After being elected as the governor of Tokyo, he will debut as a band!

Of course, being able to return to the stage to reminisce about one's youth and experience a release of the soul and a resonance with the souls of hundreds of audience members through rock music is also a good thing.

However, this is not his main profession, so he doesn't necessarily have to become a drummer for Sickhack.

"Ah, a versatile musician..."

Iwashita Shima hesitated.

As a member of a highly popular indie rock band, Iwashita Shima has met many self-proclaimed all-around musicians who are proficient in multiple instruments, but their skill level is hard to describe.

A person's energy is limited, and even highly talented people need to spend a lot of time practicing to achieve professional-level performance skills.

A jack of all trades is one in a million; a master of none is the norm.

Moreover, true musical geniuses are probably signed by management companies and embark on a professional career when they are just over ten years old. The remaining hidden talents are probably very few... or even "exist only in theory".

Because she recalled some bad experiences from the past, Iwashita Shima's opinion of Aoyama Kaname dropped somewhat.

"Um, Yoshima-san, I know this might be asking a bit much, but could you please play the guitar, violin, and drums?"

"no problem."

After saying this, the three of them got up and went to the performance area outside.

"Mr. Ginjiro, may I borrow your stage for a moment?"

Shima spoke to Yoshida, who was sitting at the small dining table counting money.

"Use it, use it. There are hardly any customers on weekday afternoons, the stage is empty anyway."

Yoshida looked up at Aoyama and immediately became interested.

He stuffed the money into his pocket and prepared to watch the performance.

"Let's start with the guitar then, Miss Eliza. May I borrow your guitar for now?"

"Okay! But do you want to wear a wig? I remember Gin-chan has some wigs for performances here!"

Eliza looked at him with some anticipation.

"If you wear it, I might go easy on you when I give my evaluation later!"

"Eliza! This is an assessment! Can't you be serious for once?!"

Aoyama looked in the direction of Iwashita Shima and saw that the girl with the neat short hair had her fists clenched tightly.

"Waaah, Shima, I was wrong! Yoshima-san, you don't need to wear a wig anymore, and I won't go easy on you anymore!"

Eliza was crying and sobbing.

"...Mr. Yoshida, could you please bring me the wig that Eliza mentioned?"

As he spoke, Aoyama took the guitar from Eliza and skillfully tuned the strings.

"As for your evaluations," the two of you said.

He then stepped onto the stage with a steady backward gait.

Although the mask on his face prevented people from seeing his expression, everyone present could feel the aura of control he exuded through his body language.

……

As is well known, the expressiveness and complexity of arrangements in a band are generally far greater than those in a solo performance. After all, more instruments can cover more musical parts and provide a higher quality of sound.

The performance effect is emotional.

However, some people can make a solo performance sound like a band performance.

Of course, this is on the premise that he is playing an electric guitar.

Electric guitars can produce various sounds by connecting to different effects pedals and synthesizers. Theoretically, if you are skilled enough, an electric guitar can produce the sound of an entire band (except for drums).

But that would be too physically and technically demanding, so most musicians wouldn't talk about it that way. They'd leave the tasks to the bassist, the keyboardist, and the vocals when it's time to bring them on.

If someone actually sings with an electric guitar and synthesizer, all we can say is "That's amazing!" and then we won't buy their tickets.

But if it's about showing off skills, then it doesn't matter.

During the performance just now, Aoyama did just that, actually playing an electric guitar that sounded like a band performance, leaving Eliza and Shima completely stunned.

Yoshida Ginjiro didn't, but the way he looked at Aoyama was as if he were looking at a giant money tree.

Just as everyone was silent in shock, a burst of crying suddenly erupted from a spot next to the entrance of the performance hall.

With that one loud "Wah!", Aoyama saw a girl with pigtails burst into tears and run out of the performance hall.

"You're amazing! You're so incredible!!!"

Before leaving, he threw Qingshan a rebuke.

"???"

Thanks to Lin Banzhai, The Proof of the Sun, Somali, and Little Monster's Blade~

Thank you for the generous donation at such a young age!

Make way for me: 022 Friendship is priceless!

"Yoshima-san! Welcome to Sickhack!"

Iwashita Shima grabbed Aoyama Mukai's hand, then immediately grabbed his wrist instead.

She looked like she was afraid he would break free and run away.

(This post should contain a famous quote from DiCaprio.)

"Uh, but my violin and drum performance hasn't started yet..."

"No need, you are the guitarist we've been dreaming of!"

"Haha, thank you for your approval, but... Miss Eliza next to you looks like she's about to cry."

With his hand still restrained, Aoyama reluctantly pointed to Shimizu Eliza, whose eyes were bulging.

"Shima! Shima! What about me! What about me!"

"Eliza, don't worry, dual guitarists are very common in rock bands! And this way you can also free up time to sing with Hiroi."

"Singing... but wouldn't my voice and accent be a bit too cute, and not quite match the overall style of Sickhack?"

"Then let's make the lyrics even more depressing!"

Shima's words made perfect sense and successfully dispelled Eliza's sense of crisis, but there was still a hint of grievance in her eyes as she looked at Aoyama.

Aoyama shook his slightly numb hands and smoothed the golden wig on his head.

"Miss Eliza, would you like to take a picture together?"

"..."

"If you don't want to take pictures, I'll take off my wig."

"We need to take pictures! We need to take pictures! We need to take pictures!"

……

Although Iwashita Shima had already said that Aoyama didn't need to demonstrate his violin and drum skills anymore, he still performed in excellent form, adhering to the principle of finishing what he started.

The effect was equally amazing.

With the previous guitar performance as a foundation, the shock felt by the audience was not as strong as at the beginning, but Iwashita Shima also realized that the Sickhack band had struck gold, and he was already considering how much performance fee he should offer to keep Aoyama Mukoto.

I don't usually spend much money on myself, and I can use one-fifth of my performance fee. After Anti-Justice Masakazu joins, the performance tickets will sell even better, and the money I actually receive won't be much different.

Eliza, on the other hand, buys all sorts of figurines, games, and fan works, so she has many expenses. Perhaps her performance fee should remain unchanged.

As for Hiroi, her pay must be severely reduced. Ideally, all the money she spends on drinking should be taken away, leaving her only with basic living expenses and money for a little drinking (Shima, of course, knows that it's impossible to get Hiroi Kikuri to quit drinking completely).

However, if he really did that, Hiroi would probably go to Otsuki and Ijichi-senpai to borrow money. Otsuki would definitely give him the money without hesitation, and as for Ijichi-senpai, Hiroi would probably cry his heart out and give her the money too.

Thinking about it this way, if I deduct Hiroi's performance fee, wouldn't that be equivalent to indirectly deducting money from Otsuki and Ijichi-senpai? And at that time, Hiroi would definitely increase the frequency of going to Eliza for meals, and might even corrupt this good girl Eliza into an alcoholic...

The more Iwashita Shima thought about it, the more her brows furrowed, but even after racking her brains, she couldn't come up with a solution that would satisfy both sides.

There's no other way but to deduct some more from my performance fee. If I buy less meat and eat less fruit, and eat more bean sprouts and natto rice bowls, I should be able to get through this month.

With two unreliable teammates, Shima is really worried sick about the survival and development of Sickhack.

Aoyama immediately saw what Shima was struggling with.

...Is life really that hard for independent musicians?

Sickhack is already considered quite popular among indie rock bands, but it's surprising that its members still have to struggle to make ends meet.

Is it true that "Tokyo is big, and it's not easy to live here"?

As the Governor of Tokyo, I also bear responsibility for this situation. It seems that in the implementation of the "Tokyo Metropolitan Arts Promotion Plan," we should appropriately increase our support for independent musicians.

As for the present, let's first help Ms. Iwashita Shima alleviate her anxiety.

“Ms. Iwashita, I decided to join Sickhack because of Ms. Hiroi’s sincere invitation, so you don’t need to worry about the performance fee. Just give me a token amount.”

"How can that be..."

If it were Yamada Ryo, she would definitely agree without hesitation at this point, but Iwashita Shima is not so disdainful. She even feels ashamed that she cannot offer Aoyama Muto a better deal.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. Ms. Hiroi is an old friend of mine. As the saying goes, ‘friendship is worth a thousand pieces of gold.’ Friendship and trust are much more precious than a few Fukuzawa Yukichi (the largest denomination Japanese banknote).”

This is simply a case of talking without understanding the situation.

It's just that the perpetually poor Hiroi Kikuri and the spendthrift Yamada Ryo weren't here, otherwise they would have cried on the spot in front of Aoyama Mukai.

Even Iwashita Shima, who was quite swayed by this, couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "You don't know the cost of living until you're in charge of the household. Do you know how much money Hiroi spends?"

"'Friendship is worth a thousand pieces of gold,' right?" Iwashita Shima repeated the phrase, then nodded solemnly. "I will remember that phrase."

……

After that, the three officially entered the rehearsal stage. Aoyama played guitar and drums respectively, cooperating with Shima and Eliza, and achieved good results.

As for the violin...

If having multiple drummers is relatively rare in rock bands, then rock bands with violinists are even rarer.

After all, vocals play a crucial role in modern rock music, while the violin has a relatively narrow range, making it easy for them to clash with vocals.

However, the violin's harmonic capabilities are also somewhat limited, making it difficult to coordinate with other instruments.

Although the violin can produce explosive effects in certain arrangements.

However, Sickhack has never had a violinist join them before, and they haven't produced that type of arrangement yet, so Aoyama's violin skills are temporarily useless.

The three rehearsed for about an hour. Just as Shima Iwashita and Eliza were starting to feel tired, the band's core member—Kikuri Hiroi, considered by fans to be one of the independent musicians who best embodies the spirit of rock—finally arrived late.

"This is my home turf! Shinjuku Folt! Come on in, come on in!"

Behind her were four brightly colored high school girls, the four members of the band Link.

(Aoyama whispers to himself: Shouldn't the Board of Education pay attention to the issue of high school students dyeing their hair and wearing colored contact lenses?)

"Hey, Hiroi, how many times have I told you not to be late?"

"The rehearsal is almost over!"

Shima and Eliza cast disapproving glances at the drunken Kikuri.

"Sorry! But it seems you two get along well with Yi-zhen."

"Well, how should I put it..."

Shima scratched his head a little embarrassedly, "Hiroi, you did a really good job this time. Yoshima-san is excellent as both a guitarist and a drummer."

There will be another update later.

Make way for me: 023 Little Lonely: It's so hard to be the only one in the know!

"I've always had a very good eye for people!"

Hiroi Kikuri proudly puffed out her chest.

—But even though she made that move, the area below her neck was still less noticeable than that of the high school girl next to her who was ten years younger than her.

As a seasoned driver, Aoyama glanced subconsciously in the direction of the group and the thought crossed his mind.