Mozart of the Mushroom Kingdom Geoff Trainor

This story starts a long time ago... When, I'm not quite sure. Kelis had just released her Milkshake song. Luckily, I had never actually heard the song, but I did hear all the teeny bopper girls at work with questionable taste in music singing the song. Somone at work told me I should go to eBaums World to check out the "Milkshake" video. At the time, I had never heard of the site, so I prodded for more information and he told me that it was a site that had funny videos. Yep, great description. But I couldn't resist, and took a look. Warning to others, do NOT go to eBaums World and look at the Milkshake video. But I did look around at some of the other videos, which was my first introduction to ... The Video Game Pianist. Martin Leung was born in Hong Kong, and later moved to Irvine, Califorinia where he started playing piano at the age of four. Like a lot of us, Martin spent a lot of wasted hours in his youth in front of a TV with a controller in his hands on a quest to save Princess Peach. This love for videogames combined with some top notch piano skills is what brought The Video Game Pianist (which is what he prefers to be called, I guess) to life. Since being featured on eBaums World, The VGP has been featured on different wesbites, performed at E3, and has even appeared on MTV. I think all this exposure may have clouded his mind a bit, as evidenced by his Mission Statement. In short, he has three goals: Popularize Video Game Music: This is all well and good, but he must realize the only people that wil really care about his music are those that already enjoy video game music. Popularize Piano As Mainstream Instrument: He wants to raise awareness of mainstream music fans. Obviously, no mainstream artists use the piano. Countless unknown artists like Elton John, Alicia Keys, Ben Folds, or Ray Charles, have toiled away in obscurity, and Martin and I suspect it has to do with their excessive use of the piano. It's his sincere hope to help struggling artists like these. Popularize Classical Music: He plans on doing this by playing video game music. Again, like the first, his main fans wil be those that already listen to the genre. But alas... Ignoring his Mission Statement, Martin Leung is an incredibly talented individual, and if you've spent too much of your youth playing video games, then he is definately worth checking out. Download: Video Game Pianist - Super Mario Bros. Medley Video Game Pianist - Super Mario World Medley Video Game Pianist - The Legend of Zelda Medley Video Game Pianist - Zelda 64 Medley Video Game Pianist - Sonic the Hedgehog Medley Video Game Pianist - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Medley Video Game Pianist - Final Fantasy VI (Kefka's Theme) Video Game Pianist - Final Fantasy VI (Celes' Theme) Video Game Pianist - Final Fantasy VIII (Balamb Garden) Video Game Pianist - Final Fantasy IX (Melodies of Life)