Nerd Music Meltdown
The Nerd Music Meltdown features interviews with the top acts and personalities in video game music, nerdcore, chiptune, and geek rock. Host extraordinaire Kent Ward picks the minds of these fine guests and plays some great tunes to bring you into the magical world of nerd music. Presented by Ongaku Overdrive.
Episodes
On November 14th, Marc with a C has a new album coming out, appropriately titled Steamed Hams. Definitely a great time to have Marc on the Nerd Music Meltdown one final time.
We not only talk about the new album, but also the importance of Pride Month, the end of The Geek Easy, focusing on family, the homogenization of "nerd media," and Marc's documentary. Even some anime talk!
You can preorder Steamed Hams at marcwithac.bandcamp.c...
A whole lot has changed behind the scenes over the last year at video game music netlabel and community GameGrooves. To get us up to speed on the new era of GameGrooves, Kent has Ro Panuganti, Ian Martyn, and Drew Gibson on to talk all about it. They are cookin!
We discuss the leadership changes, community involvement on their Discord, what goes into planning their compilation albums, the Nintendo Music App and licensing, their up...
Justin Taylor and Adam Payne of Final Fantasy metal band Knight of the Round are on the Meltdown to talk about their upcoming album Refractions, dropping on April 25th.
Pre-order Refractions: knightoftheround.bandcamp.com/album/refractions
Knight of the Round at Warriors of Light II: youtu.be/uJXNToRJws4
Kent and KOTR also discuss the evolution of the Final Fantasy games, Ergheiz, Power Stone, and their upcoming shows in Atlant...
This year, Bonus Stage is turning TEN and we have founder Josh Pendlebury on to talk all about it!
We also talk about Bonus Stage's transition from virtual to live events, Bonus Stage Ultimate in Vancouver this November, the upcoming VGMCon, the new generation of VGM acts, and touring with video game composer Danny Baranowsky and working on Crypt/Rift of the NecroDancer.
You can follow Bonus Stage at bonusstage.ca and twitch.tv/b...
Super MAGFest brought us a lot of great music and games, and created some incredible memories we won't forget. To reflect on the weekend, Mr. Ongaku has brought on Ro Panuganti, Alyssa Kalugdan, and Klinkit from Zeldathon to share their favorite moments of the epic MAG weekend.
But that's not all! Ongaku Overdrive and Zeldathon are teaming up with the VGM community on Sunday, February 16th to raise money for LA Wildfire Relief wit...
It's been a while since the last episode of the Nerd Music Meltdown podcast. A lot has happened in the life of Mr. Ongaku himself, and Kent Ward explains it all.
Lots of talk about Kent's return to game development, Super MAGFest this week, and what to expect from both Ongaku Overdrive and the Nerd Music Meltdown in 2025.
Follow host Kent Ward at linktr.ee/greatkentward. You can support also our podcast at patreon.com/ongakuoverd...
We're all taking off for the Sunshine Resort at VGM Con! Taking place April 19th-22nd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, VGM Con celebrate video games and music with live performance, panels, and more!
We have Vaughn Rowles of VGM Con and The Bards Quartet along with Theology to talk about the VGM Con experience, what performers and events to look out for, and more. They will even be streaming the Warp Stage schedule on twitch.tv/vgmcon.
...
We have video game and animation composer, musician, and audio producer Mason Lieberman on Nerd Music Meltdown! His credits include PUBG Mobile, One Piece, Made in Abyss, Soundfall, Apex Legends Mobile, RWBY, and more.
We talk about his start through Rooster Teeth and their shutdown, how VGM musicians can break into the game industry, GDC, how he manages his crazy schedule, and his video game band Tournament Arc. They just released...
SXSW is coming up in Austin, Texas this March and nerdcore will be repped very hard during the festivities with the official SXSW Nerdcore Showcase on March 16th, as well as the Nerdcore Dayz festival March 13th to 15th.
We have Shubzilla, Bill Beats, and DJ R.O.C.K.M.A.N. to break it all down and why these events are significant in our community. Some folks like Billy Mitchell also get dragged and we discuss why rapping over voca...
Super MAGFest Prime was 4+ days straight of video games, music, partying, and friends. Kent actually worked for the event and has MAGFest performers Stemage (Metroid Metal), Katy Scary (Klaymore), and Jimmy Granger (Abandon Quest) on to talk about the weekend, favorite moments, getting dance pads and a Mother Brain robot on stage, and more.
We also talk about what we want to see at MAGFest next year and what's good for 2024!
Foll...
Happy 2024! We are kicking off the year strong. Super MAGFest 2024 is NEXT WEEK. There are a lot of new acts performing on main stage for the first time, including 88bit and Dom Palombi.
We have both on to talk about their road to MAGFest, what they have planned for the weekend, how they have kept success on Twitch, Dom Palombi's upcoming album, and everyone's plans for 2024.
Follow 88bit at linkpop.com/88bit and twitch.tv/robkovac...
Last episode of the year! GameGrooves has been cookin' in 2023 and have even more to look forward to in 2024. We have the found of GameGrooves, Allen Brasch, on to talk about how GameGrooves operates these days and the challeneges of running a video game music netlabel. Also, what are we doing at Super MAGFest 2024? Find out all that and more!
You can follow Game Grooves at gamegrooves.com and gamegrooves.bandcamp.com.
Follow ho...
Mahn and Carrie Wood have formed a new symphonic metal band with Masikus called Premium Vintage. (That's a Hades reference.) They just released their debut album, The Symphony of Hades. And we talk all about that, favorite parts of Hades, the upcoming sequel, possible future projects, Sega Saturn, and the upcoming Super MAGFest.
Follow Mahn at https://linktr.ee/mahnplaysmusic. Follow Carrie Wood at https://twitter.com/supitscarrie...
The lads are back on Nerd Music Meltdown to melt your faces off! Lame Genie has been tearing it up at conventions and retro game expos all over the country, dominated YouTube, and dropped a bunch of music and still crank out weekly videos!
We talk about what Lame Genie has been up to, their song selection technology for live shows, the Street Fighter 6 OST, Turtles in Time on vinyl, car accidents, and more!
Lame Genie will be back...
The Keytar Kween Lacey Johnson just played at TwitchCon and now she is back in Orlando this weekend for the OngakuVania II. We talk about that, favorite spooky games, fighting games, playing all over the place, and managing an intense schedule of releasing music, YouTube videos, performing, and even teaching music! How does she do it?
OngakuVania II Halloween Party is October 29th at Conduit in Winter Park, FL. Get tickets at ongak...
Back on the show is VGM prog rocker Big Ro Panuganti! His new album "SitarCraft" drops October 20th and will have a heavy amount of Indian music influence. We discuss the album, Indian culture and music in video games, being married to another video game musician, Legend of Zelda, playing more live shows this year, and more.
You can preorder SitarCraft at ropanuganti.bandcamp.com/album/sitarcraft
Get tickets to OngakuVania II in...
Representing DUUUVAL with pride are Florida fusion rock video game band The Limit Breakers. We have Jisun, Dani, and Lukas on to talk about what the band has been cooking this year. This includes a super successful Twitch fundraiser that got them to VGM CON, how they maintain a band their size, and their upcoming shows in Jacksonville and Orlando. We even talk about the Jax nerd scene!
Follow The Limit Breakers at https://linktr.e...
There is a Marc with a C documentary coming! Half Serious, Half Kidding: The Digital Footprint of an Obscure Rockstar chronicles 20+ years of Marc with a C's career as well as Orlando music history. Kent talks to director Jo Canterbury about how the documentary came together, how he got to know Marc and his music, and the process of telling Marc's story without filming a single thing.
Half Serious, Half Kidding will be playing at ...
We're back from another hiatus and settled into a new studio! Kent gets everyone caught up and brings on the newest, funky video game duo of Ian Cowell and Carrie Wood, otherwise known as Bi Score, to chat about making music for people to score to from TWO different coasts. And being bisexual while doing it! Their first album, The Hot Light, just dropped and they got more music and shows coming, including this Sunday's Virtua Ongak...
EyeQ and Substantial are in the final week of their Friends and Fam Tour, which goes through MomoCon this weekend and concludes in Orlando on Memorial Day!
We talk about the current state of live shows, fun moments of the tour, free comic book day hauls, fan conventions finally embracing black culture, and both EyeQ and Substantial's upcoming albums!
Friends & Fam Tour tickets: https://www.songkick.com/artists/497738-substantial
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