The Thirteenth Hour Podcast

Originally aired on May 22,2023.

This week, I'm working on the coverart for the upcoming next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP, Once Upon a Dream.  I've had ideas percolating for a number of years about what I wanted it to look like but as an experiment, I decided to see if one of the many AI art generators (in this case, a very cool, free app called Diffusitron) could provide additional inspiration.  I'm fairly new to using these programs, and I would never call myself an early adopter of such things generally.  However, they are really cool!  As mentioned in the episode, I take a more optimistic view of these programs that some do.  Yes, there are issues in terms of potential changing or loss of work, copyright and compensation issues, and so forth, but I suspect it will just give artists new tools to work with, kind of like how electronic music production programs gave musicians additional means to create music that would have been much more time consuming and expensive to produce in years past. 

In any event, if the future really is now, I wanted to see if it could provide some inspiration and perhaps amplify the current ideas I had for the cover.  Here are the keywords I fed into the program initially:

See the pretty pictures at: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2023/05/22/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-406-using-ai-art-as-inspiration-for-the-once-upon-a-dream-lp-cover/

When I added the keyword, pixelated, I got ones that looked a bit more 8 bit.

When I took out TRON style grid and synthwave and added The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, Rocketeer, Back to the Future, Flight of the Navigator, The Last Starfighter, here's what I got:

This last one is perhaps my favorite, as it looks like the cover of an 8-bit NES game.  

I did a quite sketch using the ideas I already had and some of these new ones below which I will make in a pixel art creation program and in Photoshop over the next few weeks ...

...Thanks for listening!

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•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally aired on May 8, 2023.

This week, I'm working on the coverart for the track that I was working on in episode 402.  The track itself is now done, and you can actually listen to it at the end of this episode or on Bandcamp.    However, the picture to go with the track was not.  I wanted it to be pixelart and decided to give a nod to some of the 80s and 90s films that influenced the story and themes in The Thirteenth Hour - films like Flight of the Navigator, The Last Starfighter, Back to the Future, The Rocketeer, and The Neverending Story.  I used the silver ship, Max, from Flight of the Navigator, the Delorean from Back to the Future, the Gunstar from The Last Starfighter, Atreyu riding Falkor from The Neverending Story, and Cliff Secord from The Rocketeer - all fliers - flanking the pixelart Logan that I made decades ago.  In true form, Logan is flying through the air leaving a rainbow exhaust trail (where the track gets its name).

Speaking of Flight of the Navigator, the slow intro that I used for this track was meant to be a direct ode also to the most excellent soundtrack of that film done by Alan Silvestri (who also did the Back to the Future soundtrack).    You can actually find the whole soundtrack on Youtube:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq6QtwrGW1_9HF_LyRS1DNvCl8slXcYNO

Listen to the track in full here! https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/riding-a-rainbow

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2023/05/08/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-404-musical-interlude-finishing-riding-a-rainbow-part-2/

Originally aired on April 24, 2023.

This week, I'm starting work on another music track that I've been meaning to make for a long time.  There's this section of The Thirteenth Hour where the main character, Logan, who is shipwrecked and bereft of anything to help him on his mission, encounters a magical flying hoverboard he calls Lightning that he can communicate with that can play also play music as it flies. 

More at: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2023/04/24/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-402-musical-interlude-making-riding-a-rainbow-part-1/

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally April 17, 2023.

This week, I'm finishing the battle theme I started in episode 399.  When that episode was done, I tweaked the theme a bit more but it just didn't feel finished.  However, I couldn't put my finger on what it needed.  I experimented with a few ideas, some in my mind, some digitally or on the keyboard ... but it never quite worked.  Shortly before I recorded this episode, the muse finally came.  I was inspired by imagery around the Armorer character in the Star Wars show, The Mandalorian. 

The Armorer is a mysterious helmeted character who serves as the spiritual mentor and historian of her tribe and is not only the leader but also the tribe blacksmith, making their weapons and armor.   The are a number of scenes that show her at the forge, working with molten metal, pounding into shape with her tongs and hammer, and sometimes even using those same tools offensively with great skill.   I think this is from the first season of the show (as an aside, if you have not seen the series but are a fan of the Rocketeer, this show is probably about as close as we'll get to a modern day show of helmeted heroes flying around on rocketpacks, of which there are many most excellent scenes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f95vJDnpQro

In any event, since the track was partly inspired by the rhythm of the 1984 Terminator theme by Brad Feidel, which has metal on metal machine noises, I thought that what the track needed was not addition melody; it needed percussion - specifically the sound of metal hammering on metal.  I experimented with a number of sounds until I decided to use a tuning fork hitting a metal weight.  I added that part with some reverb and echo effects to the latter part of the track.  To be uploaded to Bandcamp once I've listened to a few more times to see if there needs to be any last minute tweaking.

Edit: it's available at https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/frontal-assault-the-thirteenth-hour-battle-theme

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2023/04/17/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-401-musical-interlude-finishing-battle-theme-part-2/

Originally aired on April 10, 2023.

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2023/04/10/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-400-episode-400-retrospective-and-celebration/

This week is the 400th episode of this podcast!  It's a special one, and perhaps the biggest one yet, as we hear from guests over the show's nine year run.  The range of topics covered pretty much touch on many of the things this podcast he also touched upon over the years.  Over the course of this mammoth (almost 3 hour!) episode, you will hear from the following past guests:

• Joshua Robertson - fantasy author
• Antonio Sacchetti - video game developer
• Tammy Infusino - musician and vocalist on the 2019 Rocketeer cartoon soundtrack
• Esther Gonzalez-Murray - production coordination on the 2019 Rocketeer cartoon
• Dan Salgarolo - writer's assistant on the 2019 Rocketeer cartoon
• Shawn and Colin from the podcast, I Used to Like This One
• EzDean Fassassi - Tibetan medicine practitioner and author
• Raphael Xavier - bboy and Princeton University dance professor
• Andrew Adams - drummer, martial artist, and podcaster representing the martial arts company, Whistlekick
• Joseph Esch - model maker and vintage toy collector
• Adam Crohn - podcaster, 80s enthusiast, custom action figure and toy designer
• Brian Fies - author and comic book illustrator
• Jeff Finley - musician and film producer behind the Brentumentary
• Chad Derdowski - author and illustrator
• Jeremy Blum - writer, TTRPG DM, and most importantly, my brother

One last bonus before you head out.  Brian Fies (see above) did this most excellent Rocketeer illustration for an upcoming charity auction to the group Zoom session to share, and he gave permission to share with everyone here.  A lucky buyer is going to luck out!  Go get 'em, kid!

Thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally aired on April 3, 2023.

This week, I'm starting the process of creating a battle theme for the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.  It will also serve as one of the pieces of music playing when there is a fight during the Thirteenth Hour mini DnD campaigns over on Patreon.  During this episode, I experiment with a number of voicings as well as melodic parts added to an underlying driving bass/drum backing part.  I was influenced by the 1984 Terminator theme done by Brad Feidel which has a similar mix of a melody laid on top of a distinct, metal on metal percussion track.

Will post the updated tracks once I finish recording them.  Next week, episode 400!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2023/04/03/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-399-musical-interlude-creating-battle-theme/