[OPEN] I love rock n' roll

[youraffection]

WHO: Everyone and anyone! (That means you!)
WHERE: Recolle Community Center
WHEN: Friday November 17th, 3PM-7PM
WHAT: Musical Jammin', pizza, and Retrospec bitchin'
WARNINGS: Varying levels of musical prowess?? Maybe some more questionable things in the info-sharing portion

It's a chilly November afternoon, but the main floor of the Recolle Community Center is nice and warm. those who planned to attend will find a few signs on colored printer paper pointing towards room 1C & 1D. A large divider in the center is pulled back to open the space into one large room. Most of the chairs are stacked along the sides and available to be rearranged however is needed, while at one end of the room there are five tables set up with folding chairs already in place. A large television hangs on the East wall, not far from the tables. Though food will be delivered later, there is a pack of bottled water if anyone gets parched.

Free For All

At the start of the afternoon, there's a good amount of time allotted for people to just have fun an experiment. Seen an instrument that you've never tried but always wanted to? Go for it! It doesn't matter how good it sounds, the point is to try it out and have fun. Notice others who play your instrument of choice? Go say hi! Trade tips! Show off your mad skills, nerd out, and make some new friends. Start an impromptu band! Find others, pick a song, and go for it. Or make up your own! Really, the possibilities are endless.

As Yosuke mentioned in his Retrospec invitation, you will need to bring your own instruments, so this is also an opportunity to show off your collection to your new friends. There is also one standard piano that is a staple of the rec center available for use. Show off your Brahms or Chopsticks.

But wait, you don't play an instrument? Nothing to worry about! Yosuke has generously provided his laptop, a few bluetooth microphones from a local gaming store, and hooked it all up to that television for a free play of Karaoke Revolution. Talent not required, but knowledge of 90s pop might be.

Performances

Had some time to practice with your friends or just want to show off some solo talent? After quieting down all battling notes (and discord) in the room, people will be allotted some time to perform a song in a group or solo performance. Just because! Who knows, maybe this will be the start of the hottest new band in Recolle?

Whatever you want to perform is totally up to you and your buddies. Your own song? Go for it. A new death metal cover of one of the songs from the musical Cats? Why not. Drop a beat and free-style for everyone? By all means! The world is your metaphorical oyster (as long as a 10 year-old wouldn't be going home to their parents asking what new and colorful words mean).

Pizza Time (is all time)

After all that hard work rocking out and listening to your friends perform, you must be hungry. As promised, there is pizza, the defacto feast of champions. There are a multitude of choices, including classic cheese and pepperoni, vegetarian, Ultimate Meat Lovers', Hawaiian (for those who like a little pineapple), as well as one gluten free cheese kind. Dont forget the garlic twists which come in the cheese and un-cheesed variety. And for those who want to pretend that this is remotely healthy, there's also salad. No one will really judge you if that's all you eat.

Take this time to chill out and stuff your face. You're free to go back to plucking away at your instruments as well, just be careful you're not getting marinara sauce all over someone's personal guitar.

So about Retrospec...

You know how Yosuke said they were going to pretend everything is normal? Yeah, that doesn't really go that well around Retrospec. Music is fun and all but it's a short distraction from the strange and constantly influx reality that they're now living in. Maybe the person beside you utters a small complaint or someone just brings up the fact that the color blue is now back in full-force. Whatever the starting point, there's a growing open discussion for all things Retrsopec.

The fog last month was a doozy, wasn't it? And boy they sure are making some interesting posts on the network. Do we believe them? Can we trust them? What is all this about our other "selves" anyway? Bring up a topic to the group as a point of discussion, share a personal anecdote, or raise a question--whatever you have to say, the chattering is in full swing and continues until the time for the allotted rental space is up.

The four main prompts will have their own sub headers below to allow everyone to mix and mingle as needed, but there is also a "CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE" option for you to set up whatever open/closed threads you'd like with your own prompt ideas. If you have any questions/suggestions/etc., please feel free to use the OOC questions comment below or to contact me by PMing this journal or on pluck at doggystyle

Comments

OOC QUESTIONS

[youraffection]

FREE FOR ALL

[youraffection]

[ If you have links to examples of songs/playing styles/etc. that you'd like to include, please do! ]

[chuusai]

a. karaoke

[ It's never been Mao's strong point because singers tend to get a lot of attention and that's not something he's ever looked for in music, but with a few other people around, he could easily be persuaded to get up and sing. Turns out he's actually not bad and his knowledge of 90s pop is pretty considerable. Feel free to join him in some Matchbook Twenty, make him sing your choice, or of course cheer or jeer as he goes. ]

b. guitar

[ If he's not at karaoke, Mao's set up shop with his guitar and if nobody else is around to jam with particularly, he'll be playing along with whatever's going at the karaoke station. He's perfectly happy to show anybody what he's doing or to help them get started if they haven't played before, and of course he'd be thrilled to have other people to play with. Want to swap guitars with him for a little while? Want to play along? He's taking requests, too, if that's your thing! ]

B

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot's guitar game is not as strong as his violin or piano game, so he's happy to take a chance to listen to this guy play. He's pretty good! When he reaches the end of a song, he'll applaud him]

That was really good!

[chuusai]

[ Mao usually plays with his head down, not really watching his hands so much as just letting himself focus on how it feels rather than on anybody who might be watching. That means he's got no clue he's attracted an audience, so he's surprised and humbled when the praise comes. ]

Ah, thank you! It's just a hobby... do you play?

B

[youraffection]

[ His first guitar buddy! Of course Yosuke is happy to jam out with Mao, which also means he's perfectly happy to listen to the guy bust something out. ]

Guns 'n Roses? A+ choice, man. That was slick!

[chuusai]

[ Mao's perfectly happy to play but he's still getting used to things like people watching and thinking it's good, so he's a little sheepish in his smile at the end. ]

Ahh, thanks! Sounds pretty different on acoustic but still good, I think. Now you! I wanna hear what you've been working on.

[complementing]

[Minako absolutely loves karaoke but her knowledge of American 90s pop is severely lacking. So you can find her enthusiastically singing and dancing to Livin' La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin...or looking up the lyrics to other songs. Even if she doesn't know all of them, though, she's a quick learner and will be a backup singer for anyone who needs one during the choruses.

You can also find her taking a turn on the piano. She has sheet music for the first song she plays, which is Shelter. She even sings along with it as she does.

The second song is something very few people have heard before, and that she plays without sheet music...when she thinks that nobody is around or too busy to listen, that is, because she's still practicing it and frequently stutters in the middle in parts she clearly hasn't memorized yet. If anyone sticks around to hear one of her complete attempts, it starts off as a simple, sweet melody that gradually grows complex, intense, and powerful before tapering back off into that first melody again. It's a beautiful piece, and she continues to hum it even as she steps away from the piano.]

Piano!

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot is possibly in the best spirits possible here. He's super happy to see Minako here, he didn't know she was so musically talented! He'll listen to her song on the piano, before giving her a round of applause]

That was great! I didn't know you played piano!

[complementing]

[She brightens upon seeing him, cheeks tinged with pink.]

I played when I was really young, but stopped in high school. I only started practicing again this past year. Did you really like it?

karaoke

[promisedyou]

Out of curiosity, [ because while Mio is an excellent shitposter, she can't help but ask. ] why'd you choose that song?

[complementing]

Huh? Oh, it's an old favorite of mine. And it's just so catchy.

[She grins as the song starts up, and starts twirling around with the mic.]

♫ She's into superstitions,
black cats and voodoo dolls.
I feel a premonition,
That girl's gonna make me fall! ♫

[reticence]

[Faolan picks his way through the room of instruments and people playing them, glancing this way and that as he catches the sound of talent here and there (and occasionally, the lack thereof, though of course such an instance as that is fewer and further in between).

It's while he's picking his way through the instruments that he catches the sound of the song on the piano. He recognizes it, and the playing for that matter, and he makes his way towards her. Making certain to wait for a pause in her playing before he moves to pull up a chair beside her bench.]

You've been practicing that.

Karaoke because omfgh

[youraffection]

[ Senpai...singing Ricky Martin. He can't miss that.

Literally, he can't miss that. He kind of got a knock-off old school version of Karaoke Revolution, which is why the songs are so outdated, but this...this isn't what he planned at all. But he has to show solidarity! For senpai. ]

...Upside...inside out?

[fiddlestick]

A. Violin
[Elliot is beyond happy right now. A party that's devoted entirely to the love of music and performance? You better believe Elliot is there, because this is his version of heaven. He's got his violin with him, and he'll be happy to play his heart out. He's very good, and he'll be more than happy to collaborate.]

B. Piano
[Though it's not just violin he plays. At some point, he will gravitate towards the piano. If there's no one else to play with, he'll be plucking away at his own melodies. While he might insist he's only alright, it's clear he's crazy good at it. He's only been playing the piano since he was 3, after all]

C. Any other Instrument
[But why attend a jamming session if you're just going to stick with stuff you're good with? This is all about experimentation! So Elliot can be found, trying out any available instrument he can. For many of them, he already seems to know the basics. And if he doesn't? Well, he is pretty quick to pick them up.

And of course, being the polite person he is, he did bring stuff to help people jam with! He brought along his collection of spare instruments- a wide array of small percussion instruments (yes, including a cowbell), a ukulele, and even one of those Otamatones. What? Feel free to play around and try any out.

Except his violin. No one touches his baby.

The only place he seems to neglect to do is the karaoke, but you might catch him watching sometimes.]

A

[wantnotneed]

[ She might have just said that she was going to go as a whim, but she ended up coming here after all. She dug through posts beforehand in order to match a face with Elliot's name. It was a lot of work, but it seems that she didn't have to.

She recalls the familiar music from the clip that Akira sent her, and she's drawn to it immediately. Manon is there in a long black wig that's tied into two low twintails over her shoulders, dressed in a casual blouse and long pants, and sunglasses. Akira might have joked about her coming with a disguise, but here she is. She wonders if he somehow caught onto how she really looks like from how Retrospec works and all, so she thought that this approach would be best. Well, even if he didn't, it's just a excuse to wear all this stuff anyway.

It really is better hearing his violin playing in person. She keeps her distance just in case. She wants to see him play without being pressured, and it looks like this is the perfect environment for it. Overall, it looks like he's having fun. She smiles at that. Music should be enjoyed like that after all.

After Elliot is finished with that piece, she gives him a small applause. ]

C!

[reticence]

[This sort of a gathering isn't generally something Faolan might volunteer for. As much on account of his busy schedule as a bodyguard as anything else. But as luck would have it, Laurent has given him the day off to attend, and he really has no other excuse. Especially not since he actually wants to look into the event. Once upon a time, Faolan had attended a conservatory part-time, intending to go to university for music. Just because that wasn't how things worked out didn't mean that he had to give up on his passion. Did it?

So here he is in attendance, and he has brought his guitar. It's a beautiful instrument, obviously expensive and well-loved once he has it out of the case, and though he's a little hesitant to just leave it to be passed around, he's willing to share if anyone looks interested. Probably a few steps less protective than Elliot is of his violin, though his life doesn't revolve around the instrument. Not anymore.

He's watched the younger man make his rounds of the instruments and as he nears Faolan stills his fingers, resting his hand on the strings to silence the tune, though it's clear that if he'd heard anything at all he's still quite good at it.]

Did you want to...? [Faolan offers, tentatively. Voice soft, melodic Irish accent equally soft above the din of the instruments around them.]

PEFORMANCES

[youraffection]

[ If you have links to examples of songs/playing styles/etc. that you'd like to include, please do! ]

PIZZA TIME

[youraffection]

SO ABOUT RETROSPEC...

[youraffection]

[ Please include adequate warnings for Retrospec memories if needed. Thanks! ]

[burningblossoms]

[Yukiko has, for the most part, sat off to one side for this, though she has a sax case with her at the very least. She's still really unsure about this sort of stuff, but she figures she cannot be the only one. When people all gather around she starts things off on her end with a concern.]

So has anyone else gotten musical skills through Retrospec that they didn't have before?

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot was near, tuning his violin with tender loving care. He looks a little reluctant to answer the question]

S-Sorta, I guess ... Why do you ask?

didn't want to threadjack so just assume this happens after elliot finishes?

[chuusai]

[ Mao's a little reluctant to answer but he's also curious, and it seems rude to ask a question without answering one. ]

N...ot yet, but I probably will. How did you know?

[youraffection]

Man...I hope I do! It'd be awesome to suddenly shred like a pro.

[ Those are definitely stars in his eyes. ]

But for real, I'm sure you would've been able to rock the sax with practice, anyway.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

[youraffection]

[ AKA. Wildcard and do whatever you want. Anything that might not fall in the above! ]