Helen McWilliams aka The Hellion

I’ve been a fan of Harmonix producer Helen McWilliams, who moonlights at the lead singer and songwriter for punk group Tijuana Sweetheart, ever since I read her ‘Zine articles for the Rock Band website. If you haven’t already read “52 Weeks in the Life of a Rock Star”, Helen’s hilarious how-to guide on becoming rock star, you absolutely have to check it out.

This being said, I knew that Helen, aka the Hellion, was going to be an entertaining persona to interview. You can check out the entire video interview below, but I thought I’d whip up a few highlights of the night.

After walking around Fenway for approximately an hour in twelve degree weather, my husband and I gave up and took a cab about half a mile down the road to the Baseball Tavern.

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Our good friend Tommy Wall at RockBandAide recently scored a gut-busting, yet enlightening interview Mike Vasquez and Mike Woods of Damone.

As we announced earlier this month, RockGamer Studios is authoring tracks from Damone’s 2008 album Roll the Dice. Keep an eye out for “Serial Killer”, “Conquer Me” and “Roll the Dice”. All of these going to available soon via RBN.

[Editor's Note: As of publishing, "Roll the Dice" is available for playtesting on the RBN Creators Club]

RBA’s Damone interview is full of favorites: favorite song, favorite overseas venue to play, favorite way to avoid being screwed over by record companies, you get the gist.

Check out the full interview for the story behind the band name, embarrassing predicaments in a Japanese Restaurant and Damone’s very own PSA announcement.

Here are a few highlights from the RBA/Damone interview:

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Back in September, we announced that we were incredibly excited to work with Amberian Dawn on two of their hit tracks, “River of Tuoni” and “He Sleeps in a Grove”.

The RBN preview clips for “River of Tuoni”, the title track from their debut album, and “He Sleeps in a Grove” from their second album, The Clouds of Northland Thunder, have each eclipsed the 2,000 view mark! The “River of Tuoni” preview alone has gathered 3,780 as of today and has only been up for a few months. If our forums and preview comments are any measure of Amberian Dawn’s future in RBN, then their popularity is undisputed. Excited RGS and RBN fans have already vowed to buy their tracks when RBN launches.

As a response to your overwhelming support for Amberian Dawn’s tracks, we are ecstatic to announce that they have signed on to publish 5 more songs with RockGamer Studios. Amberian Dawn’s new tracks on RBN will be “Valkyries”, “Lullaby”, “The Curse”, “Fate of the Maiden” and “Evil Inside Me”, all from their original album River of Tuoni.

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Ballyhoo!’s “Cali Girl” is a song best played around a bonfire in July, or around a fireplace in February…heck Rock Band fans will want to play this song anytime, anywhere. Grab some friends and a few beers (or sodas for you under 21s) and jam out to Ballyhoo!’s feel good reggae-rock tune about a girl who’s “going to California.” “Cali Girl” starts off in true reggae style, but the catchy chorus smacks of punk rock. By the time the second chorus rolls around, everyone in the room will be singing it.

Lead singer Howi Spangler’s vocals are never overly challenging, while the bass charts fall right in the pocket. Both bass and guitar will be entertaining for all levels of players. For Rock Band players who have not played or listened to reggae, ska, or jazz lately, the laid back groove may trip you up.

Here’s a Rock Band Network preview of “Cali Girl”:

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Singers, it’s time to practice those vocal gymnastics! Drummers…steel yourselves!

RockGamer Studios is proud to present a sneak peek at Children of Nova’s “The Complexity of Light”.

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LEGENDARY UK GOTHIC ROCK BAND INKUBUS SUKKUBUS SIGNS WITH ROCKGAMER STUDIOS
Records Four Exclusive Versions of Hits for Rock Band Network

If you are a fan of gothic rock, the name Inkubus Sukkubus should need no introduction. Comprised of Candia Ridley on vocals, Tony McCormack on guitar, and Adam Henderson on bass, this long running act from the United Kingdom has been active since 1989, with over a dozen albums to their credit throughout their career. Formed out of a mutual interest in paganism, witchcraft, and vampirism, their style of goth rock has been well-received over their years, with appearances on BBC programming, features in magazines, and a steady position at the top of the Goth Rock category on SoundClick. Having performed concerts in a multitude of countries and headlined festivals throughout the world, including the Whitby Gothic Weekend in the UK and Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, Germany, their legion of fans has steadily grown throughout their twenty-year-plus career.

Today, we are proud to announce that RockGamer Studios will be authoring five songs from their catalogue for future release through the Rock Band Network. The first single, “Death Comes”, is taken from their most recent release, 2008′s Viva la Muerte. The album tells the story of a couple celebrating their wedding on Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead. You can listen to “Death Comes” in its entirety via the link below:

In addition to “Death Comes”, Inkubus Sukkubus is currently heading into the studio to record exclusive versions of four of their biggest hits specifically for Rock Band! They are hard at work on brand new recordings of “Belladonna & Aconite”, “Heart of Lilith”, “Queen of the May”, and “Wytches” which will make their debut as downloadable content for Rock Band Network.

To learn more about Inkubus Sukkubus, as well as hear more of their music and see their videos, please visit their extensive website at http://www.inkubussukkubus.com, or catch up with them at social networking sites Facebook and Myspace.

FINNISH HARD ROCKERS FREE SPIRIT COMING TO ROCK BAND NETWORK WITH ROCKGAMER STUDIOS

Today, we’re pleased to add another excellent band from Finland to the upcoming Rock Band Network song lineup. Finnish hard rock revivalists Free Spirit will be joining their countrymates Amberian Dawn on RBN when RockGamer Studios releases three songs from their 2009 album, “Pale Sister of Light”.

Comprised of Sami Alho on vocals, Vesa Yli-Mäenpää and Marko Haapamäki on guitar, Pasi Koivumäki behind the drums, Sami Hämäläinen on bass, and Timo Alho on keyboards, this group has been enthralling Europe with their melodic hard rock since 2006. We are working with them to bring three songs from their 2009 release, “Pale Sister of Light”, including the title track, as well as “Until the Night” and “Far Away from Heaven”. Capturing classic riffs and grooves while bringing them firmly into the new millenium, their songs are poised to become favorites with Rock Band players of all ages.

View the video for “Until The Night” below:

You can check out their other two songs we’ll be bringing to RBN below:

• Free Spirit – “Far Away from Heaven” ♫

• Free Spirit – “Pale Sister of Light” ♫

Be sure to visit them at their website, or connect up with them on MySpace, and be sure to look forward to these three songs coming soon to RBN!

ROCKGAMER STUDIOS SIGNS CALIFORNIA POWER TRIO RED9 FOR TWO ROCK BAND NETWORK SONGS

If you’re a fan of melodic yet harder-edged alternative rock, time to listen up! SoCal-based power trio RED9 is coming to the Rock Band Network with a pair of songs sure to please.

The roots of the band took hold in 2005, when the core members Jeff Lyons and Paul Frislie first connected and began performing together. After years of touring, jamming, and auditioning for permanent members, they finally welcomed the drummer Giovanni Fuentes into the fold. 2009 saw the release of their debut EP, “1 of 9″, which featured their single “Real Love”, as well as their first full length, “The Host”, containing the blistering “Last Mistake”.

We’re proud to be working with them to bring both “Real Love” and “Last Mistake” to the Rock Band Network platform later this year. You can connect up with them on Facebook”, Twitter, their website, or listen to their tunes on MySpace.

You can check out the two tunes we’ll be bringing to RBN below:

A sneak peek for all of you fans of awesome music. Here’s the first preview footage from Amberian Dawn‘s “River of Tuoni” and Fake Shark-Real Zombie!‘s “Sestri Levante”. Expect both of these to be available later this year when the Rock Band Network launches!

Hello out there, Internet! Chris here. All of us at RockGamer Studios are extremely excited to bring you the following news. We have partnered with long-running and fiercely independent Pennsylvania-based label CI Records, and will be bringing their artists to the Rock Band Network!

CI Records was formed 1989 in Lancaster, PA by Jeremy Weiss, and started mainly as an outlet to release vinyl from his band at the time. Over the past twenty years, they have amassed an impressive catalogue of releases from artists as diverse as August Burns Red, The Juliana Theory, Onelinedrawing, The Pink Spiders, and Sense Field. We are very proud to be helping them represent the label on the Rock Band Network! The first downloadable offerings from CI Records and RockGamer Studios will include two tracks each from three of their current artists from their hometown; Circus Circus, Sadaharu, and Texas In July.

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