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absolutementality · 6 months ago

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GHRB Media Log - Band Hero

Band Hero, Guitar Hero's spin-off not a spin-off which released 2 months after Guitar Hero 5 and uses GH5's engine. This game's name is weird as fuck, as it's not really a spin-off at all, and every game after GH3had full band (Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vocals) support anyway due to Rock Band releasing. Instead of using the typical Metal and Rock theming the Guitar Hero series had, they went with Pop music. I think it's quite a fun choice and is a decent change of pace music wise.

The career mode is set up just like every other non-artist Guitar Hero game, you are a band, do gigs, get fans. This game has a pretty decent artstyle for its career mode cutscenes, and it is kinda insane. You go from small town mall venue, to major pop awards, to FUCKING SPACE. Nothing bad about it, I think it works well enough and is basically identical to how career mode is set up in World Tour and 5. 5/BH introduced a challenge system when doing career mode, where if you're playing a specific instrument, you can get a special reward if you do their little challenge. For example, if you're playing bass on a specific song, if you hit a few hundred notes with up strumming you'll get a special bass. Van Halen (and I assume WT and Metallica) has a similar thing where you get rewards based on what you play, but career mode is based on what instrument you're playing, rather then having it on specific songs. You can play through the entirety of career mode with just one instrument, it's all just bonuses, and things like special characters are related to playing the gig rather then instruments.

A big thing this game has (well, 3, WT, and 5 also did this) is special guest characters/bands that are actual real life people! The fun part about it in this game is rather then it being iconic guitarists (Like Slash and Ozzy), it's pop artists that were popular at the time! Mainly it's the entirety of No Doubt (including Gwen Stefani), Taylor Swift (this was 2009, so her original popularity), and Adam Levine (the guy from Maroon 5). I personally think this is the game with the best special guests just because there's something really funny about having these characters singing Metallica and the like.

The setlist is pretty good out of what they chose. Fascination by Alphabeat, YMCA by The Village People, Whip It by Devo, Take What You Take by Lily Allen, just to name a few I specifically like. The game has, according to it's box, 65 songs on disk. It also has Bring Me to Life by Evanescence which is certainly a choice for this game, but it's a good song so I don't care. From what I remember hearing about this game's development, this game came from Neversoft wanting to do more music then just the typical genres Guitar Hero did, so there's a lot of weird but very good choices.

The game is entirely compatible with GH5's DLC (and for the most part backwards compatible with World Tour's DLC) so that means GH5 got pop DLC but it also means you can play a lot of weird songs in Band Hero, like Avenge Sevenfold and Metallica which don't fit the game's theme even a little. We got Owl City - Fireflies as DLC so I'm happy about that.

Something really funny to me, is that this game has sponsors. There's just random products sprinkled around the venues if you look for them. You'll just randomly see things like Coca-cola in the background. Which I only noticed, because I saw Sponsored By; Coca-Cola when I was watching the credits.

When I got to the later parts of the game, the game was struggling to run smoothly. I don't know if it was my computer/capture card messing up or my ps3 messing up or just general bad optimization but it was a struggle running any song on the space venue. Which sucks, because it is easily one of the best in the entire series. From what I've heard also, a sequel was meant to be made but never happened (most likely due to the general failure of Warriors of Rock) which sucks because a second Band Hero would have been amazing.

I give this game a 8/10 maybe 8.5/10. The Wii version is barely playable, and I mean just barely a consistent playable framerate that dips a lot, with freezes all the time, on top of just looking terrible on there. The Wii version did have interconnectivity with the DS port (which I don't have) but I don't think that's nowhere enough to redeem that version of the game. PS3 was fine for the most part and looked pretty good overall.

#Guitar Hero #Band Hero #Rock Band #Media Log #GHRB

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theseventhhex · 8 years ago

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Mega Bog Interview

Erin Birgy

Photo by Adam Gundersheim

Mega Bog is the moniker of song-dribbler Erin Birgy, a Pacific Northwest rodeo child with an unmistakable laugh who was allegedly cursed upon conception. Over the past 8 years the band has stretched and wandered in an upsurge towards musical freedom. Now based in New York City, Birgy has adopted a band of jazz musicians lifted from bands like Big Thief, iji, Big Eater, Causings, Hand Habits, Heatwarmer and others. Melodies always lush, erotic and free. Chords always dissonant, abstract and evolutionary. On their latest record, ‘Happy Together’, Mega Bog leapfrogs further into the storm, comprising of a Dizzying fusion of lounge, pop and bouncing rocks under poetic tantrums of love gone all the way wrong… We talk to Erin Birgy about nostalgia, moving to New York and keeping the mindset fresh…

TSH: How would you personally characterise the intent of the record ‘Happy Together’?

Erin: I remember writhing through most of the making of ‘Happy Together’. It parades through a specific anxiety involving sexual and emotional abuse by people considered part of the same community that helped me free myself from those worn foundations. There's a lot of excitement, and highs that we can experience musically/mentally, and it's laced with anger and moments of love that squeaked into the story from all sorts of directions.

TSH: Being drawn to strong melodies, what resonates with you mostly about a good melody during the crafting process?

Erin: I always think of the "Paranoid" Classic Albums where Tony Iommi is going on and on about Ozzy being a "melody genius" and I try to embody that feral masculine baby, but through my secret Ernie lens, which is more like a horse sent from hell, in a moment of liberation from the humanoid king of law and war, running through dark green moors with a message. I owe a lot of the melodic genius to the players on the record though, who either supplement their own true minds, or can follow a little dweedle I sing in an anxious way.

TSH: With this latest record, is the notion of nostalgia apparent at times?

Erin: Sure, I try to revisit things I've felt in music that seem to have been overlooked.

TSH: It’s been noted that your chords are often ‘dissonant and abstract’...

Erin: Luke Bergman (of Heatwarmer) told me a chord is just a group of notes you put together, and having no musical training, that twisted my rails and I started to find the planet I was happiest searching for. Music that explains the nuanced rodeo, rather than uses a literal tongue to crap out the feeling outside of tongues and pop music, standard chords, pop-punk (no dis on pop-punk, I just never could nail it).

TSH: For the track ‘192014’ was there a particular type of energy that you wanted the song to imply?

Erin: I had a great vision for this song! And it came out completely different (better) after playing it with my friends. Zach was trying out a drum beat he thought might work for a live version of ‘London’ but when he sat down at the drums, I showed him a new song we weren't even planning to include on the record. I dwelled the bass part and we did the skeleton, and when Aaron [Othiem], and Jacob [Rex Zimmerman] came up to The Unknown, they filled it in/took it more to the place you hear it now. We were all running around and giggling, like we couldn't believe what had just come out.

TSH: What are the origins of the track entitled ‘London’?

Erin: It was a demo, just a little jerk-off night time experiment with a synth Will [Murdoch] was letting me borrow. For the words, I was looking at a boa of photos an intimate and confusing friend had sent me, hanging on my wall. The photos are on the back cover of the "Gone Banana" LP. I just started singing along to the track, picture by picture. Zach spruced it up/added dynamics, a lot later. We listed in his room at Magic Lanes and got really sad, but he said "this would be the best track off of Strange Angels." But the best track off that album was already ‘Babydoll'.

TSH: Whilst sequencing the record, was ‘Fwee’ the natural choice as album closer?

Erin: It was the last song I wrote of the batch, and barely slipped it in before we were done recording basics. Zach and I were practicing it at Magic Lanes, and Will walked out of his room with a bass and joined in, which led to one of our last sessions in Washington, where the three-piece cranked out some of our favourite thumpers. It was inspired by our favourite band from Missoula, Ancient Forest, and a brilliant Halloween show where I dressed up like Subterranean Homesick Blues Bob, played drums in Bog that night, crowd-surfed to the front of the Ancient Forest set (and am convinced I knew every word I sang along to) and asked Kalen to marry me.

TSH: Having assembled much of ‘Happy Together’ on tape – what were the benefits of this approach?

Erin: A lot of it was recorded on tape, but I didn't finish the record before I moved from Seattle to Brooklyn, so I had to do many of the overdubs with borrowed gear on a broken laptop. I was really fortunate to land in Thump studio, my first NYC month, and Richard let me record vocals in his apartment during the day, and when I left Thump, I used more borrowed gear from James [Krivchenia], Matt [Bachmann], and Ezra [Tenebaum] who all had impressive home recording set-ups, patience, and love for me and this music to find completion.

TSH: Also, you moved from Seattle to New York - in addition to needing the change, did you feel empowered in various ways?

Erin: It was the first time in a long time I let myself be as happy as I really was, and found so much support and true love. So, yes, not to say I didn't have that elsewhere, but the time I moved to New York was timed pretty perfectly.

TSH: How pleasant is it to have a friend in Zach Burba in the band a lot of the time, and to turn to for numerous issues?

Erin: Ah, very pleasant. We've lived a lot together. He's a great force of freak and kindness. Beyond words, for sure.

TSH: Can you tell us about the Racer Sessions in Seattle and some highlights…

Erin: I just love them all so much. When people ask me what I miss, it's Cafe Racer, which is a place I could crumple into and always find some supreme creature who was mutually pleased we existed together. Racer Sessions in particular was one of the first places I saw grow into a truly inclusive weekly event, from hyper-masculine jazz students wailing their shits to heck and beyond, and visibly finding worth and greatness is the brave femmes who entered to jam and blew balance into reality. Everyone was growing with each other, at least while I was going. You could see people become more free and concerned in their playing as the patriarchy fell away.

TSH: Does having a keen focus on self-care inform a fair degree of your personal and musical activities?

Erin: I pretend I'm a physiologist pretty often, and have a band to explore the better earth and communication systems I believe in.

TSH: Outside of music, how do you like to keep your mindest fresh?

Erin: I videotape a lot of seemingly pointless sessions, I used to hike and swim a lot, but am re-learning how to do that on this coast. I read and organise with my communities.

TSH: Finally, what’s pleased you most about the impressive musical progression you’ve made to date?

Erin: I am so pleased to be working with many of the same friends I have been for years. We've worked on a lot together, and are always growing either together or reconnecting over and over. There are newer faces to Mega Bog since a lot of the ‘Happy Together’ songs were written, who are equally important and consistent in this funky family.

Mega Bog - “London”

Happy Together

#Interview #Mega Bog

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thephotopitmagazine · 6 years ago

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Editor Note: Details in this review does contain content and language for adults 18 years and older only and may be offensive to some. Reader discretion is advised.

Any time Steel Panther comes to Orlando, it always ends up being a great show. Last year when I covered their show for DreadMusicReview.com, the show was fun, entertaining, full of laughs, and just an overall great time. When I heard they were returning this summer, I had no intentions of missing the show. Held once again at The Plaza Live, there was a noticeable difference between last year’s show and this one; this night was a sold out crowd. It was the first time Steel Panther sold out a show in Orlando and half the crowd was decked out in 80s glam metal clothes. Women had their hair teased out or poofed up high with spandex and boots. Men wore their favorite 80s rock band or Steel Panther shirt with ripped jeans and boots. The crowd was excited to see them as was I.

Opening for Steel Panther was the Orlando local band Maybe If You Hit It. The Orlando rock band has been around since 2010 and has shared the stage with Eve To Adam, Ratt, and even played the acoustic stage at Earthday Birthday XX. Though many of my friends knew them, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of them before that evening. The band consists of Barton Hill (vocals), Brian Kizer (guitar), Wally Harper (guitar), Paul Ziccardi (bass), Paul Ziccardi (bass), and guest Chris Lane (drums) who also is the drummer for A Brilliant Lie and Meka Nism. When they came out on stage to roaring guitar chords, they seemed like your standard rock band, until I noticed Wally’s blonde hair and sensed something was up. The band opened with “Devil’s Playground” from their album ‘The Party Inside’. A hard hitting rock with great energy had the crowd starting to take notice. Some people were screaming and cheering off the bat already familiar with their music. And right towards the end of the song, Wally’s blonde hair fell off. He laughed, grabbed it, and tossed it into the crowd showing off his bald head. I started to laugh and from there I knew this would be a fun night.

Photo by Talon Kane Photography

They followed it up with “Reckless Until The End” also from ‘The Party Inside’. A very solid tune where Barton’s vocals shine. The band was very active on stage moving around, pointing their guitars upwards and playing hard, Paul one-handed bass playing, Chris rocking it out as usual behind the drums (the man is a machine behind the drumset!), and Barton even throwing in some kicks during the performance! The longer they played, the more the crowd was getting behind them. A blonde woman, who we learned was named Sunny, came up on stage during their set and helped throw out some free merch to the crowd. She stayed on stage, dancing and grooving for a song. She definitely grabbed the crowd’s attention. the more I watched and listened, the more I was liking their music. They were hard rocking, engaging the crowd, and then introduced a song called “Throw Out The Sheets” that Barton said was about squirters. I couldn’t help but laugh. And when he asked “Do we have any squirters out there?” a fair number of women held up their hands and cheered. The band closed their set that night with “Texas Swagger”, which is the title track of their EP. Maybe If You Hit It was the perfect band to open up for Steel Panther’s Orlando stop and I’m sure they gained a bunch of fans that night.

Photo by Talon Kane Photography

And now everyone was waiting with anticipation for Steel Panther to hit the stage. The band formed back in 2000 performed a weekly show at The Viper Room under the name of Metal Skool. The band gave crowds a comedic musical performance of 80s cover tunes while poking fun at the bands they covered. The band decided to release their own original songs with their first album ‘Hole Patrol’ back in 2003. They changed their name to Steel Panther in April 2008 and was signed to Republic Records. They released their first album as Steel Panther titled ‘Feel the Steel’ in June 2009. Their excellent music and raunchy lyrics were an immediate hit. They followed up with ‘Balls Out’ in October 2011, which was another success. The band found themselves playing on tours for bands such as Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, and Motley Crue. ‘All You Can Eat’ was released in April 2014. The band has been touring over the past year for ‘Lower the Bar’, which was released on March 24, 2017. Steel Panther is Michael Starr (vocals), Satchel (guitar), Lexxi Foxx (bass), and Stix Zadinia (drums).

They came out rocking right away to “Eyes of the Panther” from ‘Feel The Steel’. The band wasted no time coming out of the chute hard and fast with this awesome song. The crowd was completely behind them singing along. Satchel and Lexi were throwing kicks center stage together while Michael was hitting some great high notes that night. I noticed Michael was wearing their latest t-shirt that has the Pussy Melter guitar pedal on it. Satchel had the guitar pedal in its pink glory on stage that night. They jumped right into “Goin’ In The Backdoor” from ‘Lower The Bar’. It was a great start to what was going to be a phenomenal show.

Photo by Talon Kane Photography

Right after their second song, the band stops for a little intermission to introduce themselves. I remember this from their last show and their improv is never the same. Michael was playing around with the photographers blocking the lens with his hand and picking up a fan on stage and blowing it over all of us. Satchel, when referring to Michael, said “…this is a man still playing like he’s in his mid-60s”, which got a huge laugh. He also said if they really got the crowd rocking they were promised an extra six-pack of Diet Coke. Satchel said that Orlando was the greatest city in the world and Lexi jumped in replying, “You said Tampa Bay was favorite…” with Satchel firing back “Shut up asshole.” The crowd was roaring in laughter, the photographers were laughing just as hard, and the band was on stage smiling. Lexi showed us his impression of Joan Crawford dead while Stix did his best impression of Rick Allen from Def Leppard catching a drumstick with his left hand. The jokes are crude and rude and definitely not for everyone. Though, this crowd was eating it up alive.

Photo by Talon Kane Photography

One thing Michael pointed out was the name of this tour Sunset Strip Live. Steel Panther was taking this tour back to their old days in the Viper Room and would perform cover tunes that night. They kicked that off with an amazing version of “Jump” by Van Halen. I absolutely understood why they did so well as Metal Skool back then. Though during the first set of kicks Satchel and Lexi were doing, Lexi took a kick in the crotch which Satchel apologized by a high five. And Satchel absolutely blew away that guitar solo in “Jump”.

Photo by Talon Kane Photography

They followed up with “Fat Girl (Thar She Blows) and “Poontag Boomerang” before jumping back into covers with “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks. Michael invited Sunny onto the stage to dance. She showed off her tight underwear that read “Tip Me” on the back along with her alien head pasties over her nipples. They followed that with “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne with Michael dressed as Ozzy being guided on stage by a stagehand. He mimicked him so well and even yelling out “Sharon!” during the song. It was hilarious! And then Satchel went into his infamous guitar solo while making the Shocker hand gesture at women in the crowd and his tongue between two fingers. The man’s guitar skills are unreal! And like the last time they were here, he got up on the drumset to play and started using the bass drum pedal to provide his own drumbeat for his guitar solo. Wow. Just wow.

Photo by Talon Kane Photography

And then comes one of my favorite parts when they serenade one of the ladies from the crowd on stage. This lovely blonde named, Paulina, was brought up as each of the band members made a song for her. Lexi even did one though he said he wouldn’t. And then they sang to her “Girl From Oklahoma” from ‘Feel The Steel’. Afterward, the band invited as many of the women from the audience as they could on stage. Many of the women were hesitant at first and Michael and Satchel even called the women out on it telling them to get up there as they referred to Orlando as Whorelando. Once they were satisfied with the number of women on stage they performed “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi and then followed it up with “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard, which is probably the most perfect song for them. I was pleased to get permission to get photos of the women on stage with Steel Panther. The ladies stayed on stage through “Gloryhole” from ‘All You Can Eat’ before being escorted off stage. They wrapped up their set with my all-time favorite “Community Property” and “Death To All But Metal” before walking off stage. The band came back and encored with “Party All Day (Fuck All Night)”.

Photo by Talon Kane Photography

Once again Steel Panther absolutely rocked The Plaza Live to an energetic and ecstatic crowd. They are one of my favorite bands to see live and I look forward to the opportunity to see them again. Don’t miss Steel Panther: Sunset Strip Live. It is absolutely worth seeing.

From The Pit To The Crowd: Steel Panther with Maybe If You Hit It – Orlando, FL – August 17, 2018 – *18 Years of Age and Older Only* Editor Note: Details in this review does contain content and language for adults 18 years and older only and may be offensive to some.

#concert review #FL #Maybe If You Hit It #Orlando #review #Steel Panther #The Plaza Live

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