by Dan | Nov 21, 2009 | Ninja Stuff
I’m going to be moving to a new apartment soon, so I’ve started tidying up my musical workspace/gaming area/home office. When I did, I came across this scrap of paper that you may find amusing (click on it to see it full-size). So now the truth can be told: This is how I write lyrics. I immediately type them in and send them to Jude for his additions, but I’m really a paper guy when it comes to hashing out ideas like this. And in this case, I’m proud to note that most of the lyrics were final from the start, though if you look closely you will see a few roads not taken. Also, the notepaper was from Game Developer’s Conference freebie table; I love this size paper and have several of them lying around for just this reason.
Meanwhile, work on the next song (yes, we picked one out of the mess of ideas) continues, albeit slowly, partly due to my situation. Drums are tracked out, bass is laid down, and the rest is up to me with guitars and vocals. There are a lot of layered guitars…
by Dan | Oct 29, 2009 | Ninja Stuff
Bet you’re wondering why you haven’t heard any new songs from us in several months. I think it’s time I told you the truth: Palette-Swap Ninja is…not breaking up. It’s true. We love working together, and we’re totally committed to making more silly music in the future. We are neither bored nor uninspired. Sometimes, when a band has been together for a while, you know, they get closer and even more dedicated. It happens. And when it does, you have to simply accept it: Things are just going to keep getting better.
Boy, I feel better just saying that out loud.
However, there are some concrete reasons behind our unintentional hiatus. A lot of people have looked at all the things I’m involved in and asked “How do you find the time?” Well, lately, the answer has been “Actually, I don’t, but I’m still looking.” This is not meant as whining, it’s meant as explaining. But factors include:
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by Dan | Sep 9, 2009 | Ninja Stuff
We are nerds — proud nerds, even — so we were proud and honored when NERDSociety.com contacted us for an interview. Liking attention, we answered all their questions. The interview includes some photos you may or may not have seen — photos of what we actually look like…sometimes. In any case, go read it and tell all your friends.
by Dan | Aug 20, 2009 | Ninja Stuff
Dan just went public with his new job title, editor in chief of World of Warcraft: The Magazine. Hopefully this explains why an otherwise mellow summer has been more chaotic, and why the next songs are sitting waiting for his attention. Jude’s drum tracks are there and Dan’s guitars are not. That’s all there is to it.
Of course, this new job does not, in any other way beyond needing to adjust the windows of free time, change Palette-Swap Ninja. There will still be songs about consoles and PCs and geeky gaming culture. Will there be a WoW song? Maybe. There isn’t one on the schedule, but you never know where minds will wander. But the new gig is good news and is only bad if you’re impatient for the next track. And we know you probably are. So…blame Dan.
by Dan | Aug 1, 2009 | Ninja Stuff
Yes…DIY. 🙂 Aeshir was nice enough to create a version of the our wallpaper for use on your Xbox 360 dashboard. Just put it on a USB flash drive (or if your 360 can see your PC, put the image in your shared photo library), go to the Picture library from your 360, select the proper image and press Y to make it your custom background. Ta da!
by Dan | Jul 27, 2009 | Ninja Stuff
We know we’ve said we’re switching recording apps, but there’s another reason for the scattered work done on the next song: Dan’s switching jobs. That won’t affect anything on the PSwap side; the songs will still be heard on KOXM and TalkRadar, and once things settle down, he might even have MORE time to commit to the musical stuff. So that’s cool, but that’s one of the secret reasons we’ve been kinda quiet lately.
That said, Jude delivered a first-pass drum track today, and it’s good. Logic has some better drum samples and the kit sounds a lot more lively than the one we’ve been using. It’s exactly the foundation needed to get Dan on track for the bass and guitars and guide vocals. Lyrics are still being written, but they feel right so far. A lot of PSwap is done by feel, and it’s one of the reasons we don’t actively solicit parody ideas from you guys. It’s gotta feel right to us, and it’s tough to do that with outside ideas.
I’m going to be moving to a new apartment soon, so I’ve started tidying up my musical workspace/gaming area/home office. When I did, I came across this scrap of paper that you may find amusing (click on it to see it full-size). So now the truth can be told: This is how I write lyrics. I immediately type them in and send them to Jude for his additions, but I’m really a paper guy when it comes to hashing out ideas like this. And in this case, I’m proud to note that most of the lyrics were final from the start, though if you look closely you will see a few roads not taken. Also, the notepaper was from Game Developer’s Conference freebie table; I love this size paper and have several of them lying around for just this reason. 