Chapter 125 - Hair Fashion of Musical Competition

July 3, 2012 – Sunday, 5 pm – Harlem, New York City

/"The NBA announced today that Corey Hill, the shooting guard for the New York Knicks is going to be suspended for the rest for the upcoming season. Corey Hill, 29, was charged with some counts of driving under the influence, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer…"/ The newscaster in the TV reported. 

*Snip* *Snip* "Shiiit, I told you that fool was crazy. Damn." A barber remarked.

Tayaw is currently having a haircut.

Tayaw, throughout his past life, repeatedly heard about the legendary skills of the African-American barbers and their shops' atmosphere. 

"You think he goin to jail?" Another barber asked.

"He might be held up in a precinct, but the brotha got chahps, he ain't servin sh*t." Tayaw's barber replied.

"Psh. Suspension. How 'bout suspicion, huh? I tell you, they tryna take the brotha down. The man got two rings, IN A ROW. Ain't no Knicks without Corey." Another barber chimed in. 

"The f.u.c.k you talkin' bout, man? I'm glad that he's gone. He be holdin back Zeshawn and Denton. Ball hoggin mothaf*ckuh. One man team ain't gon' last." A customer remarked. 

Tayaw does not know much about basketball, but he's enjoying the free exchange of opinions around him. Listening to them also gives him a sense of intimacy in the barbershop.

"You been quiet, kid. Ya not from here, ain't you?" The other customer besides Tayaw asked.

"No. I'm from the Pacific. I saw great reviews of the barbershop online so I came here." Tayaw said.

"Cool. Cool. This my shop right here, they do some clean sh*t. So.. why you wearing some fancy-ass suit, man?" The customer asked.

"I'm going to an event after this. Looking at sir barber's fancy briefcase here filled with stuff, I'm confident I'll look even better." Tayaw said and casually dropping a compliment to his barber.

"You goin on a date or somethin'?" Tayaw's barber asked. 

"No. I'm heading later at the Apollo." Tayaw replied.

"Man. It's a good night there tonight. You gonna see the show?" Tayaw's barber asked.

"Nah. I'm performing." Tayaw replied.

"You playin?!" The other customer exclaimed. His barber also stopped cutting his hair, and the shop went quiet. 

"Maaan. You know some sh*t then, huh. My cousin auditioned a lot of times and only played there once. Boy, she only made it to the first round too." Another barber remarked.

"I guess I'm lucky then." Tayaw shrugged. 

The Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York is a famous for being the Mecca of African – American Musical Artists. One of their weekly events is the 'Music Night at the Apollo" where some the best amateurs of various backgrounds will compete against each other. The winner will take $20,000 by the end of the night. 

The show runs for three hours and is nationally broadcasted both on the TV and radio. For serious aspiring musicians, lasting throughout the night will also earn them huge exposure.

Tayaw would not consider himself an amateur anymore, after all, he makes some of his money from playing and selling music. However, Tayaw wants to break the rules as he considers it an honor to play at such venue, so he grabbed the first opportunity he could get to play. Tayaw does not care if the staff of the theater would discover his status as a musician and the consequences of it. 

King Fischer, one of Tayaw's idols and one of the pioneers of American rock and roll, also once won an event at the Apollo Theater in 1964 so Tayaw wants to follow that mark.

---

6:30 pm

Apollo Theater's waiting room is huge and even a little larger than the stage proper itself. Tayaw is currently sat by one of the chairs and doing last minute polish on the songs he will perform, his new electric guitar on hand and his new stomp box by his feet. 

Because the contestants are only allowed a four minute maximum time in each of the songs they are performing, Tayaw is making a series of decisions in his head which parts of the songs he is to perform should he take out or how long he is going to play a guitar solo. 

Tayaw is not the only the one who is doing their last-minute practice. The event tonight has a total of 12 acts competing elimination style for two rounds. Each round, half of the acts would be eliminated and in the final round where only three would remain, the night's champion would be chosen by the audience. 

'Done' Tayaw whispered and stopped fiddling with his guitar. The disarray of different instruments in the waiting room is giving Tayaw great discomfort but it did not stop him from assessing the other contestants. 

From what he observed, he can say for sure that there are only two other acts, aside from himself, who are at the professional level. Even though Tayaw knows that he is a better musician than the rest of the contestants, Tayaw cannot say for sure which ones the crowd tonight would prefer.

Despite knowing that fact, Tayaw chose to give himself a disadvantage to at least even the odds with other musicians. He chose three songs to cover that are classics but are rarely covered. The songs he chose belong to the type that are not mega hits per se but are familiar with everyone once they hear it, and may even sing along with.

"Hopkins Brothers, please be ready. We'll start in ten minutes." One of the staff announced to the waiting room.

The band of brothers stood up stiffly made their way to back stage which Tayaw found adorable.

Tayaw being the 11th performer in the first round, still has a lot of time to spare so he walked to the piano in the waiting room and started playing randomly. He chose a song to play with the piano in his second round, if ever he makes it.

---

"Please welcome, Isaac Yawat!" The host announced. It was finally Tayaw's turn. "Hello, Isaac. Where you from?" The host asked following the usual short introduction of the act before they perform. 

"I'm from Long Island." Tayaw said. *Whoo!**Clap* Some audience members cheered as recognition.

"So, what are you going to sing tonight?"

"Long Nights by Darius Goodwin." *Whoo!* *Applause* around a third of the crowd recognized the song.

"Whenever you're ready." The host said as he stepped back away from the spot light. 

Tayaw started the intro with his electric guitar an intense combination of chords and guitar riffs and licks. The stark difference of the intro to the ballads sang by the earlier acts awoke the crowd and they started nodding along.

"When everything is over

The devil walks by my side

You remember be as your lover

I'll need you to hide behind"

Long Nights is one of the first songs Tayaw learned to sing and play in his previous life outside the country and folk genre. The song is originally in the sound of classic rock but Tayaw arranged it to a blues rock song. 

Darius Goodwin is a famous singer songwriter who is known for the blues-rock genre and peaked in the 70s. Despite being African – American, Darius was first gained popularity among Caucasian rock and roll fans before being recognized in his own community.

After two great albums however, his career took a nose dive. Darius still might be getting royalties for him to live off of in retirement, but it is not enough for him afford the life style he once lived. 

"I'm scared of memories stolen

I don't wanna say goodnight

Even if I would see you in the mornin

I'd see your eyes, I'd feel your heart."

After Tayaw sang the second verse, he started riffing on his guitar for the guitar solo. Unlike how he played with Strawberry Front or the jazz band back in Sorrento, Tayaw opted to improvise using chord soloing because he has no other instruments to back him up. While his guitar solo is less intense than usual, it is still charming and full enough. As higher the notes he picked and strummed, the crowd's excitement also climbed. 

The predominantly African American crowd, despite being predominantly rhythm and blues fans, connected with Tayaw's performance. Some of them even stood up and were clapping along. Some of the audience members' faces, despite making odd expressions, are matching appropriately with Tayaw's guitar face.

After the solo, Tayaw stopped playing the guitar and maintained the beat on his stomp box. Tayaw took a deep breath and belted out.

"I should have told you of my long nights

How I wake up lonely on the sunrise."

The climax coming, Tayaw prepared to sing the highest he has sung throughout the song. His voice only backed by his stomp box gave an auditory illusion that the lines are in fact the song's climax.

"How the heroes of the night hide

I no longer long for the starlight!" 

The crowd's ears were tickled by Tayaw's husky high notes and vocal runs and they cheered in excitement. The other acts in the waiting room, even though they are competing with Tayaw, could not help themselves from feeling impressed and awed.

"Ah. F*ck." One of the contestants who already performed, uttered at the realization that his chances of winning has drastically reduced. 

"I'm scared of memories stolen

I don't wanna say goodnight

Even if I would see you in the mornin

I'd see your eyes, I'd feel your heart."

Tayaw then sang the last chorus more somber and softer to signal the crowd that the song is coming to a conclusion. After a few more riffs and licks on the guitar, the song ended. 

*CHEERS**APPLAUSE**

Never in his life had that he received such a warm applause from a crowd.  The vibration in the atmosphere from the cheers; him alone, receiving it.