Update & Video of the Week: Come Out And Play (Keep 'Em Separated)

Before I get on to this week's video I wanted to apologize for the lack of videos and blog entries these last 2 weeks. (And sadly the video before that was blocked by youtube in the US :/)

The first week of April was busy with Easter and my house rampage cleaning for a friend to come visit from another country. Unfortunately that didn't come to pass and at the same I ended up hitting myself head pretty hard on a shelf while cleaning (I'm a klutz).
Two days later I was dizzy and nauseous and had to go to the hospital. I was put under surveillance and told that I should avoid television, video games and computers for at least 48 hours so that put my videos off another week.

OSP DL-340 Dynamic Vocal Microphone, a Sexy Beast.

Monday I received a little surprise in the form of a package. It was my new microphone sent to me by two of Team Cena's new sponsors: Rock Band Parts and ROADIE Music Game Gear.

This gesture really touched me as we in Team Cena never really expected to receive anything, but not too long after the announcement of the acquisition of these sponsors was made we were told to be expecting something from them. This is what I was sent, and yes.. IT IS PURPLE! ^^

It is a professional grade microphone and has been compared to shure microphones. As it is a "real" microphone a special cable is needed to make it work with my xbox which was also sent to me along with a clip for my mic stand. Sadly the mic clip I was sent was not compatible with my mic stand. Luckily though I live literally across the street from a music store. I took my mic with me to be sure that I'd get a clip that would fit and when the owner of the store saw it he was impressed (that says a lot right there). "Where did you get such a microphone? The internet? It's really nice and I've never seen one in that color before".

I could be really redundant and tell you everything I have already said in a video but I'm going to just leave my video to tell you.


I have actually (since this video) managed to find a way to activate by cupping my hands around the mic and "whoo!"ing into it.

This is the exact microphone and cable available for purchase here:
PREMIUM MICROPHONES WITH CABLE - 4 COLORS AVAILABLE

The XLR to PC, Mac, PS2, Wii, PS3, XBOX 360 cable (only):
RBP PROFESSIONAL CABLE FOR REAL MICROPHONES

The Rhythm Game reviewer (and Owner of Team Cena) Cena has reviewed this cable here:
RBP Premium Mic and Cord Kit Review

There is a mini-version of this microphone which is available in 1 extra color than the larger ones (pink):
OSP DL-310 Mini Mic w/Cable (not the XLR to console cable)

If you're wondering whether or not a professional microphone is really better than the standard Guitar Hero/Rock band microphone you can also check this comparison by Cena out:
Professional Mic Vs. Rock Band/Guitar Hero Mic

Weekly Rock Band Video: Superbeast (DLC)

As a member of Team Cena I post gameplay videos of Rock Band 2 every week on youtube. My sponsored instrument is vocals, so that is what my videos mostly consist of. The videos I post are split screen (meaning you can see me AND the gameplay at the same time). I decided to do this after asking my subscribers what they would like to see and looking for something to make my videos a bit more entertaining. I also play with the original vocal track turned all the way down just because it is more fun that way.

What I would like to do (and intend to do) is post here every week with a bit more insight into my video for that week. I generally record them on Thursdays and upload them shortly after. It really depends on the amount of time/work I have involved.

So this week I did Rob Zombie- Superbeast (DLC). I found this song to be REALLY fun for my last 2 videos (I had done a bonus guitar one). It may just be that this is a genre of music I enjoy (outside of my usual symphonic metal) whereas usually there aren't too many songs on Rock Band I actually like (that will change with the RBN).




For my guitar video, skill wise it wasn't too hard. Expert guitar isn't my primary instrument, but it is what I started Rock Band on (from previously playing Guitar Hero). My main difficulty was actually a physical issue: my finger nails. As I tried to slide down to catch the yellow/orange "chords" my finger nails would actually catch the raised frets on the guitar and I'd end up missing. I'm pretty sure that if I worked at it (and cut my finger nails) I would probably FC (full clear) it without a problem.
Overall fun song and honestly not hard at all on expert guitar.



Vocally I would say this song wasn't too challenging either. It mostly consisted of talkies that were pretty easy to manage. The hard part for me I would say, was the " a ragged they come and a ragged they kill" phrase.
I really struggle with low marked stuff, so I didn't sing it in original octave. It came out a bit higher (and stranger) sounding than the original. Even in doing this I barely made the phrases. Looking back at the video I honestly don't know how I did. The pitch marker was so often in the red. One of the mysteries of the game I guess.
I also didn't manage to activate overdrive at minute mark 2:47.. I don't know if it's an early window or what.. I honestly hate that though, especially when I'm recording my weekly video, but I'm honestly not the kind of person who looking up optimal paths as I personally hate score whoring songs.

Slightly off topic I did happily wear my Knights of the Ebon Blade shirt for this video. If you play World of Warcraft you know what I'm talkin' about. Being that my main is a Death Knight tank, I really am attached to my shirt :)