N-Sider: Tell us about your plans for the future. You're about to go on tour, correct?
Pete: Yes! We're going to the UK. We're at the pinnacle of our planning right now. 8 shows, I believe: Aberdeen, Glasgow, Sheffield, Derby, Manchester, Nottingham, London and Brighton.
N-Sider: It would appear you're well-received in Europe, then.
Peter: Yeah. It's incredibly hectic but our fans have been huge helps in donating for our flight and rail tickets. The chip scene in Europe is incredible. It actually started there if I'm not mistaken.
N-Sider: With so many choices out there, musically, what made you commit to an NES-inspired sound?
Peter: Well, I grew up with NES games—my dad taught me how to read by playing Zelda on NES. We had all those games lying around from my older brother. Spencer's situation is kind of similar in terms of his older brother. Charlie as well although he actually was never really into games until kind of recently. There's actually a very funny story about that if you'd like me to go into it.
N-Sider: By all means, please.
Peter: Charlie's gonna' tell you this one.
Charlie: Okay. Well, I watched my older brother play Mortal Kombat and stuff but I was never interested in playing myself. So when I was fourteen or so I tried out Super Mario Brothers and I was really terrible at it. But I took it really seriously, so every time I died I got very frustrated [laughs]. Every few minutes I would scream and shout and pound my fists and then wipe my sweaty palms on my pants and try again.
N-Sider: Like the angry German kid from YouTube?
Charlie: Exactly! [laughter] And my mom decided we needed to have a talk and she was like, "Charlie, I really don't think you should be playing these videogames. I just can't imagine it's healthy to experience as much abuse as you are very clearly enduring."
All: [Laughter]
Charlie: So I stopped. And that was that.
N-Sider: What are your current gaming habits?
Peter: I got a Wii on launch day. On my Christmas break I played Trauma Center, Madden, Zelda and Monkey Ball almost non-stop.
Spencer: I don't have my Wii at school, but that's only because my Dad has hoarded it to play Call of Duty 3 [laughs]. All three of us spend most of our nights playing at a friend's place. Elebits was an incredible night. Certainly a rental though. I think the Wii is going in the right direction. It's like they really know what's up.
Charlie: Although Red Steel made me a little nauseous.
All: [Laughter]
N-Sider: What sort of advice would you give to our readers who may be interested in creating music based around the NES?
Peter: Use the actual hardware. It may feel limiting at first but eventually you'll come to understand the mechanics in a much better way. This will also help your arrangement skills since you're trying to make a big sound using limited polyphony. Also, don't forget that everyone is there to help. 2A03.org has a forum dedicated to people asking questions about making this music. Nullsleep has extensive tutorials that will tell you everything you need to know. One of the most interesting things about this scene is that even though everyone is using the same tool essentially, everyone comes up with a different sound at the end of the day. People in the scene are very interested in hearing everyone's individual take, and thus would like to guide you along the right path.
Anamanaguchi's newest record, Power Supply can be downloaded free of charge at 8bitpeoples. Upcoming tour dates and other information can be found at their Myspace page.
Pete: Yes! We're going to the UK. We're at the pinnacle of our planning right now. 8 shows, I believe: Aberdeen, Glasgow, Sheffield, Derby, Manchester, Nottingham, London and Brighton.
N-Sider: It would appear you're well-received in Europe, then.
Peter: Yeah. It's incredibly hectic but our fans have been huge helps in donating for our flight and rail tickets. The chip scene in Europe is incredible. It actually started there if I'm not mistaken.
N-Sider: With so many choices out there, musically, what made you commit to an NES-inspired sound?
Peter: Well, I grew up with NES games—my dad taught me how to read by playing Zelda on NES. We had all those games lying around from my older brother. Spencer's situation is kind of similar in terms of his older brother. Charlie as well although he actually was never really into games until kind of recently. There's actually a very funny story about that if you'd like me to go into it.
N-Sider: By all means, please.
Peter: Charlie's gonna' tell you this one.
Charlie: Okay. Well, I watched my older brother play Mortal Kombat and stuff but I was never interested in playing myself. So when I was fourteen or so I tried out Super Mario Brothers and I was really terrible at it. But I took it really seriously, so every time I died I got very frustrated [laughs]. Every few minutes I would scream and shout and pound my fists and then wipe my sweaty palms on my pants and try again.
N-Sider: Like the angry German kid from YouTube?
Charlie: Exactly! [laughter] And my mom decided we needed to have a talk and she was like, "Charlie, I really don't think you should be playing these videogames. I just can't imagine it's healthy to experience as much abuse as you are very clearly enduring."
All: [Laughter]
Charlie: So I stopped. And that was that.
N-Sider: What are your current gaming habits?
Peter: I got a Wii on launch day. On my Christmas break I played Trauma Center, Madden, Zelda and Monkey Ball almost non-stop.
Spencer: I don't have my Wii at school, but that's only because my Dad has hoarded it to play Call of Duty 3 [laughs]. All three of us spend most of our nights playing at a friend's place. Elebits was an incredible night. Certainly a rental though. I think the Wii is going in the right direction. It's like they really know what's up.
Charlie: Although Red Steel made me a little nauseous.
All: [Laughter]
N-Sider: What sort of advice would you give to our readers who may be interested in creating music based around the NES?
Peter: Use the actual hardware. It may feel limiting at first but eventually you'll come to understand the mechanics in a much better way. This will also help your arrangement skills since you're trying to make a big sound using limited polyphony. Also, don't forget that everyone is there to help. 2A03.org has a forum dedicated to people asking questions about making this music. Nullsleep has extensive tutorials that will tell you everything you need to know. One of the most interesting things about this scene is that even though everyone is using the same tool essentially, everyone comes up with a different sound at the end of the day. People in the scene are very interested in hearing everyone's individual take, and thus would like to guide you along the right path.
Anamanaguchi's newest record, Power Supply can be downloaded free of charge at 8bitpeoples. Upcoming tour dates and other information can be found at their Myspace page.