By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

It takes a pretty ambitious filmmaker to tackle the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their world. But Polaris Banks does it in his new 35-minute fan film, Casey Jones, which can be seen for free at CaseyJonesTheMovie.com.

The film focuses on Casey Jones, a  hockey mask wearing, hockey stick swinging vigilante who frequently partners with the Turtles. With a gritty, street-level tone, the movie sees Jones go from an overconfident hockey player, to the rage-fueled anti-hero Turtles fans know and love.

Banks wore several hats for the film. He directed, wrote, edited, executive produced, and handled the cinematography. He also appeared in the film as Sid, Casey’s cousin. Banks recently took the time to correspond with Primary Ignition about Casey Jones.

1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Your info says you’re an actor from Texas. Have you been performing long? Have you made previous films?

I’ve known that I wanted to direct movies since I was seven years old, and I’ve been doing so ever since. Casey Jones is the first film that I’ve decided to openly release, though. My other movies were more practice and experimentation, acquiring the skills to tell the kind of stories I’m interested in sharing. I initially got into performing to better understand how to communicate with actors, and it has really been invaluable in getting what I need out of a rehearsal.

2. How long have you been a Ninja Turtles fan? Given the music in the trailer and the look of Casey’s mask, I’ve got to assume at least as far back as the original Steve Barron film. Are you at all interested in Nickelodeon’s upcoming series?

Being born in the mid ’80s, I grew up watching the earliest versions of the Ninja Turtles since as far back as I can remember. My favorite is still the Steve Barron live action film, but I’ll always be fond of the first cartoon series as well. I actually got into the original run of the Mirage comics while researching for Casey Jones. They had a huge influence on how I decided to make the movie, especially the lighting and art design.

I’m a little dubious about the new television show from Nickelodeon. Modern children’s animation is mostly all flash and no heart, and the advertising for the new series hasn’t convinced me that this will be an exception. If they want to bring me back audience members, the new series needs to be charming most of all. Old animated shows from the ’90s like Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles set the bar pretty high for children’s adventure programming. I’d really like to see a TMNT show with that much thoughtful directing.

3. Tell us about Casey Jones. What’s the film about? Where does it take us?

There’s a brief period in Casey’s history, after he becomes a vigilante and before he befriends the Ninja Turtles, that is undocumented in any previous version of the TMNT. It’s a time when Casey stalked the streets alone, without any crime fighting partners to prevent him from acting on his brutal impulses. That is the what our movie depicts. It’s an uncensored look at the dangerous path Casey was headed down before the Ninja Turtles intervened to keep him from going over the edge. It focuses less on his origins and more on what he does before and after his transformation. The movie is not a literal translation of any one version of Casey’s beginnings. It is its own entity that draws heavily from the incarnations that came before. Because the movie didn’t have to answer to any studio though, we were able to take the character to a much darker place than he’s ever been in a motion picture.

6. One thing that really struck me about the trailer was the intensity that seemed to radiate off the character. He’s smashing things in a junkyard, he’s doing pull ups off a fire escape, he’s smashing people in the head with hockey sticks. Obviously that’s a side of Casey we’ve seen time and time again. But was that something Hilarion Banks brought to the table himself, or did you need to push that? Were you looking to see something akin to what Elias Koteas brought to the table in the Barron film?

My brother Hilarion and I collaborated very closely on the character. It was not an effortless transformation. From the first rehearsal, it was clear that I wanted something very specific, and Hilarion’s performance I nit picked constantly up until we began shooting. Casey is a delicate balance of naivete, sadism, ego, recklessness, and downright crazy. If you let one of those elements take over too much, the whole thing falls apart. It would have been easy to just do another Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, but Casey is more complicated than that.

The challenge with Casey is that he’s a despicable person in a lot of ways. He’s often cruel, self centered, chauvinistic, and confrontational, even more than your average antihero. It’s really easy to lose the audience’s favor with such an extreme personality. So what Hilarion brought to it, which is the most important part, is undeniable likability. Casey needs to be naturally playful and fun to even out his dark side, and Hilarion has that in spades. So once the cameras started rolling, Hilarion brought the charm, and I made sure to keep pushing his malicious tendencies. What we came up with was just the right mixture. Yes, we wanted to make sure not to lose the great elements that Elias Koteas (shown right) brought to the character, but I wanted something beyond just imitating what was done before. Our version is an attempt to incorporate the essential parts from every previous incarnation. We trimmed away the fat to find the through line that connects all the portrayals, looking for the overall essence of what makes the character so great. Then once we had that base, we added our own unique touches.

8. Robbie Rist, who provided the voice for Michaelangelo in the Steve Barron film, as well as the second and third movies, also provides the character’s voice in your movie. How did that come about, and how much did you geek out when you heard him voice the character again?

Hiring Robbie Rist was actually suggested to me by Josh Yawn, the voice of Leonardo in our movie. He had met Robbie before and offered to contact him about reprising his role. Rist was up for it immediately after seeing the footage, but it took months and months of hounding to finally get him into the recording room. It was a pretty surreal experience to hear the words I had written being spoken by the real Michelangelo himself, but I geeked out even more once I set the dialogue to picture. Mikey came to life, fully resurrected from my childhood. There was one heartbreaking moment though. While recording the dialogue, I mentioned a “shell shock,” and Robbie didn’t know what that was. He said he hadn’t really seen the movies since they first came out. How could the real Mikey not know what a “shell shock” is?!

9. Bringing an anthropomorphic turtle to life would be a challenge for ANY studio. How did you pull the Michelangelo costume(s) together? What’s it made out of? How difficult (if at all) was it for Chris Fraiser to maneuver in it?

The costume was by far the biggest challenge we faced, but it all came together thanks to the brilliant work of our special effects designer, Oliver Luke. All in all, we toiled over the creature suit construction for almost a year. Studios use dozens of people to do the same job that four of us took on, and without the use of the advanced equipment they implement either. There were many failures, and a lot of expensive materials were wasted. We ended up making the main body suit out of slip cast latex. Foam latex would have been much lighter, but we didn’t have the proper facilities to make a piece that big. It took weeks for the latex to set in the huge cast. I ended up using the film’s lighting equipment as heat lamps to speed up the process. The hands, head, and feet were made of dragon skin silicon, which had to be constantly replaced as the stunt performers wore them out. It was not too restrictive at first, but as the Texas heat got to the performers inside, they would swell up, limiting their movement. Sweat would pour from Frasier’s hands, making it very difficult to use his nunchucks. Most nights we could only do three separate set-ups maximum, because any more would cause the body suit performer to get heat exhaustion.

All in all, the suit weighed about 50 pounds, making the acrobatic stunts much more cumbersome. Michelangelo was actually played by six different specialty performers. Chris Frasier handled the close-ups and nunchuck choreography. Marty Moreno did much of the full body acting. Victor Zorilla performed the amazing kicks and flips, and a few others filled in when these three weren’t available. As you can imagine, putting six different people into the same tailor fitted turtle suite became very uncomfortable, but they all showed incredible strength, pushing through each take until they got it right.

Front page image from twothreefive.com. Banks image from myspace.com. Image 2 from caseyjonesthemovie.com. Image 3 from toyriffic.blogspot.com. Koteas image from trailershut.com. Image 5 from nerdreactor.com. Behind the scenes image from jessecrouch.com. Image 7 from gogreenmachine.org.

By Adam Testa
Contributor, Secret Weapon

Fans of professional wrestling know WWE superstar Cody Rhodes as many things: the son of Hall of Famer “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, a former tag team champion and a talented young athlete.

The 26-year-old Georgia native, whose character wears a mask due to self-perceived disfigurement, is presented as all three of those things each week on WWE’s Smackdown show, broadcast on the SyFy network.

But the man behind the television character has a different side. Admittedly shy and reserved, quite contradictary to his on-screen persona, Rhodes’ interests and hobbies fall in line with a growing trend in American culture.

“We live in a day and age where nerds are cool, and it didn’t used to be that way. I think pop culture, movies and TV have been heavily influenced by nerds,” said Rhodes, who used to have a Legend of Zelda Triforce featured on his wrestling boots.

“I won’t say I’m a nerd, but I will say I’m an avid comic book reader,” Rhodes continued. There isn’t a day go by that I don’t read a single issue of something.”

While wrestling and comics have much audience crossover, they also seem to be miles apart on the surface. But, as Rhodes points out, both media share one common thread necessary for success: Quality writing.

Rhodes admits he’s flat-out lifted lines and quotes from comic books for use in his on-screen character, but he does so out of respect.

“A lot of what inspires me is great writing,” he said. “I’m the biggest fan of Grant Morrison, who writes Batman. I probably have angered him from time to time because I have stolen multiple sayings from him and used them on TV.”

But even Morrison’s Batman isn’t enough to lure Rhodes’ loyalty to the DC Universe. While he reads titles from both DC and Marvel, the latter is in the lead with him right now, largely because of the ongoing Schism story in the X-Men titles.

Ironically, Rey Mysterio, Rhodes’ opponent at the highly publicized Wrestlemania XXVI this past Spring, wore a modified Captain America costume, which naturally lent itself to the masked wrestler’s look.

And with so many professional wrestlers seeking acting careers and so many movie studios producing comic book adaptations, Rhodes would love the opportunity to star in one. The answer to which one, however, isn’t so simple.

“That is a tough question,” he said. “That’s like asking someone what kind of super powers they would want. For me, I think at the end of the day, if they went ahead and made an X4, if we made a fourth X-Men that wasn’t an origins tale and was right up currently, I’d like to be part of that.”

Adam Testa also writes for The Southern Illinoisan newspaper in Carbondale, IL. For more from his interview with Rhodes, click here. 

Image 1 from bleacherreport.com. Image 2 from wrestlingfeed.com. Image 3 from wwe.com. 

Photo by Duncan Skiles, from facebook.com/theoneups.

By Eric Stuckart
Creator, Destroyer

Justin Polak
Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom

There’s bands that play video game music, and then there’s The OneUps. Employing a style of Jazz-Funk with touches of a little bit of everything thrown in for good measure, they’re a breath of fresh air in a style of music that tends to stick to aggressive or electronic approaches.

We were fans of their latest work, Intergalactic Redux, released last month, which brought their style to new heights, with interesting recreations of some pretty iconic songs from Zelda, Super Metroid, Castlevania, and a few others. That being said, we were more than happy to get in touch with William Reyes, rhythm guitarist of the group, to talk about their style and influences, as well as why the classic games tend to lend themselves more often to recreation than newer soundtracks.

1. Most bands that cover video game music usually opt to go the route of metal or electronic music usually. Did you guys consciously decide to go on the more jazzy funk path or did that style naturally develop? Are there any other elements that you’re looking to incorporate into the band’s sound?

We did consciously decide to make our arrangements more jazz/funk. Many of the video game tunes that we first started arranging already lend themselves to be adapted into a jazz piece. Music from the Super Mario Bros. series, Mario Paint, and even the Zelda series have a great deal of Latin and jazz influence. Due to the character of the chords and melodies, we were easily able to arrange them for a live band similar to what would be in jazz standard form. The more we played in local bars however, the more we found out that we needed to change our sound and arrangements. Funk seemed to be a good common ground while still keeping some of the jazz elements with which we were already familiar. Over the past several years, we’ve made arrangements that incorporate various other styles including hard rock/metal, electronic, disco, and even modern classical.

2. How exactly did the band come together?

Photo by Chris Serani. Courtesy of The OneUps.

As I remember it, the band started with Mr. Mustin, Nathan McLeod, and William Reyes discussing how great it would be to start playing video game music as a live band. One of the tunes discussed was “Koopa Beach” from Super Mario Kart. Later that year, a recording was made of an arrangement Mustin had put together of “Costa Del Sol” from Final Fantasy VII. The concept of the band was then solidified.

3. Everyone goes by pseudonyms in the band. How come? Also, are there any interesting meanings behind the names?

The pseudonyms are merely for fun.

4. What do you guys do in your free time? Are any of the members involved in any other musical projects?

Free time is spent continuing work for some, and recreation for others, or a combination of the two. Each member is involved in other musical projects. Mustin continues to arrange video game music on his own and works on original compositions as well. William composes and arranges pieces for solo guitar and works with three other musical groups outside of The OneUps. Jared is a singer/songwriter. He records his songs locally and is also involved in other bands. Tim continues to perform with several bands and is also putting together his own collection of original works.

5. A lot of jazz music tends to be born out of improvisation and jamming. What’s the typical songwriting process for The OneUps?

Because we stopped arranging pieces as Jazz forms several years ago, we have found it necessary to incorporate other musical elements and gather input from all the members. We start by either listening to or reading the melody and chords. We try altering them both in tasteful ways. When a member has an idea, we usually try it in order to hear how it sounds, then we keep experimenting with ideas over the span of several hours until we all like what we hear. We write down the form, record an excerpt, and that keeps us satisfied until the next rehearsal.

Photo by Chris Serani. Courtesy of The OneUps.

6. Not very much video game music has been published in tablature format. How hard is it to figure out the songs by ear, and then put your own spin on them?

It’s not terribly difficult. We certainly don’t count on finding the piece written in standard notation. Music has a been a part of our lives for decades, so we have been able to successfully develop our aural perception to a degree in which matching pitches and rhythms is as simple as an everyday task. As individual musicians, we all try to put our own spin on some part of the arrangement.

7. Have any particular artists (or composers, games, etc.) inspired your music?

Many many artists, composers and games have inspired our music. To name only a few: artists/composers such as James Brown, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Greyboy Allstars, video game composers such as Koji Kondo, Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, and game series such as the Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Metroid and Castlevania games.

8. You’ve dedicated an entire album to Super Mario Kart. Any other game soundtracks you plan on focusing on in the future?

There’s been talk of Toe Jam and Earl, but nothing is set in stone.

9. A lot of the music The OneUps cover is typically from older games. Why do you think older video game music is so memorable?

I can’t say for sure, but it may be partially because older video game music has become standard repertoire for other video game bands. The people who were finally old enough to start a band drew from the music they loved when they were first playing video games, many of which were in the late 80s and 90s. Also, much of the music is reused in the later games of a series, and therefore has more of a chance of becoming popular. In addition, a lot of the older games were remade for newer systems and brought back the same music, thus giving even more opportunities to make the tunes memorable. It should also be noted that any music of a popular game when heard for hours on end on a loop becomes memorable.

10. Have there been any newer game soundtracks that caught your ear?

For some of us, the newer music is so very well orchestrated and complex that we continue to listen to older game music for our arrangements. However, we all love the music to the God of War series as well as a few others.

11. When playing live, do you guys try to recreate the songs the way you recorded them, or is there a lot of improvisation going on? Do you guys favor any particular songs over others when playing live?

We try to limit improvisation to sections of the music that call for it (guitar solos, drum solos etc..). We try to have consistency in our performance, although we oftentimes change the pieces during practice after we’ve recorded them. Recently our favorite songs to play have been from our newest album: Intergalactic Redux available at http://theoneups.bandcamp.com/album/intergalactic-redux

Photo by Chris Serani. Courtesy of The OneUps.

12. What’s a typical tour or concert like for the band? What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you guys while on the road?

So far, our “tours” have been one gig at a time. We usually fly out to another city for a weekend, perform for one night and try to sell some of our merchandise before returning home. Thankfully nothing too crazy has happened to us while on the road, but we like to have a crazy fun time while visiting these other cities.

13. One of the coolest things about The OneUps is that you can pretty much listen to it without even realizing that the music is covers of video game songs. Do you have any plans of ever releasing original music at any point?

All of the members compose original music, some with the intention of releasing it. As for The OneUps, we plan to continue arranging only video game music in as many interesting ways as possible.

14. Anything you’d like to add?

We truly appreciate all of our fans and anyone who cares to listen.

Front page photo by Tim Ryan Smith, from facebook.com/theoneups.

Photo courtesy of Mattias Häggström Gerdt.

By Eric Stuckart
Creator, Destroyer

Justin Polak
Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom

When playing video games, one of the most noticeable (and oftentimes memorable) aspects is the music. Sometimes, the music can be so iconic that you end up remembering the songs without even realizing it, and other times, they’re good for setting the mood or tone of a video game.

While you might not have heard of him yet, Mattias Häggström Gerdt is a promising composer of video game music, as well as being obsessed with music—both video game and otherwise—and gaming. On top of that, he also remixes video game music tracks for compilations and serves on the judges panel over at Overclocked Remix, a community “dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of video game music as an art form,” as well as one of the best places to find some of the greatest fan-made arrangements of video game music, period.

Mattias has contributed a number of tracks to some high profile arrangement compilations, such as the Final Fantasy VII tribute album Voices of the Lifestream and Serious Monkey Business, a tribute to the music of Donkey Kong Country 2. Most recently, you could hear his work on The Answer: Armored Core Tribute Album, and one of his remixes found its way onto the Super Meat Boy Soundtrack.

This is all on top of his pretty hectic schedule composing original works for a number of independent games, such as the still in-development Cobalt, along with Kaleidoscope and Artoon. Luckily, Mattias had a little bit of time to correspond with Primary Ignition via email to discuss the ins and outs of video games and music, as well as the combination of the two.

1. What inspired you to compose video game music? Do you create any non-video game related music?

I’ve played video games more or less frequently since I was around…4, or maybe 5. I’ve enjoyed and played music for even longer. There’s almost a sense of nostalgia for music and games, which is rather strange considering how extremely broad it is to just say “music” or “games.” I think I just wanted to combine my two biggest interests and composing game music was the absolute best way to do it.

I also compose non-game music but much less frequently. I was in a “deathrock” band for a few years and toured a bit in Europe (even though we were only 17-18!) and I’ve written a lot of original music. The game music is always there in the back of my head though…even on original albums I imagine them as being game music, just without a game.

2. You’ve said that your work on the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix soundtrack really got you into composing for games. That’s a pretty high profile first gig. How’d that even happen ?

Well I had been involved in the OverClocked ReMix community since…2006? Or maybe 2007. OCR was my way in to make computer-based music really. I got involved when I applied for the Voices of the Lifestream album and [OCR remixer, composer and producer] Andrew “Zircon” Aversa really took me under his wing and helped me improve; maybe he saw something in my music or just wanted to help out, but in any case I’m eternally grateful for that. After that I got quite a few arrangements posted on the site and joined the judges panel, I even got a bit of a reputation for finishing tracks extremely fast.

Image from streetfighter.wikia.com.

When OCR got asked by Capcom/Backbone Entertainment to use an improved and expanded version of their Street Fighter II album as the soundtrack for a new HD SFII remake they were quick to accept. Nearing the end of the project though, they realized that some tracks hadn’t been spoken for and that they needed these tracks really quick because of the approaching deadline. They contacted me, I accepted and went on to crank out the credits theme and the “Here Comes a New Challenger!” jingle. I’m still rather happy with those even though it was a LONG time ago in “music years.”

Things kind of went from there. I thought “Ok, I’ve got a really high-profile game music gig on my resumé,” and began posting at some forums (among others, the XNA dev forum). I got some small jobs from this and it was essentially the beginning of my career as it were. It was really surreal for me, like, I didn’t take it very seriously. In my mind I was still a huge beginner and I couldn’t understand why they’d want my music in their games. I even did it while studying full-time and working part-time at a grocery store… But yeah, I’m rambling a bit. SSFIITHDR and OCR basically brought me to where I am today. I’ve wanted to do music for games for a much longer time but that really made me realize that it was a possibility.

3. How did you get on board for the Super Meat Boy soundtrack? Have you played the game? If so, what did you think?

Danny Baranowsky also has a background as an artist at OCR and he was on the judges panel too, like myself. I was familiar with his work, Canabalt especially, and decided to just chat for a bit one day. If I remember it correctly (chances are I really don’t) I hunted down his AIM or MSN Messenger account.. or maybe it was on IRC? In any case we talked a bit and started talking about Super Meat Boy and that he wanted arrangements for the soundtrack release. Before I know what hit me he had sent me the in-game tracks (unmastered!!!) so I could start jamming. I think it took me one or two days and then I sent him the pretty-much-final version of “Mattias’ Manmeat Mix” that’s now on the album.

Danny’s a real friendly guy and a composer I truly respect so I’m happy to have had that opportunity. Collaborating with other indie game composers are really fun and interesting since it brings more awareness to everyone involved, something game composers in general don’t get enough of, especially indie game composers. Since then I’ve gotten to know quite a few awesome guys in the same field as me (Josh Whelchel, Chris from HyperDuck, C418, SoulEye etc. etc.) and I’m looking forward to appear on their soundtracks too and hopefully vice versa! Spread the love or something like that.

Oh and I have played Super Meat Boy (who hasn’t?) on 360 and it’s quite spectacular. I’ve always been really bad at platform games though, I’ve never finished a Mario game for example, so I quickly wanted to slam my head against a wall. I guess my patience isn’t what it used to be and neither is the time I can spend on gaming. What I did play was great though and the soundtrack really works amazingly well in context.

4. Who are some of your favorite composers? Have any particular video game composers influenced your work? If you could work with any one, who would it be and why?

This is always a really hard question for me. I listen to a LOT of game music and my favorite soundtracks vary pretty much daily. Some of the top composers (and my favorite works of theirs) are: Manabu Namiki (Mushihimesama Futari, Espgaluda II), Kimitaka Matsumae (Jade Cocoon, Kileak the Blood),  Kota Hoshino (Armored Core series, Evergrace), GUST Sound Team (Ar Tonelico series), Ryu Umemoto (EVE burst error, Espgaluda II Black Label), Yoshitaka Hirota (Shadow Hearts series), Kou Hayashi & Daisuke Nagata (ChaosField, Radirgy), Yasuhisa Watanabe (Senko no Ronde), Nobuyoshi Sano (Tekken, Ridge Racer) and…wow, there are so many more I want to mention. I’ll stop now though, can’t make the interview just namedropping!

Ryu Umemoto (center) with Mattias. Photo from hardcoregaming101.net.

Composers that have really influenced my work though…that’s a bit easier. Kimitaka Matsumae’s low-key, ambient style with simple melodies and lush sounds has really influenced me. The soundtrack for Jade Cocoon is utterly brilliant, I even wrote a paper on it, and Kileak the Blood is intense in its minimalist style. Nobuo Uematsu is the composer I’ve most likely listened the most to, even though it’s less nowadays, and I think he’s influenced me a lot indirectly…just like styles of music that fit certain environments and such. Finally SuperSweep and the Namco Sound Team have influenced me a lot since they are making some of the best electronic game music ever made.

If I could work with one composer I think it would be Ryu Umemoto. He visited me in Stockholm last December and stayed at my place for a night. He’s an incredibly talented composer that was very easy to get along with and I consider him a good friend. Umemoto’s passion for his work, music or otherwise, is incredible too! He’s got a thought behind pretty much everything and genuinely pours his heart and soul into everything. I think we would work well together too because our styles are quite different but would complement each other well. While he does amazing melodies and very complex pieces of music I tend to gravitate more towards a mood or “sound”. If you combine these you basically have the best of both worlds!

5. You mention on your website your vast love of video game soundtracks and how you collect them. What are some of your most prized soundtracks, and why?

Hmm.. I have a pretty good collection of Cave (developer of games such as DoDonPachi) soundtracks that I really treasure! Most soundtracks for Cave’s games are printed in VERY limited amounts, never released outside Japan and often only at their offline event called “Cave Matsuri” that happens once or twice a year. Thanks to some great connections and buying used albums at VGMdb’s marketplace I currently have 15 Cave releases when writing this. Some of the more rare stuff there includes the first print limited edition of Mushihimesama Futari and a signed copy of Akai-Katana by Ryu Umemoto.

My other “holy grail” is my collection of Kimitaka Matsumae soundtracks. I have his compilations of original music, You Are The Fox 1-4, and other rarities, all signed by the man himself!

6. Aside from the video game stuff, what kind of music are you into? How does that affect your compositions?

Hmm…this also varies a LOT but I have some artists/bands/composers that have stuck with me. I’m completely in love with everything Steve Reich does and his music has really influenced a lot of mine. While it might not be obvious, his minimalist style and thoughts about music made ME think about music in a completely different way. I always come back to these thoughts when composing. Like, for example, you can create much more tension and “action” by restraining yourself musically than trying to overdo it with tons of instrument and really advanced writing.

Magma. Photo from mitkadem2.homestead.com.

On the other end of the spectrum though we find the french progressive rock/jazz constellation Magma. While Steve Reich can most likely be enjoyed by everyone, Magma feels to me like music for musicians. Their compositions are like these amazing 45 minute space operas with influences ranging from Stravinsky (who I also love) to Miles Davis. Their leader, Christian Vander, even made up an original language to sing in and this incredible semi-religious story that all their works are based around. This kind of elaborate creation of a musical “world” has really inspired me and made me think about what’s cohesive in a completely new way. Their use of thematic material (that’s not always super obvious) has also made their mark on my music.

Just to prove I’m not a snob on a high horse I’ll mention I also love Blink-182, Soundgarden, Tool, Shpongle, Plaid, Xploding Plastix, Underworld, Andrew W.K. Perfume and SO many other artists. They all probably have influenced my way to compose too but it’s harder for me to state exactly how.

7. I’ve noticed that your remixes tend to use a very wide range of styles and instruments, with some being very electronic sounding, and others having more of a rock influence. Do you have a preference between electronic-based music and more traditional instrumentation?

I think my preference IS this mix of things. I love finding/making synth sounds. There’s something amazing about using sounds that most people don’t already have a connection to. That way you can make sure a certain synth sound is used at a certain place or in a certain context and the player/listener will have no problem associating these elements. There’s much less chance of an existing social and cultural meaning, or some kind of association, with “new” (or at least to the listener) synth sounds.

This is exactly the reason why I like “traditional” instrumentation too. People WILL think “jungle” when you start using handdrums, kalimbas and marimbas for example. They WILL sub-consciously associate a lone oboe with love or sadness (depending on context). It’s very effective to use these instruments that everyone is familiar with when the context calls for them. Combining these with synth sounds really gives you the whole palette.

8. Let’s talk about video games a little bit. What are some of your favorites? Have any of them inspired your work?

Again with the favorites…so hard! I’m partial to JRPGs, both unique ones like the Shin Megami Tensei series, “plain” ones like Atelier Iris and good ‘ol Final Fantasy. I’m also very fond of shmups. For example I love the bullet hell games by previously mentioned company Cave, I love R-Type and I completely adore Space Giraffe by Jeff Minter. Then I really fancy a gazillion other games… I have like 400+ games sitting in the shelf beside me while I’m answering this question! And before you ask, I’m not rich at all, I just happen to have been working steadily while studying since I was 15 and I lived at home until just recently.

All the games I’ve played have in some way shaped my work I think. As soon as I play a game I consciously (and subconsciously) think about the music and how it’s used. I get new ideas for how to use music myself (imitation is the highest form of flattery), I discover conventions and even learn what you just should not do. I think the more games you play, the more comfortable you get with the gaming medium and that really helps when you end up behind a game in a creative position. How many movie stars haven’t grown up watching movies? That’s the same thing!

9. What’s the typical process like for creating new music for a game? Does the game’s experience play into your compositions? If so, how?

I typically get a briefing with the developer, most often with a following discussion, on what kind of game he/she is making and what he/she thinks the music should accomplish and sound like. I’ll most likely get some screenshots or maybe even an early demonstration video which gives me a relatively good idea of what the game’s about and how it behaves. Then it kind of depends on the project, what really catches my attention and becomes the main “inspiration” for the music.

For example, with Cobalt, one of the developers, Daniel “thewreck” Brynolf, really took a lot of time to just talk about his visions for the game and everything related to it with me. He talked about the story, the mood, the gameplay, deep philosophical discussions and tons of interesting thoughts on the game. After this he basically said “do exactly what you want”. This lead to me really getting to figure out the most important aspects I wanted to “musically enhance” by myself, but with a great source of information. I think working this way, and working really closely with the developers on a daily basis online, was one of the reasons the music became quite good and earned the Excellence in Audio nomination at IGF [Independent Games Festival]. For other projects, for example Blind Edge (in development) I might just get some level mock-ups and some tracks the developer thought would fit and take it from there. That’s also a great way to work!

I must admit though, I tend to first and foremost think of the game as a game. I try to pinpoint what the main features are, how is the gameplay, the speed of the game etc. Having this in the back of my head, especially considering all games I’ve played and soundtracks I’ve heard, really helps and serves as kind of a “frame” for it all. After that it’s more about the “experience” as you put it. Inside the “game frame”, to use that analogy, I paint much more freely than I would if I just painted on the wall.

Screenshot of Cobalt. Image from oxeyegames.com.

10. What do you find more fun and/or enjoyable, remixing/recreating songs or composing your own pieces for games?

Definitely composing my own pieces for games, no contest. Arranging is really fun and often very educational in a way but going through the process I outlined above and being a part of a greater context is so incredibly rewarding. This might sound a bit self-centered but there are few things I enjoy more than hearing my music in context of the game when everything is said and done, regardless of if the game turned out amazing or just decent.

11. What was your favorite project you’ve worked on?

That’s hard to answer and by answering it I feel like I’m being rude to the developers of the projects I’m NOT mentioning…but okay, it has to be Cobalt. Like I said before it was great to work so closely with the developers. We had a period before the IGF deadline where we stayed at [Cobalt developer] Kinten’s place and worked on the game together in the same room until the middle of the night. I ended up sleeping on his couch. That was very rewarding and inspiring in a way, to have a team in the same room working together on a project. Then when Cobalt got nominated for Excellence in Audio at IGF (with honorable mentions in Technical Excellence and Excellence in Visual Art) it was basically one of the best moments in my life (thus far).

Photo courtesy of Mattias Häggström Gerdt.

12. You also serve on the Judges Panel over at Overclocked Remix. What exactly do you do there and how did that come about? How long have you been working with them?

The judges panel is a group of selected people that applies a set of “standards” to arrangements submitted to OverClocked ReMix. The purpose of these standards is to keep quality relatively high and encourage more developed arrangements of game music compared to for example straight covers. What we do is basically vote YES or NO (with an optional “resubmit”) on tracks that are candidates to be posted on the site and write out why it was/wasn’t accepted and try to give some constructive feedback in the process. I’ve been a judge since summer 2008 I think.

13. People who frequent OCRemix might only recognize you under your alias, Another Soundscape, or AnoSou. Are there any other names that listeners might know you as?

Well, I’ve officially left “Another Soundscape” behind me. I never particularly liked that alias except in the very beginning. At OCR I know officially go by my real name, as with basically all game/album credits, while Anosou is used by my company/label “Anosou Music”. I’ve also adopted Anosou as my online name pretty much everywhere too. It’s short, it’s super Google-able and it has no umlauts.

14. What should we expect from you in the future?

Hopefully lots and lots of game music, original or arrangements. Right this moment I’m finishing up the score to game I can’t yet reveal and I recently finished two arrangements for two really cool game arrangement albums. There is also some more cool stuff in the works, including finishing Cobalt one day! We’re currently working on a new-and-improved build for the IGF exhibit at GDC [Game Developers Conference], taking the game in an entirely different direction, and I’m reworking some of the music and planning some new tracks.

I really just want to write as much music as possible for as many different games/things as possible and hopefully be able to make a living by only doing that. I hope some people will appreciate my music while I continue to follow my dream. As a huge game music fan myself I will do my absolute best to release as much music as possible for everyone to enjoy at will.

For more on Mattias Häggström Gerdt, visit his website, anosou.com, or visit his artist page at Overclocked Remix.

Front page photo from ocremix.org.

Schreiber. Photo from mlive.com.

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Zombies and Star Wars: Not a pairing people are quick to make, but Joe Schreiber has proven they can compliment each other quite well.

In 2009, Schreiber became a New York Times best-selling author with Death Troopers, a book about a plague that turns humans and aliens into rabid zombies. The concept seemed to fascinate the fandom. A video teaser contest was even held in anticipation for the book. Then on December 28, a prequel called Red Harvest was released. Harvest lets readers in on the origin story of the plague, and how it originated in a Sith temple thousands of years before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope. Like it’s predecessor, Red Harvest is a New York Times best-seller.

But Schreiber’s work isn’t exclusive to Star Wars. He’s published three original horror novels: Eat The Dark, Chasing the Dead and No Doors, No Windows. In spring 2010, his book Supernatural: The Unholy Cause was released, based on the popular CW show.

Schreiber is a man who knows his horror, and Primary Ignition recently corresponded with him via email to talk Star Wars, zombies, and just what scares HIM…

1. Your blog is called The Scary Parent. I have to ask…is that just a cool title, or a name affectionately given by the wife and kids?

The blog was started as a place to put the scary stories I told my kids, back in 2006…a long time ago. It just stuck. I don’t even tell scary stories to my kids anymore — they now prefer stories about 50s-era pop culture alternate history with aliens and government agencies, most of which I make up while driving them to music class or sleepovers. Sometimes I think about changing it, but then I realize how much lazier I’ve become since then and decided, I guess I can just stay scary.

2. Talk to me about your background a bit. When did you first discover you had a talent for writing, horror writing nonetheless?

I don’t know about discovering the talent. I basically discovered the desire to write stories a long time ago, and I found out how much gratification I got out of writing — I’d read echoes of it in essays by guys like Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison, who talked about writing like some holy, all-consuming mission that they really didn’t have much choice about, and I identified with that. I didn’t really care who read my stories, or even how good they were at first…I just wanted to lose myself in something that I cared more intensely about than anything I’d ever discovered before or since. I was reading a ton of Stephen King around this time too and he also had a lot to say about the process of being a writer and what it meant to more or less discover this involuntary story-making machine in your head. It struck me then, as now, that it was a very romantic idea of giving yourself up to the creative process entirely. The whole horror thing, though, was more of an afterthought — I was writing crime stories, melodrama, short Super 8 movies (yes, I am that old), even poetry and plays. It was ultimately the horror that got published and then like that, I was a horror writer.

Photo from thementalcavity.blogspot.com.

3. Thanks to Death Troopers and Red Harvest, you’re now a two-time New York Times best-selling author. Was that a goal you’d set for yourself as an author, or just one of those things that would happen be cool if you got it? What’s it like to carry that title?

It was really exciting because even before Death Troopers came out, there was a ton of buzz about the book. Somebody told me that Shelly Shapiro, my editor at Del Rey, and a kind of goddess figure in this whole universe, works from her home office up in Maine, and they said, “Well, when every single one of your writers is a New York Times best-seller, you can work wherever you want.” And I was like, gulp. Because you don’t want to be the one who breaks the streak, you know what I mean? I got back from the Death Troopers tour and got an email saying guess what, you’re on the list. I was out with my family for dinner and I just about started crying like a little girl, because that’s how I roll.

4. Your book jacket says you’ve got several original Star Wars action figures. What’s the crown jewel of your collection?

I’ve got a Chewie with the original blaster and everything. All my original collection is long gone, so these are ones that I bought back on eBay, and it’s pretty limited. I’ve got a Boba Fett I’m pretty fond of too. None of it holds a candle to the original 18” Kenner Alien doll with original packaging that my wife bought me a few years ago. If I’ve got a crown jewel, it’s that one — I’ve wanted it since I was 10.

5. In order to get into Red Harvest, we’ve got to talk about Death Troopers. Before that book was released, you’d already established yourself with books like Chasing the Dead and No Doors, No Windows. Was Death Troopers something you’d originally pitched or something you were approached about? In general, how did that project come about?

My agent called one day and asked if I’d be interested in doing a Star Wars zombie novel. It sounded too good to be true. It turned out that my editor at the time, a guy named Keith Clayton, at Del Rey, was involved with the Expanded Universe and he and some other guys had basically been bullshitting at the bar at some convention and they were like, how about a Star Wars horror novel? Why don’t we ask Joe what he can come up with. And I was like, whoa, baby.

I did one outline which nobody liked in particular — it relied way too much on too many established characters and action and not enough atmosphere and frisson — and then I did a rewrite, and eventually it was like, this is it. This is what we want. Because of the process of getting it vetted by Lucas and Del Rey and everybody else, by the time I got the okay, I was dying to jump in and get writing. I think you can feel that on the page, the sense of this guy who’s just champing at the bit to get into the story.

6. To say the least, Death Troopers and Red Harvest are two of a great many places zombies have been popping up lately. What do you think it is about zombies that has the public so enthralled with them lately?

I guess if I had to posit a theory, I would say that zombies feed into a lot of the dark fascinations of modern culture, ideas about contagion and overpopulation, and our susceptability to viral threats, and just the general finicky and untrustworthy nature of all the good, modern conveniences that we naturally feel entitled to, being good citizens of the 21st century. We’re fascinated by how quickly all of this could be stripped away and how utterly screwed we’d be when the corpses start knocking out the cable and the internet and find their way into our gated communities and homes.

7. I remember there was a lot of anticipation for Death Troopers. I assume that’s because it was so different. That cover (by Indika Studios and David Stevenson) said it all. We were going someplace we’d never gone before. There was even a fan-made video teaser contest. Once the hype started to build, did you feel the pressure of living up to it?

Keith told me one piece of advice — stay off the boards.  Don’t even read what they’re saying out there.  It was great advice, and I tried to follow it. I still read the reviews when they came in, but I tried not to worry about it. That kind of pressure doesn’t bother me, actually.  The pressure that gets to me is the pressure that I feel at the very beginning, when the page is blank and it’s just you and the screen down in the basement at 9 a.m. and you’re trying to find your way into the story, working on nothing but black coffee and blind faith. Now that’s scary.

Photo from manhalo.com.

8. One of the things that surprised me about Death Troopers was that about a hundred pages in, Han Solo and Chewbacca showed up. Were they always part of the story, or were they added later on?

Han and Chewie were actually a much bigger part of the original outline, and it was pointed out to me that the more I relied on established characters, the less the reader was going to worry about really bad things happening to them. Of course, this is absolutely right, and I went back and winnowed them down to where they are now — supporting characters, which is the way it should be.

9. Being a Star Wars fan yourself, was it at all nerve-wracking to work in a universe that so many people around the world love so much, writing characters like Han and Chewie? Or did part of you simply revert back to being that kid playing with his action figures?

Again, not that nerve-wracking at all. If you grow up with the movies, then you hear Harrison Ford’s voice in your head. You hear the droids. You hear the music, and you see the cold steel corridors and weird octagonal airlocks. It’s all there. So once I got the access codes right, it was basically playtime.

10. In Death Troopers, you introduced a zombifying sickness that grips an entire Star Destroyer. In Red Harvest, we learn where that sickness originated. When you wrote Death Troopers, did you already know where the sickness came from, when it was created, etc?

Not a clue. When I started writing Death Troopers, I didn’t know how that book was going to end. For me, a lot of the time, the outline is the thing I write to show people that I think I know what I’m doing — which is actually very rarely the case.

11. Red Harvest takes place in the “Sith Era,” a thousand years before Luke Skywalker or Han Solo are around. Characters like Darth Scabrous and Hestizo Trace are all new. Were you nervous about writing all new characters in a time period not quite as many fans are accustomed to reading about?

No, not really. My feeling is, if I can create a sympathetic and familiar group of characters, relationships that resonate with the reader on a comfortable and recognizable level, then it doesn’t really matter what era we’re dealing with. You can pick the most familiar era in pop culture history but if your people stumble around like bad claymation, doing and saying the things that the writer demands that they do and say, the result is going to suck regardless.

12. Is there a Star Wars character you’d love to write, but haven’t gotten the chance to yet?

Vader.  Back when we didn’t know what era it was going to be set in, Red Harvest was being referred to as 28 DAYS VADER.  (Then it became The Exorsith).

13. Judging from your Star Wars books, as well as Eat The Dark, you seem to really like trapping your characters in places they can’t escape from, with things that are out to get them. I would imagine that’s a scenario that puts a good amount of fear into you, as well. What does scare “The Scary Parent?”

Losing sight of my kids in a public place. Back in November we took a family trip to Europe and there were a few moments — just a few, thank God — where I suddenly realized I didn’t know one or the other had taken off to. Besides that, just the usual stuff, I guess…chemical weapons, politicians, angry teens with weapons fetishes, the odd noises that wake you up in the middle of the night wondering if it was just the house settling on its foundation.

14. You’ve got a young adult book coming out this fall, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick. Can you tell us a bit about that?

It’s about a kid who discovers that the female foreign exchange student living in his house is actually an assassin with five targets to hit in New York City before she flies home. It’s the the John Hughes movie that Luc Besson never directed.

Photo from onlinemovieshut.com.

15. It seems like more and more “adult” authors, like James Patterson and Carl Hiaasen are dabbling in the world of YA books. Why do you think that is?

The market is — or used to be — wide open. It’s getting a bit crowded now. But there are still readers out there, and I think “adult” writers have started getting hip to the potential new audience, to varying success. I never thought of Au Revoir as a YA novel until my agent started shopping to YA imprints, and then it was like, I guess this is what I did. That’s how you find out what kind of writer you really are, it turns out…from the people who market you.

16. Planning to come back to the Star Wars universe again, soon? It’s hard to argue with two best-sellers.

That’s up to greater minds than mine at Lucasfilm and Del Rey. Both SW novels were written by invitation, and if they want another one, then I’ll be happy to oblige. So far, nothing’s been said.

17. Anything else you’d like to add? Anything else coming up that we can look forward to?

I’m writing the sequel to Au Revoir now, due out sometime in 2012. I’m also doing the screenplay adaptation of Ryan Brown’s high school zombie football movie Play Dead, which is supposed to start shooting sometime late this year, if I can get the thing done. We’ll see.

Click here to visit Joe Schreiber’s Amazon.com page.
Front page image from giantkillersquid.com.

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder
Eric Stuckart
Creator, Destroyer

You may not have heard of Tristan Clopet yet, but if he has his way, you will soon.

The Toronto native has been making some noise in the local Miami and New York music scenes. His first EP, Duende, was released in 2009, and was followed by an 11 city tour. He also appeared on the Florida Grammy Awards, and the local CBS Morning Show in Florida. His second EP, Purple, came out last January. Clopet has also opened for Grammy Award winners Inner Circle, Academy Award winners The Swell Season, and platinum recording artist Sandi Thom.

Clopet’s music has a groovy and heartfelt aura about it. His songs can be heard free of charge at TristanClopet.com. Clopet recently corresponded with Primary Ignition via email to talk about his music, some of his higher profile gigs, and his plans for the future.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. You were born in Toronto, right? How did you initially become interested in music?

Born in Toronto. Lived there until I was about five. I moved with my mom and sister to Raleigh, North Carolina. Once I got into the swing of things, my dear old mum told me I have to start taking music lessons. A child should be so lucky but at the time, I was pissed she rejected my first choice (drums.) I had tinkered around on the piano before, so the choice was natural. Though I really wonder if it wasn’t written in the cards. My mom played piano and my grandmother was a church organist. Genetics is so interesting.

2. Your bio says you went to the University of Miami. When did you attend, what was your major, and what made you end up deciding to be a full time performer?

I transferred from Brooklyn College in ’07. In ’09 at Miami, I was about two semesters from graduating when I thought it would be pointless to continue. Originally, I went to acting school in New York out of high school. I always knew I wanted to perform in some facet and the point of enrolling in college was to secure a ‘back up plan.’ Whatever. Both schools introduced me to English teachers I was so lucky to meet, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time. I learned a hell of a lot but, unfortunately, the proportionate “cost-to-learning something that will help me in future” ratio was too small to continue.

3. Talk to me about breaking into the Miami music scene. How hard (if at all) is it to get those first few gigs?

Not at all, which was a blessing. I remember just going to venues by myself with a CD, completely naive, asking for a slot. Most asked about my experience, some didn’t and a few booked me. I soon discovered that it’s all about ‘How many people can you bring?’ At first, you get your friends to come. If you’re good, they’ll tell their friends and so on. Music is tough in Miami. It’s just not something people wish to do with their evening, which is why my band and I spend so much time touring.

4. Every city has its own unique traits, and is its own unique character. What kind of character is Miami? What are some of the pros and cons of playing in that city?

Miami is the guy from your high school whose dad bought him the red Ferrari and all the girls really liked him, until they spoke to him. Then they realized he was kind of a tool. Still, that’s not to say there aren’t people who dig live music. We’ve been very fortunate to meet a lot of cool people down here who like our music. It’s a tightly knit circle of outcast friends.

5. Your MySpace page describes your genre as “Alternative/Funk/Ghettotech.” More casual music fans like me might not understand what you’re getting at. How would you define your style?

Honestly, I’m not really sure what Ghettotech means either, I just like the word. I have a new album coming out in the spring. I’m so proud, I can’t wait to share it but this sound is slightly different from Purple and Duende. More me. New sound = the love child of britpop, indie rock and dramatic progressive rock. The stuff will be great to play live, too. We’re all very excited.

6. Personally, I can hear a little bit of Hendrix, a little bit of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in some of your songs. Who would you cite among your musical influences?

Well Hendrix was the greatest influence on the Chili Peppers so a very acute observation on your part. The Peppers were a big influence for me early on. They’re still my favorite band of all time. On this new record, you can hear bits of Blur, Local Natives, Arctic Monkeys and perhaps still a bit of the good ol’ Chilis.

7. Talk to me about the feeling you get when performing in front of people. Being an entertainer in any era is tough, because you don’t always know when your next paycheck is coming. So what is it about what you do that makes it worth it for you?

Great question. Simply put, it’s the only thing in the world that makes me feel alive. Who cares where my next paycheck is coming from? I don’t have kids. I can live off soup. What’s the point of going through the drudges of stereotypical life just because it’s the norm. I’d rather try and make a difference doing what I love and die trying than live the 9 to 5. And if you love the 9 to 5 and that’s the thing that makes you feel alive, then you’re better off than most of us.

8. You have your second EP, Purple, available as a ‘Pay What You Want’ download on your site. What made you decide to go that route, and how has it affected your exposure to music fans?

The music business is the most dynamic in the world. As we speak, it’s going through a revolution. Right or wrong, the consumer found out it doesn’t have to pay for music anymore. So the whole art shifts to being focused on live act. Coupled with that, technology has made the songwriter one of the most common artists out there. So there’s a lot more ‘noise’ that a musician has to compete with for their listener’s attention. In our opinion, we should have the least amount of barricades standing between our music and the listener. If they like it, they’ll buy a ticket to the show and maybe get a t-shirt. That will help us keep doing what we’re doing. Everyone’s a winner.

With the pay what you want scheme, if someone’s in a position to donate for an album, that helps us enormously and it’s no skin off their back.

9. We all know that the music industry isn’t what it used to be. Do you find it easier to go independent in such a fashion rather than being affiliated with any type of record label?

No. An artist needs a record label to stay above water for the long haul. That’s a fact. No performer out there has enough money to support themselves, enough time and energy to promote, market, manage, book, blah blah blah. But you certainly don’t need a MAJOR record label. Most independent labels are ideal fits for actual artists and not pop-star ‘tween puppets.

10. What’s your songwriting process like? Does it start with a pad and paper? Does it start with you just sort of playing and searching for something? Let’s use “Proximity Bomb” as an example. Where did that song come from?

Thanks for the song example because it truly is different for each song. Mostly it starts with an individual part of music. And I build piece by piece after that. With Proximity Bomb, I played the main bass line on the piano and then added the drums. Once I got the rhythm down, I thought about melody. Once the melody was done (and I had basically scatted how I wanted the vocal part to be), I thought about what type of lyric would fit. I had wanted to write about the fear of commitment for a while and the analogy of a ‘proximity bomb’ and asking someone not to get too close both made the point and had the energy desired. Then I wrote the lyric. Once everything was written out, I gave it to the band who offered their arranging suggestions and we arrived at what you hear on the album.

11. You’ve opened for Sandi Thom, The Inner Circle and The Swell Session. Those certainly aren’t bad names to have on your resume. How did those gigs come about, and what sticks out in your mind about some of them? Did Sandi or any of the other artists offer you any praise or advice?

Yeah, I’ve been very fortunate to play with all three. If you work as hard as you can, are nice to people and stay positive in adversity, you will succeed. It’s as plain as that. It’s actually the praise from each artist that was the greatest compliment. It’s one thing to hear your friend tell you she likes the new tune but when someone as successful as one of them tells you they love your voice, it’s just an awesome feeling. I think the biggest compliment I’ve ever received was Glen Hansard asking me to join him and The Swell Season for their encore in Orlando. It was the second night of a back-to-back and I’m watching them from the wings with my best friend and tour manager, Chase, and they come off and Glen comes right over to me and says, “Tristan, we want you to come on for the encore. It’s a real simple song. Just G and A with a C# minor thrown in there somewhere. Cool? Awesome pal. See you in five.” And walks away. I looked at Chase, and he looked at me and he said, “Good luck with that C# minor.” It was a great night.

12. You also had a gig on your local CBS affiliate in Miami. Camera shy? Or are you used to it all by now?

You know I’ve never understood being nervous about tapings. I’m lucky enough to not really get nervous for much but I surely never get nervous for performing in front of a camera. Even if it’s live. I’ll tell you what does make me nervous, driving in England. I always have to think twice about which lane to get in.

13. What’s next for you? And where else can curious readers find you online?

We’re focusing all our efforts on our full-length release this April/May. It’s a big one for us. The album will be on offer at TristanClopet.com. It will probably be ‘pay what you want.’ That’s the best place to go for news but we always update our Facebook too.

Front page image from flickr.com.

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

In a relatively short time, Greg Prato has built up a resume that would make many a writer/music lover jealous.

Prato with Rob Halford.

Currently based in Long Island, NY, Prato is a regular writer for RollingStone.com, <i>Classic Rock </i> magazine and <i>All Music Guide</i>, among other publications. He’s also the author of several books, including Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music, No Schlock, Just Rock, Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story and A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon.

Obviously, Prato is no stranger to writing about the music industry. He recently released two new books: MTV Ruled the World: The History of Early Music Video and The Eric Carr Story.

Prato recently corresponded with Primary Ignition via email to talk about his new books, his personal memories of MTV, and why it’s important that the world remember Eric Carr.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background, as a writer and otherwise?
I’m from Greenlawn, New York, and went to Harborfields High School (the same high school that Mariah Carey went to…yipee! She was a senior when I was a freshman). I’ve always been a major rock n’ roll fan, and eventually became a writer in 1997. Over the years, I’ve written for quite a few sites/mags (All Music Guide, Rolling Stone.com, Classic Rock Magazine, etc), and started writing books in 2008, my first book being A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon.

You’ve got two new books out: MTV Ruled The World: The Early Years of Music Video and The Eric Carr Story. How long did it take to put these books two books together?
I started both books around the same time – January of 2010, and had them both completed and ready for order by December of 2010! Is completing two books and having them ready for order in less than a year some kind of record? Maybe yes, maybe no…I’m uncertain. I’ll let you decide. But anyway, since both books are mostly based in the 1980′s, I thought it would be a good idea to work on both books at the same time, which was the same thing I did a few years back with Grunge is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music and A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other (since both stories took place largely in the 1990′s). I was quite happy with how those two books turned out, so I figured, “Why not try this approach again?”

Let’s start with MTV Ruled The World. What inspired you to write this book, and what can readers expect from it?
I was always a huge fan of MTV early on. It totally changed the way I listened to and viewed music. And early on, MTV’s playlist was not as regimented as it would eventually become. The MTV books that have been written thus far by other writers include some info about the channel’s early years, but to the best of my knowledge, none focused solely on it. In MTV Ruled the World, readers can expect the story of how the channel was formed, what was going on behind the scenes during its formative years, and also, what was going on in rock music in general during this time (the US Festivals, Live Aid, the PMRC, fashion, etc.). And on top of it, you’ll read about the stories behind some of the era’s most popular videos, from quite a few different genres (R&B/hip-hop, punk/new wave, heavy metal, rock, pop rock, and oddities). There’s something for everyone in this book!

You interview a lot of interesting folks in this book (Rick Springfield, Daryl Hall, John Oates, “Weird Al” Yanovic). Which interview were you able to have the most fun with? Which was the most interesting?
Some of the most interesting interviews included Jello Biafra from the Dead Kennedys (although the DK’s weren’t played on MTV, Jello had some interesting points to make), as well as the Police’s Stewart Copeland, Devo’s Gerald Casale, Frank Stallone, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, and Daryl Hall and John Oates. All were honest and full of great stories/observations. Also what was cool was speaking to some of the era’s top video directors, including Pete Angelus (who directed such great Van Halen and David Lee Roth videos as “Hot for Teacher” and “California Girls”), Steve Barron (Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing,” a-ha’s “Take on Me,” etc.) and Bob Giraldi (Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” Lionel Richie’s “Hello,” etc.). And lastly, it was great speaking to such original MTV VJ’s as Nina Blackwood and Alan Hunter, as well as the architects of the channel, Bob Pittman and Les Garland.

The cast of Jersey Shore. Photo from canyon-news.com.

What do you personally remember from those early MTV years? How does it compare with the network we see today? Is it better? Worse?
MTV today is a big goof. I never see music videos on it anymore, only horrible reality shows. I very rarely ever watch it. Actually, one of the chapters in MTV Ruled the World is about what everyone that I interviewed thinks of MTV today…and it ain’t pretty. What I remember about MTV early on were the VJ’s personalities, the interesting fashions/ hairstyles, and the wide variety of music they played. Everything from Joan Jett to Men at Work to Van Halen to Michael Jackson to “Weird Al” Yankovic to Madonna. It was almost like a freeform radio station, to a certain degree. They say “variety is the spice of life,” and I couldn’t agree more – especially when it comes to music.

Do you have a favorite music video?
A few videos stick out from the time. All of Men at Work’s from Business as Usual are classic (“Who Can It Be Now,” “Down Under,” “Be Good Johnny”), as well as Van Halen and David Lee Roth (“Hot for Teacher,” “California Girls,” “Goin’ Crazy”), and Michael Jackson’s videos from Thriller (“Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” and especially, the title track) certainly raised the bar with music video making. Also what was great were the quirky/odd videos that MTV would play early on, namely Barnes & Barnes’ “Fish Heads,” Utopia’s “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now,” Devo’s “Peek-A-Boo,” and “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “Eat It.” And it just so happens that all of the stories behind all of these aforementioned videos are included in MTV Ruled the World!

Shifting to The Eric Carr Story, are you a KISS fan, Greg?
You can definitely say I’m a KISS fan. That said, I don’t like everything they’ve ever put out, but there are a select few bands in rock history that I can say I loved everything they did from beginning to end. I first discovered KISS as a young man (in kindergarten!), and was lucky to see them on the Dynasty tour in ’79, when my father was kind enough to take his seven-year-old son to see them at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island (with Judas Priest opening). That certainly set me on my way.

This book marks the first time that Carr (one of the drummers for KISS) has been profiled in a book. Why do you think that is?
There have certainly been enough KISS-related books written over the years, so you’d think that there would have been one by now, right? Perhaps because Eric wasn’t an original band member, and because Gene and Paul got all the spotlight when he was a member throughout the 1980′s, his profile was a bit lower. But fans knew the truth, that his drumming and drum sound were a MAJOR reason for the album Creatures of the Night turning out as great as it did. That album can be pinpointed as putting the band back on track musically, after a few years of floundering around.

Photo from drumchat.com.

Based on your observations, what is it about Carr’s story that makes it unique? Obviously being in KISS makes you unique by default. But what is it about Carr that makes his story a good one?
I know what made me always relate to Eric was the fact that he was an unknown drummer who was given the opportunity of a lifetime – to join one of hard rock/heavy metal’s all time great bands. So I think that type of “cinderella story” shows others that anything is possible in life. Also what makes The Eric Carr Story unique is that it focuses a lot on KISS’ non-make-up years, which is something that the majority of the KISS books written since the mid-late 1990′s have not done. So this book doubles as Eric’s story, as well as a focus on this aforementioned KISS era.

The book also doubles as a look at the band in the 1980s. What can fans expect to see from that aspect of the book?

You’ll be able to find out (for the first time, to the best of my knowledge) just what the heck the storyline to KISS’ bombastic concept album, (Music From) The Elder was all about, via an interview I conducted with the album’s producer, Bob Ezrin. You’ll also get the inside stories behind the sessions for all the KISS albums Eric played on, as well as the album’s supporting tours. Also, the book includes quite a few rarely seen or never before published photos of Eric and KISS, that I’m sure fans will get a kick out of.

What’s on the horizon for Greg Prato? Any new projects fans can look forward to?

Yes, I always like to stay busy with projects. The summer of 2011 will see the release of a book about the 1980′s era New York Jets football team, which will come out via ECW Press (the same publisher that put out one of my earlier books,Grunge is Dead). I interviewed many of the top Jets players from that era (Joe Klecko, Mark Gastineau, Wesley Walker, etc.), as well as members from teams the Jets played against. You can check ECW’s website, for updates regarding its release date. Also, I am working on the autobiography of one of rock’s all-time great drummers, Carmine Appice. This book will most certainly knock your socks off, as Carmine is holding nothing back with his memories about recording/touring with the likes of Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, etc., and all the friendships he made along the way (Led Zeppelin, KISS, etc.). Check Carmine’s official website for info about its progress and release date. And lastly, you can always check out many of previous books via this link - http://stores.lulu.com/gregprato – which includes ordering info and sample chapters you can read before purchasing.

Book covers courtesy of Greg Prato.
Front page image from burnwoodtonite.blogspot.com.

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

AeroSith, a Star Wars tribute band. Image courtesy of Mark Edlitz.

In Jedi Junkies, director Mark Edlitz helps give viewers an inside look at the Star Wars fandom, which in part consists of some of the most passionate and dedicated fans in the world. We see a man who crafts personalized lightsabers for a living, the men behind the popular Chad Vader YouTube series, a Star Wars tribute band called AeroSith, and more.

Levitz has written for, E! and Bravo, and has written special material for ABC, CW and Fox. Edlitz has also worked as a personal assistant to David Mamet and Gary Sinise, and is an assistant to Susan Sarandon.

Primary Ignition recently corresponded with Edlitz via email to discuss the film’s development, his own views on Star Wars, and if there are any die hard fans that even weird him out.

1. Mark, can you tell us a bit about yourself? Where you’re from, your background, etc.
Years ago I went to the New York University (NYU) film school.  After that I’ve had a number of different jobs. Everything from working at the Museum of TV & Radio to working as a production assistant on Batman Forever. My job on Batman was to hold up a giant cardboard sheet so that paparazzi couldn’t take photos of Val Kilmer in his Bat-suit.

Then I made my first feature film. I wrote and directed an independent film called The Eden Myth — which starred Justin Kirk who you might know from the TV show Weeds.

2. How long have you been a Star Wars fan?
I’ve been a Star Wars fan since 1977 when my Grandma Jean took me to see it. I was about six years old when I first saw it so a lot of it went over my head. I spent the entire two years between Empire and Jedi endlessly debating if Vader really was Luke’s father.

3. What prompted the idea for Jedi Junkies? When did you begin to develop it?
I knew I wanted to make a movie but I didn’t want to have to get someone else’s permission to make it. I didn’t want to pitch the film to anyone. I didn’t want to seek someone’s approval. I decided I would make the film with my resources — even if they were somewhat limited. All I needed was a camera and a laptop to edit it. And I needed a subject matter that would hold my interest during the entire time it would take to shoot and edit the film. Because I’m a big Star Wars fan it seemed like a natural choice.

4.  Can you generally describe the premise of the film for readers who aren’t familiar with it?
Jedi Junkies is a film about extreme Star Wars fans. What’s interesting about these fans is that they are not simply obsessed with Star Wars. They take their own interests, skills and passions and filter them through the Star Wars universe.

Candy Keane. Image from threemusesclothing.com

We interviewed the New York Jedi, who are a group of New Yorkers who practice their mad-lightsaber skills. There’s also Candy Keane (pictured in the front page image) who is a gorgeous cosplay model who dresses up in Leia’s metal bikini. She’s gotten so much attention doing it that she’s been able to make a career out of it. She now sells her own costumes. We also interviewed  a guy named Bob Iancome who builds his own lightsabers. And then there’s Dennis Ward who built a life-size Millenium Falcon in his backyard. How cool is that? He built his own life-size space ship. You have to love that.

5. Obviously you can’t pull something like this off on your own. Who was there to help you?
I had a lot of help in making this film. A lot. Jerry Kolber produced it with me. I’ve known Jerry since my days at NYU. He’s the smartest, most loyal guy I know. Stephen J Walker was the editor. He spent countless hours culling through all the footage and bringing the film into focus. And Mark Grande is the executive producer was very instrumental in getting the film out there. They are sort of the core team. But there were many more people who made this possible including friends (like Adam Davis who wrote the movie Just Friends who is always there for moral support), family members and Star Wars fans. The Star Wars community was very supportive of the project. I owe big thanks to my fellow Jedi Junkies.

6. What sort of equipment did you have at your disposal? Were you working with any kind of budget?
We went to B&H Photo in NYC and bought  a camera. We found a nice 3-chip camera that really didn’t cost a fortune. There was no real budget. We just took care of expenses as they came  up.

7. Obviously the scope of a project like this is huge. When you were working on it, did it ever occur to you that you might be in over your head?
There were definitely times when I had moments of doubt, where I wondered if the film was going to work. If it would be entertaining and funny. But we just kept on working and working until we were very happy with the finished film. I’m proud to say that I don’t think we compromised.

8. You interview a lot of interesting folks in this documentary. We see Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan of Chad Vader fame, plus a few fans with some of the largest collections I’ve ever seen. How did you get ahold of these people, much less convince them to be part of Jedi Junkies? How did you sell them on the project?
Aaron and Matt were very kind to do an interview for the film. They were in that group of people who were supportive of the project. At first, we met most of the Star Wars fans through the social networks. MySpace, MeetUp, even Craigs List. When people became comfortable with us, they would tell us about other fans. We found out about Dennis Ward and his home made Millenium Falcon from a fan from Denmark! It’s interesting that people from diverse backgrounds find commonality and community through Star Wars.

Munn. Image from newsarama.com

9. You got to spend some time with Olivia Munn and Eduardo Sanchez as well. How did you make that happen?
I met Olivia through my day job, and I’m very grateful that she took the time to sit for an interview. I met Ed Sanchez, who directed The Blair Witch Project, through someone in Star Wars community. I was thrilled that he let us come to his house to interview him. He showed up his one-of-a-kind ”Blair Witch Yoda”.

10. Out of everyone you met, who had the most impressive collection?
Ed Sanchez has the most impressive collection. By far. What’s cool about his collection is that unlike many collectors he doesnt keep his toys in boxes. He takes them out and displays them in fun ways. He hangs his space ships from his ceiling. He does it in such a way that it looks like the ships are fighting each other. He has the collection that every Star Wars fan wants.

11. This movie was made over the course of about four years, correct? So was it a matter of working on it in intervals when certain opportunities or interviews would become available? Was there ever a point that you thought you wouldn’t get it done?
That’s right, four years. The first three months or so we actively researched the community. Trying to find the right, most dynamic people to talk to. Then, about two years of shooting. Then in the last period, we were editing. But even in the editing phase, we continued to shoot. Which is a great way to make a movie. Because you see how the project is coming along and you see what you need. And then you just go out and shoot it.

12. I mention in my review that the movie has no narrator, and not a lot of music. What that a matter of resources, or was it a creative choice?
We didn’t want a narrator commenting on the fans or their behavior. We wanted the people we profiled to tell their own stories. We figured we’d show their actions, provide a little context for then and then let the audience draw their own conclusions.

As far as the music, we tried to use the music selectively and for dramatic impact. So, when we show the NY Jedi training, we use fast-pace techno music to illustrate how dynmaic they can be. To convey how they feel about themselves in action.

There’s another moment in the film where we show what happened to the life-size Millenium Falcon which was built in Dennis Ward’s backyard. The ship was knocked over and destroyed by a bad storm. So they set the Falcon on fire. In that moment, we used dramtic music to underscore their loss. I know it might sound funny, but he put so much time and effort into building the ship, that you feel bad when it’s destroyed.

Dennis Ward's life-size Millenium Falcon under construction. Image courtesy of Mark Edlitz.

13. When was the film officially completed? What was it like to finally sit back and see what you’d worked so hard to create?
The film was completed in late May. The first time I saw it with an audience was at the cast and crew screening at NYU. My son sat on my lap and watched the movie with me. I’ll always remember that.

14. Do you have a favorite part of the movie? Was there a portion of it that was especially fun to make?
I have a lot of favorite parts. The section on slave Leias is pretty fun. I love Ed Sanchez’s very funny self-effacing comments about collecting. I also like when Michael Knight (who is covered in Star Wars tattoos) warns people about the dangers of collecting.  He says, “Don’t start because if you do, you’ll never stop.” He also says that he collected all sorts of food, like cheese flavored Doritos which he doesn’t particularly like, simply because the manufacturers put Star Wars characters on the package.

We shot the making of a fan film and during production, their lights catch on fire. But that didn’t phase the filmmakers. They just kept on going. I get a kick out of the fans expressing themselves and their love for Star Wars and not caring what others say.

15. When meeting with the various fans, did you ever meet someone that was a little too out there, and made you think to yourself: “Okay, that’s somebody that takes it too far…”
There’s one fan we profiled who got rid of his bed to make room for his Star Wars toys. Thought that was a bit overboard. Another buys 20 different versions of the same space ships and keeps them in the box.

16. There’s not a huge amount of love out there for the prequels. What’s your take on how the three newer films turned out? Was Jar Jar really all that bad? Really?
My favorite movie of the prequels is Revenge of the Sith. As far as Jar Jar…I just met the actor who played Jar Jar.  I gave him a copy of Jedi Junkies!

Image courtesy of Mark Edlitz.

17. The film has been out since May. What’s the reception for it been like?
I am thrilled with the reaction so far.  We’re getting really great reviews.  We’ve gotten coverage and reviews from AOL News, Fox Radio, amNew York, Digital Movie Reviews, Geek Chic Daily, Geek Twins…anything with the word “geek” in the title. I really love it when a Star Wars fan says, “You get what it’s like to be a fan. You captured our passion and our sense of community.”

18. What would you like this film’s legacy to be?
Wow, I’d love this film to have a legacy. But for now I just hope people watch and enjoy it!  If I had to answer I’d say we tried to show the entire unvarnished truth about fandom. The good, the bad and the ugly. But in a way that was authentic, fair and respectful.

19. Anything else you’d like to add?
People can go to JediJunkies.com to watch the trailer or get the film. The film is available on iTunes and Amazon. Only $2.99 to rent and $9.99 to own. Which is much cheaper than a visit to comic-con!

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Recently, Primary Ignition had the chance to speak with Daniel Burwen, founder and CEO of Cognito Comics, an up-and-coming publishing company that aims to address world issues via comics, media and games. Cognito plans to present its content to readers via digital outlets like the iPad, with interactive features that would be impossible to find on the printed page.

Currently in development at Cognito is Operation Ajax, a non-fiction project inspired by the investigative journalism of best-selling author Stephen Kinzer in his book All The Shah’s Men. Kinzer himself is involved with the editing process for the story. Ajax tells the true story of the CIA’s involvement in the Middle East in 1953, and the roots of America’s conflict with Iran. Burwen did not confirm a release date, but it is expected to come out later this year. Preview pages can be seen below.

Burwen spoke with PI via email this week to discuss his company’s past, present and future, as well as his experiences at the San Diego Comic Con this year.

Image courtesy of Cognito Comics.

PRIMARY IGNITION: Mr. Burwen, can you tell us a little bit about your background?
DANIEL BURWEN: I started my professional career as a freelance graphic designer and worked on large commercial game projects, including creating cars and tanks for James Bond and skate parks for Tony Hawk at Electronic Arts (EA) and Activision. I left Activision to pursue teaching, and I’ve trained artists at three top-tier arts colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area. I also founded the Gamestepper Online Community to connect students to each other and to industry professionals looking to recruit the hottest new talent.

PI: Tell me a little bit about Cognito Comics. When was the company formed? Why? By whom?
DB: I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet and speak with author and journalist Stephen Kinzer in 2008. I thought his writing and research on matters regarding US foreign policy was unique and engaging, and I wanted to bring his work to audiences that would not usually pick up a book of nonfiction. He was interested in the idea, so I got the project funded, and founded the company.

PI: Is it tough to start your own comic book company? Granted, you guys are still new. But what’s that process like? Has this been something you’ve wanted to do for awhile?
DB: Cognito Comics is definitely not a traditional comic book company, so building the infrastructure is challenging in atypical ways. For example, we use an all digital pipeline, and work with artists all around the world. We keep very strange hours. Finding the right technology and talent has been a difficult but exciting process. It is well worth the effort.

Burwen. Photo courtesy of Cognito Comics.

PI: Has the idea for the electronic aspect always been there, or did that develop along the way?
DB: We were gearing up to launch art production on a printed graphic novel when the iPad announcement dropped. I knew that the technology would provide an incredible reading experience, and I wanted to participate in making that possible. I guess my background in games has made me sensitive to technological developments in a way that traditional comic book professionals aren’t. I really respect the history and art of the comic and graphic novel industries, and can’t see mobile devices replacing print media. I think that there’s space in the marketplace for both because there is a demand for both. The tangibility of print and the interactivity of digital are different experiences, and I’m certain that readers will want the best of each.

So I decided to take on the task of developing content for the new medium, merging traditional comics with the wide-open field of mobile touch-interface media.

I partnered with Tall Chair, Inc. a San Francisco-based independent developer of highly rated mobile touch applications, to develop the first Interactive Reader Application for the iPad and deliver the first rich, interactive, multi-layered historic graphic novels.

PI: How is the iPad tie-in going to work? How can someone read a comic book/graphic novel on the iPad? What kind of additional features will be available electronically?
DB: Comics are designed based on the principle that a reader can look at a number of windows, moving from one to the next, and experience a story based on the images and text therein. With mobile devices in general, and the iPad in particular given its amazing screen resolution and ten point simultaneous touch screen interactivity, readers will be able to dive in beyond the flat static page. The flow between panels becomes dynamic, the art itself is backlit to reveal a richness of color that the printed page can’t offer. Whoever has a chance to experience the iPad as an entertainment device will be absolutely blown away. I know I was. And I couldn’t wait to start developing content for it.

The features we provide will include anything we can find to augment the story we are telling, and to remind people that this stuff really did happen. That real people with personalities and families were making decisions that made a major impact on the way that we think and live today. To be able to be immersed in a narrative, and to have that narrative infused with evidence like photos or newspaper articles from the period in which the story took place, it adds an element of humanity to the drama and intrigue. I can’t go too far in revealing what we have planned, but I can say that I think it’s very exciting.

Dan Brazelton, CEO, Tall Chair, Inc. sums this up nicely in the following quote: “Technology makes it possible to re-imagine how much detail we can include in a graphic novel.  We are able to throw away the limitations of a static page and guide people to secret passageways they can go to throughout the historical thriller.”

Image courtesy of Cognito Comics.

PI: Is it inevitable that comics will go digital? Was this move something the company opted for to make itself stand out? Or are you simply ahead of the curve?
DB: Comics have been digital for a long time. Comic artists and designers have used digital media since it was first available. What’s new is that the media is becoming available on mobile devices, and in that respect, I do feel that Cognito is ahead of the curve in that very few people are designing comics to be viewed on mobile devices. I also feel that the industry will start to pay attention to the mobile marketplace, but since the technology is so new, it’s going to take a while for the digital production pipelines to be solid enough that everyone wants to get involved. I think that mobile technology is like the internet: in the early years it was costly and time consuming to have a web presence. Today, it’s a piece of cake.

PI: CognitoComics.com mentions the content the company puts out will have emphasis on real-world issues. What prompted the move in that direction, as opposed to say, doing superhero comics, or comics that strictly have that “popcorn” appeal?
DB: The whole concept behind the founding of Cognito Comics was that I wanted to do socially relevant work through entertainment. If making pure entertainment content was satisfying to me, I’d still be working making art for mainstream games. I mean, entertainment is great, but I want my work to have meaning, to make people think and feel things about the world they live in. Maybe one day I’ll make a cool superhero comic, or something that’s just plain fun, but for now, this is what’s fun to me.

PI: Have you been able to gauge the public’s reaction to Cognito Comics, and what it stands for?
DB: Most of the public reaction has been to how cool the panels of Operation Ajax look on the iPad. People just really want to touch the screen, progress through the pages and look at the art. The reaction has been really positive, but when I talk to people about doing exciting, informative and engaging comics, they seem to get stuck on how comics can be informative. To be honest, it’s hard to convince anyone that something that’s informative can also be exciting and engaging, and be in the style of comics and graphic novels. They mostly look at me and go, ‘really?’ I mean, there are really cool comics out there that do just that. But for some reason, people don’t really know that they exist. But you know, people are curious and smart. They’ll catch on.

Image courtesy of Cognito Comics.

PI: Talk to me about Operation Ajax.
DB: Operation Ajax is actually the code name for the first CIA backed coup to overthrow a democratically elected leader of a foreign country. The story is about a CIA agent whose identity has been erased from all of the records of the incident. He goes to Iran as a young man and participates in the coup, then reflects upon it as a retiree. Meanwhile all these heavy hitters in U.S., British and Iranian politics are wheeling and dealing and doing their thing. We take you into the White House, British Parliament, the halls of the Iranian senate, the factories where laborers worked for less than the cost of living, the first time oil was discovered in Iran, the island where the secret plan was hatched, and more. The best part is, the whole story is edited by this amazing journalist Stephen Kinzer. We go over and over the script to make sure that it’s all as historically accurate as possible.

PI: Cognito Comics was represented at the San Diego Comic Con. What was that experience like?
DB: Comicon was amazing. I got a chance to talk to so many people I respect and admire. I think the best part of the whole weekend was when I handed Scott McCloud my iPad and launched the build of our app. He waved some other people over, said “you gotta see this” and plopped on the floor in the hallway of the convention. We all talked for a while, and I got some really amazing advice from him. That was the same day that the technology section of The New York Times included a piece about the project. I’m concealing about 90 percent of my enthusiasm when I say that it was amazing.

PI: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
DB: Go to our website and check out an early version of our first issue. And go check out the iPad. Words cannot describe how cool this thing is to play with. Cognito Comics’ readers love comics and are excited to experience them in a new way. We are throwing away the limitations of a static page and guiding people to secret passageways they can go to throughout this historical thriller.