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Voodew 5 is a master... a blues master, not to mention a master of lots of other things. "Who the hell is VooDew 5"? You might ask. "I thought this E-view series was about RCT Celebrities", you might add. And it is, BUT, every now and then something or someone special and unique comes along and that is what I am always looking for in these E-views. So when an old forum friend and RCT veteran re-surfaced, I was elated to see him.
VooDew 5, a blues music master, was once a Moderator on a now defunct RCT site called RCTOA. The old one not affiliated with the RCTOA that now exists. It was the largest RCT site in existence at the time and VooDew5 was always there to help ya out and offer sage advice with an even temperament and often with quick witted humor.
I, like many others at the time had just discovered Mr. Sawyers magic new game RCT and we were all enthralled and held fast in its grip. I liked the way that VooDew5 handled himself even way back then. But it was only when he re-surfaced recently, with the same name, that I really started finding out who VooDew5 was and what he was about.
VooDew5 is about MUSIC! Other then his family, which is first and foremost! Then comes flying (he's a licensed pilot), then he spirals off into all kinds of different interest and hobbies and playing RCT is one of them. The man was born and raised in the American south and is just outright to intelligent and gifted! It makes us regular humans look mortal and weak, course I'm just speaking for myself!
As much as I know you would love to hear more of my mindless babbling, on this one I'm gonna stop. I want you to scan over the bio's of this amazing blues band and this amazing VooDew man in their own words and in their own world. Access to this stuff and much, much more is always available via VooDew's kickin website at www.LAGroove.cc VooDew5 made and maintains this site and his online computer skills are evident there.
Don't think that I've lost it! I know we seemed to have strayed from RCT, but we really haven't, I promise you I'll tie it all together with this wicked blues band that is sprinkled with flavors of RCT…. That sound good to you? That sounds goood to me! Check the bio's then read the E-view that follows. By then you will know who the Voodew5 man and the butt-kickin LA Groove are.
Here is who they are: LaMont Melson, George Murphy, Greg Clagett, and Richard Malone.
The LA Groove Bio:
Co-founded in the spring of 1996 by guitarist/singer Greg Clagett and bassist George Murphy, Blue Mood Records recording artists LA Groove is a band with a much more mature sound than it's age might suggest.
After several years in the regional music scene in the Midwest LA Groove (formerly known as Planet Blues) has opened for many national acts that have passed through Louisville including Duke Robillard, Anson Funderburgh, and Tab Beniot. Greg Clagett's fiery guitar playing and honest vocal styling are enhanced by Rick Malone's melodic, soulful mastery of the saxophone and the solid backbone of George Murphy on bass and Lamont Melson on drums.
LA Groove has become a regional force since their debut release "Planet Blues" (1998 with Danny Hord on harmonica), and have stepped up their pace with their latest live release "Live-An Evening On the Job" (recorded fall 2001), which features the band when it's at it's best…. LIVE! They still remain a cornerstone in the region by delivering their own brand of Groove with the richness of the riverfront from which they hail. From the roots of the blues to jazzy melodies, rock inspired performances and a respectful nod to R&B; they lay it down with a mixed bag of Soulful Groove.
VooDew 5 aka, Greg Clagett, Born and raised in Louisville, Greg Clagett took up guitar in his early teens. Started by his Grandfather, (Pappy, who the debut CD is dedicated to), Greg's love for Blues and Jazz combined with many years of experience playing everything from Hard Rock to Bluegrass has made him one of the most versatile guitarists in the region. Greg continues to study the music he loves and is know as a "workhorse of a guitarist" throughout the music community. After years of un-credited guitar work on many recordings and fill-ins on guitar for many well known artists in concerts, Greg has helped put together what he refers to as "the best group of guys I've ever made music with", finally bringing his fiery guitar playing and exceptional song crafting to the public's attention. Greg also (along with band mate Lamont Melson on drums) currently plays guitar for Paul Williams on his orchestral concert tour, playing guitar with the nations best and most well known orchestras.
That's their story; here is mine. Welcome to an interview between two craftsman and two friends, Boomer and the VooDew 5, RCT music man!
| Boomer |
Good evening my friend it is an honor to have you in our line-up of E-views. This is one that I really have looked forward to and enjoyed! That being said, I'm sure you have read by now the recant Interview with Chris Sawyer, posted at Gamespy, about his upcoming release of RCT 2. Where there any surprises there for you? |
| VooDew5 |
"Yes, I read the interview and actually I was shocked that CS did an interview at this time, with some much time left before the release...I wasn't really surprised by much of what he discussed and was glad to hear that he was keeping the sequel similar to the original...I guess the most surprising thing was his reply to the "What was the biggest complaint" question, I don't think that it was any big secret that the lack of a scenario editor was, by far, the biggest complaint from the beginning. Then, of course, the infamous anti-cheat code was a complaint to the patch and trainer makers (he had his reasons for that though, so I can somewhat understand) .All in all, I liked what I heard in his interview and I'm anxiously awaiting the release". |
| Boomer |
Oh man, aren't we all? Do you like what he said about bigger map sizes? That one got my attention! |
| VooDew5 |
"I like the idea of a bigger map, especially for the guys that make the HUGE parks that take up more than one map...For me personally, I hope a lot of new themeing comes along as well to help fill in those bigger maps". |
| Boomer |
Themeing, yes, part of the magic of RCT, More IS better. Also terrain and scenarios are part of the magic. What is your reaction to the announced Scenario editor that will be built in to RCT2? More tools... more magic... more fun? |
| VooDew5 |
"As I eluded to earlier, it's been a long wait and I'm happy to see it implemented...We've already seen some of the creative possibilities with Dr.J's scenario editor, so the sky's the limit with an editor built into the game...Imagine all the different types of user made scenarios that will be available once we're finished with the default scenarios...Sounds like fun to me"! |
| Boomer |
As many did, I dived right in to the Chris Sawyer interview on www.gamespy.com, heart pounding, psalms sweating, hoping for big news, I tell ya bro it was kind of a let down for me. A Gamespy's staff writer called Prophet handled the Interview. Did you like the way that he handled the interview? |
| VooDew5 |
"I thought it was a fairly good interview, hitting on some of the anticipated topics...I've never heard of Prophet and don't know about his affiliation with RCT, so I would have much rather seen CS interviewed by a familiar person...You (Boomer) for example, would have been a better choice based on your "veteran" RCT status in the community and I also think some questions where predictably answered because of the lack of inquisitiveness of the question". |
| Boomer |
(laughing out loud) Yes, you are a good friend, you saw that one coming and played it just right. (Laughing again) But you ARE right; I would have handled it differently. Of course I can't remember being chased down and tackled and asked by anyone to interview CS either. But back to RCT 2, Looks like the 3-D question is settled, not gonna be there! But what about nighttime play with lights, fireworks and laser shows? Think they are going to be there? |
| VooDew5 |
"I'm hoping for some sort of night time experience, especially lights on the rides...A firework/laser show would probably be a novelty of sorts if it's put in the game...Similar to real fireworks, if you go to a 20 minute firework show, most people over the age of 12 are bored after 5 minutes...Therefore, it would become mundane after the first few times seeing it if it's something that's game controlled (like the releasing of the balloons at the end of a scenario). BUT, if it turns out that there's a way for the player to create a firework/laser show by design, that would be quite fun...I doubt that'll happen though". |
| Boomer |
Yeah, you know VooDew, It's like you said in another conversation we had one time. You said that the fireworks, lasers and special effect stuff would be fun at first but once the novelty wore off it wouldn't probably be used much. I remember the first time balloons flew up and peeps started clapping at my completing a scenario. I thought that was cool and after looking around to make sure no one was watching, I took a little bow and felt quite proud of myself. That was about the last time I watched that cool little feature. I want to get the music slant so I need to ask you, as a professional musician, what do you want to hear, as far as music or sound effects, that's different in the new RCT 2? |
| VooDew5 |
"I enjoy the "carnival" atmosphere of the default MIDI's in the original game, but, I'm also an advocate of hacking the music files and putting in what I want to hear...Sometimes by design, and randomly as well. I hope the RCT2 don't have a bunch of anti-cheat code that won't allow that...(Thank God for patches..MUHAHAHA!!)...I think the current sound effects are great so I'm sure they'll only be improved upon if changed at all". |
| Boomer |
PATCHES... yes indeed, Muhahaha! Patches and trainers, sweet nectars of the RCT Gods. Speaking of those gifts do you think we'll need trainers or patches for the big 2 or will Chris make it easy for us this time around? |
| VooDew5 |
"I think there will be a demand for a trainer and/or patch of some sort just because that's the norm these days with all games...But since there will be a scenario editor, that means "Sandbox Mode", so we may not need one in that respect". |
| Boomer |
So far, do you like the way that Chris and Infrogames are handling this game 2 release? |
| VooDew5 |
"Yes, I think they're doing what needs to be done, a bite here and there to keep us hungry...Of course, like all RCT players, we'd love to have more info..Matter of fact we'd love to have the game on the shelves right now!...I think by mid-late June we're gonna have so much more new info to chew on, screenshots, etc., not to mention, many of the questions being posed now, may be coming close to being answered". |
| Boomer |
Amen brother and I say bring that info on! VooDew you've known me for awhile so let me ask you straight up, when RCT 2 comes out, are you going to buy it? |
| VooDew5 |
"Without a doubt!!...A demo is unlikely, but I can't wait to load RCT2 on my machine..I just hope I have the time to play it...Ha!". |
| Boomer |
Speaking of time, you have been playing RCT for bout 3 years or more, off and on, when music gigs don't take all your time. Surrounded by your band LA Groove, these veteran music makers, some long time professional studio session players, are you the only band member that plays RCT, or do any of the guys play RCT also? |
| VooDew5 |
"We all have our different hobbies, and PC gaming is my main stress relief when I want to get away from the music business..RCT happens to be my game of choice!!..The other guys in the band all have PCs and have had their RCT moments, but never caught the bug as bad as me...We all have families and stay so busy time is always an issue...Richard, my sax player, and myself have our pilots license, so we spend a lot of our free time logging airtime...My daughter down in Florida (a chip off the 'ol block) is a die-hard RCTer, so she's looking forward to it as much as anyone I've seen". |
| Boomer |
(Muttering enviously to myself I reviewed mentally, okay, I think I got it, let me check. Your a first class professional musician, you are a pilot, you have a wife and family, you promote your band, you do computer graphics, maintain a wicked web site, dabble in magic, do interviews, travel all over AND play RCT? (VooDew5 didn't answer me of course cause I was just thinking that stuff in my strange head). Clearing my throat and wondering why I didn't have that kind of energy I calmly, but quickly, changed the subject.
) What websites do you visit when not making music, both RCT and other kinds of sites? |
| VooDew5 |
"I go to RCT Station...It's a fun place, good forums, great site...This site (www.rct2.com) is my current hangout, but I visit most all the popular RCT sites fairly regularly....As far as non-RCT sites they're mostly music and guitar oriented sites, Guitar.com, Guitar Mania on Digivent to name a couple, a few Flight Sim sites and Flight sites in general...And some magic sights as I've dabbled with magic off and on the last several years". |
| Boomer |
Having been on staff of a large RCT website, you've seen it all before. Are you staying up on the RCT website scene and if so what do you see now un-like the first time around? |
| VooDew5 |
"Considering how old the game is, it's nice to still see new faces showing up on the forums asking some of the questions we used to ask when the original first came out...One major change that I've seen is the positive reaction given to "newbie" questions..(I hate the word "newbie")...It used to be disheartening to see a new player ask a question and get the 3rd degree about "his question has been answered 2000 times before" and "what rock has been hidin' under"...There was a very disrespectful period of that back in the day...Now, you go to a forum and it seems that people are more helpful to newer players...We need to remember that we can make the difference in whether or not those people become part of our community, let's face it, would you return to a forum that you've just been flamed at for asking a simple question because you just discovered the game?...Most of the time, these are folks who may just now be getting a PC (or finally getting free reign on the family PC)...Everyone get's tired of answering the same questions, but that's part of having knowledge in any certain area...I used to watch Henry Winkelstein and Dr.J field the same questions over and over and they where always cordial and helped out without ever showing much, if any, aggravation...I'm seeing that sort of helpfulness more often these days...It's good to see the patience on the forums....The "newbie" flaming will only hurt the community". |
| Boomer |
Yup, I certainly agree, that's why we stress "user friendliness" on our site at www.rct2.com. I'm gonna let you go now bro, I know you got better things to do. I thank you for dropping by Boomer's Basement for this E-View. Stop by the forum on your way out and say hi to the gang there. Goodbye for now my VooDew, blue do, friend! |
VooDew5 has left the house! As I turn out the lights and head up the creaking basement stairs, I stop at the top and turn to peer into the vague shadows below, now dancing in the light of the doorway, I could of sworn that I heard the VooDew blues man's echoes... MUHAHAHA... they whispered almost magically. And as I closed the basement door I stood for a moment puzzled, and wondered, had he put a spell on me?
---Boomer--- |