Mr. Pacman
Encyclopedia
Mr. Pacman is a bitpop
/gamewave
(or as the band calls themselves, "8-bit hero gangsta rock") band from Denver, Colorado
. Described as a performance art
project as well as a band, Mr. Pacman's live shows include martial arts
fighting with monster
s, outrageous 1980s-style retro-futuristic
outfits, and their signature Commodore 64
-inspired electronic music with a rock attitude. Although most musicians who use the MOS Technology SID
chip do so only in the studio, Mr. Pacman uses a SidStation, controlled by his keytar, live on stage, and the Silver Ghost uses a Commodore SX-64
as a bass synthesizer
. (Daniel Eriksson, who helped design the SidStation, was the first to use a Sidstation live on stage, at mekke 2000; Goto80 was the first to use a SID chip live onstage at the ECC
in 1993.) Many Mr. Pacman songs are based on songs from classic video games, such as the Mega Man
series.
student Avery Rains in 2001 who rapped
over Commodore 64
video game music. After one such performance, some Japan
ese exchange students remarked, "Mr. Pacman is awesome!". The name stuck, and Mr. Pacman now says he's from "Denver, Japan". A running gag
based on this is the intentional use of Engrish
in the band's e-mail
newsletters http://www.mrpacman.com/pacmedia/flyers/cptbyrbts.html. Since 2001, the band has expanded to 4 members, adding first the Silver Ghost, then White Tiger, and finally Cockroach 3030 (now known as Anarchy Dragon).
Denver alternative newspaper Westword
named Mr. Pacman "Best Bizarro Fashion/Rock Act" in 2002 as part of its "Best of Denver" awards; Mr. Pacman has not won a Best of Denver since. The Denver Post
has put Mr. Pacman on its Top 10 Underground Bands of Colorado list every year since 2002, placing 7th that year, 5th in 2003 & 2004, 8th in 2005 & 14th in 2006. Mr. Pacman played keytar on the Hot IQs track "The New One"http://www.hotiqs.com/TheNewOne.mp3 in 2004.
In May 2005, the short film "Half Hour of Power" (called a "violent children's show" by the band) was included with the music video
"No Ghosts!" and an interview
with Mr. Pacman, among other band-related videos, on Dropframe, a local Emmy-winning PBS show featuring indie films. Mr. Pacman currently hosts Extreme Karaoke Challenge Monday nights at 9 PM at the hi-dive, 7 South Broadway in Denver.
* Trivia: The cover photo was taken on a karaoke
night at Armida's Mexican Restaurant in Denver "just prior to getting kicked out". O.P.A. is a mix of 6 different performances of the song at the Scott Baio Army Fourth of July party; during the instrumental for each, Mr. Pacman chugged a 40-oz. malt liquor
.
* This is an enhanced CD
. Included on the disc are the videos for Be the Hero, No Ghosts!, Luxury Car, and Paxcercise. The album was named 2003's Best Local CD of the Year by the Denver Post. The "limo tank" on the cover was a toy designed & built by Greg Hignight. It is said to shoot diamond
s and run on Hennessy
Private Reserve.
-flavored Mr. Pacman Goes to Jamaica, & Mr. Pacman's Christmas in Japan. No release dates have been announced yet for any of these.
s, pieces from local designers, and (one year) his collection of Power Rangers
monster costumes in the annual PacFashion show. The shows' fashions are inspired by science fiction
, anime
, and video games, and include musical performances by Mr. Pacman as well as other indie bands.
Bitpop
Bitpop is a type of electronic music and also subgenre of Chiptune, where at least part of the music is made using old 8-bit computers and video game consoles. Among systems used are Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari 8-bit Home Computer, Game Boy, Atari 2600 and Nintendo Entertainment System...
/gamewave
Gamewave
Gamewave may refer to:* The Game Wave Family Entertainment System video game system* A rarely used alternate term for chiptune and bitpop music...
(or as the band calls themselves, "8-bit hero gangsta rock") band from Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. Described as a performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
project as well as a band, Mr. Pacman's live shows include martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
fighting with monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
s, outrageous 1980s-style retro-futuristic
Retro-futurism
Retro-futurism is a trend in the creative arts showing the influence of depictions of the future produced prior to about 1960...
outfits, and their signature Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
-inspired electronic music with a rock attitude. Although most musicians who use the MOS Technology SID
MOS Technology SID
The MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID is the built-in Programmable Sound Generator chip of Commodore's CBM-II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128 and Commodore MAX Machine home computers...
chip do so only in the studio, Mr. Pacman uses a SidStation, controlled by his keytar, live on stage, and the Silver Ghost uses a Commodore SX-64
Commodore SX-64
The Commodore SX-64, also known as the Executive 64, or VIP-64 in Europe, is a portable, briefcase/suitcase-size "luggable" version of the popular Commodore 64 home computer and holds the distinction of being the first full-color portable computer....
as a bass synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
. (Daniel Eriksson, who helped design the SidStation, was the first to use a Sidstation live on stage, at mekke 2000; Goto80 was the first to use a SID chip live onstage at the ECC
ECC
-Companies:* ECC , Education through Communication for the Community, a Japanese company* Electric Car Corporation plc, a British adapter and seller of electric cars* English China Clays, an English company-Education:...
in 1993.) Many Mr. Pacman songs are based on songs from classic video games, such as the Mega Man
Mega Man Classic
The original Mega Man series is the first series of Mega Man platform games from Capcom, which debuted in Japan on December 17, 1987 on the NES with the release of Mega Man.- Overview :...
series.
Biography
Mr. Pacman started out as a project by film schoolFilm school
The term film school is used to describe any educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training are usually incorporated into...
student Avery Rains in 2001 who rapped
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
over Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
video game music. After one such performance, some Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese exchange students remarked, "Mr. Pacman is awesome!". The name stuck, and Mr. Pacman now says he's from "Denver, Japan". A running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
based on this is the intentional use of Engrish
Engrish
refers to unusual forms of English language usage by native speakers of some East Asian languages. The term itself relates to Japanese speakers' tendency to inadvertently substitute the English phonemes "R" and "L" for one another, because the Japanese language has one alveolar consonant in place...
in the band's e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
newsletters http://www.mrpacman.com/pacmedia/flyers/cptbyrbts.html. Since 2001, the band has expanded to 4 members, adding first the Silver Ghost, then White Tiger, and finally Cockroach 3030 (now known as Anarchy Dragon).
Denver alternative newspaper Westword
Westword
Westword is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Denver, Colorado.Westword was established independently in 1977. In 1983 it was bought by New Times Media. In 2005, New Times acquired Village Voice Media, and changed its name to Village Voice Media...
named Mr. Pacman "Best Bizarro Fashion/Rock Act" in 2002 as part of its "Best of Denver" awards; Mr. Pacman has not won a Best of Denver since. The Denver Post
The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
has put Mr. Pacman on its Top 10 Underground Bands of Colorado list every year since 2002, placing 7th that year, 5th in 2003 & 2004, 8th in 2005 & 14th in 2006. Mr. Pacman played keytar on the Hot IQs track "The New One"http://www.hotiqs.com/TheNewOne.mp3 in 2004.
In May 2005, the short film "Half Hour of Power" (called a "violent children's show" by the band) was included with the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
"No Ghosts!" and an interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
with Mr. Pacman, among other band-related videos, on Dropframe, a local Emmy-winning PBS show featuring indie films. Mr. Pacman currently hosts Extreme Karaoke Challenge Monday nights at 9 PM at the hi-dive, 7 South Broadway in Denver.
Turbotron EP (2002)
- Intro
- Turbotron
- Pacman Rap (Shout-out by Wesley WillisWesley WillisWesley Willis was a musician and artist from Chicago. A diagnosed chronic schizophrenic, he gained an enormous cult following in the 1990s after releasing several hundred songs of simple but unique music, with emphasis on his humorous, bizarre, and frequently obscene lyrics...
) - Neurotica
- Be the Zero
- O.P.A (Original Party Animal)
- Welcome to the Future (Sucks)
- The End
- Girls That Go Boom (featuring Ozzy Osmond)
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
night at Armida's Mexican Restaurant in Denver "just prior to getting kicked out". O.P.A. is a mix of 6 different performances of the song at the Scott Baio Army Fourth of July party; during the instrumental for each, Mr. Pacman chugged a 40-oz. malt liquor
Malt liquor
Malt liquor is a North American term referring to a type of beer with high alcohol content. In legal statutes, the term often includes any alcoholic beverage above or equal to 5% alcohol by volume made with malted barley. In common parlance, however, it is used for high-alcohol beers made with...
.
7" vinyl split with Magicyclops
- Mr. Pacman: Baby's on Fire (Originally by Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
) - Magicyclops: Abracadabra (Originally by Steve Miller BandSteve Miller BandThe Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.-History:In 1965, Steve Miller and...
)
Star Hustler (2003)
- Gangsta Pac (Contains a sampleSampling (music)In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from the movie Colors) - (rock) Star Hustler (with Magicyclops)
- Pacman Densu (feat. MonotronaMonotronaMonotrona was a one-woman musical/performance group active from 1996 to 2003 founded by Jodie Baltazar, also known as Jodie Mechanic. Monotrona performed in costume and in character as one of many self-styled Superbeings or Fourteen Impersonations of Man These Superbeings took the form of...
) - Lifeless
- Pacman Power
- Be the Hero (feat. Sara Thorpe; a FischerspoonerFischerspoonerFischerspooner is an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York. The name is a portmanteau of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner...
-like reinterpretation of "Be the Zero" from Turbotron) - Turbo Attack!
- Mr. Pacman International
- No Ghosts!
- Luxury Car
- Pacman Birthday (feat. Monotrona)
- The Ninja
- Paxcercise (feat. Bebe & Serge; based on "Deflektor" by Ben DaglishBen DaglishBen Daglish is a composer and musician. His parents moved to Sheffield when Daglish was aged one year old. He is known for creating many soundtracks during the 1980s for home computer games, including Commodore 64 hits as The Last Ninja, Trap, and Deflektor...
) - (porn) Star Hustler (feat. Sara Thorpe & Claudine; an alternate version of "(rock) Star Hustler")
- Let's Go! (various video game samples)
- Songjacked
Enhanced CD
Enhanced CD, also known as CD Extra and CD Plus, is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players....
. Included on the disc are the videos for Be the Hero, No Ghosts!, Luxury Car, and Paxcercise. The album was named 2003's Best Local CD of the Year by the Denver Post. The "limo tank" on the cover was a toy designed & built by Greg Hignight. It is said to shoot diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s and run on Hennessy
Hennessy
Jas Hennessy & Co., or more simply Hennessy, is a world-leading cognac house with headquarters in Cognac, France. Today, the company of Jas Hennessy & Co...
Private Reserve.
Future projects
Mr. Pacman plans to make 4 total episodes of Half Hour of Power, the first of which premiered at the Denver Visual Music Festival in 2004; each episode will star a different band member. Three new albums are in the works: the heavy metal Crotch Rocket, the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
-flavored Mr. Pacman Goes to Jamaica, & Mr. Pacman's Christmas in Japan. No release dates have been announced yet for any of these.
PacFashion
Since 2002, Mr. Pacman has presented both original fashionFashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
s, pieces from local designers, and (one year) his collection of Power Rangers
Power Rangers
Power Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...
monster costumes in the annual PacFashion show. The shows' fashions are inspired by science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, and video games, and include musical performances by Mr. Pacman as well as other indie bands.