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An attempt to rewrite DaVinci's Notebook to become a Paul and Storm article.
'snot done.
Contents |
Paul and Storm
| |
| Origins | Arlington, VA |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Comedy rock |
| Members | Paul Sabourin Greg "Storm" DiCostanzo |
| Discography | Opening Band (2005) News to Us (2006) Gumbo Pants (2007) Do You Like Star Wars? (2010) Ball Pit (2014) |
| Producer | N/A |
Paul and Storm are a comedic musical duo, consisting of Paul Sabourin and Greg "Storm" DiCostanzo. The duo has contributed the songs Ballad of The Sneak and Theme from Stinkoman to Homestar Runner.
Sabourin and DiCostanzo are former members of a cappella comedy music group DaVinci's Notebook, where they performed alongside Bernie Muller-Thym and Richard Hsu. The group was active from 1994 through 2004.
Contributions to Homestar Runner
Although it is a point of contention which band member first discovered homestarrunner.com, DaVinci's Notebook became fans of the site after seeing a 
content warning July 4, 2001 post on Memepool.com. Paul used his "mad Interwebs stalking skills and a phone book" to get in touch with The Brothers Chaps — finding Don Chapman's information through a WHOIS search and eventually convincing the brothers to come see a DaVinci's Notebook performance in Atlanta. Remarking that "it was early enough in their career that they were more flattered than creeped out when I tracked them down," a friendship was born.
"Ballad of The Sneak"
The Brothers Chaps asked DaVinci's Notebook to write a theme song for The Sneak. Aside from describing it as the Old-Timey version of The Skate Party's The Cheat Theme Song, The Brothers Chaps gave free rein in the songwriting.
Storm drove the direction, structure, and writing process, and passed lyrics back and forth with Paul (mostly over email). The line "The Cheat, The Cheat" from the original song was used as a starting point, and the song structure roughly follows the original. The chronological inconsistencies (references to Tammany Hall, the Hully Gully, the Kaiser, prohibition, etc.) were, for the most part, intentional; partly to keep with the overall feel The Brothers Chaps had established with the toons, and partly to see if people would point them out. The trumpet instrumental at the one-minute mark was originally made for a previous Paul and Storm project that similarly used an old-timey style.
Paul did much of the vocals and recording on a Gateway 2000 PC. A long Christmas wrapping paper tube was used to make it sound like it was being sung from a megaphone. Storm recalls that they finished fairly quickly; though they worked on it in between a lot of other projects and tours over a month, the actual work time was only a handful of hours. Paul and Storm gave no input on the animation; even the random sound effects were added mainly to see what visuals The Brothers Chaps would create to accompany them. The "Ballad of The Sneak" toon appeared on the Homestar Runner site about a month after the song was completed.
Paul and Storm consider "Ballad of The Sneak" to be inadvertently the first "Paul and Storm" song, as the other two members of DVN had no involvement in its production. It was later released on the Paul and Storm compilation EP Shame and Cookie Dough. When rereleased on Homestar Runner Original Soundtrack Volume 1 in 2020, the song is credited to "Paul & Storm" rather than "Da Vinci's Notebook".
"Theme from Stinkoman"
A theme song for Stinkoman was briefly played at Georgia Tech in 2007, remarked as being from "The guys from DaVinci's Notebook [...] the same guys who did this cartoon called 'The Ballad of the Sneak' on the website". The full song would not be released until 2020, first on Homestar Runner Original Soundtrack Volume 2 and then in the Stinkoman 20X6 Intro Cinematic later that year; both releases credit the song to "Paul & Storm".
Other work with The Brothers Chaps
The Brothers Chaps also helped with animation, writing, and voice work for Paul and Storm's 2014 parody holiday special "The Paul and Storm Nondenominational Perennial Holiday Special".
Matt Chapman also appeared onstage at their shows to perform such songs as Trogdor and the Strong Badia National Anthem.
Dragon Con 2008
Strong Bad introduced Paul and Storm at Dragon Con 2008:
STRONG BAD: Ladies and gentlemen! Klingons and Daleks! Bobas and {disappointed} Jangos. B-list celebrities and their entourages of hangers-on! I am called Strong Bad! I urge you to take a moment, put down that vinyl bust or that pewter figurine you're thinking of buying, and give a warm, sweaty welcome to Stormy Paul and the Forecasts! ...What? Paul and Storm? Well that's a huge waste of one cool name and one Paul name. I'm outta here. Anyways, give it up for Paul and Storm.
External links
- Paul and Storm
- Paul and Storm walk through "The Ballad of the Sneak" on the podcast "Come On, Fhqwhpods"
- DaVinci's Notebook (archived)
209 Seconds (Rough Estimate)
(The entirety of 160 Seconds, but with "160" in the intro replaced with "209")
4 branches: HOMESTAR: Chinese b-
the chair: STRONG BAD: Class!
what i want: MARZIPAN: Forgettably precious.
looking old: MARZIPAN: Up to your chin right
strong badathlon: STRONG BAD: To the wrong athletes
unnatural: STRONG BAD: Kill him? STRONG SAD: We do-
the movies: HOMESTAR: -tuce. Throw
your funeral: HOMESTAR: Abraham Lincoln
from work: HOMESTAR: -veges. It helps
rough copy: STRONG SAD: -tellectual property.
underlings: STRONG BAD: Get Mrs. Hard-
more armies: HOMESTAR: Saaay
the paper: STRONG BAD: Doesn't quite
mini-golf: STRONG BAD: In this infernal pl-
concert: STRONG BAD: Nope. They're a
hygiene: STRONG BAD: No matter what he does.
original: BUBS: B'zuh!
bike thief: STRONG BAD: Side of this couch
pizza joint: MAN IN PIZZA COSTUME: It burns!
slumber party: STRONG BAD: Can you guys start
web comics: TAKE DAGGER: Hiya
business trip: THE KING OF TOWN: Units? STRONG BAD: What
yes wrestling: HOMESTAR: The power... of
diorama: STRONG BAD: -lupe Hidalgo
nightlife: HOMESTAR RUNNER: More...more
environment: STRONG BAD: -pliant sticker!
winter pool: HOMESTAR: You're such a good
fan club: STRONG BAD: (screams)
pet show: HOMESTAR: Potion. A taste
licensed: (Strong Bad slides) STRONG BAD: What's
buried: BUBS: Is! STRONG SAD: Uh
shapeshifter: COACH Z: Coming to your concession
rated: BUBS: Bake sale!
specially marked: (The Deleted buzzer, and a message reading "SBEMAIL 194 IS NOT INCLUDED BECAUSE IT DOES NOT HAVE A 194th SECOND")
love poems: HOMESTAR: Apples!
hiding: STRONG BAD: Coma!
your edge: STRONG BAD: Where'd you check?
magic trick: STRONG BAD: But now, not only does
being mean: HUNGRY SHARK: Makes me wanna
email thunder: (Strong Bad runs out of Homestar's computer room)
hremail3184: COACH Z: Bad! I was gonna
imaginary: LIL' STRONG BAD: -ti! I'd like you to meet
independent: STRONG BAD: Solid gold sc-
dictionary: STRONG BAD: To Z
videography: STRONG BAD: (chuckles)
sbemail206: ANNOUNCER: For all your consummate
too cool: STRONG BAD: Mysteriously with no return
The Next April Fools Thing: STRONG BAD: -low lives, and this
parenting: THE KING OF TOWN: I've got this seven-
Alternate HRWiki
Pom Pom
Of all the characters, Pom Pom has endured the fewest alterations. In part, this is due to the simplicity of his design: Pom Pom's body is a simple sphere, with rudimentary cones forming stubby limbs, and a simple ellipse for a head. His face is adorned with nothing more than two simplified eyes. This simplicity of form could easily be interpreted as simplicity of character, but nothing could be further from the truth. Pom Pom is an intriguing and complex character, but the constant enigma that surrounds his true nature deliberately keeps him at arm's length from establishing a true emotional bond with his audience.
Pom Pom, it is established, is a Pom, hailing from the island of the same name. Little is known about Pom Pom's life in his birthplace, however. In the transition between his home and the world of Free Country, Pom Pom has lost his sense of belonging to his own kind and become an alien, living among those who are alien to him. This sense of detachment from his society is supplemented by the language barrier: when Pom Pom speaks, the only sounds he emits are curious bubbling noises. Homestar and the rest respond to what he says, but since the viewer is not given a translation, it is not certain whether or not they accurately understand his words. Constructed schematically as he is, Pom Pom is the least human-looking of the gang, and thus seems an outsider to them, and by extension, to the viewer. One suspects that, were one to encounter Pom Pom in his element, surrounded by his fellow Poms, he would come across as a rather different individual altogether. But Pom Pom, for his own unfathomable reasons, has chosen to walk among those who are different from him, and at times he paradoxically seems something less than what they are, and something more.
This needn't indicate that Pom Pom has no connection with his fellows. He is Homestar's best friend, as the latter is quick to point out. And while Homestar is genuinely and enthusiastically in Pom Pom's thrall, the Pom, while a true friend, keeps a detached and cool attitude about their relationship. In fact, Pom Pom is just as often seen enjoying the company of Strong Bad as he is with Homestar. Curiously, this rebounding does not seem to constitute disloyalty or betrayal on Pom Pom's part. At times, the Pom seems to be everybody's friend. At others, he is nobody's. While the other characters have frequent contentions with one another, nobody has any reason to resent Pom Pom, and he likewise has no ill feelings towards them.
The relationship between Pom Pom and Homestar has evolved as Homestar's character has changed. In the beginning, when Homestar was an insipid do-gooder, Pom Pom was always at his side, not in the spirit of a tagalong or, even worse, a sidekick, but providing genuine companionship at times when Homestar would have been very much alone. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine what Homestar would be doing, left to his own devices. As Homestar grew away from his role as protagonist and gradually became less mentally adroit and more child-like, Pom Pom's role in their relationship became more like a parent-guardian; watching over Homestar and keeping him out of serious trouble without necessarily leading him around by the nose. This transition is obvious in the similar plots of "The Strongest Man In The World Competition" and "A Jumping Jack Contest". In the first, Homestar discovers Strong Bad's treachery and forfeits so Pom Pom can win. By the latter, Pom Pom is the one who learns the truth and surrenders his chances of winning. One can hardly imagine the latter-day Homestar being so self-sacrificing.
There is more to Pom Pom than his bland exterior indicates, and several hints of his true nature are exposed from time to time. Pom Pom, despite his unimpressive physique, is an accomplished athlete, even in the wrestling ring, despite the seeming fragility of his form. His only link to his home is via cell phone, where he is often seen conversing with one of his storied seventeen girlfriends, a trait which Homestar admires but in no way resents. Pom Pom is also reportedly very intelligent, and is possibly the smartest of all of his friends. This intelligence comes in handy when acting as a guardian for Homestar, of course.
Pom Pom has no memorable dialogue and generally is content to be in the background and let the more strongly portrayed personalities shine, and thus he is often overlooked when viewers recall their favourite characters. But with the use of hindsight, it soon becomes clear that Pom Pom is never far from the goings-on of his friends, always watching. The constant enigma surrounding him makes Pom Pom a character the audience constantly wants to know more about, ensuring his continued appearances in the years to come.
