Some things are bound to happen at every family Christmas gathering: Grandma will complain that you don’t call her enough; one of your uncles will have too much to drink and tell embarrassing stories about you to the person your dating; somebody’s going to break out Rock Band. That's when things really get interesting.
Old people and Rock Band are an odd mix. They’re always curious about what the heck is happening, but because they’re old, one of two things always seems to happen: They refuse to play because technology scares the hell out of them, or they decide to give the game a shot and you spend the next hour yelling at people to stop hitting buttons so you can navigate the menus.
I wanted to find out if there was any way to make the inevitable old people/Rock Band scenario less of a debacle, so I turned to the foremost expert on the subject: Alex Navarro. Alex is a publicist for Harmonix, and one of the primary duties of his job involves going to media events, bars, and even concerts to show off Rock Band to the -- gasp -- general public. The man is a wizard; he could go to the Vatican and get them rocking in a matter of minutes.
Read on for his expert advice on how to get your non-gaming, musically-challenged family members rocking:
Alex Navarro: “The first time you place a plastic instrument controller in front of a non-video-game-savvy relative, you're likely to encounter any range of reactions from utter bewilderment to out-and-out revilement. Let's face it: People fear that which they do not understand. This is doubly true of the elderly.
“The key to turning your boring family get-together into a hard-rocking milieu is often just to demonstrate by doing. Gather up anyone from your familial posse that isn't a huge fraidy-pants, and bust out a couple of tunes. Even better: pick a couple of songs the rest of your family might be familiar with. Much as I wish it was true, it's unlikely your mom would have much desire to belt out Children of Bodom. And if you happen to be the sole plastic rocker at your holiday get-together, you're just going to have to man (or woman) up and work as a solo act for a few tracks to loosen everyone up.
“After a few demonstrations, curiosity is likely to overwhelm your relatives’ trepidations, and one-by-one; they'll warm to the idea and maybe want to pick up a guitar themselves. Sure, they'll start out on easy bass, or just want to hum along to a tune or two, but after a few songs and a few glasses of eggnog, I guarantee your dad will be dropping to his knees and rock posing his way through the solo in ‘More Than a Feeling,’ your kid sister will discover vocal octaves she didn't even know existed as she shrieks her way through ‘You Give Love a Bad Name,’ and your great-aunt will realize all at once that she's actually a huge Paramore fan -- perhaps much to the chagrin of the rest of your family.
“Just, for the love of all that is right in this world, make sure you have no-fail mode turned on.”
Hopefully Alex's advice will help you during your time of need this holiday season. Just remember: No matter how much in-fighting there is in your family band, you'll always be less dysfunctional than Noel and Liam Gallagher.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Alex Navarro is way better at Rock Band than you.
