The "N" Word: A Nerdy Night of Theatre

So, as some of you might know, I am a substitute teacher, I am a Fight Director, I am a writer, and I am a HUGE nerd. SO what does one do with this. He has high schoolers perform his works in a geeky variety show.

https://www.facebook.com/events/228582910626680/

That's right, Sept, friday & saturday 6th & 7th, at Leigh High School, San Jose. 7pm preshow, there will be live gaming until start @ 8pm, and it is a fantastically quick show even with almost a dozen "peices" total.

We hope to have special guest fan groups attend, as well as some world renowned cosplayers. Oh yeah, This is a cosplay friendly event as there will be a cosplay contest!
So come in costume and get your nerd on!

Again. Again? Again!?

 Since my WoW account is temp disabled, I found myself playing Ocarina of time . . . again. I know. It's just so good though! But you knew that. Now I'm debating going on to Majora's Mask . . . you know, just cause. Well, also because I really should get on that whole "working with my buddy Moose to come up with racial stats and other Pathfinder friendly mechanics so we can run a Hyrule setting Pen & Paper RPG game" and this would be great research.

And in other news that should not surprise anyone: I am hosting Panels at Fanime this year!!

Saturday, 8pm-10pm in Panels 4, "? in the H47!?: Nerdcore 101"
Where we will be listening to a little sampler and education presented and selected by yours truly as well as there is a VERY good chance for a special guest . . .

I MADE FANIME PLANS, AND REALIZED THAT I WOULD BE THE MOST LONELIEST. PEOPLE MAKE PLANS WITH ME.
— Raika (@RaiKamishiro) April 8, 2013

@h47 Let me know if the panel is going to happen, and I'll see about making it!
— Raika (@RaiKamishiro) April 9, 2013

So, expect a Rai-healthy listening set. Spoilers.

And then! Once more, This Blog, in association with the Twilight Knights Renaissance Guild, presents:

Is It Real!?
Friday, 4pm-5pm in Panels 1
A blades basic panel on how to differentiate display from functional, cheap from high quality, and a little extra about steel info on top of all that.

So keep informed here, on twitter, or even on FB if you got me on there, I should have a MemeOrable done by the end of the week. But don't expect too much, as I mentioned earlier last week, EVA 3 hits on the 24th, and I'm not sure I can wait till Fanime to watch it. Just saying.

Oh yeah! Steam Powered Giraffe is also playing at Clockwork Alchemy that same weekend, I'll be hitting that up, you best believe. What!? You don't know SPG!? EDUCATE THYSELF!
Later H47ites!

THINGS!

I know! I know. Almost two weeks, but don't worry. I FEEL IT! I feel like there may be things in the future for me to truly expound upon.
TODAY IS NOT THAT DAY!
And since the only things I want to talk about are somewhat "serious" things and I promised a silly post, here are things I've found that I love and perhaps you have not come across all of them already.

Enjoy . . . .

Confession: I liked Sucker Punch.
And you should have as well!!!! Here's why.


 Boo-busters



And in a return to the ever present discussion about "girl stuff" I saw this awesome post from the Mary Sue
and I looked at the bow and thought. I would rock that bow even though it does have pink on it, it actually makes it cool. So there!
See!

In other news. IMMA GO SEE DOC AWKWARD TWICE THIS WEEK CAUSE I DON'T GIVE  SHIT THAT I'M BROKE!
Wanna know why?
THATS WHY!

Oh yeah, he's in SJ Sunday around noon, and then at DNA in the City Monday Night. Hit me up if you want to come along NERDLIFE!!!

Oh yeah, and there's this awesome thing . . .

And I realize in retrospect I could have broken these things into separate posts BUT FUCK YOU ITS MY BLOG and they Might not have been topical (THERE IS NO CREAM FOR THAT!) by the time it posted so there!
Later H47ites! I now have to flesh out a game I'm not ready for while jonesin to play wow while trying to be properly productive. We'll see how it goes.

FIRST!

. . . POST! . . . of the year.
Heaven help us, I passed my CBEST, which means I can corrupt . .  I mean influence young impressionable minds legally through the California educational system. HA! Or conversely, The little overly-hormone'd bastard that I once was may now torment me as an acne'd avatar of vengeance.
Hopefully to use the boost in income from subbing and potentially teaching full time to beef up my stage combat armory, as well as continue my certification in several disciplines AND get back into musicals. Almost got a callback to a production of Funny Girl in the area but due to a scheduling conflict I will see about auditioning for their next production because  . . .
I will be signing up for FOUR panels to host at Fanime this year. So stay tuned for that.

Some fun stuff so far this year you might want to check out . . .
STANDARD ACTION IS BACK YAY!!!! For some previous discussions, here & here.

For those of you who miss my usual music blurbs, I do apologize, I just haven't had anything come along that juiced my ear hard enough to move me back into slinging artists with the same zeal as in the past.
however . . .
NURSEHELLA ISNT DEAD! YAY!!!
She released a second album finally, getit!-getit!

Also, if you like to CONSTANTLY have FRESH BEATS and free? As well as even better beats for a small fee, ADAM WARROCK! Go get all the music, then listen to it. If you do, you win an acheiv that's very difficult to acquire.

And also, as per a couple tweets

Haha that made me laugh RT @raychl_rockstar: Welp, @doctor_awkward isn't making music anymore. I guess the world really is ending tomorrow.
— Dr. Awkward (@Doctor_awkward) December 21, 2012

NOOO!!! DOC AWK WAS QUITTING MUSIC NOOOO!OOOO!O!O!
but then

The best xmas present I got this year was the message @doctor_awkward isnt hanging up his mic!
— Lauren Furze (@TheFifthSister) December 29, 2012

SO YAYAY!!!! DOC AWKWARD ISN'T QUITTING BECAUSE HIS MOM TOLD HIM TO NOT BE DUMB! HAH!
So go get some of his music so he knows how much we love his music making abilities!

3rd 4 t3h NRRD: Aug. '12

Dual Core
A Nerdcore staple and consistently producing & performing act since as far back as '07, these guys have serious roots into the joke "I'm from the Internet."

Int80, the raptastic half of Dual Core

Though dominantly only "evidence" of Int80 can be found as he is the one who rocks the mic, the duo's music is proof of Nerdcore's legitimacy as a musical genre, whatever the hell that means, or if any of us really cared.
Their sounds are clean, with tantalizing samples and compelling baselines. I love all of beats on the tracks I have ever heard from them. The sound is polished & finished, and that makes a huge impact when I listen to an artist.

The ever elusive c64, the beats half of the group.

The lyrics, the flow, the content, also fantastic. Everything from their debut content about fps' and webcomics, to some of their heavier tracks about the grind of life in tech, or corporate at large, with fantastic collabs with a slew of other Nerdcore players.


Overall, a very solid sound, group and discography, and should be a firm cornerstone of any Nerdcore collection.

3rd 4 t3h NRRD: June '12

Should Oceania ever rise to power, these guys will be among the many to be put to death, as they are unashamedly . . .
Thoughtcriminals

JOKE!

Like some previous Bosses, this crew is a buy one get more free setup as a several bright lights keep this group aflame! They have been a fixture on the scene for some time now and continue to produce fantastic content.

Either individually,
as founder Mikal kHill has a smooth steady pace with occasional super speed realms vocally that compells the listener to concentrate and really hear what's being said, this provides an excellent contrast and compliment to fairly consistent partner Sulfur.
This cat provides a snarl, a dark, bouncy and poignant emphasis with rhythm that pulls you in with visceral intent.
Combine this with masterful mixing and pro-level beats. The only reason to NOT listen to them would be lyrical content.

All about those roots, son! Know your references!

And that would be silly as they cover a wide swath of topics form the fantastically nerdy to the painfully real, as well as throwing down collab. after collab. to keep the sound itself fresh.
They have often worked with Tribe One, Romero Shaw, Shane Hall & Adam Warrock, just to name a few. 
If that last one seems familiar in context, well you would be right as there was an EPIC BROWNCOATS MIXTAPE born of that union.
And this particular focus is timely in that apparently some of the last touches on the Slyhtherin Mixtape are being finished.

Recording final mixes for Slytherin Mixtape. So boring. Saying hooks 28+ times for one song.
— Euge (Adam WarRock) (@eugewarrock) June 6, 2012

I can't wait to snag that! Bang it while reppin' that Hogwarts crest!

3rd 4 T3h NRRD: May '12

Tribe One

Also, Tribe One Won, Dirty South Swamp Thing, Devil Rhymeosaur & Ol' Dirty Batroc. And I'm sure other awesome pseudonyms as well.

It's a shirt. I really want one. As much as I loathe those "pop-eye as a playa" or "pink panther as a pimp" Tees, this one is fresh, yo!

This particular artist was once part of a group called Remnant and has since guested on many Nerdcore tracks across the verse, some might be very familiar, and has laid down a couple albums, you can scope them NYAH. 
He has also toured with MC Chris & Adam Warrock for a stint on the Race Wars Tour.

I really hope this dude keeps producing and performing as I like his semi-spoken word style and his clean delivery. The beats he employs are usually solid with what I would call roots in more old school hip-hop but many that are unquestionably nerdy.

"That's right, I'm a grown ass man about to go out in public in a Spiderman Shirt" - a quote from his Facebook

He seems to be very in touch with the southern scene with a know-how and passion. There is a lot of heart in his music, and I like how clean that is. I like me some gimmicky/silly/obscene punchlines as much as the next angry nerd, but there's truth in his music that is refreshing and there needs to be more of it in the world in general.

3rd 4 t3h NRRD: April '12

If Nerdcore ever makes it into "mainstream," as in, gets national radio play, I believe artists like Richie Branson will be the ones to break the barrier.

Get yo Game Chain! Srsly, go get one

(Yes, I know Branson himself has gotten airtime in his home state, as well as well known nerdy rapper MC Lars gets some play time in the Cali bay area on Live 105, but I know I never heard a Branson track in my neck of the woods, and I doubt The Boss Fights ever SUDDENLY bumped "Hot Topic is not Punk Rock" because it came on 91X)

This dude is a pro in every sense of the word. Serious DIY. Not only is he a head of a production company that has connected to major record labels, he has performed every job involved in producing music. Just look at his bio, dude's diverse.
This might be yet another review on an artist who does not self identify as NerdCore but definitively has Nerdy Hip Hop but until the artist says "no, I'm not Nerdcore and don't call me that" which some have done, I think they might be okay with that.
Back to the music, please enjoy this delicious track inspired by a VERY popular franchise . . .

As one should expect from someone who has done so much in the last few years, his sound is clean, upbeat, and steady. I understand everything being spit, can bob my head to the beat, recognize the samples he's acquired from properties I'm familiar with and they meld well into the total composition. If the dude doesn't exactly rep Nerdcore then he's def a big ol' geek, just check his site.
I am starting to find that when a really good artist comes into my music library, the less I have to say about him, the more I just enjoy them. This is definitely the case here. Go snag his tunes, pay for them if you can, keep the music and the artists alive, and so you can see what kind of cross over he does, here is something a little more "normal"

3rd 4 t3h NRRD: March '12

I know, I know, late, but worth the wait. This month, while everyone is at SXSW living the dream only rivaled by PAX's & Nerdapalooza, I give you, DALE CHASE!

I like to think he's thinking "I wonder if Mandalorean gals wear the same things Scot's wear under their kilts. Yeah."

A fixture on the Nerdcore scene for a number of years now, many collabs with almost every other artist, he is a smooth operator. His voice is even, calm, always in tune and his cadence melds with his beats. A consummate Geek among geeks, it would seem he keeps himself lyrically sharp as well as up to date through his random Tech Week Remixes. The couple I watched were interesting, worth giving a listen.

Mr. Chase is a Scrub, and in a good way, that link takes you too a couple of his albums. I have long ago devoured them and incorporated them into the hard drive I have dedicated to nerdy music. (No thats perhaps not that impressive anymore, but still, I needed space for mah games!) And fret not, unlike some of the artists I've done in the past, he seems to be consistently active around the webs/world.

As mentioned above, he's active, peep some pics of his exploits HERE and I hope he makes it onto the next Nerdcore Now Album . . . if another one comes out. Well, either way, I look forward to more music form this sleek geek. I would admit, it would be worth . . . the Chase . . . .    YYYYEYEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!

3rd 4 T3h NRRD: Feb. '12

This month brings us a blast from the past, a progenitor, an original geeksta, fully loaded, deep and encoded; MC PLUS+ 

A cat with serious smarts, this rhythm droppin' doctorate is known for being one of the artists on Rhyme Torrents 1 as well as his "beef" with another CS(comp. Sci.) artist, Monzy. For more details on his exact area of study you can check WIKI or get some more music centric info ON HIS SITE. Have some toons, won't you?


The rivalry between MC Plus+ and Monzy resolved itself at CES where they came together to rap a duet and make amends.

As one might imagine, it seems his academics were a little a more of a focus then his music but rumor has it there are some lost recording sessions, perhaps one day his comp. quips and mother-board metaphors will return to nerdy music. Unfortunately it seems most of the tracks on his site are broekn, but they're are still plenty up on youtube & Some Other places as well.
And for another treat, here's a live performance, skip to 1:20 if you want to get straight to the tunes.