SIX DEGREES KARAOKE (Tammy Award Party for wolfwithaguitar)

[head_psychic]

Taking a quick look around Shawn nods in approval. Yeah, this is definitely it. The place where Randy's gonna get his well-deserved celebration big time. Renting the karaoke bar had proved even easier than he had imagined: Just some observations about certain employees and dirty deals, neatly packed into a breathtaking vision and the owner was even more than willing to make the place available. Acknowledgment of gratitude, which, of course, Shawn couldn't decline. That would have been totally rude.

The SIX DEGREES karaoke bar is a big place that somehow managed to stay comfy nevertheless. There are round tables near the bar as well as lounges in the corners. The bar itself is more of the modern kind but without looking too freaky to keep looking at it after five beers. The stage is actually perfect. Shawn checked it out, everybody should be able to see it.

It's all there, everything is ready so he hums a happy little tune as he waits for Randy and the guys to show up for the soundcheck. Not that he particularly cares if someone else decides to drop by early. If nobody shows up at all it doesn't really matter as well. Because it would only take him one call and approximately ten minutes to turn the event into something even more official than it already is and find enough random people on the street.

Yeah. No matter what, this is going to be awesome.

Comments

[wolfwithaguitar.livejournal.com]

Randy did not, at all, expect this to be a huge deal.

Then again, that's who Randy is. He's not a "huge deal" kind of guy. He prefers to keep things intimate, with his friends and loved ones. Going to the Tammy Awards last year about gave him a heart attack and he only did that because he thought it would be fun for Haley. This was different, because his family was still back East, but he couldn't turn down something that someone had put so much time into.

He was even slightly uncomfortable that they'd had to take Brendan's brand new Subaru SUV to help haul the gear for the band, and the extra bodies. His cousin and his friend that made up Binary were coming, along with all the band equipment, plus Tara, Brendan and Brendan's sort of girlfriend Deanna. And that was really all he needed to be happy. He just hoped this wouldn't involve a bunch of people he didn't know or some crazy thing happening, because that would be awkward.

Climbing out of the SUV, he fixed his collar. He wasn't quite sure how to dress, knowing he wanted to look good but also knowing he had to play, so he had gone for a purple dress shirt, and black slacks, but he'd left the suit jacket at home and loosened the collar a little. Once he'd helped the guys set up all the gear, he went to find Shawn.

"Hey," he said, offering a smile and a handshake. "I just wanted to thank you for doing all this. It really wasn't necessary but it means a lot that you care."

[head-psychic.livejournal.com]

"Randy!"

Shawn jumped from the stage where he had been... trying out if it could deal with jumping up and down for safety purposes only... and ran over to greet the 'star' of the evening. "I felt that someone of high importance and with a very nice haircut was about to enter this building and it's even a nicer surprise to see that it is you!"

Shaking his hand eagerly he grins broadly, his already good mood and boyish excitement growing, because now all of this starts getting more real, more 'it's happening'. "Had a good trip? Want a drink? Ready to rock? There is a small room backstage where you can put your stuff. I made a little star with your name. You know, like in the movies. It's on the door! I'm not sure if the sticky tape will keep it there for long though."

[wolfwithaguitar.livejournal.com]

Randy just laughs at Shawn's enthusiasm, because he's never seen anyone quite this excited. Especially not over him. He's not really that interesting, at least he doesn't think so.

"I don't drink, Shawn, but I'll grab a bottle of water at some point. I'll walk back and put my stuff down once I'm sure we've got all the gear set up and everything works all right," he replies, smiling a little. "I can't wait to get out there, I haven't had a chance to play in awhile," he admits.

A chuckle. "Trip was fine. I brought a couple of friends that I can introduce you to. Tara's here, somewhere, and Brendan and Deanna..." He doesn't know where his friends are but they'll find him when they're done doing whatever it is they're doing. He nervously rubs the back of his neck. "Tell me this isn't going to be like a huge deal."

[head-psychic.livejournal.com]

"A huge deal? Oh no." Shawn shakes his head. "It's just a party. For you! To have a good time, to... to have fun, alright? So don't think too much, I don't want any worry-vibes anywhere in this room. Look..."

Shawn waves around the room. "This is a nice bar. And you like to play. Rest is organized by your friendly psychic detective agency. So everything's perfect, right? No need to worry!"

[det-lassiter.livejournal.com]

As soon as he walks through the door and finds that the lights are turned up full - far too bright for a bar that is actually in the process of doing business - he knows that he is early. It's embarassing that he couldn't judge how long it would take to arrive, that even though he knew he would be early he had nothing better to do than set out anyway.

He should probably check the divorce papers tomorrow and see where it says that his wife was getting his social life as well. God. First he goes fishing with Spencer's dad, now he's going to a party for Spencer's friend...

There are dirty, growling sounds of feedback in the air, then a bright screech cuts across it, making him wince. A sound check. He glances down at his suit and tie. This is a stupid mistake. Turning on his heel, he reaches for the door. The night will be better spent performing thorough weapon maintenance. Again.

[carolina-blonde.livejournal.com]

Which is the exact moment that Tara is walking in the door, from getting some of her stuff out of the back of Brendan's SUV. She almost walks right into him.

"Oh, gosh. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" she asks, looking adorable as ever.

[det-lassiter.livejournal.com]

Instantly, his hands reach out to steady himself or to catch the person he almost walked in to. He's centimeters away from them when he stops himself, realising that there's no need for the instinctual reaction as neither of them have fallen. One hand awkwardly travels up to scratch the back of his head, while he forces the other to his hip.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry. I was just..." he pauses and actually looks at the woman he nearly crashed into. He knows its not Juliet, but...

[carolina-blonde.livejournal.com]

"Oh, no. It was completely my fault. I wasn't paying attention, I'm so concerned with trying to get everything out of the car." Tara tucks her hair behind her ear, nervous habit in full force as she flashes him one of her trademark winning smiles. She's genuinely happy for Randy, and she can't wait to get to meet some of her friends. "I'm just a little overexcited. There's this guy I'm absolutely dying to meet and Shawn promised he'd be here."

A pause, realizing she sounds slightly stupid, and stopping herself. "I'm Tara. Nice to meet you."

[head-psychic.livejournal.com]

Shawn knows he's too drunk and he doesn't like it.

It's probably one of the few things his father doesn't know about him. Maybe he thinks Shawn turns down the cans of beer because they are cans of beer or because he doesn't want to drink with his dad but that's not the point. The point is, he doesn’t want to give his father the slightest hint about how drinking doesn’t work well with Shawn Spencer. At all. Of course he can drink, he does drink, he's a party animal, he can down a lot but just like someone who hates his job but goes to the same office every day... a little too much, a little too extra, a little to 'one more' and things get out of hand.

Drunk people lose control. Inhibition threshold gone. They start saying things they shouldn’t say and they'd never say in any other given situation. They think about past stuff and suddenly start to cry, because they get needlessly emotional. They can't talk properly anymore. They lose control.

Shawn doesn't. But alcohol messes with his head and senses. Big time. Which is bad enough. And if alcohol can make him go completely whacko he really can't imagine what real hard drugs would do to him. And he really doesn't WANT to know.

Shawn knows exactly how much he can drink, how much he should drink and what the difference between these two things is. But somehow, tonight, for the first time in ages, he accidentally crossed that line. Maybe it had something to do with all the nice chats, maybe with the awesome music of Randy's band, maybe with the Vecchio-karaoke-duo he pulled on stage. But, whatever caused it, there is one thing that stands clearly in front of him. The knowledge that there is one person in this big, big room he hasn't talked to yet. And that is so wrong. And so not going to happen.

"Lassy! The spirits told me you talked to Tara earlier this evening so it is perfectly alright for me to finally welcome you now even though the party's almost over and you're not seriously wearing that tie, are you!"

[det-lassiter.livejournal.com]

Automatically, Lassiter's hand flies up to pet his tie before he can stop himself. At least he manages to resist glancing down at the damn thing. He put it on, he tied it in the mirror; he knows what he looks like and a stupid reflex gesture like that would be even more stupid in the eyes of Spencer.

"What's wrong with it?" It's blue. It's a perfectly respectable tie. What is wrong with it?

Signalling for the bartender, Lassiter glances around for Tara. Perhaps Shawn will go away again if he gets back into deep conversation with her, or perhaps she'll take Spencer off his hands for him. When the barman arrives, Lassiter orders another whiskey for himself, making a point of not offering the psychic a drink as well.

[sleepswithlove.livejournal.com]

Psyche really was not one to pass up a party. Especially not one that was hosted by a friend.

She walked through the doors and looked around in amazement. Mortal bars always struck her as organized chaos.

It took a minute to adjust to the fact that whoever was on stage singing was doing an atrocious rendition of I Will Survive. She hoped they weren't going to be the only ones performing, she would be hard pressed to stay if they were.

[head-psychic.livejournal.com]

Shawn, walking around from time to time to check if everything is going well without putting too much effort in it - because this was fun and it was working by itself anyway - keeps a steady attention to the door. He's the host of the party after all and even though Randy's the secret star he thinks it's his responsibility to say hi and how are you doing and are you a candidate for Randy's lap dance?

So when Psyche walks through the door he spots her almost instantly. Turning on his heels with a squeal of glee he hurries over. "It's Psych-ee!" he grins before pulling her into an enthusiastic hug. "You know, with that name I should make you our official mascot!"

[sleepswithlove.livejournal.com]

Busy cringing with pain at the sound of the girl's voice on stage, she didn't even see Shawn until she heard his squeal of glee.

Looking over just in time to see his grin before being mashed into his hug, she smiled back. Not that he could see it anyway.

"Hi Shawn." She returned the hug. "How are you to...wait, your what?"

[prince-of-la.livejournal.com]

Brendan has finally found a parking space and wrangled his way inside. More importantly, he's there with the woman of his dreams.

As usual, the architect who has a million bucks looks like a million. Jeans, a dress shirt and a suit jacket, dress casual but he's comfortable. Deanna is sitting next to him and he finds it hard to take his eyes off her, but forces himself to do it so he doesn't faint. She's beautiful, with her short dark hair and her easy smile, and he's easily distracted.

He wants to set things right with her and give a relationship a real try. And he wants to support his best friend. And if that means borrowing his car and driving all the way up to Santa Barbara, so be it. He doesn't know anybody else, but who cares? It's a party!

[head-psychic.livejournal.com]

When Shawn spots the couple he quickly appears from out of nowhere and right in front of them.

"Welcome! I'm Shawn Spencer, your friendly host and concessions vendor. Feel free to contact me when you're in need of merchandise. We have Randy-Fan-T-shirts, buttons, caps and fluorescent bars for the slow songs."

[prince-of-la.livejournal.com]

Brendan is somewhat bemused. Now he understands why Randy suggested that he and this guy might get along. Granted, if he hadn't been doing most of the driving, he might be a little more animated too. While Deanna is just laughing, Bren chuckles and nods a little.

"Shawn. Brendan Thompson. Randy's neighbor and sort of unofficial sidekick." He's British, so the accent is impossible to miss. "Pleased to meet you. Impressive setup you've got here. He's probably breathing into a paper bag or something."

[hitchhiking]

Two parties, two weeks--pretty sweet deal. Anna wandered into the karaoke bar, and glanced around trying to pick up ideas for her party. She had a feeling her party was going to be a bit less--adult, for Ben anyway, considering it was partly his idea, but she still could make it somewhat attractive to the adults she's friends with.

She wandered her way over to the bar, and hopped up on a stool, looking around and waiting for someone to talk to/someone she knew to wander her way.

[head-psychic.livejournal.com]

Determined to talk to as many people as possible Shawn stops when he sees the new face at the bar and waves. "Welcome! Great you could make it!"

Grinning, he takes her hand and shakes it eagerly. "I'm Shawn Spencer, your source of information and fan merchandising. Not the owner of this bar, though, because I guess I'd be far more concerned about the audience running wild and destroying the interior as soon as the concert starts but since I'm only the host it should be okay as long as everybody is having fun."

[hitchhiking]

She grinned, shaking his hand back. "I'm Anna. Nice to meet you." She looked around a bit, before turning back to him. "Nice choice in the place, too. I don't really do karaoke bar, but this is nice."

[wolfwithaguitar.livejournal.com]

It takes a little bit longer than expected, but eventually, Randy is ready to make his appearance as the 'guest of honor.'

He's been oblivious to everything going on around him that didn't have to do with the music. When it comes to his art, everything else seems to fade away into the background. He was quietly checking all the equipment, by hand, and once he was satisfied, then he just needed a little time to himself. Tuning the guitar and thinking about everything. Clearing his head and steadying his nerves. He's never really had stage fright, but it's something he does just to make sure.

After that, it was time for an old tradition: a call to his mother for luck. (And a text to his sister, since she wasn't there.)

But it was time to get started. He fixed his collar, rolled his sleeves up a little, eyed the other guys in the band -- who were equally excited -- and then found Shawn to tell him they were ready.

They were definitely ready for this.

[r-vecchio.livejournal.com]

The beer slops all over his hand and he peers down in dismay at the wet splotch on his suit trousers. Huh. He's only had a few drinks.

He's fine.

Lolloping past the stage, Ray tips back another gulp, grins at the guy on guitar (who the hell is he?!) and salutes him.

"Caaaaan't heeeaaar youuuuuu!" He whines loudly, wobbling away again, lost amongst the throng of people.

[wolfwithaguitar.livejournal.com]

Randy's more bemused than anything, knowing that it's because they haven't actually played anything yet. But it's a bar, and people are drinking, and so he just shrugs it off as something that happens.

Once they do start, however, knowing the first song he's chosen, it would be a surprise. Most people are in for a surprise when they find out the kind of music he gravitates toward. Dee Snider he's not, but when he's on stage may be the only time Randy isn't the quiet one.

He'll see how it goes.

[head-psychic.livejournal.com]

"You're ready? Awesome!" Shawn giggles excitedly (and, one has to admit, not in a very manly way at all) and pats Randy's back. "Alright, I'll go and announce you, Satellite-boy!"

Grabbing one of the mics he beams at him. "Get ready, for a change I won't be in the spotlight too long now. Oh, and I want you to have fun alright?"

[wolfwithaguitar.livejournal.com]

Randy flashes Shawn an honest smile. He's glad that his friend is having so much fun with this, if nothing else. And now that he's got his guitar in his hands and his mind is clear, he's perfectly fine. He's not stressed at all. All he can think about is the music.

He grins. "Trust me, Shawn? When Binary is out there" -- because that's the name of the band and he can't remember if he's told him that -- "I have more fun than I have at almost anything else."

He's not sure if it's that or helping Tara that's his favorite thing in the world. But he thinks the music has a slight edge.

Oh, he's raring to go.

[wolfwithaguitar.livejournal.com]

Once they've carved their way through "Satellites" and a cover of Skid Row's "18 and Life," Randy knows it's time for a change of pace. Namely because he couldn't keep going all night at that level without killing his voice. But his bandmates are used to the fact that eventually, he gets to do a few Styx songs. They never do a gig without them, and at least, they seem to have developed an appreciation for Styx. Or they haven't gotten sick of it yet.

So they slow it down a little. He takes a breath and a drink, before he says, "There's a, um, there's a really important person in my life who couldn't be here tonight. My sister has always supported me, no matter what I do. She means the world to me, so even though she's not here, we're going to play her song anyway." Besides, she's sure Haley will find out about it, if not from him, then from Tara or somebody else.

And he effortlessly transitions to something a lot calmer: "Babe."

He always gets a little emotional when he's doing this one, because it's impossible not to remember that he sang it to his sister the day he left for college, but nobody would be able to tell. It's just one of his things.

Besides, it's still one of the best Styx songs ever. Probably number two on his list, if he had to rank them.