Posts Tagged ‘RBN’

Rock Band Network is among the most innovative features a video game has ever had and Harmonix actually added it to a game we had already bought a year later, free of charge.  Authoring groups, labels, and independent bands jumped at the chance to get their music into the game.  About a year later here we are with over 1,000 new songs to play from a huge variety of genres and styles and we’re now ready for Rock Band Network 2.0.

Rock Band community superstar @SebastianSB pulled together a collaborative “Best Of” list for RBN 1.0 both to honor the names that have stood out the most to us and to show people what they may have missed.  A number of Rock Band community personalities, RBN authors, and Harmonix employees  contributed their favorite songs to the list and a panel of judges voted to determine which songs would make the final list and what order they would appear in.  I’m very happy to see a great amount of variety in the final list.  You won’t agree with all of the choices, but there should be something here for everyone!

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DISCLAIMER: This is for RBN authors, not the average person who is incorrectly thinking that they can add new RB3-feature instrument charts somehow.

As the Rock Band franchise continues to evolve and progress, so do the tools offered to the community. The pipeline feeding RBN 1.0 has now been shut down, and for some authors and artists out there, they may not have had the opportunity to get their works published in time for the RBN 2.0 cutoff.

John from RockBandRelief.org has put together three very helpful and very thorough videos for those out there who may be needing to convert their RBN 1.0 charted songs into the fresh RBN 2.0 formats. While these videos may not be helpful to the entire community, it is interesting to see how involved the process is to chart music for the game. If you do not currently or ever plan to chart music for Rock Band, these videos may make your head hurt, so please watch at your own discretion.

[RockBandRelief.org]

As many of you know, I have a very eclectic music taste. My favorite artists span across nearly all genres, many which the average music listener would probably think contradict each other. But in high school, there were only two types of music I listened to: industrial/electronica and heavy metal. And if you were like me, as odd as it sounds, one of my favorite soundtracks EVER was the “Mortal Kombat” soundtrack. It had artists such as KMFDM, Gravity Kills, Type O Negative, Napalm Death, Orbital, George Clinton with Buckethead, and my favorite, Fear Factory.

Credited with pioneering the “machine gun” kick pedal styling that is fairly prominent in much of today’s modern metal music, Fear Factory’s original drummer Raymond Herrera was just as much into video games, if not more so, than music. In addition to founding a company that helps artists put their music into Rock Band, he even started a production company many years ago that works closely with some of the biggest players in the gaming industry!

I recently had a chance to catch up with Raymond Herrera and ask him some questions about himself, his music with Fear Factory and Arkaea, and his fascination with video games. This is one RBN artist interview you do NOT want to miss! Check it out!

RockBandAide: For some of those in the Rock Band community not familiar with you, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Raymond Herrera: My name is Raymond Herrera, I am best known for being the drummer in the band Fear Factory, from the inception of the band in 1990 through 2008, I currently play drums in a band called Arkaea and have recently featured a couple of songs from our debut album onto the Rock Band Network, via my company Alt Strum Productions (ASP). Arkaea released our debut album in the summer for 2009. I also play drums for my production company called 3volution Productions who specializes in music for the video games industry. I co-own a recording studio in Chatsworth, California entitled Temple Studios, and lastly I also own a beverage company called Redux Beverages, we are the makers of the famous Cocaine Energy Drink/Supplement.

RBA: How would you describe your personal style of music to people who have never heard it?

RH: The personal style of my music has been based around precision, speed and rudimentary patterns which are very much highlighted with the kick drums. With Fear Factory we essentially pioneered a number of musical styles that have become the norm in the metal industry, but my music has dominantly been more on the heavier and faster side of the spectrum.

RBA: Who were your early musical influences? What album do you remember listening to growing up that had the biggest impact on you?

RH: My earliest influences were bands like The Police, U2, Ministry and many others, but these were among the top ones.

RBA: What is the most recent artist that you’ve added to your iPod?

RH: The most recent artist I added to my iPod was Fashion Bomb.

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Living in the midwest during this time of year, it’s no surprise that there’s sometimes a drought of good concerts. If it’s not snowing, it’s bitterly cold. If I was in a band, I would think twice about visiting the colder parts of the country this time of year, as well. And what better way to avoid the cold than by living down in Florida, like RBN artist Orange Avenue.

Orange Avenue is a pop-rock band from the shores of Daytona Beach, Florida. Starting up as a diverse group of local musicians, they have since formed into one of Florida’s largest concert draws. The five-some released their self-titled debut CD (known by fans as the orange album) in the middle of 2007. Building on their hard work and do-it-yourself attitude, the group has pushed their first CD with no major marketing/tour support other than shameless self-promotion at gigs and on the street. In the few short years since the album’s release they have shared the stage with The All American Rejects, Rihanna, Smash Mouth, Hello Goodbye, Low vs. Diamond, Egypt Central, Pop Evil and many more talented artists.

I recently had a chance to send over some questions to the band, and you will see their responses below, followed by a video of their song being played in Rock Band 3!

RockBandAide: For those in the Rock Band community who may not be familiar with you, why don’t you tell us a little bit about the band?

Orange Avenue: We’re five guys from Daytona Beach, Florida that lucked out and found some synergy.

RBA: Where does the name “Orange Avenue” come from?

OA: It’s the place we used to rehearse and we just got used to saying “meet me on Orange Avenue”.

RBA: How would you describe your music style to people who have never heard it?

OA: And roll… Rock n Roll!

RBA: Who were some of your early musical influences?

OA: Hey, you asked for it… Michael Jackson, Paula Abdul, Sha Na Na and Wham.

RBA: What album do you remember listening to growing up that had the biggest impact on you?

OA: There are so many answers from each band member, but one album we can all agree on is Nirvana’s “Nevermind”.

RBA: What is the most recent artist that you’ve added to your iPod?

OA: The Script.

RBA: I’m always intrigued about the song writing process for musicians. What’s more fun for you to write, the lyrics or the music? And when you create a song, which comes first?

OA: It’s like the age old question, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?”. Every song can take us any direction. There isn’t just one way we do it.

RBA: Where do you find inspiration for your songs? What has been the oddest source of inspiration?

OA: Inspiration for us comes from everyday life.

RBA: Which one of your songs has the most meaning to you?

OA: The one that hasn’t been written yet.

RBA: How often do you perform live?

OA: 12-16 times a month.

RBA: I noticed that you have played shows with some big artists including the All American Rejects, Rihanna, and Smash Mouth, just to name a few. Is there any artist that you would love to play live with or even collaborate with for a song?

OA: Eminem would be cool.

RBA: What is your favorite song to perform live (originals or covers)?

OA: “Just Refrain” it’s fun to play and it’s an audience favorite.

RBA: You have gained popularity in your home state of Florida by mostly grassroots efforts and with no major label assistance. Are there any tips that you can give to aspiring artists that are trying to get noticed?

OA: Fanbase, fanbase, fanbase!

RBA: How did the opportunity present itself for putting your music in the Rock Band Network?

OA: We’re huge fans of Rock Band and the opportunities arose from the contacts we had made. Big thanks to Miguel from Rock Gamer!

RBA: How did you decide on what song you wanted to make available for Rock Band? Was it a long process, or a simple decision?

OA: “Just Refrain” always stood out to us as being an exciting process and people seem to like it. It’s our first single so it was a simple decision for us.

RBA: What about games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero having an impact on a player’s interest in playing a real instrument at some point… do you think fans of the game would be more or less inclined to give the real thing a shot after playing these games?

OA: We think they definitely have the ability to spark interest in playing the real instruments.

RBA: With Rock Band 3 now available, gamers finally have a chance to play REAL guitar in the game, not just a plastic version. What advice do you have for those who wish to make the ultimate transition and learn to play the real thing?

OA: Stick with it. It may seem hard at first but it gets easier the more you practice.

RBA: Being that your music will be featured in Rock Band, have you played the game? Would you play your own song in the game to see how it is?

OA: Yes, we love Rock Band and are really excited to play our song in the game.

RBA: What’s next for you guys?

OA: NEW ALBUM COMING SOON!!!

RBA: Is there anything that you would like the Rock Band community to know about you that we haven’t touched on yet?

OA: Check out “Just Refrain” video at www.justrefrain.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@OrangeAvenue) and Facebook.

RBA: Thanks guys!

Like they said, for more info check them out on Twitter, Facebook, or at their site http://www.orangeavenuemusic.com/.

Be sure to check out their first RBN single “Just Refrain” below, with a video courtesy of vVvGamer.

While discovering and playing new music via the Rock Band Network is one of the primary goals of allowing the community access to the music creation tools for Rock Band, it is always a welcome sight to see some artists and authors try to do something more. RBN authors Chart Toppers Authoring worked with Pink Dragonfly Publishing and Rebel Rose Music to recently bring country music artist Kylie D. Hart to the Rock Band Network to do just that. A portion of the proceeds of the track will go to directly support the mission of The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in its ongoing search for a cure.

“We’re really glad we could help bring this track to Rock Band and support this cause,” said Paolo Viteri, owner of Chart Toppers Authoring, LLC. “We were contacted around Christmas with the idea to put this song on the Rock Band Network for this purpose, and in the spirit of the season, we agreed to author this track completely free of charge. All proceeds from this song will go directly to Kylie and to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.”

“Mr. Viteri was immediately responsive to the idea of putting Kylie’s song, ‘Firehouse Bar,’ out there for RBN,” said Elizabeth Hart of Pink Dragonfly Publishing and Rebel Rose Music. “We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to raise awareness of both CF as well as the indie country music scene! RBN is turning a page with the inclusion of independent and unsigned artists since early 2010 and Chart Toppers has been right on their heels with providing the skills to get those indie RBN authoring projects up and running!”

“Paolo and the guys over at Chart Toppers have done a fantastic job with this project and we are so grateful for their support!” said Kylie D. Hart, singer/songwriter. “Firehouse Bar is an easy to relate to rockin’ fun country tune – one of my favorites to perform and I hope that Rock Band gamers have as much fun with it as I do!”

‘Firehouse Bar’ is from Kylie’s new “Hard Luck” CD. It’s an upbeat country tune that will keep your entire band moving, and will make you an instant fan of Kylie D. Hart’s unique brand of stylings. The album “Hard Luck” is now available for purchase directly from the Kylie D. Hart website as well as on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby and other such music distribution sites. ‘Firehouse Bar‘ is now available on Rock Band Network for Rock Band 2 and Rock Band 3 on the Xbox 360, available for only 80 MSP. And since it’s for a good cause, why not at the very least download a FREE sample of the track to play in Rock Band!?

Included directly below is a sample of what to expect from her song in Rock Band.

In a blog post by Matthew “Overnord” Nordhaus over on the Creators site, a number of dates have been tentatively scheduled for the rollout of Rock Band Network 2.0. The date that probably has the most impact with the readers of the site here is February 15th, when new material with RBN 2.0 features can be submitted.

This means that RBN 1.0 will be turned off the day before, on February 14th (AKA The Valentine’s Day Massacre). All songs in the RBN pipeline must be pushed through prior to that date, and if for some reason you haven’t upgraded to Rock Band 3 yet, you will no longer be seeing new RBN content after that date.

As for the other dates impacting the RBN Creators community, the new version of Magma (RBN audition and submission program) should be out on January 18th. January 24th will see the arrival of Rock Band 3′s Audition Mode. RBN 1.0 submissions must be in by January 28th.

All dates are tentative and subject to change, but it is nice to see some sort of official timeline being rolled out.

[Official announcement - Creators]