Though originally being kept hush-hush, a credible source has broken the embargo on performer announcements and leaked to us the entire band lineup for their upcoming MAG 8.5 event in Alexandria, Virginia. The performers, in no particular order, are:
Armcannon Temp Sound Solutions Professor Shyguy You Bred Raptors? Steel Samurai 8 Bit Disaster The World is Square The Protomans Those Who Fight
MAGFest 8.5 hopes to recapture the spirit of the smaller ‘Fests in days of yore, and will be held Sept. 12 – 14th at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. Tickets are limited, so any and all interested parties should register sooner than later.
It’s time for more “Know Your MAG” with another brand new Stage 2 band gracing MAGFest 12 with the most glorious name – Lonely Rolling Stars!
LRS could be considered what is commonly known as a “super band”, and with good reason, as four of its five members are no strangers to the MAGFest stage. Pulling double-duty in his performance schedule this year is Grant “Stemage” Henry of Metroid Metal (also appearing with the previously mentioned Viking Guitar band), while also featuring George “Norg” Nowik and Sean “Ailsean” Stone from The Smash Brothers, Chris “cubosh” Dlugosz of Armcannon, and some guy named Chuck “finbeard” Simpson. How did this much awesome manage to come together to create such a menagerie of metal? If asked, the most probably answer would most likely boil down to “It seemed like a good idea at the time”, and I doubt anybody would be apt to disagree.
So what can you expect should you decide to take a moment and attend their debut MAGFest performance? Well, a healthy variety of game and pop culture music that rarely graces the MAG stage, for starters. Since the band’s name is based off the colorfully-odd puzzle game Katamari Damacy, it makes sense that their teaser track released prior to MAG to entice concert-goers would be steeped in such.
Based on the group’s Facebook, much ass was busted in order to produce the band’s first album, Carnivortex, in time to be sold at MAGFest alongside their concert performance. The majority of the rest of the album is masked in shadow and will have to be heard live at the band’s show (Sneak previews can be heard on the SML podcast with Stemage, Norg & Ailsean being interviewed). However, if the above taste of what’s to be expected from their debut is to be believed, the album should help alleviate any PMD or “Post-MAG Depression” sufferers after the melodious weekend is all wrapped up.
I know there are a lot of gamers out there who like rock music. A lot of you even like rock music in your games! And while I’ve been wary in some ways of the many rock arrangement albums that the videogame industry has spawned over the years (Konami, The Black Mages, etc.), I did openly admit to loving Uematsu’s recent rock score for Lord of Vermilion.
Now, you probably noticed that everything I mentioned above originated from Japan. That’s because, for the most part (Frank Klepacki is an important exception), Western developers have focused on traditional orchestral scores for their games, but that may be about to change. We’ve been fortunate enough to sit down with Robert Anthony Navarro of RA AUDIO, INC., a talented composer and guitarist who recently collaborated with Inon Zur on various Naruto titles. He has seen first-hand what is on the mind of developers, and believes that original rock music (not the licensed stuff in sports games and Guitar Hero) is poised to break down the walls and finally earn its rightful place alongside orchestral music in Western videogames.
There’s a lot of interesting discussion ahead, so go ahead and hit the jump. (more…)
