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25.4% Jack of Arts / Chapter 61: Fowler's Barstool : Introduction to Mixology

章節 61: Fowler's Barstool : Introduction to Mixology

"By the way, young man. How long are you staying in America?" The manager asked, changing the subject. "I probably will stay here until next year. What's up?" Tayaw replied. "Are you looking for extra cash? I have some spots open." The manager said, trying to recruit Tayaw. "You have open spots? Boss! I've been looking for weeks now!" Travis said in indignation. The manager for a split second, showed an annoyed expression before resuming to his neutral expression. Travis missed it, but Tayaw didn't. Tayaw could not help but feel sorry for Travis.

Travis looks like he's still in his early 20s so he guessed he does not have enough experience in playing in a big bar like Blackbird Café. "Kid. You should realize that there are a lot of guys out there who are just as good as you, and they've been trying out for a lot longer than you are. Didn't I tell you to try out in other bars? I think you will have a better chance with them." The manager explained to Travis.

"But you only saw this guy play three songs! Why are you offering him a spot already?" Travis said, still not getting why Tayaw is getting an outright offer. Travis admits to himself that Tayaw is good but he's not that much better than him. "I've seen him perform enough. I've also seen him perform well in a larger crowd than here tonight." The manager said. Travis does not really believe the manager's claim. "Can he even fill an hour?!" Travis said, still frustrated at the situation.

"And you think you can?! I've heard of your songs before, kid. They all sound the f*ckin same." The manager said, finally losing some of his patience. Travis just swallowed the manager's criticism and stayed quiet. He knows that the bar manager knows what he's doing that's why he's been a manager here for decades. He does not have a choice but to give up. He realized it's not good to offend the manager any further, if he has not already.

"So work harder and learn, boy. Be more creative. Go home before I ban you. Don't show yourself here until you can show me something new." The manager finally pointed Travis to the door. Travis glared at Tayaw for a second, uttered the F word before walking out.

"F*ck. Sorry about that." The manager said to Tayaw. "Is he really not good enough?" Tayaw asked in curiosity after getting pieces of Travis' story. "I was being polite. Most of the crowd cannot tell, but I think he's one of those kids that got popular in their high school just because they can play the guitar and sing a little. If he's not too full of himself, maybe he can tell how bad he is and that he's nothing special." The manager replied.

"So why does he get to try out a lot?" Tayaw asked again. "I owe his dad when I was still in Texas back in the 70s. If the kid knows any better, he better not call his father crying about me hiring you." The bar rubbed his eyelid while he said that. Tayaw felt that there's more to why Travis was quite aggressive earlier. "I didn't get your name yet, sir…" "Call me Henry." Henry introduced himself finally. "Henry. Why didn't he try out with other bars, by the way?" Tayaw asked.

"Look here, kid." Henry said as he pointed at the pictures hanging on the waiting room's walls. Tayaw took a closer look and he realized as he read the labels on the pictures, that many famous country stars have played here in their youth. Annabelle Moore, Thomas Martin, Lee Baker and more gave this bar great history over the past fifty years. "Ah. I can see why Travis is so hell bent on wanting to perform here." Tayaw's earlier guess was proven.

"Yeahpp. Just like I told the kid, there's more musicians who are better than him that don't even get to play here because of how competitive it is." Henry explained. "I don't think he respects this place." Tayaw said, judging from how Travis was like. "Good eye, kid. I think he wants a shortcut. I don't know if you've noticed, there are men who are wearing suits, not really fitting in." Henry said. "Yes?" Tayaw said, unsure what it has to do with Travis.

"Those are people from some of Nashville's record labels. They look for prospects in places like this." Henry answered. Tayaw finally understood. "Alright. Let me play here." Tayaw finally said, to the relief of Henry.

"That's great! Can you start on Saturday? I can promise you $350 an hour for you and if we have a lot of customers during the hour that you're performing." Henry stated the benefits. "$350? Isn't that a little too much?" Tayaw said, confused at the generosity. "Kid, most of our patrons here are in their 40s to 60s who have deeper pockets than most. Your style is also what they've been looking for for a long time now. And. Usually, I pay bands $100 per person, but because you can perform alone, you don't get to share what you get with others." Henry explained.

"Ahh. Alright. You don't have to pay me." Tayaw said. Even though Henry will be able to save a lot from not paying Tayaw, he almost took it as an offense. Most young musicians would jump at the money, but there's this kid who casually refused it.

"Look. This bar has a great fifty year, history. As a student of music, I feel honored just playing here." Tayaw clarified himself. Henry, with his over sixty years of living, more than half of it spent in the backstabbing music scene of Nashville, knows what bullcrap sounds when he hears one. Despite this, he actually that felt Tayaw is sincere.

"huh. You know I don't feel comfortable having a good musician like you play for free." Henry said honestly. "I'm not an American, Henry. Even if I wanted to get paid, my visa would not let me." Tayaw explained his circumstances. "Well, why don't I pay you under the table? Hm? A young man like yourself would need some …" as Henry is about to offer pay for Tayaw to buy himself more clothes, he noticed Tayaw's clothes again.

"You don't need money, do you?" Henry had a sudden suspicion after he realized that Tayaw's suit seem to be of higher quality than the clothes of the record label people he often sees in the bar. Tayaw, to Henry, also looks beyond just neat; Tayaw looks very clean; a sign of an unburdened person.

"I don't." Tayaw did not explain himself any further. Henry also remembered how many views Tayaw's Youtube videos are. "Tell me, kid. Are you some superstar in Teungeb?" Henry mumbled after he leaned in closer. It is the only explanation he can figure because of how good a musician Tayaw is and that he can afford not getting paid. "No. I wish. Haha. I'm here on a business visa, Henry. I'm a businessman. Don't ask anymore." Tayaw just said. Henry also put his curiosity aside.

"Alright. I can start on Saturday. Is that it? I only play on Saturdays?" Tayaw said, wanting to know more if he can perform more often. "I can put you on stage on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights at 10." Henry said. If it was any other musician of Tayaw's age, they would not notice one important thing on those days. "You're putting me on 'prime time'? You… You're not taking advantage of me, are you?" Tayaw said frowning.

"HAHA! Don't back out now, kid. You don't want to get paid? Then give the bar a little push!" Henry said, looking smug. "Look, kid. Even if you are not able to attract more customers, I can help you get your name out by putting you on the peak hours. If I can't pay you money, I can at least pay you with exposure." Henry explained.

Tayaw scoffed. He knows how many venues would not pay musicians in exchange for exposure. Even though Blackbird café is not such venue, Tayaw was unimpressed by Henry's plan. Despite that, he just let it go. "Tell you what. How about we do this? I'll play on Fridays and Saturdays. You take what's supposed to be my pay and divvy it up amongst the performers who are in need of money the most." Tayaw suggested.

Henry was surprised at Tayaw's suggestion. Not only because it's generous but it's also the first time he's encountered this. Henry, after a thought, finally shook his head. "Fine, kid. I'll tell them it's from you." Henry said he shook his hands with Tayaw.

Tayaw then packed his guitar and walked back out to the bar room to join Chala. As he looked at Chala's table, however, he saw Chala talking to a blonde lady who looks to be in her late 30s. Chala looked to be having fun, so he sent a text message instead. After seeing that Chala saw the message, Tayaw looked for an empty table. After a moment of looking around, Tayaw found a vacant seat, by the bartender's counter.

"Nice set, kid. What would you have? It's on the house." Tayaw was greeted by a smiling bartender after he took a seat. "Thank you. Jameson, on the rocks please." Tayaw replied. "…" He got nervous as the bartender just looked at him strangely. It would be a bummer if the bartender asked for his ID. "Something wrong, sir?" Tayaw asked. "Ah. Nothing. I thought you were only going to ask for a beer." The bartender said.

Tayaw sighed in relief. He understood the bartender's concern; a glass of Jameson is quite expensive after all. "Don't worry. It's on me." Tayaw replied with a chuckle. "Quite a strong taste for a kid." The bartender said as he prepared Tayaw's glass. Tayaw figured that his height and vintage looking fashion passed him off as an adult of drinking age.

Tayaw then turned around to watch the performer on stage. After listening for a while, however, he shook his head. Wrong chords, pitchy singing, and the thoughtless strumming made his head hurt. "I guess that's the best an open mic night can offer." Tayaw said to himself. He found it satisfactory, however. The manager must have pre-filtered the performers tonight from a competent pool. If it was another open mic in a smaller bar, where people from the crowd can just go up on stage and play, Tayaw could not imagine the headache he will get.

"Your whiskey." The bartender said as he slid Tayaw's drink forward. "Thanks." Tayaw said and started sipping. Tayaw then stared emptily as he started sorting out songs in his head. He will start on playing on Saturday so he filtered the songs he can easily arrange into modern country, Bluegrass Country, and blues country. If it was rock or indie style, Tayaw can just choose whatever. With Country however, he has to choose songs with lyrics that would fit the country genre.

Most pop songs are out, and so are sports anthems. He's left with folk, some rock songs, and ballads. Country music sings about rural lifestyle, love, family, and home so he funneled more of the songs he knows that fit those categories. 'Wait… oddly, my recent songs also fit country." Tayaw suddenly realized. 'Nevermind. I'll just sing one of those each set.' Tayaw decided.

"Hey there." Tayaw suddenly heard. He turned his head to look beside him to see a beautiful young lady with brunette hair and green eyes. "Hello to you." Tayaw replied.


章節 62: Musicology of Romance (Merry Christmas Everybody!)

"Hello." Tayaw replied raising one eyebrow. "Isaac, right? I'm Irene. You were great up there." Irene said as she dragged the bar chair closer to Tayaw and took a sit. "Thank you. May I help you?" Tayaw said, a little annoyed that he was distracted from his thoughts. Irene though, did not notice the unwelcoming tone Tayaw gave her. "I'm just curious how a Polynesian man like you learn how to sing country." Irene asked as she leaned forward giving Tayaw a look at the valley of her bountiful hills.

Tayaw almost rolled his eyes at this. While he was flattered at the flirting, he was always spooked at white American ladies. While not true for all white ladies from USA, he always found them self-entitled. In recent history, Tayaw found that they were the second most privileged people next to white men, yet they dared to claim the same oppression as minorities experienced in the future social war. The loud minority of those would result to two generations of self-conscious American men with inferiority complexes.

Aside from that, Tayaw doesn't really know why he's spooked by them. They're either really nice or borderline sociopaths. "It's the love for music, that's all." Tayaw replied simply. "Oh. And your English is great too." Irene said as she played with her hair. "A product of necessity I guess." Tayaw said as he gulped down a good amount of whiskey from his glass.

"Where are you from?" Irene asked again, clueless about Tayaw's body language. "I'm from New York." Tayaw said. He decided to only give straight answers to prevent the conversation from going anywhere any further. "No. What I'm asking is where you are REALLY from." Irene asked again. "Teungeb." Tayaw replied. "Ooh! My granddaddy was stationed in Kangpan before joining the war in Korea! Wheres in Teungeb are you from?" Irene said excitedly. 'Oh for f*cks sake.' Tayaw thought to himself. Quickly calculating, he estimated that Irene must be Alexandra's age: in her mid-20s.

Thankfully, his phone rang as he received a call from Chala. "Excuse me, it's my girlfriend." Tayaw said which obviously disappointed Irene. "Hey. Chala. Ignore my tone." Tayaw said in Teungebian, his tone sounded lovely. "What on earth? What's up with you?" Chala asked a little grossed out with Tayaw talking to him in a tone used for a lover.

"A girl is flirting with me." Tayaw said as he quickly scanned around the bar quickly to look for Chala, his actions unnoticed by Irene. "Where are you?" Tayaw asked. "Oh. I'm going back to my hotel room to continue my conversation with a lady." Chala replied. "The blondie earlier?" Tayaw asked. "The blondie earlier." Chala confirmed. "You have the keys for the truck right? I'm taking a cab." Chala said. "Alright. Have a good evening." Tayaw said and he hung up.

"That was your girlfriend? That was short." Irene said. 'She's still not walking away?' Tayaw thought. "Yes. She just said good morning. It's 5 in the morning back in Teungeb." Tayaw replied. "I see. Well, she's across the Pacific anyway so why don't I accompany you?" Irene said.

This did it for Tayaw. Although he does not actually have a girlfriend, a woman who will seduce a man who's already tied, to Tayaw, is repulsive. "Irene, right? While I appreciate the uhh… Hospitality, I'd like to be alone. Your friends over there must also be waiting for you." Tayaw said as he pointed with his palm the group of ladies looking their way. Tayaw always found pointing with his finger a little rude.

"Fine. Good night." Irene said as she moved forcefully to stand up, almost knocking her chair over. "Have a pleasant evening as well." Tayaw said as he raised his glass to her.

"Did I just see a man brush off Irene just now? She looked angry. What happened?" The bartender actually walked hurriedly to Tayaw and leaned over the counter to gossip. "I have a girlfriend. You know that lady?" Tayaw asked. "Oh. I see. Well, Irene is the singer of one of the regular bands in the bar." The bartender revealed. 'Oh sh*t' Tayaw's heart dropped.

"Really? Do you know what days she plays at?" Tayaw asked. "I thought you weren't interested?" The bartender asked and smiled mischievously. "No. It's just… Tell me first her schedule." Tayaw said. "Okay. Her band plays on Mondays and Tuesdays, I think?" The bartender replied, unusure.

"Phew. Thank god." Tayaw sighed in relief. "What's with you?" The bartender said, confused at Tayaw's reaction. "Oh. I'm Yawat, by the way. You can call me Isaac." Tayaw introduced himself. "Oscar." Oscar introduced himself too. "Well, Oscar, I'm performing here starting on Saturday and then Fridays and Saturdays after." Tayaw replied. "Oh. That's cool! Congratulations. So, you don't want drama with Irene?" Oscar said. "Exactly. Another glass of Jameson please. Neat this time." Tayaw said. Oscar just chuckled as he prepared Tayaw's drink again.

Half an hour later, he hopped back to his rented truck and drove back to his hotel. Tayaw and Chala checked in a famous hotel when they first arrived in Nashville, but unlike the room that Tayaw rented in New York, they booked two separate double rooms; not too fancy, but still spacious enough. After taking a shower and changing to his sleep wear, Tayaw connected his laptop to the hotel's wifi to check his e-mail and chat messages.

One message caught his eyes. It's from his mother, Kilat. To summarize, it goes like "Son, we just received our visitor visa. Your dad picked up the family's passports in Kangpan yesterday." Tayaw is not only glad by the quick approval but also excited because he will be able to show his family around in another country, something that the family never did in his previous life. He can also show them his house in New York.

After leaving a reply to his mother, Tayaw went to YouTube to check how the band's channel is doing. It has been a while since he actually checked because of he got obsessed writing songs once again after he bought Earl Thompson's guitar back when he was in St. Louis. What he saw as the YouTube page loaded is a pleasant surprise. 189,000 Subscribers. He clicked on the statistics and saw that since their last upload back in October 16, the collective views of all their videos are at about 14 million; an average of 400,000 views on each video.

Tayaw then clicked on their second YouTube Channel. Before Tayaw went to America, he told the group to make a second YouTube channel where they can upload their song arrangements. Tayaw also asked them set the videos in private so only the band can see them. The band also agreed to not show their arrangements immediately to their subscribers as they are not confident of their song arrangement skills.

After a few minutes of watching the band's submission for the week, Tayaw is satisfied. It's been 8 months since the band started arranging songs, and they have improved immensely. The average ability of the band in arrangement basically beats out Tayaw's arrangement skills in his previous life when he was in his early 20s.

Regarding their technical skills on their own instruments, the band's learning curve practically flattened. Since their busking in Monna Park, the band's technical ability already surpassed the playing ability of most of the performers in ROH Factory. Aside from Jenna, the rest of the band has the ability to perform appropriate riffs, melodies, and can play consistently at any rhythm and never go out of beat. They can all substitute as members of a professional band as long as they don't perform anything complicated.

If Tayaw could compare Hoon's guitar playing now to the Hoon of Tayaw's previous life, then the current Hoon has the ability of Tayaw's previous life's 24 year-old Hoon. That says a lot about the band. Tayaw realized that the band in his previous life was actually very talented. Tayaw shook his head while thinking it was a pity for the band in his previous life that they never got a spark of inspiration, or that they never got any more famous. Tayaw is also proud that he found Jenna, a fiddler who is just as talented as the rest of the guys.

Tayaw is also confident that the band will be able to cross the current chasm that is stunting their progress. Tayaw foresaw this chasm so he had the band learn song arrangement very early on as it will be a useful instrument in shaping the band into real artists. This obstacle is actually what stops a lot of musicians. A lot of musicians, who will fail to cross this obstacle, will stay as musicians who can only copy other musicians' playing style, and would never ever learn to express themselves with their instruments.

This is also the reason why Tayaw discouraged the band in sharpening their technical skills for now and learn more how to produce emotion with their instruments. Tayaw explained to the band his purpose of telling them so by asking them questions. So what if Hoon can shred seamlessly? Does he feel something to associate with the notes and melodies he's playing? If he has, can he communicate with the listeners if his playing is soulless? So what if Ramil can sustain high notes and do runs on his saxophone, can he play it in a way that is distinct? Or he will just fade among the thousands of saxophonists who play like each other?

Tayaw figured that by making the each member arrange their own songs, they will be able to learn how to process the message of the song and how they can tell the message of the song in their own. This skill will be translated to their playing. Even though Tayaw is confident that the band will achieve his vision, he also knows that becoming an artist is a very time consuming process that requires a lot of trial and error that will take years. Had Tayaw not been blessed with the perfect pitch, it would still take years to surpass his previous life's self as a musician.

Tayaw can only hope that when the band graduates college, they would also graduate from his tutelage.

Tayaw then powered up his camera and filmed himself amend the members' individual song arrangements. This then will be reverse engineered by the members as a part of their learning.


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