Guitar Hero has seen a resurgence in recent years thanks to a Unity Engine-ran effort, Clone Hero. This open-source program allows for custom songs to be added en-masse for players to enjoy with their USB guitars, including the entire Guitar Hero/Rock Band setlists. Streamers like FrostedGH, UkogMonkey, and JasonParadise have gained massive followings showing off their chops on stream.

The guitarist of instrumental prog band Polyphia, Tim Henson, recently posted on Twitter that he was streaming Clone Hero, with a video of him playing his own band’s songs. Famous Clone Hero streamer Acai took notice and inquired, “are you around tomorrow night?” to which Tim responded, “Why yes, yes I am“. Acai promptly set up this stream for March 3rd, and the interactions between the two were compelling.

From a seasoned streamer like Acai to invite a fresh face on the stream is a sign of good will between hardened veterans and newbies. While Acai effortlessly hits every note, Tim struggles to hold a 2x combo. Tim’s skills on a real guitar are absolutely mind-blowing, but the transition to a plastic guitar isn’t necessarily as easy as one might think. At one point during “40oz”, Tim remarks, “Dude, this is SO much easier to play on real guitar.” Where Tim expects deliberate fingering, this gets changed up to accommodate the five frets of a Guitar Hero highway.

The stream attracted hundreds of concurrent watchers. This crossover was completely unexpected, but very welcome to fans of either/both Acai and Polyphia. As a huge fan of both, this was a dream come true to watch. Tim really isn’t that bad considering how difficult his songs are on the game. Tim appeared to have a great time the entire stream, and beared with the expected technical difficulties that streams present without any frustration. I hope to see more interaction between these communities in the future!

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