Wild West Steam Fest, Report 2: the Star Wars Steampunk Universe & Steam Powered Giraffe
Wild West Steam Fest was nearly two weeks ago, on April 23, at the Heritage Museum of Orange County, and I had a fantastic time there. In the last blog post, I wrote about the venue, about one of the bands, Deus Ex Vapore Machina, and about the various vendors. Today, it’s going to be the Star Wars Steampunk Universe and Steam Powered Giraffe!
For those of you not familiar with these groups, after this post, I have a feeling you’ll want to know much more about them!
The SWSU
The Star Wars Steampunk Universe got its start in April, 2015, when Nathan Seekerman, aka. Captain “Solo” Seekerman, and Christopher Canole, aka. Dude Vader, decided to create the group and to invite in other cosplayers who dress as steampunk versions of Star Wars characters. They quickly began adding new members, including Baron Von Maul and Steamy Leia, and decided to do more than just cosplay.
The group is all about charity work, mostly charities that help children in some way. These include American Veterans Ride 2 Recovery, Deaf Unity Day, Alex’s Lemonade Stand, Local Animal Shelters, Salvation Army, Breast Cancer Walk, Father Joe’s Village Walk, Force for Change, and Human Society Walk.
I finally got to meet them in person, and they’re just as friendly as I imagined, especially to children. At 2:15 in the Carriage Barn they ran a panel, Cosplay for Causes. The group discussed how, as a cosplay group, they are able to get media exposure which also calls attentions to the charities they support. They attend conventions, charity fundraisers (where the kids love them), and sporting events. Organizers like the Star Wars Steampunk Universe because they draw more people to their events. Kids and parents like them because they look so damned cool and are so neighborly.
Nathan Seekerman honored me at the panel when, after my son, Clark, and I sat down, he pointed out to the attendees how much the group appreciates me for interviewing members of the group shortly after they formed, helping to spread the word about the group. I didn’t realize I had helped them so much, and that meant a lot to me. I plan to interview more members of the group in the future.
At 3:30, right after the second DEVM concert, the SWSU photo session took place, where the groups photographer and fans were able to take lots of pictures of the group. This started in the gazebo area, then moved to the mansion. The group had a highly organized approach so fans could get a lot of photos. As it started winding down, I asked to take a picture with a few of them. Then, their photographer wanted to get shots of Clark and me with the group, too! Over all, meeting them was just a blast and I’m eager to see them at future events.
Clark and I had something to eat and did a bit more shopping. I’ve already mentioned what I bought in the last post, including a pair of goggles you can expect to see in the next episode of The Mostly Steampunk Podcast.
Oh, the food there was pretty good. The museum itself sold soda, water, chips, and popcorn all day long for $1 per item. A lunch truck was there from noon to 1:30 with burgers, fries, onion rings, chicken, and vegetarian options. Later, a waffle truck arrived selling desert waffles but also sandwiches, including that amazingly delicious sweet and savory sandwich, the Monte Cristo. That was good! Clark just wanted ice cream at that point.
Steam Powered Giraffe
At 6:00 the general event closed, but everyone who paid for the concert stayed to see Steam Powered Giraffe. I admit, as much of a steampunk as I am, I had not heard of this band before, even when I’ve searched for steampunk music. It's kind of weird, as they're really popular within the sub-culture, but I'm glad I know about them now. You might have guessed, I have a new favorite band!
The concert started at about 6:30 and what a great show, and they do put on a full show. For some bands, that just means playing their songs and talking with the audience. For SPG, it’s a full, in-character story-performance. The band consists of three automatons, The Spine, Rabbit, and Hatchworth, invented in 1896 by Peter Walter, and still playing concerts to this day. I encourage you to read their creative backstory and see some of Bunny Bennett’s extraordinary accompanying art. (They are played by David Michael Bennett, Isabella "Bunny" Bennett, and Sam Luke, respectively.)
The music is a mix of western (and I mean wild west style), synth, rock, and pop, and borrows heavily from other styles to create a unique and cohesive sound. Since the concert, I’ve bought their latest five albums and have been listening to their music more than anything else. I love that they're western steampunk as well.
My favorite songs include Automatonic Electronic Harmonics, Rex Marxley, Hold Me, and Prepare for Boarding. Check out that latest one right here. I’m sharing Prepare for Boarding because it showcases the current band line-up, which has changed a couple of times over the band’s history. , but I’ve linked videos for the other songs as well. Go subscribe to them on YouTube!
Alas, the game the video is for, SteamWorld Heist, isn’t for PC! I’d love to play it if it were.
During the concert, steam often escapes from their backs, they need mechanical adjustments from Walter Robotics workers, they accidentally get switched into Japanese language mode, The Spine slaps Hatchworth repeatedly, and tons more. Not only are they all excellent musicians and singers, they all have acting and mime training, so they play entirely convincing robots.
If you ever have a chance to go see Steam Powered Giraffe, do! Meanwhile, I highly recommend that you subscribe to them on YouTube and their music. I loved the concert and the next day, when people asked Clark what he enjoyed at Wild West Steam Fest, his first answer was always, “Steam Powered Giraffe.”
After they finished playing, the audience clapping revived them and they played a great two-song encore. The concert done, they sold copies of their latest albums and signed them. Alas, as much as I wanted to meet them, it had been a long day for Clark, so we headed home. That evening I bought their latest albums, including one of them signed, from their website.
The concert was the perfect ending to an amazing day of hanging out with other steampunks and Wild West Fans. I can hardly wait for next year’s event!
More to Share
That wraps up my coverage of Wild West Steam Fest for this year! I do have a few other things to let you all know about though.
On the Bodacious Creed: a Steampunk Zombie Western front, progress continues smoothly on the novel. I decided to let my alpha readers into the loop yesterday and shared the first half or so of the book with them. That also gives me more of a push to get the rest of the second draft done, as I know people are catching up to me! They’ll be able to tell me how they think the story flows, if things are confusing here and there, if I over explain, and that sort of thing. Then, onto the third draft, where I polish the story more and so on. In going through it, I’ve realized that it may need additional scenes early on to get the plot to really unfold with all the suspense and excitement I want in there.
As such, I’ve pushed out the probably publication date to November. This is for several reasons. First, I want make the story as good as possible for all fans. Second, it will give me time to do more publicity, hopefully by getting onto various podcasts. Third, I can publish it and start the next right when NaNoWriMo starts this year.
For a free prequel story to Bodacious Creed, and more, subscribe to The Mostly Steampunk Newsletter! I use it for announcements about the blog and podcast, and will let everyone know when Bodacious Creed is finally published as well, or when new stories become available to subscribers.
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Are you a fan of the Star Wars Steampunk Universe, Steam Powered Giraffe, or both? Let me know in the comments below!
