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It wasn’t that long ago.

Kid’s parties, high school sleepovers, adults getting drunk because it was Saturday; all these were once strung through by rocking with your friends in games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. And why not. The fun of pretending to rock out with your friends to your favorite head banging tunes. Feeling that brief moment where you could let it all out and only a living room full of your friends would be the wiser. Then for a time, it all went dormant. If you look in your closet, you might find relics of the good times. Plastic guitars and usb microphones might be nestled in your garage, buried in boxes marked “Xmas ornaments”. But there’s hope for them… Rock Band 4 is coming.

In 2015, the music gaming genre is ready for its comeback tour. Fresh out of celebrity rehab and ready to take the stage again, Rock Band 4 is more an evolution than a sequel. We were invited to check out the game first hand on Harmonix’s outdoor stage at E3 and speak with PR Lead, Nick Chester about the game’s upcoming features.

The first thing we noticed is the direction of the visuals Harmonix decided on for the game. Rather than follow the competition by completely changing their art style; the developer upgraded the trademark style of Rock Band by having it go full 1080p 60FPS. What that means for players is a much smoother gameplay with little to no screen lag. Indeed, when you suck at this game; this time it’s on us.

A new Rock Band for a new age means the shredding has to be turned up to 11. This time around guitarists will help the band really stand out in the new “Freestyle Guitar Solo“. During a song’s guitar solo, players will be able to compose their own face melting riffs using any combination of the buttons they can come up with. The better it sounds the more points the band scores overall. Rock Band is also helping out the vocalists who like to sing but sound like a cartoon chicken being rung by the neck. Not only does the USB microphone have a better more actual microphone feel, but the vocal range it can convey is much broader than before. The game will also help singers by letting you set your song to be a mix of your own vocal with one from the actual track. Harmonix managed to tweak this very well, to the point where you can distinguish yourself from the song while not completely butchering it. Rock Band 4 will also have a new story mode so players can bring their bands back together and conquer the world.

If you still have your old instruments intact, dust them off because Rock Band 4 will support all previously released hardware. Though if you want to buy the new gear, it’s got a few upgrades of its own from Mad Catz. The guitar now has a gyroscope for better reading of your movements. Jumping off things never worked better (we do not endorse jumping off things).

Rock Band 4 will utilize the sharing features of the newer systems, but those plans aren’t ready to be fully revealed quite yet. Though the developer is looking forward to seeing what the players can come up with once the game is released.

Now let’s talk about what really matters man… the music. Since the game’s last release in 2010, the music industry has added a few bands and Harmonix knows you kids want your Imagine Dragons and what not.  So far confirmed for the game is

• Avenged Sevenfold – “Hail to the King”

• Benjamin Booker – “Violent Shiver” *

• Elvis Presley – “Suspicious Minds” *

• Fleetwood Mac – “You Make Loving Fun”

• Jack White – “Lazaretto”

• The Killers – “Somebody Told Me”

• Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk” *

• Queens of the Stone Age – “My God Is The Sun” *

• Scandal – “The Warrior” *

• Spin Doctors – “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong”

• The Who – “The Seeker”

All that DLC you previously purchased isn’t going to waste either. Rock Band 4 will support all your previous purchases. There are a few notes to take on this though. For one, if your last Rock Band game was on Xbox 360 you’re better off getting the Xbox One version. Previous DLC won’t transfer cross platform. As Harmonix put it, playing purchases from one platform to the other is like “putting an Xbox disc in a PlayStation” it just doesn’t work that way. The good news is you will not need to purchase any additional license to transfer your previous DLC purchases. As the previous songs are added to the DLC list you’ll simply be able to re-download them for play on the new game.

In our social, lip sync battle, world it feels like this is the right time for a return to music gaming. These games were social before social became something we did on our phones hundreds of miles away from other people. Rock Band is going to bring people back into living rooms while also letting them feel what its like for recording artist who collaborate in booths on different sides of the world, and that is what’s really cool.

One personal note. Harmonix, I need more Rancid. Please have the Blink 182/ Matt Skiba combination record something for you. While you’re at it how about The Descendents and some Minor Threat? Okay, now this is just a list of demands, sorry. What songs does everyone out there want in the game?

Rock Band 4 releases on the PS4 and Xbox One on October 6, 2015. You can pre-order the game or bundle at all game retailers for 30 additional DLC tracks. Find out more on the game’s website here.

“DOG AND PONY SHOW”

When all other ideas fail me I can always depend on my trusty animal idioms!

It’s really been fun and the SkADaMo list continues to grow. There are some really kick-butt sketches going on! Check out the list of participants (at least the ones who sent me their links) here.

Maybe it should be called Google++++ (considering the fledgling social network managed to post a whopping 1269% increase in traffic over the previous week. What drove the huge leap? The network is now open to everyone and no longer requires invites.... Read the rest of this post

We play games on Friday afternoons. My library has a Wii and a Playstation 2, which we set up in our community room.  Teens and tweens are welcome, and many come back week after week to play Rock Band, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Wii Sports, Dance Dance Revolution and whatever other  games that teens or I have brought in that week. They take turns based on whoever wants to play.  Some enjoy just hanging out and watching.  It’s a relaxed environment that promotes socializing, conversation, and cooperation.

In the spirit of my relaxed gaming programs, I will share a few things that I love about connecting with teens over video games.

The social aspect of cooperative games. Because we offer a lot of four player games, there are opportunities for teens to play together. It’s an obvious benefit for friends, but it also invites teens who don’t know each other to play together.  Someone will hold up a wiimote and ask, “who else wants to play?”  And that someone is not always me, the teens invite each other to play and seem to bond quickly over the exchanges of the game.  If they all know the game well, they compare strategy, if one does not know the game so well, others teach.  I enjoy watching the instruction as one teen shows another how to hold the Rock Band guitar and which buttons to press on the fretboard, or an older teen shows a younger one how to position the character in Wii Bowling and swing the wiimote to bowl a strike.

Talking about games. Games we love, games we hate, we talk about it all.  Preferences create common ground.  I always enjoy references to old school Nintendo titles and characters like Mario and Link or anything Final Fantasy related.  It’s interesting how much these older games or long running series games have held up over the years.  As Teens critique the graphics and gameplay, preferences lead to further conversation. I am beginning to buy games to circulate and I took my cues for specific games to buy and which consoles to focus on from these conversations.

Gaming creates safe opportunities for risk. There are few video game related scenes that warm my heart so much as watching boys sing in Rock Band. Maybe this is because most of my gaming teens are boys and I haven’t yet seen too many girls take on the challenge of being the singer.  Maybe this is because teenage boys can be awkward, but the ways in which they embrace it or triumph over it are heartening.  Rock Band is a mock performance.  The only consequence of failure in game is that you can fail a song and have to start over.  Socially  the consequence of failure is that maybe someone doesn’t like your singing, or maybe you sing the wrong words, or maybe you feel embarrassed. In a larger or more critical group this could be a deterrent, and even in this relaxed environment it is for some.  But I know a few boys who just get up and do it. Sometimes they don’t know the song, so they just hum along.  Sometimes they can’t carry a tune, but sing out anyway and earn the amusement of the other gamers.  Sometimes they know the song perfectly and impress everyone in the room.  They risk and succeed, which is a good experience to build on.  Maybe someday they’ll play in a real rock band, or have to get up and talk in front of a group of people and the ex

It’s been a while. Life and other endeavors have gotten in the way and blogging has fallen far down the list of priorities. My blog ranking has suffered because of it. According to Alexa.com, this is no longer one of the top million web sites in the world. Michelin has taken away one of my three stars.

A friend once told me he hopes that upon death, we will all receive a stat sheet, detailing our minor accomplishments. Miles walked. Daves known. Cumulative hours spent listening to Al Jarreau. The sheet will also feature our all-time world rankings. Have I eaten more buffalo wings than Alexander the Great?  Hit more three pointers than Charles Nelson Reilly? Important knowledge for a man to take into the afterlife.

One thing is for sure. Every person is bound to be the best in history at least one thing, though most of us probably wouldn’t know what that thing is.

“Congratulations, my friend, you have spent more time doing annoying, and inaccurate, Austin Powers impressions than any other human in history.

“Fine. Guilty. Just give me a trophy and let me in, St. Pete.”

“Do it first.”

“Come on. I just want to sit on a cloud and flirt with Joan of Arc.”

“Do. It.”

“Fine. Groovin’ Baby. Groovin’.”

It embarrasses me to tell you this, but one of the important things I’ve been doing instead of blogging is playing Rock Band. Thanks to Craig and is eponymous list, I picked up a full set for a cool $30. For that price, I’d be a fool not to try to master Mountain’s Mississippi Queen on a plastic push-button Fender!

One thing I learned from my foray into Rock Band is that I’m not very good at video games. I used to be okay, back in the days when Kid Icarus was the rage. But I haven’t played many video games as an adult, and I certainly lack the inspiring dedication some of my peers possess.

I remember one lazy summer Saturday a few years back when I turned on the TV and I saw a Guitar Hero competition. On ESPN. With adults involved. All varieties of nerd were collected on stage and they were playing Metallica and, I don’t know, Molly Hatchet or something. They were mugging and fist pumping and throwing the devil horns out to the crowd. All the while their fingers were racing across video game frets like Bishop’s knife trick. They didn’t miss a note.

All I could think was: Good gravy! If these guys dedicated their time to actually learning how to play guitar, then they might have a crowd full of screaming women in front of them. Instead they have some pasty Best Buy employees, the IT department from Chubb, and a small percentage of South Korea’s teenage boy population. Perhaps that’s what they want, but it breaks my heart just the same.

But not as much as this. This guy might just be the greatest video game drummer in the history of mankind. When he dies, we’ll check his stats to be sure. But even if he’s second or third best, I can’t help but want to shake him silly.

To quote his youtube description: “I do not play the real drums.”

Because that would be a waste of time, wouldn’t it?

A while back this clever decal, posted by one of the creative folks over on the craft exchange site Etsy, was making the rounds on the web courting oohs and ahhs from techie blogs (who also got a hold of a color copy) and pop culture appreciators... Read the rest of this post

How to Start a Band, Book Gigs, and Get Rolling to Rock Stardom by Jessica HarperWorkman Publishing 2009I'm really torn over this book. On the one hand, this book is a perfect tonic for all those girls (like the author) who were told or felt that the world of Rock & Roll and all it has to offer is a secret club populated by boys who insist that "Stairway to Heaven" is be-all, end-all in rock.

WeeWorld pays tribute to MJ and Farrah (offering virtual goods like Farrah's signature do and a placard that reads "I Heart MJ") (Virtual World News) - 50 hours of SpongeBob (will air July 17-19 on Nickelodeon and VH1 to honor the cartoon's 10th... Read the rest of this post

'Zeke and Luther' on Disney XD (Disney's latest play for the boys, the live-action adventures of two aspiring pro skaters, debuted this weekend. Plus, Cartoon Network's risky move away from animation. And, prepare your tweens, "Hannah Montana" is... Read the rest of this post