FUZZY: Is your music only for D&D fans?

Honestly, no. I have found that liking D&D doesn't mean that you'll like the music. But I do think that the D&D connection makes it so D&D players are at least curious. That helps get some people through the door but in the end music has to be enjoyed on its own merits.

FUZZY: Why the Barrier Peaks? What's in this module that piqued your interest?

I am a big fan of classic fantasy and I'm a big fan of retro sci-fi. The idea that your typical Tolkien-esque adventuring party is making their way through a crash landed spaceship ticks a lot of boxes for me. And the fact that the module was written in 1980 means that all the technology is wonderfully dated. I'm still more inspired by an old Tandy computer than I am by nanotechnology.  I actually didn't set out to write a concept album. I was working on my last album Random Encounters and I found that a few songs kept coming that were exclusively inspired by Barrier Peaks. After I had 4 or so I realized I needed to set them aside because they were becoming their own thing. Being a fan of old school prog-rock and psychedelia the idea of making it into a concept album was too much to resist.

FUZZY: Was it confining or liberating to get the music and lyrics to fit the theme?

It was liberating because it was driven by inspiration. I think if someone had given this to me as an assignment it would have been a drag. It was easy to figure out the set-pieces that would make good songs. This adventure has a very specific feeling in my mind. Writing the songs was a matter of getting myself in that place and trying to capture it in music.

FUZZY: You have a lot of great videos! What's your production process like?

One of the core principles of Loot the Body comes from the gaming term itself. You pick up something that was discarded and put it to use. In that way my process is very much like collage. I try not to be too literal. Instead I try to find contrasting or complementary images and fit them with the music. Sometimes this means using old archival footage, old movies or images that I've made myself. The video for Caught in a Gelatinous Cube from my last album was mostly me shooting D&D minis with a macro lens behind a greenscreen. All of the music is very visual to me so the video is almost an extension of the original inspiration.

FUZZY: What are your plans for the new album?

I plan on releasing videos for all or most of the songs. I'll be doing that for the next couple of months. Hopefully this will help people find the music. In the new year I'll submit the album to streaming services. Hopefully it'll help others find the music. When I do that I'll upload a songbook to my Bandcamp page as a reward to all the folks that found me there. It'll have exclusive art, lyrics and chords. I like the idea of having an actual Barrier Peaks Songbook.

FUZZY: Froghemoth VS Froglord -- who would win in a Swamp Royale? (This is only a thought experiment -- IRL, Froglord only attacks humans)

The funny thing is, this doesn't have to be a thought experiment. in the world of D&D every creature gets stats and it's pretty easy to tell who would win. Off the bat Froghemoth has a 14 Armor Class and 184 Hit Points. He is resistant to fire and lightning and his passive perception is 19. He's got tongue, tentacles and bite actions but he's not unbeatable. We may have to stat up the Froglord and let the D20 decide.

Ascendant by Albatross Overdrive

• Art Campos-  Vocals
• Rodney Peralta-  Drums
• Derek W. Phillips-  Guitar
• Andrew Luddy-   Guitar 
• Mark Abshire-   Bass

We are an extremely attractive and well polished band with high levels of formal music training. Our ears are honed to that of a canine and possess the animal magnetism of a lion...A roaring lion with a large coarse mane, we captivate our audiences like a black demon cobra...I can't keep a straight face writing this....