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Chicago band slays dragons with music

Photo by Alex Goykhman. I Fight Dragons, a pop/rock group from Chicago, combines instrumentals with Nintendo-based electronic sound bites.
Alex Goykhman
Photo by Alex Goykhman. I Fight Dragons, a pop/rock group from Chicago, combines instrumentals with Nintendo-based electronic sound bites.
Photo by Alex Goykhman. I Fight Dragons, a pop/rock group from Chicago, combines instrumentals with Nintendo-based electronic sound bites.

 

I Fight Dragons is a band of geeks, for geeks and by geeks, and that is part of what makes them so entirely perfect.

The video game-loving dragon fighters got their first taste of fame opening alongside Travie McCoy, 3oh!3 and Cobra Starship during MTV’s summer 2010 “Too Fast For Love” tour, and the group was recognized by the Alternative Press as one of 100 bands to watch in 2011. After two successful EPs garnered a loyal Internet following, including 2009’s “Cool Is Just A Number” and 2010’s “Welcome to the Breakdown,” the group released their first full-length album “KABOOM!” in October of 2011. If the evidence is not yet compelling, there are (at least) three important reasons to love I Fight Dragons:

1. These five guys are technological geniuses.

The 1980s saw the emergence of chiptune music, when it was discovered that SID chips could be used to “rip” sound bites from older video game and computer systems. I Fight Dragons took chiptune music to the next level, though, as the result of an accidental discovery.

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“Chiptune had been around for a while,” lead singer Brian Mazzaferri said. “We invented the game-controller part of chiptune by accident. We can hook up a Gameboy or a Nintendo, and we’re actually playing it and making the sounds into something playable at the same time. We’re instrumentalists.”

Among the repertoire of a stage set for I Fight Dragons, including the usual array of drums, guitars and microphones, are a Nintendo Gameboy, a Zapper gun reminiscent of the beloved Nintendo game “Duck Hunt,” a Guitar Hero plastic six string and a Power Pad floor mat, preserved from the days before “Dance Dance Revolution.” And each produces its own unique sound.

“I have no musical talent, and I’m pretty bad at video games,” graduate student Matt Shelly said. “So, for them to be able to turn a Super Nintendo controller into an instrument, and play it successfully, blows my mind.”

As self-professed “geeks,” I Fight Dragons’ music finds a special appreciation among fellow gamers. Citing Super Nintendo as a “formative system,” Mazzaferri said popular video games have influenced some of the group’s biggest hits.

“Final Fantasy 3 is my favorite,” Mazzaferri said. “It’s kind of the epitome of Super Nintendo role-playing games. You can hear a lot of those sounds in our music, like ‘Prelude’ and ‘Fanfare.’”

One of I Fight Dragons’ most beloved YouTube videos, “Rickroll + Mario,” is a Mario and Luigi-style cover of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Zelda, too, is a recurrence in the group’s music, epitomized by the overall theme “Save World Get Girl” and “I Fight Ganon,” a remake of the Zelda theme song that showcases an upbringing in a cappella and impeccable vocal harmony.

2. The music industry needs more “smart rockers.” 

Poeticism and majestic metaphor dominate much of modern songwriting. (Think “I love you like a love song,” and forgive the Selena Gomez reference). The best songs are the “smart” ones: Songs that tell a story to withstand the test of time, including stories about fighting for someone you love, partying with your friends and even stories about crushing on your friends’ parents.

“Fountains of Wayne is definitely my all-time favorite band,” Mazzaferri said. “I had already loved their music for five years before ‘Stacy’s Mom’ came out, and it was their big smash single. Luckily, it didn’t ruin them. They had great stuff before, and they’ve continued to come out with great stuff ever since.”

Somewhere alongside the beeps and boops of I Fight Dragons’ tech-heavy signature sounds, the same lyrical genius can be found. Personal favorites include “No One Likes Superman Anymore,” an angst-y song off of “Cool Is Just A Number” about turning on the superheroes you grew up with, and “Don’t You,” which Mazzaferri said is “a well-mixed demo” that made its way on the full-length album when the group’s record label fell in love with the nerd-style party rock anthem. Mazzaferri said that the band originally made more than 60 songs for “KABOOM!” and that the tracks which made it on the album “won out.”

“We literally had to fight for every single song on the album,” Mazzaferri said.

3. I Fight Dragons will never be able to be replicated. 

Video games are replaceable, and their sounds can be recycled, but I Fight Dragons’ one-of-a-kind vocals, backed by impressive instrumental support and techie toys, are not. Best of all, the Chicago natives are genuine, fan-loving friends. New to the headlining gig, the group makes a special effort to stick around after their shows, clad in matching black suits and neon-lined capes, to “geek out” with their followers.

Shelly, who has met and Facebook friended all five members of I Fight Dragons, said that the group’s approachability is part of what makes them so appealing.

“I don’t think that they would hesitate to invite fans over for a Mario Kart tournament,” Shelly said. “Not only could they beat my high score, but they would do it with a level of artistic mastery that I can only dream of.”

SLU graduate Matt Gonnerman, of the class of 2011, shared the same sentiments.

“The reason I love them so much is that they are the perfect combination of high- energy rock and nerdy-ness,” Gonnerman said.

Fresh off their latest album, “The Geeks Will Inherit The Earth” is a rally song for fans of one of the modern music world’s best-kept secrets. And, being geeks themselves, the men of I Fight Dragons had just one question left to answer.

“I think the best part about being a geek is geeking out with other people,” Mazzaferri said. “You can be a geek about almost anything— a sports geek, a history geek— but the best thing is finding people who are the same type of geek that you are.”

I Fight Dragons will make a stop at the Firebird on Sunday, Nov. 20. Tickets are $12, and can be purchased at firebirdstl.com.

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