Chapter 5: Fire away!
Rei exploded in a fury of drums, while the rest of the band pressed random frets and hoped their efforts would pass for music.
"Yeaaa!!!" sang Misato. "YEAAAA!!!"
"YEAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Shinji was confused. What were they playing? He turned towards Asuka, who was absorbed in a blissful state of chaos. Her fingers glided over the fret-board, and although they looked graceful, that's all they did-glide. Shinji couldn't hear a single note from her. On the other hand, his bass boomed with a solid bass rhythm, but he was confused about
which fret stood for which note. Random notes permeated the air, confusing Misato, who tried to cover for the lack of melody with raucous screams of "YEAAAA!!!"
Perhaps we could make it pass for jazz, he thought wryly. Rei pounded the drums, giving backup to Shinji's solid downbeat rhythm. They played this way for the first
thirty minutes of their first great practice.
What started with a rush of inspiration ended with Asuka yelling at Misato, who continued to reply with ever-louder "YEAAAAAAA"s and "OHHH YEAAAAAA"s,
inciting Asuka to fall into a rage of emotion, popping all six strings on her guitar, which tickled Shinji so much that fell to the floor laughing. Asuka glared at Shinji menacingly, raising her guitar over her head and yelling incomprehensible German phrases. Once the
"Shut-Up!!!!"s and "OH YEAAAs" drowned out the remaining percussion sounds, Rei gave up. Misato went to the fridge and took out a beer. This was the first great practice.
After their vain attempt at accomplishing music, the members congregated around the dinner table upstairs to discuss their performance. My band members are far too uptight, Rei thought. They need to chill out. They need to get funky with the music, instead of getting funky with each other.
Word, thought Shinji.
Uber-word, thought Asuka.
"Now," said Misato, "What went wrong?"
"Shinji was trying to play jazz! I thought we were playing rock!" Asuka said while pointing at Shinji accusingly.
"I couldn't hear Asuka at all!" Shinji yelled.
"Shinji was just playing random stuff! How can you even call that music?" Asuka shot back.
Rei sat quietly in her seat, waiting for her chance to talk.
"May I say something?" she asked.
Misato nodded.
"I know that we all have you to thank for putting this band together, but in all seriousness, you rushed us into playing without even letting us coordinate. I did my own thing, and so did you, Shinji, and Asuka. No one was playing together. If we were solo artists, that might be okay, but in this band, we can't let our personal disharmonies become musical ones. Plus, we haven't even had that much training. I can count well, but I've never even practiced playing to a guitar. And Misato, have you practiced singing? Asuka, your fingers are nimble, but even when I leaned over and turned your amp way up, I couldn't hear you at all. Shinji, you've played cello all your life, so you can play along with my drums, but I think you need a more coherent melody; something that sounds like it's going somewhere."
Everybody stood shocked. Not only had Rei spoken more words than she had ever previously spoken in her entire life, she was saying something extremely simple and useful. AND she had rocked the drums.
Finally Misato spoke up.
"Rei, if you had the same talent with a guitar, I would make you band leader. The only problem is, drums can't lead, can they?"
"If the drummer has the ability to sing while playing," Rei replied, "He or she may lead, although this is very unorthodox."
Misato whistled. Rei knew how to operate a band. Rei deserved the title of leader, not Asuka, with her "rock rage," or Shinji, with his artistic talent, or Misato, with her unbelievable craziness.
"OOOK! I have decided!" Misato yelled, throwing her arms into the air.
"Rei is the new band leader! No exceptions! No petitions! No complaints! GOOOOOOOOOO REI!"
-----------------------
Dinner at the fireplace. No electric lights, no TV, no warm dinner. Tokyo-3 and its unreliable generators.
Candles illuminated the cozy room. No one spoke. All four inhabitants were bored. Asuka had tried roasting bits of raw chicken meat next to the fire earlier, but had nearly scorched her left hand.
"Stop that!" Misato cried. "You'll need your fingers for the guitar!"
"Guitar Shmitar," Asuka mumbled.
"What?"
"Mind your own business, Misato."
Misato did. Rei stared at the ceiling, thinking about her identity. Shinji lay on the floor, contemplating the destiny of mankind and listening to "rock your body" on his SDAT. Perhaps they could incorporate their perspective of mankind's destiny into their music. What was mankind's destiny, anyways? How could people just wander around all day without giving thought to their eternal destiny? What would become of the multitudes of people who vanished from the earth? Why were people afraid of monsters, and why were the ugly ones called Angels? Who are I? Who is am? Am I an Am? Am I just pulling a load of BS, or is this authentic philosophy?
He was startled by a poke on his left shoulder.
"Hey," Rei said. "Wanna start learning?"
"Sure," Shinji replied.
Asuka looked up eagerly.
"Hey! Count me in too!"
"Not to mention the person who probably needs the most teaching," Misato said in between burps.
"Okay, how are we supposed to learn?" asked Misato.
"We've taken care of that," Asuka and Shinji said in unison.
"What??" Both Rei and Misato said.
"We went to the music shop this afternoon when you guys were sleeping from exhaustion," Asuka said proudly. "We got a bunch of music books. With a little practice and a lot of luck, we'll be the best rock band of the 21st century."
Misato sighed. Were her very own kids going off to strange, uncharted places without telling her? It made her sad to think that they'd grown up that fast.
Shinji reached for the book on top, but out of nowhere, Rei quickly seized the books and threw them into the fire. No one moved for a second. Then Asuka moaned and Shinji collapsed backwards, as the room became enveloped with an intense orange glow.
"Rei?" Shinji asked. "Why?"
"I will teach you. These heretical books are nothing but a litter of blabber propagated by the kinds of worthless academians who label themselves virtuoso musicians. They are nothing in my eyes. A true musician doesn't learn through systems or processes. A true musician finds the music in his own time, through his own process of discovery. This musician does have a complete knowledge of theory, but the basis of his musicianship is not grounded on this knowledge. It is based on his soul. By looking into his soul for the music he creates, he will produce a talent and a fire so much greater than anything pure knowledge can supply. Find your soul, and you will have found your music."
Shinji's mind had been stuck in the train station since the second sentence. Asuka whistled and started scratching her head.
"Okay," Rei began again, "It's like this. I'm going to teach you all some very basic facts that every beginning guitarist needs to know. First this is NEVER to practice fast. Play slowly. Practice slowly. DON'T RUSH. Secondly, hold everything correctly. For example, every time you play a note, you must make sure your fingers press straight down on the strings. No crooked or angled fingers. That means that your thumb shouldn't be on the top of the neck, but rather in the middle, right behind your middle finger, so that your fingers are long enough to press straight down on the string. Secondly, memorize all your basic chords. Strum with your thumb, or with your forefinger, using the tip of your nail. If you have a pick, strum with the tip of that, but not too hard, as-"
*twang!*
Misato glared at Asuka. "That's the second one TODAY," she grumbled. "How many guitars am I going to have to make?"
"A lot. We aren't working for free," Asuka grinned.
"Now," Rei interjected, "I want you all to listen to this arrangement of 'O holy night,' and then repeat it on your guitars. Shinji, you can do the same notes on bass as well."
He nodded.
She proceeded to play the song softly and smoothly, singing to the simple chords she strummed.
"Let it come out from you. You are not doing anything to the instrument. Let it, and the song, work through you. There's no amount of work that you can put into an age-old, perfected song and into this revered instrument that can improve on its perfection. You are not putting anything into this. Instead, let it work its perfection through you. Hear the song, the instrument, and bend your will to their desires."
Shinji was totally baffled by that one. Shrugging, he pulled the bass close and plucked the strings, trying to recall Rei's finger pattens. He got about half of the notes right. Asuka was having an even worse time with it.
"Stupid guitar!!"
"Asuka, you're holding it the wrong way again. Your grip must be firm but intimate."
"Look, I don't care. I don't care about THIS guitar, about this band, or even about your own stupid musical ambitions. I'm just interested in becoming the best guitarist ever and-"
"So that's what it is," Misato cut in.
"What?" Asuka asked.
"You're using us."
Asuka scoffed. "Actually, you guys are using me. When I become the greatest, I'll have to decide whether to keep you all as my supporting band. Of course, I'd have to sacrifice the purity of my music, but perhaps I'll be generous and keep the ones who were NICE TO ME."
"OH…I see. You want to be the best."
Misato chucked.
"We all have unrealistic dreams, Asuka. No harm as long as that gets us somewhere."
A few loud footsteps, a slammed door, and that was the last of her for the rest of the evening.
Misato whistled. "There goes the lead guitar."
Outside, sheets of rain poured down on Tokyo, and three hapless residents reconsidered their careers in the evening candlelight.
Rei exploded in a fury of drums, while the rest of the band pressed random frets and hoped their efforts would pass for music.
"Yeaaa!!!" sang Misato. "YEAAAA!!!"
"YEAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Shinji was confused. What were they playing? He turned towards Asuka, who was absorbed in a blissful state of chaos. Her fingers glided over the fret-board, and although they looked graceful, that's all they did-glide. Shinji couldn't hear a single note from her. On the other hand, his bass boomed with a solid bass rhythm, but he was confused about
which fret stood for which note. Random notes permeated the air, confusing Misato, who tried to cover for the lack of melody with raucous screams of "YEAAAA!!!"
Perhaps we could make it pass for jazz, he thought wryly. Rei pounded the drums, giving backup to Shinji's solid downbeat rhythm. They played this way for the first
thirty minutes of their first great practice.
What started with a rush of inspiration ended with Asuka yelling at Misato, who continued to reply with ever-louder "YEAAAAAAA"s and "OHHH YEAAAAAA"s,
inciting Asuka to fall into a rage of emotion, popping all six strings on her guitar, which tickled Shinji so much that fell to the floor laughing. Asuka glared at Shinji menacingly, raising her guitar over her head and yelling incomprehensible German phrases. Once the
"Shut-Up!!!!"s and "OH YEAAAs" drowned out the remaining percussion sounds, Rei gave up. Misato went to the fridge and took out a beer. This was the first great practice.
After their vain attempt at accomplishing music, the members congregated around the dinner table upstairs to discuss their performance. My band members are far too uptight, Rei thought. They need to chill out. They need to get funky with the music, instead of getting funky with each other.
Word, thought Shinji.
Uber-word, thought Asuka.
"Now," said Misato, "What went wrong?"
"Shinji was trying to play jazz! I thought we were playing rock!" Asuka said while pointing at Shinji accusingly.
"I couldn't hear Asuka at all!" Shinji yelled.
"Shinji was just playing random stuff! How can you even call that music?" Asuka shot back.
Rei sat quietly in her seat, waiting for her chance to talk.
"May I say something?" she asked.
Misato nodded.
"I know that we all have you to thank for putting this band together, but in all seriousness, you rushed us into playing without even letting us coordinate. I did my own thing, and so did you, Shinji, and Asuka. No one was playing together. If we were solo artists, that might be okay, but in this band, we can't let our personal disharmonies become musical ones. Plus, we haven't even had that much training. I can count well, but I've never even practiced playing to a guitar. And Misato, have you practiced singing? Asuka, your fingers are nimble, but even when I leaned over and turned your amp way up, I couldn't hear you at all. Shinji, you've played cello all your life, so you can play along with my drums, but I think you need a more coherent melody; something that sounds like it's going somewhere."
Everybody stood shocked. Not only had Rei spoken more words than she had ever previously spoken in her entire life, she was saying something extremely simple and useful. AND she had rocked the drums.
Finally Misato spoke up.
"Rei, if you had the same talent with a guitar, I would make you band leader. The only problem is, drums can't lead, can they?"
"If the drummer has the ability to sing while playing," Rei replied, "He or she may lead, although this is very unorthodox."
Misato whistled. Rei knew how to operate a band. Rei deserved the title of leader, not Asuka, with her "rock rage," or Shinji, with his artistic talent, or Misato, with her unbelievable craziness.
"OOOK! I have decided!" Misato yelled, throwing her arms into the air.
"Rei is the new band leader! No exceptions! No petitions! No complaints! GOOOOOOOOOO REI!"
-----------------------
Dinner at the fireplace. No electric lights, no TV, no warm dinner. Tokyo-3 and its unreliable generators.
Candles illuminated the cozy room. No one spoke. All four inhabitants were bored. Asuka had tried roasting bits of raw chicken meat next to the fire earlier, but had nearly scorched her left hand.
"Stop that!" Misato cried. "You'll need your fingers for the guitar!"
"Guitar Shmitar," Asuka mumbled.
"What?"
"Mind your own business, Misato."
Misato did. Rei stared at the ceiling, thinking about her identity. Shinji lay on the floor, contemplating the destiny of mankind and listening to "rock your body" on his SDAT. Perhaps they could incorporate their perspective of mankind's destiny into their music. What was mankind's destiny, anyways? How could people just wander around all day without giving thought to their eternal destiny? What would become of the multitudes of people who vanished from the earth? Why were people afraid of monsters, and why were the ugly ones called Angels? Who are I? Who is am? Am I an Am? Am I just pulling a load of BS, or is this authentic philosophy?
He was startled by a poke on his left shoulder.
"Hey," Rei said. "Wanna start learning?"
"Sure," Shinji replied.
Asuka looked up eagerly.
"Hey! Count me in too!"
"Not to mention the person who probably needs the most teaching," Misato said in between burps.
"Okay, how are we supposed to learn?" asked Misato.
"We've taken care of that," Asuka and Shinji said in unison.
"What??" Both Rei and Misato said.
"We went to the music shop this afternoon when you guys were sleeping from exhaustion," Asuka said proudly. "We got a bunch of music books. With a little practice and a lot of luck, we'll be the best rock band of the 21st century."
Misato sighed. Were her very own kids going off to strange, uncharted places without telling her? It made her sad to think that they'd grown up that fast.
Shinji reached for the book on top, but out of nowhere, Rei quickly seized the books and threw them into the fire. No one moved for a second. Then Asuka moaned and Shinji collapsed backwards, as the room became enveloped with an intense orange glow.
"Rei?" Shinji asked. "Why?"
"I will teach you. These heretical books are nothing but a litter of blabber propagated by the kinds of worthless academians who label themselves virtuoso musicians. They are nothing in my eyes. A true musician doesn't learn through systems or processes. A true musician finds the music in his own time, through his own process of discovery. This musician does have a complete knowledge of theory, but the basis of his musicianship is not grounded on this knowledge. It is based on his soul. By looking into his soul for the music he creates, he will produce a talent and a fire so much greater than anything pure knowledge can supply. Find your soul, and you will have found your music."
Shinji's mind had been stuck in the train station since the second sentence. Asuka whistled and started scratching her head.
"Okay," Rei began again, "It's like this. I'm going to teach you all some very basic facts that every beginning guitarist needs to know. First this is NEVER to practice fast. Play slowly. Practice slowly. DON'T RUSH. Secondly, hold everything correctly. For example, every time you play a note, you must make sure your fingers press straight down on the strings. No crooked or angled fingers. That means that your thumb shouldn't be on the top of the neck, but rather in the middle, right behind your middle finger, so that your fingers are long enough to press straight down on the string. Secondly, memorize all your basic chords. Strum with your thumb, or with your forefinger, using the tip of your nail. If you have a pick, strum with the tip of that, but not too hard, as-"
*twang!*
Misato glared at Asuka. "That's the second one TODAY," she grumbled. "How many guitars am I going to have to make?"
"A lot. We aren't working for free," Asuka grinned.
"Now," Rei interjected, "I want you all to listen to this arrangement of 'O holy night,' and then repeat it on your guitars. Shinji, you can do the same notes on bass as well."
He nodded.
She proceeded to play the song softly and smoothly, singing to the simple chords she strummed.
"Let it come out from you. You are not doing anything to the instrument. Let it, and the song, work through you. There's no amount of work that you can put into an age-old, perfected song and into this revered instrument that can improve on its perfection. You are not putting anything into this. Instead, let it work its perfection through you. Hear the song, the instrument, and bend your will to their desires."
Shinji was totally baffled by that one. Shrugging, he pulled the bass close and plucked the strings, trying to recall Rei's finger pattens. He got about half of the notes right. Asuka was having an even worse time with it.
"Stupid guitar!!"
"Asuka, you're holding it the wrong way again. Your grip must be firm but intimate."
"Look, I don't care. I don't care about THIS guitar, about this band, or even about your own stupid musical ambitions. I'm just interested in becoming the best guitarist ever and-"
"So that's what it is," Misato cut in.
"What?" Asuka asked.
"You're using us."
Asuka scoffed. "Actually, you guys are using me. When I become the greatest, I'll have to decide whether to keep you all as my supporting band. Of course, I'd have to sacrifice the purity of my music, but perhaps I'll be generous and keep the ones who were NICE TO ME."
"OH…I see. You want to be the best."
Misato chucked.
"We all have unrealistic dreams, Asuka. No harm as long as that gets us somewhere."
A few loud footsteps, a slammed door, and that was the last of her for the rest of the evening.
Misato whistled. "There goes the lead guitar."
Outside, sheets of rain poured down on Tokyo, and three hapless residents reconsidered their careers in the evening candlelight.