2019-12-21 - Fat Bottomed Girls

While they probably have had one or two where they could all rehearse together. This is one of few where they planned it out and have some more time, from the look of things. Either way, having tried to gather all of them Ico is sitting at his drums and humming to himself. Going over some of his own notes. Waiting for all of them to gather, or at least get their things. It's still early enough for them all to have quite a bit of time to play.

Itzhak is...still really unused to being considered a lead singer and front man, in this band! Isn't he a fiddler and backup vocalist? He used to think so! The tall, beaky guy is out of his comfort zone. So that's why he's tuning his violin, turning to it like a safety blanket, playing a little to soothe himself. Bright singing notes ring through the garage as he noodles.

Park is always keen to play and/or hang with her awesome roomies. She is setting up bass, keyboard, and her computer to record/mix. "Not too long before WinterFest!" she grins. "Probably, like, the week after New Year. Hope we don't get snowed out. Sparrow's band is playing and I still have to track down Cameron about her band. It's gonna be sooooo much fun." Dressed in overly bright tights, short skirt, and t-shirt, everything has flowers and cute animals on it in day-glo colors.

Lyric looks longingly at her guitar there on its stand and she sits and pouts on a bean bag chair she'd dragged in. Her hand is all bandaged up, her right hand. Dammit she's right handed. "Guess I can sing," she offers. At least she's in dry clothes. She's wearing shorts though, cause her legs are bright red too! Whatever it is that happened, wasn't nice. "Can anyone else play for me until I can?" She smiles at Park's enthusiasm. "We need to nail down the date and put up the flyers."

Making his way inside as well, Scott smiles as he listens, nodding to the others as he makes his way over to his keyboards. Pausing as he looks to Lyric. "What have you been doing?" he asks, sounding a little curious.

Ico smiles and nods as he listens to Park, "Looking forward to it." A glance to Lyric as well with a worried look. "Indeed. Hope that you can be back to playing soon." Perhaps noticing that longing look. Hearing Scott asking Lyric what has happened, thus he doesn't ask. Looking to Itzhak. "How are you feeling? Happy to help you out if you need it." He assures her, beingn back at the drums though.

"You can sing," Itzhak says to Lyric, "I'll play mandolin." Which means he has to set down his violin, which he does reluctantly, and get out the mandolin and tune it. "Whaddaya guys wanna do?" Lyric's injury, he's just taken in stride. It's Gray Harbor. The miracle is that they're not all out of commission. "Yeah, I'm good," he says briskly to Ico, nodding to him while he tunes the paired strings of the instrument. "How 'bout you?"

Park frowns at Lyric's injuries. "Are you going to be okay for WinterFest? I guess I could play guitar if needed. It's only another two strings. Sequence the bass..." She grins at Itzhak. "Or we could have a lead mandolin instead. That could be pretty awesome. A cross between Metallica and Enya; Metalenya." She shrugs. "Sounds good to me. And of course you can sing, Lyric. You're an awesome singer." One last quick check of her gear and it all seems in order.

"Oh, Lyric. Did you know Tyrone left town? Guess he got upset about something. Pretty sad." And there is even a pout for a moment before the smile is back and the bass guitar picked up. "Do we want to do one of our own songs first or practice on something everyone knows? 'Fat Bottomed Girls'?"

"Thanks Itzhak. Can I call you K? I heard others do that. What's the K for?" The question of what to sing. "I noticed at open mic, people favored older songs. I think we'd do good with something like that. We're versatile. Park even wrote some songs, as well as Ico." Getting up from the beanbag she pads over. "I will be better by then, nothing will stop me playing." She smiles at Scott, "Just getting into trouble."

Lyric looks at Park with surprise. "He left town cause he was upset? Last time I saw him was that night everyone was over." She shrugs. "They always leave." It's spoken so matter of factly. Taking up a mic, she tests it then grins, "Play what you want, I'm a singer tonight."

Scott is unable to hold back a bit of a chuckle. "Getting into trouble? You?" He does his best attempt at false shock, before he grins again. "Ready to play whatever you guys want to play," he offers.

Ico gives a thumbs up. "Feels good so far. Been pondering starting on a new instrument. Which should I do?" He asks all of them. "Figured that drums work for most, even a few acoustic style. But always good to be able to jump in if people need to change, or want to for specific songs." He suggests. "Or Enyallica." He continues on Park's suggestion. Raising a brow about the Tyrone talk. He won't push or ask much. "I think just to get into it, a brief short version of fat bottomed girls? But just to play around some." He offers and grins. "Then probably work on an original." Nodding to LYric's words. "For WinterFest, probably. Think we do need to original songs for proper performances though. Else we'll end up being a tribute band." He suggests, tilting his head. "Find our style and perhaps make a cover that is completely different, and make it fit? Question is what song." He says, working on a setlist. Chuckling as well as he wait for someone to start the first song.

"I can put distortion on this thing," Itzhak threatens, narrowing his eyes in half-mock irritation. "I'll hook it up and make it crunch. Don't test me!" He plays a few chords, strums fast, pats the strings to silence them. "Okay, 'Fat Bottomed Girls' to warm up." Then...he gives Lyric a funny look. "K? Z. People sometimes call me Z. I guess because it's in my name? Don't ask me, my actual nickname is Itzil." Pronounced 'it-zeel'."

He points to Ico. "Give us the beat!"

"Tyrone was really excited so I dunno why he left" Park frowns to Lyric. "I even went out on the Meeped..." Her moped). "...to the bus stations and even out on the road out of town to Seattle. Nothing."

"It starts with harmonies. Lyric. Z. Everyone really." A clearing of Park's throat before she starts...expecting everyone to harmonise with her.

Are you gonna take me home tonight?
Ah, down beside that red firelight
Are you gonna let it all hang out?
Fat bottomed girls
You make the rockin' world go 'round

"Kick in the crunchy mandolin and drums!" she squeals before starting the bass line.

"Oh!" Lyric gets it. "I call Park, Park. Scott, Scott. Ico, Ice and you can be Z. I like it. It fits." Scott gets a hesitant nod, but she doesn't let any unhappiness show, just her usual bouncy self. The question from Ico gets a considering look. "I've been learning drums too." She nods about Tyrone, but already Lyric has zeroed that out. People left all the time, she knows. Instead, she focuses on the song and when Park starts, she joins in. She so obviously loves music, she taps her hip with her bandaged hand and sings out, getting into it.

Itzhak harmonizes skillfully with Park, almost like he's done a ton of backup singing or something. "Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go round!" Then he hits the distortion pedal, just like he threatened, and the mandolin goes crunchy. Itzhak is still picking it bluegrass-style, so that's unique! He's good at it, too. Enyabluegrasstallica here we come.

Park giggles happily at the cruncy mandolin, requiring a couple of extra bars of 'intro' before she can recover enough to move onto the verse proper. Since Lyric is taking the vocal duties, she only throws in a few lines of back-up when needed. "Can you do mandolin solos?" is asked as they play, her bass style veering towards funk, then country, then metal, then rock, whatever suits best the stylings they are discovering as they play.

Bluegrass, Blues, Rock, Pop, whatever, Lyric follows the cues and goes along with them, she looks over at Itzhak and bobs her head approvingly, it was a damn good sound and he was making it all their own. "Amazing!" she says during it, between verses. "I love this!"

Itzhak, grinning, answers that question by swinging right into an improvised mandolin solo, fingerpicking fast and rippling on a boogie-woogie riff. It sounds nothing like a guitar solo, it's definitely its own thing, the notes arranged entirely different. But he works it like a pro. "Ya like that?"

Park stops using her thumb to slap bass and offers it upwards towards Itzhak. "That is soooo awesome! Hey, does anyone know any fat bottomed girls to dance on stage with us? I don't have one" she points out that last part needlessly. "I guess it depends on what kind of stage show we want to put on." She has big plans it seems, though reality also gets in the way as she adds, "When we can afford it, I guess. So, we're sort of a fusion band? Oh, please don't make me do improvisational jazz. Anything but that." A grin at Lyric's enthusiasm natching hers.

"I love it!" Lyric exclaims. "I think others will too. I think you've found our sound that makes us original." She watches his hands on the instrument, enchanted by it for sure. "Fusion band, that's perfect, yeah! And we can do some bluesy stuff too, because I think people still love it. Maybe up tempo it a little."

Itzhak outright laughs, blushing. "I recuse myself from answerin' any questions about fat bottoms." He snaps Park a crisp high-five. "Fuck yeah, that's the good shit. Hey, I know I'm biased and all what with the mandolin playing, but yeah," he nods at Lyric, eyebrows up, "I think this is a great sound. Makes us stand out from the crowd." Laughing again, he shakes his head. "No jazz, I promise. I ain't a good enough musician to do THAT. Maybe some folk punk, though, whaddaya say?"

Park happily returns the high five. "Techno-Punk-Fusion...or Punk-Fusion-Techno? No, that make's it 'pft', and we probably don't want the music we do being referred to as 'pft' music. All the reviewers would have a field day." She purses her lips. "I'm going to have to arrange my songs into this new sound. Though, still, happy to make the style fit the song rather than jam the song into a set style."

"I agree, I like not being like anyone else. Do you think we should all dress in a certain way or wear what we want? Park was talking about it before, we weren't sure if we just wear our personalities. I kinda like a free for all." Park's enthusiasm sort of pulls Lyric out of her funk a little, as does the new beats and their new sound. She even giggles at the pft sound. "Park, you're never, ever boring."

"I am not dressing any different. I never have, I ain't startin' now. This's my signature look." Itzhak's kidding, but he's also deadly serious. "People can like it or they can get the fuck outta my face. Hey, we don't have to do every song like this. Plenty a room to do your songs your way, too, Parkeleh." Agreeing with Lyric, he says, eyebrows up, "Ya never boring."

"Awww, you're both so sweet. Itzhak, do you think I look twelve? It was my birthday the other day and someone said I looked twelve. It wasn't an insult though. Oh! Want to hear a joke? What’s the difference between a ‘hippo’ and a ‘Zippo’? One is really heavy, the other is a little lighter." Park will laugh, even if no one else does. "Oh, sure, definitely make all kinds of music. I guess we could dress how we like" she nods happily. "Is it okay if I wear onesies sometimes? Hey, it'll be like a boy band. Each of us will represent slash appeal to a different group."