GUITAR HERO TRIVIA

• The song "Spanish Castle Magic" was recorded with vocals, however they are not present in the final game. The song can be sampled with vocals intact at the official Guitar Hero website. The reason why the vocals were removed from the song has said to be because the Hendrix estate do not wish for Hendrix to be impersonated.

• An image of an amplifier is presented on the loading screen while waiting for a song to load. The amp has 3 volume knobs, each of which turn to 11. This is a reference to the 1984 rockumentary This is Spinal Tap, in which an amplifier is discussed for its apparent ability to go to 11 rather than simply 10. Furthermore, one of the random loading screens displays the reference 'Eleven IS louder than ten'. Subsequently, the song "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" by the fictional metal band was featured in Guitar Hero II.
  
• Watching the credits in their entirety rewards the viewer with a number of messages, one of them asking the player if they've started playing a real guitar yet. A similar suggestion can be found for attaining Guitar God status on any of the difficulty settings in career mode.

• Though many of the loading screens give the player brief playing tips and hints, many of them are also jokes about rock'n'roll culture. One of the screens reads: "They don't really want you to play Free Bird, they're just heckling you." This is a reference to the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Free Bird" and its frequent request at concerts. Ironically, "Free Bird" became a playable song in Guitar Hero II, with a rather self-referencing response: "Fine. They're not just heckling you this time. Sigh".

• The player recieves the Battle Axe Guitar, after completing all songs on the expert difficulty. In the Guitar Selection Screen, there is an info box next to the Battle Axe that states "Judge this race not by its remains". This is very similar to one of the lines in Genesis' "Watcher of the Skies" which states "Judge not this race by empty remains".

• When in the song selection screen scroll down to the bottom where you will see a graphic with the letters PMRC crossed out. This is a reference to teh Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC).
  
• When in the Grim Reaper character is highlighted (in the character selection screen), the info box on the right side of the screen states, "Do not fear the Reaper," an obvious allusion to the Blue Öyster Cult song, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper".
  
• The unlockable bonus track "Guitar Hero" is played by Monkey Steals The Peach, a fictional band comprised of rotating members of the Harmonix art team including Mike "Swid" Swidereck (Level Artist and Bassist), Ryan Lesser (Art Director and Guitarist), Daniel Sussman (Producer and Guitarist), and Jason Kendall (Art Associate Producer and Singer).

GUITAR HERO II TRIVIA

• Some of the song loading screens have jokes and references to that specific; for example, before an encore, it tells the player never to just jam when the audience wants an encore (a reference to the movie This Is Spinal Tap). Also when loading Jordan, the player is told that wearing a bucket on one's head won't improve one's performance, a direct reference to the song's artist, Buckethead.
  
• The drummer spontaneously combusting at the end of "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" is a reference to the movie This Is Spinal Tap, from which the song originates.
  
• The scrolling text on the walls of the school venue contains various lyrics to Alice Cooper's "School's Out".
  
• The chalkboard in the loading screen has a drawing of a cherry next to the Greek letter pi, a reference to the featured song Cherry Pie by Warrant.
  
• Clive Winston and Pandora will use a violin bow to play his/her guitar when star power is activated with him. This is a tribute to several guitarists, most famously Jimmy Page, who would often do the same thing during performances.
  
• Before to playing Free Bird, the loading screen may say, FINE. They're not just heckling you this time. Sigh, a reference to a loading screen in the original Guitar Hero that read, They don't really want you to play Freebird, they're just heckling you, itself a reference to a common joke in musician culture.
  
• The loading screen displayed prior to playing Less Talk More Rokk by Freezepop, states, Throw your undies on the stage, no wait you're underage. This is a reference to the song Super Sprøde", which is a bonus song by Freezepop in the Harmonix PlayStation 2 rhythm game Amplitude.
  
• As a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, Xavier Stone will sometimes pick his guitar with his teeth when using star power.
  
• Many bonus tracks are bands whose members work at the game's developer, Harmonix, including Megasus, Breaking Wheel, Acro-brats, Anarchy Club, The Amazing Royal Crowns, Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives, That Handsome Devil, Freezepop and Made In Mexico.