Look up spoiler in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Spoiler may refer to:

• Spoiler (aeronautics), a device to reduce lift in aeronautics
• Spoiler (automotive), a device to modify air flow in order to increase fuel efficiency or improve handling in automobiles
• Spoiler (sports), a team that has been eliminated from the playoffs, and beats a team that required that win to advance
• Spoiler (media), a comment which discloses plot details of a book, play, video game, or film, or is intended to distract attention from a rival
• Spoiler (comics), a secondary character in the DC comic book Robin
• Spoiler (film), a comedy film project in New York City
• Spoiler effect, an individual unable to win an election or game for him- or herself, but with the power to determine which player among two or more others will win
• Mighty Spoiler, a popular calypso singer
• Don Jardine, a professional wrestler also known as "the Spoiler"
• The Spoiler (album) a 1966 album by jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

MC Frontalot
MC Frontalot performing in April 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Damian Hess
Also known as	MC Frontalot
Born	(1973-12-03) December 3, 1973 (age 38)
Origin	San Francisco, California, USA
Genres	Nerdcore hip hop
Occupations	Songwriter, Rapper, Web Designer
Instruments	Rapping
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Level Up
Website	frontalot.com

Damian Hess (born December 3, 1973), better known by stage name MC Frontalot, is a Brooklyn-based hip hop musician and self-proclaimed "world's 579th greatest rapper". He is best known in nerdcore hip hop and video game culture, for naming the nerdcore subgenre, and performing at Penny Arcade's annual Penny Arcade Expo. Hess graduated from Wesleyan University in 1996 with degrees in English and Electronic Music.

Career[link]

Early days[link]

Hess began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. His first successes came through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and recording competition, where he became known for consistently beating opponents. Throughout his history at Song Fight!, he has never lost a competition as MC Frontalot, although he has entered only seven entries in that name.^[1] In one such song fight, entitled "Romantic Cheapskate", he likens Song Fight! to a neglected lover who favours him regardless of how he treats her.^[2] The song went on to garner a total of 614 votes, while the next closest song ended the round with 28.^[3]

Nerdcore[link]

In 2000 he released the song "Nerdcore Hiphop". The song became an immediate hit in the geek and nerd communities. The rap subgenre of nerdcore hip hop, which had already been in development by various performers, embraced the title and has since been expanding rapidly.

Many consider Hess the founder of nerdcore. However, he has pointed out on his information webpage that many artists came before whom he considers his peers.

Hess released his first studio album on August 27, 2005. Entitled Nerdcore Rising, the album contains six new songs, along with 10 remixed versions of past tracks. Some of the new tracks contain production by popular online musicians from Song Fight!, including indie rock and hip hop artist Doctor Popular.

Spotlight[link]

Performing live at PAX, 2004.

On March 18, 2002, popular webcomic Penny Arcade (whose creators were long-time fans of Hess) declared Frontalot their rapper laureate, directing fans to his website.^[4] He has acknowledged that single act made his popularity skyrocket. In appreciation, he wrote and recorded the "Penny Arcade Theme" a few months later, which was in his own (tongue-in-cheek) words: "an attempt to cash in on their huge and devoted audience."^{[citation needed]}

He has appeared at every Penny Arcade Expo from 2004 to 2011 and Nerdcore Rising is now sold through the Penny Arcade Store. "Penny Arcade Theme" and "Which MC Was That?" both appear in the dance video game In the Groove. He also features on the Baddd Spellah track "Rhyme of the Nibelung", which was the winner of CBC Radio 2's Remix the Ring contest.

A new track 'Final Boss' featured over the end credits in the 2008 game Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness- Episode 1.

MC Frontalot appears occasionally in the webcomic Overcompensating by Jeffrey Rowland

MC Frontalot has also been seen on commercials for G4 TV, as well as being on the show Freestyle 101 where he sang parts of his songs with freestyle lines connecting them.

Additionally, comic book illustrator Tony Moore became a fan of both Frontalot and fellow nerdcore artist MC Hawking, drawing both of them as zombies in an early issue of The Walking Dead series. Hess appears in a white shirt, tie and glasses, with the word "Front" written on his pocket protector; he is seen eating a deer.

A song written and performed by Frontalot based on the webcomic Achewood titled "Living At the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" has been that website's theme song since 2006. On September 2, 2008 as part of a Penny Arcade download pack, "Living At the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" was chosen for inclusion as a downloadable track for the video game Rock Band. The week of September 14, 2009 saw the release of "Origin of Species" (a satire of Creation Science) which was included in the Penny Arcade Expo track pack.

Live performances[link]

Although most of his fanbase is online, Hess gave a handful of live performances while living in San Francisco, and several more after moving to New York City. His first official tour started on May 12, 2006, with shows mostly in the Southeast United States.^[5] When he performs, he plays with a full ensemble, including keyboardist and frequent collaborator Gminor7, bassist Blak Lotus, and drummer The SturGENiUS. Other occasional band members include G.LATINusKY00B, The Categorical Imperative, Vic 20, and 56K. He finished a tour with Schäffer The Darklord as of 25 November 2007 and started another tour on 1 November 2008 with MC Lars and YTCracker. As of June 2010, he's been touring with alternative rock musicians, Wheatus, on their UK leg of their 10th anniversary tour; on occasion providing guest vocals on some of their live jams, as well as Wheatus offering musical accompaniment on some of his tracks.^[6]

Film[link]

Hess starred as "TP Factory Rapper" in the Sesame Street direct-to-video movie Elmo's Potty Time.^[7]

Nerdcore Rising is a documentary/concert film starring Hess and various other nerdcore artists such as mc chris, Optimus Rhyme and MC Lars with contributors such as "Weird Al" Yankovic, Prince Paul and Brian Posehn. The film, directed and produced by Negin Farsad, premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. It combines interviews about nerdcore and its origins, with footage of Frontalot's 2006 Nerdcore Rising national tour.^[8]

As the lead voice-box for nerd culture, Hess was interviewed in Alexandre O. Philippe's documentary, The People vs. George Lucas, which premiered at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival. Hess attended the festival as a musician and panelist.

Musical influences[link]

Much of his earlier music features samples from other artists' works, many times using music acquired from famous artists such as Paul Simon, They Might Be Giants, James Brown, Fiona Apple, and many others.^[9] He addresses his borrowing of various drum beats in the song "Good Old Clyde", a song commenting on and using the popular "Funky Drummer" drum break by Clyde Stubblefield.^[10]

Since he began selling his albums commercially, Hess has collaborated on almost all his tracks with Baddd Spellah, an electronic musician and hip-hop beatsmith, and Gaby 'Gminor7' Alter, a composer and keyboardist whose playing was the basis for many of Frontalot's earlier songs. Hess has also collaborated with fellow rappers such as MC Hawking and Canadian rapper Jesse Dangerously.^[11]

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

• Nerdcore Rising (2005)
• Secrets from the Future (2007)
• Final Boss (2008)
• Zero Day (2010)
• Solved (2011)

Other Releases[link]

• Nerdcore Hiphop (freely available demo)

^[12][13]

Non-album tracks[link]

• "24 Hours" (abandoned demo)
• "Bitchslap" (by MC Hawking)
• "My Sister" (by Duboce Triangle with The JBB)
• "Oh, the Hilarity" (from Indie Pop Cares a Lot)
• "Rappers We Crush" (with Kompressor)
• "Rhyme of the Nibelung" (with Baddd Spellah)
• "Romantic Cheapskate" (with Baddd Spellah for Song Fight!)
• "Soda Water" (by Jess Klein)
• "Start Over" (for a compilation of songs for children)
• "Oneonta (Eli Porter)" (with YTCracker and MC Lars on The Digital Gangster LP)
• "O.G. Original Gamer (with MC Lars on the MC Lars album This Gigantic Robot Kills)
• "Don't Wear Those Shoes" (for the "Weird Al" Yankovic tribute album Twenty-Six and a Half)
• "Another First Kiss" (for the They Might Be Giants "Mink Car" tribute album.

Known recorded live sets[link]

• July 7, 2001: "Songfight Live West Coast" — Hot Lunch, San Francisco, California, USA (two songs)
• October 24, 2002: "Young Zombies in Love Release Party" — Voodoo Lounge, San Francisco, California, USA
• July 26, 2003: "Song Fight Wet & Wild" — Finn MacCool's Public House, Seattle, Washington, USA (two songs, incomplete recording, the infamous "drunk set")
• December 12, 2003: "Both Hands on the Mic" — The Accordion, San Francisco, California, USA
• August 2004: Penny Arcade Expo — Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, Washington, USA (a partial video recording of the set is available as well)
• May 15, 2004: Belladonna, Berkeley, California, USA
• June 15, 2005: Living Room, New York, New York City, USA (one verse of "unnecessary rap breakdown" during a Jess Klein show)
• June 23, 2005: The Bitter End, New York, New York City, USA
• August 27, 2005: Penny Arcade Expo — Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, Washington, USA (video recording believed to be upcoming)
• August 26, 2006: Penny Arcade Expo — Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, Washington, USA
• September 15, 2007: Kingdom of Loathing Convention - The Sets, Tempe, Arizona, USA
• November 25, 2008 Knitting Factory - Hollywood, California, USA

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official MC Frontalot website, includes official song lyrics, news, music, and forum
• Such a Scream, Hess's professional website
• MC Frontalot on Myspace
• MC Frontalot at the Internet Movie Database
• MC Frontalot convention appearances on AnimeCons.com
• MC Frontalot discography at MusicBrainz
• Nerdcore Rising: The Movie Trailer on YouTube

Freddie Wong
freddiew
Wong in October 2010
Date of birth	1985/1986 (age 26)[1][2]
Hometown	Seattle, Washington
Nationality	United States
Games	Guitar Hero 2, Portal 2

Freddie Wong is an American filmmaker, musician, VFX technician and e-Sports player. He maintains two popular YouTube channels, "freddiew" and "freddiew2". He is the older brother of fellow YouTuber Jimmy Wong.^[3][4]

Biography[link]

Wong graduated from Lakeside School.^[5] He then attended and graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.^[5] Wong owns and manages Overcrank Media, a Los Angeles based media production company specializing in feature film and online video content, having produced an independent film titled Bear. Wong met his future collaborator Brandon Laatsch in college. They have collaborated with various Hollywood artists, and with video game development companies.

Notable accomplishments[link]

Wong competed in the World Series of Video Games in Dallas in July 2007. He won first prize in the Guitar Hero 2 competition, playing the song "Less Talk More Rokk" by Freezepop.^[6][7]

During MTV's "Gamer's Week" celebration in November 2007, Freddie appeared as a guest on Total Request Live.^[8] Participating in the program with his newly-formed band Hellanor Brozevelt, Wong was part of a country-wide search to find the best Rock Band ensemble. After receiving tutelage from well-known rockers Good Charlotte, Brozevelt performed at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York against Chicago-based Carrie Me Home.^{[citation needed]}

For the release of Rock Band, the band Hellanor Brozevelt was commissioned to play at the Best Buy in Hollywood, CA for the midnight release of the game.^[9]

Freddie Wong performed at the first (and only) YouTube Live in San Francisco on November 22, 2008.

He maintains two YouTube channels,^[10][11] with the main channel having a total of 611 million video views and over 3.1 million subscribers,^[12] and the second with 112 million video views and 0.9 million subscribers.^[13] Wong has successfully attracted mainstream attention as well, with Andy Whitfield appearing in a Time Crisis tribute video, Kevin Pollak appearing in a Hypnotism stunt, Shenae Grimes in a romantic gun action scene, Ray William Johnson in a troll infestation video, Eliza Dushku appearing in an action scene, Jon Favreau featuring in his video based on Cowboys & Aliens, and the glam metal band Steel Panther appearing in his video based on the Crossfire board game.

In 2010 he helped Joe Penna, known as MysteryGuitarMan on YouTube, shoot a commercial for McDonald's.^[14] In 2011 Wong produced, co-directed, and acted in a TV commercial for Battlefield 3 at the request of Electronic Arts.^[15][16]

Since 2011 he, along with his partners, has worked on the webseries Video Game High School, which began releasing episodes on May 10, 2012.

Filmography[link]

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Slater, Grant (7 July 2007), "Mild-mannered gamers become rock stars for a day", Associated Press Newswires 
• Sperounes, Sandra (23 February 2008), "Internet phenomenon a Guitar Hero for hire", Winnipeg Free Press: p. c13 

External links[link]

Find more about Freddie Wong on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons

• www.facerocker.com
• www.freddiew.com
• Freddie Wong on Twitter
• Freddie Wong on Facebook
• FreddieW's channel on YouTube
• freddiew2's channel on YouTube
• Freddie Wong at the Internet Movie Database

Matthew Arnold (born 22 December 1961) is a TV reporter based in London, England.

Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, Arnold was educated at Gresham's School in Norfolk from 1975 to 1980. He then backpacked around the world before joining the Royal Navy in 1986 as an Aircrew Officer, flying in Lynx helicopters. His five-year commission in the Navy came to an end in 1991

He then worked as a runner on the ITV daytime quiz show Talk About, before returning to college to study journalism at Highbury College in Hampshire.

His next job was with Capital Radio's Flying Eye in 1993, in which he navigated Londoners through traffic for two years.

In 1995 Arnold became one of the first presenters on the new national cable television channel L!VE TV, covering showbiz and sport stories. In 1996 he joined HTV as a sports presenter and in 1999 was promoted to be the HTV news presenter for documentaries and magazine shows. He next became a sports reporter at Sky News and in 2002 presented a special two-part documentary on the Glastonbury Festival for ITV. In 2003 he began with GMTVas their Northern Correspondent, relocating to London in 2007 before leaving the show in 2010.

He sings in a band called The Intelligence Men, which has released two singles. He lives with his wife Dominique (married 2005) and baby son in Surrey. In 2009 They had twins (a boy and a girl) and in 2010 moved to Cambridgeshire after GMTV ended. Matt is now a freelance journalist and film-maker working for the BBC and corporate clients.

External links[link]

• Matt Arnold at gm.tv

This article about a British journalist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e