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 Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 10:59 am
It was one of those rare days that the tiny man didn't want to be inside on his couch, and he had both jobs off. The stars hardly ever aligned for him like this. So he was going to make the most of it and just meander Destiny City for something to do. Sometimes the better things in life just found you if you were out looking for them. ....Of course this was going to reek absolute havoc on his nerves and make him a bit jumpy, but hey. He had to deal with things sooner or later, so why not on his own terms? He pulled his hoodie around himself tightly despite it being nearly summer weather already and just clicked his tongue. "I need a better disguise," he muttered to himself. So he might have had a big ego about how 'big' he was of a 'celebrity'. It built confidence! ....Not really, no. It just added to Ashton Leara's growing paranoia. Finally shoving his hands in his pants pocket, the petite man listen to the click of his heels as he walked toward one of his favorite spots; the fountain. People from all sorts of musical backgrounds seemed to try to gather here. Maybe, just maybe, he could actually sing with someone playing... if they were playing something recognizable that the didn't write themselves, that is.
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 6:10 pm
Slate sighed to himself, eyes closed, while he leaned backward. With how often he perched on the lip of the fountain, he enjoyed playing a game of how far he might lean before his body informed him that falling was imminent. Always, he pushed a little farther, until the braid slipped off his shoulder and dipped into the dirty water. Now the edge of it maintained a couple inches of darker red where the hair soaked into jagged chunks, but he didn't mind it; the fun lay in seeing the stars when his eyes snapped open and he needed to right himself.
A trumpet busker still played somewhere far in the distance, his horn still discernible to the trained ear this far beyond. His own playing would cover it well enough, but with the dwindling crowds, Slate elected to take a break. Most people tipped earlier in the day, when their moods were higher and their minds found time to wander. Nighttime often yielded dismal results - and maintained a far more dangerous reputation.
Well, what was the harm in one last play? Since no one lingered that would tip worth a damn, he could play any song he liked without having to consider for common pop culture favorites. After tightening his bow once more and playing across strings to ensure the violin kept its tuning, Slate settled on a less commonly recognized british piece that proved both fun to play and stylize. The opening came innocently enough before it faded into the more interesting pieces, where he wove in his typically personable (and yet slightly sloppier) play style.
So far no one took much notice, but a small boy in a hoodie drifted close enough to count for an audience. "Enjoying the evening?" Slate asked over the singing strings.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 8:05 am
There was a squawking noise the closer he got to the fountain. It wasn't too good, but it wasn't too bad. Maybe someone was just getting some practice in. In all honesty the only thing Ashton could actually critique was looks and voice. A trumpet was neither of these things. (At least he thought it was a trumpet). Still, his orange eyes rolled a little bit before he found himself staring at a violin player who was playing a familiar piece of music. Blinking slowly when he was actually talked to, Ashton pushed the hood off his head a bit and then just grinned. "So far, yeah," he said loud enough to be heard. He started to hum the tune, still not sure what it was but he knows he's heard it before. So his foot started tapping a little as he tried to come up with the lyrics. Maybe this guy would start singing part of it and give him a hint.
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 4:33 am
Well, that's good. Now be a dear and tip a little if you're going to stand there and tap your foot. The music received some adaptation due to the lack of instruments, which left Slate playing the harmony initially. If he had any kind of recording device, playing all parts became immediately possible, but given the lateness in the day it seemed pointless to make use of one. Such tools were reserved for midday rushes, when most needed a kinder spot with musical amenities while they ate. Mostly it was because lunch crowds tipped better.
"I'm surprised you've heard Bernadette before. I didn't think his music was too widely recognized here." Mostly he strove to adapt common American hits to violin, as more individuals tipped for playing songs they recognized in a unique fashion. Other times he did so because he enjoyed hearing compliments that he played it better than the original artist. Sometimes, he figured, that was true.
Other times, he figured, his audience had a story to tell and a compliment always opened ears to it.
"What brings you out this late at night?" He asked, approaching the chorus. His play never wavered when he spoke, seldom as it was. "Talk of monster attacks has been on the rise, you know."
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 8:43 am
With a little grin on his face, the shorter man pulled his wallet out and dropped a few bills into the open violin case before him. The guy was really good. One had to support all form of musical arts, in his opinion. Shoving his wallet and hand back into his pocket, he listened to the man continue playing, and now talk as well. Bernadette. Aaah. He hummed a little more and shrugged. "I listen to all kinds of music as a singer. Trying to let myself sing a wider range so I'm not constantly stuck in a little niche for one or two genres." Then again, that's what was happening now. He played in sleazy bars at night so it was a lot of break up songs, sometimes country if he went to the right bar. It made him roll his eyes every time he got a gig after midnight because he knew it'd be the depressing things. Oh well, money is money. "Oh, just roaming. Off day. Needed something to do." Oh yes, he'd heard on the news that people were getting attacked by mysterious things. Most were certain they were deranged humans, some of them thought they were in costume. Ashton though? He wasn't sure what he believed at this point in time. "Mhm. Still, here I am."
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 7:02 am
"A singer, eh? Don't get too many of those around here." Most singers knew to step off of the busking venues, and that duets were less profitable. A cappella wasn't useful with a single voice, and those that could manage it well didn't waste their time and pedals at street playing. if this boy had the talent for it, then small wonder if he played in a band, or joined a record label or something. Of course, he could also be one of those haughty brats that claimed themselves a singer, sucked a** at it, and fostered way too much faith in their own skills. They liked to roam around these parts too, but lacked the consideration for buskers and tried to sing along regardless.
"Know any bands that might want a violinist?" He added, in a singsong voice, "I'll let you sing along if you do~" While busking proved great fun, he preferred more variety to his playing. Cooking up violin adaptations to popular songs wore him down after a while, and the rare times he switched to more classical playing, he received less tips. It disappointed him greatly.
"Besides, I'm not playing for a crowd anymore." He intentionally slowed the time signature to prove his point, then sped up to standard tempo. "Not much to do but play what I like. Oh, and probably get attacked." Slate himself hadn't put much stock into the claims, but if these creatures were anything like the monstrosities found in the forest, he deeply questioned the idea of sticking around here. "Not much to do beyond that."
Got any good ideas, Mr. Singer? Did you just want a breath of fresh air from whichever tin can you normally hole yourself up in? Maybe if we play loud enough, one of those things would show itself. If, that is, they're not just tabloid headliners from the weird s**t people find in the forest. What the hell kind of beast wanders into a city, anyway? Who wants to be outnumbered?
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 9:54 am
Well this other was certainly fun wasn't he? Ashton put his hands on his hips as he listened and grinned at the way he was talking. Bands looking for violins? Not that he knew of but honestly... He wanted to help this guy out. So he shrugged a little and bit down on his lip. "I don't know. I can ask around the bars I play if they'd be opposed to violin playing." He winked at the other before looking around and then back up at the boy. "Too late for a crowd, or early, depending on how you look at it." His hands slipped into his jean pockets and then out for a phone, checking the time. Ashton's orange eyes glanced back up at him when the tempo changed up. Get attacked? Why would he get at-- oh right the creatures. He almost let those slip his mind. "What kind of pop do you know?" Yes pop. He liked singing pop when he could get away with it. Plus pop on a violin just sounded amazing. "Maybe we can draw a crowd, get money, then go have a coffee afterward."
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 5:20 pm
"We won't be drawing much of a crowd out here, I can tell you that." The streets looked pretty bare, with the market square all but empty save for he and his singer acquaintance. "But if you were thinking about hitting some bars and playing there, we might be able to stir something up. Can you play on top of the bars here? That's something we do back home - just jump on the counter and play whatever we want. Of course, neither one of us looks old enough to pass for legal there, huh?" Slate smiled. It was an easy thing, to flash a grin, to punctuate his explanations with something to soften the touch.
But this one, he rendered himself interesting with that wink. That wink spoke more than a smile, and Slate was wise to its words.
Finally the violinist disembarked his seating, pausing his play momentarily. He held the violin by its neck while the bow remained free in the other hand. "I try to stay up on the popular favorites." He held the tip up for inspection, finding the end remarkably pristine given the amount of abuse it normally took. "I've done Taylor Swift, One direction, Imagine Dragons, Lady Gaga... Basically, if you hear it playing on the radio now, chances are that I've had to learn it. People aren't really interested in the old classics, you know? It's all about the current sound. At least, that's what tips better. Not like the music majors are turning out their pockets to hear violin adaptations of Chopin classics." Not that Slate minded terribly - the classics were overplayed, as far as he was concerned. Had his education panned out any other way, he might've fostered a taste for them.
"We could always hang out near one of those 24-hour coffee shops. I mean, those are always buzzing with people. Or if you'd rather pass the time a different way..." Slate returned that wink before resting the bow on his own shoulder.
"Up to you."
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 5:44 am
Play on the bars? There was an idea. He hummed and shrugged. "I usually play bars with stages. No stage, no singer. They have cages around the stage to protect from the ones who get a bit physical with fists, bottles... stools sometimes." The things he'd seen and heard playing those seedy little bars. He shuddered to think about it again and then let his orange eyes light up as he returned that flashing grin. Still, Ashton had to admit, he was pretty curious about playing on a bar top. That seemed like it could be really fun. "Could probably ask." He watched as the taller of the two stood up from his seat and then blinked at the list of musicians he did covers of. Lady Gaga was still a thing? Huh. He didn't listen to the radio often, so he wasn't sure. Oh well. "Oh, I cover some of the newer things, but in the bars I sing it's usually old country hits. You know, cheating woman, drunken man, tragic romances." Ashton rolled his eyes and shifted on his feet a bit. One hand came up to his hair and just fiddled with the end of it before humming. "Playing near a coffee shop is a really good idea, I think." They could generate a bit of income. That and those coffee places weren't just busy, but they were always located near the center of town. "Who knows, if we're good enough, maybe people will buy us coffee." He had to laugh at that because honestly? It wouldn't happen. People of Destiny City were wrapped up in their own lives most of the time.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 7:40 am
"Man, the hell's with people? You perform for them, and they throw s**t at you? Talk about a tough crowd." Stages, though, they sounded pretty legit. Granted, most of the bars he grew up with housed no extra spacing for musicians and performance artists, so having allocated space for those specific activities sounded pretty flattering to him. But why invite artists at all if the patrons often threw s**t at them? Unless that was proper custom, but he didn't think so. Slate liked to think he had Destiny City pretty well figured out, beyond the whole monster thing.
"Country? Ech." Slate exaggerated a cringe. "Man, that sounds like Everlast. At least newer country gets more pop-sounding... Which is probably why some of the old dudes might throw their cans. Heard more than enough of them complain about it when I was riding the subway. They insist that country's a dying breed. Not that I mind."
The man sported a few fidgety mannerisms, which drew Slate's attention. The way he hopped from foot to foot and fiddled with his hair... In some ways, Slate was reminded of a bird. "It's Slate, by the way. I figure you'd want my name before we start playing together." Inwardly he hoped that 'playing together' became a more loose term, but he'd settle for a temporary musical allegiance.
"Come on." Slate seized his case and turned his back fully to his companion before he beckoned with a wave of his hand. "I've seen some pretty busy coffee shops on Carson street. It's kind of a dive down there, but I've seen worse. From what I've gathered, people come down there because they have some damn good coffee. Worth braving the sketchy neighborhood, at least." The walk wasn't terribly far, either; with the fountain and marketplace on the cusp of the grungier neighborhoods, the journey entailed a ten minute walk at slowest. "And if they do buy is coffee, we'll be totally wired through the rest of the night. Could be fun, yeah?"
Conveniently, Slate omitted his age and therefore his eligibility for the curfew laws in these parts. What this man didn't know might benefit Slate, after all.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 9:37 pm
It wasn't so much as nervous habit as he didn't know what to do with himself most of the time, so Ashton played with his hair, shifted this way and that, and just flitted about like a bird doing too much at once. When he got to singing, though, the shorter of the two would calm down a lot and focus all of his attention on the performance. "They throw things because they're drunk and probably don't like the requests I get." Ashton shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets as he finally followed the other, basically meandering after him instead of trying to walk directly beside him. "Country's dying, but the men who like it are strong and greedy about it." A sigh. "Unfortunately for me, anyway. Whatever. One day I'll be famous and sing my own pop songs and hold tours. I'll remember the little Slate though." The laugh that came from him was friendly and relaxed, even if he was completely unsure about how Slate would take it. "Names though... Ashton." Following in style, he omitted his age as well because he was honestly not up for the 'you look younger than you are' thing. It was annoying on good days and before this moment it was mediocre.
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 7:46 am
"'Little', says the small one." Slate reached out to crane his hand atop the boy's head and give it a gentle shake.
Slate continued leading for a time, meandering his way through common streets to avoid taking the pair down particularly narrow and private alleyways. Monsters aside, muggings were a very real threat around these parts. "Yeah, country's one of those things that's changing to survive, and a lot of the old guys aren't happy with it. But you have to evolve with your audience - and the people who like 'old' country aren't growing in number. So what are you gonna do, but change it up?" The redhead shrugged; he hadn't particularly liked country beyond the fiddling style often used with it. He lacked insight into its appeal.
A handful of minutes was passed to the streets, the yawning archways of the historical district, and the lamp posts carefully wrought of iron. The familiar ever-burning lantern that marked the Crossroads Café watched them from the distance. A few people sat in their remarkably small outdoor seating area. Forest green bistro tables numbered maybe five, with a pair of chairs at each table unless someone relocated a chair for a group gathering. One of those very instances left one table with a count of four people surrounding it, talking animatedly about events that lay just slightly out of earshot for the pair. The high spirits looked like good news to Slate.
"Alright!" Slate declared with pomp, and he set his case down against the macadam. Unzipping the outer pocket caused a torrential downpour of unusual tarot cards ,all greater arcana, though most of them were not found in any of the commonly recognized decks. He gathered them quickly and forced them back in before he pulled a folded and battered notebook paper with carefully scrawled writing.
"Here's the list of songs I know. Well, the songs I've been playing recently. It's not an exhaustive list. But it's a good start, and if you don't see anything that appeals, I could name something or you could suggest a thing that you'd want to play. Annnnd..." He trailed off to stoop by his case again. "If that doesn't appeal, then we could always play the game I do to pick songs for strangers. It's pretty hokey, but people buy it and tip more when I do it sometimes, so it's worth it."
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 8:02 am
Okay. Ashton knew he had that one coming, but it still made him bristle a bit. With a huff, the boy crossed his arms over his chest and just wandered with Slate through the streets. He did note the lack of alleyways they were going through, but it could be the other's paranoia about the monsters. Not that it wasn't in the right place, but still. "If I make it big? Leave country alone. I mean, now a days it's getting mixed with pop and rock and it just sounds awful. There might be like a handful of songs I enjoy that actually have country elements to it. Even Taylor Swift is pop." He shrugged at that and looked up at the other. What else could he say? Country was disappearing and not quickly enough in the newer generation's eyes. As the different districts made themselves known, Ashton took in the new scenery. This little cafe he'd never heard of before, but he wasn't surprised. He didn't often find himself down here. It was small, but at the same time it looked like the perfect place to showcase their talents. Raising his arms above his head, he decided to stretch himself out and then blinked at the tarot cards that avalanches out. Interesting. He didn't know anyone who was into this stuff... until now, he supposed. Then a piece of notebook paper was handed to him and he looked it over, tilting his head one way or another before humming. "Well, I've heard of a lot of these and know them quite well." He murmured, reading the paper, squinting now and then. There was a couple on here that seemed familiar but he couldn't place. "....Why don't we do one or two of the more popular ones here, and then we can see how much we have before maybe doing the song picking?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 8:58 am
Ashton's passion against country left Slate in good cheer. He only laughed with the boy's declaration that it should be left to rot. Strong opinions invited trust or challenge, and Slate wagered it was a mix of both.
"Alright, we can do that. Give me a sec to clean up this mess... You'd think I'd start with rubber banding them or something but the damn thing keeps disappearing on me... Or chewed off by dogs..." The redhead continued to mutter to himself while he lined up his cards. Afterward they were just as haphazardly shoved back into the case.
Standing, he dusted his hands off on the sides of his pants. "O-kay, let's take a look." Slate stole the paper from his acquaintance's hands and looked over the songs himself with an absentminded pair of fingers pinching his lower lip. "Why not do... Hmm, some of the more generic pop songs on here aren't a great idea for this audience. This is like... More of an Imagine Dragons crowd. Or one of those lesser known artists with pretentious song lyrics. IAMX might actually be known by these kids. I dunno, coffee drinkers are tough to gauge. If they start walking away, we know that's not the right game to play. So we can start with something like Shake it Off, and if that doesn't take off, then go for the more stereotype route and do like... The Mars Volta or something." Everything felt like a shot in the dark at this stage, but he didn't have much to lose. What would he be doing otherwise?
"Okay, so we can't get much closer than this." Slate opened the case and withdrew bow first, tightening the hair to ideal tautness before running his finger near the base of the frog. A decent cloud of rosin dislodged. "Most of these coffee joints play their own music over their speakers, yeah? Some CD or even just a satellite radio station with tunes. And if you get too close and start playing over their songs, then they tend to get pissy and start telling you to ******** off. Busking is technically loitering, you know? Sometimes the coffee shop owners are cool and will let you get all close and start doing the live band jig for their cafe, especially if they don't have to pay for it, but it's pretty rare. They're allergic to change or something."
Finally Slate stood and drew violin to clavicle. He pinned the instrument in place with his chin while he started the tuning process. "Ready when you are, Ash."
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 9:17 am
"Shake It Off is my jam." It was said with a solemn tone and with the most serious face he could muster. He loved Shake It off. With a little noise, he cleared his throat a bit. It wasn't embarrassing to admit, not really. Loving that song wasn't even a guilty pleasure for Ashton. Anyone who was his friend would catch him singing it literally all the time. He pushed his hair off his shoulders and tried to get it out of his face before humming. "I actually didn't know Busking was loitering. Whatever. We're fine here. They can come and hear us or leave and hear us or something. I don't know." He just wanted to sing. He had a husky sort of voice he just wanted share with everyone. It was a gift okay. So he started warming up, reciting the things he learned in choir from school and his vocal coach. Sure it sounded stupid, but it actually worked. Once Slate said he was ready, Ashton winked at him and told him to go.
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