Okay folks, this is my first fanfiction in a long time. I used to be a member around here, but due to some personal reasons, I deleted my old fictions, and will not bring them back if requested. I'm sorry if it seems a little rude, but I have two reasons. One, they bring back a lot of personal memories that I don't want to talk about, and two… They're on my old computer, and I don't have my files transferred over. Silly, yes, but that's what I am.

I know there aren't a lot of Guitar Hero fics out here, so I'm going to try and contribute the best I can to the growing community with one of the few OC fics for it. Seeing as World Tour had Create-A-Rocker, I'm surprised almost no one's jumped on. I'm going to try and incorporate elements from different GH games into this, but it'll mainly center around World Tour, using my band The Classics, and other bands I have created that will be featured later in side-fics.

…I'm so sorry for the long introduction, but I wanted to inform everyone of what's going on with this in case they decide to read further. With that, thanks for clicking on this, I hope I don't disappoint.

Rated T for Language, Alcohol, Lyrical Content, and Language again (If there was a T+, I'd rate it that. The only reason it's not M is because of lack of sexual content.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Guitar Hero World Tour, the Guitar Hero Franchise, Any songs or bands mentioned in this fic, any cities or clubs mentioned in this fic, and anything else that isn't coming from my imagination. I own The Classics, and Dave Gibson University, that's about it.

Note: Parts of the story will be told from first-person POV from the guitarist's perspective, and part from a third person POV. Most, if not all of this chapter will be first person

They always say that once you graduate college, you'll have a degree and be able to get a good job. That's why my mother kept telling me to go to college, get a good education, make your family proud. Shit, after what she's put me through and god forbid my dad, I wanted to get away from the family. That's why my last name's Harris now. Kenny Harris, yeah, it's not stellar, but the business of my life is really starting to wear thin. Some quiet time would be good. Just get an office job and a small house and enjoy some peace for once in what is it now, 22 years? …Yeah, 22. Sorry, I guess I'm losing you, aren't I?

My name's Kenny and I'm a student of a small university in California, outside of San Diego. It's a far cry from Missouri and Kansas, where I split time between for the first 18 years of my life. Once you've been in the Midwest that long though, getting out seems pretty damn good. The scholarships were hard to find and get, and out-of-state fees made my eyeballs bleed once I saw the bill, but you know what? It's so been worth it. I took my computer, my 360, my guitar, and got the hell out of there to San Diego. If I had to choose a city in Cali, I'd probably go with San Fran, but the fog and cold are such a bitch. San Diego, warmer, sunny, good lord it's like it was made for me. The only thing that pisses me off is that every time I pay to go to a Padres game, they lose. …But I came from Royals country, it was even worse there. I've been at the college for four years, and in about a month, I'm going to get my B.A. in Creative Writing. If there's anything in the world I'd want to do for a career… Okay, three things. First is a writer, with the degree, it's the obvious choice. The second was a pro baseball player, and I did some decent work on the mound, but in a school not registered by the PAC-10, scouts pass over us for San Diego State. Third… I know you're going to laugh, but I've always wanted to be a rock star. I know everyone wants to at some point, I still do though. I've been in a few bands around campus, but no one ever seriously commits to anything. I just sit in and play guitar for any wanted sign I can find.

Knowing I'm not going to find any money straight out of college, and the most I can get is an entry-level job, I need to find a serious band to start things out, or I'm going to be in a box on the street. I've got a month left in college, a guitar, and a desire to start a band.

…God is this going to suck.

GH1's Behind the Music presents: Modern Classics, the Story of The Classics

Scene 1: Formation

Life in Dave Gibson University can get a little crazy. Sure, the sun and the San Diego beach scene less than half an hour away's pretty cool, but a lot of the life comes from inside the campus. It's packed with musicians of varying degrees of skill, and taste in genres. A mix of so many aspiring musicians can only create a blend of different bands going in and coming out of the campus grounds. This makes it perfect for me, someone who's trying to start a band.

The courtyard is where you can find a lot of things, the class buildings, bookstore, and whatever you can expect to find at a college. The sun's high and bright today, but it's April in San Diego, who didn't see that one coming? It's Saturday, so there's no reason for me t be cramming for anything, and I've got my last paper… Well not done, but it's at a good point. Things look alright, today, I need to start recruiting. There's one guy I know who will want to be in a band with me. He's been one of my best friends ever since I got on campus, problem is where to find him today. Chances are he's either asleep or at work. If he's at work, I'm going to have to scratch up some bus fare or a ride. …Probably a bus ticket. I head to my bro's dorm, and it's unlocked, but as soon as I open it, I see no one's there except his pet iguana in his tank. …And dear god, it smells like he was smoking pretty heavy last night. If hen's not at work, I'd probably find the bastard asleep on the toilet at IHOP again. Fucking…

There's no use in spending time in a place where I'm not going to get anything done. The walk to the bus stop's only about a mile off campus, so I'll still have plenty of time. Sure enough, I'm there in ten minutes, sitting on a bench with most of the paint chipped off and everything imaginable carved into the wood. Chasing this guy down at work was such a pain because of… Hiss The bus to Diego. Climbing into the bus, I can see it's pretty empty, just a couple of students going back from eating breakfast in the city. I hate this thing because the place constantly smells like booze and vomit. Once you have the Phi Psi Kappa guys on here after a party in town, you never get that fucking smell out. Taking out my notebook, I look over the last few pages of the novel I've been trying to write. I haven't stopped playing Mass Effect since the day I got it and it really inspired me. It inspired me to write this, think Apocalypse Now in space. Cool idea, right? …Tell that to a damn publisher. No one's picking it up off-campus. Maybe if I try another work it might be better, but I really like this story, and I want to finish it before I work on something else.

Finishing up a brief combat scene, the bus pulls to a stop at a street corner with the McDonald's I usually stop at for a quick snack. I used to hate that place with a passion, but hell, college has taught me if the food's cheap, eat it. I've been too busy thinking about what to with this band idea though, I'm hungry, but it can wait. I do what's important, and that's head down to Blockbuster down a few miles from the corner. I step in and immediately thank every deity I can think of for air conditioning. People tell me to take off my black and yellow cycling jacket because it's always hot out and I don't cycle, but hell, it's about the style. I catch a few looks every now and then, what can I say? Heading to the front counter, I ask if Troy's in. "Yeah, he's in the back room. You should probably wait until he comes out."

"Why?" I shoot back, "Don't want me to get contact high?"

He gives me a look that says he can't tell if I'm joking or not, so I just leave him thinking about that and head to the back of the store, knocking on the supply room and calling out, "Hey dude, it's Kenny, I gotta talk to you man."

"One sec," calls out a voice from behind the door. After some shuffling, the door opens and there he is. King Slacker himself, the one and only Troy Coleman. Troy's a guy who screams lazy, but he knows how to party with the best of them. His dreadlocks are thick and look like they haven't been washed in a week, his jeans are covered in holes, his hi-tops are about ready to fall apart, and he's got a coffee stain on his uniform shirt. …Yep, classy. After a slight laugh, I say, "Troy, as usual, you look like shit."

Troy laughed and patted me on the shoulder, "Aw c'mon man, you know it adds to my rugged studliness that drives all the ladies wild."

This only made me laugh harder. "Studliness? Dude, the only thing rugged about you is your beard, and that's because it's just 5 o'clock shadow it grows so damn slow. It's been, what? 2 weeks since you last shaved? Besides, I've never seen you pick up a sober chick in my life. Can we put all the joking aside for a minute and be serious here?"

Troy shrugs and says, "Whatever dude. Talk all you want, if you can eat up my shift, it'd be perfect. What's on your mind Ken?"

Taking a deep breath, I say, "Troy… I know I've said this before, but this time I'm serious. I want to start a band. I need to find a way to make some extra money to get stuff after I graduate. We play some shows around the city, we can get decent apartments. Whattya say?"

Troy takes one look at me and says, "Dude, you've been in more bands than anyone on campus, how can a session guy like you be serious about music?"

"I'm serious man. I want to do it this time. I got a guitar with sound that kicks Satan in the balls and makes him ask for more, you can lay down backing work and you've got voice and attitude that any rock star would kill for."

I fed his ego, now he gets going. "Voice, eh? Attitude, eh? Alright, I'll help you, but I wanna hear you tell me just how awesome I am. You gotta work for this man."

With a huge sigh, I realize what I've started. Trust me though, once you've seen Troy on stage, you'd do the same thing. "Where to begin o god of rock who is so heaven-sent, to praise a voice created from balls of steel and a kick-any-ass 'tude would be a gross injustice to your awesomeness. To say that your strut made Mick Jagger want to be just like you, how Michael Jackson can't touch your mad dance skills, how…"

Troy's about to piss himself with how hard he's laughing and calls out, "Aright dude, I get it, I get it. I'm in," While trying to catch his breath. "God damn man, I shouldn't have called you out on that. Shakespeare 2 much?"

I take Troy's hand in mine to start one of our many secret handshakes. We slide, pound, pop, lock, woogie, and any other shit we can do for three minutes before pounding fists, then making them look like they exploded and making sound effects that just make us look downright stupid. As Troy starts to walk off, a thought hits me and I can't believe what I'm saying. "Hey Troy? You got any money?"

Troy does a huge double take and says, "Come again? Do I have money? I always bum off you."

"Yeah, but Guitar Center took some hours off for me since exams are so close, and we got a new kid in. I'm broke, I need cab fair to the other side of town."

Troy pulls out his wallet and says, "Cab fair to… Oh," he says with a sly smirk, "I see. Listen man, I keep tellin' you to do it and look who mans up."

"Shut the hell up, I just need to see her, I'm not looking for anything but a bassist."

He looks through his wallet and says, "well, if anyone can fit the bill, it's her. Lessee… Coupon, coupon, ounce, condom, ticket stub… Is that a 20 or am I shitting myself?" He says as he pulls out a crumpled bill. I immediately snatch it and call out, "Later bro. Meet you at my dorm once the shift's over."

"Working double, not until 8 bro."

"Whatever," I yell as I get out of the building, looking for a… shit! Right there! I try to whistle, but fail miserably, I could never whistle, just give up and yell out to the cab, trying to run it down. Eventually, it stops and I catch up and climb into the back. "Where to?" calls the cabbie. He's probably about 40 or so and smoking some of the heaviest cigarettes I've ever seen. With a slight cough, I choke out, "Uh, East Village man."

As he starts driving off, he says, "East Village? Padres are away, why the fuck are you going to the village? Seeing someone?"

"Yeah, would you just shut up and drive." Anything to get me out of this cab the sooner, do it.

A terse, pissy, and overcharged cab ride later, I scramble out and watch the smartass peel out down the road. East Village is kind of a big place, but I know where I'm going. A few streets down, I walk into the red brick apartment building and head all the way up to the ninth floor, bitch makes me walk so many damn stairs (whoever invented stairs needs to die). When I get to the door of 924, I can hear Cheap Trick through the door, not blaring, but loud. Knocking on the door, I ask, "Kyoko? You in there, it's Ken."

After a slight pause, the door opens and there's Kyoko. She's shorter than me, has long black hair and these deep, dark eyes. I used to rate her at about an 8, but in the tight jeans and black tank she same to the door, in, 9. She smiles at me and says, "Ken! It's been so long. Come on in, I just put on some tea, you want some?"

Stepping into her apartment, I have to shield my eyes for a second. The walls are painted white and the window's letting in sun that bounces off the alls and almost blinds me. "No thanks Ky. I'm good I uh… Had breakfast in the…"

She slaps the back of my head and says, "Stop it! You know I hate it when you try to lie to me. I can fix you up a bowl of ramen or something. That okay?"

I smile and say, "Thanks Ky. I had to borrow money from Troy to make the cab fare."

She stopped in her tracks and said, "You borrowed money from Troy? …Troy had money?"

With a sigh, I groan, "Lay off me alright? I'm here aren't I?" I watch her head into the kitchen and pull out a pot and puts on the water to boil. She turns to me and says, "So Ken, why the visit all of a sudden?"

Scratching my head, I say, "Uh… Ky, I gotta be straight with you, I've been thinking about how in the hell I'm going to make money once I graduate, and finding a job's going to be tough, so I was figuring of a way to make some side cash. I'm thinking about starting a band. This is a recruiting call. I've got Troy penciled in and I really need your talent. It'd mean so much to me."

Kyoko turns back to her soup and says, "I dunno Ken, every band you get in never lasts. How can I take this seriously?"

"Because I'm asking you, you're not in the same college as me and Troy. This isn't a campus band that'll split at the end of the semester. We play shows in San Diego, get some pocket cash to start us up and we all come out winners. Please, you've got more skill in one of your classically-trained manicured pinky than I have in my whole body." …I really need to learn to choke up on the compliments. It sounds like I'm trying to ask her out.

She laughs and says, "Okay, a bit much, but… You really want me in? You sure I won't upstage you guys?"

She very well could. This was Kyoko Richards we were talking about, a comp major at the Art Institute of California's SD campus' finest students. She was born and bred to be a star cellist. …Then she met me. I went to see one of the recital nights at the school because I wanted to see if there'd be anyone new to talk to. She was in this little tight black dress that… Oh man. She put on a concerto that would make Yo Yo Ma cry. I talked to her after the show and used my charm, plenty of it, to convince her to go to a coffee shop with me. I asked her if she was trained in electric bass. She said she's a cellist, but I pointed out it wouldn't be hard, the strings are the same, even if they call it a bass. I tell her the name of our bass instructor and said I'd pay for some time to see if she could make the conversion. When she asked why, I said because an electric instrument can convey so much emotion, it's worth a shot.

One day, she made Jeff look like a hack. She adapted so well and then blew him out of the water. She was saying it's nice and all, but what's the point. That's when I found out she'd never listened to rock and roll before. …Being the rocker I am, I about fainted. I introduced her to some basic rock like Cheap Trick and AC/DC, and bass-heavy stuff like Rush and Dream Theater. Buy her a few albums and give her my number. Tell me what you think once you listen to them and call me back.

A few days later, she invites me over to her apartment, and her mood's changed. She's laid-back, having fun, and she shows me some stuff she picked up by ear. She made YYZ sound even more difficult. It was beautiful. We've been friends ever since. Cello prodigy turned bass goddess. This made her question of upstaging us completely valid, and a possibility I hoped she wouldn't bring up.

"I know you might… But think of it this way," I added in, a flash of either brilliance or balls kicking into my head, "Think AC/DC, Cheap Trick, all that good stuff. The bass was background, never upstaged."

The glare she sent me gave me serious chills, "So you're saying you want to waste me as backup? Ken, I thought you'd treat me better than that."

Fuck, c'mon man, there's gotta be some way to bail me out. A-HA! I thought, trying to find some way to get out of this. "Even in Rush though, the part's complex, but everything's in rhythm. We won't waste your talent, we just need to find a good tie-in. Please Ky? I don't know anyone more qualified than you."

After a pause long enough for her to finish boiling the water, cooking the noodles, and put them in a bowl, she said, "Okay… I'll do it. I've played as part of an orchestra and quartet… But in a rock band? It sounds exciting, and if it's with my friends… I'll do it Ken. Just learn to be more careful with what you say," She teased.

"Whatever," I laughed, "Glad to have you onboard. We could really use some talent." After sitting down on the couch, I say, "So… Uh… Hate to be such a bother, but is there anyone you know from school who could be on drums? All of the drummers around campus are cookie-cutter beat-keepers. I need a guy who can do fill work, drum solos, fancy shit." Casting a look at the noodles, I take a bite and immediately jump back into the couch because I burned my mouth by not cooling it down, too hungry to remember to.

She laughed and said, "Ken, you're such an idiot sometimes." After some thought, she said, "Actually, there's this one guy who knows how to play trap sets at the school, but I haven't talked to him that much. I can call him out of the student directory, but I'm not sure if he'll respond."

I shrugged after waving cool air into my mouth and said, "It's worth a shot Kyoko. If we want to stand out, we'll need talent. You're good, Troy's got frontman personality like David Lee, and I can… Solo, I guess."

Kyoko punched me on the arm and said, "Solo my ass, you sell yourself short. You're with us in your department. Look, his name's Alex, and I'll see what I can do." Pulling a book out, she flipped through a few pages and muttered, "Stevens… Stevens… Stevens A… Alex Stevens!" Checking out the address, she said, "Hey, he's in the building down on the corner, this might be better. We could see him in person."

"Two strangers recruiting him for a band? What makes you think he'll bite?"

"Oh come on, how bad can it be? He seems alright."

I get up off the couch and say, "I hope you're right. Lead the way Kyoko." We walk down the block of the Village. All in all the place is colorful. I didn't want to live here because of the bus fare and walkups, but if I had to commute instead of living in a dorm, the Village wouldn't be too bad. This place at the corner we were heading toward actually turned out to be a building that's five levels. Less stairs, thank goodness. Stepping into the building, we look at the numbers on the wall saying where's where and we realize that his level is in the basement. …Odd, but alright. Stepping through the door into a poorly-lit sublevel, the number we are looking for is immediately to our left. We knock on the door and we get no answer. …After knocking again, then me getting so pissed that I kick the door, it opens and immediately we're being blasted by waves of sound that made me thought a concert was going on in there. A tall guy about our age opened the door, big dude. He had broad shoulders, jet black hair so straight I thought it was ironed, square-jawed tank in front of us. He takes a remote out of his pocket and pauses the music that was blaring just a second ago. "Can I help you?" He asks in a voice that I thought would be deeper. I was expecting James Earl Jones, but Alex had a good baritone.

Rubbing my ears somewhat, I said, "Yeah. My friend Kyoko here says you play drums pretty well, is that true?"

Alex looked next to me and smiled somewhat. "Oh, Richards. Yeah, I've seen you around before. Man, you turned the professors on their asses once you discovered real music. What can I do for you guys?"

Kyoko bobbed up and down on her heels and said, "Um… Well…," She was pretty shy around guys she didn't know too well. Good with friends and acquaintances, but strangers made her nervous, "My friend Kenny here… Um, Ken, you tell him," she said while stepping back slightly.

I nodded and said, "Alex, I'm not going to lie, I want to start a band. I'm from Dave Gibson and about to graduate, but getting a job's going to take a while. I need a way to make some money. Kyoko said you're a good drummer. Mind if I see what you can do?"

Alex leaned on the door frame and said, "I don't know you, and I've only seen Kyoko around campus a few times. Why would I start a band with you?"

I pause slightly and said, "Because I think, honestly, a student from the Arts Institute of your year would be a valuable addition to a skilled lineup and we'd have the chance to write some quality music. Every other drummer I know is too much like the others, I want someone who stands out. I'm hoping it's you."

Alex looked over to Kyoko, who was giving him a hopeful look, then back to me, keeping that straight professional face I learned in Business Administration 201. He nods and said, "I'll let you guys have a listen and play a few shows with you, but nothing lasting until I see a group dynamic start to form. I play symphony percussion and school, and dynamic is everything. If the pieces don't fit cleanly, it's not worth the effort."

With a sigh, I step in and say, "It's alright man. Nothing too fancy to start off with. If you leave everyone to flounder in the first show, why bother?"

Alex smiled and said, "Nice thought. So, got any requests?"

With a slight pause, I say, "Actually, you have a guitar around here?"

Alex nods, heads up, then comes back. The thing looks like it's seen better days. Reminds me of my starter guitar. Small, red, classic Strat style. I pick it up, check it, tune it, find a small practice amp and say, "You know Keith Moon, right?"

"Live it," he says with a nod.

I nod in reply, then start off the riff to Young Man Blues. He plays the first fill so well, I stopped in amazement. He encouraged me to keep going and we had a nice little two-man jam going, but he was whooping my ass on the talent scale. He moved so fast I thought he had at least four arms up there. I fade out early and let him keep a good roll going and I could see the sweat shine on him. He was a beast. I knew right then and there I had my drummer. Fuck Bonham, Moon, Peart, Bozzio, anyone. This guy was a machine. Setting down the guitar, I said, "Okay man, that was… I'm not going to lie, you're better than the campus drummers combined. Meet me in the courtyard of Gibson at 8 tonight, okay?" Turning to Kyoko, I said, "You too. I want to try and set up a think tank to see what to do with the band and maybe practice." Looking to Alex, I add, "If you can bring a practice kit."

Alex looked at his equipment and said, "Yeah, I think I can manage that, not the full setup I have here, but I have a spare kit in shell cases in my room. I'll drive my van over, so no worry." Looking to Kyoko, he says, "Maybe I can pick you up too, save time?" Kyoko gave him a timid nod that made him laugh, "Don't worry, I don't bite. Trust me."

I nod and say, "Right guys, I'll see you on campus tonight. It'll give me time to set stuff up in my dorm. Catch you later." Kyoko nods and says, "See you then," Before darting off and out of the building. I give Alex the nod and walk out all the way back to the bus stop, just enjoying the day and fresh air. Thinking this might just work.

A few hours later, I think I've done enough god damn work to last me a lifetime. I've had to clean the dump, move my bed against the wall, mover my computer and desk, then dig through my songs notebook before realizing I haven't finished a damn song in my life. …I'm screwed. Guess it's working on covers for a while. It doesn't mean we're bad, but if we want to get noticed, we eventually will need original material. We've got time though, we're just starting out.

It's only about seven thirty, but Troy barges into my room, doesn't knock (the bastard) and just walks right in. "Hey man, managed to sneak out early." He shifted the guitar bag on his shoulder and said, "So when do we get things set up?"

"Believe it or not, you're early. Sit down, Ky and our new drummer will be here in about half an hour."

As Troy flopped down on my bed and shrugged his guitar off, he said, "So you got a full band together in less than a day? Why waste those skills getting a band together when you could be planning parties with those kinds of networking skills?"

"Shut up," I tell him as I put my song notebook away and pull out my guitar from its case under the bed. Opening it up, Troy lets out a whistle that is damn well deserved. I had to save up so much money I skimmed off of my financial aid checks. It was an ebony guitar with a Les Paul body style, white pinstripe binding, this dragon inlay running down that ebony neck. It was my most prized possession by far. Troy pulled his out and I gotta admit, his wasn't half bad either. Another Les Paul, classic Cherry Sunburst style, a classic. Tuning the things, we have a little mock guitar duel until we check the time and see it's a few minutes until 8. We set the down and head out and surely enough, in the courtyard there's a beat-up brown van with the back doors open, Alex carrying a few pieces of equipment, with Troy heading for the rest. Ky heads over to me, wearing a pink and white hoodie and smiling up at me. "Ken! Great to see you. Alex seems to be a pretty cool guy. I'm glad we decided to pick him up, what do you think?"

Looking at Troy and Alex haul stuff off to the dorms, I nod and say, "Yeah, he seems alright." I head to the back of the van, grab the last of the setup and shut the back doors, leading Kyoko off to my room, where Alex is already setting up the equipment. Kyoko rushes back to the van, so excited for first practice she forgot to get her bass out of the seat. Shaking my head, I look to the two who seem to be getting along pretty well. "Troy, Alex, you got things set up?"

Alex is nods from setting up the kit and Troy is setting up the amps I store in my closet. Getting my axe off the bed, I plug in and play a few basic chords before screwing around with the distortion levels, looking at the other two musicians, and then the third once Ky rushes in. She opens her gig bag quickly pulling out a classic-style jazz bass, black and yellow triburst. Alex's practice kit's just a standard green shell single bass kit. In a few minutes, everyone seems to be up and running, tuning and all that. …Then Troy says it first.

"So what in the hell are we gonna play?"

I mouthed a silent fuck as I realized I was too busy to think of anything and said, "Um… Well, since it's just a practice, I think I may have something, but you're probably going to want to gouge my eyes out."

Kyoko shrugged and said, "As long as it's something, we just need to set a group rhythm." Alex nodded and Troy added a very classy, "Just fucking play something." With a sigh, I played the opening bars of a song that is engraved into every guitarist's mind. Dun dun dun, dun dun duh-dun, dun dun dun dun-duh The classic bars of, you guessed it, Smoke on the Water. Troy let out a slight groan, but Alex kept time and we went through a slow rendition first, keeping time with each other, then another playthrough at regular speed, and then one more time, learning when the others should take off with solos. In between stops and tips, we ate up about half an hour. I guess that's the bonus of working with people with music experience, they can keep time. We play through that and a version of Killer Queen that makes Troy stretch out his falsetto. Sweat's starting to form on all of us, mainly from how hot it is in my room. We've been getting a good workout musically though, and then we end in a jam, just playing through what sounds good. At about nine thirty, Alex says he should leave since he has work in the morning and volunteers to take Kyoko home. I really don't want to end practice early, but I didn't want to force Alex away so fast. I let him go help start packing up. They leave around ten, which leaves me and Troy, whose packing up his guitar, in my room. Troy gave me a look and a smile. "You know… At first, I thought this would be just another band, but I had fun, maybe this is worth a shot. When's the next practice?"

Thinking for a bit, I said, "Probably next Saturday, try to make it a weekly thing, you know?"

Troy nodded and said, "Right on man. I'll be sure to keep Saturday night clear then. This was the most fun I've had playing guitar in… Ever, actually. Maybe you can teach me how to actually play instead of just laying down chords."

I give him the thumbs-up as I move the stuff back into the closet. "Sounds good man. Let's just focus on keeping our shit together, alright?" Troy nodded and opened the door, stopping as someone was outside the door. Will Robinson, president of Phi Psi Kappa, the college frat. "Hey," he calls out in his voice that screams frat boy, "I don't know what that was, but the music was fucking awesome. We've got a party in a couple of weeks. You guys good Saturday night, week after next?"

Troy walks towards me and pulls me into a huddle. "I know these guys always break shit left and right, but think of how much exposure we could get. People come to their parties all of the time. Let's do it."

I think it over and say, "But we'd need an extra practice and come up with a setlist in two weeks. We don't even have a name."

"We've got two weeks, we can get a lot done. Come on man! This is our big break."

With a sigh, I give in. "Alright, you win." Looking to Will, I say, "You have a deal. I'll get things together. Party music and a band, you think you can pay us?" He says, "Big money, promise. You rock dudes," before walking off. Troy flashed a grin and said, "Dude, we're in. Trust me, you won't regret this." He walked off with his guitar, leaving me to flop onto the bed and stare, mainly at the odd brown spot on the otherwise white ceiling. In the many thoughts that crossed my mind that night was that I have a band with no name and a gig in two weeks… What the fuck have I gotten myself into and how was I going to get this to work?

I wasn't sure how to work in an extra practice or tell Ky and Alex that we have a gig so soon. I had a plan that wasn't the best and put a lot of pressure and focus on me, and as much as my skills draw attention, I hate being the one in the limelight. The only part about the limelight I like is that rush made a song about it, one of the best rock anthems ever by the way. My plan is simple, work in a practice with each band member, no two, in addition to the regular practices we have scheduled before the gig. It was going to be draining on my patience, body, guitar, and wallet… And after the call I placed at the GameStop I work at to ensure I had the money for lunch, dinner, cab fare, and any other unforeseen circumstances that would come my way, were covered by a pay advance… I now have to add my job as another thing to lose if I fuck this up.

The first practice I could get was with Troy, the next day. He's here at Gibson, so he's the most accessible of the three bandmates. That Sunday, I decided to forego the scheduled work on my term paper, and call him in that afternoon to practice with me. It started off with some light joking, basic stuff, a run of some Faith No More to loosen us up. We were loose, having a good time.

Sun's blaring right into my room, and the only window in my room faces west, so it had to be sometime in the afternoon. Troy had been flailing around like a maniac after an extended outro vocal breakdown on Epic. "Troy," I called out to get his attention, "Sit down man, I need your advice here. You wanna help me out?"

Troy sat down on the bed next to me and said, "Sure man, what do you need, presence tips, or just a chance to have my godliness rub off on you?"

"Real humble jackass," I have to quip. With a sigh, I admit the fact that I hate admitting. "You know I don't get out much, right? No real partying on my end, always in here?"

"Dude, you're more of a stiff than a corpse, what's your point?"

I give a sigh and say, "Thanks for being so tender with the truth asshole. Anyway, you party a lot, I need to know, what music goes over big at parties? I need to know what to play, to have us play, so that we can rock the show. You're always out at some party, help me out man."

Troy smiled slightly and nodded, saying, "That's what it is, you need to know the basic musical needs of the party animal." After a slight pause, he said, "Alright, what you need is guitar, medium-to-heavy, with a nice repetitive riff, and if you solo, short and nothing fancy. Vocals need to be energetic and something they can get behind. Bass and drums need to set an upbeat tempo, and don't do more than support." With a slight breath in and out, he said, "Basically, the 90s. Jane's Addiction would be pretty good. Jimmy Eat World and more of the early millennium party rock would be good too. If the song was a fifteen-minute number one, they'll remember and love it." He looked to me and said, "Anything else?"

"No, no," I say, already having a pen and a legal pad out, listing the qualities, "I think I got it. I can get a setlist to you in a day or two, just let me run through my iTunes and see what I have." Looking to Troy, I say, "You wanna through some Ozzy before I kick you out to work? I know you dig the Ozzman like any self-respecting human being."

Troy merely takes in a deep breath and yells, "All aboard!" I'd tell you what happened after that, but you all know where that line leads. After that, my practice was done and I spent that night running through iTunes, by the end, I'd ended up with 8 songs on the back of that legal pad, our rough setlist.

My Own Worst Enemy – Lit

The Middle – Jimmy Eat World

Want You Bad – The Offspring

Mountain Song – Jane's Addiction (This'll probably be the encore)

Buddy Holly – Weezer

Smooth Criminal – Alien Ant Farm

Feeling This – blink-182

The End of the World – R.E.M.

Taking a good look at it, I realize that this should cover the basic party needs and would only be about an hour or so. All in all, it would start us off pretty well. Nothing strenuous for… Okay, some of it might stretch Troy's voice, but that's about it. I called Troy that night and told him the list. He said it was an awesome party mix and he'd start working to remember the lyrics. I guess that meant Troy was down.

Monday passed by with my comp lecture and nothing out of the ordinary. Tuesday's my slow day of classes, having a basic computer class I can run through pretty quick and an evening class in guitar study that the school offers. Lucky find, right? The afternoon's pretty free, so I head down after lunch to Kyoko's with my guitar over my back and head to her apartment. A few knocks on the door, it looks like no one's home. Learning a lesson after the Alex incident, I take out my phone and call her. "Hey Ky, you there?" A pause, then I hear Kyoko's voice responding, "Ken? I'm so sorry, I was having lunch with one of my school friends. You need something?"

I take my guitar off and prop it up against the wall and slump down next to the door and telling her, "Uh, yeah. Troy and I… Okay, I, came up with a setlist a couple of nights ago to run through. Some of the stuff may be new to you, so I wanted to run some stuff by you with a practice. You gonna be home soon or should I head back now?" Kyoko was telling someone to be quiet and asks, "Are you already at my place, because I'm going to be there in maybe, ten minutes?"

"No, that's fine. I'm already at the door. I can wait. You have fun Ky." She chirped out a happy-sounding thanks before ending the call. I put my phone back and took out my guitar, running over some basic chords to a song I was working on. I'm alright with lyrics, but music… I can do both, but can't put them together. Same thing with singing and playing, I can't do both at the same time and want to kill Troy for being able to. These thought must have ran for a while, because I don't even notice the sound of the key turning until Kyoko lightly kicks me in the shin. Snapping out of it, I look up and laugh sheepishly. "Sorry Ky, didn't see you."

She laughs and says, "C'mon Kenny, normally you notice everything around you. Get your stuff inside and show me what we're doing." Stepping inside, I have to silently curse those fucking white walls. Sitting down on the couch, we run through the basics of alt-rock music structure. She seems reluctant at first and dismisses it as simplistic, but then after some tuning work, I found a way to keep her interested without her losing too much focus. She warms up some tea about halfway through and I take some out of goodwill more than anything. She's a hot tea drinker, I'm an iced tea drinker. Blame it on my Midwestern upbringing, but it's the best way to find tea. Iced tea and barbecue, those are probably what I miss the most. I can buy packaged iced tea though, that's easier to fix even thought it's not as good. Barbecue though, these coast guys are clueless. Maybe I can open up a rib shack here if I get enough money. Sorry for sidetracking, but you have to understand that these side-thoughts can lead to something great. How do you think my song starts are written? The sun starts to set and I have to leave. Not before grabbing the student directory for her college and adding Alex's number first though.

Alex's practice was a bit harder to pencil in. I couldn't get a hold of him on the next day, Thursday, or even Friday… morning. I eventually got a hold of him around four o'clock. He picked up and asked who it was. After getting a conversation in, he tells me he works morning shifts at the local docks to supply restaurants and other areas with fish coming in. I guess it should be obvious with how muscular he is, but I guess I just never questioned it. When I asked when the best time to practice with him one-on-one was, he told me right now. …Well, that paper… Fuck it, I tell him I'll be there and head out immediately.

Half an hour later, I'm back in that basement room with the dim lighting, posters and loud music. Once practice time comes, he turns off the music though. I haven't worked with Alex much, so I have to know what I'm working with. After my guitar's tuned, I turn off the amp and look at him. "Alex, before I work with you, I wanna try to get a better picture of what kind of musician you are. Do you mind?"

He brushed off the head of his snare drum with the hem of his black tanktop and said, "I understand. Try to work with me, right? Know what directions I'm better at taking?"

With a laugh, I say, "Damn man, you really now how to work with people, huh?"

He looked to me and said, "It's basic really, know how the others work so you can keep their style in mind when writing compositions." I can't even say anything, I just have to nod. I'm not sure if he noticed though, as he kept on going. "Well… I know rock drums are mainly half of a rhythm section, but I try to keep mind of drummers who can do so while still playing technically challenging pieces. I guess Danny Carey would be big for me, but he can be out there. Some stuff that shows I can work with others… Neil Peart, Terry Bozzio." He then paused and let out a big, easy smile. "And of course, the reason I branched out into rock percussion, as should every drummer's inspiration be, John Bonham."

I let the silence hang before saying, "A Bonham man… You're in man. Just one question. Who's the better drummer, Peart or Bonham?" Without hesitation, he shot back, "Show me one Peart drum solo that's thirteen minutes and doesn't drag. He can't touch Bonham's presence. No one else could make Moby Dick work like he could." I was in shock, not only had he answered right, but with wording that… "Man, you are so in. Alright…" I showed him what we were working with and tried to shorten any drum solos outside of Feeling This down to fills. Taking a look at the clock, I saw it was seven and said I had to head back.

"No problem man," he said. Heading to the door, he said, "You know man… I like you. You take into account one thing that a lot of guys trying to start a band forget." Walking up to the door, I say, "Oh yeah? What's that?"

With another smile, this one a bit more subdued, he said, "That you gotta be able to work with your bandmates. The music side and business side are important for young bands, but the human side matters most. I'll see you tomorrow at practice, okay?" I nod and say, "See you there, then we party the week after that. Be in good shape, okay?"

He waves me off as I leave. Heading back out, I notice it's already dark, and in a black jacket, it's hard to flag down a cab, but I do so after about ten minutes. Sitting in the back of the cab, I take a look over my notes. Troy keeps rhythm guitar, or straight vocals, check to see what sounds best. I'd probably have him work rhythm though, chalk it up to personal taste, but I love dual guitar sounds. Keep Ky interested in the music without having her upstage us. Keep talking to Alex and let him lead people through a smooth set. My job… Make sure this doesn't become some giant shitbomb that blows up in all our faces. Sound simple? …Yeah, right.

Saturday morning rolls in and I somehow get up early. Taking a look at my room, I noticed that nothing's really changed from how I had things set up last week, I guess that just makes it all the better. McDonald's was open by the time I caught the morning bus, so I got to have an Egg McMuffin that morning. Score! After that, I did something I rarely do, exercise.

You gotta understand, I'm not a bad looking guy. I'm a little on the short side compared to everyone else, and I'm muscled, but not really cut, more like bulky. I used to be one of the fat kids people picked on when I was younger. I still don't exercise much, and my diet's gotten better. I guess the conditioning for baseball made me lose some weight. If you want numbers, I'm about 5'8", …180-ish on the weight side. It used to be five and a half and 220, so that's some damn good improvement for 6 years of work. I take that work ethic with me everywhere now. Steady improvement over what I have, that's how I went from good guitarist, to lead guitarist of a good band.

I spent the better part of the afternoon doing laps in the park before heading back around six or so. It was alright really, I'm not a lap runner, so I was pretty tired, but it was a good tired, you know? Troy called me to ask if we were going to meet at the same time we did last go around. I check the clock and… 6:07 After a slight pause, I say, yeah, just open the door and wake me up when you get there, I'll be taking a nap.

…And then that's exactly what I do, because I've got a couple of hours, why not?

That couple of hours went by quickly I guess, because next thing I know, I'm being shaken, hard. I know I'm a heavy sleeper, but is the force really necessary? I look up and see Alex looking down at me. "Rise and shine bro, practice time." As I groggily get up, I can see everyone's already got shit set up. …Nice. Maybe I should sleep through setup more often. Getting my guitar off the stand, I look to everyone and say, "Okay… Okay, sorry, a little tired here. Does anyone have any preferences on what to start with? We've got a gig next week, and I want to get everything all ironed out. This is our only band practice before it, so anything that needs work should be worked on now, we're not leaving early this time."

Troy put his hands up and said, "Hey, hey man, why so heavy? You okay there, usually you're not so business-like. What's going on with you?" I grunted and said, "Dude, does it matter? I get a little tense before gigs, that's all. That and I just woke up, back off bro." Troy merely sighed and said, "Let's try The Middle, just to warm you up. The happy music's going to cheer you up if it kills me." With a sigh, I say, "Thanks for trying Troy… I guess… Let's just run through this, okay?" Troy nodded and said, "Alex, count us off, give Ken some time to cool off."

After the (slow) four-count, I started the intro, and eventually we all jumped into the song. This practice seemed more fluid than the first group practice we had. We had some trouble matching up the parts, but nothing too bad, we all knew what our parts were from the one-on-one sessions, the main thing was to match everyone's timing. It went alright as far as practices go. Troy was right in taking the happy melody first. It really did calm me down, but as I got down to the solo after another run, I tried to extend it and Alex called out, "Hold on, stop, stop. I'm losing my time!"

Looking back, I asked, "What? I thought we went over this Alex." He shot back, "Yeah you did, but you didn't cover an extended solo. If anyone solos, we need to work it out before hand or everyone's going to lose their place and that's…"

I nodded and finished, "Yeah, okay, I understand. So sorry guys, do you want to replay that, or do we have that down?" Kyoko cleared her throat slightly and said, "Well… Extending solos may not be a bad idea… Maybe we could practice some extended sections?" Alex twirled a drumstick and let out an uncertain hum, Troy turned to me and said, "Might not be a bad idea Ken. What do you think?"

With a blink, I paused and said, "Wait, why's everyone looking at me? Since when was I appointed band leader? I wasn't in this for attention." Troy looked at me and said, "you got this together Ken, you're the force behind this, I wanted to give it to you because you seem in charge at the moment. What's it going to be, solos?" I gave a resigned sigh in supply and said, "Guys…I… It's not really my place to lead anything. We may be here because I got you all, but I never said I wanted to be in charge."

Troy piped up and said, "Well then who is in charge? You said you were serious about this man, I thought you had it planned." I growled slightly and said, "Dammit… Fine, fine! I'll try and lead, but I'm not taking complete control." With a few deep breaths, I looked to Kyoko with a weak smile and said, "You want to do solos? …Alright, I think I have a few places in mind where an extended solo wouldn't hurt." We abandoned that song for the moment and we got around to adding some solos. We had a snag about the difference between solos and showboating, so we cut some length off of what we wanted to do originally. A good extension did come out of it though, from the person who suggested it no less. We planned a good standard encore procedure. Pretend to walk off, have someone come back, in this case it was Ky, and hype them up, perform a solo while everyone comes back, then go to the encore. We all agreed to have Mountain Song as the encore, because that was the best place to put a bass extension. I told Ky not to drag on too long, but I realized after about the second minute of her improv… I didn't give a damn. Maybe if someone with that much talent gave a solo, we'd get someone to notice us. It'd be worth a shot anyway.

We practice the whole set from the beginning after working out the solos, trying to work it so everyone remembered the time. By the time we finally started to feel tired and built up a good sweat, I looked at the clock and let out a loud, "Fuck! Look at the time." Everyone turned to the clock and couldn't believe it when they saw that it was going on 11:30 at night. We'd been working so hard, we had no idea what the time was. Throwing my guitar on the bed, I said, "Shitshitshit! Guys, I am so sorry for having things stretch like that. I, fuck, anything, I didn't cut in on your time did I?"

Troy was laughing at my near-panic-attack and said, "For God's sake Ken, would you take a hit and chill? Things are going to be fine, relax. We'll get Alex's drums and you can… I dunno, whatever you need to do, just relax while you're doing it, alright?"

With a slight sigh, I said, "Okay… Okay, I guess I overreacted." I heard Ky say, "Um, Ken?" I turned around to see her RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! With that, I yelled out "God in heaven!" And fell backwards out of panic, breathing heavily. Troy and Alex laughed, even Ky giggled a little. Shaking my head and sitting up, I say, "Ky, for fuck's sake, don't scare me like that next time." Ky was still laughing and said, "Sorry, sorry… Oh man that was classic."

I stood up and brushed myself off, trying to catch my breath. "So… What did you want before you tried to give me a heart attack?" She frowned, which caused me to feel a little down inside. "Ky, I'm," I started, but she cut me off and said, "Ken, can I talk to you in private?" Looking to the two other bandmates, I said, "Yeah, uh, guys? Can you take that first bit of Alex's kit and we'll get the rest? Just chill out in the van until you see us come back."

Alex nodded and carried out his bass drum, leaving Troy behind to say, "Go get her tiger." I rolled my eyes and said, "Whatever dude, just schlep like a good roadie." He nodded vigorously and said, "Yes massa! I won' do no mo' speakin' no mo' massa!" and rushed out with the other drums he could carry. Shaking my head at him, I turn back to Ky and say to her, "So… What was so important that you needed to talk to me in private for? Not that I don't wanna talk."

She shifted her feet uncomfortably and said, "Ken… I… I have to say I'm nervous about all of this. I've never really been to a party before. Any gathering I go to is usually formal. A frat party… I'm not sure if I can handle this."

Swallowing a little, she brought up something that I should've realized. I'm not exactly the party guy either. I'm not good with crowds unless I'm playing for them. Taking a quick breath, I shake those thoughts out of my mind and say, "Ky, I understand. Believe me, parties like that can get people kind of…" Looking at her still-worried face, I say, "Look, I'll take care of you, okay? Just try to have fun there, and if it gets too bad, we can leave. Okay?"

She shifted her weight between her feet before saying, "Okay Ken, I… I trust you. I hope it doesn't get that bad though." Going over to pick up the leftover drum, I reply, "Yeah, same here. Can you get the cymbals?" With a nod, she was right behind me, carrying the leftover equipment all the way out to the van, where Alex and Troy were waiting for us. Alex took the drum from me as Troy pulled me over and whispered, "So man, how'd you do? Fast talk, maybe I should call you minuteman, huh?"

I punched him lightly in the side for that. "Fuck you man, that's now how it went. She's just not good with parties, I had to give her a pep talk." Troy pulled away and said, "Boring man. Sweet, but boring." With a look back, I saw Alex helped her with the cymbals and packed up the van. Alex heads out to the van right after that. Kyoko saw that wand had to turn back to wave at me. "Bye guys! Looks like I'm leaving."

I wave goodbye, then look back to Troy as they're leaving. "What?" I ask him once I see the look he's giving me. With a smirk, he said, "So… How did that pep talk go?"

I brush him off again saying, "Dude, whatever you're thinking, let it go. She just gets nervous at parties. I told her everything was going to be alright. Why do you always think I'm trying to get into her pants?"

"Because she's hot man," he easily replied, "I mean look at her. Tell me you don't have feelings for her!"

"I do, she's my friend. I gotta get to bed, night dude."

Troy rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Whatever," under his breath. After I lost sight of him, I went back to my room, then plopped on my bed, starting up at the ceiling again, just like last week. This time, we know what to do, and got our songs together. This time, we might have a shot… We just might.

Next time on GH1's Behind the Music, "The Classics: First Gig and Big Break"