Pot, Kettle, Black

"So kids: Start rock bands. Set down the 'Guitar Hero,' learn how to play an actual guitar and start a band, because it's hard to find more bands to put a solid rock-and-roll package together, to get out there."

-Chad Kroeger (MTV Interview)

When Guitar Hero games first came out, it was all the rage of actual musicians to deride playing a game on a little plastic controller. Over the past few years, more and more bands have gotten involved with Rock Band and Guitar Hero and been eager in licensing songs. Lesser known bands who have had songs included on games have grown a small following that would probably not exist otherwise (Bang Camaro rocks!) Additionally many kids who had never heard classic rock before are getting introduced to the likes of The Who and Rush which can only be a good thing going forward.

On a tangent, playing the Rock Band 2 set up at Best Buy made me have one of the few "I'm old" moments in my nearly 27 years. While playing with two teens, I gutted it through some of their crappy metal music and then when they offered to let me pick a song, I asked them if they'd ever heard of Pearl Jam since Alive is one of my all time favorites and I was really looking forward to it being on the disc. One kid shook his head and the other said, "I don't know that song, but I've heard of Pearl Jam"

ANYWAY, little plastic guitars and plastic drums don't musicians make, but it sure doesn't hurt. How many people have mastered the game and decided to go out and buy real instruments and learn for real? Would these same people have taken up this interest without the game? Highly unlikely.

I personally very rarely play the guitar on these games. I can play guitar in real life. Playing on a plastic controller has never appealed to me and often times I would become frustrated with the charting of a particular song and just shut off the game and pick up a real guitar and play it anyway. But to someone who has no musical background it can be a good gateway. Now that I've learned lots of basic drumming lessons, I would love to try a real drum set to see how well the skills translate.

Saying that Rock Band/Guitar Hero ruin music is one of the most inaccurate statements I've heard in a while. You know what ruins music? Crappy no-talent bands who are bland across the board. Bands who hit it big 8 years ago with a semi-good single whose entire catalog sounds like that one song with different lyrics. You know, bands like Nickelback.

So Chad Kroeger, STFU. I'll pluck some string on my Martin and then I'll sit in front of my plastic drum set and rock out to all my favorite music and maybe even discover a great new band in the process. Luckily, it doesn't appear my Rock Band will ever be ruined with a Nickelback song.