Sudden audition

Actually, Hugo never had such an idea in the first place. The so-called band he formed with Neil and Pepe was merely a playful endeavor. They didn't even have a name and jokingly referred to themselves as the Three Musketeers when performing on the street. Therefore, Hugo never thought about the need to find a drummer and a keyboardist for the band.

During his conversation with Eugene just now, Hugo was mostly lamenting the concept of Death or Glory. However, in a flash, a bright idea struck his mind. Eugene was an excellent drummer, and their band currently needed a drummer. So why not recruit Eugene?

But Hugo knew that with Eugene's talent, he could easily find a place in the underground rock bands of Los Angeles that were already established. On the other hand, their Three Musketeers couldn't be considered a formal organization. Neil, Pepe, and Hugo hadn't proven themselves as newcomers to the music scene, so it was likely that it would be Eugene auditioning for them, rather than the other way around.

Thus, Hugo's smile took on a mischievous tone as he jokingly said to Eugene, "Hey, Eugene, my band still doesn't have a drummer. Would you like to join?"

Eugene, who was originally feeling down, was taken aback by Hugo's playful words and couldn't help but laugh and cry, saying, "But you don't even have a band."

Hugo chuckled and shook his head, "After you reminded me that I could form a band last time, I found two teammates. You should have heard their names, Neil Anderson and Pedro Casa." Hugo simplified Pedro's full Brazilian name because it was too long.

Eugene nodded slightly, "I know both of them." The music circle was not that big, and he had heard their names to some extent. "What's your band called?"

Hugo shrugged and spread his hands, "We don't even have a drummer, so what kind of band are we? We haven't come up with a name yet. That's why I'm inviting you."

Eugene chuckled helplessly. It was clearly just a joke. An entirely non-existent band inviting him? And asking him to give up a band like Brand New Day, which had a certain level of strength? It was more humorous than a complete misrepresentation.

Hugo looked at Eugene's smile but didn't give up. Instead, he continued with a smile, "At least I can guarantee that all of us genuinely love music."

Eugene sneered at Hugo, "You aren't an actor anymore?" Although Eugene admitted that his bandmates had indeed lost themselves, with music no longer being their pursuit, their focus had shifted to gaining more attention and popularity. However, compared to Hugo's playful so-called band, his old band seemed much more reliable.

Hugo pursed his lips, "Do bands have activities every day? If a band can truly succeed and time is managed properly, it wouldn't be a problem to balance both the band and acting." Hugo was telling the truth. Actors couldn't be performing in productions all year round, and bands couldn't be playing concerts indefinitely. With proper time management, anything was possible. "But, the prerequisite is that the band can achieve success."

This statement hit the nail on the head. In the underground rock music scene in Los Angeles, there are hundreds of bands with talent, but none of them have been able to stand out. Who can guarantee that their own band will be the next breakthrough? Perhaps everyone has that confidence, but not everyone has such an opportunity.

Hugo's positive attitude amused Eugene, who thought that Hugo had a better mindset than himself. Maybe that's why Hugo was gradually approaching success in his acting career.

"So, are you interested? We are an emerging force ready to make a breakthrough," Hugo said and couldn't help but laugh.

Eugene looked at Hugo, who was laughing heartily, and then glanced at Joseph, who was standing beside him looking relaxed. Unexpectedly, Eugene blurted out, "Well then, it depends on whether you have enough strength to convince me."

Even Eugene himself was a bit surprised by his own words. Just two minutes ago, he had said that he couldn't bear to leave his band. Even though there had been a heated argument just now, Eugene still had no intention of leaving. That was the truth. But now... Eugene's thoughts were quietly wavering.

When Eugene saw the surprise on Hugo's face, he regained his composure and said confidently, "Why don't you show your cards? I think with my skills, it should be you convincing me to join the band, rather than me convincing you to let me in, right?" His words exuded self-assurance, reminding Hugo of their brief clash during the Rock Night.

"No, I mean, you don't want to leave Brand New Day, right?" Hugo didn't overthink it and said directly. When talking to someone like Eugene, there was no need to beat around the bush.

Eugene, however, was amused by Hugo's honest words and slightly curved his lips. He thought Hugo was quite interesting. Maybe joining his band was more feasible than he had imagined, and Neil and Pedro... They seemed like decent guys, at least their personalities were much better than the other guys in his band.

"I don't want to leave. But if you give me a reason to leave, and it carries enough weight, then it's a different story." Eugene's inner emotions gradually calmed down, and this statement truly reflected his state of mind.

Hugo suddenly realized, "There is no absolute loyalty, only whether the bag is big enough." That's the supreme rule in the marketplace. There are no deals that cannot be made in this world, only insufficient bargaining chips.

Eugene, however, was taken aback by Hugo's frank words and replied with a wry smile, "I'm not a livestock, and this is not a transaction."

"Of course, of course," Hugo nodded repeatedly, "Where can you find a pig or a dog that can play the drums so well?" Eugene felt the urge to vomit blood. Instead of trying to gain the upper hand in the conversation, Eugene was more inclined to strangle Hugo with his own hands.

But Hugo didn't give Eugene a chance like that. He stood up directly with his guitar and continued the unfinished task of tuning. After waiting for a while, he looked up at Eugene and said, "What's wrong? Don't you plan to show your skills?"

"What?" Eugene sat in the broken guitar case and said gloomily.

Before Hugo could respond, the box collapsed with a bang. Eugene, this burly man, actually used his weight to destroy the already dilapidated guitar case and then sat in a pile of plastic shards in a sorry state. Hugo couldn't help it and burst into laughter, while Joseph struggled to hold back but let out a muffled sound from his chest. It was evident that he found it extremely difficult to suppress his laughter.

There was no way around it. Eugene, who was always full of coolness, the Eugene who had fought earlier like a handsome man, suddenly felt deflated. The scene was just too comical. Not to mention Joseph, who had been in contact with Eugene for a long time, even Hugo, who had only met Eugene a few times, couldn't help himself.

Eugene sat in the box, feeling frustrated, struggling to stand up. However, the first time he failed to get up, he fell back down. Without even lifting his head, he could hear the unmasked laughter of Hugo and Joseph, which made Eugene feel his whole body turning red. Eugene could only grit his teeth, using his right hand to support himself at the bottom of the guitar case, and then suddenly stood up with force. This time, he finally succeeded.

But because he stood up too quickly, Eugene couldn't control his balance and swayed. He had to wave his arms to maintain his balance, looking like a big crab, frantically waving its pincers, resembling a crab performing acrobatics. "Hahaha..." That was the reaction of Hugo and Joseph. Even Joseph, who usually didn't show his emotions, burst into laughter, and Eugene felt like his face could be barbecued.

"Cough, cough!" Eugene had to interrupt Hugo and Joseph's laughter with his coughing, then casually said, "You're the one auditioning, why should I perform?"

Hugo wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes while rubbing his sore stomach. "Don't tell me you just want to see me play the guitar alone? If it's just guitar playing, you should have already seen it. Don't you want to see something new, like a collaboration with the drums?" Halfway through his words, Hugo noticed that Eugene's fair cheeks had turned red, and that shy appearance was completely incompatible with his tough guy style. He almost couldn't control himself and burst into laughter again.

But fortunately, this time Hugo managed to suppress it in the face of Eugene's murderous gaze. He bit his lower lip hard and then, with a seemingly innocent look, said, "You can watch my ability to collaborate with the band, and at the same time, you should show me your skills as a drummer. I haven't had a chance to see Brand New Day's performance, but I should at least see your professional skills."

Eugene didn't have time to investigate Hugo's nitpicking because Hugo's appearance was really asking for a beating. Joseph, his roommate, had calmed down within his line of sight, but Hugo didn't buy it. It was really frustrating for Eugene.

"So, what's your plan?" Eugene gritted his teeth and said fiercely, each word squeezed out from between his teeth. "What are you good at?"

At this point, Hugo finally laughed enough and rubbed his aching cheeks. "How about this? You give me a series of drum beats, and I'll play a guitar solo to go along with it. How does that sound?" Hugo's proposal was not to create a new song or perform a classic piece but to see the coordination between his guitar and the drum beats.

Hugo was in charge of the melody guitar, and he didn't have much collaboration with the drummer. There needed to be a connection between the rhythm guitar and the bass for the music to be complete. But since it was a trial collaboration between the two of them, it didn't matter to give it a try. After all, performing on the streets of New York itself had an experimental nature.

Hugo's suggestion sparked a playful interest in Eugene. It could be sensed that Hugo was very confident in his guitar skills. Therefore, Eugene had even less reason to refuse. "Okay!"