Interview No. 34

Interview By: @Ryanson

Abridged series have their ups and downs -- for every horribly done one, there's a fantastically original and successful one. Sailor Moon Abridged is one of the latter. Funny, creative, and pretty much a blast to everyone who watches it. Nostalgia helps, too.

Megami33 isn't the only one behind the curtains of this beast (beast!) of a series, but she's doubtless the one you'll remember; she is the editor, one of the co-writers, and the voice for both Sailor Moon and Luna (among others). She's also quite active in other parts of the online/anime community, doing voice-overs and singing for fandubs, going to various conventions, and just goofing off with her friends on web-cam.

Also, she's willing to take the time out to let a nerd like me interview her. Yeeeaaaah boooyyyy. She was very pleasant, and for that I thank her.

While she herself doesn't visit Newgrounds a lot, as someone with a successful Abridged series on Youtube... well that's a freaking big deal, and I'm sure a lot of people are curious. So won't you join me, as we sneak a peak behind the curtains?

Q: Hello. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to do this interview. How is the weather over there where you live?

A: It's actually very sunny today. It's been rainy for a while, and we had a huge tornado too. But everything's alright; it blew past us. Today's very nice.

Q: Alright, this interview will be going up several places, including Newgrounds. So for those people who may not know, who are you? What do you do?

A: Oh. Uh, [chuckles] geez where do I begin? I'm Megami33. I do Sailor Moon Abridged, a parody series about Sailor Moon, with my friends KrisRix, roll002, whip0falchemy, judgment. I also do animation, singing, voice acting... almost anything, really.

I've done voices for a lot of fandubs and parodies like TeamFourStar's Dragon Ball Z Abridged, and... gosh there's too many roles to name! But that's basically it.

Q: And what do you do in your spare time?

A: Besides all the parodies and stuff? I practice singing, drawing, animating. Trying to build up my portfolio because I just graduated from the School of Visual Arts, so now I have to find a job.

Q: Congratulations. If you don't mind my asking, what was your major?

A: Animation.

Q: Oh. I could have guessed that.

A: [laughs] But for more details, I'm more of a traditional animator. I have tried Maya and Flash, but I just feel more comfortable doing stuff on paper. That isn't to say I don't use the computer, but I mostly just draw using paper.

Q: Your online screen name is Megami33. Why did you choose this name?

A: A couple weeks a go someone else asked me this on Formspring, and the sad truth was I didn't know. Thinking about it, like at first I kept telling people I just think I took it from the Persona games because in the beginning it's Shin Megami Tensei or something like that.

Sure enough, I've been cleaning up the house because we're remodelling it, and I found some old... and sadly, I hate to say this, I wrote a Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic. I noticed one of my characters was named Megami. So I think I got it from the Yu-Gi-Oh! card, because there's a fairy in the Kaiba Starter Deck that has the name Megami in it.

I think I just grew attached to the name, especially since I gave it to the character, and I STILL use the name for characters that I'm working on for my other series (which I hope to get on TV one day). I think I just got it from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. The "33" is just because I like the number 3 and it just sounded catchy at the end.

(for anyone who wants to know, the actual card's name is "Gyakutenno Megami")

Q: So, of course the first thing you may be known for is voice acting, particularly in Abridged series. Do you have any particular voice actor influences?

A: Oh God, I have too many! [laughter] Um, I have favorite anime voice actors and normal animated TV show voice actors. I know it's sort of the same, but at the same time the way they dub is a little different.

For animated TV shows, Jim Cummings was a huge influence. He was my childhood basically, and I would love to meet him. It's tied with Rob Paulsen, who I'd also love to meet. Oh, and um Tress MacNeille. She was the voice of Dot in Animaniacs, and a bunch of other things. She is like a goddess, and she was in my childhood too!

And as for anime, um. Greg Ayers. Before I really got into anime, hardcore anime, Greg Ayers was the first person I fell in love with because the first hardcore anime was Saiyuki. It's a total chick show; I mean, it's got action but it's got these four beautiful guys in it and Greg plays a little boy. I just fell in love with his voice ever since! And girl-wise it's Luci Christian, who voices a billion roles. She's just so talented, and I had the pleasure of meeting her at New York Comic-Con.

Q: I'm shocked that you haven't mentioned Vic Mignogna.

A: As much as I admire Vic... Greg was there from the beginning. Vic is also in Saiyuki, but I guess I heard Greg first and I just adore the fact that he can sound like a really cute boy. So can Vic, but he sort of has only that one kid voice. Greg can do the nerdy type, the shy type, the cocky type...

Don't tell the Rangers.

I used to be in Vic's fanclub "The Risembool Rangers" [laughs]. I'm not anymore. He's talented, but I don't want to be considered a crazy fan girl.

Q: The first series of yours I found was, and this may be true for many others, was Sailor Moon Abridged, where you and your close group of friends work together and do everything on the show. Um, how long ago has it been since you and your friends thought up the vague idea for SMA?

A: Oh jeez. For some people that know, I did start a Pokemon Abridged before Sailor Moon. And I started that at the beginning of college, so I'd have to say like maybe three or four years. And throughout college, after I practiced my animation I'd just go and work on this parody with my friends every Sunday.

It's been a blast! There's always slow moments, with school or work and such, but we're still having fun to this day.

Q: While it may be on the SMA page, some people don't like to read those kinds of pages. If it's no trouble, could you briefly go over how the idea of SMA started?

A: Like I said before, I started a Pokemon Abridged. I showed my friends, they liked it. Problem is, I got suspended. Got kicked off because it was Pokémon. So Eric, roll002, said "Why don't we do Sailor Moon? We all know the show, and technically the US doesn't have any rights to the show anymore because the creator went crazy and took back all the rights.

That's why we did Sailor Moon. It was easier to hide, like it wouldn't get taken down as easily, we

all knew it. I mostly saw it in English, but Kris religiously followed it and knows it by heart, and so does Eric. They have all the manga, the dolls, the DVDs. To this day, we freak out when we go to conventions and find all the Sailor Moon merchandise. We try to buy it all!

(I told her, and I'll tell you. I can't believe there were Sailor Moon dolls.)

Q: Did you guys get inspired a bit by Little Kuriboh's Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged?

A: Pssh, of course! That's what got me into Abridging! I was a huuuuge fan of Martin's work, and like I said I got all my friends into it. It seems like such fun to do, and I appreciate the way he did the humor because it's obvious that he loves the show. I wanted to try the same way, and one of my favorite shows was Pokémon so that's why I did the Pokémon.

We did do Sailor Moon later on. I did love Sailor Moon, but not as much as Pokémon. I'm a huuuge Pokémon fan. If I could, I'd do another Pokémon Abridged if not for fear of it being taken down and stuff.

...I think that answers the questions, haha.

Q: It does. Have you ever met Little Kuriboh?

A: Oh, several times! [laughter] I met him at several conventions. We did panels together, and he's such a sweet guy. He's just so funny, he's so witty. He's just an amazing guy.

Q: And you voice, among others, the heroine herself Sailor Moon. Was there any pressure at all in voicing such a huge iconic role, even in a parody?

A: Not really. When we were deciding who gets the role, Sailor Moon seemed like perfect for me. Right away, they were like "You be Sailor Moon, because she's so peppy and everything." And she's really easy to play! There wasn't much pressure at all! It did get a little annoying when I had to make her act serious. But, honestly there was no pressure at all.

If anything I feel more pressure playing Luna because... I'm using a fake British accent, I dunno how to friggin' do a British accent. Half the time I don't even know if what I'm saying is right. People say it sounds good enough.

Q: Something present in the episodes, and what was cause for quite a bit of speculation, was the use of actual songs in the Sailor Scouts' transformations. Who thought of that idea?

A: That's all roll002's department. He's a big music buff, and he had an idea of how all the Scout's themes would fit them and their element or attitude, and he even has some picked out for future ones like in the movies.

Q: And, I heard this was a rumor. I'm not sure if it's true or not, so I'll ask you. Is it true that you guys plan on doing the entire Sailor Moon series?

A: [chuckles] Sadly, I cannot say at this time.

Q: Cheapskate. You're also present on many other fandubs across the Internet. Out of all of them, what is your favorite role?

A: That's hard! Sadly, I've done so many fandubs... my favorites are always the ones that are never shown or finished. I've played Chopper from One Piece for a few fandubs, including one from my favorite movies. I always loved playing Chopper and people believe I fit the character kind of well.

Mokona Modoki, from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, I've played for so many things that never got finished: radio plays, movies. I like to voice the mascot characters of anything.

If anything, I used to be used a lot for fandubs because I could do a decent boy voice. I guess I enjoy doing boys voices more than girls because I feel girls are too easy to do.

Q: What software do you use when you record your vocals?

A: I use GarageBand, which is only on Macs. I'm really cheap when it comes to recording; I use the mic that's built into my mic. It gets the job done, so I'm not complaining.

Q: Is there any specific software you want to get in the future, maybe?

A: Geez, I want a shit load of stuff. Final Cut Pro, maybe a better editing program because as much as I like iMovie... I have a really old version of iMovie and I notice in the Macs now that they're sort of like Vegas that everyone else uses when it comes to editing. I'm so afraid to touch that but I should probably get into that, especially if this Mac is gonna die soon. It's been quitting out on me, especially when I'm converting the giant episodes!

Q: You also, if you don't mind me saying, have a pleasant singing voice. Do you believe yourself a good singer?

A: Oh, God no [laughs]. A lot of people say that, but I don't really think I'm that good. I just do it for fun. The reason I started singing was that I noticed people doing English translation of fandubs and I sorta thought they weren't doing a good job with it. So, I was like "Let me try and see if I can tackle it." It was more of the challenge to see if I could translate AND sing it. I guess people just started liking the sound of my voice, so I sort of try to practice certain songs to see what kind of songs I can sing.

I KNOW I can't sing certain songs. I've tried songs I'd love to sing, but I just can't. But um, I guess I'm a decent singer. I definitely need practice or coaching.

Q: Do you play any instruments?

A: I used to play the drums in elementary school because I wanted to be different. All the girls were playing flutes and violins. I know a little drum, snare drum and stuff. A lot of percussion instruments. Later on, I tried guitar but I was sorta getting scared that blisters on my hands would affect my drawing so I stopped that.

I do want to play piano, if I get the money to take lessons. I find anyone who can play the piano is really amazing. I get really impressed when people play any kind of musical instrument, especially the piano. Which is probably why I also like Vic too in that regard.

Q: Any favorite song that you've recorded?

A: Oh! I'm very surprised about this, but one of my favorites is "Dragon Soul," the opening for Dragon Ball Kai. It's funny because a lot of people don't like that opening for the show, I noticed. I did a female version and I thought it was one of the best mixed ones I've ever done.

I also sung a Sergent Frog song too, but that was unprofessional. I was doing that for the lulz. But a lot of people liked how it came out too. I was doing a version where all the frogs sing their part in the song, instead of in the regular version. I was singing however and trying to imitate them.

Q: Speaking of DBZ... another famous role of yours is Bulma from DBZ Abridged. How did you get that role?

A: Um, well. I think I got it because Scott, KaiserNeko... I'm not sure if he knew of that many girls to be in his Abridged? Of course he knew me, so he's like "I think you could fit Bulma." And I tried imitating her. He said "Oh wow! You're sort of an in between the Ocean dub and the FUNimation." I thought, I guess I'd keep doing that then. He just kept me on, so I guess that's how I got it.

Q: What you said is kind of a nice lead in to the next question. You are, unless I am mistaken, the lone girl "regular" in the DBZ Abridged cast. How is it going to cons with a bunch of dudes?

A: [laughter] To be honest, it actually feels kinda cool! Because it's like... I always joke around and say they're my host club, like from Ouran High School Host Club. They're all so cute and funny, and I think it's cool.

Q: Is it different from, say, going to cons with your SMA crew?

A: Definitely! As much as I like talking about stuff THEY want to talk about, I don't always know exactly what they want to do or I'm afraid that they might want their dude time and I'm just a little girl.

But the guys, Eric and Kris, they're my best buds so it doesn't matter. We could do anything and have a blast. I would love for them to meet the boys, as well.

Q: Quick, which ones better: DBZ or SMA? Go!

A: SMA. [laughter]. Oh, they're gonna hate me.

Q: Like other Internet... "celebrities," if you don't mind the term, you seem to have a connection with your fans that some people just don't have. You go to cons, you talk with fans... do you think you could explain this connection?

A: [chuckles] It's not like I'm trying. I'm just a normal person, I like anime and video games and go to conventions. If other people like the stuff too, I don't mind talking with them about. It's not like I'm trying, it's just that I love this stuff period, so I guess that's why I can relate to them.

Q: Do you ever get recognized outside of cons? Like on the streets?

A: A few started to in school. A few times I've been spotted out. It's kind of funny in a way, but it's kind of weird too.

Q: On many of your profile pages, you say that it's your dream to be an animator. How long has this been a dream of yours?

A: Ever since I was little! I always loved watching Disney movies and different shows and getting to know more about them so that maybe I can maybe create the same exact feeling I get when I watch these shows... and just put it in my own work. Just being able to do that and convey my own feelings.... it'd be a dream come true to just pull that off.

Q: Judging from many of your recent Twitter and Facebook posts... you're a Pokémaniac. Maybe you have been for a long time and I never noticed. How long you been into Pokémon?

A: I was there from the beginning. When it first popped up on TV. I saw the first episode one morning, and I was like "What the heck is this?" I was telling all of my friends. Then the next day, it exploded. Sure enough, I was caught in the phenomenon known as Pokémon.

Pokémon was also an inspiration to do animation, because at that time anime was slowly coming in and no one knew what it was. Seeing a show like that was shocking; no one knew you could do concepts like that. Now, it's redundant, but it hit me hard when I was young. I'm still a fan! I can't help it -- I even have a Mijumaru plushie.

Q: 4Kids vs. Pokémon USA, better dub?

A: Ugh, 4Kids.

Q: You excited about the upcoming Pokémon games Black and White?

A: I was, but then I saw the list. Some of them I like, and some of them... those aren't Pokémon. Some are Digimon, and some I don't understand what they were thinking when they drew that.

Q: Which version you going to get?

A: Black. I like the legendary on that one better.

Q: Just a plain ole' question -- do you limit yourself to anime, or do you just love animation of all kinds?

A: All kinds. I feel it's not right to be stuck in just one category. I want to spread my knowledge and see any kind of animation. It's good to see the competition, see what I may or may not need to add when I sell my pitch-books and stuff like that.

I watch different anime and animations like on Cartoon Network... Cartoon Network wasn't like what it was back in the day.

Q: What animated shows you been watching lately?

A: I've seen Generator Rex with my friend -- not a fan. And I've seen the new Ben 10 season, and now Ben's a jerk and now I hate him again. I love the fact that as he got older he showed his mature side. Then all of a sudden, they were like "let's make him a dick like he was when he was 10." Now I'm turned off and don't want to watch him anymore.

Q: What anime have you been watching lately?

A: I've seen Slice of Life. I've heard Japanese companies do stuff like that because it sells more to the otaku and the... I don't wanna say, perverts. Doing all of these fanservice boobshots.

I did see High School of the Dead. It was very refreshing. It has fanservice too, but it's clever. It works for the zombie genre.

Q: What got you into anime, in specific? Besides Pokémon and such.

A: Disney, Don Bluth. Um... I was a fan of the Kim Possible style. Dan Hasket. So many animators I could name that I'm not sure if you're familiar with, but just... I'm so very fond of their character design and the way they can....

If anything, Disney impresses me more with their storyboards than with their final product. It comes more to life, to me, in its rough storyboard form as opposed to its cleaned up product.

I also grew up when Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network exploded. I was in that age when animation was thrown at me. Animaniacs, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Hanna-Barbera stuff... so much inspiration at that time.

Q: Do you watch any series on Youtube, or visit other big Internet places like Newgrounds (where, by chance, this interview is going)?

A: I pop on Newgrounds every now and then. I don't know. Sometimes they'll have something fresh and stuff, but eh. I don't know.

I watch other Abridged series. There's a Yu-Gi-Oh! GX one. All my DBZ Abridged boys did their own, although the only one that's still going in Lanipator's Yu Yu Hakusho one.

I'm a fan of Shane Dawson. He reminds me of my friend Kris. Just a laid back, crazy dude who can make anything sound funny.

College humor stuff, junk like that.

Q: Any favorite videos or games?

A: Oh! I go on thatguywiththeglasses.com and I'm a huge Spoony fan. My favorite reviewer, besides Doug and Linkara. I met those two in person. It's funny, but I like feel like Doug is like my uncle. I mostly talk to Linkara, though. He got me into comics, and I love that he's doing those Power Ranger reviews.

Q: Now out of all the questions, this one may be a bit... too much and if it is, I apologize. Being a girl on the Internet with any bit of fame must be tough. I don't envy you in that regard. Is there anything you want to say to those creepy horny guys who are all up in your grill? No names of course (ahem, not me).

A: [chuckles] I'm not a violent person, and I try to give everyone a chance. Please don't hurt me or anything. I'm not looking for a relationship now, I just want to focus on my dream. If you could do that for me that'd be nice.

Q: Any plans for the future you want to discuss? Any upcoming projects, cons we can look forward to?

A: I'm working on a pitchbook for a kids' show. When I say kids' show, I mean like ages six to eleven. But I feel it might have mature messages for older people too. I don't want to say the name, but that's being developed now. I have a friend who's a writer and he's helping me write out the world.

I wanna work on a short film that Kris gave me the idea for. It was the story about her and a friend of hers, and I thought it was so cute that we could make an animated film out of it. She said she'd help, so we'll be doing that.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to find work. I might do commissions like she's doing. You guys should check her out, she does some amaaaazing stuff.

As for cons, we're all going -- me, Kris, Eric, and whip0falchemy who also did voices for SMA -- New York Anime Fest/Comic Con (because they're combing them together this year). We'll all be there, hanging around. I'm going to Youmacon to see my boys again, because I miss them and I want to see them. Me and the crew are all actually going to be guests at a small con in New York, the 2nd annual Game Con. We'll be helping out, giving ideas. They added anime to the cont his year to try and attract more people.

And more SMA, of course!

Q: What's playing on your iPod?

A: Podcast Beyond. It's an excellent gaming podcast that a college buddy got me into. That focuses on Playstation games.

Game Scoop, too. It focuses on any and all games being developed and such. You can find both of those at IGN.com.

Q: Any favorite movies?

A: It's so hard! I have one that I got to see in college that I absolutely adored, and I sort of wanna make like... maybe I shouldn't say yet, that could be a surprise. It's called "The Purple Rose of Cairo", and it's a Woody Allen movie. If you could find it somewhere, you should check it out.

Big fan of Miyazaki. I love "Howl's Moving Castle" and "The Cat Returns". Um, "The Lion King" has always been my favorite Disney movie. I love almost any movie with Leonardo DiCaprio [laughs]. Like "Shutter Island", or "Inception", or "Black Diamond".

I'm mostly a comedy/action type of person. I like a movie that makes me think or gets me on edge.

Q: Will the world end in 2012?

A: I hope not!

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

A: This new thing someone showed me. This girl teaches people about Japanese words, and she's got these huge ass knockers. You can guess where the views are actually going to. She's sort of pissing me off. It's popular for all the wrong reasons. It's like called Miss Kitty or some cutesy shit haha. There's other things I don't like, but I shouldn't mention.

(I looked for it everywhere; I couldn't find it. If anyone knows what she's talking about, link me! Or not)

Q: Any secrets you wanna share? Semi-secrets work just as well.

A: I wouldn't know what to share that wouldn't come back and bite me in the rear later on. Um...

A simple one. I'm not sad to say I have almost every single Pokémon video game besides Pokémon Box, which I don't consider a game. I'll probably get both Black and White versions.

Q: Any advice you want to give anyone who wants to be a voice actor, singer, comedian, etc?

A: The usual things people say. Practice. If you love it, keep going at it!

If you're voice acting, drinking plenty of water. Try singing -- I feel it helps the vocal chords. Try going to sessions that are offered, at like cons.

Comedy-wise. Uh, not everyone's funny [chuckles] but if you try your best, I'm sure something good will come out of it. But I feel like comedy is a gift in a way, so you may not have it but you never know until you try, right?

Q: Thanks for taking the time out to talk with me. Any last words before we wrap this up?

A: Uh, no. That's about it! I'll be sure to read it!

Interview No. 33

Interview By: @Ryanson

On Newgrounds, the list of great musicians worthy of being mentioned is few and far between. Even fewer are skilled enough to have program their own flash games. How many of those few can say they have created a mini-Internet phenomenon (I'm not sucking up, am I)?

Evil-Dog is among the best known Newgrounders, one of the few and modest gods (lol) in the community. His love of punk music and considerable talent are obvious, even if one looks at Punk-O-Matic 2 alone. But if you take it all in, everything he's done... he's really something.

Luckily, even with his incredibly busy schedule, he was able to take a few minutes out of his day to answer my questions. I'm so excited that he responded after so long a silence, that my wit is unreachable. I can't make a funny. Boo hoo, woah is me. But let's get to why you're really here... here he is, @Evil-Dog.

Q: First off, thanks for taking the time out to do this. How is life in... Canada?

A: It's my pleasure to answer your questions. And life in Canada is great although I haven't seen many places around the world, I've only traveled in the U.S. I bet nort west Europe is great to live in, like Sweden, Denmark, etc I like the 4 seasons we got here, we get a taste of everything throughout the year.

Q: Could I maybe get a song dedicated to me? :)

A: Haha, if I do that for you then I'd have to do it for everyone, I'd spent the rest of my life making dedicated songs :P

Q: Alright. Now, this interview will be posted several places, so for those who may not know: who are you, and what do you do?

A: I'm Evil-Dog, I'm a modest God. Haha I like saying that. Nah, my real name is Marco Arsenault, I'm 29 years old and I live in Montreal, Canada. I've studied computer science and math in order to become a game developer. I've worked 5 years at Ubisoft Montreal on games like Rainbow Six Vegas 1, Far Cry 2 and Avatar: The Game. I've been making Flash projects for a long time, movies and games but since January 2010, I have my own company, Evil-Dog Productions. That just means I just stay home and work on my own games. I believe I'm mostly known for the Punk-O-Matic games and I'm now working full time on a bunch of new games. I'm also a long time musician and some people may know me for my punk and ambient music, but that's probably mostly on Newgrounds.

Q: How long has music been in your life, and how did you realize your love for it?

A:I've been listening to music as far as I can remember, I even listened to rap at some point, could you believe that? :D

The defining point in my life is when I was 17 (or 18 maybe), I bought a guitar and an amp for only $100, best deal in my entire life. I was still using that guitar until recently, 11 years later. But before that, in high school, I was in a music program, so I learned piano, singing, musical history, the trombone. I'm convinced all this planted a good musical seed in my mind, gave me a good ear and a sense of rhythm but that's hard to tell. Maybe I had it to begin with, maybe I didn't.

But I love music, mostly punk music.

Q: What were you doing for a living before you started on Newgrounds?

A: I started on Newgrounds in 2003, so I was in school and not working. I've had small jobs before during high school but luckily I didn't have to work during my later education.

Q: And what first brought you to Newgrounds?

A: I can't even remember, I was learning Flash, making little crappy animations, I must have stumbled on something on Newgrounds that I found great. This is so far away, seems like I was always on Newgrounds :)

Q: So... what inspired you to create the Punk-O-Matic, easily your most well-known game? Why'd you make it?

A: Punk-O-Matic is the result of combining everything I liked at that time (things I still like today): programming, animating, composing/playing/listening to music. The idea came during one of my trip to my father's place who lives 10 hours from here. I was coming back to university and I was riding in the back seat of my friend's car back to university from the Christmas vacation and I designed the game on paper right then and there and then skipped a lot of classes making the game :D

Q: Haha. One of the most notable things on the original Punk-O-Matic, besides the used of real bands' music, was the skit. It was pretty hilarious the first time I watched it, and I've heard some fans quote it pretty recently. How did you, or whoever wrote it, come up with it?

A: It was totally Icewolf's idea :) But I thought it was a cool addition to a music gadget which gave it some soul. That's why I pushed this aspect in POM2 with 45 funny little clips :D

Q: Who else worked with you on the original Punk-O-Matic?

A: Icewolf is the only other person who worked on Punk-o-matic, he was the voice actor as well as the sketch artist for the special characters in the Dude!!! clip.

Q: How did you get the idea to expand from a handful of riffs in the first to an entire collection of usable chords, solos, and melodies in Punk-O-Matic 2?

A: Since I made POM1, I knew I wanted to push the composition aspect much further. I also knew that by doing so I would lose a lot of casual gamer who enjoyed pressing random in POM1 and enjoying the song. POM2 requires more effort to make good songs because you have to have a better sense of music but it's for the best in my opinion. I wanted to give a lot more controls with the manual riffs which are basically all the pickings on all the chords and notes. But I also wanted to keep the spirit of POM1 and continue giving sets of pre-made/more complex riffs that people get to choose from. It's like POM1 on 8 chords or something like that. It was simply the logical follow up to me.

Q: On both Punk-O-Matic games, I noticed many of the reviews weren't actual reviews more than just songs they had made and wanted you to listen to. Is this what gave you inspiration for the "Share" feature you eventually put in on POM2?

A: If you're talking about the Newgrounds version, then it's a special new feature for Newgrounds only where it submits your song on the Newgrounds user content system. But both games were designed to let people share their songs. The share system was there on POM1 so I definitly anticipated that people would like to share their songs.

Q: Do you pay attention to the creations people make on your game? Any favorites, if so?

A: Honestly, I was bored of POM1 after like a week, I thought all the songs sounded the same and was very impressed at how so many people were playing and kept playing for such a long time without getting bored. So I never really listened to many POM1 songs, but POM2 is different, there are still many contests going on at punk-o-matic.net, the community website. I judge these contests so I listen to a lot of amazing POM2 songs. I'm still blown away by some POM2 compositions, which tells me I succeeded with the riff structure in POM2 :)

Q: Some artists find that their most successful work is not their best or their favorite. Some may even find it overrated. Do you yourself agree with this in terms of the POM games?

A: It's undeniable that tastes are and will always be a personal thing. Every artist will come across successes that are not in line with their own favorites. That's unavoidable :)

Personally, I often find people being crazy about some of my stuff while I find it quite normal and subpar haha! I can only be glad about that, it's great that people like what I do. All that applies to music, movies, games, etc In the case of POM, I was blown away by the response toward POM1 and I was underwhelmed by the response from POM2, but that's to be expected, it's a much harder game.

Q: You also did all the music for the game Newgrounds Rumble. How did you go about getting the assignment?

A: NegativeOne is a good friend of mine so I knew he was making the game :) So he either asked me or I volunteered, can't remember. I think I offered.

Q: How did you get chosen? Surely there were others considered. Or were you the first and only choice?

A: That I'm not sure, I think I offered myself and they accepted right away.

Q: The main theme of the game is based on the old Newgrounds theme. Were any other pieces of music based on or inspired by anything else on Newgrounds?

A: Nope, only the main theme was a remake of the Endless Handbag Loop and NegativeOne specifically asked for that, to really have the newgrounds spirit in the game. Some of the other tracks were made from scratch to fit the theme of the level and character and some other tracks started from in-progress pieces I had laying on my computer that I revamped to fit the game :)

Q: You have a wide plethora of music here on Newgrounds and with your other projects. Any one song of yours that defines you as an artist? Lyrically, stylistically?

A: I never had lyrics on my music until recently with Tetris On The Toilet, even on this one, the lyrics aren't mine. I think my recent punk songs define me. One in particular? I don't think so.

Q: Some of your songs in your band Chucks Nation started out as solo songs. Why and how did they turn into songs by a full-fledged band?

A: Yes, "Chuck's Rage" became a band song and "Alone" became "The Awakening" on our album. My solo work is always up for grab by the band, when it fits with the style of the band and when Eric, the bassist/singer of Chucks Nation, can find fitting lyrics, which isn't always easy with 2 lead guitars usually going on. We tried other solo songs with the band, like "Correction" and "The Quest Of Your Life" and failed to bring them to life with the band. Surely we'll try again later.

Q: Are there any other bands you've been a part of besides Chucks Nation?

A: Nope, Chucks Nation is my first and only band so far! I started it with Rich, my long time friend and drummer of the band.

Q: Any songs of yours that define Newgrounds as a website?

A: I don't think any artist's song defines Newgrounds as anything. Newgrounds is really the coming together of all the creative mind and the people who enjoy their creations. It's a success from the mass, not from the individual.

Q: Speaking of... any favorite movies, games, or artists on NG?

A: That's a pretty tough question. You know what, since 2003, I've always been a fan of the artist SickDeathFiend and his gory zombie movies and now I'm working with him on games. Who would have thought? There are many amazing artists and creations, I cannot single one out :)

Q: Anyone you'd like to collaborate with?

A: I already am. Working on great games with SickDeathFiend. I'd also like to continue my music series called Switch vs Evil-Dog (parts 1, 2, and 3).

Q: Musically, you seem to mix punk, rock, and metal together. Who are some of your inspirations?

A: For the punk aspect, I've always been inspired by NOFX, Bad Religion, Pennywise, Lagwagon, etc. All these great 90s punk rock bands. But I'm also amazed by movie scores and melodic metal so that will always transpire through my composition. It's undeniable that my main genre is punk rock, not rock nor metal.

Q: Besides being a musician, you also make and program your own games. How long have you been doing that?

A: I started everything I do around the same time after high school. I started working with Flash, my studies in programing and bought my first guitar, all that about 12 years ago. I've been doing all that since then, they are my 3 passions!

Q: When did you realize you wanted to be a game programmer?

A: The first time I bought a computer when I was about 15 years old. Right then I started programming little things and I knew I wanted to make cool games.

Q: And how did you prepare for that?

A: I fooled around with the computer, programming little applications with batch files haha. I knew I was going into computer science studies after high school and I did just that. The school system here is different but basically I have 2 diplomas in computer science and have always been doing things relating to games. Some programmers prefer other fields, analysis, databases, management, etc. I was definitely aiming to make games. That was crystal clear.

Q: Anything in the future we should be excited for?

A: Since I have my own company now, you should be excited for all the games I'll be working on in the future haha. Horror and zombie games, the next Punk-O-Matic game, etc. I put my heart into whatever I do so whatever it is, I'll put everything I got into it.

Q: Is there anything you can tell us about the next POM game? How long will this one take? :)

A: I know POM2 took 6 years to come out after POM1, but that's because I was at university, working, etc. Now making games is my full time job so POM Pro won't take as long :)

However I have many other projects, and POM Pro will still be a side project. POM Pro is gonna be more like a music software and less like a game; it won't have the story mode and the concert game-play where you play the notes. It will rather have more precise riff placement, lagless playback, an expandable riff bank, more band and jam room customization, possibly tempo control and instrument effects and a lot of other stuff :)

Q: What's on your iPod or CD Player as of late?

A: I'm the kind of person who sticks with what he knows so I still listen to Bad religion, Propagandhi, NOFX, Lagwagon, Millencolin, the same stuff I was listening to 10 years ago :D

Q: Any place in the world you want to visit?

A: Yes, since my wife (yup, I'm married!) is Cambodian, I definitely wanna go to Cambodia, Thailand and japan as well. Asia basically ;) I'd also love to visit the north west Europe, maybe chill out in Amsterdam :D

Q: Any words of advice you can give to all the musicians out there?

A: Do what you like, whatever people say!

Q: Some of your favorite albums?

A: Bad Religion - Stranger Than Fiction, The Gray Race

Pennywise - Full Circle

Rise Against - Appeal To Reason

Q: Any advice for wanna-be game programmers, too?

A: Start small! Thinking too big will usually result in failure. Gotta start small and build on your experiences.

Q: Do you drink? If so, what's your drink of choice?

A: Everyone teases me cause I drink "girl's beer" like Smirnoff Ice and fruity stuff like that haha! It's usually stronger than beer and taste better :) In the end of the day, whatever gets me drunk :D

Q: Will the world end in 2012?

A: It will end just like it has ended with the hundreds of other false predictions :)

Q: Are there any big secrets you can tell us? C'mon -- we'll keep it quiet.

A: Nope, I'm an open book :)

Q: Thanks for your time. Any last words before I make this all neat and shiny for The Interviewer?

A: The Internet is an amazing place which allows me to make what I love for a living. That's quite something! :)

Thanks for interviewing me! I'm honored!

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

Interview No. 32

Interview By: @Ryanson

On Newgrounds, there are several things that should come to mind when I say "Twilight." Yes, one of them is that Disney series with the sparkly fairies and the mutts and the emo girls or something stupid like that. But the other one, the one that's more relevant to Newgrounds, is a user NAMED @Twilight.

Yeah. Him.

In his short time here, he's already made quite a reputation. If you think the Newgrounds community is divided over such trivial things like the Clock Crew or the Mods, you've never been to the BBS. Every other thread will have someone mention his name; some users will without hesitation say that they have his address and that they're going to go to his house and kill him, while others will gladly hold their glasses up and drink a toast to him as he is one of their great friends.

No matter what side of the fence you're on, Twilight is an interesting character worthy of discussion. Thankfully, he took some time out of his busy schedule (he's back in school :O) to sit down and talk with me a bit (okay, so we PM'd each other. It's not like it makes us gay. The fact that we spooned afterwords does :3).

Q: Hey there. How is it over there in... wherever you live?

A: Hot and cold. It was really cold yesterday and really hot today.

Q: So for those who may not know who you are, who are you? What do you do? What are you known for?

A: Twilight from Newgrounds, lol. I make art, line art for whoever wants to color, menu art for anyone who asks, but I'm pretty much known for being a dick, specifically a needledick.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the artwork that you do.

A: Well I'm not very good but I try to get help from a lot of people. Right now I'm doing art for a game, I did art for one of 14hourlunchbreak's games (Just one BG), I make line art for Gumby when he asks for it, and I just draw when I feel like it. I have a few hundred unfinished projects lying around everywhere.

Q: What first hooked you in to Newgrounds?

A: Mushroom Madness, and a few other mario sprite flashes back in 2002.

Q: What kept you here? It couldn't have been all the cock jokes and hentai... or could it?

A: I don't really know. After I got out of my mario phase I didn't come back to Newgrounds until 2006, and then I left again and came back in 2007 just in time for the redesign. The only reason I signed up was to post the stats of my Zombie Guide :D

Q: Your name is "Twilight." Are you named after the Twilight Saga, or something else?

A: Ah, this question. So inevitable. The story is, back in 200...7? 2007. Christmas of 07 I got an Xbox 360. And you know how they used to tell you to make an account or some shit, I made it Twilight95. Back in 07 I was into Twilight Zone, but I didn't want to be TwilightZone95 for some reason.

I didn't find out about the Twilight saga until September 2008, I was listening to the radio in the morning walking to school, and the guys and girls on Z100 are talking about this guy named Edward. And then they said Harry Potter, so I just figured it was some new Harry Potter movie. But over the course of September I learned all about it through hate threads.

Q: My word. So... like. You may be one of the most... "controversial" users in recent times. Opinions about you are even more divisive than those of the Clock Crew, with people saying that they respect you or that they want to punch you in the face. How do you take all of this? How does one respond, even over the Internet?

A: Well. I don't know. I know why certain people don't like me, why certain people are telling others that they have my address and are coming to kick my ass. I just don't do anything about it but provoke them more. The people that do respect me usually surprise me, I thought YOU hated me for some reason. I probably got you confused with ZOMGALIENS. But usually if it's not old regs that I've talked to that "respect" me, it's the new users that like that I'm a dick to people.

I don't like being respected for being a dick but it helps to have people that don't hate you I guess.

Q: So... WHY do people dislike you, or despise you?

A: I've heard I'm arrogant, a dick, a jerk, a troll. I just like having fun and sometimes that hurts people's feelings. Oh well, lol.

Q: When did it first become apparent that, "Hey, all of these people hate me" for you?

A: Uh the year I won I won the Biggest Attention Whore award, because the year before that I was running for Rookie of the Year. It was so weird I didn't know a lot of people hated me.

Q: Do you do some of your "trolling" (if it can even be called that) on purpose?

A: Rarely on Newgrounds. Always in Stickam, but on Newgrounds I guess the way I type at people makes me a troll. Scarface thinks I'm a troll. He's a little retard.

Q: You come off as someone who's much older than they actually are. Have you ever used this advantage ever?

A: Not really. Pretty much everyone knows my age through other people, and when you ask I'll say I'm 14. My userpage is just weird I change it all the time.

Q: What threads have you started that you're particularly proud of?

A: The Roast of Luis was a pretty funny thread, and my 6k thread.

Q: Any posts that you're proud of?

A: Definitely my 10k and my 6k. Two best posts I've ever made.

Q: You're also known for liking the band "Queens of the Stone Age." How long have you liked them? Any song recommendations?

A: YES. I didn't fully get into QOTSA until June, but I've liked them for over a year. I just kept listening to the same songs one day and was like "Hey, I wonder if they have other shit" I discovered all of their albums and holy shit I have never looked back. The band itself got me into other bands like Eagles of Death Metal, Wolfmother, Desert Sessions, The Distillers, and Them Crooked Vultures.

Q: Song recommendations, hmm. How about some from each album.

A: "Avon" and "Regular John" from Queens of the Stone Age

"Born to Hula" from Rated R

"First it Giveth" and "A Song for the Deaf" from Songs for the Deaf

"Medication" and "The Blood is Love" from Lullabies to Paralyze

"River in the Road" and "Run, Pig, Run" from Era Vulgaris.

I know that's a lot but once you get into these songs you really want to hear more from the albums.

Q: What's on your iPod right now?

A: Playing? "Mammoth" by Interpol.

Q: Is it true that most people believe you're the exact opposite race that you really are?

A: Yes. So true. People think I'm black, mexican, german, italian. People think I'm from Europe and Canada and California. Just random shit pops into people's heads.

Q: For some reason, I see people think similarly of you as they do Gagsy, someone else famous on the BBS for what she posts. Your opinion on this?

A: Oh no, I love Gagsy and all but I could never be like her. Ever. She's a moralfag, she'll tell you that, and I don't care for morals. She's a pretty swell person to everyone and I'm swell to few. She's not as hostile as I and I'm not as depressing as she is. Gagsy is someone I really respect, but it'd be pretty insulting to tell her she's similar to me. At least I think so. She's a better person than me.

Maybe cause we post a lot.

Q: As a regular on the BBS, do you think you'd like to me a Forum Mod?

A: Hell no. The BBS is horrible, I would not voluntarily waste my time banning little cunts and locking topics and other boring shit like that. I want to be an Audio mod, since there are so few and it's more productive.

Q: Do you think you'd make a great Mod?

A: As an Audio mod, yeah.

Q: What would you change about Newgrounds, if you could?

A: I would make the medal part on your page removable. It's really annoying trying to find a place to put it if you don't want it there.

Q: Any friends you wanna shout out to on NG?

A: MadiiMonsterr, Malachy, Archawn, ThePortalGuru, Mamatequila, GoryBlizzard and TehSlapHappy B]

Q: I don't want to start anything between anyone... but anyone on Newgrounds you hate as much as they hate you?

A: Nah I like everyone. I just treat people like shit because it's funny to me.

Q: What do you think best describes you or defines you as a NG user? Yes, I'm being vague.

A: lol. Hmm, I think uh, my newsposts do. I say a lot and most of them are the truth.

Q: Favorite movies?

A: Laserblast, The Chumscrubber, Miss March.

Q: Will the world end in 2012?

A: I hope not. That'd be so lame to make me die before I finish High School.

Q: What person, persons, or event (outside of Newgrounds) would you be relieved to never hear about again?

A: 2012

Q: Lastly, what's with this thread? Could you maybe explain a bit? Backstory, etc?

A: AH NEEDLEDICK

Alright it's November 11th, and me and EJR are bored and talking on MSN. I told him (his posts were wiped after this thread) "Hey, I'm gonna make a thread but I don't want you to read it, just post "needledick" as soon as I link you, k?" He agreed and that's what happened. It was just for Malachy to lock like I knew he would, but then other mods started unlocking it and even Wade posted in it. It was fucking hilarious at the time, Rig was offering to unlock the thread so other people could post it.

Pretty much everyone who got to post in the thread was in on it and knew it was a 1 time deal, but the rest of the BBS ruined it by trying to harass me with it. It got p lame after maybe 2 days.

So yeah, it was planned and junk.

Q: Last question. Are there any secrets you want to tell me? C'mon -- you know you want to.

A: I'm actually one of the few people that doesn't fully hate Malachy. He's really cool sometimes and a dick others but I like both sides of him.

Q: Alright. So, any last words before we finish this?

A: I'll be sure to whore myself out twice as much. I want people to read this interview. Word.

Interview No. 31

Interview By: @Ryanson

I interviewed the great, the humble genius (I'm not biased at all, why do you ask?) Andrew Huang, the man behind Songs to Wear Pants To and various other music projects. Since this was my first REAL interview with someone famous (kissing butt? who, me?) I was pretty nervous, as could be expected Of course, being the online deity he is, he cast mercy upon my soul -- the interview went rather smoothly. We went almost an entire hour, him pretending I'm funny and me pretending I was important.

In all seriousness, the interview went better than I expected -- It was kinda fun. I did stumble a bit, but Andrew was very patient and friendly with me. With the interview itself being an hour in length (done with our voices via Skype) I've trimmed it just a small bit -- but most of what we said is still in there.

I also must admit that I forgot to start recording it until halfway through the second question (which I didn't tell Andrew, so shhh). Until the third question, don't trust anything I say he says.

Q: Hello, and thank you for your time -- I'm sure you're a very busy person. Speaking of which, might I get a song?

A: Of course, Ryan. You're my favoritest fan in the whole wide world. In fact, I'll throw in a 2nd song absolutely free. Only the best for the best.

Q: Fantastic. So how is Canada this fine summer day?

A: The weather's been good, but it's been raining lately. If my favorite fan were here, the rain would go away and the sun would warm us all with its smile!!

(Ok, I had my fun.)

Q: Since I'm posting this interview several different places, for those who don't know, who are you and what do you do?

A: I'm Andrew Huang, and I run a website called Songs To Wear Pants To. I take instructions sent in by anyone who visits and the ones that inspire me the most, I will make short songs out of. I also for a living make music for people who want to commission me for more personal types of projects, special occasions, things like that.

Q: Now on your FAQ page, you got your website name from a CD you had at age 17. What kind of music was on that CD that required it to be titled "Songs to Wear Pants To"?

A: It was just a title that popped in my head one day. I was working with that CD when I was 17, and at some point I guess I needed to name it... and I don't know, it was a collection of really different kinds of songs I had been writing and a CD I managed to record at my school and wanted to put out. I needed a title, and for some reason "Songs to Wear Pants To" jumped into my mind out of nowhere so I named it that. When the website needed to get started, needed a name, that seemed to fit as well.

Q: Your FAQ also says you started the website at 2004. I don't think I'm presuming too much, but how long has music been a part of your life?

A: Pretty much my whole life. I don't know exactly when I started getting into it, but it was definitely from a very, very young age, like before I can remember -- taking piano lessons and making little raps I would recite to my parents in the car, and eventually just listening to more and more stuff, learning more and more instruments.

Q: Going back to the title... if you didn't have "Songs to Wear Pants To", what do you think you would name your website?

A: That's a good question, um. I threw around the name "Magic Song Land" for a little while (laughs). I'm not sure. I have another website which has my portfolio on it, it's called andrewismusic, so it might have been that, but I'm really not sure. I think actually a lot of the success of the site has to do with the fact that the name is so weird, it gets stuck in people's head. I don't know what else I would have called it. For all the zaniness that's appeared through the songs on the website, it seems like a perfect name for it.

Q: Speaking of zaniness, your songs for the most part are known for their whimsical, cartoony lyrics. Do you happen to watch any cartoons for inspiration?

A: Uh, nothing regularly, but I do enjoy stuff now and then. I went through a phase of really being into Futurama and Family Guy. Tons of Simpsons when I was a teenager, Adult Swim now and then. I appreciate a good cartoon sure, but there's nothing I'm a dedicated watcher of.

Q: Did you ever think that because of your goofy songs, or the goofiness of the name Songs to Wear Pants To, you could have turned off some of your potential fans or listeners?

A: Yeah it's definitely possible. In some ways, I maybe have been hindered by that because I also do have a few songs that are more serious in nature. But, um, the humor on the website is definitely the main reason why it's been passed around so much. So I think that on the whole that it's probably beneficial that it does have the zaniness in the foreground.

Q: You said you have serious songs; the first song that comes to mind is Never (Extended) which is one of my favorite songs. Could you explain how that came about?

A: It's one of my favorite songs as well! It's complicated in a lot of ways -- it came about because I got a song request saying "what are some things that you've never done? Please tell me in song in 5/4 timing with no percussion. That was like the 279th song I'd done for the website, and I remember I was at a stage where I guess was feeling like I'd run out of jokes -- like I only had a certain number of ways to twist the song requests I got into funny ideas, like I exhausted all the premises I had. For that song, I was thinking the joke I'd play would be incredibly serious.

My first reaction was to sing about parachuting and hang-gliding, but I quickly moved away from that idea. I decided to settle on this idea of having never moved on from a beautiful romantic relationship. It's also something that I've like never been sure how much I really want to publicly reveal, so the song isn't about a real person or relationship I had. In a way it was a joke for me, but at the same time I realised as I was writing it that it was a really beautiful song and, uh, it is still one of my favorites, for both the joke I originally wanted to play and for what it's come to represent for a lot of people. Uh... yeah, that's the story behind it.

Q: It's alright, I'll trim it down. (chuckles) So what were you doing for a living before the you started the website Songs to Wear Pants To?

I started it when I was in my second year in University, so I didn't really have a career yet. I was just a student.

Q: And how did the actual concept of "you request a song, I'll record it" actually come about?

A: I started it on eBay, actually, because I was just... I was having time finding a part-time job, any kind of job. I decided "Well, maybe because I have this home-recording hobby, someone will pay me to record some kind of song that they want." I tried a few options on eBay and it worked pretty well. I did it for a few months... maybe not even, maybe one or two months before I had the idea to start the website. I happened to be living with my friend named Jen who I've known since I was 14, and was pretty decent at HTML code so she helped me get the website started up. I started posting songs almost daily in the beginning, and it kinda took off from there.

Q: Sounds like a great friend. Musically, you cram every style you can into your songs, but who are your inspirations?

A: Oh, there are so many... um... and I definitely go through phases, too. Like right now, I'm really into the Arcade Fire. They have a new record out so I've been playing that alot. I've always love Radiohead, Portishead... all those cool indie, innovative, experimental bands. I don't know, alternative rock was a big thing for me in my teens.

That's sort of where I go in the mainstream world, but then I have phases where I listen to pop. I love Lady Gaga, and I was quite into Rihanna for a while, and all that kind of stuff. So there's that, and on the other side I had a lot of classical music when I was growing up. And actually pop music back then too, I loved Ace of Base when I was a kid. And then I had a jazz phase, so all the big jazz names: Miles Davis and Charley Parker and all those guys were all inspirations for a while too.

See, it's like all over the map and I really do like almost every kind of music out there.

Q:For some reason, I thought I'd hear you say Cyndi Lauper or Madonna too. (laughter) I don't know, maybe I'm a loser.

A: Well um... I don't know, their music is great too. But I wouldn't cite them as HUGE influences.

(this is in reference to a question I asked him on Formspring "Cyndi Lauper or Madonna", which I asked after he answered "Anything by Cyndi Lauper" on another question)

Q: What was the first song you've ever written, if you can remember it?

A: I remember a rap song that I wrote when I was four or five. I never wrote it down, I just had it memorized and it took me a few minutes to get all the way through it. I started with maybe four lines of rhymes and every once in a while I'd add another couple of lines to it until it grew to be this huge, long story about how I got hurt and went to the hospital and knocked over some flowers, or... I don't even remember what it was about, but I remember it being pretty long and that I just kept extending it and extending it. Every once in a while I'd start rapping it when my parents were driving us somewhere. I don't know when I actually stopped, but that's the earliest memory I have of composing anything.

Q: What is an average day like in the life of Andrew... you?

A: (chuckles) Well I get up usually pretty early, also when ever I feel like it. Sometime between 6 and 9 on average. I pretty much, from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed, just make music and make food and hang out with my friends. (chuckles again) Um... a lot of the times, when it's busy time for the site I'm doing a lot of social media, promotion, dealing with a lot of emails, dealing with a lot of song requests, obviously recording and writing stuff. It kind of fluctuates. If I'm not working on music for the website, I'm working on music for myself.

Q: You mention cooking and making food quite a lot. If you weren't a musician, do you think you could be a chef?

A: I'd need training. I love being creative in the kitchen, but I'm not totally sure if I have a knack for it, and I definitely don't know a lot of technical stuff about it. But I really love putting meals together, and I also think it's important -- I don't know, nutrition and health is important to me.

I guess maybe that's why I involve recipes in my news letter and contests and things like that. Sharing the cool meals I've discovered with as many people as I can. I don't know if I'm chef material.

Q: How many song requests do you get usually on a daily basis? I know I send in quite a few

A: Lately it's been maybe 20 or 30 a day. Yeah, I see the ones you send. I remember because anyone who ends up sending that many, I'm like "Oh I've seen this dude before." I guess the average amount is 20 or 30 a day, it's rarely been less then that. Every now and then if I do a radio interview or get featured somewhere big, I'll get an influx and it'll go up to maybe 100, 200 a day.

(not sure what I should feel, considering he probably thinks I'm a crazy stalker.)

Q: What's the largest amount you've received in a day?

A: About in the hundreds for sure... I remember, it was right after the "Touchtone Genius" animation came out, and that exploded on Newgrounds really quickly and that was the time I got the most requests all in one short period. Definitely a few hundred a day for like a week.

Q: You have quite a few projects besides Songs to Wear Pants To -- Your Heart, VS, FreeChurch. Almost everything you do has to do with music. Why the huge amount of interest in music?

A: I don't know if I can explain it. I do remember when I was 14 or 15 and getting serious about my passion for music. I made a decision that I was going to try writing stuff in every genre, or even not pay attention to genres and just experiment. From that early of an age, I wanted to be really diverse and prolific and get my hands on every aspect of music -- from the composing to the recording to the performing. I'm not sure where it comes from, but there is a huge love for music and a drive to always be creating.

That's why I put so much of it online; I have to get it out there. There's something about when you're working on something, just wanting to get to a point where you can say that it's done and it's ready for anyone else to hear it even if it's just two people. Then you can finish it and say "this is something that I made at this time in my life," and be able to move on and work on some new stuff.

Q: Your SWTPT CDs have very... colorful names. Pink Pants, Sweat Pants, Blue, Green, Skinny Jeans... what's next?

A: This is, um... something I have not been able to think of yet. I don't know what the next one's going to be called. Could be called anything to do with pants. The working name I dumped all my songs under on my iTunes is "Super Pants," but that's not going to stick. I have no idea what the next one's going to be called.

Q: You and your fans seem to have a special connection some fanbases don't have with their favorite artists -- you connect with them, you talk with them, communicate with them. Why do you think this is?

A: I guess... uh... I don't know how much of it is something that comes to me naturally or how much of it's a deliberate decision, but I do feel a lot of times when it comes to a celebrity -- not that I'd necessarily call myself a celebrity -- but in terms of there being a person whose work is appreciated by a significant number of people, I feel like a lot of times there are these walls between, say, the artist and the audience, and.... I guess maybe I'm uncomfortable with being on the pedestal or whatever it is, but I don't think there needs to be this elevating of the artist... I don't know, this is such a convoluted answer (chuckles).

Q: It's a complicated question, I'm sorry.

A: Oh no, it's all good. I think it's great for the work that I do to have such a great reach, to be appreciated that much, but I don't feel like I need to be seen as untouchable and unreachable. I like to be down to Earth. I have a form on my website where you can contact me if you want to talk about something that's not a song suggestion. I'm on Twitter and Facebook, and I do try to respond to a lot of people who ask questions or leave comments. I can't respond to every single one, I'd also run out of things to say sometimes (chuckles).

But yeah, I guess I like to think I don't have to be some distanced person making all this music, that I can have a personal connection with people who are enjoying it too. It's as much of a favor of them to me that they appreciate my music that I am making it for them.

Q: For every fan, there is a hater. How do you deal with hate or criticism?

A: On the whole I don't let it get to me. Sometimes, shrouded in all the hate, there is a solid critique I can take away from it, that I can see as advice. It doesn't necessarily have to make me feel bad because I am always looking for ways I can improve my craft, and I think criticism or constructive feedback -- even if it's kind of veiled in a mask of hate and some cuss words and caps lock -- can be positive because it helps me improve. Generally, I just let it roll off of my back.

A lot of the comments that come in are very strong opinions, and if someone doesn't like a song I made I'm totally okay with it; some people just choose to voice it very strongly. In other cases there are comments that are unfounded or not researched or ignorant, like people who would say "Oh, country music, rap music... that's not real music." Which first of all, both of those types of music are wonderful types of music and not all of it is great, but a lot of it is beautiful. And secondly, they also haven't been exposed to the fact that I've been making music in all of these other genres as well.

I'm not really too bothered by any hate that comes in. Thankfully, there is a lot more than hate.

Q: On your FAQ, you say you'd rather not do songs that could "offend the average grandma." Yet you have your own collection of tributes on Newgrounds, a website that has in the past been very controversial with its cartoons and games. Why do you think this is, all things considered?

A: It's hard to gauge exactly what will be offensive, and I think the main reason I'm popular on a site like Newgrounds is, um... the way I take a lot of song requests that come in and twist them. While I still fulfill the song, I also really poke fun at the person who asked it. It's sort of this irony that I've really enjoyed while doing this site. Like, why would you ask a song from me when all I'm going to do is poke fun at you? And I think that kind of irony and the fact that I'm really zany and random in a lot of songs, that kind of teasing might be part of the draw. A little bit of the bite in the humor.

Q: Newgrounds is known for making fun of other people. I'll definitely have to go back and check some of your songs, I don't think I really paid attention of how often you poke fun at the request.

A: I would never do it in a hateful way, I really love the irony. I'm running a website of songs people request, and no one should be requesting these songs because there's a 90% chance that I'm going to make fun of them or not make the song, which is the case most of the time. It's just something I always thought was funny.

Q: Have you yourself ever visited Newgrounds? Any favorite games or movies?

A: I'm not there regularly but I've seen most of the stuff people have made with my songs, and I've played a few of the games and watched a few of the movies that I've been linked to or stumbled across. There's definitely a lot of talent on there!

Oh, I've been to the Audio Portal a bunch of times, and there's a lot of good stuff there too. I wouldn't say I'm a regular user, but I've seen a lot of the stuff on there.

Q: Have you any songs in your repertoire that is basically... Newgrounds, in a nutshell?

A: A lot of the songs that the Newgrounds community have found and animated already is their kind of material, like "Don't Feel Bad" and "I Love You More Than Bunnies." A little bit random, a little bit off-color, that kind of quick humor is the kind of thing I think they appreciate a lot over there. I think the ones most fitting for that community have already been animated.

(The ones he mentioned, and more, are in the "Shorts to Wear Pants To" animation -- check it out.)

Q: (chuckles) Not going to lie -- I expected "Crunk Juice" to be the answer there.(laughs) Now, besides singing and playing instruments like the piano and the guitar... you also rap. You say you wrote a rap when you were four years old. How did you get so good?

A: I would definitely say that it comes down to practice. Probably, if I was doing it at four, it's some part natural to me, just playing with words and with rhythm and delivery. But I also remember in high school I'd spend a lot of my class time just writing down lists of rhyming words or even just writing just rap songs, depending on whatever kind of phase I was in with the music I was listening to.

I spent a lot of time jotting things down in notebooks, drawing things out. Also once I got a recording set up at home, I experimented a lot more with my voice and how to use it, just trying things out, playing with delivery and every literary device I could think of, just... practicing it.

Q: Is there anyone in the music biz that you'd like to collaborate with?

A: Hmm... pretty much everybody (laughter). I think I'd have a lot of fun collaborating with almost everyone. If I had to narrow it down... I'm in a huge Lady Gaga phase right now, so her definitely. The really innovative people that are at the top of their game... I already mentioned Radiohead. There's a guy called Son Lux, he's with the Anticon record label, he does really cool stuff. Owen Pallett is a genius!

Those are some of the people I really admire the most right now. I love collaborating. There's something really cool that happens when you collaborate musically with someone; you end up creating something that probably neither of you would be able create on your own or with any other person. It's like having a baby almost.

Q: I have to ask -- have you received any requests that so bizarre that they stick in your mind, that you'll like to share with us?

A: Actually, no. So many of them that come in are so equally bizarre that they cancel each other out. I'm just opening up my email now, because I can look at some of the ones that just came in if you want, give you some examples. There's tons -- well, I would say that the most popular thing that people request is some funny story, possibly relating to an inside joke that they have with their friends, and usually involves an animal who can talk and goes on an adventure or does funny things.

For the most part, the song requests that come in are so weird that I don't think there's any one that sticks out. (chuckles)

Q: You also perform live -- what songs do you usually perform live?

A: With Your Heart, it's a band of eight people including me, so we have a more limited repertoire because we all have to get together and practice to get sounding tight. We play a lot of the tunes off of the few albums that we've done -- "Autumn," "Love #1," "Love #2," "Stay," "I'm Not Going To Break Your Heart," "Oh No" -- plus a few new ones we're working on.

With Songs to Wear Pants To... I've rehearsed some of the stuff with a band before, but I didn't end up really taking that anywhere yet. Usually when I do it live, it's more like a comedy show. I'll just be talking, explaining the site to people, reading them song requests, and playing them tunes off my iPod the same way you hear them on the site. When it comes to that, I usually pick the funniest ones.

Q: Now, earlier you said you were really proud of your song "Never." Are there any songs you've recorded that you consider yourself proud of?

A: I'm definitely the most proud, I think, of all the songs on my album "Autumn" with Your Heart. I really think that in terms of their composition, arrangement, lyricsm I think it's my best work; I'm really proud of that. Oh, and "Never" is on that album actually.

Q: You use a variety of equipment when you record. Any bit of equipment you're hoping to obtain?

A: Um... it depends. I definitely have the tools I need to make the music I wanna make and the only thing... I mean, there's always bigger and better versions of what I already have -- good speakers, good microphones, things like that -- but at this point I definitely have what I need to get the job done. It's only if I get to a point where I'm rolling in the money where I'll be making any major changes or upgrades.

Q: So when you're on the level of Lady Gaga, just rolling in money?

A: (laughter) Uh, well then I'll have a much bigger space definitely, and a lot of vintage gear. I appreciate the digital world too, but there's a lot of really cool old gear made from like the '50s and the '70s I'd love to get my hands on.

Q: Recently, you've been extremely active on Youtube. Why the sudden interest?

A: I dunno when it started to pique my interest, but I realized that videos are really important to promoting your music online. For one thing, having a music video with an interesting concept that's gonna be passed around a lot, that can help. But even in terms of connecting with an audience, having that visual there can be so much more effective. That's something I've been thinking about for a year or two.

The reason why I've recently started doing a lot of it is because I was finally able to get my hands on a good camera. I'd still say I'm in an experimenting kind of phase with it right now, but I do have a lot of plans with where I'd like to take it. It's definitely going to be a big part of Songs to Wear Pants To.

Q: Will we get to see any of your friends or family in any future videos? Your wife, for instance, whom we hear a lot about?

A: (chuckle) Not sure. There will definitely be a lot of musical collaborations that will appear. If any of my friends or my wife are involved with those, they will be in the videos too. But right now... I'm talking with a couple of people already on Youtube about collaborating a bit, but other than that it will be Your Heart or me doing videos on my own. Could be anything in the future.

Q: Any place you never visited that you want to?

A: I have a dream of going to New Zealand. I've only seen pictures of it, but it seems like the most beautiful place on the planet. If I had the chance to go one place and one place only, it'd definitely have to be New Zealand.

Q: What have you been listening to on your iPod or Cd Player as of late?

A: Other than Arcade Fire and Lady Gaga... I'm trying to think. It hasn't been much. Normally I listen to a variety of stuff, but it's been... very saturated lately, but I know there's been more stuff than that. Oh, Benga! He's a guy from the UK who does a lot of dubstep stuff, been listening to a lot of him. A bit of Janelle Monae, have you heard of her? I really have no concept of how well-known she is. She's kind of an R&B/pop singer. I know there's more...

(8 seconds of silence)

Yeah, I don't know. It's not coming to me right now, and I don't have my iPod down here. But yeah for the most part it's been Lady Gaga and Arcade Fire anyway (chuckle).

Q: We've talked about music a lot... but what are some of your favorite movies?

A: Hmm... All the big ones that came out during my kind of formative teen years, like Fight Club and the Matrix, I've really been in to. Amalie I really loved, and Moulin Rouge, stuff like that. I know I'm naming stuff all from one period, but stuff that's either very much about love or very much about some kind of twisted reality that kind of plays with your mind.

I saw Inception recently and I really loved that, and on the flip side I saw Step Up 3D (nervous chuckle) and I really loved that. So I guess I'm kind of in the same place with music as I am with movies in that I really appreciate a lot of different stuff.

Q: Step Up 3D seems an odd concept -- dancing in 3D. Aren't all those pelvises thrusting at you in 3D (chuckles), that's kind of an odd experience wouldn't you say?

A: Well I really love break-dancing and street dancing, and Step Up 3D I figured is like the grandest, most sensationalized version of that scene to date so I had to see it for that. It didn't disappoint. I mean, I wasn't going for the plot, but there's great music and great dancing, so it delivered.

Q: I expect to see a video of you break-dancing on Youtube sometime in the future (laughs). Speaking of, any big plans for the future you're excited about, or that your fans should be?

A: Well the "Never" video is definitely on the horizon. I know it seems like it's been a long time because we did start fund-raising for that in February, maybe even January. We reached our fund-raising goal in March and we shot it in April. Most of the kick-starter awards for those who helped us have already been sent out but I've still got a few left to go.

As for the video, my friends are still working on the editing and the special effects for it. But it looks really good, what I've seen so far, but it looks really good what I've seen so far. It's going to be huge when it comes out, which could be in... hmm.... three months? Possibly six, I don't know. It could be done earlier, but I also want to plan a kind of release event around it.

Q: Will it be released on your Youtube page, or will it be released on the same page as the "In the Sun" video?

A: It'll be released on that Youtube channel. I have a Youtube channel for Songs to Wear Pants To and another one called "suturesound" and I've decided that since I do have so many musical projects, I'm going to break it down into Songs To Wear Pants To.... and everything else (laughs). And eveything else is what's going to be put into suturesound.

"Never" was a Songs To Wear Pants To song, for sure, but it's also been usurped by Your Heart, so it's also a division between serious songs and funny songs.

Q: Is there anything about you that you'd like to share with us? A secret perhaps?

A: A secret? Um... I don't know if I have any secrets I can share. I will say this, because it's something I've been planning on doing but haven't really publicized or anything, but I'm probably going to do a lot more Youtube videos like the Lady Gaga-styled one where you can see me actually recording it and cutting between the different layers of instruments. I'm definitely planning to release, maybe even... the majority of my songs in that kind of format.

Q: Awesome. Any words of wisdom or advice to give to people who wish to become musicians?

A: Yeah! Um... everybody knows it, but it never hurts to re-enforce it. Practice is paramount. Equally paramount is having fun, and striking a balance between those two. Work hard!

Q: Thank you for your time. Do you have any last words before we finish?

A: Well, I want to thank you for being so interested, for doing this interview. I can't wait to read it!

(Right before I posted this interview, Andrew started a new side project known as The Cloud. His new song is called "Shy Knife." Check it out!)

Interview No. 30

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is one artist some of you know and others may not. He has received Daily Feature awards for his works with system interrupted, things you shouldnt do..., Seraph, and many more. He is known for a lot of flash movies, too many to truly ask him about them all. He is none other than @HeRetiK.

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

A: I came across Newgrounds because a friend of mine told me about the back then epic Teletubby Funland and Assassins games. I started to visit the site on a regular basis and got a lot of inspiration from many of the Portal classics. Realizing that practically anyone could make their own games and cartoons I began to learn Flash. Once I finally had internet at home (until then, I only visited Newgrounds at school) I signed up and started submitting.

Q: Your first flash submission was a game entitled Cube Combat. It was a bit of a slow fighter, but for your first flash game what were the steps you took into making it and looking back on it are you still proud of it?

A: My first steps were a lot of trial and error. And then some more.

Looking back I'm proud about having created a fighter with so many special moves and secret combos. The fun thing is, that sometimes people stumble about the craziest secret combos just by chance.

The code itself is a mess though. It leaves me wondering why the game ever worked in the first place.

Q: o fortuna would be your second flash, the first flash to win an award, the Daily 2nd Place. An amazing flash movie no doubt, but where did the idea come from and how did you go about making these two characters?

A: It's all inspired by the music itself. It's just asking for a dramatic final showdown, mirroring the downfall of one and the rise of another (quite literally in this case). There's not much to say about the characters though. The main requirement for them was to smoke and die in style.

Q: One of my favorites by you is the flash freedom awaits. A twisted noir story of battling emotions. You stated that you enjoyed making it. Could you tell us why you enjoyed making it, in other words what was the creative process behind this flash?

A: Like most of my works, it started with a basic idea lingering around my head that evolved further once it got in touch music (which usually ends up as the soundtrack)

What I enjoyed most about making freedom awaits was that it basically animated and wrote itself. All I had to do was sit down, start creating and let things happen. As a bonus I also got rid of negative feelings and teen angst in the process.

Q: system interrupted would be your first Daily Feature win and your first Weekly 1st Place win as well. It tells quite the interesting story. Where did the creative process for this flash come from?

A: It was also my first frontpage :)

System interrupted started as the idea of a high-tech assassin in a hostile, computer controlled environment. I drew a lot inspiration from Peter Chung's animated series Aeon Flux. At one point I wanted to create it as a game, but the more time I spent with the character, the more it became obvious that it should become a movie. I found Aphex Twin's Come to Daddy to be the perfect track, so I based a raw storyboard on it. Once I had the basic outline of the story at hand, I started working on the movie itself and expanding the character's background.

Q: I have interviewed Appsro in the past about his flash movies "Prostitute Mickey" and "Prostitute Mickey 2." Before Appsro even had those down on paper you brought us Sickey Mouse. You stated that you turned Mickey Mouse into a serial killer. There is more to this story though. Why turn Mickey Mouse into a serial killer?

A: Actually, there isn't that much more behind this story.

It began with my first b&w "comedy" A lovely day. Some guy left a review about how he thought that I could even turn Mickey Mouse into a serial killer. At first I declined the idea for being too silly. A few months later I thought - "What the heck, let's go for it" - and had Sickey Mouse run amok as psychotic as possible.

Q: Exit is a bizarre and quirky flash movie by you. However some may seem disappointed that you didn't really branch out with this one. What was the process behind it and do you ever plan to make a sequel using more signs?

A: Exit was just a one shot. One day I saw an Exit sign and started giggling to myself because of the idea that later became the movie.

Q: We now come to the one flash movie I've been wanting to know a lot about and that is The Red Line. It was an Art Forum collab which started with the thread also entitled The Red Line. Tell me how was it to work on this collab with so many different artists? Also who did you enjoy getting entries from the most?

A: When I started the thread, I never meant to create a collab. It just seemed like a fun thing to try.

Then things took off and I started to compile it into a scrollable Flash gallery too see how it would look like. Since so many people participated and enjoyed making entries for the thread, I started to update the gallery whenever I could and suggested to turn it into a collab. I still can't believe that this little fun thread became the first of many Art Forum Collabs :)

Looking back I can't decide whose entries I enjoyed the most. There were too many people that contributed a lot to the thread and collab.

Q: Looking at all your flash movies, I sadly can't question you on all of them. However your latest work entitled Once More (With Feeling) is a beautiful music video. The inspiration I would say is the song, the animation to match it came from where is my only question to you good sir. In other words from this song, how was this image painted?

A: Although most of the inspriation was drawn from the song itself, Once More (With Feeling) was initially comissioned by the band Traffic Experiment. I exchanged a lot of emails with their singer and songwriter to get a feel of what his story and intention behind the song was. We had fairly common ideas on how the video should be, so based on this, I created the basic setting and story and went from there.

Q: Many of your flash submissions have such wonderful stories. As a writer what are the steps you normally take into writing a comedy, a noir, or just a simple drama?

A: It usually starts with a simple concept, idea, setting or character. Then I try to make a good story out of it. See if it can be told in an interesting way. Find out if the ending works.

If the pieces fit together, great, let's go. If they don't, I leave them lingering around in the back of my head. It might still grow into a fully fledged flash movie after all.

Q: As an artist and an animator is there any advice you can give to beginners out there who are just getting into flash and/or animation in general?

A: Watch cartoons and flash movies :) See what other people created, try to figure out how and why it works and draw inspiration from it.

From a technical viewpoint I can only recommend reading the Animator's Survival Kit by Richard E Williams. It's mostly concerned about traditional animation, but the basic concepts are useful for any kind of 2D and 3D animation.

Q: What can we expect from HeRetiK in the near future?

A: Hard to say. I've been mostly wrapped up in comissioned projects lately, so I haven't been able to crank out as many flash movies and games like I used to (at least not for myself, that is).

There are a bunch of ideas for both games and movies on my mind, but most of them are still only half-baked. For the moment being though, I think my next project will more likely be a game than a movie.

A simple man who works for the sake of art. I could not truly question him about the many different flash movies he has created so you should check out his works sometime. He really has a creative mind and it certainly shows, this interviewer can only ask what game he shall grace us with?

Interview No. 29

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is a Newgrounds BBS Forum Regular. She has received the Newgrounds BBS Award "Never Logs Off" three different times. She is a wonderful poster on the BBS and an amazingly kind person to talk to, even if times she gets sucked into the immaturity that the General Forum is known for. She is none other than @Gagsy.

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

A: Well, like most users, I discovered Newgrounds through a friend. She knew at the time of my love for the band Franz Ferdinand and she linked me one day while chatting over msn to this. I already loved the song, then fell in love with the flash video and because of that I was then aware of Newgrounds.com.

Over the next year or so I would browse NG for their games mostly when I was bored. It wasn't like an everyday thing, just when I had nothing else online to do to be honest.

I joined because I finally realised that the site had a forum, and just from looking at it briefly it seemed a place I wanted to be. Before joining NG I 'belonged' to another forum which sadly died, so I guess you could say I was looking for a replacement. What I got was much better than a replacement though. I'm sure it does seem weird to the majority of NG users but yes I joined the site for the forums.

Q: Your first thread on Newgrounds was entitled Only 4 Messages In 30 Minutes... Why did you make this thread?

A: I don't know now, but I can tell you this is an example of why I don't make many topics really. I'm terrible at it! I know I was new then and making bad topics is something everyone goes through but still I was 18 then! I should have known better!

Back to the thread though, it really feels silly now. Considering it didn't take me long after that to realise that it's not actually a limit to only 4 messages in 30 minutes, but 4 minutes per 30 minutes of time. Which I'm sure sounds confusing, but basically if you post (in the same thread) at 10:03, next at 10:15, then 10:24, then say 10:31. The message will come up next saying "No more posts" or whatever it says, so at first you may believe that you can't continue to post until 11:01, but you only has to wait until 10:34 (31 minutes after your first post) to post again.

No sure why I just explained that, maybe someone reading who doesn't know can know now :)

BUT yes about the topic! I guess I was just young(sort of) and new and my eagerness to post was well and truly alive and bursting, so when I did reach the point of the 4 post limit I felt annoyed maybe because I wanted to keep posting!

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

A: Interesting subject. I can't really say anything bad about them. I think a lot of users tend to forget that these are people who are giving up their free time and somewhat part of their enjoyment of the site to sit around and lock/delete/ban.

Of course there are things I think the forum mods should be doing better, but that may just be my own personal take on certain matters. I would like to see harsher treatment given towards 'trolls' or people who play the troll card when they've clearly made a fool of themselves on here. But that might just be my opinion. Also I think the 'destroy' feature they have isn't a positive thing and from what I gather it just allows mods to lazily ban everyone who posted in a certain topic regardless of what they posted.

Really though, I can't complain about them.

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

A: I've probably lost count of the amount of times people have said to me "Why aren't you a mod yet?". The short version of that answer is that I can get too emotionally involved with threads of a certain topic and I have quite a big ban record actually. Sure my constantly being on the site is a plus, but not enough of a plus I believe.

Would I like to be one though? If I was given the chance to be one I think I would agree to it. I love using NG as I do now, as a carefree user who just comes on here to have fun, and I can't help but feel that forum mods must lose a bit of that posting freedom. Once they' become mods, they are there to set an example (whether they know it or not) to other users on how to post. It isn't just about keeping bad topics off the forums or banning idiotic users. If you're 'messing around' on the forums as a mod, some users will believe they can do that too and post as such.

So I probably would struggle to hold in my bad posting habits if I ever got modded.

Q: One of your funnier threads is entitled How to be cool on Newgrounds. Why did you decide to create this thread?

A: I'm glad you asked. As I stated earlier I don't make many topics, but this one here is without a doubt my favourite topic of my own.

I just get so sick of seeing certain users on the forums acting like the typical 'Internet Tough Guy'. It's just tedious to see all the time. I can understand if people on here don't enjoy the site like they once used to. That is kind of inevitable to happen to everyone here. So I guess I just find it rude when those kind of users feel the need to just slate everything on here now while continuing to visit the site religiously, not rude so much but certainly hypocritical.

All the points I made were things I seen on the General forum myself from older users who just think they're cool or something for putting down a site they refuse to quit altogether. The thread was very much directed at those kind of users and I was happy to see some of them post with their usual brand of insults. Lets me know they read and understood where I was coming from. It was very much a tongue-in-cheek thread though.

Q: What all do you like about Newgrounds?

A: One of my favourite aspects of Newgrounds is the stat collecting any user can do. I think it's a great way to get and keep users involved with the site, because they can be any kind of user they want to be. Which is one of the things that keeps me interested in Newgrounds.

My other favourite aspect of Newgrounds is the community here. You won't find many other big sites out there who try to get the community involved as much as possible. Tom has really done a wonderful job and continues to do so. It's not just that though, it's like when you see the amount of users who go to the yearly meets in various different places, because they like the site and they like the people they speak to on the site. It really is great. I've been to the London meet recently and it was simply amazing. Just a bunch of people who shared a common interest in Newgrounds meeting in real life and having just an amazing time. You cannot beat the community here.

I also love how there is no rule on the content of flash really. An example of this is a great flash artist Catoblepas, who has amazing talent though his flash are a little of the risky side. That is what he does best though and I love that NG doesn't restrict him or tell him that he cannot submit his adult work, same with a lot of other artists on NG who prefer to do more violent/adult stuff.

Q: If you could change anything about Newgrounds what all would you change?

A: Hmm, the orange and black layout would have to go I think. I know it's a classic but every year when we get treated to the calming winter layout it's a nice change, and I must be honest the moment NG then returns to its usual layout I find the orange to be a bit of an eyesore.

You know what they say though; if it isn't broke, don't try to fix it.

Oh, but chat though! I would demand that the chat gets released. =P

Q: Your first flash submission is entitled Furry Fabbots: ep 1. You got to work with Mechabloby as well as other Newgrounds users. What was the process behind this flash and how did it feel working with these other users?

A: I'll be honest that is entirely Mechablobys work, he's just a kind enough soul to add people he knows to his flash submissions. The most I've done flash wise was help Mechabloby find yaoi images to use for his yaoi flash and then I did the same for Ragnarokia when he wanted to make his own yaoi flash.

So yes it appears I'm the go to girl for gay images.

I wish I could do more in flash. I've tried before, but sadly I am the giving up type. The most I've managed to do is create an explosion, which only involved like 10 frames. I suppose that is the height of my flash genius. Alas.

Q: Your first and only song is entitled The Scientist. Why did you decide to cover this song by Coldplay?

A: To cheer up a friend (Mechabloby). You may have noticed that I cannot sing at all, but that wasn't the point of me making that cover. I wanted to put a smile on my friends face and it worked when he heard that. Job well done to me but it's not so good to listen to. I advise any readers to not listen :(

Q: You have won three BBS Awards, all for the prize "Never Logs Off." How do you feel about winning these awards?

A: I honestly don't know actually. I think ever since the great ZeroAsALimit left I've become the user that most of the forum recognises as 'has no life'. Which is quite an accurate summary.

It's not just about my love of posting. I b/p a lot too and every now and then I will collect medals. I'm addicted and everyone knows it.

I would like to say that I don't care about winning such trivial things, especially when I'll be honest myself and admit that the BBS Awards are just a free for all circle jerk.

Despite this though, I do like the fact that people seem to notice that, yes I probably really never do log off.

It's like receiving some kind of recognition for all the time I put into being on NG.

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

A: More posting no doubt. I wish I could do more for Newgrounds, it must be obvious now that I enjoy the site a hell of a lot and I honestly do wish I could help contribute more to it in a positive way. I attempted to learn flash once, didn't go so well. I attempted to learn some music program I downloaded, didn't go so well. I would attempt to draw but I know that never ends well!

So really all I can do is contribute with my posting, and hope that something I post makes another user happy or makes them think, just generally gives them another reason to keep using a wonderful site.

Corny much? Probably.

Thanks for asking me to do the interview. I hope it's not as terribly boring to read as I think it is!

Like I said at the beginning of this. Gagsy is a wonderfully kind individual. She like all others loves this website and loves all it has to offer. Despite saying she doesn't know how to contribute, besides posting, this interviewer can only imagine why a poster such as Gagsy has yet to lurk more and find more possibilities.

Interview No. 28

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest I have interviewed in the past with her husband James. Now I wish to interview just her. About her works. She has received the Newgrounds Tank Award for Best Musician and shares a Newgrounds Tank Award with her husband James for the flash movie Tarboy which has hit the Newgrounds Triple Crown, winning the Daily Feature, Weekly 1st Place, and Review Crew Pick awards. She is a talented singer, once underrated when I last interviewed her, now a popular audio artist, she is @Hania.

Q: Your first song here on Newgrounds would be entitled Breathe - hania. Certainly a beautiful song that you have given us here. It has even been used for the flash movie entitled Breathe... by beware1. Looking back on this song, are you still proud of it today and what is your opinion on the flash?

A: I think the flash movie is very touching. The song was created within about an hour (it was completely improvised in one take - with harmonies being worked out afterwards) so the meaning wasn't too fleshed out in my mind. Seeing how beware1 interpreted the song with visuals was really exciting for me, especially because I had just joined NG and really wanted to start contributing whatever I could to Flash animators. Of course I'm still proud of the song :)

Q: Softly I Sing I personally believe to be your best song out of all of them. You state that it is a lullaby, but the way the song is written and the emotion you put into it, I sense there is more to this song than just a mere random lullaby. Where did the inspiration for this song come from?

A: I created it for a girlfriend who was about to have a baby - when I composed the song, I was going through a lot of dark 'stuff' in my life and I guess that emotion showed through. Glad you like the song ;)

Q: ~Burden~ tells of a fascinating little story, seems to be a dark poem to me. The question is though, the inspiration and process, in other words how did you come up with this song?

A: I created this song at James Lee's house one night when we were first becoming friends. I wanted to show him how I compose and so I just started fiddling on the keyboard and singing random thoughts... when I went home, I continued with it and bada-bing-bada-boom, out came Burden.

Q: In the past I stated that my favorite song by you is ~Silver Memory~. You told me that it would be a flash series. Are we to assume that the songs ~I Want My Life Back~, ~The Girl From Memory Planet~, and Our Invaders will be part of this flash series as well? And if yes then what will the story be about or do the songs pretty much sum it up?

A: It started off as a Flash Series and has grown into a feature length film about worlds eating worlds - politics, war and all things gore. I'm currently writing a book about it, but keep getting distracted. The songs (there are many more than what you see on NGAP) help me flesh out the storyline - James is now on board and helping with the design of it all. It shall be epic - once all these other projects we're working on are completed. :)

Q: You are no stranger to controversial songs. In fact you have three. Necro, Suicide, and Hypnotize X-rated. I have a question... what the fuck was going through your mind when you wrote these? I'm afraid to ask of the inspiration. You made these sick, depressing, and just down right crude subject matters and turned them into fun, bouncy, and happy songs. The process that went into making these songs?

A: There are 4. Ballgina Safari has seemed to turn a few heads in the 'WTF' direction. Heh.

Necro - created while I was alone at home, listening to what I thought was a half-squished rat trying to escape the trap that James and I had set earlier that day. (hence the line about 'rat poison' in the song). I guess I was just thinking about the dieing rat and while my brain was on the topic, I had a thought about sex (as any normal person does throughout the day) and that was how the song came to be.

Suicide - written while I was a lot younger, I blame that one on teen angst + my personality = fun song about suicide. I don't take things too seriously hey.

Hypnotize X-rated - I had just come out of a phase where I was writing really pretty sounding songs, so I needed a jolty change from it all. As the song says "it's meant to be stupid..." :)

Ballgina Safari - I have a friend that introduced me to the world of ballgina's - supposedly they're called man-cameltoes(?) but I think they're deserving of their own unique name. So I made a song about it to try and raise ballgina awareness. I guess it's working... haha

Q: In the past I interviewed Bosa about the song The Love of Marion. i asked him what the lyrics meant and he replied...

"I don't know what the lyrics mean, as I didn't write them. Hania Lee was in charge of that department, so she would know."

Now I know, you've already told me about this, but we would all like to know this if you would. Also how was it working with Bosa and do you plan on working with others in the future?

A: The lyrics are pure jibberish. It was a heap of fun working with Bosa! We clicked well and it worked. Nice and simple really. I'd recommend him to anyone wanting to collab. And yes, I'd be keen to work with who ever needs me in future. It's really a matter of how much time I have at that particular moment. My rule is that if there is a deadline, that project gets priority. If there is no deadline, then it will be done at some point - after the deadline stuff is complete.

Q: WGJ4K Theme Song (a.k.a. Wacky Game Jokes 4 Kids Theme Song) is an interesting theme song. How did you come about making this song?

A: HotDiggedyDemon emailed me asking for a theme song (with a game feel). I created a backing track based on what he wanted (it's sometimes used in the end credits) then for the lyrics, he gave me a brief description of what the show was about and I basically took his words, re-arranged a few of them and it was done.

Q: 2009 would be the year you would win a Tank Trophy for Best Audio Artist and you and James would both share a Tank Trophy as well as hitting the Newgrounds Triple Crown of Daily Feature, Weekly 1st Place, and Review Crew Pick awards for the flash animation Tarboy. There is a lot to be said here and I'm just dying to hear all of it. What was the process this flash movie when through and did you enjoy making it?

A: Tarboy was an amazing experience. Creating the music for Tarboy was a dream come true. I knew what James wanted to say in the film as we had discussed the story so many times, so I could really express it through music - which he then took and created visuals for.

We worked so closely together on this, I truly think that Tarboy was one of the major reasons we are now married! Winning the tanks was an incredible honour for us both. Lucky we were sitting while the awards were going or I think we may have fallen over. It was actually really funny because firstly, Tom pronounced my name a bit strange (haha) and secondly, the awards slideshow thingy had mixed itself up so when he read out 'Musician of the Year' and the wrong name came up on screen with his pronunciation of my name - I looked at James and said "who?" - I turned to the monitor and saw my name flash up on screen and yeah, it made sense then. haha.

It's a fantastic feeling to see all the reviews and comments about Tarboy not only on Newgrounds, but all over the place! We have always had big plans for Tarboy and seeing how much support is has received, is a huge boost for us. This is a good place to say 'Thanks!!!!!' to all the donations people have been putting our way for the Tarboy Soundtrack. I released it (and the bonus tracks) as a free download with the option to donate, and a decent amount of people have put forth what they thought the music is worth to them. I really appreciate it!

Q: When I last interviewed both you and James, you stated that you were both working on a flash called "Purged." The question now is, when will we get that flash movie or is it a game?

A: Purged is a short film that James and I completed prior to Tarboy. It will be out sometime this year.

Q: What can we expect from Hania in the near future?

A: A sexy song created for Alice is Dead 3 is completed - I'll release the song when the game is uploaded. :)

CurtiSmith is uploading his film 'Open Fire' - so you'll hear my music in that.

Purged will be uploaded within the year.

There are a lot of collabs in the pipeline and I'm also trying to complete a bunch of solo projects to put up onto Newgrounds.

I'm also working on a Christmas Album!

Once an underrated singer through the Newgrounds Audio Portal. Now she is shunned by some as being overrated due to Tarboy. If you ask me, nothing about her has changed, she has more fans which I think is wonderful for her. I have said this about other artists, but she has been given a gift and we are privileged that she has decided to share it with us.

Interview No. 27

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guests are the proud members of the Review Request Club. A group of individuals whose main priorties are to offer constructive criticism to the artists who submit their works for their approval. Now of course I cannot interview the entire club, so I've chosen the following members to interview. @Coop, @Fro, @Supersteph54, @Haggard, and @Sonofkirk. They are The Review Request Club.

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:

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.

Haggard: A friend of mine used to come here to watch flashes and play games. I think that was around 2000 or 2001. We soon discovered that when you had an account on Newgrounds you could rack up Experience points to make your vote be worth more, so my friend signed up (sadly I don't remember under which name he signed up).

Also I found most of the flashes I could see here quite funny, so when I finally got access to the internet at my place I joined up here. That was the 25th of December 2001.

Yes, one of the first things I did when I had an internet connection was signing up at Newgrounds. :)

Fro: My friend Nick, who you can find in most of my flash submissions, told me about newgrounds during study hall back in 2004. He was telling me about all the funny Resident Evil flashes that the site had so I decided to check it out. I love some of the submissions so much that I just had to review them so I signed up.

Supersteph54: This may sound weird, but I found Newgrounds because around 4 years ago, a friend of mine was bored and wanted to find a game to play. He typed in the two most popular words for RPG's: "Adventure" and "Quest" (Yep, you guessed it. Adventure Quest...).

Somehow he came across Newgrounds, and used the ad of Adventure Quest whenever he wanted to play the game. He told me about how he found Adventure Quest using Newgrounds and asked me to play it, but I quickly got bored of it.

On the other hand, I was interested in Newgrounds. The neat layout and design, the hundreds of thousands of flash games and movies, the excellent review system, etc... I joined a few months after, since I was interested in reviewing the flashes I saw and played.

Sonofkirk: I was introduced to Newgrounds by a user called Gorekiller. He's a fantastic keyboardist and used to post music on the audio portal. We were playing in the same band at that time and ended up making rock covers of video games themes together and submitting them to the portal. I still have some on them on my account.

Q: The original Review Request Club was created on May 10, 2006 by Freelance-Magician. Did you have any participation in the original club? If so then how did you come across it and why did you join?

A:

Coop: I'd been an active member in the Clubs & Crews forum for some time, with the Review Crew being one of my haunts. I moved to the now defunct Review Request Club and ever since have been adding [Review Request Club] to each of my Reviews. It's just progressed from there.

Haggard: Yes, I already was a member in the old club. I discovered it quite early when I became more active on the BBS but I didn't joined the club until much later. At first I was unsure if I should join because I didn't really understand all the rules and I wasn't that much active reviewing either.

Later when I became more active with reviewing I thought "ah, what the heck" and joined the club, even though I still didn't understand all the rules.

Fro: I'm pretty sure that I hold the record for keeping a 100% ratio the longest in the original Review Request Club, meaning I reviewed every single request for about 2 years straight. Life got a lot busier as college went on so I'll probably never get back to doing that again, but I'm still going as strong as I can. My first newgrounds friend, Metal-Therapy, introduced me to the club and it just stuck with me.

Supersteph54: I wasn't as good at reviewing while the old club was running, and even then, I wasn't interested in the forums. I knew the Review Request Club existed, because I came across reviews by them, but I never had any interest to join.

Sonofkirk: I joined the original club in september of 2008. I remember Fro told me told me that he would receive 5 extra points if I mentioned him on my introduction post; my first motivation of joining was actually to help him get higher in the ranks... :p. But I then started to be interested in reviewing and really got into the process of doing requests. Though, I have never been a very active member review-writing wise, since I was doing the updates for the audio reviews stats thread which was also very time consuming.Then I was basically doing the audio ones and occasionally some flash requests.

Q: The new Review Request Club was created on June 18, 2009 by Sonofkirk. If you answered no to the previous question then why did you join the newer Review Request Club? Why was there a need to remake the club?

A:

Coop: An interesting question - the answer is simple, in that we lost a few key members. milinko959 stopped preparing the lists that he had been doing for some time and as a result, we lost direction. Sonofkirk and Haggard rebuilt the club and from day one, I was back as the leading reviewer. I'd even taken up Audio reviewing by then, but I have since dropped that, as I just don't have the enthusiasm I once had. I think that it's nice to see a dedicated group of individuals give something back to the community.

Haggard: The old club literally died. At first it was milinko959 who maintained the club. He came up with a points system to give the reviewers some incentive to review the requests and he compiled a ranking list and a list of all the requests every week. Then milinko lost interest in NG and Bezman jumped in to maintain the club, but he couldn't do it every week. So we then decided to have two users who update the list. If one couldn't update it the one week, then the other one could jump in.

Those users where Shanus and me. This worked quite well for a while, but then Shanus became too busy in real life as well (College and stuff), so I was the alone updater of the list for a while. Well, but as life goes I suffered the same fate as the other updaters before me: Uni became far too important and I simply couldn't do the updates anymore. Shanus tried to maintain the club for a while, but he couldn't keep up for too long, so the club was left with no one who updated the points list nor the list of requests for that week. It all became too unclear very soon.

After a while Sonofkirk wanted to start a new club. He PM'ed some of the members from the old club and asked if it was OK, then he PM'ed a Mod (I think it was NEVR) to ask if the old thread could be locked and a new thread could be opened. NEVR said it was OK, so Sonofkirk was free to go.

Fro: The old club didn't have the rules posted on the first page so people just came in and requested so many submissions that it was impossible for us to keep up. We needed to start a new club so we could update the rules to keep the numbers down a little bit so we could help as many users as we could with reviews. It has still failed and we get so many audio reviews that we can't keep up again. Don't be surprised if you see a third thread where people can request even less in the future.

Supersteph54: I joined the new club since I was impressed with the reviews they did, and my reviews were improving. They were nothing too special, but I was still interested in joining. I finally found the club and asked to join, and after Haggard approved me, I was reviewing right away.

We had to remake the club since the old one was basically dying. The updates stopped and it was literally being drowned by requests. From what I've been told. The Review Request Club was an excellent idea, and we couldn't just leave it to die.

Sonofkirk: This question reminds me when I was writing the opening post for the new thread and asking everyone if it was good... We made a new thread to give the club an opportunity to get a fresh start since the old thread was flooded by requests with no one making the updates. This way, the club was more organised and new people went to join. I'm not saying all I've done a good job with the club but with the help of the old members I think we've done something good. Supersteph54 is the current responsible of the update and he does a very nice job!

Q: What is the purpose of the Review Request Club?

A:

Coop: If you're not getting the feedback that you require for your submissions, we can help you - We're always looking for more Flash and Art to review, so it's always a pleasure to have new requesters. We come in and pay attention to the submissions and give critical, but helpful reviews, enabling the users to improve their works.

Haggard: Users who feel that their submission was too unrecognized by NG can request some reviews. Also users who seek for advice can also request some reviews.

We ask our members to give out quality reviews and to not just simply write one- or two-liners. We want to help out the artists to help them improve their skills and to give them feedback on what they might do better on their next submissions.

Fro: The purpose of the Review Request Club is for people to get reviews from some of the best reviewers on the entire website. When a user feels that they didn't get enough reviews or need reviews to give them tips on how to improve for either that submission or for the future then we are the club to go to. It's all about helping the community become better by showing great examples of reviews so others can improve their reviews and by helping to bring in higher quality submissions to the site.

Supersteph54: Let's face it, everyone likes reviews on submissions they worked on, and the NG reviews can't even be considered reviews, but rather comments. We need a club where someone can request reviews on a submission, and get the reviews they want without having to worry about unfair scores, bad criticism and very vague comments.

In the new club (i.e. not counting all of the MANY reviews and requests of the old club), we've written roughly 4,500 helpful reviews on almost 1,100 different submissions, and apart from a very small number of people complaining about individual reviews we haven't had any unsatisfied requesters.

My point is, our main aim is to help. There are loads of under-rated artists that deserve reviews, so our aim is to not only increase their exposure and let them know what we think about their submissions, but also to help them improve their work.

Sonofkirk: It's always difficult to increase your exposure on NG, the RRC is a way for the Newgrounds poeple to get more exposure for their work by requesting reviews. What's more it happened that some of the best reviewers joined the club, then you'll always get good quality reviews on your work (the club also keep a high threshold regarding to the review quality of its new members).

Q: What are the steps you take into writing a review?

A:

Coop: First, watch the movie, play the game, listen to the music or look at the art. Don't just do this casually and make notes, as applicable. I try to help people with their drawing and animation techniques, despite not being a very good artist myself. I always listened in classes, but never had the talent to convert it into creative work.

After watching it, I can assess where any glaring errors were and I try to blend these in to the review, otherwise it can put people off if you go straight for the jugular with errors, rather than praise. I try to make it so that the piece isn't all bad and that they have areas to build upon, rather than just a standard "stop making pieces like this", as I never think anyone should just give up.

Haggard: I really don't have any rules to go by. I watch the submission (or listen to it in case it's and audio submission) and then I either begin with writing down some key points that I later elaborate on or I simply begin writing down whatever comes to my mind.

One of the problems I currently run into is how to express these thoughts. English is a foreign language for me so I have to be really careful when I write reviews. I have to look up many words in a dictionary because often I need some words I don't have in my vocabulary.Sometimes it may be that the words I write have a much harsher tone than I intended, but so far no one complained to me. So I guess my english isn't as bad as I think it is. ;)

While I have no "rules" I go by I often try to finish the review with a positive aspect because I feel if I finished it with something I didn't like about the submission then the whole review might be too negative to read by the user who requested the review.

For example, if I end it with "I didn't like the graphics, they looked too sloppy" then this is what sticks in the mind of the one who reads it. If I end it with "I didn't like the graphics, they looked too sloppy. But on the other hand you can easily improve on them if you just practice some more." however, then the review gets a more positive and encouraging tone.

Fro: This depends on the submission, but I'll break it down.

Movie - I watch the movie and jot down my notes about my first impressions about the graphics, story, and audio. It's in this section that I watch for the smaller details and really look for effort.

I then watch it again like someone normally would and I allow for all these separate things to come together so I can see how the flash is as a whole.

I then start my review with the animation/graphics, move on to story/content, talk about the audio, and then finish off with an overall category. Sometimes if I need to make extra comments I just do that on top of all the other sections.

Game - Games can take anywhere from five minutes to play to several hours. It's not possible to beat every level of every game or to finish them all before I review, but I at least give it a honest try and get as far as I can so I can give the most accurate review possible.

After I get as far as possible or beat a game I follow the steps that I would during a movie review.

Audio - The thing about audio is... I don't know much about audio. What I do know is what I enjoy when listening to music and how music can be moved in movies or games so this is what I try to bring to my reviews.

I usually start off by talking about how it could be used in a submission if I thought it could be, move on to talk about the vocals if there are any, and then review the beginning, middle, and ending of the song even to the fade out or ending note.

Sadly, these are based mostly off of personal opinions and not mostly facts because I don't know much about audio. Because of this I tend to give higher audio scores because I don't find it to be fair if I'm giving something a low score and I don't know much about it.

Art - I haven't developed a style for art review yet. I plan on doing that in the near future, but for now I tend to start at the very top of the picture and talk about every single detail until I get to the very bottom of the picture. After that I talk about the overall production. It's very common that I use every character or most of the characters in an art review just because there is so much to talk about.

Supersteph54: I take different steps depending on what type of submission I review, although as a general rule of thumb, I always make sure that when I mention a flaw I find in a submission, I always try and give my suggestion on how to fix it, so if for example I'm reviewing a flash game I'd say "Hm, the gameplay is a bit too easy. I'd suggest adding a time limit, since I can definitely see this as a fun game when you're against the clock." instead of "Hm, the gameplay is a bit too easy.".

In addition, I tend to organise my reviews into these sections:

Flash: Intro ... Graphics/Animation ... Concept/Storyline/Gameplay ... Audio ... Conclusion

Audio: Intro ... Melodies/Sounds Used ... Transitions/Structure ... Drums/Percussion ... Conclusion

Art: Intro ... Shading/Lighting/Texture/Colours ... Concept/How well the picture is drawn ... Background/Foreground ... Conclusion

Sonofkirk: I must admit, I haven't reviewed anything in ages but I'll try! I'm going to focus my answer about audio reviews because that's the field I think I can write good reviews. First step, I listen to the song, twice. I listen to it once without writing anything, I just try to enjoy the music and to think about what I like and advice I could provide. Then I make one or two paragraphs about what I liked, I try to divide my ideas into paragraphs so it's more pleasant to read for the artist. Next step, I point out the different things that I disliked and what could be improved. I also divide those into paraphs. They are usually about the mix, the EQ, or the choice of the instruments. Lastly I make one or two paragraphs that stand as a conclusion, I sum up my thoughts and I can also provide software names or plug ins references to help the musician keep going.

Q: Some people say to be able to critique something, you should at least have made a flash animation, flash game, or audio before you can truly judge it. Do you think this is true? If not then what is your explanation on this?

A:

Coop: As I said before, I've been able to listen to art teachers and peers about the applications used. I may not have any experience of using them, but I can tell people what needs doing. If I couldn't review because I hadn't used the program, I'd naver have made about 1,700 Flash and 1,000 Audio reviews.

Haggard: I think you don't need to be Pablo Picasso to be able to critizise art, you don't need to be Mozart to critizise music and you don't need to be The-Swain to critizise flash.

I can express my opinion on a submission even if don't have any flash or art submissions myself (well, I have submitted some spam flashes for clock day, so I am not totally inexperienced in that field.

However, I can play the guitar which helps me a lot when I review music, so I think my audio reviews are of a much better quality than my flash and art reviews so I can understand the point of view some people may have on reviewing. It's much easier to critizise something if you have some experience with the things you are reviewing.

For example I am completly unable to draw even the simplest things and I don't know much about art. So all I can do is to tell the artists what I liked and what I didn't like about a submission. While I think that those reviews are still helpful to the artist I feel that my art reviews aren't of the same quality than my flash or audio reviews.

Fro: I would say this is true. You really got my explanation about how this is true in the audio explanation that I gave up above. This being said, you can still leave great to amazing reviews for things even if you have never attempted to create one before. The only thing that is really lacking is the technical terms and information that you could give.

Supersteph54: While it obviously does help, you definitely don't need to have made a submission to judge one properly. Anyone would know a good submission when they see one, and their review would count just about as much as any other review. If they make a technical mistake because they haven't actually made a submission themselves, then no harm done, the artist will just correct them. I find myself reaching the character limit on Flash reviews with still even more to say, and I've never touched Flash before.

I think that a larger factor of how well you criticise something is how many submissions you've criticised.

Sonofkirk: My opinion is that there is two different cases. I think the most important thing is to give constructive feedback, whether you have made flash/music or not. As far as the critique is based on arguments, it's okay. When you make music or flash, it's for Newgrounders enjoyment, not for flash specialists or professional musicians judgement. Then most of time you'll often receive feedback from people who haven't made flash or anything, you'll have to accept their critique because "the customer is always right". Someone who hasn't made flash or music still can base his arguments on his feelings and give useful tips.

There is another case though. If some ignorant kid leave you a low score review just saying with no arguments: first, you can flag the review and you can answer him "make flashz B4! you n00bass!"

Q: Have you ever thought of doing reviewing for a magazine, website, or newspaper besides Newgrounds and be paid to do so?

A:

Coop: I wouldn't mind doing something like that, but the job offers have never been there and I'm not sure I have the time at present. Though if the opportunity did arise and the money was right, I'd certainly consider it.

Haggard: No. While I like to express my opinion on many things I don't think the quality of my work is good enough to earn money with it. Also I like being independent while expressing my point of view. Here on Newgrounds I can simply decide that I'm not in the mood to do a review and then I either do it later or never at all.

If I get paid for reviewing I might have to push myself to finish a review. I don't think I would like that.

Fro: I've thought about it, but I haven't ever looked into it very far. There just isn't enough time to do something like this with college and I don't trust many of the jobs like this over the internet.

Supersteph54: Never actually crossed my mind. I don't see myself as a professional reviewer at all, just someone who's been reviewing a lot with the interest of helping other people improve.

Sonofkirk: Let's hope this club will last years and years and keep doing the awesome job it's doing. I can assume it's one on the most useful club on NG and it really helps the authors keep going and improving. It's been a long time I haven't lurked in the thread but I guess the members are still thinking about a mean to receive less audio requests and I wish the best of luck! :p

Q: Coop - How did you become a Forum Moderator? Do you enjoy your job?

A:

Coop: The first part was simple - I became a Review Mderator back in April 2009. That gave me the power to control the reviews that were being left for Flash and Audio submissions, which has been a positive learning experience.

After that, in January this year, I was asked by Wade if I would like to become a BBS Moderator and I jumped at the chance to step up. I think I've made my mark and I intend to carry on as I am for the forseeable future.

The main thing here is that I'm a moderator that spends a lot of time in the Writing forums and I do a lot of reading on there. If / when a Literature Portal is released on Newgrounds, I expect to be able to lay down a lot of reviews for these pieces.

Q: What can we expect from the Review Request Club in the future?

A:

Coop: Well, expansion into Literature if and when the said portal arrives, we also envisage more expansion in terms of new reviewers and lots more Flash and Art to review. Currently, we have a lot of people just aching for their Audio to be reviewed and it is a little overbalanced at the moment, but we're staying afloat.

Haggard: You can expect more quality reviews from this Club. Right now we go through a very difficult phase, as we are simply overrun by audio requests at the moment, but I'm sure we can work out a solution that benefits the club and the requesters as well. Once we solved this problem we are back stronger than ever. ;)

Fro: Expect it to have it's low times and it's high times, but in the middle of all of it expect quality. I would also look for the yearly RRC flash that I would like to organize with the current members of each year. The flash would say the best submissions requested from the year and award the best reviewer from the club. You can check out the first one we made here.

Supersteph54: We are not professionals, but we've reviewed thousands of submissions and so, you can expect high-quality reviews every time you request. We're planning on inviting more people to become members in the club, and we always aim at improving our reviews to help requesters improve their work, and to go 'holy crap' when they read one of our big reviews :D.

Sonofkirk: Let's hope this club will last years and years and keep doing the awesome job it's doing. I can assume it's one on the most useful club on NG and it really helps the authors keep going and improving. It's been a long time I haven't lurked in the thread but I guess the members are still thinking about a mean to receive less audio requests and I wish the best of luck! :p

I must admit that I used to be a member of the old Review Request Club thread. I can say that it is a nice experience to be able to review flash movies submitted by others. However with the way things are, the club seems to be bombarded with more and more audio submissions, which is one reason why I lost interest, no flash to review, too much audio. Despite all of this, the Review Request Club can only grow from here and become something more than just a mere club. Who knows it may become a staple of reviewers that all of Newgrounds will take as seriously as the great Roger Ebert.

Interview No. 26

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is one artist who has been praised as well as shunned for his creations. He has gained fame for his series of Power Rangers parodies of Go, Go, Parody Rangers!. He has also been recognized for his works on Mario RPG: Rawest Forest, NiN10Doh!, and Brawl Taunts. He is @Kirbopher.

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

A: I started going there around 2002 and was obsessed with all of the older flashes from back in the day, DBZ in a nutshell, all of LegendaryFrog's stuff. The usual. Then I eventually made my own account.

Q: Your first flash submission Inuyasha in a nutshell, is a hilarious flash. How did you come about this bizarre idea, was it fun to make, and are you still proud of it to this day?

A: I started going to a computer learning center in the summer of 2004 and learned the basics of flash, then did a few little crappy flash movies as tests, most of which got blammed. Inuyasha was the first that went through, though truthfully because Egoraptor's nutshell stuff was really big at the time.

Q: TTA Episode 001 would be the start of a long series of flash movies from you. You've stated that it was a fanfiction you wrote a long time ago, how long ago was this and why did you write it? Tell us everything about this series.

A: I actually exaggerated that, it's not really a "fanfic" because it's not based on any sort of preexisting material. I came up with the concept of TvTome Adventures based on the first message board I ever went to and created a bunch of characters out of the members posting there with a story to go along with it. I continued onward for a few years and did 3 seasons (over 70 episodes) and a "movie".

Q: Go, Go, Parody Rangers!, is ironic enough, a parody. Where did the idea come from for making fun of the Power Rangers, and was it fun to make?

A: I had always loved Power Rangers as a kid and had tons of toys stored away from my younger years. I had gotten to know Egoraptor a bit more at the time thanks to my friend Nalem. I had seen some of his Power Ranger voice clips on Sheezyart and I got inspired by some of the jokes in there to do a parody. I drew up a bunch of characters, wrote a script and went for it!

Q: Go, Go, Parody Rangers! 2 and Go, Go, Parody Rangers! 3 would be the last two installments. The question is though, why the urge to make these two sequels. There was really no need for them so why do it?

A: I guess if you put it that way there's "no need" to do any sequel in existence, but I had plans for other material to cover. I knew if I had done a second one, it would be about the Green Ranger and then the third would cover the Power Rangers in Space stuff to some extent. I had a bunch of ideas for jokes and characters in my head so I went for it yet again. Also I usually enjoy when stuff carries on into subsequent installments.

Q: Mario RPG: Rawest Forest, puts lyrics to a video game song. However you stated the song was made by Martin Hagwell. Did you know that the original form of this song is on Newgrounds and entitled Geno's Forest || ROBOVoice. Overall why did you decide to animate Martin's song and if you had known about the previous would you have chosen that one. Whatever your answer, could you tell us why?

A: I had heard the original many times and thought it was cool, but then I had found the remix version from the site and got inspired to make a music video out of it. The original isn't very "musicy" in the sense that it's more of just a loop as opposed to the Rawest Forest remix is much more like a full-fledged piece of polished music.

Q: NiN10Doh! and $00pah NiN10Doh! are two collaborations that you would participate in. How did you come across these collabs and what was your experience in working with these artists?

A: I wrote all of the material for the first NiN10Doh! over the summer of 2007 and put it on the back-burner for a while. I thought it'd be fun to do some more Nintendo-themed stuff after doing the Mario video, so I decided on a skit-comedy styled flash. For some reason though, my drive to complete it wasn't nearly as strong as it was for my past projects, but I started to get to know a lot more animators and later decided to make it a collab instead, which I'm very glad I did. All of the people I worked with on both of the NiN10Doh! collabs are incredibly talented.

Q: Who is Rina-chan?

A: Kira, a good friend of mine from way back who's a great Voice Actress in her own right. I first worked with her on the previously mentioned TTA "Movie" casting her as a guest villain. Later, we got back into contact and became much closer friends, so I began to use her a lot more in my cast.

Q: Brawl Taunts, More Brawl Taunts, and One More Brawl Taunts. These three flash movies are all parodies of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. However there is something a bit deeper in all three and I'm sure there is a lot you can tell us about all three of these. What is the timeline for these three flash movies?

A: Kira/Rina-chan wrote the first one almost immediately after Brawl came out and originally wanted to do it as a Machinima. I usually audition for her stuff so I was cast as King Dedede and one of the SEGA nerds in it. She couldn't track down a machinimator at the time, so I offered to animate for her if she'd buy me a DVD of the first anime she ever did a professional job for. So in that sense, it was a commission, which I rarely do concerning animation. She wrote a second one and commissioned me again to animate it. The third one, however, I wasn't interested in doing. However, since Kira's the mastermind and creator behind it, I didn't have any right to keep her from doing something she wants to do, but she was still very considerate to ask me for my input. Eventually we came to a compromise and she decided to do it as a collab. My only demand in the production of was to do the intro sequence. Also I did the easter egg at the end.

Q: Brawl Funnies [Dick 1] and Brawl Funnies [Dick 2] are both flash movies made by a group of animators making fun of you, Rina-chan, and what you both created as well as poking fun at other things on Newgrounds as well. Where is your stance on these flash submissions?

A: For the most part, I'm not incredibly bothered by them. I know several of the people involved, and I know a lot of it is done in jest. Otherwise, when it gets down to it they're allowed to do whatever they feel like, so who am I to judge.

Q: You stated Go, Go, Parody Rangers! 3 was to be the last installment, but then we get ParodyRangersTheMovie 1-1. What can you tell us about the Parody Rangers Movie parts as a whole?

A: I had decided to do the Movie over the summer of 2007 and I got together with a bunch of friends to watch the original MMPR feature movie with Ivan Ooze as the villain. I wrote the script with a few other friends and then later started on it after Brawl Taunts 1 and 2 were out of the way.

Q: When it comes to working in a collaboration with other artists, what should the animator, musician, writer, or voice actor know before going into a collab and what should they know when they are a part of one? In other words what tips or advice do you have to give to them?

A: I tend to be picky and careful when choosing people to work with, but thankfully I've only VERY rarely had any issue with people I've collaborated with. The animators and actors I get involved do their job very well and I try to compromise and leave room for creativity, but at the same time try and maintain a consistency and overal vision so that the collabs aren't so disjointed. Tom Fulp had major compliments for how well it was put together, so I take a lot of pride for how they turned out and they wouldn't be anywhere near as amazing without everyone involved.

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

A: Hopefully lots of stuff! I've gotta music video I'm doing for LittleKuriboh, some schoolwork I may be posting on my NEO-C account, and Parody Rangers: The Movie - Part 3 when Summer starts. I've also got a secret project I'm doing that may be done in the next couple months, and then starting mid-Summer I'm working on my thesis for college. Keep watchin'!

I'm not really sure what to make of Kirbopher. He likes to make people laugh and enjoys what he does in terms of artwork and animation. He is given criticism based on laziness, but he also does a wonderful job of what he produces for us. I can't wait to see what Kirbopher has to offer us next.

Interview No. 25

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is an interesting artist here on Newgrounds. He has been known for his creation of the NG Calculator, It's a Nice Day Today, and he is known on the Art Forum for Epic Quest! - The Newgrounds Choose Your Own MS Paint Adventure. He is none other than @scottmale24.

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

A: Oh, God. That was forever and a day ago. I think the first time I saw Newgrounds was way back towards the end of seventh grade, around May/June of 2001. Some of my classmates had commandeered the class computer and were on what I think was the Assassin page, playing games, killing whatever celebrity was popular at the time; typical violent things of that nature. I was a pretty mild kid back then, as far as internet exploration went. I spent most of my time playing trialware games like DOOM or Duke Nukem, and any time I spent on the internet was reading jokes on websites or downloading music from Napster. I thought "Hey, that looks like fun!" and played around on it when I got home.

As the summer came to a close, my curiosity had been piqued by enjoying countless flash games and movies. I was propelled by my 13-year old lust for internet stardom, so I downloaded Flash 5 and made my account. I figured flash would be easy, what with so many other people out there doing it. I was very wrong.

Q: Your first flash submission is entitled snoboard tubby. An interesting first flash to say the least. What was the process in creating it and looking back, do you still like it?

A: My first flash submission was called The Bomb, actually. It was about five seconds long, and it involved a kid putting a tape (entitled "The Bomb", no less) into a VCR, followed by an explosion and the death of the protagonist. I know, I know, a twist of almost M. Night Shyamalan magnitude. I'll take my Oscar, now. To cut a long story short, after I submitted that movie I got firsthand experience with the Blam system.

Anyway, back to your original question. In like, sixth through eleventh grade, I drew a comic called Luke the Tellytubby. It was comprised almost entirely of absurdist humor and jokes stolen straight from The Simpsons. I'd show it around to people, they'd laugh, pass it off to other people, and that became my niche. Eventually it got to the point where people would ask me when the "next one" was coming out, so I spent most of my class time churning out comics instead of paying attention. Naturally the character worked it's way into my movies. Watching these old movies is bizarre. I apparently had a lot of anger in me. I guess I still do, but the smoking and drinking helps.

As an interesting side note, a few months back I found one of my old notebooks from tenth grade. It almost felt like looking at some bizarre outsider art, like somebody who had heard a vague definition of what a person looked like and what a punchline was, and then tried to do it themselves on lined paper between notes on math. It is now decorating one of our nation's mighty landfills.

Q: the NG Calculator is an interesting little gadget, my only question is what was your motivation, in other words why did you make this?

A: Back in the day I used to be a huge fan of the newgrounds forums, and the community as a whole. I stopped watching movies, depositing, slowed down on the production of my crap, and lived for the forums. When I went to the NYC meet in March of this year, I'd realized how long I'd been out of the game when the only people I'd recognized by username were Jonas and Evark.

I'm not sure if the game has changed or not, but back when I was on, one of the biggest factors in deciding who was popular and who "won" an argument was how high a person's stats were. The Newgrounds Calculator was and is an 'e-penis' calculator, and one of my earliest attempts at making something that looks professional. The prices are arbitrary, but I felt that having it total a cost instead of a point value made it more enjoyable. And then it won me a t-shirt and some money.

Q: On March 17, 2009, Newgrounds members sirtom93 made a thread entitled This is it. where he threatened to burn down his school. A lot of people here have made fun of him for this, you are no stranger to this. How I Buy Petrol? would win you the "Daily 5th Award." As with "the NG Calculator", one can only ask why?

A: That is a good question. The closest thing I can give you to an answer would be "Why not?", but I guess that is kind of a jerk thing to say. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I figured it was just edgy enough to be topical, while on the flipside, nobody got hurt, so it was fair game.

Newgrounds used to thrive on that sort of push-the-boundaries-of-what-is-offensi ve entertainment. The whole situation was just so bizarre and almost surreal, it was almost as if he set himself up to be caught. At the time of the incident I'd been working on a point-and-click style game engine for fun, and I'd been dying to use Rucklo's "Drunk" song in a submission. It was almost a calling. A duty. It was written in my DNA and in my coffee grounds and in the stars that I assume hang in the sky beyond the constantly overcast nights of upstate New York.

And it was fun to make.

Q: It's a Nice Day Today would win you your first "Daily Feature." It is short, sweet, to the point. Where did you get the idea for this flash submission and will there be a full-length game in the future?

A: The original inspiration came from an artist meme, but it is also some sort of homage to PRGuitarMan's lol_comics. When the meme was going around I hadn't done any actual animation in flash in a while, so I decided to go above and beyond the call of duty and make a flash movie. I did it in one night, did the coding for the game part while wasted on Jello, and then posted it up on the internet. I PM'd Tom about tossing in a medal for shits and giggles, and after that it took off. It's not my favorite piece, but the music really makes it perfect.

I have no plans for making a sequel right now, although plenty of other people have sent me private messages and e-mails offering to pick up the torch. I've ignored most of them, but I know there's a few copies of the original *.fla out there somewhere that I've sent to the ones capable of typing coherently.

Q: Six Minutes of Nothing is quite possibly my favorite of your flash movies. The artwork and animation bring it to life in a simplistic way, but ForNoReason's voice acting demo is what makes it. Where did the idea for this flash come from and did ForNoReason have a say in this?

A: Back in 2005 I did a movie called Bitchin' Camaro, and since then I've been dying to animate something like that again. One lonely night back in March I had been browsing the Audio Portal for one reason or another (or For No Reason?) and I came across ForNoReason's submission A Voice Acting Demo? I loved his awkward charm, gave it a pretty generic review, and then completely forgot about it. It took me another five months to put two and two together, and I decided to make good on my promise of producing "a long, bland flash movie". It was a complete surprise to him. I think he enjoyed it.

Q: We now come to your pièce de résistance, a project that is still in the works and that is Epic Quest! - The Newgrounds Choose Your Own MS Paint Adventure. This adventure, "Tale of the Dragon's Gold" started on June 2, 2009. It has continued and blown up throughout the Art Forum like it was nothing. Where does the inspiration and motivation come from to make and keep this updated and when the adventure finally comes to an end will you make a flash movie out of it? Also are we to assume that this is not the only Epic Quest! people will be embarking on?

A: Well, I've been an avid reader of MS Paint Adventures for the longest time, and when Problem Sleuth came to an end, I got the idea of trying it for myself. I'd been toying with the idea of running a Dungeons and Dragons game, but with the conflicting schedules of our group members and previous games still in progress, I had no real outlet for my cliché-as-possible, tongue-in-cheek, off-the-cuff, word-hyphen-word nerd ideas. Epic Quest was born of a combination of those elements and not having cable. I didn't put any thought into it, there's no underlying plot, and I'd just been making it up as I go. It was updated whenever I felt like it, which is why the updates slowed to a crawl as I lost interest. Eventually it was locked to prevent people from speculating too much. As far as a flash movie.... I'm not sure. I haven't given that much thought. I'm more worried about the actual project.

Q: It's been a while since Epic Quest! has been updated. Is the adventure coming to an end?

A: I wouldn't say an end. More like a coma. I bought myself a tablet for, among other things, drawing Epic Quest. And then I made the mistake of loading up flash, and realizing how fun animation is when you have pressure sensitivity and the elegance and grace of a pen, instead of the lumbering clumsiness of a mouse. I fully intend on getting back to it when I finish current projects, but I don't even seem to have time for those, lately. I'd love to get a game sponsored so I can quit my current job and have a cushion to fall back on, because right now my job is eating up all my free time, energy, and motivation.

Q: What can we expect from scottmale24 in the near future?

A: On Newgrounds? Nothing in the immediate future, probably. I'm working on gifts for certain people right now, but if I get another game sponsored I'd definitely love to put it here. To get everyone's hopes up, I'm going to say that you can expect Epic Quest up-and-running again in early July. Even I think it's been down too long, and I'm afraid that if I don't return to it soon, people will lose all interest. I just need to get what few ideas I have to coalesce into a plot. I also have some personal artsy flash projects I'd love to see finished, but those are far, far off.

Is scottmale24 this brilliant artist, or is it merely a ruse that is placed on him? To me he just seems like some goofy kid who likes to draw and show his cartoons to the world no matter how offensive they may be. Is that a bad thing though? Well no, because that's how Tom Fulp started out.