Step right up to the Funhouse pinball machine and meet the talking puppet Rudy, your capricious and lively host! Rudy talks, taunts, heckles, and keeps a constant eye on the ball, beckoning you to experience his amusement park world filled with Mystery Mirrors, Wind Tunnels, and Crazy Steps.

Advance the clock to midnight and Rudy falls asleep, snoring loudly. Target his open mouth to begin 3-ball multi-ball play and try for million-point scoring! A second plunger doubles the fun, adding skill shots for Rudy’s Hideout, Extra Ball and Frenzy scoring.

The competition is steadily growing for Portland Pinbrawl 2010! We’re at 52 pre-registrations and counting, with some very well-known players in the mix.

Current registrants (as of 10:11am Wednesday 3/10):

We’ll update the list every day or so. If you don’t see your name and you know you pre-registered, don’t worry! We manually update this list as often as we can, but it does not have to-the-minute information.

Don’t sleep on your chance to test your skills against these past, present and future pinball champions!

Pre-register now!

Announcing Portland Pinbrawl 2010:

The 2nd Annual Ground Kontrol Pinball Tournament!



Join us Sunday, April 18th for Portland’s biggest and best pinball tournament!


PRE-REGISTRATION is NOW OPEN! CLICK HERE to jump directly to pre-registration!


Portland Pinbrawl 2010 takes place Sunday, April 18th. On-site registration begins at 10:00am. Tournament begins at 11:00am and ends “when it’s over!”



TOURNAMENT LOCATION

Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade
511 NW Couch St.
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 796-9364

For directions, click here.



ABOUT GROUND KONTROL

Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade is the premier arcade in the Northwest, featuring 26 of the most exciting pinball games and 80 classic video arcade games in a two-story game room.



GRAND PRIZE

Williams’ “Johnny Mnemonic” Pinball Machine!

OTHER PRIZES

Cash prizes and assorted sundries will be awarded to top finishers!



HOW TO REGISTER

Players can pre-register online, or register on-site the day of the tournament. Pre-registration is strongly suggested! Read on for further details.

ENTRY FEES & ON-SITE REGISTRATION

There is a $20 entry fee per participant. Registration is capped at 128 players. One entry per person is allowed, and no re-entries are allowed after elimination. On-site registration will begin at 10:00am Sunday, April 18th and will close at 10:45am or once we reach the maximum number of registrants.

Cash is the only accepted form of payment for on-site registration. An ATM will be available on-site, but we recommend you come prepared with cash.

PRE-REGISTRATION OVERVIEW

Pre-registration guarantees you a spot in the tournament bracket without the hassle of waiting in line. As an added bonus, pre-registrants will receive priority for first-round byes. All remaining first-round byes will be randomly assigned to players with same day registration.

PRE-REGISTRATION PERIOD

Pre-registrations will be accepted from 12:00am PST February 18th, 2010 until 12:00pm PST Saturday, April 17th, 2010 or until we reach the maximum number of registrants.

PRE-REGISTRATION PAYMENT

Paypal is the only accepted method of payment for pre-registration. Simply enter your name in the text box below and click the “Buy Now” button to begin the secure transaction. You will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours of sending payment. Sorry, the pre-registration fee is non-refundable.

TO PRE-REGISTER, FILL OUT AND SUBMIT THE BELOW FORM

Name

VENUE RULES

AGE RESTRICTION

As a reminder, all players and spectators must be 21+ years old with a valid ID.

CAPACITY

The tournament will be limited to 128 participants, and spectator entry will be limited by Ground Kontrol’s maximum capacity of 150 persons. Registered participants are guaranteed entry to Ground Kontrol, provided they are 21+ with valid ID.



TOURNAMENT RULES

The full list of tournament rules will be posted soon and will be available for viewing at the registration desk the day of the tournament.

FORMAT

The tournament will be a random bracket placement head to head best two of three double elimination tournament. There will also be mini tournaments to compete in throughout the day.

SIDE TOURNAMENTS

There will be (2) side tournaments offered to play throughout the day on two unique machines. Each will conclude at 10:00pm with a final match to determine the winner. Each game will cost $1 entry fee per person plus coin drops. Entry fees will contribute to the cash pot awarded to side tournament winners.

SPLIT FLIPPER TOURNAMENT

Two player teams play with each other at the same time, each player taking either the left or the right flipper. After each ball drain, players trade places to alternate flippers. Failure to alternate flippers after a ball drain will result in disqualification. Cost of entry is $1 entry fee per person plus coin drops. You can enter as many times as you would like with as many different partners as you would like. At 10:00pm, the top 2 teams will compete to determine the winners!

ONE HANDED TOURNAMENT

One player plays the game using just one hand. Before the game begins, you will choose either your left or right hand. You then must play with only that hand for the entire duration of the game. Using both hands, or switching hands, will result in disqualification. Cost of entry is $1 entry fee plus coin drops. You may enter as many times as you would like. At 10:00pm, the top 2 entrants will compete to determine the winner!



LIST OF GAMES

This list reflects Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade’s pinball lineup as of February 18th, 2010. Games on this list are subject to change at any time and are not guaranteed to be included in tournament play.

• Addams Family, The
• Attack From Mars
• Batman Forever
• Cirqus Voltaire
• Demolition Man
• Doctor Who
• Fish Tales
• Independence Day
• King Pin
• Lord Of The Rings
• The Machine- Bride Of Pinbot
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Red & Ted’s Road Show
• Revenge From Mars
• Roller Coaster Tycoon
• Scared Stiff
• Simpsons Pinball Party
• South Park
• Spider-Man
• Stargate
• Star Trek: TNG
• Tales Of The Arabian Nights
• T2: Judgment Day
• Theatre of Magic
• The Shadow
• White Water

HOTELS

We’re pleased to announce 2 nearby hotels are offering discounted room rates for Portland Pinbrawl 2010 participants! Read on for the full details on how to book your discounted room.

JUPITER HOTEL – 800 East Burnside Street, Portland, OR – (503) 230-9200

To book a room at the Jupiter Hotel, please click here. You will be directed to their online reservation system.

ACE HOTEL – 1022 Southwest Stark Street, Portland, OR – (503) 228-2277

To book a room at the Ace Hotel, please call (503) 228-2277 and ask for the “Ground Kontrol” rate. There is a minimum night stay requirement on Friday of 3 nights total (Friday April 16th, Saturday April 17th, Sunday April 18th), and on Saturday the requirement is at least 2 nights (Saturday April 17th, Sunday April 18th.)

PLEASE NOTE: All questions and concerns regarding bookings at either Jupiter Hotel or Ace Hotel should be directed to their sales & management staff. Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade and Portland Pinbrawl’s organizers cannot answer any questions regarding either hotel, and take no responsibility for reservations or business conducted with either hotel.

DIRECTIONS TO GROUND KONTROL

From I-5 North:

After entering Oregon…

1. Take exit 302A toward Rose Quarter/City Center
2. Turn right at N Broadway
3. Turn left at NW Broadway
4. Turn left at NW Couch St

From I-5 South:

After entering Oregon…

1. Take exit 299B on the left for I-405 W toward US-26 W/City Center/Beaverton
2. Merge onto I-405 N
3. Take exit 2B for Everett St toward I-405 N/Seattle
4. Merge onto NW 14th Ave
5. Turn right at NW Everett St
6. Turn right at NW Broadway
7. Take the 2nd left onto NW Couch St

Directions provided by Google Maps. To route your own trip, click here.

GETTING AROUND IN PORTLAND

Ground Kontrol is located near several public transit lines, including bus and light rail. For schedule and route information, visit TriMet’s website or call (503) 238-RIDE.

If you need a cab, call Radio Cab at (503) 227-1212.



QUESTIONS?

All questions regarding Portland Pinbrawl 2010 can be sent to: pinbrawl@groundkontrol.com. Please allow 24-48 hours for a response.

To discuss Portland Pinbrawl 2010 with other Portland players, visit the Crazy Flipper Fingers’ discussion thread.

AND FINALLY…

See you there! Let’s make this great!

- Portland Pinbrawl 2010 Organizers and Ground Kontrol Owners & Staff


Click here to return to Ground Kontrol news.

Pre-registration is now open! To jump directly to pre-registration, click here!

On Sunday, April 18th, the finest pinball players in the Pacific Northwest will once again gather in historic Old Town for Portland Pinbrawl 2010, Ground Kontrol’s second annual pinball tournament. Join your fellow Portland ‘ballers to battle the best of the Northwest for the grand prize: a full-sized Williams’ “Johnny Mnemonic” pinball machine. As an added perk, Ground Kontrol will extend its beer and wine serving hours to cover the entire day of the tournament.

Ground Kontrol’s inaugural Portland Pinbrawl tournament in April 2009 drew over 120 players, some traveling from as far as Canada to compete. A packed house is expected for Portland Pinbrawl 2010, and registration is capped at 128 players.

Portland Pinbrawl 2010 will also feature “side stage” tournaments with highly challenging rules including one-handed play, and “split flipper” play – where 2 players each control one side of the pinball playfield!

Competition signup fee is $20 per person; spectators get in for free. Doors open at 10:00am, Sunday April 18th. Admission is limited to 21 and over with valid ID for competitors and spectators alike. This tournament is brought to you by Aaron Nelson, Eric Hill, Fred Franken and Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade.

Pre-registration for Portland Pinbrawl 2010 is highly recommended and will be available starting February 18th. Discounted room rates for participants are also being offered at Jupiter Hotel and Ace Hotel.

For more details and to pre-register, click here!

After four years of covering the explosive Chipmusic scene in New York City and producing the internationally acclaimed documentary, “Reformat the Planet,” filmmaking crew 2 Player Productions packed up shop and made for the Pacific Northwest to bring Portland its first monthly Chip show, dataPort.

Following in the footsteps of its wildly successful East coast counterparts, Pulsewave (NYC) and 8static (Philadelphia), dataPort presents a showcase of innovative, experimental, and lo-fi music with an emphasis on exploring the untapped potential that lies just beneath the plastic shell of vintage computing and gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy.

Head out to Ground Kontrol (511 NW Couch St.) on February 3rd to experience the first installment of this exciting addition to Portland’s electronic music scene and the ever-growing global Chipmusic community at large. The show kicks off with local act Spamtron followed by not one, but_two_veterans of the increasingly epic Blip Festival, Leeni and Trash80.

===Trash80 (Los Angeles, CA)===
http://trash80.net/music
Video: Trash80 “Missing You” @ Pulsewave
=================
An evocative and tuneful blend of chip and classic electronic instrumentation that will have fans and neophytes alike shaking their asses (or any functional equivalent) on the dancefloor.

===Leeni (Seattle, WA)===
http://leeni.us/
Audio: Leeni “Awake”
=================
Sometimes sweet, other times sultry New Romantic- and Synthpop- tinged tunes that you can either make out or break up to. If your Facebook Relationship Status is listed as, “It’s Complicated,” attendance is a must.

===Spamtron (Portland, OR)===
http://www.myspace.com/spamtron
==================
A delicate balancing act of fast-paced fist-pumpers and moody, spacey soundscapes that combine to conjure images of robotic combat, interstellar exploration, and other various epic adventures in between.

WHAT: dataPort, a live chiptune showcase featuring Trash80, Leeni, Spamtron
WHEN: Wednesday, February 3rd, 9pm
COVER: $5, 21+ only

Presented by 2 Player Productions

Portland’s most popular arcade honors some of the most popular video game companies ever with a celebration sure to warp you back in time: the Nintendo Party!

Not just limited to Nintendo, play classic Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis games on our stage! Who knows what else we’ll dig out of the attic?

Prove your d-pad skills in tournaments and flex your nerd knowledge in trivia, and win some cool prizes!

We’ll also have cleaned & refurbished systems and games available to purchase so the pixelated action can continue in your own home!

WHAT: Nintendo Party featuring NES, SNES and Genesis free play, trivia, and tournaments

WHEN: Thursday, January 28. Game play starts at 7pm. Tournaments will start at 8pm and will happen throughout the nite. A round of trivia will follow each game tournament.

Ace of Base reference aside, Ground Kontrol is finally getting lit outdoor signs, and we have the photos to prove it. (click thumbnails to see full image)

Nice, huh? The glow behind the “GROUND KONTROL” lettering isn’t a Photoshop trick; it’s the effect of white LEDs facing backwards inside the letters, lighting a blue panel behind them.

Here are mockups of how they’ll look on the building:

Signs will be installed this coming Wednesday and Thursday (Jan. 27th and 28th) between 8AM and 3PM. The electrical work needed to light the signs at night will be completed a month or so later.

We think the new signs will be quite eye-catching when viewed from the sidewalk, street, or MAX trains. Be sure to swing by and check them out!

We’re looking for some friendly faces to represent Ground Kontrol’s awesome customers in a short photo shoot for an upcoming ad campaign!

Interested? First of all, you must be 21+ years of age (with valid I.D.) and be available from 3pm – 6pm on Wednesday, January 27. You must also be willing to sign a photo release, and supply your own logo-free attire. If you can answer yes to all of those questions, submit the following to models@groundkontrol.com by Sunday, January 24:

• 3 photos of yourself in casual, “weekend night out” attire: headshot, profile, standing
• your age and height
• your favorite game!
• your contact phone number

We’ll respond to our selected candidates ASAP on Sunday/Monday with further details. In exchange for your participation, you’ll get free entry to the Free Play Party starting after the shoot, and a Ground Kontrol t-shirt!

Thanks in advance to everyone who is interested!

Now that we’ve defeated the boss at the end of level 2009, it’s time to advance to level 2010. But first, a look back at some of last year’s highlights:

January
Our first “new” game of 2009 was Taito’s 1986 classic, Bubble Bobble. We also hosted our first wedding!

February
This month saw the 3rd installment of our Slugfest fighting tournament. We also upgraded our Mortal Kombat II to a dedicated Midway cabinet with a 25″ CRT.

March
In March we debuted our custom Multi-Capcom cabinet, adding Aliens vs Predator and Vampire Savior to our collection.

April
We had our first Portland Pinbrawl pinball tournament, with 121 contestants. We also added our Namco Classic Collection multigame with Dig-Dug, Pac-Man, Galaga, Mappy, Rally-X, and Xevious.

May
May saw Rock Band Tuesdays house band Mario Speedwagon jet off to Atlantic City to compete in a national Rock Band competition. They lost, barely, but they’re still the champs of the Pacific NW! Golden Tee returned to the arcade, sharing a cabinet with World Class Bowling, another trackball game.

July
New pins – Cirqus Voltaire and The Machine: Bride of Pinbot, the latter with a rad LED lighting retrofit.

August
In August we celebrated our 10th birthday! To celebrate, we threw a weeklong party including our fourth Micropalooza chiptunes event. We also acquired a Killer Instinct 2 cabinet, in which we’re currently running the original Killer Instinct 1.

September
We upgraded our pinball collection again with Williams’ classic Tales of the Arabian Nights.

October
As a special Halloween treat, we debuted House of the Dead.

December
In the spirit of the season, we gave you several “new” games to play:

• Street Justice: The Old Town Beatdown, a custom multi-game featuring Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja, Final Fight, Ninja Gaiden, and Two Crude;
• the classic shooter Big Buck Hunter; and
• Finally, our pride and joy: a custom built and restored 6-player X-Men featuring a 42″ LCD display!

Looking forward to 2010. We have big plans!

This New Year’s Eve, Thursday 12/31, warp into the New Year with Ground Kontrol! Enjoy free gaming all nite on over 90 games, including our legendary line-up of pinball tables. DJ Roxy Epoxy (of The Epoxies and Roxy Epoxy & The Rebound) and DJ BJ (of Atole and the Supernature monthly) spin classic cuts as you conquer virtual villains and party like it’s 2084!

At midnite, have a champagne toast (included in your admission fee) as COPY kicks off the new year with a live performance of his highly original, super infectious mix of electro, 8-bit inspired synth and hip-hop!

WHAT: New Year’s Eve Free-Play Party!

WHEN: Thursday, 12/31. Doors open at 5pm.

FEATURING: COPY (live!), DJ Roxy Epoxy, DJ BJ.

COVER: $15 at the door, includes free gaming all nite plus a champagne toast at midnite! 21+ only.

Merry “X-Mas”! Konami’s 1992 side-scrolling beat ‘em up featuring one of the world’s most popular superhero comics in a super-sized cabinet is finally here.

Released in the early ’90s at the height of the beat ‘em up arcade genre, X-Men places you and your friends in the spandex of the heroic mutant team. You’ll punch and kick your way through scores of enemies, and when that’s not enough, activate your character’s unique mutant power! Even veteran villains like Juggernaut won’t stand a chance against Wolverine’s adamantium claws or Cyclop’s optic blast effeminate kicks – but can you defeat the master of magnetism, Magneto?

Over the course of a year, we made several modifications to fit this 6-player, 6-joystick, 18-button, dual-monitor game into Ground Kontrol’s lineup: upgrading the reflected dual-monitor setup to a single, wide-screen high-resolution flat display, housing that display in a custom-built “slimline” cabinet, and replacing the cabinet stickers with digital prints of restored and customized artwork. Bashing Sentinels as your favorite homo sapien superior has never looked better!

Bring your friends down to Ground Kontrol for 6 times the chaos, 6 times the intensity and 6 times the fun!

Ground Kontrol customers, thank you for another great year! We’re going to give our games (and our employees) a rest over the Christmas holiday.

We’ll be CLOSED all day Christmas Eve (Thursday 12/24) and Christmas Day (Friday 12/25.) Normal hours resume Saturday, 12/26 at Noon.

Have a very Mario Christmas and may all your Galagas be bright!

Ground Kontrol’s mission to provide the classic arcade experience on a full-time basis in the present day calls for both preservation and modernization. To meet these sometimes conflicting goals, we try to retain the original look and feel of the equipment as much as possible while using modern parts and materials to ruggedize them for full-time play. Our treatment of X-Men’s joystick controls is a good example of achieving this balance.

Read the rest of this entry »

The basic components of most arcade games are basically the same: power, processor, input (controls) and output (audio and video.) Our 6-player X-Men is no different, except that some of the components are big and/or customized. We’ll save the controls for tomorrow and look at the rest of the innards today.

Read the rest of this entry »

Now that we have editable copies of the original art, we set to work adapting it and adding our own creations.

The control panel’s original background, a tiled pattern of tiny X-Men logos, is serviceable but leaves plenty of room for improvement. Deciding that the villains deserve some representation, Isaac drafts a Sentinel mounting a formidable attack on the players:

Read the rest of this entry »

After searching for suitable artwork online and coming up empty, we decide to capture the artwork on our cabinet and digitally restore it ourselves. We start by trying the flatbed scanning technique outlined in excellent detail at Jeff Rothe’s blog.

Read the rest of this entry »

The bulk of the original cabinet’s size comes from its display hardware: Two 25″ monitors, one facing forwards from the back of the cabinet and another facing upwards towards a mirror that superimposes its image alongside the other to create a single widescreen display.

If we somehow found a way to display the two original images (one reflected top-to-bottom) on a modern LCD panel, we could replace the original rear half of the cabinet with a “slimline” version… Read the rest of this entry »

The story begins with a phone call from the St. Johns neighborhood. “We have a video game in our living room. Would you like to buy it? I have to warn you: it’s pretty big.”

How big? 6-player X-Men big. That’s big enough to:

1. Leave enough space in the tiny living room for only a couch, TV and small table;
2. Require removing a set of sliding patio doors just to move the game outside;
3. Break the patio’s floorboards as we carry each cabinet across them, transforming the moving process into the real-life equivalent of a platform jumping game; and
4. Fill the beds of two regular-cab pickup trucks (one truck, two trips.) Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been over a year in the making, but we’re just about ready to unveil our restoration of one of the greatest arcade cabinets ever made: The six-player version of Konami’s X-Men.

But first, we’ll tell the story of how it came together, in six daily installments (appropriately enough) starting on Monday, Dec. 14th and culminating on Saturday, Dec. 19th.

Read The Story In Progress >>

When you have more beat ‘em up games than the arcade can handle, there’s only one way to settle the score: Street Justice – The Old Town Beat Down, a new custom cabinet that packs the punch of four classic titles:

Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja (Data East, 1987)
“President Ronnie has been kidnapped by the ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue Ronnie?” Find out in this classic brawler.

Final Fight (Capcom, 1989)
This game was originally called Street Fighter ‘89 and would have been the second game in that series. Its side-scrolling cooperative fighting was ultimately deemed too different from SF’s competitive tournament style to inherit its title.

Even so, Cody, Guy, Mike Haggar, and many of their opponents appear in later games of the Street Fighter series. Play Final Fight to see how these memorable characters got their start!

Ninja Gaiden (Tecmo, 1988)
Players of the NES version will quickly realize that the original arcade game is different from the platformer they remember. Even so, it’s a great game in its own right. Bonus: The first person who finds the GK-themed easter egg hidden in the game wins a free GK coozie! UPDATE: We’re upping the ante – if you take a picture of the GK-themed easter egg, we’ll throw in a free GK t-shirt, too!

Two Crude (Nihon Bussan / AV Japan, 1990)
Genesis players may remember this obscure but worthy title as Two Crude Dudes. Brawl through post-apocalyptic New York City fighting mutants, punks, werewolves, and “psycho Santas.”

Two Crude enhances the beat-’em-up format by adding a “Grab” button to the standard Kick/Punch combo, enabling you to pick up almost anything in the environment– streetlights, garbage cans, enemies, even your partner(!)– and throw it as a weapon. Action-hero catchphrases and “crude” humor keep things lively. “Pump it up…stay cool!”

Big Buck Hunter (Incredible Technologies, 2000)
Explore the four corners of the USA meeting exotic, interesting wildlife and KILLING THEM ALL in the first installment of this popular hunting title.

Prove you’re a hunter for all seasons by shooting in night, early morning, fog and snow conditions. Bonus rounds like Turkey Hunt, Skeet, Windmill Mania, and Barnyard Bonus add a shooting gallery feel.

Mario Speedwagon rocking out on the Ground Kontrol stage.

On November 20, 2007, the original Rock Band was released and Ground Kontrol began Rock Band Tuesdays, a full-band karaoke experience where anyone can be a virtual rock star.

Two years, over 1,000 new songs, and many local and national news stories later, we’re celebrating the second anniversary of Rock Band Tuesdays with a reunion tribute for Mario Speedwagon, the “house band” that traveled cross-country this past summer as a semi-finalist in the Total Rock, Total Rewards competition.

Rock onstage tonight with original Mario Speedwagon members Debbie Day-Glo, SomeGuy, Joseph Hendrix and MC Destructo as they prepare for a live appearance on the Famous Mysterious Actor show!

Tonight (Tuesday, Dec. 1st)
What: Rock Band Tuesdays at Ground Kontrol
When: Tonight and every Tuesday, 8PM-1:30AM
Where: Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade, 511 NW Couch St. (map)

Tomorrow Night (Wednesday, Dec. 2nd)
What: The Famous Mysterious Actor Show feat. Mario Speedwagon
When: Wednesday Dec. 2nd, 9PM-11:30PM
Where: Curious Comedy Theater, 5225 NE MLK Blvd. (map)

Sega’s legendary 1996 light-gun shooter House Of The Dead has risen from the grave as Ground Kontrol’s latest addition to our fantastic line-up!

As agents Thomas Rogan and “G”, you’ll blast your way through several levels of zombies, ghouls, gargoyles and other terrifying creatures as you unravel the mystery at the Curien Mansion.

House Of The Dead’s combination of fast-paced action, polygonal gore, secret items and branching paths make it one of the best light-gun franchises ever. Grab a friend (or go guns akimbo) and remember… aim for the head!

Chip music – an avenue of audio and visual exploration for artists choosing to adopt vintage video games as a deliberate, aesthetic choices – has enjoyed enormous success for over a decade on the East Coast with world-class events the Blip Festival, Pulsewave and recent newcomer, 8static. For the first time ever, Data Beez is spreading those same addictive, low-tech sounds across the West Coast. This is a East meets West event: minusbaby represents New York City while Crashfaster represents California, Spamtron and Go Motion represent Oregon and Guybrush and Blackpawn represent Washington. It signals an evolving movement and sets a precedent for the future of chip music on the West Coast.

Presented in conjunction with Data Beez and 2 Player Productions.

WHAT: Live chiptune with minusbaby, Crashfaster, Spamtron, Go Motion

WHEN: Wednesday, November 18, 8pm

COVER: $5, 21+ only

This Tuesday, November 10, Rock Band Tuesdays features another fantastic giveaway – two pairs of tickets to They Might Be Giants’ upcoming show at the Crystal Ballroom on Wednesday, November 11!

Play new tracks from White Stripes, The Damned and Kasabian on our stage along with all available Rock Band songs (including Beatles Rock Band and LEGO Rock Band) to receive a raffle ticket and a chance to win two tickets to see They Might Be Giants! Take a bandmate or your best friend, and be sure to hit Ground Kontrol after the show to tell us about it!

WHAT: Rock Band Tuesdays featuring They Might Be Giants ticket giveaway

WHEN: Tuesday, November 10, 8PM-1:30AM with ticket giveaway at 11PM

Rock Band Tuesdays at Ground Kontrol

http://www.myspace.com/rockbandtuesdays

Catch They Might Be Giants with special guest The Guggenheim Grotto on Wednesday, November 11 at the Crystal Ballroom. Tickets available at Ticketmaster. Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm. 16 & over. More info: www.tmbg.com

LEGO Rock Band released today and you can play it tonight at Rock Band Tuesdays, our weekly full-band karaoke show. Rock out as a minifig in the LEGO world of colorful blocks, vehicles, and fantastic creatures. The 45 new songs and new gameplay modes are a blast to play!

To top it off, we’ll give away four tickets to this weekend’s Video Games Live concerts! These fell into MC Destructo’s lap today and, since the shows don’t mention Metallica, he’ll give them to four lucky Rock Band players in a random drawing during tonight’s show. Just sign up for any song to receive a raffle ticket!

Experience a full orchestra and choir accompanied by synchronized video, lighting, special effects, crowd interactivity and live action!

For details, visit the Oregon Symphony: Video Games Live page.

Ground Kontrol’s “Halloweek” is shrieking by, but there’s still plenty of time to shamble down and have some Halloween fun!

Tonight, our arcade will be haunted by a free show, a costume contest* and classic console creepfests!

Show up in your best (or worst) costume and enjoy the party-rock record collection of DJ Fresh Flesh while you vanquish foes with a holy whip in Castlevania or rid the neighborhood of the undead in Zombies Ate My Neighbors!

At 10pm, our stage will be overtaken by a couple of guys who at first appear to be your average, friendly Ground Kontrol patrons until they transform into gonzo synth-punk weirdos Lickity!

*Costume contest judging planned for 11pm. Per safety policies, please do not wear face masks or full face paint – make sure your mask is removable if it’s an essential part of your costume!

Want a trick AND a treat? Try turning $5 into an unlimited amount of gaming at Ground Kontrol!

You and your best fiends can take advantage of this frighteningly fun deal at the Ground Kontrol Last Wednesday Free-Play Party, on Wednesday, October 28!

This month, be wary, as you may unearth spooky console game selections at our bar and on our stage. We’ll also be giving free candy to anyone in the Halloween spirit, while it lasts!

WHAT: Free play party
WHEN: Wednesday, October 28 at 5pm
COST: $5 at the door, 21+ only please

Once a year, usually around the holiday of Halloween, Ground Kontrol reviews its corporate strategies for unpredictable and terrifying events such as the zombie apocalypse, an invasion from outer space, monsters from another dimension, or one really, really crazy guy chasing us in the woods.

We have discovered that one night is insufficient to brief our staff and clientele on survival techniques. This year Ground Kontrol will be conducting an entire week of special events leading up to Halloween on October 31. By reviewing classic horror entertainment in various forms and enjoying a cold one (or two), we hope to increase the survivability rate of our friends & fans, or at least have a lot of fun!

Welcome to Ground Kontrol’s “Halloweek“! Check our events calendar for more information, and stop in every night – it just might save your LIFE!

We’re rolling out the carpet for another pinball hit with a multicolored LED installation you’ll find only at Ground Kontrol! In ancient Baghdad, a beautiful princess is imprisoned by an evil Genie. With the enchanted Scimitar, the Magic Lamp and faithful Jinn, you must battle the Genie to rescue her. Travel alongside Sinbad and Ali-Baba as you experience the incredible adventures hidden within the Tales Of The Arabian Nights!