Frequently Asked Questions

Well, a lot of folks have been asking a lot of questions about this project - they've enjoyed the songs, but are interested in knowing a bit more about how such a thing has come to pass.  So, I've put together this list of questions with some answers that, I hope, will satisfy this need for information.  If you have any other questions, feel free to e-mail me at the link to the left...

Q:  Who is singing on those songs?
A:  Why, that's me, of course.

Q:  Who the heck are you?
A:  I play several characters in UO, though one of my favorites is definitely Midas, which is also the alias I use on many UO-related discussion boards.  In real life, I'm also known as Jim Whitwell, husband of one beautiful and wonderful woman, and father of two beautiful and wonderful little girls - oh, and I'm a musician, though I don't make my living at it - yet (sigh).  Any record companies or patrons with deep pockets should feel encouraged to contact me *immediately* to discuss our beautiful future together.

Q: Do you sing in a band or something?
A: Yes, in fact, I do, and you can go to our page by following this link:  Mainframe  There you will find a very simple page with links to 'snippets' of some of our songs - we're currently working on a new CD that should be done shortly (right guys?).

Q:  How do you record those?  They sound great!
A:  Thanks!  I actually record them in my home studio, using digital hard-disk recording

Q:  How did this whole Ultima Parody Song thing get started?
A: One of the UO-related discussion groups I frequent is The Ebolter Inn, which is actually populated by folks who needed a home after the Uhall at Stratics changed format and became a bit unwieldy for a time.  One day in discussion several of us started making up new UO-related song titles to older rock songs, and laughing our butts off coming up with new ones.  Being a musician, I thought I could do one (r0xx0r) in a relatively short period of time, just to amuse those of us sharing the fun.  Little did I know that folks from all over UO would enjoy the songs so much - so, I kept making more.

Q:  What kind of response has this project generated?
A: Actually, I've received an incredible volume of e-mails already, many with new song suggestions, some with lyrics included, and *all* of the response has been very enthusiastically positive - thanks again to everyone that's taken the time to write!  The 'news' writeups at UO Community sites like the rantings of lum the mad, The Chosen, Stratics, PKGhost, WTFman, and many more have really honored me as well - thanks!  I even made it into a cartoon by Ali - check it out on the Reviews page (I love the Koala dancing to 'r0xx0r'!).

Q:  Why can't we have more songs - faster?
A:  Priorities - mine, that is.  Family, then paycheck, then Mainframe CD-work, then entertainment, so until OSI or EA calls me to offer me a job writing Ultima Parody Songs, this will probably remain a 'do-it-in-my-spare-time' project...  ;)

Q:  Are you ever going to do "KewlDewdian Rhapsody"??
A:  If I can do it justice, you bet.  As you can imagine, that one's going to be a challenge to do and have it sound right, so...  We'll see - hope springs eternal!

Well, thanks again to you all for your support - feel free to drop me a note anytime!  -  Jim