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[lawastooshort]

”Well… You’re the first, really. First person I thought of, you know? I was thinking about asking Harun, too – if you’ve seen him on the cricket bat since he got back from the Andes you’d know why…”

”Oh yeah? He was pretty good at the tambourine before he went, he must have found his niche, yeah? Who else?”

”Well… I wondered if you got any good ideas?”

”What about Debbie?”

”Bagpipes Debbie?”

”Yeah?”

”Sweet.”


Bagpipes Debbie doesn’t live so far away, and you walk over with your bike and Quebs, wondering if you ever used to call Debbie Debs – you don’t know her that well but she was in the year below you at Folk Music School. Her great-grandfather was actually Scottish, a fact she often brings up when discussing the authenticity of her music. But, you know, she’s a nice enough girl, and pretty handy at both bagpipes and kazoo, and perhaps she won’t mention it after a few weeks?

You knock on her door, which she answers with her bagpipe all strapped on, or whatever they call it.

”Whoa. Like, totally dedicated to your art, dude?”

”Er yeah. Well, I was just selfying myself for my new blog, you know? Oh, hi Debs. So, what brings you here… Ian?”

”Nigel. You wanna join our band? Authentic folk, aiming at acoustic world domination.”

”Er yeah, I guess? What’s the band’s name?”

It’s a good question, and you ponder it for a moment, trying to also remember to go chat to Harun later. Is the band called:

1 – Stilton Backfire
2 – Skuff Bassoon
3 – Yurt Offender
4 – Something else

Spoiler: Current Band Status (click to show/hide)

Current band members:
Nigel, Competent Vocalist
Quebecca, Competent Silenceist
Bagpipe Debbie, Adequate Bagpiper and Adequate Kazooist
Current key influences: the death growl, silence, Scotland

[Peradon]

Its called Silent Cricket Roaring English Artistic Men. Or SCREAM for short.

[Harry Baldman]

Let's call ourselves Neolithic Orkney! It's catchy, and doesn't require us to identify ourselves as English or Men, or Roaring for that matter. Or Maeshowe, to be more specific.

[Funk]

Its called Silent Cricket Roaring English Artistic Men. Or SCREAM for short.

+1

[Shadestyle]

Its called Silent Cricket Roaring English Artistic Men. Or SCREAM for short.

 Silent Cricket Roaring English Artistic Murican Opulence. Or SCREAMO for short.

[Ardent Debater]

Let's call ourselves Neolithic Orkney! It's catchy, and doesn't require us to identify ourselves as English or Men, or Roaring for that matter. Or Maeshowe, to be more specific.

+1

[lawastooshort]

”Orkney Scream. I think. Well, probably. It was going to be Neolithic Orkney, 'cause I really feel a deep personal connection to their tradition of death growling, you know? But I didn't want to make it all about me... I thought about SCREAM – because of the cricket? See, I was going to go chat to Harun next-"

"Peruvian Harun?"

”Uh. Well, I don't think he's Peruvian, I think he's from Bradford, his folks are Pakistani... Anyway, he's some kind of maestro on the cricket bat now... But no, anyway, I figured that doesn't work because two of us are women...

"Orkney Scream sounds kind of... you know, metal?"

”Yeah, that's what I was beginning to think, dude... So just whilst I was explaining about Harun I thought, well, I want to reach back deep into that tradition, you know, but, like, also gather up the whole field of historic folk as we know it too, but, in a kind of modern and democratic way, so I reckon for now we're called the Maeshowe Ethics Committee, you see?"

"Wow. Yeah, that's pretty deep, Toby. And, you know, Orkney is practically Scottish, right? I can totally understand that whole thing, I kind of feel it deep within my loins."

Bagpipe Debbie looks at you for a second or two with a significant kind of look.

”So, uh, we should go and hit up Harun or something, yeah?"


About an hour later and you're all at Harun's place, talking and debating and forming your folkic philosophy in a gaggle of voices, you specifically reigning visionary-like, you like to think, over them all, like some kind of musical cloud, and it occurs to you that just sitting together talking about stuff isn't really going to get you to the top of the folk-music game. You need a plan.

What's your first step?

1 – Write a song
2 – Book a gig
3 – Have a lengthy and earnest discussion about your band's name and why it should be different
4 – Something else

Spoiler: Current Band Status (click to show/hide)

Current band members:
Nigel, Competent Vocalist
Quebecca, Competent Silenceist
Bagpipe Debbie, Adequate Bagpiper and Adequate Kazooist
Harun, Competent Cricket Bat Player, Dabbling Tambourinest and Dabbling Rugby Player
Current key influences: the death growl, silence, Scotland, Peruvian Cricket Music

[Playergamer]

...what kind of drugs are we on right now? This may be important.
Write a song.

[tntey]

DELEATED

[monk12]

*lawastooshort game senses tingling*


Book a gig! Our band's name is objectively awesome, and players such as us don't need anything as artificial and restraining as a "song" to hold us back when we go on stage to make art.

[Funk]

*lawastooshort game senses tingling*


Book a gig! Our band's name is objectively awesome, and players such as us don't need anything as artificial and restraining as a "song" to hold us back when we go on stage to make art.

+1

[Harry Baldman]

*lawastooshort game senses tingling*


Book a gig! Our band's name is objectively awesome, and players such as us don't need anything as artificial and restraining as a "song" to hold us back when we go on stage to make art.

+1

+1, yes.

[lawastooshort]

You think about writing a quick song, the first official oeuvre of the collective if you will, but there’s something bugging you – something sapping your creativity. Is it the artificial constraints society places on your mind, building an oppressive barrier between you and the artistic truth of generations of poverty, that could only be broken through by a heavy dose of hallucinogenics? Or is it your sore throat, aggravated by your amazing performance earlier this morning? Oh yeah, it’s that.

”Harun, you got any drugs dude?”

”Isn’t it a bit early for that? I mean, I know we have to get to work, but it’s not even midday, man!”

”Well… yeah, I’m pretty dedicated, I guess. But no, I just need some paracetamol or something, my throat’s a bit rough today.”

”Oh, right. Okay. Yeah. Heavy.”

Whilst Harun pops to his kitchen for something to remove the oppressive capitalistic barrier of your slightly sore throat, the three of you think about writing a song, but it very quickly becomes very obvious that you are too talented for this kind of shit – songs are probably too mainstream right now to be able to hold the true artistry of the Maeshowe Ethics Committee’s craft. It’s already a bummer having to have your art constrained into an actual physical space to be able to make a living out of it, but then having to add the constraints of the notion of time and the notion of theme… nah. You probably don’t even need individual titles for your creations, even though it might help the less educated get into you.

Anyway, you jointly muse for a few minutes, and then you take decisive action, and pick up the phone.

”Yeah, Gerard’s Craft Coffeeshop, sup?”

”Er yeah. Gerard? This is Nigel, man, how you doing? I wondered if I could ask a favour… You got anything on at the coffeeshop tonight? Can my new band play?”

”A new band? Again? You actually got any songs this time?”

”Er… Well, we got like, a name, and, uh…”

”Dude, you know I like to support all kinds of local art and stuff, but, you know, we got to have a certain level of professionalism and-”

There’s a sudden roar – one that would do even your awesomest death growl proud.

”YEAHHHH! MAESHOWE ETHICS COMMITTEE, MAN! YEAHHHHHH! WE’RE ABOVE SONGS, MAN! YEAHHHHHHH! FU-”

”Dude he’s hung up, you eejit.”

”Oh. We could try, like busking?”

”Yeah, why not.”

”Yeah, let’s go.”


So about half an hour later the four of you – Debs with her bagpipes and kazoo, Harun with his cricket bat and a tambourine, you and Quebs with just your sheer presence – on the bandstand in the middle of the park down the road. It’s a sunny Saturday lunchtime, so there’s a few people about – a few teenagers on skateboards, a few old people, a handful of families with small kids, some of them laying out blankets for a picnic.

”Well, gotta start somewhere, eh?”

”Yeah, huh. Hey, you know it’s midday now? You want one of these?”

Harun holds his hand out towards you, something tiny and paperish in his hand.

What do you do?

1 – Announce the band and your first piece
2 – Take whatever it is that Harun’s offering
3 – Go someplace else where there’s more people and maybe take a hat to collect change in
4 – Not announce the band or your first piece and just launch straight into some hard art
5 – Something else equally as awesome

Spoiler: Current Band Status (click to show/hide)

Current band members:
Nigel, Competent Vocalist
Quebecca, Competent Silenceist
Bagpipe Debbie, Adequate Bagpiper and Adequate Kazooist
Harun, Competent Cricket Bat Player, Dabbling Tambourinest and Dabbling Rugby Player
Current key influences: the death growl, silence, Scotland, Peruvian Cricket Music

[Harry Baldman]

4 – Not announce the band or your first piece and just launch straight into some hard art

We're essentially just rehearsing anyway, right? Let's jam away!

[lawastooshort]

You’re into modern forms of traditional music, not modern forms of oppressing the creativity of the people by labelling it with such things as band names (even if yours is pretty damn sweet) and song titles – what’s more, you want people to be able to appreciate your art free from the preconceptions that announcing your name and titles would bring, yeah, let’s just jam, man!

”Come on, guys, 1, 2, yeah…”

The first sound to come through is the steady sound, the gentle all-pervading sound of Harun on the cricket bat – it’s quite pleasant in the midday sun, reminding of something far away, carefree, hot, and the four of you look in each other’s’ eyes, glancing from eyes to expert hands, and then with a fairly ominous rush Bagpipes Debbie lurches in, perfectly on time, an evocative drone, rhythmic and, you notice, disturbingly sensual.

You start a quiet death growl – perhaps more kind of a risk of dangerous disease growl, or amputation of a toe under general anaesthetic growl, and you’re having trouble finding your place in the structures building around you, unsure of if you’re finding a new melody or just providing a nice harmony, when Quebecca bursts into a violent howling wail, screaming at the top of her voice -

”Ahhhhhhhhh SHIT! SHIT! SHIIIIIIIIIT! WHERE ARE MY MAN CLOTHES AT, IT’S SHITTING SATURDAY! SHIIIIIT!”

She starts running around the three of you, still screaming, and after about 3 minutes of this she abruptly stops, dives into the middle of the circle you form, and starts removing her shoes and socks.

The family nearest to you – a couple in their thirties with two small kids – actually stop eating their sandwiches for the time it takes to politely applaud, and the youngest, who looks like a boy of two, starts running around himself, screaming something very similar to Quebs, until the mother tries to stop him, at which point he starts trying to take his shoes and socks off, and starts running away from her, shouting.

”Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!”

Looks like you got your first fan!

Spoiler: Current Band Status (click to show/hide)

Current band members:
Nigel, Competent Vocalist
Quebecca, Competent Silenceist
Bagpipes Debbie, Adequate Bagpiper and Adequate Kazooist
Harun, Competent Cricket Bat Player, Dabbling Tambourinest and Dabbling Rugby Player
Current key influences: the death growl, silence, Scotland, Peruvian Cricket Music

((Oh yeah, so 1 – I’m doing exploding dice rtd style rolls for the actions that need to be resolved, as far as possible, which is why booking a gig didn’t go so well, and 2 – well, what is a suggestion game meant to do? It’s not something I’m used to. Really, I just want to trace Nigel’s magical journey through the world of cutting edge folk, and describe as best words can the stupendous music I am sure you might help him create oh and also 3 – is it customary to show the replies in the post? Or just to trust that the GM can count or something?))