Later that day after school, Buster, Babs, Plucky, Shirley, Hamton, Furrball, and Fifi were all walking together, talking about Furrball's performance.
"I must say, Furrball", Babs said, "you did an awesome job earlier today."
"Thanks", Furrball replied. "I didn't think I'd do so well."
Shirley then said, "Like, you do a very good Humphrey Bogart. The way you say those lines were perfect or some junk."
"I agree", Plucky exclaimed, "those were some of my favorite movie lines. 'Here's looking at you, kid', and...uh...what was the other one?"
"What one?", Furrball asked.
"What did he say after the first time he met with Ilsa, in the bar?"
"Oh, that. 'Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.'"
"That's it! That's the one!"
Hamton then spoke, "It's amazing how you remember those lines, Furrball."
"I'll be honest, it ain't easy."
"Hey guys", said Buster, "I found something interesting about the movie Casablanca. Did you know that the line 'here's looking at you, kid' was improvised by Humphrey Bogart?"
"Really?", Fifi asked. "I deed not know that."
"It's true. Mr. Bogart often used that line on the set, while Ingrid Bergman played poker with the other cast members. She was still learning English, and Mr. Bogart would often watch the game & say 'here's looking at you' to Ms. Bergman."
"Wow", exclaimed Babs, "that's very interesting, Buster."
As the toons turned a corner, they all spotted something up ahead.
"Hey, look", Hamton pointed forward. They saw a large white moving truck, with a few people taking some furniture & other stuff out of the truck & into a white, two-story house.
"Looks like someone's moving in", Babs concluded as the toons all headed up to the house. A couple of the movers were sitting on the sidewalk, drinking bottled soda.
"Whew!", said one of the workers as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "What a heck of a day to be working. It's so darn hot."
"Tell me about it", said the other worker. "I feel like I'm gonna melt pretty soon. I'm sweating like a pig."
"I beg your pardon?", Hamton asked. The workers turned to the toons.
"Heh. No offense", said the worker, "it's just a figure of speech."
At that moment, an adult female cat appeared at the door. She had tan fur, long silky brown hair, a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and sandals.
She walked out of the doorway & approached the two workers on the sidewalk.
"Are you two doing okay?", she asked. "Can I get you anything?"
"Do you have any more soda?", one worker asked. "I'm almost out."
The other worker then said, "Water for me please. I'm trying to cut down on the caffeine."
"Okay, no problem", the female cat replied, "we have more soda in the cooler & I have bottled water, too. Is that okay? It's cold."
"Sounds good to me", said the second worker. Just as the female cat turned to head back inside, she spotted the toons on the sidewalk.
"Oh, hello there", she greeted.
"Hi!", Buster greeted back. "Are you just moving in?"
"Yes, we are. Are you one of our new neighbors?"
"Yeah. Welcome to Acme Acres. I'm Buster Bunny."
"And I'm Babs Bunny", said Babs.
"No relation", the two bunnies said in unison.
"Well, hello. It's nice to meet you. I am Marie Evans."
"Pleased to meet you", Buster said, shaking Marie's hand.
"Is it just you who moving in?", Babs then asked.
"No", Marie replied, "my son will be living here too."
"You have a son?", Furrball asked.
"Hey mom?", a voice called out. The toons turned to see Marie's son, a smaller cat, standing in the doorway.
Like Marie, he had tan fur & brown hair, except his hair is much shorter. He's wearing blue jeans, red sneakers, and a white t-shirt with a logo of a bomb.
"Mom, have you seen my Fender?", asked Marie's son.
"Yeah, it's still in the truck", Marie replied.
"Okay."
Once the little cat turned to go back inside, Marie spoke again.
"Hey sweetie, come over & meet our new neighbors."
The tan cat turned back & saw the toons, who all stared back at him.
"Hello", he greeted.
"Hi there", Buster greeted back. Marie went back inside the house while her son took her spot in front of the toons.
"He looks handsome", Fifi whispered to Furrball. Furrball chuckled as Marie's son approached Buster & shook the blue bunny's hand.
"Nice to meet you. So, what do they call you?"
"I'm Buster Bunny."
"And I'm Babs Bunny", said Babs.
"No relation", the two bunnies said again simultaneously.
"Pleasure to meet you", said Marie's son. "The name's Evans. Cliff Evans."
"Welcome to Acme Acres, Cliff", replied Buster.
"Thank you. Who are the rest?"
At that moment, Plucky stepped forward.
"The name's Plucky Duck, star of Tiny Toon Adventures."
"'Tiny Toon Adventures'? What that?"
"It's a TV show we star in", Buster answered.
"Oh, very cool!"
Plucky then pulled Shirley forward, much to her dismay.
"And this is my girl- AIIEE!", Plucky said as Shirley stomped on his foot. "I mean my FRIEND, Shirley."
"Hello, Shirley", Cliff greeted, shaking her hand. Hamton then stepped forward.
"I'm Hamton J. Pig."
"Hey, Hamton", Cliff said as they shook hands.
"What town are you from?"
"We're from South San Francisco."
"San Francisco?!", Plucky exclaimed. "I love that town!"
"No no no, SOUTH San Francisco. It's a different town."
Shirley then asked, "Like, why is it called South San Francisco if it's not part of San Francisco or some junk?"
"Because it's 10 miles south of San Francisco."
"Oh", the toons all said. Finally, Cliff approached Furrball & Fifi.
"Hi. I'm Furrball", greeted the blue cat as he shook Cliff's hand.
"Hi, Furrball."
"And this is my girlfriend, Fifi."
"Bonjour", Fifi said. Cliff purred once he saw the purple skunk, and instead of shaking hands, he took Fifi's hand & kissed it.
"Enchanté", he said, which made the purple skunk giggle. Cliff then looked behind Fifi & saw her large, fluffy tail, then turned to Furrball.
"Your girlfriend's a skunk?", asked Cliff.
"Yeah, she is, but she's very sweet & caring. Right, sweetheart?"
"Oui", Fifi replied, "we very deeply love each ozher."
"Aww", Cliff said, "that's nice. I must admit, you two look adorable together."
"Thanks, Cliff", Furrball replied.
"Hey, kid!", shouted one of the workers. Cliff turned to the truck to see a worker carrying a guitar case. "Is this what you're looking for?"
"Yes, that's it!", Cliff exclaimed as he ran up & took the guitar case. The tan cat set it down to the ground & opened it, before he let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, it's unscathed."
"What is it?", Buster asked.
"It's one of my most prized possessions."
Cliff then took out a black & brown Fender Jazz bass guitar.
"Ooooh", Plucky said, "what a pretty guitar."
"Thanks. This is a 4-string Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass, with a rosewood fingerboard, and a 4-ply brown shell pickguard."
As the toons moved in for a closer look, Shirley noticed a silver signature on the guitar.
"Hey! Somebody signed it!"
"Yep. I got this baby signed by the greatest bass guitarist who ever lived: Geddy Lee."
"Who's Geddy Lee?", Babs asked.
"Wait a minute", Furrball spoke, "you mean Geddy Lee, the lead singer & bass player of Rush?"
"Uh-huh", Cliff replied. "My mom & I went to see Rush in Concord a couple years ago, during their Snakes & Arrows tour. I had my bass with me, we got to go backstage & meet them."
"No way! Really?!"
"Yep. Don't believe me? I have a picture."
Cliff then pulled out a photo from his guitar case. The toons looked & saw Cliff & Marie with Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Cliff & Geddy are seen holding the autographed Fender bass guitar.
The toons all exclaimed in amazement.
"Wow! You're very lucky!", Hamton commented.
"How deed vous get to meet zhem?", Fifi asked.
"We had backstage passes", Cliff answered. "This was my first time seeing Rush live, and holy moly macaroni, they blew my mind!"
"Was it a good show?", asked Buster.
"No. It was a GREAT show! And the band, they were some of the nicest people me & mom have ever met. Though, Alex can be a bit of a goofball sometimes."
The toons laughed at what Cliff said, before Furrball spoke up.
"I bet it was a lot of fun."
"It was. We had such a great time. And we enjoyed many of their songs. Tom Sawyer, The Spirit Of Radio, Limelight. It was the best show ever. Plus, after that one night, I completed 3 of the 5 things on my bucket list."
"What's a bucket list?", questioned Fifi.
Furrball answered, "It's a list of things you want to do before you die."
"What are the other 2 things on your list?", asked Hamton.
"I'll show you", Cliff replied as he pulled out a notepad from his pocket & handed it to the toons. Buster opened it up to "MY BUCKET LIST" & the 5 things that are on the list.
The ones that are crossed out are, "See Rush live for the first time", "Meet Rush in person", and "Have Geddy Lee sign my bass guitar."
The other two that aren't crossed out are, "Have a girlfriend who's also a Rush fan" and "Create a Rush tribute band."
"Hey, uh...", Cliff spoke up, "would you guys like to come in? I'd be happy to give you the tour."
"Yeah", the toons replied as Buster handed the notepad back to Cliff & they all went inside.
Upstairs, Cliff opened a door that led to a bedroom, with a few stacks of boxes, a wooden desk in one corner & a bed in the opposite corner, across the room from the door. Next to the bed was a tall stack of CDs & a guitar case.
"And here is my bedroom", Cliff said as he led the toons inside.
"Wow, nice", Buster complimented.
"What's that stack of CDs over there?", Plucky asked.
"That is my collection of Rush albums", Cliff answered. "As of right now, I have every single studio album."
"Really?", Furrball questioned. "Can you name all of them?"
"Oh, that's easy. Rush, Fly By Night, Caress Of Steel, 2112, A Farewell To Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, Presto, Roll The Bones, Counterparts, Test For Echo, Vapor Trails, Feedback, Snakes & Arrows, and Clockwork Angels."
The toons all exclaimed in amazement. They were very impressed at Cliff memorizing not only all the Rush albums, but also in the order they were first released.
"Like, how did you know all that?", asked Shirley.
"I've been a Rush fan for several years. How could I not know that?"
Fifi then noticed the 2nd guitar case sitting next to Cliff's bed.
"You have anozher guitar?", asked the purple skunk.
"I do", Cliff replied, "and this one is MY signature guitar."
Cliff went & opened up the case. He took out the guitar & showed it to the toons.
It was an unusual looking guitar. It had a black rectangular-shaped body, and no head at the end of its neck.
"What kind of guitar is this?", Furrball asked.
"This is a Steinberger L-series 4-string bass. The Steinberger company is known for producing headless guitars like this one."
Hamton then asked, "If that guitar has no head, then how do you tune it?"
"Good question. The knobs that tune the guitar are right here on the body."
The toons looked & saw the four thick cylinders placed near the strings.
"How come you chose this guitar?", asked Plucky.
"I like guitars with unusual designs, and as soon as I heard that Geddy Lee once used a Steinberger, I immediately decided to get one & declare it my signature guitar."
As Cliff opened up one of the boxes, Furrball spoke up.
"Geddy played a Steinberger?"
"Yep", Cliff replied, "he only used a Steinberger during the Grace Under Pressure tour, which was back in 1983 or 84."
The tan cat then pulled out an amp & a long black cord. He set the amp down, plugged one end of the cord into the amp & the other into his guitar. Cliff turned the amp on, and started playing his guitar, doing a few simple plucks with his fingers, before he did a quick solo. The toons watched as Cliff struck the strings quickly & rhythmically.
"Wow, you're very good", Buster complimented.
"Thanks. All those times I spent watching Rush concerts have really paid off."
Furrball then spoke, "Hey, do you mind if I get my guitar & jam with you?"
"You play guitar?"
"Yeah. In fact...", Furrball searched himself, trying to find his guitar, but he doesn't have it with him.
"Uh, Fifi", Furrball asked his girlfriend, "where's my guitar?"
"Eet's back at our house."
"Oh, uh, heh heh. Um, I'll be back in about 5 seconds."
At that moment, Furrball stormed out of the bedroom, out of the house, to the Acme Junkyard, to Fifi's Cadillac, and all the way back to Cliff's house.
Once he rejoined the group, he has his black Gibson-SG with him.
"Here it is", panted the blue cat.
"Is that a Gibson-SG?", Cliff asked.
"Yep."
"Awesome. That's Angus Young's signature guitar."
"Oh, you like AC/DC too?", asked Plucky.
"Sure do. Both Rush & AC/DC are my favorite bands."
"Nice", Furrball said. "Do you have an extra amp?"
"I believe I do. Lemme check."
Cliff opened up a box & searched through it. He took out a few Rush posters, but no amp. He then opened up another box & searched through there.
"Ah-ha!", exclaimed the tan cat. "Here it is!"
Cliff took out the second amp & extra cord & gave them to Furrball. Furrball plugged the cord into his guitar & the amp, then strummed his guitar, making sure it's tuned correctly. Cliff then spoke up.
"So, what song do you want to do first?"
"I don't know. What do you have in mind?"
Cliff thought for a moment, then asked, "How about Cygnus X-1? Do you know that song?"
"How does that go?"
"It sounds like this..."
Cliff started playing the rhythm of Cygnus X-1 on his bass, before realization hit Furrball.
"Ah, I remember now!"
Furrball then joined Cliff with his guitar, and they both started jamming together, playing a bit of Cygnus X-1, Book 1: The Voyage.
Once they both stopped, the toons all exclaimed, impressed.
"Nice", Babs complimented.
"Impressive", Buster said.
"That was very good", Cliff said to Furrball.
"Thanks", replied the blue cat.
"What should we do next?"
"Hmm...how about La Villa Strangiato?"
"Alright."
Cliff started strumming in rhythms until Furrball joined in, then the two started rocking out together. They played La Villa Strangiato for several seconds before they finished.
The toons were once again impressed by Furrball & Cliff's guitar playing skills.
"Wow!", exclaimed Shirley.
"That was awesome", said Hamton.
"Bravo!", cheered Fifi.
"Alright", Cliff then said to Furrball, "what now?"
The two cats both thought for a moment, then they snapped their fingers & turned to each other.
"YYZ!", they exclaimed in unison, and they both started playing the song YYZ.
The rest of the toons watched as Furrball & Cliff were having fun rocking out, with smiles on their faces, until 30 seconds later, they both finished playing.
The toons applauded as Furrball & Cliff turned to each other & laughed happily.
"That was fun!", Furrball said.
"Yeah, sure was", Cliff replied.
"Hey, Cliff", Buster spoke up, "one of the things on your bucket list was to create a Rush tribute band, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"I think you two might be onto something."
At that moment, Marie appeared behind the toons.
"Hey", she said, "sounds like you guys are having fun."
"We are", Cliff replied, "we're having a lot of fun."
"I could hear you guys from downstairs. You two sound great together."
"Thanks, Ms. Evans", said Furrball.
"I'm thinking about ordering pizza. Anyone interested?"
The toons all exclaimed excitedly as they followed Marie downstairs & ordered some pizza.