STL Ocarina’s Black Friday Sale BLOWS! But That’s Actually A Really Good Thing…

Posted on November 29, 2013 by geelw

Hmmm… You’re still here, eh? Free movie, free meal, my ice cream’s all gone before I got some AND I ran out of jokes to tell. OK, time to get you running out of here with some music. STL Ocarinas is offering up a nice little 15% discount on EVERYTHING on their site PLUS they have a few special 40% off deals on specific items such as this 12 Hole DIY Ocarina and 12-Hole Soprano and 12-Hole Tenor Horn Ocarinas.

Yeah, you know you want to learn how to play the ocarina just to be that person on the subway or bus who stands out among the crowd (and if you get good, you can make back what you spent on the ride to and from work!). So how does this get you out on my place, dear reader? Well, you certainly don’t want to order from my computer and accidentally leave some personal info on it, right? So I insist on gently shoving your now stuffed selves out the door and into the cold night air. Whereupon you will roll home, pass out for a few hours, dreaming of saving money on that new STL Ocarina you’re going to purchase, practice and proudly play for pennies in public places.

Oh yeah, you’ll need to enter the code blackfriday in the appropriate space on the order form to get that discount. Which, by the way, doesn’t apply to the 40% off items because that would be TOO crazy. Alright? Good. Now get lost – I need to get up early in the morning!

BandFuse: Rock Legends Offers Another Fused Thought…

Posted on November 23, 2013 by geelw

…And another great reason to pick up the game, of course. If you have to ask what tablature is and you’ve were playing Guitar Hero and/or Rock Band back when they were the big deal in music games, then you’ve half-answered that question on why it’s key to actually learning to play a real guitar. Life isn’t that hard when you learn something new every day and put it into practice, I say…

Random Film of the Week: Athens, GA: Inside/Out

Posted on November 19, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, thurna!)

Still one of the best “music scene” documentaries and a must-see if you’re a “scholar” of 80’s alternative music (translation: someone who likes some mighty fine and varied music), Tony Gayton’s 1987 film Athens, GA: Inside/Out is a quirky and fun blast of great music featuring famous up and coming and obscure bands strutting their stuff in a free form style that makes the film quite compelling even to this day.

Amusingly enough, I have extended family in Macon and Savannah and while I’ve not been down that way in decades, watching this documentary sometime around 1990 on tape made me want to buy a bus ticket and head down to Athens just to check out a few clubs. I didn’t, however (my loss), as I had more real life things to take care of and had this film on tape and a copy of the soundtrack on cassette to time me over and keep my eyes and ears very happy… Continue reading →

BandFuse: Rock Legends In Stores Now: Go Guit Some!

Posted on November 19, 2013 by geelw

Wassup, rockers? You should be able to stroll into that favorite game emporium at any point from now and pick a copy of BandFuse: Rock Legends up in your hot little hands for that PS3 or Xbox 360 you still own OR you can snag a copy via a quick order from any one of a few online shops. If Realta has that no-lag thing down solid on both consoles, they’ll have the best guitar “game” out there as far as the total pick up and play experience with no messy unlocking to do in order to get to the fun and fancy harder content. Granted, for newbies, the ONLY way to learn is step by step and at your own pace and the software absolutely allows for that as well. Will this be the new Twang Bar King or headed straight to the cutout bin? We shall see, folks… we shall see…

That said, I think it’s a smash hit in the making, folks…

BandFuse: Rock Legends Updates: The Clips Just Keep On Comin’…

Posted on November 16, 2013 by geelw

Just a few more days before it drops into retail and it looks as if BandFuse: Rock Legends has a few more surprises up its sleeves. Check out the third “Fused Thoughts” above and that cool upright bass clip below for some quick fun you can have with the game when it lands on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 November 19, 2013.

YES, I said PS3 and Xbox 360 – it may be “next-gen” time in some circles, but there are MORE of those older consoles STILL in use than both of the new ones (yeah, yeah, that Xbox One isn’t out ’til the 22nd, but it’s still going to be outnumbered by Xbox 360’s for a while yet). And yes indeed, that launch Party at the House of Blues was (wait for it)… rockin’ pretty hard with Slash and Bootsy playing like there’s no tomorrow.

Thankfully, there WILL be a tomorrow (and a few more after that!) or else this game wouldn’t even come out, right? Yeah, I knew you’d agree…

STL Ocarinas Have You Middle-Earth Fans In Mind This Holiday Season…

Posted on November 15, 2013 by geelw

While licensed movie swag is indeed cool to buy and own, in some cases, specifically with fantasy films like The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings trilogy it can get you into a good deal of trouble under the wrong conditions. Granted, a nifty T-shirt, cap or other wearable isn’t going to cause anyone grief at all (unless you’re wearing all that to some sort of formal dress meeting), but that replica sword and shield? Yeah, try toting those down the street on a fine day and you’ll be face down on the pavement surrounded by the local gendarme. Fortunately, the fine folks at STL Ocarina has an option that will not only keep you OUT of trouble, it might garner you some local fans in the process.

Their 6 Hole Lord of the Rings Shield Ocarina ($32.99) plays in C5 to E6 pitch and is a perfect gift for yourself or anyone who wants a little more music in their life. Don’t know how to play the ocarina? No worries there, chief. You can actually download free tablatures from STL’s website and learn anywhere you can carry that new tune-maker you’ve just picked up or gotten as a gift. Other than being terminally lazy, you have no excuse not to, I say. With your new instrument (which, by the way is made of high quality ceramic and comes in a gorgeous black and silver) you can soothe a few savage breasts, perhaps charm some rodents to follow you out of town to the nearest body of deep water (whereupon you’ll find that they actually swim pretty well – they’ll thank you for that trip to the lake or beach, by the way) and probably make some new friends in the process.

STl also has a load of other fine ocarina from plastic to video game and comic licensed to collectible artisan-quality models, all of which should please that person looking for something unique this holiday season (or any other time, for that matter). So you know what to do, right? Of course, if you run into any wayward gold-hoarding dragons in your travels, you’d better hope that you’ve learned to playing something really cool on that new Ocarina. I think it will survive the fire blast pretty well, but it doesn’t make much of a decent shield unless you’re just under 3.5 inches tall and can hide behind it…

BandFuse Rock Legends Update: Here’s Twofer For Your Thursday (Plus One)…

Posted on November 14, 2013 by geelw

Four days to go and the video fun is rolling out of Realta. Here are two quick and funny “Fused Thoughts” clips plus as a bonus track, it’s none other than Slash talking about his start playing guitar. All this leads up to what could be the most innovative real guitar learning experience on a console when BandFuse: Rock Legends hits PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 19. I’ve been working on my finger exercises, but just the lifting food to face part – I think the game will be teaching me much more useful skills, that’s for sure.

BandFuse: Rock Legends Update: Say Hi-yo To Laiho!

Posted on November 11, 2013 by geelw

With only a week left before the game hits retail, I’ve been seeing some music game fans suddenly perk up the discussion about BandFuse: Rock Legends in a few spots. Realta Entertainment’s innovative guitar school on a disc is an open book of a music “game” experience that lets you hop in anywhere you choose and learn like a beginner or jam like a pro, something a certain other guitar game doesn’t. Between that, the legends on board to show you the ropes, the no-lag gameplay which should please every player and more, this one could be the music game of the year when all is said and done. Granted, some still want millions of TV ads to drop left and right just so they have an idea of how popular the game is or something. But expensive TV spots and building-sized billboards don’t mean anything other than a game’s PR department has a lot of money to work with and the game being advertised so heavily might or might not be any good at all. BandFuse doesn’t need some multimillion dollar ads running endlessly to sell it at all – it needs YOU to pick it up and learn you some killer guitar. THAT will help sell copies more than anything, I say…

BandFuse: Rock Legends Updates: On Wires, Amps and Pedals…

Posted on November 5, 2013 by geelw

Well, “Wires” as in the song by Portland’s popular band, Red Fang and “Amps and Pedals” (Edit: Tubes? What was I thinking? OK, I was listening to The Tubes while typing – “Talk To You Later” as a matter of fact!) as in the different and excellent digital types (that all sound like their physical counterparts) will be available to players when they crack this wonderful game open. The vibe I got from BandFuse: Rock Legends was (and will be) of walking into the best guitar school in the world and having the chance to hang out as long as you like, provided you get off your ass, pick up an axe and learn to play at some point. As noted earlier, the amount of content here is outrageous and defies the music game standard by unlocking everything on the disc and letting YOU decide your pace. Yeah, shocking that a game does that in this day and age, but one session talking to Marcus Henderson reveals his absolute love for many types of music and his desire for anyone who picks up BandFuse to KNOW it’s NOT your average music “game” at all, but a teaching tool you’ll want to keep around even after you’ve mastered everything it has to offer.

BandFuse Rock Legends Update: Bullet For My Valentine Is Music To Your Ears…

Posted on November 2, 2013 by geelw

With a little over two weeks left before BandFuse: Rock Legends hits retail for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 19, here’s another slice of one of the many tracks you’ll be learning to play. My fingers have been tingling and there’s a nice loaner electric guitar warming up in the corner for this one is all I’ll say. This one’s a straight up guitar school in a game case with everything unlocked and a free-form play and learn as you go style that might shock some music game fans expecting something more “video game”-like. Me, I love the idea of dropping the faux-rock god veneer for something that’s going to teach you to play and will be a piece of software those who “get” will go back to over and over again. I’ll save the rest of my words for the actual review, so keep an eye peeled for that…