The Protomen are an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band, who started their career on and are perhaps most widely known for composing
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
s loosely based on the
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
series ''
Mega Man
''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...
''.
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".
History
The band is composed mostly of
MTSU
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight undergraduate colleges as well as a college of graduate studies, together off ...
recording program graduates, and originated in order to 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 perform with several bands.
''The Protomen''
In 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", Proto Man, to fight to free the city, but Proto Man is destroyed by the overwhelming power of Wily's armies. Defeated and despairing, Dr. Light then creates a second son, Mega Man, whom he attempts to dissuade from battle. Mega Man 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
chiptune
Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles.
The t ...
and
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
, with heavier focus on distorted 8-bit synthesizers and electronic instrumentation.
Band member Commander has stated that the album "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 or analogue may refer to:
Computing and electronics
* Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable
** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals
*** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...
rather than
digital
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Technology and computing Hardware
*Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals
**Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
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: The Father of Death''
For the band's second album the group, working with
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...
producer
Alan Shacklock
Alan Shacklock (born 20 June 1951) is an English musician, composer, arranger and recording producer, who lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee. His 1972 song "The Mexican" as performed by Babe Ruth is considered influential in the early devel ...
, devised a prequel storyline to their first album. 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 stated 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 (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...
to
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
to Shacklock's own
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
. The album was mastered by Richard Dodd, a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
-winning recording engineer.
''The Protomen Present: A Night of Queen''
The Protomen are known for performing, along with their original rock opera, a variety of 1970s and 1980s cover songs in their live performances, typically related to the band's preferred motifs of heroism, struggle, and self-determination. On December 10, 2010, the Protomen performed along with Nashville band Evil Bebos for the latter band's farewell concert. Evil Bebos played a set entirely composed of
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
cover songs, while the Protomen in kind performed a set of
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
covers. The live performance was recorded and mastered, and on April 19, 2012, the Protomen announced through their website and mailing list that the resulting live album, titled ''The Protomen Present: A Night Of Queen'', would be released and was available for pre-order. Though set for a June 1, 2012 release, the album shipped early to those who pre-ordered it.
''The Cover Up: Original Soundtrack From the Motion Picture''
In November 2010 while performing at InDisFest in Atlanta, GA, the band announced their intention to formally record an album of cover songs. Production on the album began in February 2011 with producer Alan Shacklock, the band's second collaboration with the producer following ''Act II''. By June 2014, the band announced that a downloadable EP would be made available to attendees of their Warped Tour 2014 performances to promote the upcoming full-length album, titled ''The Cover Up''. The EP was released via a download code printed on a faux movie ticket stub for ''The Cover Up'', referencing a non-existent film, packaged in a laminate sleeve attached to a lanyard commemorating the Warped Tour. The full-length album was released on January 23, 2015 to attendees of
MAGFest
MAGFest (Music and Gaming Festival, originally the Mid-Atlantic Gaming Festival) is an annual festival held in the Washington metropolitan area that celebrates video games and video game music, as well as their surrounding culture. MAGFest's pri ...
13, where The Protomen were performing. The following morning, on January 24, the album was made available for pre-order to the general public through the band's website.
Musical style and influences
The group has cited the influence of "artists like
Syd Mead
Sydney Jay Mead (July 18, 1933 – December 30, 2019) was an American industrial designer and neo-futurist concept artist, widely known for his designs for science-fiction films such as ''Blade Runner'', '' Aliens'' and ''Tron''. Mead has bee ...
, films like ''
Eddie and the Cruisers
''Eddie and the Cruisers'' is a 1983 American musical drama film directed by Martin Davidson with the screenplay written by the director and Arlene Davidson, based on the novel by P. F. Kluge. The sequel '' Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! ...
'' and ''
Streets of Fire
''Streets of Fire'' is a 1984 American neo-noir rock musical film directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross. It is described in the opening credits and posters as "A Rock & Roll Fable" and is a mix of various movie genres wi ...
'', books like ''1984'' and ''
Atlas Shrugged
''Atlas Shrugged'' is a 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. It was her longest novel, the fourth and final one published during her lifetime, and the one she considered her '' magnum opus'' in the realm of fiction writing. ''Atlas Shrugged'' includes eleme ...
''... 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 is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People
*Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...
movie ever made. And we watch them all the time."
The band draws inspiration from diverse sources, including
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...
's films, the song "
The Mexican
''The Mexican'' is a 2001 American dark comedy adventure crime film directed by Gore Verbinski and stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt in lead roles. Its plot is a mixture of different genres.
Plot
In Los Angeles, a traffic light changes to red a ...
" and musical groups
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
,
Styx
In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...
,
Toto,
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
and
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
.
Concepts and themes
The Protomen's work is inspired by the first six
NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
''
Mega Man
''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...
'' 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 uninterested 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 band has stated that they intend to make a three-part story. Two of the parts are completed with the release of their first two albums, while the third is in outline form.
The overall story as created by the band deals with loss, and they "don't really expect it to end well for humanity."
Festival and convention performances
The Protomen have performed at a number of conventions, festivals and showcases throughout their career.
In 2007, The Protomen played at
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
'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
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...
music festival, defeating several other Nashville bands. They played two showcases at
CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
in October of the same year. In 2010, The Protomen took part in the
SXSW
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
music festival and the mega-gaming conventions in
PAX East
PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX was ...
in Boston (2010-2013) and
PAX 2010 in Seattle. In 2011, they performed at the Houston Free Press Summer Fest. The Protomen have performed at the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013
Nerdapalooza
Nerdapalooza was an annual nerd music and arts festival in Orlando, Florida, United States, the first of its kind to invite all genres of the nerd music movement under one roof, including geek rock, nerdcore, chiptune, and video game music. The ...
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
The Middle Tennessee Anime Convention (MTAC) is an annual three day anime convention held during April at the Sheraton Music City Hotel and Embassy Suites Nashville Airport in Nashville, Tennessee.
Programming
The convention typically feature ...
(MTAC) in Nashville, Tennessee twice; once in 2007, and again in 2011. The Protomen have also performed in Eau Claire, WI at the Plaza Hotel and Suites for
No Brand Con 2013. The band also performed at the very first PAX Australia in 2013. They played
Warped Tour 2014
The Vans Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the l ...
for its entire run. The Protomen performed at
MomoCon
MomoCon is a fan convention held in March or May in Atlanta, Georgia.
From its beginning through 2011, it was held on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology; in its first year, MomoCon was held in the Georgia Tech Student Center. In 2 ...
2015, as well as MAGFest 13 on January 23, 2015. The band returned to the MAGFest Super 2020 stage at Gaylord National as one of the festival's headliners on January 4, 2020.
Band members
;Current members
* Raul Panther III – vocals, multi-instruments
* Murphy Weller – bass synthesizer, bass guitar, percussions
* Commander B. Hawkins. – synthesizer, vocoder, percussions
* Sir Dr. Robert Bakker – guitar
* Shock Magnum – guitar
* Gambler Kirkdouglas – human choir, vocals
* Reanimator Lovejoy – drums
* K.I.L.R.O.Y. – fist pumps, hand claps, armorer, sledgehammer, maracas and jarana
;Former members
* Doug Fetterman – guitar
* The Merchant – human choir
* The Keeper – synthesizer, vocoder
* The Replicant – trumpet
* Demon Barber – drums
* The Dragon – drums
* Scartoe Gleason – guitar
* The Repeater – human choir
* The Keymaster – drums
* Heath Who Hath No Name – guitar
* Cobra T. Washington – guitar
* Lazer – human choir
* The Gunslinger – guitar
* Ellen Aim – human choir
* Master Blaster – trumpet
* Nightwalker T. Ranger – human choir, trumpet
* Neon Leon – guitar
* Ringo Segundo- guitar
* Turbo Lover – vocals, multi-instruments
Discography
Studio albums
*''
The Protomen
The Protomen are an American rock band, who started their career on and are perhaps most widely known for composing concept albums loosely based on the video game series '' Mega Man''. Their stage names are largely references to pop culture film ...
'' (2005)
*''
Act II: The Father of Death'' (2009)
*''The Cover Up: Original Soundtrack From the Motion Picture'' (2015)
Live album
*''
The Protomen Present: A Night of Queen'' (2012)
*''The Protomen: Live in Nashville'' (2020)
Soundtrack album
*''William Shakespeare Presents: Terminator The Second'' (with 84001) (2013)
EP release
*''The Cover Up EP'' (2014)
Singles
*"Father of Death / No Easy Way Out" - (2008)
*"Beards Going Nowhere" -
- (2008)
*"
I Drove All Night
"I Drove All Night" is a song written and composed by American songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and originally intended for Roy Orbison. Orbison recorded the song in 1987, the year before his death, but his version was not released until ...
/
Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)
"Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" is a song performed by Mike + The Mechanics. Written by Mike Rutherford and B. A. Robertson, it was the first track on the 1985 self-titled debut album of Mike + the Mechanics. It was also released as the ...
– Breaking Out (2012 Edit)" - (2012)
*"This City Made Us / Hold Back the Night" - (2015)
Remix album
*''Makeup and Vanity Set Presents: The Protomen'' (2007)
As a guest
*
MC Frontalot
Damian Hess (born December 3, 1973), better known by his stage name MC Frontalot, is an American rapper and web designer.
Hess began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. His first successes came through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and ...
,
Kid Koala
Eric San (born December 5, 1974), aka Kid Koala, is a Canadian scratch DJ, music producer, theatre producer, film composer, multimedia-performer and visual artist. His career began as a scratch DJ in 1994. Kid Koala works with genres as eclectic ...
- "Shudders" (2014)
*
TWRP - "Phantom Racer" (2018)
References
Notes
External links
Protomen.comSound Machine Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Protomen, The
Indie rock musical groups from Tennessee
Video game musicians
Geek rock groups
2003 establishments in Tennessee
Musical groups established in 2003
Nintendocore musical groups