Back to Press Release List > 10/08/2009 - Carnegie Hall Notables Program Presents “Game On! The Video Game and Music Revolution”

(For Immediate Release, September 10, 2009)—On October 19, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall, the Carnegie Hall Notables—a membership and ticket program for music enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s—presents GAME ON! The Video Game and Music Revolution, a multimedia panel discussion exploring the dynamic relationship between music and video games. This event features a one-night-only conversation between influential personalities in video game music, all carving out new territories in the future of music and technology. It also includes multimedia demonstrations of the newest music video games.

The discussion will be moderated by musician, activist, and entrepreneur Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy), whose music is featured in the extraordinarily popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Joining Wentz on the panel will be the founding father of hip hop and featured character in DJ Hero Grandmaster Flash, multimedia solo rock musician also featured in Guitar Hero and Rock Band Melissa Auf der Maur, the co-founder and CEO of Harmonix (creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band) Alex Rigopulos, video game and film composer Christopher Tin (Civilization IV), and on-air technology specialist and host of TMI Weekly Meghan Asha. Immediately following the discussion, attendees will be able to explore the relationship between video games and music first-hand at an interactive afterparty at the Nintendo World store, sponsored by Marani Vodka. The evening is generously underwritten by Pia and Jimmy Zankel.

The October 19 panel discussion and afterparty are free for Carnegie Hall Notables members at the Supporter level and higher. Tickets, priced at $50 for Notables members at the Prelude level and $75 for the general public, are also available. For ticket information, please call 212-903-9734, e-mail notables@carnegiehall.org, or visit carnegiehall.org/gameon.

GAME ON! is part of a series of annual Carnegie Hall–presented panel discussions that has been offered for Carnegie Hall Notables members. Previous events have explored music's connection to other artistic designs such as Broadway's youth movement, film soundtracks, fashion, and politics. Celebrity panelists have included Academy Award-nominated film director Wes Anderson, musicians Lou Reed, Natalie Merchant, Moby, Wu-Tang Clan’s chief music producer RZA, Saturday Night Live’s Ana Gasteyer, Grammy- and Tony-Award winning songwriter and composer Duncan Sheik, Academy-Award nominated and Tony-Award winning director and costume designer Julie Taymor, fashion designer Zac Posen, Tony-Award winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda and Emmy-Award winning Sex and the City stylist Patricia Field.

Panelists
Pete Wentz is a musician, activist, and entrepreneur whose music is featured in the popular video games, Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Wentz is the bassist and lyricist of the Grammy Award-nominated band Fall Out Boy, who, over the past few years, has become a multi-platinum selling group that has generated chart-topping hits. Building on his past experiences as an up and coming artist, Wentz has tenaciously sought ways to help aspiring musicians take their careers to new levels. In 2005, Wentz’s pursuit came to fruition when he founded the record label Decaydence. In just three years since its inception, Decaydance has proved to be a powerhouse label of the modern pop/punk/rock movement and has released critically and commercially successful albums by its artist roster which includes: Gym Class Heroes, Panic At The Disco, and Cobra Starship, among others, most of whom were found and nurtured by Wentz. Wentz is also an accomplished, published author, owner of a clothing company, Clandestine Industries and a chain of nightlife destinations called Angels & Kings, and is the host of the weekly radio series “Pete Wentz’s Hits & Misses” on Sirius/XM. His latest effort is a comic book series “Fall Out Toy Works,” inspired by the music of Fall Out Boy’s most recent album “Folie à Deux.”

Grandmaster Flash is a DJ, one of the founding fathers of hip-hop, and a featured character in the video game DJ Hero. In the early 1970s, Joseph Saddler (Grandmaster Flash) was living in the South Bronx studying electrical engineering. Saddler discovered his much deeper passion for music, while experimenting with his father’s vinyl during his adolescence. The career of DJ Grandmaster Flash began in the Bronx with neighborhood block parties that, in essence, launched the hip-hop genre. His knowledge of audio equipment led him to an idea that would revolutionize music: the turntable as instrument. He was the first DJ to physically lay his hands on the vinyl and manipulate it in backward and forward motions, when most DJs simply handled the record by the edges, put down the arm, and let it play. Grandmaster Flash also invented the Quick Mix Theory, which included techniques such as the double-back, back-door, back-spin, and phasing. His template grew to include “cuttin’,” which, in turn, spawned scratching. By the end of the 1970s, Flash had started another trend that became a hallmark of hip-hop: emcees rapping over his beats. Before long, he started his own group, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. In 2007, the rock and roll establishment recognized Flash when Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five became the first hip-hop group ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Flash has been the recipient of many awards, including VH1 Hip Hop Honors; The Icon Award from BET; The Lifetime Achievement Award from the RIAA; and Bill Gates’s Vanguard Award.

Montreal native Melissa Auf der Maur (MAdM), is a mixed-media artist who rose to prominence during the 1990's with stints in the legendary bands The Smashing Pumpkins and Hole before embarking on her acclaimed solo career. As a member of Hole, MAdM was in integral part of the band, complementing front-woman Courtney Love as a bassist and songwriter. From there she joined The Smashing Pumpkins on their farewell world tour. In 2004, her first solo album Auf der Maur was released on Capitol Records / EMI Wordwide. The album featured guest appearances by members of Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails. MAdM is currently wrapping up her new multimedia project Out of Our Minds (OOOM), which has already gained praises from the Sundance Film Festival and fine art museums alike. Set to release Spring of 2010, the self produced OOOM project will feature her next Album as well as a Film, Comic Book and Web experience.

Alex Rigopulos is the Co-Founder and CEO of Harmonix, the creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. As a professionally trained composer, Rigopulos brought a love of music to Harmonix from the very beginning. He co-founded the company in 1995 because he wanted to invent new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music, regardless of talent. Rigopulos is also an avid gamer and has been playing games since age three, when his parents brought home a Magnavox Odyssey console. He also enjoys rocking out on the drums and occasionally performs with his brothers in their rock band, Yeast. He earned a Bachelor of Science in music from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Master of Science from the computer music group of the MIT Media Laboratory. Alex says, “Playing music is one of the most purely pleasurable experiences that life has to offer, and Harmonix exists to make that experience accessible to everyone.”

Christopher Tin is a composer for video games, film, and advertising. He has composed music for the video game franchise Civilization, international ad campaigns (Puma and Gap), and a major blockbuster film (X2: X-Men United). Educated at Stanford and Oxford Universities as well as the Royal College of Music, Tin is a former Fulbright Scholar and recipient of a Sundance Institute Fellowship. In addition to his scoring work, he co-developed the startup sound for Microsoft’s Surface operating system, and his Garage Band demo music is found on each new Macintosh computer. His theme song “Baba Yetu” for the video game Civilization IV achieved crossover status when the sheet music became the second-highest seller for Alfred Publishing and subsequently became the most performed piece of video game music. Featured on the concert tour Video Games Live, “Baba Yetu” has received performances by the National Symphony Orchestra and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, among others. Building on this success, Tin released his debut album Calling All Dawns—a twelve-movement song cycle fusing world and classical music. The album features a new recording of “Baba Yetu” with the Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, as well as performances by Dulce Pontes, Frederica von Stade, Anonymous 4, Sussan Deyhim, and others, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Meghan Asha is an on-air technology specialist for NBC and Fox News, founder of NonSociety.com, host of TMI Weekly, and a tech-focused blogger. Born and raised in the heart of Silicon Valley, upon graduating with honors from the University of Southern California, Asha’s career began in finance at a tech-focused hedge fund. In January 2008, she decided to follow her passion for gadgets by attending the Consumer Electronics Show. After this experience, Asha infamously told an interviewer that she wanted to "bring sexy back to tech!" Convinced that the world—especially young women—needed an unconventional approach to technology, Asha decided that her enthusiastic, zany attitude could pique others’ interest enough to make tech a way of life. In April 2008, she formed NonSociety.com, along with her two business partners and best friends, style blogger Mary Rambin, and media personality Julia Allison. In September 2008, Asha, along with Rambin and Allison, partnered with Next New Networks to produce and co-host a popular internet chat show, TMI Weekly. In the past year, Asha has covered events like Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, The World Economic Forum in Davos, DLD in Munich, Glamour Women of the Year Awards, Le Web, MacWorld, and the Consumer Electronics Show. Asha regularly does commentary for Fox News, CBS, CW, CNET, and The Today Show. She’s also been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Page Six Magazine, New York Observer, Wired Magazine, CNET, Elle, and Style.com.

The Carnegie Hall Notables is a membership group specifically created for music enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s. The Notables program celebrates music through intimate discussions with world-famous composers and musicians, concerts, private performances, and exclusive Notables-only social gatherings throughout New York City. Members are invited to experience all types of music, traditional and contemporary. Contributions to the Notables support the vital music education programs of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, which annually serves over 115,000 children, students, teachers, parents, young music professionals, and adults in the New York City metropolitan area, across the United States, and around the world. Visit carnegiehall.org/notables for more information.

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.