OK, unless you're newbies to Shadowrun, you know the great bands of the age...

But what about the others? The lower-level first-rate bands that open for the Concrete Dreams Runion?

The Second-Tier bands that are hungry and clawing towards number one, no matter how many people they need to step on (Or other bands to make look bad!)?

The Third-Raters who are up-and-coming like a rocket, but only their fans and agent know who they are outside of the gutter they live in?

The Pop Divas and Boi Bands that you can't help but try and shut out as you walk through the Corporate Malls?

Music is a major part of the cacophony of R and AR bombardment that strikes out and imales through the character's forebrains!

You call up a Fixer at one of the few Pay DataTerms left around, what's blaring out in the background?

Your Corporate JoyToy likes the latest from what surgically perfect Princess the Corps are pushing out as the greatest thing since sliced NutriSoy?

You're relaxing at your favourite waterhole, what Blues is being played, and in what language?

OK I've been playing SR since November 1989, and I have not got a clue about what you are writing.

Enlighten me?

Lars

In my game, things have conspired to bring Marli Bremerton back out to tour, and her opener was a band from Crow country called the Black Eagles. I'm trying to remember what I described their sound as to my players, but I think it was something like neo-traditional Amerind rock with twangy country guitars.

Anybody have better ideas I can use in the future, lol?

Larsine: he is asking "what are the less-well known bands in Shadowrun". I.E. everyone has heard of Maria Mercurial, Concrete Dreams, Shield Wall, etc, but what are the less top-tier bands you use IC in your game.

Will respond with actual content in a bit.

Actually, if you have any copies of CP2020 material hanging around (specially the rocker guide, Live & Direct, and America the Brave), they cover a whole lot of bands that would be very easy to use in SR.

Also there is the SR2 rocker guide by FASA out there. If you can find a copy it will have lots of useful fluff. Granted it is 20 years out of date, but you can use them as classic rock.

Music from 2050~current is of course Modern.
Music from 2020~2049 would be Classic.
Music from today (say 2000~2019) would be Millennium. (IE Millennium Rock, Millennium Rap, Millennium Metal, etc)
Music from 1980~1999 would be Oldies. (IE Oldies Rock, Oldies Rap, Oldies Metal, etc)
Music from 1960~1979 would be Golden Oldies.
Music from before 1960 would be Classical.
One of the first bands to play a type of music would be called Formative for their first couple of releases.

Remember that music, like fashion, tends to work in cycles. You could easily say that the punk them from SR1~2 was a rebirth of 1980s punk, with the 2070's seeing a rebirth of music simular to late 1990's or early 2000's.

For types of music unique to SR, you would have to look through the books.
Amerind Rock is a good example.
Chromatic Rock would be another you could use, though it comes from CP2020 (it is the music that gives Chromer gangs their name). Think of it as a mix of speed & death metal [Ministry], rock/rap [Linkin Park], and full synth [Nine Inch Nails], focused of cyberware, gang life/warfare, and kicking the crap out of the man.
Shaman or Tribal music would see a come back in some areas.

Since the world is completely unwired and linked, you would see a bewildering mix of music from every culture and every language being listened too everywhere. You might have traditional Classical Arab chants at one corner, New Orleans Neo-Jazz half a block down, Chromatic Rock screaming from one club on the corner while Millennium Country plays at the club across the street. Clips in their ghetto glider blast Oldies Gangster Rap while shouting at East Side Vattos blaring Classic Spanish Rap.

Mix up the music and when talking about something other than modern, make sure you give the era. Nothing will throw a metal head like calling Metallica Oldies Metal and the Oz man Golden Oldies Metal (his oldest stuff would be Classical/Formative Metal!).

In Shadowbeat they talk about programs that take what's popular in music and are able to synthesize songs to fit people's tastes. Or you can use the software to write hits for the pop artist du jour. So as you're strolling through a corporate mall, you may not even be hearing a song actually made by a band, but one designed by a computer program to be as appealing as possible to the widest variety of people.

So... Pretty much everything on the radio today?

If you've been reading "The Vignette Thread" you know that there's a band up-and-coming from the streets, currently playing at a Norse-themed upper-middle/lower-upper class tavern called Svartálfheimr. It's a four-member all-girl band called "Chromium Rose" and the lead singer's a knockout redhead with the most stunning voice. Their music style is like a late 1980's band called Vixen, so it's a bit revivalist, but the lead singer gives it a feeling all her own. (I'll leave the exact location of Svartálfheimr up to you GMs out there.)

[ Spoiler ]

The lead singer's name is Rachel Charlotte Parker, and she's got 14-15 dice in her singing, and she thought she couldn't sing until a few weeks ago. There's magic in her voice, if you catch the drift. Her dance pool is at around 11-12 dice as well. If you want more fluff detail, go read the story where she finds out she can sing. (Or drop me a PM)

With Leonization, anything is possible in terms of a come-back. We had Ms. Mercurial show up for our team (a re-write of the old 2nd Ed module, having her on a come-back and leonized)

Ah, the days when Maria Mercurial would take the stage.....

Hoi, Chummers! word on the AR waves is that someone needs a little paydata on what and who is shakin'in the clubs and streets of the the emerald citty. Well, this is Naz, Just Naz to some , and "That no good son of a slitch!" to others. I'm a promoter and sometimes musician working out of the cesspool that we all love, the redmond barrens.

Now I noticed a few folks lamenting the days when Wonderful Miss M. graced the stage and I feel your pain. When I was a knee high to a devil rat, I used to snuggle up to my momma and she'd sing along with Maria and Jetblack. Those are fond memories,Omae,but time moves on. There's still an incredible amount of talent on the streets and the clubs, bars and dives of Fort Seattle, Yuck Ass and some real gems in the rough if ya look hard enough.

Before I put on my business suit and start yappin' about how great the groups i represent are. I'd just to tip my hat to that new grrl group, Chromium Rose. I caught their show at Svartálfheimr and I still have their last number running round my head. Very Professional bunch of ladies. I only wish I'd been the one to find 'em. Winsome and lose some I guess.

It really don't matter what your looking for musically in the sprawling wasteland, you can probably find just about any genre and some you probably never know existed. Wanna hear some Born again troll stomp deathmetal? Try Lazarus Rizzen They play at a strip mall church on 132nd ave and ridge top.
Got a taste for something softer? You can catch Delara Tao at Carlos Coffeehouse on saturday nights. She spins a georgous mix of Japanese, Celtic, and middle eastern sounds that will leave you with all your Chakra's cleansed and your feet tapping.

Now on to the bunch of wastrels and losers I represent. Honestly though, Love all my bands and performers like family. I have been in the biz long enough to know that most promoters are only looking out for themselves and recording companies are even worse parasitos. When I hit the streets i vowed I'd mother my clients like a mother duck and I meant it.


Volva Job These guys are the first band I signed on. Retro hard core stripped down punk with more balls than brains. But they put every ounce of sweat and blood into what they do which is why I grabbed them up. I want people who are REAL! not some photo-copied wanna-bees. and Ramone Joy and crew deliver.
Simbell I gotta say, I have a soft warm fuzzy spot in my heart for Street Rap and Sim reminds me of a younger NuRage. She rolls the rhymes like no one I know and is more streetwise than half the runners sneakin' around the alleys trying to "keep it real"
Massive Sledge I'm usually not fan of fan or cover bands but The Sledge are an exeption. They are a cover band of Big Hammer the Phenominal group that was in itself a cover band of ancient 1980's tunes. Their cover of Big hammers cover of Helloweens"Jugernaut" is incredible.
Turpintime can only be described as Country Goth are nice too. to tell the truth, I still don't know why I agreed to promote them. They're like a tapeworm..kind of uncomfortable at first, but you get used their presence. Really, though theyare a very skilled group and can create a dreary mood and dark ambiance that is as thick as congealed vitae.

Needless to say, these are only a few of the musicians here in our little patch of hell. So get out there, see a show and support the local scene. We need the

Missed that thread, I'll check it out. Many thanks!

Shadowbeat and Mecurial are both [classic] SR1 by the by (IIRC;).

As for bands, back in the 50's there was this rock band from Seattle, 'The Ancients' with their classic album 'Fall of Rome'. Edgy.
[extract from our gaming cliche's dalliance with Shadowbeat.]

In my Hamburg Campaign, I've inserted Alekaiser. The charismatic leader of the neo-electropunk band "Fuchi Civilwar" which became famous in mid-2060, two years after the band was created. They were supposed to open the "Horny Unicorns" show during a festival, but the Horny Unicorns never got on stage because the stage got destroyed during the concert.
The band became famous and their albums spread quickly on the Matrix (where they were freely available). Soon, their shows were forbidden because of their violent nature but that didn't prevent the band from having illegal shows. After a few months of hide and seek with the police, the members of Fuchi Civilwar were arrested, which led to violent riots in some neighborhoods of Hamburg until the band was freed a few days later. Officially, the band had been fined but rumors tell that the band members went under a "reprogramming" treatment.
nyway, the band kept on playing but in a less savage way and were able to legally organize concerts for their latest album: "Reprogrammed". Soon enough, it became clear that the band hadn't changed that much: the concerts were less openly violent, but the songs were full of anti corporations and anti NEEC messages. The band was suspected of using magical or technological subliminal messages but nobody was able to prove it.
A few months later, Alekaiser disappeared and his body was found floating in the canals of the city. According to the medical report, he was killed by a Novacoke overdose. A lot of people refused to believe it, but nobody was able to disprove it.
Recently, Alek, a musician looking like Alekaiser, started playing in some underground bars. His style is very close to Alekaiser's and some of his friends are former members of Fuchi Civilwar. So far, nobody has been able to tell if Alek is Alekaiser, nor to find him between two shows.

----

And then there's the punk band at the center of my over-the-top pink mohawk campaign: The John Blade Project!

A band formed by the finest members of 5 punk bands that should have been the main features of the huge Punk revival show organized by Ares in Downtown Seattle. This show had been criticized by many punks for being a commercial gig meant to take control of the current punk trend. Due to some unexpected and still unclear circumstances (rumor has it that a short Japanese girl was involved), the 5 bands split a few days before the show and their finest members joined together to form the John Blade Project.

John Blade Project's first concert took place just before Ares' show was supposed to start, while ex-Urban Brawl star Hitlacuan (of the Tenochtitlan Volcanoes) and some of his former colleagues were improvising a wild Urban-Brawl match between the A.C.H.E and the Aztechnology Pyramid. It's very probable that the gear used by the band was the one that was stolen from the Experience Music Project Museum. Ares attempts to stop this show and start their own was faced with heavy resistance from the band, some members of the audience, a few unidentified characters (probably those behind the show) and Hitlacuan himself.
The Urban Brawl veteran drove directly towards the stage of the megacorporation-sponsored show on his combat bike despite the warnings and eventual shooting of Lone Star agents and Ares security agents. He finally got to the stage where he stole the microphone, insulted the members of the band that was currently playing and asked the crowd for the penalty. Whispers of 'Death! Death! Death!' rose from the crowd, slowly turning into screams until Hitlacuan bound the band members together, put a grenade into their mouth and threw them in the air.
Lone Star and Ares attempts to retaliate were complicated by a violent crowd and Hitlacuan, the John Blade Project Band and the mysterious persons behind this show were able to get away.

The John Blade Project subsequently appeared in various locations around the world: in London where they repurposed a snow blower to blow novacoke during their show, in Germany with a guest singer who looked like Iggy Pop, in Sacramento where they turned notorious Joe Kill's trial into a concert... They are also rumored to have been involved in a recent attack of a Proteus arcoblock by a yellow WW2 German submarine.

One of my old Cyberpunk 2020 (oi!) bands I envisioned was Metal Machine Mayhem. All heavily chromed individuals with the band leader Scream having more full conversion bodies to switch between than a boy band. Scream is that natural 80s idea of "I had to check my old school photos to know what was my natural hair color" to "I had to check my patient file to find out which was my natural body." Basically Scram pisses all over the Shadowrun corebook and sets it on fire.

Another idea that would never work in SR are chrome raves. Where does a 500 pound cyborg go to party? At a chrome rave! Street raves that are rumoured about months beforehand and only on the day is the place is announced and may even change venue halfway through the show. Unfortunately, it does not work in Shadowrun as everyone seems to more eager on grabbing a piece of porch and sit with his shotgun.

Then there is Peter's Bongo Slade, the street beat drummer in search of that perfect beat.

While I was down in the Orc Undergound restocking on gear after a very exhausting run, in one of the wider side tunnels I came across a pale, anemic looking young orc slamming out some impressive tunes.
The lithe orc had two sturdy rods that he made look like rubber blurring through the air, banging rhythms on the walls, cans, crates, whatever was near him. He was even punctuating meters with hits in the air which got me curious.
I realized I had set my comm to be as receptive as an autistic, so I switched things back to 'normal' and was assaulted by a wave of cacophonous noise.
Using just my meat ears, I was hearing fierce urban jungle percussion. The addition of AR turned it into a symphony of light and noiz. Each percussive stroke was generating bursts of light, dancing puppies, wailing ghosts, trid worthy kung fu battles, dragons, chromed muscle-heads and loads of other stimulating drek. The real meat was the live modular twisting of the sounds from his sticks creating evoking melodies, showering sheets of reverb and rumbling rolls of bass. He must have had some impressive custom AR filters.
I was nearly overwhelmed and frakkin impressed.
I was not nearly as tickled when I noticed later that the cred on my 'public' comm had been lightened.
In checking around later through some contacts, I learned that this is the norm for live performances by "Corrosive urban rhythm breakdown slaving together our master plan" or CURBSTOMP (although I have heard some other meanings for this acronym).
I heard a wild rumor that the maestro behind this band is actual a technomancer, but you'll hear the same thing about anything technically impressive these days.
Loads better than the usual drek you're subjected to when shopping, but watch your cred.

-Finn