YGCTO Episode 22 - Blitzcast Part II

Entrance Music

Now these episodes are why I wanted to start podcasting. I see the podcast as a pathway to four goals. One is having a weekly creative self-imposed deadline. Two is an outlet for writing music. Three is a way to nurture friendships and flour is a way to showcase creative people.

The Blitzcast is a way to revisit as many of our friends as possible at once. One thing I always saw us doing is having recurring guests… or at least a good avenue to having the same people back on the show. It’s also somewhat ambitious compared to what we’ve done so far. Scheduling this was a big challenge. I had to get all the guests set on 30 minute slots in a way that lined up with two other guests.

We knew some issues would come up during the recording. We only had one no-show… but David stayed on to fill the extra gap. And three guests had to cancel in the days before the show, but we were able to get some quick replacements in David and Colin.

Right now, the toughest part is writing entrance themes for everyone. I was able to cheat a bit for Part I by recycling unused themes I had written for two of the guests. But by now I’m having to come up with an original one for each guest. Luckily, Naj and Nate came on at the same time leaving me with only three to write this week.

Mike’s Magic World

I spent some time going through my extra Magic cards. In the mid 2010’s I was still getting each set and playing at the store. But since Covid, I stopped playing outside of the occasional family game.

Since the spider-man set was a hit with Andy and I’m altering more often, we’re looking forward to the upcoming Marvel set. I used to collect every Marvel title at two different periods of my life. In Jr. High, I collected every X-Men and Spider-Man issue. In the mid ’00s, I was all-in on the Civil War tie-ins.

Since the MCU wave has come and gone, being a Marvel fan hits different. The movies don’t hit the same and I can’t say that hasn’t affected my interest in getting new comics. If Hickman or Gillen write a book, I’m much more inclined to get it. But by now, I reserve that for their Image titles.

I sold a decent chunk of my cards for credit with the intent of getting a decent amount of the Marvel set. We pulled a Soul Stone from the Spider-Man we opened. Plus, Andy and I opened them in the best way: by playing drafts with them. It’s been a long time since I bought a box of cards just to crack the packs. Since Mirroden Scarred I’ve had a personal rule to only open a pack if it’s to play a game with.

Andy’s always ready to open packs. So I always have a game to open cards for. I stopped caring about the whole Universes Unbound tking over Magic years ago. After all, I only played structured tournaments at the local store level. My play groups were for the most part literal kitchen-table magic groups.

Marvel Magic gives me a unique and personal way to enjoy my favorite Marvel characters again. I’ve been altering more often and went back to my old 1993 Marvel Universe sets for cards to paint. I’m most looking forward to altering more Marvel cards. So for the first time in my 25+ year MTG hobby, I care moore about the art on the cards than the gameplay value.

This Week’s Blitzcast Guests

David Stampor

David Stampor is a monkey from Michigan.

David Stampor

David was unexpectedly asked to stick around after his appearance last week in part I to cover another episode. First by himself, then with Evynne.

Evynne Stitely

Evynne Stitely is a Drummer / Teacher / YouTube Creator / Writer / Graphic Artist living in Chicago. I’ve had the privilege of playing music with Evynne several times. She is definitely not JMS in disguise, no matter what Dre tells you.

Evynne Stitely

Evynne was previously on our “Chrysalis” episode from season 1. She has a habit of taking Dre’s more outlandish theories and making them work. I wanted her entrance theme to reflect her past as a drummer by having the guitars and drums play in different time signatures. In this case 3/4 over 5/4 in sections of 5 bars.

Karl Wolf

Karl Wolf is a singer and Babylon 5 enthusiast living in Detroit.

Karl Wolf

So I was trying to do an acapella vocal intro for Karl, but it wasn’t happening by the end of my 60 minute time limit for these. Again, self-imposed. This is what I whipped up as an excuse to use the new bass synth pedal. I regret nothing!

Naj

Najmah is a multi-talented artist. She works in online production and marketing for gaming and tech. Naj is also a talented artist and musician who has a youtube channel where she covers popular songs on Ukulele. She has a youtube vlog where you can find more about her game development projects. For her music you can check out her music channelm NajMeTender.

Najmah Salam

You can find even more of Najmah’s creative and professional efforts at najmahsalam.com.

Nate Flint

Nate Flint was in the band Mad Bread with Mike.

David Stampor

Nate guested on “The Hour of the Wolf” from season 4. I used one of Nate’s songs from Mad Bread as the basis for his entrance music. Since it became a tag team with Naj, I added Ukulele to the arrangement.