MAGX #52 April 2010

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Take one part designer, one part science, one part rocker, and one part creativity. Now deny sleep, and that pretty much sums up our fearless leader, Ramsey! E-MAIL: [email protected]

If we lived in a comic book world, J3S would be a super villain! He currently resides in the deep, dark, “danky” laboratories of MagX, quietly plotting to take over the world. Avoid this man on the road...No, seriously.

Frank has been the creative genius behind MagX’s stunning graphics since it’s first year and wields his tech powers to unleash masterful layouts and use of white space! He is also the point person for artists who want to be featured within these pages.E-MAIL: [email protected]

This mysterious writer came to us through a late night visit to a local restaurant. He has a lot of mutitude of knowledge. Every month he reviews the coolest and most aniticipated video games. Don’t get on this man’s bad side you’ll regret it.

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A LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

We are back with another exciting issue of MAGX. What have we got in store for you this month? How about an interview with RAGE CAGE (Kyle Gass) of Tenacious D? Yes, our sexy cover model & Jack Black’s funny cohort has a Killer band called TRAINWRECK! KG called us up while on the road to his next tour stop. He is hilarious! Read the in-terview! OUR ORIGINAL INTERVIEW! No “canned internet content” in our page.s

Want to learn how to be a Bartender? Know someone who does? Bar and Club owners, do your bartenders need training? Call the South Texas School of Bartending. See their ad on page 7. They also offer consulting for your Club or Bar.

The first annual Elecrofest is hitting McAllen on March 12th. What is it? A huge 3-day electronic music festival rave at Klub Infinity. Check out the center spread and back cover for more info on those events. Want FREE TICKETS? Follow us on Twitter for our exclusive contests! (www.twitter.com/magxonline)

KRATOS IS BACK! He graced our Spring Break cover 3 years ago and now he is back. Kratos is the star of the hit video game seires GOD OF WAR! Part 3 is coming... and so are we!!!!

The Gallery Bar can’t be summed up into a little paragraph but I’m gonna try....It’s one of the coolest beer bars I have ever been to tout-ing historic decor, live music from talented locals, 2 cool as hell own-ers, and artwork hanging on the walls! And did we mention SUPER COLD BEER? read about it inside!

Not bad for a little South Texas Mag, huh? National celebrities & local ones mingle within our pages. If we don’t do it, what other magazine in the Valley will? LOL, exactly! Like our motto says… “Real Content, Real Interviews.” We go above and beyond for you every month to make sure you stay current on what’s going on here and nationwide on the entertainment front. If you like what we do, tell your friends. Better yet, pass your copy of MAGX on to them so they can enjoy it too. Log on to our website (www.magxonline.com) and read all our past issues (#52 this month) digitally. Read it on your iphones and google phones via the ISSUU app.

There has never been a magazine like this one in the Valley! Help us spread the word and we will continue to crank these out for you.

J O I N T H E R E V O L U T I O N [email protected]/magxonlinetwitter.com/magxonlinetwitter.com/ramseyramirezMyspace.com/ramseyramirezAdvertise with us! Call: 956-648-4464

P.S. I <3 MARLA VEE!

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It’s that time again my fellow game enthusiasts. Last month I went off the mark a bit and did a movie review which I know what you are all thinking that I only do game reviews, this is not always true I also do movie reviews from time to time. And, this time I’m going to do a game review as I’ve done in the past. So, now it’s the month of March and I’m bringing you a review about a game that is unlike any game you’ve played before. It is based on player in-teraction and rich storytelling and more than button flailing. The title of this game is called Heavy Rain and I must say it is as intense as when I first played Condemned for the 360. And, when I say in-tense I mean that to the highest degree. It’s been a while where I had to remember to breathe because of the action and the quick responses needed to play this game had me going toward the edge of my seat. The com-pany named Quantic Dream who published this game exclusively for the PS3 has gone above and beyond the call of duty on mak-ing this game. The synopsis is that you are four different characters and are able to change between them throughout the game. The kicker of this game is that in using these four characters you have to make sure they stay alive to assist

you along the path of the game. Keeping them alive is a feat within itself since there are obstacles that can at times get the character killed and you have to be quick on your reflexes to input the prop-er button commands and keep the action going till you get out of danger with the character in play at that moment. Now if you happen to make the mistake and get the character being used at the moment killed, then the game continues without that character but of course that’s where the challenge comes in. Because if you needed a piece of evidence that one of the characters was supposed to find, well you are go-ing to have to either find it or con-tinue without is which makes the game a bit harder. The main goal in Heavy Rain is to capture a serial killer named the Origami killer be-cause he leaves at every scene of the crime he leaves a piece of origami as a clue curled up in the hand of the victim which are al-ways children between the ages of eight and ten. Now, I won’t tell you who the killer is but I will say that it’s a surprise that even had me a mystery lover in the dark up until the end. So I’ll leave you to think about acquiring this game which if you don’t then you will be missing out on a great game which I highly recommend. So that’s it for this month in the gam-ing category now next month’s game will be something to look forward too. I have been waiting for over four years for this game and it’s finally out. So, be looking forward to my review for Final Fan-tasy XIII. I promise it’s gonna be epic. I might make the review a little longer than usual so on that note have a good one and see you next month this is Darth Chew saying that if I haven’t played it then it’s not worth it.

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... like that of Kratos, the God of War. Don’t be confused. You are on the texy page and I know what you’re think-ing, “Frank, what does this have to do with tech? I am more than happy to tell you that the release of God of War 3 on the Playstation 3 home console is a HUGE leap in console gaming. Beautiful high-definition graphics, a fully immursive story line, and a gigantic soundtrack featuring Roadrunner Record’s artists like Killswitch En-gage and Trivium are just a few of the things you can look forward to in purchasing this title. Set in the realm of brutal Greek mythology, God of War III is a single-player game that allows players to take on the climatic role of the ex-Spartan warrior, Kratos, as he scales through the intimidating heights of Mt. Olympus and the dark depths of Hell to seek revenge on those who have betrayed him. Armed with double-chained blades, and an array of new weapons and magic for this iteration of the trilogy, Kratos must take on mythol-ogy’s darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles throughout his merciless quest to destroy Olympus.

Utilizing a new game engine built from the ground up and state-of-the-art visual technologies, the develop-ment team behind God of War III has made standard-setting strides in giving players the realistic feel of actually being on the battlegrounds. With texture reso-lutions quadrupling since God of War II on PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, God of War III, in its debut on PS3, will feature fluid, life-like characters, as well as dynamic lighting effects, a robust weapon sys-tem, and world-changing scenarios that will truly bring unmistakable realism to Kratos™ fateful quest. Players will have a chance to join battles on a grand scale that is four times larger than its predecessor.

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Downtown McAllen's 17th street Entertainment District has come a long way in the last year. Many new clubs and bars have opened their doors, but one stands out from the crowd. Is it the biggest? Nope. Is it the glitziest? Nuh-uh! Is it the most original? You bet! It's called The Gal-lery Bar. The Gallery Bar is a truly unique little art & music bar co-owned by Marco and Josh. Originally, The Gallery Bar was going to be a pizza bar like you see on 6th street in Austin, but 4 months into the process of opening, a city ordinance stopped

them in their tracks due to size limitations. That didn't stop this dynamic duo. As Josh put it "If you shut the door on us, we'll come in thru the win-dow." They decided they wanted a place they could chill and drink with their friends (they no lon-ger drink), and Marco, being an artist, wanted to hang people's artwork in the place…and The Gallery Bar was Born!

The decor really makes The Gallery Bar Special. It's made up of really interesting old and found objects like old TIN from El Divino a few streets down, benches made

of headboards from The old Echo Motel in Edin-burg, old bottles found on dig sites on 17th street during the construc-tion phase of some of the new bars as well as paintings from various local artists. "Any artists who want to hang their artwork in our place…Bring it. We want to sup-port local artists, even musicians. Want to play here? Just come over and jump on stage. We have a true open mic. Any kind of expression is welcome from music to poetry. We want artists to feel comfortable here. We have already sold 9 or more pieces of art-

work from our walls rang-ing from $100 - $4000."

If you haven't stopped by The Gallery Bar during your downtown excur-sions, you need to make it a point to do so. A little over 30 people fit in there, making it a cozy little beer & wine bar where you can sit and enjoy your friends com-pany. It has a great vibe, and it's made up of really interesting pieces of Val-ley history and artwork. Every inch of the place is covered in interesting conversation pieces that Josh & Marco are more than willing to tell you about.

BY: RAMSEY

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MUSICIANS ARE ENCOURAGED TO JUMP ON STAGE AND PERFORM. DON’T BE SHY!

MEMBERS OF THE BAND “WHAT LIES BETWEEN US” CHILL BEFORE THEIR MAGX PHOTOSHOOT AT THE GALLERY BAR.

THE DECOR AND STORIES BEHIND IT MAKE THE GALLERY BAR TRULY UNIQUE AND INTERESTING.


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Trainwreck is an ecclec-ctic rock ‘n’ roll band that has been together 7 years and are embarking on their first tour in support of their new release The Wreckon-ing. We caught up with KG himself for a Q & A about his career, a possible sequel to the cult favorite Tenacious D & The PIck of Destiny, and all things Trainwreck.

I read recently that your first gig was for Coca-Cola. What did you do for them? What was it like?

What did I do? Really, what did I do? My first job was a 7up commercial a million years ago. NO NO I DO NOT REMEMBER THAT!

I’m sorry I read that on a fan page.

Well, it must be true then. Haha.

You have made many cameos in several places from Music Videos (Foo Fighters), to Television (Sein-feld), even feature films (Saving Silverman), which has been your favorite cameo?

My favorite cameo is definitely in Elf. It’s just that I’ve always wanted to be in a movie that’s played every year. Every Christmas it’s on. It’s kind of like a new a classic. Saving Silver-man was fun one too. But really all works is good. No, that’s not true I was cut out of Idle Hands and some other really bad movies like Dumb and Dumber. I thought to myself ”damn, I’m not funny enough to be in Dumb and Dumber? Which now is like the least funniest movie of all time.” But I suppose if I had to be cut out of a movie it’s best to be cut out of the bad ones.

How did you feel about your ap-pearance in the Video Game “Bru-

tal Legend” as Kage the Cannon-eer?

That was fun! I had never done any-thing like that. But in all seriousness they (the game designers) do the heavy lifting on that. Basically I just went to a sound studio and read all the lines they told me too. It’s defi-nitely a different genre to be a part of and well it’s nice to be in a video game all huge and powerful.

Is it true you taught Jack Black to play the guitar?

I Did! That one is true, he was a pretty accomplished singer but I was sur-prised he wasn’t able to play an in-strument. So I told him “dude, you need to learn to play something to accompany yourself.” So I began to teach him a few things on guitar and he picked it up right away. He would just sit on my couch and strum the same chords over and over. I’ve known Jack for about 20 years now. Shit! I’m getting old how did that happen?

What can people expect from your new project Trainwreck?

Well, it’s not actually new it’s been about 7 years in the making, we’ve just been hitting it off and on. It’s just a kick ass rock n roll band. We play music in a highly stylized en-tertaining fashion. We’ll melt your faces or make you smile and then the smile melts and you’re not even aware of it. The good news is that we have a Trainwreck reconstructive surgery center just for that.

Tell us a little bit about your new music video “Brodeo.”

It’s an awesome song we put out just as a song for bros having a good time. There are time when there are no girls allowed. It’s a time for hav-ing fun with your bros watching Jean Claude Van-Dam and playing beer pong. I think we really captured the

Brodeo spirit.

This is your first tour, what are your thoughts?

Well, we just played Flagstaff, Ari-zona and we’re actually a few days into the tour and so far, so good. We had a nice turn out and now we’re heading Albaquerque. We wanna play every city in the US! We wanna home deliver rock and it’s not really convenient but we’re gonna try to do it. We’re kinda like the CENSUS OF ROCK! Time willing of course.

What can you tell us about The Wreckoning?

It’s truly a modern masterpiece pro-duced by John Spiker. It’s basically like our greatest hits. If it wasn’t a great song we didn’t put it on this re-cord. We worked about 13-18 hours a day for 3 weeks. The record came out great and it was long overdue. It truly does feels good. We were wait-ing for an evil producer who shall remain nameless. If you don’t go on the Trainwreck with KG and don’t buy the record you’re gonna be out of touch with modern culture and music as we know it today. YOU BET-TER DO IT. YOU BETTER. IT’S GOOD!

Does Tim Blankenship really have an ‘86 I-ROC Z28, with dual over head cams, holly headers, and center line rims?

Well it’s in the song! Yeah we aren’t sure he really exists but you know what, there’s a little bit of Tim Blan-kenship in us all, the guy that didn’t grow up but he’s still a cool guy.

What is a barn burnin’ button ruster?

It’s just a fancy way of saying it’s a hot steamy jam! You get the flavor that comes on right before JB Shredmen it starts off hot, gets hotter, then it actually bursts into flames.

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You may be asking who is Trainwreck? I’m here to tell you they are AWESOME. The portly gentlemen in the hat making that awkward face is none other than Kyle Gass, one half of the thunderous duo known as Tenacious D.

How hard is it being a 5 headed hy-dra of pleasure?Well, it’s harder than being a 1 head-ed hydra, because we have all those other heads and they’re probably a bit annoying. It’s a lot of fun The Wreck is a team! This is a team sport , so not to hard really.

Who would win in a fight Train-wreck, Tenacious D, or the Kyle Gass Project?

I’m going to go with Trainwreck just by numbers! The D is only 2 guys and in Trainwreck Darrell Donald is mountain and he will not lose in a fight. As far as The Kyle Gass Project it’s just me so i’d be fighting myself in a mirror and I’d definitely lose that one. But in all honesty we’re men of peace and we don’t believe in vio-lence.

Of your 3 alter-egos (Kyle Gass, Rage Kage, and Klip Calhoun) which would you say scores the most ladies?

I would say The Rage Kage, ah you know the ladies love The D. What can you do? When they see us it’s like an aphrodisiac. But i gotta say Klip Cal-houn has his own charm. Kyle Gass is just on his couch watching Jersey Shore, but we all love the ladies.

You’re being featured on the Spring Break issue, What is your favorite spring break moment?

I guess that one night in Fort Lauder-dale when I had five co-eds doing a video shoot on my jock! What is

Spring Break? Is that college time? I’m so old i don’t even remember college. When was that? I do like the idea of Spring Break. I encourage all the kids to drink responsibly. Isn’t that an oxymoron really? If you’re gonna drink, why drink responsibly?

I know you’re a big cannabis en-thusiast, what do you think the world can gain from the legaliza-tion of marijuana?

Well I’ve calmed down a bit. I used to be alot heavier into it but I’ve no-ticed that the older I get the more at-tached I am to my brain cells but I’m not going to lie I do indulge a bit ev-ery now and again. I mean, everyone can figure it out it’s common sense we need to get out of the state we’re in. We’re all adults and it’s the land of the free. If you wanna smoke a bit of hooch at home who the hell should be able to stop you? Does the gov-ernment really think we really eradi-cate all the pot smokers. Every one does it and it’s almost legal now you can go to California and buy it from a store for God’s sake! It’s a hell of a lot better than being drunk that’s for sure. What’s really weird is that the government openly allows ciga-rettes and alcohol. Here check this out here’s something ten times more addicting try kicking this habit!

These are a few questions that were sent in from our readers via Facebook and Twitter.

Kenny: How many of those “spe-cial” pushups can you do?I tell you what, I can do about a dozen

but i might be losing some firmness for sure one and half. If there hap-pens to be a super hot girl around I can probably do about 5 or 6.

Leo: Will there ever be a sequel to the Pick Of Destiny?

Well, I think if people write their congressman or start a letter writ-ing campaign to the mayor of Holly-wood it’s possible. It wasn’t the box office sensation we had hoped for in the business they tell you you’re only as good as your last one. It is show business after all. It’s difficult but i think we’re going to make a cartoon

and it’ll be the best one out there. I think it will be on ADULT SWIM or something like that I’m not even supposed to say. It will be out early 2012 it’s going to help prevent the world from ending.

Marco: Kyle, What’s it like playing with Jack Black?

It is truly frightening but sometimes very satisfying. He’s a great friend and collaborator. He’s just a really talented and funny guy. Creating is hard but we tried really hard. He’s an amazing friend and we’ve had a great time.


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ENTERTAINMENT IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY!

WANT YOUR EVENT PRINTED HERE?CALL US DAY OR NIGHT!

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MAGX #52 April 2010