Break On Through (To the Other Side)

The rising popularity of Guitar Hero and Rock Band has made the games a valuable tool for artists in the music industry. Mass exposure and the chance to reach a new generation of music lovers have established the games as a serious, and competitive, medium. It has even given some artists a chance at reinvention. Earlier this year Guitar Hero publisher Activision Blizzard announced that the upcoming Guitar Hero World Tour would feature exclusive re-records by artists Wayne Kramer, Motörhead and The Sex Pistols. According to Kramer, legendary MC5 guitarist, the benefit for artists being part of a game like Guitar Hero is as much to do with music appreciation as it is to do with millions of people hearing their work.

“With a game like Guitar Hero, ‘old’ bands no longer exist,” Kramer said. “Every band that was ever a band is a band right now. For those who are 16 or 17, The Who is a band right now. The Yardbirds are a band right now, Black Sabbath, the MC5, The Rolling Stones--it’s all right now, and I think that’s a terrific state of affairs.”

MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer re-recorded “Kick Out the Jams” for Guitar Hero World Tour.

It’s a match made in heaven for Kramer, who, at 60, is still going strong, performing live shows and recording music for TV and movies. No doubt the plastic guitar would feel right at home in his hands, if he ever had time to pick it up. At this stage, he’s just enjoying the popularity among his younger fans.

“I don’t think I’ve actually ever strapped a Guitar Hero guitar on, but I’ve been talking to a few of my friends who are in the games and they all tell me they’re always getting their arses kicked by their six-year-old nephews,” Kramer said.

Kramer joined the line-up of re-records for Guitar Hero World Tour, teaming up with original MC5 producer Bruce Botnick and friends Jerry Cantrell (of Alice in Chains) and Gilby Clark (formerly of Guns N’ Roses) to re-record the MC5 hit “Kick Out the Jams”. Falling just short of the 40th anniversary of the track’s first studio recording, Kramer wanted to keep its authenticity by including the original vocals recorded by Rob Tyner in 1968.

“I wanted the sound to be really heavy and modern, but I wanted the spirit to be original,” Kramer said. “I’m really honoured that [Activision Blizzard] think the music of the MC5 deserves to be with all the other great rock artists in there. I’m really humbled by it. It looks to me like [Guitar Hero: World Tour] is a who’s who and a cross section of the wide world of rock, and it makes me grateful that other people would be that interested in my songs, and that these songs might mean something to them.”

Kramer believes Guitar Hero sends a positive message to those who play it. “Games like Guitar Hero combine art that’s been created over the last 40 years with activities that tech-savvy people of today are comfortable with and that they enjoy.

“I can’t see how it won’t inspire people to pick up a real guitar. There’s got to be some 16-year-old somewhere that gets into the game and thinks, ‘This is really great’. Inspiring kids to be musical is a great thing. There’s no downside to it. The more art that’s in people’s lives the richer their lives are.”

Four-piece pub rock band Airbourne from the rural Victorian town of Warrnambool is one of four Aussie acts to appear in either Rock Band or Guitar Hero, and the only band to appear in both. Their track "Runnin’ Wild" is featured as a downloadable song for the first Rock Band, while "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast" will be featured in Guitar Hero World Tour.

Drummer Ryan O’Keeffe says the band has been lucky to score so much exposure. “I guess we've just been very lucky to have both games wanting different tracks from us,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for us and we’re very pleased.”

Aussie pub rock band Airbourne are featured in both the Rock Band and Guitar Hero games.

The band got their start in Melbourne, where they gigged relentlessly. With only an EP to their name, Airbourne’s live shows created such a buzz that they were soon asked to support the Rolling Stones and Mötley Crüe before embarking on a national tour with Dallas Crane, Jimmy Barnes, The Living End, You Am I, and Magic Dirt.

After moving to the United States in 2006 to work on their album Running Wild, Airbourne signed a deal with Roadrunner Records in New York. The band members are no strangers to video games--their tracks are featured in Madden NFL 09, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, Need for Speed ProStreet, and NASCAR 09. But O’Keeffe admits it wasn’t until Rock Band and Guitar Hero that the band saw just how effective video game exposure could be.

“We see a lot of people discovering the band for the first time, which is great,” O’Keeffe said. “I think games like this are a great addition to the ever-growing music scene: they allow people to interact with music on an entirely different level. Our involvement with both Rock Band and Guitar Hero has helped get us out there and known to people right across the globe.”

Money (That’s What I Want)

Bringing music to the people is an admirable mission statement, but there’s more to Guitar Hero and Rock Band than just idealistic sentiments. Both franchises have made billions worldwide--Guitar Hero has sold 23 million units globally in less than three years and has generated $1.6 billion. By comparison, Rock Band has sold four million units and has global revenues of $600 million. With such attractive revenue to partake in, is it really any wonder that bands are falling over themselves to be involved?

American punk rockers NOFX, for one, have no qualms about admitting their motives for involvement are purely fiscal. “We got involved because we wanted the money,” NOFX front man Mike Burkett (aka Fat Mike) said via phone from Buffalo, US. “I know you’re expecting a somewhat better answer but I’m going to be honest.”

For years, NOFX has stayed away from the public eye, consenting to very few interviews--citing media exploitation as the reason--and kept to themselves while working on their music. It therefore came as something of a surprise when, earlier this year, it was announced that NOFX would be part of the upcoming Guitar Hero World Tour.

Punk rock outfit NOFX say they did it for the money.

But, as can be expected from a brutally honest band that satirise everything from politics to religion and whose songs feature frequently in porn films, NOFX weren’t hiding their reasons for getting involved; in fact, they weren’t hiding much at all.

“I’m in a band, so video games aren’t really my thing. I’m more into golfing, and f******,” Fat Mike said.

The band may not have time to play video games, but they’re no stranger to the medium itself, with songs in the Tony Hawk series and NHL 07. But despite this being their first foray into rhythm games, Fat Mike remains skeptical about Guitar Hero’s ability to make the band any cooler.

“We’re a band trained to work by ourselves, and I think we’ll continue to stick to CDs. I do think games like Guitar Hero might be very useful to newer bands, but we’re pretty happy where we are right now,” he said.

He’s not really enthused about the game’s influence on young people, either.

“My four-year-old daughter is too young to play Guitar Hero, but even when she grows up I think I’d prefer her to learn real guitar. I don’t think rhythm games inspire anyone to pick up a real instrument, purely because it makes playing look a lot simpler than it actually is. When people actually pick up a real instrument they’ll just think that it’s a lot harder than the game they’re been playing and go back to the plastic guitar,” he said.

“I hope it does inspire kids to play real instruments. I’m just an experienced pessimist.”

Fat Mike is not alone. After being hired to promote Guitar Hero III at Activision Blizzard’s launch party for the game, Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten denounced the game for teaching players “how not to be rock stars.”

But the feedback Red Octane receives every day from Guitar Hero fans all over the world is proof enough of this.

Having maintained their strong customer base since their game rental days, Red Octane is flooded with daily emails from Guitar Hero enthusiasts. Charles Huang remembers an email from one very happy father who had used the game to bond with his 14-year-old daughter for the first time in many years.

“He had spent a few hours playing Guitar Hero with her and she had asked him about the music,” Huang said. “He wrote to us to thank us for giving him those couple of hours with his daughter. That, for us, was very powerful, and we realised that this game is very different from a lot of other video games.”

Feedback from players also led Red Octane to discover that the game encouraged users to take up playing real guitar.

“I think users are learning about the basics of music,” Huang said. “The game teaches them the basis of instrumentation, which is critical. There’s a certain satisfaction at becoming more proficient in the game, and at certain levels there will be people who will want to take that extra step and take on a real instrument.

“Some of the feedback we got when we were going to market with the first Guitar Hero was that classic rock and metal are dead musical genres, and that 20-year-old players would never buy a game with what was referred to as ‘dad rock’. As the game began selling, the comments changed. Kids emailed to say they never realised how cool rock and roll was. Suddenly we realised that what we were doing with Guitar Hero was taking music from a different era and introducing it to a whole new generation who may not, on their own, choose to listen to it.”

Rhythm games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero inspire some players to learn the real thing.

Dan Teasdale from Harmonix also believes it’s no myth that games like Rock Band encourage people to learn real instruments. He recalls one of the more memorable stories that reached his ears.

“A nine-year-old girl who was taking drumming lessons showed up to her lesson one week and executed a perfect roll across the kit--without the teacher ever telling her what to do. When he asked, she said she’d learnt it from playing Rock Band. From that point on, the teacher incorporated Rock Band into his learning program, right down to colouring the drum surfaces and cymbals.

“It’s incredibly rewarding knowing that we’re helping people not only become musicians, but become better musicians. Even I wouldn’t be able to play the drums if it wasn’t for Rock Band.”