Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 40



Only Krnovel

Episode 40. Pippi Longstocking (1)

Jo In-chang couldn’t come to his senses.

I couldn’t quite understand the building, which looked like an ordinary building on the outside but had an incredibly decorated interior.

“… … A member… … right?”

Then, Lee Dong-ha answers on his behalf.

“How many times do I have to ask you if you’re a member?”

A man in a suit who looks luxurious at first glance.

I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere, but I can’t quite remember.

One person anyway.

And two older brothers with fierce looks.

Including Brother Hong Young-pil, there are three of them.

Adding moving makes four.

The members of a rock band do appear.

Basically, guitar, vocals, drums, and bass guitar.

Because net is basic.

But since Lee Dong-ha will be playing guitar and singing, we even thought about having one of us play the piano or synthesizer.

No.

The very idea of ​​getting caught up in something and having that kind of thought is nonsense.

Jo In-chang shook his head vigorously.

“Hey. Dong-ha… … I don’t know why I’m saying this to you… … I don’t quite understand this… … .”

“Our members are getting old?”

You crazy kid.

This guy is really crazy.

It was shocking that she brought three men who were old enough to be her father and introduced them as members. She even swore at them in front of them.

From the beginning, I thought he was a weird guy because he said he was in a rock band instead of an idol.

‘But I thought he was just a hipster… … .’

Or I thought it was something like Hongdae disease, something you experience once or twice at a young age.

In the end, it’s a matter of time. I thought I couldn’t hold back and would do the so-called modern music, represented by dance music, whether in a group or as a solo artist.

Is rock a joke or a joke in this day and age?

The map that rocked the world is now a bygone era.

It doesn’t make sense to form a rock band with old men, but the very idea of ​​doing rock is problematic.

I finally found someone I like. But the thought of wasting my time doing rock music makes me sad.

‘What are these people doing, sticking their nose into a kid and telling him to rock…?’

They are either trying to seduce an ignorant child to satisfy their desires.

Or maybe we’re all crazy together.

Or, they could pierce the nose and make a contract and then use it to move around as they please.

huh……?

Regardless of whether Lee Dong-ha is crazy or not, that seems the most reasonable option.

Originally, in this world, half are bosses and half are swindlers.

As I thought about it, the middle-aged man wearing the neat and expensive-looking suit started to look like a conman.

‘I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere… …!’

I’m sure I’ve seen it on this floor before.

It’s not just that it looks that way, it’s also that it makes you feel confident.

If you think about it that way, it makes sense.

‘I don’t like being called a cheapskate, but I’m the one who says what I have to say.’

Jo In-chang made up his mind.

“Rock or whatever, get up right now.”

“why?”

“You don’t know yet how scary the world is.”

Jo In-chang also once dreamed of becoming a singer.

In the lawless land before there was anything like a standard contract.

At that time, if I hadn’t fallen for that trick, I might have become a singer instead of a producer.

‘I was only talented enough to be a singer anyway. I can’t let this guy end up like me.’

Jo In-chang is a talented person who would be a shame to leave alone as a mere composer or producer.

I’ve never seen a vocalist sing like that.

Although it was a short, few-stage performance, I have never seen a performer who captured people’s attention so much.

Whether you’re a musician or not.

Performer gun.

Whether it’s idol or rock.

This guy is someone who should be a singer no matter what.

You shouldn’t waste your time being fooled by scammers.

After finishing his thoughts, Jo In-chang opened his mouth to Hong Yeong-pil.

“Youngpil, I’ve never seen people like that before, so I’m really disappointed.”

“… … ?”

And to the middle-aged man in the expensive-looking suit from earlier.

“You. You’re too obvious of a fraud. Don’t just pretend to be nice. Let’s do something right and live instead of trying to seduce children, crush their dreams, and exploit them.”

Finally, I glared at the dirty-looking man sitting near the door with a blank expression on his face…

‘Even if I get beaten up here, I’ll take Dong-ha with me.’

That’s because the kid is shameless, he’s not a bad kid.

He’s going to be a big star musically.

It meant that I wasn’t the kind of person who would waste my life falling for these scammers.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming out?”

Jo In-chang grabbed Lee Dong-ha’s wrist and dragged him along.

* * *

“I’m sorry… … . I made a mistake for a moment… … .”

“are you okay.”

“Oh my… … , no, Brother Youngpil. Please speak comfortably.”

“You said your name was Youngpil earlier.”

“… … I’m sorry. I was hasty.”

I looked at my future slave number one, Jo In-chang, who was always bending down while tapping the space between my neck and shoulder with Dong-sik Hyung’s drumstick, with a pitiful face.

“Listen to what people have to say. Is creative work like hyperhidrosis surgery? If you get palm surgery, it’s like a water park bursting in your armpits? Since music doesn’t come out, people become novelists. What happened?”

He keeps bowing to his brothers, then glances at me and glares.

It makes me laugh for no reason.

It’s not a bad feeling.

My brothers aren’t upset at all either.

Producer Jo In-chang is just beating the drums and janggu all by himself.

I was angry and said something to Youngpil, and then I called Taeju a conman.

I was grabbed by Secretary Kwak Moon-ki, who was waiting outside the door, and dragged in, and even a few internet news articles were uploaded to YouTube.

Only after confirming this did he realize that the conman he had spoken of was Jaemin Group Chairman Yoon Tae-joo.

And yet, what is so disappointing? Why does the chairman of Jaemin Group want to form a rock band with me? Why is Youngpil hyung here? Who is that gangster-looking guy here? And so on. After checking for a while, he apologizes like this.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I told you every detail about our relationship.

I appreciate your consideration, but there are times when it’s better not to tell someone something because they won’t believe you.

Producer Jo In-chang, who had been bowing for a long time, opened his mouth toward me with a solemn expression.

“But it’s not rock, Dongha.”

“It’s terrible, it’s terrible. The obsession is severe.”

“It’s not that it’s not. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in rock. Yeah… … , well… … If Jaemin Group supports me, I can do the music I want without worrying about money. Is that enough? Music that no one listens to… … . Yeah, yeah. Few people will listen to it. Do you think you’ll be satisfied by making music that only few people listen to? You’ll regret it when your prime is over… … .”

I handed the drumsticks I had been using to hit my trapezius muscle to Dongsik.

“Hey guys, the sheet music I gave you earlier. Both of them, can you play them while looking at them?”

Dong-sik responds while receiving the drum sticks.

“Um… … . Should I follow you? I don’t know what it feels like?”

“The first song is just rock. This is full-on rock. It starts off softly and then goes wild after the middle.”

I’ll do popular music too.

After all, the first album, the first song has to be this.

“The second one?”

“You can go to the guitar first, so follow along while checking out the atmosphere. The basic feeling is moist. Lively.”

A synthesizer and drums are set up inside the recording studio booth.

The door bursts open and Secretary Kwak Moon-ki hands me Tae-joo’s bass guitar and my Juliet.

“Let’s go in. Our producer Jo In-chang, who hates rock, please sit down and clean your ears.”

Three band members with an average age of over fifty follow me into the recording studio.

Real recording isn’t done like this.

It is much better to combine them individually in terms of sound perfection.

Actually, that’s how most people record.

Besides, I haven’t shown this song to my brothers yet, so they aren’t even fully familiar with it.

I thought that I should give those reactionaries who resist rock a taste of Korean rock.

“I just happened to find out that it was a recording.”

Recording with my brothers for the first time in 31 years.

I put on my guitar, stood in front of the microphone, and put on my headphones.

In an instant, a feeling of being blocked out from all the sounds around me came over me.

It’s quiet.

“Brother Inchang. Do you know how to use the machine? Don’t just blank out. Record it. This will be valuable data for the documentary later.”

―Documentary… … ? More importantly, you just called me hyung, right? Right?

Producer Jo In-chang’s voice, moved by the music, can be heard through the headphones.

Why that.

I saw on TV and OTT that they make a lot of documentaries about the pasts of successful people.

I lightly tickled the guitar and closed my eyes.

“Start 1994. Take One.”

* * *

The performance lasted about 5 minutes and was completed in one take.

“… … .”

Jo In-chang couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

What should I say… … this?

Of course, the ensemble itself inside the recording booth was just so-so.

I remember Lee Dong-ha playing this song with only a guitar. So even though it was my first time playing together, I could tell that the bass missed several notes. I also knew that Hong Young-pil’s fingers, tapping the synthesizer keys, couldn’t produce a consistent sound.

It’s not because it’s rhythmic, but because my fingers were busy following the score.

What about the drums?

I thought the person playing the first 2 minutes and the last 3 minutes in the introduction were different people.

A fantastical story about one person performing the music of two people?

That’s funny.

It wasn’t that great in the beginning and barely kept up with the rhythm in the latter half.

but…….

“Wow… … , why does my heart feel so heavy… … ?”

Jo In-chang tapped my chest.

It has a different sound when heard alone.

It felt even more so because it was a clumsy ensemble.

‘This was born to be a band. When you combine the sounds, the original good parts come alive.’

And I definitely realized.

This is… … a song like a time machine.

In Korea, who makes a living from music and hasn’t been hooked on a rock album at least once or twice?

There will be a generational difference.

Older people might have listened to music like the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, or Pink Floyd.

Anyone in their forties or older has probably been into Nirvana and felt like they were Kurt Cobain, completely absorbed in the atmosphere.

Yeah… … It was Nirvana.

That’s why Jo In-chang felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

It was a song that sailed backwards in time, starting with Nirvana in the 90s and going back to the 80s and 70s.

No matter how nostalgic the song is, if it had just been played so poorly, I would never have been able to relate to it.

“You… … are really awesome… … .”

Jo In-chang quietly muttered to Lee Dong-ha beyond the glass wall.

-Of course. It’s me, moving on.

Jo In-chang realized that he was pressing the microphone button with his elbow and smiled bitterly.

I was going to tell them not to do rock since it wasn’t profitable and the market was dead, but it was funny to see them being persuaded.

‘Still, I have to admit what I have to admit.’

It wasn’t just that he sang well and led the performance well, or that the guitar stood out.

‘How can a 20-year-old have this kind of vibe? Instead of dragging someone by the collar, he runs as if he doesn’t care if hundreds of people cling to his back.’

Powerful vocals and clear, soaring pitch.

The song itself has a composition that runs steadily towards the end, but it also uses a lot of high notes.

Any vocalist would never be able to sing this song in one key.

There is something like that.

After completing the recording after dozens of times, he releases an album with it, and sings in a lower key when he is active.

Or, these days, it’s a song that you can’t even dream of singing live by touching the notes with a machine.

But just play with it.

I once again realized the capabilities of the character Lee Dong-ha as a composer.

It’s not like the first half was abandoned to make way for the fast-paced part that goes on past the middle part.

Jo In-chang pressed the microphone button and opened his mouth.

“Where the hell have you been and what have you been doing that you’re only just coming out now… … ?”

-I saw it on my profile picture, so it feels new to me.

I don’t hate Lee Dong-ha at all, who answers with a nonchalant smile.

I guess that’s just how it is… … I’ve come to understand.

So Jo In-chang answered like that.

“You’re not an alien, are you?”

-Oh… …an alien… …it was similar.

“What is similar?”

Beyond the glass of the recording studio, Lee Dong-ha smiles broadly.

It’s so shiny.

He was born under the stars.

That’s why Jo In-chang found his composure.

“But this is… … good. It’s really fucking good… … a song that came to the wrong era.”

Surely there are those who listen to this song and feel the same emotions as I do.

Because it’s such a good song.

But apart from being good, this song is just too old.

I realized once again that this song is not suitable for today’s times.

To be exact, it’s not a problem with the song, but a problem with the times.

People born after the 90s won’t be able to hear this song and feel the same emotions as I did.

That too is an experience.

That’s why music is about empathy, not studying.

This song is sure to be one that only a limited number of people will be able to relate to.

At that moment, Yidongha’s voice continued again.

-Okay. Let’s go one more time. Astronaut. Take one.