Tag: Geek

The Summer 2025 Preview!

by Waifusandweeaboos

Spring is over and Summer time is already here! (Yes this episode is late)

In an attempt to try something new…I have well tried something new for this Summer Review. Any feedback would be appreciated.

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The Spring 2023 Anime Review Episode!

by Waifusandweeaboos

Spring is finally over and Summer is here! But what anime from Spring were Fantastic and what were Flops. Tune into this episode of the Waifusandweeaboos Podcast as I go over 33 different anime from the Spring 2023 season!

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Waifus and Weeaboos Episode 50: The Fall 2021 Preview Episode!

by Waifusandweeaboos

On this episode of Waifusandweeaboos we take a look at every anime that will be airing in Fall 2021!

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SDCC 2017: ‘Cosmunity’ App Provides New Platform for Geeking Out

by Courtney Dossett

During San Diego Comic Con, I got to sit down with the Cole Egger (CEO), and Zac Cooner (COO) to talk about their new geek app, Cosmunity. Cosmunity, which came out in February, allows you to follow your fandoms, find friends and events interested in the same fandoms all from one focused, convenient app.

So why use Cosmunity instead of just joining Facebook groups?

“It really comes down to having a more focused platform, where there are no other distractions from your fandoms.” says Zac, “When you step into Cosmunity, you step into a new world entirely, whereas on Facebook groups, you’re still in Facebook so you’re gonna get baby photos, your grandma’s status updates, news about Donald Trump, and you don’t get that on Cosmunity. In Cosmunity you’re focused on fandoms.”

There are so many different communities you can join. If you don’t see yours you can still create your own!

It also gives you a degree of anonymity; we all have those people we meet and connect with at conventions, but we aren’t sure that we want them to be able to see EVERYTHING on our social media profiles. With Cosmunity, acquaintances can only see a limited amount of information that you provide, instead of being able to see all your family members, embarrassing photos and statuses from years ago.

But what about my close friends that I want to connect and share with on the app? Fear not, by early August, you should be able to find your friends within the Cosmunity app by sharing your contact lists, so you can all geek out together.

One thing that seemed particularly interesting was their promotional show.

“We’re starting a reality show called “Making the Con” where we capture the stories of all the individuals who come to the conventions, tapping into what drives them to be here.” said Zac, “Not just their times at the convention, but also leading up to the con, so all the blood sweat and tears that go into cosplay, budgeting to come, and what goes into. Cons are quite expensive, so there’s a lot of information that goes into coming.”

“One of the stories that I saw that I like, are all the SyFy buses branded with quotes, and one of them is “saved all year to sleep at Hall H”. And I think that is really representative of the community, and the time commitment that goes into “making the con” that some people don’t understand or pay attention to.” said Cole, “But there are so many unique stories and efforts that go into making conventions, not only SDCC but over 900 cons nation wide.”

You can share your tips and tricks for the best con experience on the app, by uploading links and content directly to your Cosmunity profile, and there are plans for integrating with other apps in the future.

Cosmunity also lets you look at local events in your area, so you can find a Dungeons and Dragons night at a local comic shop, or an anime fan club meetup, where you can meet and make new friends within your fandom community.

The focus on fandom communities also makes a perfect platform for fandom marketplaces, so vendors and artists can tout their wares directly to the fans who appreciate them the most.

Just click on “Listings” at the top of the screen in your fandom to see everything for sale.

 “These are showcased within the particular fandom, so you don’t have to go searching for them on giant site of unrelated content.” said Cole. “It also benefits the vendors and artists because they don’t have to pay a fee in order to sell their products in that focused community platform, 100% of the money they make goes to the artists.”  Compare this to Etsy, which costs $0.20 to post an item and then a 3.5% transaction fee, PayPal which takes $0.30 plus 2.9% of the transaction, and eBay, which takes 10%, and it already becomes a great option for creators.

Download Cosmunity and let us know what you think of it in the comments below!

We Recap Comikaze 2015’s ‘Spark Your Creativity’ Panel

by Kari Lane

Have you ever had an idea for a project but just did not know where to start? Has not knowing how to proceed stopped you from working on creative projects? Then the ‘Spark Your Creativity’ panel at Comikaze is just for you. Here is a recap on the helpful and informative panel that was lead by accomplished female creators. Do not worry guys, this is for you as well.

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What made you a creator?

Emily Blake – She was tired of writing and having it go into the void, so she recommended making projects yourself.
Jenna Busch – She was tired of not being able to say the things she wanted to about feminism.
America Young – She was tired of seeing so much talent around her that was not working and decided “…let’s start making stuff.”
Miley Yamamoto – Added that for her, it was the diversity angle. There are so many roles for Asians that are all unnamed characters such as Nurse #1.

Tips to getting started.

Holly Payne – “…find your audience and target them.” You want to build a community because they will be the ones who support your project. Make sure to use social media. She concluded with saying, “Dedicate yourself completely and fully and to surround yourself with like-minded people.”
Jenna Busch – Gave the hard but important advice of, “Grow a thick skin.” She went on to say that if you have a vision to stick with it and she jokingly, but at the same time, seriously said, “Don’t read the comments.”
Melanie Recker – Find out what makes you tick and be true to what matters to you. Finding out what is most important to you can spark your creativity.
Emily Blake – Collaboration. She went on to say that if you don’t know about everything find others and work together. “Surround yourself with people who know what to do.” For example, if you do not know how to work a camera, you find a cinematographer.
Miley Yamamoto – Added that projects like the 48 Hour Film Festival are great because you can join a team and learn by hands on experience. If you want to do hosting, just start filming and upload to YouTube.
America Young – You will be there at the beginning, middle and end so you must love what you are working on.
Stephanie Pressman – Your first project doesn’t have to be good and then you will get better.
Jenna Busch – Don’t stare at a blank page. You can even just start writing a grocery list. Action leads to more action.
Holly Payne – First thing every morning write for 10 minutes. Just like you have to exercise your body, you need to exercise your mind.
Melanie Recker – Find a designer. Make friends with someone who will be able to communicate your vision.

Resources

Jenna Busch – Work on your twitter account to develop a social media presence. She added that she has gotten jobs through Twitter. Look at the work you like and why you like it, then communicate through twitter to ask questions.
Holly Payne – We have broader access than ever before. Find your audience and reach out to them. Communicate.
Kristen Nedopak – Get out in the world. We are always online and often stay in our own little space. Find people who do what you want and connect with them.
Miley Yamamoto – Google is your friend. You can find images to convey what you’re thinking. Do your homework. Those images can help inspire your team.
Heidi Cox – Bring on people who can add to your ideas.
Holly Payne – Make sure what you do is legal. With licensed products you have to check. Be careful not to steal ideas. Do your homework.
Stephanie Pressman – The companies that own those licensed products can sometimes help so make sure to do your homework.
Jenna Busch – Always worth asking.

Q&A

Was there ever a time you lost confidence in your work and what did you do about it?

Jenna Busch – Became involved in Gamergate when she started her project and received death threats. Then she read Felicia Day’s post about never giving up. Jenna suggested to look at what the project means to you, step away, and take a break. “If it feels like it’s time to give it up, you’ll know.”
Heidi Cox – Delete bad comments. If you have something to say, say it! If no one sees it, who cares? You got it out there.
America Young – People need to earn their opinion. If some troll with no credibility says something, ignore it. However, sometimes they may be right. If someone you respect gives you advice then you should listen to it.
Melanie Recker – Only listen to the really close people in your life.
Miley Yamamoto – Had a scary experience and it’s hard when you are threatened. It took her a long time to recover but she feels stronger now. Use a PO Box!

Copyright

Look into it because it could be public domain.
You cannot sell it if it is licensed but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it.
Do your research.
See if you can get an option. Ask because you never know. If you are passionate about a project, you can possibly get the rights for next to nothing. For example, Stephen King has sold the rights to some of his projects for only $1.

Resources

msinthebiz.com
Chicks Who Script (podcast)
onlinefilmschoolbootcamp.com
fiverr.com
tweepy.org
SAG Indie (free workshops once a month)

I hope the advice above inspires you. Also, all of the panelists encouraged communication with them. They all want to help you so you do not have to go through what they have. Reach out, make friends and start creating!

Geekscape Interviews: Missy Suicide on the SuicideGirls, Blackheart Burlesque, and Comic-Con (Photos NSFW)

by Kari Lane

The stereotype of the unattractive/bland female nerd/geek has been changing quite a bit. One group that shows you can be sexy and a geek is the SuicideGirls. They put on a titillating burlesque show at San Diego Comic-Con and I was able to speak with Missy Suicide who founded the SuicideGirls in 2001!

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What is it like working for SuicideGirls?

It is a dream come true, an all consuming dream that takes a ton of work, but a dream none the less. I still come to work everyday with a smile on my face and love what I do. Our brand encompasses so much, there is always something new and interesting and challenging to work on. Whether it is the Burlesque Tour, booking it, promoting it or coming up with new numbers. Working on a new movie or going through the site to find interesting blogs, group topics or events to feature on the main page of the site. Meeting girls who are visiting from around the world. Arranging to go to a shootfest in a fabulous foreign location with dozens of girls or trying to convince Cameron Stewart that now is the time to write the next SuicideGirls comic book. Or the 3 million other things that encompasses a day, it is all a fun and interesting challenge.

For those who may not know, what is SuicideGirls?

We’re a group of girls who have been publishing provocative nude photos online since 2001. We celebrate a different kind of beauty than what you see in the rest of media. There are about 3000 SuicideGirls and we have about 15 million followers across our social media accounts. We publish books, we make movies, comic books, and we put on the most popular burlesque show in the history of the United States.

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You have a burlesque show at Comic-Con. Why don’t you tell me about that? What brought SuicideGirls to San Diego Comic-Con?

We have been coming to Comic-Con for almost a decade now. We are always super excited to do Comic-Con every year. It is the most fun show as it brings so many true fans together from around the world. It is people who love geek culture in all forms, pop culture, comics, cosplay, gaming and everyone exists together in this happy utopia for 5 days. It’s insanely crowded but everyone is so cool to one another it isn’t overwhelming. You can kind of just get caught up in the flow of things and know that no matter where you look there will be something amazing to see, a girl dressed up like She Hulk, The Lego Booth, Black Milk booth, your favorite comic artist or the cast of Game of Thrones just walking by, there really are no wrong turns at Comic-Con.

We try to bring our A game to Comic-Con. We try out more numbers and dancers at Comic-Con than we do on our Fall Tour, so the show is a bit longer and more involved than our touring show. It’s also a bit more unpolished and we bring some geekier themes to see how the audience reacts. The energy of the Comic-Con crowd is not easily duplicated. It is one of our favorite shows to play all year.

What is different about the SuicideGirls’ burlesque show vs traditional burlesque shows?

The SuicideGirls: Blackheart Burlesque show is a pop culture themed show. Each number is our homage to something that we geek out about movies, tv shows, comic books, video games, you name it. It takes the same sexy spirit of classic burlesque and updates it with a kick ass, eclectic, modern soundtrack and highly choreographed routines from some of the most gorgeous unique beauties on the planet. It is impossible to leave without a smile.

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How long have the SuicideGirls been doing burlesque?

In the same way the photos on suicidegirls.com take the sexy spirit of classic pin-up photos and creates a modern version of femininity; we wanted to put our own spin on classic burlesque and bring the same confident energy that we conveyed in our images to life through our geeky, fun filter. When we first put out our SuicideGirls Burlesque tour in 2003, we were the only people who were doing non-traditional, non-old fashioned burlesque on a large scale. We were excited to put on a sexy performance that didn’t involve feather boas and songs like Hey Big Spender. We wanted to use modern music and references to modern pop-culture but still put on a show in the spirit of old time burlesque. Now, a dozen years later, there are a lot more non traditional burlesque acts around, and some of them are doing really fun and different kinds of shows. The Star Wars Burlesque is a great example of just how diverse and non traditional the Burlesque scene has become. Also, look at the spectacle performers like Lady Gaga put on at live shows. People have seen a lot and it’s much harder to show them something that really feels new and original. So, clever Quentin Tarantino Burlesque numbers and a leather pants AC/DC striptease is just not enough to wow people these days. We really had to take the spirit of pop-culture modern burlesque that we pioneered over a decade ago and up the production values, sexiness and performances by a factor of ten. It’s the same kind of Burlesque show we used to do, but we have executed at a much higher level in almost every respect: dancer abilities, costumes, choreography, everything.

Where can people buy tickets?

They can buy tickets to the Fall US tour and our international shows here: http://blackheartburlesque.com

SuicideGirls attend conventions and often have a booth. How many conventions do they attend a year and which ones?

We attend quite a few comic and tattoo conventions throughout the year. Hell City, WonderCon, SDCC and so on. We go to about a dozen cons a year. We love coming to conventions and getting to meet our fans face to face. Plus we get to have our own fan girl moments at cons with the other exhibitors 🙂

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What other events are the SuicideGirls involved in?

We have the website, coffee table books, comic books, movies, merchandise, we attend conventions. Our Burlesque show is touring the country this Fall and playing a few international shows as well.

Where can people learn more about suicide girls and their events?

People can follow us in social media
facebook.com/suicidegirls
instagram.com/suicidegirls
twitter.com/SuicideGirls
suicidegirls.tumblr.com
@SuicideGirls on periscope,
twitch, snap chat, vine, et all

You can find all of our tour dates at blackheartburlesque.com
Of course go to suicidegirls.com to keep up on all of our goings on!

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Anything you would like to add?

I think that covers it!

Thank you!
These ladies are phenomenal dancers! Their burlesque show definitely has a modern/edgy feel to it. The choreography is impressive; the group numbers and the solo performances are fantastic! The other thing I admired was when the show was getting started, host Katherine Suicide talked about what the photography/video recording rules were for the evening and her co-host Sunny Suicide interrupted saying that the audience could take pictures or videos of anything. Sunny went on to say that not all the angles and lighting would be flattering to the girls but that it was okay because they are all real women. These ladies are so comfortable in their bodies and that is the real treasure of the show – to see their confidence and their joy while they do what they love.

Check Out ‘Gam3rs’ At The Hollywood Fringe Festival!

by Kari Lane

This is definitely a week to get your geek on! Tomorrow through Thursday is E3 and this weekend you can catch Gam3rs the play at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. I have seen the show a couple times and I love it!

gam3rsposter

Gam3rs a hilarious one man show about a guy stuck at his call center job, while he tries to lead an epic raid and is constantly interrupted by his coworker, boss and girlfriend; each conveyed entirely by his reactions (it is a one man show after all). Gam3rs is packed to capacity with nerd and geek pop culture references so everyone (especially readers of Geekscape) can relate to some part of it. Also, the show is still very amusing, even if you have never played a role playing game: we’ve all had that boss, that phone call with mom, or that conversation with a significant other that made the day that much more frustrating.

gam3rs

It is possible that this might be the last time that Brian Archer performs the role he created so make sure you check it out!

You can purchase tickets here.

Showtimes are:

Friday, June 13th at 7pm

Saturday, June 14th at 2pm

Sunday, June 15th at 7pm

Geekscape 312: Marisha Ray Gets Stalked!

by Jonathan

Actress and host Marisha Ray makes her much deserved Geekscape debut! She talks about her projects ‘Super Power Beat Down’ and ‘Batgirl: Spoiled’! And of course, because drama should follow any good actress, this could be the end of ‘Batgirl: Spoiled’ since Warner Bros just sent them a cease and desist! What are they going to do now!?! Also, how wearing a spirit hood absolutely makes you less of a man and Marisha and I review ‘Thor 2: The Dark World’!

Subscribe to the Geekscape podcast on iTunes!

And listen to the full conversation here:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:28 — 22.7MB)

Behind The Kickstarter Curtain: An Interview With ‘Fake Geek Girls’ Creator Sara Clarke

by CJC

Kickstarter can be a magical place of dreams coming true, thanks to the combination of the world’s creativity and generosity. One of the best parts is how you get to connect and share an experience with the creator, and the other backers. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to take that one step closer, and really get into the grit of some of the Kickstarters that peak my geek interest. During my explorations, I came across ‘Fake Geek Girls‘, a webseries project about a video-game designer and her booth babe friend, both trying to scrape along in the world of geeky femininity. Sara Clarke, creator and geek girl herself, graciously agreed to answer some of my questions about her web series project ‘Fake Geek Girls‘:

Let’s start at the very beginning: where were you born? No, okay. How about: where did the idea for Fake Geek Girls come from? Are there certain geek aspects of your life that you feed from?

About a year ago, I got really into the idea of writing about women in tech. I wrote a full length sitcom pilot about a young woman who gets a job as Employee Number One for a tech startup. While I was working on that, I’d hear my downstairs neighbors, who are actors, shooting their own videos and uploading them to the web and using them for their reels. The thing about spec sitcom pilots written by unknown screenwriters is that there is very little chance of them ever being produced. So I was sitting alone in my apartment tapping away at something I knew nobody would ever see, overhearing my neighbors actually make their own movies. Which is when it hit me — why not go down there and collaborate with them? Julie-Joy Voss, who plays Jessa in Fake Geek Girls, is one of those downstairs neighbors. I adapted my sitcom about startups into a web series about video games and geek culture in general, she called up a bunch of actor friends, we busted out the camera, and Fake Geek Girls was born.

Regarding geek aspects of my own life: I am a dyed in the wool sci fi TV/movie geek. Doctor Who, Star Trek, Firefly, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica. Buffy and Game Of Thrones, too, though they’re more fantasy. Anytime there’s a new SF series or franchise on the horizon my geek alarm goes off. Right now I’m really excited to see the Tomorrow People reboot the CW is doing. Unfortunately, it’s not really that interesting to make a web series about people who are really into a particular TV show, so I needed to pick a different aspect of geekdom for my characters to be obsessed with. Which is how video games happened. I’m a gamer, but not a very serious one. Luckily, Julie (the actress who plays Jessa and the producer of the show) has a serious Left For Dead habit, so we’ve got our console gamer bases covered. I’m also really into tabletop gaming and hope we can incorporate that into some future episodes.

Obviously, even from the title, you are commenting on the culture and stereotypes of the girl in geekdom. What do you feel these stereotypes are, and how do females perpetuate or fight against them?

It is really hard to be a girl geek. From both angles, actually, which I think is something that isn’t as talked about. There’s the issues that are being discussed a lot right now, of the way women get treated within geek culture, and inclusiveness, and needing women within the industries and franchises that make up geekdom (more female game designers, filmmakers, etc), and the fact that there’s no such thing as a “fake” geek. But from the other angle, as a female geek there’s also backlash from the “girl” side of the equation. I got made fun of constantly by other girls in school for being a Trekkie. Reading sci fi novels, playing Dungeons & Dragons, making video games, collecting comics, and activities like that aren’t really seen as appropriate hobbies for a girl. I think that’s why female geeks are in such an uproar about all this stuff. It’s like, we get excluded from mainstream culture just like male geeks do — if not more-so, as geeky stuff becomes more mainstream — and THEN we also get excluded from geek culture. So where do we go? I see a lot of the conversation about “geek girls” as being about women trying to carve out a space where we can be ourselves. It’s not so much about combating stereotypes as it is about just existing as we are.

With that in mind, what was the inspiration for the main characters?

I wanted to make kind of an “odd couple” comedy duo of geeky ladies. So you’ve got Jessa, the stereotypical nerd, a game designer, socially awkward, the person who you’d immediately recognize as a geek. Her foil is Kat, a booth babe, who at first you’d assume wasn’t a geek at all. But she’s just as into it as Jessa is, and in fact it’s Jessa who wants to go out on a Friday night while Kat wants to stay in and play video games. I was kind of envisioning Eddie and Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous, but into geeky stuff instead of fashion.

Did you always have Kickstarter in mind as a method of continuing the project?

Yes and no. I definitely wanted to make sure that we had an audience for the show, and Kickstarter is a great way of finding that out. You know people really want to see more when they’re willing to put in a little bit of cash. On the other hand, I didn’t think “Oooh, I know, let’s make a Kickstarter for a webseries!” The Kickstarter campaign came out of wanting to make sure there was really an audience for something like Fake Geek Girls. And we’re finding out that, yes, there sure is.

Where do you see Fake Geek Girls going from here?

Prime time! Just kidding. Fake Geek Girls was conceived very modestly. Our main goal with the first episode was to actually DO what Julie and I came to Los Angeles to do. In her case acting, and in my case writing. So in that sense, the show is already a huge success. Now that we’re finding an audience and gearing up to make more episodes, I’d like to get a little more ambitious in terms of the production value onscreen. We’d like to shoot some episodes on location, and we’d also like to have a better costume and prop budget so we can show off a little more of geek culture on the show. Cosplay isn’t cheap, unfortunately. I mean, I guess everyone hopes their webseries is going to make them famous, but personally I just want to keep making the show, and making it better.

What’s a dream location or gag you want to try with the show?

I’m trying to shoot an upcoming episode entirely on location in a comic shop. I won’t reveal which one, but it’s probably the coolest one in Los Angeles. I would also LOVE to shoot at a con but so far I haven’t found one nearby that would work in terms of our schedule. I would love to have the Season 2 finale be at Comic-Con, assuming we get a Season 2.

Let’s hear a funny story about filming the first episode.

We planned for Kat to have a bunch of really cool nerdy tattoos. I bought this expensive tattoo printing paper and spent an afternoon designing some stuff. Then, the morning of the shoot, when we were doing everyone’s costumes and makeup and all, it turned out that I hadn’t read the instructions for the tattoo paper and didn’t have one of the tools we needed. But we printed them anyway, put them on as best we could. And they looked great! That hour of hacking the fake tattoo process totally paid off! … But you can’t actually see them on camera, just due to a fluke of the angles we used. Whoops. Just know that Kat has some extremely bitchin’ tattoos, which hopefully you will see in an upcoming episode. It was a bonding experience, crammed into the bathroom in Julie’s apartment, sticking things to different parts of Katie, hoping it would look OK. And I learned that I am an extremely talented seat-of-your-pants improvisational makeup artist. Also, always read the directions BEFORE you’re actually on set!

Who would win in a fight: Altair or the Prince of Persia?

Hm. Assassin’s Creed is the first video game to make me REALLY wish I was a more serious gamer, so I’m going to have to say Altair. I love the whole aesthetic of the Assassins and the parkour stuff and basically I wish I could live inside that game. Also, I feel like in a fight Altair could probably sneak up on just about anyone and kick their ass before anyone knew he was there. That said, I bet Governor Elaine Marley from Monkey Island could teach him a thing or two. The Assassins don’t seem to have the wordplay angle happening much.

Thanks for this glimpse behind the Kickstarter curtain, Sara! You can find ‘Fake Geek Girls’ at their Kickstarter page, or you can even watch the whole pilot episode here. Personally, it’s a deliciously cute glimpse into two geeky lives, and you’ll probably feel quite accomplished when you’re done watching. See what I mean.

Also, donate. Please. Because she made a reference to Monkey Island and, how appropriate, you fight like a cow. (omg, why isn’t that up there in the fight question!)

Equip It! The Geek Glamour You Need In Your Life!

by CJC

With all the booming new stores on this little thing called the internet, it can be difficult to sort through all the possibilities for purchase. So let Geekscape be your guide. In the traditions of old, we’ll help you figure out what to take to make it a little less dangerous.

I spy with my little eye… something geeky. It must be Espionage Cosmetics. As their lineage page states, Espionage is the “brainchild of a certified MUD professional make-up artist and a gun-totin’ smokin’ hot Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps”. That’s a lot of badass right there to go with the sparkle. That should let you know that it’s perfectly okay to wear that flashy color, no matter your job. Unless you’re an actual spy. Then you probably want to be slightly more subtle. Or maybe you don’t. What do I know? There’s a spy themed set, so I suppose you can run wild, all you international information gatherers, you.

Espionage currently has 10 different geeky color sets, from “ice and fire” to “fps”, as well as prepared looks to peruse. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to wear something called “headshot”? If you don’t, send it my way (just not with a sniper rifle; I kind of need my head to, you know, wear the make-up). For the moment, all of the sets of four run at the medium range price of $28, somewhere in-between what you might find in other stores, depending on brand.

Right now — or, at least, for the next 24 hours — Espionage is also running a Kickstarter for its new line of wrap-on nail art; lucky for us, also in the geeky mindset. Having more than doubled its original goal, this Kickstarter is offering tremendous stretch goal prizes to anyone donating in the $100 racket or above, so this is the perfect time to sneak in there and get some beautiful Time Lord or Firefly art for your fingernails: it’ll spice up any cosplay, or just any day in general. Consummate professionals, the great minds behind Espionage have provided a themely video on how easy it is to apply their special brand of nail-art:

http://youtu.be/C3mfdxiDHH8

As it is, my lovelies, I haven’t gotten my hand — or fingernails, or eyeballs — on a set of this brand yet so there’s no personal review, but when I do you’ll be the first to know. Or, if you partake, please let us know in the comments section what you think and how the experience went!

Why You Need This: Because you want to feel geeky, oh so geeky, and be pretty while doing so. Or is it the other way around? Nevermind. The perfect fusion of femininity with geek-itude should easily convince any glam geek who’s into the make-up arts that Espionage Cosmetics has the right credentials for the job.

So, go forth and stay geeky, super spies!

Geekscape 302: It’s All About Videogames With Jake108!

by Jonathan

Jacob Lopez is Geekscape’s longest running videogame writer! Six years ago, Jacob (known as Jake108 around these parts) asked to do a preview of Halo 3 for the site and the rest is history. Now on the verge of GTA 5, Batman Arkham Origins and the rest of the Fall releases, Jake and I sit down to talk about what’s exciting and not so exciting. We also provide an update on the PS4 vs XBox One debate and discuss the drawbacks of buying on Day 1 Also, Josh Jackson calls in to offer his 2 cents on the debate and talk about why he’s not going to replay Wind Waker and a familiar Geekscapist calls in to talk about removing my skin! Yippee!

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:03:22 — 25.4MB)

Equip It! The Geeky ‘Star Wars’ Dress You Need

by CJC

With all the booming new stores on this little thing called the internet, it can be difficult to sort through all the possibilities for purchase. So let Geekscape be your guide. In the traditions of old, we’ll help you figure out what to take to make it a little less dangerous.

So, ladies first! Etsy hosts a barrage of personal sellers, including repurposefulPUNK, a store that turned over-sized retro t-shirts into glam geek dresses and dolman style shirts. Shorts, Stormtroopers, and Tardises were also on display. Currently, the store is on hiatus, but if you head over to the link then you might be able to grab the very last of the original listings, or contact the owner for a possible custom order.

Shipping is speedy (though keep in mind the hiatus now!) and friendly, and there was even a little extra surprise when I ordered; everything you could ever want out of an online shopping experience. When she was in full business, Carmen was loose and easy with the discounts and sales codes: a true giver.

star wars dressMy suggestion? This vintage Star Wars dress, fashioned out of an old t-shirt and fitted with comfortable bands at the sleeves and hem. Owning one myself, I can verify that the production is top-quality and the dress sinfully comfortable to wear; the material hugs but is slightly stretchy, so I never felt like I was about to flash anyone, but it also doesn’t bag too much in the flattering areas.

When I wore it, I got photographed and highlighted in a “geek chic” article during Star Wars Celebration in Florida. I do find I have a slight problem keeping the sleeves to stay up on my shoulders all the time, but that could depend on how you wear it. Be advised, the neckline is pretty wide.

The best part about Carmen’s clothes, however, is the recycle value. With her “refurbed, reconstructed, recycled & redesigned clothing”, old articles that might have gone to waste get new chic life. It’s worth it to support that, as much as know you’re gonna look good geek-style.

So, go be one of the last ones on the block to own a repurposefulPUNK dress or shirt and stay safe out there, space explorers!

Geekscape 300: The Super Giant Geekscape 300 Spectacular!

by Jonathan

This is it! Geekscape 300! Joining us for this super-sized Geekscape spectacular is Clerks star Marilyn Ghigiotti, who not only brings us lasagna (which made my head explode), but also catches us up on her post-Clerks work and talks about the process of finding out she’s going to be in ‘Clerks 3’! Gilmore, Ben Dunn and Ian Kerner appear to reenact the first Geekscape! Witney Siebold and Jason Trost talk ‘Elysium’, with Ian Kerner and Jon Schnepp (who gives us an updated on ‘The Death of Superman Lives’ documentary)! Stan Lee’s Comikaze organizer Regina Carpinelli previews what’s in store for this year’s Comikaze and Geekscape writers Juan Carlos Marquez and Josh Jackson tell us why ‘Pikmin 3’ is definitely worth picking up! PLUS! ‘Airwolf’ comic writer David Gorden calls in along with longtime Geekscape writers Jacob Lopez, Shane O’Hare, Matt Kelly and Derek Kraneveldt! JUAN CARLOS!!!

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:34:19 — 37.8MB)

My Life as a Closeted Geek…The Return!

by pandazack

Hello everyone, the geek prodigal son hath finally returned. For those not keeping track or don’t care, I haven’t written an article for the site since 2009 outside of the occasional music festival article or something. So I wanted to take some time to truly write something for all of you who have been asking, (I’m looking at you, Jonathan) “Where the hell is Zack Haddad?”

Late 2009…

Shortly after I wrote “My Life as a Closeted Geek” I ran out of money, got dumped by my girlfriend at the time, had to move home and subsequently had to give my dog Zapata away since I couldn’t take him home.

Zapata on the day I had to give him up to some rich hippie family in Coronado.
Zapata on the day I had to give him up to some rich hippie family in Coronado.

Needless to say, I had hit a level of depression I had never experienced before. I moved home to Bakersfield, CA in November-ish of 2009 and I moved in with my dad and his girlfriend in the house I grew up in. My parents were in the middle of a stupidly sticky divorce and I was ok with my dad moving on but I couldn’t help but feel like moving home with them was strange and no matter how hard I tried, I could never make it feel home to me. While I was there, my dad got me a job working at the produce shed he works at. So for 8-10 hours a day I worked shipping potatoes around America. I can’t say it was a completely pointless job. I got to see my dad a bunch and most of the people were nice… until I got in a fight with one of the guys in the shed and he broke my glasses. So you know, there are a bunch of “interesting” fellows who work at my dad’s office and one of them kept physically bugging me to the point where I snapped. I tore up my right hand a bit but otherwise was pretty okay. After that little wrestle/fight/scuffle, I was ready to move on.

In December, one of my good friends from college, Cyrus Gladstone, called me saying he got a job in San Diego working for a company that turns 2D films into 3D. I told him I knew nothing about that sort of thing but I would love to come in for an interview. So on January 2nd, I went in to Legend 3D in Carmel Valley and applied for a job. The woman who interviewed me was extremely sweet and enthusiastic about finding new people to get in on this new frontier of entertainment. I’ll admit, to this day I have a pretty big disdain for 3D as a whole. I feel like any company that isn’t Legend uses a very strange method for building 3D films and the end result is a no depth, card-y gimmick that gives 3D a bad rap. I probably won’t ever own a 3D TV but none-the-less a new job in cool environments outside of Bakersfield with my friends sounded like a win for me.

2010-2011…

On January 4th, I was hired at Legend 3D as a production assistant. Finally, I was back in a job where I was surrounded by folks just like me (aka BIG GIANT NERDS!!!!). Seriously, every cubicle was stuffed full of pop culture references, toys and all sorts of other stuff I would have no problem relating with people. Also, my best friend Jon Dickey got a job the same day I did and we planned on moving in together. Things were looking up. The first part of 2010 was spent on Alice in Wonderland then the rest of it was spent on Shrek 1-3. The hours were crazy but:

– I got a sick apartment in downtown San Diego (only so I could be close to Comic Con) with my best friend

– Made more money then I could spend so it really helped out that I was close to Comic Con

– Got to work on some cool projects and learn new things.

Some of my legend family during Movember two years ago.
Some of my Legend family during Movember two years ago.

In late 2010, I was finally starting to feel better about my existence. But, I wasn’t creating anything. I had stopped writing articles for Geekscape and outside of watching movies I didn’t write anything new.

The same thing happened for all of 2011. However I got to work really closely on a bunch of movies: Transformers 3, Priest, Conan, Pirates 4, Green Lantern, Smurfs, Top Gun just to name a few. By the end of 2011, I found myself back in a relationship with the girl who had dumped me before I had to move back to Bakersfield. It was hard for me at first since I associated her with all of that crazy stuff, but alas I was getting tired of the weird dating scene in San Diego so it was nice to be comfortable again.

2012…

By mid 2012, I found myself starting to resent my job. We had moved a second time and were planning on moving a third. In the time I had been at egend, I had seen the company go from 40 people to 300 people then back down to about a 100. In the visual effects industry, it is normal for a company to have crazy growth in productive times and not in others but I couldn’t help but feel that this place that had started like my family, didn’t feel like it anymore. I was in a position to go to India and help train our employees there but due to (in my opinion) some office politics, I was never asked to go and a friend was asked instead. This is one of several reasons why I was starting to get fed up with it. I also felt myself growing apart from the girl I was dating and on Cinco de Mayo we called it quits for the last time.

In my new-found singledom, I was swept up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since I was 8 I have been following the Los Angeles Kings and year after year I have found myself heartbroken at yet another loss. So it was something I would never forget seeing them win the Stanley Cup.

Me when we won the Stanley Cup.
Me after winning the Stanley Cup.

Being in San Diego, I wasn’t able to go to as many games as I used to as an LA resident so I found myself going to a local bar called Stout frequently to watch the games with a bunch of like minded hockey fans. On one night when I was walking back from a game, I had an idea about a DJ living in San Diego and how he could find out he was part of a clandestine organization who fought demons in an effort to take back San Diego for humanity. I called it Arcane Beatz and I started writing everything down. I just couldn’t believe that I started coming up with fresh ideas again…it was a really exciting time for me.

In June of 2012, it was Jon’s birthday and he wanted to go to the Del Mar fair, eat a bacon doughnut, and watch a 90s concert. So we went to the fair to see a 90s concert with the Gin Blossoms, Lit, Everclear and Sugar Ray as the musical acts. We got there and met up with some other friends. This guy Roger had brought these two girls, roommates named Kerri and Kelly. Right away I felt a deep attraction to this girl Kelly. She was a perfect idea of what I could see myself being in a relationship with. But me being me, I was pretty shy at first and how I actually approached her was when another female friend had asked me to hold her purse and I goofily went up to Kelly and said “What I got a purse on? So what? You can’t judge me…” which I think she liked because we talked off and on for the rest of the night while sharing boxed wine from Erick Israel’s backpack. At the end of the night, Kelly and her roommate exchanged info with all of us and we all said we should hang out again since we had such a fun time.

And then two months passed. I moved out of the house with Jon to somewhere close to North Park that was cheaper. I was living alone for the first time in a long time and even though I missed Jon who was a great roommate and friend, it was nice to be alone. I would randomly see posts from Kelly on my feed of her doing stuff and I admit I liked her from a far. However, I was afraid that either my nerdy-ness or one of my hang-ups would thwart me from ever being something more than a friend to this girl. Then one night, I was out with some friends at a bar and there she was. She called my name out and we talked for a bit and I said we should ride bikes and hang out sometime even though I was too chicken shit to start something other than that. She left and I was starting to feel smitten. Later that week I was with Jon and Erick at the event in North Park at Seven Grand and there she was again. Before she left she came up to me and I got her number. She said, “I remember your name. It’s Zack. Do you remember mine?” To which I respond, “yeah of course, it’s Kelly”. She responds with “Our names go well together”.

Being a fan of the penultimate 90’s sitcom “Saved by the Bell” I was proverbially knocked on my ass. I went up to my friends and said “see that girl, I will date her”. And I did. Starting in September of 2012, I found myself in a relationship unlike any other. Being with Kelly has made me feel happy to no end and I finally started getting creative again.

IMG_1375
Kelly and I at a Dan Deacon concert.

I told her one night over dinner my idea for Arcane Beatz and she lit up and immediately said I that I needed to do it. I had never been with someone who had pushed me to be so creative and has supported me in the ways she has. If you read my article, “my life as a closeted geek” you know growing up I was really secretive about all the nerdy stuff I was into. Kelly isn’t a nerd herself but she really tolerates my nerdy-ness. So the fact that my action figures and Scott Pilgrim posters didn’t bother this girl was a huge relief. So I started to fall really hard for her and it was starting to scare me.

I’ve been in a few relationships in my days and I definitely see myself as someone who likes the idea of being in a relationship. Sometimes I get scared of putting myself out there but with this girl, it just felt different. I felt like I met someone who finally understands me and accepts me for my shortcomings and my overall absurdly nerdy-ness. I adopted a kitten with Kelly that I named Brunch and we started to feel like we had a little quasi family.

On the day we adopted Brunch
On the day we adopted Brunch

Brunch The Cat now all grown up and stuff.
Brunch The Cat now all grown up and yes she wears a wooden bow tie collar.

We started hitting milestones with each other. I took her home to meet my family in Bakersfield for Thanksgiving and I went home with her to Boston to meet her amazing family for Christmas.  We spent New Years together and I was ready to start 2013 with this girl who I had fallen in love with.

2013…

This year started off rocky with personal hurdles unlike I have ever dealt with before. The only thing besides Kelly that I had going was I shot a teaser for Arcane Beatz and was in the process of editing it. On top of all that stuff, I was also hitting an all time low at work. Legend had just moved to Carlsbad, putting me at a daily drive time of 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. With reduced hours and that commute, it was making it harder to stay.

Kelly and I at a vineyard in Temecula.
Kelly and I at a vineyard in Temecula.

By April, I was ready to start preparing to leave when I got the feeling that Kelly was the one and despite the idea of not having a job, I was ready to propose to her. Now, you’re probably doing the math at home and realize that at this point, Kelly and I had only been dating for about 8 months or so. That didn’t matter to me because I just knew in my gut that this is the one. That through the good times and bad times of ever relationship, this one was worth it. I mean come-on guys, she accepts that I play video games and watch super nerdy television while always caring about what I do or think… what’s not to love? So one day while in front of her house, I got down on one knee for what was one of the most stressful moments in my life. I assume everyone who has done that gets scared thinking, “what if the person I love with isn’t ready and says no?” All fears aside, I felt like I had to take a leap of faith and she said yes.

And since then, we have been just doing the damn thing. Life has started to really pick up for me in a way I couldn’t have imagined back when I was sad and pissed off shipping potatoes.

My best friend/best man Jon Dickey serving drinks at my engagement party.
My best friend/best man Jon Dickey serving drinks at the engagement party.

I quit my job in early June and I admit it’s been tough adjusting to not having a job after three years but I think I’m starting to finally get there. I left Legend 3D on amicable terms and I will miss working with the people I’ve come to love I now spend my days working on Arcane Beatz full time and hopefully writing more articles for Geekscape.

A still from the teaser for Arcane Beatz.
A still from the teaser for Arcane Beatz.

 

So now you know in an extensive Cliff notes like fashion what I’ve been up to. I’ve never really had much of a presence in the Geekscape forums (my name is pandazack) so if you want to reach out to me, message my FB page or drop me a line at zackhaddad87@gmail.com and I would love to talk to you about this article or really whatever.

You know that project I have mentioned through this article? Well Arcane Beatz is slowly coming to fruition but I need your help. I have made a Kickstarter video, which you can find HERE. The project isn’t making money as quickly as I would hope so any and all donations would be great. It’s a cool project that will be a web series and have a very Scott Pilgrim meets Buffy vibe that I think all of you will get a kick out of.

A still from the teaser for Arcane Beatz.

I’ve told you all what I’ve been up to but I’ve only glossed over the why I haven’t been posting. I haven’t really felt creative in a long time and honestly I’ve been thinking for some time that my writing just isn’t as good as it used to be. Before I all Grady Tripp from Wonder Boys on you, I will just say, you guys make it fun to write again and I plan on doing more.

Well I’m done blabbering about my life to all of you. So until next time ‘scapists. I will promise you right now I won’t dissappear for years anymore because the last thing I bet you want is another long ass article like this chronicling my exploits. I love you all…till next time.

Electronic Duo ‘Daft Punk’ Have Signed With Sony! New Album In The Spring!

by Shane O'Hare

This just in! THIS JUST IN! French newspaper Le Parisien have just broke the news that two of the most influential electronic musicians, Daft Punk, have signed a new deal with Sony Music and will have a new album out THIS SPRING!

 

In case you can’t read Fancy, take a gander at the nice translated version right here:

 

Daft Punk has found a new home. After three albums with EMI, the helmeted duo is about to sign with Sony for his next album. Unless the contract is already signed. Not clear with these two, who cultivate secrecy since their inception and anonymity, although some have been privileged glimpse Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo, openly, at the launch party for the album Kavinsky his friend last week. But the case is heard. The fourth album of Daft Punk released this spring, Sony, its subsidiary Columbia.

After passing up a few scoring gigs while they were busy on the Tron Soundtrack, they are finally going back to working on their own tracks.

 

Nothing else to report, but I guarantee that if you are any kind of Geek then you have your own favorite Daft Punk tune already running through you head, and we will keep you up to date when more news is released!

Geekscape 271: The Geekscape 6th Anniversary Party!

by Jonathan

Here it is! Geekscape’s 6th Anniversary Party episode! We talk The Hobbit, Spider-Man, comics, videogames and SO MUCH MORE! Guests in this jam-packed episode include Geekscapists Brian Gilmore, Ben Dunn, Eric Diaz, Hong, Molly Mahan, Shawn Madden, Scott Alminiana and more! Guests include Ash Paulsen, Garrett Medina, Matt Raub, Sam Weller, Tom Pinchuk, Coco and Kelly Quinn, Jon Schnepp and plenty more! Gilmore talks about marrying Ben’s sister and my wife talks about being married to me! And of course… there are tons of big announcements along the way! This is it! Enjoy!

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:18:14 — 49.4MB)

How To Make a Solid DIY Black Widow Costume For Halloween!

by GeekscapeStaff

Recently TheStylish (a fashion and style YouTube channel) has been branching into the geek style universe of cosplay and printed t-shirts. They have more than a few good explorations of what is Geek-Stylish, and recently they worked with hero Cosplayer (and friend of the ‘scape) Kit Quinn on two DIY videos for Avengers movie Black Widow costumes.

We can’t all be the sewing intuitives that it takes to create cosplay greatness out of thin air, so if you feel like being geeky (and sexy) at your local Halloween party and you don’t have a degree from FIT, well this might be the video for you.

If you’re a guy you can watch the video for the articles (except we think that Shane O’Hare might actually try this).

Dress like you’re a Russian assassin with a checkered past… or the world’s biggest Scar-Jo fan by way of this video:

 

And here’s a makeup tutorial to go alone with it:

We Totally Recalled It! The Geekscapepod For August 4th, 2012!

by Jonathan

Total Recall… totally recalled! Does Len Wiseman’s remake of the Paul Verhoeven movie and adaptation of the Phillip K. Dick short story live up to either? And just when will the Batman films get their next reboot? Maybe the answer lies in the upcoming JLA movie! Want a Batcave to watch movies in? It’s only 2 million dollars! Marvel Now gives us hints on some of their upcoming books, unleashing my love for all things Mike Allred! Paul Dini has not been asked back to write the next Batman game for Rocksteady Studios! Doctor Who’s Chris Eccleston has been cast as Malekith in Thor 2! And that’s about it!

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:37 — 16.1MB)

Locked And Loaded? ‘Geekscape – The SDCC 2012 Preview!’

by Jonathan

We’re in San Diego for SDCC 2012! Shane O’Hare and Zack Haddad join me for a Comic-Con preview! We’ve walked the show floor and we’ve seen what is coming your way on this long Comic-Con weekend! We’ve got details from Iron Man 3, Pacific Rim, Total Rekall and more! We talk about the Twilight fan who was hit by a car trying to run across the street without a walk light! Plus! What are we looking forward to this year and what’s our advice for surviving the Con!?!

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:23 — 19.1MB)

Check Out The “Geekscapepod” For June 3rd, 2012!

by Jonathan

We’re trying something new in giving you back some news and reviews ON TOP of your regular Geekscape podcast with special guests! I talk Avengers box office, Battleship, Men In Black 3, Moonrise Kingdom, Ni No Kuni’s new trailer, trying to Streetpass in Mexico, Harley Quinn’s Revenge, Snow White and the Huntsman, Spoilers ruining movies, Astonishing X-Men 51 and a bit more! Man that’s a mouth full!

Find it on iTunes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:29 — 22.5MB)

Guilty Pleasures: The Presidents of the United States of America

by Saintmort

In 1995 a band came out of left field and became the favorite band of every elementary school kid that I knew. That band was the Presidents of the United States of America. Their massive hit song Lump became a song that everyone at Pennell Elementary would sing. When the follow-up single Peaches came out, their popularity only grew. They had somehow become a ‘kid’s band’, even performing on Nickelodeon’s Kids Choice Awards (which was weird since the opening track Kitty contains the lyric ‘fuck you kitty you’re going to spend the night outside’ chanted 3 times).

Their debut self-titled album sold over 3 million copies and received rave reviews. The band performed the theme song for The Drew Carey Show, had a decently received cover of Video Killed the Radio Star on the Wedding Singer soundtrack, were parodied by Weird Al and Bill Nye the Science Guy (and later Singer Chris Ballew performed the parody himself) but by 1996 their follow-up album II was a moderate success at best (Peaking at 31 on the Billboard charts) and by 1998 the band had broken up (the first time anyway).

What happened with this band and their former legion of fans? In honor of President’s Day I sat down and listened to their first two albums (Self-titled and II) as well as the rarities farewell album Pure Frosting to try to figure it out for myself.

 

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1995)

This is a solid album. I think most of the people who are reading this owned this album and already know it’s good so there’s not much of a reason to dwell too long on it. But there are a few key elements I wanted to cover about the band’s sound that made them so interesting to me 17 years ago (and still interest me today).

In the liner notes of the album, Chris Ballew is cited as the basitar player and guitarist Dave Dederer was listed as the guitbass player. I always just assumed this was a cute joke, but as I got older and started playing guitar I realized that the songs were very difficult to play so that they sounded just like the recordings (specifically songs like Dune Buggy and Back Porch) so I did some research.

These were not just cute names. Chris and Dave both played regular six string guitars, except Chris replaced everything with only two bass strings, meanwhile Dave’s guitar consisted of only 3 guitar strings. This innovation of the group helped create a unique sound that is simple to play (with the right instrument) but difficult to play on a regular six string guitar or four string bass.

Furthermore, re-listening to this album reminds me of how insanely talented of a drummer Jason Finn is. A few years ago I made a joke that Presidents of the United States sound like a less talented Primus and I still stand by this statement for no other reason that Jason Finn’s bizarre drum fills and percussion usage (specifically on the song Candy). He uses various bizarre drums much like Brain or Herb would in Golden Years of Primus.

Lyrically, the album falls into line with most alternative groups in the 90’s. Most of the album is either bizarre songs like Feather Plucking and Back Porch or songs about the expected failure of the band’s musical sounds (We’re Not Gonna Make It, Naked & Famous).

This is a solid album that should already be in your CD collection if you were between 10-15 in the mid-90s and never left the collection.

 

Presidents of the Unites States of America: II


So where did the sophomore album fail? It could be the opening track’s fault. It’s really not a good kick off track at all. It’s very clearly written to BE a kick-off with the title Ladies and Gentleman Part 1. Regardless, it’s only a minute and a half long and the next track Lunatic of Love brings us back up to what we expect from Presidents.

Volcano is exactly what we wanted out of the Presidents. It’s bizarre, but still catchy and fun. Sadly, the single didn’t fare as well as the second single off the album. Personally I think the group made a mistake releasing Mach 5 as their first single off the album instead of Volcano. While it’s a fun song, it’s not particular catchy and doesn’t even have a good melody line. I think that we’re already starting to see where this record went wrong.

All in all it’s a good album and a decent follow up to their self-titled, but it just doesn’t hold the same level of consistent quality as the debut. The biggest problem is that while the songs are all okay the album doesn’t really get great until track: 7 Bath of Fire (excluding Volcano which is probably the best song on the album).

It’s not the worst album of the 90’s or even the worst album of 1996 (Cannibal Corpse, Patti Smith, Quad City DJs and Def Leppard all released albums that year, take your pick). The biggest issue really is that despite the songs being fun they lacked the charm of their predecessor.

However, the album still received mostly good reviews but the sales just weren’t there (despite reaching gold status). After two years of touring, Chris Ballew quit the band to spend time with his family and the band disappeared with him. But they still released one last album together.

 

Presidents of the Unites States of America: Pure Frosting


Almost immediately upon hearing the first minute or two of the opening track Love Delicatessen I realize that had the Presidents had released these songs as their second album, they’d probably have had a longer and more successful career.

While the albums contains two covers (Cleveland Rocks, Video Killed the Radio Star) and two live tracks (Lump, Back Porch) and the rest are rarity tracks, these songs are all simply better than 85% of II. My favorite tracks are Mobile Home, Sunshine and Man (Opposable Thumb).

This album simply contains all of the fun and rock sounds that were missing in their second album. But it was the last album of the band’s career. Or so we thought.

After a two year hiatus/break up, the band briefly reunited for an album in 2000 called Freaked Out & Small where they began playing regular guitar and bass. They never toured after that and remained broken up until 2004 when the band has since made a full reformation (though with a new guitarist) releasing two new albums Love Everybody (2004) and These are the Good Times People (2008). Both albums were well reviewed and the band continues to tour, however none of their albums have made the massive impact that the original debut album did. Which is a shame. They truly were one of the most eccentric and innovative groups of the 90s and are worth giving a second chance.

When he’s not listening to bands that haven’t been relevant in over a decade Matt Kelly also hosts his podcast the Saint Mort Show, blogs at Pure Mattitude and tweets. He also can’t stop watching the Rocco’s Modern Life DVD he found at Walmart last week.