Rock.Band.
Feb. 16th, 2008 03:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
navygreenYes, it's true. As of Groundhog's Day, the awesomesauce that is ROCKBAND has descended on our home.
Philip and Jack tore into the huge box the very evening we bought it (of course). A.J. wasn't real interested in playing the instruments, so he opted out of the set-up. Jack, on the other hand, was so giddy - it took everything in his power just to sit still while Philip built the different instruments. Finally, everything was pieced together, and the two of them began to jam. Baby Kitty sat close by, but she was indifferent to the right's and wrong's, and she purred herself into a nice doze on the couch next to Jack. ;-)
Philip builds the drums.
Jack waits as patiently as possible to play.
Jack, the rockstar.
That same evening, I tried my hand at the drums a bit. I only played for one song, and I could keep up with the beat well enough (on Easy, that is), but I played without using the bass/foot pedal beat at all. That's just too confusing! Soon it was Jack's bedtime, and Philip played by himself for an hour or so.
A couple nights later, he and 'the guys' from Runza got together to play the game. Philip is the only one who owns RockBand, but Ryan was house-bound (his wife was out of town for a funeral, and he has four very little ones). Ryan lives out in Ashland (a 45-minute drive), so Chris decided to ride out with Philip. This endeavor was only one night after Philip bought his truck, and he decided to drive that.
And he ran out of gas on the way. :-P
He called, but Brett was unavailable to help, and of course, Ryan couldn't come out, either. Chris, meanwhile, is sitting in the passenger seat in just a t-shirt (with temps below 0°!) - completely NOT dressed for the weather (he never wears a jacket). Eventually, a cop happened upon them on the highway, and then hilarity ensued. For the as the cop began to ask, it became clear that Philip had:
- no license plates (the seller took his off when we bought it)
- no registration (because the DMV was already closed at 6pm on Friday evening)
- no insurance (it had only been one day, and I hadn't called yet to add the vehicle to our policy)
- an expired Alaska driver's license (Active Duty military can get by with a military ID only, so Philip has never gotten a new license, and his AK one expired in 2000)
Thankfully, the cop was a nice guy, and he took pity on a freezing Chris in the situation. Philip and Chris piled into the cop car (Philip let Chris ride in the front seat, closest to the heaters, and he took the jailed-off, plastic back seat, insisting he was the dumb one and should look like the criminal). He said later that Chris didn't argue with that comment. ;-) And the cop took them to the nearest gas station and let Philip borrow his 2-gallon gas can. Back at the truck, Philip didn't notice that the gas can had a leak, and he leaked gasoline all over his boots. Still, he got enough in the truck to get going, and the cop left soon afterwards. Then he and Chris drove to another gas station and put $10 more gas in. Finally, they made it to Ryan's house.
Once there, the three of them had an awesome time playing the game. In fact, Philip didn't make it back home until just a few minutes before 5am, and Chris fell asleep in the truck as he was taking him home (but he laughed as he denied this incident the next day at work). Within a day or two, Chris was itching to play again, and Brett was getting excited too, having missed the first event. So, Wednesday night found three extra guys rocking out in my living room. I was out for a few hours with Heather to see the play, but I snapped a few pictures of them when I arrived back home.
Philip and friends.
Ryan on the bass guitar.
Chris as the drummer.
Philip on lead guitar.
And my personal favorite, the 'Drum Team.' You see, none of the guys were having a very easy go at the drums while trying to play the foot pedal in conjunction with the drum heads. So, in an effort to increase their scores, they began 'teaming' up for the drum parts.
Brett and Chris as the original 'Drum Team.'
Then I quit flashy-thinging them (they were playing in a completely dark living room), and I sat down to watch them play for a while. They're such a fun group of guys. :-)
Philip and Jack tore into the huge box the very evening we bought it (of course). A.J. wasn't real interested in playing the instruments, so he opted out of the set-up. Jack, on the other hand, was so giddy - it took everything in his power just to sit still while Philip built the different instruments. Finally, everything was pieced together, and the two of them began to jam. Baby Kitty sat close by, but she was indifferent to the right's and wrong's, and she purred herself into a nice doze on the couch next to Jack. ;-)
Philip builds the drums.
Jack waits as patiently as possible to play.
Jack, the rockstar.
That same evening, I tried my hand at the drums a bit. I only played for one song, and I could keep up with the beat well enough (on Easy, that is), but I played without using the bass/foot pedal beat at all. That's just too confusing! Soon it was Jack's bedtime, and Philip played by himself for an hour or so.
A couple nights later, he and 'the guys' from Runza got together to play the game. Philip is the only one who owns RockBand, but Ryan was house-bound (his wife was out of town for a funeral, and he has four very little ones). Ryan lives out in Ashland (a 45-minute drive), so Chris decided to ride out with Philip. This endeavor was only one night after Philip bought his truck, and he decided to drive that.
And he ran out of gas on the way. :-P
He called, but Brett was unavailable to help, and of course, Ryan couldn't come out, either. Chris, meanwhile, is sitting in the passenger seat in just a t-shirt (with temps below 0°!) - completely NOT dressed for the weather (he never wears a jacket). Eventually, a cop happened upon them on the highway, and then hilarity ensued. For the as the cop began to ask, it became clear that Philip had:
- no license plates (the seller took his off when we bought it)
- no registration (because the DMV was already closed at 6pm on Friday evening)
- no insurance (it had only been one day, and I hadn't called yet to add the vehicle to our policy)
- an expired Alaska driver's license (Active Duty military can get by with a military ID only, so Philip has never gotten a new license, and his AK one expired in 2000)
Thankfully, the cop was a nice guy, and he took pity on a freezing Chris in the situation. Philip and Chris piled into the cop car (Philip let Chris ride in the front seat, closest to the heaters, and he took the jailed-off, plastic back seat, insisting he was the dumb one and should look like the criminal). He said later that Chris didn't argue with that comment. ;-) And the cop took them to the nearest gas station and let Philip borrow his 2-gallon gas can. Back at the truck, Philip didn't notice that the gas can had a leak, and he leaked gasoline all over his boots. Still, he got enough in the truck to get going, and the cop left soon afterwards. Then he and Chris drove to another gas station and put $10 more gas in. Finally, they made it to Ryan's house.
Once there, the three of them had an awesome time playing the game. In fact, Philip didn't make it back home until just a few minutes before 5am, and Chris fell asleep in the truck as he was taking him home (but he laughed as he denied this incident the next day at work). Within a day or two, Chris was itching to play again, and Brett was getting excited too, having missed the first event. So, Wednesday night found three extra guys rocking out in my living room. I was out for a few hours with Heather to see the play, but I snapped a few pictures of them when I arrived back home.
Philip and friends.
Ryan on the bass guitar.
Chris as the drummer.
Philip on lead guitar.
And my personal favorite, the 'Drum Team.' You see, none of the guys were having a very easy go at the drums while trying to play the foot pedal in conjunction with the drum heads. So, in an effort to increase their scores, they began 'teaming' up for the drum parts.
Brett and Chris as the original 'Drum Team.'
Then I quit flashy-thinging them (they were playing in a completely dark living room), and I sat down to watch them play for a while. They're such a fun group of guys. :-)
