Rock Band Turns 5 Years Old! Stories From The Community

[Bront20]

I was always afraid to try rhythm games, because I generally was uncoordinated and bad at games. I had tried out some other game in a mall once and couldn't figure out how to use the guitar (the guy at the booth wasn't very helpful either).

Anyway, I broke down and got RB1 for the Wii... and promptly lost my job. Still, I had fun, and scraped togeather enough to eventually get RB2 and started throwing RB parties.

About 6 months in (mid-2009), I migrated to the PS3 haven't looked back. I've been holding monthly RB parties that range from 3-20 folks in attendance (some coming from over 120 miles away), I'll have 933 songs as soon as I get home (got to snag Loggins), and I play well enough on Expert to occasionally tickle the top of the leaderboards. I've also managed to sell a few friends on RB, and strengthened some good friendships.

RB has also given me some great family moments. My wife, who usually hates video games, enjoys RB enough to stick around and listen/watch, and has even played on occasion (She's actually a pretty good vocalist), and the little one enjoys some of the cute songs I've snagged (Spongebob, Parry Gripp, "Before He Cheats"...) and loves dancing or singing along to several of them.

RB has helped me stay positive though some tough times, and got me back into video games in a major way though getting the PS3. It's deepened and broadened my appreciation of music (I listen to more music now than I ever did prior to RB), and it's been a bright spot in my life for almost 4 years now.

If I could afford to and had the time, I'd probably pick up a mustang and try to learn real guitar.

[samjjones]

I can't play guitar.

I can't play drums.

I can't sing worth a damn.

But when I play Rock Band, I feel like a ****ing rock star. Even after five years.

Happy birthday, Rock Band, and congratulations to the crew at HMX for creating an incredible platform and legacy. Long live Rock Band.

[sonicnerd23]

My Rock Band story... Where do I begin? Well, I suppose it would be logical to start with when I first got the game: Christmas Day, 2007. I'm 11 years old, quite in love with the Guitar Hero franchise, and hyped for my presents. I rush out to the front room, open them, and lo and behold, there's a PS3 with the Rock Band bundle pack. So what do I do? I load up the sucker and go to town. I remember the first RB song I played was Blitzkreig Bop on Easy vocals. I tried drumming that day, but couldn't quite get a feel for it. Little did I know I would grow extremely well at RB drums and, as a result, take up actual drums. On guitar, having been trained with Guitar Hero the past few months, took up Hard and soon, I made the transition to Expert. Since then, I've had many FC's on guitar, most notably Blue Sky by the Allman Bros. and Heart of the Sunrise by Yes.

Online was a whole new experience for me, having been a primarily Gamecube kid for the past few years. I got it, perhaps, in early '08. However, I don't believe I started getting songs until after RB2, as I distinctly remember that among my first DLC purchases, there was a song from Dr. Feelgood. Since then, I've amassed a massive library of DLC and RBN songs well over 1200. As for online play, boy, do I have a story. Initially, I started out as a quickplay bum on the original Rock Band. It was there I created my first character: Max I. Mum, a Kiss reject with dyed, bright red hair and clothing colored red and yellow. I created a few similar color-coded characters, but few, if any, of them actually stuck other than Max. When RB2 introduced creating your own bands for the career mode, I created Wyld Layzer. It was from there where I began my quickplay bumming anew, only with a logo.

Eventually, I met several friends online, including dj3m5on, iTsCaRnAgE, pezzster, and shawnpatrl, all of whom I had one hell of a time playing with and still do. However, the most important friendships I made were with Miles_Edgevvorth (known as Doctor_Crow on here), ATonyVideo, gothiclysm, and HEAVYMETALHEAD. It's funny how I met the former, actually. I had been searching for randoms in Wyld Layzer when all of a sudden, he pops up on guitar, and (likely in frustration at recent randoms), I selected Caprici di Diablo and picked Bass. Surprisingly, he picked Expert on guitar and got 89% on the song, the best I'd seen anyone online do it. We became good friends quick and I became a part of his band, Maelstrom. Through that, I was introduced to Tony and HMH and, later in the band's lifespan, gothic. I also got into the whole competitive aspect of Rock Band for the first time. However, the band was not to last. Early in 2010, Miles had a falling out with our vocalist Scary_J3nn which I tried hard to fix, but this failed. However, he formulated a plan with Gothic to form a new band called Morning of Mourning (which I believe you guys gave a shoutout to once!) with Tony and HMH. This was where the fun began.

With MofM, I got more into the whole competitive aspect of the game, as we often aimed into the top of the leaderboards, and often, we succeeded. We were in close competition with other bands, Interrobang! being one of them, and got several number one scores, my personal favorite being Hallowed Be Thy Name (live). While we had bitter rivalries with these bands (which looking back on seem a bit ridiculous), we had a more human side. I became great friends with all of these guys, sharing with them my feelings and experiences in life and we were there for each other when we needed help. We welcomed more members into MofM, but the sessions I remember most were the any of the ones with Miles, Gothic, Tony, and HMH.

Unfortunately, these fun times were not to last either. The first sign of this was when Miles' PS3 went dead on him, taking him off of PS3 RB for good. Next, when we jumped to RB3, the whole band system had been a bit less organized and more loose than it had been in RB2, meaning we couldn't really be that competitive anymore under our band name. Finally, we just didn't have the time anymore to jam, so though we never wanted to admit it, MofM was dying... on the PS3, anyways. On the 360, so I've heard, they were able to win big on some songs.

Afterwards, without a real band to play with, I strayed from Rock Band come March of 2011. Although sometimes it seemed like I would get back into the franchise with the release of the Yes pack and my subsequent purchase of it, I still remained occupied with other games like Call of Duty: World at War and Sonic Generations. Also, as mentioned before, I was getting busier. Thus, I sat on the sidelines while my friends continued to go at RB. Gothic and Tony, in particular, took control of Elite Rhythm Gaming sometime after MofM's apparent end.

However, the thing to finally bring me back into the fold was the Iron Maiden pack of this year. After picking that up, I became dedicated once more to the franchise, oiling my rusty playing on guitar enough to get the aforementioned Heart of the Sunrise FC. Still, though, I was saddened at my lessened potential, as I was not as good as I had been years ago. This changed when I went to my best friend's birthday party come June. There, he had all of the Rock Band games for Wii, which I was quick to set up. Eventually, the other party goers played with me, and we had one hell of a time on the disc songs. From my friends' botched vocals to Rock Lobster to another's rendition of So What'cha Want, I just kept strumming on the geetar and banging the drums in the background and I fully realized for the first time how RB can truly be a great social game and that it really doesn't matter how good you play, you can still have one hell of a time.

My final story is my tenure with Elite Rhythm Gaming, which runs up to the present day. I had been following them for quite some time after my Rock Band revival, amazed at how many FBFC's they managed to accumulate and proud of my friends for having become a major part of it. Eventually, I noticed their auditions announcement in September, and willing to take the leap, I sent them one. The wait was long, but the results were eventually posted, saying I had been accepted in. I was jubilant and played with them starting that weekend, and so far, I have helped them get quite a few FBFC's, which I have been proud of. I've had a blast with them and hope to continue working with them for a long time to come.

Thank you, Harmonix, for supplying my favorite hobby, adding an addictingly social online mode, and continuing to support your loyal fans for all of these years.

~sonicnerd23

[samjjones]

Well, might as well share my whole Harmonix story.

It was early 2007, I was in the 5th grade.

The fact that fifth graders and people in their 30's and 40's could derive so much enjoyment from the same game is incredible, and a testament to the design and simplicity of the game. Five years of uninterrupted DLC. AC/DC, Green Day, Lego Iggy Pop, and freaking THE BEATLES. The whole thing is pretty surreal.

[jibjqrkl]

added a small thing to my first post

let me get an example thread here for that:
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showt...=230080&page=1

That is an advice thread i made here a while back. seeing as i got a lot of help from people here, I wanted to do something back. And although the first page has a few jokers in there (there will always be jokers), starting from post #30 you can really see that this community is there for each other.

[dragoninforcer]

The fact that fifth graders and people in their 30's and 40's could derive so much enjoyment from the same game is incredible, and a testament to the design and simplicity of the game. Five years of uninterrupted DLC. AC/DC, Green Day, Lego Iggy Pop, and freaking THE BEATLES. The whole thing is pretty surreal.

It's something that really breaks the age barrier without being really child oriented or adult oriented. Yeah, it's crazy how people of all ages can feel the same enjoyment from a single game.

[www1221]

I should probably go to jail for how much I love this 5 year old...

[SheSaidSheSaid]

Meh, nothing I post is gonna compare to anyone else's stories.

[dragoninforcer]

Meh, nothing I post is gonna compare to anyone else's stories.

It's not a competition, I didn't want to make people think that. I was just pouring my heart out into a subject I cared about. I think any and all things that need to be said are important

[SheSaidSheSaid]

It's not a competition

It kind of is.

So feel free to post your favorite memories here! We'll share some of our favorites on the 11/19 livestream