unholyterror | Unsolicited Introductions

Continued from here

Of course, Jake had not warned Davy, or Jerry, or any of City Charms or anyone else that he was bringing people backstage. He could apologize later if there were problems with it. He did get caught up with Niko though and then had to rush to get ready and down to the venue. He pulls up on his chopped out motorcycle right behind the black car. He can see that security is talking to them and pulls the bike around the car.

"They're with me." Jake calls over the sound of both the car and the rumble of the motorcycle. He's obvious, even in the dimly lit parking lot. Not many people look like Jake. Tall, white streaks in his hair, fangs, and all the leather. The motorcycle was iconic too for the red and silver bats painted on the tank.

Security does give pause and then waves the black car to park in the lot. They could park relatively close to the door in the back, clear by the light and exit sign above it. Jake was throwing around his family ties right now which was fine. That was a big part of any entertainment career. It was all about who you knew and were associated with at the end of the day.

He pulled up on the other side of the car and got off the bike. Walking over to greet Dee, and he assumed his partner, while trying to push his unruly hair into some sort of controlled mess.

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: Jerry's Bar and Club
Current Music: "Mean Man" - W.A.S.P.

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Dee watched Rekker and Jake both pass the buck.

“I’ll go up there with you.” He inserted, carefully setting down his tea. He tried to push himself up, but was pretty worn out from the long day. His muscles didn’t exactly want to cooperate, but the stage was right there. He glanced over at Jay. “…Can you help me up, please?”

“Would anyone mind if we did?” Jay asked, pointing to the instruments. He knew how picky people could be about strangers touching their gear, and for good reason.

Still, he held an arm out for Dee, providing him with a little extra support.

Rekker was telling Jake to go find them a guitarist and a bassist, as well as a guitar from him.

He could see these two were ready to join in and he glanced at the stage briefly. "We're not used to playing with you."

For sure there would be some pickiness about instruments. Rekker knew that Davy might claw out eyes if he found someone playing his treasured black guitar. The only reason Rekker had a moment with it earlier was because he was going to repair it and give it a tune up. His eyes finally came back when Ansgar headed toward the stage.

"Having your potential, future boss watching is stress enough without having him on the stage with you." Rekker was being honest with Dee but he wouldn't give him a hard no either. That would be up to City Charms since that was their equipment and their stage tonight as far as the older Brit was concerned.

Dee glanced over at Rekker, once Ansgar had in fact headed over to the stage. “It… it got him moving…”

Which was definitely true.

Dee, meanwhile, was barely on his feet. His legs shook and his grip on Jay’s arm tightened. Jay slid in, holding him up. Even if the band did agree to let complete strangers touch their instruments, which Jay highly doubted would happen in the first place, Dee wasn’t going to make a very good first impression as a potential boss by collapsing on said stage either.

Jay leaned in, whispering. Rekker was close enough, he might have bern able to hear.

“…not tonight… I know you’re not used to it… but remember… there’ll be time later. You have that now…”

Dee stiffened.

“If I let go… you’re going to fall…”

Jake had more than enough time to find somebody to join Ansgar by the time Dee eventually nodded, relenting, “It… got him moving… but it might not be enough… to get me moving…”

Jay helped him sit back down. “Let’s just listen tonight. See what he’s got to offer.”

"Yeah." Rekker downed his beer. Rekker wasn't going to listen in on their whispering.

"Shouldn't you be listening to a first audition?" He mentioned it with a playful amusement as he stood. He was going to have to go up there too.

Rekker went up to join what was going to be a rag-tag band. Davy on guitar, Rekker on lead, Mikkel on bass, Ansgar on drums, Jake singing and Syn up there for a little fun for the first song since he wouldn't pass up the chance to play harmonica. Joey was already off with others so Mikkel took up the bass and it's easy to see that it helps Ansgar feel more confident up there to have his little brother around. They took their time up there in a circle and heavy discussion. Playing together and all knowing the same songs were totally different things.

Jake showing off at the mic introducing everyone. It's easy to see that he spent some time as a theater kid and around a cousin who has been lead for more than one band. The truth was, aside from Jake singing, the others had played together and Ansgar had at least watched. The the first song was a little easier on the drums to warm Ansgar up and let Syn get in his harmonica playing that had been the cost of letting Rekker play his guitar. Syn stepped down to join Dee and Jay for the second song. Sure they were doing all covers but they were songs they were all familiar with and had some good drum lines. Eventually, Jake stepped off too and gave the mic over to Rekker. Hexed often played this song as part of their sets and had more intense drums. They almost had to find a fourth song to play because it had the crowd crazy to have part of Hexed and City Charms on the same small club stage.

Eventually, they did come off stage though Ansgar stayed up and helped Sam break down the drum kit. Part of it was Ansgar being nervous about what they might say about his playing.

Anyone still hanging out at the venue after the show definitely got an unexpected treat. Those who left would probably be kicking themselves later.

As eager as Dee was to join them, he was just as eager to listen to them all play. He and Jay focused on the drumming, each of the songs showcasing a slightly different take. If Ansgar looked up at the band booth while he was breaking down the kit, he invariably saw Dee and Jay talking to each other.

Dee had a notebook out, and they were flipping through it. Their demos didn't have substantial drum parts, but some of the newer music they were working on did. Dee had torn out a page, and Jay was helping him frantically transcribe some sections for the newest song he was composing.

Ansgar was way too nervous to look up and focused on what he was doing. When you grew up in a family that constantly pushed a narrative of you as a failure, disappointment, and scapegoat facing criticism or even potential criticism was difficult. Ansgar knew that eventually he would have to talk to Dee and Jay but not yet. Once his nerves calmed from playing in front of people.

Syn however, was sitting at the table. He had joined them earlier after his fun harmonica part. He's watching and curious. "What are you writing?"

“A second part to the audition.” Dee replied as Jay wrote.

It wasn’t always easy to read Dee’s chicken scratch handwriting, especially late at night, when his entire body was tired.

“He is very good. I’d like to hear him play along with Jay… but to one of our songs. Or, rather, a part of one…” It was one of their newest pieces, definitely unfinished and still in work. “Or even improve upon it…”

In other words, they were both impressed enough to immediately ask him back for another round.

Syn smiled. He wasn't the best at reading music but he was glad to hear that they liked Ansgar's playing.

"I think he's helping the others pack up our gear." Syn mentioned but he also imagined that it was stressful. Even Davy had been nervous when he first played with City Charms.

"I've been... or we've been working on writing our own music." Syn mentioned. For a long time City Charms had been more of a cover band but since Davy came a long three years ago, that was slowly changing.

Dee smiled back at Syn. “I’m glad to hear it. You all have real talent. The crowd was definitely into it tonight. With the drive to take it to the next level, you’ve probably got a good shot.”

He meant that, but keep in mind Dee was still struggling to put a band together. He’d recorded a demo with Jay, but had yet to generate any real interest from any label. He had talent himself and an impressive amount of technical skill when it came to writing and composing, but nothing had translated into any kind of real success yet.

“The one you played, right before your encore… that one was new, wasn’t it? I don’t think I’ve heard that one before.”

"I hope so." Syn had lost some of this drive while they still had the previous singer. However, Davy coming in and stepping aside to let Syn sing had given him space to flourish.

"Yes. We've been working on a lot recently." Syn admitted. "We have all these musicians who are always practicing and working on their own material. It's hard not to write music." Syn liked it but sometimes it was too much. Not so much for him, but for the others who also had part or full time jobs.

“I really like it.” He added. Clearly, the song had stuck out, and kind of also got stuck in his head. They had a good one on their hands.

“Is that… at these apartments that everyone’s talking about?”

Having so many people to bounce musical ideas off of sounded like a dream come true to Dee. Jay had a lot of flexibility in his schedule, but he did still work a job that wasn’t music. They only got a chance to collaborate when he was home.

"It's Davy." Syn commented. "Since Sam moved in with him he's written more music than I can think of lyrics for."

Syn loved constantly having music to play around with but sometimes Davy had too many things. Sam and Davy fed well on each other's seriousness about music and quiet desire for private.

"Yes." Syn nodded while still staring at what Dee had written. "Even sitting and listening to everyone is good for ideas."

The more people like Syn spoke about these apartments, the more Dee wanted to pay them a visit. It would do his creativity good to have more than just his fiancé to bounce musical ideas off of.

Jay nudged Dee out of the conversation. “Does this work?”

Dee turned his attention back, looking over the notes. “Yes… yes, I think that should be enough. Are you good with the guitar riffs that go over that part?”

“I can play either of them.” Jay nodded.

“Then let’s see what he can do with this… maybe we’ll get some new ideas too.”

That was something Syn could take back to Ansgar to help him prepare for round 2. Dee had a strong vision for his band and its overall style, but he was open to more than just what he’d written.

Syn is very interested in the music and leans in when Jay starts talking about riffs. Before Davy joined the band, Syn had played lead guitar.

"You know, if you give this to him we're all going to mess around with it too." Syn mentioned it incase that was something they didn't want happening. Sam, Mikkel, Rik, Fredrik, Ansgar and himself.. and sometimes Hjalmar all sat around together. It would be something natural but maybe not what they wanted auditioning someone.

It wasn’t a lot, not a full song by any means. It was very much a work in progress as it was. But as interested as Dee was in being part of that collective, he also needed to see what Ansgar was capable of on his own.

“I was hoping he’d be able to take time to learn this… before we play it together, but if that’s the case…” Dee looked to Jay. “I don’t know if we can separate his ideas… from those of his collaborators.”

He had skill, but lacked confidence. Still, he needed to be able to carry the rhythm section of a band. They wanted to give him time, but maybe it would be better to see if he could improvise instead.

(They weren’t prepared for a spur of the moment audition, honestly. But they weren’t about to waste the opportunity.)

Syn caught on quickly and shook his head. "We can stay out of it."

Syn would make sure if that if he had to.

"He's a total sweetie." Not that this matter for his playing but Syn felt strongly about it after watching him take care of Hjalmar when Torden wasn't. "He'd be a good bandmate."

And Syn wasn't about to ruin that chance for someone.

“We’re going to have to insist on it.” Jay replied. “But perhaps a jam session at a later date would be in order.”

They honestly were impressed with Ansgar. They wanted to give him the opportunity to really succeed. Jay could see similarities between him and Dee - things that gave him hope that they’d all mesh well. (As long as certain topics of their pasts were avoided. Which Jay was already very good at mediating, at least for Dee.)

"I'll let the others know." Syn understood. They wanted to see what Ansgar did with thier music. If they tool him on he'd be the driving force of the band, along with the bassist, and that had to be right.

"We're around when you want to." Syn nodded. "Usually at Davy and Sam's apartment."

Jay nodded politely. “Believe me, we’re looking forward to it.”

This looked like it could be the beginning of a lot of friendships and potential collaborations.

When the gear looked like it had mostly been loaded up, Dee lifted a hand, attempting to get Ansgar’s attention.

Syn knew they had to talk to Ansgar so he made his goodbyes for the evening to head out and help his bandmates.

Ansgar took a deep breath and headed for the table. He's nervous though the nerves have calmed some since he finished playing. Ansgar rejoined them and sat but didn't know what to say. The Soerens all had the same issue with critique, years of perceived failures, real or not, being answered with violence. The fact that he could even sit here at all represented healing. Still he didn't know what to say so waited and worried that he was about to hear the worst. The nervouseness showed.

Dee had been in nerve-wracking situations before. And not too long ago, honestly. He didn’t want to make Ansgar wait any longer than he had to.

“…We were both very impressed with your performance.” He began. “…but…”

The epic word.

“We need to see what you can do with some of our music.” He held out the loose paper with the drum parts of a song written out with some various cues from other instruments. He only continued once he was sure he had Ansgar’s attention again. “If we gave you a week, would you be able to show us your take on this? And play it along with us?”

“I’m looking forward to seeing how we play together.” Jay added. “I think you’d be a natural fit for this band.”

“You may also want to start thinking of your character concept…” Dee explained the naming conventions of their stage names, and the reasons behind his and Jay’s. The Prophet led this band of rebels with the power of his inspirational words. The Mystic was a soother and a healer, a nod to Jay’s other job as a nurse. Ansgar would need to follow suit, to better build out this musical vision.

The compliment got a shy smile but that 'but' caused it to fade and Ansgar looked down. He was waiting for something negative or worse to come out.

The lack of negative reaction confused the Dane and it showed clearly in his expression when his eyes came back up to Dee and Jay. Ansgar took the sheets of paper and stared at it for a long time. "I can."

He's trying to be confident and cover the fact that he isn't the best at reading music. However, his cousin would help and he could learn. He nodded along his understanding to the naming convention. For the Danes this was a big task, spiritual and superstitious, a name was important. Especially, a name that everyone would be using.

Since Ansgar didn’t have a kit of his own here, they offered to meet him wherever he could set up.

When all that was settled, Dee reached out a hand. “Then we will see you next week… for round two?”

Ansgar was certain he could use Aarne's kit or maybe even Lars' since that was his partner's partner.

"Next week." It's as much a statement as a nervous question but the Dane nods. He'd do his best with it.

“Good.” Dee smiled. “We’re looking forward to it.”

Any of his fellow musicians could confirm for the drummer that, given how this was unfolding, Dee and Jay were impressed. If Ansgar did well on that round, there was a very good chance he’d be offered the spot.