THE SAILOR MOON BAND
By SailorJane
Story Notes:
Once again, I don't own Sailor Moon… blah blah blah! And there's nothing that needs censoring in this story, family friendly… unfortunately.
This is an idea I came up with: how would Sailor Moon and the scouts work out as a band? Because I'm heavily into rock music, I'll be sticking more to that genera. I had a musician friend of mine help out with the story, who wishes to remain anonymous. The scouts are a little older in this story, probably in their 20s so they're allowed to play in clubs, but I'll leave it up to the reader's imagination.
I'm using their English dub names. That's what I'm used to, and it seems appropriate since they're playing American music (or Canadian music if you will).
Speaking of which, the song they play in this chapter is Alanis Morrisette's "You Learn." I don't know why I chose that song for them to play, I just thought it seemed appropriate. If you have a copy of Jagged Little Pill (which you should) I recommend playing it when the song comes up (I'll write when you're supposed to start it). If you don't have a CD, it should be easy to find streaming online.
If you guys like this story, please comment below and tell me. Maybe I'll make it an ongoing story…
THE CAFE
The sound of guitar chords echoed throughout The Lowline Café. It was moderately busy for a Tuesday night, but the crowd simply wasn't reacting to the artists on the café's small stage. Two girls sat in chairs playing acoustic guitars: one blonde, one raven-hair. Raye Hino, rocking the jet-black hair, was the dominant musical force of the duo. She sang lead most of the night, her guitar playing was superior, and she also had a keyboard off to the side that she played for a few songs. She even had a bass guitar behind her, which hadn't been played yet. Most of the set had consisted of her original songs, which no one in the crowd recognized, except her shortlist of friends in the audience who recognized "Oh Starry Night" and a couple others. Her intimidating demeanor may have also been a reason for the lackluster response. Mina Aino, the blonde, seemed uneasy onstage. By all means, she shouldn't have been. The would-be idol had auditioned for notable figures in the industry, but performing in an intimate setting like this made her nervous. Not to mention Mina was self-conscious about her guitar playing, perhaps feeling overshadowed by Raye's virtuosity. It was Raye who had taught Mina to play guitar in the first place, and encouraged the two of them to start performing together.
The only support the two got were their three friends, Serena, Amy and Lita, seated at a table nearest them. None of their other friends showed up. Raye had hoped that Michelle, a violin virtuoso, would sit in with them, but she had given her some excuse. She even attempted to coax Amy up to play something, maybe on bass. The blue-haired genius could practically play any instrument to some degree, but she was not interested, perhaps terrified of playing onstage in front of people. The rest of the crowd showed little appreciation for Raye and Mina's act.
Mina was singing a song Raye had written for her. It was a sort of Norah Jones clone-song, "Falling Flowers," not really her style. But she sang the song to the best of her ability. Raye backed her up with some soft jazzy chords on the guitar.
"Look outside my window pane
Fallen Flowers from the rain
Sun is shining through the trees
My hair is flowing through the breeze"
The blonde singer was delivering an emotional performance, but everyone in the audience was talking loudly over their song. Even Serena, with her blonde Odango-hairstyle, nudged the tall brunette Lita and addressed her softly:
"Hey Lita, why don't you go up and play drums?"
There was a conga-drum onstage further back with a mic and stand in front of it. It was part of the venue's backline, along with a bass-amp.
"First of all," Lita reminded her counting her fingers, "That's a conga. Second of all, no!" She went back to watching her friends perform, seeming somewhat disinterested.
"C'mon!" Serena nudged her again.
"I haven't played percussion since middle school. Not even sure I CAN play anymore."
Mina continued to sing, seeming more and more nervous:
"Dream away and let the flowers fall…"
"HEY!" Some loud muscular drunk-guy yelled out, "Why don't you let your top fall?!"
His friends high-fived him in encouragement. Lita stood up looking angrily towards them.
"Lita," Amy grabbed hold of her, "Don't!"
The tall brunette reluctantly sat back down and folded her arms.
The blonde singer was now looking at Raye with an annoyed expression:
"Run away and jump the somber wall."
The guys in the back continued to yell obnoxiously, and so Mina finally gave up and spoke into the mic while Raye kept playing:
"Okay thank you, we're gonna take a short break and… Whatever!" Mina immediately put her guitar down. Raye opted to finish the song on a resolving chord. There was strong applause coming from their three friends, maybe one or two others in the café, but nobody else seemed to care.
Raye and Mina were both in the backstage area, IE: the bathroom, the raven-hair washing her face in the sink.
"You know," She said angrily, "We still had another verse and chorus to play."
"Raye," Mina stood against the wall with her arms folded, "Nobody cares about your original songs."
"Hey!" Raye stood up, staring at her blonde friend. Water dripped down from her face, "I worked hard on those songs. You weren't complaining when we were rehearsing them."
"Yeah yeah," Mina rolled her eyes, "You suffered for your art, blah blah blah."
Raye looked for a paper-towel, but there were none to be found. Only the hand dryer was available, "God I hate these things. Can't dry my face with them!"
The Blonde sighed, trying to stay on the subject, "Look, your songs are fine, but not for an entire show. I think we should play something the audience knows; some cover songs! Mix it up a bit."
"Oh no!" Raye stood tall and intimidating, "I took this gig to promote my music, not to play a bunch of damn Katy Perry songs!"
"Did I say we should play Katy Perry songs?" Mina got defensive, "And I thought we were promoting OUR music?"
Suddenly the door opened revealing Serena, Lita and Amy.
"Hey," Serena had a sweet smile on her face.
"Nice set," Lita teased looking around the bathroom, "And nice dressing room."
"You kidding," Mina complained, "We're dying out there." She would have leaned her head back on the tiles of the bathroom wall if she wasn't afraid of messing up her hair.
"We're doing fine," Raye interjected, "It's our first time playing here."
"Well I found the performance to be quite enjoyable," Amy spoke up in her usual modest articulation.
"Thank you Amy," Raye thanked her friend in an aggrandizing fashion.
"But," Lita interrupted pointing at her black-haired friend, "You could rock out a little more. How 'bout some Alanis?"
Raye rolled her eyes, but Mina contemplated the idea.
"Can I sing a song with you guys?" Serena smiled in a goofy fashion.
"No!" Raye immediately shot her down. Mina didn't look enthusiastic about the idea either. She put her head down.
The Odana-haired blonde groaned, "Why not?"
"What do you mean why not?" Raye patronized her, "Cause you can't sing! That's why."
"I can so sing!" Serena frowned and started singing completely off-key, "Baby you're a fiiiirework. Come on let your coooolors burst!"
"Serena," Raye grinded her teeth, "I swear to God, I'm going to ring your neck if you don't cut that out."
"Yeah," Lita spoke up, "No offense, but people will be running for the exit after hearing that."
"Not-uh!" Serena teased, "What if I dress up as Sailor Moon while singing?"
Minako immediately looked at her friends and opened her eyes hearing Serena's suggestion. Suddenly the image of her performing as her super-powered, sailor-suited, alter-ego flashed before her eyes.
"Then," Serena put her hand up, "People will go crazy for us!"
Lita nodded her head curiously, "Well it might work for Raye and Mina."
Mina began to reach into her pocket, while Raye simply put her head down in annoyance.
"You can't do that," Amy spoke up, "Luna would be very angry-"
"Sure we can," Serena smiled, "I betcha we could sell out stadiums like that."
By now Mina was pulling out her Sailor Venus pen and staring at it.
"Yes," Raye sounded agitated and marched towards her blonde-friend, "Sell out stadiums, Sailor Moon, great!" She started to push Serena out of the bathroom, "Now get out of here before I hurt you!"
"Hey!" Serena cried before being shoved out the door.
"All right," Lita started heading for the door, "Take it easy there Joan Jett."
"Have a good second set," Amy walked out.
"I'll be out there watching," Lita turned around towards Raye, "So don't screw up!"
"Beat it!" Raye screamed.
"That's a good song," Lita smiled, "You should play that." Lita began to sing the Michael Jackson song, impersonating his voice, as she disappeared into the club.
With their friends gone, Raye was left alone with Mina. She let out a heavy sigh and turned to her friend, "All right, let's figure out the next set."
"Venus Power, MAKE UP!" Mina shouted and with a flash of light she was transformed into Sailor Venus.
Raye was surprised at her friend's transformation, "What's going on?" She grabbed her pen looking around for some sort of threat, until she quickly realized why Mina had transformed.
"I'm getting ready for our next set," Sailor Venus spoke exuding more confidence. Truth be told, she looked stunning in her orange Sailor Suit with gold heels and long white gloves.
"Ha ha, very funny," Raye said sarcastically. She dropped her hand with her pen still in hand.
"You change too," Venus commanded.
Raye hesitated, "You can't be serious? Since when do you take Serena's advice to heart?"
"I always fantasized," Mina explained wiggling her gloved fingers, "About performing in my Sailor Venus outfit. I always feel more comfortable, more… confident as Venus. And you gotta admit Raye, it would certainly turn some heads."
"Yeah," Raye looked annoyed, "It would also turn heads if we went up and performed nude!"
Sailor Venus' eyes vacillated considering the idea.
"Mina," Raye inched closer and tried to knock some sense into her, "I'm not going up there in my Sailor Scout uniform, and you're not either. I'm not gonna compromise my artistic integrity."
"So what?" Venus told her, "We're just gonna go there as our boring, timid selves, continue to play for our three friends and get heckled by everyone else?"
Raye held her shoulders, "Every artist goes through this Mina, you need to be patient."
"We've been trying to make it as idols for how many years now Raye? We're playing at a café to nobody except our fellow soldiers. How much longer do we have to be patient?"
Raye hesitated again, Mina's spoke the truth.
"As Mina and Raye," Venus explained, "We're nobody. But as Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars…" She sighed not knowing how to articulate herself, "Look, just try this with me. If it doesn't work, we'll change back and finish our set."
Her friend still wasn't sure. She looked down at her pen and then to Mina's outfit, "It would just be so strange playing my music as Sailor Mars."
"Then let's play something else," Mina reminded her, "Let's do that Alanis song we were playing the other day?"
Raye thought back to the song, "I don't know if I remember all the words."
"I'll sing it," Mina told her, "Just play lead guitar and chime in for backups."
Raye looked at her hands, knowing they would be covered with gloves as Sailor Mars: "I can't play guitar with gloves on."
"Sure you can," Mina told her, "I've actually done it before," Mina mimed playing a guitar with her white fingers.
"You've done it before-"
"In fact, I think I can actually play BETTER with them on for some reason."
"That makes no sense," Raye answered.
"Just try this with me," Mina held her sides, "Please? I really wanna try this."
Her raven-haired friend sighed deeply.
Back out in the café, Serena looked at her watch, "When are they going back on?"
Lita took a sip of her drink, "Dunno."
Amy stayed silent.
Suddenly two bright figures appeared onstage. The entire audience turned in shock to see Sailor Venus strutting towards her guitar. Behind her was Sailor Mars who seemed more timid. Serena, Lita and Amy stared with awe to see their friends transformed:
"You know," Serena said to Amy, "I wasn't actually being serious when I suggested that."
Now with her acoustic guitar on, Mina was about to sit down, but looking at the chair, she decided to kick it off the stage and readjust her mic. There was a large amount of hooting and hollering coming from the boys in the café, even a lot of girls. Sailor Venus soaked up the positive energy:
"Hello everyone!" Sailor Venus spoke in a more energetic voice.
Everyone in the audience responded with a "Hello," and a lot of applause. Some even called out her name, "Sailor Venus!"
Mars was checking her guitar. She too was standing up. Surprisingly, she could play fine with her gloves on. In fact, it seemed strangely easier to play.
"So," Venus continued, "Some of you may know, I'm Sailor Venus, this is Sailor Mars!"
"Hi," Raye adjusted her mic unenthusiastically.
There was a very positive reaction from the audience seeing these two living embodiments and power and beauty holding guitars. The audience gravitated towards the stage. Lita laughed at the reaction. Serena and Amy didn't know what to think of it.
"We were in the neighborhood," Venus smiled, "Thought we'd come here and unwind after a hard day's fight."
"It's a Hard Day's Night," Mars corrected her.
"I know what I said," Venus sounded confident.
There was laughter from the audience. Already, the difference in reaction was like night and day.
"We're gonna do this song," Mina explained, "You all know it, it's an Alanis Morrisette song."
"YEAH!" Lita screamed. She stood up and applauded. The rest of the audience followed her lead.
[START playing "YOU LEARN" by Alanis Morrisette]
Sailor Venus began playing the opening chords to "You Learn" and humming into the mic. Not only did her acoustic guitar chords ring out beautifully, her stage presence was commanding. The audience yelled in enthusiasm recognizing the song. Soon, everyone was on their feet close to the stage. Sailor Mars added some cool lead guitar licks behind Venus.
"I," Venus sang beautifully, "Recommend getting your heart trampled on to anyone… Yeah."
Lita put her hands over her mouth shocked that they were playing this. Amy and Serena also smiled, recognizing the song.
"I… recommend walking around naked in your living room,"
Everyone in the audience hollered after this line. Even Raye seemed to be looking more comfortable onstage now.
The volume increased as Mina started into the chorus: "Swallow it down." She looked to Mars nodding for her to sing the other part.
Mars did, in a shy manner, sing the line: "Jagged little pill."
"It feels so good," Mina closed her eyes emoting the song more. However she looked back to Raye.
The Raven-hair shook her head unsure of the next line.
"Swimming in your stomach," The blonde smiled and reminded her.
At this point, Lita grabbed Amy's arm, much to her surprise, and pulled her running into the bathroom, leaving Serena alone. She looked confused watching her friends leave.
By now, the drunk man who was heckling them earlier walked towards Mina's side of the stage, "Come here baby!" It looked like he was gonna grab her legs.
"Wait until," Mina looked right at him without missing a note and lightly pushed his head back with her heel. She held her right index finger out to him in a scolding manner, smiling as her voice went higher, in perfect pitch, for the last phrase, "The dust se-te-ye-te-ye-te-ye-tes!"
The man stepped back, being teased by his friends as Mina sang the chorus:
"You live… you learn…"
Raye tried to sing backups, her voice taking a lower harmony.
"You love… you learn… You cry… you learn… you lo-oo-oose… you learn!"
By now, everyone in the audience was singing along with them.
"You bleed… you learn… you scream…"
Mina's voice went high for the last phrase, "You LEEEEAAAARRRNNN!"
Everyone in the audience applauded her powerful voice, even the bartenders.
By now they both noticed another figure coming onto the stage. It was Sailor Jupiter. The audience applauded seeing another Sailor Scout on the stage. Suddenly, Sailor Mercury emerged looking more unsure of herself. Venus and Mars were shocked to see her run behind them to the conga drum, but they didn't stop the song:
"I… recommend biting off more then you can chew to anyone."
Jupiter moved the mic-stand on the conga drum closer towards her face and spoke into it, mimicking the record: "I… certainly do!" Suddenly she started hitting the conga drum keeping steady time. Her foot pounded the floor like she had a bass drum in front of her.
Venus turned around and laughed at her friend chiming in, but turned around to continue. Meanwhile, Mercury had picked up the bass and Raye began telling her the chords:
"I… recommend sticking a foot in your mouth at any ti-yi-yi-ime… feel free."
By now, Amy was playing along with her friends, with Raye's direction. Lita looked over to her making sure she was comfortable. She did not lose the beat.
"Thro-how it down," Mina continued.
"The caution blocks you from the wind," Lita chimed in on her mic with the same Alanis-type vocal style.
"Ho-old it up!"
"To the Ray-yay!"
Mina took a deep breath as she gutted out the next line: "You wait and see when the smoooooooke clears!"
By now, Lita was chiming in with Mina on the chorus, taking the high harmony, still channeling Alanis Morissette's vocal style. Their voices blended seamlessly:
"You live… you learn… you love… you learn… you cry… you learn… You lo-oo-oose… you learn!"
By now, Amy gave Raye a nod as if to say, "I got it," and her bass guitar became more noticeable. Raye went back to the mic to harmonize with her fellow scouts. Now the three-part harmony sounded even more impressive:
"You bleed… you learn… you scream… You LEEEEAAAARRRNNN!" Once again, Mina's high gusty voice, with beautiful harmonies behind her, earned large applause from the audience.
By now, Serena carefully got out of her chair and ran for the bathroom.
They were now at the bridge of the song, they all looked to each other. Raye told Amy was the chords were. Their instruments were tight. Amy sounding more comfortable on the bass, Raye stretching out on guitar and Lita still pounding the beat on her conga drum. Lita began to comically yell those high pitched phrases, "Ya-La" she had heard on the record so many times. All three of her friends laughed at Lita's antics. The audience was starting to dance
Raye took a short guitar solo, spreading her legs out and posing like a rock star. The audience applauded her musicianship. Raye smiled, soaking in this new-found attention. Even Amy began stretching out on the bass almost playing a solo herself. Raye looked to Amy nodding her head.
Soon enough, they were back to the chorus, Mina jumped in the air before coming back to the mic:
"Wear-hare it out!" Mina sang.
"The way a three-year-old would do," Lita answered.
By now, everyone, including the band, saw Sailor Moon slowly walk onto the stage. This brought the audience into a huge uproar.
"Melt it down." Mina continued, looking at her princess, unsure what she was gonna do.
"You're gonna have to eventually anyway" Lita answered again looking over to Raye, who looked annoyed about her friend being up on stage with them.
Sailor Moon took a bow and then inched towards Mina's mic.
"The fire trucks are… coming up around the bend," Mina didn't stop.
Soon she found her blonde twin right in her ear trying to sing the chorus along with her. Her voice was not quite in tune with the other three singers:
"You live… you learn… you love… you learn…"
The audience applauded, but Raye reluctantly gestured for her to come over to her mic. Venus was singing so well, she couldn't have her tone-deaf friend ruining the moment. Sailor Moon ran over to Mars and the two shared the mic. Venus, the lead singer, was still centered in place, and Jupiter was hitting the high notes. Mercury was the only one not singing, simply focusing on her bass playing.
"You cry… you learn… You lo-oo-oose… you learn!
"You bleed… you learn… you scream…"
The last three part harmony was more complicated. Mina gestured for them to hit it. Sailor Moon backed off of the mic, not sure what to do, but fortunately, her fellow three singers hit it perfectly:
"You Lear-earn-earn-er-earn-her-hern!"
Once again, the audience was hooting and hollering.
There was one more chorus to go.
Sailor Venus taking lead and plucking her acoustic guitar strings:
"You grieve… you learn…"
Sailor Mars taking the low harmony while playing a lead guitar part:
"You choke… you learn…"
Sailor Jupiter singing the high harmony, and bobbing her head in a silly manner, as her gloved hands pounded the conga drum:
"You laugh… you learn…"
Sailor Mercury modestly playing the bass line:
"You cho-oo-oose… you learn!"
And finally, Sailor Moon, singing off mic, dancing in a cute manner:
"You pray… you learn… you ask… you learn…"
Mina put her hand up to cue the song's ending:
"You live… you Learn…"
Mina closed her eyes as she hit the last note, as Lita reached for a high note. Raye played a final guitar riff to end the song.
They were greeted by deafening applause.
"Thank you," Venus smiled.
Jupiter stood up, making a rock pose with her hands. Mars bowed, as Mercury smiled in a shy manner. She watched Sailor Moon walk up to Raye's mic and shout:
"Give it up for the Sailor Moon Band!"
The audience yelled again, although Raye and Mina both looked to each other thinking, "Sailor Moon Band?"
End Notes:
I hope you enjoyed this. Again, please comment, review, and let me know if you want me to continue this story.
Also feel free to leave suggestions as to what songs The Sailor Moon Band would cover. Think 90s, early 2000s rock.