My family is very talented when it comes to music. If Jenny and I put our skills to good use and practiced more often, we could really do something great in this world. Timmy had the talent and the drive. He was my guitar hero. But even though Jenny and I know how to play real guitar, we'll never be as good in real life as we are on the video game Guitar Hero. Jenny and I had been talking about playing this game again for the last couple of weeks, and when Brandon also expressed interest (along with the assumption that he was better than us at the game) we set up a night to play. Since I only used my Playstation 2 once in the last year (the experiment gone wrong episode of The Drive to Stay Alive called Drunk Driving in Vice City) and haven't played Guitar Hero for like 3 years, I was anxious to bust out this gem and relive some old memories. We played the shit out of this game from when I was first introduced to the game at Jason and Guppy's to late night jam sessions with Joey Kanz. I've played every version of the game and rocked just about every track. This game will always hold a place in my heart and I intend to hold on to it and play it in front of my kids (if I ever have kids) and embarrass them with how lame video games used to be.
We played a lot of Guitar Hero back in the day. And I mean a lot. Probably more than anyone should have played. In hindsight we should have done something more constructive with our lives, but it was a hell of a lot of fun at the time. One of the things that always impressed me was how bad Timmy was at the game Guitar Hero. Why did that impress me? Because a real musician should not excel at a video game version of the game. They shouldn't waste their time pushing colored buttons when the game instructs them to do so. They don't see the songs like that. They feel them in their hearts. Since he was so bad at the game he would sit in the back of the room and play along with the song on a real guitar. Often he would strum the chords not because he knew the song, but because he was able to pick it up by ear. Having that kind of skill for recognition astounds me. I can't memorize the chords or words to a song if I've played it 100 times. He could pick it up in less than a minute. While we were smashing buttons he was picking strings, playing his own solo perfectly to the digital sound emitting from the speakers. I would put on a show while playing the game. Putting the guitar behind my head, behind my back or even turning my entire body away from the TV because I knew the button pattern by heart. But the real show was Timmy who could do it in real life. I'd give anything to have that kind of talent for music.
But until I hone my skills on the 7th instrument (piano, trumpet, saxophone, french horn, trombone, tuba and guitar) that I learned to play, I will have to settle for being a video game Guitar Hero. It's not all bad though. Jenny fancies herself a pro at this game, and she is pretty damn good too. The only player she can't beat is Joey Kanz. That drives her crazy. She unleashes her wrath on anyone who dares to challenge her, and there were fighting words thrown around on Wednesday night when we played Guitar Hero III. At one point she was destroying Brandon by so much that she offered to give him a chance by playing behind her head. He still didn't stand a chance as she beat him mercilessly while showing off at the same time. I loved every minute of it. My sister is tough and she doesn't take shit from anyone. I didn't even bother playing her one-on-one. There are some battles that are not worth fighting. But one battle that I should be engaged in is the one against my own self-doubt. I don't think I will ever be good at guitar so I don't practice enough. I have the natural ability. I have my parents to thank for that. I promised Timmy that I would be a Guitar Hero. I'm not there yet. But I will be. Even if I have to spend the rest of my life trying. There are many pickles in this jar, and I intend to share another one with you again tomorrow. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? I certainly don't. And I'm playing lead guitar in this band.
- pookon -
https://twitter.com/pookondotcom
https://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman
No comments:
Post a Comment