Video game soundtracks have always played a big part in music discovery. This Friday at The Basement East, there will be a live music tribute to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, featuring 46 songs from the game. Projectors and screens with different consoles will be placed around the venue so attendees can play the game while the bands are performing.

We discussed the lasting cultural impact with Brandon Bruce, CEO of Mellow Rebel and the music director of the event.

“Tony Hawk was the first breakout thing in the counterculture video game world, and then you had BMX games and motocross games, all stemming from Tony Hawk’s success,” Bruce said. “Before that, Madden and NBA Live was just like stock music. But after that, soundtracks and video games became really important. Even Grand Theft Auto has fantastic soundtrack. It really did change the video game landscape and soundtracks as a whole.”

“This soundtrack is so varied,” Bruce continues. “There’s hip-hop, pop-punk, ska, metal, but a lot of the stuff is ‘underground.’ You do have Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, Iron Maiden, and some big bands. But you have a lot of more niche, underground—Bad Religion, Less Than Jake—bands that still had good careers, but weren’t in the mainstream. It did expose a lot people to awesome music like Rage Against the Machine, but it also exposed them to bands that inspired some of the greatest bands of all time. I think it’s a quintessential soundtrack while also being nostalgic.”

This week in live music:

This Thursday, May 22, Music Trivia hosted by WNXP is back at the Blue Room. Over at The Ryman on Thursday and Friday, May 22 and 23, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings perform. Also on Friday, WNXP Presents Amyl and the Sniffers at Marathon Music Works. Sunflower Bean is at The Blue Room next Tuesday, May 27.