India Loves BYD. Who Knew? Our You Tube Analytics Report

Who new? You Tube Edition

I was playing with the BYD You Tube Analytics and found out some very funky facts about the 800+ video’s I’ve posted over the years. These facts are only relative to ones played in that particular country. While I’d love to say We’re huge in Belgium, I don’t know that for a fact. But I do know relative ranking of the videos when I start clicking around, and here’s what I’ve surmised.

India Loves BYD. 5 of the top 10 videos are our comedy bits
Almost half of all our plays of Speculation Theater in the world are from India.

Saudi Arabia Love BYD as well – 6 of the top 10 videos are from there.

Serbia and Slovenia like Peyote Man.

England loves Steve Steinberg. Over half of the plays of this video are from there.

Europe loves The Butties – 4 of the top 10 videos played there.
5 of 10 in the UK, Turkey, South America. Ireland, Venezuela, Argentina, France
6 of 10 Japan, Malta, 7 of top 10 Germany
But Austria is king – the ENTIRE top 10 is only Butties videos.

Russia loves Hank Pym – The BYD song has over 1000 plays there.

Highest video hits in Iran – Tennesse and Chumley Worship the Devil. Maybe it’s research?

Malaysia loves Driftless Pony Club. So does New Zealand, Romania, Portugal. Lithuania and Israel. Bulgaria has 4/10 Latvian are fanatics at 7/10

China #1 video – Pop Machine’s ‘Time to make the donuts’

Landon Austin has 2 of the top 10 videos in Malaysia, France, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore. 3 in Brunei.

Estonia and Dominican Republic loves MC Frontalot.

Macedonia likes Brandon Patton and his ‘Big in Japan’ IS big in Japan

Australia and Morocco like Scott Barkan

Qatar loves Mike Falzone.

Vietnam likes The Doubleclicks

Moldovia likes Andy Glover

Oman likes All Caps

My brother Tim Giarrosso has 4 of the top 10 videos played at St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Nikolas Metaxas has the top 6 videos in Greece and Cyprus

The Czech Republic Loves Marian Call – 5 of top 10. Thailand too.

South Korea, Jordan, Lithuania and Vietnam like Paul and Storm but Puerto Rico loves them.

What does this prove? That people watch crazy ass things, and you never know why they actually click on a video – but it’s kinda funky to say we have people watching our Tennessee Tuxedo Video in Iran. More to come.

Enjoy!

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Calling out for help with Marian’s TV show.

A step by step way to get ‘Marian Call: Live at Pandemonium Books’ on your local cable station.

Want to help distribute a Marian Call Concert? Read on below…

Hi – I’m Tom, and I’ll be your guide to getting our friend Marian Call’s concert on your local PEG (Public/Education/Government) Television station in the USA.

First – let’s find out if you have a Public Access Station local to you. If you do, you should well on your way. Local viewers usually can’t be denied access to playback of programs they submit if they live in town. If you do have issues with a local channel, contact me at (boffoyux at gmail dot com) and I can help walk you through the process. (Look for Public Access Channels. Gov’t channels don’t usually play outside programs, and the Educational channels usually just play school related shows. There are some combo channels, but it depends on where you live.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_public_access_TV_stations_in_the_United_States
or http://communitymediadatabase.org/

Call or email your local station about how to place a program on the air.

Many have forms and policies online to walk you through a submission process. Most times if you are a local resident, it involves filling out a form to be a local ‘producer’ and then you can submit programming to air on the channel.

This show is released under a Creative Commons license BY-NC-SA . Content is Copyright Marian Call, with the production created by Tom Giarrosso in affiliation with Salem Community Television. This program may be freely duplicated and distributed under the creative commons license, but can not be sold.

(Basically you can air it, copy and distribute it for free as long as all attributions are kept with the program, but you can’t sell a physical copy or put ads in/around it during rebroadcast.)

I’ve got a rainstick, and I’m not afraid to use it!

How to get a copy of the show –

If your PEG station is a member of the Alliance for Community Media (many are), they can download it free from CMDA – search ‘Marian Call’, and they can download an MPEG2 version that is the standard for computer playback at most stations.

The MPEG file is also available for PEG stations at http://www.pegmedia.org – search for Salem Community Television / SCTV17

Or, you can download the .iso file at this mirror site
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8Udmyf_bBOLbFJXcE1VUVRXbmc
which you can burn a DVD and hand to your local station for playback. Burning a DVD from an .iso file is built in to Windows 7 and there are several free software packages you can use – here’s one FAQ for burning an .iso DVD

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/ht/burnisofile.htm

I wonder how many stations will play me?

Why am I doing this?

To be honest, I’ve met a number of people struggling to get their music out to find an audience, and see this as a unique way to get new people to sample their content. I’ve been involved with PEG programming for many years, and it’s something most artists overlook or aren’t aware exists as a venue to expand their audience at a minimal cost. Also, it’s fun to pay things forward.

There are challenges to this approach, but it’s similar to streaming your material for free. The stations get free quality programming to play, and the artists get exposure to new markets and hopefully people who will support them while touring. Win – win for everyone. I’m hoping this will be the first of a series of self producing artist concerts from friends I’ve met on the internet and the various music competitions I’ve been involved with. (Masters of Song Fu, SpinTunes, Song Fight)

I would appreciate help spreading the word on this, and an email on the location and station you’ve gotten the show on. I’ll put together a Google Map on stations that will be playing the show (so far, 4 have shown interest and downloaded the show this week on their own)

I’m hoping for 100 stations to play the show by September. With over 2000 PEG access channels in the US, (About 1/3 of them Public Access Channels) I think we can hit this goal and then some!

Thanks for the help

Tom Giarrosso

Boffo Yux Dudes

SpinTunes Round 4 song reviews

Did you know there was an LP cover contest as well? (Thanks Dave)

I’m writing this review before coordinating my vote with Allan Morgan – since we together only get one vote, I’m only 50% of the official tally. But here goes my quick impressions of the 4th Round songs. The first 4 are in the running to win, the rest are shadows by previous contestants. Boffo Yux Dudes did three shadows this round – I’ll post them up later.

Zarni De Wet – The Bleeding Effect ( Assassin’s Creed)
Zarni takes this piano ballad about a schizophrenic killer and shoots out a mood of death and destruction. It’s not quite clear if the song is from the unstable Desmond’s point of view or Subject 16’s – perhaps both – but it’s still powerful stuff.

Mitchell Adam Johnson – In Another Castle (Super Mario Bros)
Mitchell writes from the view of a princess that keeps putting herself in danger, so she’ll feel the thrill of being rescued. Good use of video sound fx and samples of the game. Nice touch with ‘If you didn’t show, I’d die’ literally and figuratively.

Rebecca Brickley – Where I Am (Carmen SanDiego)
Rebecca turned this jazzy number into a humorous tweak on the game ‘Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego’. I can almost see Rockapella doing backup for her on this one. Witty lyrics make this one a winner. Enjoyed the Get/Silhouette rhymes and the baiting of the Chief to find her. Teasing or a challenge there? Actually, Both.

Chris Cogott – In Bright Falls (Alan Wake)
Chris brings a Surf guitar and 60’s beat to the tale of A. Wake and his quest to find sanity and his lost wife in Bright Falls. I had to research the game – he did a great job with the details. Enjoyed the musical tags and Beatles hooks to the song, including the Paperback Writer homage at the end.

Charlie McCarron – The Pac-Man Duet
A fun romp where Pac and Ms. Pac Man sing about meeting together. I like how Charlie and Nicole’s voices work well together in this one. Wish it was a little longer, but the ghosts had other plans.

Mark Humble – I’m Q*Bert, Babe

Mark slipped into a soulful vibe with his one. I expected Barry White to sneak up on the speakers. Loved the SFX mixed in to the storyline, as well as rhyming Pizza with Nietzsche. Total win.

Brian Gray – Hard To Get (Shadow) (Donkey Kong)
Upbeat, bouncy and fun. I liked the swing feel and harmonies, along with the witty wordplay.  Having the large simian use the princess as bait to catch the Mario of his dreams was a clever hook. Turning it into a homoerotic Shakespeare themed love story was a level above the rest.

JoAnn Abbott – Go For The Eyes (Boo from Baldur’s Gate)
Joann  (and Caleb) waltz into this song about Baldur’s Gate and Minsc’s Miniature Giant Space Hampster (™), Boo. The title refers to the favorite attack of said rodent. I liked the witty storyline and baroque feel.

David Ritter – Pitfall! (Shadow) (Pitfall)
David brings up the original Atari 2600 game Pitfall and runs with it through dangers and swinging vines. Turning it into a slow ballad with guitar and piano was an interesting choice for an action game.

Caleb Hines – The Writing On The Wall (Portal)
Caleb’s take on Portal with Joann singing lead . Interesting take on the game, with lots of insider hints and a nod to JoCo.  I’d have my cake and eat it too… if it wasn’t a lie to begin with. Nice job on this one.

Governing Dynamics – One Four One (Roach) (Shadow) Gary “Roach” Sanderson from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Travis sets a mood for this song with droning grunge guitar and drums about a black ops team that deals with the struggle of war, and relentless killing all around him. He hit the right notes in getting the tone of the game across. War is hell, but this is magic.

Inverse T. Clown – I’m Tops (Shadow) (TopMan from MegaMan)
ITC takes the wimpiest boss from the classic game and imbues him with an ego the size of New Jersey. Bouncy synth and 8 Bit Drums keep the tune rolling until it’s inevitable demise. I liked the fact he refuses to admit ‘Top Man’ is for his weapons instead of an elite status in his own mind.

I saw a lot of thought and planning in this round of songs – didn’t expect the depth and levels in such simple games, but people found them and brought them out. I’ll post the BYD songs here later this week, but you can listen to them and vote at the Spintunes site. Enjoy!

I met some new friends the other day.

Note: This didn’t start to be a name dropping exercise. It just ended up that way so I could explain the convoluted path that my life has taken the last few days.

I met some new friends the other day. I went to W00tstock Boston with a video camera, and was invited to shoot some backstage footage as well as cover the event. 6 hours and 57 Gigs later, I’m coming out the other side of a fun time with some very gracious people, who I now know a little better. Hopefully they won’t file restraining orders the next time we meet.

I’ll post more on the backstage hi-jinx soon (I still have to do #NaNoWriMo as well) But here’s a taste of the last few days and two people I met that impressed me. They’re both twisty path stories about Marian Call and Marc Abrahams.

I hadn’t heard about Marian until a few months ago.

The Ballad of Henry Pym – in HD!

The Boffo Yux Dudes have been writing music for the new SpinTunes songwriting contest – our first song was this little ditty about our favorite SuperHero, Ant-Man.

We made a little video for it in HD – it’s 1080p if you really want to blow the sucker up on You Tube.

Hey! Don't forget about me! I Helped!

Special thanks to Bully, the Little Stuffed Bull, for help in acquiring the scans and also perusing the lyrics so we have the true essence of who ‘Hank Pym’ really is.

Woman Talk – Outtakes of the Rich and Brainless

A New Year’s present for BYD friends – Greg, Pat and Tom outtakes from our attempts at doing a studio video version of ‘Woman Talk’.      I don’t believe these have seen the light of day in 15 years.

You can see a full episode from the series here and here, as well as the BYD YouTube site.

Enjoy.

How do you handle a Mad Proctologist?

Mr. Rhimer and the Mad Proctologist

The last part of the BYD & Friends show from 1989. Mark and Bill show us the high cost of revenge after 10 years of medical school.

I thought Mark did a great job on this one – using the German Accent to sound more threatening, and singing the German national anthem while plugging his ears gets me every time. We never did get to do a bit with the Ernie and Bert puppets on stage, but the behind the scenes stuff with them were so unPC it was hilarious. If I can edit a version, I’ll have to post that as well.

Pop goes the weasel ’cause the weasel goes pop!

Hollywood Weasel pulls the Green Light – Phil’s Filthy Stories – Boffo Yux Dudes & Friends at Syracuse University

Bill’s thoughts on this sketch he did with Mark Haskins…

“I think I wrote this sketch because I was reading “Final Cut” by Steven Bach, about the making of Heaven’s Gate. Also, the joke that most people laugh at in this sketch is the “full scale model of Planet Earth,” which was *ahem* “inspired” by a very similar Steven Wright joke”

I always thought branding ‘failure’ on the child’s forehead because he kept forgetting his lines was a fitting punishment…

Also, The first ‘Phil’s Filthy Stories‘ skit’ is tagged on this video – We shot this in a bathroom at New England Community College one summer. I always liked this bit – we wrote a bunch of them, but only a few made it to video. Somehow, when Tom’s voice goes up an octave, you get the feeling there might be some truth to the stories after all…

Enjoy.

The Reluctant Waiter strikes again…

The Reluctant Waiter, Luigi’s Restaurant and Speculation Theater ‘What If Early Man Had Cable Television’

I remember we were going to attempt to do a stage version of the ”BU skit”, but many technical problems would have cropped up, (we needed a flaming arrow shooting thru a working window, a provost desk, and a full set of china for tea) which had us move on to the Reluctant Waiter skit.

Mark knocked it out of the park.

A few behind the scenes notes – I’m a lousy memorizer – in fact for half the skits, I found a prop or some other way to conceal the script in the scene. Here, it’s in the menu. I also somehow saved the plant I hit from falling down at the last second.

Next – Luigi’s – This was one of our radio bits, in fact the audio is straight from that skit. We shot the video in a bathroom in Needham MA, and edited it at Newhouse the day before the show, so the finished product was a surprise until right before airtime.  Mark was game to be the corpse, and we made a toe tag from a file label. A few scrubs and sheets grabbed from the local hospital, a can of cat food, a saw and a jack from the car later, and we had a passable autopsy room. The audience reaction was miked for this during the live show, and it really sold the bit.

And last – Speculation Theater. We did this one just so Andrew could have the punch line – we kept cracking up just hearing his voice say it. Look close and you’ll see we’re all actually wearing toilet bowl covers from K-Mart. Anything to sell the skit… that’s dedication. Enjoy.

Potatoes 3, Little People 0

Those Damn Little People – BYD & Friends 1989

Bill and Kat did this bit on the nobility of starving to death and filicide. Yes, upbeat, fun stuff! At least in their deft comedy hands.

But I digress, Here’s what fellow thespian and troubadour, Mark Haskins noted as his favorites when reviewing this fine video after 20 years…

“1) Bill covering the ears of the statue when he thinks there’s blasphemy about.

2) Bill’s delivery of the line “It’s all I’ve got, you know.” I don’t know why it always makes me laugh, but it does.

3) Kathy McKitty. She’s a friggin’ genius, and I wish we’d started working with her at some point before we were about to graduate.

I also love the bumper at the end of the sketch. What are Ernie and Bert saying to Bill in the hallways of Newhouse II? We are denied an answer, but I bet it was filthy…”

It was, Mark. It certainly was.

Enjoy.