Recently, the sentence Iwahashi Shinichi has heard the most is: "Sorry, the performance times here on Friday and Saturday are already fully booked..."
Or another sentence, "She can sing very well, but her style doesn't quite match the theme of this performance."
In other words, he has been getting rejected recently.
According to Mineshima, it is easy to apply for livehouse's unpopular time slots. When he actually started to do it himself, Iwahashi Shinichi felt the same way. Especially when compared with the difficulty of applying for prime time slots.
As the name suggests, the unpopular period is a period when few people visit.
The Mondays and Tuesdays just after the weekend, and the Thursdays before the weekend come, are all nights with no time for entertainment. Shinichi Iwahashi worked as a waiter in a nightclub, so he knows this very well.
Famous and popular underground singers will not waste themselves during off-peak hours, because for them, collecting tickets for performances during popular hours and selling homemade records on-site are a very important source of income.
The person in charge of some venues will choose to close for maintenance during off-peak hours, but there are always a few days in the week when the venue is idle, so it doesn't hurt to find some unknown amateur players to warm up the venue.
Of course, since we are here to warm up the show and there are only a few audience members, we don’t have to worry about performance fees.
This kind of job is the best to find. Miwa Yoshida also sang a few shows along with Shin Iwahashi.
The people who performed on the same stage with her were either karaoke singers or the Three-Legged Cat Band who only played 1645. Every time they performed, the atmosphere was like the kind of office workers outside who can sing after having a little drink.
Bistro karaoke.
After doing this several times, Iwahashi Shinichi felt that it was not possible.
It is not enough to be content with the status quo. A person who is already at level 20 is slaying level 1 monsters outside the novice village every day, hoping to reach level 30 and change maps by accumulating a little experience every time. He is afraid that he will have to swipe until the server is stopped.
Singing alone is not enough.
The two of them are not the kind of people who can talk about anything else as long as they can sing happily, but are just greedy for a stage. Their goal is to go mainstream. The hope of pushing themselves into such an unpopular time is too slim.
Finally, Yoshida Miwa’s style is not good either.
If this had caught up with the RB jazz craze in 1952, she might have been spotted by a record company executive or a film company producer who came to the store while she was still in Odyssey, and she might have become a star like Eri Chiemi.
But now, her style is not very popular. Recently, bands in the underground music circle are very active, and livehouses also prefer bands that can heat up the atmosphere. There is really nothing wrong with a female singer who works alone and in this style.
market.
Climb to the top, challenge yourself, and attack prime time
Then, Iwahashi Shinichi started to get rejected.
"Excuse me." After being rejected again, Shinichi Iwahashi walked out of the livehouse and went to the street outside.
In the winter of late November, it was getting dark earlier and earlier, and people were coming and going on the streets of Roppongi. Shinichi Iwahashi stood in front of the shop window, looking at his own shadow reflected on it.
The magnificent decoration in the window and his face reflected on the glass subtly overlapped.
Iwahashi Shinichi took a deep breath, looked away, and stepped forward.
There is one last livehouse I haven’t visited today.
This livehouse venue can accommodate 250 people, which is quite large. Shinichi Iwahashi came over to inquire about this kind of venue, but he didn't have any idea of what it would be like, so he just said a few words.
The result was not what he expected. When he handed over his business card, he heard that she was a female singer. The person in charge didn't even listen to the audition tape and rejected her directly.
Shinichi Iwahashi was prepared early in the morning, so he was not disappointed. He thanked the person in charge calmly and politely. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a stack of flyers on the table, with colorful words such as performances written on them.
.
The person in charge was quite impressed by his response when he was rejected just now. He felt that he was so calm at such a young age and that he was a good young man. At this time, he noticed his gaze and took the initiative to explain to him: "This is
I’m currently planning a band’s planned performance.”
"A band?" Shinichi Iwahashi thought.
This recent visit made him deeply aware of the band's terrifying power in the underground music circle.
"Yes." The person in charge showed him a brochure, "If you want to talk about the atmosphere, nothing is more exciting than the band. Now, the band is very popular among young people. We plan to do it next Friday and Saturday night.
Let’s have a band platter for two consecutive nights, from 5pm to 9pm.”
Shinichi Iwahashi remembered the performance he attended with Mimi Club.
"As for the band, it's a good one. However, there are enough troubles in the interpersonal relationships in the band. We originally decided on a band to come on Friday night, but there was a conflict between the members. The bassist and the lead singer got into a fight, and even the police
Everyone was alarmed, and the band was disbanded on the spot." The person in charge said this with a helpless smile.
This gossip is powerful enough, Iwahashi Shinichi thought to himself.
"It's not easy to gather so many bands." Thanks to the good impression he just left, the boss mentioned this to him, "Although we don't need female singers here for the time being, you can
If you know any decent bands, you might as well introduce them for an interview."
Band! Band again!
A strange idea suddenly popped into Iwahashi Shinichi's mind, he paused and said, "Yes."
He looked at the person in charge and said to him: "I also arrange performances for the band, and I just have such a band on hand."
"Really?" The person in charge was very interested. "Is there a video of the band's performance that I can take a look at?"
"What a coincidence." Shinichi Iwahashi lied, "I just came over from Ginza and left the last videotape there."
"That's fine." The person in charge didn't pursue it further and asked him, "Are your relationships with the band members okay?"
"It's quite harmonious." Shinichi Iwahashi said.
The boss thought for a while and said, "There will be an interview at four o'clock next Monday. If you are interested, you can bring a band over to try it out."
"Yes, next Monday at four o'clock in the afternoon." Iwahashi Shinichi confirmed, "I will bring them here."
After leaving the livehouse and coming to the street, the cold wind blew against his face, making him shiver subconsciously. Iwahashi Shinichi lowered his head and looked at the leaflet he just got in his hand, thoughtfully.
In the evening, Shinichi Iwahashi called Miwa Yoshida, "Miwa-san, we found a good interview opportunity. Do you want to give it a try?"
Miwa Yoshida asked him to elaborate.
Iwahashi Shinichi told her what happened this afternoon.
"Shinichi-san," Miwa Yoshida calmed down after listening and corrected: "What they want is a band."
Iwahashi Shinichi's reaction was very calm, "I know, what they want is the band."
"But we"
"So." Shinichi Iwahashi interrupted her, "Let's form a band right now."
