Interview No. 74

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest I am sure many people if not everybody who reads this knows to some extent. His music on Newgrounds starts at the beginning with The Day I Return and leading to Conflicting Forces. However most of you know him for his big Internet viral hit Numa Numa Dance as well as its sequel New Numa. Although he hasn't been seen much on Newgrounds he is running many projects on his website Numa Network. He is none other than Gary Brolsma, but on Newgrounds he is known as @Gman250.

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

A: It's been quite a long time, I'm not even really sure how I first found out about Newgrounds. Back in 2002 or so, I remember a lot of friends in my grade at school trying to sneak in a few games during computer class. As I was browsing around the site more, I started getting a desire to learn a little bit of Flash, as that was all new to me at the time.

Q: Your first flash on Newgrounds would be entitled X-beanies - Its Goin Down. What made you want to make this flash and looking back on it are you still proud of it?

A: While I was in middle school, I used to make some animated GIF's with my buddy Randy. He had a webcam and an awesome action figure collection, so we used to sit together and make some still frame animations. We eventually started adding Beanie Babies to the animations, and made this video, along with the Nuts Wars trilogy.

Q: You would attempt different music videos using stick figures to showcase. You like others in the past, like others interviewed here, did not have high quality works. We get to Rock Your Body and things do improve here. What changes were you looking to implement did you take constructive criticism from your reviews?

A: Like I said before, I was teaching myself Flash, I was young and wasn't really sure what I was doing. I spent a few weeks just making stick figure music videos with an overuse of little gradient circles, it's really nothing fancy, more or less just test runs. I eventually made "Megaman's Journey" which was probably my biggest effort put into a Flash. I was trying to make a movie/game hybrid, but even that was beyond my knowledge, so it ended up being buggy and had a very rushed ending.

Q: As you kept going through your flash in 2004 you would change pace in a way. December 6, 2004 would be the debut of Numa Numa Dance. You have stated that it was released on Newgrounds first, is this truly true. What inspired you to set up a webcam, pick a song, and then lip sync and dance to it?

A: This is true, it debuted right here on Newgrounds. The end of 2004 was the point where YouTube was just launching, so there wasn't really a place to upload an actual video that you could share with people. When I originally made the Numa Numa Dance, I was just fooling around, having a good time, and I recorded it. I uploaded it into the portal, and sent the link to some friends. They all had a good laugh, and I thought nothing of it. I kept checking back, and a few days later, I saw that it got posted to NG's home page. This made it explode and the views just kept rising and rising.

Q: After two years you would return and give us New Numa. The demand was there since day one. Why come back now and incorporate newer things within it? Also is this truly you singing this time?

A: The New Numa is also a lip-sync. When I made that video, I had management behind me, so we were able to create a custom song, include my band at the time, green screen effects, and some other locations and tricks. Even though the demand was there, I still love the original, because it was something "pure" and just plain fun. I think the sequel was a little overdone, but it allowed me to start a contest to give back to the fans which is something I think not many people have had the chance to do.

Q: Although as an animator to be honest you're not entirely good at, which is okay I'm not either. To counter that though you are a wonderful musician and I think those here tend to overlook you on the Audio Portal. Your first entry is entitled The Day I Return. You've stated that this is a remix. Why a remix for your first entry?

A: I was still in school at the time, and also with 2 bands, so I didn't have much time to really sit down with Flash. I wasn't really happy with the animations I was making anyway... so I eventually gave up on Flash movies, and just stuck with making music. I picked up FL Studio (Fruity Loops), and eventually taught myself how to make beats and whatnot. Those beats through the years, eventually turned into full songs. I tried my hand at a Final Fantasy song because I absolutely love the FF Soundtracks.

Q: Snakeman: Slither Mix is a remix of Snakeman's stage from Mega Man 3. It is a wonderful rendition, but the question is out of all of the songs from the Mega Man games especially one from Mega Man 3 or even Mega Man 2, why this one?

A: Mega Man 2, is definitely my favorite game of all-time, from gameplay to the soundtrack, it is a masterpiece of video gaming. Although MM3 is a close second place for me, I really liked the song from Snake Man's stage, and thought it would be easy to try and make a quick remix of it. Again, I was young and still learning. There are a lot of remixes these days, most notably the ones on Overclocked Remix are my favorite. It probably would be good to go back and revisit some Mega Man tunes one day.

Q: The first time we hear you sing is in the song Conflicting Forces. A good song no doubt and as singing goes you have a great voice. When it comes down to it would you re-do this song with newer technology and truly give it a remastered quality?

A: Thank you, yes I will most likely re-do this eventually. Right now I have another album I'm working on, I don't think it will appear on this one, but down the road I would like to give it a little more love.

Q: To go through all of your songs would have us here forever. So we'll come to your latest work and that is My Friends Call Me Splangey. Who wrote this song and are you still the one singing it?

A: I wrote the music and the words for MFCMS, and yes that's me singing. This is one of the tracks off the new solo album I was creating. A more band-oriented version may appear on my bands upcoming album, but I can't say for sure right now. We're still working out the kinks on that.

Q: Who are The Nowadays?

A: My main band "Nonetheless" started in 1998. We took a break from playing together around 2002. During that off-time, my drummer, Dan, along with 3 other friends formed "The Nowadays". Around 2006, "The Nowadays" fell through, and I started playing with "Nonetheless" again. Lately we've been playing shows at local bars, and are trying to flesh out a full length album. This will hopefully be finished sometime in 2012.

Q: Some people on Newgrounds probably aren't aware of the third Numa Numa Dance. Numa Three: Crazy Loop!. Why did you make a third one and how come it never saw a Newgrounds release?

A: NND3:CL was a YouTube only release for subscribers of my channel "Numa Network". It was also a thank you and promotion for Dan Balan, formerly of O-Zone. I didn't feel it was too important to put it in the flash portal, because it was just a quick video.

Q: When it comes to the upcoming Newgrounds redesign, with it a lot of features will be brought to the table, such as a new Audio Portal and the possibility of video. Will these and other new features bring you back here as more of a frequent contributor?

A: I'm constantly working on new music, so any additions to the Audio Portal will be awesome. Video can be hit or miss with the other websites floating around the internet. But Newgrounds has an advantage that it has a great community and unbelievable animators, so only time can tell what the future will hold. Tom Fulp has been an awesome friend to me, and he has really good ideas, so I trust that he and the whole NG team will do a great job with the redesign.

Q: What can we expect from Gary Brolsma in the future?

A: A big project coming up is the Chronicles of Rick Roll movie... other than that, a new album from my band, "Nonetheless" is on the game plan. I frequently visit NG, so I'll be sure to keep you all updated on my page.

Gary seems to be an interesting mind. A man much like BoMToons, who wants to do things. Wants to be productive and not only that, but have as much as possible while doing it. Some of you reading this probably did not really take the time to look at Gary's other stuff and I understand that, but he does have a voice and he can sing quite well and I think that is where he truly shines, within music.