#brentsimon

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #400: Episode 400 Retrospective and Celebration!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #400: Episode 400 Retrospective and Celebration!

https://archive.org/download/podcast-400/Podcast%20400.mp3

This week is the 400th episode of this podcast!  It’s a special one, and perhaps the biggest one yet, as we hear from guests over the show’s nine year run.  The range of topics covered pretty much touch on many of the things this podcast he also touched upon over the years.  Over the course of this mammoth (almost 3 hour!) episode, you will hear from the following past guests:

One last bonus before you head out.  Brian Fies (see above) did this most excellent Rocketeer illustration for an upcoming charity auction to the group Zoom session to share, and he gave permission to share with everyone here.  A lucky buyer is going to luck out!  Go get ’em, kid!

Fies Rocketeer 150dpi

Thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #361: Making a Retrowave Music Video, Night of the Comet, Toys, and Being a Kid Again

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #361: Making a Retrowave Music Video, Night of the Comet, Toys, and Being a Kid Again

https://archive.org/download/podcast-361/Podcast%20361.mp3

This week, I finished the music video I started recently using the two synth – handpan tracks Jeff Finely and I worked on together.  I finally figured out enough of Adobe Premiere to accomplish pretty much what I was going for in the video – i.e. flying through fantasy landscapes with a trail of smoke coming out of Lightning.  Now, in the book, it’s actually three rainbow smoke trails, but sometimes, I will just draw it as one large rainbow that trails afterwards.  I couldn’t quite get the rainbow effect but did get the smoke trail to change to the colors of the rainbow, which is good enough for now.  Here’s a short clip of what I started with (pixelart Logan superimposed over stock fantasy landscape animations I purchased off pond5.com):

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And here is the full video:

 

This was the last collaboration Jeff and I did, by the way, based on some ideas originally conceived by Brent Simon:

You can find out more about Jeff on his previous appearances on the show (episode 101, 102, and 176).

I also recently rewatched the 1984 film Night of the Comet to prep for a conversation with one of the leads from the film, Catherine Mary Stewart about the movie.  This is a little addition to the Lego Friends minifigure package I made of Sam and Reg from NOTC, but if you’re on the Patreon, you will be able to find the interview there.  If you’re a regular podcast listener, you will also be able to unlock the interview to listen to it.  Yes, that’s right, gameification!  Since Regina Belmont was an avid arcade gamer in the movie, it only seems right.  Stay tuned for details.  The Night of the Comet figures will be auctioned off starting in August, most likely, all proceeds to benefit the nonprofit Alliance4girls.org. 

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I also recently went back to my parents’ house and brought back a few things from my childhood for my own children and took pictures of some of the things I wanted to remember:

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A collection of some of my and my brother’s old figures to share now with my kids.

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Remember some of these guys?

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 We saved a bunch of the boxes from the computer games we had as kids.  Little did we know that ot only would most games not comes with big boxes anymore but people would collect these things for exorbitant prices on eBay! 🙂

More on Patreon … but in the meantime, let it be known that 7/8/22 is “Be a kid again day!”

In other words, a great excuse to play with some toys!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #359: Musical Interlude – Adding to a C#m Chord Progression on Synth with Jeff Finley

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #359: Musical Interlude – Adding to a C#m Chord Progression on Synth with Jeff Finley

https://archive.org/download/podcast-359/Podcast%20359.mp3

This week, I’d adding to the second repeating chord progression in C#m that I did with with past show guest Jeff Finley on the handpan.  We started this track in episode 354.  This track ended up having the repeating chord progression C#m B C#m B C#m B / C#m B C#m B A B at 100 bpm.   In this episode, I’m adding to Jeff’s arrangement with a little synth layer to hopefully complement what is already there.

For the first track we did, Jeff did an amazing job with accompanying and arranging the track started in episode 352.  That track is showcased in a music video on Adobe Premiere I started this episode with  pixelart Logan superimposed over some stock fantasy landscape video I purchased off pond5.com.  Here is a preview:

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I’d like to try to figure out how to add some rainbow colored exhaust to Lighting’s tail like I envisioned in the book:

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #354: Musical Interlude – Making a C#m Descending Chord Progression on Synth 2

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #354: Musical Interlude – Making a C#m Descending Chord Progression on Synth 2

https://archive.org/download/podcast-354/Podcast%20354.mp3

This week, I’m making another repeating chord progression in C#m for a little collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley, who recently told me about an instrument called a handpan, which is kind of like a steel drum you play with your hands, that, at least to my ears, sounds a bit like a synthesizer.  He did an amazing job with accompanying and arranging the track I started in episode 352, and this is another track that hopefully we can work on together.  

This track ended up having the chord progression C#m B C#m B C#m B / C#m B C#m B A B over and over.  Like the last one, this track was recorded at 100 bpm to make room for the handpan and allow it to breathe.   

This was our last collaboration, by the way:

You can find out more about Jeff on his previous appearances on the show (episode 101, 102, and 176).

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #352: Musical Interlude – Making a C#m Descending Chord Progression on Synth

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #352: Musical Interlude – Making a C#m Descending Chord Progression on Synth

https://archive.org/download/podcast-352/Podcast%20352.mp3

This week, I’m making a repeating chord progression in C#m for a little collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley, who recently told me about an instrument called a handpan, which is kind of like a steel drum you play with your hands, that, at least to my ears, sounds a bit like a synthesizer. 

He mentioned that his handpan is in the key of C#m, so we thought it’d be fun to make another piece of music together.  So this is me just starting something, and then I’ll send that over for him to add to, and we can go back and forth and see what we come up with, kind of like a remote jam session.  

After playing around with a few, I ended up liking the descending chord progression C#m A E B and thought it might be fun to see what we could come up with around that.  Though there is a bit of a melody, for the most part, I purposefully didn’t add much.  It is just those 4 chords repeated again to allow Jeff to add to it.  (Jeff – recorded this at 100 bpm with each chord held for about an 8 count.)  Looking forward to what we can make together!  

This was our last collaboration, by the way:

You can find out more about Jeff on his previous appearances on the show (episode 101, 102, and 176).

In other news, I’m almost done painting the Beverly Switzler figurines for Ernie Trinidad’s postproduction backers for his Howard the Doc film.  These were tough!  I used reading glasses to see the tiny details and am glad I chose to make her eyes closed rather than open since trying to paint eyes on a figure this small is always a headache in more ways than one.  I didn’t realize I’d made so many – nine painted ones and four glow in the dark ones.  There’s definitely more than I need, so I may auction some off for charity like I did with the Lego Rocketeers.  Speaking of which, this past week, it was Star Wars Day (5/4), which is also United Nations Anti-Bullying Day (as of 2012).  Combined those two things and the Lego Rocketeer in a little skit.  There are some stills below the ones of Bev.

And the clip:

Stay tuned to episodes on more 80s fantasy and Rocketeer content coming soon! 

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #178: Reworking An Old Track – “There Is Magic Inside” Take 2, Part 2

Episode #178: Reworking An Old Track – “There Is Magic Inside” Take 2, Part 2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast178_201901/Podcast%20178.mp3

This week, we’re continuing work on an old track from episode 115 that I never really finished that we returned to last week.  Entitled “There is Magic Inside,” it is supposed to be quiet yet hopeful, building in complexity as it progresses to reflect Aurora’s growing appreciation and understanding of magic in one of The Thirteenth Hour sequels.  Today, we add a synth lead. I ended up shelving the guitar part I had originally.

If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!

You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.

Also check out this new track from Starfarer, who was on the show back in episode 143.  Stay tuned for an upcoming t-shirt contest!

Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify!  Check it out.

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #177: “Arcade Days” Release and Reworking An Old Track – “There Is Magic Inside” Take 2

Episode #177: “Arcade Days” Release and Reworking An Old Track – “There Is Magic Inside” Take 2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast177_201812/podcast%20177.mp3

Perhaps by the time you’re listening to this show, “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year will be out (it releases 1/1/19 at 12:30 AM).   Happy 2019!

Check out Jeff’s portfolio here.   See the links below for more of his work.  If you’d like one of his Starseed patches for your own, check out his etsy site.

You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.

I also started work on an old track from episode 115 that I never really finished.  I’ve always been meaning to get back to it since it never quite sounded right.  I did some retooling of it on Auxy as well as experimenting with a lead on the keyboard.  Stay tuned for more next week as well.

Also check out this new track from Starfarer, who was on the show back in episode 143.  Stay tuned for an upcoming t-shirt contest!

Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify!  Check it out.

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #176: Jeff Finley Returns to Discuss the Making of “Arcade Days” – a Synth Tribute to 80s Video Games

Episode #176: Jeff Finley Returns to Discuss the Making of “Arcade Days” – a Synth Tribute to 80s Video Games

https://archive.org/download/Podcast176_201812/Podcast%20176.mp3

Way back in episode 101 and 102, writer and musician Jeff Finley came on the show, and today he returns to discuss a project we’ve been engaged in for the past year. It all started sometime after we last talked – when he, Brent Simon, and I decided to work on a music project together (see Episodes 109, 110, and 111 for Brent’s interviews on this show).  Brent had sent us a bunch of old unfinished tracks, and we eventually took ideas he had started and created a song inspired by a few of the demo tracks.  This podcast episode is mostly about that process, as well as the creation of the music video that accompanies the track.  Both will be released 1/1/19 on Jeff’s Starbound Renegade profile (see links below).  We also touch on a number of other topics besides music and the creative process, including the state of social media and finding oneself.

Check out Jeff’s portfolio here.   See the links below for more of his work.  If you’d like one of his Starseed patches for your own, check out his etsy site.

Here are some of the pictures making up the pixelart music video accompanying the song.  Making these pictures actually turned out to be a lot of fun!  I was influenced by a number of 80s films and cartoons, like The Last Starfighter, Voltron, and Robotech (more below in the credits section).

 

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You can find more pictures and preview clips on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #124: The Robocop Show (30th Anniversary Tribute with Jeremy and Brent Simon)

Episode #124: The Robocop Show (30th Anniversary Tribute with Jeremy and Brent Simon)

https://archive.org/download/Podcast124RobocopShow/Podcast%20124%20Robocop%20Show.mp3

Last show of the year! Happy holidays! Brent Simon and my brother, Jeremy, came on the show this week to cap off 2017 to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1987 film, Robocop.  We also touch on the recent remake and a number of other things from the era, like some Saturday morning cartoons (there was a trend of making kids’ cartoons out of hyper violent 80s action films, like Conan, Chuck Norris flicks, Rambo, and, of course, Robocop – click on the highlighted links or the pics below for youtube clips of the show intros).

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The original Robocop was an interesting film in many ways since it was sort of aimed at kids … yet not (in that it was over the top violent and barely squeaked by an R rating)! However, robots were all the rage at the time.  Kids, adults, we all loved them.  Remember that this was the age of super robots cartoons (Transformers, Gobots, Robotech, Voltron, M.A.S.K., and a skew of others, mostly from Japan that didn’t get as much exposure here in the US) and ones in films like Star Wars, Short Circuit, and Terminator.

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We also covered a number of Robocop spin offs, like the games and some crossover comics.  Jeremy, who has encyclopedic knowledge of comic books and is behind the Classic Batman Panels Instagram page, contributed a lot of great info on the show about comic crossovers (many of whom were published by Dark Horse), including the Robocop / Terminator miniseries written by Frank Miller.

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Of course, one must check out the AVGN videos on the games spawned by the Robocop franchise.

The originals for the NES looked pretty shite.  In this epsiode the AVG Nerd also comments on the interesting 80s/90s phenomenon of making kids games’ out of R rated movies.

The Robocop v Terminator SNES game looks like it might have been ok to while away a few hours.

I originally intended to purchase a used gas blowback airsoft replica of Robocop’s auto 9 machine pistol on eBay for the show and include a video clip of it letting loose like in the movie but decided against it when I saw the price tag. 🙂   Ganking a clip off youtube was much cheaper!

(The auto 9, as a heavily modified Beretta 93R, doesn’t actually exist in real life, so a replica is the closest you can get if you want to legally own something like in the movie.  Even so, a gas blowback airsoft pistol will still set you back ~200 USD.  If you are in the States, a retailer like Airsoft Atlanta is a good option, and you won’t have to pay international shipping charges.  However, the latter may be worth it in some cases.  The HK retailer Redwolf Airsoft has a good selection and generally reasonable prices.)

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This pixelart animation of Lara Croft for the Tomb Raider game I intended to make once upon a time shows her shooting an auto 9.

Find more Brent Simon here (parts 1 , 2 , and 3 here) or on Jeff Finely‘s channel (below, Brent’s interview and Jeff’s – they were both multipart episodes, and Jeff compiled them into these videos):

A day in the life of Brent Simon, “The Brentumentary,” done by Jeff, and Brent current project, Aerial Focused.

Giveaway:

Nirvana Pilot Yume is a recently release PC game now available on Steam created to answer the question: what happened if the 1993 space racing MS-DOS game, Skyroads, were a visual novel with 80s anime visuals and a synthwave soundtrack?

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The team who created it, Dev9k, came on the show last week (12/18/17) to talk about their influences and have graciously supplied a free copy of the game for a lucky entrant into this contest!  It will go on until next week. 

Happy holidays.  See you in the New Year!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!  Thanks for coming on the show, Brent!  It was a pleasure!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #111: Musician and Aerial Video Producer Brent Simon Comes on the Show Part 3 of 3

Episode #111: Brent Simon – Musician and Aerial Video Producer, Part 3 of 3

https://archive.org/download/Podcast111_201709/podcast%20111.mp3

Two weeks ago, we started our three part Brent Simon series (listen to parts 1 and 2 here), and this week, we wrap up by discussing what Brent has been up to in the last 11 years, which it turns out – quite a bit.  Check out his further forays into filmaking with the Slow Mutants (a short behind the scenes clip here) and his current project, Aerial Focused.

In case you missed the backstory, in the beginning of the summer, during the interview with Jeff Finley (episodes 101 and 102), we talked about Jeff’s making of a little documentary that rocketed to the forefront of Youtube back in 2006 featuring none other than current guest Brent Simon.  In episode 109, we talked about the making of that short film (called “The Brentumentary,”) as well as the media explosion that happened afterwards resulting in a CD of synthesizer tunes.  Brent sent me a number of files of song ideas, demos, and completed tracks that weren’t on the CD.  You can hear part of one (about collecting lottery tickets) at the end of this track.

You can also see Brent’s drone coverage of the 8/21/17 solar eclipse on his Aerial Focused youtube channel here:

 

More aerial footage is on the main Aerial Focused channel here.  The really cool thing about some of the vids there is they aren’t just videos of the aircraft on the ground – they were filmed in the air, so as one aircraft is flying, you can see it in-pursuit-style, filmed by a drone!  There’s also a really cool one of what a motorcross looks like from up high.

If you’re interested in getting into drone or RC planes, the site Brent recommended is called Flitetest; look there for very reasonably priced model planes and drones with walkthrough build videos.  Wish this had been around when I was a kid!

Find more Brent by going to the original source on Jeff Finley’s youtube channel or on FB at https://www.facebook.com/Brent-Simon-355981196166/?ref=br_rs and, believe it or not, on myspace (https://myspace.com/brentsimon/music/songs) – the music still (sometimes) works there.

If you want to see a “live” performance (11 years ago), there’s a clip Jeff put up on his channel of Brent busting out a 20 min set with friends with a number of songs from the CD (not to mention a short breakdancing bit on cardboard, no less):

 

And speaking of which, check out Jeff’s Soundcloud page for a number of new tracks he’s produced since coming on the show at the beginning of the summer.  His latest instrumental chillwave track:

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!  Thanks for coming on the show, Brent!  It was a pleasure!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #110: Musician and Aerial Video Producer Brent Simon Comes on the Show Part 2 of 3

Episode #110: Brent Simon – Musician and Aerial Video Producer, Part 2 of 3

https://archive.org/download/Podcast110_201709/podcast%20110.mp3

Update: Click this link above if you are finding iTunes is playing episode 74 instead.  Trying to work out the glitch!

Last week, we had our first episode of Brent Simon’s interview, and this week, we discuss things like bittorrent, movie that were probably inappropriate to be shown to children (but were), how we went around humming John Williams scores as kids, and more.  Lots of 80s movies references in this one!

In case you missed the backstory, in the beginning of the summer, during the interview with Jeff Finley (episodes 101 and 102), we talked about Jeff’s making of a little documentary that rocketed to the forefront of Youtube back in 2006 featuring none other than current guest Brent Simon.  Last week, we talked about the making of that short film (called “The Brentumentary,”) as well as the media explosion that happened afterwards resulting in a CD of synthesizer tunes.  It’s, unfortunately, really hard to find now for some reason.  I did manage to track down a copy of another CD Brent talked about last week, the infamously named “Vomit Gold” by the band he was in prior to all this happening, Bellevue:

You can hear Brent’s synthesizer action in the background just like he mentioned last week.  I’ll figure out how to get it to Brent.  Of all people, he should own this disc.

Speaking of musical things, at one point, Brent references a childhood favorite track, which was a disco version of the Star Wars theme.  I’m not sure this is the same one, but here’s one I did find a medley version on youtube, which has the main theme, the cantina theme, and a bit of the Force theme.

 

We also discuss the notable lack of the Voltron theme in the new reboot, Tranzor Z (finally learned what that robot was called; see below), Transformers, Robotech, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, Prince Valiant (watch the intro here; always thought this was a kickass intro – the full song was done who the synth duo Exchange), and more.  We touch on a few movies my brother I rewatched a number of months ago (discussed in episodes 74 and 75) as well as a full discussion of some classic movie scores by folks such as James Horner (The Rocketeer, Willow,  The Journey of Natty Gann, etc).

Image result for tranzor z

Click on the picture for the original Japanese intro, which, true to form given the time period, has men singing in the background.

Find more Brent by going to the original source on Jeff Finley’s youtube channel or on FB at https://www.facebook.com/Brent-Simon-355981196166/?ref=br_rs and, believe it or not, on myspace (https://myspace.com/brentsimon/music/songs) – the music still (sometimes) works there.

At the end of the show, there a clip of one of the songs from Brent’s “Seven of Nine” CD, a very catchy tune with clever lyrics called “Alien Abduction.”  If you want to see a “live” performance (11 years ago), there’s a clip Jeff put up on his channel of Brent busting out a 20 min set with friends with a number of songs from the CD (not to mention a short breakdancing bit on cardboard, no less):

 

And speaking of which, check out Jeff’s Soundcloud page for a number of new tracks he’s produced since coming on the show at the beginning of the summer.  His latest instrumental chillwave track:

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!  Next week more on Brent Simon!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #109: Musician and Aerial Video Producer Brent Simon Comes on the Show Part 1 of 3

Episode #109: Brent Simon – Musician and Aerial Video Producer, Part 1 of 3

https://archive.org/download/Podcast109_201709/podcast%20109.mp3

In the beginning of the summer, during the interview with Jeff Finley (episodes 101 and 102), we talked about Jeff’s making of a little documentary that rocketed to the forefront of Youtube back in 2006 featuring none other than Brent Simon.  For the next three weeks, he’ll be on the show!

Today, we’re hearing from Brent as he talks about the making of the Brentumentary, how he got into music and playing live, as well as the recording of his CD (in a strange twist of fate, the only actual place I could find to access this CD was through Napster!  There must be other venues out there – anyone know of one?)

File Sep 09, 11 59 22 PMFile Sep 09, 11 59 59 PM

You can preview the journey by reading Jeff’s words (or just listen to him reminisce about it on the previous episodes).  Brent also talks about gear, which is a Roland Fantom model FA76 synth (which you can still find, by the way).

At the end of this week’s show, Brent references the lyrics from “The Bittorrent Song,” the lyrics of which you can find here:

File Sep 10, 12 25 57 AM.jpeg

Hear a clip of Brent jamming out with full synth action at the end of the podcast (from this CD)!

Find more Brent by going to the original source on Jeff Finley’s youtube channel or on FB at https://www.facebook.com/Brent-Simon-355981196166/?ref=br_rs and, believe it or not, on myspace (https://myspace.com/brentsimon/music/songs) – the music still (sometimes) works there.

If you want to see a “live” performance (11 years ago), there’s a clip Jeff put up on his channel of Brent busting out a 20 min set with friends with a number of songs from the CD (not to mention a short breakdancing bit on cardboard, no less):

 

And speaking of which, check out Jeff’s Soundcloud page for a number of new tracks he’s produced since coming on the show at the beginning of the summer.  His latest instrumental chillwave track:

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!  Next week more on Brent Simon!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #102: Con’t Conversation with Author, Artist, Musician, and Filmmaker Jeff Finley Part 2/2

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #102: Con’t Conversation with Author, Musician, and Filmmaker Jeff Finley Part 2/2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast102_201707/Podcast%20102.mp3

Jeff Finley is back this week to pick up where we left off.  If you happened to miss last week’s show, find episode 101 here.

Today, we talk about a lot of fun things – e.g. travelling in a new country and discovering not only new cultures, foods, and languages but aspects of yourself that come from putting yourself outside your comfort zone.  Travel naturally does this, as we’ve talked about before, fine tuning your senses and kicking you out of whatever routine day-to-day stuff you have going on.  There definitely comes a point when that gets to be too much of a good thing (as Jeff discusses here and on his blog), but like a spice, sprinkled here and there, it can do wonders for keeping things interesting in your life.

We also get to learn more about Jeff’s long career as a music producer (see below) as well as how he got into bboying.  It’s so rare that I find someone with as many diverse interests that it was such a pleasure to discuss these aspects of creative life with Jeff.

Check out Jeff’s portfolio here.   If you’d like one of this patches for your own, check out his etsy site.

Click on the covers of Jeff’s below to find a copy of your own.

Image result for thread's not dead  Image result for jeff finley astral projection

Social Media Links:

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Just for podcast listeners!  Get early access to a new upcoming EP, called Between Two Worlds, the sequel to Long Ago Not So Far Away.  Go here to download the album:

http://bit.ly/2txyAaM

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

The album will be available for one month (until 8/10/17).  The access code is on episode 100 at ~31:30.

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #101: A Conversation with Author, Artist, Musician, and Filmmaker Jeff Finley Part 1/2

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #101: A Conversation with Author, Musician, and Filmmaker Jeff Finley Part 1/2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast101_201707/Podcast%20101.mp3

For the next two weeks, we’ll be having a special guest on the show, so please welcome Jeff Finley!

I first came across his work when he and his friends made a little documentary about their friend, keyboardist and bit-torrent user extraordinaire, Brent Simon, back in 2006, when Youtube was just in its infancy.   (Believe it or not, you can still listen to a few of his songs on myspace).  It was a fine example of “day-in-the-life” style indie film making.  Brent was not only a captivating subject, but he was unabashedly himself, much to the delight of the many people who saw the film, identified with his interests (the original PSP, computers, bittorrent, Spacecamp, synthesizer music, etc), and propelled him to stardom.  If you’re interested in any of those things, you can and should watch (or rewatch) the film by clicking on the screen shot below.  Brent, if you ever come across this, know you’ll always have a warm welcome on the show.

Capture

Brent rocks out without looking at the keys.

Jeff served at Brent’s manager while continuing to pursue his own projects, which spanned a variety of fields, many of which we discussed on the show, such as writing a successful book on creating a t-shirt business (see Thread’s Not Dead below) and starting the creation of the Weapons of Mass Creation multimedia art festival (still going on today).

Of course, if you talk to many a creative soul, they’ll often tell you that making art isn’t “work” in the traditional sense.  It certainly can be hard, time consuming, and frustrating – don’t get me wrong – but it’s yours.  The “work” part comes from getting other people to notice and/or care, and for many, the business and promotion inevitably leads to disillusionment and/or burnout with the whole process.  We talked about this, too, and Jeff shared how those experiences led him to adopt a slower pace more in tune with maintaining a more centered existence.

Since the recording went on for about 90 minutes, I’ve broken the interview into two parts since there was a natural transition about halfway.  This week, we’ll focus on Jeff’s filmmaking days, his time with Brent, and experiences starting his own business, writing books, and repairing his mental health by getting back in touch with the important things in life.

AS you might imagine from the title image above, he is a skilled artist in many ways, so check out his portfolio here as well as the patches he sells (click on the picture below to go to his etsy site).  We’ll talk more about them at the start of next week’s show.

Astral Traveler Patch - Metaphysical Fashion Accessory - 3

We’ll also touch on travel, Jeff’s own music, and breakdancing next week, so in the meantime, check out some of his books and music.

Click on the covers of Jeff’s below to find a copy of your own.

Image result for thread's not dead  Image result for jeff finley astral projection

Social Media Links:

To be continued next week!

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Just for podcast listeners!  Get early access to a new upcoming EP, called Between Two Worlds, the sequel to Long Ago Not So Far Away.  Go here to download the album:

http://bit.ly/2txyAaM

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

The album will be available for one month (7/10-8/10/17).  The access code is on episode 100 at ~31:30.

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #100: A Trip Down Memory Lane with an Old Ideas Notebook and New EP

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #100: A Trip Down Memory Lane with an Old Ideas Notebook and New EP

https://archive.org/download/Podcast100_201707/Podcast%20100.mp3

I recently uncovered an old notebook that had ideas for a Thirteenth Hour game (which I wrote about here).  Since I was trying to do it from the ground up, I wrote a number of songs (or at least tried to, anyway).  I also found an old animation sequence of Logan flying Lightning through a rising sun cloudscape.

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Those images must have inspired these ones:

Episode 100 also marks somewhat of an occasion.  Podcast listeners get early access to a new upcoming EP, called Between Two Worlds, the sequel to Long Ago Not So Far Away.  Go here to download the album:

http://bit.ly/2txyAaM

The album will be available for one month (7/10-8/10/17).  The access code is on the podcast (you can skip to 31:30 for the code).

Coming next week, we’ll have artist, musician, and filmmaker: Jeff Finley.  His documentary about his friend Brent Simon, who sang songs about Spacecamp, means that there’s only one thing to be done sometime in the near future: rewatch the 1986 film, Spacecamp, and do an episode on it. And if that happens will Howard the Duck be far behind? Until then, we’ll be hearing from Jeff soon.

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #99: Reflection on Rewatching Back to the Future

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #99: Reflection on Rewatching Back to the Future

https://archive.org/download/Podcast99_201706/Podcast%2099.mp3


In today’s show, I’m talking about something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time – rewatch Back to the Future, one of my favorite movies of all time.  As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes I’ve deferred rewatching the films I loved as a kid in the event  time rendered them in a more negative light.  “I’d rather remember you the way you were back then,” I’d rationalize to myself, not without some melodrama, and put the movie back on the shelf.  

Which is, of course, ridiculous, since part of the draw of any good story is its ability to be appreciated on multiple levels, by multiple ages.  And despite knowing this, I still sometimes wanted to protect my childhood favorites.  

I need not have worried with Back to the Future.  If anything, rewatching BTTF was like tasting a fine wine that’s been left to age a few more decades in the casket.  One taste reminds you of everything you’ve missed, sweeted by time.  And you think to yourself, “Why did I wait so long?”  

Truth be told, BTTF has had over thirty years to let the embers of time add to its flavor.  So there were a number of layers to the film that I couldn’t have appreciated as a child of 8 or 9.  The teenage mix of independence, idealism, and bravado to hide the yearning for unconditional love and acceptance.  The wall of middle age, with its inevitable disappointments and losses, that has dulled the keen blade of adolescence to a blunted, beveled edge.  The lonely journey of the scientist, plodding away amid failure after failure with only the glimmer of rare success to guide the way.  The social commentary on gender roles and racial stereotypes.  The multigenerational themes that get passed from parent to child.  It’s all there, though I missed it the first few times around.

I also was surprised to see how much the Marty McFly character influenced the creation of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour.  I initially thought he was kind of like a young Indiana Jones type (like the character portrayed by Patrick Flannery).  Then after rewatching The Rocketeer, I was impressed how much Cliff Secord there was in him. And now, after rewatching BTTF, I can’t help but recognize how much Marty there is in his DNA.  Not surprising since The Thirteenth Hour paid homage to these films in various ways.  But I just forget all the myriad ways the films permeated the fabric of the manuscript from the very beginning.

In any event, speaking of beginnings, episode 100 is coming next week, and shortly thereafter, we’ll have artist, musician, and filmmaker: Jeff Finley.  His documentary about his friend Brent Simon, who sang songs about Spacecamp, means that there’s only one thing to be done sometime in the near future: rewatch the 1986 film, Spacecamp, and do an episode on it. And if that happens will Howard the Duck be far behind? Until then, we’ll be hearing from Jeff soon.  

Episode 100 will have more details about an upcoming EP, the sequel to Long Ago Not So Far Away.  Podcast listeners get first dibs!  Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.  

Check it out!

Starving Artist Section: Rewardable TV

This app for iOS and Android is a remarkably stable but passive way to earn some cash online by viewing short videos or animated gifs. Check out the link below for more info:

http://dl.rewardable.com/

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #98: The Thirteenth Hour Sequel Updates

Episode #98: The Thirteenth Hour Sequel Updates – Fanciful Fantasy Vehicles and Zork Choose Your Own Adventure Style Reading

https://archive.org/download/Podcast98_20170625/Podcast%2098.mp3

In today’s show, I’m talking about some previews coming from a draft I’m working on for the sequel(s) to The Thirteenth Hour, some of which takes place in a technologically advanced world with strange aspects of future life, like fanciful ways to get around.

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A vapor rider is basically a magic powered boat with hydrofoils that allows it to skim across the surface of the water.

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A cloud rider is magic powered flying wing to skim above the clouds.

You can see both vapor riders and cloud riders in the title graphic above.

Over the next few months, we’ll occasionally be reading from these old Zork stories, which essentially function as Choose Your Own Adventure style game books.  Just like that series, there are decision points requiring you to go to different points in the book and black and white inked illustrations for many of the pages.  I think these books are long out of print, but click on the image of the book below to see if you can find a used copy of your own.

The synthesizer music in between the sequel updates and the Zork reading is courtesy of Brent Simon, an internet sensation from the mid 2000s (yes, his music clips from his old MySpace age still miraculously work).  You’ll hear more about him in a few weeks.  Jeff Finley, who made a documentary about his friend that made it big a number of years ago, will be coming on the show in a few weeks!

Speaking of music, episode 100 will have more details about an upcoming EP, the sequel to Long Ago Not So Far Away.  Podcast listeners get first dibs!  Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.  Check it out!

 

As always, thanks for listening!

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