[DenVaktare]

I had never heard Jukebox the Ghost before! I’m definitely going to be giving Static a playthrough. A big thanks to both you and Steve for the hard work and for bringing this our way. ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif” /> Hope you’ve been well.

[Unicyclone]

Ooh, I fell in love with JtG after hearing “Schizophrenia” on RBN back in the day, and they’re still one of my favorite bands. Thanks so much for bringing these to Rock Band!

[k-mac]

Jukebox the Ghost songs were some of my favourite RBN releases back in the day. It’s really awesome to see the continued support! Thanks for the great customs as always! Signs is an ultimate classic.

[Atruejedi]

Thanks for all the love, everybody. Good to know there are other JTG fans here. Reppin’ that indie rock 4 life.

[Atruejedi]

“Kiss this one last time and I’m gone for good…”

 

Remember that time I put The Struts in my suggestions thread and unwittingly forced Harmonix to create a time machine, travel a week into the past, and release Body Talks for Rock Band 4 just to spite me? Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again after the time and effort put into this custom!

 

Click here to go to the database entry.

 

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Kiss This by The Struts, is my forty-second release and the first custom featuring the British glam rockers available in the database. I fully expect it will not be the last… especially if I have anything to do with it.

 

Tempting.

 

This song was released as the band’s first single in 2014 and subsequently included on their debut full length release Everybody Wants that same year. That album was remastered and reissued in the United States in 2016, and still this band remained under my radar. Only in the past year did I finally discover them, and I’ve been making up for it ever since. In fact, I’ve got tickets to see them live in about a week! Let’s hope the performance looks somewhat like this*:

[gameplay video, *featuring since-fixed arms in the air at the beginning]

 

Features:
Fully custom venue from scratch
Vocal chart from scratch
Dryvox lip sync for all three vocal parts
Vocal tonic note
Reductions for all instruments
Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200042)

Guitar by grubextrapolate

Drums by jksrb

Special thanks to Capta1n_GuitarHero, Chainsaw Octopus and grubextrapolate

 

This custom came together both faster and sooner and later than I thought it would. Why? Well, for starters, Capta1n_GuitarHero hooked me up with the files from Guitar Hero Live, including a rudimentary guitar track, acceptable vocals, and, most importantly, a tempo map. If you’ve worked with me behind the scenes, you know I avoid tempo mapping at all cost for everybody’s sake… but my sanity in particular.

 

Second, jksrb messaged me last Friday morning asking if I had started any work on Kiss This yet. I had not, so I immediately created a project in my perfectly tweaked template and sent it off to him. A few hours later, I was in possession of a fully charted drum part. And when a “free” tempo map hooked up with fully charted drums, I had all the incentive in the world to get crackin’ on this fantastically catchy track.

 

But wait… what? How come when I import the audio from the 2014 album it doesn’t match up? Hm… maybe FreeStyleGames used the remastered audio from 2016… maybe it’s slightly different…

 

…nope. They both lose sync. What the hell is going on?

 

I asked Capta1n_GuitarHero what he thought about the sitch’ and he attempted to fix it up by stretching the overall length of the audio, but, nope, during the final third of the song it still wasn’t perfect enough for my brain. So I hit up my old pal Chainsaw Octopus. According to the man himself:

 

it’s all just slightly off tempo, but the luau part in the middle was probably what was throwing the ending off so much

I’m curious how songs end up like that, surely it was originally done to a click track and then someone fudged it a little?

and there are huge stretches where it seems like it’s perfectly at like 92.78 for a third of the song

 

So your guess is as good as his. Point is, it’s fixed!

 

The bass part was my first priority because I love charting fun bass parts. And this bass part is fun. I really think I did it justice, too, so I hope you enjoy it!

 

The vocals from FreeStyleGames were actually pretty good. As soon as I got the custom compiled in an unfinished state, I tested the vocals and most phrases seemed to hold up. I added slides, of course, and shortened some tubes, as is my wont. I also changed some syllable spellings and added harmonies. But it went so fast since all I had to do was edit the work given to me. Thanks again, Capta1n_GuitarHero!

 

Now, guitar… guitar was another story, and what ended up delaying the release by a week. The GHL chart was not very… Rock Band-y… so I gave it a severe overhaul, based on a partially pitched guitar chart I made based on it. I wasn’t at all confident in what I had created. It seemed pretty good. It fit with the sound of the song… but I never trust my own judgment on guitar charts, especially of this variety. Luckily, we have a wonderfully supportive community here at C3, and grubextrapolate volunteered to take a look at all of my work and give me the thumbs-up or thumbs-here’s-how-to-make-this-better. Suffice to say, I liked some of grub’s changes, discarded the buried solo he charted at the end, and kept my guitar chart during the ah-ah-ah-ah-ah part. Grub definitely made this chart more playable and I appreciate his help!

 

Now let’s talk about that venue. This week, StackOverflow0x released MiloMod 1.3, which all Wii users should utilize. Combined with Kueller’s Venuegen, they are what allow me to make complex, spectacular venues with significantly less time and effort than I had to expel in the past. Shout-out to both of them. Hopefully everybody is fooled and thinks this is official DLC. ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_biggrin.gif” />

If you’d like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. You’re good to me, so I’m here for good.

Atruejedi

[Dangus]

 

 

I’d probably consider something from their latest effort… like

. Keep your eyes glued to the database for its release… in 2024.

Omg please. My favorite JTG song.

[Atruejedi]

“And I’ll always dream of classic cars and movie screens
and tryin’ to find some way to be redeemed…”

 

Fellow author TomGuy and I are both big fans of The Gaslight Anthem and their sophomore album, The ’59 Sound. Tom wanted to chart the entire thing. I respect his determination, but such a mammoth undertaking is not how I operate. I wanted two songs in particular from that album made into customs. The first was High Lonesome, my favorite song by the band, which was released as a collaboration during my birthday extravaganza at the beginning of this year. Today sees the release of my second favorite song.

 

Click here to go to the database entry.

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Old White Lincoln by The Gaslight Anthem, is my forty-third release, my second custom by the band, the third custom from that album in the database, and the fourth Gaslight song available for download. Perhaps more Gaslight will come in the future, but for now, I’m very satisfied.

Sleeves of tattoo and denim.

 

As always, a big thanks to TomGuy for allowing me to build off of his work. Gaslight is one of my favorite bands, and when I first discovered this community and was searching for every band I listen to, seeing his custom of “45” by the band blew my mind. Somebody else likes a thing I like!? Maybe I should get into this scene… and here we are!

 

[gameplay video]

 

Features:
Fully custom venue from scratch
Vocal chart from scratch
Dryvox lip sync for all three vocal parts
Vocal tonic note
Reductions for all instruments
Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200043)
Tempo map by TomGuy
Drums by Chainsaw Octopus
Special thanks to grubextrapolate

 

I think we’ve established I don’t tempo map efficiently, so I avoid it entirely. For this custom, TomGuy provided the tempo map and I took it from there. I laid down the vocal chart years ago, but only recently did I reach out and recruit my good pal Chainsaw Octopus to chart the drums. The drums look fun and will keep you busy for the duration. I don’t have much more to say about them, but Chainsaw is always welcome to chime in! ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif” />

I then got to work on the bass and guitar charts.The bass is pretty straight-forward and sort of repetitive, but there are actually a few measures featuring chords to change things up! I love that low rumbly sound, and even though it’s a simple part, it’s definitely enjoyable.

I pitched the guitar chart and, miraculously, it perfectly translated into the five-gem format we all know and love. Typically I’m not confident when charting even remotely chordy guitar parts, but I’m kind of proud of this one. Feedback is always welcome!

Now, the vocals… apparently, I’ve learned a lot in the past couple of years of charting vocal tubes. When testing this, I kept getting destroyed. I didn’t know if it was tuning cents or tube length, so I fiddled with it for an entire week longer than I had planned. Eventually, I overhauled the whole thing, and it plays really well now. It pairs perfectly with the moody venue. So channel your inner Brian Fallon and rip it, TomGuy!

If you’d like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Now hit the road.

Atruejedi

[Atruejedi]

“All you suicide kings and you drama queens…”

 

Brad Roberts of Crash Test Dummies once remarked that if Weird Al Yankovic parodies your song, you know you’ve made it in the business. By this standard, the breakaway success of Runaway Train in 1993 really didn’t mean much for Soul Asylum. It would not be until the release of their next album that they really hit the big-time.

 

Click here to go to the database entry.

 

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Misery by Soul Asylum, is my forty-fourth release overall and my fourth custom by the band. Hey, have I mentioned I’m a big fan and they are underrepresented in the database!? Welp, I’m proud and pleased to say that’s now rectified!

 

Now accepting clothing donations.

 

I’ve always said I like to spread the love when it comes to putting different bands into the database, but to me it was a personal affront that neither Runaway Train nor Misery, the band’s biggest hits, were in the database. On the journey to getting both of them created, I managed to release two of my favorite lesser-known songs by the band (April Fool and Closer to the Stars), and I hope Dave Pirner someday stumbles upon this website and is very surprised and flattered to see what I, with my wonderful collaborators, have made as a tribute to him and his songwriting prowess.

 

[gameplay video]

 

Will I release more Soul Asylum customs in the future? Eh… if I do, it’ll be nowhere in the near future, and likely only one song. There is a possibility that I someday might work on Just Like Anyone. But for now, it’s time to move onto other bands.

Features:
Fully custom venue from scratch
Vocal chart from scratch
Dryvox lip sync for all three vocal parts
Vocal tonic note
Reductions for all instruments
Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200044)
Tempo map by AJFOne23
Guitar by grubextrapolate
Pro keys by Buster66
Drums by AJFOne23

 

Since I don’t tempo map, and since I knew this song was parodied by Weird Al as Syndicated Incorporated on his Bad Hair Day album in 1996, I thought AJFOne23 would be the perfect collaborator. I reached out to him with this proposal: he provides the tempo map and drums for Misery, and I’ll get the custom completed. Once it’s ready to release, I’ll send him the completed project files, which he can then easily modify to release as Syndicated Incorporated. He agreed, and for the first time he contributed to one of my projects. Oh, the times in which we live! After giving him a bajillion vocal charts, I never thought it would happen. We didn’t synchronize the releases, but his “version” is coming. Oh, use the spoilers tag? Whoops.

 

Charting the vocals for this was fun and simple. It plays like a dream. All of the layered parts at the end are really neat!

 

Charting the bass for this was fun, but not simple. It’s really a great, varied part!

 

Charting the guitar for this was a hellish nightmare. I tried to pitch it but so much was happening that my brain couldn’t handle it. I realized I was in over my head, gave up, and asked grubextrapolate to lend a hand. After a bit of a delay, we got the chart to the point where we were both satisfied, and the bottleneck was cleared.

 

Buster66 then dropped in the pro keys part, I recorded the lip sync and whipped up the venue, and bam, Misery was complete. But imperfect. Setting the animation speed to medium was too fast… and setting it to slow was too slow. I examined the songs.dta file and saw that slow’s value is 16, medium’s value is 32, and fast’s value is 64. In an attempt to break the game, I used the DTA editor in C3 CON Tools and change the value to 24. Inexplicably, it worked. Nothing broke and the animation speed was a perfect slow-medium. The customs factory continues to churn out high quality releases by our most skilled and unionized authors.

 

If you’d like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Alright, break’s over. Get back on the assembly line!

 

Atruejedi

[Atruejedi]

“Just because she makes a big rumpus
She don’t mean to be mean or hurt you on purpose, boy…”

 

Jack White is a weird dude, and that’s part of the reason I love him so much. The man’s well-known for his guitar playing, but this tune doesn’t even have a guitar. Instead, we get piano, bass, drums, and my favorite lyrics of any White Stripes song.

Click here to go to the database entry.

 

This Rock Band 3 custom song, The Denial Twist by The White Stripes, is my forty-fifth release, but I want to stress that I didn’t do the vast majority of the charting. This release is a full-band upgrade to a custom originally by infernus2 (AKA Deoxy99). Many thanks to him for allowing me to complete this upgrade with all the bells and whistles! In particular, the original release lacked overdrive and vocals. After completing this vocal chart, I now understand why he chose to skip charting them.

 

The Smoking Man and his Devil Heads Drummer.

 

The 2005 release Get Behind Me Satan is definitely my favorite album by the band, and this song is my favorite tune out of their entire catalogue. When I saw it in the database with pro bass but without any vocals, I knew something had to be done. It took a long time, but I finally got around to it.

 

[gameplay video]

 

Features:
Fully custom venue from scratch
Vocal chart from scratch
Dryvox lip sync for the only vocal part
Vocal tonic note
Reductions for all instruments
Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200045)
Pro bass and bass by infernus2
Pro keys and keys by infernus2
Drums by infernus2

 

I can’t speak for any instrument charts here except vocals, which easily take the prize for the most difficult vocals chart I’ve ever made. And that includes the vocals charts I contributed to funkydunkleman for Would You Fight For My Love? and Spindoctor and MrPrezident for Freedom at 21. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to have these marked as devil’s head vocals, and I certainly welcome feedback. Jack is all over the scale on these, bouncing from high to low to high and back again. It’s unpredictable, staccato, and precise. I had a hell of a time getting them accurately charted, and even then, I have a rough time pulling off a good run.

 

Did I mention this song has pro drums, pro keys, and a pro bass part by infernus2? Witness me!

 

[gameplay video featuring pro bass and pro keys charts]

 

The venue bounces around, too, between vibrant colors starkly contrasted with black and white. Why did I do this? I don’t know. But I thought it was cool, and I wanted to push my own creative limits.

If you’d like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Now go rock that boat.

Atruejedi

[Atruejedi]

“Time, time, time for another peaceful war…”

 

We never know precisely when our time on this rock’ll be up, but we’re all barreling toward our own personal expiration much faster than we’d like. It’s dreadful, in the most literal sense. But witnessing someone march toward his or her inexorable end while wearing a brave face can provide us with the inspiration to make the most of our limited time. Life’ll kill ya, so enjoy every sandwich— wise words from a personal hero of mine whom I’m proud to showcase as a part of this year’s very fitting charity event.

 

Click here to go to the database entry.

 

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner by Warren Zevon, is my forty-sixth release and a very special release at that. This custom is a part of Chart-a-thon. If you download this song, please consider making a donation at chartathon.com. All proceeds are donated directly to the American Cancer Society. Warren died in 2003 of mesothelioma, a particularly nasty type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. He was 56 years old.

 

Mr. Bad Example himself.

 

Warren has been one of my favorite songwriters for a very long time, but I don’t actually remember how I got so interested in his music. I guess it sort of organically happened in the past decade. He’s dark, witty, vulnerable, flawed, and perfect, sometimes all at the same time. I definitely plan on releasing my personal favorite song of his sometime in the future (spoilers), but this song will do just fine for now. I like to think Warren would be pleased… even if I can’t imagine him approving of his music appearing in a plastic guitar video game. I’m looking at you, Rock Band 3 disc!

 

[gameplay video]

 

Features:
Fully custom venue from scratch
Vocal chart from scratch
Dryvox lip sync for all three vocal parts
Vocal tonic note
Reductions for all instruments
Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200046)
Pro keys by buster66

Drums by Lowlander2 and Whizzer

 

I love this song because of the storytelling, and I wanted to make it a custom because it would be a treat for vocalists… myself in particular! Fortunately, the bass part is actually a delight as well! I’m extremely proud of how both charts turned out.

 

Lowlander2 provided the drum chart with some extra love and care provided by Whizzer. It looks neat and interesting to me, but I’m a simpleton when four limbs move independently. Judge for yourself by watching the preview video!

 

Lowlander also provided a guitar chart… but that poor ol’ guitar chart is only 34 strums, most of which are sustains, so I did not include it as a part of the custom. For 80% of the song, you’d just stand there.

 

And, hey, that piano part? Goodness… buster66 put a ton of time and effort into this pro keys chart, and it shows! I doubt I’ll ever be able to play this part, but it makes me want to learn and practice. I truly hope I did buster justice when turning his pro part into five-gem for us plebeians to play. If the five-gem chart is unsatisfactory, that’s all on me, and I absolutely welcome assistance and improvements.

 

I actually wanted to release this custom for Halloween in 2018… but that didn’t work out, so I tried to wrap it up and release it for Halloween this year. Welp, it’s December now, but I’m actually glad it’s taken this long to completely finish the custom. It seems serendipitous that I’m releasing this gem to benefit a cause that helps people who suffer from the same sickness that killed Warren. My fingers are crossed that the little bits of money we’re able to chip in can make a difference and, perhaps, someday, we’ll never again have to lament the early loss of another brilliant artist or friend or family member we love.

 

If you’d like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. I’ve gotta be up for work in the morning, but I guess it’s time to celebrate this release with some video games. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.

Atruejedi

[Atruejedi]

“If your life was a book, your story would be fiction…”

Looking at my releases, you probably wouldn’t realize that my tastes tend to gravitate toward thoughtful and depressing lyrics. Happy and upbeat are not a typical part of my rotation. But sometimes a song is so fun and has such swagger that you can’t help but be charmed, even if it’s juvenile. Fortunately for you, when I make a song for Rock Band, I always ask myself, “Will this be a dope-ass tune for an alcohol-fueled party?” The answer is always yes, but it’s resounding in this case.

 

Click here to go to the database entry.

 

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Dave’s Possessed Hair / It’s What We’re All About / Ride the Chariot to the Devil by Sum 41, is my forty-seventh release, not infrequently requested on the forums. I’m proud to bring to the community as a part of Chart-a-thon. If you download this song, please consider making a donation at chartathon.com. All proceeds are donated directly to the American Cancer Society. And you sons of guns who requested it damn well better pay up! If you’re able, of course.

Your haircut will be embarrassing in 20 years, too, motherfucker.

My first experience with this song was hearing the reworked and re-recorded version featured on the Spider-Man soundtrack from 2002. I used to really like that cut, back when I didn’t understand hip-hop nor have a basis of comparison to what was good and what was the opposite of that. But after hearing the original from their 2000 EP Half Hour of Power (which I still consider their first album, but whatever), I couldn’t really enjoy the Spider-Man version anymore. Many will disagree, but I think that while the original has less lyrics, those lyrics hold up better than the less-than-stellar filler from the expanded version. Plus, this version is a fucking medley.

[gameplay video]

 

Features:
Fully custom venue from scratch
Vocal chart from scratch
Dryvox lip sync for all three vocal parts
Vocal tonic note
Reductions for all instruments
Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200047)
Drums by Chainsaw Octopus
Special thanks to grubextrapolate

 

Not only do you get to play the original version of It’s What We’re All About as two white boys and an Indo-Guyanese dreamboat doing their best impressions of the Beastie Boys, but you get to enjoy its pitched predecessor, Dave’s Possessed Hair, and the instrumental outro Ride the Chariot to the Devil. I’ll let the gameplay video speak for itself, but I obviously have to thank Chainsaw Octopus for the work he put not only into the drums chart, but for the extra effort he gave in helping me finalize the bass part, which was rapid and buried because of the insane drumming. We went back-and-forth debating what we heard, but we finally came to an agreement and I’m very proud of what we’ve made.

 

The guitar has a similar story. I pitched it all as a vocals part, then converted the melody of that to a five-gem guitar chart. But it lacked chords because I’m awful at chords. So I recruited a true Canadian, grubextrapolate, who fleshed it out and turned my basic work into something much more developed and immersive. Thank you, my friend.

 

If you’d like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Rock is what we’re all about. Help others live for it as well by donating at chartathon.com.

Atruejedi

[Atruejedi]

“Her hair was raven and her heart was like a tomb…”

Oh, hey. To celebrate my birthday, I thought I’d release some customs. Here, give this one a spin:

Click here to go to the database entry.

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Great Expectations by The Gaslight Anthem, is my forty-eighth release and most likely my final custom to feature the band… at least for a long while. The arrival of this song, the opener to their 2008 album The ’59 Sound, means the first four tracks are now available in the database. This is completely a coincidence, so don’t expect track five to suddenly pop up. At least, not from me.

The neighborhood toughs.

I hadn’t planned on releasing this song as a custom, as I’ve already released my two favorite songs from the album (High Lonesome and Old White Lincoln). But CVJordan recently asked me if I was working on Great Expectations and I told him I had actually completed the vocals for it over two and a half years ago in collaboration with TomGuy. I was curious to see what my vocal chart looked like, considering how much experience I’ve accrued, so I checked out the neglected Reaper project and discovered that TomGuy had basically already completed all the instrument charts. Huh. So it seemed a shame to let that Reaper sit around collecting dust when it could so easily metamorphose into a Magma project, birthing out a CON in short order.

[gameplay video]

Features:
Fully custom venue from scratch
Vocal chart from scratch
Dryvox lip sync for all three vocal parts
Vocal tonic note
Reductions for all instruments
Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200048)
Tempo map by TomGuy
Guitar by TomGuy with grubextrapolate
Bass by TomGuy
Drums by TomGuy
Special thanks to TomGuy, grubextrapolate, Whizzer, Chainsaw Octopus, and CVJordan

So I must begin by thanking TomGuy for allowing me to continue his noble work. In his absence I’ve taken it upon myself to complete this custom and placate CVJordan. And it’s actually made me appreciate the song even more. I’ve made heavy revisions and polished the hell out of Tom’s project, but he must be recognized for laying the groundwork, including the tempo map.

I’ve apparently learned a lot about charting vocals since I began a few years back, because holy hell, this chart was over-charted and not very well at that. But now? It shines like the Diamond Church Street Choir.

I called upon grubextrapolate and Chainsaw Octopus to check out my changes to the guitar and bass and to look over the drums. Whizzer had been working with Tom as well to churn out these tunes, so Chainsaw was able to make a few tweaks to his drum chart by comparing their separate works. Long story short, we improved upon Tom’s original efforts and everything should be up to snuff. If it isn’t, blame me, not poor ol’ Tom!

While I personally don’t plan on charting any more Gaslight songs from The ’59 Sound, I might throw together something much longer down the line from another album. I’ve gotta keep on keepin’ on. There are too many great bands and artists that are not represented in any way in Rock Band 3. I’ll continue to work to change that and drag my cohorts along with me.

If you’d like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Greatly expect another release tomorrow.

Atruejedi

[Atruejedi]

“You talk, I die, you smile, you laugh, I cry…”

 

Songs can be magical, even if inexplicably so. I don’t know exactly what it is about this song that I find so enrapturing– the lyrics, the delivery, the whimsy– but something about it just casts a spell over me.

 

Click here to go to the database entry.

 

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Whistle for the Choir by The Fratellis, is my forty-ninth release and a tune I’ve wanted to get into the database since I first discovered this community. I’m actually glad it took over two years of releasing my own customs to finally get around to it, because I could only imagine how lacking it would have been had I rushed to make it as my first full-band effort. After all, I just updated Impostors for the second time… and never realized I spelled Impostors wrong until this week. Huh.

 

Biological brothers Mince Fratelli, Jon Fratelli, and Barry Fratelli.

 

I’m not sure how I got into the Fratellis, but they’ve been a favorite of mine for over a decade. I remember NBC using Chelsea Dagger for television show promotional spots and I was so impressed with myself that I knew that song! When the group disbanded after two fantastic albums, I followed Jon’s solo career with his phenomenal album Psycho Jukebox and his collaborative project with Lou Hickey called Codeine Velvet Club. Then, miraculously, the band got back together and has released three albums since! It generally has a different feel from their earlier efforts, but it’s still wonderful music. I still remember seeing them live in 2015 and the incredible opening performance of Me and the Devil that had the audience possessed.

 

[gameplay video]

 

Features:
Fully custom venue from scratch
Vocal chart from scratch
Dryvox lip sync for all three vocal parts
Vocal tonic note
Reductions for all instruments
Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200049)

Guitar by grubextrapolate

Drums by grubextrapolate

 

There ain’t much to say about this one’s production. I asked grubextrapolate if a MIDI existed for this song, and, indeed, one did. Grub fell in love with the song just as I had, so we teamed up and banged it out over the course of a few weeks. He handled guitar and drums, I handled bass and vocals, and now here we are.

 

The instruments for this song are all great fun, but I find the bass part particularly neat and bouncy. The guitar features two solos and even briefly transforms into a mandolin. The drum fills are something to see. And the harmonies are only for one person, but they’re very clear and should be easy to learn and fun to perform.

 

If you’d like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Now get cat-callin’.

 

Atruejedi

[Atruejedi]

“It reeks of love gone sour, suspicion, and bad debt…”

 

We all know a band that we absolutely adore and tell everybody about because we know they’ve never heard of them. For me, that band is Western Pennsylvania’s own The Clarks. To lure you in, I’ve selected their most popular and epic live performance. I’m honored to introduce you to them and I hope you become just as big a fan as I am.

 

Click here to go to the database entry.

 

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Cigarette (live) by The Clarks, is my fiftieth release. That’s a significant number, so I wanted to release a significant song. In the Greater Pittsburgh area, The Clarks are known and loved as a band that has been giving fantastic live performances for over 30 years. I’ve seen them many times live, including twice last year, but it’s still not enough. I’ll never tire of seeing them on stage. They haven’t lost a step and they continue to write fantastic rock ‘n’ roll songs up to this day. If you ever get a chance to see them, please, do yourself a favor and bear witness to some awesome musicians giving it their all.

 

The little band that could.

 

I don’t think there’s ever been a live show by The Clarks to not feature Cigarette, but the 1998 release from their live album is the quintessential recording and the one I used for this custom. If you already are a Clarks fan, good news: I plan on charting more of their songs in the future. You can check out my suggestions thread for a peek at what’s to come.

 

The Clarks really should have been a big band. They were once on The Late Show with David Letterman and played a new and completely forgettable song, which is regrettable. No big break there. But their catalogue is so vast and full of outstanding songs that I wonder how things might have been different. Nonetheless, they continue to make a living as a full-time band and really are living the dream that eludes so many aspiring musicians and inevitably melts away from those who do achieve far-reaching fame.

 

[gameplay video]

 

Features:
Fully custom venue from scratch
Vocal chart from scratch
Dryvox lip sync for all three vocal parts
Vocal tonic note
Reductions for all instruments
Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200050)

Tempo map by Whizzer

Guitar by HighFlyingBirds with grubextrapolate

Drums by Chainsaw Octopus

 

This concert staple song has been cooking on my hard drive for a long time now and probably features the most difficult guitar part I’ve ever had a hand in, but I had lots of help, and without those co-authors, I wouldn’t have been able to do this tune justice. Initially it began as a project because Whizzer said he was interested in tempo mapping live songs for the challenge. From there, my frequent collaborator Chainsaw Octopus dropped in the drums. At my special request he even authored drum gems for the Big Rock Ending. As usual, I authored the bass and vocals. The vocals play like a dream (hey, it’s me!) and I charted the unpitched crowd singalong near the end for maximum fun with your friends. The bass line is super interesting and all over the place and I’m very proud of how it turned out. It’ll definitely be a romp to play.

 

I pitched 90% of the guitar part as I would author vocals… but it was beyond me on how to reduce that insane part from dozens of notes to a measly five colored gems. I needed help. I mean, just look at this:

 

Next-level guitar charting.

 

Luckily, an up-and-coming author named HighFlyingBirds offered me his services. He took the insanity above and turned it into a logical, cohesive guitar chart for a video game. It wasn’t perfect, and it still might not be, but it was ushered toward that as-close-to-perfect-as-possible state by that ever-ready glutton for punishment, grubextrapolate. Grub put so much time into polishing this chart for consistency and accuracy and I owe him a great debt of gratitude for that. Thank you, Grub!

 

This guitar part was pretty overwhelming for me and a major stumbling block preventing Cigarette’s release, but I’m finally confident the entire custom is in a very playable state and I hope you’ll enjoy the fruits of many hours of labor by many people. And as I mentioned above, this song is my first release to feature a Big Rock Ending. If I somehow done goofed, please let me know. Feedback is always appreciated. And fear not, as this is not my personal Big Rock Ending… I have many more releases planned for the future.

 

If you’d like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. How’s that for a birthday present?

 

Atruejedi

[MaybeTowelie]

The Clarks?? Wow, never thought I would see them on here!! I havent listened to them in years, but hearing this song reminded me how much I enjoyed them. Looking at your suggestions thread, cant wait for Shimmy Low and Born Too Late!

[Author]

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