RBN Community Spotlight : January 2012

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

Happy 2012! Hopefully the impending apocalypse hasn't hampered your holidays! We're doing our best to convince our new alien/demon/zombie overlords that Rock Band conforms to their new world order. So with any luck we'll still be able to get our Rock Band on after the world ends later this year.

Enough of that! We've still get a good twelve months before the sentient Toast Crunch monsters rise up, so let's get on with this month's spotlight thread!

Like last month we're going to be focusing on three different aspects of Rock Band Network.

The past, the present, and the future.

We'll pull some recomendations from the past for awesome songs you should take a look at if you haven't done so in the past. We'll highlight all the songs we released in the previous month for the present to shine the light on some songs you might have missed in all the releases. Finally we'll reveal songs that we BELIEVE should be hitting play testing during the current month of the thread. (As everyone knows things happen that can delay songs hitting play testing, but that's the plan).

So look for the RBN Past, RBN Present, and RBN Future headings to know what part we're focusing on. We're (TAG), are going to do Past in the morning, Present in the early afternoon, and focus on Future in the late afternoon/rest of the evening.

However some authors only have limited time so they might do it all at once, or at intermittent times of the day.

Or they might follow their own thing and do something completely unique. The only 'rules' here are that we're having a community day for Rock Band Network and interacting with the RB community as a whole.

So with that here's our first RBN Past choice :

I Am King Tony - Stereo Stereo :
http://youtu.be/6rIpxawYkUA

Not only was this our first track EVER released, it's still one of my favorites. Just a really catchy pop punk song that has a real habit of getting stuck in your head.

Don't let the fact that this is a RBN1.0 song deter you from picking up this kick ass track.

You can buy it here if you like what you see/hear!
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410869

Second up on our trip down memory lane is Rishloo - Downhill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXl1Bt21DI8

Probably my favorite of all the Rishloo tracks from the album. Just an overall fantastic song.

If you like what you see/hear you can pick it up here!
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914

We'll have two more past choices later this morning so stay tuned!

[Arcanon]

I did two RBN1 and two RBN2 last time for the Past reflection, so I'll do it again now.

Shylo Elliott - Light

Our first ever release back in September 2010, and a bit of a test song for us. Shylo wrote this song as he was still experimenting with music and learning what he was good at. The version that made it onto Rock Band has a different bass track than the album version because the original bass in the song was admittedly very boring. It's a mellow composition, yet turned out very fun to play. There's nothing difficult about the song, but with a cool-sounding "guitar" solo, an atmospheric vibe with a venue (my first ever one) that matches the mood, unconventional drum patterns and 3-note chords in bass, it was a pretty interesting song to be our first one. We were lucky enough to have learned of Pro Drums before releasing it, so like all our other releases this song has full Pro Drum authoring and for 80 MSP, is worth a look.

Broken Equilibrium - Epitome of Misery (also available in 2x Bass Pedal)

Our first release from Broken Equilibrium, who were the first band to trust us with their songs. The drums are extremely fun on this one, with varied patterns throughout, and the guitar and bass cycle through different interesting patterns. Vocals are pretty interesting too; back then, when I authored the vocals, I thought that long tube in the chorus would be the longest tube on any of our releases. Never expected to get that Paul and Storm song with the longest tube in the whole game!

Psyguy - Wha-Chow Theme (Feat. ShadyVox)

Currently our shortest song, but also one of our most fun tracks. I've wanted to do this song forever, and it was a blast to work on. As the title says, it's the theme to the popular podcast Wha-Chow, which is one of the funniest podcasts I've ever listened to. The guitar is insane, the drums are relentless, and Shady's vocals are hilarious. For only 80 MSP, it's a hell of a deal. Shady later went on to collaborate with RBN band Rocket Ship Resort on an awesome cover of Blink-182's "Up All Night."

Active Knowledge - Dance Battle Alpha

Our first not-Rainbowdragoneyes chiptune release. I saw Active Knowledge perform at PAX East 2011 and met him, and one conversation and several emails later we signed his full "INFINITE" album. This is a rather fun, very active song with an awesome name that blends fast, danceable rhythms and patterns with atmospheric breaks. Drummers will love the disco beats, keyboardists will love the constant movement, and guitarists and bassists will enjoy the varied patterns the charts have to offer.

[SeymourDuncan17]

You guys should probably just make this an all-new announcements thing again. Personally, this is incredibly "eh" until the new stuff.

The last one didn't get a whole lot of attention like the others and this one's almost dead.

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

Here's the second of our past posts :

This song is such a solid piece of music, and it's criminally overlooked from our catalog. So I'm shining a light on it in hopes that more people will get a chance to take a look at it.

Order of Voices - Reaching Down :
http://youtu.be/ve-JUpvD1_4

If you like what you see/hear then you can pick it up at the following link :
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914

The last of our past tracks is from goth/deathrock pioneers Christian Death.

Not only is Church of No Return a fun song to play in Rock Band, with a mid 80's original release date it's probably one of the older songs (not a re-record) on the entire network!

http://youtu.be/Sr6j7HoUmJQ

If you like what you see then you can purchase it here :
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

You guys should probably just make this an all-new announcements thing again. Personally, this is incredibly "eh" until the new stuff.

The last one didn't get a whole lot of attention like the others and this one's almost dead.

There were some other groups that wanted it done in this format, so I'm trying to appease everyone

We still get the new stuff...it's just later in the day

We've got at least 9 or 10 never before seen game play vids and song announcements to make later today so it's coming.

[ASPKev]

Hey guys, Alt-Strum announcement time.

Because we have three new bands we're ready to announce, we'll be splitting our announcement into three parts with each part containing some of our favorite songs of ours from the past, present, and future. And without further ado, let's get to the content.



This is the section where I'll mention two of my favorite songs of Alt-Strum past.

Arkaea - Gone Tomorrow

Almost a year to the day when this song hit the store, but it's easily one of my favorite songs in my entire Rock Band catalogue. A blast to play on guitar, bass, and drums, it's a song I recommend to anybody interested in a challenge without being completely overwhelmed by a wall of notes for the entire song, or anyone just into metal. A solid song, and one worth checking out!


CJ Ramone - Do it to Me

Like anyone needs convincing when it comes to a song by a former Ramones member. This song is a must have for Ramones fans, and definitely gives off a Ramone's vibe while playing like the Ramone's songs we have in game. Again, if you're a Ramone's fan, then this is a must have. If you aren't, still give it a look. Oh, and did I mention it's only 80 MSP?



December has been a good month for us, having released four tracks to the RBN. So, new to the RBN this month from Alt-Strum, we have:

All Shall Perish - My Retaliation (2x Bass Version), A Pure Evil

All Shall Perish Fans, get excited as you got two tracks this month, one being a double bass upgrade to My Retaliation (whose normal version came out last month), as well as "A Pure Evil", both songs off their latest album This is Where it Ends. Both songs are guaranteed to be difficult, and will push your abilities on guitar, bass, and drums.


Deadlock - Martyr to Science

Deadlock returns to the RBN, a little over a year after the release of their track "The Brave/Agony Applause", and this time they're bringing "Martyr to Science" to your Rock Band library.


The Black Beverly Heels - Dark Beat

We get a lot of requests for some good 'ol rock n roll, and we're bringing you just that with the Black Beverly Heels.

All of the songs above are available for purchase through the in game Rock Band Network store!



And kicking off the part that some people may or may not be most excited for, here's the first announcement of the day from us in regards to new music coming, and personally speaking, one I'm very excited for as they remind me a bit of one of my favorite bands (who's frequently requested on these forums).

We're proud to announce that we're working with Las Vegas natives Amarionette to bring their song "Screaming is Serious Business", off their upcoming self titled EP due out later this year.

"Like most bands that have weathered through multiple years together Amarionette has gone through a couple of line-up changes. The core of the band consist of Quin White (Lead Vocals) who has been with the band since it's inception in 2007. Quin's very distinct vocal style and intricate song writing crafted the sound of early Amarionette and released the bands first EP "Goodbye Explosions" in 2008. Between the EP and playing frequently the band made quite a name for themselves leaving fans eagerly awaiting new material and more shows.

In 2010 Amarionette went through a major line-up change with the addition of Ron Wells (Bass), Nick Raya (Guitar), Brandon Jones (Guitar) and Justin Brooklyn (Drums). The regroup has brought a surge of new life and creativity to the band and they are picking things up right where they left off."

You can hear the demo version of "Screaming is Serious Business" at the link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KPb0TZo8Ic

If you like what you hear, make sure to check and follow these guys out on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/Amarionettelv


Stay tuned for part 2 of our January announcements coming shortly.

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

We're shifting over to our Present with a look back at our songs that debuted during the month of December.

We had an insanely amazing month at TAG. TWENTY of our songs hit the store. Yeah we can't believe it either. We're missing video on two of them, so I'm going to break the present up into three posts of six songs each.

We hope you guys have had as much fun playing these songs as we have had working on them

First up is a favorite of mine :
Teenage Bottlerocket - Bigger than Kiss :
http://youtu.be/8F59jpOJnVM
It can be purchased here :
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914

Nevermore - Without Morals :
http://youtu.be/Q3RJ5uw4OuA
It can be purchased here :
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914

Kylesa - Tired Climb :
http://youtu.be/ZXR-fg7Gghw
It can be purchased here :
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914

The Fenton Project - If We Only Saw Sepia
http://youtu.be/5bBKRnQ0pLw
It can be purchased here :
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914

A Talking Fish - Cheesy Pop Song
http://youtu.be/a_XdpN_GSd4
It can be purchased here :
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914

Prototype - The Way it ends 2x Bass Pedal
http://youtu.be/FWBD5jwDur4
It can be purchased here :
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914

More to come!

[Arcanon]

I've begun my uploading spree of new videos for this evening's announcements. Until then, since we covered Askari Nari's "A Tadg30 Song" in the last spotlight thread, I'll talk about our other release from December, "Ocaso Escarlata" by Nod 206.

Nod 206 is the first band from Paraguay to come to Rock Band, and this is the first of two tracks to hit the platform. Pure hard rock, with multiple guitars, fast-paced kick-heavy drums, a varied bassline and clean Spanish vocals. I absolutely love this song, and authoring the vocals in my native language was something I've wanted to do since I started CTA.

It's available in the store now for 160 MSP, and their second song for RBN, "En Donde Duermen Los Sueños," is coming soon!

[SeymourDuncan17]

And kicking off the part that some people may or may not be most excited for, here's the first announcement of the day from us in regards to new music coming, and personally speaking, one I'm very excited for as they remind me a bit of one of my favorite bands (who's frequently requested on these forums).

We're proud to announce that we're working with Las Vegas natives Amarionette to bring their song "Screaming is Serious Business", off their upcoming self titled EP due out later this year.

"Like most bands that have weathered through multiple years together Amarionette has gone through a couple of line-up changes. The core of the band consist of Quin White (Lead Vocals) who has been with the band since it's inception in 2007. Quin's very distinct vocal style and intricate song writing crafted the sound of early Amarionette and released the bands first EP "Goodbye Explosions" in 2008. Between the EP and playing frequently the band made quite a name for themselves leaving fans eagerly awaiting new material and more shows.

In 2010 Amarionette went through a major line-up change with the addition of Ron Wells (Bass), Nick Raya (Guitar), Brandon Jones (Guitar) and Justin Brooklyn (Drums). The regroup has brought a surge of new life and creativity to the band and they are picking things up right where they left off."

You can hear the demo version of "Screaming is Serious Business" at the link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KPb0TZo8Ic

If you like what you hear, make sure to check and follow these guys out on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/Amarionettelv

Holy hell that sounds exactly like Coheed & Cambria. Love it!

[Tykki-Teme]

Holy hell that sounds exactly like Coheed & Cambria. Love it!

Holy hell, you're right. They really do sound like Coheed. And, it sounds really awesome!