Date: Monday, October 11th 2010 8:56am CDT
Categories: People News,
Interviews
Posted by: Delicon |
Credit(s): Stan Bush
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Views: 81,424
Recently we got a chance to catch up with
Stan Bush, the singer/songwriter most known to Transformers fans as the man responsible for the iconic song "The Touch" which first appeared in the 1986 Transformers cartoon movie.
Stan has recently released a brand new CD entitled "Dream the Dream" and has a lot of other things going on right now, and he was more than happy to take the time to fill us in with all his latest news, as well as giving us a look back at his career.
Seibertron.com: You've been recording albums for decades now. Has there ever been a time where you've felt like stepping away from the business and have
you ever thought ahead to how long you'd like to keep performing?
Stan: Well, although I’ve had a fair amount of success, it’s a tough business and can at times be overwhelming. I love songwriting and performing, and the artistic aspect is certainly very fulfilling. I kind of had my ‘break’ from the business during the nineties, when rock went sideways with the grunge thing. I kept making records mainly for my fans in Europe and Japan, where eighties rock was still happening. Looking ahead, I plan to keep trying to create music. I don’t really have a timeline in mind, but touring will probably make less sense after a point.
Seibertron.com: You've become a mainstay at BotCon having been a special guest at 3 of the last 4 BotCons and have also made appearances at a variety ofsci-fi and anime conventions and even the world famous San Diego Comic
Con. Do you have any upcoming convention appearances over the next few months?
Stan Bush: I’ve been talking with a European promoter about doing some shows after the holidays. I don’t have any definite info right now, but fans can check the website
stanbush.com to see what’s happening. I’ve been asked to appear in Australia next summer, and I plan to keep appearing in the U.S. as well.
Seibertron.com: Since you mentioned Europe, you have become a bit of a "Hasslehoff" over there, meaning your European fanbase is astoundingly large. Do you have any thoughts as to why?
Stan: I’m not sure why, but it kind of took off during the late eighties when I did the "Stan Bush & Barrage” album with “The Touch”. I did tours in Germany and surrounding countries, and kept making albums. It was cool to have such devoted fans.
Seibertron.com: Speaking of "The Touch," it has become your signature song. When you first recorded it, did you have any inkling that would be the case?
Stan: No, it took us completely by surprise. Lenny Macaluso and I originally wrote “The Touch” for the Stallone movie “Cobra” and then found out it was going to be in a cartoon movie about robots. We were like, ‘what’? Anyway, it turned out to be quite a phenomenon!
Seibertron.com: "The Touch" has been re-released multiple times on some of your more recent albums. Your other big song from The Transformers soundtrack
was "Dare," and some TF fans enjoy that song just as much as "The Touch." Do you have any plans on doing a remake of "Dare" and including it on a future album?
Stan: “Dare” is also a great song, although I didn’t actually write it. It’s been suggested that we put “Dare” on Rock Band. “The Touch” will be coming out on Rock Band fairly soon. I think you know this but my other song “Til All Are One” is featured in the new Activision game “Transformers: War for Cybertron”. I’m working on a couple of new ‘action’ songs as well.
Seibertron.com: You mentioned your website earlier. For those who have not visited it, or at least not visited it recently, what kinds of cool things can they expect to find at
Stanbush.com?
Stan: Well, the new website is set up to be more easily updated, and I’m also now on Facebook and Twitter, and we have a YouTube account. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback on the new site.
Seibertron.com: What are the biggest differences in the music industry now and how it was when you first started?
Stan: Well, the industry used to be controlled by the major record labels and radio syndication. Now it’s anything and everything on the Internet. The overall quality of music perhaps is a bit lower, but people have more choices than ever.
Seibertron.com: For someone who has never heard your music before, how would you describe it and who are some of your influences?
Stan: I’m still an eighties guy. Early influences would include Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and I also liked the Motown stuff, and later, bands like Foreigner.
Seibertron.com: Having said that, If you could play on stage with any one musician or group living or
dead, who would it be and why?
Stan: I think Jimmy Page (back in the day) was probably one of the most creative musicians ever! I’ve always been a huge Paul McCartney fan.
Seibertron.com: What are the biggest differences in the music industry now and how it was when you first started?
Stan: Well, the industry used to be controlled by the major record labels and radio syndication. Now it’s anything and everything on the Internet. The overall quality of music perhaps is a bit lower, but people have more choices than ever.
Seibertron.com: What do you consider the biggest honor or achievement of your career?
Stan: Winning an Emmy Award was definitely one of the biggest moments in my career. It was for best original song for television.
Seibertron.com: I'm sure your fans have been vocal to you as to what some of their favorite Stan Bush songs are, but what's your personal favorite?
Stan: I really like “I’ll Never Fall” from the “In This Life” album. From the new album I like “Dream the Dream” and “Never Hold Back”.
Seibertron.com: How much do your own personal experiences factor into your song lyrics?
Stan: Many of my ‘go for it’ ‘believe in yourself’ songs have an uplifting message that resonates with my outlook on life. Each of us makes our own reality. Some of the loves songs are true and some are fictional, but have situations that happen to most of us.
Seibertron.com: Stan, thanks so much for your time today. We have time for one more question. You mentioned your new album "Dream the Dream." How does it compare to past albums you have made?
Stan: I think the “Dream the Dream” album has reached a new level of sophistication of songwriting and production. My producer Holger Fath really does a great job with arrangements, guitars and keyboards. As a writer I think I’m still learning though. I guess we all keep learning in life. Anyway, I really appreciate the support! Please visit
stanbush.com!
Date: Tuesday, October 5th 2010 9:33pm CDT
Categories: Movie Related News,
People News
Posted by: Mach |
Credit(s): Colinus Maximus, Martin Blase
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Views: 62,194
Various news agencies are reporting that the "Transformers 3" extra who suffered brain damage in a grisly on-set accident just slapped Paramount and DreamWorks studios with a lawsuit for negligence.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday claims a 24-year-old Chicago woman injured during filming of the "Transformers 3" movie last month in northwest Indiana has suffered serious, permanent brain damage.
The accident happened Sept. 1 on a vacated portion of Cline Avenue in Hammond, Ind. Filming was being done with stunt vehicles in some of lanes of traffic while extras were driving their own cars in other lanes, a release from the law firm of Power Rogers & Smith said.
The full article can be found
here.
Seibertron, Ultimate Resource of Transformers!
Date: Saturday, October 2nd 2010 12:24pm CDT
Categories: Comic Book News,
Toy News,
People News,
Interviews,
Collector's Club News
Posted by: Seibertron |
Credit(s): Transformers Collector's Club
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Views: 188,120
The latest issue of the
Transformers Collector's Club magazine is arriving at the mailboxes of Seibertronians! Issue #35, dated October / November 2010, reveals several new Transformers products, some of which we've already seen unofficially during the past couple of weeks. Here's a rundown on what you can look forward to this issue:
SPRING 2011 PREVIEW!
Brian's Bytes and Bolts - Brian mentioned that they hope to have registration online later this year for BotCon 2011 as well as other exciting details about BotCon, MCAX.com, the Diamond Edition 2010 BotCon comic, and more!
An Interview with Flint Dille - always an entertaining interview!
Q&A with Hasbro - pictures reveal new images of Deluxe Generation 2 Optimus Prime (looks incredible), deluxe Wreck-Gar, deluxe Perceptor, deluxe Scourge, deluxe Tracks and legends Trailcutter. The article reveals some details about a few other characters who have not received updates recently and also alludes or strongly hints that there might be possible future updates of the 3 remaining original Autobots who have yet to receive a new figure yet.
Profiles for Sentinel Major (looks like a non-Animated version of his Animated self) and Ricochet (BotCon 2005 Cyberjet).
Comic: "The Coming Storm: Part 5" which includes an awesome final page that fans will be sure to love.
Transformers Comic Spotlight: Sector 7 Issue 1 (interview with IDW Editor Andy Schmidt)
The issue rounds out with "The Back Cover" which features "Around Cybertron", "Featured Fan Art!" (Megatron by April Ford), and the latest "Recordicons" comic strip by David Willis.
If you're not a member of the
Transformers Collector's Club, check out all of the details by clicking
here.
Date: Thursday, September 30th 2010 8:37am CDT
Categories: Cartoon News,
Comic Book News,
People News,
Interviews
Posted by: Razorclaw0000 |
Credit(s): Mario Coleman, Apocalypse Comics
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Views: 161,801
We've been
bringing you news of the upcoming
New York Comic Con and its guests.
Thanks to the generosity of
Apocalypse Comics,
Seibertron.com got a chance to briefly interview Michael Bell, Casey Coller, and John-Paul Bove.
Michael Bell
Razorclaw0000:
You have over 300 credits listed on IMDB, spanning over 40 years. Of all of those roles, which has been the most memorable? The most fun? The most challenging?
Michael Bell:
If you mean the most fun On Camera I would have to say " Star Trek"....although working in front of a live audience on 'Three's Company"was a treat. VO? Well, that's a hard one. Between GI Joe, Transformers, The Inhumaniods,
( games ) Ratchet and Clank, Defiance of Kain, and the later series the SMURFS and Rugrats.. I have had one happy uvula.
RZ0:
When voicing multiple characters in a series, how do you differentiate them? What inspires each one's distinct personality? How does it feel to talk to yourself?
MB:
Most actors prepared for vo work have developed their characters years before they got the role. Voice people are all movie buffs and a little crazy. We often just match up what we have worked on with the animated character art work that is submitted to us.
However, sometimes the art work itself has something distinguishable that causes the actor to reach deep down and devise a voice or combination of both timbre and wrinkle for that character. Uh..whad he say?
As to talking to myself, as a married man, I have had plenty of practice.
RZ0:
Can you discuss your role or roles in "Transformers:Prime"?
MB:
I have been programed to forget I am part of that. In fact everyone involved has forgotten it to the point that I was never informed I was doing it. Did I do that already or is it yet to be done?
That is the question?
RZ0:
Your daughter Ashley Bell is quickly making a name for herself as an actress, having recently starred in the #1 hit movie "The Last Exorcism." What are your thoughts on her acting career and are you surprised that she followed in your footsteps?
MB:
I am not surprised at anything Ashley does once she sets her mind to it. She was very introverted as a kid so I thought she would be teaching classes in }how to avoid joining in and still be happy."
Now she that she is out of the bottle and in the spotlight, there is no getting the jinni back in.
Her performance in TLE was a startling revelation to me. I have seen her be brilliant on stage, but had no idea that she mastered the technique of film. Still reeling from her performance.
RZ0:
It is now common knowledge that your iconic G.I. Joe character Duke was supposed to die in the animated G.I. Joe movie, but because of the backlash at the death of Optimus Prime in the Transformers animated film, that plan was quickly changed. What do you think the reaction would have been had G.I. Joe been released first and Duke was in fact killed in the film?
MB:
I think there would have been riots and many would have perished in Korea, Japan and the Philippines. I personally am responsible for saving millions of lives and careers and have never been given the proper credit for it..or even a fig newton.
RZ0:
You are probably more famous as a voice actor, but you've had your share of "on screen" roles as well, having appeared on TV shows such as M*A*S*H, Star Trek (The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine), The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Charlie's Angels and many more Any favorite roles?
MB:
As I said, loved doing "Star Trek." Actually I enjoyed most of my On Camera work until I did a show that featured a star ( that has long been snuffed out) who was such an egomaniac that I no longer had a taste for that end of the business. I also hated my wardrobe. I have never looked back since, which has made me a muggers dream.
Casey Coller
RZ0:
You've had a number of excellent homage covers. How do you select the original to homage, i.e. how did you select X-Men #1 for the Michael Bell cover for Ongoing #12 or "The Killing Joke" for All Hail Megatron #1?
Casey Coller:
The first two homage covers I did for IDW and Apocalypse Comics (The Killing Joke and Amazing Spider-Man #50 homages) were Mario Coleman's idea. Mario is the guy who runs Apocalypse Comics and approached IDW with the ideas. I was just the lucky bastard who got to draw them! After doing those covers, I felt it was appropriate to continue that tradition for the NYCC covers. I was presented with the idea of doing a cover featuring the Transformers characters that were voiced by Michael Bell in the Sunbow cartoon, as he'll be appearing with us at the Apocalypse Comics booth. So I was just looking for an iconic image to match up with these characters. When I considered the X-Men #1 cover, I started to realize the Autobots had a bit it common with the X-Men featured on the cover. Prowl and Cyclops (both leader-ish types sometimes looked upon as, well, I guess rigid would be a nice way to put it), Brainstorm and Beast (both scientist-types), Sideswipe and Iceman (both portrayed as hot-headed characters at times), Swoop and Angel (simply because they have wings... and I thought Swoop's missile launchers could fit where Angel's bazooka was). And then there's First-Aid. He doesn't necessarily have anything in common with Jean Grey, but the pose made me chuckle a bit. It seemed like a character portrayed as a "pacifist medic" kind of fit with this pose. He looks like he could be saying "Stop it, guys! There's no need to fight!" Or maybe he's just not looking forward to fixing them all once the fight is done! Anyway, it just seemed like it would match up fairly well, and it would be a lot of fun to draw!
When I do an homage cover, I want it to be completely out of respect to the original. The instant recognizability is a testament to the lasting impact of the original artist's work. In one istance, because it was so recent, I did contact the artist for his blessing. That was the Optimus Prime cover of AHM #12. I contacted Klaus Scherwinski about creating a mirror image of his Megatron cover for AHM #1 as sort of a bookend. He's a great guy, and gave me the go-ahead.
RZ0:
How do you approach work for the Transformers Collector's Club when compared to IDW? Does one give you more creative freedom?
CC:
Well first, both IDW and TFCC are great to work for. As far as creative freedom goes, I'd say IDW gives their artists a bit more freedom (though I believe some of that's being reigned it a bit of late). Their artists are generally free to draw in their own style. Pete Sinclair (TFCC) has a fairly specific style he's looking for, which luckily is somewhat similar to my style. So I think that works well also. My approach doesn't change much in the sense that I'm just trying to put my best work out there for the Transformers fans in either case.
RZ0:
Who is your favorite character to pencil and why?
CC:
I have a few favorites... I love drawing Kup (cy-gar or no cy-gar!), Starscream, Megatron, and yes, Drift. But my absolute favorite character to draw is Jazz. I love drawing characters with personality, and I just have a lot of fun with him. There may be a bit of "first transformer" syndrome there as well, as he was the first one I got back in 1984. But I just love the look of him. He's got style!
RZ0:
What was your favorite cover to pencil?
Hmm... that's a tough one. I think I'd have to say it's the Blurr cover. It was a challenge in the sense that I was asked to draw him kind of just standing there for the "magazine-cover" style cover. I can't remember how exactly it was worded, but Shane wasn't looking for some sort of dynamic pose, but more like something you'd see a rock star doing on the cover of Rolling Stone. He wanted him to look like a big deal. So when it was all said and done, I felt like I was able to pull off a cover that had quite a bit of personality to it, with nothing more than some very subtle posture and facial expression. You can really tell that Blurr thinks the world of himself there! And when Joana and I were talking about colors, we sent each other images of cars in showrooms, bright lights shining on, and streaking across the polished sportscars. Joana just absolutely nailed this look. I was truly blown away. And then once Hutch added the text, it all came together. I think the end result came out better than I thought it could.
John-Paul Bove
RZ0:
You've been involved in official IDW works and the not-quite-canon Tranformers:Mosaics. Do you prefer one or the other?
John-Paul Bove
I think in a number of ways I view them in the same way. I first started collaborating with Casey when I was pitching War Journal to Josh Van Reyk and discovered Casey had done a number of outstanding TF pin ups and I thought he'd do great sequentials (which obviously he did) and now I've had the chance to work with him for "real" which has been fantastic. In some ways the line is a bit blurry because a lot of the Mosaic guys have gone on to do pro work for IDW and a lot of the pros have contributed something to Mosaic. I'm absolutely thrilled to be colouring an official TF (and GI Joe) cover because I'm a huge fan of TF's and a lot of the editors and artists at IDW I admire big time. If feels like a proper community and that's true of Mosaics too. The one big thing about Mosaics that I love is that I've had a chance to write a few and writing was really how I started down the road of comics. I have to admit I get a huge thrill when the reaction to a Mosaic that I've written comes through and for some reason I'm always surprised when it's really positive. I think the truth is I just love both avenues, because the artistic community for both are just outstanding and so are the people in charge. I have made some absolutely amazing and very talented friends (most of whom I've never met in the flesh) because of these experiences, and I get to share in something I have a deep love for. Either way I feel pretty lucky, though I won't deny I'd love to write some TF stuff for IDW one day.
RZ0:
As a colorist, you bring penciled works to life. How do you settle on a style which meshes with the sketches you've received?
JPB:
Years and years of trial and error! I usually start in terms of style, is it classical, scratchy, bold, etc and try and figure out what style works best with it. Knowing the mood or intent of a panel or page also guides whether to go one way or another. That said, the artist normally gives some good guidance on intent too and Casey's very specific on certain details so obviously I want to make sure they're in. There is rarely just one way to go though and I actually did 2 completely different versions of both the TF and GI Joe cover, a more modern looking TF cover and a more traditional "painted" look for the GI Joe one. I may post these up one day, but I do feel the best versions are the ones used in the final comic.
Seibertron.com thanks Mario at
Apocalypse Comics for the opportunity and Michael, Casey, and John-Paul for their time!
Date: Thursday, September 23rd 2010 1:41pm CDT
Categories: Comic Book News,
People News
Posted by: Bed Bugs |
Credit(s): Shane McCarthy
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Views: 32,240
Shane McCarthy has posted a new edition of
SMAcTALK discussing his opinion on fan reaction to several Transformer deaths in the current ongoing comics. Several fans have felt he has only killed main characters for the sole purpose of angering the fan-base, however, Mr. McCarthy is prepared to set the record straight. The Transformers are in a war, and in war, people die. To read the full posting, click
here and make sure to let us know how you feel about it here at Seibertron.com.
Date: Thursday, September 16th 2010 1:39am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News,
Event News,
People News
Posted by: Bed Bugs |
Credit(s): Robimus
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Views: 56,067
Central Canada Comic Con has updated with a new announcement for Transformers: Drift Fans. There will be an Exclusive Comic Cover for Drift #4 by Alex Milne. Alex Milne is also reported to have designed the Event Program which is rumored to be Transformers themed. In addition, the convention has added Marvin Mariano as an additional guest. The Central Canada Comic Con takes place October 29th-31st in at the Winnipeg Convention Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Some of the other changes to the convention are noted below:
So we've had a bunch of recent changes to the guest list. The additions of Rebecca Staab and Marvin Mariano as well as the unfortunate cancellations of Kevin Sorbo, Marc Wolfe and Sal Abinante. Here's the current lineup of guests:
Ray Park
Orli Shoshan
Jack O'Halloran
Garrett Wang
Lee Tockar
Rebecca Staab
Andrew Wildman
Alex Milne
Norm Breyfogle
Scott Kolins
Marcio Takara
Tommy Castillo
Sue Dawe
Marvin Mariano
J. Torres
Yanick Paquette
Dave McCaig
Lovern Kindzierski
Chris Chuckery
Dirk Strangley
Echo Cherniak
Kim Brennan
Adam Foidart
Anthony Hary
Amul Kumar
Samantha Christiansen
Ian Sokoliwski
Robert Pasternak
Events:
Miss C4(Friday Night) - $500 Valued Top Prize plus Photo Shoot valued at $200
C4 Costume Contest - $1000 Valued Top Prize
Attractions:
Mandalorian Mercs
Das Zombie Productions
Absurd Machine Films
Illuminari Dance Crew
80's Retro Arcade(Pinball Games)
Sci-Fi Simulator
James Grant Productions(Magician)
Gaming
3 Video Rooms
Video Gaming Room
Workshops
Q & A's
Table Top Gaming
Celebrity Panels
and more!
Exclusives:
Drift #4 Alternate C4 Exclusive Cover by Alex Milne
C4 Lightsaber's(Limited to 100 pieces)
C4 Teddy Bears & T-Shirts
Fan Clubs:
Iacon North(Transformers)
The Celestial Who....ligans(Dr. Who)
Generations(Star Trek)
UMAnime(Anime)
Barony de Castelle Rouge(Period Costumes)
Air Soft Manitoba
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