Interview No. 68

Interview By: @NekoMika

Today was a pretty great day and I as I was looking through the audio portal I notice one user I had not seen submit an audio piece in awhile. As a check through their audio history I notice that they seem to put a good deal of thought into each piece of music that they write being that almost each piece is submitted within 2 to 3 months of each other. Then I suddenly remember ... this is the guy who holds voice acting contest!! Then I thought, why not give him an interview?! After a couple of days of waiting for a response I got the green light from the man himself. Today's interview is with @FatKidWitAJetPak!

Q: So how did you discover Newgrounds?

A: Well, back in the good old days when the warm, delicious smell of grandma's home made cherry pie would greet me after a long day of Middle School, I would sit back and relax with a plate of ice cream and the aforementioned delectable snack while sitting next to a computer with none other than "Newgrounds" reflecting off of my boxy glasses. Aside from creating

obnoxious run on sentences, I was there for one reason and one reason only: to dick around. I loved going to Newgrounds and play Flash Games, look at hentai, and do what kids in the South do, minus the tractors.

Q: Interesting and what lead you to creating your account and the why this username?

A: I created a series of very silly comics around the age of 13. These comics usually revolved around the adventures of "FattMcPatty and LardyLarLar", two sociopathic fat guys with jet packs who always got stuck in strange situations together. I thought the idea was hysterical, so as an immature teenager I decided to make that my username. I kept it because it is easy to remember and unique... I have never seen anyone else use it before, and most people here who actually like my shit know me as "Nick" anyway.

Q: Well that certainly would help some users understand your username. Did you encounter any hardships starting here on Newgrounds?

A: Oh lord yes. I faced many challenges when I first arrived to Newgrounds, including the harshness of forum regulars, figuring out what I was best at by spending a lot of time with multiple seemingly pointless programs, and trying to be accepted with my work. After about two years of poorly done animations, I got into voice acting and finally started to get known in the community. After that, I got into making music that wasn't made entirely out of horrible pre-set loops and started to get known in the audio community. It took me a while, but I finally managed to find something that I was good at.

Q: Have you created any music that has managed to get on the front page?

A: I have gotten top of the week about 8 times and have gotten front page about 3 times if my memory serves me correctly.

Q: Got any other audio pieces you are truly proud of or they just got many good reviews and downloads?

A: On average, I spend about 1 - 3 months on each song I create. Most of that time is spent brainstorming, trying to piece together my thoughts into a suitable soundscape. Once I have many, many ideas dotted down in my head, I begin to craft it all together piece by piece until I am satisfied with a certain tune. Then I go to that tune and master everything to make sure it sounds great with headphones. I still need to figure out speaker mastering, but that just means I have room left to improve! Since I work so hard on each song, I am typically proud of my ambient music. The two that stand out to me, however, are "Breathe With Me" and "Ironesque Valley". I was actually crying when composing Breathe With Me, and tend to get emotional every time I listen to it. I don't know why I get so emotional over music, but hey I guess being different is a good thing.

Q: The NG CD project sounds quite interesting. Are all 200 songs the same genre, different kinds, contest pieces or what?

A: The NG Audio cd is going to include multiple CDs that revolve around certain groups of genres including rock, ambient, and techno. All the information on the contest can be viewed on the thread here on NG.

Q: What got you interested in the Audio Portal?

A: After 2007 rolled around, I began to grow severely interested in becoming part of the constantly growing Newgrounds community. I tried making flash games, designing, writing, voice acting, and making music. After a few years of deciding what I was best at, I narrowed it down to Audio and Flash design. In 2010, I really dedicated myself to teaching myself ambient creation and worked my way up to what I am today. I still have a huge, HUGE load to learn, and am excited to get better every day. I have the urgent and strong need to express myself and my perspective about the world around me. I feel that ambient music serves more than enough poetic justice for what I feel needs to be expressed. I can really pack a whole variety of emotions into just one song.

Q: Well that is most certainly a feel good story. What eventually lead you to doing the voice acting competitions in the audio forum?

A: I saw a lot of hidden talent here on Newgrounds. I wanted to create a sort of sub culture that had its own "voice" in the NG community, no pun intended. I decided that the best way to get together this community was to create a sort of "Voice Acting Contest" that challenged voice actors to push their limits and create great voice demos. I also wanted people to realize that they can truly do a lot if they simply believe in themselves. After a few contests, this community seemed to come to light and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to everyones different styles and concepts. I consider voice acting to be a major part of the community, and I surely would hate to see such talented voice actors vanish simply due to the lack of recognition. I am very glad that Tom Fulp was generous enough to offer store credit and front page prizes for the top four winners of each contest.

Q: That is most certain to always be fun. What do you think is the funniest aspect of the voice acting contests?

A: The most fun part is interacting with the community. I absolutely love to hear all the great and hilarious skits that are made for the contest, while meeting awesome people along the way.

Q: Have you gotten any voice acting contest entries you found to sound really bad or just completely hilarious?

A: Of course. In every contest there are going to be really awful entries, but that just means there are more things to say in order for the creators to improve.

Q: Did you ever have any doubts in if the voice acting contests would go well when you started?

A: I always have doubts, but I never let them stop me from doing something. It's all about perseverance. Some of them didn't go all that well, due to my lack in judging, but all of them were finished! Now the voice acting contests are being run by various people here on NG, since I am extremely busy with reality and personal projects. In the end, I ended up getting 6 contests finished. I am currently working on getting together a massive NG audio CD project. So far, it is going fairly well with over 200 entries.

Q: Any NG users you wish to shout out or that you tend to look up to?

A: I have respected many artists here on Newgrounds. You would truly be surprised at how much talent there is on this website. I would love to give a large, juicy shout out to SineRider, Mich, KingBastard, TomFulp, ebolaworld, W-P-S, HappyHarry, Apsro, Tome89, SexualLobster, SickDeathFiend, JAZZA, Sh0T-D0wN, TomaMoto, SBB, Kazmo, MrMilkcarton, dj-nate, Kr1z, G0rc, and many others that I probably left out. I look up to many guys and gals in the audio portal and couldnt have been where I was today without the help of everyone ive talked to here on NG.

As the interview came to a close I noticed that he seems to be a user who tends to enjoy and love the audio community as a whole. I picked up my head phones and began listening to another of his songs as I let his music simply let me relax as I looked over the interview remembering what a good time I had asking him the questions and getting back answers and insight from him.