I didn’t think I’d be able to say this with only four episodes of this podcast under my belt, but I am very pleased to be able to mark my guest for episode 5 off my wish list:

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present for your listening pleasure, Gavin Dunne, the one-man band known on the Internet as the Miracle of Sound!

Gavin sat down with me over Skype on Thursday evening, Ireland time (which translated to before sparrows, Cairns time) to talk about how he went from the frontman of a band that broke up on the verge of hitting it big to a full-time, self-employed musician with a dedicated fan base that stretches across the world!

Gav was a pleasure to chat with, and had plenty of stories and insights on what it takes to become your own personal success story in the Internet age. Plus it was fun to geek out with him about games toward the end! Listen and enjoy!

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This one was a challenge to put together, not only did I decide to include three of Gavin’s songs in it, but I also asked him for permission to use his tune “Big Ten” as the intro and outro music for the Paid to Play Podcast! It took a lot of juggling and fiddling, not to mention learning how to unlock synchronised tracks and use the time shift tool in Audacity.

The Things I Forgot / Ran Out of Time to Ask:

• What grooves / good habits are you in?
• What do you do with your takes and other data once you’re finished (compared to Gabe of Penny Arcade who deletes his working files once a strip is done)?
• Who’s your competition?
• Which Irish musicians / bands would you recommend?
• In the past you’ve been asked about whether you want to do music for video games. Have there been any further developments on that front?
• What have you done to get stuck into music creation for games in the meantime?
• People I’ve played “Joker’s Song” for have immediately commented that it sounds like a musical number. Have you ever considered becoming Andrew Lloyd Gamer?

If I Get To Interview Gavin Again Later:

• How was performing your songs live at The Escapist Expo?

Are You Curious?

What do you love doing so much that you’d keep doing for days at a stretch (if other commitments weren’t in the way)?

What have you created to cheer yourself up?

How has a video game inspired you to do something?

If I interviewed Gavin again:

What would you like me to ask him about his music career?

Which a game would you like him to do a song about?

Show Notes

Miracle of Sound

• Official Site
• On Bandcamp
• On YouTube
• On The Escapist
• On iTunes

Songs

• Played during the podcast:
  • “Commander Shepard”
  • “Legends of the Frost” featuring Malukah
  • “Brothers of the Creed”
• Mentioned in the podcast:
  • “Gordon Freeman Saved My Life” on the Rock Band Network!
  • “Take It Back”
  • “Joker’s Song”
  • “Sovngarde Song”
  • “Shadows in the Moonlight”
  • “She’s Gonna Teach You (How To Rock And Roll)”
  • “Big Ten”

Music Kit

• Gibson Les Paul Guitars
  • Gav shows off his baby on YouTube
• Fender Jazz Bass
• Cubase
• Audacity

Games

• Half-Life 2
• Mass EffectSeries
  • Leviathan DLC
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  • Mods – Skyrim Nexus (a modding community)
• Fallout 3
  • Mods – Fallout 3 Nexus (a modding community)
• Sleeping Dogs
• Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
• Far Cry 3
• Grand Theft Auto 5
• Aliens: Colonial Marines
• Batman: Arkham City
• Assassin’s Creed Series

People and Places

• The Escapist
• HMV
• Malukah

Featured image from Miracle of Sound’s Level 2 album.