Tell us a little about your yourself:
Let's see, I live in Northern California & have been living here pretty much my whole life. Always have been into making websites but only recently learned PHP & MySQL. I hope to use this knowledge to make more sites & build a career out of it. Started getting into video games at the early age of 2 & my parents bought me a Commodore 64 at the ripe age of 3. While my folks didn't have a whole lot of money, they did keep feeding my ambition & love for video games, which I will always thank them for. Started playing the bass when I was 15 & haven't quit since. Learned to play the guitar over time as well. Played in a couple of bands out of high school. None really panned out, but was a lot of fun & definitely a great experience.
What instruments do you play?
Bass was the first instrument I learned to play & that's the one I'm best at. I can play rhythm guitar, some lead guitar & am currently learning how to play drums.
What are your video game music influences?
I know it's cliche but Nobou Uematsu & the Final Fantasy soundtracks are my main influences. The music throughout that series is fantastic & I still believe to this day that the soundtrack to Final Fantasy VI is the best soundtrack of the 16-bit generation & easily in the Top 10 best video game soundtracks ever. Other influences include Yasunori Mitsuda who did fantastic work on the Chrono Series among others. Hiroki Kikuta created some unbelievable soundtracks for Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2) & Seiken Densetsu 3. Of course Koji Kondo has to be mentioned for all the work he's done throughout the Legend of Zelda & Super Mario Bros. series. Also the many miscellaneous composers who worked throughout the original Mega Man series, I've never been disappointed with their music.
What are your musical influences outside of video games?
311 was my favorite band while growing up. While their lyrics can sometimes leave much to be desired, the style they came up with is absolutely enthralling. Chad Sexton may be the best drummer you never heard of. I still love listening to Rage Against the Machine & was lucky to see them live at least once. Early Red Hot Chili Peppers were a big influence on me as I just love that funk rock style. Flea influenced me a lot as a bass player. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is one of the best albums of all time. Have to add Primus & Les Claypool to that mix. The bass playing is just sensational & the style is all his own. Big fan of Radiohead & they are probably the most innovative band out there right now. Ok Computer is just a sick album. Others I still listen to are Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Gorillaz, Sublime, System of a Down & Tool. Don't listen to many new artists, but I do dig the Bravery, the Veils & Wolf Parade.
What are your favorite video games?
Final Fantasy VI is probably my favorite game of all time. I still remember playing that game relentlessly as a kid. Final Fantasy IV will always hold a special place as that was the game that got me into RPG's. I must of rented that game 20 times before my parents just decided to buy it for me. Obviously Final Fantasy VII was great & so was Final Fantasy X (am I a Final Fantasy fan? I have no idea, LOL). Chrono Trigger is excellent. I only just recently beat Chrono Cross (about a couple years ago) & immediately that became one of my favorites. Zelda is of course up there, with Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time & Twilight Princess. Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, the original Mega Man series on NES & the entire Metroid catalog. Super Paper Mario was fun. Used to be a big time Madden player but not so much anymore.
What are your interests outside of video games?
Love music (obviously) & movies, especially independent films. Big time sports fan, love rooting for all my teams that continue to disappoint me (San Francisco Giants, Buffalo Bills, Cal Golden Bears, Golden State Warriors). Love going to the city. Not a big camping guy, but I do enjoy going out hiking or going to the beach. Used to go to a lot of concerts, not so much anymore. Also used to go out to the bars a lot once I hit 21, but you can only wake up with a hangover so much before it starts to get old, LOL.
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