Subject: Guitar Hero

• Tap Tap Shred

  December 6, 2007

• SXSW: OC Weekly Cover Boys dios Tear it Up

  Just returned from the dios set (see Chris Ziegler's 2004 cover story here) at the Chuggin' Monkey (located a few blocks from Mooseknuckle's and Uncle Flirty's Loft...seriously). Despite undergoing some lineup changes over the past few years, the band continues to amaze me with how ferociously they can perform live. [Full disclosure: I have at times played Guitar Hero and been entertained by the card magic of founding member Jimi Cabeza de Vaca.] The previous bands went a little long, forcing di

  March 18, 2007

• Attention Guitar Hero Junkies

  It’s Guitar Hero on your cell phone! (kind of) AT&T has announced it’s launch of the new cell phone game GuitarStar. Modeled after the video game phenomenon, GuitarStar uses similar beat matching technology, instructing players to “catch” guitar picks flying across the screen’s cross hairs design in time with the music. The better your hand-eye coordination, the faster you can rise from lowly garage band to stadium superstar, and high scores grant access to new songs of increasing

  July 31, 2007

• Anarchy in the 401k: Sex Pistols Regroup for Guitar Hero and London Shows

  September 25, 2007

• To Do Tonight - 01/22

  REGISTER TO VOTE, till midnight Today's your last chance to register to vote in the presidential primary. Doooo it! Registrar of Voters, 1300 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana FULL MOON WALK, 5:30 p.m. Howl at the first full moon of the year, which was incidentally named the Wolf Moon by Native Americans. Environmental Nature Center, 1601 Sixteenth St. Newport Beach VIVID COMEDY PARTY, 8 p.m. Who said porn stars can't be funny? Irvine Improv, 71 Fortune Dr., Irvine SURF CITY NIGHTS, till 9 p.m. Stre

  January 22, 2008

• To Do Tonight 6/30

  Guitar Legend Taking your Guitar Hero obsession to a whole new level. House Of Blues 1530 S. Disneyland Dr. Anaheim CA 92802 714-778-2583 Aqua Net, 9 p.m. DJ Sticky Pete sprays the sounds of disco, new wave, freestyle and electro. Que Sera 1923 E. Seventh St. Long Beach CA 90813 562-599-6170 April Spain, 8:00 p.m. Soothing jazz carried on an ocean breeze. Wind & Sea 34699 St. of the Golden Lantern Dana Point CA 92629 949-496-6500 Screening: Blade Runner, 8 p.m. The year 2019

  June 30, 2008

• Last Night: Tricky at House of Blues

  Better Than: Playing a game of Guitar Hero while blind folded. It was a strange thing trudging up the steps of Disney's House of Blues to find an empty bar on the second floor. It's typically the first crowd you see before disappearing down the stairs to find a spot at ground level. But just minutes before Tricky (producer,trip icon and co-founder of Massive Attack) strolled on stage, you could practically run and slide across the floor on your knees and not hit a single person. Maybe it's j

  September 12, 2008

• Last Night: Buckethead at the Anaheim House of Blues

  Not even the comfort of an ice cold beer was enough to curb the blazing body heat that filled the rafters of last night's Buckethead show at the House of Blues. Then again, a wall to wall turnout for one of rock-n-roll's most mysterious guitar gods should probably be expected. After all, it's one of the few times this year that hundreds of local musicians from age 14 to 44 can pay to stand with folded arms and slack jawed expressions while watching  a blistering display of musicianship in a cou

  November 23, 2008

• To Do Tonight 12/22

  OC Starz featuring DJ Cheetah Pete, 7:30 p.m.Not only are the stars out tonight, but there's a cheetah on the loose. And if you get bored of these guys, you can always head downstairs and play a little electronic guitar during HOB's Guitar Hero Mondays.House of Blues, 1530 S. Disneyland Dr., Anaheim, CA; 714-778-2583It's a Wonderful Life Film Screening, 7:00 p.m.God bless us everyone. Price $9:50 adults, $7 children and seniors. Lido Theater - Newport Beach, 3459 Via Lido Newport Beach, Newport

  December 22, 2008

• NAMM Stories: Reports From the Frontlines

  Photo by Andrew YoussefBY RYAN RITCHIEApparently, scoring a ticket to the NAMM show is like the hair farmer version of acceptance into Disneyland's Club 33. Just ask my friend Brian, who was turned away from the event on Saturday even though I pleaded with the press people using my otherwise indefensible charm. I said adios to Brian and met up with photographer Andrew Youssef, who I bonded with earlier that week over the Jets to Brazil reference in his email address (I'll let the readers try to

  January 19, 2009

• Absorbing 'Death Magnetic,' Metallica's Latest Badass Opus, Entirely in Video-Game Form

  September 25, 2008

• [Game On] With 'Guitar Hero: World Tour,' a Series Shreds Its Momentum

  November 6, 2008

• [CD Review] The Bronx, 'The Brox III' (White Drugs Records)

  November 13, 2008

• [Game On] Gold Metal, Tarnished: French Laugh In the Face of Video Games As Sport

  August 7, 2008

• [Game On] 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band' Give New Meaning to 'Rock & Roll Excess'

  June 12, 2008

• [Summer Guide] The Simple Pleasures of an OC Summer

  June 12, 2008

• [Aural Reports] Guitarist Neal Adams Has a Riff for Every Occasion

  May 29, 2008

• [Game On] Paging Freaks: Guinness Writes the Book On Gaming But Doesn't Shatter Any Records

  April 3, 2008

• [game on] Axes to Grind

  The Guitar Hero frenzy careens toward overkill

  January 24, 2008

• Shred Cred

  WEB EXCLUSIVE! Shred Cred: You wanted the best—you got the best: Guitar Hero III

  November 15, 2007

• Blue Blood & Guts

  The Upper Crust’s Hard Rocque Has Ignoble Intentions

  October 18, 2007

• Live Review

  Fast Times
  Lifetime with Mika Miko and Shook Ones
  Chain Reaction, Anaheim

  February 22, 2007

• Star Power

  April 17, 2008

• Saturday Night: Dinosaur Jr., Earthless at Detroit Bar

  Andrew YoussefSatuday Night: Dinosaur Jr., Earthless at the Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa; June 20, 2009.Better than: Going to Guitar Center in search of the perfect fuzz pedal.Download: Stream the whole new album on their MySpace.Speak softly and have six Marshall amplifier cabinets behind you. My hearing still hasn't recovered from a blistering set by the legendary Dinosaur Jr. who played a sold out show at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa.

  June 22, 2009

• Pop-Inspired Musicals Like 'My Way' Put Asses in Seats

  July 2, 2009

• The Beatles: Rock Band Out Now

  ​Unless you've been living under a rock for the past month (and if you have been, is the rock renting? Cuz I could use a cheaper place), you know that today -- 9/9/09 -- marks the official release date of The Beatles: Rock Band.That's right folks, the music industry sucks so hard that not only is it relying on the Beatles to generate some cash, it's relying on a freakin' video game with the Beatles in it to generate some cash.As someone over the age of 25 with hobbies, I've never played Guitar

  September 9, 2009

• Five Regrettable Music/Video Game Moments

  ​Motörhead are currently on tour (including a stop at the House of Blues in Anaheim), they also play a role in upcoming action/adventure game Brütal Legend, out next week on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 (we got a chance to play it at Comic-Con this year, it's a fun, straight-forward beat 'em up with some cool visuals). That game, with Jack Black voicing the main character and additional vocal appearances from Rob Halford, Ozzy Osbourne, Lita Ford and Motörhead singer Lemmy will probably be a

  October 7, 2009

• Before It Gets Old: Guitar Hero: The Beatles

  OK, so the jokes in this video will surely fly over the heads of all but the most ardent rhythm game enthusiasts, but there are a ton out there at this point, so I feel pretty secure in posting this. Tomorrow is Beatles Day across the globe--what with the much anticipated release of not only The Beatles: Rock Band, but also the entire remastered Beatles catalog and the Stereo and Mono boxed sets. Everyone seems to agree that The Beatles: Rock Band is much more "Norwegian Wood" than "Yellow Subma

  September 8, 2009