RE-VGM

Here we are, Week 4 of Masters of VGM. This week’s composer is Chikayo Fukuda, known for the .hack series that is developed by CyberConnect2. In addition, she also composed for other video games series, such as Naruto, JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure, and Fuga: Melodies of Steel. She writes music with a certain level of elegance; some of the fights, despite being chaotic and random, are rende...

Two composers done, and two left to go, for Masters of VGM. This week, we’re taking a dive into the Mother series (Earthbound outside of Japan) and featuring Keiichi Suzuki, the composer for the series who worked with Hirokazu Tanaka (aka “Chip Tanaka” or “Hip Tanaka”. Suzuki is purely a musician, having been in several bands and releasing albums with Moonriders and T...

Welcome to the 2nd episode of Masters of VGM. This week’s spotlight is on Keita Haga. Keita Haga is known widely for his work on the Fate series. The series encompasses all media related to Fate: manga, anime, and video games. Haga-san has composed music for the popular mobile game Fate/Grand Order, along with several games on the console and arcade. However, it’s not just games with t...

It’s June, which means it’s time for The Masters of VGM, a community event among participating podcasts in which they get to talk about their chosen composers based on a theme. They may condense it into a one episode or spread it out across several episodes, all within the month of June. This year, the theme for MoVGM is underappreciated or up-and-coming composers. It can be composers...

It’s time for another man-on-the-street episode, this time at Bak-Anime. Bak-Anime is a two-day annual convention that happened last weekend, May 20 & May 21, at the Kern County Fairground in Bakersfield, CA. Created at the request of fans from the Bakersfield Comic Con, this convention is a smaller yet more personal venue from Anime Expo. It was located across two buildings and a courty...

It’s a new special episode of On Stage Now this month, but I must preface that it is a somber one. Several weeks ago, it was announced on Twitter that a Remixer from the Overclocked Remix community had passed away. His name was Daniel Woodyer, aka PirateCrab, a heavy metal guitarist who performed covers and remixes of pop songs and video game music. He released several singles and collaborat...

It’s that time again for the SoCal Gaming Expo, an event that was held at the Ontario Convention Center, in Ontario, California. Its major draw is the vendors sending wares of retro video games, hardware, and accessories. A few independent developers were there to showcase their latest projects. There were also panels of guests, including voice-over actors and actresses, that shared their ex...

It’s time to celebrate Mexico and its day of infamy, with Cinco de Mayo, the 5th of May. It was on this day that the Mexican army fought the French army at the Battle of Puebla. Despite being outnumbered, the Mexicans managed to push back and defeat the French. It was a great show of strength and resistance to invading forces. This week, we’ll be playing tracks from video games that ta...

Ah, trees. They are a wonderful thing. They replenish the earth by exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen, they gather in forests for plants and animals to thrive, and they provide nourishment and resources for all living things. Without them, there would be no shelter from the brutal rains or blistering sun, the ground could wash away in mudslides, and few could survive. Plant them, water them, and...

I realize that I’m behind (okay, over a week behind), but I wanted to put something together, since I wasn’t able to attend VGM CON this year. Simply put, this episode celebrates the winners of this year’s Game Music Remix Awards, playing tracks from their respective categories. However, one particular track won in two categories and will be played to close out the playlist. I al...

It’s our monthly episode of “On Stage Now” for this week. Our featured band is The OneUps, a cover band that has been around for over 20 years, playing in the style of funk and jazz and appearing at several venues, including MAGfest and The Penny Arcade Expo. If you’ll recall, Mustin is one of their members and was featured in another special episode of “At the Listen...

With the changing of seasons, it’s time to get on our knees, bend over, and reach for that specific tool that will help plant some seeds (if your mind is thinking of something else, you may want to get out of the gutter). Today we’re celebrating National Gardening Day. Started recently in 2018 by a publishing company for do-it-yourself gardening and home improvement, its purpose was to...

Surprise! It’s a new special episode, in addition to “On Stage Now”. These particular episodes are basically listening parties of recent releases by any cover/remix artist or band. The artist or band themselves may give some talk about their album before letting the playlist start. This playlist may be tracks chosen by the artist or band or by me at random. For this first special...

The website “National Today” mentions a holiday called World Marbles Day. It celebrates the first British Marbles Championship that took place in England, in 1588. It was told that two gentlemen were trying to win the hand of a milk maiden named Joan. They competed in several known sports at the time, in Tinsley Green, and the final sport chosen was marbles; one of them, named Giles, d...

Last year, my world was shaken by the passing of my mom. It was a sudden, almost unbelievable, moment in my life, despite having attended the funerals of other people, from co-workers to friends. My emotions were running rampant and my thoughts are a hot mess. Much has changed for me but the feelings are still there, albeit faded and mere remnants of an intense moment. For this week’s episod...

It’s time for another edition of “On Stage Now” for the month of March. This month’s featured musician is Firamiel. Hailing from Brazil, Firamiel plays celtic, epic, and medieval/medieval fantasy music, from both movies and video games. Her main instrument is the violin, while she also plays other instruments, such as the tin whistle, lyre, and ukulele. She enjoys Lord of t...

St. Patrick’s Day is here, and green is everywhere: on the clothes worn to avoid getting pinched, in the beer, and the four-leaf clover. People are hoping to get lucky in gambling, dating, and video games. Speaking of video games, St. Patrick’s Day also means the re-run of last year’s episode (#07), so to speak. I mean, yes, they are gacha games, but it’ll be a different se...

You know it’s a big deal when a company recognizes a fan-made holiday. Oh yes, we are celebrating (another) special holiday, called National Mario Day. Thanks to the realization of a fan writing out the date (Mar. 10), Nintendo officially endorsed the date afterwards in 2016. While it could be argued that any day is a day to celebrate, March 10th is officially the day to walk, talk, and play...

Have you ever heard a track that made you say “Hey, I played that game in that franchise!”, turn up the volume to 11, and well up with pride as tears flowed from your eyes? More than likely, that track was the main theme for that video game franchise. In a sense, it could be considered that the anthem, a song that fills you up with a sense of identity, purpose, and prestige. It’s...

“I wanna be the very best…” Admit it, you started humming the the tune and even finished the rest of the verse. Now that you’ve got that earworm, it’s time to celebrate an upcoming date, February 27th, known as National Pokemon Day. It was on this date in Japan that Pokemon Red and Green were released for Nintendo’s Game Boy.  Two years later, Pokemon Red and Bl...

Welcome to the February edition of “On Stage Now”, a special monthly episode in which a cover or remix artist or band is featured with a playlist of their work. This month’s featured guest is The Consouls, an ensemble band based in Sydney, Australia. They started in 2014 with jazz arrangements and have since expanded into other genres, such as funk, fusion, and rock. They will, o...

The United States and Mexico have Independence Day, France has Bastille Day, Germany has Unity Day, and both Russia and Australia have a Day. All of these days, in common, celebrate a country’s or nation’s birth or reformation.  They mark a time when a group of like-minded citizens decided to declare itself separate and apart from another ruling party or establish a place of their own...

Wow! Happy Anniversary to RE-VGM! One year ago, I decided to start a podcast to showcase covers and remixes of video game music (VGM). I’ve listened to other VGM podcasts (Rhythm and Pixels, VGMporium, VGM: A Very Good Music Podcast, XVGM, A VGM Journey, Shujin Academy VGM Club), along with another podcast about movie soundtracks, called “The Soundtrack Show”. While I enjoyed the...

Do you remember, as a child, getting a box of plastic bricks that let you build a house, a police station, or a spaceship? How about having a chest of loose pieces so that you can build anything limited by your imagination? Or, maybe you heard your parents screaming as they hopped across the floor, cursing and complaining that you need to pick up your toys off the floor. January 28th is Internatio...

It’s a special-special episode for this week. To begin, we’re celebrating Mariachi Day, on January 21st, to honor this music genre that is the pride of Mexico. While it is widely known for its heritage, mariachi has expanded from Mexico to other parts of Latin American and even across the ocean to Japan (search for Samurai Mariachi). Most recognize the music for the instruments (guitar...