Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
There are plenty of “endless running” games out there. And some of them are pretty fun. But how many have psychedelic monsters, clobbering-time gloves, perishing children, and a truly ripping soundtrack by one of the raddest bands ever? Escape from Age of Monsters has all that, not to mention inside jokes ranging from Fat Albert to Michael Jackson to Tiger Mom. I had to ask Mayuko Okai, my friend and guitarist for The Binges, and Michael Su, CEO and co-founder of Massive Joe Studios, how the new iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad game went from finger-tapping addictive to head-banging awesome.
MW: Michael, how did you decide to get a real rock band like The Binges involved in Escape from Age of Monsters instead of a circus-like 8-bit soundtrack?
MS: We knew from the get-go that this had to have a metal soundtrack. Given our indie nature, we thought it’d be cool to find an up-and-coming band to work with rather than just getting a game composer. Our CTO had been to a Binges show in the past and suggested them. We went on YouTube, saw how they killed it on stage, and we knew we wanted to work with them. Boy, did we luck out!
Went to a couple of last-minutes shows recently… I had noticed that the Lee Ranaldo Band would be playing the Satellite not much more than a mile from home a couple of Tuesdays ago, but didn’t decide to go until I realized that (1) his songs were some of my favorites on the last two Sonic Youth albums and (2) my friend Gabie’s band was opening. How could I not go?
Four shows in six nights. At the core were stops by RAD (above), a Sacramento-based thrash revival band that happens to feature my cousin Anthony on bass. On either end of the RAD sandwich were some old favorites… Last night was Ian Svenonius with Chain and the Gang and kicking off the run was Hot Snakes, who reunited for All Tomorrow’s Parties and Fun Fun Fun and is now in the midst of a victory lap for the fans who don’t do festivals.
Opening up the Hot Snakes’ sold-out gig at The Troubadour was Spider Fever. The San Diego band puts the Snakes’ Mario Rubalcaba right in front. If you have any taste in music whatsoever, your innards have already been shaken by his powerful, ruthless drumming (411, Clikatat Ikatowi, Rocket From The Crypt, Earthless, OFF!) and it turns out he rips on guitar and vocals, too. (The other guys ain’t bums, either, coming from The Heartaches and The Widows.) Think MC5 meets DMZ and you’re heading in the right direction–right off a cliff into punk rock ‘n’ roll oblivion. This is no goofy side project but a fully realized unit on a mission to corrupt your soul with two flame-throwing 7″s and a brand-new LP–all great ways to wear down a needle.
Greetings from Chicago
Tim Hugh, one man bandleader of the Chicago Asian American Film Festival
This is Tim Hugh and his dog Helga in his kitchen in Chicago. Tim has run the only Asian American Indie Film Fest (i.e. no “imports”) for 12 of the 17 years that it’s been in existence. In this picture, he’s a one man bandleader- running it solo, something I can relate to as a solo musician. I’m in town to promote my film “Daylight Savings” which premiered at SXSW this year, and will be the opening night film this year. Joining me at the screening will be Michael Aki who plays my cousin in the film. I met Mike at this very festival in 2010 when he was showing his films Sunsets that he directed with Eric Nakamura, and his Film Noir tribute “Strangers”
I asked Tim a bunch of questions:
Goh: Why is this festival important?
Tim: It’s one of the only festivals that shows only Asian American films; produced, directed and/or about the Asian American experience. In the midwest more so than the coastal states, you’re constantly asked that stupid question “Where are you from?”… so it’s important to help define what being Asian and American is.
I’m a fourth generation Chinese American. In the midwest, it’s usually under the assumption that you’re just “Asian”… and not “Asian American.” When I see Causasian people I don’t ask them “are you from Poland? are you European?” I just see them for who they are, not what they look like.
Goh: How did you get involved in the festival?
Tim: I was just a fan of the band Seam, and Sooyoung Park, Ben Kim and Billy Shin started the festival in 1995 after they released the Ear of the Dragon CD, which was the first Asian American Rock Compliation. I’d always go and watch everything I could. I’d never seen films like this before; Asian American characters that spoke like me; the actors weren’t forced to speak with a bad accent. I could relate to these images and characters that I was seeing at this festival.
I became obsessed and would watch everything I could, whether it be a feature, documentary, or shorts program. I just wanted to see as much as I could, because I knew I’d never get a chance to see these movies again. Plus, being able to meet the directors and hear them speak about their films was one of the coolest things for me. I remember hanging out with Justin Lin, back when he was just a shorts director.
They noticed me being there year after year, and began to recognize me. Eventually, they would ask me to do little things like hand out program booklets, take tickets, watch the table, and take pictures during the Q&A’s. Basically, I became a volunteer. I remember standing there back in the day giving out Giant Robot magazines!