The Green Tentacle

Thank you for the information. I've been craving a new CD and had just been thinking it would be nice to hear something new from them. Oh, to be looking forward to something again!

So, I am the manager of a video game retail shop and have the luxury of pumping my mp3 player onto the sales floor. Naturally one would have OCRs playing in a video game store, right? Helps you make it through the day. But the other day something cool and unexpected happened. An older gentleman easily in his 60s, if not 70s came in to look at some used PS2 games, presumably for his grandson/daughter. After a few minutes and tracks had passed, djpretzel's "Jethro and Vash at the Fair" from Chrono Trigger came on. A few moments passed before the gentleman popped his head up from the bin he was looking in and asked "Is this Chrono Trigger music? It sounds different than I remember." Upon further discussion it turns out that he was, in fact, shopping for himself, and was really longing for another game in the Chrono series to come out, and that djpretzel's arrangement rekindled a love for a game he hadn't played in over a decade. How cool is that? I proceeded to pimp the site, like y'do, and passed him a piece of receipt paper with the web address on it. Maybe he'll download some more? Anyway, just an interesting OCR story I wanted to share.

Thanks for the meetup, it was definitely fun to meet some new people. Pity we couldn't make the bbq. Oh, and thanks for the CD, I'm really enjoying it.

As to video cameras, Jiggles has one, but his priest broke it. We've yet to determine if it still functions properly, or at all for that matter... hehe, priests breaking stuff....

I see Jiggy has brought my attendance to your attention And Yay for Philly. That and Baltimore are Pretty much equidistant from the Burg. Looking forward to it!

I will pass the message on to Jiggles McPuff and we'll see if we can make that day happen!

I thought it felt good to Force my brother in law, who is 13 years my junior, to download original mario on the VC. It was great to see his reactions at only being able to run and jump, and occasionally shoot tiny little bouncy fireballs. And God Forbid you touch an enemy from any angle but the top! He loved the game once he got the feel for it, though, and keeps downloading anything I recommend. He even asked to borrow my old SNES, but, well, yeah. That's staying put. I agree that thinking about older games makes me long for a time to which we can't really return, but ultimately I feel as though I'm a part of something bigger. I'm part of a culture with an entertaining and fascinating history, and that makes me feel happy rather than old. No, what made Me feel old was when my 16 year old part-timer didn't know who Peter Gabriel is... How can you not know that?!

I've listened to many remixes, and there's a fine line between interpretation and just getting it wrong. Sometimes your instincts will betray you. Like when you think that milk in the fridge is probably fine to drink... Can't hurt to double check.

The esteem in which I hold you two continues to grow You are an inspiration to us all. Congratulations!

And How. Adaptability truly makes us musicians, right? The first song I picked out by ear was the Legend of Zelda Main theme on my trumpet. I had only been playing for a few years, so it felt really cool to figure out something, at the time, "complex" all on my own. Compounding things was the fact that video game music wasn't yet anything Like big in the States, so finding sheet music was pretty much a pipe dream anyway. This was a very long time ago... Recently, I heard Star Wolf's theme for the first time. I didn't really get into the star fox games, so I missed it. At any rate I fell in love with it and gave it a try. It felt Just as good when I found out that I could nail the trumpet part in that too.

So, as I sit around my house fiddling around with FL Studio, practicing my trumpet, and reading the forums here at OCR, I start thinking to myself, Man, It would be nice to get back into a music education. Unfortunately, I am not a man of means, and working retail management doesn't allow for a lot of free time. Point being this: with so many like-minded musicians on these forums, perhaps someone has a suggestion for a decent, reasonably inexpensive school I could attend (via online classes, hopefully) wherein I could rekindle not only my Love for music and composition, but my ability as well. I know there are those of you like me out there who have lurked these forums for years, who wish they could earn a living doing something they love, who respect and envy the success of our peers. Perhaps someone has some advice that could help all of us, those just getting into music as well as those trying to get back into it. I have read the tutorials, taken out books on the subject, watched video guides, and spent hours in front of the computer just trying to figure some of it out. Hard work and determination are critical, but with neither the proper tools nor resources, nor the means by which to procure them, or even the knowledge of How, we could be depriving ourselves of what could be the opportunity to be truly happy. Anyway, sorry for the rant. I know I'm asking the question for myself, but I hope it benefits others out there. More musicians means more good music for us all to download from OCR, right? Thanks to any who take the time to read this, and thanks to any of you who have some suggestions!!

I'm in. I should buy some stickers too, though...

Well, which ever way you choose to go, Jose. Mr. McPuff has procured a room and we're all registered up!

I don't know what all he's discussed with anyone, but to the best of my knowledge, Jiggles McPuff will be getting a room for himself, myself, one of our friends, and is supposedly extending the fourth room slot to Jose the Bronx Rican. I'm guessing he'll post once he's actually locked some plans into place, but so far, Magfest is a go for the three of us. Looking forward to seeing the OCR crowd again, and after everything Mr. McPuff told me last year, I'm very hyped about Magfest too. Hope to see you there!

Sorry, Working video game retail for stupid Madden has kept me away from considering any of the feedback provided. It becomes more and more evident to me that simply writing music using the instruments provided to me and adjusting their volume levels isn't quite sufficient. In other words, I need to study what this program can do. I am only really familiar with the workings of the Notes themselves and don't have much experience with the computer end of remixing. More to come once I've done some more studying, thanks for the input!