We are the Nintendo Nation.
Vidiots...Gameheads...NES nerds, call us what you will, but we are a singular group. We didn't need 64-bit graphics or CD-quality sound to get our geek on. We were content with the pixilated protagonists and simplistic scrolling that came with any 8-bit cart.
There was no need for adult supervision in our households. No, the "electronic babysitter" would suffice. Hey, we cared more about Simon's Quest than giving in to our pyromaniac impulses anyway.
You see, the "Cult of the NES" permeated every aspect of our lives -- we downed hypersugary Super Mario/Zelda cereal ("Nin-ten-do / It's for breakfast now / Nin-ten-do / It's a cereal, wow!"), slept between Koopa Troopa bed sheets and used our meager allowances to buy tickets to The Wizard, if only to catch a glimpse of Mario 3 six months before the game hit store shelves. We were Kid Icarus-tested, Mother Brain-approved.
Our anthems during these halcyon days of dorkdom past were the soundtracks to games like Ninja Gaiden and Contra. We hummed tunes like "Intro Screen Music #2" and "World 1-2" even when we weren't genuflecting in worship to that small gray box that was the center of our world.
But there's a time to put away childish things, so we left the Mushroom Kingdom behind for greener pastures. We discovered females, the outdoors, and--more importantly--music that wasn't limited to mere beeps and electronic warbles.
Warp zone ahead to present day. We've grown tired of the usual ennui and whininess that comes with alt-music and yearn for something more. We come across The Minibosses, full-on, card-carrying members of the Nation who've combined their passion for grinding, indie rock with the awesome familiarity of video game music. It's simply two great tastes that taste great together.
The Minibosses have taken our vidscreen favorites and transformed them into driving rock or melodic ballads that get your Zippo raised in salute. They're faithful to the original tracks, melding the best tunes from each game into a suite of sweet jams, and improving upon the originals by adding their own personal flourish.
Guitarists Aaron Burke and Ben Baraldi along with bassist Fred Johnson and drummer matt Wood work their strings with a demonic flourish, turning notes into high-pitch wailings to match the tones of the source material, which wasn't the easiest to translate. With no instruction manual or player's guide to follow, the foursome faced a steep learning curve which included listening to tracks ad nauseum and scrawling out tablature. Since the original soundtracks featured little or no rhythm section, Wood often had to invent his own beats.
Their library of songs run the gamut from the famous (Double Dragon) to the somewhat obscure (Goonies II) with new songs constantly added to the lineup. Next on the list is Bionic Commando, which the boys have busted out a few live shows.
The crowd gets into the act as well (the Nation does like to rock out, after all). Audience members will perform their own high-energy antics, either singing along to the wordless tracks or dancing in place in some kind of rhythmic-yet-retarded boogie. Rumor has it some among the-hard fan base plan to attend upcoming gigs decked out like Little Mac and his portly trainer Doc to reenact some of the fight scenes from Punch-Out (currently a favorite on the band's set list).
Audience response has been one of the many spoils of success, along with being the best in their field (admittedly, a rather narrow sub-genre consisting of themselves, the Florida-based band The NESkimos and Northern California's The Advantage). The 'Bosses have played Tech TV, graced the pages of Wired and become regulars at Modified Arts, where they return on May 22.
More importantly, all 1000 copies of their two-song Minibosses EP have been snatched up by the Nation. The CD features Megaman 2 and Castlevania 3, two of their best cuts, as well as a travelogue describing how they got busted by cops for a seat-belt violation while traveling to California for a show. Plus, the cover features one of the best send-ups of your video game heroes you'll ever see.
Speaking of heroes, as we all know, any good one needs a villain to face off against in pitch battle. In the case of the Minibosses, their mortal enemies don't come in the form of Dr. Wily or even Gannon, but rather are rogues of the more routine sort. The NESkimos have trashed our heroes in the pages of Wired and one anonymous non-fan going by the chick-magnet handle "Zeromus" ripped the band on the Internet and labeled Burke as the "biggest trendy wanker in the world."
Guess its time for our heroes to charge the Megabuster and start dispensing some videoland justice.
For more info, check out the following links: The Minibosses, The Advantage, The NESkimos.
Benjamin Leatherman is contributor to the Web Devil. Reach him at benjamin.leatherman@asu.edu.
