Karkat: Play Your First Gig
"Where the fuck is John?" I yell at Jade as she pulls up in her pickup truck, with the drum set in the back. We were all in the front of the house with a big banner that said Happy Birthday in all these weird colors and shit, and all of our stuff was set up except for John's. "I don't know, I texted him an hour ago and he said he'd be here" she said, starting to carry pieces of the set to the backyard.
"Dave, you know this fuck head more than me, where is he?" He just shrugged and I wanted to scream. It wasn't his fault but I was losing my mind here. "What time is it?" "We've got about 10 minutes before the party actually starts." I rubbed the bridge of my nose, pacing in the yard continuously. Dave was trying to talk to me but I was just not in the mood right now.
"Alright. We're just going to have to assume he's not going to be here, so that automatically cancels out any songs with big piano parts." "So like 60% of our songs." I bit my lip as he said that, and he was right. We sought out songs so that Egbert almost always had something big, like the rest of us. What a great idea. "Strider, stay here in case John does come. I'll go do…something." He nodded with a look of concern on his face, but it wasn't his job to be concerned.
"Jade, how's the set looking?" I said, walking into the backyard where there were tables everywhere. Whoever this kid was, they sure knew a lot of people. "It's lookin' good, Karkat! I just need to set up some cymbals and we'll be good! Did you locate John yet?" "No, he's just fucking off the map right now" I said tapping my microphone, making sure it was working. I would have checked Dave's equipment, but that would be like touching someone's organs without checking for approval. At least that's what he said.
It was right about then when I realized how nervous I was, after I tugged on my black long sleeve for the 10th time already. I always wore jeans and a long sleeve, you could say I liked people avoiding me completely. Either way, my stomach really made me understand what people mean when they say they have butterflies in their stomachs.
Except in my case, they stopped being butterflies and they were now fully fledged birds trying to get out.
It's just a lawn party, calm down. There aren't that many people, besides about 100 kids and apparently a tycoon of starting bands which will either make or break your entire possible career of music. Yeah.
I could start to hear car doors close, and teenagers started pouring into the yard. They were all just talking and laughing after sitting down, and I could really feel the heat at this point. It was really a nice day, but weather was the least of my concerns. I just wanted to walk out of here and reconsider if we were ready, but they all started taking notice of our presence there, and they started pointing and murmuring.
We were obviously not going to be the first thing that happened at the party, and we just watched them all do things for a real long while. I guess I could calm down a little since we weren't playing yet, but that wouldn't really be something I would do. Then, Dave appeared, without John, and started walking over to me.
When he got close to me, he basically whispered "John said he'll be here soon, he got caught up with something." "That motherfucking…fine, whatever. Just get to your things; we'll have to play everything we have without a piano until he comes here." He jumped over to the stand full of buttons and turn tables and knobs and just a lot of bullshit. He also had a guitar leaning on the stand, in case he had time to jump to a rhythm part. It was risky as fuck, and he wasn't the best at guitar so I didn't know WHY we settled on that, but necessity breeds creativity I guess.
A big man in a suit walked out now, with a very proud smile over his beard. He looked over the group and saw that we were there, and he made his way over to us. "So, this is the up and coming 'Dead And Walking', eh? Pleasure to meet you all!" "Yes, uh, I'm Karkat" he shook my hand roughly within seconds of me saying my name and then shook everyone's hand after.
The way he said all of this made me just really freaked out about the whole thing. He seemed to have a lot of pride in a band that was playing music for free and without any prior experience or knowledge playing out. "Now, are you guys ready to play? We've got a bunch of angsty kids out there ready to hear some music!" "Uh…w-well, um" "Yes sir, we are!" Jade called out, interrupting my rather interesting answer. I shot a look back over to her, and she nodded to her right, showing a piano. John was coming in through the fucking bushes.
So the man took the mic off the stand and called out "Alright ladies and gents! For your listening pleasure, we have a little band called Dead And Walking, and I'm sure they can provide the music you all desire." He let his hand drift so that it was presenting us as he handed me the microphone. He looked me straight in the eyes and it was a look that meant that if we didn't play well, there would be some serious shit.
I looked back and John was now there, plugging in his piano and shrugging to me. I sighed heavily and grabbed my guitar, slipping into the straps and setting a mental reminder to kick John's ass. I cleared my throat and grabbed the microphone, looking out into the crowd of weirdly silent people. "Well. As he said, we are Dead And Walking, and we've got a lotta shit lined up for you guys, so…yeah."
I backed up from the stand and gathered everyone "First up is going to be Vampire Money to set the tone, anyone have any complaints?" I looked around and no one said anything, so I nodded. "Good" I walked back over to the mic, feeling queasy and maybe even light headed, but I got ready to play none the less.
Jade started the song with stick clicks, and then started going at it. The power of the drums sent waves of sound, which obviously got their attention, so I figured why not use it while I have it, as I spoke the first part;
Well are you ready Dave?
Yeah
How 'bout you Jade?
All night baby
How about you John
Fuckin Ready!
Well I think I'm alright
1,2,3,4!
We all started playing now, my fingers flying to the power chords and everyone else jamming out on their own. This was it now, no turning back. I took in a deep breath, tightened my core, and let out the notes as best as I could as the first verse came up.
3,2,1
We came to fuck
Everybody party till the gas man comes
Sparkle like Bowie in the morning sun
And get a parking violation on La Brea until it's done
Hair back, collar up, Jet Black, so cool!
Sing it like the kids that are mean to you
Come on!
The simple jump into the chorus was nothing, and seeing people start to pay even more attention to us was really all I could ask for.
When you wanna be a movie star
Play the game and take the band real far
Play it right and drive a Volvo car
Pick a fight in an air port bar!
The kids don't care if you're alright honey
Pills don't help but it sure is funny
Gimmie gimmie some of that Vampire Money
Come on!
While it was nerve racking, seeing all those people jumping around and lip synching just gave me a rush I couldn't describe. As we left the chorus and started the bridge, everything I've worried about and everything that held me back just kind of faded away. I took a deep breath and continued the song after indulging in the thought.
Well a 3,2,1
We got the bomb
Everybody hurry till the tax man comes
Glimmer like Bolan in the morning son
And get your finger on the trigger
Tip the barrel of the gun
Hair back motherfucker
Jet Black, so cool!
Sing it like the kids that are mean to you!
And we went into another chorus, which were all the same. I looked back at everyone, and they were all so focused, yet limber. Like Jade was just hammering away, but she still had a smile. And Dave, well, he didn't look like he was having trouble. Same with John. And I'd assume it would be the same with me, until the shock of 'We're about to do the solo' hit me.
Gimmie gimmie some of that Vampire Money
Come on!
It was starting to climb and the drums were going crazy in the back, in the best way possible.
That's right…
1,2,3,4
My fingers went towards the beginning of the neck and started flying around the fret board like it was breathing. I couldn't help but smile as the notes all came out with the crazy solo, and the crowd was really getting into it now. I even heard a few whistles and screams as it happened. Eventually it finished back at the power chords, and it faded back into the first verse.
3,2,1
We came to fuck
Everybody party till the gas man comes
Sparkle like Bowie in the morning sun
And get a parking violation on La Brea until it's done
Hair back, collar up, Jet Black, so cool!
Sing it like the kids that are mean to you
Come on!
The last chorus came and went as if it was a breeze, and then came the ending, which was a personal favorite of mine, where each time I said there, there would be another hit.
Come on!
Come on!
Come on!
Come on!
Come on!
There, there, there, there, there!
Now I just started ripping on the strings, while speaking the last part.
This party
I think it's way too loud
Gonna have to turn it down a little
Sorry
Then, with a jump in the air and a down strum, everything hit and sounded out for what felt like an eternity. For a moment I stayed still, scared if I moved everyone would attack us. But then there was just applause and cheering for us. Even the man in the suit was clapping, and I was scared he was going to bust us a new one for cursing so much. I slowly relaxed and fully stood up, motioning to the rest of the band. "So I take it we weren't that bad" I said to Dave, and he just nodded and walked to the middle of all of us, and I followed after.
"So, what are we doing now?" Jade said, breathing a bit heavy but enthusiastic none the less. "Maybe we should do a completely different song just to contrast it?" said John, crossing his arms. "I don't think that's a big concern, these guys are just Teenagers…yeah let's do that." I said, and everyone picked up on it. They all seemed to like MCR enough. I walked over to my place and cleared my throat again, and continued what is and will always be, the best night I've ever had.
Author's Note (Idk): I hope that wasn't too bad for y'all, and in case you wanted to know the song's "Vampire Money" by My Chemical Romance. plus I obviously own the song in no way therefore will take no credit for it. Either way, this prequel thing's almost over and the next chapter in the series is somethin' I'm working on as we speak! Either way, this has been fun as hell to write, and will continue to be! Catcha later!
-themountainswan