Interview No. 45

Interview By: @NekoMika

The person who was interviewed today is a user that many know as a good story writer. He has also released a novel and is an ex-audio mod as well. Anyone who knows him knows that he is a regular of the audio and writing forum. He doesn't post often but when he does he usually has a lot to say that usually tends to answer questions with as much information as possible. The user being interviewed is none other than @WritersBlock!!

Q: How did you come to find Newgrounds and what made you choose the username that you did?

A: I'm in my fourth year on this site now. It feels like such a long time. I was in high school at the time, my brother and I still lived at home back then. He was a Newgrounds user and he was getting right into making games on Flash. Before I signed up for Newgrounds I was on a small music website posting lyrics to songs I'd written on acoustic guitar, and those guys there got me using FL studio. Once I started making music with FL studio, my brother approached me about making music for his games. He put me onto Newgrounds, where I primarily focused on music for a while and got to know the audio community pretty well. My brother and I didn't really do many games, and only one really made it up to Newgrounds that was all his programming/art and my music.

Q: I see you used to be an audio mod? How was that experience and if you could be one again would you take up the job?

A: Yeah, it was at a time where I was really into the audio community. I was making a lot of music, learning a lot of tips and tricks from some of the amazing guys there, and I was investing a lot of time into helping out with their monthly audio competitions and such. It was sort of a natural progression at the time. It was nice to have that extra bit of responsibility on the site, it makes you feel like you're making just that little bit more of a difference. I've got to commend the guys that are still doing it because at times, you really need to sink a lot of time into it, to keep everything running smoothly.

It was good, but on the same note, I don't think I could go back to it again. I was asked once, ages ago, and I seriously considered it, but I didn't end up chasing it all the way back to Wade. I figured I've moved on from that, and while the audio forum and the audio portal are great places, it's just not me any more. I still make music from time to time, but it's just for fun, it's not like I want to do videogame soundtracks or make a name for myself as a musician any more.

Q: How many novels have you created thus far or at leas tried to get published?

A: How many novels have I finished? One. How many novels have I started? I'm not entirely sure. Probably about a dozen in various stages of progress. How many have I tried to get published? None so far. The novels that I've started a few years ago don't mean anything to me now. They were training wheels. Same as my first completed novel. It just lacked an intensity and depth that I'd need for my writing to be gripping. That novel was written for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2009, so, over the course of 30 days, that novel came into being. Since then I wrote 25,000 words towards another novel in July 2010 and 50,000 words towards another novel in November 2010 for my second NaNoWriMo. They're all practices in speed writing. When I actually finish my first novel to the extent that I'm willing to send it to a publisher, it'll take me a lot longer than 30 days, and a lot more tedious planning.

I'm hoping to have my first novella sent off to a little independent publisher sometime before the end of the year, but I haven't worked on the story in a long time, and it's currently in limbo only a couple of thousand words in.

Q: I see you have won a few flash awards through collaborations with other users. How did these experiences help you get better acquainted with users on Newgrounds?

A: I've got three awards from collaborations. One was from a flash contribution. One was from a story adaptation. And the other was from music contribution and a little game design.

I got into the flash collaboration because of some of the audio guys involved, and I just felt like messing around with flash and trying my hand at a bit of animation. The people I worked with were great, especially since they were far more skilled than I was.

The second collaboration, the script, that was a lot of fun. I'd met the animator through the previous collaboration, and he's a really talented guy. He does plenty of art, animation, music and writing, and when we talked about doing a halloween animation from one of my short stories I was really excited. We talked a lot throughout the project, even though my part was pretty much done, and it was pretty awesome that we were just about on the opposite sides of the planet.

The third collaboration was with a guy I've gotten to know quite well over my time on the site. It was pretty much a case of him spontaneously deciding to make a game and then talking about it while he's making it, running ideas past me, then asking for a bit of music.

It's great to be able to communicate with people from all over the place, to throw ideas around and make stuff happen and have a bit of fun while you're doing it.

Q: If someone is having trouble trying to write a short story, writing a novel, or has writer's block what advice do you have for them?

A: I've picked up a lot of tips and tricks along the way. I think the most important thing is that you've got to be sure you WANT to write. If you're not getting any enjoyment out of it, there's not a lot of point in you doing it. But don't let that put a damper on your writing. If you want to write and feel like your writing has been feeling "uninspiring" lately, it's probably because it is. Maybe you keep dropping into a pitfall of cliches. Easy remedy: Don't let rules dictate what you write. Style, characterisation, plot, grammar, there are lots of things writers are and aren't supposed to do. Just figure out your own style. I find breaking codes and conventions often frees me up to express things in ways people don't normally express things.

Get right into the details. One way to beat the writer's block/defeat cliches is with details. Even if they're wildly unbelieveable, you're telling the story, you call the shots, and the last thing you want is to be too vague. Get right in there and make your mark. The more you do that, the more you'll establish your style and fall into a good rhythm. It could be with writing novels you want to nut out the skeleton of your plot, blast through a terrible draft and then work through, writing your style into it, or work bit by bit, or whatever, bottom line is, you've got to figure out what works for you. The more you write, the more you'll figure out about your writing patterns.

Q: How has your time on Newgrounds been?

A: Great. I mean, I've mostly spent my time in the audio and writing communities and I've got to know a lot of great people. At the moment, I am focussing on making connections with local writers and professional writers, but I wouldn't have any of that if I hadn't started out here. It's a great place to develop your skills.

Q: I see you have also written a lot of audio pieces. How do you get ideas for making good songs like those?

A: You're better off talking to the guys in the audio forum. I don't have a method. I just pull up all my little audio toys and play around. There is a lot better music in the portal, there's really no shortage of talent there.

Q: I see you enjoy the writing forum a lot. Do you enjoy most of the short stories and other posts you read there?

A: I don't spend a lot of time browsing the forum as of late, but when I was reading through all the stuff for the competition, a few names always rose to the top, like RapeMuffin, AdamCook, Coop and GumOnShoe, just to name a few. There were a few talented writers on the forums before that that just didn't really come over to the Writing Forum or didn't stay active on here. I'm interested in seeing how things turn out when the writing portal rears its head.

Q: I see you have come along with posting since you first posted on page 220 of Audio Advertisements. How has your experience on Newgrounds been since that day 4 years ago?

A: A lot has changed. I graduated high school. I took a gap year, started writing, went to uni, and I'm in my third year of creative writing now. I think I've come a long way from where I was to where I want to be. I'm trying to get a little 28 page zine stocked at zine tables at local poetry events so I can start selling my writing, so even though I'm not on here nearly as much as I used to be, it's still a great resource for creative work, feedback and collaboration. And I think to a point, it's an even better resource now becuase it keeps growing and adapting and accomodating for a wider variety of creative processes.

Interview No. 44

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is just as regular a member as you and me. He is indeed a BBS Forum Regular. Some people would question why I do interviews like these and I will tell you that from time to time it's nice to hear from those who are here for the ride. To share with us why he loves the site is none other than @The777Demon.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: I knew about NG since early in the 00's, and i remember seeing a few parody flashes around the web. At some point i was looking for one of the movies, which might have been a sonic parody and i found it on NG, and realized that my friends used to show me the site all the time back in junior high. So I signed up and have been coming and going ever since.

Q: Your first post to the Newgrounds Forums would be in a thread that I seem to be familiar with and that was the SPA - Sprite protection agency. You've stated that you were posting under a new account. What was your older account and why did you make a new one?

A: I had a really generic name back then. It was crayboy666, and i made a new one for a few reasons. I was involved in a bit of drama with one of the spam crews, I think it was the Star Syndicate, and i was not familiar with the concept of trolling or being trolled at the time. So yeah i got trolled pretty hard. The other reason i made a new account was because i wanted a fresh start. I felt I could have been much more mature back in 07. I'd like to believe that i am now.

Q: Your first thread although nothing spectacular brings up the Press Start Movie entitled a videogame parody movie (looks ok). When posting this thread did you know about the Press Start series here on Newgrounds? Why this for your first thread under this account?

A: I did not know about the series at that time. I don't even think i was aware about that i was making my first thread either, i just made it. I made the thread because i had seen a commercial for it, and i thought it looked great. I'm not very proud of it either. In that thread i mentioned piracy about the movie, and ed glaser himself responded to it, and had a lot of problems with people pirating his movie. I'm also familiar with quite a few of the people he is affiliated with such as, spoony, thatguywiththeglasses, and linkara etc. I never got the chance to meet any of them though. I just don't like the idea that the only association I ever had with Ed was contributing to something that must have severely pissed him off. I never actually did pirate his movie, but i have not gotten around to buying it either, but i plan to.

Q: Being a BBS Regular what is your take on the Forum Moderators?

A: I'm very neutral about them. I don't know any personally, and i don't have any grudges against them either.

Q: Would you like to be a Forum Moderator? Whatever your answer is could you please explain?

A: I guess i would like being one. It's not my priority to become one though and never was. I just think it would be convenient to be able to lock or delete a thread instead of waiting for one to come around, or in some cases reporting a user to one when they haven't been noticed yet. I just like the idea of being able to do things without having to run around to other people.

Q: What do you like about Newgrounds?

A: The movies, the songs, the forums(most of the time), and I like the community. Folks here can be vulgar, but at most other communities I have had to deal with prudes, very big, serious, unforgiving prudes.

Q: As a BBS Regular myself I can say that I have made my fair share of friends here over time. Have you made friends here as well and if so then could you tell us who they are and how you became friends?

A: Normally i do reach some level of popularity when i become frequent at something, ironically here I'm not very recognized or notable, but i like it that way. I don't have many friends on NG and normally I become friendly with a user when they are about to move on from NG. I remember a few guys that have not been on in years that i talked to every other day when they used to be around. Right now I'm probably closest to a user who has quite a few alias today. I met him when he went by the name supermariobross, he's much younger than me but i think he is a very bright kid. I've always been a bit of an underachiever so i like chatting with him because i feel like he is very much my polar opposite.

Q: One of your more interesting threads is entitled This whole bigger man BS.. Why did you create this thread and share this thought?

A: "The bigger man" argument was something I remember hearing a lot about. I never really agreed with it. I never really took the time to sit down and think why until the day i made that thread, well I did about it but never clear enough to find the right words about it. So i eventually did find those words i wanted to use, and i wanted to see if i could back them up. I feel like i did a pretty decent job getting my point across, I could go on about it forever though.

Q: If you could change anything on Newgrounds what would it be?

A: I'd add an edit button for post.

Q: What can we expect from The777Demon in the future?

A: Nothing, I've never did a good job at living up to expectations. "Don't have any expectations, and you will never be disappointed" is a phrase i am very fond of.

Regulars have been interviewed here before. They include Elios, Gagsy, and Twilight. Although all of them have done other interesting things, The777Demon seems to be the average everyday user, but there is something more to him than meets the eye. If you see him on the forum, give him a shout out or a hello PM. You might be surprised.

Interview No. 43

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is a fascinating animator who has been telling many of his stories through music. He has won flash portal awards for all his flash movies. Some you may recognize include Less Than Three which he won the Daily Feature for, Oh Oh Oh Sexy Vampire which he won the Daily 3rd Place and was one of the winners for Halloween 2007, and Headphones On Your Heart which has won a Daily Feature as well. This animator is none other than @GoshaDole.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: I've known about Newgrounds since I was I was a freshman in high school. I actually had another account that I used back then to just puruse the site. The site inspired me to want to get back into animation in general. I used to play around with Hyperstudio and a program called "Click & Create" when I was younger, using them to create animated objects for simple games and such. After playing around with Flash for a bit, I decided to start making animations. Eventually I made "Ballad Inure" and felt comfortable enough to put it up on Newgrounds. I believe my "goshadole" account was made back in 2005.

Q: Your first flash submission would win you your first award. A "Daily 2nd Place" to Ballad Inure. It was quite the interesting flash movie and for your first not too shabby. What was the process in creating this and looking back on it now are you still proud of it?

A: This flash includes personal character creations that I've been drawing for quite awhile, the "Jack Maverick Universe". I actually made a few other Jack Maverick animations that I never made public, some I never finished. I'm still proud of this piece, even though when I re-watch it, I notice how well my drawing and animating ability has improved over the year. I still love these characters!

Q: Your second flash submission is entitled Less Than Three. This flash would win you your first "Daily Feature" award. This flash has an addictive and upbeat song. You've stated that you made this flash to promote the song. I want to know the entire story to this flash movie and this song, what all can you tell us?

A: "Less Than Three", the song, had actually been out for about a year or so before I created this animation. The "Ricardo Autobahn" remix was set to be released in the defunct game "In The Groove 3", so thats how I heard about the song. I found out that one of my friends actually knew the producer of the song, the owner of Disko Warp Music, based in Portland, OR. Eventually I met up with him at Sakura Con, a Seattle anime convention, and mentioned how I animate and whatnot. My friend was telling me how I should just give it a go, and try my hand at animating to the song. Disko Warp initially was kind of a personal joke to create cheesey eurobeat/eurodance style music, DDR-style music. My video for "Less Than Three" was kind of just a fan project. I wasn't prepared for how popular it got.

Q: One of your well known flash movies is entitled Oh Oh Oh Sexy Vampire. Quite the interesting song and your animation tells a story. A music video that is certainly vivid and wonderful for both the eyes and ears. Where did the inspiration come from and what was the process in adding animation to music? How was this done?

A: After the success of the "Less Than Three" animation, I kind of took a little break from animating. Eventually I heard the justinB remix of "Oh Oh Oh Sexy Vamprie" from the Disko Warp producer and knew I had to make a music video for it. This was all before the whole vampire/Twilight craze, in addition to being a few months before Halloween. I asked if I could animate another video to go to the song to help promote its release. My idea was just to have a vampire and a girl have an escapade together during the vampires prowl. This would constantly be interrupted by hunters. I drew my inspiration from multiple sources including Castlevania, Interview with a Vampire, and Buffy. I wanted to create funny weapons for the hunters, so I made stake bombs and impaler pikes. Again, I wasn't prepared for how popular this animation would become.

Q: Headphones On Your Heart is one of your strangest flash movies while at the same time giving a message. I seem to have some trouble seeing your message. Is there one and if yes then could you share it with us? Does the flash Nothing in Between give us closure to this story?

A: Leeni is a Seattle-based chiptunes/electronic artist. I heard this song and contacted her about creating a video to go with it. She was down with my idea for it and it eventually emerged. The story in the video is about the Leeni character dealing with a break-up situation. She eventually finds her pixel friend, which she can see because of the headphones. The rest of the world cannot see what is going on. The message of the video is kind of about dealing with overcoming odds, internally, that only you can face to feel better about whatever situation you are in. Basically, put headphones on your heart and then turn the volume up,and forget about the outside world. HOYH ended in kind of a cliffhanger, with Leeni being reunited with the pixel character. I wanted to have her jump into the world in which the pixel was from. The pixel in the game world is kind of a prince/king of this strange video game land. The message in this is that distance can't really separate things that are emotionally attached. This video gives closure to the first video. In addition, it sets up a premise if I were to make another Leeni animation. We'll see what happens.

Q: My favorite flash of yours is none other than Deadbeat Boyfriend. So much can be said and at the same time so much can be debated. What was the inspiration behind this flash movie and what was the process in creating it?

A: This song was put out by Disko Warp. I asked the producer about doing a video for it, since I thought the song itself was both funny, and paced well for a video. I had seen some people go in and out of a lot of relationships during the time, so some of their actions were represented in what the characters did in the animation. I wanted the video to end with the girl just becoming happy, instead of trying to cling to a dead-horse of a relationship. The tune of the song is based on "Korobushka", otherwise known as the Tetris theme. Because of this I wanted to implement a fake puzzle game into the story, I also just really like puzzle games. There are a lot of subtle hints about relationships in this video. For instance, the white picket fences that she walks by, which kind of represents her wanting the relationship to be "ideal". There are also the various birds in love, which were there to kind of rub in how happy people can be when they are in a strong relationship. The puzzle game scene, in addition to making the dude look like a douche, also represents the building blocks of a relationship, and the struggles that go back and forth between them. The whole theme the video is about constant struggles and breaking cycles.

Q: Your latest flash movie Space Space Shooter is yet another bizarre story. Something you're quite good at. What was the process in creating this flash and more importantly, what was the inspiration?

A: "Space Space Shooter" was actually one of the original Disko Warp demo songs. The "Band New Remix" was made for the Speedisko series. After hearing this song, I really felt like it needed a video, both for the song and for fans that have known about Disko Warp since its beginning. I originally had an idea for this video to be about a dude dealing with a video game addiction. It eventually evolved into what it began. The underlying message of this video is how quickly social media and technology spreads through society; in the blink of an eye basically. I also wanted to impliment a fake shmup/stg game into this video, since the song is kind of a throwback to arcade style shooters, even with its suggestive lyrics.

Q: At the time of this interview you are currently on an "Award Streak" something very rare. Which means every single flash submission you have uploaded has received a Newgrounds Flash Portal award of some sort. How do you feel about these awards and do you think this streak will continue?

A: I feel very honored to get these awards. I like to spend a good amount of time thinking about a refreshing plot/storyline before I began animating a project. I also listen to the song I plan on animating too a lot before actually.

Q: Being an animator on Newgrounds. What advice would you have to give to others who are getting into flash?

A: If you are into Flash, for the animation aspects of it, I'd suggest just playing around with the program as much as you can. Just do a lot of tests before you start on some epic project, otherwise you might get discouraged quickly. Start off small with your projects, by animating simple figures. As you progress, start looking into walk cycles and other frame by frame animation, in addition to dynamic perspectives.

Q: What can we expect from GoshaDole in the future?

A: As long as I keep hearing interesting new songs, I'll keep creating new video! I've thought about making a Jack Maverick comic in the near future as well. I just need to plot out a storyline for it. As of now, I'm taking a short animation break to concentrate on some new art and web projects. Again, I'm very thankful for all of my fans and people who enjoy my work. I want to keep creating new projects to excite and for people to gain inspiration from.

Interview No. 42

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is one who creates and shares through the Newgrounds Art Portal and Art Forum. He is known throughout the Art Forum for his thread The Art of Burning Bread and his contributions have been showcased within the collaboration entitled The Green Line Collab. He has many pieces of art that are both bizarre and simple. He is @Toast-Tony.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: I cant exactly remember how i found newgrounds, i think it was recommended to me by a school friend called Joe-Spink, i used to go over to his house and watch him animate and draw, i became quite a fan of his work. I have one or two other accounts knocking about, but the names of these will remain a mystery, i was an angsty teen and spoke a lot of bollocks at the time (not saying i don't now) haha, but the main reason i joined NG again was just something to do in between tasks at work, i had no intention of going back to doing art at this point.

Q: Your first entry into the Art Portal would be a piece entitled Ash Portrait. A depiction of a woman is what I see and I believe it to be your girlfriend for an early work of this was posted in your first thread to the Art Forum entitled Portrait advice. For your first submission to the world of art here on Newgrounds why did you decide to choose your girlfriend? What was the process in creating this piece?

A: She's awesome is why! I tend to enjoy drawing people i know personally, i like the persons reaction when they see it, I feel they mean a bit more if i have a connection to who i draw and i felt she would appreciate it. The drawing started in Macromedia Flash, a legit version of course :P, of which i had a fair amount of knowledge with how to use it, despite this i got some basic outline and colours down to find myself staring at a brick wall, this led to seeking advice from the Art Forum. Scouting through the forum i found photoshop to be a worthy "purchase" to continue the drawing, i had used it before but not to draw. I think in the end this portrait took the longest out of any drawing i have done since it was a learn and apply job, also it was drawn with a mouse which can be a pain at times.

Q: The Art of Burning Bread would become your art thread to showcase your works in progress for opinion and critique. Your thread was created after your first submission to the Art Portal. With the Art Portal in place why did you feel the need to make an art thread? Also for those getting into art would you say it is necessary for them to create an art thread for feedback before jumping head first into the Art Portal?

A: I would definitely recommend a personal art thread if you are a beginner of sorts to NG before posting in the portal, most users will jump straight into the art section of NG and want to be scouted by another user, this of course can be easier said than done. Having an art thread allows other users to get to know you, see various pieces of your art and make a decision on whether you are worth scouting, as scouting a user who is likely to post something highly inappropriate will cause a problem for both themselves and you. As i had discussions with people in the art forum using the PM system about my portrait of ash and slowly got round to finishing it, i felt it was time to start my own thread and showcase the finished result.

Q: When I interviewed HeRetiK we talked about the flash entitled The Red Line which was an Art Forum Collaboration. You would take part in the thread entitled [Collab] The Green Line and your art would be included in the flash entitled The Green Line Collab. What drew you to this collab? How did it feel making art for this collab? What were the experiences you had working with other artists? What do you think of the collab overall?

A: I was introduced to the "Line Collab" idea by my friend Joe-Spink who featured in the Red line collab. I was drawn to this collab as i found the idea to be a great way of experimenting, working around ways of implementing this line into an image, i tried making my image work around the line so it is the main feature rather than the line hit a random drawing and exit in the same way. It felt great knowing i was making some sort of contribution to Newgrounds and it really gave me a chance to get along with the other members contributing too. I was on top of the world when i found i would be set as a Co-Author, it's not a Grammy but i was proud nonetheless. I feel the finished animation was alright, a few tweaks here and there would have made a difference to quality but you can say the same about anything. A collab isn't exactly meant to be the most groundbreaking, jaw dropping piece of animation to hit newgrounds, i believe it is a great example of what people on the NG community can do when they put their heads together, and it's a way of showcasing out art to those who focus all their attention to the Flash Portal.

Q: When looking over your works, one thing I notice is the fascinating ways you draw people. It's a style that I have seen before, but was lost at one point. You bring it back with a sophisticated look in that of Fox and Pearson and you also bring in a bit of grunge and discomfort with Tom Portrait and 'Cha Lookin' At!?'. When it comes to drawing people when does reality shift to fantasy? In our terminology how do you draw realistic people into this style?

A: Haha, i'm not entirely sure. I guess the style comes about with my taste in art, when it comes to lineart i prefer the comic book style drawings with black outlines and simple hatching to show shadow and emphasise bit's of detail. Colouring on the other hand has come through my own skills (or lack of), i'm blown away by hyper realism but i find simple block colours to be fun. I've tried a hand at both but don't enjoy it, i'm too picky with details to use block colours but lack the patience to sit for any longer than a few hours on a single piece to go into a realistic look that i tried for in the Ash Portrait. I kind of tried to hit the middle of the two and try a semi-realistic look but still a kind of fun, cartoony style colouring as applied in fox and pearson, i think it is this mix that gives off such a simple style but keeps it real (I'm so fly). Tom Portrait and 'Cha Lookin' At!? are a different kettle of fish, Tom Portrait is a drawing of a friend who seem's to be able to make the most comedic of faces, i did a quick sketch of a photo of him and put it to one side, after taking a lot of advice from the God of Advice Kinsei01 i learnt i should try to apply different colours to show highlights and shadows and bring a bit more life to my portraits other than different shades of one colour, so i went about applying this to my sketch of Tom, i did over step the mark a bit to say the least but it turned out alright. 'Cha Lookin' At!? was a very random sketch thats is supposed to represent "Hardcore (hXc)" kids.

Q: What is "The Friday Flood" and what are your experiences with it?

A: The Friday flood is an Art forum invasion of the art portal. Basically a theme is given to the users, the users then conjure up a drawing like magic, and submit the drawing with the flood theme image as the thumbnail at a specific time and date leading to a "flood" of the "portal" page. Blood is spilled. We all meet back at the specified rendezvous point and plan our next attack. I am the new guy in the flood, so have experienced forgetfulness (not actually posting the image) and lateness (partying rather than contributing). It's all good fun.

Q: As an artist what information can you give to other artists out there who are just getting into art?

A: Practice, there's not much more to being good at art than that, talent doesn't come to you as if by magic. Find a style you enjoy and stick with it, don't be afraid to experiment though. Personally the best advice i can give is not to try too hard to be unique, let your own personal style come to you naturally, in the world of art it is the most obscene that i would class as unique, because not many people WANT to do it, so you won't see it often. People try too hard to be different sometimes and get frustrated at themselves, that isn't the affect art should have on you. Finally, enjoy drawing anime, try drawing anime, but god forbid do not commit to drawing anime, it's a plateau to improvement in my opinion...but...you know, each to their own and all that jazz.

Q: Have you ever considered taking a shot at animation? Whether your answer be yes or no could you tell us why?

A: I tried my hand at animation a long long time ago and it was fun, at the moment i haven't even considered doing it again but i may give it a shot at some point now you have mentioned it. I haven't even fully committed myself to producing art really, i don't practice often, but i really want to commit to it before i start something else alongside it.

Q: What can we expect from Toast-Tony in the future?

A: My work is all spur of the moment stuff, you will see me poking my head out here and there with contributions to collabs and the friday flood but for the time being i need to knuckle down with improving my art. I've been wanting to start a portrait request thread as i haven't done an awful lot lately and i would enjoy drawing members of Newgrounds, keep an eye out.

Does Toast-Tony produce the most beautiful or the most captivating art of the Newgrounds Art Portal? Maybe not, and maybe so. Overall though he has a certain style that is both interesting yet amazing at the same time. His works are something that you could see gracing a magazine and drawing you into it, which is the purpose of all art.

Interview No. 41

Interview By: @The-Great-One

[ PART 1 | PART 2 ]

Q: thatcomposerguy - your first song is entitled Prelude to War. You state that you wrote it for a friend, who is this friend and to an extent what was the process you went through to write it?

A: Well, honestly it was written for me. My mother passed away in 2009 from lung cancer. I wrote Prelude to War in 2007 around the time that her health really started getting bad. I knew it was going to be a long battle (it already was) and I wrote that piece out of the emotions that surrounded that time.

Q: thatcomposerguy - Your song Time to GO! is an uplifting song that despite it not completely in your face still gives you a rush of energy. Was this song planned that way or were you going for something else?

A: It was planned that way. I am capable of writing in your face music and there's a lot of that going on right now. However, I write music to be enjoyable and not distracting, especially when I work for games. Nothing annoys me more than a simple game having loud metal or Drum and Bass music for the sake of just having "Cool music." It can really be distracting.

Q: Goukisan - your first song is entitled the travel of a thought. What was the inspiration for this song and what was the process you took into making it?

A: Actually there was no specific inspiration for that song. I was still learning how to use the program and I just tried to make something that sounded kind of cool. After finishing it, I listened to it over and over and the name just popped into my mind because that's the image that the song presented to me personally, as if I had just been a passive listener.

Q: Goukisan - if there is one song that would be your best it is Guitar Vs. Piano. This song would spawn a sequel Guitar Vs. Piano 2 and would even be remade into Guitar Vs. Piano 1.2. There is a lot of story here. Could you tell us how this song came to be? Who requested the sequel? Why a remake from scratch? And will there be a "Guitar Vs. Piano 3"?

A: This was one of those songs that just sort of came out of my head and there was nothing I could do about it haha. I just sat down.. and wrote out notes as if I knew the song already. It's a strange feeling when that happens but it's great. You get into a groove really and it becomes easy to translate what's in your head down to the computer. The song became popular because of a game called super crazy guitar maniac deluxe (I think that was the name). I made the sequel because I just really liked GvP and I actually would listen to it myself alot. The second one just didn't really feel the same for me, and I realized that trying to make sequels to songs is not really very easy, and generally not a good idea because songs should have their own inspiration and identity... But, then there's the fan factor.. if they demand it long enough then you have to oblige them. So yes, there will be a GvP 3 and I uploaded a sample of it recently to Youtube. You can go to my user page here on Newgrounds to see it.

Q: Kingbastard - your first song is entitled Kingbastard [ boxclever ] which is certainly a bizarre song. What was the process in creating this song?

A: A very long and arduous one! This was my first real foray into the more complex forms of electronic music and programming. I remember thinking when I was creating it that I wanted to make something at a dance tempo, with glitchy rhythmical elements, but I wanted to do it with sound-sets that are not normally associated with that sort of music. I started out with the main body of the song, getting a good solid loop and structure to work with and then began to mash-it-up with glitch, I then set about creating an atmospheric intro, breakdown and outro to the piece.

Q: Kingbastard - the song [ m a t u i t ] is a beautiful and dark song although short is nothing short of poetic. When writing music with lyrics and then singing a song what was going through your mind when creating this song and what inspired you to do so?

A: Well, I'm not proud to say that this song came from a bad drug experience I had at university. The lyrics are probably some of the darkest I've written and came from a very honest place. Lets just say that I had too much of something and felt very paranoid, my heart was racing and I thought I was going to die (fun-times, kids, just say NO!:). What was going through my mind is quite accurately described by the lyrics themselves: This could be my last night on earth & no I was never brave, & when I'm dead & gone I will leave a shallow grave... (quite literal really).

Q: Chronamut - your first song is entitled Techno Mario What made you want to do a video game song and what was the process in making it?

A: ugh that song is terrible - I knew nothing about the program or online music making at the time and I just wanted to see if I could make a mario song - so I took the preset sounds in the program, not knowing anything else at the time - and spewed that out and submitted it - and within like an hour it was used in a flash game, and thus I could never delete it hahaha.. the song literally took maybe half an hour? Hahaha..

Q: Chronamut - your song *+*+(Sonata of Light)+*+* is a wonderfully beautiful song crafted by you. You would remake it as *+*+(Forest of Light)+*+*. Where did the inspiration come from with this song? What was the process in making it? And why did you decide to remix it?

A: ah yes, that song. Let's see - I wanted to make a song that I felt had a bass, 2 arps, and a lead, and that never ever ended. It loops seamlessly and can go on forever and ever. Since it had this definitive "4 channel" structure I wanted to see what it would be like if I made it more foresty.. as the piano version is a bit.. rigid. I think the end result was pretty good and I am happy with it - added some real-life instruments in there too :)

Q: F-777 - Your first song in the Audio Portal would be entitled Project X-1067. For your first it is certainly quite good. You state you had been making music for months when you brought this to us. Were there any failures before this one or was it all one project just being expanded on?

A: I had actually been making music for just ONE month and yes there were many failures haha. It is not my first song but probably around my 15th song. Months later I posted my actual FIRST song "Wazzup" just so people could hear my first song ever. So to fix the confusion, Project X-1067 is my first SUBMISSION to newgrounds, not my first song I ever made.

Q: F-777 - Out of all of your songs I must say that my personal favorite by you is Lion King - F-777 ReMiX. It truly is an outstanding remix of one of the final songs in the movie and is quite honestly a nice homage to the original. You stated that you had this tune stuck in your head for five years. I have a feeling that perhaps you might like "The Lion King." There is the inspiration, but I feel there is a bit more to this story would you care to share it with us?

A: Thanks so much!!! Although I don't consider that remix among my top works it was definitely a memorable moment for me. Lion King was one of my first inspirations to make music EVER and that tune was just playing over and over in my head for the longest time. I decided I wanted to remix it but then I wanted to see if I could get the tune down without listening to the original to refresh my memory. I thought I would be WAY off and completely fail but I was bored and having some fun. Then when it turned out to be exactly the same.....I almost died. Like COMPLETELY shocked. That song had SUCH an impact on my life but I had NO idea that it was THAT much of an impact. So ya might sound funny but I cried when that happened. Emotional time haha. So ya its funny cause I used to think it was weird that out of all my friends I was the only one who didn't cry from the movie Lion King, but then it found its way to make me cry in a weird way. Haha so ya, there's the rest of the story =). Im glad you liked the remix.

Q: InvisibleObserver - Your first song is entitled Tribunal. It is as you state sad and cave-like. For your first song it is quite good. You stated that you made it relatively quickly, but what all did you learn when making this song?

A: To be entirely honest, my comments on it are from nearly 3 years ago when I was a production neanderthal. They aren't how I would want to present myself now. I don't think I learnt much at all, but was merely excited to upload something to NG to get my account validated. Given the way I wrote in the text blurb, I wrote it forcefully for the sake of having something there being said. Probably learning more from the song now upon reflecting on it, that I shouldn't have let myself get a bit caught up and spew out something really not worth while. Oh well.

Q: InvisibleObserver - After listening to your works, I must say that my favorite by you is your latest one entitled Significate Epitome. For my readers looking to listen to this song I suggest you make sure you have a bit of time on your hands before so. Why would you make a song this long and what was the inspiration and process you took into creating it?

A: It is positive you like the newest, compared to the older pieces I really got my stuff together comparied to my musical dark ages. More technical, academic, well geared and experienced. I intend on having a great deal of my older songs lopped off at some point. Though it should be noted I have a good deal of them remixed/mastered and uploaded as album content.

The length has to do with a number of things. First, I use to have problems writing songs over a minute, and my attempts at beating that out were rather successful, and now I strive to out-do myself in song length. Secondly there is an appeal to writing a song that, while writing, there is no end in sight so no confine is felt. I'm not saying I feel locked in if I write something short, but when the writing session is going well, there isn't really a hamper on ending the fun. Thirdly, I enjoy songs of length myself. 3 minute songs better have a lot of attention to detail and content within them. Alot of what I write of longer nature tend to evolve or move, and the sheer size in effect stops a listener from knowing a song fully. Very much the case with Significate Epitome, there is too much audio information over a long period of time that you can't listen to it once and be done with it. Unless of course its outright disliked.

Other factors, a friend was praising some highly layered electronic musicians work and I felt I could out-do him. That was strived for.

After all of this from beginning to end. The one answer I seemed to get the most out of came from the musician of "InvisibleObserver." His seemed to make the most sense to me. Does that mean that all other answers are wrong? Not at all, music is an art, but unlike other forms of art it is not a visual medium. So when people listen to music and make music it is different while at the same time the same. Has the question been answered? For me it has, for others I can't say. Overall I thank all of those who took the time to answer my questions on this subject and one can only hope that they continue to work at their craft with their gifts.

[ PART 1 | PART 2 ]

Interview No. 41

Interview By: The-Great-One

Today's guests are the musicians of the Newgrounds Audio Portal. I have decided to question them about what the definition of music is. Their answers are similar and different in their own right. Overall I will admit that this interview has been done for personal reasons, but for those who tend to listen to music it is a question that comes to mind. So I thought who better to ask than those who actually make music.

I questioned the Audio Forum on what the definition of music is. You can read their responses within this thread. So you can gather a wider scope if you want one.

The following musicians of the Audio Portal I have asked for further questioning on this subject are @thatcomposerguy, @Goukisan, @Kingbastard, @Chronamut, @F-777, and @InvisibleObserver. These are the fine musicians of the Newgrounds Audio Portal and they are here to tell us what music is as well as share their stories about some of their works.

[ PART 1 | PART 2 ]

ANSWERS WILL BE POSTED BENEATH THE _A:_ DUE TO TWO PEOPLE BEING INTERVIEWED PERSON ANSWERING WILL BE NOTED AS SO.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A:

thatcomposerguy: I discovered Newgrounds when a friend of mine told me about Salad Fingers. It was one of the most disturbing things I had seen at the time. I was hooked ever since. I joined in 2005 so I could start putting music on the portal.

Goukisan: That's a good question.. It was so long ago now. I first ended up on Newgrounds for the flash movies and games. I didn't even know about the Audio portal at that time. I think the first thing I saw was the xiao xiao series which I was a big fan of. It was only after discovering the Audio portal that I decided to make a user account, so that I could upload.

Kingbastard: I found Newgrounds back in 2004 by chance. I was experimenting with electronic music at the time and I wanted an outlet to share my material and get feedback on it. Newgrounds offered me this opportunity and a lot more in the way of entertainment too, so joining was a no-brainer.

Chronamut: Funny story that is - I was in Flash class in college and we were all worknig on flash and I had a friend of mine that was sitting in the row in front of me watching a flash video on newgrounds and I asked him what site it was, and so I checked it out, and the rest was history!

I didn't end up joining until I learned there was an audio portal section and started to tinker with audio for fun after listening to some of the users in the portal - back then there was barely ANYONE in the audio portal.

F-777: I can't exactly remember how but I was 11 years old and was looking up advanced versions of "Fur Elise" for piano, and I ended up finding a remix on this site. I think that's how XD.

InvisibleObserver: I had an account before this one for the purposes of watching flash videos and playing games. I uploaded a bit of music on it too for some feedback.

Q: How did you discover music?

A:

thatcomposerguy: Its hard to say when I exactly discovered music, but there are several items that stand out in my memory from when I was younger. Some of these include, the Lion King soundtrack, Mr. Big's "I Just want to be wit you," Mahler V, my mother singing "Lullaby and Goodnight" as I drifted off to sleep, and Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Goukisan: I've always loved music. I remember being in Kindergarden and listening to old cassette tapes they had of Elvis. I had no idea who Elvis was and I didn't care but I loved that music for some reason. I can't even remember a single song but I do remember sitting there listening to it in the corner every day. As I grew up I got really into grunge (Nirvana) and then eventually punk and metal and all along I had a huge love of video game music.

Kingbastard: Music has always been around me and I have always been around music, as far back as I can remember anyway.

Chronamut: well I played the recorder and banged on a piano and guitar at random points in my life but nothing ever serious.

F-777: Oh when I was like 2 years old I used to listen to my dad play piano all the time and I wished I could play like him, but it wasn't till I was 6 years old when I got really serious about it and started playing every day. I think my real discovery though was when my dad took me to a music shop when I was 4 years old and I realized that the piano was only ONE of the many instruments in the world.

InvisibleObserver: When I was in the single digits of age I watched a lot of Disney film with my sister, and we played alot to it. Fantasia comes to mind. We also own a clavinova with a large array of built in songs that were fooled around with, though I never really played piano, nor listened much to music until about grade 12 (just a few years ago).

Q: What first inspired you to make music?

A:

thatcomposerguy: The soundtrack to "A Perfect Storm" by James Horner really instilled something in my to want to be a film composer. At that time I had never thought about the possibility of composing for games, but that seems to be what I do most of and I have a great time doing it.

Goukisan: Video games most definitely... Although my first exposure to music composition was a humble FL Studio demo that my friend had on his computer. I figured out how to make a simple beat on the step sequencer and I was hooked. I enjoyed the idea of being able to create an entire song by myself and have it sound exactly how I wanted. It's the same sort of story of how I got into computer programming.

Kingbastard: I played instruments at a young age at school, but I gave up after a little while, so I never truly got into making music until much later on. I was inspired by picking up the guitar again at the age of 19, a friend of mine I lived with at the time was a great guitarist and encouraged me to do it, so I would have to say he was the first point of inspiration (Thanks Tim:).

As soon as I had learnt the basics again and how to play some Smashing Pumpkins & Radiohead songs I immediately wanted to start making my own stuff.

Chronamut: one day in my final year of highschool in computer class we were looking for a program to make music and downloaded fruity loops 3 - none of us really lined it and threw it out and used some royalty-free music for our project instead - college rolled around and I was bored one day and asked my friend to send me the program - I made 2 really shitty songs that you can still hear today in my submissions and then tossed it out for 2 months - then upgraded to fruity loops 4.6 I htink it was and tried again and the rest is history!

F-777: Lion King. Enough said...oh, and Zircon.

InvisibleObserver: I was 10, on another flash site and the artist credited himself for his audio. My mind was blown, real people could apparently single handed write their own music. He even provided a link to a cracked copy of FL3. I downloaded it and commenced my step into frustration.

The flash animation was this one. http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/

du defalling

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of music?

A:

thatcomposerguy: That's the age old questions, isn't it? To me, music is simply expression. Rather its art, or not, that's not for me to judge, but every piece of music that someone creates is an expression of themselves to some degree.

Goukisan: That's a very hard question to answer but fun to think about. I guess I'd say that Music is a medium for transmitting, or conveying emotions through sounds. It's something that is intrinsically understood by all humans without the need for words or language, like Math. In fact it's very closely related to Math in my mind but much more grounded in emotions than logic.

Kingbastard: Difficult question, I like the phrase coined by Edgard Varèse, that it is "organized sound", but I think for me it's a very true form of expression, when done honestly, & a unique, diverse outlet of imagination, creativity & emotion.

Chronamut: anything that involves harmony, melody, and a human desire of expression.

F-777: Sound. Melodies and chord progressions are required for a great song but everything comes down to just, sound. With one sound, example just a piano, more notes are required to create a song (for the most part) but with an orchestra the entire group can do a simple chord progression that just sounds beautiful because of the compilation of sounds.

InvisibleObserver: You've already received a pastiche of idea's of what music is according to a handful of musicians, producers, and I'll assume non-musically entwined known contacts. I'd rather attempt to define why there is an excessive variance on people ability to come to a solid answer on the topic of music.

Philosophically when approaching the issue of defining, or discussing the essence of music two major character groups exist in which we speak about our essence. We have those who are familiar and intelligent about the topic; musicians, producers, physicists/mathematicians/technicians who are into sound and music itself. The other side, more colloquial listener, appreciator, fan, non-production related individual who is interested not in making, but in more of a cultural, social dynamic, dancing, bobbing head accepting what they hear. Yourself for example. Between what I'll just dub producer and listener, there is a ton of gray territory (yourself again, by having sought more information). However what is not so gray is that when talking about our abstract topic of music, what defines the essence is different according to the two groups and suddenly we have a ton of varying accidents from both perspectives. While both are right in the context of their own belief of what music is and how it relates to them, their thoughts do not effect what music is, but the others interaction with music.

Which roughly reads as a very well known discourse of commercial versus underground, unoriginal versus original, the known versus the unknown, and the producer and listener. The list goes on, but its a big circle of poor communication of and about music, and how it relates to us. In the way most people speak about music, there is this weird attempt at defining music by example, or solidifying the topic into a more definitive confine and it almost always falls back into a deconstructive loop of balancing popularity and commercialism against artistic originality.

This being said, I'm a producer and I generally dislike casually talking about music to people who don't understand what I do about sound. Either their eager to learn and I'm now in the role of educating, which is fine but can become tiring. The other possibility is they think their emotional opinions carry some significant weight of meaning. Conversations like that go like "This genre is so good!" "Why?" "Uh, it has a good beat." "Explain the beat." "Uhhh..."

Other then my philosophical deconstructive rough analysis of a beaten-to-death discourse that not many people in my mind talk about with the slightest of intelligence, music to me personally is something with an endless array of possibilities for production and manipulation which is quite fun to create within as a medium.

Q: Is there any artist or person you look to as a mentor or a guide?

A:

thatcomposerguy: Pretty much every film composer has been sort of a guide, especially Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Michael Giachinno, and Steve Jablonsky. On newgrounds, wyldfyre1 has always been a constant reviewer and all around good person to talk to with and has tons of great music. Also, I wouldn't be anything with God for giving me the talent.

Goukisan: Of course I have to mention Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy), Michiru Yamane(Castlevania), and the several composers who worked on the Megaman tunes over the years. I completely owe my ear for a 'catchy melody' to them.

Kingbastard: I have an eclectic range of influences musically speaking, but to cite one as more influential than another, or to say I am guided or mentored by them would be incorrect, so no, not really.

Chronamut: Dreamscaper, ParagonX9 and Evil dog. Xbrav helped me progress a lot too on this site. That's pretty much it. They were the only people that really existed when I started out here, who are still here.

F-777: Thats the thing, iv been left in the dark by most musicians I look up to. However I have had so much help from random places at random times. For example, Kr1z and I share new techniques/tips with each other that we have learned on our own. Also, I get reviews all the time on this site from new people who just have the most AMAZING ideas. On msn somebody will hear my song and even if they don't know any music terms they still portray their ideas by saying things like "oh like those notes at 1:30 with the plucky thing maybe make them like higher or something" or "that beat thing sounds a bit too loud" and have still really helped me out that way. (Sometimes people hum there idea over a microphone haha). So I can't name a mentor, but there are thousands of people who have helped me out =).

InvisibleObserver: At this stage in time, not exactly. The user Gravey and I talk alot, but on an even footing. For a while he assisted me more then I helped him, but our strengths are varied from one anothers which is mutually beneficial.

Q: When it comes to writing your music without really much to inspire you, where does it start? Where does the first note come down and where does the song end?

A:

thatcomposerguy: Rather its for a project with little information about the music, or for sitting down and trying to write for myself, its the same process. I try to picture myself in a/the scenario and, from there, imagine the kind feelings I would have in that scenario and use those emotions to create the score. I really do try to make it as personal as possible.

Goukisan: Generally I have a melody in my head that I like and so I sit down and try to recreate it in the computer. Then I just sort of take it from there and try to imagine a different melody playing with the one I just finished and repeat the process. Sometimes I have absolutely no idea what I want to do, I just search around the various sounds that I've got until I hear one that strikes a cord with me (no pun intended). Sometimes I hear a single note and just sort of know what should come next. Those are the times that I guess you would say I'm 'inspired' though.

Kingbastard: For me there is no real distinction between the first note and the last note, a song should be a natural progression, if it comes it comes, if not then I leave it alone. A song can start and finish in my head before anything is even played or written down, or it can be a process of very specifically setting out to start at point(a) and finish at point(b). I suppose what I'm trying to say is that my method for creating music is varied and often depends on the kind of music I am making.

Chronamut: I find in those instances a lot of my ideas come right when I wake up, or when I am at work - at times where I can't really write them down - so I'll play them over and over in my head and then toss them into a midi when I get home and then store them for god knows how long until I stumble upon them years later and make a song on them. My songs can take anywhere from a day to sometiems a week - but usually a day to 3 days to make a song.

F-777: I get this question a lot. Basically whenever I have music block I just look at my options. Should i remake an old song? Remix something? Try a new genre? Just fool around? For the most part I never admit to music block. I just scrap project after project until iv made an idea im happy with. Endings I actually have no clue how to explain how I decide to end a song.

InvisibleObserver: Creativity is easily artificed and machinated. You could ask how people write music while inspired and you'd get an equally fluffy answer which wouldn't make sense to your perspective and associated language use while addressing the essence of music. When you do start understanding what someone or we say, you're probably on the road to losing your ability to be a listener.

Q: What programs, instruments, and/or equipment do you use to not only create your music, but share it with the world?

A:

thatcomposerguy: This will be a shocker to most people. I've had a lot of hardships and roadblock growing up so money hasn't really been a luxury to spend on equipment. All I use is a Behringer UMX610 midi keyboard with Garageband, yes Garageband on my iMac G5. As far as software I always go for EastWest.

Goukisan: 99% of the stuff I've done is 100% FL Studio. I've used Reason a little bit here and there but basically that's it. I've only ever uploaded stuff on Newgrounds and then people have taken it from there. (Actually I uploaded a few to Youtube because other people's videos of my songs were taken down)

Kingbastard: Equipment: [My current kit-list includes: Sony VAIO AW11z Laptop, RK Rokit R6 G2 Studio Monitors, Yamaha Acoustic Guitar FG Series, Yamaha Guitalele GL-1, Epiphone Les Paul Special II GT Electric Guitar, Epiphone Les Paul Special Bass Guitar, Acoustic 12 String, Gretsch Lap Steel Slide Guitar, Tanglewood Electro-Acoustic Guitar, Roland GAIA Synthesizer, Novation Launchpad, Kaoss Pad III, BOSS Micro BR, ZOOM H-1 Handy Recorder, Behringer V-Amp II, Behringer Bass V-Amp, Shure SM58 Microphone, SE Electronics X1 Project RF Microphone & Reflexion Filter, Tanglewood Banjo, Starmaker Ukelele, Samsung-SyncMaster P2270HD as an extra Monitor, Stylophone, Stylophone Beatbox, Casio PT-20 & SA-5 retro keyboards, KORG Monotron, KORG nanoKONTROL & nanoPAD, Roland SP808ex, Percussion (including: tamborine, egg shaker, maracas, bongos), Melodica, Hohner Harmonicas & a Kazzoo:]

Sites I use to share music are: Newgrounds, Bandcamp, Myspace, Soundcloud, Last FM, Facebook, Twitter etc....

Chronamut: Fl studio mostly. I also use Cool Edit Pro for additional editing and eqing and altering of the finished file. I also have a penny whistle, a yamaha midi player and a H2 zoom portable recording device. I also sometimes use Trackers, and sometimes Propellorhead Reason, although I find the program to be extremely rigid.

F-777: FL studio 9 XXL and various plugins. My only piece of solid equipment at the moment is my mouse and that is a HUGE holdback for me because considering that I have been playing piano for almost 10 years....ya a midi controller keyboard would definitely make my life a million times easier haha.

InvisibleObserver: For sharing, I'm using newgrounds, facebook, and bandcamp. For instruments, I own and play ukelele, digeridoo, jawharp and piano. Though for my electronic music purposes I sample varied things with my Tascam DR-07. I use FL studio and an awful lot of plugins, though some favorites are db_glitch, protoplasm, synplant and drum samples for slicing and reshaping. Soon I'll have a keyboard hooked up to my computer to help twiddle around, as is I'm sequencing by mouse.

Q: There are many other musicians getting into music. What advice would you like to give them?

A:

thatcomposerguy: Run. Run as hard as you can. And I don't mean run away. You've got to stick with it and work at it everyday. There's a lot of competition out there and the only way to separate yourself from them is to be passionate and work hard.

Goukisan: Do more than I've done. Haha, I really have never taken it very seriously and I believe that I only became somewhat popular by chance. If I were to really try to get my stuff out there and make it big, I guess I would start by sending samples to various places. First place to start would be college radio stations because you can easily get your stuff on the air and be heard. Then you can go to bigger stations or what have you and say 'Here I've been played on all these stations, give me a shot' and who knows? Handing out CD's for free works too. Also GET IN FLASH GAMES. That is a huge source of listeners and the demographic is perfect for video game music if that's your thing.

Kingbastard: Don't bother if your sole aim is to make money, do it honestly & for the love of putting your creativity and imagination into one of the purest art-forms there is.

Chronamut: try to carve out your own sound - it's fine to have mentors, but don't leech onto them in an attempt to suck out all their talent and make it yours. Also if you don't feel like you have the drive inside you to write a song down - don't. Forced songs are a terrible way to make music - you should do it when the muse hits you. Also try not to listen to genres a lot and emulate them - as you will only end up being a copcat to a genre - try to forge your own.

F-777: ASK FOR HELP!!! That sounds awful by itself but what I mean is, when you're talking to a musician who you think is way better than you, ask questions! You can learn some really neat stuff in just 5 mins if you just ask people =). If you hear a song that you really like and there is a sound you want to learn how to do, message the artist and ask! You would be surprised how many blocks in your music you can get over just by spending a few seconds and sending messages to artists. I really wish I did that more when i first started making music.

InvisibleObserver: Someone getting into music is usually not a musician. The interest in transition often has to deal with an idolization for music idols, or a desire to say they have made something, over the desire to actually create something. It is hard to split hairs and lay judgment on someone testing the waters, but most people who are getting into music, sputter out and find something more instantly gratifying.

[ PART 1 | PART 2 ]

Interview No. 40

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Special Thanks to @liljim without whom this interview would not be possible.

Today's guests are the members of The Elite Guard Barracks. Now I certainly couldn't interview the entire club so I have chosen the following members. Supreme Commander @EagleRock, Supreme Commander @Coop, Private First Class @SpiffyMasta, Sergeant @Sheizenhammer, and Supreme Commander @Phantom. They are The Elite Guard Barracks.

ANSWERS WILL BE POSTED BENEATH THE _A:_ DUE TO TWO PEOPLE BEING INTERVIEWED PERSON ANSWERING WILL BE NOTED AS SO.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A:

EagleRock: Newgrounds was a popular site in the Comp Sci department at my college. It was hard NOT to find Newgrounds. We loved the site because it was the #1 place for Flash, period. I started going on the site semi-regularly back in 2001, but finally signed up for an account in 2003. It wasn't until 2005 that I actually bothered to start posting and became an active BBS member, though.

Coop: Well, when I was in my late teens, just away from University, I was introduced to Assassin and Unidentified Flying Assholes. I left it until we got Broadband at home to sign up for Newgrounds and that was the first action on the computer I did after the broadband was installed.

SpiffyMasta: I was probably about 12 or 13 years old when I first stumbled onto Newgrounds. One of my friends showed me the telebubby games and assassin games. I loved killing Britney Spears and then playing her dress-up games. The quality of NG games has changed so much over the years. Basically I kept playing the hentai games for a few years (like most horny 13 year olds do) and then I decided to make an account a few years later. I didn't really go on the forums until 2005. This month marks the 8th year of my account and the rest is history

Sheizenhammer: Honestly, I've no idea when I first found NG. I think it was around 2002ish, but I really can't be certain. My first account was made in 2004, for the purposes of reviewing and having more vote power. Annoyingly, I messed up an e-mail change and locked myself out of it a week later.

After that, I just used NG sporadically, mainly for the audio portal, right up until I made this account... for the same purposes the last one was supposed to accomplish. Thankfully, I've thus far managed to keep this one going.

Phantom: I was a kid playing flash games on-line and after a while I became curious with the tank logo on a lot of the games and decided to check it out, back in 04'. Been here since. Through the highs and lows.

Q: The Elite Guard Barracks was created on November 29, 2005 by Newgrounds Members EagleRock Did you have any activity in that thread and if so how did you come about it?

A:

EagleRock: Just a bit. :-) The Barracks had a much more basic, singular purpose back then. Pre-redesign, the NG B/P ranks were all preceded with "Elite Guard", and I had recently reached Elite Guard status. Needless to say, I was really into the whole thing, and wanted a place where we could chat, but you had to act accordingly to your rank. Also, official membership required you to have a rank of Elite Guard Private rank or higher. Obviously the EGB has much more loftier goals by now, but this was basically how it all started.

Coop: I was pretty active in the Clubs & Crews at the time and came across this club, which just seemed like a good idea, as EagleRock shared my ideals. I stuck with it and still hold these things true today.

SpiffyMasta: No I was not part of the thread at that time whatsoever, I only joined about 5-6 months ago I believe.

Sheizenhammer: Since that was in the time I wasn't really paying attention to NG, no. Hell, I never even visited the forums at all until about a week after I made this account. I first found the place at about the same time I found the NGPD... and I didn't bother joining the latter for quite a while after that.

When I did, though, I saw how much fun it could be, and after I ranked out it only took me about a month or so to get around to joining the EGB. I've been passively active in it since; I'm always watching for new stolen flashes to be posted.

Phantom: I joined on page 4 because at the time I was really into B/P and over the following year I went from approx 0 to 30,000 B/P points. I was in the EGB for a long time, believed in its purpose and the way it was structured by Peter (EagleRock). Over time he became very busy with his real life so for some time I ran it and I was known as a very mean but fair leader, now, in 2011 I lurk more than anything, but I still maintain my respect and former title.

Q: The Newgrounds Police Department was created one day later after The Elite Guard Barracks. In my interview with The Newgrounds Police Department I asked them what was the purpose of their club and both Lizzardis replied saying...

"It teaches them about how they should behave and moulds them to members acceptable for the EGB by helping with their whistles, posting quality and overall attitude."

Would you agree with this? Also when newer members arrive from the police department do they still need to learn a few new tricks or is it a piece of cake?

A:

EagleRock: Brigadier General Lizzardis has the right idea. While I obviously never had the honor to be in the NGPD, I would have joined first thing had I been able to. Some of our finest members were from the NGPD, and the club does a great job of turning potentially troublesome NG users into beneficial members. However, coming from the NGPD doesn't make you a shoe-in for the EGB. But I will say that a high percentage of recruits from the NGPD make it in with little difficulty.

Coop: A good question and I'm not sure that I'm qualified to answer it - I was never enthralled with the idea of having two threads running at the same time for the same purpose. Due to the effective high turnover of recruits who went on to either drop out, or even make the step up to the barracks, they need to have strong leadership, but if all of them graduate to the Barracks, then how can they govern themselves.

EyeLovePoozy locked it, because it became a spamfest and I wasn't at all surprised, since the prevention of spam mantra seemed to have been interpreted as only applying to the portal, as opposed to on the BBS as well. Fortunately, TailsPrower has pretty much got everything under control once more.

SpiffyMasta: I don't like the statement that it is something done for the EGB. I think the NGPD and EGB are two completely different entities, while one progresses naturally from the other, they have very different dynamics. I also feel like it's not just about getting users ready for the EGB, it's more about simply making them better users of the site and better members of the forum community.

As far as the second question, I think it depends on the member, there's factors like maturity and experience that come into play. Certain people can take only a few months to meet eligibility and don't spend much time in the NGPD before joining the EGB. These are often the ones that still have a lot to learn. Others, like myself, take a couple years to join up and have a much easier time in the EGB.

Sheizenhammer: Well... yes and no. That is one of the things the NGPD does, but it's by no means the ONLY thing it accomplishes. It is a place where those who wish to help out in the portal, but lack the requirements to join the EGB, can gather and fulfil their wishes to contribute their time to stopping portal abuse, whilst having some fun in the process. The educational side of it just comes as a kind of side-effect, IMO (read: learning when to whistle stuff, post quality, etc.)

When new members arrive in the EGB, how much they need to learn depens on the person. Some people come in with better standards than what we expect already, while others have varying degrees of stuff to learn. And amongst those, some just seem to 'get it' quicker than others. Generally, it's not hard to pick up a feel of how the place works, though (those applicants which lack significant knowledge of posting and / or portal rules are unlikely to get past the selection process, after all).

Phantom: The Police Dept. is doing both Newgrounds and the EGB a great service by taking newer users and teaching them the right from wrong of voting and reviewing and general behavior, we've had quite a few recruits come into the EGB after "graduating" from the Police Dept. and I definitely feel that for newer users it essential to find a more easy going place to start off with when it comes to B/P.

The Elite Guard Barracks, named after the (now deleted) Elite ranks of B/P starting from Elite Guard Private, all the way to Elite Guard Supreme Commander (EGSC), the acronym is still in use today for convenience.

In short, I'm glad the Police Dept. is there to build new users into the sort of members we want in the EGB.

Q: What is the purpose of The Elite Guard Barracks?

A:

EagleRock: Well, I already went over the original purpose of the EGB when I founded it. Over time, as we started to grow and gain status on Newgrounds. As you can imagine, due to our membership requirements, our roster was full of influential members with high voting power. Eventually, we started to take our role as protectors of the NG Portal seriously and did all we could to make sure every Flash possible gets a fair vote with as little influence as possible from mass-voters, zero-bombers, malicious users, and the like.

Coop: It's a place where members of the community gather as a lounge thread for pretty much the basis of all having the same goal - clearing the portal of spam. We had quite a bit of dialogue in the early days and served a few bans for being too much like the Blam Club and even for being a little too stat-orientated, but we've gotten over that now.

SpiffyMasta: I'd like to think our main job is to try and make sure that rule breaking flashes don't get through the portal. I think we also try to help our members become better members of the forums and the website alltogether.

Sheizenhammer: What else? To help stop Newgrounds from becoming a YouTube - style cesspit of whatever random garbage you find on the internet. The defining feature of this website is the emphasis on user-generated content, and without people working to keep it that way, it would only turn into another generic flash-dump site.

(Although, technically, it is still just a place where people act like their in the military, but that's very much taken a back-seat to the portal business.)

Phantom: Our main purpose was and remains to help Newgrounds become an impartial, practical and fair portal of Flash creations. We do this by collectively speaking of our methods of work, sharing submissions we think we can help and ones we think should be deleted by the rules Newgrounds and the ones Tom himself put out long ago.

Spam, for example, is an ongoing problem we face that sullies the name of the portal and is often regarded as a file dump, we try our best to make sure that doesn't happen, that content is original and useful, and that it's always the real authors that submit their work, sometimes those authors have no interest in submitting to Newgrounds which is a shame but it is still never a reason to upload without their permission, a fact we try and enforce using the thread and our websites/forums to whistle and bring inappropriate material to admin attention.

Q: Where do you stand as a member of The Elite Guard Barracks? In other words what is your purpose and what do you think of it overall?

A:

EagleRock: I am Founder and Chief Barracks Officer. While I have not always been active as the CBO, I've always had a part in the direction the Barracks goes. During times when I wasn't around, officers such as EGSC Phantom and EGSC SlashFirestorm took up the role of CBO at one point or another. Obviously the EGB isn't a one-man show and it would not be what it is today if it wasn't for these two people, my officers, and all of the members that put their time into it. Today, I'm proud to have taken up the role of CBO again.

Coop: I'm the resident moderator. As as result of my golden aura, I've got contact with the admins that no other member at present has. I can pass them links to abusive flash, even if they have passed judgement, which allows them to get checks and removed, as they see fit.

I'm also the top of the tree for B/P at the moment. Some members view that I'm just keeping the seat warm for byteslinger, but she'll have to catch me first, as I'm enjoying myself.

SpiffyMasta: I'm pretty much just a regular member, which is very polar opposite from when I was in the NGPD and had the billet of being second in command. I only serve the same purpose as most everyone else.

Sheizenhammer: I have no particular purpose: I'm not an officer for anything. I'm here to help out with whatever needs doing, and that usually means reporting stolen flashes and participating in new member discussions. Apart from that, I'm easy. :P

Phantom: Over time I held a great array of positions, from the common starting member, to relations Officer between us and the NG Mafia, another talented collection of users, with some humor in our role-play as Mafia vs. Military.

Along with Peter (EagleRock) I also held the part of secondary leader and leader of the club completely during his absence, it is still important to mention that the EGB was a hierarchy from the beginning and no one person makes decisions on his/her own.

As of now I'm coming back from a short sabbatical and choose to retain my title as former 3IC-(in command) in order not to offend any current Officers.

Q: You've stated that you've allied with other clubs such as The Newgrounds Department of Defense and The Newgrounds Mafia. What are your ties to these clubs and how have they helped you and how have you helped them?

A:

EagleRock: When the NGPD first started, I wanted to make sure they knew we were their friends, had similar goals, and wanted to help each other out. So, we allied with the NGPD, as well as with the other C&C groups you mentioned. We helped each other out quite a bit by promoting cross-membership and by keeping Liaisons around to make sure all the groups kept in touch. While the DoD is no longer active, our other allies are, and we're still there for one another.

Coop: Personally, I have no ties to either of these clubs, so I keep myself to myself and so do they.

SpiffyMasta: I think both of those clubs are pretty much dead. I know though that for the longest time many EGB members were also members of the NGDD. Recently an attempt was made to revive the NGDD and many of our members including myself were in the club.

Sheizenhammer: Honestly, in my time here I've seen precious little activity from the NGDD, and even less from the NG mafia. If there were any ties in the past, they're all but gone now (along with the clubs themselves). I know some EGB members are trying to get the NGDD back online, but the success has been limited at best. And I've never heard of anything being done about the NG mafia at all.

Phantom: The NGDD's newer thread was started by Wylo and several of his friends, one of them was also my friend at the time, Gregory (WastedWizard) who asked me via MSN at the time to come partake in it, and because it was also low on members, I instantly became in charge of the Portal section of the NGDD. Since then activity has severely weakened on the NGDD but it comes as no surprise because the role of such an extensive club with the presence of the Police Dept. and the EGB, combined with the fact many Flash/Audio artists don't frequent the forums, made its activity rather slow. By now I've accepted its fate as a club and hope maybe one day in the future it will have a more valued place amongst Newgrounds members.

The NG Mafia as I've stated, I was also a member in. It was the first club I ever joined and they taught me, quite strictly too, how to properly post and behave on the BBS. Ghost (leader of the NG Mafia) made me the Capo (traditional Mafioso title for Officer) of the sniper division, at which point the EGB surfaced and I started to interact with it as well.

Q: A common complaint in the Audio Portal are the zero-bombers. People who constantly zero-bomb other's works so that their own may rise or just to be complete jerks. The Newgrounds Police Department responded with mixed answers, but is there anything The Elite Guard Barracks can do about this? If yes what do you do to help? If no then could you please tell us why?

A:

EagleRock: It's definitely not the right thing to do. Like I said, the EGB has a policy that every Flash deserves a fair vote, no matter what. The same goes for people's audio submissions. We can help by voting as much as possible on the Audio Portal as well as the Flash Portal, giving every audio submission a fair, unbiased vote, and, if necessary, provide constructive criticism on how to improve. While not every EGB member is an audiophile as much as they are a Flash enthusiast, we can't be as effective in the AP as we are in the FP, but we can certainly do our best.

Coop: The only thing we could really do is counter vote. I get it all the time from people that get banned by me and they zero bomb me to retaliate, for what little good it does. I'm more concerned about the reviews I receive and if these idiots want to write me an abusive review, they will play right into my hands, since I'm a Review Mod as well.

SpiffyMasta: Not much besides trying to spread awareness about the consequences of doing something like that. There will always be immature people who like to just zero bomb things for the hell of it, so as unfortunate as that is it's not something anyone besides the admins can deal with.

Sheizenhammer: Sadly, no. Although we have a roster with some 40+ people on it, only about 10 of them are active at any given point in time. Ergo, there simply aren't enough of us to make a difference in the audio portal. And that's making no mention of trying to skew scores (regardless of if it's in response to other vote-skewing) being against the number one rule the EGB has, too (read: voting fairly).

Besides, zero-bombing is a self-limiting practice anyway. The bigger the gap between your own work and that of your rivals, the more likely you are to have said lead ruined by people using your own tactics against you. It all balances out in the long run.

Phantom: Sometimes, unfair voting is a concern due to the system Newgrounds has which allows for alts and daily voting, I myself have suffered some of those "bombers" on my Audio submissions, but except bombing 5's, which we don't support, nothing can fix the problem until the general population of Newgrounds becomes smarter, a process we actively try and progress.

Q: The Newgrounds Police Department have made a second thread and cleaned it up a bit. Have you had any intentions to do the same? If yes then why and how? If no then why?

A:

EagleRock: I would say that creating a new forum thread for the EGB would not be beneficial at all. In fact, I would consider it detrimental in ways. As far as our first post not reflecting the current state of the EGB, our Recruitment Officer Supreme Commander Byteslinger (as well as the rest of the EGB) are well-equipped to informing new members about the club. If we split the page, it would be diminishing our heritage and long-time status on the C&C Forum. As far as the NGPD goes, however, I felt the move was great for them. Since the had problems in the past, recreating the thread demonstrated their devotion towards improvement and high ideals. However, what worked for them, in my opinion, won't work for us.

Coop: There's no need to remake a thread that is successful and has its own in house moderator. I keep it running smoothly and stop arguments, without even the need to indicate who I am any more.

SpiffyMasta: No clue

Sheizenhammer: I have had the idea myself, since the OP doesn't really describe what we do anymore. On the other hand, it would mean abandoning a lot of our history like the NGPD did, so I'm not sure if others would be willing to do it.

Phantom: For the most part, the EGB has had good relations with both moderators and users, and when spam occurred, we were able to clean it up thanks to the mods. We've had no need to open up a new thread thanks to the fact we only take on more experienced users, a risk the Newgrounds Police Dept. had to take for taking on newer members.

Q: If you could change anything about Newgrounds, what would it be and why?

A:

EagleRock: Well, nothing annoys me more on Newgrounds than to see unfairness in the system. Some members post Flash that blatantly have no effort put into them whatsoever, yet they manage to get all of their Flash protected by mass-voters. On the other hand, aspiring artists that come to Newgrounds to get exposure tend to get ignored and not given the input they need to improve. I believe the bigger problem at hand is that the general populace of Newgrounds knows certain Flash will get protected even if it is substandard, so they will automatically 5 any mass-voted Flash as well. It's causing Newgrounds to longer be based on quality, but based on popularity and mass-voting.

Coop: More exposure for writers. We have some talented individuals here and they will come to the fore, but they need to get the credit they deserve to blossom.

SpiffyMasta: If I could change anything on Newgrounds it would have to be adding Flash Portal Moderators. There's audio mods and art mods that regulate the content, I don't see why there shouldn't be any in the flash portal. I think it would make it much easier and faster to delete abusive flashes and it would probably take a load off Wade. I think he's entertained the idea before but never acted on it.

Sheizenhammer: Portal mods. I never understood why we have mods for the audio and art portals, but not the flash portal. On top of that, 99% of the people who vote on UJ stuff either don't know, or don't care, about stolen flashes. And Wade can take months to get around to removing the things that are flagged, too. The current system is fast becoming unfit for purpose, IMO, and I think giving Wade some volunteer help (read: mods) could be the answer.

Phantom: Well, considering I could split my B/P in half and still remain EGSC, I'd love to see more ranks to keep even high-up users motivated to continue, but that may be difficult, still I hope the admins consider it sometimes.

Of course I'd also be glad if in time, a more efficient system was introduced to control the amount of spam coming into the portal so that our job could focus more on the fairness of votes with each submission, and not the "blind votes" that occur with many current UJ submissions.

Other than that, nothing particular, I've always liked Newgrounds and I believe it's awesome, even if some improvements can be made.

Q: What can we expect from The Elite Guard Barracks in the future?

A:

EagleRock: The issue I mentioned above has been around for a while. It was most apparent back in August of 2007 when the "insta-5" mentality of Clock Day stuck around for over a week after the day ended. After then, many spammers came out of the woodwork submitting flash en-masse and getting it all protected. The Barracks has been doing what we can to give every Flash possible a fair vote, regardless of whether it is submitted by a spammer, a new artist, or an accomplished NG user. We believe we can eventually tip the scales as more people adopt a fair-voting policy. Eventually, we will tip the scales against those voting unfairly and let Flash have a fair and unbiased judgment. After this, the NG masses will see that Flash no longer get points based on popularity or mass-voting, and will start to adopt a fair-voting policy as well. Once this happens, mass-voters will have lost their power and fairness will be restored to the Newgrounds Portal.

Coop: More of the same, I believe. We root out the issues with Newrounds and continue to grow as a useful part of the community.

SpiffyMasta: I don't think the EGB is going away anytime soon, so keep expecting the same from us, constantly keeping watch over the portal!

Sheizenhammer: Hopefully, a larger active userbase. Large enough to reliably pull stolen flashes, for a change. However, I'm not too optimistic about that happening.

Phantom: We don't have any large projects at the moment but every now and again a talented user may declare a certain in-thread competition or make some form of art connecting us more closely to the portal we're protecting. If anything does come up, I'm sure the Newgrounds community will know of it.

Much like The Newgrounds Police Department, The Elite Guard Barracks are a group of people there to assist in protecting the Newgrounds Flash Portal as well as helping Newgrounds and its members. However The Elite Guard Barracks are a bit more experienced (no pun intended). If you are ever in the need of assistance then these guys are certainly capable of helping you.

Interview No. 39

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is a very bizarre individual. His animations are twisted in humor, but overall shows creativity. He has been known for his character Fernando within the Pleasure Island series and Dance of the Manwhore. He has also given us Ask Raptor Jesus and the Angry Dog series. He is certainly known for more than this, but to list it all would deny me the pleasure of introducing @Sexual-Lobster.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: A friend referred me to it. I joined so I could upload my flash films and get feedback on them. Six years later I'm still lurking around.

Q: Your first flash submission is entitled Horseman: Newsreader. A comical flash indeed, where did this idea come from and looking back on it today are you still proud of it?

A: I think the writing in that one was good, but everything else sucks so no I'm not proud of it, but I still like it. It's almost six years ago and I don't remember where the idea for it came from, but Horseman was already a character in some comics I'd drawn so it was just another adventure for him.

Q: Fernandohyde would introduce us to two of your iconic characters Fernando and Gooseman. Are these characters inspired by anything in particular or are they your multiple personalities?

A: Not in Fernando's case, but Gooseman looks kind of like me and shares some traits. In the past I've thought of him as a kind of alter ego, a sociopath with few hang-ups and no scruples that can just do as he pleases, but he's morphed into a kind of happy-go-lucky super-hero character over the years so I don't think the same is true anymore.

Q: Great Weed Drought of '03 would win you your first "Daily Feature" award as well as a "Weekly 4th Place." Certainly an interesting little trip you've given us, what was the inspiration for this and what was the process in creating it? Also any plans on remaking this and possibly expanding on the story?

A: I worked at a bank for a year or so, and Robin, the protagonist, particularly when he's at work, reflects a lot of attitudes I had at the time. I knew I wanted to make Lovefist with those two characters, but I didn't feel confident I could pull off some of the scenes, so I tried to write GWD03 so it would be fun to draw to give myself some practise. My first tablet arrived when I was almost finished, so this is the last film I made with a mouse. I have actually written a Great Weed Drought of '05 script, and I think it would have held up had I made it, but I made a conscious decision at one point not to do drug humour anymore so I doubt I'll ever make it now.

Q: Angry Dog would be the beginning of a fascinating series dubbed Angry Dog. What was your inspiration for the different characters in Angry Dog and what made you want to keep it going?

A: Angry Dog started off as a simple writing exercise. I wanted to make a dry sitcom where the main characters were animals which had human problems. The reason I went with animals was mostly because I'd never done anthropogenic animals up to that point so I wanted to try it out. It was probably more influenced by Seinfeld than by anything else. The 7 Angry Dog films that I made 2 years later was a commercial venture with Aniboom.com. It was part of their Creator's Studio program where they advertised for pitches and awarded grants to the people chosen. In exchange however, they would own the characters and try to sell the idea for profit. I was happy to agree to this as I'd come up with the characters so quickly and easily and was not overly attached to them. They apparently had interest from networks, but never closed any deals.

Q: Angry Dog - Be My Bitch was a fascinating flash movie that was funny and your song Be My Bitch gained a bit of fame in the Audio Portal. Where was the inspiration for this flash movie and what was the process in writing this song?

A: Be My Bitch is exactly how I feel about the club scene. There's one line in the film that sums it up I think: "It's all just mating rituals perverted by consumerism." These days I refuse to even enter clubs. I don't dance, so that's probably what it boils down to. When I recorded the lyrics for the song at my friend Peter's house, there was an asian homestay student living with Peter's parents there, who Peter neglected to inform about what we were doing. Apparently he was totally freaked out by all the wailing and groaning. Music wise, I chose the simplest, cheesiest pop melody I could think of and tried to emulate the sound of a cheapass karaoke machine.

Q: The Perfect Latin Lover is quite the interesting flash movie with quite the interesting song being Fernando's Theme. Where did the inspiration for both this flash and this song come from and would it itself become an inspiration for your future work "Dance of the Manwhore"?

A: No, it's not connected to Dance of the Manwhore (other than both featuring the same character). It was an experiment to see if I could make a film in one day. It spilled over to a day and a half so I guess the experiment failed. Also, I thought maybe I'd do more Fernando video blog entries in the future, but I never got around to it.

Q: Oh my God what is wrong with you? Pleasure Island. You've stated that it's based off a comics. Do tell of the experience and the thought that went into this as well as the rest of the Pleasure Island episodes.

A: It's a different story for each episode. My friend's and I used to do comic jams occasionally, where we draw one panel and pass the page along, making up the story as we go. It's a great drawing and writing exercise and I recommend it to anyone, in fact it's the kind of collaboration that would work well with the network Newgrounds already has in place. Anyway, Pleasure Island was a particularly twisted two page comic that I thought would be fun to animate. There aren't really amusing stories for Pleasure Island 2 & 3, they both just came out of me staring at the computer screen and trying to come up with ideas, with the general theme of combining my older characters, Fernando, Gooseman and Manny, with the new setting of Pleasure Island.

Q: One of my favorite flash movies by you has to be Captain Planet Strip Club. Were you trying to convey something with this flash or were you just being funny? Either way what was the process and inspiration in creating this?

A: You skipped Parliament Deathmatch, both that and Captain Planet goes to Copenhagen (that's it's proper title, but it was too long for Newgrounds' title character limit), as well as Ask Raptor Jesus were made to air on a panel discussion show on television here in Australia. Basically I was trying to have fun with national politics while still making a point, but I admit that the fun came before making the point so extrapolating the point would probably be difficult for most, and impossible for almost anyone outside of Australia who isn't familiar with local politics. Interestingly, the lack of context doesn't seem to detract from the experience, and may actually create a mood of batshit insanity, which I find quite amusing.

Q: Despite the bizarre story of "Pleasure Island" the short flash Ask Raptor Jesus is even stranger. Why was this flash entitled "Ask Raptor Jesus" when it has little to nothing to do with Raptor Jesus? Also where was the inspiration for Raptor Jesus and will we see more of him?

A: I guess I provided some context for Ask Raptor Jesus in my answer to your last question. All of the random stuff has a deeper meaning, but I doubt most people here would care about Australian politics so I won't go into it, plus it would take a lot of exposition. To answer your question, basically I really liked and wanted to animate Raptor Jesus. Your question implies that you're not familiar with him; in a nutshell he's a meme from 4chan. You probably noticed I like drawing lizards, and I love the irreverent attitude towards Christianity. The point of this film was to highlight the fact that no one was talking about climate change anymore (and also that both the prime minister and the alternative prime minister at the time were church loonies), at least in the media spotlight in Australia. Since then our prime minister, the silver haired guy wearing the dress and the moustache in the audience was overthrown, partly (or mostly, depending on who you talk to) over this issue.

Q: Your first time hitting the triple crown of Newgrounds by winning the "Daily Feature", "Weekly 1st Place", and the "Review Crew Pick" awards would be with a little music video entitled Dance of the Manwhore. This is more or less a song. I have already reviewed this flash movie stating that it was like a stalker making a music video which is flattering, but creepy. How would you describe this flash movie and what was the inspiration behind it?

A: It started as a writing exercise. I came up with the first verse, I don't remember how or why, and posted the lyrics on my forum and a Newgrounds news post, asking for collaboration. I ended up getting a lot of awesome material, and when I edited and hammered it all together into a song, I thought it was too funny not to do. Also, the appeal with making music videos is that you can pretty much draw whatever you like, people accept completely irrelevant visuals. Interestingly, most music videos are as boring as cardboard.

Q: When it comes to writing comedy different people have ways of doing so. What are the steps you normally take when writing?

A: I've taken a lot of different approaches. Sometimes I'll come up with two lines of dialogue and write a situation around them. My most recent film, Captain Planet Rampage, was written entirely in my head when I was out jogging one day. Sometimes I collaborate online, sending a few paragraphs to Peter, one of the guys I draw comics with. Short films are such an elastic medium that pretty much any writing style can work for them.

Q: Looking back at your past work, it's easy to see that your animation has gotten better over time and is only getting better. What advice can you give to new flash artists and animators in the future?

A: Don't stagnate, try different styles and characters. Don't start massive projects unless you're really confident you can finish them. Try and look at a wide range of art and deconstruct how it's made, what the underlying principles are.

Q: What can we expect from Sexual-Lobster in the near future?

A: I'm pretty keen to finish Pleasure Island 4, which I'm halfway through, but keep putting aside to do other stuff (I didn't follow my own advice about starting massive projects), and I'd like to do a sort of sequel, or a continuation, of Dance of the Manwhore. I'm going back to uni this year so I like to think I'll get more animation done than last year when I spent most of the time working.

Sexual-Lobster reminds me of MasterAardvark. They both have a twisted sense of humor and a strange sense of creativity that is brilliant while at the same time disturbingly entertaining. It would be amazing if they collaborated together, however that seems like a cruel wish on the mind. Until then we must enjoy the works of this strange lobster creature.

NOTE! THE FOLLOWING USER IS NOW REFERRED AS @Murray. HOWEVER IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THIS INTERVIEW THAT YOU KNOW HIS PREVIOUS USERNAME WHICH WAS @Bahamut.

Interview No. 38

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is quite possibly the overall everyday man we've come to love. The only thing is... he is not a man. He has received votes through the Newgrounds BBS Awards for Most Underrated and Best Poster as well as an Icon Moderator, Genre Moderator, and Forum Moderator. He is Newgrounds Favorite Dragon, as well as a dear friend, @Bahamut.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: I first heard about Newgrounds when a friend of mine showed me some Dragonball Z parodies at the start of 2004. He was a big fan of Dragonball Z back then but I wasn't much of a fan. I only ever saw 20 episodes of the show. The one flash animation that stuck out to me was DBZ in the Nutshell starring the voice talent of Egoraptor. This was well before he started the Awesome series. As a 13 year old, I was laughing my ass off at the fast and crazy voices Egoraptor used for the characters.

I didn't look into Newgrounds much after that but a few months later I heard about LegendaryFrog and watched Final Fantasy VII: About Random Battles. This was on another site and when I looked further into LegendaryFrog's works, I enjoyed everything I saw from him and when I read that he also uploads them on Newgrounds, I decided to return to the site and came across several Final Fantasy and Metal Gear parodies. My favourites included LegendaryFrog's animations, 8-Bit D&D and my all-time favourite Metal Gear Fiesta which to me was so funny I almost died laughing. A few days later, I decided to sign up to Newgrounds for the heck of it, even if I thought I'd never do much with the account. Who knew a mere sign up would actually lead me to many things?

Q: You tend to be known more throughout the Newgrounds Forums than anywhere else that is no secret. Your first BBS post was in a thread entitled pokemon fans only with your first post being on page 4. This may seem like a stupid question... and it is, but what drew you to this thread and what do you remember about it? Also how do you feel looking back at it now?

A: During my earlier times on Newgrounds, I knew the site wasn't fond of Pokemon considering the Assassin page for it at the time. As you can tell, the majority of responses were highly negative of the franchise. I was a big fan of the time and the comments didn't really please me. To try and blend in with the BBS a bit and avoid a heatrash, I just reflected on my times when Pokemon was big in 1999-2001. It wasn't a great first post but then again, we all have to start somewhere. I felt I wouldn't have been popular if I openly admitted to being a fan of Pokemon but at a later point, I just thought "Fuck the haters" and said I liked the games no matter what others thought.

The overall idiocy of the BBS was actually the one reason why I didn't want to go there at first. It's really funny to think that now since if I never gave the BBS a try, I wouldn't have met all the great friends and foes I've come across. I wouldn't have been helping out the site with icon, genre and BBS modding and most of all, I'd have never attended the London Meet back in August. The London Meet is the only event I've ever attended so far that consisted of people I only knew from the internet. Had it not been for checking out the BBS, who knows where I'd be right now.

Q: You've been a member of Newgrounds for six years now soon to be seven. One of the first things that you have done in which over time has benefited for many members of Newgrounds was the joining of the Where Is/How To? Level Up! Lounge. What made you want to post there and contribute to this thread over time and why do you still do it today?

A: I remember browsing around the Where is/How to? forum for its particularly interesting forum name as well as mentioning "help with games". My first thought was helping out with games in general so users ask about help with video games but when I had a closer look, I realised it was to do with helping out users with questions as well as maintaining stat threads. Where is/How to? had a very poor and confusing forum description back then. The threads about stats easily caught my attention since I was obsessed with voting on under judgment entries for blam and protect points and depositing (I still am). I noticed my stats were too low for the stat lists and eventually turned to the Level Up Lounge and see what that thread was about.

In the Level Up Lounge, I saw users posting achievements they got and at the time I was only a few reviews away from 100 for flash submissions. I made a push to get to 100 flash reviews and posted it in the thread, even if I thought no-one there would have cared. The following day it came to my surprise that some of the regulars congratulated me for my milestone and I felt encouraged to keep posting in the thread. Shortly after I too congratulated users for any achievements they make and encourage them to keep up the good work as well. I also contributed to current discussions in the lounge as well as bringing up anything that happens to me on Newgrounds or in real life. I felt really welcomed there in contrast to the rest of the BBS and it's become my cyber home ever since, especially when excellent posters still come there to add great discussions to the lounge.

Q: In the past I interviewed The Newgrounds Police Department which was originally created on November 30th, 2005. One day later after The Elite Guard Barracks in which you were one of the first people to join. Why did you decide to join The Elite Guard Barracks and why have you remained a member to this day?

A: Actually, I left the Elite Guard Barracks around a year later. I was drifting away from the place and eventually lost interest. Back when the Elite Guard Barracks was new, it wasn't very organised as it is now. It was originally questioned by some mods about what they wanted to do with the thread but it was agreed that its purpose would be to protect the portal, voting honestly and bringing up submissions that need to be flagged. I wanted to join along since I was a keen B/P voter back then and was working my way to Supreme Commander.

Q: Word on the street is you like music. You seem to have quite an ear and love to share your experiences as well as your knowledge. What is your definition of music?

A: My main musical interests are rock, metal and video games music. My favourite artists are Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Megadeth and Slough Feg, a criminally overlooked band. I also listen to a few other bits and bobs outside my preferred genres. It might seem that my musical horizons are rather limited but to be honest, if I took such an interest in another genre like electronic or rap, I'd have a really hard time catching up on many artists who would be worth listening to from those genres as well as keeping up with metal and certain departments of rock music. I already have over 700 albums I need to listen to from those two genres alone and that list only continues to grow as me and my sister find more artists that catches our interests.

That saying, just because I don't listen to a particular genre doesn't mean I hate it. Rap music isn't my cup of tea but I respect those who are fans of the genre and continue to support artists they know from there. One genre I really can't stand is musicals. I've never been fond of the use of musicals in films or television shows and most of them make me cringe. Despite that, I can understand the popularity of musicals and I still see it as music but it's not something I can tolerate except in rare cases.

Q: The Newgrounds BBS Awards are interesting to say the least. You have been voted Most Underrated for The 2009 Mid-Year Awards and The 2009 BBS Awards. You were also voted the Best Poster for The 2010 Mid-Year Awards. How does it feel that the Newgrounds public thinks this of you?

A: I do appreciate the shout outs the users give to me for these awards. It may not be the entire view of the BBS userbase but it's always a good portion of regulars that take part. To be a winner for Best Poster was interesting since it meant out of all the users who post on the BBS, I was the one who was awarded it for being a really good poster according to the majority of voters. I never thought I'd get a true mention for Best Poster since I always thought there were many other great users that overshadowed me. That might be one reason why I was a popular guy for Most Underrated. These might be just silly awards but they do speak some volume for what the userbase thinks of the mentioned users.

Q: How did you become a Forum Moderator and do you enjoy being one?

A: Wade created a thread on the BBS asking for the best user for forum mod. My name was mentioned many times but that wasn't the main reason why I became a forum mod, even if I was assigned to one the day after. Considering I knew some of the mods very well such as Coop, Auz and NEVR (prior to him stepping down), I'm sure they had some impact on getting myself considered for the position. I was actually out partying when all of this happened so I didn't find out I was offered to become a forum mod until the day after.

As for my time on the BBS and keeping up with my position, I still enjoy the BBS as much as ever. I'm still making my contributions to Where is/How to?, Clubs & Crews and Video Games forums just as I did as a regular user. The only difference to my BBS routine is checking on more threads in General than I ever did as well as taking out any trouble I come across instead of bringing it up to any mod for them to handle. Sure, I get idiots coming to me complaining about their bans when they clearly deserved it but that's to be expected as a forum mod, especially on Newgrounds.

Q: Not only are you a wonderful poster on the BBS, you are also a great writer. Your series of Gaming Bullshit Rants are not only fun to read they're also quite insightful. What inspired you to do this and why do you continue doing it?

A: Before I started my series on video game ranting, I had an idea covering the worst things that's going on with video games right now. With annual releases of FIFA and Madden, extreme milking on the Guitar Hero franchise and Nintendo's changes for the not so better, I thought I could name ten worst things about the gaming industry right now but with some influence from some ranters I was subscribed to, I decided to make a series dedicated to what I think isn't good about the gaming world and what I feel could be done to make it a better place. These are just personal thoughts and not necessarily dictating the gaming industry what they should be doing with their businesses.

Q: Although your rants are nice it does seem strange though that your first seven rants were ranting on Nintendo and your latest one The Console War says that no console is superior to the other. So the question is why haven't we heard you rant about the flaws of the PlayStation 3 and the XBOX 360 yet and will we?

A: Back then it seemed Nintendo were moving away from the hardcore gaming base that they were loyal to going all the way back to the NES days which I feel was a huge stepback. I thought Nintendo were starting to abandon their longtime fans and focus on casual gamers after the disaster they did with their E3 2008 conference. With very little support for Virtual Console, hardly anything from Nintendo's franchises besides Mario and the pointless DSi, I thought they were taking a their new path and stick to it. Good thing I was wrong and they've given light to Metroid, Kirby, Donkey Kong and even Kid Icarus. With the recent return, I feel they've regained their balance.

As for the lack of rants on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, it might seem I just have too many problems with the Wii and while most of my thoughts still stand, I do own the console and still enjoy the games they provide. I just felt Nintendo could have executed it better, especially the Virtual Console which is a trainwreck for PAL territories. I really don't have a lot to say about the flaws of the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The most I can think of is hardware issues and obnoxious players online but just about everything breaks after a while and you get kids screaming down the microphones on PC as well. All that can be said is all three consoles have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Q: What can we expect from Bahamut in the future?

A: Newgrounds-wise, I should keep up with being a regular poster, taking care of my forum modding duties, maintaining my stats lists and most of all attending some meets in the new year. There's already the Manchester meet next month which I've been excited for ever since it was announced on the BBS and then there's the next London meet in August. After my experiences at the last London meet, I don't even need to think twice about going to the next one!

Writing-wise, I've actually got a new series to start in the new year. Since it's so close to 2011 and I've done a fair amount already, I'm confident in saying right now that my new series will consist of 52 different metal songs that I feel are rather underrated in the heavy metal universe. You'll get one metal song mentioned every week from the first week of 2011 up until the end of the new year. While this will be my bigger focus, I'll still what I can do to write up more gaming rants but I can't see myself writing as many as I did for the two previous years.

Anything else we'll just wait and see what life offers me. After all, life is full of surprises.

Bahamut is not only a good friend to me, but he is a friend to many. As a simplistic interviewer I am not worthy to him or his contributions to this site and things can only look better for him. In the past when I interviewed Luis I stated that I wouldn't be surprised if he became an administrator for the site, and you know what I was right. Well with the way things are going for Bahamut that administrator status doesn't seem to be far away from him.

Interview No. 37

Interview By: @Ryanson

Here on Newgrounds, it doesn't matter where you're from or what you like. Anyone can be successful if you just put your mind to it. That person is @matt-likes-swords.

Q: Hello. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to do this. How's the weather where you live?

A: It gets dark around 4pm at this time of the year, I'm not really sure since I can't see much. But it's probably raining or wet.

[pause]

Alright, it's not raining.

Q: Huh. Where do you live?

A: Glasgow, Scotland. It's almost in the arctic circle, so yeah, pretty dark in winter.

Q: Alright, this interview is going up here on Newgrounds. For those people who may not know... who are you? What do you do?

A: Ehhh I'm Matt Roszak, known as matt-likes-swords only on Newgrounds, since that's my oldest account. kupo707 everywhere else. I've been messing around with Flash since I was around 12, I'm 20 now. If you look through my old submissions on NG, you'll see that all the old ones were pretty crap. But my style hasn't really changed too much, I still like a lot of the same stuff I liked as a kid. Mostly video game and anime inspired stuff.

Q: So how did you come to find Newgrounds?

A: Well I actually made some crappy Flash cartoons before I knew about it, and a friend was like "They have a site for stuff like that, you should post yours there."

Q: How did you get into Flash?

A: My mum was studying graphic design and animation, and had installed programs like Flash, Director, Lightwave etc on our PC. I messed around with a few of them but stuck to Flash.

Q: Love at first try, then?

A: Nah, not really. My early stuff really sucked and I didn't see it as much more than a minor distraction. Only started using it more after discovering Newgrounds, and seeing that there was actually an audience for that kind of stuff.

Q: You keep mentioning some of your earlier stuff, and we'll get back to that in a bit... but you also said that your screen name is matt-likes-swords *only* on Newgrounds. Dare I ask... do you actually like swords?

A: At the time I was a massive fan of 8-bit Theatre, and "I like swords" is a quote from one of the main characters. My oldest flashes that passed judgement were largely inspired by 8-bit Theatre too.

Q: So, where does Kupo707 come from?

A: I wanted the email "kupo@hotmail.com" but it was taken, the computer suggested kupo707 instead. Not very exciting I know...

Q: Haha, that implies other peoples' names are exciting too. No worries. What were some of your first submissions here, and what was the general response to it?

A: Well the first bunch was the "Attack of the Black Mages" series. To be honest I don't really remember what the response was like. But it must of been decent since I felt like making sequels.

Q: Based on that, and some of your recent submissions... I'd say you have a thing for Final Fantasy games. Am I correct in assuming so?

A: Yeah, but not as much as I used to. Don't really have time to play RPGs too often. [pause] Well that and most recent Final Fantasy games haven't really impressed me as much as the old ones. FF 9 and 6 are still my favourites and probably will be for as long as the series is around.

Q: Nonetheless, Final Fantasy seems to be the inspiration for many of your games and artwork. I'm... not sure what I'm trying to ask lol. Maybe, "why are you so fascinated with the series?" Or, "why have you found inspiration from it?"

A: Err, not sure to be honest. I guess it was just easy to parody.

Q: Most of your games and movies on Newgrounds seem to be... interconnected. Like, a part of one series. Was this the intent?

A: I'm just too lazy to think of new concepts and characters. That's more or less it.

Q: Your characters seem to get tweaked a bit, redesigned slightly after each game...

A: Cause computer specs and my skills improve. I don't want to recycle too much stuff either.

Q: The most common thing I see is the main character of your series. His name is Matt, too right? Is he based off of you? Any Final Fantasy characters?

A: Pretty much based on me, yeah. Started with No Name and Final Fantasy Battle, since my girlfriend Caitriona was in there too. She's long gone though. It feels a bit silly using myself as a character now, but I can't really remove him from the sequels D:

Q: Are the other characters based off of anyone in your life? Or are they original?

A: All original except Cat and me unfortunately. My life's not that exciting.

Q: Another original character who seems to be recurring is... the Kitten. Looking on your Deviant Art page... a lot of your pictures involve kittens. Do you like cats?

A: Somewhat. I also like poking fun at people who obsessively like cats and cute things, hence why all the cats in my games are crippled. Less people get offended than I would imagine.

Q: We've talked a small bit about Final Fantasy... but what else was involved in the inspiration, the... creation, of the first Epic Battle Fantasy game? How did it come to be?

A: Well I played Maple Story for 3 years, that's probably a bigger inspiration than FF lately. A lot of the visual style is based on that; enemy expressions, item icons, weapons, themes etc. Anime in general as well. A lot of the ideas in the game are just common anime cliches. Basically I just wanted to make games that involved a lot of things that I liked, and my style suited RPGs since my early works were RPG parodies, so yeah....

Q: Brawl Royale. Three things stick out for me. First, why the dark artwork, in comparison to the usually bright Epic Battle Fantasy?

A: Eh all my work before that one had tons of blood. I just grew up a bit and realized a larger audience would probably enjoy my stuff more without much gore. Also, not adding blood is less work. Just grew out of it I guess.

Q: Second, what inspired you to switch to the speed-oriented one-button gameplay instead of the RPG elements?

A: Well at the time I didn't know how to program. So that.

Q: Third... why zombie Goku?

A: I'm not really sure where that came from. I just needed a really powerful guy to defeat everyone for lulz.

Q: Besides games... you also do animation and artwork. Have any inspirations? Favorite artists?

A: Early on I used Krinkles' Madness floating-arms style, but that was mainly because I could not draw very well and his style was easy to do. Later I was more inspired by guys like NCH and KiteRide (or whatever username he uses on NG, vinnie something?) Not really in animations style, since they do a lot of frame by frame, mostly just in the anime themes.

Q: Your games are pretty damn popular on Newgrounds. Why do you think people love them so much?

A: Tits, swords, guns, kittens, anime, unoriginality, juvenile humor, more tits. A lot of people like that stuff.

Q: Everyone with a hint of success faces criticism. How do you respond to criticism?

A: Depends. If it's minor stuff I can fix, and enough people mention it, I may fix it. Otherwise I ignore it.

Q: So what would you be doing were it not for the internet? If not for Newgrounds?

A: Er probably still something between computers and art, nothing too different.

Q: Do you follow any series or artists here on Newgrounds? Any favorite movies or games?

A: I don't really follow anyone in particular anymore, just whatever catches my attention on the front page or whereever. Mostly just play a lot of platformers and shooters now.

[pauses to think]

If I had to make a list... Death vs Monstars, Pixel Purge, Ether War, Frantic 2 etc are some amazing shooters, and Flash games actually got me into old style shooters like Touhou, Dodonpachi and Ikaruga etc. I also like a lot of the retro pixel platformers like Redder, Canabalt, Time Fkuc etc.

Q: So what's playing on your iPod as of late?

A: Derp. I have an Android phone. Been boycotting Apple since Steve Jobs made fun of Flash. Lately I've been listening to a lot of chiptunes like Anamanaguchi and Shirobon, and some stuff from the Audio Portal. And the Super Meat Boy soundtrack, I'm hoping to get a hard copy of that when it's out. It's amazing.

Q: Any plans for the future you want to discuss, that your fans would be excited for?

A: Well I'm doing my last 2 years of University and it'd be silly to announce anything while I'm busy with that. I'd just get harassed by people telling me to hurry up... Though they can probably figure it out from the stuff I post on Facebook and Deviantart.

Q: Any favorite movies?

A: Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Fight Club, 500 Days of Summer, 300 etc. There's not really a lot of movies I watch more than once...

Q: Will the world end in 2012?

A: I.... What?

Q: What trend are you tired of hearing about, that you want to just go away?

A: Everything that 4chan invented, and was funny until it became mainstream. Like Lolcats and mudkips.

Q: Anything you want to share with us? A secret, perhaps?

A: I can't think of anything profound.

Q: What do you do in your spare time, when not making games?

A: Playing games, drinking, usually at the same time. Watching science documentaries. That's about it. Apart from obvious stuff that's already been mentioned.

Q: Any advice you want to give to people who want to work on their own games?

A: Yes: Stop asking pros for advice hoping that it'll improve your skills. Go and practice and stop looking for shortcuts. Too many people think Flash is like RPG maker or something.

Q: Alright, that's it. Thanks for taking the time out to talk to me. Any last words before we wrap this up and I make this all nice and shiny for the Interviewer?

A: Thank ye for the interview. I'm surprised it took this long for anyone to get round to it to be honest.

[pause]

Joking, of course.