It’s the morning of the first day of the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo, and I’m chatting with Tommy Tallarico, host and founder of Video Games Live. Since 2005, Video Games Live has been putting on a one-of-a-kind show featuring a full symphony playing music from videogame soundtracks, accompanied by unique visual elements, such as game footage, lights and special effects. This year, Tommy is at the Los Angeles Convention Center to take in the sights and sounds of all the games on display and to promote Video Games Live, which will be performing at the Nokia Theater on Thursday, June 17.

“I get probably 20 to 30 e-mails the day after a show from parents saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I never knew videogames were this amazing. I never knew the music was so powerful and emotional, and the characters are so deep and the graphics are so beautiful. I get it now. Now I know why my kids are so into videogames. Thank you for opening my eyes.’ We get that constantly,” Tommy said. Tommy has always wanted to broaden the appeal of videogames and game music, and appropriately enough, in 2009 he was received the Ambassador Award from Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco. Brand new for this year’s show will be special guest conductors, such as Gerard Marino of the God of War series and Akira Yamaoka of the Silent Hill series.

“I wanted to create a show for everybody, not just hardcore videogame fans,” he said. “That’s where the visuals and the spectacle of it all, the rock and roll lighting and the special effects and the synchronized video. You don’t have to know a thing at all about videogames to come out to a show and have a greater understanding and appreciation for the videogame industry. That was the most important thing for me to get across, proving to the world how culturally significant and artistic videogames have become.”

Like the videogame industry itself, Video Games Live is always updating, constantly bringing in new game soundtracks to perform, while also maintaining an appreciation for the classics.

“I’ve created over 60 segments for Video Games Live over the last eight years, and we’ve been touring for five years. And so I never do the same set list twice. I always want it to be different each night,” Tommy said.

This year is also a huge milestone for Video Games Live because PBS will be airing a special July 31, later to be released on CD, DVD and Blu-Ray. Tommy was ecstatic about it, saying, “I think that’s going to have a lot positive effects, not only for videogame music but the whole industry. I dare Roger Ebert to watch that program and tell us that videogames aren’t art.”

As for the future, Tommy is purely optimistic.

“We have a lot of territory yet to conquer. We haven’t played Mexico City, and we haven’t played Italy — my home country!” he said excitedly. “Video Games Live isn’t a household name like Cirque du Soleil or Blue Man Group, but who knows? Maybe Video Games Live could be a permanent installation in Las Vegas or something like that. I mean, that’s the goal, to make it a household name that everybody enjoys.”

Until that day arrives, people can still see Video Games Live in concert venues around the world.

“We didn’t want to be like a traditional symphony show or a concert,” Tommy said. “I don’t even call what we do concerts. It’s a show.”

Anyone who is in Los Angeles for E3 and has yet to experience the awesomeness of Video Games Live will get an opportunity this Thursday. Video Games Live will be performing at the Nokia Theater, just down the street from the Los Angeles Convention Center that houses E3.

“Taking video game music into the mainstream has always been my goal my whole career,” Tommy said. “And what better way to do it than this?”

For more information, visit www.videogameslive.com.