Happy black friday, everybody! My head is slowly clearing after the whirlwind of networking that was the ASCAP New York Sessions, at which I reconnected with ’09 expo attendee and fellow pianist Steve Schultz and met various and sundry songwriters and producers from the NYC area including Joe Hanley from local production house theVAULT. The most interesting session award went to Stargate and Sandy Vee, who deconstructed popular tunes such as Katy Perry’s “Firework” and Britney’s “Selfish” – which was apparently supposed to be called “Man-Bitch.” Stupid censors. Also, at lunch, I got compared to Paul Rudd for the third time in recent memory. This is honestly getting annoying.
Category Archives: News
Across The Great Western Plains
Do you know what I expect when I see a sign that reads “Automated Dinosaurs Ahead?” Dinosaurs. That are automated. Shame on you, Stewarts Petrified Wood, for letting us down with your lies. They did have petrified wood, though, along with an ostrich farm and a whole host of dinosaur statues featuring unlucky female mannequins. So maybe they were only half-lying. Such are the potential pitfalls of traveling along Route 66. Things that are not a bait-and-switch include Crater National Park, which is breath-taking and features an exhibit featuring the sweet MIDI tunes of Nashville composer Frank Cicalese, and our current residence, the Motel Safari, which beats the hell out of the Circus Circus Manor in Las Vegas. Note to potential customers: do not bring up how much the town of Tucumcari reminds you of Radiator Springs from Cars. Apparently they find the comparison unfavorable.
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Lo! We are moving to New York. By “we” I mean I and my girlfriend, Penelope. How are we doing it? By that most prototypically American of methods: the cross-country road trip. Sadly my faithful vehicle of the last 10 years, a 1993 Audi A6 Quattro Wagon known locally as the Golden Chariot, was deemed to be of inadequate constitution for the journey. Luckily she found a new home with fellow road-warrior and friend Jen Blakeslee who will, no doubt, give it the love I could never provide.
Frontalot Tour Diary: Pax Prime 2010, pt. 2
I admit it: I failed to live up to my promise. There was no tour diary entry yesterday. That said, there is a good reason: I’ve been having a @#&% blast! I decided to have my cake and jump out of it too on Friday night by watching the Protomen tear down the hall with their theatrics and then taking a cab to see my pals On The Tundra play the Mars Bar. Did you know that OTT has a new album coming out? It is called Echolalia and it will be available soon. I have a copy, and I can verify that it slays demons with its awesomeness. I can also verify that what they call “mac & cheese” at the Mars Bar is actually an amazing penne with mozzarella, some other fantastic cheeses and cayenne pepper. Holy smoking Jeebus it was good. I needed it, too, as the turkey rolls had run out many hours prior.
Frontalot Tour Diary: PAX 2010 pt. 1
Greeting and salutati
ons! Vic-20 is back in the game and coming at you live from the Fairmont Olympic here in lovely Seattle, where I sit and rest my weary feet which have covered an ungodly amount of convention-hall ground during this first official day of the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo, better known as PAX Prime. Devoted readers and foodies will be delighted to know that the Costco turkey rolls are once again piled high in the green room. They are so very hard to count when one is consuming them, I have found. I just never know how many I’ve eaten. This is just one of the many factors which prevent flyouts in general and PAX in particular from helping me maintain my girlish figure.
Kickstarting the animated video for “Pieces”
Hey there friends and neighbors! I know it’s been a long time since my last update, but many things have been afoot. Perhaps the most exciting of those is the animated music video that award-winning Dutch animator Emiel Stevenhagen has been creating for my song “Pieces.” A music video! Animated! It’s like a dream come true. A long, expensive dream. To help make sure that the video is completed and that Emiel gets the compensation he deserves, I have started a Kickstarter project to raise some funds. It’s amazing that I’m able to do this after, you know, flooding the CTO’s basement. Anyhow, it starts today, and we’ve got 30 days to raise $3000. Think we can meet that goal? I know we can.
On tour w/ MC Frontalot!
Greetings, throngs of fans! I have news and more news. First things first: I am currently on tour with the inimitable MC Frontalot. This Friday night we will be performing for a large crowd of hardcore gamers at the Penny Arcade Expo East, otherwise known as PAX East. Then: on to foist nerdy rap upon the rest of the country! I will do my best to keep you all updated with the ups and downs of the tour, which reaches deep into the late days of May.
Happy new year!
We here at KF headquarters want to wish you and yours a happy new year, and also to let you know that many projects are in the works in preparation for unveiling at various points in time throughout the new year. Now get off the internet and go get sloshed!
Tour Diary: Days 11-12, Los Angeles (pt. 2) & Fresno
I must admit that it is tough to write this final tour diary entry from the comfort of my dining room. There is something about typing out these entries in the van, at a cafe, or in someone else’s kitchen that lends the whole process a sense of immediacy and authenticity. Now I am just relating tales of things past, like an aged man capturing his memoirs for posterity. But relate I must! For you, the fans, wait hungrily for details of the final tour dates. Wait no more: they are here.
Tour Diary: Day 9, Los Angeles (pt. 1)
Hello from sunny, sparkly Los Angeles! Today is our only true, don’t-have-to-drive-anywhere day off. We are staying at the home of legendary drummer Frank Briggs who has been kind enough to put us up at his lovely home, replete with recording studio and bubbling fountain. Who could ask for more? Being on the road rules.
