Nerd Music Meltdown

MAGFest is the biggest event in our community and there was a whole lot to talk about this year. Kent gets Lauren the Flute , Allen of GameGrooves , and Jisun of The Limit Breakers to talk about the epic weekend, including favorite moments and performances, the evolution of MAGFest, and what we want to see happen next year. Follow host Kent Ward at https://linktr.ee/greatkentward . Support Nerd Mu...

We have finally made it to the big hondo! Thank you all for supporting the show. Now we celebrate with a fun interview with the founders of one of the most legendary video game bands, The Megas ! Eric von Doymi and Josh Breeding are on to talk about the creative process of the band, how The Belmonts project came to be, old Nerdapalooza stories, The Protomen, their love of Volcano Bay, and more. Ge...

It's been way too long since our last episode of Nerd Music Meltdown? What the hell happened? Kent gives an update on the podcast, and talks about OngakuVania, joining the MAGFest staff, and Give Kids the World. Follow Kent Ward at https://linktr.ee/greatKentWard Music: "Wood Man (Metal Cover)" by Lame Genie

We have VGM Powerhouse and Tiny Waves daddy Ben Briggs back on Nerd Music Meltdown, with all kinds of tea! He has a new album dropping next week: VGM Essentials from Firaga Records. We talk about that, producing the album live on his Twitch , what's going on with Tiny Waves, K-Pop, Sonic Frontiers , RoboRob, Richie Branson, VectorU, Anamanaguchi, and more! Check out Ben's music at benbriggs.net ....

The one-man Nerdcore Punk Rock Band is running wild! Rhythm Bastard is back on The Meltdown to reminisce about the last ten years of making music and how that ties into his newest album, Hardcore Nerdcore Punk Rock . We also talk about what happened to his music in RetroMania Wrestling , how performing at furry conventions differ from other cons, transgender inclusivity in our community, D&D, LOTS...

From a desert in Parts Unknown, The Icarus Kid pops in on the Nerd Music Meltdow n to talk about his love for both EDM and video game music, restarting his music career multiple times, his take on making electronic live performances exciting to watch, performing at VGMCon, and mental health coaching. You can follow The Icarus Kid at https://www.youtube.com/c/TheIcarusKid . Support Nerd Music Meltd...

Two of our favorite homies are back on tour and also on the show. It's Ran and Richie and they talk to Kent about the upcoming Generation of Miracles Tour that goes from Seattle to MomoCon in Atlanta this month. We also talk pandemic stories, new music, Sammus, Rustage, PAX East, Super Bitfest, the rise on anime rap on YouTube, and more! Plus, Kent is going to talk about the latest controvery in n...

As we march toward episode 100 of Nerd Music Meltdown, we have a new face in our community who making some great progress. She is Allison Martin , a trombonist who creates brassy renditions of video game music. Kent met Allison briefly at MAGFest, so we talk about that, being a part of the " Line Them Up " project, living in Japan, favorite game soundtracks and composers, the importance of collabs...

We got a full event recap of VGMCon: Lift Off , a video game and music convention that took place this past weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Special guests Mahn , Gunderslam , and H808 performed at the event and recap the whole weekend, plus the Game Music Remix Awards and   the big news for VGM coming out of this year's edition of the Grammy's! Follow Mahn: https://linktr.ee/mahnplaysmusic Foll...

It's been a while since there was an episode of Nerd Music Meltdown . March was just too crazy for a lot of reasons, including ONGAKU 20XX in Orlando and Virtua Ongaku XIII on Twitch. Kent goes solo and reflects on what was a crazy month and how everything went down. If you want to hear how things go from an event runner's perspective, this is the show for you! With things calmed down, we'll work...

Look who's back on Nerd Music Meltdown It's Marc with a C , who we have not talked to in a long time. We're talking about his plans to redefine who Marc is as a musician, what "Phase II"  means to him, surviving cancer and how that affects is music career. Last but not least, we discuss everything that went into his brand new album Thantophobia and why it is so different from everything before. Ma...

Orlando has a new video game band with an Earthbound -inspired name! Trash Burger is comprised of our guests Stevie Albano and David Yasensky, as well as a couple of new faces. We talk about how the band came to be, how Under Polaris and Random Encounter tie in, the ONGAKU 20XX show that Trash Burger will be performing at, virtual concerts, and what the goals of the band will be. See Trash Burger'...

We have the good lads Lame Genie , the finest video game band from Rhode Island on the show to talk about everything from BT Jones to Gilbert Gottfried, being inspired by first-gen video game bands, YouTube shenanigans , OSW Review, upcoming releases, and more! Lame Genie will be performing in Orlando, Florida on March 5th at ONGAKU 20XX: Wily's Revenge with Bit Brigade, The OneUps, and trash Burg...

Happy New Year! Kent started things off strong with a trip to Super MAGFest . What was this year's event like? Kent brought on MAG performers Tiggs and Dom Palombi (of Game Night) to talk about the whole weekend and favorite moments. Follow Tiggs: vrmaxfield.com Follow Dom Palombi: www.dompalombimusic.com See Virtua Ongaku 12 on January 29th on twitch.tv/ongakuoverdrive . You can also support Nerd...

Once upon a time, MAGFest was owned and ran by the guy who would become chiptune legend Inverse Phase . We talk about what MAGFest was like back in the day, how the festival inspired Inverse Phase to publish music seriously, meeting Trent Reznor, the bassy farts of the Sega Genesis soundchip, de-making Pretty Hate Machine and Guilty Gear in 8-bit, and much more. You can check out Inverse Phase at...

Jewel Maiden is a video game remixer, DJ, and cosplayer from Canada who has been breaking out with virtual performances on shows likes MAGWest and Bonus Stage.  We about all that plus her love for Mega Man and Inti Creates, which veteran VGM producer motivated her to get stared, her take on the rise of women in our community, and more! Get more of Jewel Maiden at jewelmaiden.carrd.co and youtube.c...

Ian Martyn performs in the video game European-style folk band The Travelers and has a bunch of his own solo music outside of that.  Ian is a master of many instruments and we discuss that, plus LOTS of RPG talk, how virtual shows benefit solo acts like Ian, and the upcoming virtual shows he has coming up. Get more of Ian Martyn at ianmartyn.com and ianmartyn.bandcamp.com . Check out the Virtua On...

The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night because Shubzilla and Bill Beats of NOIR GRIME are back on the show to talk about their next album, The Belmont Tapes! This of course leads to a lot of Castlevania conspiracy chat. We also discuss touring tips, their Beat Battle tournament, and what they are planning for 2022. Support The Belmont Tapes on Indiegogo at https://www.indiegogo.com/proj...

Get ready for some PINK ROCK because we got Ian Luckey from Kirby's Dream Band to talk about the upcoming Brew Game Plus 3 video game music festival in Orange County, California and what to expect. Plus we talk about about Ian's love for Kirby games and how that led to Kirby's Dream Band, Sora in Smash, Metroid Dread, MAGFest memories, what's next for KDB, and Ian's new music project! Get more Kir...

Beaming all the way in from Belgium we have nerdcore emcee Ryako , who combines electronica and hip hop for some slick sci-fi raps. She won this year's Nerdcore VPC with Kadesh flow and will be performing this Saturday on Virtua Ongaku 11 . We talk all about that, the Belgium nerd scene, KEANU REEVES, Cowboy Bebop , Metropoli s, SXSW, and more. Get more of Ryako at ryakomusic.com  and ryako.bandca...

The True Player For Real  MC Lars is back on the road for the Four-Eyed Horsemen Tour with Mega Ran, MC Frontalot, and Schaffer the Darklord. Lars talks about what it's like to be back performing in front of people, how safety measures will be implemented, their take on online shows, Luigi's Mansion 3 , and his upcoming album, Blockchain Planet . Get more of MC Lars at mclars.com and mclars.bandca...

Mark Cooper has been making waves from MAGWest to Blerdcon, and on multiple Twitch concerts in-between. He keeps getting better with each show, and his nerdy nostalgia raps are growing a bigger audience. Kent talks will Mark all about that, pro wrestling, Power Rangers, making music as therapy, the fear of success and failure, representation in nerdom, and his next two albums and what to expect fr...

Fresh off an amazing performance at Virtua Ongaku X,  TeraCMusic , comes on the show to talk about her upcoming album, her stream setup and how she plans shows, licensing video game music, Animal Crossing and her other favorite games, and the evolution of women in the video game music community. TeraCMusic also has a brand-new album coming out on August 25th. Cross Worlds: Music From Chrono Cross...

One of the greatest video game bands of this era are the quintet known as The Game Brass . In just four years, they have released 5 stellar albums, including their latest Horns of Hyrule . We have founding members Daniel Romberger and Robby Duguay to talk about how The Game Brass manages an intense production schedule, with members spread throughout America and Canada. Plus, they discuss their lov...

After charting on Billboard and all the craziness of last year, we got RoboRob back on Nerd Music Meltdown to discuss the return of live shows (including his on July 31st ) and his latest album, Mega Remix Man. EXE . This means we talk plenty of Mega Man , why he's producing TWO remix albums for it, and our thoughts and concerns about starting events back up. RoboRob also reveals his plans for the...