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The Refresher Parodies outfit started out four years ago after two American bandmates decided to make a parodies for fun. Michael and Casey have now amassed over 2 million views and 20,000 subscribers. We've dotted some of their most popular parodies throughout the interview but you can find more on the Refresher Parodies Youtube page. Also be sure to check out their behind the scenes making of (below), that they made especially for us.
Michael Neaton from Refresher ParodiesMalystryxGDS: So Michael, why parodies?
Michael Neaton: : Haha, why not? Believe it or not, I have been big into making parodies for over 4 years now. It all started one night with Casey after a couple of drinks and singing along to a hit song on the radio. We began to shift lyrics around to make them relate to Heroes of Newerth, a game that was becoming increasingly popular as a DoTA 1 replacement at the time.
At this point, I had already been recording music for myself for about 2 years and knew enough to easily capture, edit, and execute our funny little idea. We were known as KCO and Nerdboy715 in the Heroes of Newerth community, but our focus shifted over to DoTA 2 as soon as it was released.
We were surprisingly well received given the poor quality of the parody and it was a blast to hear people’s feedback. From there it simply grew as a really fun hobby.
MalystryxGDS: I’ve been a long admirer of your work, but obviously doing parodies can be dangerous at times. The latest song you parodied was from a tribute to Paul Walker from Fast and Furious 7 I believe, was there any backlash from taking that kind of song to parody?
View Fast and Furious 7 Parody
Michael Neaton: I was very aware of the connection between See You Again and Paul. The first time I heard the song, I was moved by its message. Sure, the Furious movies are over the top and not everyone’s cup of tea, but Paul seemed like a genuinely good person and I didn’t want to cloud that with a humorous parody. I almost scrapped this song because I felt like I couldn’t do it justice...couldn’t keep that same message.
Then I thought again about the message and began to develop a new story. What if I could take someone or something and make every move he makes sound like a heroic deed? What if I could take a courier and turn him/her into the 6th hero of each team?
That was my intention of this parody...not to make people laugh, not to mock anyone or anything, but to paint a picture of something that moved others. I received the most flack for this parody out of any other thus far and I certainly understand why, but I am happy to clarify my intentions and hope people can understand where I was coming from.
(video above may not work for readers from Germany)
MalystryxGDS: Cheers for doing the behind the scenes video, hopefully your fans will enjoy it too. You seem to have quite a lot of tech, where did that all come from? Did you buy it all initially when you started as an investment or over time?
Michael Neaton: I wish I had more! As I have been really into the production of music, I began building out my home studio in my parents basement back in 2005. I had a corny little punk rock band with some of my neighboring friends and I wanted to be able to put our song ideas down into recordings. It all started with a small 8-track digital recorder and I have been chipping away ever since, trying to keep up with modern recording technology as I go. Making music in general is a huge passion of mine and I have a blast each time I get to make something for others to hear.
MalystryxGDS: How many seconds did it take you to decide to include your girlfriend in the making of video? Where does she fit into all of this?
Michael Neaton: Hahaha! It took me all of 2 seconds to include her. I wanted people to see a bit more into my life and who I am, so why not include my lovely girlfriend? We have been together for nearly 7 years and I have become so accustomed to having her with me at all times. She will probably be mortified when she sees that she is in the video though!
MalystryxGDS: You’re obviously the “face” of the whole production, but in the making of video we didn't see you doing the nitty gritty since the lyrics seemed almost finalised. Once the lyrics are done is that the hard part over? Are you the driving force in getting content out as often as possible, the control freak if you will, or are you the lazy one needing to be poked?
Michael Neaton: I guess you could consider me the “face”. Casey is awesome with writing lyrics, rapping, and singing...but I can only draw on his talents from time to time as he is pretty darn busy with work. I love when he helps out because he always adds so much energy to each song. Regarding lyrics, I do find it very difficult to finalize a song before recording.
Something always changes but that is all part of the fun of it! To sum up my nature with getting out content, I am the one that will typically write, record, edit and master the parody, as well as the one that will record, edit, and put out each video on Youtube. I wouldn’t say I am lazy, but sometimes getting out content can take quite a long time when you are doing the work as a single person.
However, in this instance, you can see that Casey did an awesome job of tweaking the rap lyrics to better fit the flow of the song and those are the changes that make him such a great teammate to work with!
MalystryxGDS: I follow quite a few YouTubers that do parodies and it does seem like a very lucrative market but how much of the success of the parody is related to how well the listener knows/likes the original?
Michael Neaton: I’d say that the success of the parody relies very heavily to the audience and how well they know the original… but there are definitely instances where other factors can show tons of success. For instance, I had noticed that nostalgia can play a huge part in the virality of a parody. I also like to think that production quality can help influence a viewer to share content, which is why I try to make each song sound as close to the original as possible.
Fwosh featured in RP's "Buff me like you do"MalystryxGDS: While at was D2CL just over a week ago in Berlin I was lucky enough to meet Fwosh, who did a collab with you in the past. We were discussing parodies and she said she thinks of the idea or concept for a song and then find a suitable song to fit the theme. Is that how you work? I would have thought you hear a song you love and then think how to tweak it to be about Dota 2….
Michael Neaton: I am actually different than Fwosh in that sense. I’ll hear a song and think, this has a nice sound to it...or a certain hero will rhyme while I am singing along to the chorus and I’ll try to flush out the idea for a full parody. However, sometimes this method can backfire. I have an excel sheet with all my parody ideas with half written lyrics because I wasn’t able to get enough content into the song. Perhaps those are best suited for my Refresher Radio bits.
MalystryxGDS: So once we got the song nailed down, how do we go about getting the lyrics to match? Do you have a list of all the words in Dota 2 that rhyme together? How do you avoid repetition between songs? It seems everyone mentions buying or not buying wards and dust… is it a struggle?
Michael Neaton: It can be a huge struggle to try and paint a different scene for every song. If you think about Dota 2 matches, every single one will play out different than the other, but there are core functions of the game that remain the same. For example, buying or not buying wards is such a huge factor in a successful or unsuccessful match…but factors that change from game to game can be very irrelevent in a parody that is designed to be relatable and entertaining.
In terms of finding matching lyrics, this is such a key proponent in a decent sounding parody. I like my lyrics to rhyme with the original song’s lyrics so that the flow is extremely similar...others don’t use that method and it allows them to stretch their vocabulary to craft a better scene. It is simply a matter of taste. Sometimes you have to sacrifice one thing to obtain another...like wards for boots ;)
MalystryxGDS: There is a Starcraft2 personality called Husky who made a parody of Justin Bieber’s Baby called Banelings five years ago now, it’s now at 10 million hits which is insane for an eSports parody. For me it seems like as long as the re-worded chorus is legit, you’ve got yourself a winner. But what do you think are the key ingredients to a good parody?
Michael Neaton: A good parody needs to be entertaining, but I think people make a subconscious connection to the original material when listening. If a parody can be original, yet coincide well with its source material then you have a winner! Oh, and singing prowess can definitely help.
MalystryxGDS: Despite creating some really classic parodies, you’ve not really taken off yet, and I was surprised your Patreon didn’t have more support. Do you think perhaps that is because you’ve not focused on the pro scene? Surely there are more casual players out there.
Michael Neaton: I think that when I began creating these parodies, everyone, including myself, understood that it was a hobby and that I was doing them entirely for fun. As my career outside of Refresher came to an end I found myself wondering what I would love to do full time...I realized that it would be an absolute dream to be able to pursue these parodies more aggressively and perhaps create some sort of living from it.
I never expected people to be as generous as they have been thus far, but you are right in the sense that I wouldn’t consider myself as a well-known name in DoTA 2. I also don’t know how many people are aware of my goal to make Refresher a full-time gig. I would love to do some work in the professional scene, but I don’t know where I would start!
MalystryxGDS: Which of your parodies are you most proud of, and which one liners or verses are you still patting yourself on the back for?
Michael Neaton: Every single time I finish a new parody I get so antsy with excitement thinking, “I think THIS will be the one that everyone loves!!! This will be my new hit!!!” But sometimes the feedback can be the opposite of what you think. Casey and I like to call it “studio fever”.
When you have spent so much time and effort on your own work that you have ultimately deemed it the best thing ever...haha! I personally am SO proud of our parody of “Girls” by The 1975, because I felt that even though the song is less popular, the lyrics were different but just a blast to sing along to.
I also truly think that we worked harder on the My Courier Friend lyrics due to the weight that the original lyrics held, so I am very proud of the two verses that Casey and I were able to come up with.
Mike’s favorite one-liners:
Buff Me Like You Do: (above)
“Can you feel the chills all over the place? While I’m tanking the impossible with shallow grave”
Casey’s favorite one-liners:
Live For the Fight:
“We dropped Tinker in the lost and found, where’s that Riki? I guess he skipped town”
Epicenter:
“Its a real shame, giving up two lanes, picking off Bane while you’re playing rat DoTA. But you better come back or we’ll throne yah.TP back and wei’ll say you’re a goner”
Casey from Refresher ParodiesMalystryxGDS: I’m hoping after this more people will appreciate your work, and follow you in the future, but what does the future hold for Refresher Parodies?
Michael Neaton: It holds what everyone else wants it to! I love doing this and won’t stop until my love for DoTA 2 ceases, but it is a lot of work for one guy.
I have been so fortunate with the community that I have been able to build thus far but I want to reach further, inspire more people to enjoy the game and rally around the idea that not everyone in the MOBA world is mean-spirited or short-tempered.
I have met and learned from so many awesome people over the past couple of years and that experience has been invaluable.Do be able to have that more often while being able to focus on Refresher full time would be life-changing. I want to grow, not for financial gain, but to connect with more people around with world who appreciate DoTA like I do.
Michael had a shoutout list as long as my arm, but in a nutshell he wanted to thank Adam Calladine for being "freaking awesome", Ryan Fleshbourne for "renewing his spirit", his girlfriend Jennie and co-creator Casey for standing by his side, and finally his parents "for giving me my absolutely stunning good looks".
Want to see more from Refresher Parodies?
If we've sparked your interest in the Boston duo you can find all the videos from them on their Refresher Parodies Youtube page. You can also show your support and appreciation via their Facebook page or their Patreon.
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