In Praise Of Doraleus And Associates

 

In Praise Of Doraleus And Associates

If you happen to be a fantasy role playing game enthusiasts or happen to enjoy animation with witty dialogue, then you might just enjoy Doraleous And Associates. I feel like I'm a little bit late to the party, but I discovered this cartoon recently. It began back in 2012, created by Hank And Jed Movie Productions and had a total of 50 episodes.

It's a classic medieval fantasy type of show. Doraleous is the brave Warrior who leads the group. Neebs is an Elven Rogue with a bit of an attitude. At one point, he even gets fired for not obeying orders, and yet he has to be either the luckiest or smartest character on the show. Mirdon is the absent-minded but still very effective when you need him to be Wizard. Then there is Drak, the loyal Dwarven Warrior. These three are the main associates of Doraleous, but there is also Sir Walken, based on a very familiar actor of the same name, and the Barbarian Bruf.

Doraleous is based on your typical Warrior. He's good of heart and out to protect the realms. He always endeavors to do the right thing, and he's hoping that he and his associates might get paid. It seems like most of the time, things don't quite work out that way, but the group seems to have success most of the time, even if it doesn't work out exactly as planned.

The dialogue is clever and there are hidden meanings thrown in throughout the episodes. Though I don't necessarily believe this is a political cartoon, there are times when people will assume that it is. Really, the dialogue will have you laughing at times in every episode. It's all about the dialogue. What I notice is you'll have Doraleous explaining the plan, whatever that might be, and oftentimes, Neebs is the one coming up with an alternative. Mirdon is all too quick to side with Neebs or just say something silly.

From the comments you'll see for each video, many people have a negative view towards Neebs. To me, this is the character that makes this show the most entertaining. He's such a jerk sometimes, although he isn't necessarily trying to be a jerk. It's just who he is. He does have a heart, and you can see at times that he has a great amount of respect for Doraleous. He just doesn't agree with the orders or thinks he can do it better. Oftentimes, he's right. I have noticed a very striking similarity between the character Neebs and a certain actor, although it's not as in your face as the Sir Walken character.

We all know the classic King Arthur tale. The Lady Of The Lake bestows the sword upon him. Well, there is a similar type of theme throughout this series. The Lady Of The Lake in this case is a bit of a troll. She delights in offering up the sword to those who seek it, but it never quite works out for any of them. There are a few moments between her and Dotaleous. He came so close to actually getting it in the end, but you have to see how it turned out for him. If you give this series a chance, you might have to suppress the desire to binge watch all 50 episodes, which generally run between 4 and 8 minutes long.

I don't want to give away all of the plots and clever references from the show, but there is a kingdom that needed the assistance of Doraleous and Associates, or so Doralious thought. They were the Meh Kingdom. Ultimately, Doraleous walked away in disgust. I'd like to think that this particular kingdom went down, but somehow I can just picture the invaders doing the same thing.

There is also the Geigh Kingdom. The idea is to see how many puns and cliches they could stick into the episodes involving the people of this kingdom, although there's no indication that this kingdom is made up of people who happen to be gay. They were invaded by the Giopi's. Yes, you get the picture, and people of a political bent might be offended or amused, but this was not political in the least.

What made it amusing to me was when Neebs happened to show up when the Giopi's showed up to invade the Geigh's. Doraleous was so fed up with the Elf's antics that he fired him. Dejected by being dismissed, Neebs took on another profession, broom salesman. He knocked on the gates to the Geigh Kingdom, but he didn't want in. He simply wanted to sell them some brooms. What's interesting is you see how Doraleous does care about the Elf, even with him being out of the group. He tries to usher the Elf into the castle, but all the Elf really wants to do is sell brooms.

Once Neebs walks away, knowing he can't make a sale here, everybody is watching him from the top of the castle walls. Neebs, either courageously or foolishly, walks up to the leader of the Giopi army. He's trying to sell him brooms. As luck would have it, he makes the sale. And it's funny watching how this whole thing plays out. Was it all Neebs' plan to save the kingdom? Who really knows, but you have to see the episode to believe it. One of the lines of this episode is probably one of the most quoted in the series. It's a play on a line from the movie 300. As the Geigh Kingdom's soldiers prepare to defended themselves, the leader yells, "This is Geigh!"

Sadly, after the 49th episode, the creators stopped making new episodes. From what I have uncovered, they were unsuccessful in a campaign to raise money, and even with monetization, they're not getting enough compensation from YouTube to make it worthwhile. This is with between 300,000 and 500,000 views on most of their videos. It makes me sad to realize that there won't be any new episodes coming, or at least none are planned. There's so much more entertainment that could be offered up by Doraleous And Associates as they attempt to save the world from various evildoers.

At least we still have the episodes that were created to enjoy. About a year ago, they created a 50th episode, sparking some hope that they would come back. It was a one-off deal, but I guess you never know. You can look up Doraleous And Associates on YouTube and see for yourself. If you're a fan of fantasy role-playing or just witty dialogue in animation, as I mentioned above, you owe it to yourself to check this out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

 

First Episode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg1mxlzEP3Q

I was a pretend DJ

I was a pretend DJ

I remember as a kid having one of those record players in my room. I don't think I owned a record, but my mother let me listen to her albums and her 45s. There was a lot of stuff from the '60s and a little bit from the '70s. I remember The Beatles Revolution and The Beach Boys Help Me Rhonda. The Trashmen The Bird and on one of those compilation albums Speak To The Sky by Rick Springfield.

When I started to develop my taste in music, I didn't have the budget to buy albums all the time, but I could buy 45s. I built up a big collection. Though those records were scratched, I had them all until I lost my home. Back in those days, disco was a big part of what I listened to.

So I had things like Cheryl Lynn Got To Be Real, Andy Gibb Shadow Dancing and I Just Want To Be Your Everything. Hot Chocolate Everyone's A Winner. A bunch of disco to choose from and rock started working its way into my collection too. Foreigner Head Games, Eddie Money Maybe I'm A Fool and Styx Babe.

I'm not sure if the first album I bought was the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the Grease soundtrack, Donna Summer Live or The Village People album I got, but I had them. I also got K-Tel compilation albums. Remember K-Tel? All the top hits on one album for $6.99.

One day I just decided I wanted to pretend I was a DJ. This is probably before I did another one of our rights of passage back then. Do you remember taking your tape recorder and sticking it right next to the stereo speaker to record that hit song from the radio? Then, I got that stereo that allowed me to just record directly. Mix tapes became a thing. Nowadays, you get on YouTube or whatever streaming platform for whatever song you want. 

I'd do the DJ thing. I'd introduce whatever the song was. I remember my calling letters at one time were KBIX. I called it KBIX rock and roll radio 99.9. I was playing the hits. One right after the other, I'd keep them coming. Here is Sister Sledge with We Are Family. That was the Pittsburgh Pirates theme song back in those days as I recall.

I think I even bought the Bee Gees Spirits Having Flown album, and I loved Too Much Heaven. It's one of my favorite songs by them. At that time, we'd go roller skating on Thursdays. The cheap night, and we'd do two sessions. Me and my sister used to sneak in for the second session. If we got away with it, there was a hot pretzel and a soda in it for us with the money we saved.

I had a lot of fun playing my favorite songs and could go the whole day sometimes. At some point, I started listening to the b sides of these records and started liking those songs even more. On the b side of Babe there was I'm Okay. Another Dennis DeYoung song. There was Do What You like on the b side of Head Games by Foreigner. There was Life For The Taking on the b side of Maybe I'm A Fool by Eddie Money.

I remember Pablo Cruise had a song called Don't Want To Live Without It. It was an okay song, but I really love Raging Fire. I'd put it on the player, "Here's a new hit from Pablo Cruise," and introduce Raging Fire. I thought I was cool. I could picture the DJs playing those hits that I loved, influencing my musical taste. As I've grown up, I started appreciating all kinds of music, even Latin pop. Progressive rock is my favorite.

At some point, the heart was taken out of a lot of these radio stations. There are still some stations that exist that allow the DJ to play what they choose, but most of the time it's focus tested. Nothing different gets on there. It's part of the problem with the music business. The way music is distributed got screwed up, and it killed artist's desires to make new albums. It's all about touring now. Record stores went by the wayside as well.

Why wouldn't terrestrial radio go the same way? Now, you have satellite radio with specific genres. There are whole stations devoted to individual artists, but it lacks the excitement of hearing your favorite song come on the radio back in those days. Or hearing Casey Kasem's Top 20 countdown. I used to do my pretend countdown too.

As kids, we come up with all kinds of things to entertain ourselves. Playing pretend is a good one. My days as a pretend DJ were a lot of fun. There was lots of good music to play back then. I'm not so old that I will say there's not good music today, but it doesn't quite compare to the music of the 1970s and 1980s that I enjoyed as a kid. I suppose we're all biased that way.

My Response To David Spuria The Real Music Observer Regarding Kansas

My Response To David Spuria The Real Music Observer Regarding Kansas

I have to give credit to David Spuria. He found a niche in talking about classic and melodic rock and roll. No bells and whistles to what he does. He just gets in front of a camera and speaks his mind. Some people don't like that. David has even gotten political, which I'm sure annoys people more.

I don't always agree with what he says, but I respect his opinions. Sometimes I think he's taken stances to stir the pot and brings in negativity on subjects, like beating a dead horse. Sometimes I'm on board 100% with what he says. I agree with him on the Little River Band and Dennis DeYoung, for example.

David was reporting on Phil Ehart having a heart attack. He's taken the stance recently that Kansas should just quit, and I'm really baffled by his attitude. I've watched footage of the band playing some of their vintage stuff, and they are as tight as ever. Furthermore, singer Ronnie Platt is a good fit for this band.

When you're making music as good as Kansas is these days, why quit? I'm aware that with Phil sidelined, there's only one original member and another member who's been with the band for 40 years. However, they do a good job of representing the music, and the fans like to hear a faithful rendition of that music.

In the last decade or so, they've done two albums of original material, The Prelude Implicit and The Absence Of Presence. These albums hearken back to their sound of the 1970s. That's impressive, considering they didn't have Kerry Livgren writing the material, nor did they have Steve Walsh or Robby Steinhardt singing it.

The new music is good, and furthermore, Ronnie sounds good as the lead vocalist. David seems to be a big fan of Jerome Mazza. I don't disagree. Jerome sounds more like Steve Walsh than anybody they could have put in the band. 

When Walsh retired a decade ago, they made an offer to John Elefante. Phil tends to go back to people who have been with the band when he puts somebody else in that position. He's the one who has guided this band from its inception, and he knows what Kansas is. He knows the sound.

They did auditions, and the people who wanted it bad enough showed up on time. It's my understanding that Jerome missed by a day and the band agreed to Ronnie as the singer. He'd been working in a cover band in the Midwest, and he did decent versions of Kansas hits.

I think Phil is a stand-up guy, and a deal is a deal. He was working with the people who made it to the audition in time. Had Jerome made it on time, I wouldn't be surprised if he would be lead singing for the band now. So, when I hear David commenting on the lead singer position, it would be nice if he got his facts straight on why Jerome isn't the singer.

I like that Jerome has worked with Steve since Steve left the band. Black Butterfly is an amazing album, and Jerome's contributions make it that much better. I wouldn't be against him lead singing the band, but he's not in it. Ronnie is. I support Ronnie as the lead singer. When I hear him sing, as a long time Kansas fan, I like it.

David also points out the impressive catalog of music this band has made through the years and gives respect to the other members in this video. I appreciate his acknowledgment that Kansas should be in the Hall of Fame now. This is the reason I like the guy even though I'm disagreeing with him here on a couple of points.

David and I probably agree in our frustration with the way the music industry isn't nurturing bands who play music in the style of those aging bands that are out there on the road. We could have new music by younger artists right now that we'd enjoy, but the music industry is just not in the place they were when those other bands were coming up. They don't promote it anymore.

In any case, we have to understand that these classic rock bands that we enjoy sometimes have to replace lead singers. It disappoints me in certain cases, such as Dennis DeYoung, when they're not allowed back in a band and could make the band that much better. With Kansas, it's gotten to the point where only Phil and Rich Williams wanted to tour.

The others had a chance to keep it going and moved on for various reasons, and that was their choice. Phil is the one who can tell us who Kansas is. He didn't write the hits, but he always knew what sound he intended to present to the fans. I trust him when he puts other artists in this band that it will stay faithful to the Kansas sound.

I would like David to keep this in mind when he's talking about the lead singer of Kansas. Don't make it sound like Kansas didn't want Jerome as the lead singer when he didn't make the audition in time. You can not like Ronnie singing. Vocalist likes and dislikes are a matter of preference.

I also disagree with David when he says the band should quit. The sad state of music right now is such that classic rock bands are touring because people want to hear the hits. When certain members can't do it, resourceful bands will replace them with other people who can deliver the goods. 

Some bands, such as Journey and Foreigner, manage to deliver good vocals with singers who are not the originals. Fans want to pay money to see them and have fun. If that wasn't the case, these old bands wouldn't be doing what they're doing.

I get it. When you get old, people want you to retire and just get in your rocking chair. Some of these people aren't going to do that. Some say that when you decide to get in that rocking chair, you basically give up on living. I'm not going to go speak against any of these bands who do what they love, especially when fans are willing to see them play live.

David's also another one who is a critic of Paul McCartney and his vocals. Yet, when Paul goes on stage, the fans are singing with him. He takes them back in time. They know they're getting Paul McCartney in his '80s, and yet they want to see him and have fun. That's what it's all about.

Most importantly, I'm grateful that Phil Ehart has kept Kansas alive all these years. I know it's taken a toll on his health, and his drum tech, Eric Holmquist, has been there with the band throughout the last tour to do some of the shows. My hope is that Phil has a speedy and full recovery and will be able to get back on the stage again, should that be his desire.

However, I also trust him with this band. He's got a good idea what their sound should be. If Rich decides to retire and feels like no longer touring, I would trust Phil to put a band on tour who gives us a show worthy of the name Kansas. He's done that for 50 years, and I have no reason to doubt him now.

 

 

Thoughts On The 2024 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Nominations

Thoughts On The 2024 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Nominations

I try to avoid discussion about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because I consider it a farce. I feel like the only way to really honor true rock and roll at this point is to create a new Hall of Fame. What they call the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame these days should be the Music Hall of Fame. 

Looking at this year's list of nominees, I can make a case for a Music Hall of Fame, but not really a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I think Sinead O'Connor is getting a sympathy nomination since she passed away. I don't think her body of work really deserves it. Sade had some good music for sure, but I think of her more as adult contemporary.

Mariah Carey and Mary J Blige are both top-notch artists, but I wouldn't put either one of them in the category of rock and roll. Mariah has one of the best voices in music, and Mary has made some top-notch music through the years. They should probably put both of them in a Soul or Pop Music Hall of Fame.

A Tribe Called Quest and Eric B and Rakim? No. Just no. It's ridiculous to even have these groups nominated. Jane's Addiction? Not trying to be negative here, but when I listen to a lot of '90s alternative rock, it makes me want to grab a noose and hang myself. But that's what the '90s rock was all about. It was a downer vibe. I wouldn't vote for the group, but they were certainly popular in that decade.

Dave Matthews Band is definitely non-threatening '90s music. Some catchy music for sure. There are so many bands that still haven't been nominated that can play circles around them that it kind of bothers me that these guys are getting nominated. However, I guess they fit the genre.

Kool and The Gang and Cher? Cher has been around long enough that I certainly can't disagree with her nomination. I wouldn't disagree with her being elected. I do have respect for the artist. She's had staying power, and the stuff she was doing in 70s was rocking. Kool and The Gang had some very catchy music. Some of it became popular at sporting events and I love the group. I won't object to them getting in, but I don't consider them rock and roll.

I remember back in the 1990s people were kind of comparing the Oasis vibe to that of The Beatles. I wasn't really into the band, but I kind of understood where people were coming from when they said that. I don't think these guys really care about being nominated, but they were pretty big there for a while. I would understand their induction.

I will make this point repeatedly because I think it has merit. Can somebody tell me why Styx, Kansas, REO Speedwagon, 38 Special and Boston aren't even getting nominated? If you're one of those smart asses who thinks you've got a legitimate reason, go ahead and spout it. Your opinion is as irrelevant as a fart in the wind. It'll annoy people the moment it happens, but it has no substance and will just fade away.

Peter Frampton and Foreigner are worthy nominations. I don't think I'd nominate Frampton over the snubs I mentioned above, but Frampton Comes Alive is probably in the Top 5 all-time greatest live albums. You couldn't escape Foreigner in the late '70s and early '80s. They sold millions of records and made music that stood the test of time. I think these are two of the most worthy of the nominations this year.

Last, but certainly not least is Ozzy Osbourne. I don't think there's anybody around who could dispute that he belongs in there. He's already in with Black Sabbath, and deservedly so. However, when Ozzy was counted out after being kicked out of the band, he released two of his greatest solo albums, Diary of a Madman and Blizzard of Oz. The rest is history. I don't think anybody expects Ozzy to not get in this year.

I think us melodic rock fans are keeping a close eye on this deal and watching what happens with Foreigner. We know they belong in the hall. However, the Hall of Fame likes to do this little thing where they give us fans the middle finger. If they turn around and put Eric B and Rakim in and snub Foreigner, I don't think any of us would be surprised.

My opinion of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hasn't changed. It's irrelevant. It's about politics. It's like they're clicking off check-boxes and not really looking at body of work. There's a whole genre of top-notch, talented artists from the '70s and '80s who in some cases haven't even been nominated once. A few were nominated and didn't get in.

When I see something called The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame putting rap artists and disco groups in and ignoring those bands, I want to know how anybody who represents this supposed institution can look us in the eyes and tell us that it's a real Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? If they can, I don't think they have much integrity.

About the only thing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is good for is giving us content creators something to complain about when they screw it up each year. Some of them are making the most of that. At this point, it's become a tradition, albeit a ridiculous one.