Participants:
| Scene Title | Influences |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Two musicians talk about theirs. |
| Date | June 23, 2009 |
A comfortable place, located in the basement of 14 East 4th Street. The red brick walls are covered with memorabilia from various icons of rock and places in rock history, creating a feel similar to that of a Hard Rock Cafe.
The left wall has two bars separated by swinging doors which lead to and from the kitchen. Directly across from the entrance is a two foot high stage with all the equipment needed for acts to perform there. The right wall has three doors marked as restrooms: two for use by women and one by men.
Thirty square feet of open space for dancing and standing room is kept between the stage and the comfortable seating placed around tables which fill the remainder of the Cellar.
The lighting here is often kept dim for purposes of ambience, and when performers are onstage the place is loud enough to make conversation difficult. Just inside the door is a podium where location staff check IDs and stamp the hands of those under twenty-one with a substance visible under UV lights at the two bars and by devices the servers carry. On the podium's front is a sign with big black letters that just about explain it all: If You Don't Like Rock 'N' Roll, You're Too Late Now!
It's been a cloudy day, the temperature perhaps a bit cool for late June. The club is filling up as the dinner hour approaches. Staff are on hand to tend their needs. They move around professionally, taking orders and bringing them to the customers. Seats at the bar are also filled, there may be one or two available.
The stage is currently empty, the lights for it off, but equipment is visible there for use by anyone performing when such things happen. It's a rock club, judging by that, as if anyone wouldn't know that just from seeing the outside and having it reinforced immediately upon entry.
In a corner a solitary woman sits. Cat, a brunette of five feet and eight inches dressed in a tank top featuring the image of Joan Jett over athletic shoes and shorts, sticks to the shadows in avoiding attention as she eats a meal and enjoys Guinness stout. She's here to observe any musicians who turn up without them knowing she's doing so.
Adelaide exhales. The stage being set, she looks at it fingering her gituar. As she gets to her feet and goes up and does a set. A voice-she has, it's trained it seems beautiful, powerful, a varying and wonderous tone. She shakes her head, no that was just a dream a long ago memory. She blinked and glanced around, she'd inadvertantly stood there, watching the stage, and people were beginning to stare. She moves off, and pauses. "Ahh sorry!" she says swiftly noticing Cat, and nearly running into her table.
With her fork in hand, poised to enjoy a bite of her steak, Cat shifts focus to the woman now close to her location and studies the woman with a calm expression. Silence reigns for a long stretch of seconds, then she nods in the direction of the instrument Adelaide is carrying. "You play?" she inquires, a question she partially knows the answer to even as it's asked. Her features don't show it, but interest in speaking with this one has increased slightly.
After making the interrogative, that fork enters her mouth. She chews slowly with her mouth closed, the woman's back straight and head up. Confidence, perhaps, a touch of society training, or both?
Adelaide nods. "Yes." she says turning to face the woman as the words are directed at her. There's an ease, a childish… honesty in her voice. She speaks not with the haughty words of someone from society but down to earth and warm tone.
She nods, a slight smile appearing after the woman swallows her bite of food. The head tilts, and another question is framed just as she nods to an empty chair. An invitation to sit. "I'll flag down a server soon, and see about what you might want for dinner or drinks," Cat informs, just ahead of the question.
"Are you any good, Miss?"
Adelaide blinks in a bit of surprise. She settles down setting down the guitar case at her feet just under the table. "Thank you miss. Yes m'am." she smiles. "I have produced one CD to date, and its sold a few coppies but I was younger then and haven't done anything in the music world… since.. well since middle school- or early high school."
"Ma'am," she repeats with a chuckle. An eyebrow raises. "I'm twenty-six, please. No ma'am. I've got a doctorate, though, so if you have to be formal, Doctor works. Otherwise, I'm just Nancy." Cat studies Adelaide again, before asking "What d'you play, who're your influences musically?" The fork goes back to her food and lingers there, while she opts to enjoy a small amount of her stout instead. The glass is lifted to her lips. "You look about twenty."
Adelaide thinks. "Nancy, then. Adelaide," she says with a polite smile. "Oh boy you just ask a rough question- I play a variety of things, mostly ballads, pop- more like J-pop, I lot of my inspiration is Japanese current music, and symphonic rock, probably. Things like Within Temptation, Enya, Ikimono Gakari- they're Japanese, those are my biggest inspirations, softer sounds, with flow, and feeling, emotional outporing.. a to send a message, touch people with my music, and bring them something that I think the world's forgotten." she smiles. "Twenty-one." she corrects. "I've gotten as young as fifteen, so at least your really close."
"I see," the woman replies as a server comes by and stops near Adelaide, waiting to get her attention. "Mine are Janis Joplin, Heart, Pat Benatar, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, the Beatles… When I play, it's all rock. Punk, metal, grunge…" Cat's voice trails off. "I've a taste for some newer stuff, but not so much. I find the writing's suffered in more recent times. Mostly, also, I've an enjoyment for women with big, powerful voices like Ann Wilson and Benatar. Linda Rondstadt, perhaps. Janis Joplin definitely, and Aimee Mann. Along with guitarists like Nancy Wilson, women who can rock as hard as guys like Jimmy Page and still be womanly."
"I don't know much about your influences, Adelaide, except for perhaps symphonic rock. Queen did some interesting work with the classical style, and Metallica has elements of it too."
Adelaide nods. "They're alright, I just didn't get into them, I think lighter airy stuff is more my style as a I said, ballad-like, rock, type -stuff." she smiles.
"But I'll admit, I suppose my first few songs were much more ballad, and to think of it those were the only vocal peices I wrote. Everything else was instrumental."
The server standing near Adelaide starts to move along her way when the musician doesn't acknowledge her presence, taking it as meaning the student isn't hungry or thirsty. Cat glances briefly in her direction, but doesn't comment on that. Her focus is the conversation at hand. An assessment is being made in her mind; this one isn't quite the type she has the most interest in. She's hoping to put some effort behind the purpose of bringing music back to the Village, and there may be opportunities for her in the studio, but as for the club Adelaide doesn't sound like she rocks hard enough. But… there is something else to offer.
"Music can be a cutthroat business, Adelaide," she comments sincerely, "I'd recommend you get an attorney to look things over before you sign any kind of contract. I can do that for you, free of charge. Young artists don't deserve to get seduced by dollar signs and ripped off, signing away the rights to all their work without knowing the exact terms. It's a common tale." She takes another small drink of the stout.
"Just look for me here, I hang out in this place sometimes."
Adelaide smiles. "Thanks, Nancy, I keept in touch with my father's friend in the music business- but I'll also have you help me out. Two sets of eyes can't be bad with all the legalese in those contracts."
"Exactly," Cat replies with a grin. "Now, if you want to eat, get that server to come back over and order something. I'll cover your bill." She lifts her fork to resume eating, hoping to do so in a comfortable silence while Adelaide perhaps does the same. The food here is good. It's also her intent, once she completes her meal, to depart and tend other business. When she goes, money is left to cover her bill and anything the younger one has too, just as she offered.
Once Cat gets upstairs, she picks up her guitar and plays Metallica.