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“My father came to America with $8, a one way ticket, for the pursuit of the American dream,” Jakhotia said in an interview with Michaela Pereira this week. “He taught us to work hard and appreciate what it is to be American.”
Jakhotia went on to say that when he was debating whether to perform at the inauguration, he asked his father for advice, and his dad said that being invited was an “incredible, incredible honor” and that it would be a fulfillment of his American dream.
Jakhotia’s father will attending the concert and will be watching his son perform.
Jakhotia has worked both as a DJ and also as a drummer, and he has performed with two bands. The first was Crimson Glory, a progressive metal band that was active from 1979 through 1992. Jakhotia was brought in to replace the band’s original drummer, Dana Burnell, in 1991; he left the band the following year. In addition, Jakhotia was the drummer for the progressive rock band The Last Goodnight, which was active from 2006 through 2008. They released one album, Poison Kiss, in 2007.
One of the biggest stages Jakhotia has had, though, was at the pre-game show of Super Bowl XLII in 2008, where he played with Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.
The role most people will recognize Jakhotia from, though, is as the drummer in Nintendo’s infamous Wii Music press conference at E3 2008.
That year, Nintendo previewed its upcoming music game, Wii Music, in a demonstration that was immediately ridiculed by fans. Part of that wasn’t because of anything the people onstage were doing; it was more that viewers found the concept of a music game in which all you do is flail the controller around completely ridiculous. Unlike Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Wii Music didn’t involve pressing buttons that corresponded with notes; instead, players simply mimicked the action of playing the given instrument.
Viewers also found humor in the contrast between Ravi Jakhotia’s incredible enthusiasm and the relatively uninteresting gameplay.
Gamers still make reference Nintendo’s 2008 press conference as one of the most cringeworthy in history, and dozens of memes and gifs from it are still used on social media to this day. A Google image search of the term “Wii Music E3” turns up nine images of Ravi Jakhotia just within the first three rows.
When asked by the Tampa Bay Times if he is a Democrat or a Republican, Jakhotia said, “I really can’t get into the political side of it. My beliefs are, it’s time for America to come together. Trump will be president, and that’s it.”
He also says that part of the reason he accepted the invitation was because he saw it as an opportunity to bring diversity to the inauguration ceremony.
“I could have chosen to boycott and stay invisible, or to stay visible, and I thought there was more benefit to someone that looks like me sharing that stage and performing for the American people,” he said in an interview with Michaela Pereira.
That year, Nintendo previewed its upcoming music game, Wii Music, in a demonstration that was immediately ridiculed by fans. Part of that wasn’t because of anything the people onstage were doing; it was more that viewers found the concept of a music game in which all you do is flail the controller around completely ridiculous.
originally posted by: Indigent
So the father was an illegal?
originally posted by: eluryh22
a reply to: Lysergic
Is there a point to this thread? Who is this dude?
I have no idea who that is and I've been getting along just fine. Why do I NEED to know any of this?
Apologies if this thread went over my head (as it's been a long day and I may or may not be firing on all cylinders).
originally posted by: GreyScale
originally posted by: eluryh22
a reply to: Lysergic
Is there a point to this thread? Who is this dude?
I have no idea who that is and I've been getting along just fine. Why do I NEED to know any of this?
Apologies if this thread went over my head (as it's been a long day and I may or may not be firing on all cylinders).
Because he's a performer that wasn't afraid to play at the Inauguration.
As opposed to the performers that were.