DTXMania Billkwando

The Debutante Hour - Croak, Hiss and Sputter

2010-07-02T18:35:00.010-04:00

If I ever manage to fully comprehend the drums in this song, I may have to make a DTX of it. Just a super-charming, cute song, with a video to match.

Off topic, I will try to finish Inner Core soon. That's my current DTX-in-progress, but my computer messing up really threw me off my game.

Hirakawachi 1-chome - Yamiyo ni Umarete - DTXMania

2010-01-31T18:26:00.000-05:00

This is Yamiyo ni Umarete ( 闇世に生まれて ), another song from the brother-duo, Hirakawachi 1-chome ( 平川地一丁目 ). It's not a particularly hard song, but it has a nice driving rhythm. This is one of the fastest simfiles I've ever made, work-time wise, maybe even faster than Rap Chop. It only took me about 3 hours (take that, Mr. Me!). My wife has been trying to get me to make a simfile of this forever, so I figured I'd crank it out....and it turned out pretty ok. I don't think anyone's going to get carpal tunnel playing this song, but we beginner drummers need songs too, so there.:p If you're looking for something more impressive, watch White Feathers.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?d0ch02m3mo0
http://rapidshare.com/files/344050568/Yamiyo_ni_Umarete.zip
http://www.billkwando.com/sim/Yamiyo_ni_Umarete.zip

Enjoy!

L'Arc~en~Ciel - White Feathers - DTXMania

2010-01-30T17:05:00.000-05:00

The idea of doing this song originally seemed sorta silly to me...kind of a "for fans only" idea, because the it's so long and simple (in parts), but I think the fills and the bridge really balance it out and make it a good simfile.

It was a bit of a challenge fitting 6 toms into 3 lanes (2 cannon toms, a hi tom, mid tom, low tom, and floor tom), but I tried to make it as playable, fun and varietyish (made up word) as possible. You may notice that Sakura (their former drummer) is featured in all the graphics. Sakura was awesome, so I kinda made this a tribute to him.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?jnzejydjl3t
http://rapidshare.com/files/343548505/White_Feathers.zip
http://www.billkwando.com/sim/White_Feathers.zip

I also made a sort of "Making of" video about this simfile, to make it easier for first-time viewers of my YouTube channel to understand what they're looking at:

I made the loading graphic from snaps I took in VLC, and I was so pleased with it, I made wallpapers out of it:

http://www.billkwando.com/senseoftime800x600.jpg
http://www.billkwando.com/senseoftime1600x1200.jpg
http://www.billkwando.com/senseoftime1440x900.jpg
(the last one is widescreen)

Anyway, commence comments!

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Kaze ni Kienaide - DTXMania

2010-01-18T23:34:00.000-05:00

This is Kaze ni Kienaide ( 風にきえないで, "Don't Vanish in the Wind"). I really like this song, and the video for it, a lot. It makes me feel nostalgic for the 90's. Even though I didn't know L'Arc back then, the video is a very 90's style, and particularly evocative for me. It reminds me of stuff like Lisa Loeb, Singles, The Lemonheads, The Cure, and of course the video for Losing My Religion......by my favorite band, R.E.M. I think any video with a small room and a window in the back would remind me of that. Of course, this is a much more colorful room. The song definitely has that clean alt-rock sound that I've always gravitated to.

It's not a super heavy drum song, but I thought it would be a nice fun warmup song for any skill level. I thought making it would go by really quickly, but it didn't. It still took 3 days. Note to self: Stop living in denial. You will never finish making a DTX in one day.

I do find it amusing that Sakura still manages to throw some double bass into a light alt-rock song like this. For that reason, I've included both double bass and single bass drum versions....and for the first time in forever, I've done a medium diffculty version (and a 2BD and 1BD ver for them as well).

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/337550034/kazeni_kienaide_v1.zip
http://www.mediafire.com/?nmmit2nznjw
http://www.billkwando.com/sim/kazeni_kienaide_v1.zip

Also, am I crazy, or is Hyde singing into a rock with a cord attached?

He appears to be listening to it here. Singing into a rock.....it doesn't get any more rock than that.

Comment, or I may have to hit you with Hyde's rock.

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Be Destined (Dune ver. & Live) - DTXMania

2010-01-15T00:34:00.000-05:00

This is Be Destined, and it's easily my favorite song from Dune. My favorite was Shutting from the Sky first, then it was Floods of Tears.....but then I saw the live performance of Be Destined from Close by Dune, and that was it. It was one of those things where I decided I was gonna make the DTX one way for the other, but fortunately the drum parts are really cool (like Sakura's parts always are).

This is actually 2 different simfiles in one. It's both the album version and the live version from the Close by Dune video. It actually has a few small double bass parts. I do plan on going back and making an easier difficulty and a single bass drum version soon. The live version is a little faster than the studio version, and thus a little harder. This video shows both versions.

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/335538286/be_destined_dual_v1.zip
http://www.mediafire.com/?nmii0jyh4yj
http://www.billkwando.com/sim/be_destined_dual_v1.zip

Check it out and comment!

お気軽に日本語でのコメントも快適です。 Googleの翻訳ツールを使ってそれらを読むことを試みます。

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Floods of Tears - DTXMania

2010-01-04T22:06:00.000-05:00

I originally started out listening to Hyde, but I'm really starting to appreciate L'Arc~en~Ciel. Since lots of DTX makers do simfiles of their newer stuff, I like to kick it Sakura-style sometimes. I was really proud of how Vivid Colors came out, and I've been listening to DUNE obsessively lately, so I really wanted to do Floods of Tears. I'm pretty proud of it. I think it's a really interesting song, with a lot of cool parts. Hopefully it's fun to play. I think I may be destined to do another song from DUNE.

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/330491248/Floods_of_Tears_v1.zip
http://www.mediafire.com/?jgymijcnm4h
http://www.billkwando.com/sim/Floods_of_Tears_v1.zip

Comment, or I may be forced to chase you down the street with a can of hair spray.

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Hurry Xmas - DTXMania

2009-12-20T01:08:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas! I've been working on this DTX, a little bit at a time, all year long. It's a really fun song...though the DTX looks pretty challenging in parts. The ride cymbal is a little hard to hear in the video, but not in the actual DTX.

Maoke Jackson was kind enough to help me synch it (I'm a little out of practice since I haven't made a DTX in a while), as well as contributing some ideas.... so a big thanks goes to him. I think it may still need a few tweaks before it's perfect. Suggestions & comments are welcome.

Download:

http://www.billkwando.com/sim/HurryXmasV1.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/323345193/HurryXmasV1.zip
http://www.mediafire.com/?ontymyzwlxm

I'm not dead!

2009-11-20T00:47:00.000-05:00

Greetings, DTX-seekers! Due to some life/heath issues, I've been away for a while....but I wanted to post and say that I haven't given up on DTXing, and plan to fix the dead links soon!

I also have a special "Christmas Surprise" DTX on the way. Hmmm, I wonder what that could be?

I'm afraid to look at the page traffic at the moment, but if you're still keeping an eye on this page, thanks for your patience.

Watch out for ninjas,

Billkwando

George Washington Version 2 New & Improved!

2009-07-05T16:45:00.000-04:00

I'm enjoying my nice lazy 3-day weekend, chillin', eatin' Chinese food and playing Killer 7.....so I didn't feel like turning into "Crazy tunnel-vision DTX-makin' man" (which turns me into a zombie for about 10 hours), but I didn't want to not release anything at all.......so here it is:

A slightly more competent remake of my very first DTX simfile, about the nation's first badass. Only a little late for Independence Day. The Basic version is almost the same as my original version from last year. The Extreme version is harder, but still not "hard".

Download:

http://www.billkwando.com/sim/Washington_V2.zip

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IJE1BLJF

This one also has a preview, result images, and all the fancy stuff I didn't know how to do before. Funnily enough, I sampled the keysounds from the song when I originally made it, but I added a few new ones that I didn't know how to incorporate before.

Beastie Boys - Shake Your Rump

2009-06-25T01:33:00.000-04:00

This song is awesome. One of my favorite Beasties songs, and one of the best ones on Paul's Boutique. Lots of neat drumming action in this one. 95% of the keysounds are sampled from the song. It's probably not even worth trying to play this one with the keysounds turned off. It took about a week to do. I didn't rush or set any particular timeline for myself. It was kinda like "it's done when it's done". I was sick for the making of most of it, so that was probably for the best. I hope you guys enjoy playing it as much as I enjoyed making it. Make it funky. Free James Brown!

Download:

http://www.billkwando.com/sim/beasties-shakeyorump.zip

Comments and snacks are appreciated.

Hyde - Masquerade

2009-06-16T00:27:00.000-04:00

It's finally done! Another awesome drumming song from Hyde. This one has a lot of cymbals. Though not shown here, there's a dual lane & a right lane-only version. I'm hoping this will be the first one I don't feel the need to tweak. It took the better part of 2 days

Download:

http://www.billkwando.com/sim/MASQUERADE_v1.zip

Comments are welcome!

They Might Be Giants - Why Does the Sun Shine? (Live)

2009-06-15T19:40:00.000-04:00

This is They Might Be Giants' cover of a 50's educational song. The live version is super energetic and nothing like their studio version (or the original). It's a highlight of every TMBG show, and I've been to quite a few to see.

A really bright cheery rock song. It's another relatively easy song to play. Great for practice & warmup, or to impress the laydeez. Give it a chance & you'll likely love it.

Download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?nbqtymm0t3z

http://rapidshare.com/files/243701499/TMBG_whydoesthesunshine.zip

More TMBG on the way. They have so many good drum songs it's hard to know where to start.

TETSU69 - A Wonderful World

2009-06-08T21:31:00.000-04:00

Here's another fun song.

I watched the video a couple times on YouTube and then it got stuck in my head.....so I made a DTX! This is by Tetsu from L'Arc~en~Ciel, one of his solo songs. It's a nice, relaxed, summer-y song.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?dxzwizzlwmw
http://rapidshare.com/files/240949936/TETSU69_-A_WONDERFUL_WORLD.zip

This is a great practice song for folks like me that have a hard time with faster alternating snare/hi-hat patterns. It's 100bpm, so it's not too fast, but fast enough to be tricky if you're not used to it. If anybody wants an easier version, i'm pretty sure I can pull off a playable one for this.

I still can't play the hi-hats parts & the bass drum at the same time, so it's not quite as easy as I hoped it would be.

Download it, toss it into your list...play it as a 1st song warmup, right after Oranges! :P It grows on you.

They Might Be Giants - Oranges

2009-06-08T21:21:00.001-04:00

Fresh squeezed!

This is a short, silly song. It's sort of a joke commercial recorded for the designers of the TMBG site (at the time), The Chopping Block. It's always made me laugh, and I thought it would be a fun warmup DTX. An added humorous bonus is, if you watch the video with headphones, it sorta feels like the oranges are talking to you (due to the fact that John's voice is panned to the right channel).

E-solutions for E-verybody!

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/241889176/Oranges.zip
http://www.billkwando.com/sim/Oranges.zip

Comments/impressions are welcome.

Rap Chop - DJ Steve Porter

2009-05-22T18:48:00.000-04:00

It's done. Fastest simfile I've ever made. Here it is. You can now chop to the beat right along with Vince. I had to do it. Consider it a tribute to the genius of DJ Steve Porter.

The drum sounds are mostly classic Roland 808 samples. The lasergun (Simmons?) toms were provided by Sleazy86, and the various Slap Chop samples were slap-chopped out of the dialogue from the original commercial (with my 9 yr old copy of Cooledit). No Slap Chops (or nuts) were harmed in the making of this video.

Download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?wq22uonzzm4

http://rapidshare.com/files/235475976/Rap_Chop_v1.zip

Tacos, Frettuccine, Linguine, Martini, Bikini...

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Vivid Colors

2009-05-14T17:30:00.001-04:00

I decided to do a song from Hyde's other band (lolz). I was surprised that this wasn't in Meow's collection on GDAMania, so I figured I'd go ahead & remedy that. This one is pretty easy to play, but with blazingly fast fills. It will probably be easy to S, but hard to SS. We sucky people need easy songs too.

I used a mishmash of BaCkDrAfT's drumkits for this one. The toms are from his Solid Maple set. the snare is from the White Ash kit, and the bass drum is from the Coated Fat Boy set, and I believe I used the splash from the Solid Maple also. The rest are from my collection. I really tried to pick sounds that matched the song.

Both versions of the PV/Video are included. I used version 2 for the YT video.

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/232879006/Vivid_Colors_v1.zip
http://www.billkwando.com/sim/Vivid_Colors_v1.zip

Comments/impressions are welcome.

Hyde - Hello

2009-05-11T11:48:00.000-04:00

I'd been overlooking this song because I didn't have the video/PV in my folder-o-videos. I tried to do all the singles first, and I forgot about this one. It's 99.999 perecent done, but as always, I'll probably go back & revise it once. It's a pretty straight forward rock song, but there are some tricky-looking hi-hats in there.

There's a small skip toward the end of the YouTube video that doesn't exist in the simfile. I tried re-encoding, but it just did it again for some reason.

Download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?znntzhiq5mj

http://rapidshare.com/files/231716064/Hello_v1.zip

Comments/impressions are welcome.

Yoshida Brothers - Rising

2009-05-03T20:14:00.000-04:00

Ok, this one is finally done. Maybe. I always end up going back and revising.

If you've never heard this song, you really should listen to it once. I don't think it's possible to dislike it.

I worked really hard on the simfile, so I hope everyone likes it. I wanted to try to do the song justice, since it kicks so much ass.

I'll probably go back & tweak the keysounds and double check the fills.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?zmlznmjofzz
http://rapidshare.com/files/228860540/Rising_ver1.zip

Comments are welcome.

Hyde - Shining Over You

2009-05-02T23:14:00.000-04:00

There are 2 selectable versions, the one shown here., and a version with both cymbals in the right lane (china & crash).

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/227985169/Shining_Over_You.zip
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=cdece1ff19a71ae61bee9a6e9edd9c76af637f76cbacbd0a5be6ba49b5870170

It's been a while since my last simfile. I started this one a while back, but didn't have time to give it the attention it deserved. When I finally got my computer fixed I decided to finish this one since I wouldn't have to start from scratch. It's coming along really well.

This is probably the most interesting Hyde song I've done yet, from a drumming perspective. Many fills & interesting patterns. It's a really great song...one of the best on the album. Apparently it has some connection to Final Fantasy. I'm really proud of how it came out.

Comments/impressions are welcome.

Edit: Yoshida Brothers' Rising is almost done.

HYDE is coming to America with VAMPS!!!!!!!

2009-04-10T17:11:00.000-04:00

Watch Vamps Tour 2009 in Music | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Yes!
Hyde is doing a limited tour of the U.S.A. (and various other parts of the world) this summer, with Vamps.

He's only played in the US twice before. Once with L'Arc~en~Ciel for Otakon, and a few shows at House of Blues in California for the Faith tour in 2006. This time, he's coming to the east coast too!

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=1001163280&blogId=480481663

Tickets for the Baltimore show went on sale this morning, and I already bought mine. I hope to go to the Warped Tour show as well, but it's only going to be a 30 or 40 minute set, so I'm still trying to decide.

I didn't die or get abducted by aliens....

2009-04-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let you guys know that I haven't posted lately because I'm having major issues with my PC. I think it almost have it fixed and should be back with a DTX of Yoshida Brothers' Rising soon!

This song is completely badass:

I won't be making a DTX of this. :)

2009-03-08T16:07:00.000-04:00

Vamps new video, Trouble. Apparently, it's a cover. It's the B-side of I Gotta Kick Start Now, which releases on 3/13. Obviously the drum machines make it a less than ideal candidate for making into a DTX.

Anyway, sorry there's no new DTX this week. I've been waiting for my new drum brain/module to be delivered, and working on the setup on my drums. I got a Yoki DD908 to go with my Drum Rocker.

I'm still getting it set up, but I can say that it's nice to finally be able to do flams. The Ion midi app wasn't sensitive enough, which made Rush songs even more difficult.

I'll be back to making aimfiles next week. In the meantime, check out some of my favorite simfiles:

(Autoplay warning! Stop the media player on the left side of the screen before watching the video.)

Real Voice - Ayaka

Drink It Down - L'Arc~en~Ciel

Hanabi - Zone

Vamps - Love Addict

2009-02-24T01:22:00.000-05:00

This is Hyde's & K.A.Z's new side project, Vamps. K.A.Z co-produced Hyde's 3rd album, Faith, as well as played guitar, and wrote the music for 5 of the songs. The drums are unlike any other Hyde song I can think of.

They have an official website as well as a MySpace, with blog messages from Hyde & K.A.Z in English. Their new single "I Gotta Kick Start Now" just went on sale.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=9bf69ffa47c446330dec85adfe0a530ae04e75f6e8ebb871

The simfile is pretty tough in spots. I hope you like it.

Haruhi: Hare Hare Yukai MEGADANCE ver. by Sabbo

2009-02-24T01:04:00.000-05:00

I took the version of HHY that I found here. He's got some good stuff. I replaced the video with the creditless "full dance" version, and added my 3 other favorite remakes/parodies of the video, as alternative selectable versions.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?wjutz5vnct2
http://rapidshare.com/files/200243571/Hare_Hare_Yukai_MEGADANCE_ver.zip

It's a really great simfile.

L'arc~en~Ciel - Nexus 4 by Toinyumi

2009-02-17T23:01:00.000-05:00

I didn't make this one, but it's awesome. This was Toinyumi's first DTX, so it's pretty impressive. I didn't put my name on it. He did that after I made a couple minor timing adjustments.

I updated it. The rides were marked as crashes, so I fixed that, and I added the roto-tom samples. I tuned the sample to match the rotos in the song, using Cooledit.

You can download the original version here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=V1EZORL0

and the updated DTX (text file only) and roto-tom samples here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?0u15z2zn2zm

In the update, there's a left crash and a right crash version. Just copy into your existing Nexus 4 folder and rename (and delete the unneeded DTX files).

You can visit the discussion thread about it at GDAMania:
http://www.gdamania.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=48

Also, here's an incredible drum cover of the song. It's pretty inspiring:

Hello Asia!

2009-02-14T13:10:00.001-05:00

All of my DTXs now have a Mediafire link. Happy downloading!

Here's the direct link to the list:
My File List

Rush - Circumstances

2009-02-14T12:52:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite Rush songs. I came to Rush late in life (first heard them in '96, I was around 23), and Hemispheres was my introduction. So awesome. I remember spending all day learning the 19-note riff at the beginning of the chorus (you'll hear it in the preview) on the guitar. Took me forever to be able to play it right. We didn't have the internet back then, we had to learn songs by ear! *waves cane*

This DTX was originally converted from a midi (drum tab, midi, what's the difference, right?) and I edited & added to it. The cymbal rolls were the best I could do, and I couldn't resist doing the windchime (since I had one). As usual, the timing's not perfect, but I think it's close enough that you won't notice when you're playing it.

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/197586127/Circumstances_DTX.zip
http://www.mediafire.com/?xiimm30leij

Try it and let me know what you think.......or if you know where I can get poutine in America.

Led Zeppelin - Moby Dick

2009-02-08T14:23:00.000-05:00

This is my 2nd DTX. I started it while I was working on my Washington DTX. Obviously it took me much longer to finish, but it's a labor of love. It doesn't get any better than Led Zeppelin.

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/195640843/Moby_Dick_DTX.zip
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7S2EPD9I

Download, play it, and let me know what you think. I politely request that you try it the first time with the hit sounds ON. Turn off your fancy brain and enjoy the sounds of awesome.

I also recommend sight reading it. See if you can get an A on your first try. I dare ya. ;)

Hirakawachi 1-chome - Unmei no Mukou

2009-02-02T01:10:00.001-05:00

This is a song from my favorite Japanese band, Hirakawachi 1-chome (pronounced "ee-cho-meh", basically). Written as 平川地一丁目 in Japanese. They're brothers, and they've been playing together since they were pretty small.

Download:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FG5GLEBK
http://rapidshare.com/files/192781745/Unmei_no_Mukou_DTX.zip
http://www.billkwando.com/sim/Unmei_no_Mukou_DTX.zip

I'll probably edit and add more soon. I'm sleepy.

P'unk~en~Ciel - Feeling Fine (Live) UPDATED

2009-01-25T00:02:00.000-05:00

This song gets stuck in my head all the time, and I used to find myself wishing I had a simfile so I could play it, because it sounded really fun. I neglected to think about the fact that it also sounded really hard.

Edit (2/4/09):
I've updated this file with the following changes:

1) The hihats are no longer staggered in the choruses (fast parts). It seemed like a good idea at the time.
2) Latter part of verses are changed (I had it playing the same pattern all the way through, which was incorrect)
3) Corrected cymbal placement in the verses.
4) Lowered volume of hit sounds by 15%.

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/193630668/Feeling_Fine_V2.zip
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1FSLSSVJ

I made this one a little differently. Ken's not exactly a metronome, so it shifts a lot, tempo-wise. What I did was put 4 bass drums per measure (like a metronome) and nothing else, then I went through and synced the bass drum hits to the song before adding the rest of the beat. It ended up having 30 BPM changes. Madness. Ok, maybe a little Sparta.

I'm not entirely sure it's right, because I'm not entirely sure what Ken's doing in the verses, so suggestions & comments are welcome. So comment, or I'll leave the seat up in your bathroom and get all the ladies mad at you.

Hyde - Midnight Celebration (Live)

2009-01-20T09:58:00.000-05:00

This is the live version of Midnight Celebration from the Faith tour. It's a great song. Hyde seems to like it as well, if his enthusiasm is any indicator. What he does not seem to like are microphone stands. He murders a few here.

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FUY9Y9S4

http://rapidshare.com/files/186588618/Midnight_Celebration__Live_.zip

I'm really happy with this one. It's the first simfile I've made completely by hand since Washington. None of it is converted from a midi. I think it may even be easier to do it by hand, as you don't have to worry about fixing somebody else's mistakes.

I think I might've gone and made it too hard, but I listened very closely to the drum track in both the studio and the live version, and I'm pretty sure I have it right. *Edit* I've noticed after playing it that it's missing hi-hats in a few places that make it unintentionally awkward. I plan to fix that soon, and tweak the file a little.

Comment, or I'll come to your house and use up all your shampoo.

Hyde - Horizon

2009-01-19T23:40:00.000-05:00

Download:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NUWIQAE8
http://rapidshare.com/files/186377014/Horizon.zip

Another great song from 666. As usual, it's not perfect, but I think it's not too bad.

Enjoy, and feel free to comment. Or not. I'm not the boss of you.

Hyde - Sweet Vanilla

2009-01-11T23:42:00.000-05:00

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D9NZZUHD

http://rapidshare.com/files/182284136/Sweet_Vanilla.zip

This is one of my favorite Hyde songs, so it was fun working on it. It's funny, I normally never listen to the same song more than twice in one day, because "I don't want to get tired of it". However, when I'm working on a project like a simfile, I end up hearing the song a gazillion times, and it almost never bothers me. I guess maybe it has something to do with having recorded music before, because you often have to play something a bunch of times. It's just interesting how your mind is able to compartmentalize things like that.

There's no official video for the song so I improvised. I'm thinking about adding the Budokan version as well, so you can switch videos by tapping the hihat. Kinda like Shallow Sleep, but opposite.

It's pretty hard. For me, anyway. I might need to revise it a little. I don't think anyone will be FCing it anytime soon. Comments and impressions are welcome as always.

DTXs Gone Wrong

2009-01-11T21:28:00.000-05:00

This is a video I threw together to show some DTX disasters. These are songs I haven't gotten around to finishing yet, mostly due to BPM change issues, It's like a musical train wreck.

Hyde - Hideaway

2009-01-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

Download:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RZ3IETMX
http://rapidshare.com/files/181683761/Hideaway.zip

Yay! It's finally done. This song is from Hyde's second album, 666 (don't ask me). It's definitely more straight-ahead rock than anything on Roentgen, so if Shallow Sleep wasn't your thing, you may like this better. It's a song about gardening. Ok, the gardening is probably a metaphor, but it's an interesting one. At least he didn't use personal grooming as a metaphor ("You've grown a bit of a jungle"). Ok....that was just wrong.

The song is almost entirely in English. I've posted the lyrics with the translation in the comment section if you're curious. Watch the video and sing along if you like. "You gotta tear it up and destrooooooy!"

Play the simfile. Post in the comments. Tell me if you like it. I hope you do. :)

DTXMania Drum Rudiments by Ghostman

2009-01-04T02:22:00.000-05:00

This a great set of exercises for DTXMania, created by Ghostman of the vdrums.com forum. It's like finding a sack of drum lessons. That's a good feeling.

Download:
https://dl.getdropbox.com/u/43816/DTXFiles.zip

Unzip it to your DTXMania folder. It should show up as a new "folder" on the selection screen.

Ghostman's blog:
http://jghostman.blogspot.com/search/label/Drum%20Kit

Check out his weird drumset.

Okkusenman!

2009-01-03T17:32:00.000-05:00

This one's still technically WIP. Though each time I hear it I think "Oh the bpm issues aren't that bad".

I discovered this song through this incredible video:

It's kinda stuck with me ever since.

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OQFSKZD5

http://rapidshare.com/files/180868972/Okkusenman.zip

Comments are welcome.

Hyde - Shallow Sleep

2008-12-29T02:25:00.001-05:00

This is my 4th and most recent (finished) DTX. I like this song. It's fun to play. It includes both the English and Japanese versions of the song, as Hyde released the album in both languages. This would be a good time to remind you to tap the hi-hat twice to change diffculties, and in this case, languages. I wonder if that's a first?

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L3FXQVOK
http://rapidshare.com/files/180868974/shallowsleep.zip
http://www.billkwando.com/sim/shallowsleep.zip

I hope to work on some of Hyde's drummier stuff soon. Sweet Vanilla or Dolly would be great.

Note: Comments are now open to everyone, and do not require a Google account. Didn't notice till now.

R.E.M. - Imitation of Life

2008-12-29T00:51:00.001-05:00

*UPDATE* Fixed the crashes (removed the hihats sharing the same line as a crash). Also removed the Adv version because it was stupid & harder than the real version. New links below.

This is a song from my favorite band, R.E.M. I rationalize that by saying Joe Satriani does not count as a band per se. Thus, he is my favorite solo performer. Welcome to my mind.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=K0L8LLSN
http://rapidshare.com/files/181436854/REM_-_Imitation_of_Life_corrected_.zip
http://www.billkwando.com/sim/REM_-_Imitation_of_Life_corrected_.zip

Anyway, this is a great song with a great video. It wouldn't have been my very first choice for an R.E.M. song (Life and How to Live It, anyone?), but since I'm still mostly working off of midis at this point, I takes what I can gets.

This one took about 5 minutes, not counting tweaking and perfecting. That almost makes up for all the unfinished ones I've spent hours on. Almost.

As I mentioned on the YouTube page, it has an Advanced & Extreme (Real) version. Somehow, the Advanced version is trickier. File under "hard".

On another note: I'm all for taking requests. There's no guarantee I will be able to do your song, but if I like it at least it little, and I can find a midi with drums, I can try. Bonus points for you if you provide the midi.

Joe Satriani - Memories

2008-12-28T04:03:00.000-05:00

No, not the one from Cats.

This is my 3rd DTX. I've liked this song for about 20 years. No, really.

*UPDATED* I fixed the crashes. There were some missing, one that was mistakenly a ride, and some on the same line as the hihats, and one missing snare. There were some unnecessary hihats as well. All this has been corrected. New link below.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HXJX561F

http://rapidshare.com/files/181466232/Memories_corrected_.zip

This one came out really well. It was converted from a midi, but I carefully went through and tried to add all the original accents and fills (as close as I could, anyway). The midi actually cut off during the quiet "bloop bloop bloop bloooop" part, and I had to construct the rest of the song up to the fadeout. At least that kept me from being lazy & gave me the extra incentive to try to replicate the intricate hi-hat stuff at the end.

It's hard to play, but it's something to aspire to (for me anyway). I've included by high scores. Feel free to tell me in the comments how you smoked my score. I won't hold it against you.

It's a great song with an interesting beat. If you don't like it, you have a black, bitter heart made of chicken liver.

George Washington (my 1st simfile)

2008-12-28T03:27:00.000-05:00

Suggestion: Don't watch this video if you don't already know the song. Download the simfile and be surprised instead. :p

This was my introduction to making DTXs. I placed the inital beat by hand, then copied and pasted as the loop got longer and longer. The sync kept getting messed up so I had to do a lot of adjusting.

I originally wanted to add a 2nd difficulty ("New & Improved, Now with hi hats!"), but the file is so messed up there's no way to work with it. I plan to revisit it some time, but for now, it will just serve as a future reminder of how bad I sucked when I first started.

That said, download the song, it's awesome (believe me yet?):
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8B3WUWGE

http://rapidshare.com/files/180868975/Washington.zip

I recommend sight reading it. See if you can pass it on your first try. Tell your friends.

It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time! (Ok, not really)

2008-12-27T23:24:00.000-05:00

This is my first post. As a bit of introduction, I'm Billkwando. I recently started making DTX simfiles for DTXMania about 2 weeks ago (I think maybe 12/10/08), and wanted to post up some of my creations. This post is long, but hopefully it contains a lot of useful information.

A big "Thanks!" goes out to Warpig from the vdrums.com forums, as he taught me how to make DTXs through hieroglyphics and song (ok, actually with pictures and instructions).

As I'm still learning, suggestions and shortcuts are welcome. There are things I'm still getting the hang of, so my first few DTXs may not be perfect. I'm aware of this, so chances are minor mistakes or mistimings were simply beyond my control to fix. Hopefully there won't be many.

Anyways, enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Oh, and this is a shameless ripoff of Maoke Jackson's blog (and Haiyabusa). :p I figured my time was better spent making DTXs than trying to figure out a way to make a blog on a different site that looks different from his. At least we know blogspot already works. Expect Youtube videos soon. I'm mad original, yo.

Check him out, he makes a lot of nice DTXs. His blog is in Chinese, so you may want to use the translated version. He was also a huge help to me when I posted on the Bemanistyle forum, when I couldn't get my video to work. His video-making tutorial, translated from Chinese, was incredibly useful and got my videos up and running (cos virtualdub hates me).

Also, check out Haiyabusa. His stuff is awesome. His blog is in Chinese, so you may also want to use the translated version. I'm not gonna lie to you. This site is hard as hell to navigate, partly because it's so loaded down with graphics and autoplaying music that it take 5 or 10 seconds to load, giving the impression that there's no text on the page. There are 1 or 2 DTXs per blog page, and then you have to hit the next button. I've provided (what I believe to be) the full list of DTX links here, so you don't have to page through.

2 of my favorite DTXs are Haiyabusa's. L'arc~en~Ciel - Drink It Down (from the Devil May Cry 4 sountrack) and Real Voice by Ayaka. The 2nd, I stumbled upon, intrigued by the title. I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean, but it's surprisingly apt, considering that Ayaka doesn't sound like the typical J-pop we hear in the USA. Meaning, yes it's J-pop/rock, but she doesn't sound like an anime character or a little girl (see Whiteberry if you don't know what I mean). It's a catchy song, with good drums, and she is.....let's just say she has an encouraging demeanor.

My other favorite DTX is Zone - H・A・N・A・B・I ～君がいた夏～ by Meow. It's on GDAmania.net's (still functioning) files page. If it appears to be down, try it again in a couple minutes. It'll work. I also got GDA Creator Professional and smf2dtx there, both of which I use regularly.

I hope to make a tutorial (preferably a video tutorial) on how to get started making DTXs. I'm just trying to get a decent idea of what I'm doing first so that I can provide simple and concise instructions, plus any shortcuts or tips I can come up with to make the process easier.

Lastly, if you're interested in using Rock Band instruments for DTXMania, and/or want to reskin your lanes to match the Rock Band colors, please see my "Using Rock Band Instruments on DTXMania" page.

DTXMania Billkwando

The Debutante Hour - Croak, Hiss and Sputter

Hirakawachi 1-chome - Yamiyo ni Umarete - DTXMania

L'Arc~en~Ciel - White Feathers - DTXMania

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Kaze ni Kienaide - DTXMania

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Be Destined (Dune ver. & Live) - DTXMania

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Floods of Tears - DTXMania

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Hurry Xmas - DTXMania

I'm not dead!

George Washington *Version 2* New & Improved!

Beastie Boys - Shake Your Rump

Hyde - Masquerade

They Might Be Giants - Why Does the Sun Shine? (Live)

TETSU69 - A Wonderful World

They Might Be Giants - Oranges

Rap Chop - DJ Steve Porter

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Vivid Colors

Hyde - Hello

Yoshida Brothers - Rising

Hyde - Shining Over You

HYDE is coming to America with VAMPS!!!!!!!

I didn't die or get abducted by aliens....

I won't be making a DTX of this. :)

Vamps - Love Addict

Haruhi: Hare Hare Yukai MEGADANCE ver. by Sabbo

L'arc~en~Ciel - Nexus 4 by Toinyumi

Hello Asia!

Rush - Circumstances

Led Zeppelin - Moby Dick

Hirakawachi 1-chome - Unmei no Mukou

P'unk~en~Ciel - Feeling Fine (Live) **UPDATED**

Hyde - Midnight Celebration (Live)

Hyde - Horizon

Hyde - Sweet Vanilla

DTXs Gone Wrong

Hyde - Hideaway

DTXMania Drum Rudiments by Ghostman

Okkusenman!

Hyde - Shallow Sleep

R.E.M. - Imitation of Life

Joe Satriani - Memories

George Washington (my 1st simfile)

It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time! (Ok, not really)

George Washington Version 2 New & Improved!

P'unk~en~Ciel - Feeling Fine (Live) UPDATED