As promised, below is the link to the instructional video to make your own custom Rock Band tambourine or cowbell controller for the XBox 360. I can tell you from experience that they really enhance the game and I think make it easier and more fun. (Note that during the segment, the lag was off on the TV on stage and I could barely hit a note.)

Also, the vinyl jeans I'm sporting during the segment are actually practical in the sense that they breathe, unlike leather, and they also repel any liquid. If you spill a drink, it will roll of your pants. And if you look really close, I think you can see my junk...



Here's the link to the video to learn how to make your own tambourine or cowbell...

Tambourine Controller for Rock Band...

It's no secret that I like to mod things -- from my car to my kustom kruiser bike (complete with GPS) or my killer pad which has all sorts of special "mod"ifications.

Anyway, the fine folks at X-Play, well, Adam Sessler actually, asked me to do a segment for the show where I explain step-by-step how to turn an XBox 360 controller into a tambourine that works with Rock Band. I even made a cowbell that functions the same way.


Playing tambourine feels so much more real with one of these in your hands.

I'll be on X-Play on G4TV on Monday, March 24th, so check your local listings or set the DVR or Tivo. Following the segment, I'll demo them live in studio for Adam and Morgan, which will kick ass. I'll be dressed to rock... so please be kind with any comments... my vinyl pants are hella tight.

As someone who is very close to finishing expert vocal tour with my character Gorrissey, using these custom controllers makes the game so much more fun. Hope you dig the segment. I'll post the video once it goes live. I have had so many people offer money to make a tambourine for them, but it's really very simple, costs less than $20 and takes about 10 minutes start to finish. And it's so kick-ass you will be the envy of your friends! I am. Well, my friends also call me the "Martha Stewart of Geeks" which I think is a good thing?

And if you haven't registered at the Rock Band web site yet, you should check it out. My band is Chris Gore's Lovespray and you can "friend" me there or just check out my blog thing.

Time to jam out with your clam out!
Chris

Going to the Ann Arbor Film Festival March 27-30...

The Ann Arbor Film Festival is not only one of the longest running fests in the U.S., having been around for nearly 50 years, but one of the few that supports experimental film work.

Check out my stories from the site last year, Michigan Uncensored and Michigan's Banned Films. I'm happy to say that the festival won their free speech lawsuit. So, I guess it makes a lot of sense for Hustler magazine's own Larry Flynt to make an appearance at the fest.

I'll be doing a panel on Friday, March 28th at 1 PM called Flipping the Coin: Copyright and Fair Use. Sure, there will be lawyers on the panel, but I promise to make it a lively discussion. And by lively, I mean to shake things up a bit... you'll have to be there to see the surprise.


I swear, I merely grazed highly-respected animation professor Brooke Keesling's boob. Which is odd, since she is the creator of "Boobie Girl."

Anyway, if you're going to be in Ann Arbor during the festival, look for me there and don't be shy. I like to hang with fellow film nerds and I can talk movies until dawn.

Coolness.
Chris

P.S. Also, I hear they are going to have a Rock Band set up in one of the theaters one night just so we can rock out with our socks out! Or, if you prefer, jam out with your clam out. I guess it depends on how you rock.

The reason I was called "FAG" more than 10,000 times in high school...

Though you can't tell, my hair was bright purple and looked grape-flavored... yummy.
I think this photo speaks for itself.

There's a new DVD critic in town...

Okay, when I get kicked off TV at some point for being a jackass, this guy needs to take my place on Attack of the Show. I want to party with this guy!

Going to Austin, TX for the SXSW Film Festival...

I'll be headed out to Austin, TX for the SXSW Film Festival on Thursday and I'll be there through Monday, March 10th. Anyone headed to this celebration of indie film, music and technology knows how amazing it is. Hope to see you there. There were good times last year with SG folks, so I hope there's more fun to be had.

Check the Film Threat web site daily starting this week for coverage. I'll be there mostly doing coverage for G4TV's Attack of the Show interviewing filmmakers and reporting on the tech scene.



I might be seen doing something even more embarrassing than this in Austin.

Film Threat Party at SXSW
It's not all work though, Film Threat will be having a party alongside our friends at B-Side on Sunday March 9th. I've heard rumors of a Rock Band set-up, free drinks and I may ride a mechanical bull in my sexiest underwear. (Which reminds me, I have to get some sexy underwear.) If you run into me at the festival, I can get you all the party details and buy you that drink I've been promising all these years...

See you in Austin!
CG

Those three little words...

I've been thinking a lot about love and sex or lack thereof and I feel the need to fill in my SG friends on my latest findings in the bizarre and unexplainable world of dating. So here's another revelation I'd like to share.

At some point at the beginning of any relationship there's a discussion of or at least, a great deal of thought about when, where and how to say those "three little words." You know the ones I'm talking about... the ones with the initials ILY.

For some, hearing these words is a requirement for taking something new to the next level, but the words themselves can also be like a dangerous drug... the effects for each person upon hearing them are completely unknown. Some say it too soon, or withhold saying it for fear that expressing those feelings will somehow oblige them to emotional duties they may not be ready for. But there will be a shift in the dynamic of the relationship once when these words come into play.

What interests me is the clear gender differences when referencing "those three little words." For most women, the words they most want to hear are...
I love you.

These three words often elicit bliss... ecstasy... and happy feelings that no drug can replicate.

I believe for men, there are a few more "three little word" combos that they'd much rather hear. In fact, these phrases when uttered will have an even greater impact on a man than the standard-issue "I love you."

It's true.

I know that I get really nervous whenever I hear a woman say to me...
Let's watch porn.

I blush when I hear...
Please don't stop.

I always melt when I hear the words...
Tie me up.

I am over the moon when I hear...
I'm your slave.

I feel those silly little butterflies in my stomach whenever I hear...
Fuck my ass.

I get dizzy when I hear...
Cum on my face.

These words will make me fall head over heels...
How about a threesome?

And marriage material can be found in any woman who says...
Do you have any more porn, this stuff is kind of tame?

Okay, I know those last few had more than three words, but they have the same effect. When a man hears any of these, he'll feel the same kind of joy a woman feels when those other three words from that more common phrase are spoken.

One thing I know to be true for myself, is that any woman who has ever said those things to me usually leads to me saying those three little words that she most wants to hear... you know... that "ILY" thing.

And then the trouble begins.

P.S. If this seems a bit gender-biased, well, I don't mean to offend anyone as I know broad generalizations have a tendency to do. I can only go by what is true based on my own experience and I have a cock. So go ahead and tell me to go to fuck myself.

P.P.S. I will continue to update my findings as long as you're nice to me.