---

GH History Before Scorehero (aka 2006 B.S.)

I first played Guitar Hero the summer after graduating high school, at a party. I don't remember the song, but I do remember that I was hooked the second I saw how the game was played. I'm pretty sure everyone left to watch some people making out in the pool, but I was too busy playing Bark At The Moon on Medium. Bought it that weekend, and played it every day until after Guitar Hero 2 came out. When GH2 came out, I did the Endless Setlist before it was fashionable, and I couldn't write my answers in a Film History test the next day. Seriously, I had to go right-handed, minus fifteen points due to illegibility. In December of '06, I had progressed to getting FCs (I only thought of them as super-mega-fandoubletastic 100% at the time) on about 12 Hard songs, and was wondering about a couple 5-star cutoffs. I ran a search as to who, if anyone, knew what the cutoffs were, or how to derive them. Scorehero was the first result.
Dun-dun-duuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!

Lurking

I lurked for a while (surprise! that section header certainly was misleading), eventually started posting. I'd read the stickies, but apparently not enough; I still managed to make an ass out of my self by berating beberle2 for his spelling. If you didn't know, as of 2007 Ben Eberle was 8 at the time. After a remarkably light verbal smackdown from Riz (you remember Riz, he was like Jean Grey holding off the flood at the end of X2, except the water is idiots trying to get a custom disc running. Understandably, his mind probably snapped and he became extremely proficient at banning people), I learned a little about reading before you post. I picked up GH2 360 in April and acquired 4th place on the online leaderboards from playing through Hard. I also acquired a bedsore from not moving the entire time. However, playing for alllllllllllllllllll that time increased my skill somewhat, and luckily enough that was in time for the glut of highly profitable...

---

Tournaments

I like to think I'm a fairly seasoned tournament player, though to tell you the truth I can't remember how many I've been to. I will generally go somewhat to way-the-hell out of my way to hit up a tournament. I have a lot of great memories, from meeting people to flying to California and crashing at my Dad and stepmom's place so I can go to a local tournament (more on that later). Let's reminisce! In as chronological an order as I can remember...
(Work(s) In Progress
v)

2007

Clash of the Heroes I: Austin, TX 3rd Place
No Winnings

I think this was actually my first tournament, tho I can't be sure, my memory sucks on dates. I know it was pretty early, since it was gh2 360, so we all got to play on X-plorers. You remember those hunks of shit∞, right? Yeah, hopefully they can be forgotten about over time. Notable players were there: I'd already met UTofPojo and Jimmythekid by then, but this was the first time I got to see Dan Juarez (dantheman4525 for the uninformed/newbies) in action. It was also the first time I got to meet his very sweet girlfriend Jess, who I guess supported his playing since she always showed up with him, but never looked too happy about being there. Probably because she didn't have anyone to talk to, since Dan was from San Antonio, and rarely came to Austin.
And speakin of Austin, the tourney took place at Stubbs, but in the lower indoor concert-ish stage. There were 6 setups in the audience area and one on the stage, with a monitor set on the floor. Cool and all, but there was zero volume control or headphones, so it was one gigantic clusterfuck of shredding solos and chuggin riffs mixed with plinks. Half the songs played were off sight alone until the tournament progressed and there were fewer players, so the sound died a bit. I was pretty nervous since these were the days when I was having major trouble keeping combo on the Psychobilly Freakout riff, but at least I'd already progressed to being a Hyperspeed user. There was no seeding and it was single elim for the 1st couple rounds. At this point I had no clue seeding was a concept that could be used outside of March Madness, so in retrospect I was exceedingly lucky to have been placed on the opposite side of the bracket from UT and Dan.
1st match was a joke, because in addition to the main prizes there was a simultaneous competition for what amounts to the "who can try to look and rock out like a star but thank God nobody's videotaping this award". I suspected if someone had won both, they probably would have gotten a super secret bonus prize. Apparently my opponent had decided Fuck It and was gyrating to the point of whiplash and also standing on my controller wire, tho with the way he was flinging himself about I do not know how his foot stayed planted. I told him to move and thankfully he did. I think the song was Rock 'n Roll Hoochie Koo, which I'd picked since I was enjoying the 360 exclusive tracks at the time. Won pretty handily, tho it meant nothing since he wasn't trying.
Matches were best of 1 song, but the twist was player 1 got to choose from 2 tiers, and player 2 got to choose the song from within. Needless to say, after the 1st match, I was always in the 2nd player slot, and nobody really noticed or cared. There were a few matches I don't remember, tho I do recall being told that the Red Bull was free since they were the sponsors. They also were giving Red Bull-emblazoned Xplorer controllers out to 1st and 2nd, which was a kinda big deal since standalone controllers weren't being sold then (Dan told me later those things broke in 2 minutes). The next big match was close to the end, at which point double elim came into the picture. Even tho I won, that would be my downfall. I beat him with 330k on Carry Me Home (a MONSTER improvement for me at the time), after which was a small break so they could get the main stage set up. Next I lost to Dan. UT had already been placed in the loser's bracket because he'd lost to Dan, so he and the guy I just beat were the semi-finalists in the loser's bracket. Right before they set up the finals, they finished out the showmanship competition, which was actually great; the song was Killing In The Name, and the crowd singing the chorus was definitely not censored, so there were about 50 people in a really small room screaming FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME FUCK.
Good times.
Sadly, the main stage setup was also the only one with lag, and the other guy seemed to adapt to it better than Rishi (UT), so he lost. He was pretty angry! He actually flipped off the screen, which I thought was pretty funny. Next was me and that other guy∞. He was pretty nice, with the thickest Texan drawl I'd ever seen (well, heard), and we quickly agreed on The Light That Blinds. I was not great at the main riff at the time, plus lag equaled me being behind most of the song. I did know the SP path, however, which would have given me the win if I hadn't activated in the wrong place early on. Didn't override or anything, so it actually led to me ending being 800 points behind him in the end, somewhere around 314k. He didn't have SP at the end, so I just slooooooooooowly closed the distance. It drove the crowd wild, resembling some sort of comeback. Being 3rd, I got nothing, which was a bit of a surprise. Doesn't 3rd place get a bronze medal at the Olympics? Eh, it was fun, and a great time. I got to meet and become friends with dan & Jess (eventually hit up their place for marathon GH custom sessions, where I'd lose to Dan's amazing skillz for 7 hours at a time), some free Red Bull, and bear witness to the most awesome Guitar Hero costume ever∞.

Sephi's GH2 Tournament: Albuquerque, NM 3rd Place
$50 GameStop gift card

Guitar Hero as a series was really picking up steam by the summer of '07. The 360 version of GH2 had come out, Rock The 80s was almost out, GH3 was on the horizon, and many, many more people were picking up the bundle to pretend they knew how to play guitar. The media frenzy began too, and some lucky players even got to play GH2 with Gene Simmons∞. The first "pro" players also emerged. I say "pro" because while they may have been getting paid to play in tournaments, there weren't any of an appreciable size to truly warrant the moniker. Don't get me wrong: kov, KingOfTerrors, Priest, all are extremely formidable shredders that would still mop the floor with me today. They just didn't have a real venue to strut their stuff.
The closest thing at the time, however, was Sephi's Albuquerque LAN Center tournaments. While the prizes definitely weren't the absolute best (first place was a real guitar, down to a GameStop gift card at 3rd), the competition sure as hell was. Quackadilly, KW2, Priest, KingOfTerrors, Tipperqueen, Beauregard, beberle2, Sephi, sluggo, the list goes on! Sephi also knew how to run a tournament; there were different brackets for Expert-only players and Hard/Medium, a Co-op division, a song selection process that allowed players to use their strengths while not allowing them to use the one song they practiced to death as a crutch for a free win, a seeding round with double elimination and a staff member devoted to working out the matches, and even free play breaks to allow people who'd been waiting for their turn a while to limber up before another match. In retrospect, it was damn near perfect. The only thing that still sucked was my playing ability... ;)
Since I'm too lazy to drive from Austin to Albuquerque, I flew my ass on out there the day before the tournament. Drunkenmonkey328 was gracious enough to pick me up from the airport (sober) and drive me to the LAN center.
the chronically awesome King of Terrors∞.

Plucker's GH Tournament: Austin, TX

He was the one who convinced me to go through with embarrassing myself by dressing up as a Hillbilly to perform Psychobilly Freakout for a tournament. After losing to a guy who played Beast and the Harlot with his teeth (and failed Misirlou playing normally for his encore), he drunkenly advised me the tournament was bullshit from the start. It made me feel a little better. God bless you, KOT.

WCG 2007: Dallas, TX

Cruising around the Tournament forums,

QuakeCon 2007: Dallas, TX

CPL Summer 2007: Dallas, TX

Will fill this one out later, but I won and tipperqueen∞ apparently started telling people she won, when I distinctly remember getting the actual Fender Stratocaster guitar. She got a cell phone.

101X GH2 Multi-Day Tournament: Austin, TX

NewEGG GH2: Ontario, CA

Pre-Release GH3 Tournament: Dallas, TX

Hot Topic Tournament: Austin, TX

Clash of the Heroes II: Austin, TX

The location was shifted about a block over from Stubbs to Emo's. I've got to say, UT's Texas Gaming Association learned a lot from their first outing. Emo's had probably 6 more stations than they did at Stubb's, but they were spread out across the bar, a courtyard, and the concert stage area. You were allowed to bring your own controllers, and the seeding was double elim throughout (though it was still one song constituting a full match). We were allowed to adjust the lag, and even put on Hyperspeed if both players agreed! I still come across competitions where the people who run it don't fucking know what hyperspeed even DOES, just see it's in the cheat menu and outlaw it. But these peeps did know, and that was a good sign.
The game was GH3, and by now I'd improved a good amount. Online Pro-Face Off was the next best thing to tournament play, and since Rock Band was in its infancy (and there hadn't been tournaments for a couple months) I'd played the ever-loving shit out of XBL PFO. Don't remember how many FC's I had at the time, but I'd at least 5* TTFAF, which combined with a summer of hammering away at customs (including this beast∞ and going to other tournaments made me a knowledgable, if not formidable, opponent. Dantheman was back, along with some people I hadn't met before, like 12yearoldkid. I don't think he's active on the SH forums anymore, but he was a definite talent I'd seen at the Hot Topic tournament. I kept swearing around him for whatever reason, luckily his Dad wasn't around.
Tourney play proceeded much more smoothly than Clash of The Heroes I: the bracket was displayed on a projector, there was a PA set up to announce who needed to go where, and since the stations were spread out, you could actually hear what you were playing. Sadly, I don't remember too much minutiae of matches leading up to the finals other than one guy almost beat Dan on Miss Murder because he knew the path better, and I almost lost to someone on 3s & 7s because I missed an SP phrase. I also beat a guy who, probably 8 months later, remembered me when he walked into the GameCrazy I worked at. Anyway, it ended up as me in 2nd and Dan undefeated before the finals, at which point the tournament took a break so the organizers could set up the stage. During that time, a guy with a video camera kept saying "Hey, Matt!" I didn't recognize him at first, but it turned out to be Corey, one of the judges from WSVG (also one of KOT's friends)! He pulled out a quick interview with me and Dan, where everybody was amazed to learn I'd 5* the main GH3 setlist on sightread (Dan was only impressed I'd 5*d Raining Blood on sightread, since he hadn't). The last shot was Dan & I leaning in real close, pretending to be as tough-looking as possible in prep for the "final battle". I've always wanted to see the final cut of the interview, but could never find it.
The PA blares out that they're ready for the finals to begin! Starts off with the two "showmanship" guys. They kept hitting the dashboard button and yanking their controller cords so frequently they eventually decided screw it and destroyed the X-plorers, which weren't actually theirs. You can see it yourself here∞. Then it was me and another guy finishing out the loser's bracket. This was also the guy who almost beat me at 3s & 7s, and that song was his choice, so I chose Cult of Personality and proceeded to stomp on him. The actual finals were Dan whupping me on Raining Blood, but I didn't mind because I realized this was the closest I'd ever get to becoming a real rock star. I was at a real club, packed to the gills with ousted competitors, interested spectators, the actual members of Austin-native band The Lions (their track Metal Heavy Lady is on GH3), on a real stage, and the sound system was at motherfucking 12. Activating SP sounded like a grenade going off, and only made the song louder for its duration. People were actually cheering both of us on, not just watching. I wish every tournament finals were like this, it was amazing.
The end came as me versus Dan on TTFAF. I could describe how that felt, but you can actually watch the video here∞ (the entertaining part is at 7:25). As you can tell, apart from me bombing the intro, there is virtually no footage of the score. Halfway through he has at least a 30K lead, but by the end his fingers got cold and I narrowed the gap to a hair under 1k, 512k to 511k, his 89% notes hit to my 92%. I totally pointed this out to Dan, but he sagely replied "You may hit the notes, but I like to use the right path". Dan won a 360 elite and a GH3 bundle signed by The Lions, who put on a show after the tournament. I won a Les Paul faceplate signed by Slash and a GH3 bundle. Autograph-wise...I got the better deal. Still have it, too.

2008

The Sweet Spot's GH3 Tournament: Santa Rosa, CA

LAN Center GH3 Competition: San Antonio, TX

Plucker's Rock Band Competition: Austin, TX

Play 'N Trade Nationwide GH3 Tournament: Round Rock, TX

Pflugerville Guitar Hero Competition: Pflugerville, TX

2009

Plucker's Rock Band Nights: Austin, TX

Sony's Take The Stage With Rock Band Competition: Tulsa, OK

2010

Buda Jam Competition: Buda, TX

F***ing Classy - My Full Band∞
Fraggle Rock - My Sponsored Full Band∞

$50

Guitar Hero as a series was really picking up steam by the summer of '07. The 360 version of GH2 had come out, Rock The 80s was almost out, GH3 was on the horizon, and many, many more people were picking up the bundle to pretend they knew how to play guitar. The media frenzy began too, and the first "pro" players even got to play GH2 with Gene Simmons∞.

(Works In Progress
v)

Clash of the Heroes I: Austin, TX

Sephi's GH2 Tournament: Albuquerque, NM

the chronically awesome King of Terrors∞.

Plucker's GH2 Tournament: Austin, TX

The end came as me versus Dan on TTFAF. I could describe how that felt, but you can actually watch the video here∞. As you can tell, apart from me bombing the intro, there is virtually no footage of the score. Halfway through he has at least a 30K lead, but by the end his fingers got cold and I narrowed the gap to a hair under 1k, 512k to 511k, his 89% notes hit to my 92%. I totally pointed this out to Dan, but he sagely replied "You may hit the notes, but I like to use the right path". Dan won a 360 elite and a GH3 bundle signed by The Lions, who put on a show after the tournament. I won a Les Paul faceplate signed by Slash and a GH3 bundle. Autograph-wise...I got the better deal. Still have it, too.

The PA blares out that they're ready for the finals to begin! Starts off with the two "showmanship" guys. They kept hitting the dashboard button so frequently they eventually decided screw it and destroyed the X-plorers, which weren't actually theirs. In an ironic move, the crowd booed their efforts. Then it was me and another guy finishing out the loser's bracket. This was also the guy who almost beat me at 3s & 7s, and that song was his choice, so I chose Cult of Personality and proceeded to stomp on him. The actual finals were Dan whupping me on Raining Blood, but I didn't mind because I realized this was the closest I'd ever get to becoming a real rock star. I was at a real club, packed to the gills with ousted competitors, interested spectators, the actual members of Austin-native band The Lions (their track Metal Heavy Lady is on GH3), on a real stage, and the sound system was at motherfucking 12. Activating SP sounded like a grenade going off, and only made the song louder for its duration. People were actually cheering both of us on, not just watching. I wish every tournament finals were like this, it was amazing.

History Pre-Scorehero

Matches were best of 1 song, but the twist was player 1 got to choose from 2 tiers, and player 2 got to choose the song from within. Needless to say, after the 1st match, I was always in the 2nd player slot, and nobody really noticed or cared. There were a few matches I don't remember, tho I do recall being told that the Red Bull was free since they were the sponsors. They also were giving Red Bull-emblazoned Xplorer controllers out to 1st and 2nd, which was a kinda big deal since standalone controllers weren't being sold then (Dan told me later those things broke in 2 minutes). The next big match was close to the end, at which point double elim came into the picture. Even tho I won, that would be my downfall. I beat him with 330k on Carry Me Home (a MONSTER improvement for me at the time), after which was a small break so they could get the main stage set up.

Age: 20
Occupation: Student/Night Stocker/Sales Rep for GameCrazy
YouTube∞ - Customs, occasional comedic videos, some generic GH/RB skillz demonstrations.
That's basically it...more tournaments, trying for an RB2 supergroup, still playing. So if you actually read this, well, it must be research for some paper ('cause my writing is dry as hell), so congratulations∞.

I lurked for a while, eventually started posting. I had read the stickies (crazy, I know), but still managed to make an ass out of my self by berating beberle2 (All of eight years old, unbeknownst to me) for his spelling. After a remarkably light verbal smackdown from Riz, I shaped the hell up and proceeded to screw up that badly very few times afterwards. I picked up GH2 360 in April and acquired 4th place on the online leaderboards from playing through Hard. I also acquired a bedsore from not moving the entire time. That summer also came to be the Summer of Competition, since I went to about 8 competitions, winnings varying from $50 in Albequerque to 19th place at the Dallas WSVG (which was the most fun, despite being the worst tournament ever) to a Fender Stratocaster at the Summer CPL in Dallas. I also got heavily into customs, which sucked up even more time than the tournaments, because making full GH2 discs takes forever.

I lurked for a while, eventually started posting. I had read the stickies (crazy, I know), but still managed to make an ass out of my self by berating beberle2 (All of eight years old, unbeknownst to me) for his spelling. After a remarkably light verbal smackdown from Riz, I shaped the hell up and proceeded to screw up that badly very few times afterwards. I picked up GH2 360 in April and acquired 4th place on the online leaderboards from playing through Hard. I also acquired a bedsore from not moving the entire time. That summer also came to be the Summer of Competition, since I went to about 8 competitions, winnings varying from $50 in Albequerque to 19th place at the Dallas WSVG (which was the most fun, despite being the worst tournament ever) to a Fender Stratocaster at the Summer CPL in Dallas. I also got heavily into customs, which sucked up even more time than the tournaments, because making full GH2 discs takes forever.