The Protomen
Encyclopedia
The Protomen is an American rock
band best known for composing original concept album
s loosely based on the popular video game series Mega Man. The Protomen have achieved a cult following thanks, in part, to an active and vocal internet fan base, intensely theatrical live performances, and a heavy touring regimen.
. Their stage names are largely references to pop culture films, song titles, and fictional characters. The group members refer to themselves as storytellers, creating a "rock and roll fable"; they are not characters in their stories.
The band was composed mostly of MTSU
recording program graduates, and first came to be so they could meet class deadlines and the need to record for [their] grades. Their first live performance was in April 2004. Most of the band had graduated and moved to Nashville by 2005.
In a 2009 interview, lead vocalist Panther stated, "We basically gathered up all of our good friends from the local rock bands of Murfreesboro, tied ourselves together, and tried to walk. And somehow it worked. At the time, we noticed a void in rock and roll. A hole that could only really be filled with grown men and women painting up like robots and playing some fierce and furious rock music based on a 1980s video game. We were fairly certain no one else was going to fill that hole. But, by god, it's filled now. You can thank us later."
The band has strong ties to the Murfreesboro and Nashville independent music scene, and some members are integrated into several bands simultaneously.
Mega Man
games. This franchise has an existing storyline featured in the games, manga, and anime; however, The Protomen have concocted a dark and dystopian version of the game's underlying world. The group is generally disinterested in concerns of making their story adhere to the original. Instead, they view the games as a jumping-off point for the story they want to tell, and have borrowed surface attributes of some characters while heavily altering their histories and functions.
The group has stated they intend to make a three-part story. Two of the parts are complete. The third is currently in outline form.
The overall story as envisioned by the group is tragic, and they "don't really expect it to end well for humanity."
and hard rock
, with heavier focus on distorted 8-bit synthesizers and electronic instrumentation.
Group member Commander has stated that Act I "was made specifically to go against everything our recording teachers and fellow students were trying to feed us about making everything sound pristine and 'perfect.'". The album was recorded over two years in various Murfreesboro studios, using analog
rather than digital
production techniques. "Due Vendetta", the group's first recorded track, was completed in April 2003. The album was produced by then-Protomen member Heath Who Hath No Name.
producer Alan Shacklock
, devised a prequel storyline to Act I. The second act details the rise of Albert Wily to power, the rivalry between himself and Thomas Light, and the tragic events which brought the City under Wily's control. The band states that Act II was designed to sound cleaner, reflecting a time "before the bomb dropped". Accordingly, the second album reflects a much broader range of musical styles and more lyrical instrumentation, embracing references from Ennio Morricone
to Bruce Springsteen
to Shacklock's own Babe Ruth
. The album was mastered by Richard Dodd, a Grammy-winning recording engineer.
The album is currently untitled. Intended for late 2011 release, the group is once again working with Alan Shacklock as producer. Recording began February 6, 2011.
, films like Eddie and the Cruisers
and Streets of Fire
, books like 1984 and Atlas Shrugged
...those are the pretty obvious ones you can pull out of Acts I and II. But what you might not realize is that we own every Ernest
movie ever made. And we watch them all the time.". Apart from previously mentioned, the band also draws inspiration from a huge array of other diverse sources, including Sergio Leone
's films, the song The Mexican
and musical groups Radiohead
, Styx
, Toto
, Queen
and Alabama
. In December 2010, the group performed a 15-song Queen tribute set in Nashville.
In 2007, The Protomen played at Capcom
's booth at San Diego Comic Con by Capcom's invitation. In 2009, the group competed for and won the right to perform at the Bonnaroo music festival, defeating several other Nashville bands. They played two showcases at CMJ Music Marathon
in October of the same year. In 2010, The Protomen took part in the SXSW music festival and the mega-gaming conventions PAX East in Boston and PAX 2010 in Seattle. The Protomen have performed at the 2009, 2010, and 2011 Nerdapalooza
Festival in Orlando, FL and began their 2011 run at MAGFest 9 in Alexandria, VA. The Protomen have made an appearance at the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention
(MTAC) in Nashville, Tennessee twice; once in 2007, and again in 2011.
Former members
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band best known for composing original concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
s loosely based on the popular video game series Mega Man. The Protomen have achieved a cult following thanks, in part, to an active and vocal internet fan base, intensely theatrical live performances, and a heavy touring regimen.
History
Little is known about The Protomen, other than the band is based in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Their stage names are largely references to pop culture films, song titles, and fictional characters. The group members refer to themselves as storytellers, creating a "rock and roll fable"; they are not characters in their stories.
The band was composed mostly of MTSU
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University, commonly abbreviated as MTSU, is a public university located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States....
recording program graduates, and first came to be so they could meet class deadlines and the need to record for [their] grades. Their first live performance was in April 2004. Most of the band had graduated and moved to Nashville by 2005.
In a 2009 interview, lead vocalist Panther stated, "We basically gathered up all of our good friends from the local rock bands of Murfreesboro, tied ourselves together, and tried to walk. And somehow it worked. At the time, we noticed a void in rock and roll. A hole that could only really be filled with grown men and women painting up like robots and playing some fierce and furious rock music based on a 1980s video game. We were fairly certain no one else was going to fill that hole. But, by god, it's filled now. You can thank us later."
The band has strong ties to the Murfreesboro and Nashville independent music scene, and some members are integrated into several bands simultaneously.
Concepts and Themes
The Protomen's work is inspired by the first six NESNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
Mega Man
Mega Man (video game)
Mega Man, known as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System . It is the first game in the original Mega Man series and the entire Mega Man franchise...
games. This franchise has an existing storyline featured in the games, manga, and anime; however, The Protomen have concocted a dark and dystopian version of the game's underlying world. The group is generally disinterested in concerns of making their story adhere to the original. Instead, they view the games as a jumping-off point for the story they want to tell, and have borrowed surface attributes of some characters while heavily altering their histories and functions.
The group has stated they intend to make a three-part story. Two of the parts are complete. The third is currently in outline form.
The overall story as envisioned by the group is tragic, and they "don't really expect it to end well for humanity."
Act I (The Protomen)
In Act I, the band's first album, Dr. Wily is represented as an Orwellian ruler over a dystopic City, full of humans who are too scared to stand up to his control. Dr. Light creates a "perfect man, an unbeatable machine", Protoman, to fight to free the City, but Protoman is destroyed by the overwhelming power of Wily's armies. Defeated and despairing, Dr. Light then creates a second son, Megaman, who he attempts to dissuade from battle. Megaman runs away from home and confronts his brother in an apocalyptic concluding battle. The album has been described by the band as "the sound of the end of the world" and straddles the line between chiptuneChiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
and hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, with heavier focus on distorted 8-bit synthesizers and electronic instrumentation.
Group member Commander has stated that Act I "was made specifically to go against everything our recording teachers and fellow students were trying to feed us about making everything sound pristine and 'perfect.'". The album was recorded over two years in various Murfreesboro studios, using analog
Analog recording
Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which among many possibilities include audio frequency, analog audio and analog video information for later playback.Analog recording methods store signals as a continual wave in or on the media...
rather than digital
Digital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...
production techniques. "Due Vendetta", the group's first recorded track, was completed in April 2003. The album was produced by then-Protomen member Heath Who Hath No Name.
Act II (Act II - The Father of Death)
For the band's second album the group, working with Meat LoafMeat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
producer Alan Shacklock
Alan Shacklock
Alan Shacklock is an English musician, composer, arranger and recording producer who currently lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee...
, devised a prequel storyline to Act I. The second act details the rise of Albert Wily to power, the rivalry between himself and Thomas Light, and the tragic events which brought the City under Wily's control. The band states that Act II was designed to sound cleaner, reflecting a time "before the bomb dropped". Accordingly, the second album reflects a much broader range of musical styles and more lyrical instrumentation, embracing references from Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
to Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
to Shacklock's own Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth (band)
Babe Ruth are a rock music group, primarily active through the 1970s, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. Their characteristically 'heavy' sound is marked by powerful vocals from Janita Haan and full arrangements by Alan Shacklock...
. The album was mastered by Richard Dodd, a Grammy-winning recording engineer.
Cover album
The band performs a variety of 70's - 80's cover songs along very specific themes in live performances, usually related to the band's preferred motifs of heroism, struggle, and self-determination. Because these covers have been consistently popular with the group's fans, they announced their intentions to formally record them in November 2010 while performing at InDisFest in Atlanta, GA.The album is currently untitled. Intended for late 2011 release, the group is once again working with Alan Shacklock as producer. Recording began February 6, 2011.
Musical Style and Influences
The group has cited the influence of "artists like Syd MeadSyd Mead
Sydney Jay Mead, commonly Syd Mead, is a "visual futurist" and concept artist. He is best known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens and Tron...
, films like Eddie and the Cruisers
Eddie and the Cruisers
Eddie and the Cruisers is a 1983 American film directed by Martin Davidson with the screenplay written by the director and Arlene Davidson, based on the novel by P. F. Kluge...
and Streets of Fire
Streets of Fire
Streets of Fire is a 1984 film directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross. It was described in previews, trailers, and posters as "A Rock & Roll Fable." It is an unusual mix of musical, action, drama, and comedy with elements both of retro-1950s and 1980s...
, books like 1984 and Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. Rand's fourth and last novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing...
...those are the pretty obvious ones you can pull out of Acts I and II. But what you might not realize is that we own every Ernest
Ernest P. Worrell
Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character most principally portrayed by the late American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials, and later in a television series as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created by the Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry and was...
movie ever made. And we watch them all the time.". Apart from previously mentioned, the band also draws inspiration from a huge array of other diverse sources, including Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
's films, the song The Mexican
The Mexican (song)
"The Mexican" is a piece of music on the album First Base by the 1970s British band Babe Ruth.The song is based on the whistling from the music soundtrack by Ennio Morricone for the film For a Few Dollars More...
and musical groups Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Styx
Styx (band)
Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....
, Toto
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
and Alabama
Alabama (band)
Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook...
. In December 2010, the group performed a 15-song Queen tribute set in Nashville.
Major festivals and convention appearances
The Protomen have performed at a number of conventions, festivals and showcases throughout their career.In 2007, The Protomen played at Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
's booth at San Diego Comic Con by Capcom's invitation. In 2009, the group competed for and won the right to perform at the Bonnaroo music festival, defeating several other Nashville bands. They played two showcases at CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival is put on by CMJ Network. CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2010 is scheduled for October 19–23 and will be headquartered at New York University and other downtown NYC venues.- History :...
in October of the same year. In 2010, The Protomen took part in the SXSW music festival and the mega-gaming conventions PAX East in Boston and PAX 2010 in Seattle. The Protomen have performed at the 2009, 2010, and 2011 Nerdapalooza
Nerdapalooza
Nerdapalooza is an annual music festival, the first of its kind to invite all genres of the nerd music movement under one roof, including nerd rock, nerdcore hip hop, chiptunes, and video game music. The idea for Nerdapalooza was conceived by John "hex" Carter, who hosted a nerdy music themed radio...
Festival in Orlando, FL and began their 2011 run at MAGFest 9 in Alexandria, VA. The Protomen have made an appearance at the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention
Middle Tennessee Anime Convention
The Middle Tennessee Anime Convention is the first anime convention in Tennessee. Based in Nashville, TN, MTAC is also known as Music City's Anime Convention.- Programming :...
(MTAC) in Nashville, Tennessee twice; once in 2007, and again in 2011.
Band members
Current members- Raul Panther III - Vocals/Multi-Instrument
- Murphy Weller - Bass/Synth
- Commander B. Hawkins Jr. - Synth
- TURBO LOVER - Vocals/Multi-Instrument
- Sir Robert Bakker - Guitar/Violin
- Ringo Segundo - Guitar
- The Gambler - Vocals/Synth
- Reanimator - Drums
- K.I.L.R.O.Y. - Fist pumps, Hand claps, and Sledgehammer
Former members
- Doug Fetterman - Guitar
- The Merchant - Vocals
- Demon Barber - Drums
- Scartoe - Guitar
- The Replicant - Trumpet
- The Repeater - Vocals
- The Keymaster - Drums
- The DragonEric W. BrownEric W. Brown is an American musician, artist, songwriter, vocalist, drummer and producer. Currently residing in Denver, CO, he has also lived and worked in Nashville, TN and his hometown of Silver Spring, MD...
- Drums - Heath Who Hath No Name - Guitar
- Cobra T. Washington - Guitar
- The Gunslinger - Guitar
- Master Blaster - Trumpet
- The Nightwalker - Vocals/Trumpet
Full length
- The ProtomenThe Protomen (album)The Protomen is the debut album release by indie rock band The Protomen. It is a rock opera loosely based on the Mega Man video game series, and the first volume of a planned series of albums on this theme...
- 2005 - Independent release - Act II: The Father of Death - September 8, 2009