More Nerd News in Brief

If you want to know what I’ll be doing during the latter half of September, let me break it down for you: I will be playing my DS.

Playing the shit out of it, in fact.

And what will I be playing?

“Surrender.”

• Brain Power: I know you guys are probably expecting me to make some lame joke about Nerdcore Boxing, a site Church found that exists to “profile individuals in combat sports that typify the scholarly warrior,” but I’m not. I know this probably sounds more than a bit strange coming from the archetypical 98 lb. weakling, but damned if this isn’t a thoughtful and interesting site. Even for those of us who shy away from physical activity.
  
• I knew him when: Church’s recent Remus Lupins performance vid landed him on popular Wrock community site WizRockLopedia. Ah, I remember when Church was my little secret. ;) Be sure to check out the ‘Pedia if you’re looking for some in-depth Wrock coverage, and don’t forget to peep this Flickr set from the gig in question.
  
• Per usual: In other Wizard Rock news, Wired magazine has continued its grand tradition writing small, relatively uninformative pieces on nerdy music by setting its sites on the genre. Truthfully, I’m just kind of happy to see Wrock get some more press… I’m also a little relieved that the community doesn’t have an equivalent to our MC Router. Yet.
  
• Speaking of: The Priapistic Press sent me the following links to what can only be described as a treasure trove of geeky tattoos. Ms. Router, may I humbly present your distinguished competition.
  
• An Alliance of Creativity: For those of you looking for something in the way of VGM this weekend, Baltimore will play host to the 16-bit Gen Gamer Fest this Saturday at 6:00 PM at The Patterson. Featured guests include Blue Leader (as guest MC) and music from Entertainment System, This Place is Haunted, Temp Sound Solutions, Powerglove, and Mega Man centric rockers The Protomen. The event will also feature “monumental canvases by 8-Bit Artist” and a ten-monitor, 20 year history of gaming. Two words: Day Yum.
  
• Finally, some nerdcore news!: My man Conyeezy, one half of CSHC, has dropped a new hacker anthem for your listening pleasure. You can check out the demo for “DG Dot Com” over at the Digital Gangster forums… as well as the kind of surreal responses one would expect from DG forum users.
  
• Amalgamate ‘em: Okay, so maybe you haven’t bought MAJA’s new album yet. Sure, you dug “Transformer,” but maybe you wanna get a little taste of another track before you take the plunge. You’re a discerning consumer, and I applaud you. Thankfully, so does MAJA. Here’s a little “online CD listening video” for the track “Go Head.” Enjoy it, and be sure to catch MAJA at Anime Vegas Convention on Labor Day weekend and Otaku University Anime Conference in Mesa, Arizona Sept 30th. 2007. You’ll be glad you did.
  

The Mother of All Gigs

Yesterday I dropped some knowledge concerning the myriad of nerdy musical events going down this weekend, but today – oh today, dear readers – I offer a little insight into an extra special gig this very evening.

Tonight Seattle’s High Dive plays host to a collection of nerdcore heavy hitters that… well… suffice it to say that it yet again has me lamenting my rural eastern locality.

The godfather of nerdcore himself, MC Frontalot, will once again join forces with hometown heroes (and let me say it ‘cause it must be said: the best goddamn band ever), Optimus Rhyme, for an unforgettable night of musical madness.

And you know what? That is wonderful. Phenomenal. Stupendous, even.

But you’ll also get to see long-time Frontalot disciple and Autobeat Ally Beefy take the stage with a rousing set of old favorites and hot new material.

Oh yeah. That’s the stuff!

Plus the John Oates to Optimus’s figurative Daryl Hall, The Goondocks, will also rock the stage with their unique blend of deceptively insightful lyricism and smoothed-out instrumentation.

Admit it: you are presently salivating.

And lest I forget, the crown jewel in the musical crown of the Lone Star State, the smart and sassy MC Router, will also rock the mic in a manner most sublime.

In summation: Router. Da Goons. Beefy. Optimus. Front.

Be there.

Plan accordingly

This weekend your geek entertainment options are legion.

Of course everyone knows that August 24th -26th marks this years Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, WA, and if three full days of dork debauchery somehow wasn’t enough you also get two evenings of geek-tastic music!

The Friday night concert welcomes Freezepop and the OneUps to the PAX musical fold, as well as returning favorites Optimus Rhyme and the NESkimos. Be forewarned: “The first 4,000 attendees at PAX on Friday afternoon will receive wristbands for guaranteed entry, with the remaining seats being given away on a first-come, first-served basis.”

Saturday night’s show will feature Jonathan Coulton, MC Frontalot, and the Minibosses, and they promise to rock you until the break of dawn – figuratively speaking of course. Once again, you’ll either need a wristband or excellent timing to get in.

But wait, there’s more!

Also going on in old Seattle-town this same Sunday is the triumphant return of Nerdcore Night. El Corazon will be the place to be for this all-ages event that features My Parents Favorite Music, Ultraklystron, Nursehella, Beefy, MC Router, Futuristic Sex Robotz (maybe), and Former Fat Boys (possibly). Tickets are 8 bones at the door, which, coincidentally, open at 5:00 PM with the show starting at 5:30.

Shit, there’s even an option for those of us on the east coast! While Nerdapalooza proper has (sadly) been re-scheduled, Nerdapalooza East is, as the kids say, in full effect. This Friday, at Tim & Jerry’s in scenic Gainesville, FL, cower before the collective musical might of funky49, Bushido Stylus, Emergency Pizza Party, MagiTek, Rocker Propelled Geeks, MC Wreckshin, Project Zero, mCRT, CSHC, Sir-Up, Select Start, High-C, Krondor Krew, Random, and Cali’s own Zealous1.

Due to some familial obligations, it looks like I won’t be able to make my way down to the Gainesville show, but my gal Denika is gonna be there so I’m sure she’ll let us know how it all came together.

You, on the other hand, have no reason not to attend one or more of the preceding events.

Nerd News in Brief

I envy those of you living within spitting distance of civilization.

This weekend, for example, musical dork Shael Riley and his allies from PBC Productions recorded a music video in his native NYC. Shael invited friends and fans to “show up and dance around and shit,” and I was totally down.

Except for the fact that I live an entire seaboard’s breadth away.

Damn.

Damn!

Double damn!

• Illicit materials: I have been shirking my duty of enlightening the nerd populace to all the new, sweaty bootleg action going on of late, but let me shirk no further! The fine folks at Mashup Town recently released a little album called Number of da Boots. It’s an Iron Maiden bootleg compilation. Oh yeah. They went there.
• Speaking of bootlegs: Deal Extreme currently has a Fire Linker and 128M re-writable flash cart for the GBA for, like, 10 bones. If you don’t know what this product is for, then you probably don’t need one. If, however, you are a portable gamer well familiar with its sinister purpose, you should totally snag that shit. I did, and, though the guilt is killing me, I am able to dry my tears with all the money I’ve saved on GBA games.
• Let us flee from this legal grey area!: Now, before I further attract the attention of those unsavory lawyer-types, let me point you toward an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal that Church came across. It’s about the recent explosion of musical hybrids that touches on nerdcore hip-hop, and even features a little blurb from our beloved MC Frontalot.
• And the Willows were properly Whomped: My friends Denika and Dennis also made it a point to check out the Remus Lupins/Whomping Willows tour as it passed through Orlando. Denika, of course, took some handsome pictures of Wizard Rock’s heartthrobs which she handily deposited over at Flickr.
• Deliciously heroic: While some of you were getting your Wrock on, I spent the previous week tending to a sick wife and child. Thankfully, Church and Matt did their best to keep me entertained. Their most successful venture was sending me pictures of cakes shaped like Optimus Prime. We live in a wonderful world.
• No stoppin’ us: Jarod from alienbobz.com also helped get me aboard the happy train by letting me know that his video footage of Optimus Rhyme’s acoustic gig in Seattle had finally been uploaded. Here’s a personal fave – the boys doing both “My Peroshky” and that song's reprise – but be sure to hit Jarod’s YouTube page for the rest.