raknovel Chapter 12 The Siren Band
Chapter 12 The Siren Band
In the old industrial area of the city center, a dilapidated five-story apartment building stands on a street corner. Vines even climb the exterior walls. There is no elevator, only a creaking wooden staircase leading directly to the attic. The staircase is narrow and steep, with no platform in the middle.
The height of one floor is almost equivalent to two floors of an ordinary building, making it extremely difficult to climb. Zik followed Tino, the two lawyers, and the musicians, panting heavily all the way, and finally managed to climb to the top floor.
"They all live together," Tino explained, wiping the sweat from his brow. "This place was converted from a former manufacturing plant. There aren't many neighbors around, so they don't get complaints about rehearsing day or night."
Zike looked around. The attic had a very high ceiling, was spacious and simple, with a few rock band posters on the walls, some musical instruments and miscellaneous items piled up in the corner, and a faint smell of tobacco and instrument polish in the air.
Not bad, at least it doesn't have an unpleasant leafy smell, he assessed in his mind.
The two musicians accompanying him were mercenaries hired by Tino, one a trombone player and the other a trumpet player.
One of the lawyers is Colin, who has worked with Tino for a long time. He appears calm and experienced, with sharp eyes.
The other one, Herbert, was a young lawyer sent by a large law firm that Zeke found through Record World magazine. He helped review contracts and negotiate. He worked overtime during the Christmas holidays and needed to be paid extra overtime pay, but Zeke felt that this money should not be saved.
He remembered Tino's earlier words: in America, lawyers are the strongest support. If Tino arranges all the lawyers, it's hard to guarantee that the other party will be completely loyal to his interests. After all, he and Tino are just new partners, and you can't judge a book by its cover.
"Keith, open the door, it's me!" Tino stepped forward and pounded on the wooden door of the attic.
The door was quickly opened, and a young boy with long curly hair poked his head out; it was Keith Luntin, the band's guitarist.
He exuded a focused air about him, and his accent was hard for Zeke to decipher—it sounded like a British accent with a hint of Australian.
Upon entering the attic, Zeke saw several people already inside: the drummer, Anton, was thin but quite handsome, leaning against the corner adjusting the drum kit; a black man was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper, and nodded politely when he saw Zeke and the others.
Colin frowned almost imperceptibly.
As Keith introduced himself, Zeke was slightly taken aback. He couldn't help but think to himself that Americans were too uncreative when it came to naming things. This black bassist was named Jimmy, just like Henry's boss, and he also shared the same name as the guitar god Hendrix.
There was also a woman in a casual long dress, holding a beautiful little girl. The woman had a gentle demeanor, and the little girl timidly hid in the woman's arms, curiously looking at the newcomer.
Keith smiled and introduced, "This is my wife Amanda, and our daughter Chai."
Zik nodded, greeted him, and didn't think much of it.
The attic was quite spacious. These days, there are many poor musicians who bring their families along to take advantage of rich kids, which seems quite normal to Qi Ke.
"Sorry, please wait a little longer. Our new keyboardist hasn't arrived yet, but he should be here soon."
While waiting, Keith was exceptionally friendly and took out a tape recorder to play some rough recordings of the band for Zeke, all of which were their usual rock works.
Zik listened intently, growing more and more astonished: "What? Your band's lead singer is a woman?!"
"Didn't Tino tell you? Our lead singer is Amanda, her voice has always been a signature feature of our band." Keith paused for a moment, then laughed.
"Uh, I only recently met Tino, and he hasn't mentioned it." Zik smiled awkwardly, secretly glancing at Tino who was teasing Chai, and mentally complaining: This guy is so unreliable, he didn't even mention something so important!
He looked at Amanda not far away and silently pondered: No wonder this band has never been very popular. Amanda's voice is indeed good, and her singing is full of soul, reminding him of powerful singers like Tina Turner and Kate Bush. But in this era, rock music is considered a man's domain. It is difficult for a woman to be accepted by the mainstream market, so record companies naturally cannot sign her.
But then I thought about it again, and disco is different. Donna Summer has become a global sensation and is recognized as a new generation diva.
Women singing disco are not only not rejected, but they are more likely to stand out with their unique voices and stage presence. Thinking about it that way, maybe having Amanda sing "YMCA" would actually be a good idea?
But a new problem arose: his song "YMCA" had lyrics and melody clearly from a male perspective, and having a woman sing it felt a bit odd. But he didn't have much of a choice; no matter how strange it felt, he could only give it a try.
"Keith, has your new keyboardist left yet?" Tino asked urgently as he walked over after teasing Chay. "Make a call and ask. Lawyers charge by the hour, and every minute wasted is money."
"I left half an hour ago, so I should have arrived by now."
"Actually, you don't need a keyboard. You can try this song first."
Zik recalled the details of "YMCA" in his mind. The main instruments were drums, bass, and electric guitar, but the real core was a large number of brass instruments. He could clearly distinguish the timbre of the trumpet and trombone. The keyboard was not very prominent. It should be a synthesizer mentioned in a music magazine. This new instrument was very popular in disco music and could create a bright rhythmic atmosphere.
No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a knock on the door. Keith quickly went to open it, and a young brown-haired girl with trendy shoulder-length curly hair walked in. She was carrying a black jacket and wearing a pink short-sleeved T-shirt. She had delicate features and looked soft and sweet, like a good girl, not at all like someone who plays rock music.
"Sorry, sorry, there was a traffic jam on the way." The girl apologized with a smile, her tone light and her voice carrying a genuine New York accent. "I'm Holly, the keyboardist."
Zeke looked at Holly, secretly surprised. This girl seemed completely out of place in a rock band. Where did Keith find her?
Colin, standing nearby, stubbed out his cigarette and couldn't help but mutter, "Another one?" His tone was laced with disdain.
Holly tilted her head, made a face at Colin, and gave him the middle finger, saying, "Bite me, huh?"
Colin was taken aback, and everyone burst into laughter.
"Please, Holly, be nice," Keith advised.
Tino clapped his hands, interrupting everyone's thoughts, and said in a serious tone, "Alright, everyone's here. Let's hurry up and go through the song once. If it's okay, we'll finalize the collaboration immediately. Don't waste any time."
Everyone got up and went to a large room at the back of the attic.
This is their rehearsal room, filled with various musical instruments and equipment. Drum sets, basses, and electric guitars are neatly arranged, and the mercenary trumpeter that Tino hired is also taking out his trumpet from the box and tuning it.
Qi Ke took out the sheet music he had stayed up all night to organize from his bag, intending to distribute it to everyone, and was just about to hand it out.
"Wait a minute," Herbert stopped him. "Before looking at the sheet music, everyone needs to sign a standard confidentiality agreement to prevent the song's melody and lyrics from being leaked or plagiarized."
Upon hearing this, no one had any objections, as this was industry practice. Keith, Anton, and Jimmy immediately picked up their pens and readily signed their names.
Amanda frowned, a hint of displeasure on her face: "Quite the demand. It's just a disco song, why are you making such a fuss?"