The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Hey All,

I played with a band last night that I think you will enjoy. They are called the Guitar Zeros and they use Guitar Hero controllers to play their songs. It is quite a story, so check it out!

http://theguitarzeros.com/

The San Francisco-based four-piece utilizes a standard drum kit and set of pipes, but opts for a much more digital approach to the guitar and bass. Both guitarists use Guitar Hero axes that are hooked up wirelessly to a Windows XP laptop, and thanks to some serious coding efforts within MAX/MSP, the controllers are able to emulate acoustic sounds, electric wailing, and mind-blowing lead lines without being plugged into a game console. Of course, the end result is purely a matter of taste, but the science behind the strumming is what's really impressive.

Be well,
Ken

I really wanted to see them play, but they were headlining and I'm a lame old fart so I had to leave early. They have videos on their MySpace page, including a nerdy demo of their guitar rig and software. Also, the Max/MSP code is all available for free, so you too could hack together your own Guitar Hero controller controlled setup, which is pretty cool.

PS Good job last night, Ken.

Interesting. My first reaction was, how damn lame. But I watched the video of how he programed everything and it's pretty cool. He is actually an experienced guitar player and that's how he was able to make the riffs, etc. Nice gimmick.
So Ken, are you playing drums for them?

No. I play drums in a band called Parker Street Cinema. We opened the show last night where the Guitar Zeros played last. I'll tell you, despite their gimmick, they make good music.

Ken

I'm honestly not impressed by the music. Their frontman seems to realize that they're a gimmick band, and it reflects in his actions ... I'm also not impressed by the drummer - maybe it's just the way he plays the hi-hat ... it seems amateurish.

The guitar-hero stuff is cool though. The idea behind it is really cool, but I wish they didn't feed entirely off the gimmick. And the name 'guitar zeros'? Lame.