posted by Zeke 09/06/10
One
man,
over twenty-four
hours
of
non-stop
Guitar
Hero
action.
Can
it
be
done?
Will
we
achieve
the
Guinness
World
Record?
Does
it
really
matter?
Scroll past the vid for more details. Raaawk!
posted by Zeke 07/06/10
Q. So what's the deal-e-o?
A.
With a fire in my heart and a plastic guitar in my hand, I contacted Guinness
and asked them if anyone had done a single player marathon run. They said "Nopers!
You do it!". Actually, they asked me to fill out a lengthy application form and
wait six weeks. Then they told me I could totally do it and that the benchmark
would be set at 24 hours minimum.
Q. When and where are you doing it? Your bedroom?
A. The date is Saturday, June 26. Time: starts 10am, end when my arm inevitably
falls off.
As for the location, Dan Blasor, ultra-studly DJ extraordinaire, has kindly
organized the whole thing for me at his venue:
Stars Bar and Cafe, Market Square,
Aylesbury.
Q. Why, though?
A.
We're raising money for the Stoke Mandeville spinal unit, one of the best causes
we can think of. So come along and put some money in the pot, y'hear? We're
selling tickets for the overnight portion of the event as well, so that should
generate a big wad of cash.
Also, I'll relish the opportunity of reminding people that I have a World Record
in Totally Rocking Out every time I have a conversation with someone for the
next sixty years.
Q. Come along, you say? Tickets, you say?
A.
Why yes! It's free to come along and the drinks are oh-so cheap. You can even
play Guitar Hero with us, or join in the karaoke (I'll be doing the record
attempt in the cocktail lounge so as to not interrupt the revellers who really
couldn't care less).
If you want to hang around after 3am on the Sunday though to witness the final
stretch of the marathon, you'll need a ticket. They're priced at £10 and WILL
NOT be sold on the day, so contact Dan via his Facebook in advance and all will
be good in the world.
Q. So you're really going to play for 24 hours?
A.
Longer, if I don't collapse.
Q. What are the rules? Do you get breaks?
A.
This is literally the most FAQ of the FAQ. Yes, I get a few scant breaks during
the run in order to... er, relieve myself of all the energy drinks I'll be
downing. But for what they're worth, calling them 'breaks' is a bit strong.
As for the rest of the rules, there are about four hundred pages of them and
they're pretty hairy. The main ones: I must not be inactive for any longer than
20 SECONDS while playing, and that includes menu screens (but excluding loading
time), otherwise it's game over. I can only play one game from the Guitar Hero
series (we're going with 5, which is better for people to jump in and out and
doesn't have many menu screens).
Q. I could totally stay awake for 24 hours!
A. Could you stay awake for more like 36 hours by the time you get up to prepare
for the event? Could you stare at a screen filled with moving dots for 24 hours?
Can you do this while you feel tendonitis take over your ungodly hand position?
How many times can you listen to Taylor Swift before your mind shatters like
dropped porcelain?
Q. Still not put off!
A. It's a record, and records are made to be broken. If you think you've got the
stones, go for it!
Q. Will there be a Guinness official at the event?
A. I looked into this, because it's easier than submitting the masses of
evidence they require to certify the record. Do you know how much they charge?
£3,000 per day. And that's before expenses - so depending on what they
class as a 'day', we're looking at about £7k.
Looks like I'll be submitting the masses of evidence they require to certify the
record, then.
Q. What if you fail?
A. I'll feel very, very silly.
Q. I need to contact you or Dan.
A. Contact details and things up on the right, but here's our e-mail addresses
again just for kicks:
Zeke: zeke [at] stars-power [dot] com
Dan: E-mail him here.
Starting 26th June at the Stars Bar we'll be playing Guitar Hero for at least twenty-four hours, without interruption, for a Guinness World Record. It'll go down in Aylesbury history, but we can't do this without you guys...
Everyone is heartily encouraged to come party (and even play the game with us) during the event, but what we really need is donations - this whole shebang is for the Stoke Mandeville Spinal Unit so dig deep and give whatever you can. To be fair, their work is slightly more important than jamming on plastic guitars.
Even if you can only afford a tiny amount, please consider giving via the above link or at the event itself. Seriously, the Spinal Unit carries out life-changing work and really doesn't get enough press.
Speaking of dudes that don't get enough press, keep going to check out the maniacs organising this crazy caper...
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e-mail
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The
Smashing
Workshop
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Titty
Biscuits,
his...
er,
other
site.
Zeke
"The
Meek"
Iddon
Aylesbury's reclusive, ultra-geeky writer
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Follow
him
on
Facebook
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Visit
the
Blaze
Discos
website
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Peruse
the
site
of
his
cafe/bar,
Stars
-
Dan
"Retro-Chic"
Blasor
Aylesbury's favourite, ultra-studly DJ