Executives in the music and video game industries apparently share a lot in common when it comes to their customer bases.

Deciding a partnership would be a good idea, representatives from the industries have thought of a scheme to excite an audience.

Hoping to appeal to young audiences on two different levels, the Nintendo Fusion Tour stops in different cities for live rock shows, while also allowing the audience to try out the newest Nintendo video games in venue lobbies.

Headlining the tour is the St. Louis band Story of the Year. They are joined by My Chemical Romance, Lostprophets and Anberlin.

This Sunday, they will be making a stop in Indianola.

Dan Marsala, lead singer of Story of the Year, says his band has been touring for the past 18 months, so joining this tour seemed like a natural extension.

“It worked out great for everyone,” he says. “Besides, we all love video games.”

Presents from the tour’s sponsor, Nintendo, made it all the more difficult to resist another headlining tour, following the band’s first this past spring.

“We got free GameCubes and GameBoys, plus free games,” he says. “We also got paid for doing this, so I don’t think this was a bad deal at all.”

While headlining a concert is nothing new to Story of the Year, Marsala says the number of other bands and their popularity with the audience is a new competition factor.

“When we went out on tour, we usually brought along a smaller band that no one had really heard of,” he says. “We try to put on as good a show as possible, but if another band does better, I see that as a real possibility.”

That’s not to say there’s any fierce competition between the group, Marsala says. Knowing their name is the largest on the marquee proves enough of a challenge.

“Kids at the show are there to see us,” Marsala says. “They have to wait three hours to see us, so we better make it as fun as possible for them.”

The key to a good show is having energy, Marsala says. That challenge is growing after a year-and-a-half of touring and playing the same songs and sets. He says Story of the Year has played some venues at least four or five times in the past year alone.

“To get in the mood [every night], we take an hour before each show and listen to some music, like Pantera and Metallica,” Marsala says. “We start yelling at each other and pushing each other around.”

Sometimes, though, that energy can have unforeseen consequences. Marsala says during a recent show, he decided to climb the highest speakers on the stage while singing. He jumped and landed right on his heel, injuring his leg.

It may affect his stage show for the next couple of nights, but Marsala says he thinks it was worth it.

“I remember going to shows when I was younger, and what I loved about those, I try doing that,” he says. “It may be hearing singers talking about stupid shit and being funny, never taking it too serious, or jumping into the crowd. Bands shouldn’t just stand in one spot and play their instruments.”

Marsala credits the band’s recent success to its long time on the road. He says bands need to be connected with fans before they can get anywhere in the business.

“Bands can’t write songs and expect radio stations to play it; you have to build a fanbase first,” Marsala says. “We didn’t know how the system worked, so we just kept touring.”

What: The Nintendo Fusion Tour featuring Story of the Year

Where: Cowles Field House at Simpson College, Indianola

When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday

Cost: $20.50