I'm the musician who won the court battle over "Power Hour" where a guy tried to shut down everyone playing the drinking game. AMA!

Fuck yeah on winning! Fuck that Steve guy! He probably is a puss and probably passed out on song 2.

As for my question, where did you originally come up with the Power Hour song idea?

I was playing shows as an average guitar strumming white girl and no one cared. I don't blame them. Who wants to hear unfamiliar music from a girl you don't know? I wanted to make my shows more like parties. Power Hour was the solution.

And it worked. As soon as I could say "Come to my party! Come play my drinking game!", word of mouth took off like crazy

It's too early for an AMA. It's like, 7 AM or something.

I actually just had an interview with morning radio here in Pittsburgh which required me to get up. I sounded like a frog.

Here. Have $100. You know, for freedom.

YOU ROCK!

Are you concerned that Mr. Roose will go after you for slander?

Slightly. I haven't once encouraged anyone to attack him. I don't condone vigilante justice!!! Mostly I'm telling the facts about the case. And I do believe it's my right as freedom of speech to say he's a "dumbhead crapface".

If it comforts you, he totally can't win that case in a million years and you could countersue for court and lawyer costs easily...I kinda hope he does!

This is very much a comfort to me. I hope you're right.

What was the most difficult aspect of the case from a legal stand point? What was the tipping point that made you decide that this is a cause that you were willing to be everything on?

The difficult part was showing that his trademark was "generic". Because I failed. Haha... My lawyer and I convinced the court it's "descriptive" but not "generic". Luckily we only needed one. But don't ask me the difference.

The tipping point for deciding to go for it was when this story blew up on reddit the first time!! You guys were so awesomely supportive that I knew I couldn't sit back and let Steve push people around anymore

Are you wearing pants?

Neverrrrr

Proof? I think we need proof on this one...

Come to my live stream No Pants Power Hours! We all wear no pants together

What was your "safe career" that you left in order to do this full time?

I was a lead artist at a video game company. My design work is here.

"Documents! Documents stating how right I am!" Best part of the video.

My mom thinks so, too :)

Just popping in to show support for one of my favourite people/artists. One question, which you should have expected is, when am I going to get a power hour in Bristol? Also, have you ever considered doing a concert using the videogame Symphony? Actually...I'll email you with that idea...something interesting just popped into my head

Edit: I thought of an actual question; what happened to the $30,000? Is that lost? Also, where did the inspiration for the power album come from?

Haha I'm open to any an all sober or drunken brainstorms.

Also, I'd loooove to play outside the US. I'm hoping my campaign takes off because that will make it possible. I wonder if non-Americans like drinking.

Yeah answer the money question please! Did the one guy have to pay you back?

The money is gone to my lawyer. I can't get it back because I was the aggressor in the suit. I worked to get his trademark removed so I can't sue for damages. Lames.

Ali, love your music after finding it through NSFW, really like your art after finding it through your Twitter, but is your going full-time music goddess going to affect the painting-a-day thing?

I was thinking of dropping some money to jump up in line, but wasn't sure about how long the wait would be with all the crazyiness. Thanks for rocking!

I'm taking about a week break because of this Freedom Victory Tour campaign. But I don't plan on stopping the Free Paintings!

Why don't you and Andrew WK team up and create one big massive party?

Because Andrew WK has yet to call me. Or give me his phone number. Or open his curtains.

Everyone, bumrush Andrew WK's Twitter with the indie gogo page. :P

I fully support this idea

1) Would you like to have a pants off dance off?

Yes, please.

Awesome! i just have to ask my fiancee for permission first.

Bring him/her, too.

FYI, fiancee = female, fiance = male.

TIL!

Does "winning" mean that Steve Roose has to reimburse you for legal costs?

No. Ugh. He was issued the trademark so I had to get it taken away. I was the aggressor bringing the suit so that means I can't sue for damages.

If that's true how are you planning on getting back some of the money lost (not sure if overly lost do to the fact you chose to go through with it on you own accord and by doing so proving the merit of your perspective)

Hoping to go on tour with the help of my Indiegogo campaign. I want to build a following and then release new music! Looking to the future seems to be the only reasonable way to go about it.

First off, congratulations on your big W!!!! And for my questions:

• What's your favorite song off the power hour album?

• Where's your favorite place to do live power hours?

p.s. You better not be wearing pants while you do this!

My favorite song is actually 60.5, the bonus track. It's only 30 seconds. Also it's a sweet jam.

My favorite place is Peter's Pub in Pittsburgh. It's the dive-iest of dives and people get OUT OF CONTROL

Eff pants.

Please rank in order: Peter's Pub, Hem's, Gene's place, Jekyll & Hyde, Bar 11,

Peters, Hemmingway's, Bar 11, Jeckyll & Hyde

Um... I don't know Gene's. I've live in Pittsburgh all my life. Should I be embarrassed?

First off, congrats again, dude, I'm proud of you for sticking to your guns and fighting for what you believe in.

Questions:

1. What is the weirdest crowd interaction you have ever experienced?

2. Who influences you the most musically?

3. Are you worried that Outlet might go solo?

Much Love, <>

1. One time I was performing at a private house party in Tahoe and a guy did a backflip off of the back porch railing into the snow. Not badass enough? He had a beer in his mouth while he did it.
2. I'm a huge pop fan. So if I can oooonly pick one: Madonna
3. Shhh... he's reading this!

Could you explain what Power Hour is for us non-US people? I tried wikipedia and seem to get the basics of it. But what's up with the music? Is it music for the game? Wouldn't any music work?

How can you even try to trademark a drinking game?

The game has one rule: Take a shot of beer every minute for an hour. My album/concert has 60 one-minute songs to help mark every minute. It's pretty simple yet pretty sweeeeeet.

You can't trademark a game! It would be like Steve trademarked "poker" and tried to get everyone to stop playing. But that's what he did! That's why I had to stop him.

Ahhhh so like a wussy's version of the centurion. Cool.

I like when people have this take on it because it makes what I do seem responsible.

Doesn't it have to be false for it to be slander? Pretty sure Ali has all the proof she needs to prove the dude is an ass hat.

Question: when is the next no pants power hour stream?

Hah! I would love to see the case where I have to present evidence that Steve is an ass with a hat on it.

Next live stream No Pants Power Hour is this Saturday!! Oh man I'm so psyched to celebrate this victory with you guys

Ok I hate to be a cynic, but how is what appears to be a kind of TM dispute fighting for my rights? Also your lawyer must have been a big fan of yours. $30k over 3 years is like almost nothing. (not to make little of your money being spent, just in terms of lawyers its not much)

Yeah, I'm freaking lucky it was so inexpensive if we're talking in terms of how long it took.

Agreed. The issue seems to be that OP released an album titled Power Hour, while he was marketing a DVD game of it. It's not as if he was trying to shut down bars that do power hours or anyone who creates a power hour mix.

Yes he was. He got mix websites taken down and mixes taken off of YouTube.

You're beautiful. That's all.

So are you

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Both at the same time. Bring it, bitches.

It cost you over $30k, is that just gone then?

:( Yerp.

So what exactly comes from it for him? Does he just lose the trademark and that's the end of it? Can people who were forced to cease activities sue him for damages? Or does he just pretty much get off scot-free?

He gets off scott free because he was actually issued the trademark in the first place. He never should have gotten it. The Trademark Trial and Appeal board clearly didn't even do a Google search before giving it to him.

[deleted]

He paid ZERO legal fees.

Would it not have been easier to come up with a different name?

Well it would mean my SEO would suck and it would be hard to get people to find/understand what I do. But that wasn't the big issue. Changing the name would mean I would have laid down and let Steve step all over me. It's not right that he should be able to push people around.

the name isn't important. it's the idea of it getting stolen.

The name is actually pretty important here. Power Hour is a well known thing. The name has meaning. Changing the name to something else would lose the meaning, and make whatever she was doing sound like it was generic junk. People hear Power Hour and know exactly what it is. It has a feeling and an attitude that is associated with the word that some other term wouldn't have.

Also I'm all for sticking it to jackasses, so go Ali!

Yes, well said! Thanks :)

Not a question, but I just want to say that it's super cool that you take the time to interact with your twitter followers. All 40k of them. I know it's probably time consuming, but it's always appreciated to know that you see the stuff people write.

In the same vein, you being a female, and this being the internet, do you have any funny creeper stories?

Of course I see everyone's tweets! I'm always impressed by how funny my followers are

I have a decent chunk creeper stories. I shant retell any of them for fear said creepers would know I'm talking about them.

Go Tartans!!!

Plaid Power!

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Up for debate.

Ok this is an AMA sooo...what are the dimensions and what type of paper are your posters that come in the $30 package? Yes I am serious. I've been printing some for friends on 8 point card stock but it's too thick, I might switch printer formats. Also, you should get some coasters made. 48 point cardstock does the trick and you can get probably a thousand made for one or two hundred bucks. If you come through Denver I'd love to help get you a venue and do some promotions. Sorry I can't donate, all of my money is tied up in my own shenanigans.

My posters are 18x12. They're not on a thick stock or anything.

Message me with your email and we can talk about making you a "referee" for my show if I come to Denver! Referees help me build buzz and find a venue. In return they get a sweet ref shirt and backstage access.

Tell us your most embarassing getting drunk story and doing something awfully regrettable like getting a tattoo of a moose as a tramp stamp.

Ok well now that you've planted that in my brain, my subconscious is going to come out next time I'm drunk and I'll go immediately to the tattoo parlor. Get ready for a post about my new moose in r/pics

Are you going to be at Dragon*Con again this year?

I hope so! I submitted my request to be a musical act. We shall see :)

How do you calculate your stock? And how did you go about shopping it to come up with a supplier?

I use a Google doc to keep track when I sell something. Very high tech.

To find a manufacturer, I looked for places that specialized in USBs. The hard part was finding a place that could do a food safe USB because that's... absurd.

Can you give a top 5 of cities that you either love to or would love to do the "Power Hour" in?

I voted for New Orleans :D

YAY! Thanks for contributing :) I just played at House of Blues in Nola. I would love to go back!

There's a graph on my Indiegogo campaign and a more extensive list here. I update them at least once a day.

It cost you $30,000 because one lazy government worker rubber stamped that trademark without bothering to spend 5 minutes googling for prior use. That is what you should be angry about.

Trust me, I am.

Do you have any non 60 second songs or any plans to release a full album? Don't get me wrong, if you can get the job done in 60 seconds I won't complain... But I was wondering if this was a possible stepping stone to something else as well. Oh geez, now she's going to think I don't like her power hour. /removes foot from mouth and cowardly walks away.

I have 3 other albums!

And I plan to write even more normal-length songs very soon :)

Why are u so cool?

Why are you?

Did you ever meet Roose in person or have direct contact with him over phone/chat? Is he as big an asshole as he seems?

Never met him in person or even a phone call. Only emails. I assume he is insufferable in person. This is only an assumption.

What did the $30,000 all go on? And would you consider doing a UK tour?

It all went to my lawyer. And I'd LOVE to hit the UK if my campaign brings in enough!

You have to take a shot for each question you answer.

I;'ll tehll YOU when i"v had enoughh.

Power Hour is very dangerous. You should not be encouraging it.

I don't encourage people to finish or anything. I have a song called Everybody Wins. My shows aren't about drinking as much as you can. It's about making an interactive party where everyone's playing together and having fun.

Are you going to do anymore photo-shoots soon? Like the one with the guitar?

I should. I've been using my last photo shoot for too long. But it's such a hassle! I have to put pants on.

In your opinion, where can you get the best burger in Pittsburgh? I feel like the shipwreck burger at winghart's is the best but OTB is also pretty tasty and much cheaper.

Tessaro's is a Pittsburgh staple!

One shot of beer each minute for an hour:

2cl * 60 = 120cl = 1,2 l

What is this, how are supposed to get drunk by that?

Math is hard.

What kind of recording setup do you have? What kind of software do you use?

I use a Mac laptop and Logic 8. My recording "studio" is a spare bedroom in my apartment.

What is your favorite Radiohead album?

I'm not a big fan. Don't hate me reddit!

Thank you so much for saving my favorite drinking game! You should come to Chicago, your shows seem sick.

Since this is an AMA, I guess I'm obligated to actually ask a question... What is your favorite power hour? (e.g 90's, 80's, rock, hip hop, etc.)

My favorite is my "Dramatic Pause Power Hour". I made one that consisted of only songs that had parts where the music completely cut out and then came back in again. It was Celine Dion back to back with Dr. Dre and Britney Spears and country, etc.

How often do you play your own game?

I never play when I'm performing live shows! I'm too busy making the party for everyone else. My talent level exponentially decreases as I get drunker.

I read your story a few days back; CONGRATULATIONS on winning your fight against this troll.

THANKS!

With all of this new publicity and support... can we expect any live online shows soon?

Also, when will you have your tour plans finalized?

Yes! I'll be performing the next live stream No Pants Power Hour this Saturday!

Tour plans will be finalized a couple of months after my campaign ends in the beginning of March

Was it my imagination, or did I see you playing a totally sweet Keytar in the video?

You did, in fact, see a totally sweet keytar in the video.

Next step is to get it waterproofed so it still works when I'm playing it in hot tubs.

You are amazing. Haven't drank in about 6 months, but when I did power hour is the way you gotta go with your friends! It was always irritating you could never find many decent ones online. I never understood why people weren't making them so we usually had to design our own. You rock!

Good for you for sticking with it for 6 months!!

That sounds like an incredible waste of money and years.

Possibly.

From what I've seen, you're a Pittsburgh sports fan. Which is your favorite?

Yes, there is a right and wrong answer here.

PENGUINS! For sure. I was a competitive figure skater when I was younger and I'm a huge hockey fan. After that it's the Steelers because I just like it that the whole city gets nuts when they're having a good season. Then Pirates because all you can eat seats.

What's your fee for a gig? My family owns a bar in a small town in MD, we might be able to have you!

Cool! Right now I'm campaigning for a tour so hopefully I can come there!

For a legal nerd, do you have some heavy details about the court case? got a link to the decision?

"How I stuck it to the man while simultaneously chugging a beer"

The link to the decision document is near the bottom

Congratulations and well done for being awesome and persevering.

When did this guy claim he invented it? I remember playing a variation on this 9-10 years ago called Centurion (100 minutes).

Thanks! :D

He released his DVD in 2000 so that's when he claims to have come up with it

Why did he pay no lawyer fees but you had to pay $30K? Even though you were the agressor, did he not need a lawyer? The people that wrongfully gave him the trademark get any repercussions?

Side note - Whoever is downvoting some of OP's responses... Please quit. It is his AMA, you don't have to like his replies but you don't need to downvote. Just move along.

My opponent presented a terrible argument and lost his case. It doesn't cost anything to lose.

The people that wrongfully gave him the trademark are the Trademark Board. Sadly, I can't sue the government.

Tyler Kennedy or Pascal Dupuis?

Three way! Duh.

I know nothing about the law but now that "power hour" is free doesn't that mean a big corporate ass hat could come along and do what you do bigger and possibly better ? Don't get me wrong, I like that you took an idea, raised it to a new level and then kicked the nuts of the guy who tried to stop you, and I like that "power hour" could become a thing, I'm even thinking it might be a good idea for our little arts collective, but what are your feelings on the idea taking off and someone like Smirnoff doing a massive global campaign and reaping the benefits you spent $30,000 on ?

Yeah it's totally possible. But I didn't free the term just so I could take it myself. I'm not an asshat. So I guess I'll just have to run the risk of someone else doing it, too. My goal is to be the massive global hit first, though :)

Have you ever considered going on Shark Tank? I have always thought this could be huge. Love your work.

I got to the last round of auditions and they cut me because ABC is a family channel.

Such a bummer.

Oh my god thank you for fighting an internet asshat!

Thank you for being as excited about it as me!

Since Justyn Simons has your first autographed poster...is it worth anything?

I hope!

Do you have any advice for people who may have to go through court in the future?

It's going to cost way more than you think!!!!

I don't really have any questions, just wanted to say that you've followed/unfollowed me twice on Twitter. :P

Really? That's obnoxious. Sorry :\

So would you rather fight 1 horse sized Steve Roose, or 100 duck sized Steve Roose's.... <>

Both at the same time. Bring it, bitches.

I read that, thanks to your explanation video, in your voice. Now, so are hundreds of other Redditors.

The internet is kind of creepy.

Good news, everyone! I've just put the professor's voice in your brain instead!