Minddriven Reviews

BASSMODE Beatz+Gamez (Post-Show Review)

/ Avidd Minddset / Leave a comment

Well, we did it! Another BASSMODE event in the books, and another post-show takeaway review. Honestly with all of the pre-logistical stress I was having in May during the promotion of this event, I was almost close to cancelling it…almost. Thank God I didn’t, because just like the debut event from this past March, the first ‘Beatz+Gamez’ brand event of BASSMODE was a big success! Right after the debut, I decided to divide BASSMODE’s events into two different brands; BASSMODE Beatz+Gamez (Green & Yellow brand), and BASSMODE Primetime (Purple & Blue brand). The ‘Beatz+Gamez’ brand operates in the Spring and Summer, while the ‘Primetime’ brand operates in the Fall and Winter. The DJ lineup is different for each brand, as well as the seasons that accompany it.

Cosplayers and attendees at the BASSMODE Beatz+Gamez event

So, how did this event fair out compared to March’s debut event? Looking back I can compare both the Baltimore and Columbia BASSMODE events, through the Pros and Cons of the venue that I’ve held these events at; GameOn Bar+Arcade. So without further ado, lets look at Fed Hill.

GAMEON BAR+ARCADE FED HILL (Baltimore, MD)

(+) Better Chances of Weekend Booking

One of the things I like about the Federal Hill location of GameOn, is the fact that I can book a BASSMODE event on a Friday or Saturday. Having events on those days does increase ticket sales, due to the fact that there’s a greater percentage of attendees who are off of Fridays, and Saturdays.

(-) Less Venue Space

Fed Hill’s GameOn venue space has more of a chillout/speakeasy vibe. While it has a lot of arcade games to play, the second floor area where we held our event back in March, has slightly smaller venue space compared to Columbia’s GameOn. It might have to do with the arcade games that take up a good portion of the venue’s second floor space. However we made it work for the debut, and we’ll do it again in March of 2025.

(+) Great Staff and Customer Service

When it comes to booking venues for shows and events, this is a MUST have for event curators and promoters. You can have a great venue, but if the staff has terrible customer service, it can be damaging to not just the venue, but the promoter who booked it. Needless to say, the customer service I’ve gotten from Fed Hill was top-notch, and there will be more BASSMODE events there soon!

(-) Parking Not Ideal

Unless you live several blocks from Fed Hill’s GameOn, parking can be a bit of a pain. You have a better chance if you come early, but if you come during dinner/primetime hours, you’ll be up the creek.

GameOn’s Fed Hill location

GAMEON BAR+ARCADE COLUMBIA (Merriweather District, Columbia, MD)

(+) Better Parking

With Columbia’s GameOn being in the Merriweather District, the parking is a LOT better compared to Fed Hill. This reduces the chances of not finding a parking space astronomically, but during crowded nights its best to come early.

(-) Less Chances of Weekend Booking

The Merriweather District is a popular destination in Columbia. Throw in the fact that it’s not far from the Merriweather Post Pavilion, and you’re sure to find that weekends will ALWAYS be crowded. Such is the case for BASSMODE, as we’ve had to move our event from a Saturday night, to a Thursday night. I lucked out this time around, as a lot of the attendees just happened to be off, so they bought a ticket and pulled up. Still, booking a weekend event will be tough or impossible.

(+) More Venue Space

Fed Hill’s venue space was a tad bit tight, but Columbia’s venue space left us with a little more breathing room. Also add the fact that the overall square footing of Columbia’s GameOn, is actually larger than Fed Hill’s or Annapolis’.

(+) Great Staff and Customer Service

Just like Fed Hill, Columbia’s customer service was top-notch.

Setting up at GameOn in Columbia, MD

Both locations will be home to BASSMODE’s seasonal events, as both locations accommodate these events in different ways. Columbia gives us a tad more breathing room with mini strobe lights to give us that party vibe. Fed Hill gives us that authentic old school bar vibe, and also has a Nintendo 64 (with Mario Kart 64). (If they get a Switch and Smash Ultimate alongside Dragon Ball FighterZ, I may do more events at Fed Hill than Columbia.)

Overall this event was a success, and I plan on returning with brand new ‘Beatz+Gamez’ events.

Until next post, keep spinnin’!

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Minddriven Reviews: Convention Edition – KhromaKon!

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What’s good, guys! Its hard to believe that its March already, and it felt like February just happened last week – which it did! If I haven’t told you yet; I’m one of the founders of an anime blog known as D&A Anime Blog, and one of the things we used to do is press coverage for anime, and gaming conventions. Last year I made the decision to step away from the blog, as well as the con circuit to focus on other projects (like BASSMODE: Nerdz Nite Out), but upon hearing about this brand new anime convention coming to Baltimore, I made an exception.

Ever since Otakon left in 2016, Baltimore’s con scene has been drier than the Sahara desert. Sure, you had anime community-adjacent events in the area, but nothing really on the level of nerdy excitement and anticipation; like an anime convention. In fact January 2020 was the last time an anime convention happened in Baltimore, and since then there’s really nothing much for the community to do – at least not in a major sense. (Though I’m hoping BASSMODE and this convention can change that!) That all changed last week when Aaron and I decided to do a BASSMODE x D&A collaboration, and make our way to this brand new local anime convention known as KhromaKon! 

Vendors at KhromaKon

So what’s NEW about this convention?

This convention (much like Animore was back in the day) has a greater emphasis on ‘community’ rather than ‘industry’. That’s not to say that you can’t have both, but with larger conventions the emphasis on ‘community’ gets overshadowed by ‘industry’. Its one of the reasons why I find myself going to small and local conventions, because of all of the personable and business connections you’re able to make in a smaller more intimate setting. Its harder to do that at larger conventions because everything is constantly moving, and you don’t get the opportunity to establish those personable connections effectively.

While inside it felt a lot like old school grassroots conventions; where everything was on one floor (so to speak), and you didn’t have to travel far to get to the area(s) you wanted to go to. I found myself spending most of my time in the main lobby/hall area, because that’s where you get the best opportunity to connect with your fellow anime fans, and even make business connections! I guess the only gripe I have would be the venue space, but we’ll get to the reason why that is, and why I love this convention even more because of it.

YEAHLiGHTS killin’ it!

Why I think you would love this convention…?

For me, I’m all about anime/gaming conventions, who put community first when it comes to programming and activities. I will also support an anime/gaming convention even more when they battle against adversity. You see the very week of the event, the KhromaKon organizer(s) were hit with some devastating news; news that would impact the convention itself. I ain’t pointin’ fingers at certain hospitality establishments, but ya’ll know exactly what ya’ll did!

In spite of it all, the convention still happened thanks to the saving grace that was Open Works. This right here is one of the biggest reasons to support this convention, cuz’ if it was anybody else they would’ve folded (or pushed it back by several months). I can forgive the small venue space on this alone, which is why I plan on supporting this anime convention for as long as it remains in Baltimore, and you should too!

Next year will be even bigger for this convention despite this setback, but everyone knows that setbacks are setups for bigger things, and I hope that this convention gets a true debut next year.

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Minddriven Reviews: Fire Style! Album by Big Lugg

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Ever since I started my journey into DJing and music production, I’ve come across several artists whose music felt a little different than what I normally would listen to. Back in 2008 (my senior year of high school) I was all about Outkast, Pharrell Williams, and my high school anthem “Party Like A Rockstar” by the Shop Boyz. Electronic music was the furthest thing from my mind until Summer of that year, when I stumbled across another world called an ‘Anime Convention‘. It was during the late night rave I went to at Otakon in Baltimore, Maryland where I saw the DJ throwing out banger, after banger. (I’ve already done the Shamus meme once, so I’m not gonna do it again…fine.)

After banger, after banger, after banger, after banger…

There. Happy? Okay, let’s more on.

Around July of 2010, I found myself at my local downtown arts and gaming event called Artscape; where they would showcase art from local artists, as well as people from around the state of Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It was then I would discover a new form of rap where instead of hearing about ‘bricks’, ‘stacks’, and ‘freaky ass girls’; the lyrics talked about anime, video games, and nerd culture as a whole. The best part? Everything flowed!

That genre…was Nerdcore.

Back in the early days it wasn’t very well liked by Hip-Hop elitists and hardcore fans only because it wasn’t considered as ‘real hip-hop’. To them, it was just a bunch of nerds ‘rapping’ about the latest episode of Pokemon, or how Exodia ‘one-shot’ all three of Kiba’s Blue Eyes’ Dragons. Honestly I didn’t know a lot of Nerdcore artists besides MegaRan and Sammus, however now that I’m a producer and a DJ, my perception of Nerdcore has changed – in a good way! With that said, I found myself stumbling across a Nerdcore rapper that I really think a lot of people should check out (if they haven’t already). As a Naruto fan, I think this is one album that you HAVE to check out; especially if you’re also Sasuke fan! The album is called “Fire Style”, and the artist is Big Lugg. 

So, you wanna know why I think you should check this album out? Well, we all thought about what it could be like if our favorite voice actors could sing/rap in character. Well guys n’ gals, THIS is what it looks like! Sasuke’s got more bars than Naruto’s got fillers, and its not just him; Rock Lee, Kabuto, Temari, and Madara’s voice actors are also spittin’ hot fire on this album as well. The only criticism I have about it, is that Killer B wasn’t on it. (And I’m not the only one who thinks that!)

There’s 13 tracks total, and so far the one I got on repeat is “Dub Love” by Sasuke and Temari’s voice actors; Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt. Let me tell ya, Big Lugg should be GOATED for this. Why? Because there is no other nerdcore artist that I know of; who will go the extra mile to get the ACTUAL voice actors from the anime that he’s rapping about, on a track with him! If that’s not something a GOAT would do, then I dunno what is! If the Naruto voice actors can do that; imagine hearing a diss track from Vegeta, or even one from Bakugo…?

All-in-all, I love this album, and I think if you’re a Naruto fan (Narutard, or whatever you call yourself), you’re gonna wanna by or stream this album. You can find “Fire Style!” on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, and everywhere else music is streamed or sold online. With all of that said; please Jamie Marchi and Monica Rial, I’d love to produce a Panty & Stocking Nerdcore rap album with you, cuz’ that would make my dream bucketlist complete! 😉

Until next time, keep spinnin’!

 

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Minddriven Review: Pioneer XDJ-XZ

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DJ (formally known as “Disk Jockey“). The term and meaning behind this two letter word has changed throughout the years, since it was first coined in 1935 by Walter Winchell. There are so many “types” of DJs out here; from the ones that spin music in their bedroom studios, to the ones you see performing (or headlining) at EDC or Burning Man. Being a DJ is more than just being a ‘human jukebox’ machine, there is an art to it in terms of the connection you have with the people on the dancefloor. For some; a DJ is only as good as the equipment that they use (yeah, they do that sometimes), for others, its about the journey you want to take the crowd on through the music that you play. With that said, there is one brand that has solidified itself as the “industry club standard” when it comes to DJing; and can be found in 90% of nightclubs and lounges all around the world. That brand is Pioneer, and this review is on its flagship standalone system; the Pioneer XDJ-XZ.

I had this behemoth since 2020

So during the height of the pandemic, every place I wanted to go for entertainment was shut down. No nightclubs, no events, no anime conventions (which are the primary venues I go to), nada. It was the first time the world has ever experienced something like this in the last century; of  course with no events open anywhere around town, this mean no DJs either. So what did they do if they couldn’t spin at their local club or lounge? They pretty much bought the party to them through Twitch, Mixcloud livestreams, and even Zoom Raves. I’ve been producing music for about 10+ years, so I thought it was time to take the next step and become a DJ. With all the overtime money I had from my job at Office Depot, I made a trip to my local Guitar Center, and bought myself the Pioneer XDJ-XZ for my 31st birthday.

From first glance; its basically what happens if you took two CDJ 2000 Nexus 2’s and a DJM 900 mixer, and smashed them together. Its a standalone unit that pretty much gives you the “club standard” look you’d find at your local nightclub; with all the bells and whistles to boot. (Along with other extra features too.) I’m not ashamed to say that this is the first piece of pioneer gear I’ve ever owned, and if I’m being honest, I’d say that this is the best investment I’ve ever made. So why? Why do I think you should check this baby out? For one thing its standalone; meaning that you don’t have to hide your face behind a laptop, and if you wanna use all four channels, just grab yourself some CDJ 2000’s or XDJ 1000’s and go!

Features

Okay, I’ll admit. I haven’t used every single feature on this unit, but the ones I have used would be the 16 touch-sensitive pads with the RGB lighting that looks cool when you boot it up. I’ve played around with the Color FX quite a bit, and the two that I use the most of when doing DJ transitions are “Sweep” and “Filter”. If you’ve seen or used a DJM 900 before, then this is pretty much identical to that. You’ve got two USB slots; so if you’re doing a B2B with another DJ, they can plug their USB into the other slot that’s vacant, that way you can handoff between songs and not have to worry about cutting the music off to do so. The jogwheels are CDJ-sized and look the part, so you will have a lot of fun spinnin’ those bad boys around. This system can operate on Serato or Rekordbox, so its good that it has support for both Serato and Rekordbox DJs (with me being the latter). Its even got Pro DJ Link, so you can link up those two CDJ’s and XDJ’s I’ve talked about earlier.

Me with my Pioneer XDJ-XZ

Verdict

The XDJ-XZ gives you everything you’d expect to see in “club standard” gear, not to mention you can get this behemoth for the price of one CDJ 2000 Nexus (about $2500.00). I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw more nightclubs adapting the XZ-CDJ combo, since that would save them thousands more dollars than just a DJM 900 mixer and four CDJ’s. Sure, some DJ’s only issue with this beast is the fact that its too heavy, or that you can only use two tracks in standalone mode. For me however, its perfect for what I want to do.

Do I think that they’re going to make a Mach 2 version of this bad boy, since the XDJ-RX3 came out? Probably. However I think that the XDJ-XZ is great for those who want to go to the next level of DJing, by having that “club standard” feel of real club gear. In terms of its firmware however, I’d stay on Version 1.22, because it has worked out for me for the last two years. If you got the money or have saved up enough, get the Pioneer XDJ-XZ and try it out for yourself! They got them in three different colors; original (black), gold (with gold jogwheels), and white (all white including the jogwheels).

Until next time, keep spinnin’! 😉