Stemage

Something new! It’s been a while since I posted Three Minutes. So here’s a quick one:

I hope you guys enjoy it! http://stemage.bandcamp.com

For anyone that has already downloaded the game, a patch just went live that adds ALL KINDS of tweaks, and also made some big adjustments to online play, so go grab it, and be sure to rate it! Alpha Squad is available now on Xbox Live Indie Games for a measly $3 (240 MS points). Skip a happy meal and buy it!

Below is the soundtrack trailer, and here is the game launch trailer. Only $3 on the XBL Indie Games Channel! Do it! (soundtrack comes out this weekend)

The last month of 2010 was a bit busy and uninspired for me, but looking back on 2010, it was a BIG YEAR. Here's a list of the things I was able to crank out. I need to figure out the best way to link to all this stuff on the projects page. For now, here are the musical accomplishments of 2010 in somewhat chronological order.

	The Challenger (song) || from "Songs for the Cure '10" I was proud to offer an original song on Josh Whelchel's yearly project, "Songs for the Cure". All proceeds from album sales go the American Cancer Society. The album covers many styles of music from artists all over the world. "The Challenger" was my contribution. http://music.cancerdrive.org/track/the-challenger
	Ninja Warriors (song) || from IWADON Hiroyuki Iwatsuki Tribute Album IWADON is a tribute by Game Music 4 All to game composer Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, who has been writing music for Natsume videogames for 20 years. I did a cover of the theme music from "Ninja Warriors" for the SNES. http://iwadon.bandcamp.com/track/ninja-warriors-intro
	Metroid Fusion - Sector 1 (song) || from Metroid Metal A cover of Sector 1 from Metroid Fusion with accompanying art by Foxx Dragon. http://www.metroidmetal.com/songs/sector-1/
	Expansion Pack (album) || from Metroid Metal Expansion Pack is an add-on to the Varia Suite album. It’s a 27 minute collection of 6 songs that the live band has been playing live since the release of Varia Suite (the first full band album). http://metroidmetal.bandcamp.com/album/expansion-pack
	Yes Mayhem (album) || from Dan Taylor's Yes Mayhem project The brainchild of Dan Taylor (long time bass player for Metroid Metal), this collab features original music with several members of Metroid Metal and MANY others including James Moats, Xoc, and Ryan8bit. I contributed guitar to most of the album. It's a great listen with wildly original material by Dan and friends. Check it out. http://www.yesmayhem.com/
	Metroid Prime - Tallon Overworld (song) || from Metroid Metal A cover of the Tallon Overworld Theme from Metroid Prime with accompanying art by Foxx Dragon. http://www.metroidmetal.com/songs/tallon-overworld/
	Radiant Escape Themesong (song) This is a looping themesong for the game Radiant Escape for Binary Sonata Studios. The song isn't up to listen at just yet, but I wanted to include it in the list of DONE DEALS. :)
	La Caccia / Zombi Theme (song) I'm a SUPER HUGE Goblin fan, and I've thought about covering something from Dawn of the Dead for a while. I'm back in swing with production on the album, so I decided to finish my Goblin cover as well. This isn't going to be on the album. It's just for fun. :) http://stemage.bandcamp.com/track/la-caccia-zombi-goblin-cover
	Guitar solo on VikingGuitar's new album VikingGuitar let me do a guitar solo on his Street Fighter track. I've always dreamed of playing "that" melody, so I can scratch that one off the list now. ;) The album RULES!! http://vikingguitar.bandcamp.com/track/street-fighter-sweep-the-leg-ft-stemage
	Alpha Squad Soundtrack (album) || from Alpha Squad - Xbox Live I scored this Xbox Live Indie game with a 45-minute soundtrack. The entire album will be available the weekend of MAGfest (Jan 13th) for $name-your-own-price. http://stemage.bandcamp.com/album/alpha-squad-soundtrack

VikingGuitar just released his new game-cover album and let me play a guitar solo on his Street Fighter track. I’ve always wanted to play that melody! He let me win too.  Check out the track and get his 79-minute explosion:

http://vikingguitar.bandcamp.com/

In other news, while not 100% certain, Alpha Squad should be dropping this weekend or early next week! Yay! Here’s to playtesting.

The new Stemage album is coming along (about 70% done), but it’s slow going. Things have been a bit crazy, and I’m not rushing it. It is a bit more “metal” than I originally planned, but that just means more variety in the end. I hope to have a guitar playthrough video of a new track soon.

Guess how much it is. $3! I can’t believe it. The game has online co-op, and it’s a measly $3. I’m loving this. Here is more info on the release in early November (with a few surprises before then) from www.dragondivide.com.

The soundtrack for Alpha Squad will hit a few days after the game comes out for name-your-own-price. I’m hoping you’ll all go experience the music in the game first. So yeah, the game is $3, and you name the price for the soundtrack after that. I’d say that’s a steal.

Also, I did a little interview with Steve Flores, the head of Dragon Divide. I was lucky enough to share a pint with him at PAX 2010 to talk about the game, the soundtrack, and our other adventures. Prior to meeting him face to face, he had a few questions for me. You can check out the interview on www.dragondivide.com.

I am actively working on a concept record based on the original Dawn of the Dead (Zombi) film from 1978. I’m huge Goblin fan. I’m a SUPER HUGE Goblin fan, and I’ve thought about covering something from DOTD for a while. I’m back in swing with production on the album, so I decided to finish my Goblin cover as well. This is just a single cover. I’m not doing an album of covers, just FYI. =)

This track is a mashup of La Caccia and parts of the Zombi Theme from Dawn of the Dead. Both tracks are on the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack. You can check out the original tracks here (youtube): La Caccia, Zombi.

DOWNLOAD LINKS: [mp3 320k] — [FLAC] – [mp3 VBR high] – [mp3 VBR low] – [AAC high] – [AAC low] – [Ogg Vorbis] – [ALAC]

This will not be on the new Stemage album. The Stemage album is all original material. This is just for fun. =) I can’t say the album will sound like Goblin, but it’s very inspired by them.

I’m sure some Goblin fans out there will hate my rendition of it. I really don’t care. =) This is just my own way of saluting such a great band… and movie. Thanks for listening!

Goblin’s website: http://www.backtothegoblin.com/

The brainchild of Dan Taylor (long time bass player for Metroid Metal), this collab features original music with several members of Metroid Metal and MANY others, and it’s all original stuff – heavy, quirky, and catchy as hell! It features vocals by James Moats, who will wow you with his layering. I believe Dan said the record was 16 vocal parts for a track.

It was a blast to play on, and it’s COVERED in musicianship. You won’t believe it. Jump through some tracks and name your price for it at http://www.yesmayhem.com/

Here’s the first official trailer for Alpha Squad – with a shortened version of my theme song. They are also running a contest. Just post a comment on the video and win a chance to be an NPC in the game with your choice of dialogue. I like!

Hello! I now have a home base for all my Stemage activity that isn’t Facebook or that awful Myspace page. This is a good thing… ON with the updates:

Alpha Squad track: You can check out a FULL track from the new Alpha Squad game for Xbox Live Indies. It’s the City Theme – one of the 16 tracks from the game. And here’s the first gameplay footage! It looks like the Smash TV / Zelda hybrid that I’ve been hearing about. Can’t wait! Should be out soon, on the cheap.

Another video game soundtrack: I’ll be contributing two new songs for the upcoming 3D puzzler Radiant Escape from talented Binary Sonata Studios. More on that as it happens.

Yes Mayhem (Chunkstyle’s new album) is almost done! I’m 11/12 done with the mastering process. Yes Mayhem’s core contains 3 members of Metroid Metal Live as well as other gentlemen from Chunk’s past. It’s heavy, catchy, and quirky, and YOU WILL LIKE IT. Hear a sample of the upcoming original album on Dan’s site.

Oh, and new METROID METAL EP – just to top it all off. More soon!