IGN Interviews 8-Bit Weapon - IGN

IGN Music: Where/how did 8-Bit Weapon get its start?

Naughtyboy: I grew up listening to SID tunes on the Commodore 64, S.I.D. is the Sound Interface Device sound ship for the Commodore 64/128 computer. SID tunes are the songs built into video games on the Commodore 64/128 computers. I'd get up for school in Junior High and load up a game to hear the title music while I got dressed. Later, around 1999, I discovered SID players for the PC. I fell in love with SID tunes all over again, but this time I had the tools to remix them! Around 2001, I began acquiring bits and pieces of technology that actually allowed me to make my own 8-bit music. I got a music machine cartridge for the C64, then LSDJ (Little Sound DJ) for the Game Boy, and so on. Pretty soon I was doing more original micromusic than my remixes. Before I knew it, I had a whole album of original micromusic songs ready to go!

IGN: Describe how you use various consoles to make music.

Naughtyboy: I use the music machine cartridge on a C64 for mono leads and solos. I use a Paul Slocum C64 Synthcart on a Commodore 128 (both a prototype and the current version), which allows me to use the Commodore as a polyphonic lo-fi 8-bit digilogue synthesizer. I play both the Music Machine and C64 Synthcart like pianos off the actual keyboard keypads themselves. I also have a couple of Little Sound DJ Carts aka LSDJ. Each LSDJ cart allows the user to use all four voices of the Game Boy in a tracker/sequencer environment. You get 2 pulse melody channels, 1 wav/drum sample playback channel, and 1 noise channel to shape into explosions, hats, crashes, etc.

I also have a MIDI 8-Bit NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) Cart. It allows the user to control all five voices of the NES via MIDI. The long coveted NES Triangle wave sound (especially for the bass) is now at anyone's disposal! You can even deactivate part of the video chip control to reduce the buzz.

Another 8 Bit weapon I acquired is the Atari 2600 Synthcart. The Synthcart turns your Atari 2600 into a beat box/bass/lead synth! No MIDI, but you can sync to pre programmed tempos to specific MIDI tempos as listed in the manual, so it's just as good. I also have an Elektron SIDstation, which allows users to control the parameters of the SID chip itself via MIDI, with less noise since no video chip is present anymore to make that annoying “hum.” I recently purchased an Apple IIc. Just as soon as I got it in the mail, a mad scientist named Jason Torchinsky (aka Jason IIc) contacted me about his latest Apple II based invention called, "The Crap-O-Phone!" It turns any Apple II (c,e,etc.) into a whaling lead guitar style synth! It's a long pole, mine is orange, with two joysticks (one mounted at either end.) You control the pitch with one end of the device, and the length of the note and execution with the other… genius! He also dug up his old Apple IIe with a special 8 Bit drum sample playback device that lets you play the keys of the computer like a live drum kit.

IGN: How much does the specific piece of equipment you're using inform your choices in terms of how a song unfolds?

Naughtyboy: Little to none at all, actually. I do the melodies first, then worry about what sounds I will use. I might hammer out a section on my C64 or on an analogue synth I have, but when I enter it into the computer for MIDI implementation I usually assign it somewhere else eventually. If I try and make a sound and then a melody, I tend to noodle with the sound too much and lose my direction. Dangerous noodling has proven fatal to songs.

IGN: Obviously, you've spent a lot of time listening to video game music. What is your favorite theme from an arcade game?

Naughtyboy: Rastan Saga is a favorite, not just the original FM synthesis arcade version, but the SID version by Martin Galway as well.

IGN: A NES game?

Naughtyboy: Metroid US version. Each tune in the score is so unique from the next, I love it! Then Castlevania II comes in second with its super-dope sampled drums!

IGN: A Game Boy game?

Naughtyboy: The music from Castlevania II for Game Boy is the bomb!

IGN: From the current generation.

Naughtyboy: Hmmmm… Hard to say. I liked the music in Star Wars Bounty Hunter, BUT that's just John Williams for the most part. I liked the modernized Metroid themes in Metroid Prime. There is a Game Boy Advanced game called, "Prehistoric man" that has awesome Drum n' Bass music...great game too!

IGN: Apart from video games, where else do you draw inspiration?

Naughtyboy: Primarily life's typical ups n' downs. I also find inspiration when I listen to classic chip tunes or other micromusic artists like FirestARTer, 8 Bit Rappers, Tree Wave, Psilodumputer, Bitshifter, Compute Her, etc. I also get inspired when I get a new piece of gear; I usually pump out a good tune when that happens! In fact, I'm about to release a song on the 8 Bit Weapon Myspace.com account that was directly inspired by my acquisition of a working version of the coveted MIDI NEScart called, "Micro-Boogie!" Hehe...

IGN: Do you play music video games (i.e. Amplitude, Guitar Hero). If so, what Do you play and why?

Naughtyboy: Not really...Sorry. If I'm at an arcade, I'm playing Metal Slug 1-5 or Donkey Kong!

IGN: If someone wanted to make music like you do, what would you tell them?

Naughtyboy: I usually tell them to indulge themselves in an all-out EBAY.com shopping spree! That's where I get most of my gear! 8 Bit computers and Consoles are DIRT CHEAP there! The Music Machine cart for the C64 goes for only $2-$10! A used Commodore 64 with power supply is only about $20! It's so easy to get this stuff! The thing that tends to stop people in their tracks is the fact that most of these items need to be played live, and cannot be controlled by MIDI. The MIDI controllable gear is usually pretty pricey, but you get what you pay for!

IGN: Any tour plans?

Naughtyboy: Not at the moment. I still have a day job. I may do select shows around the country in 2006 on weekends here and there, though. I get hired for a lot of private parties around North America for video game developers. Unfortunately, they are usually private parties, so fans in the area don't get to benefit from my visits to these far off places.

IGN: Is Vaporware Soundtracks releasing in a non-special edition format?

Naughtyboy: Vaporware Soundtracks is coming out this winter, but a special edition was released, and sold encased inside floppy discs. Where did you find so many old floppies? EBAY.com, I'm tellin' ya'...that place is GR8! The hard part was slicing all 500 myself! It's a dirty job, but somebody had to do it! "The Great Floppy Massacre of 05'".

IGN: Are any of them Zork?

Naughtyboy: Umm, no. I didn't have to sacrifice the lives of any published software of any notoriety to make any of the 500 Vaporware Soundtracks Limited Edition CDs (Of which there are only about 100 left).

IGN: With Stacey leaving the group, do you think the music will head a different direction?

Naughtyboy: No, it will not have an affect on my creative process. I wrote, programmed, and produced the majority of the Vaporware Soundtracks; album's music anyway. As for my writing from here forward, my music will always be progressive and adaptive to my interests. My music is always evolving. Primarily, I write what I like to hear. I challenge myself to try new things all the time and take my music in new directions.

Both Vaporware Soundtracks and my original, non-micromusic, electronica band, SETH "Unfortunate Brain Chemistry", CD/albums convey these qualities. (FYI: The SETH CD is only available through www.brainscream.com/seth.

If you're interested in buying some 8-Bitt CDs, there are a couple places to do so: Www.8bitweapon.com for the full-length album Vaporware Soundtracks or Intellivision Lives for the 6 track EP.