Nerdapalooza 2010

Here we are, at the end of another week and only 22 more Fridays until Nerdapalooza 2010! Saying it that way makes me all tingly with anticipation. We’re still keeping our collective noses to the proverbial grindstone, so expect great things from this year’s Nerdapalooza. To wet your whistle and remind you of how awesome last year’s Nerdapalooza was, here’s a phenomenal vid from Corey Clark (@dudevideo on Twitter):

We would also like to announce that our buddies over at Enemy Ink have helped us get the Nerdapalooza 2009 poster back in stock! For anyone interested, you can go over to the Nerdapalooza Store and buy one. With every purchase of a 2009 poster, we’ll throw in a 2008 poster to help decorate your walls!! Previously $20 for the 2009 poster alone, we’ve decided to mark the two of them together for half the price. Only $10 for both Nerdapalooza Festival posters. This is a limited time offer while supplies last!

As Nerdy Show, the official Nerdapalooza podcast, gears back up for Season 3 next week, I have posted my first ever (not-for-school) book review. I recently finished Marc J. Seifer’s opus to everyone’s favorite (and historical) mad scientist in his book Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius. You can read the review for yourself over there. The question now arises: when am I gonna review another album on this blog. The simple answer is, probably never. I’ve always had mixed feelings about doing album reviews on the Nerdapalooza blog, feeling I would be giving an opinion on behalf of the music festival instead of just myself. Don’t get me wrong, though, for I am still insistent on doing reviews (especially for the many amazing artists that have recently sent me albums to review). Fortunately, Nerdy Show thrives on the forceful opinions of the four of us hosts, making it the perfect home for new reviews. You can look forward to album reviews there, possible rehashes of old reviews, and other types of reviews besides albums and books, and not just from me, but the other three knuckleheads as well.

Next up we have a bit from the merchandising marvels, I Fight Dragons. On my way home from work on Thursday, I received a panicked text from my significant other informing me that IFD were going to sell out of DVDs. Unaware that they even had DVDs in the first place, I later learned from the IFD crew (via Twitter) that they had almost sold 200 DVD’s in their first hour of sale! Still reeling from the lightning sale of their recent major bit of merch (a lifetime fan uberpass that earned lifetime access to shows and their music, priced at $100 a pop with only 100 units available) my girl quickly swiped up a copy of the DVD commenting: “I won’t miss out on IFD merch again!” I highly recommend following the nerd music phenomena both on Twitter (@IFightDragons) and on Facebook to ensure that you won’t miss out, either.

Well, I leave you now with some I Fight Dragons. If you don’t really know who they are, I have a feeling you may in the not too distant future…

Here we are in the year 2010, the dawn of a new decade. Another MAGFest has come and gone, ringing in the New Year in the most appropriate of nerdy fashions. Once again, I was sadly unable to attend, but according to all reports, it was a monumental success! It would be folly for me (or any of you if you didn’t attend) to miss it again. 2009 showed a larger yield of nerdy events, with fledginlings like Nerd POW, W00tstock, and Nerd Invasion standing alongside classics like PAX, Blipfest, and, of course, MAGFest. While some may say Nerdapalooza 2010 will still be an adolescent compared to the other more established events, this is the year where it will prove it not only belongs with the big boys of nerd conventions and concerts, but that it will be an event to remember in the annals of nerd music.

Well, with that pomposity out of the way, we can reveal what Team Nerdapalooza has been doing:

First off, I am proud to announce that less than three years since the conception of Nerdapalooza (coincidentally on Pi Day – March 14th, 2007), we are an official company! With our new official status as a corporation, we are still interested in contacting individuals, groups, and companies that would like to sponsor Nerdapalooza 2010. The return for sponsoring us would be an increased exposure to a nerdy (and captive) demographic. We’re already in talks with more than a few companies and are looking forward to working with more. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for Nerdapalooza 2010, please contact me via email at hex AT nerdapalooza DOT org.

Now, a few of you may be aware of the podcast I’m involved with called Nerdy Show. I am proud to announce that Nerdy Show is now the official podcast of Nerdapalooza. Some of you may also be aware that in our final episode of last year, 2009 Final Boss, we declared what we thought to be the Top 20 Nerdy Events of 2009, and Nerdapalooza ranked number six on the list. While this looks like a bit more than a coincidence, the official status has been in talks for a while now. However, if Nerdapalooza were to crawl up the ranks for 2010 Final Boss, I can only hope it’ll be from merit.

Nerdapalooza 2010 is also still gearing up for the first annual Nerdapalooza Music Video Awards. All the facts are located on this page, however if you still have any questions, feel free to email me at hex AT nerdapalooza DOT org. We’re looking forward to many submissions, such as (already submitted) funky49’s video below:

While on the topic of submissions, many are still showing interest in applying to perform at Nerdapalooza 2010. The roster is being put together, but it is not yet finalized, so we’re still interested in hearing from you. Just send an Artist Application, as detailed here, to Josh, our Talent Director. His email is talent AT nerdapalooza DOT org. We look forward to hearing from you.

The biggest bit of nerd music related news that caught my eye since our break was that our pals over at Game Music 4 All (GM4A) not only have a spanking new website and forums, but are now a brand new net label, recently dropping their second release. We wish them luck and inform y’all that you should be keeping a trained eye on GM4A in the future, as great things always stem from there.

One last bit of news, this time more timely, Orlando favorite Marc with a C had a birthday yesterday, and in the halfling way, gave a present to all of you! Two to be precise! Over here on his website, you’ll be able to download two albums, one by the legendary “Glowy Stickers,” an amazing project between Marc and his amazing wife, Nicole. The second is an interesting return to his cover album, Share the Covers, Bitch!. Volume 2 comes with a prize for those that can pinpoint all the original artists. Marc even gave the hint that one of the tracks is an alternate version of one of his own songs!

Thanks, as always, for reading. As we get closer and closer to the event, you can bet the news will just get juicier and juicier. Until we have more to report, enjoy the following video, my favorite gem of 2009:

Man, having our own website actually up and running makes me really want to contribute to it regularly. Guess it’s time to blog!! Once again, if you’re NOT reading this directly off of www.nerdapaloozafest.com, I highly recommend redirecting your feeds there. It is the official home for all your Nerdapalooza updates, and a snazzy website if I do say so myself.

First off, just like last year, Child’s Play will be the official charity for Nerdapalooza! Buying Nerdapalooza merch at the event, any donations y’all give us there, as well as the very tickets you buy FOR the event are going to help sick kids around the world. It’s going to give you an awkward feeling while watching some of our acts…

Now, for those of you NEW to the Nerdapalooza game, we have this little thing called a “pre-party” where we have some awesome artists perform in front of our awesome sponsor, A Comic Shop. This year we will have none other than the showstopper himself, Schaffer the Darklord, headlining the show, giving you a taste of the rest of the weekend. Other acts are to be announced, but I can let leak that one Jay Tholen, local chiptunes master, will be rocking it pretty hard that eve as well. Like last year’s show there will be free pizza, free beer (for those of age), and it will be 100% free to see this show!! There is ABSOLUTELY no reason why you shouldn’t go to this show!! If you have that Facebook thingy, you should totally check out our event page about this.

For all of you that remember a certain album called Here Comes A New Challenger from Game Music 4 All last year, you will be RATHER excited to hear that the much anticipated Here Comes A New Challenger II: Turbo Edition has been released! You can read about it here, check out the AMAZING website dedicated to it right here, or go straight to listening to the sweet hotness here. I recommend ordering yourself a copy to help support, GM4A. I do this, for I already have ordered myself a copy.

Now, for all of you out there that need to get your healthy dosage of what Nerdapalooza is gonna be like, what you can do is tune in to one of our allies, Nerdy Show. I’m one of the hosts on the show, and deliver some nerdy music and talk of Nerdapalooza weekly. This week, we’re going to have a show themed around Battletoads. The show goes every Wednesday from 9-11 PM Eastern, and you can find the stream over at www.nerdyshow.com. We have a fun chat there as well, that occasionally has nerd music notables. We’re looking to have other AMAZINGLY themed shows in the future, including a show where we play Dungeons & Dragons on the air, a Megaman themed show, and a show dedicated to Chiptunes.

Speaking of chiptunes, since I’m blogging, I might as well advertise here my “Free Song of the Day.” Mr. Spastic is a chiptuner based out of Los Angeles, and when I first started Nerdapalooza, he and I even chatted a bit. I sadly lost touch with him, more to my own scatterbrained nature than anything else, but was recently surprised to see he had a new album out, over at 8bitpeoples.com. I listened to the entire album and was blown away! I was a fan of the guy before, but the new album has just shown a new direction from Herr Spastic, that I for one LOVE! The song I wanted to feature today was the final track on the album, FXLP. It has a total high-pace 8-Bit disco that I was totally digging… and when the bass riff jumped in, I knew it was true love. You can check the song here, and the whole album here.

Finally, for those of you out there going “WOW, HEX, HOW CAN I HELP OUT WITH NERDAPALOOZA!??!” there are a few things that I would offer. We’re still looking for a few volunteers to get in for free, so if that sounds interesting to you, may I suggest emailing volunteer@nerdapaloozafest.com? Next, if you have a few coins you’d like to offer to help us make sure we get the entire thing in working order, may I direct you to our donation page? But finally, where we REALLY need the help is from you doing the simple task of telling a friend. Go on Facebook, join the group, say you’re attending the event, and then share that! If you have a blog, blog about us! Do whatever you can to help us get the word out that Nerdapalooza is coming and that it cannot be stopped. Because tonight, the nerds WILL rock.

With much nerdy love

[hex]

I’m back behind the blogging wheel! That’s right, folks, hex here, with a brand new Nerdapalooza site. If you’re reading this on Facebook, Myspace, or Blogspot, head on over to http://nerdapaloozafest.com for the new face of Nerdapalooza’s web presence. It’s still a work in progress, but I’ll be giving it all of my unconditional love!

Well, where to start? It’s been a crazy time for us over at the Nerdapalooza camp! I guess, it’s best to start with our second headliner to announce!! The Protomen, the amazing rock opera about the Megaman franchise in a dystopian future setting, are the newest addition to the Nerdapalooza line up! They have been added to the new “Who’s Playing?” page along with these amazing artists:

• The Megas :: Amazing Megaman themed rock
• Shael Riley :: Phenomenal nerdy pop
• Uncle Monsterface :: Returning with their musical hijinks
• The great Luke Ski :: The Prince of Parody himself
• Jay Tholen :: Local chiptunes master
• Odd Austin :: Up-and-coming comedy musician

For those playing the home game, you may have caught that Shael Riley has joined the roster with Beefy and are now asking if that means the first ever live performance of The Grammar Club… well, you would be correct! The Grammar Club will be performing for the first time live thanks to the magic of Nerdapalooza! This is NOT a show to miss!

And folks, we are STILL not done announcing people! We have more artists to come, so stay tuned! If you are already sold, however, feel free to make your way over to our ticket booth and pick up a ticket or 3 to Nerdapalooza 2009!

This also sounds like an appropriate time to announce who is in fact going to act as emcees for the event! While other notables might be asked to jump in to say a few words, like they have in the past, the hosting responsibilities are going to belong to none other than Genoboost of Game Music 4 All and MisterB, the two halves that make the podcast, Letters vs. Numbers. Here’s a taste of what you have to look forward to…

If you are hard on cash this year or would like to throw in a helping hand to Nerdapalooza on principle, we ARE still looking for volunteers! Just send an email to Masurao of Krondor Krew, our Volunteer Coordinator, at volunteer@nerdapaloozafest.com and he will hook you up as a volunteer at Nerdapalooza. To jog your memory, we only ask for three hours of volunteering a day during these 12 hour days, (for a total of 6 hours of volunteering), where we work with you so you won’t miss your favorite bands. In return, you get in for free! Contact Masurao for more info.

Now, over at the Nerdapalooza twitter, I’ve started doing a kind of a “Free Song of the Day” tweet. It hasn’t been faithfully everyday, but I do it when I can. It’s a way to share the amazing music I already find for free. Today I wanted to share Find the Top by one of our artists, My Parents Favorite Music. It was featured on GM4A’s free album, Heavy Troopa is Ready to Launch You can download the entire album here, or watch the amazing video here…

So, I’m going to keep working on that, occasionally posting about that here, too!

Lastly, for those that were caught unawares, I’m on the local radio show Nerdy Show, found on WPRK 91.5. We have finally stolen some of the interwebs just for ourselves over at www.nerdyshow.com. We now have archives up, dispense the scoop on Nerdapalooza news there, have great nerdy music weekly, and plan on having amazing guests in the future! Keep your eyes peeled there, too!

Well, enough babbling… I’m off to go get some lunch.

Much nerdy love,

[hex]