’s Rush AMA

He’d like to possibly cover Closer to the Heart by Rush in the future

His favorite concert of Rush’s he’s seen (out of 11) is the R30 tour in 2004

His favorite thing he’s seen them play live is Xanadu

He doesn’t plan on trying to start playing an instrument (aside from the bass which he has said he’s mediocre at) because the band he’s got now has such awesome musicians that he wants to focus on being the best vocalist he can be

His favorite Skyhill song is Run with the Hunted, and his least favorite is Only One

His favorite Rush song to play on the bass is Fountain of Lameneth (but it’s hard)

It’s pretty likely that there will eventually be a new Skyhill song or album

He first saw Rush in 1994 in NJ at the Brendan Byrne Arena. He’s seen them on every tour since.

He’s hoping that next year they’ll be able to tour in the UK, and he’d like to be able to tour in Australia too at some point

What influenced him most from Rush is their chord choices, their worth ethic, and their integrity.

If he could perform vocals on one song with Rush, it would probably be Time Stand Still

His best Rush-related experience was zoning out by himself as a kid and letting their music take his imagination places

His favorite Rush albums are A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Caress of Steel, and 2112. His least favorite (though he still loves them!) are Hold your Fire, Counterparts, and Snakes and Arrows

The most direct way that Rush has affected him is that they helped inspire him to commit his life to music.

His top 3 songs are Xanadu, Hemispheres, and Fountain of Lameneth

He started listening to Rush at 13 and he became obsessed with them. He sang their music to himself all day during school.

When asked how many Rush shirts he has, his answer was “Too many!!”

A Farewell to Kings is his alltime favorite Rush album

What initially caused him to enjoy Rush was that it was an awesome sound that he’d never really heard before and lyrics that appealed to his nerdy Lord of the Rings loving self.

His favorite >10 minute Rush track is (possibly) Circumstances

“ I'm more Jewish by culture than by religion. I certainly believe that there's a lot to life and the universe that we don't understand, and I respect anyone who finds their answers in religion, but it's never been a big part of my life personally.”

 His favorite Rush show to watch is one from Rio

The song he’s most proud of is 6969 because it’s a comedy prog song, which is something he’s always wanted to do.

His favorite part of 2112 is the overture

Hemispheres will always remind him of his freshman year of high school. He listened to it constantly.

Both him and Arin write the lyrics to Starbomb songs

He feels an immediate kinship with other Rush fans. “We’re like a world-wide secret club!”

The rush album he feels is most underrated is Presto

The first Rush song he listened to was Roll the Bones

He would be interested in giving talks about music/comedy/career stuff at colleges or high schools if there was an audience for it.

He got into Rush at age 12 because the guy that worked at his local comic book shop (named Keith) introduced him to them. “God bless that man.” Before he discovered them he listened to a lot of Def Leppard and Nirvana

Q:  if you were to start your career again today, where would you start? Youtube / twitch / podcasts? A:  I don't think I'd do anything differently because even the years of "failure" taught me a lot and allowed me time to improve. Once that spotlight is on you, you'd better be ready for it. I'd say start in the medium that inspires you individually the most and work as hard as you can on it from there.

Q:  how do you think the future of NSP has changed now that you guys have topped the motherfucking charts with Under the Covers?? You guys fucking rule and I'm so happy for you and your multitudes of success! A:  Thank you! We were psyched that our recent albums have charted so well, but I don't think we'll do anything differently. We'll just keep doing what feels right to the best of our ability!

6969 came together quickly when writing it. The video only took so long because it was such a huge jump in ambition and it has a learning curve. “If we do something like that again, things should go a lot more smoothly!”

The Pass has helped him through some tough times.

(I believe) that the lyrics he’d get as a tattoo are “ All of us get lost in the darkness Dreamers learn to steer by the stars All of us do time in the gutter Dreamers learn to look at the cars!”

Q: What would you say is the best dish at Olive Garden? A: The dish where you get up, walk across the street, and eat at Outback Steakhouse

He meditates in silence before a show because he’d get overhyped if he listened to music.

Doesn’t have a favorite member of Rush, “it’s an equilateral triangle”

Says Moving Pictures is usually a safe bet to start off with introducing someone to Rush

He picked Madrigal and Subdivisions for the first UTC because he loves them and they’re easy to sing. “I don’t know if I could hit some of those crazy high notes Geddy rocked in the 70s”

He thinks Witch Hunt would be a very good song to cover.  Such a great song and so relevant right now! "Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand"

His favorite song to try and fail at on bass is YYZ

“ I don't think there's any conscious decision to have Rush influence my music, but I've spent so many thousands of hours listening to them, it's inevitable that it just comes out naturally”

 His favorite album to work on in his career is what he’s doing now (UTC2 and Cool Patrol) because “we’ve grown so much and finally have a full band!”

He doesn’t mind when fans are super nervous to meet him. He was nervous when he met Rush, too, “so it’s just the circle of life!”

He chose bass because it was different and fun to find submelodies.

Q:  Hey Dan! I'm looking forward to Under the Covers 2. I started writing comedy music and NSP is one of my main inspirations. What do you wish you knew about writing comedy music earlier on in your career? A:  Nothing in particular really. You learn and you go and there's no substitute for just doing something over a long period of time. Of course there are things I would change about our early work, but it was the best we could do at the time so I have to be cool with it.

“I listened to so much of them [Rush] growing up that it’s in my blood and unconsciously shapes the way I approach music”

His second favorite album flops between Hemispheres, Caress of Steel, and 2112 on any given day

His favorite story/message told in a Rush song→ Story is Fountain of Lameneth because it’s a beautiful summary of life. Message is Spirit of Radio where they talk about the importance of integrity in art.

His biggest influences are Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Nirvana, Spacehog, and Gentle Giant (to name a few)

He does his best on his Rickenbacker bass but it’s just for fun. “My band already has a bass player that’s better than I’ll ever be!”

“Thanks everyone! I have to go see my family now otherwise I'd stay longer. Sorry I couldn't get to everyone's questions but I had a lot of fun. I'd be happy to do this again in the future! You being fans of mine means the world to me and I promise to keep making comedy and music for a long time! Thanks to you, the moderators who set this up, and of course Rush for being an awesome and inspirational force!”

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[x]

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dan confirmed for loving arin’s butt

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We're really throwing a wrench into that triangle.

Ross O’Donovan