Broken Record

[Varindar Asyt]

After traveling a little bit more outside SJ-land, she has come to realize that exoticism didn't have to be restricted to food or sporting. It was time to offer the patrons of the restaurant something different from simply the same old music that was played on a regular basis through sound systems: regular patrons seem to feel as if they were willing to pay a little extra to get some live performances, even if it meant a budding musician performing solo. Now, Varindar didn't apply the same fervor to fitting music into the business model of the hotel as she did other amenities, room-based or not, and certainly not the pool, so she decided to simply offer a chance to a relatively obscure musician to perform on Trandosha. I guess, a solo performed by an unknown musician is better than no live performance at all, she thought, while writing a holomail message to one such musician that, for some reason, caught her fancy, while acknowledging that there are expenses associated with bringing the musician in for Force-knows-how-many-nights, on top of any performance fees she may be asking for. But once she can confirm her performance dates, she will need to make sure the special nights are advertised and also that the advertisement be made in due form, with booking timeslots at the reception room for the night(s) in question, provided it can be done. And, of course, the meals being sold at the restaurant's going rate.

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ATTN: [member="Addi Pense"]

I would like to issue you an invitation to perform at the only 5-star hotel on Trandosha, the Crown Nebula Hotel. Performance fees and expense reimbursement will be negotiated at a later date. Please let me know when you will be able to perform and we shall make arrangements for you to perform in the main reception room of the hotel.

Varindar Asyt
General Manager, Crown Nebula Hotel

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[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Addi would look at the holonet trying to plan something for her to do while she had some free time, this didnt happen very often. Normally she was on the road or trying to get a record deal going but on this one time she would look at her holomail and see the message, she would be very excited to have this opportunity. She would at once respond with an outstanding yes and begin to pack

[member="Varindar Asyt"]

 

[Varindar Asyt]

Now that [member="Addi Pense"] accepted her offer, she might have a handful of music-related questions for her. Sometimes musicians' instruments made the job of laying out the room easy, while other instruments imposed some constraints, regardless of what musicians call a repertoire, that is, a set of musical pieces they can perform. In markets like Trandosha, cost-plus was the way to go, knowing that the Crown Nebula Hotel could simply use its local brand capital to carry the rest of the way, even if it meant Addi staying at another hotel for the night, if there actually were encores. Or said encores to be performed with someone else as the first part, probably some local musician. And also Trandoshans tended not to be overly picky about music, so the question of the repertoire was more about what kind of non-Trandos she aimed to market at. What kind of non-Trandos would want to listen to music while eating a five-star meal? she thought, while getting this show on the road. Perhaps Addi would also like to eat one such meal whenever she is to perform at the hotel's main reception room.

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Dear Addi:

Although we reserve the right to schedule you for encores, I would have a few music-related questions for you:

1. What's your musical instrument?
2. What's your preferred repertoire?

Varindar

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[Eli-Mae Forrest]

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I have a wide range of songs to choose from, I have everything from Jazz to hip hop and r&b, as for my instrument I play the guitar as well as the piano
Tho I prefer to play country and some Jazz
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[member="Varindar Asyt"]

 

[Varindar Asyt]

She often confused jazz and jizz, so she could be forgiven, especially given the relationship between the two genres. Now that the musical details are resolved, she could start planning for [member="Addi Pense"]'s arrival on Trandosha, realizing that it will be almost be like performing at a night club from the performer's standpoint, and also that guitars would likely be foreign to them, but so would jazz/jizz, country, hip hop or R&B most likely; Trandoshan music tended to be very tribal if what was being played in the restaurant was any indication. The question: is she going to eat before or after? I think it's best not to disclose that to her just yet, she thought, while going for the morning swim before her shift begins - she has become accustomed to the morning swims she is getting as an employee of the hotel by now, with every staffer of the place being entitled to free swims in the pool off-duty as a fringe benefit of the job (under the Ta'jars, it was a fringe benefit granted only to the people that actually swam for the hotel's team). Fast forward a few hours, to 6:30 PM (local Forak time) and Addi would arrive at the hotel, even when the no-vacancy flag is flickered, hoping not to get a no-show tonight (and she didn't have a single no-show for months):

"Welcome to the Crown Nebula Hotel. What can I do for you today?"

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Addi upon arrival would look up and smile at the woman behind the counter and spoke "My name is Addi Pense, I was asked here to perform for your guests"

[member="Varindar Asyt"]

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"One last thing: do you want your meal to come before or after the performance?"

Yes, the main reception room was booked solid for that concert dinner, without any preliminary act whatsoever, and the main reception room had a temporary stage taken from the hotel's pool. Trandosha was one of those places where even relatively unknown people like [member="Addi Pense"] would still be able to draw in at least a modicum of a crowd if there was an extra service provided to the attendees. A table d'hôte with a predetermined menu awaited the guests. So the restaurant would be serving three courses during the night, and one hour and a half of music would await them while they are eating the food, too, with waiters coming in with carts filled with cloches, each with a plate in it. Just that she may as well comp the very same food to Addi and mount its cost into the performance fees. She was lucky housekeeping was able to set the stage for the audio-visual equipment in use for the musical performance of the day, even a rather basic one, such as a mic and seven speakers across the main reception room. Plus she may as well listen to it, too, although she wouldn't be eating: she was the maître-de-cérémonie for the performance.