IamA Jason Paige, Singer of the Original Pokemon Theme Song, Artist, and I'm even working with The Rock! AMA

Would you rather fight 1 Ponyta sized Psyduck or 100 Psyduck sized Ponytas?

Thats a super advanced question. lol. I need consultation for that.

I'm a grown damn man and I watched Pokemon in the 90's with my kids, and I have to say -- that song is my jam! It's freakishly catchy and even inspirational. It never surprised me that the show was so successful, because it's such a perfect kid-fantasy. And the song encapsulates it perfectly! My question: at the time was it just another singing gig for you, or did you actually like the show/song too?

I liked the song at first but when we finally did the extended version i got to really rock out. when it gets to the solo "YEAH". The show was pretty unfamiliar to us as it was only in japan at the time

How wide is your vocal range? You really nail those high notes in the Pokemon Theme song

4 octaves and i do some throat singing that uses overtones that go in to the whistle tone maria carey range

What is your favorite place on Earth, and why?

The sacred female and all her locations. so you could say theres many favorite places i like to visit. But the inner world is most exciting to me.

Dafuq?

He enjoys sex with women

No shit. Still a weird answer, considering what the question was.

its a place on earth still but to clarify its not where you are its who your with. lol

Whose heart was so true?

each individuals heart is true. and he or she needs to constantly be aware of that personal truth unique to each one of us.

Who is your favorite Pokémon?

Pikachu is the best, he's embedded in my brain, as I hope the theme song is embedded in yours!

Thanks for the reply! I think the theme song might me one of the one of the most memorable songs I know.

everytime it plays its further cemented in our minds and it gets so much play its as if weve all been programmed and with good lyrics too. I feel that way about Dont Stop Believin. its comes on and i just get swept up.

How exactly has it changed your life? What's happening?

The fan love is enormous. I was aware of the love out there but now its just flooding in. its the most robust fan group in the world. GLobal and intentional. there are people everywhere re-experiencing their childhoods and want to reach to me and put the face to the song thats been in their heads

Hopefully ill be singing the song live at some of these pokemon events/crawls. Possibly at Musikfest in PA the 10th. Tell me where to go to be in the center of the Poke-storm. anywhere thousands are gathered to play id love to be the underscore to that!

Have you ever considered doing covers of Pokemon songs you didn't sing, such as 2.B.A Master or Unbeatable?

Not yet but i will now. Ive been doing a pokemon jams on my looper. Sometimes cycling into other pokemon songs.

Have you heard translations of your song into other languages ?what do you feel about them?

yes. they sound funny at first..I wish they would have asked me to sing them. I'd know 30plus languages by now.

You recently posted a studio version of the original theme on your YouTube, including the tv version and the full version. There's been some controversy that the full version video used the original audio and not the studio audio, while the tv show version clearly had the studio audio, is there an explanation that a lot of us missed? Thanks so much!

Tv theme: http://youtu.be/xx2cxo8WQoM Full theme: http://youtu.be/fCkeLBGSINs

i rerecorded the whole song to make sure it didnt get flagged as some of my vids w Pokemon song on them were removed in the past.

Thoughts on Digimon?

2nd best. I have friends that love it.

Do you play the Pokémon games on the handheld? Are you going to get Pokémon Sun or Moon?

I have a Go acct. Caught a Charmander in my living room Amazing!

Will you be doing more stuff with the Rock? PokeRock is the greatest and I think it'd just be awesome to see your work along with the Rock's again.

Id love to. Hes an amzing performer. Have to do more pushups first though.

Did you catch them all?

trying to catch all the fans in my social web. and empower them with my artistic efforts to help them evolve to their next stage. Each fan is like a Pokemon in need of the right elements to expand.

What level are you in in Pokemon go?

1st level. Once i get a better phone im gonna be advancing steadilly

Whats ur fav pokemon game of all time?

Go! The combination of technologies to make this thing the phenom it is really interests me. Using the camera gps and other elements to get people out there. VR AR cool stuff!

boobs or ass?

Poke-boobs

Do you plan on posting any more covers? The boulevard of broken dreams one in that tunnel was great.

Oh yes ill be rollin through some on my yt channel on a regular basis.

How did you get on Hellbenders? Also you are a great singer!

they contacted me for their xmas episode. Fun stuff. More in the future i hope.

Which living singer(s) do you dream of having a duet with?

Stevie Wonder. but Steven Tyler has been asked..

ive actually beatboxed and sung w Steven already. Cool dude

What's one project/series/show you've always wanted to work on?

Family Guy. I love the crazy characters musical numbers its right up my alley.

I read somewhere that you accepted a one time pay for the song instead of a royalty. Is this true and if so do you feel any regret? BTW I'm a huge fan of the song :)

no regrets "all things are as theyre supposed to be". Its a lyric to song i wrote.

What are you working on with the rock?

Poke -Rock parody song just dropped its really cool. Hes blowin it up! I sang it and am in the vid.

Would you ever post the full version you sang without the original dubbed over?

yes i will. It needs a better video ill be workin on. maybe using some fans in it.

Do you have any funny stories from the sets you have worked on?

I do a show called For The Record. We do remixes of a particular director on stage. We were doing Scorsese and in the Gangs of NY part there was a fire lit glass of alcohol i delivered to a fellow actor that he was supposed to blow out after a speech. when he went to blow it out he blew too hard and the flaming liquid shot out of the glass onto the audience lit an audience member that we quickly put out it was crazy. no one was hurt. but the actor burned his facial hair. Live theater.

I loved the songs you made for the 2012 election, is there any chance of more this year?

Im staying away from the clown show and hope people wake up and play mor pokemon go than the circus of this election cycle. Designed to distract you

You also sang the song Viridian City, right? What's your favorite line from that song?

"meet my friends along the way" great track

its like the theme another song about self empowerment and using your powers to expand yourself and others

Looking at the music scene over the past 15 years, there have been some really awesome vocalists in all genres, both as single artists and fronting a band. If you had to pick 5 of the best vocalists over that period, who'd be your choices?

Ty Taylor, Von Smith, Shoshana Bean, Laura Dickinson, Steven Tyler,

Have you watched Pokemon in their original Japanese dub?

I have been to japan in 2000 and saw it there. along with the many pokemon stores.

What would be your dream project? If you could work with anyone on anything, what would that be?

Superbowl Halftime show. Come on. You know you want it.

Haven't thought about it but you're totally right! Can somone here start a petition?

Thanks for the answer!

do it!

If you could change one thing about the pokemon theme song, what would it be?

I'd make it longer add a proper bridge.

Thanks for doing this! So awesome of you to spend time with us today!

Are you for or against evolving your Pikachu? And why?

evolving is what we all must do even if it takes us on a different path away from familiar things. we have to support the best in each other. My friends are like pokemon in my life and i use my superpowers to help them evolve and meet the challenges in their lives.

What do you think about the XY remix of the song?

Or about the XYZ Japanese theme, sung by Ash's Japanese voice actor?

What Pokemon games have you played?

Thanks for hosting this AMA!

pretty cool. A little dry. I liked metalicas cover that was cool

How did you get to sing the Pokemon theme song? Did you have any input yourself?

i sang a bunch of tag lines to eventually settled on the take we used. we discussed what the vocal should sound like. it was a good collaboration.

When will you do another performance from a tree? Because I think that was my favorite performance to date. :)

Wow. Love singing in trees. that was a classic moment for my for the record family

Misty or Serena?

Misty or Serena Misty i like red heads

What is your least favorite Pokemon?

Theres too many to make that determination. But The Squirtle room greeter that sang the theme song tag use to bug the shit outta me. My grandparents had it in their house and itd go off every time id walk by.

I have heard The Rock is the nicest guy in the business? Can you confirm with an example?

Oh yes has tweeted and included me and my efforts in 2 videos instagrammed about me. And his staff if great too.

Do you play pokemon go? If so, what team are you?

what team are you?

Answer this very, very carefully, Jason. It will determine the fate of this AMA and your career.

Hoping to choose Valor once i get to level 5

What was it like working with Michael Jackson in 1991? (i mean 2001)

dunno. I worked w him in 2001. It was monumental. hes in my dna.

id heard him sooooo many times. when we were in a small rehearsal room hearing his voice in person it was a vibration that went straight to my heart and soul.

What games are you usually playing ?

I play an improv gam on my looper where i lay a beat down and people try to sing song over the beats. then i do bass and other things underneath to accompany them. i call it Loopeoke.

Have you played any of the recent pokemon games? Are you excited for Pokemon Sun and Moon?

i excited to get GO on my new phone and catch up w it all. the game needs more power

What was your favorite project that you've worked on?

my beatles gospel nativity concert yearly at OpenFist theater LA. the beatles songs tell the nativity story with a gospel choir of 45 i put together. it gets better every year.

Hey Jason- So if you could explain it to me, do you see royalties or residuals or anything like that when you recorded the song? Or is it a lump sum? I don't mean to pry, but I am genuinely interested in that side of the business.

check the billboard.com article for deatils.

Are u up to date with the pokemon movies, games and the tv show?

Who is ? theres so many. Ill have to spend the next year catchin up

How do you feel about Bitcoin?

Gotta cash em all "Bitcoin" i have a bitcoin pokemon lyric im gonna sing soon. Its a really revolutionary technology that gonna invisibly change the way finance works globally.

A quick political question. I know you're more libertarian and hate the establishment parties who have done little for the common person in terms of socioeconomic progress. What do you say to people who are still voting for Clinton despite the clear evidence the primaries were rigged? And how do you think we get third choices to be more successful given the media struggles?

Support 3rd parties if they appeal to you. But the best thing to do is to not give them your energy and attention. they all have corporate sponsors who are selling products at the end of the line. Polititians aren't really going to give you the things they promise anyway. They are beholden to $. just try to be self reliant and wherever you need a service from the govt try to get it elsewhere.

Not a question, but I would just like you to know that me and my brother have loved pokemon our entire lives, but my 14 year old sister hates pokemon yet won't stop singing that opening song. Driving my family to the brink of insanity.

Actually... I do have a question. How do I get my sister to SHUT UP?

You dont. Lol. you sing with her start a band and write the next pokemon fan album to play at pokemon crawl events

Have you made a lot of money with your legendary song? P.S. Thank you for doing one of the themes that best captures my childhood!

It was a buy out. A lot for the time spent but not in relation to how much happiness its created.

If it was in relation to how much happiness the song created, you would have more money than Bill Gates and Warren Buffet combined, enough to buy your own country and rule as Pokemon Master.

In my dream world happiness i the currency i deal in.

If the Rock were a Pokemon, would you still think you'd be an interesting AMA?

Of course. He just tweeted about this. Great guy.

Random question for you; Have you done any work in Las Vegas before? If not, would you like to? :)

Yes did the FOR THE RECORD Baz show at Mandalay bays Light last year. its at the Palazzo now and might be coming through with my own show in a couple weeks. Lots of friends there.

Do you still want to be the very best?

yes. its taking more and more energy to do

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lol. Perhaps. If I use singing to distract him.

It's my day off, so will be asking a fair few. Did you happen to do a cover of Canned Heat on YouTube?

yup thats me. Love that song. They wanted a sound alike. so i did my best Jamiraqui.

Also did Walkie talkie man too

Deciding question - What do you think of Paramore, and Hayley Williams in terms of music and what they've done so far?

Paramore, and Hayley Williams Shes a pokemon charater come to life. pretty cool, id love to work with her.