= Wands High =

Chapter 48 - 23 May 1998, Saturday

- Well, that felt kinda long... - James was the first one to speak, removing his long curly hair from his eyes.

- Sorry not sorry – Daynen wiped his temple, then took the guitar strap off his shoulder and carefully put the instrument aside.

- So what's the jury's judgment? – the Patronus' vocalist shot a curious, questioning look at their spectators.

- Total headbanger, loved the intro – Zadie did a little air drumming impression which earned him a bright smile from Jessie. – Though – unpopular opinion – maybe a short drum solo would have worked cool somewhere between the verses and the choruses. I think you should try playing this in front of an audience, somewhere downtown in the village. I bet most of the fellas who go to either "Dead Man's Treasure Chest" or "The Watchtower" would enjoy the hell out of it.

- Shorty's not wrong, you know – Tyler nodded. - You did justice to the original, but with a pretty good modern spin.

- Is there a bad modern spin in such cases? I mean with folklore songs – Zadie shot a glance at his bandmate, giggling.

- Of course there is, man, didn't you hear the crap people played on that modern stage at the last "Summer Chaos" fest?! Some sounded like a bunch of rutty cats. Anyways fellas, music-wise what you did here was pretty cool. I almost can't believe you composed the whole thing in such a time frame.

- And you performed it real well, considering – Aaron added. – Even though it cost effort.

- That obvious, huh? – James laughed.

- Not at all. I mean, it was a challenge after all. But I agree with Ty and he's a much better composer than I am. I'm also not a fan of long solos but that was a real good one, D-Guitar. Remind me I want to discuss something about your technique when we get to some place with food later.

- Sure, I suppose – Daynen nodded. – Thanks.

- Chris, wanna add anything, bro? – Aaron asked.

- Yeah, but I see Hermione would like to as well, and she seems like she enjoyed the performance too. Correct me if I'm wrong but this doesn't seem to be your preferred type of music, Hermione, so let's hear the more important opinion first – the one of the potential future fan – Chris smiled.

Hermione blushed a little, surprised that everyone seemed interested in what she had to say, but nodded to thank Slade and looked at the members of Patronus.

- Uhm, thank you. Yes, you are indeed correct. I don't think I have ever been into heavier sound. But it is engaging and I must say that the energy and the passion with which you play is a pleasure to watch and listen to. Normally I'd just call this song a "bar brawl soundtrack" – she pointed out with a smile, making everybody laugh, - but I really like how well you work together. Especially since Ri almost left you without a guitarist...

- Oh, that's nothing new – Chris laughed. – It's actually something of a good luck charm, to get threatened with physical damage by her before performance.

- Careful there, sonny – Orianna tossed him a deadly glance though it was obvious that she was barely containing her grin. – Or you lose your beer privileges for the evening.

- Yes, mother. Let me just say that Hermione voiced my thoughts almost to the letter. By the way, James, I wanna know later what kind of vocal warm-ups you do. Oh and yeah, gotta say – again, it's my personal opinion as a musician – that I still think a rhythm guitar would truly expand your sound. It's epic alright but it has untouched potential, too.

- Dully noted. Alright, enough slacking around, fellas – Orianna waved them off their sitting places, as James nodded acknowledging Chris' comment. – Your turn, amaze us.