So here I am… sitting in a pub opposite The Islington Academy with Chris (Glithero), Paul (Frost) and Ollie (Middleton) – the unholy trinity otherwise known as Zico Chain, as they prepare for their The Devil In Your Heart album launch gig. It must be confessed that their stark image as sinister goths is immediately dashed within seconds as the frontman – Chris – waves towards me as I arrive. Motioning me towards where the rest of the band are seated, he’s thoroughly polite (although his “throat’s knackered”), as are the rest of the band. Once we’re seated, it’s business as usual, and we get down to the interview as presented below:

So how was the tour?
Chris – Fantastic man.
Ollie – The tour finished a few weeks ago. Tonight’s just a one-off gig, but the tour went really well.

What are your plans after tonight’s gig?
Paul – We’ve just shot a video for ‘New Romantic’ which will be released in the coming months, and we’ve got a couple of hot-spot festivals over the Summer, and then on to some small European tours in the Autumn.

What festivals will you be playing?
Paul – We’ll be playing 2000trees Festival, and that should be a lot of fun.

What has the reaction been like for The Devil in Your Heart (your latest album), as opposed to your previous albums – such as Food?
Paul – It feels like a lot of our hardcore fans are still there and they’re still enjoying what we’re doing, although it’s taken a different shape with this record. So, the response of our fans has been great. They really like the progression and our development, our broader styles and stylistic choices. So that’s been really encouraging and it’s been great.

Your recent album is slightly more diverse in comparison to previous albums, in that you’ve opted to incorporate string arrangements. How have your fans reacted to this “stylistic progression”?
Paul – I think as to what’s helped is, when everyone came and saw us on the tour, we’ve still got all the old songs which people love and which we’ll play. The album’s got some broader parts to it, but it still has some heavy rock in it. I think we’ve gone bigger, rather than changed entirely. There’s still that part of Zico Chain – the fast, heavy, frantic part – which people love.

I read a recent interview in which you mentioned that your experience with arena shows made you want to up your game, and that there was a stark difference between bands which play arenas, and bands which play toilets. Do you think you have a bigger sound, or a more all-encompassing sound, because of your experiences with seeing bands at arenas?
Ollie – Primarily in how they control 90,000 people and get them to eat out of the palm of their hands. Billie Joe and Dave Grohl are just phenomenal front-men, and the way they can control that crowd and perform to them, and the way their stage show is epic, has just inspired us quite a lot in terms of our live performance and how we want to communicate our songs over. It’s quite inspiring.

Now you guys have supported some big name acts such as Disturbed and Velvet Revolver, and you guys have opened up shows where you guys are playing in front of 10,000 people. How does it feel to go from that level, to the level where you are at right now, where you still feel that you have some way to go in order to get to a level where you are a headline act?
Paul – It’s not really a step down, as it’s two different things. You’re supporting a band, and that’s totally different. We’re not selling out 10,000 seats. It’s just a great experience. You learn a lot. You introduce yourself to bands that you wouldn’t have done, which is why you do it. That’s a great thing to do. And then when you come back, it’s your show, and it’s your fans. It’s a close environment and it’s just different. They’re very different entities for me. I think you take each one on its own merit. Playing to a big audience is great, but then again, playing to 20 or 50 or 200 of your closest fans is equally rewarding if not more so.

What’s the best show you’ve ever played?
Paul – Bit of a mixture. Donnington was probably our best large-scale show – that’s like 50,000 people, so that was incredible. So, what was our favourite show of the last tour? Nottingham was great.
Ollie – We’ve always had a warm reception there. It’s cool. All of our London shows are great too. It was fun playing Proud Gallery, and it’s going to be even more fun playing this (London Islington Academy). London shows always have an air of anticipation about them, which is great.

Are you guys based in London?
Paul – Essentially yes. We haven’t settled at the moment, but we’re basically London based, yes.

According to Wikipaedia, your sound is partly inspired from your dissatisfaction with the British music scene…
Paul – When we all met, we found a lot of music we agreed that we all liked – ie we had a lot of influences together, collectively. But what was going on at the time in the rock scene didn’t excite us very much, so we just focused on our collective influences.

Does that explain why you guys are a bit more American and “grungy” in your sound?
Paul – Yeah, definitely.

What bands are you listening to at the moment?
Chris – I just bought the new Young Guns album – Bones, and that’s quite a good record.
Ollie – We’ve got Young Guns, Lost Alone – they’re good friends of ours. There’s a lot of British rock coming through at the moment. There’s a lot of British rock coming through these days, which is fantastic to see.

How do you think the internet and the digitalisation of the music industry has affected your band?
Paul – Affected our band specifically?

Well, from what I gather… you guys have put in a lot of hard work and effort into your latest record. How does it feel when you aren’t necessarily adequately compensated for your hard work when people download and pirate your music?
Paul – It’s kind of a hugely big subject to deal with because you’ve always got that toss-up between the internet to allow access to you or allowing access to hearing something you’ve done – ie via your official site, or Facebook, or whatever – and that’s kind of cool because everyone can check you out.

The fact that obviously the internet’s devalued your art – ie your your music is worthless in a sense, is obviously a hard pill to swallow… It’s in flux, I mean, who knows where we’ll be in another five years. So it’s a little bit difficult to comment at the moment but it hasn’t necessarily felt like it’s effected us directly in that sense, because I don’t think we’ve ever been at the point where we’ve sold that many copies of our records. We’re not talking about millions of pounds here. Do you know what I’m saying?

But you guys are obviously are at the stage now where you guys are opening up these massive shows, and you guys have also had serious air-time on national radio (Radio One etc) and MTV. How does it feel where everyone and their grandma has heard about you, yet from what I gather, you guys were still living in abject poverty two years ago. How does it feel where you’re really famous, yet you don’t have a nickel to your name?
Paul – (Laughs) most bands are still living in abject poverty. It’s no different, they just don’t talk about it. I don’t know any bands that have any money, do you?
Ollie – Unless you get arena massive, stadium massive… rumour was that Disturbed nearly knocked it on the head because they couldn’t make it, so you might be better off being a salesman or something these days.

What would you guys have been if you weren’t musicians?
Paul – What would we be doing? Something closely related to music, I don’t know – produce, engineer…
Ollie – Genuinely couldn’t tell you. I have no clue.
Chris – You know, that’s a scary thought. I don’t know. I’d like to think that I would have been a pimp (laughs).

Now your latest record was self-produced and self-funded. How do you think the recording process differed to your previous records, and considering the lack of studio interference, how do you think this affected the overall sound?
Paul – I think it went bloody well, is the short sum of it. The only way we could have made this record was to do it how we did it. We thankfully had time on our side to do it, which is why it took a long time, but then again that’s how it has to be done. And I think we own it a bit more emotionally because of that, and there’s a little bit more of ourselves in it, rather than a 30 day period of time. There were a lot of hours and a lot of work put into recording a record of that quality I suppose.

Was it during the recording process when you sacked your management?
Paul – When we started the record, we “parted ways”, so to speak.

Have you got new management now?
Paul – Nope, but it’s working out quite well.

Why did you part ways with your previous two record labels?
Paul – Hassle Records’ story is quite quick and simple. We do albums in option periods, and our first option was up – we’d done Food and everything – and the second option record contract was on the table, but it wasn’t a very good one for us financially as they wanted to suddenly take half of everything we’d ever make in terms of live income and merchandise publishing. Which is just not a good idea to give away – the only thing you’re ever going to potentially make something from.
Ollie – We just couldn’t agree with the terms, that’s all.
Paul – We’re still friends with them. We still see them regularly, and they’re lovely people. We just couldn’t agree contractually, and that’s why we parted ways.

What about your second record label – Degenerate Music?
Paul – That was just a pretend label.

Apparently you guys lived in a warehouse…
Paul – For far too long.

Now I do know that a lot of lesser bands would have buckled under the pressure and financial strain, which is why a lot of relationships crumble anyway. Why do you think your band is still going strong, despite those hardships?
Paul – It’s one of those things where you just go “what else are you going to do”. We had to go there and come back on some level probably. We had to hit rock-bottom, so to speak, and the only place to come from that was to make another record and get on with it I suppose.
Ollie – We all agreed that this is what we all wanted to do. It took a while to come to that conclusion that we all still wanted to make another record. Once we all came to that conclusion together, we pressed on with it, and here we are.

You guys operate as a 3-piece. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of working together as a 3-piece, and have you ever been tempted to get more people on board so as to expand your sound?
Paul – The advantages of being a 3-piece is that there’s more room in the van. We can fit into a hotel easily. It sounds stupid, but those are the actual physical advantages.
Ollie – It’s simpler to write as well. It’s quite easy to communicate between the three of us in the writing process. Obviously on this record there’s a few samples come in – maybe a keyboard sample, I don’t think we’re at the stage yet of bringing in a fourth instrumentalist but who knows in the future (on the next record) we might develop that way. I personally prefer being a 3-piece. It keeps it tidier, and a lot tighter. Sometimes it is difficult to recreate the sound on record live but you’ve just got to replace that with energy.

Have you ever thought about getting an extra guitarist on board, like how Nirvana got Pat Smear for their live concerts?
Ollie – Like I said, it’s an idea we may consider for our next record. Absolutely.
Paul – I don’t know whether we will, or we won’t.
Ollie – It’s working for me being a 3-piece.

Now your latest record has a song called “Case #44PQ”, which is obviously dedicated to Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend Robert Maltby. What inspired the song, and do you think it achieved anything?
Paul – What inspired it was that Chris was looking for inspiration – for any song really – whilst writing the album, and came across the story and just delved into it. He was just moved by the story, and it’s something we can all relate to I think. Most people go through feelings of being different. He then started writing a song on that topic, and then he came across Robert’s art and was blown away by how good of an artist he is, which just started the ball rolling. Chris went “I love your art. Would you be interested in doing anything for our album”, and he did. It’s amazing to have his quality on our album cover and everything. Robert was a joy to work with on that front.

I hope that in the next year or whatever, if that song can maybe allow people to connect the dots between what that song’s about and the incident, it’s always a good thing to re-raise awareness or you know, for people to remember that story, and to keep trying to change themselves and the people around you.

Who are your heroes and why?
Paul – One big music hero of mine is Slash. Still is. Love his guitar playing. He’s definitely one of my all-time favourites.
Ollie – I don’t really know. In terms of rock and roll heroes, it’s definitely Slash and the Guns N Roses boys. For me, I think they epitomise rock and roll. Whether I call them heroes or not, I’m not entirely sure. It depends on your definition of “hero” I guess. But I definitely look up to those guys in terms of rock and roll. I thought Steven Adler was pretty ace, but I wouldn’t call him a hero. I don’t know about “heroes”, to be fair…

How much did it mean to you when Duff and Slash turned around and called you guys their favourite new band?
Paul and Ollie in unison – Yeah that was pretty cool.
Paul – That was very cool. They were just really great. That was just one of those situations where you were meeting people you really look up to, especially when you were a kid and they were doing their thing. You get to play with them, but they’re also really nice and really cool, and being really inviting…

What inspired you to call your new album The Devil In Your Heart?
Paul – Chris had rewrote that line, and rewrote those words, and they just suddenly made sense.
Ollie – It would have been the first line of the record too. It was quite a nice little thing to do.

Now you decided to mix the new album with Peter Miles, and you mastered it with Howie Weinberg. Why them, and what do you think they brought to the table?
Ollie – Well basically… Peter Miles, we’d heard a few records which he’d done and thought they were brilliant, and he was a young producer. We contacted him and asked if he wanted to put a spin on our record, and he loved it. We went down and worked with him, which was really successful. I think he brought a lot to the table in terms of the sounds and the arrangements… Howie Weinberg is an absolute master of his art, so we were really chuffed to have him involved.

Finally, and to paraphrase one of your earlier songs, “where would you rather be” in five years time?
Paul – Back here playing The Academy (laughs).
Ollie – I want to be… erm… basically I want more records out and tour more I guess.

Any final words?
Ollie – Actually, I want to be here with you in five years time celebrating the fifth anniversary of you asking me that question.

Seriously, any final words?
Ollie – The Devil In Your Heart is out now. Zicochain.net is our website.
Paul – And then you’ve got your links from there for contacting us lot, and finding the album and all that stuff. It’s all there.
Ollie – Thanks very much.

With Wipeout 2048 showcasing exactly as to what Sony’s PS Vita is capable of delivering at launch, I thought it was about time someone asked Karl Jones – Lead Designer at Sony Studio Liverpool – as to what his involvement has been with the franchise, what his career has been like, and whether he can lift the lid on any next-gen announcements from Sony.

How long have you been in your role as lead designer?
I’ve been a lead designer since Wipeout HD Fury. I started working on the Wipeout series back on the Sony PSP with Wipeout Pure when I was a Junior Designer, then I was a Designer on Wipeout Pulse, then I was a Senior Designer on Wipeout HD, Lead Designer on Wipeout HD Fury, and now Lead Designer on Wipeout 2048.

Have you been associated with any other games that aren’t associated with the Wipeout series?
I left Sony for a short period of time when I worked on Blur at Bizarre Creations for a year or so.

How traumatic was the closure of Bizarre Creations for you?
Closures are always bad, when people lose their jobs. It’s understandable why it had to happen. It’s happened to Sony in the past.

I left Bizarre Creations before their closure, and I left Sony before the redundancies, so I’ve been lucky in a sense. So it didn’t really affect me but it did affect a lot of my friends and colleagues. It’s always horrible, but I know a lot of those guys have moved on to really good things. A lot of them have gone abroad and have gone to Canada.

There’s a lot of startups as well, as a lot of small companies emerged from the closure of Bizarre. So I think a lot of the guys are doing really well.

In terms of technical prowess, the PS Vita is lauded as being nearly as powerful as the PS3. How difficult do you find the PS Vita to develop for in comparison to the PS3 (which itself is considered to be a bitch to program for)?
Funnily enough, I asked our Technical Director on this a few weeks ago as I’m a Designer and therefore don’t have to worry about how difficult something is to develop for. I just ask for stuff and it happens. Our Technical Director – Stuart Lovegrove – said that the PS Vita is one of the easiest platforms he’s ever had to develop for, and he’s worked on a lot of Playstation products and other consoles that aren’t Playstation consoles.

In terms of the development process, we pretty much followed the same process as what we follow for Playstation 3. So it was easy to transition from PS3 to Vita because the processes weren’t any different. The PS Vita is so powerful, and so much like a home console, that we didn’t have to change anything.

Wipeout HD runs at 60 fps, whilst Wipeout 2048 runs at 30 fps. Can you elaborate on why there was a compromise in the frame rate for the Vita version of Wipeout?
The Vita has different hardware, and it has different strengths and weaknesses. If you look at the actual visuals of Wipeout 2048 in comparison to Wipeout HD, you’ll see that there is actually a lot more going on in Wipeout 2048 in comparison to Wipeout HD. There are a lot more polygons and effects being thrown around on screen, and all that takes its toll on frame rates.

We would absolutely not drop below 30 fps on a Wipeout game as that would compromise the experience, but we will weigh things up and consider as to what is important. You’ve only got to play Wipeout 2048 to realise that the right decision has been made in terms of how it looks and runs.

Why does Wipeout 2048 have wider tracks in comparison to other games within the series?
One of the biggest deals with Wipeout 2048 was that we wanted to make it more accessible to those who aren’t familiar with Wipeout. Wipeout is traditionally a really hardcore racer, and if you can’t play it, then Wipeout doesn’t accomodate you at all. This time round however, we wanted to open the doors a little and get more people in, and expand the fanbase a little. So we did widen the tracks, so now the players don’t have to fight the tracks as much, but can worry about fighting the ships that are on the tracks.

What was cool about widening the tracks was that we could give the player more options in terms of what was in front of them. So instead of just a traditional speed-up pad and weapon pad, we now have a speed-up pad a defensive weapon pad and an offensive weapon pad. So the player can now have three choices in front of them now instead of two.

Something else we’ve been allowed to do is have optional routes as well, which we call “skill-cuts”, so these are shortcuts which require a level of skill to navigate or access. They might only shave off fractions of a second on your lap-times, but they’re really important on leaderboards (especially at the top). So basically new players can come in and trundle round the wide sections, but as soon as they’ve built their confidence, they can start looking for skill-cuts and start nailing down their lap-times.

Another way by which we’ve opened up the game is, as opposed to piling on the features and game mechanics on the player in the first race (which is what we’ve done in the past), in the first race the player doesn’t even have to worry about winning but just has to race around. There are no weapons, and the player just has to finish mid-table. And in the next race we might introduce some weapons, and in the next race we might introduce some more weapons and so forth. We’re layering things in this time, and there are a lot more tutorials within the game as well. We’ve done a lot to accomodate new players and try to open up the game so that players can get in a learn what they need to learn, and then later on it’s going to start to kick your arse like a Wipeout game should.

Now you were involved with Wipeout HD, as well as the Wipout 2048 game. Which do you prefer as your favourite?
Everytime I move on to a new game, that one becomes your new baby. I love Wipeout HD, as I think it’s one of the best racing games out there – 60fps, 1080p, tried and tested. Wipeout 2048 is a different take on the franchise but it still retains the core DNA. So right now, it’s Wipeout 2048 for me, definitely.

How do you intend to support Wipeout 2048 post-launch?
We do have some plans that we can’t announce yet. We will be doing things like the AR Musuem – we use the rear camera on the Vita to augment ships into the real world, so you can get really close to the ship models in Wipeout 2048. We want players to be able to get up close and personal with them and see them in little more detail than they probably could in the actual game itself. So we will be supporting augmented reality within the game, so that players will be able to look at the ships and other elements from the game as if they’re sitting on a coffee table. You’ll be able to move the PS Vita around and zoom in. But that’s just one example of a feature (not necessarily gameplay-related) that we’ll bolt on to the game.

We do have game-play related stuff in the pipeline, but I’m not allowed to talk about it right now. In the past however, we’ve supplied new tracks and new ships, so you can expect to see something along those lines in future.

What about a patch that will increase the frame-rate per second from 30 to 60, as well as decrease loading times?
We’ve just released a patch that speeds up the loading, so we’ve drastically reduced load times already, and if we can find a way to reduce them again then we’ll definitely do it.

In terms of upping the frame rate… I can’t see that happening. I don’t that would happen as there might be repurcussions on leaderboards, the physics model, and things like that. We’ve balanced the races to play right at 30 frames per second, and if we change the frame rate then the physics will be affected. I can’t see the frame rate changing, but I don’t think it needs to. If there was a big reason for us to change it, then maybe we’ll consider it, but there’s no reason for us to consider that.

Do you have any plans for a sequal?
There is work going on in the Wipeout franchise.

Do you know as to when this forthcoming “work” will be incoming?
No, sorry.

Do you know if it will be for the PS3 or PS Vita?
We can’t announce anything just yet.

Do you know anything about the Playstation 4?
I can’t comment on that right now.

Does it exist at all?
Sony’s always looking into new hardware. Sony aren’t ready to announce anything just yet, and if I did, I’d be strung up.

Talking about being “strung up”, the developer from Volition recently made a blog post about how he supports next generation consoles not playing used games. What is your stance on that bearing in mind that you are part of the development games community?
I’ve traded games in the past. It would be nice if I could make it go away, and I’d be happy not to trade games in just to help the industry. But I think the industry’s starting to take measures so as try and recoup some of the losses that they get – eg: the online pass, DLC. The industry has tried to take measure to “fix” that, but it’s not going to go away.

I guess when we’re fully digital, then it goes away to an extent, because you can’t trade in a digital copy of a game. I’m pretty sure it will go that way eventually. And I guess that’s when we’ll see the back of it.

Do you think we’ll be going digital sooner rather than later – maybe within the next-gen?
I’d be surprised if we went completely digital next gen. I’d guess maybe 50/50, but that’s just a guess. I’m guessing the next generation of games will require more space, which will require more download time, and more download speed, and more storage for the user as well on their hard drive. It’s really whether the internet can support that, but I don’t know.

Now that’s already happening to an extent, as the PS Vita has more of a focus towards downloadable content than previous handheld consoles before it. But why do you think the PS Vita has been so successful in comparison to the PSP Go in terms of digital uptake and prices?
The PSP Go was an iteration on existing hardware. I think when that happens, the implementation of new features doesn’t have the same kick as say the launch of a brand new hardware. Whereas with the PS Vita, straight up out of the box Day 1, you can do all this as it’s all integrated. It’s a fully connected device, in fact one of the biggest things about the Vita is how connected it is to other Vitas and to the rest of the world. I think that’s clearly the reason why as to why it has been more successful, and why it’s going to be more successful than the PSP Go which was an iteration on existing hardware.

When can we start seeing PS1 and PS2 games on the PS Vita?
I don’t know. In terms of PS3 stuff, it’s not just a case of simply porting it over – like I said earlier, it’s different hardware. It’s not a PS3. You can develp on it in a similar fashion to a PS3, but it’s not a PS3, so you can’t just port a game over like you can with some other consoles. There is work involved, but as to whether that’s the case with PS2 and PS1, I don’t know. I’m guessing we’ll start to see PS1 stuff early, although I’m only assuming that because we see them on PSN. Although I don’t know, and am not the best person to ask about that really.

How much more powerful is the PS3 in comparison to the PS Vita?
Again, they’re different. It’s not like you can say that one’s there, and that one’s there. They both have different strengths and weaknesses. You look at Wipeout 2048, and if you take a screenshot of the game, you’ll realise that there’s so much more stuff going on in there in comparison to Wipeout HD. But if you see Wipeout HD running next to Wipeout 2048, you’ll see the frame rate.

They’re different consoles really, so it’s hard to say as to which one’s more powerful. Both have strengths and weakness in different areas.

The PS Vita has floundered quite badly in Japan, to the extent that it’s selling less units than the PSP. How do you think this is going to impact upon the PS Vita’s longterm future?
Well, you’ve just go to hope that it picks up. We make the games, and we can make the games as good as we can, but you have to rely on the hardware selling. So fingers crossed that things pick up in that area. We’ll see how Europe and USA does. We can make the best games in the world, but if the hardware doesn’t sell, then we’re not going to sell any copies of the game. So I hope it picks up, and I’m sure it will.

You were at the midnight launch for the PS Vita at GAME’s Oxford Street branch, which was attended by about 100-200 people. I know that it’s essentially a phone, but the iPhone 4S (which is almost the third contender in the handheld gaming space) had a far bigger turnout for its own launch. Do you think Apple’s handheld device has had any impact upon the perceptions and attitudes of any potential PS Vita owners?
I think Apple have definitely done a lot to change peoples perception of games. They’re games are really low in price, but their games don’t have the budget or productions values as Uncharted or Wipeout 2048 on PS Vita. I hope people are able to see the difference between say, Uncharted and Angry Birds. Two completely different experiences, and that’s where the price difference is.

I’m pretty sure that the PS Vita is going to support similar sort of things to the iPhone – the cheap, disposable experiences. The 69p games, done by the lone developer. The thing about the PS Vita is that it can do pretty much everything that the iPhone can do, only this time we’ve got buttons and sticks. And there’s a reason why we have buttons and sticks is because a lot of the experiences gamers want to play, you can’t really play on a touch screen alone. You can’t play Uncharted on a touch screen. You won’t be able to play Killzone on a touch screen. It’s a totally different experience. And that’s the thing which makes the PS Vita different to all other competitors – it retains all the things that gamers need for home console style gaming experiences, which other platforms just don’t have. Which other mobile platforms just don’t have.

Now Sony tried to get into the mobile gaming space with the Xperia mobile systems. Do you think Sony still has any plans for supporting the Xperia platform, or is it all going to be Vita now?
No, I think Sony are going to support it (as far as I know). I know Wipeout Pure is (being) ported to Xperia. But have you heard about ‘Playstations Suite’? There’s a piece of software coming out called Playstation Suite, and that will exist on Vita and all Sony phones (like the Xperia Play) and tablets which they might bring out.

From what I can tell, if you develop a game for Playstation Suite, and if the device supports Playstation Suite, then the game will work on those devices. I think Playstation Suite is going to be a really big deal. The Sony Xperia is totally supported by Playstation Suite. It’s not a Vita but a phone, in the same way that the iPhone isn’t a Vita, but a phone that has some gaming capabilities. If you want home console gaming experiences, you will definitely need to buy a Vita.

With the PS Vita recently launched in the UK, David Bramhall (Producer at Evolution Studios) was on hand to answer a few questions about his company’s PS Vita launch title – Motorstorm RC – and as to why he thinks the PS Vita is on to a good thing.

First off, have you worked on any other iteration of the Motorstorm franchise?
I’ve worked on every iteration of Motorstorm.

How difficult was it for you to work on the PS Vita?
It wasn’t difficult at all. When we did the first Motorstorm, we had a team of about 10 programmers who were in charge of rendering, systems, low level tech and stuff stuff like that. On the Vita, we had a team of 6 coders entirely for both platforms on each version of the game.

So the Vita is considered to be developer friendly?
Very, very friendly.

How much money went into developing Motorstorm RC?
I’m not sure I can tell you that.

How much money do you think the average developer needs to make a game for the PS Vita?
That depends on the game. If you look at something like Uncharted, that’s going to cost a lot more than Motorstorm RC. It really depends on the game, the scope of the game… I don’t know if I’m honest.

How enthusiastic and supportive are Sony towards getting independant developers on board their PS Vita platform?
I know that we have a lot of dedicated people who go out and talk to communities, and who get feedback on how to develop for the Vita from different developers. I also know that we have a lot of people who go out looking for new ideas and new applications – from everyone really.

Now, I understand that Motorstorm RC is a PS Vita and PS3 title. Which one was the lead platform?
It was developed at the same time for both. We always knew that we wanted to put it on Vita as it’s such a nice piece of kit, and because it matches the game perfectly. The game’s all about small, pick up and play, pint sized gaming and being competitive against your friends’ times. It doesn’t matter whether you’re online or offline, because you’re competing against their best times.

We wanted to give an experience, especially with the Vita where, no matter where you are, you can carry on your progress. So you can happily sit at home all night and challenge the leaderboards and your mates, but whilst you’re asleep, they might have beaten your score and times. Well now that you’re awake and going to work, you can take your Vita and try and beat their times on the Vita, then on the way back home, your friends might have beaten your times again, and the cyle continues. It seemed nice to be able to offer that sort of experience, and Sony were very supportive and wanted to do the whole “2 for 1” deal where if you buy the PS Vita version, you get the PS3 version for free, and vice-versa. Whichever version you buy, you get the other version for free, and this is the major selling point for the game.

Cross platform connectivity in other words…
Yes. Your progress is completely saved and transferred across, so you are constantly updated.

Now the Motorstorm franchise on the Playstation 3 is renowned for offering a very graphically intense and visceral experience, but why does Motorstorm RC on the PS Vita and PS3 seem so much more subdued and restrained in comparison?
I’d argue that Motorstorm RC is actually a very good looking title in a lot of respects. We put a lot of effort into making the gameplay very addictive. The game is all focused around very short, small tracks which you can complete quickly and where you can upload your times quickly. There’s less of an apocalyptic feel to the game, where previously skyscrapers were coming down and where people were shooting at you, but that’s because we wanted to get back to the core racing experience of what Motorstorm offered.

With the PS Vita not doing too well in Japan, how hopeful are you on its chances of succeeding and in the West? In other words, how worried are you about the Vita’s longterm future?
I’m not worried at all. When we got the kit in for the first time in our studio, we had a couple of guys working on Little Deviants, so we were pouring over there to see it. And then as soon as we got our hands on it to do Motorstorm RC, we loved it to bits – the touch screen, the back-plate… it’s just a really nice piece of kit.

From all the hype I’ve seen over the last few days about Motorstorm and the PS Vita itself, it’s been really positive. I haven’t heard any negativity. I guess time will tell, but I’m fairly confident that we’ll do really well with it.

The launch date for the PS Vita was announced a few months ago, whilst the iPhone 4S was launched only a few days after is was unveiled. Why do you think the turnout for the PS Vita launch was so much less than the iPhone 4S (especially considering that the iPhone 4S is considerably more expensive)?
I’ve got no idea to be honest. There could be a hundred reasons. I couldn’t tell you…

Were you happy with the turnout for the PS Vita midnight launch at GAME?
Yeah, it was great. We got chatting to a few of the guys in the crowd, the two guys from Wipeout… Getting back to what we were talking about, the fact that there were people queuing up for days outside that shop says it all really.

What are your plans for the PS Vita after Motorstorm RC?
We don’t know yet. Generally what happens when we finish a project is that we start knocking around a few ideas and seeing what we can do. I wouldn’t call this down-time, but creative time where you throw around ideas and put presentations and concept art together. Trying different code to see what sticks.

Over the next few months, we’ll be putting together a few prototypes and seeing as to what sticks, and see as to what we want to do.

Would it be another Motorstorm game?
I don’t know. We don’t have any plans really as we’re so focused on making Motorstorm RC a success and supporting it post-launch.

Do you ever worry that the Motorstorm franchise may become stagnant, and may stop interesting its intended audience?
There are a lot of very dedicated Motorstorm fans. On Motorstorm RC, we got quite a few fans to give us advice on what they’d like to see and do. Motorstorm as a franchise is all about anarchic racing. The reason as to why we take so long is that every game is so different from the last one. We just try to add more and more and more content. We keep trying to push and hopefully we’ll be able to keep on doing the same thing.

Did Motorstorm Apocalypse sell more copies than Motorstorm Pacific?
I don’t know. We don’t get a lot of sales figure reports…

The only reason as to why I ask is because if it isn’t a case of sequel fatigue, then the next game should sell even more. Aside from financial pressures however, what sort of pressure do you feel when it comes to producing the next iteration of the Motorstorm franchise?
A massive amount. We all love making games. That’s why we spend extra hours in the office and pour our heart and soul into these games. Every time we put a game out, we do start shaking and get really nervous. Will people like it, will they get it, and will they understand what we’re trying to do? And as I said, everytime we put a game out, we try to add more and more. We never feel like the fans will hate us if we don’t do it. We want to put out a game that the fans will love, and so we try as hard as we can to put in as much content and innovation into each game hoping that they will like it. That’s all we can do.

Considering the fact that you’re owned by Sony, how much influence do they have in determining the style and choice of games that you’re allowed to make?
We have a lot of freedom – a lot more than I thought we would have. But Sony are great. They let us go off and explore new avenues, see what we want to do, and then they play more of an approval role by stating as to what they think is good, and then we take it to them when we think it’s ready. That’s a really nice way of working, especially when a large company trusts in your abilities of working.

How do you deal with conflict within teams, and where people don’t perform as well as they should be?
It’s impossible really where people don’t perform, mostly because people don’t get into this industry for just a “job”. It’s not just a job, but a way of life. You’re in it because you love it. It’s really not hard to manage people as they want to be there and want to push hard. In fact, a lot of my job is to actually reigning people back and tell them “no, you can’t work this many hours and can’t work this hard for this long”. I really love the guys I work with, and couldn’t ask for better.

So it’s almost like the antithesis of what ‘EA Spouse’ blogged about when she said that EA drive their employees to the wire with all the overtime that is detrimental to industry staffs’ personal and private life. Are you saying that developers like working long hours?
Nobody likes working long hours, and to be fair, on Motorstorm RC we haven’t because when you’re so passionate about it that when you’re in work, you’re really focused. We put a lot of time and effort into making sure that we were making the right decisions, and the good practices ensured that developers kept out of the office and didn’t put in 80-90 hours per week. You do your normal week , but you work hard during that week.

We didn’t have extended hours, or have any pressure to do extended hours. It was more to do with people wanting to do the hours, because they enjoy it. I can’t imagine waking up and not doing anything else.

Do you know anything about the Playstation 4?
Nothing.

As a developer, how do you feel about Jameson Durrall’s (Volition) comments supporting the notion that next-gen consoles may not play second hand games?
That’s a really difficult question. I can’t really comment on that one. No comment.

What do you think of the Nintendo 3DS?
Don’t know. I haven’t really used one.

What about the Wii U?
I haven’t used one.

What other types of games would you like to work on in the future?
I really like driving games. I’m a big car-nut and love cars. I love the idea of Motorstorm as it is such a cool franchise to work on. So I’d be quite happy in making another driving game. As long as I’m interested in what I’m making, it’s cool.

As someone who has owned both a Super Nintendo and Mega Drive console, I was surprised to hear about a new USB device which allows users to play their old SNES and Mega Drive cartridges on their PC.

Called the Retrode 2, the USB device plugs into a PC and allows users to then plug both their cartridges and old controllers into it. Running via an emulator, the games can then be downloaded and installed on their PC.

This certainly is a more legitimate way for people to play their old 16 bit games, and Matthias Hullin (the creator of Retrode 2) took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about Retrode 2, and why he thinks it might appeal to people who already own a SNES or a Mega Drive.

What was the inspiration behind the Retrode 2 project, and what made you decide that there was a niche for such a product in the marketplace?
Back when it all began, the Retrode 2 was not intended as a product but rather as a neat proof of concept. Being a researchey guy and also a bit of an emulation fan, I just wanted to show that it is in fact possible to connect and use this really old SNES gear on contemporary computers through a modern interface.

As the project got some publicity, tons of people started asking me to turn the concept into a product. I’m not a marketing person, and I never really knew if this would take off. So I just let it happen

What made you decide to focus on the SNES and Genesis/Mega Drive, as opposed to other platforms?
Those are the platforms that I can best relate to, because they would be on display in malls and we would go there after school and hang out for hours. I’ve never owned a console myself, and neither did any of my friends back then.

How does playing a catridge plugged in through the Retrode 2 differ from someone playing the same game via a ROM on an emulator?
Technically, not at all. You are, in fact, playing the ROM of the same game on the same emulator. However, the Retrode gives you the exact ROM of the cartridge you own, making it a legal alternative to shady downloads. Quite a few folks also like the possibility to load SRAM (the on-cartridge savegames) off your SNES cartridges; try to do that with a ROM download.

Then, there is the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes with plugging clunky cartridges into a plastic device, and playing them using the original controllers. I hear from many people who have tons of games, but their console has died and they are looking for a modern way to play their games.

Emulators have always found it notoriously difficult to emulate SNES and Genesis games which utilised special chips – eg Starfox with its Super FX chip, and Virtua Racing with its Sega Virtua Processor. Is the Retrode 2 able to emulate these types of games flawlessly?
The Retrode 2 is not an emulator. It just provides convenient access to the cartridge ROM, and the emulator of your choice takes care of the rest. Most have no problems emulating those special chips — in fact, the quality of today’s emulators never ceases to amaze me. Just take byuu’s bsnes as an example, it is programmed with an incredible love for detail.

Is the Retrode 2 able to play cartridges from different regions, and if so, can you switch to 60Hz and get rid of the borders? What about the application of filters so as to ensure that these 16 bit games don’t look terrible on modern TVs?
The Retrode supports cartridges from all regions, and you’re free to use whatever filter your emulator offers. Personally, I quite like the vectorized look of the hqNx filters.

What has the reaction been like from the industry, and have Sega or Nintendo said anything about the Retrode 2 device playing their games without their original console hardware?
While I haven’t heard from Sega or Nintendo themselves, I know of a handful of big names from the video game industry who own and use the Retrode.

How much time, money and R&D went into making the Retrode 2 dream a reality, and how many people were involved? Did you encounter any difficulties along the way?
Lots of time, lots of money, lots of people. I guess it comes with the hobby-turned-business thing that you spend much more effort on something than you would on a regular job. I’m the only person to work on the project full-time though.

Difficulties? You bet. Coordinating the German production from Canada (where I happen to live at the moment) is no easy task by itself, as you can imagine. Then we had such things as the wrong type of USB cable, delivered to the wrong (my mom’s) address. The poor 3D guy fell seriously ill just hours before he would sit down to finalize the case design. Tons and tons of minor crises. Lots of nice surprises, too! The tooling and injection, and electronics companies were a veritable pleasure to work with.

Finally, what are your plans for the future? Will you be making any machines which play other retro consoles, and what is the possibility of you making a device which is backwardly compatible
(such as a machine which plays PS3, PS2 and PS1 games on a PC)?
Again, the Retrode is no emulator; I leave that up to others. As for the future plans? Designing new products consumes an incredible lot of resources. For now, I’d rather spend some more effort and take the Retrode to the max (mind you, it has an updatable firmware, so anyone can profit whenever something is fixed or a new feature is introduced). Specifically, I’ve got a bunch of plug-in adapters in the pipeline; anything else – you’ll hear about it as it happens

It’s better to be talked about than not talked about at all (Oscar Wilde)

Just a little outro I was working on for my podcast today. I’m sure it’ll get its fair share of haters, but I don’t see the majority of the haters having their own podcasts….

Haters are always gonna hate, no matter what you do.

One from the archives, this interview was originally published on my MySpace blog in January 2007 – nearly 5 years to the day, and was the result of working in tandem with Edge’s forum members, who helped to ensure that the questions I asked were of an extremely high standard.

It is safe to say that whilst I did take credit for securing the interview, the interview itself was only as good as the interviewer(s), and I would like to thank Edge forum members for their contribution in ensuring that this interview remained a stable highlight on the old Edge forums till the day it closed.

Anyway, you can read the interview below:

You recently had an article published in MCV on the state of videogames and their representation on TV through celebrities and other media icons. Can you please tell us as to what the reaction was to your article and how do you feel about Mr Biffo’s reply in his column at Edge magazine?
On the whole the reaction to my article was extremely positive. MCV had asked me personally to write the piece, so I guess they felt it needed saying.

As for Biffo’s comment in Edge, I can only assume he was short of something to write that month, because I certainly don’t want to believe that he would be that naive. He’s entitled to his opinion – but he should be aware that he’s wrong.

A gamer called Otoko asked me to ask you, given that you were for many children, a TV “gaming hero of heroes”, if there are any modern day gaming icons that you would consider as carrying the flame for future generations? Why do you think there has been a dearth of comparable modern gaming icons since you and what would you do to rectify the situation?
For now there are no modern gaming icons, and that makes me sad. I think most people are too frightened to put their heads above the trenches for fear of getting shot. What kind of career is that? But this industry is its own worst enemy. Generally it is very snide and negative. There is certainly a lot of jealousy and resentment aimed towards success of any kind, a real barrel of crabs mentality. You’ve only to experience the kind of cowardly vitriole and hostility that can be found on most gaming forums.

There is nothing you can do to change the situation. You cannot just create personalities, X-Factor has proved that.

Whilst you’ve always been a legend in publishing circles, it wasn’t until the arrival of the Games Master TV show that you found fame on a truly mass-market level. Tell us, what were your experiences like whilst on that show and who did you get on with more between Dominic Diamond and Dexter Fletcher?
Without question Dexter. Although Dominik and I got on fine in the early days of series 1 and 2. We had a good laugh. Why things changed I don’t know.

My experiences of GamesMaster were a combination of very high, highs and annoyingly frustrating lows. I loved doing the show, as it had been my ‘baby’ from the start. But I always felt like I was on a crusade to keep it true to its original concept, to make sure that when I was onscreen it was always about the games not just a forum for cracking one-liners and childish innuendo. By series 6 I’d had enough. I didn’t feel I could stop the rot and lost interest in the politics. Series 7 showed my decision to walk to be the correct one.

As the self-proclaimed “Greatest Games-Player in the World”, how did it feel to be beaten by Dominic Diamond during a Super Mario 64 challenge, and why did you pick a game as mediocre as Mortal Kombat to master?
Ha, ha. I mastered many games. It’s just that Mortal Kombat was THE big game for many years, and the one everyone wanted to play me on. Don’t forget there was no online gaming community in the early 90s. The arcades were where the real battles took place, and at the time Mortal Kombat was king of the cabinets. So in return I had to be the king of Mortal Kombat. And I was.

As for being beaten by Dominik, he’s never beaten me on a game in his life. The Mario 64 challenge you’re referring to has been well documented through the years. It was rigged so that I would lose on a game and a system I had never played on before, against someone who had practiced for three months in advance. That person also just happened to be Dominik’s best friend. You do the math. My only regret is that I didn’t react better. But hey ho.

Can you please give us any tips as to how one can forge a reputable career in the media publishing industry and what advice would you give to those who want to follow in your footsteps by becoming Videogame Journalists?
Okay… are you ready?… Here is my standard response to anybody wanting to get into the games industry….

There’s no questioning the fact that as professional arenas go, the games industry is an exciting place to earn a crust. For example there are also the obvious benefits – playing games, going to parties, and flying to expos around the world, and these when matched up with a decent salary are what makes this industry such a desirable place in which to hang your hat. However, it is also an extremely tough world to get a foot hold in, and, due to its quite insular and specialist nature, prospective professionals can find it a bewildering place to get started.

The most important single area, when beginning any attack on a career plan, is getting your head in shape. I have long since lost count of the number of whinging university graduates I have worked with who seemed to believe that the world owed them a living, and after a year in the job couldn’t understand why they weren’t running the company and banking a big league salary every month. If this sounds like you, then stop now. Save someone the trouble of firing your ass, and save yourself months and months of hanging around pubs and web forums moaning and bitching about how everyone else has got it wrong, and just can’t see it. You know the kind of people I mean.

If you want to get a career really worth having then you’ve got to be prepared to go that bit further than everyone else in order to get it. Great jobs don’t just pop up at the end of the street. For my first two jobs in publishing I turned up ready to work with my life’s possessions crammed into the back of my mini clubman and a sleeping bag. I lived in digs in London and a converted bus for two years earning £7,000 a year and living on soup and beans (not glamorous I assure you). But I had to do it to get the grounding I needed.

Experience is essential, but more often than not it is up to you to go out and get it.

I have always looked at a career as being like a car. To get it moving you need the following:

An Engine – Your Work Ethic
A Driver – Your Skills and Training
And Fuel – Your Ambition

It’s a very simple model to picture, but if you try to imagine any two of these three elements on their own then the vehicle/career simply won’t go anywhere. You must have all three if you are going to achieve anything in life, and must be honest with your self-appraisal. Because if you can see a weakness, you can be damn sure your boss will!

Most importantly… ideas don’t work unless you do. If you still think you have what it takes to forge out a career in videogames, then commit to it 100% and go get the career you’ve always dreamed of. Personally, I wouldn’t change my time spent within videogames for any other industry in the world.

What do you feel about the state of videogames journalism today and what would you change about the way gaming “journalism” is done?
People seem to have forgotten that people buy magazines to be entertained as well as informed. The glitter and fun have gone out of the news stand sector, and the internet on the whole seems to be mistaking irreverence and bad language for coolness and humour.

Where’s the fun, baby? Games are fun. You’ve got to remember that it’s a great job, but it’ll never be a cool job… so stop trying so hard. You’re fooling no-one. Just enjoy yourself.

What do you think of Old Games Journalism and why do you think it’s fallen out of favour with the “Videogames Intelligentsia”, especially when one considers the impact of New Games Journalism and its associated championing by Edge magazine?
New Games Journalism is the ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ of videogames writing. It doesn’t exist. It was a tongue-in-cheek joke that backfired.

What did you think of Dominik Diamond’s comments on the need for videogames academia and study in Edge magazine and what do you think of Edge magazine in general?
Study videogames? Really? No wonder the hobby is in danger of disappearing up its own overly retentive anus. As for Edge, it’s alright. It does a job but it doesn’t excite me. It’s like reading a manual when you could be playing the game. It reminds me of a Big Mac trying to be a steak dinner. Magazines are the fast food equivilent of literature; they should be cheap, fun, tasty and immediately satisfying, but ultimately leave you wanting more. Read, throw away, but crave another one in four weeks time. When magazines get too intense and serious they lose their very essence.

You once had plans to launch a magazine that was to rival Edge and yet capture the zeitgeist era of Mean Machines, Super Play and CVG. Please tell us, how would you go about launching such a magazine today and do you think a market still exists for such a magazine in printed format? Indeed, do you think printed publications even have a future when considering the encroaching effects of the internet on traditional media publications?
A far as the games press is concerned, print is all but dead. Broadband has seen to that.

“Player1″ asked me to ask you as to what you think of journalists entering the games industry as developers (such as Julian Rignall and Greg Kasavin off Gamespot). Do you think that this is an evolutionary step and if so, is it an area of work you’d be interested in entering? If so, where do you think your particular skills would be best put to use and what type of game would you most want to make and for which platform?
Games journalists always need somewhere to go when they get too old to write for games magazines and websites. Mainly because the money is so bad. So a more corporate environment often seems like the answer. Decent salary, lots of perks, expense accounts, company cars etc. I tried it at THQ but missed my independance too much.

There’s no reason why experienced journalists shouldn’t take their knowledge into the development arena and try to use it to produce more playable products. But just as many developers would make awful journalists… it also works in reverse. It’s not for me.

What is your opinion of Nintendo’s newly released Wii console? How do you think the machine and its Virtual Console will do in the marketplace and what do you think the implications will be for both gamers and retro collectors?
I’m not a great fan of the Wii. It’s a nice toy, but a bit too gimmicky for my tastes. Still it’s nice to see people trying something different. Nintnedo can always be relied upon to do that.

Considering the viability of the PC as a gaming platform, how do you feel about the PS3 and Xbox 360 and why do you think we should care about either console as a gaming platform when a modern PC has shown that it can do both gaming and serious applications at an affordable price?
I still believe that there are games that work better on a console (beat ‘em-ups, racing games) and those that work better on a PC (RTS, first person shooters). So for me there will always be a need to have both a PC and a favourite console.

Personally I have both a PS3 and a 360, and while the PS3 has thus far been underwhelming, I think Microsoft’s machine is the most impressive console I’ve seen since the original PlayStation. If only it wasn’t so fragile.

What are your Top 5 games of last year and what do you think will be the gaming highlights of 2007?
My top 5 games of the last year… boy that’s tough. I liked Def Jam: The Fight For New York, Motorstorm (I’ve had an early version since October), Guitar Hero 2, Viva Pinata and Fight Night 3. Hmm, but Gears of War and Medieval 2: Total War aren’t too far behind. I also really enjoyed Fiffa Street 2 on the PSP, but that’s a controversial opinion.

I guess the gaming highlights of 2007 will come from watching to see how the Wii’s developers actually use the hardware to its best advantage and trying to guess when the PS3 will finally appear in the UK.

A lot of people have asked me as to where the inspiration for your bandanna came from. For those who don’t know, can you please tell us as to what your favourite bandanna is and why do you think this article of clothing was so crucial towards establishing and maintaining your image in 90′s.
I started wearing the bandana during series 2 of GamesMaster because I was growing my hair and to be honest it looked shit. You know, it was at that in between stage. So I started wearing bandanas on screen, and the Director loved it. From that moment on I decided that it would be a really strong image to have. It didn’t matter whether it looked cool or not. The important thing was being iconic. Being recognisable and standing out from the rest. And it worked.

My favourite bandana’s were my US flag bandana and the Union Jack one I wore throughout series 3 of GamesMaster. In the end I had over 70 different designs. I even had my own ones made and screen printed for personal appearances.

The bandanas were crucial for establishing my image in the 90s because they gave me a trademark. They made me instandly recognisable. They made me ‘feel’ like the GamesAnimal, which also gave me confidence. It’s like playing a character sometimes when you go on stage in front of a crowd.

With everyone now being fascinated with the concept of celebrity (through reality TV shows etc), how do you think your life has been affected since you became famous and what do you think the term “Celebrity” means today. What would you want the term to mean and what do you hope to gain from your proposed re-entry in the videogames industry?
I certainly got to sleep with more models and female ‘celebrities’ as a result of my ‘fame’. Which in my early 20s was a huge bonus! Believe me, if I ever write a book about gaming in those years it’s going to be interesting. I somehow managed to have a rock n’ roll lifestyle while being a games expert. A colleague once described my career in the 90s as a ‘roller coaster ride’, and it was. It was amazing, and probably climaxed with my being recognised by Company magazine…

Company Magazine named you one of Britain’s most Eligible Bachelors in 1996. Tell us, how did a “gaming geek” like you become so popular with the ladies and what do you think was the reaction from both gamers and women as I have heard many stories about you. And just for the record, what exactly happened between you and Dani Behr?
Bloody hell. I think most people were amazed that a gamer could achieve such recognition. But then I have always been way better looking than your average journo. Just check out the recent Ram Raider Poll.

Certainly many stories have circulated about me through the years though. And an awful lot of them seem to come from people who have never even met me but think they know me well enough to comment anyway.

As for Dani, well it was fun while it lasted. But that was years ago man. Ask me about Denise or Louise or Nancy…

Now that you’re no longer single and lead a successfully married life, what do you think girls look for in a guy? Is it still the case of winning girls over with a flash car or do you think the modern woman now asks for an altogether different type of person?
Women like men who can make them laugh and are individuals. Strength of character is also a definite female turn-on. However, I have found that just having an enormous knob has always been my greatest asset with the fairer sex.

As someone who attended many opening ceremonies of independent videogame stores, what do think of the increased proliferation of chain retail stores (such as CEX and Gamestation). What do you think of these faceless corporate behemoths and what tips would you give to someone who wants to open “The Best Videogames Store in the World”? What strategies would you implement and how would you go about ensuring that the enterprise is able to live up to expectations?
I have a blueprint for an idea that would allow private businessmen to set-up their own independent stores all over the world, without having to worry about competing with the big chains. The trouble is it would initially need an investor with fairly deep pockets to get it off the ground. After that however it would give a lot power back to the indies… but not in quite the same shape and form as before. You can’t compete head-on with the chains, the profit margins just aren’t there any more. You have to think laterally.

Seeing that you’re an industry veteran with many years of experience, what would you say have been your fondest memories and favourite moments to date? Indeed, what do you think have been your biggest achievements, and if all this ended tomorrow, what would you like to be remembered for?
Phew, it’s been almost 20 years now since I first started working in this industry. I have lived in a converted bus and written articles on PCs powered by a generator, presented on more than 300 TV shows and been voted one of the country’s Top 50 bachelors. I have opened stores, had articles written about me in the tabloids and even gone to The Cliff training ground to work with Manchester United’s players on new product promotions.

My fondest moments though would probably have been spent sitting in front of the crowd in the Games World arena for Sky One. That was such a great place to be. Just me and Bob Mills, up on the stage, trying to commentate on the latest games while the audience cheered the competitors on around us. It was electric. A real home for heroes.

If I could be remembered for anything I would like it to be that I was larger than life. A real character. Someone who stood out from the videogames crowd and did things his own way.

Do you have any last words for your adoring fans?
Just love me. I do.

THANK YOU!!!

Happy New Year!

And with a new year, comes a new look for a (new-ish) website.

I recently discovered a thread on the new Edge forum which asked as to why people read Edge. Here are my opinions as to why I DON’T read Edge. Please note: these are my opinions, and do not in any way represent the views and opinions of gamers everywhere.

I started reading Edge magazine around issue #6 (or was it #9? Either way, I guess I’m a “lifer”). But I gave up on it a few years ago, because as much as I wanted to stick with the magazine (out of some sheer mis-placed sense of loyalty), its arrogance in continuing to promote “videogame culture” just took the fun out of it for me. Also, towards the end, I just found the magazine’s feature articles and columns to be really boring. Even Steven Poole couldn’t reignite my interest when he returned as a column writer.

Thank God for Games TM, a multiformat magazine that does a better job of conveying the enthusiasm one should feel toward the medium. Its features are always informative (much like the Edge of yore), and are always really fun to read.

Reading Edge in comparison is like watching a really old couple who’ve decided to stick together, even thought the passion that they once had for each other died a long time ago. For me, Edge now represents a creatively stifled brand that has little meaning and significance within an increasingly fragmented marketplace (even though Tony Mott et al continue to peddle it as being the one-size-fits-all “videogame bible” – which in itself is the height of misguided arrogance).

Edge’s recent redesign is also testament to an editorial philosophy that harks back to a time when the internet didn’t exist. And in an age when the web offers a two-way dialogue, so that a news article eventually comes to represent an ever-changing organism that is constantly evolving, Edge continues to stand by its firm stance in only purporting to offer a one-way stream of dialogue.

Judging by what Rllmukforum gets up to, I get the impression that most gamers are lazy, incredibly stupid and have nothing meaningful to say… and although I honestly believe that each and everyone of us has the ability to carve out a successful name for ourselves in the gaming industry, not everyone of us has the desire. It’s for this reason that I understand (yet lament) Edge’s insistence in taking away the “Online/Offline” component in its magazine. To some people, there just seems to be no reason as to why anyone would wish to interact with the magazine now, especially as one isn’t going to be rewarded for their efforts.

But even when the “Online/Offline” section was included in the magazine, this slice of editorial was hardly renowned for highlighting intelligent gaming discussion amongst Edge’s forum users. Many of their printed comments were throwaway and childish, and didn’t give any impression at all of any industrious long-form articles or intelligent gaming discussions materializing from the forum. In this regard therefore, Edge can certainly be accused of not only dumbing down its intended audience, but also for promoting a culture which comes to view videogames as anything other than a mature pursuit.

There used to be a time when Edge’s ability to meet the needs and demands of the “mature” gamer was such that its lofty status within the industry was fully deserved. The magazine was the unequivocal bastion and leader in the videogames magazine market for a long time and fulfilled this crucial service with much aplomb and public fanfare. Compare its authoritative heyday to where it now resides, and one realizes that Edge has replaced its assured confidence for misplaced arrogance. The magazine and brand is so out of touch with “mature” gaming interests now, and seems far more interested in pleasing the demands of corporate shareholders.

Even today, Edge continues to argue that its editorial tone is unmarred by financial and economic pressures, and yet its senior editorial team resigned (mass exodus) in 2003, followed by its online editorial staff walking out in 2009. To me, that doesn’t spell confidence in a magazine that continues to perpetually straddle the fine line between creative and commercial interests – and let’s not even talk about the £5 cover price.

With Gamepro (a longstanding American gaming magazine) having recently ceased operations, its only a matter of time before Edge has to also make the decision of where it wants to go next. Its redesign smacks of a desire for the magazine to recapture former glories, but the redesign also reeks of Edge’s nostalgic nod towards its former status, when gaming magazines enjoyed a far more mainstream place within the industry. Bob Dylon once sang “the times, they are a changin”, and I don’t think Edge has done enough in recent times to evolve with the changing needs of the marketplace. And with everyone now going online to consume their media content, it baffles me as to why the Edge website continues to look like a glorified blog.

With websites (like Eurogamer) having stolen much of Edge’s thunder in recent years, I do wonder as to when it’ll be before Edge wakes up to its own predicament and embraces the myriad of exciting opportunities as presented via the internet. And if everyone is going online, how long will it be before the “videogame bible” follows suit and joins the rest of us who left the print world (in its present incarnation) long ago…

Only time will tell. But one thing I can tell you though is “The future is almost here”.

The last time I visited Charlie Knight and his Scoregasm project was just over a year ago when I saw the game at Eurogamer Expo 2010. Since then however, everything had been pretty quiet, until recently when Charlie Knight re-emerged with his beautiful bullet-hell arena shooter. A game that GamePro describe as nailing “all the elements that make an arena shooter fun and exciting while offering incentive to dive back in over and over again for more space pummeling”.

Now that the game’s been released, I thought it was high time to catch up with its creator – Charlie Knight – and find out as to what took him so long to make Scoregasm.

Now that the game is out, how do you think Scoregasm has been received by gamers and press alike?
Yeah, pretty well I guess. It’s been nice reading comments by folk who’ve enjoyed it even though they don’t usually get much out of this sort of game. I’d hoped that the game would surprise people, and I put a lot of time into making it more enjoyable for non-shooter fans.

Scoregasm was originally meant to have been released late 2010, but didn’t actually come out until October this year. Why do you think there was a delay in releasing the title, and how do you think the game’s production cycle could have been sped up?
Actually, I started the game as a summer project in 2009 with the intention of releasing it that year. In terms of development time, I guess 2.5years is a while for a project, especially considering my previous two titles were both done in a couple of weeks, but I let the game evolve as I wrote it, rather than stick rigidly to a plan. It would have been nice for it to have been finished sooner, but I don’t regret spending the time on the game.

In wanting to attain that elusive goal of seeking perfection, every developer has to make compromises during the development of their game. Are there any aspects of the game that you aren’t totally happy with, and what do you think could have been done so as to allow Scoregasm to play closer to your original vision?
I’m genuinely pretty happy with how Scoregasm worked out to be honest. As I didn’t really have an original vision aside from colourful and explosions, I can’t really say if it’s close or not to how I wanted the game to feel when I started. In terms of what I might have liked, I guess I’d thought of how I wanted the menu/map screen to look before I started the levels, as I could have made the transitions between menu and game much smoother by having them occupy the same scene. A few super hardcore players have said the game is a little too easy for them, and that’s fine, the game isn’t really designed for them, but I’d like to maybe do a set of levels that are more difficult. We’ll see!

Are there any plans for making the game available on Steam, and do you have any plans for porting Scoregasm across to other (console and mobile) platforms?
The game will be out on Steam in the new year. I’m not planning on porting Scoregasm to consoles/mobile platforms, at least not myself. I’ve got my work cut out with the platforms I do support, and I really want to be pushing on with new projects and not investing more time in rewriting this one.

By looking at your development history, I’ve noticed that every game you have ever released has tended to be a 2D shooter. Why is this, and have you ever thought about branching out and exploring other genres?
I’d like to maybe try some different sorts of games, but I’ve yet to come up with something interesting enough for me to want to carry through to completion. My disks are full of little experiments, but they never get much further than my dev folder. On the other hand, I like shooters, and they lend themselves well to the more abstract visuals and animations I like playing around with.

Of all the games you’ve ever worked on, which is your favourite and why?
If you ask me in a year, I’ll probably say Scoregasm, but I’ve been so close to it now for so long that I struggle to get into it as much as I can my older games. I like playing through Irukandji and unlocking all the ships every now and again, so I’ll say that one for now.

Any idea as to what your next game will be about, and will that also have a two and a half year development cycle?
I started on a sequel to Irukandji earlier in the year, and also a 3D project where you pilot a little ship around various planetoids, so I might finish one of those up next. Or combine the two! Who knows!

Even though Scoregasm is an arena shooter, to a certain extent the game is still a continuation of the 2D shooter, a genre that has declined in popularity in recent years. Why do you think this is, and how do you think developers can can go about reigniting the genre so as to make it appeal to modern gaming conventions?
I don’t know really. I think the mass appeal of games like this is pretty much gone now, and it’ll take something pretty special to regain the footing they once had.

Scoregasm was coded and designed by yourself, and you were also responsible for creating all art assets. Although you received some assistance from John Marvin and Doug Livesy, what challenges do you think a lone developer (such as yourself) faces in working in an industry which favours multiple personnel working on its games, and what are the advantages and disadvantages for continuing to operate as a one-man operative today?
Working by myself lets me work on what I want, and I’m free to approach that in whatever way I like. This is the good bit! Where it’s not so good is how much work it can be, and how easy it is to get into a mess if you can’t think things through objectively and see where you’re going wrong.

I’m not totally convinced that the “industry” prefers multiple personnel to create games. Mostly I suspect it’s a case of needing them, rather than wanting them.

Lastly, what games have you enjoyed recently, and if you could pick just one game to chew over this holiday season, which game would it be and why?
Errrr… I’ve been playing Binding of Isaac a bit, it’s pretty moreish, and I like that even though I’ve played through it a few times now I’m still finding new stuff. I’ve also been playing New Mario Bros. Wii, which is, well, not exactly the cream of the Mario crop. It’s very close to the DS game, which I also didn’t enjoy as much as I thought I would. I don’t really know what exactly I think it’s missing, but maybe I just expected a little bit more. It irks me that they keep reiterating the original NES games, rather than the superior Super Mario World on the Super NES.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat” (Theodore Roosevelt).

I’ve been meaning to have my own podcast for some time now, and I guess this is as good an opportunity as any. There are some issues with the podcast, but hopefully these will be resolved in coming episodes in future. But for now, let’s get started, and I’ll introduce you to Episode 1 of ‘Prankster101 Productions Podcast’.

YAYYYYYYYYY!

In this episode, I interviewed Bruce Grove – Director of Strategic Relations at OnLive. I managed to interview him at Eurogamer Expo 2011 where OnLive launched in the UK, and quizzed him as to what the company has in store for UK gamers, and as to why the gaming public should care about another company vying for our attention.

Subscribe here: iTunes (enhanced) – RSS (enhanced)

RE-Play Issue 1 was released as a test issue at the Eurogamer Expo 2009 at Old Billingsgate. With its emphasis on indie (Kenta Cho) and retro (Bitmap Brothers) content, the issue went on to generate pre-orders of over 25,000 copies from more than 40 different gaming retailers across the UK.

Since then, there has been an editorial shift in the magazine. As a consequence therefore, Re-Play is aiming to not only be a free consumer games magazine, but is also hoping to give you – the gamer – a voice in print, and to have your opinions heard.

With the official launch yet to be confirmed, in the meantime however, you can view the digital copy of Re-Play Issue 1 here.

If I didn’t know know any better, I’d say that Edge is trying to make me pay for substantially more pages, whilst offering considerably less content in the process.

Maybe it’s just me. Or maybe it isn’t.

Initially I thought that the magazine was trying to revert back to its original paper dimensions, but then I realised that Edge was trying to appease those who saw videogames as a lifestyle accessory – in other words, it’s trying to orientate itself as a lifestyle magazine. I don’t need a Wii-style magazine. Sorry, but there’s a reason why OPM etc exists. I always thought that Edge (along with Games TM) was the journalistic bastion of hardcore gaming. So what is all this talk of “market research” in the Editorial pages? Granted, I just skimmed through the magazine, but to me, that just screams of “design by committee”.

An Edge forum user by the name of hn6 believes that “The quality of the product is what differentiates Edge from the rest”. Is he referring to the paper stock and pagination size, or is he referring to the editorial content?

In any case, whilst hn6′s statement may have been true five years ago, the advent of smartphones and the burgeoning effects of the internet has really helped to curtail Edge’s influence, and stopped it from being considered as the industry bible that it once was. The world is a-changing they say, and together with other forms of market competition (Games TM et al) proving to be viable alternatives, just how relevant does Edge consider itself to be today?

In todays knowledge-based economy, the average reader has more information than what they know what to do with. In other words, we have reached an age of information saturation. And with time being the greatest resource at one’s disposal, will adding more pages really add to the magazine’s allure? Or will this strategy end up alienating just as many time-poor readers, who find it difficult to struggle through one 132-odd page issue, without having to worry about ingesting a further 100-odd pages each and every month. In short, will regular readers still buy Edge on a monthly basis, or will they now resort to buying the magazine on a more infrequent basis so as to have the neccessary time to read the previous issue?

Edge has marked its new issue with a cover price increase of 50p, making the magazine £5. Surely this price point hits a psychological barrier, and prevents the magazine from being considered as an impulse purchase. Will regular readers continue to support Edge, and come back every month? This is a question that the editorial staff need to ask themselves.

Back when Edge launched in the early nineties, it was a veritable breath of fresh air and enjoyed a mainstay welcome in an age when there really wasn’t any competition. There really wasn’t anything like Edge, and the market was screaming out for a magazine that was different and that treated videogames as a mature pastime. Edge came alone and filled that void beautifully. As time progressed, and much like the medium Edge sought to cover, the magazine really started to find its feet and carve out a successful niche for itself. Truth be told, it was my favourite magazine for years, and I certainly didn’t object to paying £3 for a 100 page magazine each and every month – knowing that each issue would be unable to satiate my appetite, and leave me wanting more.

So why do I object to this new Edge redesign (version 4.0)? The rate at which the price has increased is certainly lower than the rate of inflation. Well, it’s for the same reason I hate anything that becomes too established and popular. It stops being small and beautiful, and starts becoming more risk averse so as to become this huge monolithic enterprise. Would Edge’s present editorial team really have taken the same degree of risks as they once did 18 years ago? I highly doubt it. And with that, the stench of commercial pressures begins to seep through, and the old spirit of Edge begins to wane. To a certain extent nowadays, Edge just seems like any other magazine. A magazine that seems far more concerned with protecting its own brand image to achieve short term goals – no matter how detrimental this may be towards its longterm vision and editorial integrity.

But one should certainly not begrudge Edge for offering over 200 pages at £5 an issue. Compared to previous price-points, the new price certainly screams value, and together with the magazine’s commitment for covering “The Future of Interactive Entertainment”, this does bode well for future issues – assuming you have nothing else to read in the intervening month.

But that’s the problem as well. Nowadays you can buy a pretty decent game for £5. Edge now finds itself in a vastly different marketplace to the one it launched in over 18 years ago. Not only does the magazine have to compete with other forms of media communication, but it also finds itself in the precarious situation of having to defend its marketshare from the very form of interactive entertainment it seeks to cover.

If Edge is to continue to remain relevant for the discerning gamer (or to me at least), it needs to focus on a few key factors. As another Edge forum user by the name of Mod74 recently mentioned, “I detest the columnists 70% of the features and all of the developer crap”. I think he hit the nail on the head. Games TM is renowned for offering excellent features, and has won awards in the past for this very reason. And with the likes of Eurogamer offering reviews for all the latest releases as they happen, Edge’s reviews start to appear increasingly redundant.

Edge has certainly tried to counter most of these points: according to its website, the magazine now offers “more opinions from (with one possible exception) respected voices in the world of gaming. More insight. And Create, a new section dedicated to the stories behind the pixels which should be as interesting to dedicated videogame followers as it is to those who make the things we play”. Many of the “reviews in the magazine now feature extra material, including reviews with the developers and detailed looks at specific features”.

But the issue of the column writers needs to be addressed if Mod74 is to be appeased. Many (if not all) of the original cast return, whilst new ones have been added. Edge claims that it only considers someone for a column writing position if they have something valuable to say. My question is: who decides? Does Edge decide? And what about me? What do I decide, and where do I fit into all of this? I don’t want to read about the same racial issues plaguing Resident Evil 5 every month. And although I don’t have anything against N’Gai Croal, I much rather prefer the likes of Rob Fahey.

I guess money talks, and I haven’t bought Edge for nearly three years. I much rather prefer Games TM as the superior choice.

Maybe Edge’s columnists (such as N’Gai Croal) don’t appeal to me, but I must be representing the minority for what is ultimately a commercially driven, mainstream publication. These column writers must be doing something right if their opinions appeal to such a large demographic, and they have been able to secure the prestigious column writing slot on what is still a largely respectable magazine.

But then I liken Edge’s editorial team to the judges on X-Factor. Are the column writers really so deserving so as to represent the views of gamers everywhere? Or are the column writing positions rigged so as to allow only a small minority of individuals to get through. The likes of Simon Cowell is certainly no stranger to controversy, and even he had to defend the judging panel’s integrity on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ when an anonymous blogger claimed that Ronan Parke had been groomed for success. Far from the notion of meritocracy playing its part, there does appear to be a certain whiff of cronyism seeping through.

Despite its incredible success, the videogames industry is still an incredibly small tight-knit community, where everyone knows everyone else. It wouldn’t be too far off the mark to suggest that much like the Hollywood acting system, popularity plays an incredibly huge part in securing the best jobs (regardless of talent). In this case then, the only hope one has is to hope that lady-luck smiles through, and that the fickle finger of fame stays pointed at the industry star for as long as possible. Fate surely has its part to play, as well as God’s influence in affecting one’s life trajectory.

But life is also about place and balance. In today’s congested marketplace, everything has a sell-by date. Edge has done well to maintain its authoritative presence within the games industry. However, with so many pretenders to the throne, whether the magazine is able to maintain this after the redesign is anyone’s guess. But with the editorial team of Edge having committed themselves to a renewed vision and sense of purpose, whatever plans they do decide to unfold in the coming months will hopefully bode well for the magazine, and for the videogames industry as a whole.

Maybe I should have a little bit more faith. For as the Edge of yore often used to say: The future is almost here. But then again, and in a world with so many viable alternatives (in terms of money and time), I’m not particularly sure if it’s a future where Edge can authoritavely argue that the magazine and brand is as relevant anymore.

And that’s a fact.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the magazine in question is a little known project by a former 1UP journalist called Ray Barnholt. And with the first issue piquing my interest with its cover of Nintendo’s all conquering Super Nintendo, I decided to find out more about Ray Barnholt’s project, and discover as to what motivated him to start Scroll.

Why did you opt to make Scroll a print-on-demand offering as opposed to having it in the shops as a fully fledged print magazine? Alternatively, why not just publish the articles on your blog/website and get readers that way?
I’m just one person, and I’m in no position to start up a whole enterprise that prints and distributes magazines. This is a zine in spirit. But I was still attracted to the challenge of doing a print product.

What sort of preparation and planning went into the first issue, and how did you go about designing the layout and securing contributions from other writers?
I took a couple months to just freely lay out pages as closely as I imagined them. And there are no editorial contributors except a good friend of mine. I had all the existing software, so it cost nothing extra to do.

How do you think Scroll differs from other gaming publicaitons on the market, and who is the magazine’s target audience?
It’s all about covering gaming subjects that interest me and hopefully interest others, with a heavy lean on history. I like to go deep into game history and pull out interesting items and facts. In general, I want to be a huge annoying know-it-all.

What inspired you to form your own magazine and blog, and did 1UP’s decision to lay you off have any affect on this? If so, what are your plans for the website blog and magazine, and do you have any plans for www.scroll.vg to become a media rival to 1UP, much like how Jeff Gerstmann intends www.giantbomb.com to be after he was fired from Gamespot?
I started the project after getting laid off, but I had the idea long before that, so I would get it off the ground sooner or later. This is a very personal project about my own gaming passion(s), and I have no desire to grow it into anything beyond a thin magazine and a rarely-updated blog. I want a place to scratch my proverbial itches, but I don’t hate the “real” games writing field, either. Which is why I just took a job at GamePro.

Considering the saturated presence of internet websites and blogs, what tips would you give to aspiring content creators and media moguls who want to carve out a successful niche on the internet?
I don’t consider myself a success at that sort of thing, so I probably don’t have any advice you haven’t heard before. I did SCROLL because I thought I could, and because I wanted it to be different, however slightly. The only advice that comes from substantial experience is if you can write for a popular website and get a couple thousand people to remember you, that’s a great way to go!

No-one cares about what you have to say. Remember when you were spamming peoples email addresses and begging them for charity handouts? No? Well, let me refresh your memory as I received the following email on 14.10.09.

It’s Graham_S from rllmukforum.com here. Please excuse the spam.

The owner of rllmukforum,com has decided that he’d like to step down from running the forum, and plans to switch the current server off at the end of November. We are forming a non-profit co-operative group, called the Rllmuk Supporters’ Club, to own and run the forum from now on.

We need you, and we need your money.

We’d like to invite you to become a Member of the Rllmuk Supporters’ Club. The subscription fee is £10 a year. This will entitle you to a package of benefits, and more importantly buy you one share in the Industrial & Provident Society which will make you a legal member of the club that will own the forum. Legal members will have the right to vote for a President and the Committee, and have a say in how the forum will be run.

In order for the subscription fees to cover running costs in the future, we also need donations to buy a server and to get us started. We need you to dig deep. I’d hope that to start things off many of you can find an additional £10 or £20 on top of your subscription. For the people who have good jobs and money to spare, £50 would help set us up really nicely. Give whatever you can. I’ll be nagging many of you personally for the money over the next few days. Send us your money! (Please!)

Xevious, our Treasurer, has the full details of how to join and donate

If you want to know more about what’s going on, look at the FAQ

We’ve been making good progress:
- We have a clear technical plan.
- We have a clear financial plan.
- The FSA and Co-operatives UK are looking on our application favourably

All the volunteers are working really hard to secure the future of the forum.

Join us! Save the forum! Thank you!
Graham_S

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem in pledging my support to the “gaming community”. What I do however have a problem with though is the manner in which this community is run. Instead of being a forum that champions ideas and innovation, and allowing people to get their point across, Rllmukforum comes across as a forum that is rather more concerned with promoting egos, popularity contests, and whether (or not) someone is “cool”. I did voice my concerns about this when I received criticism (not the same as “critique”, you understand) for one of my “column” articles in September last year. It seemed that Rllmuk forumites were far more interested in being petty, and weren’t at all interested in supporting those who wanted to grow and better themselves.

I guess some things never change. Led by committee, Rllmukforum is run by the most “hateful, petty and altogether shit internet-dwellers I have ever had to experience”. Its no-name inhabitants congregating together so as to voice their opinions and have their group therapy sessions. In light of this, and considering Rllmukforum’s lack of productivity, £50 seems like an incredibly tall order. Why would I want to fund a bunch of nobodies who aren’t interested in intelligent gaming discussion?

Despite its reputation as being one of the more established forums on the internet, in this day and age, what exactly is Rllmukforum’s USP? With every other website increasing its repertoire of skills and services, and acting as a one-stop shop, why would anyone wish to care about what a bunch of no-name individuals on Rllmukforum have to say about the state of the industry? What makes Rllmukforum contemporary and relevant, and what unique content does it have at its disposal?

I can understand it if Rllmukforum is some “higher authority”, and is doing all these “cool” things – like winning awards, hosting events at Earls Court (like Eurogamer did last year), or having a magazine out in the shops that is currently being written by many of its more prestigious members, but from what I’m merely observing… and with all that manpower and resources at its disposal, Rllmukforum hasn’t done anything to legitimate itself in the eyes of the gaming industry. It’s so far behind other websites that it hasn’t even adopted many of the more exciting features currently being championed by leading community game websites (such as N4G and Gamervision). So to that extent, why would anyone care about what Rllmukforum has to say? What is Rllmukforum’s list of accomplishments?

That’s a simple question, and it shouldn’t be that hard for the 60,000 nobodies on that forum (with their 60,000 spam posts) to give a rather more complex answer.

Oh wait: they can’t. They’re all bullshitters with zero talent.

Girl Power! Yes, that’s right. You’ve heard it all before. You’ve heard as to how girls find it so hard to express themselves, gain respect, and get themselves heard in a male dominated industry. Well, for a videogames commentator who goes by the name of Nintendo Fangirl, that isn’t the case at all.

Utilising the democratising power of the web, Nintendo Fangirl (real name: Samantha O’Neill) has been making video blogs for the last four years, to steadily become an emerging gaming voice, and an inspiration for gamers who don’t necessarily have the confidence to speak up and get themselves heard. It is for this reason that I decided to interview the emerging star, and to find out as to what drew her to post up her opinions in a highly contested field, and on the web.

First of all, let me just say that you’re not like a stereotypical gamer at all – as in that you’re attractive, intelligent, and a highly articulate GIRL who happens to know a LOT about the games industry. Can you tell us as to what got you into games, and how long you’ve been an avid gamer for?
Well, I’ve been a gamer my entire life. For as long as I’ve been alive, there’s been a game system in the house. From the NES to the SNES and Genesis and beyond, I really grew up on video games. It wasn’t until I got an N64 that I was really hooked though.

What was the inspiration behind branding yourself as ‘Nintendo Fangirl’?
The systems I grew up on were majorly the NES, SNES, and N64. For that reason, I had a major fixation with Nintendo as a company. For a while, I really was a ‘fangirl’ in that I refused to even try other systems or give them a chance. I learned a long time ago to be more open-minded, but my love for Nintendo sticks around.

Why have you opted to create video-blogging content (VLogging), as opposed to focusing on other forms of content creation – such as a traditional blog, or podcast?
When I started making videos, the intent wasn’t vlogging. I tended to rant a lot about games in general when I was younger on various online communities, and at some point I decided to just rant via videos. Somewhere along the line that turned into vlogging.

What sort of prep-work do you do, and what are the processes behind creating your own video-blog?
I try to make videos that are relevant to current gaming news that interests me. If it’s something I’m not personally interested in, odds are I haven’t done enough research to make a video on it. I don’t have a script or notes, I just turn on my camera, capture about 10 minutes of me talking about something, and then edit it down to the good stuff afterwards. I’m no actress, scripting my videos would probably turn out terrible.

What sort of equipment and editing software do you use?
Up until recently I used my computer webcam for all my videos! Now I have a Flipcam Ultra HD and I edit in either iMovie or Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 depending on how much editing I have to do.

How would you describe yourself to someone who has never heard of you?
I’d say I’m a pretty average person with an extreme passion for gaming and the games industry.

What do you think distinguishes you from other video commentators and gaming analysts, and what would you say is the secret behind your popularity?
I honestly don’t know why I’m as popular as I am. People say it’s because I’m a girl, and they’re probably right (as much as I hate to admit it). I like to think it has something to do with the balance I have between being fun and being informative.

In what ways do you think being an outspoken female has affected your ability to be taken seriously and to attain credibilty in the games community?
Oh, my lack of a penis changes the way I’m viewed entirely. To say that a little more appropriately, I can never be viewed as just a ‘gamer’, always as a ‘girl gamer’. Some people say I’m not credible because I only make videos for the attention, others say I’m fake altogether, some only watch me because I’m a girl and coulndn’t care less about the stuff I talk about. Being a girl sets me apart from a lot of others who do the same thing I do, and that does help me quite a bit, but it really is a good thing I have the common sense and tough skin to deal with all the ‘hate’ comments I get.

Have you ever thought about collaborating with another person, and getting a co-presenter on board?
I haven’t really put much thought into it, but it would probably be fun.

What do you think of Nintendo’s upcoming 3DS system?
I’m SUPER excited about it! The games are looking terrific so far, I just can’t wait to see the 3D effects in person.

What are your thoughts on the Kinect and Move peripherals, and how do you think these technologies will fare against Nintendo’s own motion senser Wii-Remote?
Kinect and PS Move are both awesome in their own ways conceptually. Unfortunately, Microsoft has shown a VERY disappointing library of games for Kinect’s launch, and the PS Move isn’t much better. Both peripherals are also on the expensive side. The games as of right now aren’t enough to set Kinect or Move apart from the Wii-mote, so I highly doubt either are going to sell very well when you can practically get an entire wii system for the price of just a peripheral. It’ll also lead to less developers making games for these systems and a vicious cycle of no-game-no-buyers-no-games, Ultimately, I think they might be competition for each other, but not against the Wii at all.

Why do you know so much about videogames, and how do you keep abreast of recent developments within the games industry?
Video Games and the industry in general just interest me. I belong to plenty of online video game forums and keep up on all the big gaming news sites because I like to know when new things are announced and I like to now who’s doing what and etc.

On average, how many hours a week do you spend playing videogames?
It depends on if I’ve just gotten a new game or not. I’d say as many as 20-30 (or more) if there’s a game I’ve just gotten into, and as little as 5 if there’s nothing I’m particularly playing at the moment. As a general average, we’ll say 15.

What other hobbies and interests do you pursue outside of videogames?
I’m into cosplaying (dressing up as video game characters and going to conventions when I can.

What kind of games do you normally play?
I’d say a bit of everything, but my favorites tend to be action-adventure and RPG games. I like games that have a good story to them, depth, etc.

What would you say is your favourite game of all time and why?
This is REALLY tough for me. But I think I’m going to have to say Banjo Kazooie. I played that game to death on my N64 and I’ve been playing it over and over again recently. Banjo Kazooie is an amazing game, it’s unfortunate that Rare went on to turn it into Nuts and Bolts.

What is your favourite Nintendo console?
Nintendo 64. Hands-down.

Let’s assume that you were about to be stranded on a desert island that operated a strict Anti-Nintendo policy. Which console (not manufactured by Nintendo) would you take, and what three games would you include that were released on that platform?
Geez, what a strange island. I’d take my PS2 along with Shadow of the Colossus, Okami, and Persona 3.

What is your favourite gaming-related website and magazine?
To be honest I don’t keep up with any gaming magazines, I’ve even ditched my Nintendo Power subscription because the information in them tends to be not all too substantial. Most of the information in them is weeks old aside from a few interviews. As for the website, I keep up on a LOT of different sites. IGN, G4TV, Gamespot.. there isn’t one I really like in-particular, they all tend to get the job done.

You’ll have to forgive me for asking you this, and considering that you are so attractive, but what does a guy have to do to impress you and win your heart?
Haha, well, he’d have have an amazing gaming library for me to choose from, would have to be able to take losing well, and must accept all of my Pokemon Battle requests.

What is your favourite band?
My music tastes are pretty sporadic. They change really often, too. Right now I’m a huge fan of ‘Lady Gaga’ and ‘The Used’.

What is your favourite movie and TV series?
My favorite movie is ‘Donnie Darko’, favorite TV Series is probably ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’.

What do you enjoy eating the most, and what would you say is your favourite ice-cream?
Candy. lots and lots of candy. Don’t care how unhealthy I am. Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream with chocolate sprinkles.

Where do you see yourself in five years time, and what are your future goals and aspirations?
I’m not so sure where I’ll be in 5 years. Even if I’m doing the same thing I’m doing now, I’ll be happy! I’m not so good at looking towards the future, only at focusing on the now. I guess as far as aspirations go, I’d love to do this (talking about video games) on a larger scale. Perhaps journalism or a bigger website, or even TV! Who knows.

Finally, where can gamers find out more about you?
The most obvious way is through my youtube channel, at youtube.com/NintendoFanGirl. I also update my twitter (twitter.com/NintendoFanGirl), and I’m on the process of creating my own personal website at NintendoFanGirl.com (which unfortunately won’t be up for another month).

Tucked away in a corner at this year’s Eurogamer Expo, at The Indie Games Arcade stand, was a wonderful indie PC twin-stick shooter by the name of Scoregasm. Developed by Charlie’s Games, the game beared more than a passing resemblance to other twin-stick shooters (such as Geommetry Wars and the Mutant Storm games), yet managed to convey a sense of style all of its own by having new experiences that weren’t necessarily confined to square boxes. In this way, Scoregasm managed to differentiate itself from the competition by having differently designed enemies and bosses for each level.

With the intention of blasting alien baddies into outer space, Scoregasm was able to garner quite a bit of attention at this year’s Indie Games Arcade, and managed to be one of the most action packed titles that I played during the entire event.

So as to learn a little bit more about the game, Charlie Knight – the creative force behind Charlie’s Games – was able to sit down and talk me through the reasons as to why he decided to develop Scoregasm, and as to why he enjoys creating levels containing coleslaw.

How long has Scoregasm been in development for?

About 18 months.

Is the game a solo effort, or are you working on the title as part of a team?

I am responsible for all of the coding and design.

Who is in charge of generating art assets, and what was the inspiration behind the LSD-inspired visuals?

I do the art assets. I guess the inspiration came from a general lack of artistic talent, so it was quite easy to come up with over the top effects using code – which is how most of the animation has been done.

It seems that Scoregasm has been heavily influenced by games such as Super Stardust, Geommetry Wars, as well as bullet-hell games such as what were popular during the 2-D era, and what Cave are famous for now with regards to their own manic shooters. So with that being said, what kind of shoot-em-ups do you play in your spare time?

I play PC Engine shooters as well as a few PC indie shooters. However, I mostly just play Super Mario Brothers (laughs). I like Super Mario Brothers.

Why did you decide to devote 18 months of your life to make a shoot-em-up, as opposed to a platformer, or another type of game?

I don’t know. I enjoy the games that I make, and if you develop anything on your own, you have to enjoy what you do. You have to concentrate and maintain motivation. I didn’t know if I could maintain the motivation in order to make a platform game, so that’s why I opted for a shoot-em-up in this style.

I was able to make each level do something slightly different – change the shape, the enemy designs… Some of the challenges are alternate versions of levels present in the game. There’s also some silly stuff, like coleslaw making when you fire vegetables into a shredder. There’s one where you can shape a guy’s face. One where you have a disk chasing after you. There’s all sorts of things.

What inspired you to come up with eclectic ideas like the ones you have just described?

Aside from being slightly eclectic myself, I guess you could say that they were just fun. It’s a top-down game as much as it’s a shooter, and there’s a lot of stuff you can do from a top-down perspective. I have this top-down game, and this extremely flexible system, so why not just have some fun and throw in some silly stuff in there as well.

With Scoregasm having been developed for the PC, would it be safe to say that the game is coming out on Steam?

It would be nice if the game came out on Steam, but I haven’t gotten in touch with Valve about it yet. However, Scoregasm is also coming out on Mac and Linux as well.

Do you have any plans for Scoregasm to be converted to XBLA or PSN platforms?

Not at present, but we’ll lets see what happens.

Is Scoregasm your first game, or has Charlie’s Games developed any other games in the past?

I have four or five games released so far. I’ve been developing games since 2005…

When did you start learning to program?

I learnt the basics of programming whilst at sixth form, but then I got a job as a full-time gardener. After about two years, I felt as if I was ready for a career change, so I decided to train as a software engineer.

Coming back to Scoregasm, who did the music for the game?

There’s this chap in Sweden called John Marvin who does the music. I met him about five years ago whilst being a judge for a shoot-em-up making competition. One of the people who entered was Cactus with his Cleanasia game, and I really liked the music so I decided to get in touch with John Marvin, the game’s soundtrack composer, afterwards.

Cactus is one of the more prolific auteurs within the games development community. As well as people like Kenta Cho, I think he’s an amazing source of inspiration for people who want to go it alone, and make their own games in the indie spirit.

Cactus makes some cracking stuff.

When is the game due out?

Maybe November or December. It’s not completely finished yet as I still need to add some bits… Visually it’s all there, but there’s still a few levels missing. However, it should still be out later this year.

Did you develop the game full-time?

Yes.

How did you support yourself in the meantime, especially when you don’t happen to have the financial security of being employed by a big-name studio?

Well, I’ve got four other games already for sale. I also have been selling pre-orders of Scoregasm via my website.

Wow. It seems as if your reputation alone has enabled you to make a living, and forge a credible career as a bedroom coder within the games industry.

Yeah… That, and a bit of luck.

I don’t know as to whether Trey Smith has ever heard of Rllmukforum, as that’s a forum that constantly hates upon newcomers, and spews ignorant hate on its boards. And then one has to wonder as to whether the people that help run and maintain that particular community even deserve the opportunity to have themselves be heard and be offered the chance to have an opinion.

Before anyone starts hating on me, let me just give you a brief history lesson:

Rllmukforum is a community comprised of refugees, outcasts, and misfits who weren’t fit for the likes of Edge magazine – a highly respected media institution that has won numerous awards in the past. The only reason as to why those people managed to find shelter in the form of Edge forums is because Edge is renowned for being an excellent videogames magazine that delivers unique content on a monthly basis.

In other words, it was the content that was the unique selling point, and the principle reason as to why so many forumites congregated at Edge forums. So when one hears about Rllmukforum battling for survival a few months ago, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realise that the reason as to why the community isn’t generating new incoming traffic is because those who help run it would rather let the site idly remain as a forum, and not allow it to evolve and sieze the myriad of creative opportunites offered by the web (so as to become a mashup site of sorts), and to allow some of its forumites to become eminent spokesmen within the industry.

Eurogamer hosted its very own Expo this month at London’s Earls Court, and is a stunning example of a website that has gone beyond the boundaries offered by the web, to truly become an international and well respected brand name in its own right. The company has its own website, with its own in-built forum, and regularly draws in huge incoming reader traffic due to its ability to act as a site that not only encourages its user community to submit their own reviews, but also develops content of its own in the form of reviews etc, as well as video and podcast content.

Gamers demand so much more from websites nowadays, and if a site isn’t doing anything to increase its repertoire of services, then it will eventually lose its competitive edge, and flounder in the wake of more hungry competition who are eager to gain a foothold in the marketplace and who want a larger market-share.

If I was a website forum (or business), I’d be thinking as to what it is that distinguishes me from the other 60,000 organisations in existence, who all offer the same service or product, and who all say pretty much the same thing. What am I doing that allows me to remain competitive, and enables me to offer a unique (value-added) proposition?

Every month we see Rllmukforum bleat on (like sheep) about what Games TM and Edge have to say (who all now incidentally happen to have their own forums), but does anyone really care about what Rllmukforum or what any of its members have to say? And even with all that manpower and resources at their disposal, what exactly has Rllmukforum done and achieved so as to become a legitimate gaming authority in its own right?

With some of its more vocal members decrying a lack of desire for Rllmukforum to evolve, and to offer an increased repertoire of services (through exclusive content etc), maybe the site’s selfless act of harbouring refugees has been replaced with a drive to celebrate mediocrity, with egotistical nobodies and lunatics running the asylum after all.

With (exclusive) content being all the rage as far as the internet is concerned, Ed Fries states that “some of the retailers need to become like distributors to have a place in the future, and I just think the smart ones are seeding that path with digital.”

Obviously, and if a games retail company was really smart, then they would endeavour to develop their own game, and have exclusive content and products that none of their competitors are offering. In the long run, this would enable them to retain a competitive edge, and have a more refined USP.

Whilst most game retail companies (like CEX) consider growth as growing in store count, it is debatable as to whether they have done anything that really distinguishes them from the competition. Most game retailers product portfolio can be sourced from other retailers (Game, Cash Convertors) and online sites (Ebay, Amazon), and their business practices from which the bulk of their revenue comes from (of buying and exchanging second hand games) are hardly revolutionary and are easily replicable. To that extent therefore, and whilst I am not doubting a game retail company’s ability to be good at what they do, they lose their competitive advantage.

Games retailers need to understand that it is no longer an option to just have a store (or a portfolio of stores). Store owners need to take active steps to embrace new business practices and seriously consider the notion of improving their skillsets so as to retain any semblance of a competitive edge.

If the adage of “quality and not quantitiy” can be applied, then retailers need to realise that growth does not always involve an increase in bodycount and an increase in employees. Many of the more forward thinking companies have a considerably lower headcount than other more established industrial juggernauts (such as Microsoft VS GM Motors), and yet make more money per head as a consequence.

Retail may not have the most illustrious and glamorous of reputations as an industry, but with many industries converging, it makes sense to consider games retail as being capable of being more than the sum of its parts.

Anyone with a modicum of business and creative acumen must realise that the internet and digital distribtion offers a wealth of opportunities. If games retailers are to grow, then they must embrace these new and emerging technologies and utilise these creative strengths for the benefit of their own business agenda. Companies must realise that the only way they can do this is by actively encouraging their employees to develop their skillsets, or by hiring higher calibre staff.

Intelligent individuals aren’t really that expensive to hire. They may not be as easily manipulated, but that’s a strength that companies just cannot choose to ignore. Apart from finding new and improved ways to increase efficiency, many intelligent individuals also offer new and exciting solutions which their parent companies can adopt.

There is no glory in wishing to remain as an unskilled till-monkey for the rest of your life. Any individual worth their salt would want to grow and develop their skillset in order to become more valuable. Companies must actively encourage this, and not consider their employees as a disposable resource. And if a company is to seek a symbiotic relationship with its employees, then it must stop treating them as mere fodder. Here, I am thinking of Nintendo. There would be no Nintendo without Shigeru Miyamoto, and there would be no Shigeru Miyamoto without Nintendo.

Creative and intelligent people don’t always run off with all the best ideas. If you treat them right, and encourage them to develop themselves to the best of their abilities, then you’ll find that the vast majority of them will be more than happy to stay. And you never know, you might just find that you’ve been sitting on a golden goose (and an industry star) all along.

I remember first photographing this band way back in 2003. It’s a shame that this band never managed to go anywhere, although I do distinctly remember telling everyone as to how amazing this band was at the time.

The term “you can drag a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” seems rather apt, and as one can testify, the best products and bands don’t always gain recognition. Makes me wonder as to whether one should even bother working on themselves if the rat-race is all a foregone conclusion.

Anyway, take a look at the video below:

With Game Maker 8 having recently been released, and with the majority of games released via the program looking so amateurish, it was truly a wonder seeing Fionn Hodgson’s Total Anarchy game in action. A GTA clone, Total Anarchy attempts to re-write the rulebook on what can be achieved using the game authoring program, and is indeed a creative showcase for other game creators who want to know as to what the software is capable of. Knowing this, and wanting to find out as to what made Total Anarchy tick, RE-PLAY got the chance to ask the game’s sole creator – Fionn Hodgson – as to how one can go about appropriating the same techniques in order to make what is definitely looking to be a GTA: Chinatown Wars beater (without the support of massive marketing budgets or a huge studio).

I understand that Total Anarchy is being created using Game Maker 7. Is this the first game that you have ever created using the authoring software, and if not, how many other games have you created before in the past?
I’ve been using Game Maker for a good five years now, and this is by no means the first game I have produced with the software. Early games I made before I registered included simple arcade games and shoot ‘em ups which I’ve long since lost. In 2005, I made a couple of 3D first person shooters which I’ve also unfortinately lost due to a computer virus. In 2006 I made two games, Boxville and Pliston which were much more simple GTA clones. A game I’ve made which you can still play today is NEON which is a 3D arcade shooter available on my website for free.

How long has the game been in development for?
The Total Anarchy Engine has been in development since I finished Pliston in late 2006. This essentially makes the project over three years old! The game was originally going to be called ‘Pavilion City’ and was to be released in 2007, but my exams got in the way and production has been much slower than I thought. The game was renamed Total Anarchy just before the start of 2008. The final version of the game has only been built from the start of 2009, when I rewrote the whole engine from scratch in order to add many features and fix bugs more easily.

What programs did you use for creating the graphics and sound?
I’ve used a large variety of software in order to build up my resources. While the vehicles and pedestrians in the game are displayed as 2D sprites, they are graphics created in 3D software such as Truespace and Poser and edited using Photoshop. All of the buildings are rendered in 3D and many were modelled and textured in software like Truespace. A free Game Maker game called Marzipan was used to convert the model formats into a Game Maker friendly format.

Many of the sounds are taken from freeware resource packages and then manipulated by myself to make them stand out. I have some experience as a sound designer and have been able to build many sounds from scratch using synthesis. I’m an electronic musician too so I was able to use my music on the game’s radio stations.

For voice acting, I’ve used my voice, friends voices and have also had the pleasure of receiving contributions from people online which I will credit appropriately upon the product’s release.

When is the game expected to be released?
I don’t normally set deadlines for myself because I tend to not meet them. The game is very nearly finished, with just a few missions left to code and issues to fix. I’m going to say it should be ready for public Beta testing before March 2010.

This is probably the best looking Game Maker game I have ever seen. Do you know as to whether you have any intention of porting the game to other platforms such as DS or PSP?
Unfortunately, Game Maker only exports Windows executables which means that the game will only be available to Microsoft computers running Windows 2000, XP, Vista or 7. There is a Game Maker in development for Macintosh but I don’t know when it’s available. To release games on consoles you also need licensing and I would stand to lose a lot of money as the game is free.

Why have you decided to make the game freeware?
Because more people tend to play free games. This is the product of a hobby, not a profession. I never intended to make cash off it. If I decide to work in the games industry later in life, Total Anarchy will increase my chances of getting employed as I’d imagine It’d look quite good on a CV!

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out on Game Maker and wants to make a game that is as technically accomplished as yours?
Game Maker is very easy to learn the basics of and can be expanded greatly. Download the free version first and see if you like it, take a look at a few simple tutorials to see how different features do different things.

Once you gain some experience, the PRO version is a fully capable video game building package. Most games built with Game Maker do have a very amateurish look, which is bad for it’s reputation. This is why a professional looking game will stand out very positively. You can play and publish Game Maker games on YoYoGames.com.

What other programming languages are you adept in?
Currently I’m only fluent in GML, the Game Maker Language which is very similar to the more mainstream language, C++.

What other projects do you have lined up, and what kind of games can we expect to see from you in future?
I have a couple of products in early development and planning that I plan to get cracking on in this year. I’m still working on Utopia Unlimited, a 3D geo-political city simulator which pushes the graphical limits of Game Maker. I also plan to begin work on another GTA Game after Total Anarchy, this will have extended 3D features and be a much more expansive game.

What kind of games do you play during your spare time, and what would you cite as being your favourite games of all time?
I’m obviously a big fan of the Grand Theft Auto series, although I don’t like Saints Row. Other games I am very fond of include WipEout, Fallout 3, Outrun, Red Faction, Sim City, Age of Empires, Max Payne and Mafia.

What made you choose Game Maker as the primary tool for creating your GTA Clone Total Anarchy?
Game Maker is actually very good for building large games because the resources and scripts work together so well. It’s very easy to see how the game is going to work before you even run it! Game Maker also comes with very useful functions including a built in 2D Room Editor which makes mapping a delight and a 2D Path Editor which is useful for making traffic patterns.

Finally, Total Anarchy reminds me of ‘Blade Runner’ and Syndicate, but what I’d like to know is: why did you decide to set the game in the future, and what was your inspiration for having a sci-fi setting? Did this impact your design decisions in any way?
I decided to set the game in the future for a number of reasons. The story of Total Anarchy is set in a darker future of Britain which has developed for twenty years.

The game opens with a “terrorist attack” which the player is involved with. The game then goes back a few weeks for the player to understand what is going on and eventually willingly cause and conclude the attack, which turns out to be a rebellion against a corrupt government holding a mysterious device….

A futuristic setting also allows for interesting architectural design and more exciting weapons. It was also a way of effectively using quite spacey music and sounds. I am a fan of films like ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘THX 1138′, so they are also key influences for the games theme.

As one of my favourite underground Washington DC bands from the early ’90s, Bluetip were on the same label as indie champs – Fugazi. Their music consisted of shoebox angular recordings that often veered towards the oblique, with a strange sense of urgent heaviness mixed with a dash of emo tinged fuzzed up scuzz. Suffice to say, when Bluetip decided to reform for a handful of dates around the UK in September 2008, I just couldn’t bear the thought of not interviewing my favourite other Dischord band.

Can you please tell us as to what the inspiration was for calling the band Bluetip and how did the band form? Who were the key members and what roles did they play within the band?
I wanted to call the band “The Ohio Blue tip” because I liked strike anywhere matches. I liked to play with them. I would try to figure out new tricky ways to light the matches, the best of which was to strike it on my teeth using only my lips and tongue; no hands. I was successful only a few times; a majority of my attempts ending with a soggy match and/or a burnt tongue. I used to put them in my mouth like toothpicks because i thought it was cool. I stopped chewing on the matches when I started getting sore throats because sore throats aren’t cool. Anyway… the rest of the band was not into “The Ohio…” so we simply went with “Blue Tip”… and later it got squished to “Bluetip”. Dave Stern (gtr) and I (vox gtr) started the band, we found Jake Kump (bass) and Zac Eller (drums), wrote songs, put out a single and went on tour. Zac quit soon after recording our first album, starting a bad trend of temporary drummers whose death toll eventually reached seven. Dave Bryson eventually got behind the kit, and became an integral part of the band. By the end, Jake and I were the only original members.

In terms of musical and stylistic influences, who has been a strong motivator in determining the band’s look and sound? Where do you draw inspiration from for your songs and lyrics and what steps do you take to evolve as artist musicians?
Conflict and compromise were the strongest motivators in determining our sound.

When reviewers were nice, they said we’d forged a new niche of swaggering angular rock-punk.

When reviewers were mean, they’d accuse us of ripping off Fugazi.
Never thought much about our look (if you mean clothes). But I did have a vested interest in our graphic look, and spent a considerable amount of time (and money) on our album layouts, trying to reach some perfect synthesis of reid miles blue-note sophistication/simplicity with a jetsons-like mid-sixties futurism.

Lyrically I pretty much mined one particularly bad breakup and its ramifications to exhaustion.

Steps to evolve usually led (unnecessarily?) towards complexity.

Given that Bluetip were once associated with Fugazi and its Dischord record label, and knowing that Ian MacKaye took you under his wing by producing your record and provided mentoring and counselling to the band, why do you think Bluetip never became superstars in the music industry?
Not enough people liked us

Given that Bluetip are one of the better bands on Dischord, have you ever been approached by any major label A&R reps and did you ever consider signing to a major label? Why did you decide to stay with Dischord and how do you think Dischord operates in the context of other labels in the music industry?
First of all, thank you for putting us in the upper-fifty percentile on the Dischord roster! There are so many great bands and albums on that label, we were simply honored to be a part of it. Dischord was (and is) an amazing label run by amazing people. Even so, we were younger and antsy, so we bitched a bit and felt frustrated at times.

In our most envious/frustrated moments we would have considered signing to a major label, but no major label ever approached us, so we never had to deal with that dilemma. In hindsight, we should have shut the fuck up and enjoyed what was going on, because we had it great.

For those of us who aren’t aware of your band, how would you describe your music?
“Swaggering Angular Rock-Punk”

Where do you think you’ve fitted in the Washington DC cultural canon? What was the extent of your involvement within the scene, and how do you think the scene adapted in order to accommodate your band? In short, what made you different from all the other bands out there in Washington DC and on the Dischord label?
Our distinction within the DC scene was that we were seldom home. We toured a lot, travelled all over the world. We weren’t the first or the only Dischord band to do so, but the archetypal Dischord band is thought to stay within the beltway and break up after 2 years… we dragged it on for 6.

How do you think Washington DC compares to other American cities (such as Los Angeles) in terms of music and culture and what do you think of the Washington DC scene now?
The DC scene has a mistique to it. Such a rich history. I was so engulfed in it for so long that I didn’t really pay enough attention to other cities’ scenes to make a fair compare/contrast. I left DC 8 years ago, so I don’t know much about what’s going on there now. I do know Dischord is still at the center of it after 28 years

With the internet, MySpace and file-sharing activities arguably sounding the death knell for the Washington DC “scene” and the record label industry as a whole, what steps do you think Dischord is taking so as to impede these threats and remain a viable force in 2008?
I don’t think MySpace is killing the DC scene. Sure, no one sells near the number of records they used to (hence the dying off of so many labels both big and small), but I would imagine Dischord will do what they’ve always done: document the DC scene. If the scene dies out, so does Dischord. That was the plan all along… like life.

Similarly, how do you think the internet has affected you as a band and as artists?
Negatively

For those without corporate sponsorship or major label backing, what advice would you impart to bands wishing to maintain a sense of identity and self whilst finding support so as to succeed on their own terms?
My advice has only gotten me here, so not sure I have some secret recipe for success. But the best way to keep your sense of identity is to write what comes naturally. And the best way to be successful is to lose your sense of identity and write what sells

With so many bands splitting up amid band members not getting on well and individuals citing creative differences, what do you think the reasons were behind Bluetips’s original demise and disbandment?
Bluetip broke up because band members were not getting on well and individuals were citing creative differences.

What have you enjoyed most about being in Bluetip? Do you have any memorable stories that you can tell us, and what would you say have been your biggest achievements to date within the band?
Hands down the bast part was the travelling. Getting to see the world in a very unique way, very much in touch with the people in every city… eating at their favorite restaurants, seeing their houses, sleeping on their floors, waking up next to their dogs, butchering their languages, grinning from ear to ear for no other reason than I was not home.

What bands are you listening to right now and who would you say are your favourite bands on the Dischord label?
Current bands: I like Riddle of Steel (they are breaking up… sad).

This week, I’ve been listening to some older stuff: Metallica, Love and Rockets, AC/DC.

All-time Dischord favorite: The Faith

Other Faves: Rites of Spring, Minor threat, Void.

What have all the ex-band members been up to since the band broke up and what were the reasons for the recent reunion shows that you guys did? Have you now gotten back together permanently, and if so, what can we expect from Bluetip circa 2008?
Jake, Dave and I all randomly and separately found ourselves working in the film industry. Dave as a Key grip, Jake as an electrician, and me as a writer/director of short films and videos. Joe Gorelick (Bluetip’s second-and-current drummer) and I have been playing in RETISONIC since Bluetip’s dissolution.

Dave has a baby girl. I have a baby boy on the way. We’ve been doing life things.

We got back together because we have remained close friends and wanted to connect musically again

What do you think of the Sex Pistols reunion?
Nothing

Considering that Jason Farrell was once a member of Swiz and is now actively involved with Retisonic, how do you think those bands compare to Bluetip and how would you describe those bands to someone who has never heard of them? What albums would you recommend and how do you think Jason Farrell’s role within those bands relates to what he does in Bluetip?
Swiz was more metal/hardcore and retisonic is more stripped down.
Not sure of my exact role, but the general gist of it is “Jason plays guitar in all the bands and sings in two.”

Recommendations:
SWIZ: No Punches Pulled cd (Jade Tree Records)
BLUETIP: Join Us (Dischord Records)
RETISONIC: Return to Me (Silverthree Records / Moderncity Records)

Retisonic has a new album coming out very soon that we are very excited about. our best stuff yet, etc…

Visit www.retisonic.com or myspace.com/retisonic for details.

What tips would you give on playing guitar and what do you think of musicians turning to music production programs such as Pro-Tools, Logic and Cubase in order to improve their sound? Do you think these packages aid the artist, or do you think they make up for a lack of talent? What is your opinion on these pieces of software, and based on your experience, which music production programs would you recommend and why?
I love computers. I love Pro-Tools. It won’t make you write songs any better, and might not make them sound any better, but it does make a few aspects of recording a hell-of-a-lot easier. You still need good mics and good songs.

I’ve found these programs don’t really make the process go any faster: I get way into alternate mixes, editing, trying every possible avenue because I can. Digital knob-tweaking ad nauseum…

What do you think of games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band where they take the glamour of playing music and being part of a rock band as the source of their inspiration?
Nothing

Can you please tell us as to how your recent co-headlining tour with Hoover went? How was the show in London, and do you have any plans of returning to the UK any time soon?
Sooo glad we got to play with Hooover. They are a great band and great group of people. As for Bluetip, the London show was such a good feeling on our end. I hope the people who came had half as much fun as we did. I don’t care if that sounds like a cheesy stock answer, it’s true. I had so much anxiety and stress leading up to the show.. with such a long lapse in our existence and with relatively few practices it could have gone horribly wrong or been marginally passable… But it felt very natural and very good in a way it didn’t for the last half of Bluetip’s original run. Refreshing to play a show when you aren’t angry. I’d love to play more shows, but I am unsure how we could fit it into our lives. I’ve already maxed out my vacation time for the year!

Finally, what’s the best and worst piece of advice someone has ever given you?
“Eat shit and die”

What was the inspiration behind calling your band ‘Trans Am’?
I had nothing to do with it. Apparently, one of those jokers suggested Camaro and the other dude declared that “Trans Am’s were cooler than Camaros”. Which is, I think, proven. Also, Trans Am has all sorts of other possibilities as a name. In Europe we are known as Trans AM (as in morning, I think) and I once talked to a gay comedian who liked the fact that we had “Trans” in our name. He said he would add it too his act. ??? He wasn’t very funny, actually.

Can you tell us a little bit about the core members of the band? Who they are, what instruments they play and a their relative backgrounds?
Yes. There is Phil, there is Seb, there is Natron. We all play everything – keys, drums, guitar, bass, vocals – but not always well. Frequently it is better for our writing process if someone doesn’t play very well. Live we have more fixed instruments. Since performing is the only way we make money any more, I won’t talk more about that – you’ll have to come see us.

I don’t know what “relative backgrounds” means but we’ve known each other for a long time. We’ve actually only developed our own identities in the past few years.

What gear does your band use?
Whatever is around – we used to have a studio with lots of stuff around, but now we are more of a band on the run so we just grab what we can find. Mostly the stuff is old. New stuff is too expensive and has too many rave presets.

What would you say have been major influences in determining the style of your band, and where do you draw inspiration from for your sound and lyrics?
Basically we are a post-punk band except we started about 20 years too late to really matter in a “history of music” kind of way.

Although Trans Am’s music has often been labelled as being Prog Kraut Stadium Rock, how would you describe your music to someone who has never heard of you and why do you think you remain a criminally ignored underground band that isn’t headlining stadiums?
I don’t think criminals ignore us. Actually, one of our favorite people to see on tour in the US is a kid whose brother called him from jail and told him to come check us out when we played this barn in Lafayette, Louisiana with Pansonic. Also, PKSR is pretty good. There was a poster in Croatia that called us Heavy American Electro Rock which also worked as well as any other genre.

What is the largest audience you’ve ever played to, and what would you say is the best and worst part of touring? Have there ever been any memorable events that you feel particularly proud of being associated with, and do you make a comfortable living from touring?
Whoa, Buddy. That should probably be two or three questions:

a) No idea, but on our recent tour supporting Tool, we played a few 16,000 seat venues. We’ve played some decent festivals but are you really playing to people there or just a bunch of muddy, deaf, drugged out zombies? (Nothing against drugs or zombies.)

b) Best=playing; worst=the other 23 hours in a day.

c) Yeah, heaps. We played a pretty cool little festival down in New Zealand this February called camp a low hum. Very small, but fun and with no attitude or bullshit. We make a little money but not enough to rest on our laurels.

Can you describe your daily routine as a band? What do you get up to whilst being in the studio and what steps do you take to ensure that your time on the road is as active and eventful as possible?
I don’t know. We will do anything in the studio but we usually just want smooth sailing on tour; that question gives me a lot to think about.

Can you describe Trans Am’s song-writing process? How do you come up with the various instrument parts and lyrics and collect these to form a seamless whole?
We play the songs a lot. If there isn’t enough then we add more. We have an aesthetic called Obscene Strategies. More about that later.

Who do you think is your target audience and what kind of people do you think enjoy listening to your music?
Our target audience is people who, when they hear our music, either want to dance, yell, laugh or buy merchandise. We’d prefer someone who is obsessive about all four. Unfortunately we mostly seem to attract stoners.

What bands are you listening to at the moment and who would you say are your all time favourite bands? Similarly, what is your stance on Prog Kraut Stadium Rock and which bands would you recommend our readers check out that belong to that particular genre?
I’m not listening to any music right now – trying to concentrate. Chrome is good. (Not Chromeo.)

What is your experience with record labels and what tips you give to someone who is thinking about creating their own record label in future?
Have another think about it: Are you crazy? If so, go for it!

What is your opinion on music compilations and what advice would you offer to those who are compiling their very own music compilation for commercial release?
Is this advice for you or someone you know? Maybe some more specifics would be helpful…I don’t have a position on compilations per se. Some are good. Most suck.

Considering that my favourite album by you is Red Line, which album would you recommend to our readers as being essential listening and something that you are extremely proud of?
That is correct.

Your album “TA” represented a major shift in direction for your band as more emphasis was placed on electronics and synthesisers. Tell us, what caused this progression?
Just trying to have some fun and break into the charts.

You’ve collaborated with The Fucking Champs on a number of occasions in the past to produce some wonderful EPs. Tell us, why do you insist on collaborating with that particular band and what is it like to work with The ‘Champs in terms of music dynamics and song-writing structure?
I guess we don’t mind playing over top of each other. We all have really loud amps, which helps.

Which other bands have you collaborated with in the past, and who are you looking forward to working with in future?
Well, we’ve got some friends who are very talented musicians, which is a quality we can use for upcoming releases.

What motivated you to start Trans Am, and what has kept you going over the many years and changes? What has Trans Am meant to you over the years?
We wanted to play music, make money, get free beer and avoid getting real jobs. Guess what, it worked! (for a while)

How would you sum up your career? Are there any achievements that you consider yourself to be particularly proud of and what would you like to achieve in future?
Not ready for that.

How would you define “respect” and how would one go about earning this?
That’s tough.

How would you describe “cool” as a concept, and how would you determine as to whether someone is “cool” or not?
That’s also tough. People have spent so much money and time massaging our concept of “cool” that there has been a clear backlash underway for a while. I guess cool is maybe someone who deals well with resisting lazy attitudes towards how we present ourselves and experience the universe.

What book are you reading at present and which three books would you recommend our readers check out so as to increase their vocabulary and understanding of the world?
I’m reading some really bad lifestyle magazines at present. I wouldn’t recommend them.

How do you think the scene reacted when Trans Am first formed, and how do you think the scene has adapted in order to accommodate a band such as yourselves?
Well, we have some fans. There are a lot more guitar bands with synths and I think there is more openness to experimental or at least genre-less music. I don’t know if that had much to do with us though.

What is your experience of the DIY scene and the way in which technology is changing the world? What tips would you give on going it alone and how do you think the internet has aided you in terms of distribution, promotion and artistic expression?
It’s tough to start off alone but if you are established at all and well –organized you could definitely give it a go via the internet.

What is your experience of traditional paper-based media and does is bother you at all that you’re hardly (if ever) featured in popular music magazines like Kerrang and NME?
I like paper. I don’t really care about music magazines in particular.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about creating an alternative music magazine so as to rival the popularity of these magazines and challenge the status quo?
Good idea! I’ve never started a magazine though. Although I’m thinking about it.

Can you tell us five facts about your band that our readers may not know?
Seb is left-handed. Phil is not. Natron has pissed himself on stage over five times. The band got serious after narrowly losing a battle of the bands in Rockville next to Mr. Sausage and Ice Cream. Trans Am was once promoted by a Swiss Vietnamese guy named Sam Tran.

Finally, and I don’t normally ask this, but what’s your favourite colour and what do the colours Red and Black mean to you?
None. Man Machine.

Can you tell us as to who the members of your band are and what roles they play within the band. What inspired you to call yourselves “Pelican” and where do you draw inspiration from for your songs and “lyrics”? How long has the band been in existence and how did it form?
I am Trevor and I play guitar. Laruent also plays guitar. Larry plays drums. Bryan plays bass. We decided on the name Pelican because every other conceivable band name was already taken. We formed in 2000 as a side project of our other band Tusk with the intention of doing songs that were a little slower and longer than our grindcore counterpoint.

Our primary inspiration in those days was drawn from bands like Sleep and Godflesh, but as we got more experienced we began to draw inspiration from the many, many bands and different genres of music and art that we’re interested in.

You’re considered to be part of a new wave of exciting bands. What was your local scene like before you formed and how do you think it’s adapted in order to accommodate an outfit such as yourselves? Did you encounter any difficulties as a new and emerging band and what advice would you give to other musical outfits on breaking into such a difficult industry?
The music scene in Chicago has always been pretty hopping and really diverse. There was really not too many people doing what we were doing at the time, which helped gets us shows with other similar touring bands (High on Fire, Knut, Isis, etc.) early on. I don’t really I have much to offer in the way of advice to bands just starting out – what happened with Pelican was pretty lucky; Tusk had been playing for three years with very little interest being taken in what we were doing. I also have a new band Teith that has been playing out for a year and very few people have been paying attention. I think it’s just a matter of timing, practice, luck, and perseverance.

Out of all the bands gaining attention in the mainstream press, which bands do you most admire and how do you think their existence has benefited the music scene? On the other hand, what bands do you consider as being unworthy of the adulation and praise that has been lavished upon them by the industry and why do you think that they represent everything that is wrong about the business today?
I think what Radiohead did with their new record – self-leaking it and charging for it, was a brilliant business move and will hopefully change the way the mainstream music industry operates since it is a dying, bloated, piece of shit. The record is pretty fucking awesome, too. As far as mainstream stuff, I don’t really follow it much and seldom know what’s going on, but I did hear this singer Shakira the other day and she was genuinely horrible. Anyone who uses tat much auto-tuning on their voice obviously can’t sing and shouldn’t be putting out records. Or just put out records with your actual voice and risk people not thinking it sounds good. All it takes is a little integrity, you know?

How do you think the internet and downloading culture has affected your career as a band. In what way have MySpace and filesharing activities helped or hindered you, and how have you reacted to the ever-evolving and changing nature of the music industry?
I’m sure many people have heard the band because of the internet. It makes things harder for bands because the new distribution methods mean making less money from record sales, forcing them to turn to touring to make the majority of their income. We spend half the year touring just to make ends meet, but the fact that everywhere we go there are people who are familiar with our band and our music is pretty awesome. Just last night two guys drove from far eastern Slovakia to see us in Vienna, Austria – an 1100 km drive. They admitted that they downloaded the record, but it doesn’t bother me just knowing that the internet has made it possible to be distributed so far so easily.

For the interest of our readers, how would you describe your music and where can we find out more about you and your music? Who have been your key influences and do you have any recorded music for sale or in the pipeline?
We play a style of instrumental rock that is at turns melodic and aggressive. In general we tend toward uplifting melodies and temper our love for metal-tinged riffs with a sense of space and atmospherics. People can listen to our songs at our myspace site: myspace.com/pelican.

What are your future plans and how do you think these tie in with your goals and aspirations as a band and in life? What would you consider as being important to you and how would you wish to be remembered once the dust has settled and you’ve had a chance to achieve your objectives?
We just would like to keep doing this band and playing shows. Our goals are to always keep evolving and progressing as musicians and a band, to keep challenging ourselves and our listeners. We want to be remembered as a band that are progressive and exciting.

Finally, when can we expect to see you again in the UK and do you have any kind words or morsels of advice that you’d like to dish out to your fans?
We’ll be in the UK in about a week. My advice; quit with the violence. Don’t eat red meat or fried foods. Practice. Brush your teeth.

Did anybody go? I went on Friday and last night.

I thought they were pretty good as live performers, but their individual personas (bar Glen Matlock’s and Paul Jones’) left much to be desired.

Johnny Rotten has become the very thing he swore to destroy, by becoming an egomaniac and a self-centred arrogant twat.

When he emerged from the venue past 5am this morning, he would hardly sign anything for the fans who had braved the freezing temperatures all night. I was lucky, but many of my new-found friends weren’t. He was rude, wouldn’t talk to anyone, and grudgingly accepted the offer of signing my Rotten book and Sex Pistols cd.

He also refused to be interviewed, for which I was somewhat dismayed. And when his minder pimp-manager started arguing with some of the other bystanders, I thought Johnny and his entourage had reached a new low. He’s not the hero and the great man that he once was, and I wish I had told him that Malcolm McLaren had been a lot nicer than Johnny – “cos it’s not where you were, it’s where you’re at”.

Malcolm is a lot more civilised and presentable as a character whilst Johnny on the other hand is nothing more than a foul-mouthed yob. And my opinion of him isn’t exactly helped by the fact that everyone who he associated himself with last night was on some wierd power-trip (driver included).

“Hey Mr Driver, you’re just a fucking driver. now please stop disrespecting your passenger’s fans and treat them with a tad more respect. Thankyou”.

I’m sorry. It’s just that I expected more from one of my heroes, and hope that I don’t brush people off the way Johnny did last night. Judging from last night, I know that I’m a better person than he is. And for that, I count my blessings and am extremely thankful.

Can I ask as to what organisation you are from?
Hahaha, yeah sure. I’m not from any organisation. I’m a twenty two year old Swedish student who develops independent games under the alias “Cactus”. That’s about it. The most “famous” game I’ve made is Clean Asia!, but I’ve made quite a handful of others as well.

I hope that clears up things for you

How easy is it to make technically proficient games using game authoring software such as Game Maker / Game Builder? Would you recommend the use of such programming tools?
Game Maker is an excellent tool for making two dimensional games. It’s relatively easy to make a game that looks good and plays well, since you can focus your attention on those two areas, rather than going about the usual business of setting up collision checking and writing scripts for “trivial” stuff like that. I’d easily recommend Game Maker for amateurs that want to make games that aren’t too advanced. Once you’ve mastered GML (short for Game Maker Language, the language that you use when you write code), you can easily make a smaller game within a day.

Game Maker has a lot of limitations, though. Especially when it comes to speed. You can forget many of the fancy graphical effects seen in games developed in a more raw and powerful language than GML, as they most likely won’t be able to be presented while keeping a decent fps. And while 3D is supported, it’s not really an option, unless you’ll settle for something very lowkey and minimalistic.

Overall, I think GM could be a perfect tool for those who want to make smaller, or at least relatively unflashy games. It’d also serve as a great means for making prototypes easily and without much pain when you want to try out a new concept.

Given that you work in a solo capacity, is it possible to be able to make enduring works of art which can stand the test of time?
I hope so, but I guess that is really upto the audience that plays the game. I’m not really too keen on calling my games “art”, as I feel that a lot of art lacks value. In my opinion, art is a form of entertainment, yet most art doesn’t entertain or interest me. I don’t have any artistic ambitions aside from making something that I myself find interesting as well as looks good, plays well and sounds great. The same thing that I look for when I read a book, listen to music, look at a painting or watch a movie.

Would one be able to make a game that is as good as Ikaruga using standard development tools?
Depends on what you mean by “standard development tools”. I’ve heard that XNA is free to use, and that it can produce things on that level of quality. But if you’re talking about Game Maker or applications on that level, then I’d have to say no. At least not the graphics. You can however make a game that is more fun to play, more interesting to look at or more interesting to listen to, but the one who plays the game is always the one who is going to decide wether one game is better than another or not.

How easy would it be to develop for an existing console platform and have you ever tried approaching any of the big three?
For me it wouldn’t be very easy, since I’d have to re-learn the basics of programming, plus learn how to do basic things that I’ve never had to do before. It does sound tempting, though, since there seems to be a big market for it, and it also seems fairly accessible even if you don’t have the resources that are normally required for creating a console game.

I haven’t given it a try yet, but I hope that I’ll get to that point someday.

Can you tell us as to who the members of your band are and what roles they play within the band. What inspired you to call yourselves “The Vincent Black Shadow” and where do you draw inspiration from for your songs and lyrics? How long has the band been in existence and how did it form?
Robbie:Guitar
Cassandra:Vocals
Tony:Drums
Chris:Bass

The name comes from the name of a motorcycle written about by Hunter S Thompson. Our inspiration comes from everything – from other music, movies and literature. The band was formed in 2003 by Robbie, Cass and Tony.

You’re considered to be part of a new wave of exciting bands. What was your local scene like before you formed and how do you think it’s adapted in order to accommodate an outfit such as yourselves? Did you encounter any difficulties as a new and emerging band and what advice would you give to other musical outfits on breaking into such a difficult industry?
We aren’t really part of any local scene as we tour all the time, but the Warped Tour in the USA has embraced us, and we have gone from playing the smallest stage on it last year, to the biggest one this year. My advice to new musicians, is prepare for the worst, and unless you are prepared to give up your social life, girlfriend/boyfriends, money and lucrative career, then stop now as you basically have to sacrifice everything to do this. And in a way, that makes us love it.

Out of all the bands gaining attention in the mainstream press, which bands do you most admire and how do you think their existence has benefited the music scene? On the other hand, what bands do you consider as being unworthy of the adulation and praise that has been lavished upon them by the industry and why do you think that they represent everything that is wrong about the business today?
First off, what’s wrong with the business today is that everyone is constantly saying who is worthy and unworthy of success when it should just be bands trying to make the best music possible. People like Mike Patton, Dave Mustaine, Les Claypool, Amy Winehouse, Fiona Apple are all pushing their own musical boundaries and trying to contribute to the music culture. I don’t want to insult anyone’s tastes so all I can say is any band in this for the $ should fuck off.

How do you think the internet and downloading culture has affected your career as a band. In what way have MySpace and filesharing activities helped or hindered you, and how have you reacted to the ever-evolving and changing nature of the music industry?
Myspace is great, it allows us to stay in contact with our fans. We’re not against file sharing but we appreciate when people spend money on our records. We’re happy that people listen to any form of our music.

What advice would you give on love and romance and what is your opinion on two-timers and whores? Are women just as bad as men (and vice-versa) or is this just a side of the human condition that only afflicts the morally weak and the criminally insane? How can we save ourselves from such dubious people of low moral character and what would you recommend as being a befitting treatment for those who leave a trail of broken hearts in their wake?
We’re musicians, not marriage councilors.

For the interest of our readers, how would you describe your music and where can we find out more about you and your music? Who have been your key influences and do you have any recorded music for sale or in the pipeline?
Our music comes from a variety of influences from metal, alternative, pop, punk etc.. Some bands we like are Megadeth, Faith no More, The Misfits, GnR, Avenged Sevenfold, Amy winehouse.

Our Debut album ‘Fears In The Water’ is available now!

What are your future plans and how do you think these tie in with your goals and aspirations as a band and in life? What would you consider as being important to you and how would you wish to be remembered once the dust has settled and you’ve had a chance to achieve your objectives?
Future plans are for a new video to follow our first single and video ‘Metro’, continue with warped tour which we’re currently on, and more touring. We hope to be remembered as an original band that worked hard for its success.

Finally, when can we expect to see you again in the UK and do you have any kind words or morsels of advice that you’d like to dish out to your fans?
We sincerely wish to thank anyone who supports us with our music and we hope to be back for the fall in the uk.

Can you tell us as to who the members of your band are and what roles they play within the band. What inspired you to call yourselves “Flood of Red” and where do you draw inspiration from for your songs and lyrics? How long has the band been in existence and how did it form?
Jamie Mcgowan – Bass
Graham Griffith – Drums
Calum Doris – Guitar
Jordan Spiers – Vocals
Sean Mcgroarty – Guitar
Dale Gallacher – Synth

Flood of Red is a song written by one of our favourite bands ‘…and you will know us by the trail of dead’.

The songs and lyrics both just come to us. We’ll listen to other bands then an idea will click. Is usually what happens.

Band has been together for about 4 years, under a different name. But we became flood of red in April 2005.

You’re considered to be part of a new wave of exciting bands. What was your local scene like before you formed and how do you think it’s adapted in order to accommodate an outfit such as yourselves? Did you encounter any difficulties as a new and emerging band and what advice would you give to other musical outfits on breaking into such a difficult industry?
The Glasgow local scene was really good a few years back. Everyone went to shows, everyone had fun and everyone loved the music for the music.

There isn’t much of a Glasgow local scene nowadays.

We’ve had it rough, with our van and lack of money. However, we still went at it, touring the country non-stop and just playing shows everywhere and anywhere.

That’s the best advice we could ever give to a smaller band.

Out of all the bands gaining attention in the mainstream press, which bands do you most admire and how do you think their existence has benefited the music scene? On the other hand, what bands do you consider as being unworthy of the adulation and praise that has been lavished upon them by the industry and why do you think that they represent everything that is wrong about the business today?
Enter Shikari have had a huge impact on the music scene today. They’ve made bands realise that if they can make it huge so can we.

There’s not really many bands that I think they don’t deserve what they have. I’m sure each band has put there hard work in as much as everyone else.

How do you think the internet and downloading culture has affected your career as a band. In what way have MySpace and filesharing activities helped or hindered you, and how have you reacted to the ever-evolving and changing nature of the music industry?
Myspace is the greatest thing ever. It’s made us who we are, and I’m sure a lot of bands can say the same.

Filesharing is good too, if people can’t afford to buy our records, then go for it. As long as they get to hear our music.

What advice would you give on love and romance and what is your opinion on two-timers and whores? Are women just as bad as men (and vice-versa) or is this just a side of the human condition that only afflicts the morally weak and the criminally insane? How can we save ourselves from such dubious people of low moral character and what would you recommend as being a befitting treatment for those who leave a trail of broken hearts in their wake?
I personally think they’re just as bad as each other. Being a guy I should be sticking up for males, but nah. I know, I’m not that good a role model.

For the interest of our readers, how would you describe your music and where can we find out more about you and your music? Who have been your key influences and do you have any recorded music for sale or in the pipeline?
This is always a hard one. We mix lots of genres together, to create what we have.

Check it for yourself at www.myspace.com/floodofred

Or get onto iTUNES and buy our EP, Lost In The Light.

We’ll have a single out mid August.

What are your future plans and how do you think these tie in with your goals and aspirations as a band and in life? What would you consider as being important to you and how would you wish to be remembered once the dust has settled and you’ve had a chance to achieve your objectives?
We have a few tours in the pipeline. A lot bigger than the ones we’re doing just now. Hopefully get an album out by the end of the year/ early next year.

Finally, when can we expect to see you again in the UK and do you have any kind words or morsels of advice that you’d like to dish out to your fans?
Check our myspace, we have shit loads of tour dates.

Now that you no longer play an active part in the music industry, do you think there’ll ever be another band to capture the raw essence and spirit of The Sex Pistols? Would such a band be able to exist today and how would you suggest that they would go about revolutionising the face of modern music forever?
I am much more active than you think but that is another story.   Today the world wide web counts for what is sexy, subversive and  stylish in pop culture, and furthermore, what is interactive.  Two of the most salient points in the punk aesthetic.  The rest, you have to make yourself.

What do you look for in modern bands today and what advice would you give to up and coming acts with regards to management and the need to ensure that they live up to their potential?
They serve less purpose today.  There are two words that sum up pop  culture: “authenticity” and “karaoke”.  Pop idol and pop tv  programming generally serves the purpose today of introducing us all  to a karaoke world.  Pop Idol alone has replaced the moribund music  industry.  On the other hand, there is an enormous thirst for  something authentic but that is like searching for a ruby in a field  of tin.  Although the easiest way to potentially find something  authentic is to surf the net.  Here in a more lawless and friendlier,  therefore, environment, dwells the romantic and outlaw spirit of an  alternative culture.  I would look there and all of the diy wherever  that may live.

Dave from a band called ‘White Man Kamikaze’ asked me to ask you as to what prompted you to manage The New York Dolls. A band that seemed to represent the complete antithesis of what The Sex Pistols ever stood for, and why do you think the results were so markedly different, with many people blaming you for the band’s subsequent decline and resultant break-up?
I liked that the NY Dolls were bad at everything and I wanted to  repeat that idea back in the UK. I had a chance to do that with a few  kids who hung out at my store.  This was a way of being anticorporate  and against the commodification of pop culture that was now seriously  underway by the mid-seventies.  The New York Dolls taught me  something new.  That what is cool is bad and what is good is boring.   The result was The Sex Pistols and more than that, punk itself.

After Johnny Rotten’s departure from The Sex Pistols, you once considered Sid Vicious as a suitable replacement, stating that “Sid Vicious could actually sing, and he was potentially a much bigger star” (The Guardian 21/03/04). Can you please tell us as to why you thought this and what star qualities do you think make a good front-man for a band?
Sid Vicious was less self-conscious and wasn’t frightened to fail.   He only saw a green light, never red – the fundamentals required to  be a bad front man.

You recently gave a speech in New York during which you predicted the death of the record label by stating that “no one cares about selling units any more. All record labels will end up closing eventually because no one wants actual CDs anymore. You can get whatever you want on the internet for nothing now”. How do you think these events will affect recording artists, and what tips would you give the record label industry to ensure that they are able to offset these trends and ensure that quality music still gets heard?
The recording industry more than likely in the future will be owned  by the artists themselves.  As an industry, it is no longer needed,  in what has become a virtual world of recorded music.

What advancements do you see in “Chip Music” and the “punk” sounds of tomorrow, and how do you intend to revolutionise the state of Videogames on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Punk? Finally, what advice do you have for budding entrepreneurs and how would you challenge the status quo as a means of ensuring radical industrial change for tomorrow?
I am in the throes of setting up a major exhibit at MoMA New York on  the impact and history of videogame culture and the art within it.   The only advice I can give any budding entrepreneur is to believe in  making magnificent failures rather than benign successes.

Seeing as Pitchshifter have been on a two year hiatus, I was wondering if you’d be so kind as to remind our readers as to who the members are, what roles you play in the band, and your age.
J.S. Clayden: Vocals/Programming
Mark Clayden: Bass Guitar
Jason Bowld: Drums
Dan Rayner: Lead Guitar
Tim Rayner: Rhythm Guitar

We are all old enough to know better but too young to be quitting.

Having been a fan of your music since 1996, I’ve had the privilege of seeing you develop and hone your stylistic music since the release of Infotainment. How do you feel about being regarded as pioneers and torch bearers for the underground British metal community?
Accolades are always nice. Of course there will always be haters who say the opposite, but the people in the know will know that Pitchshifter has done their time and earnt their place. I think to be honest, the thing we did first was to meld the collision of styles together well. People used to laugh at me when I told them I was putting drum and bass breaks with metal guitars and punk vocals back in the day. Now pretty much every piece of production music you hear on TV has those elements. There aren’t many bands that have been using electronics & guitars since ’89. I would like to be remembered as pioneers of the melding of those elements.

You’ve often cited industrial music as being a source of inspiration for your music and yet have gone beyond the confines of industrial music to explore other genres (such as drum n bass electro and punk) in order to develop a sound that can truly be called your own. As open-minded music enthusiasts, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to disclose some of your other influences in defining your band’s sound and philosophy.
We have always taken influence from anything we like, no-holds barred. I personally get as much inspiration from Dead Kennedys as I do from Led Zeppelin or Hendrix. Likewise, books by Fante, Bukowksi, Wolfe, Castenada, Thompson and equally from movies by Chronenberg and Lynch. Seeing the original line ups of bands like Crass and The Smiths was an influence in our political thinking. The late ’80s / early ’90s were heady days in UK politics!

Speaking of influences, what was it like working with punk luminaries such as Jello Biafra?
Jello is an awesome guy. He is a consummate professional also. For the track ‘As Seen On TV’ he came to the studio, busted out 6 takes back to back and we were done. Amazing talent and his lyrics are always topical and poignant. He is the real deal. Add to that the fact that he’s actually a nice person and it’s all good. Often you meet people you have admired for their art and they are horrible in person. I am glad to say Jello is not in that category. He’s a great guy. I would work with him again in a heartbeat.

Jello Biafra once ran for mayor. Do you think that someone from a punk music background could make an effective mainstream politician and what advice would you give to someone who is thinking of pursuing a similar path in English politics?
The system of snakes and hyenas will do everything in its power to keep those from outside of the system, outside of the system. You have to be squeaky clean to make it in that game and any decent musician is about as clean as used toilet paper.

Having maintained an outspoken sense of pride in adopting a confrontational stance to your politically charged songs, I was wondering what the publics reaction was to your monarchy baiting, anti-royalist song ‘Un-UK’?
‘Un-UK’ went down well. Well, I did get punched in the head by a BNP supporter once, but that was the only negative aspect of releasing that tune. And to be honest, it was a pretty sad indictment of the party and that individual. If you dont agree with what someone is saying, try to beat them down physically until they stop. Genius. To be clear though, ‘Un-UK’ is about the royal family and the class system. It is NOT anti-UK. The UK is a great country that I love. My beef is with the system. Kings and Queens are not noble, they are thieves, bullies and overlords. They get to sit in the national treasures our ancestors paid for and we upkeep, while we go to jail if we try to set foot on them. Any decent forward-thinking country had a revolution and offed their heads. There’s still time kids.

Do you think ‘Un-UK’ was a contributing factor towards your reason for relocating to LA. Also, what do you like and dislike about the UK?
No. I moved to the USA because I met the woman of my dreams and she happened to live in LA. No political statement, just pure love.

UK Likes: great minds, great inventors, great sense of humor, great parties, great beer, marmite, Rock City, The Astoria, the history, Monty Python, tons of great music.

UK dislikes: horrific weather, bullshit political system, expensive, lethargic epidemic, chavs.

Given that ‘Un-UK’ was heralded as a renaissance of the defiant spirit of the Sex Pistols, how do you feel about the recent success of Green Day and the “new punk explosion”. Do you think well ever see another band again which embodies the explosive nature of the Sex Pistols and the 70′s punk scene?
No. What’s done is done. Each new generation has to relive that epoch and ethos, but the Pistols did it first, last and only. I thought Atari Teenage Riot were the new Pistols, but they fizzled out. Green Day is great music, but much more melodically structured and they have their A-game on. Nothing I have seen since ATR is as raw as the Pistols. I live in hope!

What’s your view on the current state of the alternative music scene in England? Are there any bands which you would like to recommend to our readers?
I am so incredibly out of touch with what’s in in England that I am in danger of going full circle and inadvertently becoming hip again by proxy of my un-coolness.

Moving onto JS Clayden’s new home turf, whats the American music scene like and what bands would you recommend as being worthy of an honorable mention?
Recently I have been listening to everything pre-1980. Go figure.

What motivated you to incorporate Bill Hicks phrase “You are free to do as we tell you” as part of the B-side to your ‘Genius’ CD single in 1998?
Bill Hicks was a f**king genius and his work deserves to be heard by as many people as is humanly possible. He’s the Fante of stand-up comedy.

LISTEN TO ALL OF HIS WORK IMMEDIATELY.

As a band that has made pioneering use of new technologies to advance your sound, what problems have you encountered when using samples as part of your music? Also, how have you dealt with the difficulties of infringement issues when dealing with samples as part of copyright material?
Pass.

Have you ever considered the possibility of having your own radio show and would you ever consider podcasting as a means of reaching out to your fans and extending your audience?
Hey, radio might be fun. I am hella busy though, hell knows when I would get the time. I have DJ’ed in the past, both rock and drum and bass. I dug it, it was a lot of fun. Jim and I got the dance-floor jumping in Rock City downstairs with some slamming D&B a few times. They were memorable days!

What record labels do you particularly admire and do you have any horror stories of your own when dealing with record companies in the past?
Pretty much every record label I have been on sucked ass apart from a few exceptions. The best label I have been on is PSI Records. They treat their bands well, they deliver on time, they pay royalties, they let you do what you want creatively . . . .

What spurred you to set up your very own record label and did you encounter any difficulties when doing so? Also, if you could sign any artist/ band (alive or dead) to your label, who would it be?
We wanted to release a double CD for the price of a single CD. No labels would go for it. They wanted max profits. We wanted to thank the fans with a freebie disc and didnt really care about max profits, so we told them to shove it and started our own label. What artist alive or dead would I sign? Walking Seeds, The Jam, Hendrix, The Who, Tull, Specials, Zappa, Helmet, DJ Shadow, Slab, Deftones, Quicksand (we could go on forever).

If you could release the ultimate compilation (featuring 12 tracks), what would it be and who would be on it?
That’s a tough one. Too many good tunes. Heres a selection (in no apparent order):

01 Living in the past: Jethro Tull
02 Going Underground: The Jam
03 Teenage Kicks: The Undertones
04 Crosstown traffic: Jimi Hendrix
05 (Anything from) Endtroducing: DJ Shadow
06 California Uber Alles: Dead Kennedys
07 Dazed and Confused: Led Zeppelin
08 Born To Be Wild: Steppenwolf
09 Monkey Man: The Specials
10 Ruby My Dear: Thelonious Monk
11 (Anything from) Skullfuck: The Walking Seeds
12 Happy Jack: The Who

Speaking of tracks, what can we expect from your new 6 track EP All For One And None For All (which is going to be given away free with all ticket purchases for your upcoming tour)? Are there any plans to make it commercially available after the tour and will you be following this up with a new album?
The Track Listing is as follows:

01 – Burning (Out Of Control)
02 – Does It Really Matter?
03 – Pre-Disposed (To Sickness) This Is Menace feat. J.S. Clayden
04 – Burning (Out Of Control) – Meltdown Mix
05 – Does It Really Matter? – Heat Treatment Mix
06 – Burning (Out Of Control) – Molotov Mix

The 2 new Pitchshifter tunes are different in style. Burning is like www.pitchshifter.com 2006 and ‘Does It Really Matter?’ is a look forward, with a more sung vocal style and more accomplished song structure.

Plans for a new album? Who knows. Might be fun. We’ll think about it. You can pick it up from the PsiRecords.com store while stocks last.

One of the main reasons as to why I chose to attend Staffordshire University was because of Jim Davies’ recommendation in the institution’s course program brochure. As a longstanding PSI fan, I was wondering if Pitchshifter will ever consider collaborating with Jim Davies and whether he’ll be returning to the fold in future?
Jim and Pitchshifter are still good friends. Our clashing schedules just meant that we didn’t get to work together after that period. Who knows what might happen in the future. The Rayners are great guys and we are totally happy with them on guitars. Jim actually recommended them. So it’s all good. An extended family.

What books are you reading at the moment and what books would you say have been a determining factor in defining Pitchshifter’s philosophy?
Right now I am re-reading The Fall by Albert Camus. Great work.

Defining authors?: both Fantes, Burroughs, Castenada, Wolfe, Thompson, Bukowski, Camus, Bataille, Kerouak, anything edgy.

What is your favourite era in Pitchshifter?
Musically: www.pitcshifter.com.

Touring: on tour in the USA with Gravity Kills.

Experience: my first tour of Europe in a van.

Life: meeting my wife on tour in Chicago.

What would you like Pitchshifter to be remembered for in 20 years time and if you had the opportunity to sum up PSI in three words, what would they be?
Kick ass live. Dead dead good. No fucking compromise.

I would like to be remembered as a band that pioneered the meld of heavy guitars and breakbeats.

And finally, do you have any final words for our readers? They can be anything, anything at all…
WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!

Peace – JS

You are generally perceived as being pioneers of the “Rap Metal” genre. Can you tell us as to how you were able to successfully fuse what appear to be two totally disparate and unconnected music styles?
The answer is rather simple. We all had a love for Hardcore and Punk, as well as Hip Hop. Prior to downset, we had a band called Social Justice which was even more tuned to crossing over these styles and we just threw in a pinch of Classic Rock, and Metal, and we came up with the Downset sound. Fuse influences by early Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies along with Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, and throw in some Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, and you have downset’s theorem. There were a handful of bands that did what we were doing; we just made it a recognizable form.

What was the surrounding rap and metal scene like before you started and how do you think it reacted when your sound was finally formed?
Well like I just said, there were only a handful of artists doing what we were doing at the time. No one was really paying attention as far as mainstream is concerned; bands were just doing their thing and performing with like-minded bands from the hardcore scene. When we started to perform this style even back in Social Justice, people were taken back by what they were hearing… Hardcore? Hiphop? Metal? No!!!… MUSIC! The style caught on very quickly and many people tried to copy the formula. When we came out with the first downset demo, everyone was awed! We had found a NEW thing.

You’ve obviously been around since the late 1980’s and have seen a lot of musical styles come and go and yet have been able to not only survive but have also thrived in the face of dangers that would have crippled a lesser band. Based on experience therefore, what ingredients do you think are important for a band?
Teamwork and brotherhood are very important, but staying true to what is in your heart and not letting nay-sayers throw you off is the most important. This band has been through almost everything you can toss at a band. We have had fights, label wars, car accidents, all kinds of horrible stuff, but we are STILL here! I think teamwork is second to being true to yourself and your beliefs, as you always have to be there to support the other guy if he isn’t 100% for that night. Teamwork has been a valuable virtue since the dawn of civilization, and it’s something we as all bands struggle with to keep the unit intact. There is no I in team, and brothers are the keepers of their own.

You were enjoying success at a time when other scene stalwarts (such as Biohazard) were hitting their commercial stride. Why do you think bands like Rage against The Machine and Biohazard have floundered whilst you’ve been able to remain fresh and vital in the eyes of both peers and enthusiasts alike?
Most importantly I believe that we have something special and magical in our music and message that all of the other bands from that ‘scene’ failed to hold true to. Money and fame are hard for some to deal with, and even harder for some to keep their egos in check once status has been achieved. I think that also music critics and fans alike found the magic in downset as captivating and not just another passing fad. downset spoke of the world’s issues with ease, and the music was inspiring to some as well. downset had a good foot on solid ground from the get go, and I feel that has always helped us maintain. In simpler words, downset has always held true to what we stand for and believe from music to ideology to lifestyle in general.

What do you think of the commercial metal scene today? Aside from Linkin Park, are there any bands which you admire that are doing something different beyond the trademark metal sound?
Remember this… Without downset there wouldn’t be bands like Linkin Park, and I find that somewhat amusing, as we have never tried to influence anyone or anything, we have just written and played what we feel! As far as new talent, I really like Skindred from UK, and Slipknot. I admire what they do, and their approach. I feel a new musical horizon is closing in, and soon there will be bands that awe everyone once again. The commercial metal scene today is pretty bland in my opinion with the exception of a few bands. The bandwagon thing is worse than ever now too. Who cares what band x and y are doing!! Do your own thing and keep it true to what is inside of you and motivates you.

What bands are you listening to at the moment?
In my CD changer right now is Damian Marley – Welcome to Jamrock, Asian Dub Foundation – R.A.F.I.’s Revenge, Too Rude – Reinvention, Green Day – Kerplunk, Suicidal Tendencies – self titled, Public Enemy – New Whirl Odor.

How do you think the underground music scene will be affected by the closure of CBGB’s?
I am really bummed about this. A classic hardcore hangout and outlet for countless bands is going to waste. Shame on the owners for not rewriting the lease!!! I have heard talks of re-opening in 2007 in a new spot in the Bowery, as well as rumors of opening a CBGB west in Vegas. I just hope the bands that have helped shape and form this monument of the scene are all welcomed to the new if any locations!!

CBGB – RIP!

Do you have any heroes/role models?
(Laughing) The kind of role models and heroes I have are not for the weak hearted or stomach for that matter. My heroes have to include Ras Ta Fari, Gandhi, and Hitler. I admire these people for their ability to overcome their personal obstacles by any means. I must state that I do NOT agree with the ideology of Hitler but find him as a hero, none the less. I do not have any role models per say, but I can say I admire Bam Margera and Steve-o for not giving a shit about what anyone else thinks about them, and doing their thing at full throttle. These may be hard to figure out coming from a guy in a band that talk so much about love, peace, and social awareness, but I find qualities in these people that have almost been lost in general population. Oh yeah and oh course… Jah!

Can you please tell us as to what inspired you to utilize the sampled speech of Martin Luther King on “Empower”, the track that features on your seminal “breakthrough” album ‘Do We Speak a Dead Language?’
That’s too simple. Martin Luther King is a pillar of social equality and humane love. As downset, we find his words and speeches very admirable and true to light! We hope that by meshing the words of MLK with heavy music that we can enlighten others to his works!

Moving on to your most recent album, what was the genesis for downset’s latest work being titled ‘Universal’?
We started coming up with this concept in early 2003. Rey had the idea to spread the word globally if nothing else through the title track and lyrics to it. “Universal” is a word that when brought to mind reveals a vastness, greatness, and within that greatness you have multiples of nations, cultures, and lives in general. We want to bring our message to all universally, and not just within our music scenes, and genres. We want all to give our music and our message a chance in real-time.

What themes and messages underpin your most recent work and what are you trying to communicate to fans and newcomers alike on your most recent album?
Universal was geared more towards personal turmoil and reflections rather than the substandard downset formula of writing about the world’s strife and plight. We all have a civil duty as human beings to grow in the path that is just and right according to our higher power whoever that may be.

If as you say music affects the “heart and soul”, how successful do you think Live 8 has been in accomplishing its objectives? Do you think it was a “universal” success in unifying the world against poverty and alleviating debt in Africa and Third World countries?
First I think the Live 8 was directed more towards African relief, than towards third world or even global relief. Live Aid, Farm Aid, Live 8, These are all great ideas, but the biggest problem is that after the event everyone goes about their lives, and what does that accomplish? We “knew” about the problems before the events? We already knew; we need to be doing something about it. If everyone who attended make a dedication to stand true to what they are all there for things could have more impact. I think Live 8 was a great feat, but on a small scale. With poverty, homelessness, and overall oppression in our own backyards in America, I think there needs to be MORE focus on what can be done to help ourselves in addition to helping globally. I guess the answer is No.

What measures would you take, and against what cause, if there was a music event to again re-unite the world against the same / alternative cause?
I think Live 8 was on the right track to attack the humane issues that affect us all! I think it needs to be taken seriously and that North America has just as much of a problem that NEEDS to be addressed as anywhere else. I would like to achieve a variable of Live 8 that addresses the issues of humanity on a truly global scale and that ALL musical genres should be invited as well as artists, politicians, AND the poverty stricken themselves. downset has been involved in numerous small scale efforts such as food drives, benefit shows and so on. More artists of all mediums need to do the same, as well as large corporations and the like. I recently did a Hurricane relief show with my other band, Jodoh, and noticed an insincere vibe from other artists. Sincerity is the key!! Remember that!

You describe your music as being “Total Music”. Can you elaborate on the term and tell us what it means?
“Total Music” is an approach to songwriting that ignores genres, extends linearly, not cyclicly and celebrates harmony.

What bands do you think have been most prominent in influencing the Total Music sound?
Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Apart from yourselves, which other bands in your opinion specialise in Total Music?
None

Moving on from the last question, what do you think of metal today and can you give a reason as to why you rarely perform in front of real metal crowds?
I don’t listen to much modern metal. There are a few good bands – Mastodon, Confessor, Meshuggah… We don’t consider ourselves a metal band and therefore are not suprised when we don’t see a lot of metal heads at our shows.

What do you think of The Darkness?
It’s good when you’re trying to sleep.

Speaking of which, what do you think of the trend where a lot of bands (including your own) have “The” preceding their name e.g. The Pixies?
I don’t really know if that’s a trend. Way back when, people were calling the messiah ‘the’ and the pharoh ‘the’.

Which guitarists do you admire and what tips would you give to someone just starting out on playing guitar?
John Mclaughlin, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Al Dimeola. My advice is to just play all the time.

You used to be in Nation of Ulysses. Can you tell us what the emerging underground Washington DC scene was around the time of luminary bands such as Nation of Ulysses and Minor Threat? Why do you think the bands were able to make such an impact on the underground circuit and what factors do you account for them being so highly regarded today?
One thing is that everybody in the punk scence in DC back then was really supportive of each other. That helped a lot, but without Dischord I don’t think a lot of the bands would be nearly as well known.

There were a lot of other great labels like R&B, Teenbeat and Fountain of Youth, but Dischord really had their shit together and had very good distribution.

You recently licensed three tracks for inclusion in The Sims 2 videogame. Can you tell us why that game was chosen in particular?
They chose us and they pay well.

What was reaction from fans and why are we not going to see the tracks on a future album?
I don’t know of anyone who’s heard the songs in the game – including us. They asked us to write genre specific songs, for example there is a “singer songwriter” style song which sounds kinda like Neil Young or something, so it’s not usual ‘Champs fare and wouldn’t be suitable for our records.

In your opinion, what advantages do licensing tracks for videogames have over licensing tacks for traditional entertainment media (such as TV, films, adverts)?
None, except that these Sims tracks have paid better than most of our licencing to TV, movie and video.

Do The F*cking Champs have plans for contributing any more music scores for inclusion in a videogame? If so, do you intend to play a larger role in the sound composition of videogames in future?
We don’t have any plans, but if anyone asks us and pays us we’ll probably do it.

What are your top five movies?
Holy Mountain
Punch Drunk Love
Boogie Nights
Magnolia
Papillon

What books are you reading at the moment?
I’m slowly re-reading ‘Schroedinger’s Kittens’.

You guys are apparently influenced by Robert Fripp’s philosophy. For the purposes of this interview, can you tell us as to who Robert Fripp is, and what he stands for?
I don’t know… I couldn’t answer that. I like his music though.

What do you think of wrestling and can you tell us why my poster commemorating your co-headlining tour with Trans Am (at 93 Feet East, London) depicts a woman figurine and a Hulk Hogan look-alike wrestling figure?
I used to like wrestling when i was a kid, but it’s gotten too slick. I don’t know about that poster- never saw it.

Speaking of Trans Am, when can we expect to see both The F*cking Champs and Trans Am again in London?
I don’t know, we just got back from london a few weeks ago. I doubt we’ll be seen anywhere together besides next week and maybe Australia and New Zealand next summer – well, their winter.

What was it like collaborating with Trans Am on the split EP Gold? Did you encounter any difficulties whilst recording and when do you think well see another product from the Trans Champs / Fucking Am camp?
For the EP, we recorded 2 or 3 songs, sent them to Trans Am. A year later they added some parts and tracked another song. Then Phil came out and we finished the rest of the record here in San Francisco and wrote 2 of the songs in the studio. The Gold LP all started because I had a song I had written that was a little too goofy for the ‘champs (doing research for an autobiography) and I needed a nice shuffle beat so i asked Jon Theodore from Golden (hence the name – “gold”) to come up from LA to record this song with me and Soete. Phil happened to come out at the same time and joined us. I wrote another song on the spot, while we were practicing the first song, which became ‘Bad Leg’. Soete and Phil both had a song to contribute after that. A few months later I went to DC to track a few songs with the rest of the Trans Am guys at their studio. Then we took all the songs back here, overdubbed alot of stuff and voila. It was great. Gold is my favorite album I’ve ever worked on. I don’t know if we’ll do any more, we’re so busy, but it would be nice.

Do you have any tips for our readers on getting into the recording and sound engineering part of the music industry?
Only do it if you really love it cos it’s a lot of work. Learn how to fix the things you’re working on. Record as much as you can.

Finally, where can your fans get hold of your earlier released material (Music for Films About Rock, Triumph of the Air Elementals, Bad Recording Live!) and do you have any plans of making them more widely available?
The master tapes for the first two tapes have been lost. We have DAT copies of them, but they are so deteriorated that they won’t really play and Bad Recording Live! is, well, a bad recording. I don’t think we have any plans to do anything with that stuff unless somehow the tapes magically turn up. you don’t have them do you?

Thanks
Thank you