As a young fan of Nintendo video games and an aspiring musician in Nevada City, Calif., Spencer Seim spent a lot of time in his bedroom pondering the pretzel logic of the soundtracks of his favorite games.

When Mr. Seim heard two Nevada Union High School classmates play a set of Nintendo cover songs at a talent show in 1999, he felt he had found his true calling. He joined the band on drums and began his career as a video-game-song cover artist. His video-rock band, the Advantage, consists of high school buddies (minus the original two members, who moved to Milwaukee). It plays nothing but music from the original Nintendo console games, most clocking in at under two minutes; a typical set list from the Advantage’s live show might include such chestnuts as ‘'Double Dragon II Stage 2,’‘ ’‘Ghosts 'n’ Goblins Intro'‘ and ’‘Castlevania Epitaph.’'

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Resurrecting the Riffs, A Nintendo Rock Band — Nytimes

The intricate instrumentals served both as whimsical background music and as motivational tool, their growing momentum spurring Mr. Seim toward ever higher levels of push-button mastery. The music etched itself into his consciousness through endless repetition; all his friends knew the goofy riffs by heart, as if they had been written by Jimmy Page himself.

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