Kid Beyond
Encyclopedia
Kid Beyond is a singer, beat boxer
and live looper
based in the San Francisco area.
and was a leader in the co-ed fraternity Zeta Delta Xi
. He sang in the Jabberwocks, a student a cappella
group. He graduated in 1991 and moved to San Francisco to form the House Jacks with Deke Sharon
, recording "Naked Noise" and "Funkwich" with the band (the latter for Tommy Boy Records
).
He left the House Jacks in 1997.
In 2004 Kid Beyond made a cameo appearance as an actor in the music video Maximum Wage
, which featured music he co-created with Andrew Bancroft
.
He released his first solo EP, Amplivate, in 2006.
. He has also performed at major music festival
s, including sets at Burning Man
atop a Unimog, the Langerado
festival, the 2007 Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival
, and Coachella
.
His song from "Amplivate","Mothership", was used in NBA Live 08 by EA Sports.
While opening for Buckethead
in San Francisco on February 15, 2008, Kid Beyond mentioned recording vocals for "Free Bird
" and other songs for Guitar Hero II
.
Kid Beyond performed at the inaugural w00tstock
shows at the Swedish American Hall, San Francisco, California on October 19 and 20, 2009.
as well as live looping
. The looped pieces make heavy use of Ableton
's Live
software on a laptop to layer and loop vocal and vocal percussion
tracks together to create full songs. Prior to concerts, the software is configured with the tracks that will be used in each piece, including any necessary effects and levels, but lacking any audio. A set of MIDI
controller foot pedals allow Kid Beyond to control the software during performance, enabling him to record, play, and manipulate the audio tracks with a set of predefined macros. In some cases, a single press of a pedal performs multiple actions, such as muting one track while initializing recording on another.
In recognition of his innovative techniques, Ableton
made him a featured artist on their website and presented him at a series of clinics in Germany. The associated footage was shown on a number of viral video
sites.
as The Mad Hatter
/The White Rabbit
/The March Hare
, and in the 2005 game Star Wars: Republic Commando
, where he does the voices of Clone Advisor and Delta 40 "Fixer".
He also provided several voices in graphic adventure titles by Telltale Games
, including Phoney Bone and Ted the bug in the Bone
adaptations, a pair of suspects in CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder
, and most notably Max for the first episode "Culture Shock" of Sam & Max Season One before being replaced by William Kasten for the rest of the series due to health reasons. Recent Telltale Games characters include a few pirates in Tales of Monkey Island
and Narrator, Papierwaite, and a Moleman in Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse
. He also voiced Biff Tannen
in Back to the Future: The Game
.
He has also provided his vocal talents for the cover versions of the songs from Konami's Karaoke Revolution
video game series starting with Karaoke Revolution Volume 2
. His song "Mothership" is on Tap Tap Revenge 2. He has appeared in the official video game adaptation of Iron Man 2
as the villain Ultimo and JARVIS
.
He appears as Penny Arcade's
Tycho Brahe in Poker Night at the Inventory
, making him the first actor to ever portray the character.
Beatboxing
Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...
and live looper
Live looping
Live looping is the recording and playback of looped audio samples in real-time, using either hardware or software. It is a process with numerous sonic directions, open to instrument textures, improvisation and composition techniques. Famous musicians who use this technique include Australian...
based in the San Francisco area.
Early career
Chaikin attended Brown UniversityBrown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
and was a leader in the co-ed fraternity Zeta Delta Xi
Zeta Delta Xi
Zeta Delta Xi is a local, co-educational fraternity at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It traces its origins to 1852 as the Epsilon chapter of the all-male national fraternity Zeta Psi. In 1982, the Epsilon chapter decided to admit women as brothers. This led to the chapter's...
. He sang in the Jabberwocks, a student a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group. He graduated in 1991 and moved to San Francisco to form the House Jacks with Deke Sharon
Deke Sharon
Deke Sharon is an American singer, arranger, composer, director, producer and teacher of a cappella music, and is one of the leaders of the contemporary a cappella community and a pioneer of the contemporary a cappella style, referred to as "the father of contemporary a cappella" by some...
, recording "Naked Noise" and "Funkwich" with the band (the latter for Tommy Boy Records
Tommy Boy Records
Tommy Boy Entertainment is an independent record label started in 1981 by Tom Silverman.-History:...
).
He left the House Jacks in 1997.
In 2004 Kid Beyond made a cameo appearance as an actor in the music video Maximum Wage
Maximum Wage (film)
Maximum Wage is a short film/music video about a disgruntled doughnut shop worker who wants to make "maximum wage". It stars Andrew Bancroft who plays the role of Jelly Donut.-Plot:...
, which featured music he co-created with Andrew Bancroft
Andrew Bancroft
-Films:Bancroft wrote and starred in Evolution: The Musical! which was screened at the 2008 San Francisco International Film Festival. He also wrote, directed and starred in the music video "Maximum Wage".-Features in the media:...
.
He released his first solo EP, Amplivate, in 2006.
Performances
Kid Beyond has toured nationally with Imogen HeapImogen Heap
Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap is a Grammy Award-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes...
. He has also performed at major music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s, including sets at Burning Man
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
atop a Unimog, the Langerado
Langerado
Langerado Music Festival is an annual music festival, taking place in early spring in South Florida, first organized in 2003 by Ethan Schwartz and Mark Brown. In 2008 the festival was held at the Seminole Big Cypress Indian Reservation in the Everglades...
festival, the 2007 Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival
Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival
Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival is a four-day music festival held in early June at Mulberry Mountain near Ozark, Arkansas. The festival has been held annually since 2004....
, and Coachella
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
.
His song from "Amplivate","Mothership", was used in NBA Live 08 by EA Sports.
While opening for Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
in San Francisco on February 15, 2008, Kid Beyond mentioned recording vocals for "Free Bird
Free Bird
"Free Bird" is a song by the American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd...
" and other songs for Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero...
.
Kid Beyond performed at the inaugural w00tstock
W00tstock
w00tstock, billed as "3 Hours of Geeks & Music," is a special event featuring music, comedy, readings, short films, and demonstrations. Shows in 2009 took place in two locations: the Swedish American Hall in San Francisco, California on October 19 and 20; and Largo in Los Angeles, California on...
shows at the Swedish American Hall, San Francisco, California on October 19 and 20, 2009.
Techniques
Kid Beyond's performances often include some traditional beatboxingBeatboxing
Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...
as well as live looping
Live looping
Live looping is the recording and playback of looped audio samples in real-time, using either hardware or software. It is a process with numerous sonic directions, open to instrument textures, improvisation and composition techniques. Famous musicians who use this technique include Australian...
. The looped pieces make heavy use of Ableton
Ableton
Ableton AG is a Berlin-based music software company that produces and distributes the production and performance suite Ableton Live and a collection of related instruments and sample libraries.- History :...
's Live
Ableton Live
Ableton Live is a loop-based software music sequencer and DAW for Mac OS and Windows by Ableton. The latest major release of Live, Version 8, was released in April 2009. In contrast to many other software sequencers, Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for...
software on a laptop to layer and loop vocal and vocal percussion
Vocal percussion
Vocal percussion is the art of creating sounds with one's mouth that approximate, imitate, or otherwise serve the same purpose as a percussion instrument, whether in a group of singers, an instrumental ensemble, or solo.-In Western music:...
tracks together to create full songs. Prior to concerts, the software is configured with the tracks that will be used in each piece, including any necessary effects and levels, but lacking any audio. A set of MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIDI is an industry-standard protocol, first defined in 1982 by Gordon Hall, that enables electronic musical instruments , computers and other electronic equipment to communicate and synchronize with each other...
controller foot pedals allow Kid Beyond to control the software during performance, enabling him to record, play, and manipulate the audio tracks with a set of predefined macros. In some cases, a single press of a pedal performs multiple actions, such as muting one track while initializing recording on another.
In recognition of his innovative techniques, Ableton
Ableton
Ableton AG is a Berlin-based music software company that produces and distributes the production and performance suite Ableton Live and a collection of related instruments and sample libraries.- History :...
made him a featured artist on their website and presented him at a series of clinics in Germany. The associated footage was shown on a number of viral video
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
sites.
Video game voice work
As Andrew Chaikin, he has performed as a voice-over artist for a number of video games and advertisements, prominently in American McGee's AliceAmerican McGee's Alice
American McGee's Alice is a third-person action game released for PC on October 6, 2000. The game, developed by Rogue Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, is set in an alternative universe of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
as The Mad Hatter
Mad Hatter
Hatta, the Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the story's sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. He is often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Carroll...
/The White Rabbit
White Rabbit
The White Rabbit works for the Red Queen, but is also a secret member of the Underland Underground Resistance, and was sent by the Hatter to search for Alice...
/The March Hare
March Hare
Haigha, the March Hare is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.The main character, Alice, hypothesises,...
, and in the 2005 game Star Wars: Republic Commando
Star Wars: Republic Commando
Star Wars: Republic Commando is a first-person shooter Star Wars video game, released in the US on March 1, 2005. It was developed and published by LucasArts for the Microsoft Windows and Xbox platforms. The game uses Epic Games' Unreal Engine...
, where he does the voices of Clone Advisor and Delta 40 "Fixer".
He also provided several voices in graphic adventure titles by Telltale Games
Telltale Games
Telltale Games is a leading independent digital first publisher and game developer founded in June 2004 as Telltale, Incorporated. Based in San Rafael, California, the studio includes designers formerly employed by LucasArts...
, including Phoney Bone and Ted the bug in the Bone
Bone (comics)
Bone is an independently published graphic novel series originally serialized in 55 irregularly released issues from 1991 to 2004. Bone was drawn and written by Jeff Smith....
adaptations, a pair of suspects in CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder
CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder
CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder is a computer game based on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television series. Unlike the previous CSI games, this game was developed by Telltale Games, rather than 369 Interactive...
, and most notably Max for the first episode "Culture Shock" of Sam & Max Season One before being replaced by William Kasten for the rest of the series due to health reasons. Recent Telltale Games characters include a few pirates in Tales of Monkey Island
Tales of Monkey Island
Tales of Monkey Island is a 2009 graphic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games and LucasArts. It is the fifth game in the Monkey Island series, released nearly a decade after the previous installment, Escape from Monkey Island. Developed for Windows and the Wii console, the game was...
and Narrator, Papierwaite, and a Moleman in Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse is a graphic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games. It is the third "season" of the Sam & Max episodic series created by Telltale Games, following Sam & Max Save the World and Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space...
. He also voiced Biff Tannen
Biff Tannen
Biff Howard Tannen is a character in the Back to the Future trilogy, serving as the primary antagonist of the first two films. He is played by Thomas F. Wilson in all three films as well as the ride, and Wilson voiced the character in the animated series....
in Back to the Future: The Game
Back to the Future: The Game
Back to the Future: The Game is a graphic adventure video game based on the Back to the Future film franchise. The game was developed by Telltale Games as part of a licensing deal with Universal Pictures. Bob Gale, co-creator, co-writer and co-producer of the film trilogy, assisted Telltale in...
.
He has also provided his vocal talents for the cover versions of the songs from Konami's Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution and its many sequels are video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix Music Systems and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The Original Concept for Karaoke Revolution was...
video game series starting with Karaoke Revolution Volume 2
Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution and its many sequels are video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix Music Systems and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The Original Concept for Karaoke Revolution was...
. His song "Mothership" is on Tap Tap Revenge 2. He has appeared in the official video game adaptation of Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 (video game)
Iron Man 2 is a 2010 video game loosely-based on the film of the same name. It was released on May 4, 2010, days after the film's international release and days before the film's domestic release. The game was published by Sega and developed by Sega Studios San Francisco , High Voltage Software ...
as the villain Ultimo and JARVIS
Edwin Jarvis
Edwin Jarvis is a fictional supporting character in the Marvel Comics titles, The Avengers, Iron Man, and Spider-Man.-Publication history:...
.
He appears as Penny Arcade's
Penny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
Tycho Brahe in Poker Night at the Inventory
Poker Night at the Inventory
Poker Night at the Inventory is a poker video game developed by Telltale Games. It features four crossover characters: Tycho from the Penny Arcade webcomic, Max from the Sam & Max franchise, the Heavy-class from Team Fortress 2, and Strong Bad from the Homestar Runner web series...
, making him the first actor to ever portray the character.
External links
- Official website
- Old official website which includes information on his voiceover workAudio of story Video of story.