The Life of Bands

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K

Kaiser

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Original poster
The setting is a music festival on an private island in the Pacific Ocean. Held yearly, bands come to this luxurious island to preform and ultimately to win the grand prize of a large sum of money based of the total earning from the festival. A great opportunity to expand a band's resources. Both new and returning bands gather for a week festival to celebrate music and to compete in a friendly manner. Who wins is up to the fans and a few select judges. Let the fun and games begin!
 
Rina was a testament to what following your dreams could do. Since she had been a teenager and her grades at school had begun to drop drastically at the discovery of 'real music'. Her father was a lawyer, and her brother had not disappointed them, now on the path to becoming a respected doctor. But none of that mattered, for Rina had finally achieved her ultimate goal.

The young woman stepped off the small chartered jet that had carried her, along with the rest of the band, and a few others to the island. She took in the bright colours of the wonderful setting, grinning into the distance as she watched the hustle and bustle as roadies and various other personnel built the various stages and made the final preparations for the arrival of the multitude of fans, press and of course the nameless VIPs.

"You know, the sun is going to kill my hair." Rina observed, unconsciously puffing a rogue strand of what was obviously dyed candy pink hair, the ends dipped a sort of greeny blue that wasn't quite turquoise.

The drummer, Reggie, snorted, tousling his bandmates hair affectionately. "Yes, princess. That's all that matters."

Interrupting, William and Aron, the twins, happily chimed in with, "You know, there's so much sexual tension between you two we could jar it and sell it."

That was about as far from the truth as it was possible to be, and really, to all of them the idea was so ludicrous that they all burst out laughing, until finally Rina sobered enough to speak up again. "Okay guys, I'll go check us in. You go and ogle the pretty ladies."

And with that, she headed to the large hotel, blue eyes shining merrily as she entered the air conditioned lobby.
 
Dex walked over to the side of the cruise liner now entering the harbor of the grand island. He stared at the countless people walking along the beach and so on. He smiled heavily as his brother walked over to him. "Damn Dex, quite a smile you have on your face. I haven't seen that expression since that girl-" Dex covered his brother's mouth with his hand to get him to be silenced. "Oh shut up Evan, just look," He moved his hand along the coastline of the island as if modeling it," We've finally made it! Haha!" He laughed loudly and patted his brother's shoulder before returning to the rest of his band mates. " Ty....Bentley....how does it feel knowing for the next 7 days there are no worries, just an island full of music!" He gave both of them high fives and exchanged a few words before picking his items up and they altogether exited the cruise ship.


Dex took in the environment. He was still surprised that his band had finally been given a chance to preform here. Back home, his band was quite popular. He himself was also known for his ability to sing and was the most noticeable of the group. Dex and his brother were the ones to start the band. Evan loved playing guitar and keyboard. Once they had discovered Ty, who played drums, and Bentley for their bass, they slowly rose to success. Now it was there chance to prove they deserved to be recognized as a top name band. At least this was the hope of Dex. He and his band mates quickly made there way to the hotel. They wanted to put there stuff away and enjoy the first night, which consisted of no competition yet, but rather a night of a big party on the beach. A chance for everyone to meet new people and get accustomed to the bands. Dex headed inside and waited in line behind the multiple other bands waiting to be roomed.


"Evan, I think I might be too excited for this. Save my spot, I have to use the restroom!" His brother laughed as he scurried off to the first floor restroom.
 
Unsurprisingly, the place was pretty damn busy at the moment. Everyone was arriving for the week of their lives, and so the hotel staff were pretty rushed off their feet. Even so, it didn't take all that long for Rina to get the band checked in, collecting four key cards and their wristbands that would allow them access pretty much anywhere. She turned around, not really sure where to go now, so she just chose to hang around, eventually moving to strike up random conversation with whoever caught her eye first.

"So, let me guess, you're in a band. And why's he in such a hurry?" Had she stopped to think about it, Rina might have realised that she knew those men. They travelled the same circuits, and usually ended up competing for fans. It was a local rivalry, had been going since high school. Blood Diamond, a suitable mix of various metal genres, a pinch of punk and a glug of good old fashioned rock and roll, had arrived on the scene just a year or so behind this other band, and since then...Well, the rest was history.

Finally, it twigged. "Ah, that's singer guy. How is the old bean?" Rina grinned, not trying to be too antagonistic, but kind of enjoying the somewhat petulant goading she was doing.
 
Evan looked at Rina and gave a glare. "Singer guy? That's original. Well singer guy is off the bathrooms. He didn't exactly take advantage of the countless restrooms aboard the ship. So how is Blood Clot doing these days? I see the nursing homes have done you some justice!" He gave a playfully evil smirk as Ty returned with their keys cards and bracelets. Shortly after Dex returned and noticed the two conversing. He looked at Rina and questioned if it was her or not. It had been awhile since they last saw each other. It was a gig at a club and the details were blurry. Dex was surprised at how good she looked. He would never confess this, however. Ty handed him his card and bracelet. "Here is your official Voices and Vessels ID my main man Dex!"
 
"I'm jet lagged, be nice." Rina muttered, swatting Evan gently, before turning to the now returned Dex. "Control your brother, he's being very rude." And with that, the young woman waltzed off merrily. No doubt, she'd be back by the time night fell, or sooner of Reggie lost sight of her. He had just come to see how she was getting on with the check in, and of course now wanted to get her away from their rivals.

"Come on you, we'll kick their asses on the stage, that's all that matters." He smiled, saluting at these so called Voices and Vessels.

It was difficult to understand why she was so different to the rest of her family, but it was perhaps clear that this had been the cause of her often odd behaviour. She felt a constant need to be rebelling and gently pushing peoples buttons. It was never anything honestly malicious, but it could still be a problem, though less so than it had been during her high school days.

But back to the action. Rina didn't go far. She sat on the beach, kicking her sandals off without much thought. Now that all the paperwork was sorted, the young woman just took a moment to relax, listening to the ocean, along with all the hustle and bustle of the set up going on. The boys had all gone to the pool. Apparently it had a waterslide...yes, they were that childish. "Boys will be boys, eh." Rina muttered to herself, shaking her head.
 
"What did you say Evan?" Dex looked at Evan curiously. "Nothing Dex, just some bantering. C'mon let's put our stuff upstairs." Suddenly a man arrived, dressed in hotel work clothes. "Uh don't worry about carrying your things to your room, we've got that covered. With that, the band's gear was taken and put in the appropriate room. Ty, Bentley, and Evan all walked outside and headed towards the tiki bar.


Dex walked behind, bringing a guitar with him and then stared out towards the ocean. He sat near a palm tree and began playing and singing a song he wrote just a while back. With all the people bustling around, it was hard to hear himself. He didn't mind though, it was normal for him. He continued playing and singing. Dex felt relaxed for the first time in awhile. He still had awhile before the actual party started, for it was just the afternoon and the sun was high in the sky.
 
Not too far away, Rina could quite easily pick out a tune. It was one of the curses of being a musician. She, and probably most like her, seemed to have a homing device when it came to music. No matter how much background noise there was to contend with, they would always find it. So, twisting her body round slightly, Rina soon set eyes on the culprit. Dex, of course.

Being the somewhat immature girl that she was, Rina took it upon herself to try and sneak up on him. She walked carefully across the sand, barefoot, shoes carried in one hand as she stalked along. Within a few seconds she was suitably close to Dex, at which point she clapped her hands directly behind his hand, simultaneously shouting, "Boo!" It was so stupid even she felt a bit of a twerp afterwards, but now it was done.

"I'm doing a public service. Why don't you save your warbling for later? Don't want to deafen everyone too soon." In reality she didn't think his singing was bad at all, in fact she quite admired him. He certainly had some qualites that she, and indeed Aron, lacked. They tended to take turns with the songwriting, although everyone contributed. They were all units, the sum of which was far greater than the individual parts.
 
Dex jumped a bit, letting out a shriek, sharp, chord. He looked over to see Rina standing there. " If you insist. I was only trying to occupy some time. Evan won't be too happy about having to tune this guitar again though. So you have nothing better to do on this joyous island than to bug me?" He laughed a bit kicked some sand her way, just for fun.

He stood up and put the guitar around his back using it's strap. Once again he found himself mentally admiring Rina. He eventually realized he was staring a band rival and adjusted accordingly. " How did you guys get invited here anyway. You weren't at the auditions. I'm surprised. Blood Diamond is always trying to follow in our footsteps." He made a cheesy smile and put his hand on the back of his head. the typical dork look.
 
"I'm sure he'll live." Rina smiled, actually thinking that there were quite a few good things about needing to tune guitars. It was a good way of relaxing before a gig, forgetting about the mounting pressure of performing in fron of larger and larger crowds. That was beside the point though. At the moment, Rina was just having a good old laugh, somehow relaxing by teasing this rival of hers. Petty, sure. But that didn't change the fact that it was damn satisfying.

Of course, Dex would go and ruin her good mood by mentioning the whole 'following in their footsteps' thing. It always put her back up, being compared to them, or being accused of copying their style. It was coincidence, and nothing more. "We went to a different venue, if you must know. Besides, I'm surprised they let you simpletons in. You're hardly original." She was suddenly far more serious than was necessarily warranted, scowling a little, although thankfully it didn't take too long for her to calm down again.
 
Dex's expression became more serious following Rina's. he looked down to the ground. People constantly put Dex down about his band. Many believed they were only popular because he could sing and he was a "pretty boy." It had always irked him, though he was told it shouldn't have. Dex tried his hardest to create original pieces of music, and most times it was, but people always had to find a reason to put Voices and Vessels down. He stood there for a few moments, feeling disgusted at the past. Not wanting to strike back, even just for fun.e, he gave a bland face and fiddled with the strap around his chest. "I've heard that too much. Well anyways, good luck tomorrow for the first stage of this." He started off towards the shoreline but briefly turned around to face her. "Oh, and have fun tonight, make the most of it....Rina." He turned and continued on.
 
Frowning, Rina considered whether she had pushed too far, which of course was extremely likely. She wasn't the best at judging when annoyance had built up to outright offence or rage. Still. They weren't supposed to get along anyway, so why bother beating herself up about it? Rina simply turned and walked away in the opposite direction, heading towards the pool, where she proceeded to cannonball into the water without warning, clothes and all. Maybe not the most polite thing to be doing, but she felt like it, and Rina was nothing if not a woman of impulse.

Some time later, Rina and 'her boys' extracted themselves from the pool, each going their separate ways to shower and change, making sure they had plenty of time to get ready for this party. Evening was swiftly approaching, and the electric atmosphere was building yet further. Rina sat in her room, staring at her guitarcase thoughtfully as she pondered what to wear. It was such a girly thing to do, but then again, seeing as she was one...that was all okay, right?

Eventually she decided on some 'homemade' black denim shorts, along with a couple of colourful tanktops. She didn't bother with anything more than a pair of pumps, seeing as she'd most likely throw them off once on the beach. Beach parties were great, it had to be said. Her pink and blue hair was tied in a casual ponytail, messy but not ugly, much like herself in general.

Of course, it was the girl that was ready last, leading to William and the others hammering on her door once the festivities had been underway for over an hour. "You alive in there, sweetheart?" He asked, struggling to hold back a smirk.

"You know I hate it when you call me that." Rina growled, curtly opening the door. Of course, there was no animosity between them, and off the quartet headed, aching to be a part of what was assured to be a great night.
 
Dex and his mates were all in their room, throwing around random objects trying to find what to wear. "Yo guys," Ty walked out, wearing a silk black dress shirt and some dress pants with a red tie, "This look good?" They all laughed and Bentley sniped out the comment, "Ya, if you want to sweat to death!" Eventually they all went with normal party attire for a beach. T-shirts and swim trunks. The idea of night swimming in the ocean was a must for them. They all crowed out the door, down to the elevator, and finally out the door.


Evan and Dex walked together towards the beach, Ty and Bentley doing random parkour and flips around random benches and poles. Not exactly the most sane people, but good musicians and that's all that mattered for this week. " Dex, you alright. Man ever since you came back to the room, you seemed slightly off?" "Ya, I'm cool bro. Just...do you think we have what it takes?" Evan laughed and patted him on the back. "Ok, ha, now I can ask this to you: What did you say to Rina? I saw you chatting earlier. Dex, don't let her get to you. You barely even saw her for more than a set they played before at gigs. Why the obsession all the sudden?" Dex stopped at the word obsession. "Woah, not obsessed, just thinking that we have some serious competition here." Evan stopped shortly to say, " Look, you were Mr. Confident on the way here, now you're second guessing. Don't, we will do our best and let the judges decide. I know the reason you're acting like this isn't because you don't think we have the talent. Trust me. We got this. Now come on, this party won't stop just for you. Let's go enjoy tonight. That's an order soldier!" He saluted like an idiot and ran off after Ty and Bentley. Dex smiled and followed after.
 
Needless to say, there were alot of people on the beach. A few fires were dotted around, along with an area dedicated to dancing. One for eating, and another place where booze was the number one thing on anyones mind. Reggie and Aron were off there like a shot. William, the slightly older brother shouted after his sibling, "I'm not carrying your ass back if you pass out!" It was the brotherly thing to do, and there was a tinge of concern there too, not that he'd admit it.

"Will, I don't know about you, but I am starving." Rina mentioned, dragging her friend towards a bbq without waiting for an answer. Thankfully, he could eat all day and still want more, so he was more than happy to go and get something to eat.

The two of them sat down in the sand when they had a suitably greasy looking burger each. "That Dex guy reckons we're trying to 'follow in their footsteps.' " Rina muttered bitterly, rolling her eyes. "I mean, the nerve of it."

Will, who had always been level headed, didn't encourage the jealousy that Rina harboured. "I doubt he really meant it. And if I know you, you were goading him."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But does that really matter?" Rina moaned, eventually adding, "It just bugs me that we'll always be 'that band that sounds a bit like Voices and Vessels." It wasn't a bad thing to be angry about, but unfortunately, aside from completely changing what they did, there was nothing they could do about what others thought.

"But we all know we're nothing alike. Not really. For a start, they don't have to deal with PMS." Will offered a sweet smile, which Rina turned with a punch, hard enough to feel, but not really hurt. "See?" He smirked, then becoming distracted, "Look, just enjoy this. We are what we are, no one can change that. And I am going to see if I can charm the pants off that girl."

They both got up then, Rina heading to the waters edge with a cocktail. She had no idea what it was, but it was free. Free stuff is good.
 
Dex arrived to see Ty and Evan in a drinking contest, already. "Damn..." Was all that he needed to say. He couldn't find Bentley but honestly didn't care. He knew he'd find him eventually and not for a good reason. Dex walked over and grabbed a small tray of fries with cheese on them. The one thing in life he couldn't resist. He picked up a bottle of beer and headed to the most open spot of beach he could find, still cluttered with people chatting away. Opening the beer he took a sip and munched on a couple of fries. He noticed Rina in the distance. "How do I always seem to spot her right away?" He laughed a bit and exchanged a few words with a passing fan of his band. He signed their shirt and felt reassured about the following day. The first day of the competition.

He then saw Bentley running over to him. He had a Frisbee in his hand. "Dex...dex....DEX! We have a huge game of ultimate frisbee starting up. You in?" Dex laughed at Bentley's breathe shortage. "Well, uhm, as you can see I am eating but if there is still a spot I'll be over. Does that work?" "Ha, totally man!" With that, he was off throwing the disc at the crowd of people he was to play with.
 
When she heard someone shouting for Dex, Rina tried not to turn around, but of course she was always curious about anything, and so she just had to have a good old look. Frisbee. How very manly of them. Well, it was fun, she had to admit that. She spotted Reggie and Aron together, already blind drunk. They were watching the set up of the game, attempting to lean on eachother, although they were both equally wobbly. How they were still standing, Rina had no idea, but to prevent them causing themselves or anyone else any damage, Rina headed on over there.

"You two are morons. Now give me those, and sit down." She snatched their half empty bottles of beer, simultaneously giving them a gentle nudge which sent them to the ground, just as if she'd kicked them in the gut. Still, they seemed happy enough, sitting and watching the frisbee the same way a dog would.

While standing guard over these two, Rina watched the game avidly, sipping on the beers that she had confiscated, as a public service, of course.
 
When Dex had had enough food, and now on his 4th beer, he headed over to the game. Because of the drunks, the game was really half assed. Bentley was no exception. Dex opted againt joining the cluster of fun that was commencing for everyone to watch. Instead he found Evan and stood next to him.


"So how long before Bentley throws up?" Dex asked, laughing. "Not long, he is at least 20 beers deep. Even Ty and I aren't hammered yet, and we had a contest!" They both laughed and then Dex once again caught Rina in the corner of his eye. he looked over and noticed she had two beers in her hands. He was shocked, thinking she was putting away beers like no ones business. It didn't seem like her. But then again, how much did he know her, not a lot.


Soon after, the game ended and Everyone dispersed, mostly to the dance section of the beach where the DJ was playing random beats. Dex walked over with Evan and Ty, Bentley no where to be found. By now, Dex was on his 8th beer. He was feeling hot and buzzed. But overall, he was in a good mood.
 
Aron and Reggie were talking absolute gibberish throughout the game, displaying the happy 'everyone is my friend' element of being drunk. Rina just nodded and smiled every once in a while when she was called upon. For the rest of the time, she watched the game, and also happened to catch sight of Dex again, and of course Evan. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, as did everyone else on the beach. Really, there was nothing better in the world than the thought of the week ahead.

Eventually, a few drunks were hauled off the beach by their friends, no doubt off to spend the night throwing up into the toilet. How wonderful. As Rina made her way over to have a bit of a boogie, she caught Will getting the other two up off their asses. He just couldn't resist taking care of his little brother, or Reggie, who was like a brother.

So, Rina wasn't a very good dancer. Probably why she didn't like dance music. She almost had a go, but ended up just swaying and hand jiving a little bit self consciously. She wasn't normally shy, but today she was. She found herself hoping Dex hadn't seen. Why? No idea. But she quickly pushed the thought aside, refusing to let it dominate the evening.
 
Dex danced with some groupies for at least an hour before he was tired, and now being about 16 beers deep, and a few assorted alchohols in his system, he walked away from the dance party and plopped on the beach sand with half a beer in his hand. He was still able to comprehend things, but he knew a few more would take this basic function away.

He stared over at the stage set for tomorrow. There were still some crew over there setting up. The stage was everything he imagined and more. Dex wasn't sure if it was just his buzz that made him so excited for tomorrow but he was. He soon saw Evan walking back with Bentley. "Oh boy, what's wrong?" Dex asked as they approached. " Well I'd rather just wait to tell you tomorrow. I'm going to take Bent here to the room so he make friends with the toilet." Evan sighed an carried Bentley off. Dex just smiled and Ty came over to sit with him. Together they drank a few more beers, crack jokes, and told some stories. " You know," Ty began, "Rina....man Rina is looking good!" He laughed and punched Dex's shoulders lightly. "Why do the hot ones always have to be rivals, huh Dex?" For some reason, Dex couldn't respond. Just the mentioning of her was enough to send his mind spiraling.


After awhile Evan came back and joined the two. They all sat staring off at the moonlight and talking of tomorrow's events.
 
Seeing as the party seemed to have boiled down to drunken groping with the occassional stumble towards a quieter place to 'get better acquainted', Rina reckoned her time here was over. She hadn't enjoyed it as much as she had expected to, and put it down to nerves. They were to play in the early afternoon, in front of a brutal crowd, a huge one too. It was unlike anything she had experienced before.

As she walked back up to the beach, Rina spotted Dex again, along with his bandmates. So, in a feeble attempt to allay her fears, Rina smiled brightly as she walked past. "Get lots of sleep boys. We're going to annihilate you."

Truth to be told, there wouldn't be any direct destroying, band to band until the end of the week. From what Rina understood of the contest, each band would perform, and the least popular would be axed from the next days line up, until on the final day they would play with and against eachother in what was bound to be a series of explosive duets between the finalists...until one came out victorious.

But Rina doubted they'd reach that stage anyway. They were newbies on the scene, and so she just put it out of her mind, heading back to her room, hoping like hell that there wouldn't be any rampant sex going on next door.
 
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