Hot licks and hardware

>>A new night at le Social brings adepts of
the videogame Rock Band out of their
basements and onto the stage

PLAY YOUR HEART OUT:
A Rock Band scene (above) and controllers (right)

by ERIK LEIJON

In the not too distant future, when rock ’n’ roll bites the bullet, an event like one coming up at le Social could be seen, historically, as the day the music died. It will have all the aesthetics of your typical rock performance—the stage, the soundcheck, a fancy projector and of course the big-haired Slash wannabes goading patrons into raising various hand signs in the air. But the preferred instrument of death, the electric guitar, will now be a videogame controller with five fret buttons, a strum bar and a whammy bar. Sorry, technophobes—Rock Band night has arrived.

Then again, Christian Gregg, co-owner of le Social, doesn’t see Rock Band night as another death knell for a music industry a mere gust of wind away from hitting the canvas. “Rock Band is really promoting rock ’n’ roll as a whole, because I don’t think too many kids these days are listening a lot of rock,” he says. “It’s mostly hip hop and Top 40 crap. It’s really reinvigorating young peoples’ desire to learn about all kinds of types of rock ’n’ roll.”

The original Guitar Hero was created by Boston-based videogame developer Harmonix in 2005. Influenced by the popular Japanese music videogame industry, Harmonix Americanized the genre by replacing sugary J-pop with steak-and-eggs American rock. The style of gameplay, which has players holding the correct fret button and pushing the strum bar in time with the on-screen visualizations, has become the obsession of every frat boy in the Western hemisphere, garnering over $1-billion in sales (and a lawsuit from former partner Gibson guitars).

Rock Band is Harmonix’s latest project, allowing players to sing and play drums, bass and rhythm guitar as well. “It’s a way more social setting,” says Gregg of moving Rock Band out of the basement. “The difference here is you’re playing in front of strangers in a bar environment, as opposed to sitting in your basement, smoking dope with your friends.”

School of rock

With radio and music stores no longer educating young people about rock ’n’ roll, Guitar Hero and Rock Band have picked up the slack. For those who show up to Rock Band night with pitchforks and wooden stakes, they might be surprised that Rock Band doesn’t rehash the usual karaoke playlist. For now, there are mostly recognizable hits (there are songs available for download continuously being added), but teenage gamers will likely be hearing the Buzzcocks for the first time in this environment, much like how Guitar Hero introduced young people to Suicidal Tendencies and the Dead Kennedys. Harmonix have also actively supported bands from their native Boston, including the Slip, who will be the celebrity judges for the first Rock Band night.

Andrew Barr, drummer of the Slip, says one of the group’s biggest fans was an employee at Harmonix and was responsible for getting the band’s song “Even Rats” included in the original Guitar Hero. “Nobody knew how big the game was going to be,” says Barr, “but we definitely noticed a contingent at our shows. Kids would bring the plastic guitars and ask us to sign them. By the time Guitar Hero II came out, there were fewer smaller bands because all the big bands jumped on board.”

A quick search on YouTube might give a good indication of what a Rock Band night might be like. Rock Band players are a committed bunch, and posting their hard-earned 100 per cent five-star rankings (which would require hundreds of notes being hit in time without error) on the video-sharing site has become an important rite of passage. Gregg hopes Rock Band night participants come dressed in full rock attire, with a band name and full three-person (guitar, vocals and drums) line-up. Barr and his bandmates will be judging based on stage presence and fan reaction.

Perhaps Rock Band won’t replace actual live music, but the popularity of Rock Band nights could open a door to a more social gaming experience to coexist with concert-going as a possible evening excursion. There’s a whole new generation of young music fans who are learning about music by picking up a miniature-guitar videogame controller instead of an actual instrument.

“I can get 80 per cent when I play my own song,” says Barr. “Whereas my little 15-year-old cousin can get 95 per cent. It’s a funny thing because the guy can’t play a note on a guitar, but he’s learned how to shred on a Guitar Hero guitar.”

THEY GOT GAME: The Slip

At le Social on Saturday, April 5,
$5 sign-up in advance
(at www.lesocial.ca), $8 walk-up