The Greatest Secret
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own iCarly
A/N:
Chapter 157 (Auditions: Flawless Victory)
Finally the time had come, Friday night auditions, and man was this destined to be a long night. Jonah, Sam, Freddie and Carly were all there with the last twenty to thirty people auditioning for the position of a drummer. In the far back sat the same person in a brown coat, black cap and shades, that had been sitting there all week. Freddie and the others just chalked him up as a fan wanting to watch the auditions, so they never worried about it.
Freddie stood in front of the audience and pointed to the stage, which had about six drums strewn about. Everyone was murmuring about the change, but only the people who were being called back as drummers knew what this was about. "Don't be alarmed by the extra drums, these are just going to be the final test. A showdown to determine the endurance and patience level of each drummer…With that test, we'll gauge the results and see just who we want to include as our drummer." The audience members nodded in understanding while the man in the brown coat crossed his arms over. "Right now, you are just auditioning, so focus on the songs you need to perform. If we like you enough, we'll ask you to stay behind and perform this test with the other drummers."
Jonah stood from his seat and looked out among the crowd. "One thing I would like to add is, we take this veryseriously and don't tolerate any messing around. Not only do you need to be able to get along with us, you need to at least be focused on what is important in life. Education, career, family, friends…being a part of a band is nota social status and if that's what you're hoping for by being here, then I suggest you leave now because you are not what we're looking for." Freddie nodded his head and stared at the audience for a minute before Jonah spoke up again. "I'm serious here guys, if you're just looking for a good time without any serious moments at all in helping to build the songs and performances, rather just floating on by, using the band to build a social status, leave now. Not joking." With that, a few people who were going to audition did get up and slowly walk out the door. Freddie's face dropped slightly and Jonah shrugged his shoulders. "That is fine. Honesty is important. To those of you still with us, thank you."
"All right, now without further ado, we have a lot to do here, let's get started! I want everyone to try and perform Wax Simulacra tonight." He wasn't too sure he wanted to do that, since he was actually a huge fan of the song. It pained him when someone not only messed it up, but downright butchered it. "First up…"
After some time, almost everyone had gone and hardly any of them were satisfactory enough. Everyone, even the guy in the coat in the back corner of the room, was growing irritated with the number of people not only butchering Wax Simulacra, but butchering the simpler songs as well! The last person who was currently performing was Duke. He'd managed to get through the first three songs just fine, with a few errors, and was not doing too horribly on the last song. Although, he wasn't doing a great job either.
"These people are committing musical murder," Freddie muttered while rubbing his temples. His eyes were clenched tight and his head was starting to pound from imagining how badly all these people were playing. Sam was laying back in her chair with her head hanging over the edge while Carly was randomly fiddling with her phone. Jonah was leaning fully on the booth, his right arm stretched over the edge and head resting on it.
"When you consider a song like this, what do you expect? Flawlessness?"
"Only in our dreams…" They heard a thud which they attributed to a drum beat and didn't catch the music or the drums stopping. The horridness of what sounded like random banging seemed to play over and over again in their heads. Suddenly the music started up again. Freddie rubbed his temples while the others started to moan. "Oh god…"
The cymbals clashed and the drums thundered throughout the auditorium, each beat and each hit seemed completely on par with the music and proper positioning. The four were shocked to hear someone actually playing the song without missing a beat! Almost as if they were a professional. Their eyes shot open and as they became attentive, their jaws dropped when they saw who was hitting the drums. Even the people in the audience behind them, awaiting the test, were cheering him on.
Curled up beside the drums with a frightened expression was Duke. On the drums, playing away was Gibby!A brown coat rested on the stage next to him, along with the black cap and shades. Sweat seemed to drip down his face as he performed the song with his eyes closed, as if he wasn't even trying. He shot a glare at Duke for a split second, causing him to run off the stage.
Freddie and the others were speechless and in awe as they began to fall into a trance from the spell that Gibby was spewing out. They saw him smirk and manage to spin a drumstick in his hand while still striking yet another perfect beat. Freddie glanced to the side as Tasha leaned up against the booth next to Carly. "He's too proud to admit that he's actually been practicing all week. This is his favorite song. He was complaining every time someone screwed it up."
"Wow…just…"
"Ever since iCarly ended, he had more time to himself and mastered what he enjoyed, and that was the drums." The four slowly nodded their heads, still shocked by the performance. Now they really wanted him as their drummer. "He wanted to audition, but wasn't sure. I told him what Carly told me and he decided to give it some more thought. Said if he didn't see anyone that made a good drummer, he'd audition."
"Uh huh…"
"Gibby would love the opportunity to carry on Jake's legacy and to help you guys rise to the top. Whether you become bigger in later years or not, you know. You should see some college bands, fantastic. Have you ever been to a battle of the bands before?"
"Uh-uh." They slowly shook their heads as Tasha grinned widely.
"Well Gibby's been to quite a few of them, both just watching and performing. Do you guys still want him to be your drummer?"
"Uh huh." Freddie cleared his throat and tugged on his collar, bringing himself from his trancelike state. They still had to give a fair game to the others who were awaiting their tests. He stood up as the song came to an ending. Once Gibby hit the final notes, the other three stood up with Freddie as they all applauded his drum mastery.
"And that is how you play the damn song!" Gibby shouted at Duke, who was at the very edge of the stairs on the stage. He met Freddie's eyes and nodded his head back once. "Wax Simulacra, courtesy of Gibby. Am I in?"
"That was perfect, yes you're in! By that I mean, you still have the endurance testing to do, but you're in!" The other winning drummers cheered and whooped, not caring if he did better than them or not, they just enjoyed the drumming.
"Drums. They really get your adrenaline going."
"Yes. Yes. Um…all the drummers to the stage. That's Nate Garner, Rebecca Berkowitz, Noah, and Nadine…please join Gibby on the stage." The four drummers nodded and made their way up to the stage as Gibby wiped his brow with a towel. "Jonah, girls, go grab the other instruments please." The nodded and hurried off as Freddie took a step forward, all eyes were on him.
He rubbed the back of his neck as Duke joined the drummers. "It wasn't fair, Gibby pushed me off the drums, let me do this test!"
"Uh…"
"Come on! We're buddies, we go way back!"
"Okay fine, whatever. All of you find your drums." They nodded and each made their way to the drums. There were two drums on the right, diagonal from each other, two on the left, diagonal, and two drums in the back center, next to each other. Gibby and Duke sat at the drums next to each other while Rebecca and Nate sat on the right drums. Noah and Nadine positioned themselves on the left. "Now here's what we're going to do. You have three long songs to play, consecutively. I know I've told you this already, so you had time to try and learn them."
The six nodded, all except for Duke, who seemed a bit shocked. Then again, Freddie hadn't intended to find him, or anyone out of tonight's auditions. "The one to last the longest will get the spot of drummer. If more than one outlasts the rest, then we'll go off of the point system. AKA, the one who did better in the auditions and the three songs…This will be done with Jonah and myself performing our usual instruments. Sometimes we use a keyboard, most of the time we don't need one. I tend to do the lead guitar while singing, Jonah does bass. We know that in a typical performance, bands may have to play consecutively for hours without tiring out. That's why we've set up this exercise for you."
"You're kidding, right?"
"No Duke, not kidding. I'm dead serious." Duke turned his head and whimpered slightly as he watched Jonah carrying out a guitar on a guitar stand with a microphone. The girls were bringing out the bass guitar. "If you think this will be more than you can handle, feel free to leave."
The other drummers turned their heads to Duke, each one hoping they wouldn't hold them back. He pressed his lips and swallowed hard, shaking his head slightly. "Let's do this."
"Okay, good." The others sighed and slowly shook their heads. "Sam, Carly, Jeremy, and Tasha-if you will-will monitor the drums and make sure none of you are slipping up too much. Jeremy isn't actually a part of our band, by the way. He's just the tech guy we needed to pull off the music." The drummers understood and were each beginning a bit of a drum roll, a sign that they were tired of waiting. "Okay. The songs you will have to perform with us are, Achilles' Last Stand by Led Zeppelin. It is ten minutes long."
The drummers all put on serious expressions and nodded, they weren't going to give up no matter how long a song may seem.
"Good. Your next song will be the ever classic, fifteen minute long song Voodoo Chile, by Jimi Hendrix. Then finally, the thirty minute song without vocals, Mountain Jam, by the Allman Brothers." He expected the last song to be the one where the majority would drop out of, just by the sheer amount of drumming they would have to do. He had his guess at who would be the last few left to survive the endurance testing, and Rebecca was one of those guesses. "Now remember, if you get tired enough and feel like dropping out…don't be afraid to do so, that's what this is about. We would rather you didn't continue if you can't, than for you to start getting so exhausted that you can't keep up."
They nodded as he started walking up to the stage where the lead guitar and microphone was. He grinned and grabbed the microphone as he eyed the audience. Interestingly enough, people began coming in to see this, so it actually felt more like a real performance than anything. "Okay everyone, give it all you got!" He closed his eyes as the drummers began their beats. He pat his leg with the tempo and looked over to Jonah, who was grinning with pride. He knew the songs they were about to sing had a bit higher vocals than he really could do, but it wouldn't be too hard.
Almost instantly, he began to sing out. His entire world became that song, everything around him ceased to exist.
It was an April morning when they told us we should go
As I turn to you, you smiled at me
How could we say no?
With all the fun to have, to live the dreams we always had
Oh, the songs to sing, when we at last return again
Sending off a glancing kiss, to those who claim they know
Below the streets that steam and hiss,
The devil's in his hole
Oh to sail away, To sandy lands and other days
Oh to touch the dream, Hides inside and never seen.
Into the sun the south the north, at last the birds have flown
The shackles of commitment fell, In pieces on the ground
Oh to ride the wind, To tread the air above the din
Oh to laugh aloud, Dancing as we fought the crowd
To seek the man whose pointing hand, The giant step unfolds
With guidance from the curving path, That churns up into stone
If one bell should ring, in celebration for a king
So fast the heart should beat, As proud the head with heavy feet.
Days went by when you and I, bathed in eternal summers glow
As far away and distant, Our mutual child did grow
Oh the sweet refrain, Soothes the soul and calms the pain
Oh Albion remains, sleeping now to rise again
Wandering & wandering, What place to rest the search
The mighty arms of Atlas, Hold the heavens from the earth
The mighty arms of Atlas, Hold the heavens from the earth
From the earth...
I know the way, know the way, know the way, know the way
I know the way ,know the way, know the way,know the way…
Oh the mighty arms of Atlas, Hold the heavens from the earth.
Freddie opened his eyes as the song came to an end, he was thinking seriously of incorporating Griffin or someone into the band to use the electric guitar so he could have his hands fully on the microphone. He'd talked to Griffin about the band earlier in the day and was told that the guy knew more about how to use the electric guitar than anything else. A band usually needed four members, so maybe they could use him after all. However, he didn't want to have to do auditions like this, it took too long.
He looked back at the drummers, all of them were still at the drums, smiling at him. All except Duke, that was. The oaf was asleepat the drums! Freddie lifted his eyebrows up as Tasha patted Duke's back. "Okay, when did he fall out?"
"You didn't hear the big bang halfway through the song?" Jonah asked with a subtle smirk. "Everyone kept going, but damn, he was loud when he came down." His eyes went skyward as he faced the front and slowly shook his head.
"Okay, get Duke and his drums off the stage." Tasha nodded and shook the guy awake. He didn't seem to want to leave, but she managed to coax him off the stage. "That's one drummer down. We're not stopping yet, though!" The audience cheered as the drummers lifted their sticks into the air.
"Yeah!"
"Do any of you want a break? How about a bathroom break? Too bad! Jimi Hendrix isn't going to wait for you to do that, and neither are our fans, let's keep the jams running!"
"Yeah!" They began the music and once more Freddie strummed and positioned himself in front of the microphone, ready to sing out. Looking back, the drummers were sweaty, but still going. Gibby was now shirtless and so focused on the drums. Nate already looked a bit tired, but determined at the same time. Noah was a bit overweight and looked like he needed a bite to eat or a drink. If he stopped at any time, though, he would not make it. Nadine and Rebecca looked just fine, sleek, slender, and determined.
He smirked and quickly turned his head to the microphone, singing on par. This would be tough on him because he had to strum the electric guitar quite often while singing. He wanted someone else to do the electric guitar so he could have full mobility at the microphone. Jonah seemed to agree earlier when they discussed it. He ignored these thoughts and went on to sing.
Well, I'm a voodoo chile
Lord I'm a voodoo chile
Well, the night I was born
Lord I swear the moon turned a fire red
The night I was born
I swear the moon turned a fire red
Well my poor mother cried out "lord, the gypsy was right!"
And I seen her, fell down right dead
(Have mercy)
Well, mountain lions found me there waitin'
And set me on a eagles back
Well, mountain lions found me there,
And set me on a eagles wing
(Its' the eagles wing, baby, what did I say)
He took me past to the outskirts of infinity,
And when he brought me back,
He gave me a venus witch's ring
Hey!
And he said "Fly on, fly on"
Because I'm a voodoo chile, yeah, voodoo chile
Hey!
Well, I make love to you,
And lord knows you'll feel no pain
Say, I make love to you in your sleep,
And lord knows you felt no pain
'Cause I'm a million miles away
And at the same time I'm right here in your picture frame
(Yeah! What did I say now)
'Cause I'm a voodoo chile
Lord knows, I'm a voodoo chile
(yeah!)
Well my arrows are made of desire
From far away as Jupiter's sulphur mines
Say my arrows are made of desire, desire
From far away as Jupiter's sulphur mines
(Way down by the Methane Sea, yeah)
I have a humming bird and it hums so loud,
You think you were losing your mind, hmmm...
Well I float in liquid gardens
And Arizona new red sand
(Yeah)
I float in liquid gardens
Way down in Arizona red sand
Well, I taste the honey from a flower named Blue,
Way down in California
And the in New York drowns as we hold hands
'Cause I'm a voodoo chile
Lord knows I'm a voodoo chile
The song came to an end and Freddie glanced back to see Noah sitting at the edge of the stage, eating a hot dog and drinking a bottle of water. The audience cheered on as the remaining drummers met Freddie's eyes with determined grins. All minus Nate, who was looking about ready to pass out. "Hey Garner, you all right over there?"
"N-No man, I think…I think I've had it. I'm sorry bro."
"It's okay. Hey sis, give Nate a bottle of water would ya? He did well!" Carly nodded and tossed Nate a bottle of water as he got up from the drums and pat his girlfriend's shoulder, wishing her luck. He managed to last all the way to the end of the song, an impressive feat, but he was clearly not well enough to do another thirty minutes of drumming. Noah, unfortunately, had only managed to last the first five minutes of the song before he got up to eat a snack.
"Nadine! Rebecca! Gibby!" The three lifted their heads to him and grinned, determination flared up in their eyes. "Are you three ready?"
"Yeah!" They shouted out.
"Great! Now let me tell you a little somethin' about this Mountain Jam by the Allman Brothers. It's thirty three minutes and forty seconds long and during the duration of this song, as you know, it features solos from all the band members. The guitar solo starts, and as you can see-" They looked to see Sam rolling out a Hammond Organ. "It features a solo on the organ that follows that initial guitar solo. Another guitar solo follows the organ, then there's the drum duet where you will have to work together during this time. The bass guitar joins the drums and then we have the lead guitar coming back as everyone goes out. Sam here is going to play the organ for us, as she is good enough for the keys."
The drummers nodded as everyone prepared the stage and moved the drums around. Now Gibby was sitting on his drums with Rebecca on his right and Nadine on his left. So far Gibby had nearly perfect, clean notes without any major mistakes. Rebecca was a close second with her performance. Nadine was falling a bit behind.
Carly clapped on as the band started in the music, it was now or never. She whooped and hollered for them as the members of the audience began to dance and cheer. There was no rest for any of them now, even their sweat was filled with determination. They were in it to win it. Rebecca and Nadine were pushing themselves to meet Gibby, because they didn't just want to do as good as he was, they wanted to surpasshim.
Sam entered with her organ and played it like a pro. Over time, she'd taken piano lessons and actually enjoyed them quite a bit, she wasn't perfect though. She was far from it, actually. Carly grinned as she thought about Griffin, he really could help out with the band by playing the electric guitar. She'd noticed Freddie straining himself to do both the guitar and the microphone, so clearly they needed another member.
As she watched Sam on the keyboard, she started to see a bit of sloppiness in her hand movements. Now Carly had taken more piano classes while in her years at school, which made her wonder if she could participate with the band. She wanted to be a part of it, it just seemed so fun.
As she moved her eyes over to the three drummers, she saw Nadine starting to slump a bit. Nadine actually had to wipe her brow for a second and hit another beat. How far in the song were they? It sounded like they'd hit fourteen minutes. After another moment, Nadine stopped playing altogether and watched Gibby and Rebecca, she heaved a heavy sigh and respectively set her drumsticks down. "I can do no more."
Carly grabbed some water from the water cooler on the stage and looked up as Nadine walked over, smiling kindly. "Here, you did well."
"Thanks." Nadine took the water bottle and started drinking, then began to cheer on the last two drummers. She was rooting for Gibby, since he seemed to have a bit more sportsmanship. Usually he let the drummers know they did well before they ended. "I think you guys should go for Gibby, actually. Rebecca's good, but he's just awesome."
"True." Sam started to slouch a bit and looked up from the piano, she seemed a bit embarrassed. It was at that point Carly rushed in to help her out by taking over. "Here, let me."
"Okay, thanks Carly." Carly grinned happily as she started playing out the notes to the song. Freddie and Jonah looked over at her, impressed, as she was doing remarkably well. She grinned at them and watched as they looked to each other and smirked. As the song continued on, Carly found herself having an insane amount of fun, she prayed the beat would never stop.
The song came to an end and both Gibby and Rebecca were still at their drums, finishing off with pride. The men were impressed as they turned to face them. "Well ladies and gentlemen, it seems we've come to a conclusion here," Freddie said with a grin. "Carly, if you'd come over here."
"What is it?" She stood up and moved over, smiling softly. Freddie took her wrist and held it in the air.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, my sister Carly Shay-Benson! Jonah, I think we finally found a place for our keyboard, what say you?" Gibby nodded and Jonah held his thumb up.
"I agree." Carly's face turned red as Sam cheered and hugged her. She couldn't believe it, she was an honorary member of the band! As Freddie lowered his hand, Jonah turned to face the two drummers. It looked like Rebecca was going to give Gibby the win, though. "I say we let our new member choose our drummer. What about you, bro?"
"I think that's fair. Carly, who do you think should be our drummer?" Carly grinned and walked over to Gibby, who was panting heavily and beaming with pride. She took his wrist and slowly held up his arm, Rebecca smiled and nodded. "And the votes have it, Gibby Gibson is the drummer for SeattleBeasts!" The audience cheered and Rebecca gave Gibby a friendly hug.
"Great job Gibby, you were awesome."
"You did good too. I'm glad you were up here. Now…" Gibby turned to Tasha, who ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. He smiled and planted a kiss on her lips. "Gibby…" He cleared his throat and looked over to his band mates. "Thank you guys, I'm glad to be a part of this band."
"You gave us hell. You know that right?" Freddie smirked slightly as Gibby slowly shrugged his shoulders. He chuckled and turned his attention to his sister. "Now Carly, when did you start learning the piano? Cause that as damn good playing you did there." Carly blushed lightly and held her hands behind her waist.
"I took some music classes in elementary, then junior high. They didn't have anything here in high school, but one of my teachers was willing to give me some lessons after school and stuff." She traced her foot in an arc on the ground and glanced to the side, thinking strongly of Griffin. Perhaps she could use the band to 'introduce' him to the family. Maybe they could interact on a friend to friend level. "Hey, uh Freddie, I couldn't help but notice you struggling on the guitar and microphone…"
"Yeah, could go with someone else on the lead guitar."
"Well, I was thinking, I have a friend who I met and he's really good on guitar." Freddie raised an eyebrow and Jonah glanced over in a cautious gaze. "Maybe we could add him. Like five member bands, one way to line it up is the lead vocal, someone on the lead guitar with backup vocal, someone on the keyboard, someone on the bass guitar, and someone on the drums. We have you on the vocals, Jonah on the Bass, I'm on the keyboard and Gibby's on the drum."
"This friend of yours, what's his name?"
"Griffin." She had a cheerful smile to cover up the fact that she knew Griffin in any way more than that. Jonah covered his mouth, brushing his nose with his thumb, while Freddie smiled back at her.
"You know, call up this friend of yours. I think we should have an honorary celebration tomorrow to indict you and Gibby into the band. Let us meet Griffin there, all right?"
"Really?" Her eyes sparkled with hope and joy as she gazed at Freddie, practically pleading with him on a mental basis. He took his water bottle and nodded his head as he took a swig of the drink.
"Yes. Really. We'll all get together at the local bowling alley tomorrow or something, have some snacks and drinks. Celebrate." He moved his head back over his shoulder, eyeing everyone else. "Sound good guys?" The others murmured their agreements and he clicked his tongue satisfactorily. "Great. You're all going down at bowling, by the way."
So! The band is upped to the full 5 members now. Carly and Griffin have joined, but better yet, the star of the chapter, the drummer they all wanted! Okay, so now that I have your attention ladies and gentlemen, was it obvious to you that Gibby would end up coming by? Okay, as promoted as he's been, it was probably obvious XD. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and this arc. This is the point where it's almost as if iCarly were to continue, but it isn't.