Shout At The Devil! [Halloween Party] Band members and friends invited

[bangingthe_hellouttayou]

Zack had decided that he wanted to do something for Halloween now that he'd gotten his new costume and being a Spider-Man fan he'd gone for a Spider-Punk costume straight from his comics. He'd gotten it at a local comic store down on the Strip and couldn't wait to show Damien because he knew the Dog didn't have comics or anything fun back in Hunger City. Zack now pleased that he'd arranged a Halloween Party for the band members, their friends and family to attend inside the communal area of the apartments. It was the biggest space and there was a bar all stocked up with spooky drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike.

It would be a blast!

There were even spooky snacks with crisps and chips shaped like bats, ghosts and pumpkins. There were even actual pumpkins on a table for those who wished to carve a pumpkin alone or with friends. Zack had tried to make it accessible for all, those who wished to party and get drunk and those who wanted to do non-boozy activities too.

As for costumes---they were optional but preferred.

"Ok, I think that's it. Everyone should be arriving soon."

Zack looking around the room and hoping everyone would like what he had set-up with help from some of the others of course.

Comments

[willoftheblackbird]

“Oh… electric harp.” Jay hummed, continuously impressed.

Dee nodded, also impressed.

“Most of my recitals, aside from my final one, were just voice… and some piano.” Which made sense. He was, first and foremost, a singer and songwriter. “My final compositions included parts for violin, but I wasn’t the one playing it. Jay was accompanying me.”

“Are your recitals open to the public? Or at least to guests?” Jay asked. Dee’s were, but things might be different in a Danish school.

[riff_razor]

Rik set aside the guitar that was in his lap and went to pull out the large flat case that was tucked behind the recliner. Laying it down, he opened it to pull out the pretty blue and purple, metallic two tone electric harp. His harp he wasn't quite as picky about, at least not this one.

"In my school, you can't progress unless you prove proficiency in the instruments or techniques you are learning that year." Which was part of the reason Rik knew so many instruments. "I will be adding saxophone eventually."

He hadn't written that part yet. He started with the harp or guitar parts always because they were easier. He came back over with the harp and sat with the bottom propped on the chair between his legs. "They are ticketed. How many can come for each student depends on how many are in the graduating class."

Rik couldn't guarantee anything because first spaces went to his partner and family. "Do you want to hear what it sounds like?"

Rik had turned the harp into almost another guitar by sound and surely, if these people were composers they'd love to hear it.

[willoftheblackbird]

“For mine, it was a lot more… specialized.” He noted. While he’d certainly learned to compose for a wide variety of instruments, what he demonstrated didn’t have nearly the same kind of breadth as Rik’s recital would.

“I understand. If there are some available, though, we would love the opportunity to purchase a couple and attend.” Jay smiled. He wouldn’t dare down a sneak preview now, though. “Oh, please!”

“I would love to hear what you have so far.” Dee agreed wholeheartedly.

[riff_razor]

"Specialized?" Rik asked curiously. "Did you start in music before college?"

Rik didn't often meet others who had formal schooling and wanted to know how different it was in this country. "I should know in January."

Rik stood up and started adjusting the back strap for the harp. "I'm writing for a standard harp but I started a new song for the Hammers for the electric."

He took some time to make sure it was tuned still and then played a few riffs on the harp. Riffs was the most apt words since the Dane made it sound more like an electric guitar through tuning and plucking style than most would.

[Some references to how Rik plays the electric harp.]

[willoftheblackbird]

“Every instrument, or group of instruments in some cases, has its own four year program.” He explained. Major instruments like piano and guitar, and if memory served him right, even harps, had their own separate degrees. But there were programs for brass instruments, for string instruments, etc., as well. And of course, there was an entirely separate program for voice. He couldn’t help but wonder, now, how different it was overseas.

“I actually went through a program that offered music composition and performance together… I wanted to write my own music. And be the one actually out there on stage too.” He had a feeling Rik could relate to that. “I had piano lessons for years growing up. And sang in a couple choirs, like at school or at church. But… no… right before college, I… um… couldn’t do much of anything.”

A few riffs on that harp were a very welcome interruption. As were Jay’s protective hands on the back of his shoulders.

[riff_razor]

"Ours is structured differently." Rik could see the benefits to both though he thrived under the conditions in his Danish program. "Our degrees are based on a concept; music theory, composition, electronic music... and then every year or two, depending on the program, master an instrument that we continue to use as we progress."

Rik understood that the program he chose was intense but he wouldn't have it any other way. "I knew piano, flute and guitar before I started my degree in classical composition." He wasn't going to start talking about why he was so proficient at a young age. He had a love hate relationship with that part of his life.

"I started with performance when I was still in my secondary. When I went to the Academy of Music, my first was classical music, then Electronic music and sound arts, now I am finishing Rhythmic composition and music theory." Rik was interested in the comparison between programs. Rik wasn't much for talking about his earlier life either for different reasons. However, Rik was a prodigy of sorts with music, mostly due to some mental divergence and probably undiagnosed synesthesia.

"Ansgar showed me the music you gave him." Rik thought a change of topics was in order for both of them.

[willoftheblackbird]

Their programs were surprisingly different in how they were structured. Jay, who merely minored in music while working toward a nursing degree, had a different experience altogether.

When Rik mentioned Ansgar, both of them cocked their heads.

“…He did?” Dee asked warily.

Jay let out a sigh. He was afraid that might happen. In addition to not wanting their new projects spreading around, they were looking for Ansgar’s take on it, not anyone else’s. And certainly not a musical prodigy’s.

[riff_razor]

"What I could see of it while he was waving the paper in my face waiting for Aarne to pull his back up kit out of storage." Rik didn't think there was anything wrong. From his perspective. Ansgar's behavior was a positive. Anything that wasn't drinking until he couldn't think was a good thing. Rik would take the hyperactive madness over the drunken stupor any time.

"He's been.. better since he played for you." Rik mentioned and there's an unspoken thank you in the tone of the Dane's voice. It had been years since he saw Ansgar sober for more than a few hours. The past few days made Rik feel more hopeful about his cousins, and himself, healing from their past.

[willoftheblackbird]

As Rik continued, both Dee and Jay’s expressions shifted immediately. It wasn’t what they first thought.

Dee smiled. Jay laughed, ruffling his fiancé's hair. “Sounds like something you’d do, honestly.”

Jay liked Ansgar a lot. He saw enough similarities between personalities that they’d likely work well together, and be able to build off each other. That could work in the negative direction too, as they discovered the night of the City Charms show. But Jay could pull Dee out of those spirals easily now. He wasn’t worried about their potential new drummer.

“We’d asked him… not to collaborate on it with anyone else before the audition.” Dee explained their initial misunderstanding. “I’m glad he’s excited. We’re excited to hear what he does with it… how he sounds with us. I sincerely hope he will be the drummer we’ve been looking for.”

[riff_razor]

"Mikkel told me." Rik confirmed. "The only thing I did was told him what one of the notations meant. Ansgar was trained in theater and pyrotechnics, not music."

Rik didn't think that crossed any lines. Ansgar had to understand what he was playing off of if he was going to build on it. Rik hadn't even listened to him drumming to avoid any interference with the natural process, though he could hear him playing through the walls of the apartment and liked what he heard.

"I hope so too." Rik agreed. "Mikkel has been going on and on about how good of a drummer his brother is, to everyone." Rik chuckled because he was the quiet one. Though subdued when he was drunk, Ansgar and Mikkel had the same sort of high energy and mischief. It was good to see it coming back to the older Dane.

[willoftheblackbird]

Neither Jay nor Dee saw that as crossing any kind of line. It was about as innocuous as looking up a word in a dictionary while you were reading.

“I’m quite interested in tapping into his theatrical knowledge too…” Dee added. Ansgar really would be a valuable asset to their band. “I want to create an experience… not just an album. There’s sound and vision. Together.”

“Our costumes tonight are actually for our stage personas.” Jay added.

“I have so many ideas for a live show… but no idea how to put that kind of spectacle together.”

[riff_razor]

Rik was glad to brag about his cousin's work. "If you see one of the Hell's Angels shows, Ansgar worked with Viktor on their stage and pyrotechnics."

It would be a way to see what he did when he ran with ideas. Including Joe setting himself on fire on stage which was an Ansgar and Ollie talking to Joe while they all had too much to drink before a show idea. Rik made a mental note, now that he was thinking about it, to introduce Ansgar to Jake. They'd probably have a time together.

"I like them. What is their meanings?" Rik wasn't one for stage costumes but he's always curios in people's creative visions.. "We don't have them for stage but I know Svarte Ravner has a stage costume and set."

[willoftheblackbird]

They would definitely have to catch one of those shows now, for multiple reasons.

“Kuro… are a band of rebels in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, fighting against oppression and standing up for those with the same spark of magic within them… through music, of course.” Dee smiled confidently. “As the Prophet, I lead and inspire our fellow rebels with my words.“

“I’m the Mystic. I use the magic of music to soothe and heal.” Jay added of his own character.

Their costumes reflected those personas well. Dee was striking in tight leather and war paint. Jay looked more wizard-like in his robes, complete with potion bottles hanging from a belt.

“All band members will have their own character… along the same naming convention.” Dee explained. “And I hope… it’s something we can bring to our fans too… to create a Kuro name that they can use with each other. It would be wonderful to create a community for our fans where they know they feel safe… and uplifted.”

Dee was definitely getting ahead of himself there. But that was his motivation, laid bare.

[riff_razor]

Rik listened to the band description and his brows slowly rose up. The description sounded far too familiar but he was far too polite, and shy, to ask if they were from Damien's world. The description sounded way too similar to things he heard in passing about Jack.

The Dane reminded himself that this was a story for the stage. No different than his own band singing about mythology. There was something in this though that applied to the tour and musicians here.

"Ziggy brought us all together to break social conventions and change how the world is going right now." Rik had his own motivations, they all did, but the end point was the same. Change, for the better.

[willoftheblackbird]

“Music is meant for that.” Jay nodded, echoing the sentiment. “It brings people together in ways that nothing else can.”

“And storytelling… People naturally gravitate to a story… more than just to a message itself.” It was one of the things he picked up on in conversations with those studying film and animation at CalArts. It was something hardly touched upon in the music composition side of things. “So if people see themselves rebelling against the Scarlet Cross of the Ministry… the words I sing will resonate more.”

If the basic plot made Rik take notice, the casual namedropping of the tyrannical government probably wouldn’t escape him either.

However, chalk it up to coincidence (or perhaps some kind of other multiverse theory), because Dee and Jay were not from Jack’s world. They didn’t know other worlds even existed.

[riff_razor]

Rik got wide-eyed and worried. His first thought was that maybe they were from Damien's world but then things were off just enough. Rik started to say something then nervously stopped. He wished Vars was here to explain this. Rarely did he feel like he needed someone more adult and together than he was, but off in a side room there would be no rescue.

"It's an interesting stage concept." Rik spoke that first since he could admire a good story. However, the other matter left him uncomfortable since these were new people.

"I...I'd be careful talking to Damien.. um.. or maybe Jack.. about this idea." Rik knew that he would have to explain but how to say it without sounding like he was off his rocker on drugs? He didn't even do drugs. "Damien.. he .. so he was imprisoned for a long time by people that called themselves the Ministry."

How much to say? Rik left it at that but said one more thing. "I know I.. well my family imprisoned me, I guess. And sometimes things bother me, and maybe Damien..." He didn't want to speak for Damien but with how jittery Damien could be this new person deserved the warning.

[willoftheblackbird]

Dee and Jay both looked extremely confused. Damien... they hadn't met him directly yet, but a few people had mentioned him as part of the security team. And having met Ziggy's brother, they were understandably confused how their band's fictional backstory would be considered offensive...

"That's a very... unpleasant coincidence..." he stuttered.

Jay looked to Dee. "Should we change the name?"

Dee wasn't sure. On the one hand, he didn't want to ruin his chances of Kuro getting signed or getting a spot on the tour. But on the other, if there was a horrible group that just happened to call themselves the Ministry, and if they got exposed and their members arrested because they drew attention to it, then they owed it to current and future victims to shed that kind of light.

"I... don't know?"

[riff_razor]

Rik bit his lip as he listened to the back and forth. "Uh.. I don't think you have to change it but.. um.. if.. if you stick around then maybe talk to him."

Sooner rather than later was left unspoken for the moment. Rik wondered if it would be easier or harder on Damien for someone else to bring up this band's stage persona first. Who knew? Zack might.

"Maybe talk to Tom or Zack." Rik thought it over and then nodded, mostly to himself. "Zack could help, I think."

[willoftheblackbird]

"Thanks for the heads up." Jay answered.

They definitely wanted to stick around. Also, Tom was one of the people Dee most wanted to run into, after everything he'd heard at the City Charms show. So he made a note to ask him that too if he got the chance.

[riff_razor]

Rik nodded. "If you're around long enough, you'll learn everyone's soft spots."

For the most part, everyone watched for those things that really bothered people, or at least tread lightly with those topics. It took time. There were arguments sometimes but most of the musicians were forgiving enough that it didn't last long. Rik would be happy to continue to talk to them both, or go back to work if they wanted to wander off and meet others.

[willoftheblackbird]

While Jay could, and probably would, stick around and talk shop about all the musical instruments, Dee had a growing list of people he wanted the chance to meet.

The night was young, and he was determined to make the most of it.

(And sitting down for a while in here really helped too.)