Geekscape Interviews: ‘Wordburglar’

San Diego Comic-Con is fast approaching, and so is the Comic-Con Nerd-A-Thon! The two night event presented by Tiny Nightmare Productions, Geekscape (that’s us!), and Devil’s Playground Burlesque. Night one features geek rock and comic vixens with Nerf Herder, Kirby Krackle, and H2Awesome, while night two will host DualCore, Wordburglar, Danimal Cannon, and Mega Ran.

We thought that the week before the convention would be a great time to catch up with some of the awesome talent that will be performing at the party. First up is Wordburglar, the spectacular geek-hip-hop artist that we cannot wait to hang out with (and of course, see perform).

Look for more interviews in the coming days, and don’t forget to pick up your tickets to the Comic-Con Nerd-A-Thon! They’re selling out fast, so grab them here while you still can! Now, on to Wordburglar!

Geekscape: Is this your first SDCC? If not, what is your favorite SDCC memory, and how long have you been attending?

After years of waiting, yes, 2013 will be my first time at SDCC.

Geekscape: Besides the Nerd-A-Thon event, what do you want to do most while you’re at SDCC?

I love walking the floor at conventions and taking in all the craziness. I’m always on the hunt for cool new comics, t-shirts and the odd GI JOE figure too. But most of all I’m just looking forward to meeting some creators I admire and maybe getting a couple sketches. You’ll probably find me at a bunch of the comic book panels and anything that has to do with GI JOE haha.

Geekscape: What got you into music and how did you end up with your style?

As a kid I don’t remember a time where music wasn’t playing in my house. My parents had tons of records – The Beatles, Gordon Lightfoot, disco, motown, Michael Jackson, etc and I just always loved the melodies, beats etc. I discovered rap music at around age 6 or 7 and got hooked right away. My earliest rap heroes were Run DMC, Fresh Prince, Young MC, Public Enemy and Maestro Fresh Wes and I remember writing my first rhymes in grade six. My style evolved from years and years of writing crazy rhymes and having no one around to tell me to stop haha.

Geekscape: Would you call it a geek-centric style?

Haha well I’m definitely a geek – from music, to comic books, to video games to sports I get pretty nerdy about stuff. With my music I’ve always strived to be as honest as possible – which tends to manifest into obscure Valiant comics references and Toronto Blue Jays stats haha. But seriously, you gotta rap about what you know, right? So I rap about what I love – and a lot of that can be pretty geeky.

Geekscape: What makes you a geek?

Having lots of cool interests. And being a fan of the Quintessons.

Geekscape: Who are your geek heroes?

Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Larry Hama, George Lucas, Gene Roddenberry, Shigeru Miyamoto – creators who build entire worlds and characters where your imagination can just go nuts. I’m also a big Simon Pegg fan – I love Spaced, could watch that series over and over again.

Geekscape: Do you have anything special planned for the Nerd-A-Thon?

I’m planning a Galactus-level rhyming event. Bring an ultimate nullifier.

Geekscape: How do you approach writing/creating your music? Is it always from a geek mindset?

In terms of approaching songs with a committed obsession to making them awesome, yes, every time haha. With my latest album “Welcome To Cobra Island” it’s inspired by my love of old GI JOE comic books and cartoons, so I’ve definitely had to tap into my geeky side. Remembering weird tidbits of info, re-watching cartoons and flipping through old comics have all been key to making this record and turning these obscure things into songs. Which has been super fun. On 3rdburglar for example, some of the songs – like “Dude where’s my AT-AT at?” and “Drawings With Words” are very specific to Star Wars and comic books so I definitely came at them with a geek mindset. I’m making songs that I want to hear, so I guess in a way they’re already doomed to be geeky.

Geekscape: Movies, video games, comics, TV… what are the geek things you are into?

All of the above, but probably most of all comics. Right now I’m loving a lot of the BOOM & Image titles like Saga, Manhattan Projects, Revival, Deathmatch and Suicide Watch. Also just started reading The Wake from Vertigo which is fantastic. And I finally finished Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire – really great series. In terms of TV I like Venture Bros, Archer, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, y’know the good stuff. Also I’m a huge LOST fan still. Movie wise this summer I was blown away by Star Trek 2 and I’m looking forward to Elysium. Games wise I’m a pretty classic gamer, I much prefer side-scrollers and old school RPGs to the new stuff. I also once held the record for NARC in Nintendo Power.

Geekscape: What is the geekiest thing you do when no one is around (be honest, we won’t tell anyone (in person)?

Trying to memorize all of the GI JOE characters real names. Ralph Pulaski is Steeler.

Wordburglar’s latest album, “Welcome To Cobra Island” is available here. Again, Wordburglar is performing on night 2 (July 20th) of the Comic-Con Nerd-A-Thon, and it’s going to be incredible. We hope to see you there!