Chapter 91
"Are you familiar with it?" a voice came from above his head. Zhou Li lazily put down the music sheet, "Almost."
"Let's give it a try." Shan Jia said.
"Yeah, okay." Zhou Li nodded.
Shan Jia slung his electric guitar over one shoulder and nodded to the bassist and keyboardist. Zhou Li placed the music score on the stand in front of her, where her eyes could see it, and tapped the keys slowly to the rhythm. With her current skill level, she became familiar with the music score quickly. She was a little awkward in her first performance, but she was basically able to keep up with the band.
Because it was a rehearsal, Shan Jia didn't use his full strength, so his voice was a little loose, but it still sounded beautiful.
Zhou Li felt like his ears were pregnant. He was embraced by the magnetic and lazy female voice and seemed to be swaying slowly with her.
The band performed a total of five songs in the evening. The first song had a relatively gentle tempo, but the rhythm became more and more explosive, and the requirements for the drummer became higher and higher. The first rehearsal was not good enough. Although Zhou Li's rhythm was always on point, there were still omissions. Shan Jia's requirements were very high. If this was the case, she would rather not perform on stage. Zhou Li also heard her mistakes, and she admitted her mistake without waiting for Shan Jia's criticism.
"I didn't time the second song correctly, so I was slow to start. I made a mistake with the third song, and I will correct it."
Shan Jia glanced at Zhou Li, then turned to criticize the keyboard, "Old Chen, you're not in good shape today. You played several notes wrong."
"Sorry." Keyboardist Chen Siyu raised his hat brim, revealing a pair of decadent eyes. "I'll pay attention."
"Do it again." Shan Jia said.
"Okay." Everyone responded.
After several rounds of running-in, Shan Jia would point out any problems after each rehearsal. After Zhou Li played the music a few times and gradually mastered it, it was basically difficult for him to make mistakes. The bassist also made very few mistakes. However, the keyboard player was absent-minded for some reason. He either played the wrong beat or rushed the rhythm. The keyboard sound was extremely harsh to the ears of professionals. Even Zhou Li was a little affected. Playing drums with a band is really different from playing by himself. The members will influence each other.
After another rehearsal, the keyboardist listened to Shan Jia's criticism. He took off his hat, ruffled his hair and said, "Can I go out for a cigarette?"
Shan Jia pursed his lips and nodded seriously. The bassist glanced back and forth at the two of them, then raised his hand and said, "I want to go, too."
Shan Jia said calmly, "Go."
She picked up the guitar, took it off her body and put it aside, picked up the mineral water on the table with one hand, unscrewed it, tilted her head back and poured it into her mouth.
The bassist took off his bass and chased the keyboard player out.
When Zhou Li saw Shan Jia finish drinking the water, sitting on the sofa and flipping through the music score, she also stretched.
In order to avoid Shan Jia finding fault, Zhou Li was concentrating on playing the drums and was quite tired. Suddenly, he heard a voice of praise in his ears: "You play the drums well." It turned out that it was Shan Jia who looked up and said.
Zhou Li raised an eyebrow and praised each other: "You sing well too."
"I used to play guitar." Shan Jia suddenly said.
Zhou Li blinked and heard Shan Jia continue, "Our band started out as a campus band. The previous lead singer quit after graduation, and they couldn't find another singer. I wrote the lyrics and music, so they told me to give it a try, and I sang for three years."
Such sudden heart-to-heart talk made Zhou Li twist her butt uncomfortably.
"Then you did a great job." Zhou Li said dryly.
Shan Jia smiled, "No, I'm not good." She lowered her eyebrows and looked a little lonely. "If I were good enough, our band wouldn't be what it is today. We could have performed on a bigger stage."
Zhou Li didn't know how to comfort her, so she said, "There's still a chance."
Shan Jia laughed and said, "Anyway, thank you for today."
Zhou Li sat on the stool with his legs apart, supporting himself with his palms, not understanding why he was suddenly thanked.
Shan Jia had no intention of explaining because the keyboardist and bassist came back from smoking.
The keyboardist's expression relaxed a little, but the bassist looked like he'd been prodded. He looked at Shan Jia, wanting to speak but hesitant. The entanglement in his expression was obvious to everyone, but Shan Jia pretended not to notice and clapped his hands, saying, "Continue rehearsing."
Everyone picked up their instruments and continued. In one afternoon, they became more and more proficient in playing the three songs. Zhou Li could even play an interlude in the middle and add some fancy moves of his own to show off his skills.
They had fast food in the evening, which was ordered by Shan Jia. The four of them huddled together and ate in silence. The bassist, who used to love to joke, suddenly became silent. There was no one to moderate the atmosphere. Zhou Li had just arrived today and was not in a position to speak. Shan Jia was introverted to begin with, and the keyboardist was also lost in his own emotions. The meal made everyone feel physically and mentally uncomfortable.
After eating, Zhou Li went to the bathroom. When she came out to wash her hands, she met Shan Jia who was washing her face. She splashed water on her face, and crystal water splashes exploded on her cheeks. She had a forbearing expression, her brows furrowed in impatience, and the unwillingness on her face was visible to the naked eye. "Fuck!" Shan Jia punched the marble table. She opened her eyes and saw Zhou Li behind her in the mirror.
Zhou Li raised his hand awkwardly, "Hi."
Shan Jia looked at the mirror expressionlessly. She lowered her head and pulled out a paper towel from the side, wiped the water off her cheeks and hands, then turned and left.
Zhou Li put down his hand and scratched his head helplessly. How could this person's mood change so suddenly?
She went to wash her hands and returned to the rehearsal room. The boss stood in the rehearsal room and asked, "Where's Zhou Li?"
"I'm here."
The boss turned around and said, "The audience is starting to arrive. Didn't you knock the drums on the stage apart this morning? We need to move the drums from this rehearsal room. Follow the staff and see how to set them up."
"Okay." Zhou Li responded.
The boss went to Shan Jia again and asked, "Shan Jia, what about your microphone? Do you use a stand or an ear mount? Do you need to adjust the microphone? Someone else used it yesterday, and I guess it doesn't have the sound effect or the speakers that you originally used."
The boss is busy, arranging this and then dealing with that.
Everyone helped to carry the musical instruments. Zhou Li's drum set was the heaviest, so he put the instruments on the stage first. After Zhou Li adjusted them, he saw that they had already started checking tickets and letting people in at the door. Everyone who came in had a small fluorescent stamp on the back of their hand, which allowed them to enter and exit the live house at will.
Shan Jia went to adjust the sound microphone, Zhou Li found the pitch of the drum set, the bassist and keyboardist were also busy with their instruments and adjusting the stage position. After everything was done, Zhou Li went to the corridor to get some fresh air.
Shan Jia just walked out of the equipment room. The two of them bumped into each other and passed by each other. Zhou Li grabbed Shan Jia's wrist and asked worriedly, "Is your hand okay?"
Zhou Li looked at Shan Jia's right hand. When she lifted the instrument just now, Zhou Li saw Shan Jia tied her palm with cloth. Guitarists care most about the flexibility of their palms. She had just smashed the marble countertop in the bathroom. Zhou Li was worried that she would mess up the performance.
Shan Jia said, "It's okay."
She broke free from Zhou Li's hand, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and she was a little at a loss. She always acted strong in front of outsiders, but she didn't want Zhou Li to see her unstable and fragile side. Shan Jia originally thought that she could withstand anything, and she also thought that the band would reach this day sooner or later, but she still hated her cowardice and incompetence very much. It was her who did not have the ability to keep everyone.
The live house was crowded at night, and the small space accommodated more than two hundred people.
The Windmill Band still has some die-hard fans online, especially since everyone heard that this might be the Windmill Band's farewell performance, many people came from other provinces just to support the Windmill Band.
The big screen on the stage gradually lit up, with some words floating across it, showing the performance experience of the Windmill Band in various cities and music festivals. They were not young, from being founded on campus to the band members entering society, the band members also changed twice, some put down their instruments, some continued to persevere, from being immature to mature, in six years, they left behind many songs that were loved by music fans.
The opening is a very long slow jam, followed by a female vocal. This song is like a poem, and is called "poetry rock" by music fans. Then the drums gradually become louder, and the emotions become more and more passionate. It is entirely the performance of the drummer. Later, the keyboard, bass and guitar follow, forming a new movement with gradual layers. A lazy female voice appears and tells a cruel reality. Finally, the voice is high-pitched, like a cuckoo crying blood, and the music gradually stops.
When Shan Jia was thinking about this performance, he didn't plan to perform for too long. The whole performance was no more than an hour. There were also some solo shows by some musicians, interactions with fans in the audience, personal single performances and song request sessions. Zhou Li also prepared his own drummer show. The atmosphere was very good and the ticket price was not expensive, only a few dozen yuan, so there was basically no profit.
By the end of the performance, everyone's forehead was covered in sweat. Even with the air conditioning in the live house turned up high, it couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the 200 people tonight. Lead singer Shan Jia is not good at speaking, but today she choked up on the stage and said: "Thank you all for your support over the years. I am a person who can move forward with passion. If it weren't for your encouragement, we wouldn't be here now, but the fact that we have persisted for this long is enough."
Shan Jia took the microphone and turned to look at the members behind her. She bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for tolerating my willfulness and accompanying me in weaving dreams for so long. It's time to wake up."
Her eyes were red, and facing the tears of everyone on and off the stage, she announced: "The Windmill Band is officially disbanding today!"
“Don’t!”
“No!”
“We like you!”
"Don't disband!"
The people in the audience shouted loudly, but Shan Jia dropped the microphone and ran away.
The performance was over, but the fans were reluctant to leave and had to be guided out of the bar by the staff. Zhou Li rubbed his temples, his head feeling like it was exploding.
My goodness, it was said that a noble person would appear and allow the band to participate in the competition, but now the band has disbanded.
The keyboardist and bassist were still standing on the stage. Suddenly, the bassist started moving. He didn't even put down his beloved bass, which was still hanging around his neck, and punched the keyboardist directly!
"Just leave! We didn't say we couldn't let you go! But why, why did you go to the other side of the highway? They plagiarized! They stole the boss's hard work. Don't you know? Even you betrayed us!"
The keyboard player stood motionless, letting the bassist beat him, and he whispered, "I need to make money."
The bassist sneered and took off his bass and smashed it directly onto the keyboard. The collision of the instruments startled Zhou Li. He roared, "Yeah! You all need money, right? Didn't Wang Zeyu break his hand? He joined the road band with you, right? That shameless plagiarist thought that by dragging you over, he could legitimately use our work, right? What price did he offer you two? He made you lose the band! He forced the boss to disband! And you can't even play your own work!"
The keyboard player murmured, "One hundred thousand."
The bassist let go of the keyboardist's collar, his face pale: "You are all great." Then he turned and left.
What was going on? Zhou Li was still sitting there, his mind a mess.
First the band disbanded, and then they had a quarrel. It revealed too much information.
Only she and bassist Lao Chen were left on the stage. Lao Chen silently cleaned up the mess on the stage. Zhou Li came over to help. Lao Chen glanced at her and whispered, "Do you also think I'm a traitor?"
Zhou Li said, "I don't understand your situation."
Lao Chen and Zhou Li helped Qin up before saying, "The guitarist for Highway was originally from our band. Many of the songs were originally discussed between him and the boss. Later, they had a disagreement, so he left Fengche and founded Highway. Highway became more and more popular, surpassing ours. Then, people discovered that our two bands had similar songs. He refused to admit to plagiarism and instead sued the boss, claiming that he had stolen his songs."
"Luckily, all the songs that the boss wrote were credited to everyone who had participated in them, so we didn't have any problems. However, the songs that the other party had signed and participated in were completely banned from being performed by us again. If we deny it, we will be charged exorbitant royalties. These songs were clearly co-written by us!"
Old Chen also gritted his teeth when he said this, but he soon felt relieved.
"I'm getting married soon, and the company that owns my road band wants to form a second band. They offered me 100,000 yuan, and since I'm short of money for my wedding, I agreed."
"Your previous drummer?"
"Wang Zeyu?" Old Chen shook his head helplessly, "He's the one who pulled me."
He revealed a piece of information, "Gonglu had approached the boss before, but the boss had a grudge against the other party and did not agree."
Zhou Li understood.
Old Chen murmured, "It's not bad to follow the boss. He has a creative talent, and I enjoy playing the keyboard, but it's just not very profitable." He smiled bitterly, "I'm about to start a family, and I have to consider my family. I'm selfish, but the boss will probably have a better future without us, his burdens."
He revealed a piece of news, "Many companies have approached us before, but they only wanted the boss. Nowadays, bands are not profitable. The guy from Highway was lucky. He became popular on the short video platform, so people were willing to sign him. Plus, there are only two of them, so there is no problem."
Zhou Li patted Lao Chen on the shoulder, put away her drumsticks and left. She went to find the boss, who was sitting at the bar drinking alone. When he saw Zhou Li, he said, "I forgot to pay your bill."
Zhou Li smiled and said, "I'm having a lot of fun, so I don't want the money."
The boss said gloomily, "It would be great if the world were full of people like you, but most people are just after a few pieces of silver."
Zhou Li laughed and asked, "Aren't you?"
The boss laughed to himself, "That's right."
After ordering a drink for Zhou Li, the boss said, "I thought they could hold out for a while. We had a big boss here today, and I'm embarrassed to introduce him. And you, I think you're a perfect fit for Fengche's style."
Zhou Li's heart moved and he asked, "What big boss?"
The boss said, "He's a friend of mine. He's a producer and has planned a band show. He's looking for contestants. He originally thought Windmill Band was a good fit, but now it's great."
Zhou Li raised his glass and said, "What if the band still exists?"
Boss: "Hmm? Exist?"
Zhou Li smiled: "Bands are fun. I want to form a band. How about calling it Rebirth?"
The boss looked at her and asked, "You are not kidding, are you?"
Zhou Li bumped her glass against the boss's, "Of course not." She tilted her head back and drank the entire glass. "Playing drums alone is pretty boring, why not try something new?"
The boss's eyes lit up. "That's fine! Shan Jia should be on the rooftop getting some fresh air. Go find her! With her around, your band won't have to worry about the music."
Zhou Li stood up and said, "Thank you."
The boss was even more anxious than her, "Why are you thanking me? Pull the person in first!"
Zhou Li went upstairs and heard faint singing in the distance. It should be a performance in another bar. The natural breeze on the rooftop was cool. There were a few tables and a circle of ambient lights. Zhou Li saw the person standing in front of the railing at a glance.
The loose short-sleeved shirt she wore was blown up by the wind. From behind, she looked like a fat balloon man, with her hair flying naturally back, her arms resting on the black railings, and her head down as if in a daze.
"The environment here is nice." Zhou Li walked over and started the conversation.
Shan Jia turned his head to look at her, then stared aimlessly downstairs. There were drunkards on the roadside, staggering out of the bar, and there were also hot girls leaving in cars with happy looks on their faces. People came and went, with all kinds of people.
Zhou Li watched for a while, and when she realized Shan Jia was ignoring her, she asked again, "Now that the band has disbanded, what are you planning to do in the future?"
Shan Jia was silent, she didn't know either.
She has lived for more than 20 years. She has been spending the first half of her life with music and her academic performance was mediocre. Most of her classmates who graduated with her have stable jobs, got married, and had children. Only she was obsessed with forming a band. When she turned around, there was no one by her side.
Without the band, Shan Jia has never had a say in their lives, and he can't imagine them without music.
"Would you like to form a band with me?" Zhou Li spoke frankly. "A band is quite interesting. You compose music, and I occasionally write lyrics. I also play a few other instruments. I can learn anything you need. At least I like you very much. We can continue to create music. What do you think?"
Shan Jia was stunned.
Zhou Li extended his hand and said, "I'm a newcomer to the band, and you're a veteran. I think we complement each other quite well."
Shan Jia looked at Zhou Li's hand hesitantly. Suddenly, bassist Zhu Le appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Shan Jia's hand and shook Zhou Li's. He said happily, "I was just worried about having nowhere to go! Boss, please agree to her! Wait until our band shows up and give them a lesson! Then we'll punch the highway and kick Wang Zeyu and Chen Siyu! Make them betray us! We'll make something of ourselves to show them!"
Shan Jia was pushed by Zhu Le's words. She no longer hesitated, held Zhou Li's hand and said yes.
Zhou Li smiled until her eyes narrowed. She said, "I won't let you down."
Shan Jia didn't think too much about it. She was also holding back some anger in her chest and wanted to show it to those who left her and laughed at her.
She, Shan Jia, can also make a name for herself through music!
Zhou Li said slowly into the night, "I just thought of a name for the group. It's called Rebirth."
"Hey, this is good!" Bassist Zhu Le clapped his hands.
The flames in Shan Jia's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and she nodded in agreement.
After there was no objection to the band name, Zhou Li proceeded to the next step.
"Now that our group is formed, the most important thing is to write a team song. Does anyone have any ideas?"
Zhu Le scratched his head, "A song..." He was as impatient as a monkey who couldn't sit still. He chuckled and said, "I can't write this thing. Ask the boss."
"How about we write it together?" Zhou Li said with a smile.
Shan Jia nodded. She suddenly thought of the drum beat she heard in Zhou Li's video at noon. Her fingers involuntarily tapped her legs, playing a rhythm. A melody emerged in her mind. Shan Jia lowered her head, took out her mobile phone, turned on the recording, and hummed it casually.
Zhou Li was surprised, but Zhu Le was not surprised. Sometimes it only took the boss three minutes to write a song.
Shan Jia finished recording, and she said to Zhou Li, "I have the song, wait for me to go back and produce it."
Zhou Li smiled and said, "Then I'll try to write lyrics."
Shan Jia had no objection.
Zhu Le looked around, then extended his hand and said, "Now that the group is formed and the team song is out, shouldn't we gather our team spirit?"
Zhou Li smiled and put her hand on Zhu Le's. Shan Jia also put her hand on theirs. Zhu Le said happily, "Reborn! Come on!"
"Come on!" the three said in unison.
The live house owner was waiting downstairs, scratching his head. He was the one who sent Zhu Le up there because he was afraid that Shan Jia would not agree. With Zhu Le around, Shan Jia was easier to talk to. This stubborn donkey sometimes goes west when you tell her to go east. Even if she hits a wall, she will still push it forward. The owner has advised her several times, but she won't change her temper.
The boss was waiting anxiously. When he saw the three of them coming down from upstairs, Zhu Le waved to the boss and asked for some wine. He even blinked when he got closer. The boss got the message and was delighted. He waved his hand and offered to treat them to a drink.
Zhu Le is an alcoholic. Shan Jia often performs in live houses and has a good alcohol tolerance. No one knows Zhou Li's alcohol tolerance. The bartender asked Zhou Li, and Zhou Li shook his head and said, "I'll have less."
Four people sat in a row at the bar, each holding a glass of wine, enjoying this rare moment.
The boss asked, “How are you going to develop the band?”
Shan Jia had been running the band for so long but still couldn't make it work, and Zhu Le was even more heartless and had no ideas. The two looked at Zhou Li at the same time. Zhou Li took a sip from his wine glass and said, "Let's post the video online first."
"Isn't our team song coming out soon?"
"And boss, can we participate in that band show you mentioned?"
"What's the team song?"
"What show?"
The boss and Zhu Le said in unison, and even Shan Jia couldn't help but look confused.
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