Nerdapalooza: A Fantastically Nerdy Experience
By Ryan FitzgeraldThursday, July 16, 2009
Author's Note: I've been assigned to cover Nerdapalooza. Basic etymological deconstruction assumes this to be a sort of nerdy concert based on the archetypal mainstream version that is touring Chicago in August. Early on, I avoid the descriptor "nerd" for almost everything. Things that downright beg for the characterization are being dubbed as "unique" or "non-normative." "Labels are for jars," I keep telling myself, "you're better than this." But what else would you call an entire rap song about a computer help desk, or a guy playing a Game Boy -- with a head set -- in the middle of a concert, or a girl in a homemade Transformers costume? Think about the pickle your humble correspondent is in, the urge to maintain political correctness, some sort of sensitivity to all minority groups, a desire to say nothing at all if you can't say something nice; versus basic journalistic responsibility that demands I give a clear and articulate description of the events unfolded. Alas, I sin. I can think of no better way. That is until I get a chance to speak with some of the folks at Nerdapalooza and find out what they are all about. I learn that "nerd" is not a nasty word. From now on, I will use the term judiciously, accurately, and unapologetically. I can unflinchingly say, this is what they would have wanted.
Nerdapalooza is a large-scale nerdfest that has been running in Orlando since 2007. It features some of the top contemporary popular-art forms dealing exclusively with nerdy content. It is an embracing of the pejorative--the idea that being a nerd is A-OK. This is the third Nerdapalooza, and according to event coordinator Michael "Spork" Evans, it is three times larger than last year. This year's event was a two-day extravaganza held at the Holiday Inn on I-Drive.
"[We] host many acts," says Evans. "We've got wiz rock, nerdcore hip-hop...video game music."
It is a celebration of the best in comedy music, chiptunes -- or music designed for video games -- and nerdcore. What is nerdcore?
Nerdcore, as the rapper int eighty [sic] says, "is rapping about nerdy subject matter." It's hip-hop that celebrates nerd culture. It's a rapper rapping about video gaming or comic books. The lyrics are full of nerd culture references: Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, Mega Man, cult classics like "War Games" -- every nerd's fantasy. Some of the big names in nerdcore are here: mc chris [sic], MC Lars, and the Protomen.
Nerdapalooza is hard to pin down. It crosses genres. It is evolving and forward-looking, while having great nostalgia for retro nerd culture, particularly the '80s and '90s nerd icons like Mega Man and Optimus Prime. It is any kind of pop-art form that incorporates elements of nerdom. Evans explains that "we [nerds] are underground right now, and we just want to see this grow." For instance, comedy rock is a pop-art genre on display here at Nerdapalooza that is trying to expand its niche and shed the novelty aspect and foreground itself as serious pop-art.
The great Luke Ski, a member of The Funny Music Project (aka The FuMP), explains that there is serious business to be had here at Nerdapalooza. It's about getting "comedy music to be treated as an art form," says Luke Ski. Luke Ski mentions some of the big players in the genre: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Tenacious D, Flight of the Conchords, The Lonely Island, Adam Sandler, and Jimmy Fallon. While these artists have had crossover success, Luke Ski still wants the genre to push past the novelty.
"We don't want to be associated with 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,'" he says.
Comedy music is a joining between the song and the comedy routine. "You can approach it from either end," says Luke Ski. Will Smith (aka "The Fresh Prince") and DJ Jazzy Jeff being the prototypes for musicians whose songs are funny, rather than comedians whose bits involve music. Luke Ski produces songs for The FuMP, which is an online comedy music project that allows people to listen and download comedy songs for free; it is a growing online community where nerds can collaborate and share their ideas.
The fans here are of the more serious persuasion. These are your diehards. I spot a quartet of nerds in what appears to be homemade Halloween costumes. They are dressed up as characters from the Mega Man series. I ask them how long it took to make their costumes. "Two weeks -- worked the whole time... They are made out of paper-mache, fiberglass, and resin." The arm canon/phaser blaster is especially impressive.
There are lots of jokes about algorithms and pi. I spot a very cool Tetris tattoo on a nerd's left forearm. One rapper's act is called "Space Adventure with Helen Keller." The rapper sings about flying into space with the Miracle Worker.
There are some short films that parody classic comic book scenes. The now iconic "Why so serious?" from The Dark Knight, delivered in requisite menacing tone, introduces a re-imagining of the Joker character set to a hip-hop beat. The production value is that of a YouTube video. In the hallway are some kids playing a card game called Dominion in which a player tries to "capture" the most cards and win the "kingdom." It is all unapologetically, fantastically nerdy.
1:45 p.m. "Emergency Pizza Party"
[Excerpted from the official Nerdapalooza schedule]
It is 1:50 p.m. and my idea of what an "Emergency Pizza Party" would be is very wrong. It is not a party where steaming-hot delicious pizza is served -- rather, it is another nerdcore troop. Sigh. It's a six-member crew wielding Guitar Hero instruments and taking turns rapping to a beat, which is broken up by the chorus: "...And when the powers combine / You get the pizza for free," sings Pizza Party in concert. Let me be clear: THERE IS NO FREE PIZZA. Apparently, I am not in on the joke. I am the only one, it appears, who is looking around, like an idiot, for a free slice. A fool's errand if there ever was one, but I digress.
The idea of using an art form to deal with nerdy subject matter is perhaps epitomized best by the rapper int eighty. "Nerdcore, geekster, adjective agnostic," says int eighty on one of his tracks. He is a rapper with serious talent. He is electric, energetic, a serious musician rapping about computer hacking: "[I] began to make a name / everybody wants a copy / compress it and crypt it / and save it to a floppy." int eighty is a member of Dualcore a two-man rap group from Cincinnati. The rapper int eighty is a computer hacker by trade, he holds a bachelor's in computer science. His rap style is fast-paced but uncharacteristically clear. Every lyric is enunciated.
Rapping, if done properly, is inherently a cool thing to do. It is the opposite of nerdy. So there is a level of irony to a rapper bouncing to a hip-hop beat, wearing a Google T-shirt, freestyling about cell phone tech, help desks, Optimus Prime, and hacking. int eighty tells the audience to "hold out something from your pockets and we'll try and rap about it." Members of the audience hold up everything from lighters to cell phones to Nintendo DS Lites. int eighty freestyles for several minutes, incorporating the outstretched items: an iPhone, a Star Wars DVD, a Game Boy.
For one of the songs int eighty is joined by Shafer the Dark Lord, a menacing looking fellow, wearing an all black suit whose lyrics are more narrative in style but are presented at a hyper pace making the references fleeting and producing an entirely different affect. int eighty shouts-out Shafer, Shafer shouts-out int eighty: it is a classic collaboration, like Dr. Dre & Eminem, Method Man & Redman, Smith & Wesson, or Procter & Gamble.
There is lots of mutual respect between the acts. Everyone is supportive. The fans share a palpable bond too-- they experience fandom -- a sense of community with a fellow fan. Instant friendship is formed when nerds see other nerds share the same level of passion about Mega Man or Star Wars.
The biggest nerd here is a guy named "hex" [sic]. John "hex" Carter is the executive director of Nerdapalooza. He is wearing a black tee with "STAFF" written in block letters. He zooms from the main stage, to the information desk, to the waiting room trying to keep the show on schedule. Walkie Talkies are constantly chirping, "where's hex?" It's guys like "hex," Evans, and their fellow nerd staffers that make Nerdapalooza a major event--booking national talent--hopefully one day approaching its mainstream archetype. But the nerds are here for more than the music and the girls (there's actually a nice girl-nerd to guy-nerd ratio here today, if you can believe it). They are here for a cause that each of them is passionate about: a chance to help children in need.
Proceeds from Nerdapalooza are going to Child's Play Charity. Evans says, "It just means a lot to help out terminally ill children and children in need."
Child's Play is a nonprofit charity that was founded in 2003 by a network of video gamers. Their website boasts more than $3.5 millions dollars donated to sick children. Those donations will go to sending terminally ill children in hospitals a Nintendo, comic book, toy -- something to improve their lives.
"All this is validation," says Evans. The turnout, the talent, the large check scratched to Child's Play, the nerd culture getting a chance to be taken seriously as an art form. "It's nerds saying [to fellow nerds], 'We accept you. It's okay to be a nerd.'"
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