8 Bit Weapon

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8 Bit Weapon
Origin Flag of the United States Ventura County, California, USA
Genre(s) Electronic music
Chiptune
Synthpop
Instrument(s) Game Boy
NES
LSDJ
Commodore 64
Commodore 128
Commodore Amiga 500
Commodore Vic-20
Apple IIc
Apple IIe
Intellivision
Atari 2600
Years active 1999 – present
Label(s) none
Website www.8bitweapon.com

8 Bit Weapon is a chiptune music band created by Seth Sternberger. 8 Bit Weapons' instrument set is primarily composed of old 8-bit and 16-bit computers (with 8 bit audio output) such as the Commodore Vic-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Commodore Amiga 500, and the Apple II, as well as game consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Atari 2600, and an Intellivision synthesizer.

8 Bit Weapon started around 1999 by remixing Commodore 64 SID tunes like Crazy Comets, M.U.L.E., and some Nintendo N.E.S. game music such as Super Mario Bros 2, and Metroid. Both the SID remixes can be heard on the album titled "Confidential 1.0" and the Nintendo remixes on the official 8 Bit Weapon website. Later on, 8 Bit weapon began writing original music using the C64, Nintendo Game Boy, and N.E.S., as well as other 8 bit consoles and computers.

8 Bit Weapon has become well known recently after favorable coverage in the Los Angeles Times, A live performance on G4's Attack of the Show [1], and performances at E3 2004, 2005, and 2006. [2] [3] [4] According to Sternberger, 8 Bit Weapon is also involved in projects with Disney and Nokia. [5] It was confirmed that 8 Bit Weapon will be providing the soundtrack for Reset Generation (previously known under the code name "Project White Rock"), a game in development by RedLynx for N-Gage 2.0 and PCs. It is possible that the unspecified project with Nokia that is mentioned on 8 Bit Weapon's website is actually Reset Generation.[6]

Xbox’s exclusive Halo 2 E3 2004 preview event had its own soundtrack written and produced by 8 Bit Weapon. The score was 15 minutes long and was played continuously in the gaming area of the party.

8 Bit Weapon has also remixed music for Erasure, Kraftwerk [7] and Information Society[5].

In July 2007, 8 Bit Weapon was hired to perform at Commodore's 25th anniversary party for the Commodore 64 computer.

Contents

[edit] Band members

Seth - Founded band around 2000 and is the primary song writer. He plays Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Gameboys, and lead vocals (via vocoder) at live events.

Michelle - Joined the band in October 2006 and has her own solo releases under the name ComputeHer. She plays Apple IIe drums, acoustic drums, c64/128 drums, and synths at live events.

Melissa - Joined the band in October 2006 and has her own solo music releases under the name MelBot. She plays synths and vocoder at live events.

[edit] Discography

  • Confidential 1.0 (2003)
  • Microsoft Halo 2 Celebrity Pre-Release Party Soundtrack (2004)
  • Official Bootleg: Live from Robotopia (2004)
  • The EP (Limited Edition) (2005)
  • Vaporware Soundtracks: (Limited Edition) (2005)
  • "Breathe - Vacuum Mix" for Erasure (2005)
  • "Don't Say You Love Me - 8 Bit Weapon Remix" for Erasure (2005)
  • Vaporware Soundtracks 2.0: (Standard Edition) (2006)
  • High Score Movie Soundtrack: "Gameboy Rocker" (2006)
  • "I Like the Way You Werk It - 8 Bit Weapon Remix" for Information Society (band) (2007)
  • "Space Lab" off "8 Bit Operators", by Kraftwerk (Astralwerks) (2007)
  • "MeanTime EP: An Adventure Through Time!" Limited Edition (2007)
  • "Shark Attack - 8 Bit Weapon Remix" for Freezepop (band) (2007)
  • Silo 64 (Limited Edition) (2008)
  • Confidential 2.0 (2008)
  • Reset Generation Soundtrack (2008)

[edit] Tours

  • 2002: "The 8 Bit Bonanza Tour!" (Europe), billed as SETH/8 Bit Weapon [1]
  • 2003: "The Micro Invasion Tour!" (North America), billed as Naughtyboy/8 Bit Weapon [2]
  • 2004: "1up Tour" (Europe), billed as Naughtyboy/8 Bit Weapon
  • 2007: "Nerdcore International Tour" (USA & Europe)[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ G4 - Attack of the Show - Episode History
  2. ^ GamerDad - E3 2004: Classic Gaming Report
  3. ^ Classic Gaming Expo
  4. ^ 8 Bit Weapon News
  5. ^ a b 8 Bit Weapon Bio
  6. ^ 8 Bit Weapon confirmed for Project White Rock soundtrack. Pocket Gamer. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
  7. ^ MySpace.com - 8-Bit Operators - NEW YORK, New York - Electrique / Expérimentale / Alternative - www.myspace.com/8bitoperators

[edit] External links