Skate Wizards Adventure / Soundtrack & Spectacular Guitar Solos
Plus Gwar & Last Train to Bremen
Skate Wizards is a TTRPG project by musician Levi Nunez from Loot the Body and artist Michael C. Hsiung. The twain have recently released a new adventure called Skate Wizards II : Into the Eye of the Domed City.
Here is a description:
Legends say that deep in the wastes a domed city stands alone. A peaceful and advanced civilization thrives behind its walls, seemingly untouched by the events that ravaged the outside world. The Archmage, the head of your order, believes an alliance must be forged among the remaining civilized cultures. He summons you with the following request, “Confirm the existence of this rumored city and convince them to add their strength to the new alliance of free people.” You leave the Skate Wizard sanctuary that resides high on the peak of Lance Mountain and roll down towards the wastelands. You will locate the fabled domed city, meet its inhabitants, shred its beautiful streets and uncover a gnarly mystery.
Loot the Body has released a soundtrack to accompany the adventure called Tasty Jamz.
I love the way the album artwork mimics the Ozzy / Randy Rhoads Tribute album cover!
Here is a description of the Tasty Jamz music from Levi:
“Here it is again, a second collection of songs inspired by Skate Wizards, my collaboration with Michael C. Hsiung. These songs and the corresponding game have been in the vault for a while. Mike and I just needed that final push to finish them but life always got in the way. After the Eaton Canyon fire that impacted us both, Mike and I were completely scattered but somewhere in that madness we discovered the last bit of focus we needed to finish this project. Maybe we needed it as a testament to our artistic existence. Not everything burned. We were still here, so was our inspiration. And one of a handful of surviving structures in Altadena was Ms. Dragon's Print and Copy, the local place where all our zines are printed. Each of the songs in this release corresponds to a component of the adventure. Some are very literal, others are ruminations on the themes of the adventure. It's certainly a heavier concept than the first one. Nevertheless, the crazier and heavier the times get, the more the world needs Tasty Jamz.”
To preview some of the album, check out this cool video for the song “Into the Eye of the Domed City”:
And here’s a groovy video for the title track:
Purchase the Skate Wizards II : Into the Eye of the Domed City adventure here. Preview and purchase the digital Tasty Jamz album from the Loot the Body Bandcamp page:
Lastly, Cauldron & Tower announced new Skate Wizards shirts to go along with the Skate Wizards II project.
I bought a couple of Skate Wizards shirts with their older designs earlier this year. The first day I wore one of them, I got similar positive comments from two strangers. After returning to a save point, I now have my dialog tree down:
“Cool shirt - do you skate?”
“No, but I am a wizard”
Spectacular Guitar Solos from the Early 70s
Longtime guitar journalist Jas Obrecht recently listed some of his favorite guitar solos from 1970 to 1975. I think Critical Hit Parader readers will get a kick out of how he connected the characters of Robert E. Howard to rock guitar in his introduction to the list:
The popular film Conan the Barbarian has a scene where James Earl Jones’s character, Thulsa Doom, is confronted by Conan for stealing his father’s sword. “There was a time, boy,” the evil Doom intones, “when I searched for steel. When steel meant more to me than gold or jewels.” During the early 1970s, many of my friends and I felt that way about rock guitar solos.
Highlights for me include Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain” (Eddie Hazel!) and Humble Pie’s live version of “I Don’t Need No Doctor.” Jas also included solos from some of my other personal favorite guitarists, including Roy Buchanan, Rory Gallagher, and Leslie West. You can read his full list of faves with associated commentary here:
I highly recommend any guitar players or fans check out Jas Obrecht’s Youtube page where he posts audio from his many interviews with legendary guitarists.
Last Train to Bremen Print Version
You can order a print version of Last Train to Bremen through a current crowdfunding campaign. I previously covered this award-winning “storytelling game of doomed musicians and poor decisions” in which the characters are animal musicians who made a deal with the devil.
Back the printed version of Last Train to Bremen here.
Gwar Tour
Fans of fantasy-inspired over-the-top musical mayhem on stage might be excited to hear that Gwar have announced a new tour. Dubbed “The Return of Gor Gor Tour” after their upcoming multimedia release, it features the post-Oderus Urungus collective version of the band.
Tour dates and pre-orders for The Return of Gor Gor album and comic are available from the Gwar website.
If Gwar are too tame for you, the Dwarves are one of the opening bands (IYKYK).