DELETUSER7284 — Roleplayer Guild

Spiral Serpent


In Nashville, Tennessee, conservatory graduate Mike Fredericksen has a dream: to create a musical act inspired by the raw musicianship and talent that the jazz fusion and jazz-rock of the 70s and 80s (such as Chick Corea, Gino Vanelli, Toto, Asia, Casiopea etc.) possessed, in hopes of offering casual listeners more than the same four chords, the same generic beats and the all too prevalent abuse of AutoTune on vocals. In order to achieve that, he has to reach out to other musicians and inspire them to form a band. Are Mike's standards too high for today's music scene, or can he quell his relentless perfectionism by finding a middle ground between crowd appeal and talent? That remains to be seen.

Generally speaking, this is a casual RP, so it adheres to the standards relating to said category as written on the forum rules themselves. Needless to say, the forum's code of conduct also applies here.

Genre-wise, this story is mostly slice-of-life, but generally leaning more towards comedy than tragedy (in the classical sense of the terms). That means the tone is generally upbeat and chipper, with some more somber moments strewn in between. Also, I'm looking to have the band number at least 5 (drums, bass, guitar, 1 keyboard player and 1 wind), but I'm absolutely open for more if it's logistically sound.

That being said, there are some specific rules:

1. Be knowledgeable about the subject: If the character you want to create is a musician, you have to convey an understanding of music and the related terminology, as opposed to just winging it. By doing the latter, you're setting yourself up for awkward roleplaying.
2. Don't god-mode or meta-game: This should go without saying, but it's still being done, so it's worth pointing out some more. You can't go from out of practice to Steve Lukather in the span of a few posts, and you can't play a lick you've never played correctly for the first time.
3. No NSFW: As per site rules, since this is a thread-based RP. No graphic violence, or sexually explicit content. If, for any reason, your characters end up in some kind of sexual intercourse, please fade to black.
4. Keep the focus on the musical side: This includes ruts and tension within the band. If you do take a detour from the musical side of things, make it relevant to the character, and as brief as possible.
5. Your characters and posts can curse, but do it in style: Using four language comes naturally in real life, but please, don't turn your post into a Martin Scorsese script just because you can curse bloody murder.
6. Try not to get bandmates sexually involved: This is a recommendation more so than a rule, but when sexual interests and musical pursuit entwine, it's usually doesn't end up pretty. So, think about it before you go for it.
7. Be creative with your characters: Another recommendation. Not all of them have to be musicians, and you can have as many characters total as you want.
8. Keep real-world political messaging out of this: This is supposed to be a lighthearted, fun game, and hamfisting your posts with political rhetoric is the exact opposite of that.
9. Don't use real people as characters: This is pretty awkward, so I discourage it.

Name:
Gender: (Male or Female)
Date of birth/age: Month Day Year (Age N), no younger than 19
Occupation: (Musician, sound engineer or non-musician)
Instruments: (If a musician only; list drums, percussion, bass, guitar, keyboards, winds, strings; as is the case in real life, you can list multiple depending on where your character's talent lies)
Experience/talent level: (if a musician or sound engineer): Novice, intermediate, adept, gifted or virtuoso
Skills: (if a musician or sound engineer, go in detail about what it is your character is capable of)
Equipment: (if a musician or sound engineer, go in detail about what instruments and gear your character uses on a regular basis)
Physical attributes: (what does your character look like? You can add pictures, but it's not necessary)
Personality: (character traits, favorite musicians, general likes and dislikes)
Background: (what's your character been through so far? Don't make it too short, but don't natter, either)

Name: Michael Thomas "Mike" Fredericksen
Gender: Male
Date of birth/age: August 31st 1996 (Age 26)
Occupation: Musician
Instruments: Bass, vocals, guitar (occasionally)
Experience/talent level: Gifted
Skills: High baritone singer with good closure and no vibrato, struggles with higher notes; versatile and capable bass player, prefers fingerstyle and occasionally plays slap; can play classical guitar reasonably well
Equipment: Harley Benton JP-55OP Sunburst (workhorse bass guitar, used mostly live), Fender Am Pro II Jazz Bass FL RW 3TS (most expensive bass, used mostly in the studio), Line6 Helix Guitar Processor (amp modeller), Shure Beta 58 (live vocal microphone)
Physical attributes: 5'11'' high, with a lean, but fit and toned build. He has short brown hair with bangs that fall rightward over his brown, slightly slanted eyes, with a finely-shaped nose and jaw. Considered handsome by his peers.
Personality: Mike's defining trait is perfectionism: whatever it is he's doing, especially if it concerns music, he'll do his darndest to make sure it's the finest it can be, and gets distressed when it's not. He has very high standards for quality and refuses compromise them, which indicates an obstinate note in his character. While he's very prone to splitting hairs, he's not deliberately mean-spirited: he genuinely yearns to see people do their best. Lately, he's developed a self-deprecating streak, as his perfectionism alienated his former friends. He finds social activities and talking to women anxiety-inducing. Still, if asked to help, he'll be completely devoted and loyal. He's an adoring fan of Sting, Marcus Miller, Toto and Chick Corea. His favorite food is carbonara. Hates AutoTune.
Background: Born and raised in Nashville, he's developed a taste for music ever since his father addicted him to his vinyl collection. A lot of these were from older artists, and the sheer sophistication of their compositions inspired Mike to pick up the guitar and singing at age 7. He attended music schools throughout his childhood and teens, before eventually gravitating towards bass guitar, finding the instrument more inspiring. He excelled in class, but failed in socializing, since he was mostly met with avoidance due to his perfectionist tendencies and niche tastes, and at worst, harassment and bullying (including being mocked for his sexual inexperience by being called "Virgin Radio"). He enrolled at the band conservatory in Nashville's School of the Arts, hoping to learn more about playing with other people. While the things he learned were tremendously valuable, he found that he was growing more and more isolated in pursuing his dream, and that the professors were highly pedantic - even more so than he. Nevertheless, his dream of a successful jazz-rock band never died. Lately, he realized that this approach may have been wrong. Is he willing to slightly lower his standards to create a successful group?

Looking forward to rocking with y'all!
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