The Brothers Thirteen

Hey all,

Looks like we're progressing nicely with the new blog. We're posting frequently and having fun with it. If any of you outsiders looking in find this house with the lights off, we've moved and are pretty much paying the electric bills at our original sites. So come check us out and have a good time with us! Or don't. The Brothers Thirteen. And if you haven't been keeping up with all the music at Enter the Shell, be sure to take a look at who I've picked as artist of the week for the past nine months...hey, doesn't that mean I'm about ready to give birth to an EtS baby?! WWHHAAAAAA!!!!

New Blog

Hey everyone, my cousin and I started a new blog which will essentially combine what we normally do on our blogs, but roll them into one. It's called The Brothers Thirteen. It's where I'll likely end up posting most of my stuff from here on out, so check it regularly as we're getting back into the swing of writing things on a more consistent basis. Link above and it'll be added to your links on the left. Enjoy!

Album of the Year

So for the past six months since I discovered the Protomen I haven't been able to put down their albums. I know to many it may seem as though the concept of a rock opera based on a favorite childhood video game series is not worth listening to, but if you're thinking that way then you would be dead wrong. The creativity of the music and the character development that go through the music make the story one of the most fun, bad ass, powerful, and (dare I say) emotional pieces of work I've listened to.

Since I started listening to the Protomen I try to find any excuse to work them into a conversation, play their music for others, and constantly imagine what their work would look like as a stage performance or on screen. Songs like "the Hounds" just get you singing along like crazy while "Keep Quiet" makes you feel like you're the one taking that stand against a bloodthirsty robot. There's even the grim realization that the one hero you looked up to your entire life has turned his back on the world, only to become your enemy like in "the Stand (Man or Machine)." The Protomen have turned a childhood game of mine into a mature, dark vision of a dystopia mixed with the classic struggle of good versus evil and what it means to be human. I eagerly await the day they finish the third act to find out the fates of Megaman, Tom Light, Albert Wily, and the human race.

If you haven't checked them out, this you tube page has been kind enough to post both acts for your listening pleasure. Though you may not have the liner notes from the album itself to fill in the gaps and read the backstory, you can easily find those on various lyrics sites throughout the internet. Start the epic battle here.

News for 11/22/11

Going to the doctor's office today I was listening to 88.7 KSPC, the public radio station in my area, and happened upon the band you see below. Not to sound like a pledge drive or anything, but I'm certainly glad that public radio exists. It's through public radio and music websites dedicated to the spread and love of music that helps me to find new and different artists outside the flavors of the week provided by commercial radio. Enough of that, enjoy the song!

Baseball and the Summer

Baseball and Summer just go hand-in-hand. And dammit, it's American! So whoever you root for, get the barbecue going, turn on the ball game, and have a totally rockin' summer (yes, I realize it's halfway over with, just go with it)!

New York, Philadelphia, Oregon

Updates:
New York and Philadelphia were great. Went on a general food tour. It's true. The pizza is better in New York. Heading up to Oregon for the next two weeks. More good food and fun times to come. I'll be updating the artist of the week section while I'm away, so don't forget to check out the site to read my picks, check out the other blogs, and listen to the shows for good musicians and my brief appearances in case you want to hear my lovely voice. And check out our latest artist to stop by the studio, Megan Bonnell. I'll try and put some pictures of my travels up soon. Hope you're all having a good summer. Bye for now.

4th of July

This 4th of July find out what Americans really want:

News and Events

Friday I leave for New York for six days to spend time with some cool people. I'll be back about a week (and change) before setting out to Oregon with the family for about two weeks. While I'm away, you'll still get to check out my picks for artist of the week over at Enter the Shell. For those of you who seem to like my writing (even if it's just ok) and need your fix because I don't really update this anymore, here's my segment. Happy (pre) 4th of July.

Target and Soap

I was at Target the other day and noticed that many of the liquid soaps had "gel douche" written on them. I laughed.

Music and Video Games

Why was I never informed of the greatness that is the Protomen? A band devoted to the rewriting of the Megaman story through totally awesome music? Forget the brightly-colored, happy cartoon, this is the dark re-imagining that Megaman and friends have needed! Now all we need is a kick-ass, gritty movie to go along with this rockin' soundtrack. Check out the Protomen -->here<--

Music

Hey all you cool kids out there, here's a video for Built by Snow's "Invaders." Enjoy the madness:

Week of 6/10

Check out this week's show. Great set and interview with --> Greg Holden <-- (watch that video there to get you hooked). Also, check out what I have to say about our artist of the week! More later. I promise some non EtS stuff soon.

EtS

New episode of the Enter the Shell Show up tomorrow. This week we'll have artist Greg Holden and some new clues for AotW. Stop by entertheshell.com tomorrow for your fix of goodness. Here's last week's artist of the week. And last week's show.

Last Tuesday

For those of you who still read this and don't know: Last Tuesday I had my nuts cut open and my intestines shoved back into my stomach. Hernia surgery. Now it's hard to walk and I'm on pain pills 4 times a day and stool softeners twice a day. Go me. 4-6 week recovery time. Still writing for EtS. New article up tomorrow.

New Artist of the Week

Out now on entertheshell.comhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Enjoy.

Artist of the Week

New edition of Artist of the Week comes out tomorrow at 10. Find out who it is. Check it out --> here <--http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Writing Again

Hey all you loyal followers. For those out of the loop, here's some informational updates on things happening:
1) I'm back in the states as of a couple months ago
2) I'm writing again, but this time for Enter the Shell. I'm scheduled for 10 "Artist of the Week" installments due every Friday and a call in with clues as to who they might be the Tuesday before. If you're not already on their website, get to it. My first clues were this past Tuesday, and my first AotW comes out tomorrow.
3) As for work, so far...nothing.
I hope everyone is doing well and keep a lookout for my posts on Enter the Shell. Maybe it'll get me writing on this once again.