Band Aid Premiere - The Dirty Dishes Performance

Tuesday night was the Los Angeles premiere for Band Aid, a comedy with a hint of drama about a married couple (Director/Writer Zoe Lister-Jones and Adam Pally) on the brink of separation. The fights are getting more and more intense until they figure out a way to exorcise the demons, making all their fight into songs. When their odd (creepy) neighbor (Fred Armisen) joins them as the drummer, The Dirty Dishes are born, but not without many more ups and downs (Band Aid is a by-the-numbers comedy at heart, but a very funny one at that) to come.

Lister-Jones introduced the movie to a sold out audience at The Theatre at Ace Hotel, asking the audience to stick around for a performance by The Dirty Dishes. Band Aid is one of those movies where the one liners are coming left to right from its very beginning. The audience (and myself) were laughing throughout, as the situations the couple got into all rang true in one way or another to anyone that has been in a turbulent relationship. But what about the music? Their indie songs are very funny, reminiscent of Sleater Kinney, Imperial Teen, The Moldy Peaches, very "alternative" in a punk rock way.

When The Dirty Dishes took the stage, "on their last leg of their tour", hearing the songs from the movie being played live demonstrated the passion and extra layer that Lister-Jones had to deal with making the movie, as the songs are her character's fights and passions that not only had to be acted, but made into songs that were played lived, and by their performance, you wouldn't be able to tell this was a "made up band".


After their performance an announcement (in jest?) that on June 12, the day the movie is being released in theatres across the US, The Dirty Dishes were releasing an EP "you can buy it or get a torrent of it", Lister-Jones said.
Even if it was all part of the act, make sure you don't miss Band Aid on June 12!

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The Inspirations of Prey: The Matrix

 On April 25, 2017, at The Regent Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, Alamo Drafhouse, in a partnership with GameStop screened The Matrix as culmination of their sci-fi festival "The Inspirations of Prey", Bethesda's upcoming first person shooter.  

The series started on April 4 in Austin with Moon, followed on April 11 in San Francisco with Starship Troopers, then Total Recall on April 19 in New York.

L.A. fans got a chance to play the game before/during/after the screening and get their hand on a limited edition poster by Tomer Hanuka from Mondo, as well as a t shirt and small notebook with Prey related drawings.

The movie was introduced by Prey's Creative Director/Co-Story Writer Raphael Colantino, telling the audience a little about the series and how they wanted to share with the fans of the game where they got most of the inspiration while making the game. Colantino and Lead Systems Designer Seth Shain were present the whole night, giving interviews, talking to fans, Shain played the game after the movie ended on the big screen for fans to see how a pro takes care of business.

The Matrix is one of those movies that changed cinema, and put the Wachowskis on the map, it's the sci-fi film that introduced the "bullet time" effect that has now been used to death, as well as making lead Keanu Reeves an action star. After playing the game, the movie's influences can be seen, as we are left to ponder, "what is reality?" as the credits roll.

Surprisingly, The Regent wasn't at capacity, maybe it was the fact that the event took place on a school night? But all those in attendance had fun, whether watching the movie or playing the game, along with free drinks, popcorn, what more could one want of a Tuesday night?
One thing is for sure, can't wait to play the game when PREY comes out on May 5!

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Words by Steve Fraatz, Photos by Humberto Mendez

Nintendo Switch Preview Tour: ARMS

The Nintendo Switch Tour featured an exclusive game for Nintendo fans to play, ARMS.

Lucky fans were able to play ARMS during both days of the event, with the first ticketed day being the less crowded of the two. ARMS is one of the games that would not be available upon release, an exclusive preview for the fans!

ARMS is a fighting game in the vein of Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, with all the characters having the ability to throw their arms at the opponent, grab them and throw them or hit them or shoot at them, depending on the arm chosen. Only four characters were available to try for the demo, Mechanica, Master Mummy, Spring Man and Ribbon Girl.

The event also had competitions of the different games available, with the winners taking home a Nintendo Switch hat.

For more information about ARMS, which has a June 16 release date, visit the official Nintendo page here:
http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/arms-switch 

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Nintendo Switch Preview Tour

On the weekend of March 3, 4 and 5, at the Raleigh Studios in East Hollywood, The Nintendo Switch Preview Tour took place. Fans of Nintendo eagerly awaited to try the new system, many whom had already purchased the system already but wanted to try all the games featured. the first two days were ticketed events, with Friday being the less crowded of the days and Sunday having a line around the block, which didn't stop determined fans from coming in.

Snipperclips was one of the most fun games of the event, a two player cooperative puzzle game with the goal of cutting your partner so they can fit/solve the different obstacles of each level.

MarioKart 8 Deluxe made an appearance to satiate the nostalgia from all the fans that remember all the fun times playing the game on the Nintendo 64 (and all the sequels that followed). The updated version is as fun as the original, with updated controls but not much change on the formula, which is always fun to play with friends and family.

The Nintendo Switch version of Splatoon 2 takes a little time to get used to the Switch controllers, but once you got it you're ready to go and have lots of fun trying to beat the opposing team. The game seemed to be not much different from the original, but I guess if the formula works, why mess with it.

1-2-Switch is a mini game collection, fun to have at parties with many of the games being for 2 to 4  players. One tests how fast you can draw and shoot your gun, old west style, another has you seeing how fast you can milk a cow, another mini game has you shaking the controller as if it was a soda with the player who it explodes with losing.

Nintendo Switch Cow Milking

A post shared by Digital Arts & Ent Media News (@daemedianews) on Mar 4, 2017 at 11:02pm PST

Fire Emblem Warriors had many waiting in line to try it out, fans from all ages excited to play the game on the Switch before its release.

M Diner was one of the games that had its own fancy stylized booth to try it on, with a long line of fans wanting to see if another Mario related game can sway them their way, but the main focus was on Super Mario Odyssey and MarioKart 8 Deluxe.

ARMS was the exclusive game of the event, which will be out June 16 but you could try it out then and there, with the main stage screen being used for VS games with fans for prizes!

Among the many games to try out was the Nintendo Switch version of The Legend Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with new control design to fit the Switch and now the ability to take the game on the road! Disgaea, Sonic Mania, Super Bomberman R, Puyo Puyo Tetris were some of the classic games updated for the Switch.

Lunch was also provided by Nintendo, hotdogs, cotton candy, ice cream and sodas were available free with tickets given at the entrance.
All in all, it was a fun day at the Nintendo Switch Tour in East Hollywood, can't wait to see what games Nintendo Switch will have next!

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Words by Steve Fraatz, Photos by Humberto Mendez

LA Auto Show Kick Off Party

If you know LA, you know its car subculture, after all, it was the car industry that got rid of LA's public transportation back in the day. But for those that don't care about history but about the newest and the best cars coming out, the LA Auto Show has been around since 1907, not in its current form, but in a less showy incarnation.
Nowadays, the AutoMobilty LA is a four day press and VIP event that lets the press experience the LA Auto Show without the riff raff, with drinks and special tours given for further comfort.

Another one of the privileges press gets is attending the Kick Off Party, in which there were no stops pulled! All kinds of food were available to try, meats, pork, chicken, beef, desserts, fruits, even donuts! And drinks, there were open bars all over the place as well! For entertainment you had Cirque De Soleil style performances, dancers, jugglers, DJs and a Cuban band playing. This was the place to be!

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