The Guitar Hero Student – Jack Coyne

Jack Coyne. The man. The myth. The legend. In my quest to find someone I could apply a superlative to, I was led to this man and his top tier Guitar Hero ability. His skills is unmatched, so I interviewed him on his talent.

Nick: So Jack, you’re pretty good at Guitar Hero I hear. How did you get into it.

Jack : So I got into guitar hero because my older cousin had Guitar Hero II at his house. I was only 4 at the time, but my cousin was teaching me the basics of how the game worked.

Guitar Hero III came out the next year, and I remember playing the game the entire time, every time I went to my cousin’s house. I remember beating Slow Ride on easy like it was yesterday. I was so proud of myself at that moment. When I was about 7 I got the game for myself, along with the Wii, which was my first and only console I have ever owned. (Jack Coyne is anti-console video games).

Nick: So what are some of your Guitar Hero achievements? Why are you the best of the best?

Jack: My first accomplishment was beating Crazy Train by Ozzy Osborne on Hard. I was getting into rock/metal at this point, so I loved this song (still do). Then when I was 9 or 10 I really got into Slayer (my favorite band ever). On Guitar Hero III, they had Raining Blood by Slayer, and the middle “mosh” section was considered one of the hardest sections in the entire game. My next biggest accomplishment was completing Raining Blood on expert. (Note from author: Jack rattled off many impressive songs he had accomplished, from Van Halen, Megadeth, and other intense guitar artists, but I’m including the most landmark achievements). But the two hardest songs I had yet conquered. Through the Fire and the Flames by Dragonforce from Guitar Hero III and Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce from Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock. In order to beat these songs I had to use the “two hand technique” and it was not working out for me so I essentially quit while I was ahead in Guitar Hero and moved on to other games. But at the start of freshman year, Guitar Hero Twitch streamers were becoming more and more popular, so I decided to pick the game back up. After getting the rust off, I decided to go back at the two hand technique. And to my surprise, last year, I beat Through the Fire and the Flames on expert (the hardest guitar hero song ever) and Fury of the Storm on expert.

Nick: And why does Guitar Hero mean so much to you? What has it added to your life?

Jack: All in all, Guitar Hero has taken up the majority of my childhood / lifetime, and my accomplishments in the game are something I am very proud of. For the majority of my life, it was my main hobby. It also taught me about staying determined, and not giving up (maybe taking extended breaks) despite how frustrating life may be.

Jack’s guitar hero prowess has even lead him to pick up real guitar, and man, is he good at that too. Maybe not quite the best yet, and Guitar Hero is still his claim to fame. He is truly the Guitar Hero-iest kid at Oratory.

Image Credits to TechnoBuffalo