An offering.

Our last class before lunch that Wednesday was taught by a professor I was starting to really like. She was an old woman with a background in opera, but unlike most of our most purist professors, she was a lot more open minded about music. Even if she didn’t like a genre as a whole, she saw the good things in music and thought about how they could be applied elsewhere.

“You will never catch me cleaning my house while listening to reggaeton," she said. “I find the lyrics disgusting and the overuse of samples uninspired, but it’s easy to understand why the beats they use are so addicting to listen to. Pop music also uses it a lot. There’s also the interesting contrast of screaming verses with clean chorus vocals you find in some metal songs. A lot of your favorite bands have likely been inspired by old disco drums, too. It’s fine to have a preferred genre, but don’t let it stifle your creativity. Always remember to listen to things outside your comfort zone and keep an open mind.”

That was in response to someone asking where to get inspiration to write music. Hearing that felt like vindication and a scolding at the same time. I’d long held a similar belief, but I still refused to listen to some genres simply because I didn’t like them. It was like a wake-up call to grow up.

“Does that mean you’ll start listening to reggaeton?" Eric asked me as he, Steven, Luna, Ruby and I walked the long way to the cafeteria.

“Ugh, against my will, but yes…” I said. “I don’t like the lyrics, either.”

“Give in and start listening to J-pop,” Luna told me. “It’s not cringe.”

“When did I ever say it was?” I asked her.

“Don’t listen to her,” Ruby said. “Someone shouted ‘cringe!’ at us the other day we were recording and it’s still living rent-free in her head.”

“Did you give him the finger?” Steven asked.

“Please, I’m a lady,” Luna said.

“Are you? Show proof,” Steven shot back.

Luna took her hands to her belt. Eric, Steven and I raised an eyebrow and paid close attention… until Ruby slapped her hand.

“Changing the topic,” Ruby began. “We… actually wanted to ask you guys something.”

“Do you need proof that I’m a gentleman?” Steven asked.

“Shut up, don’t make me regret this.” Ruby sighed while the rest of us laughed, Luna included. “See… There’s an anime convention happening in two weeks. The organizers… contacted us to ask if we could fill in for a band that won’t be able to make it.”

I raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like a good opportunity for you two,” I said.

“Yeah, what do we have to do with this?” Steven asked.

“...” Luna and Ruby looked at each other before Luna turned back to us. “We’ve been thinking about forming a band, right? Want to give it a test run?”

Eric’s jaw dropped. “Wait… You want to test this at an actual live event?”

“It’s not that big of a gig,” Ruby said. “It’d only be like a 30-minute performance on Sunday. We’d be filling space for the bigger bands.”

“That, and a lot of the people won’t actually be paying attention to us,” Luna said. “Most of them will be shopping, eating and stalking cosplayers.”

Steven and I looked at each other, apparently with the same idea in mind.

“You girls know that Oliver and I don’t know much about J-pop, right?” he told them.

“We can make it work,” Luna said. “There was a semi-recent metal song that played in a really popular anime. It’d totally be up Oliver’s alley and you’d probably be able to learn it in a day or two. I bet Eric already knows it, too.”

“I bet I do,” Eric said. “You’ve heard the dumbs in it, though, right? That shit will kill me.”

“You’d live,” I told him, then turned to the girls again. “But it’s a 30-minute show. That’s at least 4 songs if we fill time with some form of crowd work.”

“We could probably add one of yours and one of mine,” Steven told me.

I shook my head. “I’d rather avoid originals. People aren’t there for us, they’re there for what they already know and like.”

“Anime and video games overlap a lot,” Eric said. “We could play some game songs like the one we played in the practice room last week, remember?”

“Yeah, we totally could,” Luna said. “So… You guys in? We’d have two weeks to practice. Not a lot, but…”

“I want to,” Steven said. “If we can get a good reaction there, it’d be a good sign that we have a future as a band.”

Eric glanced at his arms. “Fine, I’m in.”

“Oliver?” Ruby asked me, expectantly.

“Are you sure you want me? I’m just a poser, after all. I have no skill and people just watch my videos because of my cat.”

Eric and Steven burst out laughing while Luna and Ruby pouted with arms crossed.

“Yes, we’re sure,” Luna said.

I sighed. “Alright, fine. If you’re gonna beg…”

“We’re not begging,” Ruby said.

“They aren’t, but I was going to, if necessary,” Steven said, grinning. “By the way, are we getting paid?”

“A pittance, but yeah,” Luna said.

“Better than most starting bands, I suppose.” Eric said. “What’s our band name?”

“Eric and the Eccentrics,” I said. Luna and Steven snickered.

“W-What? Why is my name there!?”

“So you can take the brunt of the fall if we suck, I’d imagine,” Ruby said. “I second it, by the way.”

“It’d be so damn funny, but we risk keeping that name forever…” Luna said.

“So?” Steven and I asked in unison.

“Vetoed! Vetoed ten times over!” Eric said, arms crossed into an X.

An actual gig, huh? I suppose a short show like that would be good to cut our teeth. I was already feeling some of the pressure, but even so… I was thankful to Luna and Ruby for the opportunity.

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