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Post by circles on Sept 11, 2008 2:53:24 GMT -5
So I have been kinda mulling this idea over in my head for awhile now. It's kinda big, kinda not, kinda whatever, but I figured I should ask the people on the CrunchyCo. forum what they think of it. I'll pitch to ya like this:
The past couple shows have generated a pretty big response for me. Bigger than most any other response I can remember. It's been wonderful. Here's the thing though; these have all been chiptune shows. With the exception of Grassfest, I have done 3 all-chiptune sets in the past 3 or 4 weeks, and they have all gotten a wonderful response. I feel like these shows have opened up far more doors for me than ever before. So this got me thinking. Thinking about change. Change like...
Maybe I want to be a chiptune artist.
Now this is going to be a big jump for me, so first let me explain a few things on what exactly this would entail:
1. Completely phasing out the use of my keyboard. This will reduce stage clutter and the amount of equipment I'll have to haul around but...
2. I'll also have to phase out all my keyboard songs. Though it may not seem serious to some people, I'll tell you right now, I had about 50 completely composed songs using my keyboard and drum machine, and ditching all those would basically tear my safety net out from under me. So what would I do?
3. Well obviously I would have my Gameboy songs, but what I also want to do is...
4. Start integrating chiptune into my pop songs. I would use Fruity Loops to generate electronic drums and synth basses and pads, play guitar, and sing, but I would also record chip melodies into the backing tracks, so the songs would become this really fun blend of chip and electro-pop.
5. I would end up re-doing a few of the old songs as guitar tracks, but for the most part, I would be ditching my old material as well. Sorry, I'm just never going to play One By One ever again.
On top of my music, I think this overhaul would affect a few other things...
6. All future releases will be either all chiptune albums, or chip-pop albums. I would probably want to take down all my old free demo stuff from my music collection as well to avoid any confusion. I do still want to continue selling Goodnight though, because even if it doesnt match the current sound I'm going for, I still feel it's quality material.
7. I want to ditch a great deal of my old pictures and start collecting new ones, mainly of me either doing Guitar or Gameboy performances.
8. I want to start promoting chiptune more and myself as that type of artist.
Now you might be wondering, "Why Jack, why?" Well here's the reasoning that's been swaying me as of late.
- My dream is to be a successful musician. I love what music has done for me and given to me, and I want to share my enthusiasm with the world, and give back as much as I can. If doing this is what will make me successful, I'll do it, because then it's obviously the reflection of my musical talent and ability.
- I'm not attached to playing keyboards for the sake of a tradition. I honestly just wanted to be a singer and performer at first. I like chiptunes because I feel much less glued to something on stage, which gives me more room to go crazy and entertain the crowd.
- Though I know they have been around for awhile now, I really feel like the chip scene is just starting to open up in America as a popular new form of music, and I want to be in on the ground floor of it. Another part of the reason I want to be a successful musician is that I want to be remembered, and I feel like doing something like chiptunes is a good way to get remembered.
- I've gotten so bored and lazy as of late about writing new material, and need a new incentive to start creating again.
That' all I can think of for now. As long as this post is, I'm sure I have let some stuff out. But I would like to hear from everyone else.
Do you think this is stupid?
What kind of stuff would you like to see come from Circles?
Any bands you know doing something similar that you think I should check out?
Is anyone going to miss the old material at all?
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Post by Webmaster Gabe on Sept 11, 2008 5:21:45 GMT -5
Holy crap! This is a whopper of a post Jack! I really want to reply right now but I need to get some sleep. I'll come back to this with my two cents tomorrow for sure!
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seth
Full Member
GOLD TANKS
Posts: 119
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Post by seth on Sept 11, 2008 8:58:27 GMT -5
dont do it for the exposure or whatever. i understand that you're not "selling out" by doing this but even by acknowledging it, you must realize that it's sort of a weak reason. personally, i really enjoy your LSDJ tunes, and i'd love to hear more, and there's no reason to keep playing keyboards live if you dont think you need to. i think its cool that you have so many different things on stage, though, because then you're not just up there headbanging to a game boy (coughfighterxcough  ), and it shows a huge musical diversity that no other crunchy artist really has. |
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Post by Aaron Campion on Sept 11, 2008 11:57:48 GMT -5
WOW sound very fascinating Jack! You already know your LSDJ music is a hit, i guess the big question is: will your chip-pop fruity loops music be as successful?? But yeah, you should always continue to experiment, until you find the perfect formulation. I mean, eventually you could even have a midi keyboard hooked into fruity loops that plays one of the chip-sounding parts, ya know? or even an LSDJ keyboard!! experimenting is really one of the funnest things about music making, and as a musician its probably a good thing to branch out and do some different things than the 50 + old circles stuff
Im not really that sure what seth is talking about above me, but i do think nick has more equipment than a game boy (Korg Electribe MX-1, Korg Micro X, Korg KAOSS Pad 3, Nintendo Game Boy Model No. DMG-01 w/ LSDJ 3.8.7, Nintendo Game Boy Light Model No. MGB-101 w/ LSDJ 3.8.7) But yeah, nick is also doing a ton of work in lsdj, from transposing, to panning, to muting thats why hes not that crazy on stage and mainly bobs his head (am i right nick??)
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Post by circles on Sept 11, 2008 15:22:52 GMT -5
dont do it for the exposure or whatever. i understand that you're not "selling out" by doing this but even by acknowledging it, you must realize that it's sort of a weak reason. personally, i really enjoy your LSDJ tunes, and i'd love to hear more, and there's no reason to keep playing keyboards live if you dont think you need to. i think its cool that you have so many different things on stage, though, because then you're not just up there headbanging to a game boy (coughfighterxcough ), and it shows a huge musical diversity that no other crunchy artist really has. Yeah I'm not necessarily doing it for exposure. There isn't really a good way to put my aim with music without it sounding like I'm a sell-out. I guess the best way I can put it is that I love music so much that I want it to be the one thing I do for the rest of my life. I want it paying for the food on my plate and the roof above my head. I want it to be responsible for my continued existence. That's why I wouldn't be afraid to do something music-oriented for money, because I want this to be my job pretty much. Also, if people like this best out of the things I do, then it's obviously the one thing I'm doing the best. I may as well stick to my strengths if I want to be successful. I do enjoy having a lot of diversity on stage, and maybe someday I'll find a way to re-integrate that. But right now, the downside of the coin is that I have ended up having to split my performance into basically three different, very short, very different sounding sets, and there is no real way to make the flow of the show smooth, something I have always prided myself on doing. I want to regain that, but through this new evolution of my sound. I don't play Indie music anymore. And I need to go all-in on my current sound. That's pretty much what it comes down to. |
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emptythought
Full Member
everybody likes strawberries
Posts: 201
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Post by emptythought on Sept 11, 2008 15:49:48 GMT -5
i think this is great!
as with most of the artists i can think of(at least people i know semi-personally), their new work is always their best work, and always an improvement on their previous work. and your chip stuff was your best stuff yet.
i had actually wondered about this too. leeni made me think about chip music with vocals, which i hadn't really ever thought of before. i'm really interested to see where you go with this.
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Post by Webmaster Gabe on Sept 11, 2008 16:02:38 GMT -5
Yeah I agree with the general flow of this thread so far. It sounds like you've sort of made up your mind about it already; you should just do whatever you think you need to do to get to where you want to be. Just go with whatever is working for you as long as you are happy with it. I really do like the way your performance comes to life with your LSDJ stuff and I'm seeing more and more people getting into it who weren't before. You've definitely been getting a lot more attention now than ever and there's nothing wrong with keeping that momentum. I think if I, say, made two completely different comic books or something, and one of them got a lot more attention than the other, I would probably shift my focus to that one more than the other. It's perfectly normal and makes a lot of sense. Like Aaron said, it's great to spread out and experiment until you find the perfect combo. I really like the idea of variety, and you've got the talent to make it work. It's great when the game boy is accompanied by vocals and other instruments to make things interesting. I'd be curious to hear some kind of "Chip-pop" hybrid stuff and see how that goes (and of course lots more pure chiptune tracks as well!). As a side note, at your all-chip shows lately, people often come to buy Goodnight thinking it has the chiptune tracks on it! I explain it to them, and a lot of them buy it anyways, but I think everyone agrees that some Circles chiptune releases are in order!  |
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Post by circles on Sept 12, 2008 2:16:30 GMT -5
I actually just finished my first chip-pop song today, and will be performing it at Chop Suey! There's Fruity synths mixed in with the chip noises, but it's pretty easy to tell which is which.
I'm glad most people are agreeing with this. Yeah, I have already kinda made the solid decision to doing this. I just wanted feedback to see what people wanted out of it exactly?
Power-Pop? Dancey Electro? Poppy Dancey Electro? Anamanaguchi-style instrumentals? Old songs re-done in this style (I'm still trying to decide which ones)?
And speaking of releases Gabe, if you could kindly guide me to the update page link, I have some serious page to update!
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Post by Webmaster Gabe on Sept 12, 2008 2:20:15 GMT -5
I actually just finished my first chip-pop song today Let's hear it! I just wanted feedback to see what people wanted out of it exactly? Don't do what we want out of it, do what you want out of it! Power-Pop? Dancey Electro? Poppy Dancey Electro? Anamanaguchi-style instrumentals? Old songs re-done in this style? Do it all! And speaking of releases Gabe, if you could kindly guide me to the update page link, I have some serious page to update! here ya go: www.crunchyco.com/updatesps-haha this is kinda funny; i'm actually following you as you post down the forum right now. |
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Post by circles on Sept 12, 2008 4:28:10 GMT -5
Let's hear it! Don't do what we want out of it, do what you want out of it! Do it all! here ya go: www.crunchyco.com/updatesps-haha this is kinda funny; i'm actually following you as you post down the forum right now. -Soon! -Well it's more for ideas inspiration. Nobody can achieve their full potential by only listening to themselves. -Ha well then I will! -I noticed. |
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Post by circles on Sept 14, 2008 1:01:41 GMT -5
 So how's this for the Cover of 8-Bit Fury? Eh? Eh? Suggestions before I make it final? Eh? Eh? Seriously folks. Seriously. |
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Post by Webmaster Gabe on Sept 14, 2008 4:39:48 GMT -5
I think it could be much better to be perfectly honest Jack. I do like the idea of the triumphantly raised game boy in the semi-silhouetted hand, but the lines in the artwork are a bit sloppy and the blurry effect is sort of making it look muddy. Also, the title text doesn't look like there was much thought put into it at all. The text in the back is kinda interesting though. Altogether, the cover kind of comes off as a rough draft more than a final.
If you're not too adamant about making your own covers, I wouldn't mind taking this idea and cleaning it up a bit for you. Also, maybe you could make like two more different ideas and we could choose the best out of three? Aaron made me do that when I made the cover for Peach.
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Post by circles on Sept 14, 2008 4:52:28 GMT -5
I think it could be much better to be perfectly honest Jack. I do like the idea of the triumphantly raised game boy in the semi-silhouetted hand, but the lines in the artwork are a bit sloppy and the blurry effect is sort of making it look muddy. Also, the title text doesn't look like there was much thought put into it at all. The text in the back is kinda interesting though. Altogether, the cover kind of comes off as a rough draft more than a final. If you're not too adamant about making your own covers, I wouldn't mind taking this idea and cleaning it up a bit for you. Also, maybe you could make like two more different ideas and we could choose the best out of three? Aaron made me do that when I made the cover for Peach. - The lines probably look sloppy because I put a poster effect on the edges to make them thicker. Funny you mention the blur and muddiness, I actually did that to make it look a little less sharp because I felt like it stood out too much and looked awkward. I guess somehow less real. I like my cover art to be more drawn-looking then computerized. - The text for my name is the same I always use so I don't particularly want to change that. For the album title though, I just thought it was fitting. If it looks dumb I can change it too I guess. - No I'm not adamant at all on doing my own artwork. I like most of everything where it is (and I actually did go through a couple other designs before I settled on this one), but if someone else wants to take a stab at drawing the hand with the Gameboy, they're free to. I'm terrible with shading and stuff, and on top of that the original art scanned really terribly. If you want to draw one though and send it to me, I'm pretty sure I can just take that hand out of the design and put yours in if I like it more. Just keep it mind I want a realistic but still simplistic look to it. Something isn't very aesthetically pleasing to me about excessive detail. |
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Post by Webmaster Gabe on Sept 14, 2008 5:15:37 GMT -5
I think what puts me off about the art is how the lines are all the same width. Varying line widths and much thinner and straighter lines would give a much nicer look, yet it can still be hand drawn and simple. I'll take a whack at drawing it tomorrow perhaps and see what I come up with.
The 'Circles' text is fine, it's just the album title text that concerns me. It just seems a little bit plain being typed out in a regular font and the MS-Paint style spray behind it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the covers elements. I think both pieces of text could be placed better as well. Perhaps "8-Bit Fury" could read straight across the top, the artwork lowered and placed just below that, and "Circles" in the bottom right corner?
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Post by Fighter X on Sept 14, 2008 10:15:14 GMT -5
"Future music is not always created by future tools" so has says the great USK. Nice Jack ;D
All that text behind the art is pretty interesting, but I think that should be saved for either an insert or maybe cd art. Anything but the cover. As for the cover it looks really bad. Having a Game Boy on the front cover of an all LSDJ release is getting pretty played out. With the super surge of 16 year olds picking up Game Boy sequencers these days, it seems like almost every other cover has a DMG on it. I almost regret putting a Game Boy on my Chrance EP v.2 cover! You say you like your cover art to be more drawn-looking then computerized, well, this looks very computerized : P I say come up with a completely different cover and TITLE for this release. 8-bit Fury is very corny sounding unless that's what you're going for. Maybe you could come up with a better/original title for the release and have someone do better art for you.
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), and it shows a huge musical diversity that no other crunchy artist really has.
