Marcato

Get a load of that VALUE. Quite the revival you guys have got going on, very exciting to see all the changes! II may not be active anymore, but if I find myself with some extra cash I'll see about sending some you guys' way just to show support for my old stomping grounds.

Heads up though, the discord server link in the post appears to be expired!

I had to arise from my lurking depths to acknowledge the return of a legend. Good to see you make a glorious return, SCS! I have many fond memories of ye olden days and some great conversations we had way back when. \o/

I arrived here early 2012. I had just started highschool and was chaotic as heck. I departed I believe in 2014... and I was still in highschool and even more chaotic.
 

Truth be told, my memory is rather hazy as it was so long ago and so bloody much has happened since I departed. I think at some point I was a moderator here, as well as a community leader; I started PoniArcade (Which I lovingly referred to as PArcade or just PArc) during a turbulent time, and ended up stepping down and making a soft-exit after some drama and stress. I wish it had just ended on that note, but unfortunately hyper-turbulent Marcato ended up making a lot of provocative posts and vents about my frustrations and left on a really bad note.
 

But I'm not here to dwell on what I did wrong way back when; heck I doubt anyone here even remembers me any more haha! But for those that do, I do want to apologize for my behaviour back then. Having said that, I want to throw around some positivity. So consider this my sentimental reflection and "Happy Birthday" and "Thank You" to the forums.
 

This place literally changed my life and that is not an exaggeration. I had just gotten into pony, and I stumbled across an incredibly warm and welcoming community back when these Forums had only about 2000 members. This was when - trigger warning - the CHAT existed, and I fell in love with the community. But this place didn't end up just being a hangout for me; it became my home. It was where I did everything, shared everything, and met so many people that ultimately encouraged and criticized me, pushing me both directly and indirectly to become a better person and to hone my skills in writing, music and leadership.
 

It was here that I met people I still spend time and work with today, 7 years after my departure, and still call close friends. I still make use of software that was introduced to me by the founder who went by Feld0 at the time, and the old staff themes I wrote for the old guard still hold a special place in my heart. This forum stands as a place where I went through some of my most tumultuous times in my life, but also times of rapid and positive growth, and for that I can't look at this place and say it was anything other than life-changing for me. It didn't bring me out of a dark place or anything, but it did help me realize my full potential - which I am still in the process of realized now. When I joined this place, I was 15, and I am now 24.
 

Thank you, MLP Forums, and all the people who stirred my heart back in the day, whether for good or bad. Keep on creating and loving, because I know I will be.
 

~Silver Marcato

I can probably fill the lead and or rhythm guitarist.

Would you care to expand a little more on your past experience or give a sample of what you've done before? I'd like to know a little more about you and your playing if you can provide.

I can play a little by ear, but for the most part I read sheet music. I can improvise a bit, and touching up music is something I could do.

Alrighty, could be a good experience for the rest of us in writing sheet music, though you've got some competition in the piano spot you should know! I'll get back to you as I find out more this weekend, after I talk to a few other folks that are trying out some of their instruments.

I'd love to be a part of this. I've sent a request over Skype. I play guitar primarily (I can play most songs, including solos) and I also do some compositions. I don't have any of my good or new stuff online, and most of it is still in progress. I could show you some samples of my work and skill over Skype though. Once again, I'd love to be a part of this.

I've gotten your contact request and would love to chat sometime this weekend! Today I'm already fully booked, but I'm totally available tomorrow pretty much all day.

Looks like you've got piles of musicians willing to help, but I'd love to offer my services if you want them. I play the Irish whistle, which can fit into the orchestral mega-genre. Here's a sample of my skill:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F_oOZEjkcA

 

Yeah, I know it could have been a bit better recorded and arranged, I've been thinking of redoing it. I can offer advice on compositions for this instrument, but I'm afraid I'm not creative enough to actually compose myself.

Woah. Okay. I'm sold. That *is* perfect. We're looking for something exactly like that celtic sound for the earth ponies and for the rest of ancient equestria. I also know another project I might be able to get you in on that's looking for the same style as well that I'm a part of... details on Skype, I'll explain there.

I would love to join up. I am a pianist, I'm good at reading music, but not so good at composing it. My keyboard is a Roland 4F.

 

Here is a cover of Fur Elise just because I only recently got a audio recorder. https://soundcloud.com/ivory-dreamer/fur-elise

I can also play Jarrod Radnich level complexity.

 

What do you say?

Well well, not bad! I like it! You're definitely quite a good pianist, and the piano sounds alright too. I think it could use some audio mastering, but we can provide that I think.

Not that this will make or break anything, but can you play music by ear? Also, can you improvise or spice/touch-up existing music, or do you just purely read sheet music?

If you mean studio quality, then no.  All I have is some lame recording programs like Audacity and my Iphone.

Well what about your microphone? What have you got for that? The quality of your microphone is what really makes or breaks it. I too use Audacity myself when mixing mastering and recording.

I'm a trumpet player, and I would love to make music and be a part of this project. But... I'm only in high school. I don't think I would be skilled enough (seeing that I have issues with intonation).

 

Do you have anymore information about this. I'm kinda interested in what you guys are doing

 

EDIT: ohh wait, Marcato, you're 17 too. So, I'll guess I'll join. I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to composition, so it'll be a learning experience.

Haha, no worries about age here, we just want talent and passion. The real question is can you record your trumpet? If you have the ability to record your trumpet and for it to sound good, we might be able to fit it in. I'm all game for trying new things.

Hmm...well I write orchestral/film score/electronic music...and play (bluegrass) banjo...I kinda would like to help.

 

I mean...if that's okay with you. XD

 

Edit: My Music...just in case: https://soundcloud.com/doc-monochrome

Hey, I really like some of this stuff... particularly the "Ponified" track. It reminds me a lot of the soundtrack from the Portal games. (Fantastic games...) You've got some good progression and well mastered/balanced effects. 

Hmm... and banjo... not sure how well we can fit that into an album as serious-toned as Chaos and Harmony, but I think I recall bluegrass not being your stereotypical bouncing banjo. 

Either way I'm keeping you in contact, not only as a critic and reviewer, but as another musician that covers a niche I'm not so familiar with but have a great interest in. I have always loved the concept of mixing electronic with orchestra, so we'll definitely have to keep in touch...

I wish I could help, honestly, but I have no equipment to do so. Well, I kiiiiinda do, but its a pain in the ass to set up.

If you need any niche spots filled though I wouldnt mind helping out. I currently arrange, write and compose digitally produced music. Some of the stuff I've made is here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/DorianStorm2/playlists

http://mlpforums.com...ften/?p=3263109

 

This piece here is one I made a few years back with the method I'll describe below. I know its blending isnt perfect, as is its long intro part, but it gives you an idea of what kind of sound quality I can get using my computer buffer

[snip]

 

I sing and play both acoustic and electric guitar, I may not be good enough to play lead guitar but what I could do (If noone else offered/youre desperate) is I can connect my stratocaster into my modulating effects processor and then connect that via USB to my laptop and record my parts into a digital audio workshop, then send the files needed or whatnot.  What I don't have, though, is a microphone. Not a good one at least. I mean, my iphone's mic does the job for SOME things but professional music? Naw.

 

Check out my stuff, if there's a task I can help with I'm all for helping my fellow ponies make beautiful music

 

 

EDIT-Alternately, you can also feel free to use any of the songs I've already made in the first link, theres some epic sounding symphonic pieces in there that might fit

Hey give yourself a little more credit! There's some nice guitar stuff in there, some nice chord progressions and overall a nice sounding solo guitar. We may have use for an acoustic guitar, and we're plenty open to guest musicians. I'd also like to put you on the list of critics as someone to send our stuff to for some feedback as the album is worked on. 

Greetings, fellow musicians and pony lovers. I am Marcato; a composer, violinist, and hopefully all around resplendent person, and I want you to be in the Chaos and Harmony project. 

To explain a little more, me and a few other mostly-brony musicians have gathered together to work on a very large music project; an album if you will. This album is planned to revolve around two genres. Soundtrack/orchestral, and metal. (Yes, they can be mixed together.) Although that’s not all. My fellow musicians and I are very passionate about music, and we have extensive plans and goals we intend to meet for both our project and our futures in music. What we wish to accomplish, is to weave a story into our music, a powerful and emotional story, and to have that reflect through the instruments themselves. This story is a tale that’s become almost classic at this point; Equestria’s struggle against Discord, primarily of the princesses Celestia and Luna overthrowing him one thousand years before the events of the mane six.

Currently, we are a group of four musicians, going by the title or band name Aluminum. Among us are also some studio technicians, and other audio critics to help us out. However in order to accomplish our goal, we’re going to need much, much more.

For this project, we’re looking for musicians, voice actors, artists, and yes even writers! We want to ensure the greatest quality we can muster from our indie music skills, and create the closest thing we can to a masterpiece, and we want you folks to help us achieve it! If you would like to see more specifically what we’re looking for, scroll down to the “What we’re looking for” section.

A little about the project…

We are not a serious group of people. http://pastebin.com/WBVMYEF0

So far we’ve never been ones to care for limiting formats and methods, we just like to keep things organized to some extent and keep things casual. We generally try to keep away from deadlines and prefer to call them “goals” rather than deadlines that must be met, that way they remain flexible and stress-free.

A little about the album…

The album, as you know, revolves around the overthrowing of chaos, and the prevailing of harmony, hence the name “Chaos and Harmony.” It attempts to tell the story of Celestia and Luna’s rise to power, and their triumph over Discord, spirit of chaos. This story is not intended to be cannon, but rather a fictional interpretation and theory of what transpired before and around the events seen in Twilights flashback in the Season 4 pilot episodes.

Progress on the album itself is coming along quite well, given that it was really started three months ago. The concept for this album and project has been around for over two years now, but it wasn’t until recently that I and my fellow musicians finally acquired the skills needed to pull off this feat. Currently there are three tracks completely written, with the recordings having been started on one of them, and the layout of several others known. The album is planned to have a total of 13 tracks dedicated to the story, with a few unrelated bonus tracks also written and performed by the Aluminum group for a little extra content.

Track list:

A little about the Aluminum group/band…

Well I’ve already mostly explained who we are and what we’re doing, but to expand on us a little more, I’ll detail what our goals are for us as a group.

Most of us all plan on some day turning our passion for music into a profession one day, and only now has that dream truly become a reality with the work on this album. We’d all like to someday perform on stage, but that’s looking quite far ahead at the moment seeing as half of us are scattered across North America.

Current primary members of the band include:

·         Matthew “Marcato” on violin and vocals(?), composition

·         James “Ice Storm” on rhythm and/or lead guitar, composition

·         Drew “Normally Average” on drums

·         Dysen Katzel on bass

As a band, we are in fact looking for additional members, primarily a vocalists and another guitarist, with the possibility of a keyboardist being uncertain at the moment. But that brings me to the next topic!

What we’re looking for…

Spoiler'd for size...

Conclusion

WE NEED YOU.

PROBABLY.

So please, contact us! Even if you think you don’t have a shot, please just say something! If you don’t apply to join the project, then who will? Less people, that’s who. You never know, maybe you’ll even surprise yourself!

On a closing note, here’s a preview featuring live instruments of what we’ve got. (Minus vocals and narration.)

https://soundcloud.com/aluminumband/chaos-and-harmony-album-preview

Questions? Thoughts?  Concerns? We’d love to hear ‘em. Fire away! But first I'm going to bed. Because I am exhausted from a long day of music. I will respond on the morrow! 

Contact and find us at the following locations:

Twitter | Facebook | Youtube 

Okay you can stop taking me seriously now.

Implying you might have been before.

Woot woot?

There was a Minecraft Survival server. In fact there have been two or three in the past that I was actively involved in.

The problem is, managing it became a serious problem with little outcome for the community, as Minecraft frequently updated, breaking all the plugins and such. Not many people actually played on the server. Though it was talked about and made openly available to people on the forums, there simply weren't enough people regularly playing. Players are attracted to servers with more players; something we didn't have, and have struggle to get. 

Part of this could be my fault, as I didn't dedicate a ton of time and effort into the Minecraft side of things, as I had other things to do on the site and on the gaming project back then. Nevertheless the problem came down to management and popularity. It was a lot of work keeping the Minecraft server going at a high quality, and very few people used it.  

I don't know what PoniArcade has been doing since I left, but from the sounds of things they'll likely be reviving it eventually. 

I'm sure you're more than free to make your own private server and invite some MLP Forums members to join you via status update or blog post though.

Just look at her.

Thinking she's so fabulous.

I mean look at that eyeshadow. She's so modern.

And that mane and tail, so stupid. 

bad oc :u

[/badjoke]

Posts like this are a breath of fresh air. It's becoming more and more uncommon that the staff are challenged to think of something, and that usually promotes healthy growth in the forum and community.

Usually.

While I can understand the reasoning from which you're complaining, there is one thing I'd like to address. I am not here to agree or disagree with your viewpoints on the staff, or the users, as I simply have not been active enough, but this part of your post caught my attention and I believe requires a response that may or may not have already been stated.

Now, before I encounter the posts here(if any) that say "You don't know how it is to be a staff member," I may not be a staff member here but I am on other forum site(s). I know how it feels when the staff is overloaded with many requests, reports, and issues that arise. But that is the burden of being a staff member. If you have personal issues to attend to that will divert you from your ability to moderate the site, please take leave and maybe resign temporary, instead of wearing a fake nameplate as moderator. Bearing the nameplate states that you are actively involved.

Every community is different. From forums, to gaming server networks, to chatboards. Before you say that "I'm a moderator on a different forum and therefore know the struggles and issues," take a look at this community. In fact, take a look at this network. Compare it to the one in which you are a staff member. 

Now there's a lot that can be deemed different. The most significant ones though I'm going to name:

• What fandom is this forum of yours for? Bronies are an infamously over-dramatic fandom, that, while yes there are also many incredibly reasonable people in it, is a bloated fandom with a surprisingly large share of not-so-reasonable people and emotional teenagers like myself.
• How large is this forum you are on? The number of users vastly affects the kind of community that is being run. It affects the rules, it affects the staff, and of course, affects the people you'll be dealing with. I was a staff member here, and let me tell you dealing with debates and arguments is the absolute worst among this community, and this community can already be extremely chaotic and difficult to handle. (Especially since it's grown a good 5,000 users since I resigned.)
• By what rules and system is your forum staffed? This is everything. I needn't say much about this as I think it's pretty straight forward.

Those are the largest things I wanted to point out, as I think you're missing a very large part and making an inaccurate statement claiming that you know what it's like.

Though yes, you have presented some good points that I hope will be given some thought by the staff, namely in regards to the debate pit and its purpose, you must realize that the staff are, in fact, volunteers. I'll give you credit, you're pretty genre-savvy on the whole "what the staff does and should do on here" discussion, as it's one I've seen and discussed often, and very rarely do people open their argument acknowledging counter arguments such as "We already have enough responsibilities as it is."

That doesn't exempt you from that little piece of info. It doesn't stop being true nor does it become any less of a problem. You've not debunked the argument, it's still a true and unfortunate reality.

This is why, at least while I was here, the staff were actually assigned places they should focus most of their attention on. I'll admit though, this wasn't exactly very effective back then because all moderators really had equal power and just focused on dealing with reports. Debate pit only popped up sometimes, and last I checked there was no moderator assigned to the debate pit specifically. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, mods.) 

Basically, what I'm trying to say is, attempting to relate with the staff is really hard to do when you're talking as though you're disregarding they're problems and struggles and saying they should suck it up and do their job. Though that may not be what you intended to say that is definitely what it sounds like to me as an ex-mod after reading your post. 

Well... for one, I would promptly point the creators of this site to my avatar.

Second, this site is not new. In fact it quite clearly states in your screenshot this site was created fully two years ago. (There's a publication date in the first picture.)

This is probably a parent, mother or someone of the sort who thinks all cloppers are out to molest children. Yeahno. I have several friends who are cloppers, thanks. They are not trying to lure me or my friends into getting kidnapped.

In fact we really shouldn't even be referring to them as very separate from bronies. They just have different interests, as all people do.

"This can only end in tears! "

In all seriousness...

Welcome. I hope things will go well for you here. Can I recommend the debate pit for you? Great place, lots of brawling, you'd fit right in.

You've made quite an entrance I must say. I won't complain. You made a better entrance than I did. Though I am sad that you think we would so rudely ban you just because your a fighter. I like to consider myself a fighter as well, though in more of a "I'm going to write the most intense and passionate wall-of-text" kind of way. 

I hope to see you around. I look forward to getting to know you better. :3

Now what I will say @, and @, is that the quality of this place has most certainly degraded. Unfortunately it's the growing pains of a community, many older members dislike that. Heck, I dislike it a whole damn lot. 

But I'm too damn stubborn for my own damn good. So I'm still here and kicking.

Me? I used to care before I learned the site owner himself is only in it to show off his numbers. And even then I stuck around for a good few months before giving up on being a mod. In the end, it's just not worth it when the man behind it all is only doing it to win the popularity contest.

Now there is a whole damn lot I could argue about this, but I'll only touch up on a few things.

The main issue I have at the moment is that a lot of members seem to consider moderators and admins as some sort of omnipotent deities. Even the admins themselves think that. (Image taken from NewCalamity's profile) That attitude simply needs to stop.

I would like to acknowledge this. Feld0 himself told me in the earlier days of MLP Forums he himself was running the forums as if everything revolved around him. He now completely regrets this as he's told me.

Now Feld0... he's a good friend of mine, and let me tell you something about popularity. Everyone wants it. No matter how much we may want to deny it all people want some form of it. It makes us feel accepted, even loved some times. Respected, looked up to, etc. In this world these things are more or less earned. (Unless you're the media.) In the end whether little or small we all have a desire for acceptance. 

Forgive me for this but... you two really haven't been that active around here, nor part of the team to see how things have changed on the inside. I understand full well the troubles you had in the past, I heard a lot about them. However regardless of what things were like back then they have changed. (For better or for worse...) There are those that have grown up, and many of those that grew up resigned. Heck, in a sense even Feld0 resigned. He's no longer in direct charge of the MLP Forums. If he wanted popularity 'still' he wouldn't have resigned his position like that. 

But let it not go without saying; your points shouldn't go unnoticed. 

Especially yours, Ary. As someone who has a similar passion for the English language I honestly can't stand the way it's degrading in recent times. (I wrote a ranting ragey blog post about it even.)

I would like to see people put more effort into their spelling and grammar and organization of posting even. It is so... SO much easier to take someone seriously when you type with great grammar, thought out points and structure, rather than 'my faverite pony is rd'

And the warning points... aah the warning points... they are constantly being debated about among the staff and rightly so. Consistency is nice and all but... in a group of staff ever growing there will be differing opinions. Not gonna lie, I'm a prude. As a direct result of this I tend to be overly cautious and sensitive about matters relating to inappropriate content. Typically I will ask others what they think, but ultimately that viewpoint of mine effects how I think 'justice' should be carried out. 

Though I'll acknowledge fatal flaw among the staff.

This is the typical reaction to things. And sometimes the staff go too far on the latter panel. I will not deny a large amount of the moderators come across as cold and blunt a lot of the times. Perhaps it's because they're too serious when things get down to business, but I personally try to display a positive and generally fun and caring attitude. (That's how I am, I'm not going to manipulate it to appear more business like if I can help it.) 

I know these staff members fairly well thanks to our super secret Skype groups and all that, so I've seen they can be fun and great pals, but their public image... they seem to change personalities in the public. I'm not saying this for everyone, but there are a decent number of staff that are like this.

So some effort on the staffs part, for any other staff members reading this; be yourself! Don't suddenly "serious'd" when locking a topic, or sending a warning. Express concern, use emoticons, etc. It gets your mood across way better.

wazzat

lastposter

omigawsh gaiz ah'm wining

Hmwat.

Oh.

Your avatar holds the answer to all things.

"Nope. Never."

Fate?

Death by bass cannon.

For being a cuddly Zelda fan. :3

This thread appears to be related to the My Little Pony franchise and/or the Bronydom in general. Thus, it has been sentenced to Sugarcube Corner.

This is an automatically generated message, by the way.

Here's a few.

1. I am a crazy person.
2. I believe that ice cream should be free.
3. I write music (OhHeySomethingSerious!)
4. I have a tulpa.

"Why does nopony love me... I'm not that scary am I...? Is it because I'm a princess?"

Orange. Orange is a nice colour. But why is your cutie mark breaking hearts? I don't know if I want to marry a pony who's talent it breaking hearts...

Nice Vinyl you've got there. She looks very happy.

7/10

I don't think i'm very screwed

looks like someone got the age spell used on her :3

"I'm okay with this."

Aw shoot.

Oh! What a lovely present for Christmas~ Much hugs.