As someone who grew up in the 90’s (which wasn’t that long ago right?) music and video games were very much the soundtrack to my youth. One would be on your screen and the other would be on your hi-fi. For me it was indie rock that was making the walls shake and Nintendo that was making my thumbs sore, with the TV being muted to hear a killer riff or the tunes being turned down to hear a satisfying “You Win….Perfect” on “Street Fighter II.”

Well for all my fellow music-loving, video game fanatics, the upcoming Rockage 2.0 festival in San Jose, California promises to bring back this magic mix of entertainment in a three-day indie music & retro gaming celebration taking place this weekend. The whole she-bang starts on Friday, February 8 and runs until Sunday, February 10.

As well as hosting over twenty different bands and DJ’s and fifty different classic arcade/pinball games there will be food trucks, panels, guest prizes, and classic gaming tournaments! You can check out a host of bands and DJ’s as well as attempt to recreate your gaming achievements of the past!

Check out their promo, which is loaded with tons of retro video game references:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs83cTFq6XU]

Curious Quail will be appearing on the Friday night. They are a seven-piece indie/electro/folk band hailing from San Jose, California. Started as a solo project by singer/songwriter Mike Shirley-Donnelly in 2008, Quail has grown significantly since the self-release of “The GLOW EP” in 2009. Their most recent effort, 2012’s “.:INSTANT GRATIFICATION:.” is a concept record, telling a story through the songs with the assistance of the companion Polaroid photo album it was released with. The debut single, ‘Disappointed Smiles’ was placed in regular rotation on the Bay Area’s 92.3 S*ALT (KSJO), and the second single ‘The GLOW’ won the 2012 SVSX ‘Best Song’ award, as well as being selected by San Francisco’s LIVE 105 (105.3FM KITS) as one of the top 20 songs in the Bay Area in their annual ‘Not So Silent Night Local Band’ contest. The band has big plans for 2013, and Shirley-Donnelly is already doing pre-production on the next release.

You can get your hands on both of their albums from Bandcamp or on iTunes. They are also running the SNES arcade, so get over there and give them a slap on the back for making such great tunes.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Da4FGG8xCc]

Also hailing from San Jose, Cartoon Bar Fight are a five-piece indie rock/folk group formed in 2007 by Kendall Sallay and Dirk Milotz. Dirk and Kendall met in San Jose State’s music department, where Milotz studied piano and composition and Sallay studied classical voice. The lineup includes Milotz (piano, synth), Sallay (vocals, guitar), Joel Zelaya (lead guitar, effects), Max Rogers (bass) and Jerald Bittle (drums). They recently self-released their debut full-length, “Reincarnate” in 2012. The album is a collection of songs revolving around the themes of death and life and they site Wye Oak, Eisley, Feist, Arcade Fire, Brand New, The Appleseed Cast and Neutral Milk Hotel as influences.

You can check out their latest movements at their site here. The band will also be operating the N64 arcade so ensure you get over there for a “Golden Eye” duel.

This is their song “The End”:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD5YlOs9a-I]

Tickets for Rockage 2.0 can be obtained here and for more information please check out their website