Mel and I are avid Splatoon players. There is no doubt that we will participate in this event. Then Mel had an excellent idea: “Let’s make a Music Video!”, she shouted with excitement. I instantly clapped my hands and said “YES!!” in agreement. We contacted our Music Publisher and Manager, Joe. Explained that we are planning to release a new single and we will start working on it immediately.
With only had a few months till the festival date, Mel and I dedicated all our free time to get this song done. It was a daunting goal, but we were determined to make it happen. That feeling of time pressure was the first factor of our composition.
Our difficult childhood was our second inspiration. Mel and I were bullied in American Schools, during our time as transfer students in Los Angeles. I had severe depression. I really let myself go deep into sadness and hopelessness. But Mel, being the most caring and noblest person she is, did not give up on me. She was there for me and never left my side. She encouraged me to get tough and don’t let those loser L.A. kids get to me. She was absolutely right. In the end, we came out on top. Becoming successful career business managers, just like our fathers, and even buying our own house in our home town.
While composing our song, I finally mustered up the courage to ask why she didn’t clique with my bullies when we were kids. Why she befriended and defended me from them instead. I will never forget her response:
She looked at me and said, “Because you’re a good person, Rina. Those kids were bastards and they have no right hurting you or anyone else. I fought for you, because genuine good people are rare in life. You give me hope, that there’s still honest people out there in this corrupt and twisted world. I never had a Friend, until I met you. People are so shallow and fake. I could not stand them. Before I met you, I would always keep to myself, because I was always angry at the world. I just couldn’t understand why people can be so disingenuous. On my first day of American school, I really wanted to make my first friend ever, no matter what. It’s a good thing our dads work for the same company, and we were transferred to the same class. When I saw you in the back of our class, hiding behind all the kids, I knew you were different. And when I saw that brat pulling your ears during our recess, I knew I needed to protect your good heart from being corrupted by hate. That’s why I shoved that girl. That’s why I fought everyone that put their hands on us. That’s why I never gave up on you, no matter how much you sunk into your depression. I am really afraid of this world. I am scared of people. Your good heart gives me the courage to push forward and persevere. And I was not going to leave you behind, no matter what it took. You’re my Best Friend, Rina. You’re my Sister from another Mother, and I really Love You”.
She was sobbing and I was too. We’ve been through so much. I hugged her tight. We cried together, until we could no longer shed anymore tears. So many scars, physical and emotional. We really made it. We Persevered, no matter the odds and what was against us. We won in the end, together.
Time was running out. We didn’t sleep. We recorded our instruments and vocals as soon as we got home from our regular jobs. No time for cooking meals, so we relied on take out for weeks. We got blisters on our hands. We lost our voices recording multiple layers of our vocals. Everything was done, except for the drums. It was all up to me. And being the perfectionist artist I am, I composed the most difficult drum beat in my personal musical career. I literally had hours to get it done right, because we were catching a flight to Los Angeles to see our parents for our mothers’ birthdays, which was on the same week as the Grand Festival. The plan was to take our Switch consoles with us, along with our game capture card to record gameplay for our music video at our parents’ houses. And we would give the raw completed track to our publisher to master and distribute for us.
When it rains, it pours. We were able to play and record our game plays successfully. But Mel got a fever, then I got sick. All our stress and bad habits finally caught up with us. Luckily, we got the BEST Publisher, and he took our videos and edited our music video for us.
We felt like we were about to DIE!
Mel was actually scared that this was it. It felt THAT Bad. Bed ridden, we were not going anywhere. We pushed ourselves to the very edge, to make sure we made the Best song possible. We flew back home, still sick and unsure if our song would make the YouTube algorithm on time. Our publisher did deliver. However, I had no time to double check my drum track. I was so nervous that I ruined months of hard work. When the song was released, Mel and I sat in our living room, blankets wrapped around us, and we played it our large screen tv. We were blown away! Our publisher nailed the editing for us. We cheered in our seats, relieved and delighted that everything worked out. He even finally found a Great Artist to commission original avatars and thumbnails for us. They look SO GOOD! It just affirms that Mel and I are a solid team. Together, we can accomplish anything.
Our song received praised and appreciation from our fans. However, it was brought to my attention that you can hear clicks and soft claps coming from my drum track. Yes, after being Mastered and Enhanced with A.I. by our publisher, you can hear me keeping time with my high hat and digital metronome. People started accusing us of being A.I. Bots. Mel just said screw them and to be proud that we overcame the odds to release an Awesome song together on time. We’ll just edit out the clicks and re-release the song on our next album, “Surviving Horror”.
She’s right, and we agreed to just instantly block anyone who accuses us of being Bots. No explanation. We owe these jerks nothing. Most of them are immature teenagers anyways. They likely don’t even like Rock and Alternative music. Who cares what they think!? Our Song is Awesome!
This song is dedicated to ALL Good People out there, that feel like all hope is lost. Push forward and never give up. Don’t let this world keep you down!
You got Perseverance! NOTHING CAN STOP YOU!!
