Rockband

2007 was a magical year for a lot of reasons.  Apple released the very first Iphone, revolutionizing how smart our phones could be.  Jared Zabransky, Ian Johnson and the 2007 Boise State Broncos upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl using trick plays (more on this later).  And finally, video game developer, Harmonix created a revolution.

Rockband took the idea of "What if we could play Guitar Hero, but with more instruments?" and made it a reality.  Rockband came out in 2007 and featured controllers in the guise of drums, guitars and microphones.  It was ingenious because to play the guitar, you would push buttons in sequence, whilst holding the controller like a guitar or banging on the drums in a pattern reflected on the screen.  This gave the game the ability to conjure feelings in those who played it.  If you always wanted to be in a band, this was your shot (to at least feel like it).  The track listing was varied and offered a little something for everyone.

Groups of friends flocked to this as a new way to game together and it got a lot of play in all different age groups and on multiple gaming platforms.  Harmonix had created a form of in-home karaoke...and people loved it for many different reasons.  You could utilize button pushing skills to feel like you were employing music playing skills and the correlation was strong enough to make even the N00biest basement dweller feel like a rock star.  It was wonderfully new.

Fast forward to 2016, nearly 10 years later.  I am an old man with an Xbox One and play games like Fallout 4 and Metal Gear Solid 5 frequently.  I still like to sing, although not as good at it as I used to be and love music and the celebration of it.  All of these things led me to wondering whatever happened to Rockband.  In moments of internet searching, I realized that a 4th version had just come out and was available!  Now, all I had to do was raise tons of money.

I will sometimes get obsessed with things and pursue them with reckless abandon.  My mind became filled with and fixated on the idea of how cool it would be to have Rockband.  I crunched numbers and no matter what I did, I could not come up with the scratch.  No matter how hard I tried to procure it, Rockband ended up being given to me by our dear friend, Preston as a gift.  We had 3 plastic instruments, a usb microphone, and a bottle of tequila...it was on.

Rockband became a regular staple in our Saturday night hang outs and it was as good, if not better than ever.  My wife shredded the guitar with the precision that she brings to most puzzle games, Preston tossed a couple of shots and rocked the drums sped up on hard mode, and I piled up 100% song completions with the microphone.  It was joyous and not because it was a game or the peripheral controllers were cool....it was because it was simple, interactive fun.  Whether we won or lost, whether we were sober or trashed, no matter what it was a mirthful experience had by all.

Not only was Rockband fun, but it was an informative activity for me.  I could hear new parts of music stick out and tantalize my ears.  Solos that I had never paid much attention to suddenly became physical expressions of how interesting and creative music could be.  Bands that I had never heard of found new ways to impress me.  I was obsessed with .38 Special for God's sakes...

Anyways, if you are looking for a way to unwind with friends or experience music or spend $300+ then Rockband on the current generation systems (Xbox One/PS4) is What's Good, Scott.  Thanks for reading and if you did not read the post before this, know that I am grateful to you for sticking with me.  Be well and I will see you soon.