Nick Marino

Sticks. That's what drew me to attempt this blend of digital drums and raw percussion. At the time I made this, the end game for every one of my instrumentals was to have them live on as hip hop beats. So I was curious to see if the cacophony of the sticks and the steady bass and snare of a drum machine would mix well.

I think it does. And it's a hot beat. But because it was made with vocals in mind, I don't think I varied the structure enough to make it a real gem. But listen and let me know what you think -- you might love it just the way it is.

I'm petrified, terrified
At the thought you could verify
The secret I've striven to keep.

Katherine Heigl on trial
I'm suing for libel
If you discover my failure to launch.

Confused? Good. You should be. Find out more at Pittsburgh's Small Press Festival this Sat-Sun (25-26) from 12-5 PM.

As I've said before, I'll be at Pittsburgh's Small Press Fest expo this weekend. It's from 12-5 on Saturday and Sunday at AIR on the Northside.

BUT... at 2 PM on Sunday, September 26th, there's something extra special going on: the Self-Publishing Comics 101 panel!!!

Along with myself, expect to see Shawn Atkins, Chris Maverick, and Nate McDonough, along with the possibility of some Ed Piskor and Copacetic Comics showing up too.

Expect to hear us talk about the creative process and how we get our stuff printed. If you're interested in making comics and self-publishing them, then make sure to show up and ask us lots of questions!!!

This beat was made one of my favorite ways -- taking two sections of a song with the same rhythm but slightly varying melodies, and then looping them at the same time, one on the right and one on the left.

To me, this mellow product has a bit more reply charm than the original. Though it's not nearly as moving or memorable as its predecessor, I think it's got a great vibe.

extreme.

You can download the entire Superior Tech mixtape for free -- all 13 instrumental tracks -- right here: Superior Tech ZIP (58 MB)

I'm posting each of the tracks from Superior Tech as videos on YouTube, and I've posted each track individually here on the blog. Check out these links if you want to preview the songs before you download the full mixtape:

01. Armor
02. Century
03. Colossal
04. Diamond
05. Get High
06. Lightning Storm
07. Lucas
08. Nothing
09. Quantum
10. Showdown
11. Silver Centurion
12. Superior Tech
13. Windrider

You can also listen to the Brilliant Shower album sampler -- it's six and half minutes long, and gives you a taste of each song from my 100% original album.

I'll be back next week with the start of a new Nik Furious mixtape, Proton Cannon.

Do you know who the Windrider is? Don't waste your time trying to Google it -- you're better off going to your local comic shop and asking the person behind the counter.

This beat was a bit of an experiment for me. I utilized two drastically different sections of the same sample and turned out a combination that communicates a whole other attitude than the original.

The product is moody, powerful, and even elegant at times. A fine tribute to my adored Windrider, if you ask me.

Linkage: You can download the full Superior Tech mixtape here on the blog and check out my Superior Tech playlist on YouTube.

Yeah, that's right. I'm busy.

- What you heard about VIP PodCamp Sponsor??? Hmmm... this is Podcamp PodCamp 5, yet the URL says 4. Oh well, whateves. All that VIP means is that I paid $25 bucks to get some schwag and get my name on the site. OH YEAH. Point is, I'll be at PodCamp this weekend sharing about the AudioShocker podcasts, learning some tricks, and networking.

- Annnndddd next weekend is Pittsburgh's Small Press Fest. I'll have awesome AudioShocker Comics like:
- - Time Log one-shot
- - Super Haters v1
- - Super Haters v2
- - Super Haters Special Edition (relatively NEW!)
- - Zombie Palin 3rd Edition (NEW!)
- - CONFIDENTIAL SPF SPECIAL RELEASE (duh, NEW!)

SPF is free to attend, so come stop by and check out all the awesome stuff that Pittsburgh indie comics and lit scene has to offer.

UPDATE 01/27/2011 - Listen to the full album!!! (I thought all of Brilliant Shower was streaming below, but it was just 30 second snippets. Whoops! My bad. But now that's fixed and you can listen to the full album in all its glory.)

Brilliant Shower Tracklist:
01. After the Wink
02. Bacon
03. Essential
04. In Vert Head
05. Invisible
06. Purple Suite
07. RAW
08. Remix the Phoenix
09. Speechless
10. Street Drums
11. Summers
12. Uncanny
13. Wallcrawler

If you want to get a feel for the full album without listening to the whole thing, here's a 6.5 minute sampler featuring 30 seconds from each of the 13 songs:

The pinup process completes!

Last time, the basic colors and letters brought the piece together. And I could've stopped there. But I thought I'd try some color holds/knockouts on this piece.

And that's all folks! Now go give a gander to the Explorers of the Unknown comic that inspired it.