BotB: Wheee!

Truce · 02-26-2004, 04:50 AM

ooc-Flashback scene courtesy of Mr. V. Also, it came late because I had unexpectedly gone to the movies.

It was raining that evening, the last night of the month. The band known as the Thumpmastas were inside their rented oldskool aircraft hangar (like the one in Tony Hawk 2) at a complex for the band to practice at. Blyr (AKA Thumpman) was sitting at a desk looking through the bills they had, fairly confident. Although the band had no official 'leader,' the media, fans, and pretty much everyone else treated Thumpman as the leader. They didn't have any agent, as Thumpman took care of the finances and such.

Thumpman picked up a notice from the mail. "Hmm...seems this'll be our last day here unless we pay our dues." The Thumpmastas were very successful, all their members wealthy to a certain degree. Nobody should be complaining, but that's when the door flew open. Thumpman looked up. "Hey, Ripel! You've been singin' very well today! I should be out there practicing my vocals with the band, but I'm tied up here. It's the last day of the month, and we gotta pay the bills. I'll pay half, since I live here and all, but do you think the rest of you could pay the rest?"

Ripel slammed his fists on the Thumpman's desk, startling him. "I QUIT!"

"What? Why'd you want to do that?" Thumpman said in a very startled tone, nearly falling out of his chair.

"Look, I'm tired of being in your shadow all the time! I'm going to go solo. The rest of the band has left, too. We're all sick of you!" He slammed the door on his way out. After the door slammed, Thumpman noticed a letter from Dezil on the ground next to the doorway. He opened it, and read it. "So, that explains why he hasn't shown up in a week...he's been inventing again...looks like Ripel was right...."

Thumpman got up and checked inside the hangar. All that was left was his escalade (dubbed the Thumpmobile by his fans), his boombox, and his other DJing equipment, along with the rest of his possesions and the old aircraft the landlord left there; all of the drums, guitars, amps, and everything else that belonged to the rest of the band was gone. The large hangar door was open, and Thumpman could see the thunder and lightning with drizzles of merciless rain come down as he saw Ripel drive off. He sighed. "Well, looks like I'm back to where I started." He walked back into his office and saw the picture of his 7-man band posing for the local Street Football Championship photo, Ripel holding the trophy while the rest of the band held him up. He glanced at another picture on the wall, where the band was first formed. Another showed the band at the Grammy awards for Best Album. He only sighed with grief. "Was it really my ego that did this?" the sad man said to himself; he was probably the most humble DJ out there, so he was truly surprised.

He stepped outside in the rain and started walking around the neighborhood. Already he could hear from various car radios that his band has broken up. News crews were heading towards the hangar, and if it wasn't such a dark night, they would've saw him and pulled over. "I never like the media that much."

He turned into an alley. What he saw didn't surprise him: three gangsters with knives were trying to steal a purse form a young woman. "Hey, you guys! Leave her alone!" he shouted into the alleyway.

"And what if we don't, mutha F*****?!" one yelled back. Thumpman slowly approached, and waited for the iminent attack. The first thug thrust his knife at him, and Thumpman responded by dodging to the side while grabbing his his arm. He threw him into another of the gangsters, who was holding the woman hostage next to a dumpster; both didn't enjoy making a big dent ion the large trash container. The third, apparently the chicken of the bunch, bolted. "Not so fast!" Thumpman yelled as he caught the man in a flying tackle, a move he learned while playing football. He knocked him out with a blow to the head, and started to walk away, not expecting any thanks form the woman he saved.

"Err...thank you!" The woman called at him as he walked out of the alley. Thumpman flashed a thumbs up signal at her while turning his head and smiling as he turned out of the alley.

"With the battle of the bands coming in a few weeks, how can I compete without a band? Oh, well....I'll find a way."

It's been a month since then. This is where the story of the Battle of the Bands begins.

* * *

Since the break up of the Thumpmastas life has been somewhat tense at Tristra for the former members as well as any other musician. The media got so focused over the former Thumpmasters that everything they did was critisized, and noone really paid any attention to any other musicians.

However, today was different for some reason. The entire city seemed to be joyful and generous, in fact all musical artists in the area had decided to put on a spontaneous charity show for the local children's hospital. All seemed right in the world.

Of course, that was before the ARMY OF SIX HUNDRED EVIL VENDING MACHINES OF DOOM!!! popped up in the middle of the stadium where they were playing and started terrorizing the populace by shooting cans of Diet Coke at them, eating their dollars, and all around bad stuff.

Solo only had one thing to say when he saw all this going on. "Dammit, they don't have Pepsi!"

Oh, what are they going to do? If they weren't stopped here and now they might escape, wreak havoc on the whole city, and eat our change! Heroes are needed.

Dante · 02-26-2004, 05:15 AM

The man got out of his vehicle, drawing stares because of his bare chest. He let them look. Nothing to be ashamed of, after all. He left the SUV behind, then tapped his staff once, hearing the vehicle chirp twice as the remote lock engaged.

"Well... this should be the place..."

He looked down at the piece of paper. He looked up at the door of the house before him. The addresses matched. With nothing left to do, he walked up to the door and knocked three times.

"I hope this is where the Thumpman stays..." he mused to himself.

Mr. Viewtiful · 02-26-2004, 08:43 AM

Thumpman was a little depressed over the band breaking up, so much that he decided not to show up to the charity concert. I'd love to put on a show for charity, but the media wouldn't leave me alone afterwards, and even I couldn't dodge them for too long.

Instead, he was hangin' out in his home, the old aircraft hangar that the band used to practice at. Pictures of the band were still hung in the office, and all his DJing equipment was left untouched since the band broke up. Clearly, this was taxing hard on the young man's resolve. "End of the month...I'd better take care of my bills..."

He was relaxing in the chair of his office, his boombox on and playin' a song that he always took a liking to ("Take a Look Around" by Limp Bizkit) when he heard three knocks on the office door. Well, at least this guy is nice enough not to kick the huge garage-style doors.

He answered the door, giving a friendly "What's up?" to whoever was knocking before even checking who it was. He didn't care, because he knew it wasn't the loud reporters from the local news station, and he was glad to have company.

Dante · 02-26-2004, 09:14 AM

Johnny almost took a step back as the door opened. The man he saw was rather garishly attired. He was massive, over six feet tall, with purple hat with a gold 'T' on it resting upon his head, and his eyes were obscured by blue semi-rectangular shades. He wore a baggy blue football jersy with the number '54' on the front and back (and a similarly baggy white t-shirt underneath), along with a pair of baggy blue cargo pants and black athletic basketball shoes. He looked every bit the part of a teenage slacker, save for the boombox he slung casually over his shoulder.

From the way he carried himself, Johnny knew that he would be a formidable opponent indeed. He removed his hat and slung his staff behind him, then made a short bow.

"So... you are the one they call Thumpman? I heard you were looking for players."

Forever Zero · 02-26-2004, 03:33 PM

OOC: Sorry, can't post today. Dezil will be making a delayed entrance. That's more dramatic anyway. Got a huge project to do and college stuff to take care of, so I've got no extra time. I'll post later if I get time.

Mr. Viewtiful · 02-26-2004, 05:48 PM

Looks like this guy has been watching the news lately. I'm not looking for any band members, but I'd might as well see what he's got. Who know, this might be what I've been waiting for. I could use the company, anyways. "Come on in." Thumpman said as he invited the visitor in.

"You probably know who I am, but what's you name, and what do you play?" Thumpman asked cheerfully as he offered a handshake.

Dante · 02-26-2004, 06:01 PM

Johnny accepted the handshake and stepped inside.

"Katsumoto. Johnny Katsumoto. Or GDK, if anybody asks. I play the drums, and I heard you were someone I should be searching for if I needed a band. Thing is, while I can sing a little, this is a battle of a bands, not a talent show. Besides, I haven't played with a decent group in a long time, and from the news, you guys were one of the best. Well, at lteast until you broke up, but there must have been reasons for that."

He paused for a moment,t hen realized the grievous error he had made.

"Well... sorry about that. Don't get me wrong - I'm not some vulture trying to get in on the Thumpmastas or anything. But if you did need a drummer... well, I'm here, and I'm good."

Mr. Viewtiful · 02-26-2004, 06:12 PM

Thumpman only smiled, knowing he meant no harm with that comment. "It's good to see more talent in the business. Would you mind playing for me? I don't have a drum set, but I do have an electric drumpad set somewhere in the hangar."

He paused. "Oh, I bet you wanna see the rest of the place." He opened athe door across the room from the entrance. "Here it is, where the Thumpmastas practiced nearly every day. It doesn't look like much, but this is where we 'achieved graetness,' as some say. I wouldn't go that far, though..."

He turned back to GDK. "C'mon, show me waht you got!" he challenged in a friendly tone. It's been a while since I saw a talented drummer. This'll be good.

Dante · 02-26-2004, 06:30 PM

"It's good to see more talent in the business. Would you mind playing for me? I don't have a drum set, but I do have an electric drumpad set somewhere in the hangar."

Johnny smiled and nodded.

"No problem.. I did bring my drum kit with me in the back of the SUV, but I guess you having one here saves me the trouble. "

He looked at the room Thumpman brought him to. He couldn't see it, but he could feel it. The expended energy of a group of people who had spent their lives learning how to play together, disparate men coming together into a harmonious whole. Johnny briefly reflected that it had been a long time since he'd ever seen a group like that.

So... why did they break up?

Then Johnny shook the thought from his head.

It's nobody's business but his.

He eased over to the drum set, made sure the cow bells and foot pad were there, then reversed his staff, slamming its head upon the ground. Two drumsticks shot out the other side, and Johnny caught them like a [air of chopsticks before moving behind the drums.

Now then...

"Easier to Run?" he asked.

Mr. Viewtiful · 02-26-2004, 06:37 PM

Thumpman cocked an eyebrow. "Umm...which band is that by? I havn't really done any musical work in about a month, so my knowledge of most tunes out there isn't as good as it used to be. If you could tell me, I could try to play guitar with you. I picked up an electric one about four years ago, and I know how to play a little bit, if that helps you out. Or, I could just see if I have it on CD. Your call."

That's a nice move with the drumsticks. He's got style. I like that. He thought as he gave a slightly noticable grin towards the young man.

02-26-2004, 04:50 AM	#1
Truce Lakitu Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 3,856	BotB: Wheee! ooc-Flashback scene courtesy of Mr. V. Also, it came late because I had unexpectedly gone to the movies. It was raining that evening, the last night of the month. The band known as the Thumpmastas were inside their rented oldskool aircraft hangar (like the one in Tony Hawk 2) at a complex for the band to practice at. Blyr (AKA Thumpman) was sitting at a desk looking through the bills they had, fairly confident. Although the band had no official 'leader,' the media, fans, and pretty much everyone else treated Thumpman as the leader. They didn't have any agent, as Thumpman took care of the finances and such. Thumpman picked up a notice from the mail. "Hmm...seems this'll be our last day here unless we pay our dues." The Thumpmastas were very successful, all their members wealthy to a certain degree. Nobody should be complaining, but that's when the door flew open. Thumpman looked up. "Hey, Ripel! You've been singin' very well today! I should be out there practicing my vocals with the band, but I'm tied up here. It's the last day of the month, and we gotta pay the bills. I'll pay half, since I live here and all, but do you think the rest of you could pay the rest?" Ripel slammed his fists on the Thumpman's desk, startling him. "I QUIT!" "What? Why'd you want to do that?" Thumpman said in a very startled tone, nearly falling out of his chair. "Look, I'm tired of being in your shadow all the time! I'm going to go solo. The rest of the band has left, too. We're all sick of you!" He slammed the door on his way out. After the door slammed, Thumpman noticed a letter from Dezil on the ground next to the doorway. He opened it, and read it. "So, that explains why he hasn't shown up in a week...he's been inventing again...looks like Ripel was right...." Thumpman got up and checked inside the hangar. All that was left was his escalade (dubbed the Thumpmobile by his fans), his boombox, and his other DJing equipment, along with the rest of his possesions and the old aircraft the landlord left there; all of the drums, guitars, amps, and everything else that belonged to the rest of the band was gone. The large hangar door was open, and Thumpman could see the thunder and lightning with drizzles of merciless rain come down as he saw Ripel drive off. He sighed. "Well, looks like I'm back to where I started." He walked back into his office and saw the picture of his 7-man band posing for the local Street Football Championship photo, Ripel holding the trophy while the rest of the band held him up. He glanced at another picture on the wall, where the band was first formed. Another showed the band at the Grammy awards for Best Album. He only sighed with grief. "Was it really my ego that did this?" the sad man said to himself; he was probably the most humble DJ out there, so he was truly surprised. He stepped outside in the rain and started walking around the neighborhood. Already he could hear from various car radios that his band has broken up. News crews were heading towards the hangar, and if it wasn't such a dark night, they would've saw him and pulled over. "I never like the media that much." He turned into an alley. What he saw didn't surprise him: three gangsters with knives were trying to steal a purse form a young woman. "Hey, you guys! Leave her alone!" he shouted into the alleyway. "And what if we don't, mutha F****?!" one yelled back. Thumpman slowly approached, and waited for the iminent attack. The first thug thrust his knife at him, and Thumpman responded by dodging to the side while grabbing his his arm. He threw him into another of the gangsters, who was holding the woman hostage next to a dumpster; both didn't enjoy making a big dent ion the large trash container. The third, apparently the chicken of the bunch, bolted. "Not so fast!" Thumpman yelled as he caught the man in a flying tackle, a move he learned while playing football. He knocked him out with a blow to the head, and started to walk away, not expecting any thanks form the woman he saved. "Err...thank you!" The woman called at him as he walked out of the alley. Thumpman flashed a thumbs up signal at her while turning his head and smiling as he turned out of the alley. "With the battle of the bands coming in a few weeks, how can I compete without a band? Oh, well....I'll find a way." It's been a month since then. This is where the story of the Battle of the Bands begins. * * Since the break up of the Thumpmastas life has been somewhat tense at Tristra for the former members as well as any other musician. The media got so focused over the former Thumpmasters that everything they did was critisized, and noone really paid any attention to any other musicians. However, today was different for some reason. The entire city seemed to be joyful and generous, in fact all musical artists in the area had decided to put on a spontaneous charity show for the local children's hospital. All seemed right in the world. Of course, that was before the ARMY OF SIX HUNDRED EVIL VENDING MACHINES OF DOOM!!! popped up in the middle of the stadium where they were playing and started terrorizing the populace by shooting cans of Diet Coke at them, eating their dollars, and all around bad stuff. Solo only had one thing to say when he saw all this going on. "Dammit, they don't have Pepsi!" Oh, what are they going to do? If they weren't stopped here and now they might escape, wreak havoc on the whole city, and eat our change! Heroes are needed.

02-26-2004, 03:33 PM	#5
Forever Zero Saint of Stats Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: The End Of The World Posts: 5,646	OOC: Sorry, can't post today. Dezil will be making a delayed entrance. That's more dramatic anyway. Got a huge project to do and college stuff to take care of, so I've got no extra time. I'll post later if I get time. __________________ "For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he pass'd; And the eyes of the sleepers wax'd deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!" - The Destruction of Sennacherib

02-26-2004, 06:12 PM	#8
Mr. Viewtiful No charge for awesomeness... Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ...or attractiveness. Posts: 1,796	Thumpman only smiled, knowing he meant no harm with that comment. "It's good to see more talent in the business. Would you mind playing for me? I don't have a drum set, but I do have an electric drumpad set somewhere in the hangar." He paused. "Oh, I bet you wanna see the rest of the place." He opened athe door across the room from the entrance. "Here it is, where the Thumpmastas practiced nearly every day. It doesn't look like much, but this is where we 'achieved graetness,' as some say. I wouldn't go that far, though..." He turned back to GDK. "C'mon, show me waht you got!" he challenged in a friendly tone. It's been a while since I saw a talented drummer. This'll be good. Last edited by Mr. Viewtiful; 02-26-2004 at 06:15 PM.

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02-26-2004, 05:15 AM	#2
Dante Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Crushing the weak beneath the iron jackboots of tyranny Posts: 7,703	The man got out of his vehicle, drawing stares because of his bare chest. He let them look. Nothing to be ashamed of, after all. He left the SUV behind, then tapped his staff once, hearing the vehicle chirp twice as the remote lock engaged. "Well... this should be the place..." He looked down at the piece of paper. He looked up at the door of the house before him. The addresses matched. With nothing left to do, he walked up to the door and knocked three times. "I hope this is where the Thumpman stays..." he mused to himself.

02-26-2004, 08:43 AM	#3
Mr. Viewtiful No charge for awesomeness... Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ...or attractiveness. Posts: 1,796	Thumpman was a little depressed over the band breaking up, so much that he decided not to show up to the charity concert. I'd love to put on a show for charity, but the media wouldn't leave me alone afterwards, and even I couldn't dodge them for too long. Instead, he was hangin' out in his home, the old aircraft hangar that the band used to practice at. Pictures of the band were still hung in the office, and all his DJing equipment was left untouched since the band broke up. Clearly, this was taxing hard on the young man's resolve. "End of the month...I'd better take care of my bills..." He was relaxing in the chair of his office, his boombox on and playin' a song that he always took a liking to ("Take a Look Around" by Limp Bizkit) when he heard three knocks on the office door. Well, at least this guy is nice enough not to kick the huge garage-style doors. He answered the door, giving a friendly "What's up?" to whoever was knocking before even checking who it was. He didn't care, because he knew it wasn't the loud reporters from the local news station, and he was glad to have company.

02-26-2004, 09:14 AM	#4
Dante Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Crushing the weak beneath the iron jackboots of tyranny Posts: 7,703	Johnny almost took a step back as the door opened. The man he saw was rather garishly attired. He was massive, over six feet tall, with purple hat with a gold 'T' on it resting upon his head, and his eyes were obscured by blue semi-rectangular shades. He wore a baggy blue football jersy with the number '54' on the front and back (and a similarly baggy white t-shirt underneath), along with a pair of baggy blue cargo pants and black athletic basketball shoes. He looked every bit the part of a teenage slacker, save for the boombox he slung casually over his shoulder. From the way he carried himself, Johnny knew that he would be a formidable opponent indeed. He removed his hat and slung his staff behind him, then made a short bow. "So... you are the one they call Thumpman? I heard you were looking for players."

02-26-2004, 05:48 PM	#6
Mr. Viewtiful No charge for awesomeness... Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ...or attractiveness. Posts: 1,796	Looks like this guy has been watching the news lately. I'm not looking for any band members, but I'd might as well see what he's got. Who know, this might be what I've been waiting for. I could use the company, anyways. "Come on in." Thumpman said as he invited the visitor in. "You probably know who I am, but what's you name, and what do you play?" Thumpman asked cheerfully as he offered a handshake.

02-26-2004, 06:01 PM	#7
Dante Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Crushing the weak beneath the iron jackboots of tyranny Posts: 7,703	Johnny accepted the handshake and stepped inside. "Katsumoto. Johnny Katsumoto. Or GDK, if anybody asks. I play the drums, and I heard you were someone I should be searching for if I needed a band. Thing is, while I can sing a little, this is a battle of a bands, not a talent show. Besides, I haven't played with a decent group in a long time, and from the news, you guys were one of the best. Well, at lteast until you broke up, but there must have been reasons for that." He paused for a moment,t hen realized the grievous error he had made. "Well... sorry about that. Don't get me wrong - I'm not some vulture trying to get in on the Thumpmastas or anything. But if you did need a drummer... well, I'm here, and I'm good."

02-26-2004, 06:30 PM	#9
Dante Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Crushing the weak beneath the iron jackboots of tyranny Posts: 7,703	"It's good to see more talent in the business. Would you mind playing for me? I don't have a drum set, but I do have an electric drumpad set somewhere in the hangar." Johnny smiled and nodded. "No problem.. I did bring my drum kit with me in the back of the SUV, but I guess you having one here saves me the trouble. " He looked at the room Thumpman brought him to. He couldn't see it, but he could feel it. The expended energy of a group of people who had spent their lives learning how to play together, disparate men coming together into a harmonious whole. Johnny briefly reflected that it had been a long time since he'd ever seen a group like that. So... why did they break up? Then Johnny shook the thought from his head. It's nobody's business but his. He eased over to the drum set, made sure the cow bells and foot pad were there, then reversed his staff, slamming its head upon the ground. Two drumsticks shot out the other side, and Johnny caught them like a [air of chopsticks before moving behind the drums. Now then... "Easier to Run?" he asked.

02-26-2004, 06:37 PM	#10
Mr. Viewtiful No charge for awesomeness... Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ...or attractiveness. Posts: 1,796	Thumpman cocked an eyebrow. "Umm...which band is that by? I havn't really done any musical work in about a month, so my knowledge of most tunes out there isn't as good as it used to be. If you could tell me, I could try to play guitar with you. I picked up an electric one about four years ago, and I know how to play a little bit, if that helps you out. Or, I could just see if I have it on CD. Your call." That's a nice move with the drumsticks. He's got style. I like that. He thought as he gave a slightly noticable grin towards the young man.