The band's drummer

"Get lost!" Eugene said before he saw the newcomers in his line of sight, Hugo and Joseph. Upon realizing that they had no ill intentions, Eugene didn't express any apology but withdrew his gaze, looking at the mess on the floor.

Hugo didn't really know Eugene and their actual conversations had been limited. So he looked somewhat helpless and glanced at Joseph.

Joseph, being Eugene's roommate, naturally understood him better. Joseph knew that Eugene had stopped chasing them away as a way of showing weakness. Joseph walked forward, pointing at the scattered mess on the floor, and asked, "So, do you need any help?"

Eugene didn't lift his head and stood there quietly. Shelves had been overturned on the ground, a wooden guitar lay upside down with its strings possibly broken, a keyboard stand had been snapped, and the keyboard itself was long gone. Two guitar cases were thrown on the floor, with one of them having a large hole. In theory, there should have been bass and keyboard cases as well, but they were nowhere to be found, probably kicked far away.

Hugo looked around and saw the pedestrians in New York hurrying by again. Seeing the scattered instruments on the ground, many people had no choice but to detour or jump over them. This made Hugo's heart race. As a musician who came from a band and had been struggling financially for years, Hugo couldn't accept the fact that instruments were left in such a sorry state on the ground. Not to mention whether they were damaged, if they were accidentally stepped on by careless pedestrians, that would truly be heart-wrenching.

Hugo glanced at Eugene again and found that he was still motionless, ignoring Joseph's intentions. So, reluctantly, Hugo walked forward, picked up the instruments scattered around, and brought them back, stacking them around the bass drum. Joseph joined in to help.

Hugo looked at the fragmented drum kit. Fortunately, none of the drumheads were visibly damaged, but whether there were any internal damages remained unknown. Hugo knew how to assemble a drum kit. He had done this countless times to help his drummer, Lixia, in their band Death or Glory. However, Hugo was unsure whether Eugene wanted to assemble the drum kit or put it in a box to prepare to leave, so he didn't take action.

Hugo picked up the guitar that had fallen next to the bass drum and carefully inspected it with a pained expression. Thankfully, there were no broken strings or damages to the guitar's soundhole. However, due to the fall, the sound quality would definitely be affected, and it needed to be restrung. Normally, tuning required a piano as a reference for pitch, but Hugo was familiar enough with the guitar, and his sense of pitch was excellent, so he could restring it without the help of a piano.

Subconsciously, Hugo hugged the guitar and started to restring it. It had become a habit formed over his ten-year music career.

Upon hearing the sound of guitar strings, Eugene seemed to finally snap out of his daze. He looked at Hugo tuning the guitar and Joseph standing beside him, sadly surveying the instruments. Eugene bit his lip forcefully and spoke, "I'm really sorry for earlier, and thank you." True to Eugene's personality, his words were concise and straightforward, without any unnecessary words.

Joseph looked up at Eugene and replied, "It's alright." Then he pointed at the bloodstains and dirt on Eugene's white T-shirt and asked, "Are you okay?"

Fukin nodded, indicating that he was fine. "I'm sorry you had to witness such a farce."

Hugo, who was tuning the guitar, finally spoke up, "Every band has its own conflicts." In fact, this was similar to the saying that every family has its own troubles. A band is like a small group, and everyone has their own personality, thoughts, and grievances. Conflicts are inevitable. Some bands manage to resolve their conflicts smoothly and continue on, like Linkin Park and U2. But some bands cannot withstand the conflicts and eventually disband, like The Beatles or Oasis.

Eugene glanced at Hugo. As far as he knew, Hugo didn't currently have a band. However, he thought to himself that with Hugo's remarkable talent and profound understanding of bands, Hugo must have started playing in bands a long time ago, but currently, he simply didn't have one. Eugene instinctively believed that Hugo must have experienced all of this.

Letting out a long sigh, Eugene sat directly on the damaged guitar case. "Today, the band was planning to perform on the streets of New York. We agreed to perform all the way from Los Angeles to New York, stay here for a month, and then make our way back to Los Angeles. But unexpectedly, the band members got drunk and messed up the show. It's truly a complete disaster." After speaking, Eugene kicked the other intact guitar case in frustration.

Although Eugene's explanation was simple, Hugo could infer the general situation from what happened earlier. It seemed that Eugene believed their band needed to accumulate more performance experience, so he proposed this plan to perform from the West Coast to the East Coast and then return.

In objective terms, this plan was commendable. Not only would the band gain more experience, which would elevate their skills, but the differences in music atmosphere between the East and West coasts, coupled with the experience of performing during a road trip, could broaden their horizons. However, the plan had its challenges. First, it required a significant amount of time and money. Second, the journey itself was filled with numerous difficulties and challenges. Lastly, spending several months together meant the band members would be in each other's presence 24/7, increasing the likelihood of conflicts arising.

Therefore, after Eugene proposed the idea, he faced strong opposition from the band. Nevertheless, they went ahead with the plan. They managed to successfully travel from the West Coast to the East Coast. However, over a month of persistence resulted in some accumulated tension within the band. Hugo didn't know if conflicts had erupted during their previous journey, but the intensity of today's outburst indicated that grievances had been building up for a long time. When the guy named Brown ruined the performance due to his drinking, it ignited the fury of both sides.

Based on what had just happened, although Brown and the other two were on the same side, it seemed that there were still conflicts between the five band members. It was similar to the situation when the person who helped Eugene earlier ended up arguing with him.

Hugo looked at Eugene in surprise, his eyes filled with astonishment. "I thought your band not only had some fame but also had talent..." Hugo's words were direct and hurtful, implying, "Your band doesn't seem to be doing well." It seemed that today, under the influence of Katharine and Eugene, Hugo's way of speaking had become sharper.

Eugene didn't mind Hugo's words at all. "It's precisely because of a little bit of fame that they've become arrogant." He had a mocking expression, clearly displeased with his bandmates' behavior.

Hugo carefully recalled that the band where Eugene belonged to was called Brand New Day. He had spent a long time with Neil and Pepe and had gained some understanding of the underground rock music scene in Los Angeles. Brand New Day was considered an average band in this scene, with many performance opportunities, but the members' skills varied. Eugene, as the drummer, had the greatest fame and was the leader of the band. However, being the leader as a drummer, who usually stays behind the scenes, seemed a bit imbalanced in the current rock environment where the lead singer or guitarist usually took the spotlight.

In Hugo's opinion, a band must have a soul figure, regardless of their position, whether it's the lead singer or the drummer. This person must instill enough spirit into the band and bring them together in order for the band to grow.

Previously, the soul figure of Death or Glory was the lead singer, Su Zinan, whom Hugo greatly admired. However, with Hugo's creative talent gradually coming into play, his influence on the entire band had been increasing. Fortunately, the members of Death or Glory had been together from the beginning, including the second guitarist, Gu Xiaoguai, who replaced Zhang Xiaoye after his death due to a drug overdose and had been with the band for over seven years. Therefore, their cohesion was still very strong. Of course, the most important reason was that Hugo had no intention of competing with Su Zinan. On the contrary, their harmonious relationship of mutual understanding and assistance allowed the band to gain favor at the Midi Rock Festival.

However, in Brand New Day, those who desired attention lacked the ability to become the soul of the band, which led to the continuous escalation of internal conflicts.

It was indeed ironic because Brand New Day was only making a name for themselves in the underground rock scene of Los Angeles and hadn't even reached the underground rock scene throughout the United States. Yet, someone with a short-sighted perspective had already become arrogant. Eugene had a keen eye; he wanted to take the band across the entire United States and elevate their skills. No wonder the soul of the band was Eugene, not that other person.

"Everyone hopes to follow a band and reach the pinnacle of their musical dreams, but life doesn't always go as planned, right?" Hugo had a better understanding of bands than the acting industry, so with just a few words from Eugene, he could already see the essence of the problem. "If this band cannot succeed, it's normal to choose another group of partners and seek new adventures. With your talent, I believe there should be many bands willing to invite you."

Among the drummers in the underground rock scene of Los Angeles, Eugene was indeed a prominent figure. However, he was held back by his unambitious teammates in Brand New Day and had not been able to advance further.

Eugene knew that Hugo was right, but he shook his head. "I can't bear to leave." He had invested too much energy and memories into Brand New Day. It might not be difficult to leave his bandmates, but leaving the band itself was not that easy.

The words "I can't bear to leave" left Hugo stunned. In fact, he couldn't bear to leave Death or Glory either, and memories of his bandmates surged in his mind. Hugo forced a helpless smile, took a deep breath, and looked at Eugene. "Leaving, it's never an easy thing."

As he said this, Hugo paused, suddenly remembered something and a strange smile appeared on his face. "Hey, Eugene, my band still doesn't have a drummer. Would you like to join?"