Interview with Comedian , Author , Podcaster - Richard Herring

Before we get down to this interview id like to thank Richard for taking time out of his busy schedule of Podcasting and Gigging among other things to participate in this interview with me , Right lets get to it

Ross - As it occurs to me is a genuinely fresh idea for a podcast , how much stress does it cause you to write every week during its run ?


Richard - It is genuinely incredibly stressful, especially the night before. My madness and frustration is only very slightly exaggerated. On Sundays I am nearly always cursing myself for doing it, but usually by the time it's done the relief is so great that I want to do more. It's like childbirth in that sense. But is much more painful.

The AIOTM crew 

Ross - How did you choose your fellow AIOTM cast members ?


Richard - I had worked with them all before. I met Emma at University and we did sketches together back then. I saw Dan Tetsell in Edinburgh doing a show with Danny Robins and asked them both to be in That Was Then This Is Now (along with Emma) and Christian was brought into that Radio 2 show to do the music. I loved the TWTTIN cast so when it came to doing AIOTM I wanted to bring them back together - but had felt there wasn't enough to do for two male actors and chose Dan over Danny, though there was nothing personal in that decision. 


Ross - As most fans of yours should already be aware you do a daily blog , during a AIOTM run do you sometimes hold things back from the blog to include in the show ?


Richard - No not really. I feel that as I am producing so much free content that it is OK to repeat between platforms and then it is up to the consumer to decide if they want to consume some or all of it. Very occasionally I might save something up, if the blog is about something else from a day, but usually I will find the funny angle in the blog and then incorporate it and expand on it for the show. I might then take that thing and use it in my live work. I am happy to mix and match.

Ross - Do you find it difficult to keep up a daily blog ?

Richard - It's pretty easy now. There was a point when it was difficult and annoying, but I got over it. I think the key is to give yourself the permission to fail, or for a blog (or a podcast or bit of a podcast) not to be that good. Or not to fear that it might be. Usually I will come up with something with some merit in it, but if you're writing 365 blogs a year and doing an hour or so of podcasts a week, then it can't all be gold. Yet if you aren't scared to give things a spin then usually something good comes out of them. In the past I used to spend ages some times trying to think of something to blog about, now I quickly choose a subject and get on with it.


Ross - After reading 'How not to grow up' i was amazed at how open you are about certain things in your life , do you ever have any regrets about any of the things you put out there ?


Richard - No, being open is actually very liberating and I think honesty is the key to being a good comedian and a good human being. People (generally) respect the openness more, even if I am revealing something embarrassing. We are all flawed and it's a relief to read someone else admitting that, but it's also a relief to write it and for people to forgive you or empathise with you. I have found the things that I have been most scared of writing about are generally the most successful things. I still lie occasionally, but honesty is the best policy. And we are much more similar than we imagine. 

Richards new book i highly recommend it .

Ross - I personally love the fact that you play smaller more intimate venues , how do you feel about it , would you like to play these big stadium shows like other comedians where you don't really have the same connection with your audience ?


Richard - I don't have much interest in playing massive venues, but nor generally do I have the choice in the matter. Generally a room of about 200-300 people is the ideal size for comedy, but I play smaller and bigger venues. Somewhere like the Hammersmith Apollo is  a brilliant 2000 seater place that I would love to play in my own right one day and I have enjoyed the 500 and 600 seater places I have played on tour. There's a part of me that wants to try and master all kinds of comedy and all kinds of venue. But I don't really see why people would want to see comedy in a stadium when you're just watching a screen. Buy the DVD. Live comedy is such an amazing experience and it's a wonderful feeling when everyone in the room feels involved. So I will be more than happy to stay at the exact level I am at right now.

Ross - What are Andrew Collins' true feelings towards tiny Andrew ? 


Richard - I think he found it funny and disconcerting in equal measure. It was strange the way it steamrollered out of either of our controls. And it was more the introduction of characters that were supposedly from his family that he didn't like. But I think he sees that it is a very funny character, that bears little relationship to him. I think we've finally killed it off now anyway. I don't want to have to keep doing the same things every week until they outstay their welcome. It's strange when something takes off so completely like that did though.

Ross - The Collings and Herrin podcast is one i look forward to every week is it nice to have that kind of platform to be the Richard Herrin Character ?

Richard -  It is fun to remove the internal censor and to say things that you shouldn't be allowed to say. As long as people get that it's a joke it's fine. But again it's liberating. It's fun to be allowed to be that horrible and rude and for people to actually like it and enjoy it when I rip into them. But sometimes I feel a bit sick afterwards, because sometimes Herrin pushes it further than I would really like. Or isn't funny enough to justify the nastiness. It's fascinating though and I kind of enjoy the failure and the times it creates a genuine tension. Because it's exciting as a performer to be testing the limits and experimenting. But I would hate to think that anyone was hurt or upset by the stupid things Herrin says. He is a twat. That is the secret of his success, I suppose. 

Ross - Speaking of the Richard Herrin character is it really just a case of  you turned up to 11 ?


Richard - I am much sweeter and more sensitive and a whole lot less perverted than any character I have portrayed in almost any comedy I've done. But I have my moments. It's the dark part of your psyche that thinks awful things and feels anger and jealousy and all that stuff. We correctly usually repress this side of ourselves, but I don't have the same hang ups as Herrin or AIOTM Herring and am a lot more content (generally) than he is. But then there is a tiny part of me......

Ross - Has Andrew repaid you the money for the CD he gave away yet ?

Richard - No, it keeps mounting up as well. Plus now we have to take compound interest into account.

Ross - In my eyes you appear to be one of the hardest working comedians out there , do you ever feel like taking a break from a lot of the side projects you do and just concentrating on one specific area ? 

Richard - Maybe I should, but I like the variety. I think I need to take some time trying to do some writing for TV and get a sitcom or narrative comedy off the ground. Because that's the thing that I think I am best at and yet haven't  had too much luck with actually getting on TV. So I might try and push into that in the autumn, but I have work lined up until May 2011 at which point I will be doing a new Edinburgh show I guess, so it's hard to fit it all in. And I worry about overdoing things and burning myself out. But although things are hectic it's all going well and the last few years prove that one is the master of your own destiny and you can get places by just getting on with it and working hard. As a comedian you can have this autonomy. And all the free stuff I do fuels the paid stuff and gets people coming to see my shows and buying my DVDs etc. It's a slog, but it's working, so I think I have to keep pushing onwards.

Ross - And Finally do you have any thing you would like to plug at the moment ?

Richard - My DVD Hitler Moustache is out on October 25th (if you buy from go faster stripe you can get an extra DVD with some excellent stuff on it) and my tour starts in December - richardherring.com/coab

Plus there are more live AIOTMs and Collings and Herring podcasts to look out for. Best just to keep an eye on richard herring if you're interested!




Once again id like to thank Richard for this interview its been my pleasure i hope you all enjoy it and please leave comments 
Cheers Ross

Interview With Dan Amrich of One Of Swords

I'd like to start this post by thanking Dan for taking the time out of his busy schedule to take part in this interview with me it was a pleasure , Lets get straight down to business.

Ross - I first became aware of your work on the Oxm podcast where you co hosted the show with Ryan McCaffrey how easy is it to get in front of a mic and just do a show like that ?

Dan - For me, it's not hard -- I am actually more comfortable behind a mic

than I am in person. Part of this comes from having done radio, and

before that, live theater. You learn that you're in the moment, you

have to own it -- just commit to whatever you are going to say and

you'll be fine more often than not.

As for KOXM, Ryan and I have a good chemistry from our friendship.

We're on the same page, but often have different outlooks on the same

things, so that leads to great open discussions. There's also just the

right amount of friendly competition -- we want to make each other

laugh and we both agree with that "commit to the moment" thing.

Podcasting with him is effortless.

Ross - How much games journalism did you do before the Oxm days ?

Dan - I started out writing pro in 1993. I got serious about writing during

my senior year in college, and actually started in music -- I did
record reviews, I interviewed a few up and coming bands. I landed a
job at Country Guitar magazine -- I love guitar, not so much on
country, but I certainly came to appreciate it -- and started looking
for freelance work in gaming around the same time. I got good exposure
writing one-off articles for Wired and TimeOut NY, and was on staff at
Flux magazine and an AOL area called Critics Choice. Those really
helped establish me before I moved to California for a startup
magazine that didn't really start. I joined the staff of GamePro in
1997 and wrote under the name Dan Elektro for seven years. I
ultimately moved over to help launch GamesRadar in the US, then
shifted to OXM in 2006. My first big review was Gears of War, which I
gave a 10 -- only the second one in the history of the magazine. No
pressure, new guy.

Ross - After Oxm you made a short job change to the Official WOW Magazine before becoming the community manager at activision how difficult a decision was it to make those  two pretty big job changes in a relatively short space of time ?

Dan - Very. I wasn't even sure I wanted to leave OXM; we had a nice balanced

staff and we all worked well together. But I also wanted to be able to
run my own show -- I'd never been Editor in Chief of anything, and the
WoW magazine was looking for someone who knew the game. I'd been
playing for four years at that point -- I actually started playing at
launch and didn't like it, then came back and saw all the upgrades and
started over. It just seemed to be the right opportunity at the right
time.

And literally the week that I moved my desk, I got a call from
Activision saying, hey, we have this new position that we're creating,
and we want to see if it's something that would interest you. It was
loosely described as "our version of Major Nelson." I said, "You know
I just started a new job, right?" But I knew it was worth discussing
with them because it was such a great opportunity. The longer I worked
on that first WoW issue, the more I realized this was not a good fit
for me and wasn't something I would be comfortable doing long
term...and the Activision opportunity was getting more and more real.
It got to the point where the only downside was having to move to Los
Angeles, because I like Northern California and the SF Bay Area.

I have always prided myself on not jumping around in the industry -- I
like committing to things, like GamePro for seven years and OXM for
three. I didn't want to be one of those people that you'd see at an
industry event and say "Who are you with now?" So having three jobs in
the same 12 months was really quite uncomfortable to me, but you don't
get to pick your windows of opportunity. Mine just happened to open
next to each other.

Ross - Is your current role at activision something you saw yourself doing when

you started in the video game world ?

Dan - Not really. Well, for one, the kind of role I now inhabit certainly

didn't exist when I started reviewing games like Total Carnage for
SNES and Eternal Champions for Genesis. I mean, when I started, the
person who gamers connected with at the company that made the games
was a blue hedgehog. The fact that the industry has evolved to the
point where publishers and developers can interact on this kind of
direct level is really encouraging, and I'm glad to be on the front
lines. But it's also scary, because while Major Nelson has clearly set
the standard, I'm also making up my particular version as I go along
-- and it's an awfully big stage for that kind of improv.

Ross - As a avid listener to talk radar i recently downloaded the episode

containing the Dan Amrich Roast , aside from all the jokes the talk radar

guys showed genuine affection towards you ,  how does it feel to have
affected the lives of other games journalists ?

Dan - That was a very special show. I didn't expect it, and quite honestly,

I didn't think I DID have an effect on other people. I really have
always felt that I was only as good as my last article and ultimately
I'm not as important as the game I'm covering anyway -- I am a
conduit, I am easily replaced. So to find out that all those guys
really felt that way -- that they cared enough to articulate it, and
that they had these tangible ways...it was very surprising, and truly
moving. It was very humbling to find out that I had any impact at all,
let alone that much. It certainly made me a lot more conflicted about
leaving.

Ross - For your One Of Swords podcast who long does it normally take to put the

show together record/edit and publish it ?

Dan - I try to produce it more or less in real time. The interview segment

is recorded separately from the co-host segments, but the raw
recordings are generally about two hours total -- that includes
equipment setup and connecting on Skype and general chatter. I try to
edit directly after the co-host segment is recorded, while it's still
fresh -- if there are things I need to bleep, I don't forget them.
That's about a half hour, tops. Then it's another 20 to 30 minutes to
export, tag up the MP3, and write the show description. After 30 shows
I have it down to a rhythm so I actually try not to waste any time, so
it rarely takes more than three hours a week. I'm trying to make it
even less by doing shorter shows, which in turn make it easier for new
listeners to jump in.

Ross - With a normal Palette-Swap Ninja song how long does it take for one of

them to come together from idea to release ?

Dan - It's generally a few months at the minimum; the shortest song we ever

turned around was one month, and that was to support Maximum PC's
100th podcast. Part of the reason it takes so long is that my musical
cohort Jude Kelley and I are both gainfully emplioyed and work on the
songs in our spare time. The other is that we don't want to rush the
comedy. We both really like the songs to be funny but also to tell a
story. Generally one of us will come up with a core joke -- for Viva
Pinata, it was the chorus; for Halo ((All I Play Oh)) it was the
simple rhyme of "Hey Oh" and "Halo." We rarely start with a song and
say "let's do a joke for that" -- it works much better the other way
around. What's the story to tell, what's the joke, and what song would
fit it?

Generally we kick emails back and forth. When the lyrics are there or
mostly there, then the serious work begins with learning parts and
programming drums -- Jude does that all in MIDI because he's the MIDI
master. Meanwhile I'm off learning guitar and bass parts. We build off
the drums and swap a Logic Express file back and forth in FTP until
it's all there. Sometimes that can take several weeks depending on how
complicated the song is and what else is going on in our lives. Jude
is a teacher so his summers are a little less busy, but my January to
March is a little easier in the game industry. So...it's a crapshoot

Ross - Any plans for the next video game parody song ?

Dan - Yes -- we're finishing up a live-action video for "Arcade Gaming

Shrine," but we are working on two more songs right now. One needs
lyrics but we both like the core idea very much, so we're going to try
to tackle that first. The second song just sort of came in a rush --
we have the full lyrics, but really don't have the time and focus to
do more than one song at a time, so it's just waiting in the wings. I
might revise the lyrics too, because now I'm thinking I want to change
the story a little bit. After that, we have discussed doing something
more ambitious; we're kicking around ideas. I have one crazy one but
it would require a herculean amount of effort, and it might just not
be worth that much trouble. We might be able to do something better in
the same amount of time.

Ross - Who are some of your musical influences ?

Dan - Jude and I are both huge fans of Devo, They Might Be Giants, and of

course, Weird Al Yankovic. Everything we do clearly stems from the
trails he has blazed; he proved that parody music could not only be
funny but, if created with enough care, worth hearing for years and
years. Jude and I met in an 80s cover band so we both like the
big-hair, big-synth, big-fun era of music, when MTV showed music
videos.

Ross - Is music something you could realistically do professionally ?

Dan - Short of what Jude and I did in our 80s band, probably not. We played

weddings, casinos, block parties -- they were good, paying gigs. But
for Palette-Swap Ninja, going any more "pro" than we are now is not a
goal -- like, our ultimate goal would be to play PAX or something.
We're not going to quit our day jobs and try to "make it." We do it
because for love more than fame. We want what we make to be worth
hearing, but that's out only real goal.

Ross - If you had to choose one and only one what would be your favorite game of

all time ?

Dan - I hate this question.  :)  It's impossible to choose, but I do keep

gravitating to Robotron 2084, because that's a game that still
challenges me -- hell, still scares me -- every time I play it. And I
have been playing it for literally decades. I have had lots of
fantastic, moving game experiences but Robotron is relentless and
every time I play it even now, I want to be better than I am.

Ross - Of all the current gen consoles which one sees the most playing time in

the Amrich house ?

Dan - I just got a PS3 a few months ago, so that combined with my years at

OXM building up a 360 library means I do play 360 more often. I play
PC a lot too -- Borderlands, L4D2, PvZ, and of course WoW. It's at
least 50/50 between PC and consoles, maybe more PC lately. 

Ross - Do you feel a MMO like WOW could ever work on the 360 or Ps3 ?

Dan - Yes. I haven't seen it yet, but I want to believe it can and will

happen. I am eager to see DC Universe Online on PS3 for this very
reason -- I am a comic nerd and want to live in that world. But the
trick is that the MMO has to be designed for the console in mind, and
I think that's DCUO's first smart move. So I'm hopeful.

Ross - What are your feelings towards Kinnect and Move ?

Dan - I preordered Kinect -- Dance Central is the kind of thing that I want

to play, but my choreographer wife wants to play even more -- but I'm
taking a wait-and-see on Move. Nothing wrong with the tech, just
looking for what game will give me the excuse to invest. It's never
about the tech anyway -- it's always about the games that make you
want the tech.

Ross - Which is your favorite gaming system of all time ? 

Dan - Arcades. Seriously -- I grew up on the Atari 2600, loved my Genesis,

and was thrilled to cover the 32-bit era on the front lines, so I have
strong memories. But to me, nothing beats a 400-pound plywood box that
has been created to play ONE GAME, and play it better than anything
else in the world. This is nostalgia talking, but then again...show me
a home version of Tempest or Atari's 1983 Star Wars or Robotron 2084
that is as good if not better than the coin-ops. 

Ross - And finally is there anything you'd like to plug or link to ?

Dan - Always! :) One of swords -- that's my portal for all the social

media stuff from inside Activision. All the Palette-Swap Ninja info
and the free MP3s are at palette swap ninja. And I don't blog much
on bunnyears lately, but that's my portal to all my personal weird
interests -- making Ghostbusters outfits, digging into puzzles,
telling the stories of how I got my Xbox 360, stuff like that. It's
rated M for Mature.

Once again i'd like to thank Dan so much for taking the time to participate in the interview with me it has been a brilliant interview if i do saw so my self so enjoy and please feel free to leave comments with your feedback 

Bank Holiday Monday !

So yet another bank holiday rolls around and as far as I can see there is no bond film on tv today , now personally I'm not a big bond film fan but surely it's a sort of tradition . But there is a superman film on you may cry yes I can see that but it is in no way comparable to 007.

I've recently picked up mafia 2 on xbox 360 so most of my free time is being taken up by that at the moment , in terms of it being a open world game it's actually very unopen as you do really have to stick to where the game wants you to go to complete the next mission.

The combat system works very well with only the occasional glitch in the targeting, the story it's self is quite compelling following the story of Vito Scaletta in his quest to make it to the top of the mafia tree .

The game lends heavily from mafia movies such as the godfather & goodfellas among others but any fans of the those films and the sandbox style of game I think will find this very entertaining .

I also like the look of metroid : other M on wii which I may pick up even after a few dodgy reviews if so I'll give a little review soon.

That's all for now but keep a eye on the blog for a very special interview coming up with a genuine podcast legend

You Cant Trust Anyone

With all the new money coming in to the premier league you simply cant trust all of the supposed big 4 to get a result these days , confused let me explain

Fed up with placing accumulators and not getting a return for my money i decided to use a tactic once employed by a friend ( Jack Curson if you must know ) of putting £10 on the big 4 clubs plus the two Scottish teams (I'm unaware of other Scottish teams named anything other than Rangers and Celtic) so this weekend i had £10 Safely placed on Arsenal , Chelsea , Rangers , Celtic and Man Utd now two of these teams destroyed there opposition with 6-0 wins and the other two also won fairly comfortable , but the supposed mighty Man utd couldn't beat an admittedly decent Fulham even with all the help Fulham gave them in the form of a penalty (missed) and a O.G . Frustrating in the extreme

So in closing don't trust any of the big 4 its going to be one of those seasons

WWE Holiday !

So it's now just 3 weeks until a little weekend away at butlins now that may not sound exciting to you but I have neglected to tell you that whilst there we will be seeing wwe wrestling !

Now yes I am 26 and I know it's not real amazingly but I find entertaining and I'm not ashamed that people know that I watch wrestling.

Now if you don't watch it let me update you on a few things yes ric flair and hulk hogan are still wrestling (kind of) but no stone cold and the rock both are no longer involved in wrestling they are both movie stars now !

In short I'm looking forward to a weekend away with my wife two very good friends and 20 + men in baby oil.

Posted from my iPhone 4

Special interview with "We Talk Games' " Kyle Von Kubik

Before we get to the meat of this weeks interview id like to take this time to thank Kyle for agreeing to be a part of this interview, Kyle is currently the co host of the We Talk Games Podcast which can be found on iTunes in the podcast section and also a very active member of the we talk games community which you can check out for yourselves over at wetalkgames . Whilst there have a look around you can sign in with any of your current social media site username and passwords for ease of use 


Ross - As a long time listener of we talk games i have to say i like the new format , how did you become involved in the new direction of the show ?


Kyle - In March of 2009, I was contacted by Wiggly about joining his reboot of "We Talk Games" for reasons he could answer better than I. During the first couple of months of "Volume 2," Wiggly and I were talking almost daily about how to take the show in a new direction. A lot of our discussion revolved around a new format. We bounced a lot of ideas back and forth the weeks before and during the first three months of "Volume 2." We agreed that while we wanted to be on the same level as our contemporaries, we also wanted to be different from them. We agreed the "news" and "numbers" segments were pointless, because they were boring, dated the back-catalog and could be heard in a thousand other places; so they were dropped. We wanted listeners of "We Talk Games" to enjoy something that broke from the norm. You can listen to a handful of "top-tier" video game pod casts each week and essentially find the same discussions about the same games. That's why I feel our retro-game discussion, special guest interviews, "man-on-the-street" approach with correspondents and Stinky & T.T. characters are extremely important to the show's direction. It was my idea to have interviews with special guests from within the video-game industry and it's culture; which is why my largest responsibility for the show is to finding them each month. I also handle the manufacturing of our show's "Pro-Gear" merchandise.

Ross - What is it like to be able to see the community of we talk games grow now that you have the social media style site ?

Kyle - From the beginning of my involvement with "We Talk Games," I wanted our show to have a rocking website on par with our contemporaries. It understandably took some time, but the result -in my opinion- outshines our contemporaries and continues to evolve. Wiggly and Kyle DeFranco deserve all the praise and credit for their work. Being able to connect, communicate and share with the "We Talk Games" community and watch it grow is extremely rewarding.

Ross - What moves are you and Wiggly looking to make to take the show to the next level ?

Kyle - Unfortunately there are a lot of things going on right now that I cannot discuss, but some thing should start to be revealed soon. Bringing "We Talk Games" to the "next level" is something I'm constantly thinking about. Undeniably, growing our audience has been the biggest struggle and frustration for us, especially because it isn't the fault of our product. New listeners and our special guests within the industry have largely had nothing but positive things to say about our show. Former special guests like Trip Hawkins, Alex Neuse, and -more recently- Team Meat have said that our interviews have been the best they've ever had. We were commended and promoted by Taito of Japan. So what's the problem? I believe the problem is "We Talk Games" is lost in a flooded market. There are a million other video-game podcasts out there and most of them suck. People are loyal to two or three shows, because they know what to expect each week. That's how I feel as a listener of other podcasts. Anytime I deviate out from my set roster of shows and tried something new, I'm usually disappointed. We have to get our brand out there and get people listening, so they can discover the quality product we're delivering. Wiggly, John and I can are always promoting the brand in different ways, but the efforts from our core community shouldn't be over looked. Listener like yourself and many others -I don't want to name names in fear that I'll forget someone- have been very instrumental in promoting the show. We're all very thankful for that. 

Ross - How many subscribers do you have to the podcast and in which ways are you trying to attract new listeners ? 

Kyle - I honestly don't know the hard numbers for our subscriptions, but whatever they are, I want to double them within a year. There's no one thing that will accomplish that goal, so we've been delivering weekly content, running contests, getting interactive and hitting the payment; rewarding our current listeners all the while. Good old "word-of-mouth" works too. I urge our listeners, if you like what you hear, tell as many people as you can.

Ross - Do you listen back to the shows yourself ? 

Kyle - I listen to every episode "We Talk Games" at least twice. The first time through is because I'm truly a fan our of product. However, each time after that is for personal improvements and quality-insurance. Thus the "addendum." I take my role in show very seriously and I'm always looking to improve.

Ross - Which are some of the best games that people may never have heard of on any of this generation of consoles ?

Kyle - This is difficult because a couple of my picks have been discussed on the show already, which is why "We Talk Games" is great. "Chromehounds" for the Xbox 360, "Little King's Story" on the Wii and "Retro Game Challenge" for the DS. I think you can get those titles on the cheap and they should bring a lot of enjoyment.

Ross - What areas of the gaming genre market do you feel is over saturated at the moment , by this i mean do you feel there are to many FPS , RPG Etc ?

Kyle - There's definitely an over-saturation of first-person and third person shooters, however even within those genres one can find a new fun experience. For example, "Transformers: War of Cybertron." Japanese role-playing games (J-RPGs) on the other have been over-saturating the market since the Playstation (PSX) and haven't brought anything new or interesting to the table since 1997. That's one genre that I've grown tired of.

Ross - And on the flip side of that what genres do you feel don't receive enough love from developers ?

Kyle - I'd like to see more good point-and-click adventures like those currently coming out of "Telltale Games" and arcade-style games of the same quality of "Pacman CE" and "Geometry Wars." Thankfully the current DLC marketplace scene makes this request economically viable.

Ross - What is your favorite genre of games ?

Kyle - I really like Western RPG's like "Fallout 3" & "Dragon Age: Origins."  I really dig the customization, exploration and narratives found in titles like those. Although my personal schedule has limited the amount of time I can invest in games like those.

Ross - Of the current gen consoles which is your machine of choice ?

Kyle - My Playstation 3 gets the most burn of all my consoles, mostly for playing PSN games and Blu-Rays

Ross - In your opinion which are the best and worst games that have been made into movies ? 

Kyle - Everyone cites the "Super Mario Bros." films as one of the worst, but "Street Fighter" was even worse. Dennis Hopper as "King Koopa" was a lot better than Jean Claude Van Damme as "Guile." Why is "Sagat" is 5'0" and 120lbs.? Both films are hilarious for all the wrong reasons. I remember "Mortal Kombat" being fun when I was 12 years old, but I have no desire to see if that film holds up today.

Ross - and finally can you settle a age old debate over who is better mario or sonic ? 

Kyle - One only has to look at the anthology of games from their respective franchises to see the clear winner. How many bad "Mario" games have you played? How many bad Sonic games were you too afraid to play? There's your answer.


Once again thank you Kyle i hope everyone enjoyed this interview if so let me know in the comments section so i can push on with more of them .


Cheers

Special Interview with the Grandfinale !

This weeks i have a very special interview with the co-creator / co host of Da Sharpshooters wrestling podcast its Mr Grandfinale himself Marcus so lets not waste any more time lets get right to it .


Ross - Before you started the podcast how would you and your brothers get out your wrestling frustrations

Marcus - Well, i  really don't think it's anything different from you hear on the show. Us going back and forth with alternative story lines of our on. Most of the time our conversation would be while we are playing video games or with our action figures. Some how and someway wrestling would enter into a conversation.


Ross - When you were young which was your fav wrestling toy , for me it was the ultimate warrior with the White trunks that did the gorilla press motion .

Marcus - My favorite wrestling toy was my ultimate warrior wrestling buddy. I love that thing. I remember having matches with the wrestling buddy on the patio, doing all sorts of different moves. My favorite part about the wrestling was trying to come up with new moves to make the best match possible rather it be me doing a move on him or him doing a move on me. So much fun.

Ross - As Eric will never reveal his top 5 , what is your top 5 for current and former wrestlers ?

Marcus - My top changes almost every year. They appear in different order so I think I'm just going to list in any order
Ultimate warrior
Bryan Danielson
The macho man randy savage
Stone cold Steve Austin
The rock
Hulk hogan
And mr. Perfect
And Bret hart

Okay that's seven but 5 of those are in the five just can't separate. Maybe a few ties in there


Ross - How did you find it was coming back to do the show after the passing of your mother , was it therapeutic in some ways ?

Marcus - At first it was weird. I can't explain it. Coming back I was wondering if we could care as much,or have as much fun. It turn out to be more fun second time around, because knowing we still had the support of our listeners made it feel even better. All the polite messages, e-mails and the feeling of being appreciated made it very therapeutic. I have always felt that this show was my sanctuary from all the madness in the real world. It's funny how something so fake can be so real.

Ross - Ryan has often been accused of being a hater of certain things about wrestling , what one thing currently makes you angry about the business ?

Marcus - Tna. Easy answer. No, just kidding. I really don't get angry about the business. Frustrated a little but never angry. To me it's all fun. Really even the dumb stuff makes me laugh. It's all entertainment. And without all the problems this show would suck. So to wrestling I love your crap. That's deep.


Ross - What is if like to know that you have so many listeners that want your opinions on things in the listener feedback section ?

Marcus - It's still blows my mind. It's very indescribable. I mean it continues to fuel me every time I do the show. I never in a million years though we would get one listener, let alone listeners who would email the show asking me and Eric what our opinions are. It's quite spectacular. Especially the listeners we have. Each and everyone have there on unique spin on wrestling, and they are all very creative about sharing there emotions about the sport. Very fun stuff.

Ross - Do you enjoy the live shows you do and would you like to do more frequent ones in the future ?

Marcus - Love the live shows. It's nice to know your just not talking to air and someone is paying attention. Wish we could do more of them, but our crazy insane schedules seem to be in the way. Maybe one day we will have another. My dream is to do one in front of a jam pack audience live on some stage. That would be Interesting


Ross - What are your honest opinions on the state of the wrestling business currently ?

Marcus - It is what it is. To me it seems very healthy and strong. Of course not as strong as the attitude but strong. I believe that wwe is heading in a interesting direction. In which they can't cheat by going all out with hardcore blood and guts. PG is a lot more challenging then the edgy programing we are a custom to. It's really testing your audience patients. Tna on the other hand  is still to be determined

Ross - What is you favourite match of all time ?

Marcus - Hogan vs Warrior wrestlemania 6. Just great storytelling. And cheesy to an extent. But still a great match.

Ross - Where do you see the wrestling business in 5/10 years time , will tna still exist what will become of Roh , dragon gate etc ?

Marcus - Tna gone from the map. I think unless they come up with a business model they are screwed. That company needs strong leadership. I could actually see one day when roh or dragon gate becomes wwe number 1 competition, because wwe keeps stealing there talent. But it's all about money, and can they last.

And finally will the best of show ever see the light of day !
Yeah one day. Just gotta get some stuff together. You saw how long it was for me to respond to your email. So the best of show is always around the corner.

I'd like to thank Marcus for participating in this interview with me it has been great to get his insight in to the wrestling business if you want to check out his work for yourself then head on over to dasharpshooters website or search for Da Sharpshooters on itunes that is unless you like to spit in a bottle , once again thank you Marcus much appreciated 


Ross