Story Photos
 Ben Heston takes his guitar playing seriously as he plays Rock Band at the Longview Public Library. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News
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Longview library sets the stage for Rock Band jamming
Monday, July 14, 2008 2:49 PM PDT
By Cathy Zimmerman
Printable version
E-mail this articleWhen the newly built Teen Space at the Longview Public Library started smelling a little too much like teen spirit, Jan Hanson knew she was going to have to move Xbox rockers to a new locale. That led to one more new chapter in the library’s expanding services, where “Gimme Shelter” shares the stacks with “Huckleberry Finn.”
Marketing research shows that 94 percent of teen boys play video games, “and we want them to become future library users,” so the teen program has embraced “social gaming,” said Hanson, the youth services librarian. Teen members of the library snagged the equipment through a grant and other fundraising.
However, “the teen aroma was too thick” when hard-driving, rock-music games were going full tilt, she said. “The space was never intended to have that intense level of action. And we needed it for the summer reading program.”
Hanson and the kids swung into action. Middle school and high school students now can play Rock Band and Guitar Hero from 3 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday and Thursday in the library’s auditorium.
The basement walls effectively sound-proof the space. And not only is it just down the hallway from the building-within-a-building that houses the teen program, but it’s blissfully chilled.
Last week in the auditorium, a group of guys morphed into virtual band members as they played Rock Band, gyrating through songs by the Killers, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Metallica.
“You picked the last two songs, Dude; I’m picking,” said Josh Mattison of Longview, swaying in front of a 4-foot projected animation of a rock concert stage.
Mattison, 15, clicked on “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys.
“Oh, come on,” muttered Ben Heston, 16.
Xbox 360 includes a projector-computer console that hooks up to a set of “drums” — sticks and plastic pads on a stand -- a mic for a vocalist and a plastic “guitar.”
Players can hook up a second guitar, so up to four players can put on a virtual concert, scoring points in four levels of difficulty by keeping up with the beat, notes, chords and lyrics of any one of the game’s 63 available songs.
About 200 others can be programmed, said Jeremy Ahrens, 18, of Kelso, who played the drums.
Library volunteer Drew Lytle, 22, supervised and played bass, and Jaushua Jenson, 17, stopped by for a turn on guitar.
Graphics overlaid on the screen’s animated rock concert feed each player the notes they have to follow, while a running tally in the upper right-hand corner speedily totes up the group’s points.
Lettering pops up to reward good playing; “Solid Solo” and “Unison Bonus.”
Screw-ups get a big red “FAILED” sign.
“My fault!” somebody confessed.
“I WILL get 100 points on that song some day,” Heston said as he flipped his mop of straight black hair back at the end of “Enter Sandman” by Metallica.
Xbox games offer ways to continually challenge yourself.
“You can ramp up the speed,” Ahrens said.
“Guitar 3 has sound crushing technicality,” Mattison added.
They’re definitely miles from karaoke.
You have to know the lyrics to be the vocalist. You can either sing over the real rock star’s voice, “or you can turn that off and sing by yourself,’ Heston said. Either way, the player’s voice comes out of the speakers.
““There’s a pitch box,” he said, with “an arrow that tells you what pitch you’re at.”
All these guys are experienced and fast enough to play on the “Difficult” or “Expert” level on many songs.
Still, newcomers are welcome to Xbox sessions, Mattison said, “as long as they’re not rude and wait for a turn.”
“More guys come in to play,” Lytle said, but girls shouldn’t shy away. For example, they said Emily Mattison, Josh’s sister and a library regular, is a great singer.
Josh Mattison, who plays a real guitar, said Xbox playing doesn’t improve skills on real instruments. But Heston thinks the games can help a singer improve.
“It’s a rhythm-based game,’ Ahrens said. “It helps with rhythm.”
Someday, the would-be rockers said, they’ll strap on a helmet and groove in virtual reality. In the meantime, the big screen, team playing and chilled-out confines of the public library are as good a Never Never Land as any.
Rock out
What: Xbox 360, gaming with Rock Band and Guitar Hero
When: 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays through the summer
Where: Longview Public Library auditorium, ground floor
For Whom: Students entering grades 6-12 this fall
How much: Free.
Xbox afternoons are part of “Metamorphosis,” the library’s free summer reading program for teens, which includes reading contests, book review sharing, a book blog and special events:
• LazerTag, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, Longview Public Library auditorium
• Lawn games, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, on lawn outside Longview Library
• Rockin’ Lock-in, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 24, at Kelso Public Library.
Registration for Metamorhosis events is open until July 24.
spiralibrary wrote on Jul 14, 2008 8:17 AM:
People are often confused about "registration" for the Summer Reading Program. To clarify, NO REGISTRATION is required for the events (whether the Lawn Games or children's storytimes), but the "read for fun & prizes" program continues through August 15. We do require registration for that part of the program, so we know who wins the prizes! It's all free, of course. THANKS! Jan E.V.W. Hanson, Youth Services Librarian, Longview Public Library "
spiralibrary wrote on Jul 14, 2008 9:52 AM:
The date for the Rockin' Lock-in is: July 18 (Friday), 6:00 p.m., Kelso Library
Our annual rock wrap-up library takeover, with the awesome "Out of Order," "Beg To Differ," free pizza, & more!
Check out:
http://www.longviewlibrary.org/Teens.html
for the latest! "
viewpoint wrote on Jul 14, 2008 11:26 AM:
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