July Discord Chat Session - Recap! (Patreon)

On Sunday Peter and Lloyd held this months Discord chat. I missed the start of the session myself due to waiting at home for a delivery of a football. But, the darn thing never arrived. :( But, I've gone back and read through the full chat so lets see what Peter and Lloyd talked about.

Peter kicked things off by saying he had located some old files on a hard drive and he has been going through some of the files to see if there is anything useful or interesting. He had found an old demo from Zach Sherwin from the "Tolkien vs Martin" battle and shared it in the chat.

Peter then fielded a few questions about the Tolkien battle and explained that the fat suit for George Martin was rented rather than purchased outright so they no longer have it. He also stated he was glad they did Martin before GOT got "ruined" by the ending and that he felt the LOTR franchise probably wouldn't feature again in another ERB. RIP Bilbo.

Lloyd was asked about Martin's voice and he explained that he chose to approach the voice with boombasticness and then made him rap that way the whole time rather than try to emulate his true voice in real life. It was more about giving him an energy that fit a rap battle.  and because the makeup crew were able to make him look so much like him it gave him more licence to not be authentic with the voice.

Peter then shared an image from the "Bieber vs Beethoven" battle. He explained this shot is Pete giving the director a sign he was about to tip the piano over. He said the act of throwing the piano felt amazing. He had to tip it over three times as the first time it didn't break at all. Only on the third attempt did it bust open. (They had paid $250 for the piano which was broken - the cost was primarily for delivery)

Peter explained that Dave McCary was the director of ERB videos at the start and a major influence on the direction of the show in those formative years. For the very first ERB - "O'Reilly vs Lennon" - we were supposed to work with a different director but he ended up assigned to a different job at Maker. Peter had no idea who Dave was and it was very fortunate that we ended up with Dave who was and is an absolute genius.

A patron asked how Peter first met Rhett & Link. Pete explained he met Rhett and Link at the second Vidcon. At the time Pete had one "big" song on the internet that was "Shay Carl and the Shay Tards". and they were my favorite music act on YouTube. I was at the food court, with a tray of food, and I didn't know anyone, and I was kind of wandering around looking for somewhere to sit, and they invited me to sit with them and said they liked my song. It was really kind. That's just who they are.

Peter then moved on from ERB nostalgia, to talking about what they are currently working on. He explained that the writing for "Jeff Bezos vs Mansa Musa" is close to complete. They are hoping to record the audio later this month. There is no date set for filming the video or a release date but they are very happy to have the lyrics 99% complete.

Peter also mentioned that he has now started to research "Godzilla vs King Kong". It's a battle that Lloyd had been looking into in recent months and Peter had not been involved previously. Pete knew nothing about either character and wasn't too keen on the matchup himself, but he has now come round to the idea and sees the potential it offers. He said he wanted to do it real justice and it's clearly going to take a lot more research.

A patron asked about current thoughts in regard to "Willy Wonka vs Jigsaw" which was a writing room we opened up on the Discord server last month. Peter explained that it is currently in their plans for development into a battle. But, at the moment the focus is on finishing the audio for the Bezos vs Musa battle and continuing research on Godzilla vs Kong. Depending on how the work goes on those two battles then a decision would be made on whether to work on Wonka vs Jigsaw or an alternative battle. But Wonka vs Jigsaw remains firmly on the table for a future battle sooner or later.

Peter then briefly referenced "Ulysses S Grant vs Ho Chi Minh" which Peter is tempted to open a writing room for as he likes the idea a lot. (But, we are gonna discuss things further before doing so, as we don't want to make a rash decision)

Pete then mentioned he had started to consider his friend Greg (shown above in yellow t-shirt) for potential casting in a future ERB. Possibly as Andy Warhol or maybe even David Bowie. Greg is a very talented singer and piano player that Peter has known for many years. A patron asked Pete to also consider Neil Cicierega to portray Warhol. Warhol vs Gogh remains a match-up he is interested in for a future ERB.

Pete moved on to state he was under the impression that having a dedicated writing room for battles is a positive experience even if that battle isn't made into a final ERB video. Most people agreed with that view saying it was a fun process or useful writing experience, but it's also clear others feel disappointment if a battle ends up being canned. (Not all writing rooms will be made into a battle. That is something that we just need to accept)

Peter concluded the chat answering random questions. Here is a quick overview...

Q. What is the current state of Jigsaw vs Wonka? A yes, a maybe, unlikely, likely? Answer: Likely

Q. Has there ever been a character you wanted to use but can't find a good opponent for or can't use for some reason? Answer: Satan

Q. Which do you like better: Taylor Swift vs Johnny Cash or Taylor Swift vs Emily Dickinson? Answer: Taylor Swift vs Johnny Cash

Q. Is there somebody who you would really love to rap in a battle but just hasnt gotten the chance to? Answer: Sir Mixalot

Q. Peter out of all the previous writers rooms, which do you care for the least? Answer:  I see them more as resources, ideas, no preference

Q. Have you watched Loki? Answer: I loved Loki until the third episode just lost me, too boring, haven't tuned in since.

Q. Would you be willing to watch David Lynch's work in order to give a better judgement of the potential matchup - Lynch vs Dali? Answer: Maybe someday but not now

Q. Yugi Muto vs Bobby Fischer... Answer: No

Pete then ended the discussion and said... "I hope today was enjoyable and enlightening, thank you for being here and being on this team."

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Hope this recap was useful to some of you who couldn't join in person. Remember we have a video live stream on Sunday 25th July at 2.30pm PT [Los Angeles]. We will post up a link to the video shortly before it begins.

PS Thanks to Maryam for creating the fun little ERB / SpongeBob video. Muchos respect. 

Cheers...

HeadMonk