DBPG: How long did it take for your hand to recover after that silver surfer play through
Bootsy: Oddly enough, that game is tiring on the entire arm. I use a “spastic” approach that starts in my upper arm and works its way down. The hand was just fine!

DBPG:How much play doh did you wind up eating in the Splat video?  How many takes did you need for that?
Bootsy: No play doh was actually eaten in the Splat filming. I had to chew on it to make it look convincing, and it was salty and disgusting. I was happy to put my head through a Topple board in “Donut Disaster”, but I wasn’t going to trivialize my intestines for “Splat”.

DBPG:  How many instruments do you play?  Do you do all of the composing on the original songs for Board James?  Does James play the drums with you on any?
Bootsy: I play a number of instruments, but not all of them very well. Guitar, ukulele, and drums are the main ones. I’ve written all of the Board James songs except for “Shark Attack” & “Splat” – those were the actual jingles. They’re so memorable that we felt we needed to stick to the actual songs there. James and I haven’t played or recorded music together. We don’t live close to one another, so it would be a huge hassle if we tried.

DBPG:  Neither of us can sing to save our lives.  Did you have any vocal training or were you born a good singer?
Bootsy: I was in chorus in 8th grade and we were forced to sing songs from the Lion King soundtrack. That was the extent of my training. I wouldn’t say I was born a good singer at all, I just kept working at in my own time to get to the point where I didn’t feel like I was embarrassing myself.

DBPG:  Mentioned in a video before that you are a big coffee drinker, how much cups would you say you down each day?
Bootsy: I worked as a campaign manager for a political campaign last year, and I drank way too much coffee – like 4 or 5 cups a day, which is a lot for me. It was a stressful job. But normally, I’ll drink about 10oz a day. I try to limit my caffeine intake because I hate being kept awake at night. I enjoy the Kona blend from Wawa (a convenience store chain in the northeast) whenever they have it.

DBPG:  Shark attack video – where did you find that 1920’s swimsuit?
Bootsy: We were supposed to film that episode on the beach, but there was a huge storm that day on the Jersey Shore, so that victorian bathing suit doesn’t make much sense in retrospect. I found it for cheap on some costume store website, I think.

DBPG:  You are a beast when it comes to hard NES games.  Are there any games from your childhood that you still cannot beat after all these years?  Are there any modern games that you have trouble with?
Bootsy: This will be a disappointing answer, but I don’t play video games very often and I hardly own any. As a kid, I could never beat the ending to Double Dare on NES, but I just borrowed it from Mike Matei recently, and I finally did it. The only modern games I’m familiar with are the Rockstar games Red Dead Redemption and GTA V, both of which I loved. I got 100% completion in Red Dead, but in GTA V, I got wrapped up in the online portion before I could get to 100% completion. I haven’t played a modern game since, though, unfortunately.

DBPG:  Ever have any drunk gaming nights with James, Mike and the boys?  Any favorites when it comes to brews?
Bootsy: We’re all very busy, so when we get together, it’s for work purposes. In the rare event that we get to drink, it will only be for a couple of beers. With that said, I tend to keep it simple with Miller Lite or Yuengling Lager. When it comes to craft brews, I lean towards IPAs. My favorites include Heavy Seas Loose Cannon IPA (Clipper City Brewing Company), Jai Alai (Cigar City Brewing), and Pinner Throwback IPA (Oskar Blues Brewery).

DBPG:  In the Donut Disaster video? Also who came up with the infamous “like my coffee like I like my women…with my dick in them” line?
Bootsy: It’s a line that my friend Dan said to me several years ago as a joke, and I always loved the brilliant absurdity of it. It seemed very relevant to the Bad Luck Bootsy character and the situation of the episode, so I was able to use it. I get the credit for it because I say it onscreen, but I didn’t think of it. Thanks, Dan!

DBPG: What kind of equipment do you use when making the songs?  Any brand loyalty?
Bootsy: I used whatever instruments that were lying around the studio at those times. Each song has a different feel, so they needed different instruments – whatever worked in the moment. For personal use, I really love older Alvarez acoustic guitars and Lanikai ukuleles.

We want to say thanks again to Bootsy and be sure to check out his twitter @ReallyBLBootsy or at any of the his sites here.

Mike Matei, previously of Cinemassacre was nice enough to answer our questions below.

Drink a Beer and Play a Game (DBPG): Thanks Mike for giving us the chance to ask you a few questions.

Since this article was written Mike has now

You can find Mike at MikeMatei.com or on twitter @Mike_Matei

Video Game Related Questions:

DBPG: Are you into any games outside of console video games: computer games, card games, tabletop, etc?

Mike: I assume you mean sports. No, I’m not. I’m pretty anti-sports other than I think it’s good as a means of exercise. The only thing sports related I can really tolerate is Realsports Volleyball on Atari 2600. I remember when I was a kid, getting Nintendo Power issues in the mail, and one month they sent one with a Football cover. Still goes down as one of the most disappointing days of my life.

DBPG: We know you love the WiiU but what is your favorite Xbox/PS4 game?

Mike: I’ve yet to really find anything for XboxOne or PS4 that I really love. There was one driving game I played at a friends house for PS4 which had amazing looking graphics.. I think people get the impression that I don’t like those consoles. It’s not that at all. I’m just not big into most recent first-person shooters, and that genre seems to have a stranglehold over those systems. Recently I asked on my Twitter for some recommendations for games on those systems I might like, and got some good suggestions. I just need the time to try some of them out.

The thing about first-person shooters is that I do like SOME of them. I LOVE Doom & Doom II. And Wolfenstein 3D. (Those are some of my favorite games of all time) But I can’t stand Halo or Call of Duty. So really, it’s not that I don’t like First-Person Shooters. I’m just particular about what the THEME is.

DBPG: You mentioned before that you like the WiiU because of how unique the games are compared to the rest of the current generation.  What game-play styles draw you in the most when gaming?

Mike: My favorite game of all time, The Legend of Zelda (NES) is listed as an Action-Adventure game. But I think of it more as puzzle solving. I don’t think I get more enjoyment out of any game, more then going through dungeons in Zelda. That can’t be beat.

Another one of my favorites is Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. That’s Real-time strategy. What’s funny is, I don’t care for World of Warcraft or Warcraft 3. I guess I’m just really particular.

I also love Side-scrollers, Platform, beat em’ up, tower defense and shooters (like Life-force)

As far as fighting games, I love Smash Bros but I’m not too big on Street Fighter. I was just never good at doing combo movies.

DBPG: We know that you and James are huge movie buffs, what movie based games are your favorite, if any?

Mike: Retro – Batman on NES. Modern – Batman Arkham City. Wow, Batman owned that answer. Don’t fuck with Batman.

DBPG: Are there any gaming goodies (games, consoles, etc) that you have that James doesn’t?

Mike: Quite a bit. I have a modded Atari 5200 that doesn’t use all those shitty AC adaptors and working controllers. I have a modded Game-Gear which can hook up to the television. I have a ton of home-brews, hacks and mods for various systems. My Atari 2600 collection is more complete. I have a Turbo-Duo, where James has the TurboGrapx-16 with CD attachment. A ton of other stuff too that I could spend all day trying to list. That said, James and I share our gaming stuff a lot. If he ever needs a game from me, I lend it to him and vice-versa. So I look at more of two collections that we share.

Beer Related Questions:

DBPG:What is your favorite kind of beer?

Mike: Lately Saison, Leffe, Hefeweizen and Weihenstephaner!

DBPG: What is your favorite local bar?

Mike: The Barcade!

DBPG: Between you and James who can handle their beer better?

Mike: I’m honestly more into mixed drinks then beer. James is more of the beer drinker. So I guess I’ll say him.

DBPG: Did you guys ever get drunk during the filming of any of your videos?

Mike: We’ve had a few drinks while filming on rare occasions, but have never been drunk while filming. As much as that seems like it’d be fun, filming is hard to do, and requires a lot of thought. You have to stay focused. So, no.

DBPG: How sick are you of Rolling Rock/Yuengling at this point?

Mike: I will still have an occasional Rolling Rock. But I really don’t drink Yuengling anymore. I had one earlier this year and didn’t even finish it. I used to love it though.

Site Related Questions

DBPG: What videos are more fun to film: AVGN, Board James, James & Mike Play, etc?

Mike: James & Mike Mondays are infinitely more fun to film because it’s just us playing video games. AVGN and Board James are scripted, and the filming has to be a lot more precise. Filming AVGN can be really fun, like throwing around a Bugs Bunny costumed dummy. But overall, filming while sticking to a script is mostly just a lot of hard work.

DBPG: Are you planning on making any more “hidden gem” videos, especially ones focused on more current systems?

Mike: Yes, I’d really like to. The reason I haven’t yet is that those videos are insanely time consuming. It’s like doing 10 videos in one. If I ever get the time again, I will. Right now the focus is on editing J&MM.

DBPG: What are the plans for Cinemassacre in the future? Will you continue to branch out and create your own series?

Mike: Well, I’ve already been doing my own game reviews. That basically is my own “series”. I’ll most likely just continue doing one-off game reviews. I like doing it that way because I can just review whatever I feel like at the time. If I named my show “Mike’s 8 bit gems” or something, then I’d have to stick to 8-bit games. I just don’t want to have any restrictions because of a title.

General/Personal Questions:

DBPG: If you could select 1 horror movie that would be turned into a video game which movie would you choose?

Mike: Probably the Universal Horror Movies. Like Dracula. Because there has never been a good game based on those classic characters. The Shining would be cool to see too.

DBPG: Do you still find time to collect action figures even with everything you do at Cinemassacre?

Mike: Yes. My action figure collection continues to grow at a steady pace. I already have almost all the G1 Transformers. Most recently I’ve been collecting all the Go-Bots. I think I have most of them now.

DBPG: This may be a bit generic, but what advice would you give to reviewers/gamers who are trying to get a foothold in a bloated market?

Mike: I think the key is that you have to do something REALLY original. Look at SmoothMcGroove. I never thought about someone doing video game music with their voice before that. It’s a brilliant idea that I had never seen. You gotta do something good that no one else has done before.

DBPG: Do you watch other online reviewers, and if so, who are some of your favorites?

Mike: Not much. The last thing I want to do when I have spare time is look at YouTube or game reviews any more then I already do. When I have some extra time, I try and spend it with my girlfriend or get out of my apartment.

DBPG: What is your personal opinion on the Let’s Play style reviewers and would you consider Youtube/Twitch the “modern” arcade, where you have people watching others play video games and posting high scores?

Mike: That’s interesting about it being like a modern version of the arcade. I do think it’s a great way to keep high score records. Because if it’s on video, and everyone can see it, there’s no debate about it. Back in the day, you used to have to send a VHS tape to twin-galaxies. And the public couldn’t view the tapes. So there was no way of knowing what was legit and what wasn’t. Online video is definitely great for high score keeping.

Thanks again Mike for taking the time to answer our questions!