Nerd Music Meltdown

On November 14th, Marc with a C has a new album coming out, appropriately titled Steamed Hams. Definitely a great time to have Marc on the Nerd Music Meltdown one final time. We not only talk about the new album, but also the importance of Pride Month, the end of The Geek Easy, focusing on family, the homogenization of "nerd media," and Marc's documentary. Even some anime talk! You can preorder Steamed Hams at marcwithac.bandcamp.com. You can also follow Marc with a C at linktr.ee/marcwithac. Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

A whole lot has changed behind the scenes over the last year at video game music netlabel and community GameGrooves. To get us up to speed on the new era of GameGrooves, Kent has Ro Panuganti, Ian Martyn, and Drew Gibson on to talk all about it. They are cookin! We discuss the leadership changes, community involvement on their Discord, what goes into planning their compilation albums, the Nintendo Music App and licensing, their upcoming "Summer of Sony" and Persona and Chrono Trigger albums.  It's a whopper episode, and you can see what GameGrooves is up to at gamegrooves.com. Follow Ro Panuganti at linktr.ee/RoPanu. Follow Ian Martyn at linktr.ee/IanMartyn. Follow Drew Gibson at linktr.ee/drewbertisms. Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. Find out more about this Sunday' Virtua Ongaku Pride Charity Show at ongakuoverdrive.com/vopride. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

Justin Taylor and Adam Payne of Final Fantasy metal band Knight of the Round are on the Meltdown to talk about their upcoming album Refractions, dropping on April 25th. Pre-order Refractions: knightoftheround.bandcamp.com/album/refractions Knight of the Round at Warriors of Light II: youtu.be/uJXNToRJws4 Kent and KOTR also discuss the evolution of the Final Fantasy games, Ergheiz, Power Stone, and their upcoming shows in Atlanta, Chicago, and Nashville. Follow Knight of the Round at knightoftheround.com. Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

This year, Bonus Stage is turning TEN and we have founder Josh Pendlebury on to talk all about it! We also talk about Bonus Stage's transition from virtual to live events, Bonus Stage Ultimate in Vancouver this November, the upcoming VGMCon, the new generation of VGM acts, and touring with video game composer Danny Baranowsky and working on Crypt/Rift of the NecroDancer. You can follow Bonus Stage at bonusstage.ca and twitch.tv/bonusstagevan. Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

Super MAGFest brought us a lot of great music and games, and created some incredible memories we won't forget. To reflect on the weekend, Mr. Ongaku has brought on Ro Panuganti, Alyssa Kalugdan, and Klinkit from Zeldathon to share their favorite moments of the epic MAG weekend. But that's not all! Ongaku Overdrive and Zeldathon are teaming up with the VGM community on Sunday, February 16th to raise money for LA Wildfire Relief with Fairy Fountain: Hearts for LA. Find out more at ongakuoverdrive.com/fairyfountain. Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

It's been a while since the last episode of the Nerd Music Meltdown podcast. A lot has happened in the life of Mr. Ongaku himself, and Kent Ward explains it all. Lots of talk about Kent's return to game development, Super MAGFest this week, and what to expect from both Ongaku Overdrive and the Nerd Music Meltdown in 2025. Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

We're all taking off for the Sunshine Resort at VGM Con! Taking place April 19th-22nd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, VGM Con celebrate video games and music with live performance, panels, and more! We have Vaughn Rowles of VGM Con and The Bards Quartet along with Theology to talk about the VGM Con experience, what performers and events to look out for, and more. They will even be streaming the Warp Stage schedule on twitch.tv/vgmcon. Find out more about VGM Con at vgmcon.org. Follow Theology at linktr.ee/theologymusic. Fallow Vaughn's band, The Bards Quartet, at twitter.com/bardsquartet.  Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

We have video game and animation composer, musician, and audio producer Mason Lieberman on Nerd Music Meltdown! His credits include PUBG Mobile, One Piece, Made in Abyss, Soundfall, Apex Legends Mobile, RWBY, and more. We talk about his start through Rooster Teeth and their shutdown, how VGM musicians can break into the game industry, GDC, how he manages his crazy schedule, and his video game band Tournament Arc. They just released their self-titled debut album and performed at Super MAGFest. You can follow Mason Lieberman at masonlieberman.com and twitter.com/MasonLieberman. Check out Tournament Arc at tournamentarc.bandcamp.com. Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

SXSW is coming up in Austin, Texas this March and nerdcore will be repped very hard during the festivities with the official SXSW Nerdcore Showcase on March 16th, as well as the Nerdcore Dayz festival March 13th to 15th. We have Shubzilla, Bill Beats, and DJ R.O.C.K.M.A.N. to break it all down and why these events are significant in our community. Some folks like Billy Mitchell also get dragged and we discuss why rapping over vocals is BAD. Follow Shubzilla at linktr.ee/shubzilla. Follow Bill Beats at linktr.ee/billbeats. Follow DJ R.O.C.K.M.A.N. and Nerdcore Dayz at linktr.ee/nerdcoredayz  Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

Super MAGFest Prime was 4+ days straight of video games, music, partying, and friends. Kent actually worked for the event and has MAGFest performers Stemage (Metroid Metal), Katy Scary (Klaymore), and Jimmy Granger (Abandon Quest) on to talk about the weekend, favorite moments, getting dance pads and a Mother Brain robot on stage, and more. We also talk about what we want to see at MAGFest next year and what's good for 2024! Follow Stemage at stemagemusic.com and his band Metroid Metal at metroidmetal.bandcamp.com. Follow Katy Scary at linktr.ee/katyscary and her band Klaymore at klaymore.bandcamp.com. Follow Jimmy's band Abandon Quest at youtube.com/@AbandonQuest. Learn more about MAGFest at magfest.org and follow them on youtube.com/magfest. Kent Ward runs Ongaku Overdrive and you can follow them on linktr.ee/ongakuoverdrive and visit ongakuoverdrive.com. You can also follow Kent at linktr.ee/greatkentward. Support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive! "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

Happy 2024! We are kicking off the year strong. Super MAGFest 2024 is NEXT WEEK. There are a lot of new acts performing on main stage for the first time, including 88bit and Dom Palombi. We have both on to talk about their road to MAGFest, what they have planned for the weekend, how they have kept success on Twitch, Dom Palombi's upcoming album, and everyone's plans for 2024. Follow 88bit at linkpop.com/88bit and twitch.tv/robkovacs. Follow Dom Palombi at bio.link/dompalombimusic and twitch.tv/DomPalombiMusic. You can learn more about MAGFest at magfest.org and see the main stage concerts at twitch.tv/magfest_concerts.  Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. Get tickets to Mega Ran's "Black Materia Live" at Conduit in Winter Park, FL on January 25th at https://ongakuoverdrive.com/blackmateria "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

Last episode of the year! GameGrooves has been cookin' in 2023 and have even more to look forward to in 2024. We have the found of GameGrooves, Allen Brasch, on to talk about how GameGrooves operates these days and the challeneges of running a video game music netlabel. Also, what are we doing at Super MAGFest 2024? Find out all that and more! You can follow Game Grooves at gamegrooves.com and gamegrooves.bandcamp.com.  Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. Get tickets to Mega Ran's "Black Materia Live" at Conduit in Winter Park, FL on January 25th at https://ongakuoverdrive.com/blackmateria "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

Mahn and Carrie Wood have formed a new symphonic metal band with Masikus called Premium Vintage. (That's a Hades reference.) They just released their debut album, The Symphony of Hades. And we talk all about that, favorite parts of Hades, the upcoming sequel, possible future projects, Sega Saturn, and the upcoming Super MAGFest. Follow Mahn at https://linktr.ee/mahnplaysmusic. Follow Carrie Wood at https://twitter.com/supitscarrie. You can check out Symphony of Hades at https://songwhip.com/premiumvintage/the-symphony-of-hades. Get tickets to Mega Ran's "Black Materia Live" at Conduit on January 25th at https://ongakuoverdrive.com/blackmateria Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

The lads are back on Nerd Music Meltdown to melt your faces off! Lame Genie has been tearing it up at conventions and retro game expos all over the country, dominated YouTube, and dropped a bunch of music and still crank out weekly videos! We talk about what Lame Genie has been up to, their song selection technology for live shows, the Street Fighter 6 OST, Turtles in Time on vinyl, car accidents, and more! Lame Genie will be back in the Sunshine State for Free Play Florida, taking place November 17th to 19th at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, FL. Follow Lame Genie at lamegenie.com and youtube.com/@LameGenie. You can get tickets to teh Free Play Florida Afterparty at freeplayflorida.com. 

The Keytar Kween Lacey Johnson just played at TwitchCon and now she is back in Orlando this weekend for the OngakuVania II. We talk about that, favorite spooky games, fighting games, playing all over the place, and managing an intense schedule of releasing music, YouTube videos, performing, and even teaching music! How does she do it? OngakuVania II Halloween Party is October 29th at Conduit in Winter Park, FL. Get tickets at ongakuoverdrive.com. Check out Lacey Johnson at youtube.com/laceyjohnsonmusic and laceyjohnsonmusic.bandcamp.com. Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

Back on the show is VGM prog rocker Big Ro Panuganti! His new album "SitarCraft" drops October 20th and will have a heavy amount of Indian music influence. We discuss the album, Indian culture and music in video games, being married to another video game musician, Legend of Zelda, playing more live shows this year, and more. You can preorder SitarCraft at ropanuganti.bandcamp.com/album/sitarcraft Get tickets to OngakuVania II in Orlando on October 29t at ongakuoverdrive.com/ongakuvania Check out Ro Panuganti at ropanu.com. and youtube.com/ropanuganti. Follow Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

Representing DUUUVAL with pride are Florida fusion rock video game band The Limit Breakers. We have Jisun, Dani, and Lukas on to talk about what the band has been cooking this year. This includes a super successful Twitch fundraiser that got them to VGM CON, how they maintain a band their size, and their upcoming shows in Jacksonville and Orlando. We even talk about the Jax nerd scene! Follow The Limit Breakers at https://linktr.ee/thelimitbreakers. See them perform soon! 10/4 in Jacksonville, FL: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-limit-breakers-halloween-vgm-show-with-awesomus-prime-and-limo-scene-tickets-696114867307?aff=oddtdtcreator 10/29 in Orlando, FL: https://ongakuoverdrive.com/ongakuvania Follow Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. Support Nerd Music Meltdown at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

There is a Marc with a C documentary coming! Half Serious, Half Kidding: The Digital Footprint of an Obscure Rockstar chronicles 20+ years of Marc with a C's career as well as Orlando music history. Kent talks to director Jo Canterbury about how the documentary came together, how he got to know Marc and his music, and the process of telling Marc's story without filming a single thing. Half Serious, Half Kidding will be playing at the Orlando Film Festival this fall. Find out more about the documentary at halfserioushalfkidding.com. You can follow Jo Canterbury at twitter.com/ghostofjo. Check out Marc with a C's music at linktr.ee/marcwithac. Follow Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. Support Nerd Music Meltdown at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob

We're back from another hiatus and settled into a new studio! Kent gets everyone caught up and brings on the newest, funky video game duo of Ian Cowell and Carrie Wood, otherwise known as Bi Score, to chat about making music for people to score to from TWO different coasts. And being bisexual while doing it! Their first album, The Hot Light, just dropped and they got more music and shows coming, including this Sunday's Virtua Ongaku 17, LIVE on twitch.tv/ongakuoverdrive. Follow Bi Score: https://linktr.ee/biscore Follow Ian Cowell: https://linktr.ee/neoncowell Follow Carrie Wood: https://twitter.com/supitscarrie Follow Kent Ward: https://linktr.ee/greatkentward Support Nerd Music Meltdown at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob  

EyeQ and Substantial are in the final week of their Friends and Fam Tour, which goes through MomoCon this weekend and concludes in Orlando on Memorial Day! We talk about the current state of live shows, fun moments of the tour, free comic book day hauls, fan conventions finally embracing black culture, and both EyeQ and Substantial's upcoming albums! Friends & Fam Tour tickets: https://www.songkick.com/artists/497738-substantial Follow EyeQ at eyeqmusic.com and Substantial at iamsubstantial.com. Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. Support Nerd Music Meltdown at patreon.com/ongakuoverdrive. "The Meltdown" theme by RoboRob