Practice venue

"What are you talking about? You look so happy," said Glen as he picked up a cloth and started wiping the counter. He walked over to Hugo and the other two, smiling as he inquired.

"Finally taking care of other customers?" Hugo didn't answer but smiled and looked towards the beautiful woman sitting at the other end of the bar. "Did you spend all that time just getting her phone number?" It had been at least fifteen minutes since Glen had been conversing and enjoying himself with the woman, indicating some progress.

"Look at your impatient look, it's obvious you're a novice. Gentlemen shouldn't be hasty; they should make a lady feel respected, especially a recently matured lady," Glen smiled knowingly. Hugo and Neil immediately understood, but Pepe sat next to them with a puzzled expression, clearly not engaged in the conversation. "She gave me her phone number willingly, and I invited her to dinner tomorrow."

"Ah ha! So, this is the gentleman's objective. A dinner for the first date? That's quite a "slow" progress," Hugo emphasized the last adjective, causing Glen and Neil to burst into laughter.

Pepe, still out of the loop, asked with a bewildered expression, "What are you talking about? Who is Glen having dinner with?" He hadn't even noticed the beautiful woman sitting at the other end of the bar and had no idea who Hugo and the others were referring to. This question made all three of them chuckle.

"It's not you, that's for sure," Glen said to Pepe, causing the child to grumble discontentedly, "Don't treat me like a kid! I'm of legal drinking age!" This remark made Hugo burst out laughing but then noticed Pepe's complaint and quickly apologized, "I didn't mean it; I was just happy because I was thinking about the band."

"Yes, the band," Neil helplessly interjected, finding Hugo's way of changing the subject quite poor.

Unexpectedly, Pepe bought into it, saying, "Yes, we were just talking about the band." Hugo gave Neil a satisfied look, causing Neil to roll his eyes.

"Oh, the band! You guys are forming a band," Glen also changed the topic and said excitedly, "Who's in it?" Glen was familiar with almost all the regulars at Al's Bar, so he was very enthusiastic when it came to discussing rock music.

"Just the three of us," Neil pointed to the three people sitting there.

"Including Hugo?" Glen seemed somewhat surprised. "What about your movies? I was looking forward to your new works!" Glen's eagerness reminded Hugo of their first meeting when Glen mentioned how much he loved his movies. It seemed genuine now. "You're not discouraged by those damn reports, are you?"

"Glen, your attitude makes me think that you consider joining the band a terrible idea," Hugo replied calmly, still smiling.

"No, of course not," Glen shook his head repeatedly. He paused for a moment, recalling the impressive guitar skills he saw from Hugo during the last rock night, then laughed, "No, I just... I just look forward to seeing more outstanding movies from you. You know, I think your performances on the big screen are truly remarkable."

"Well, thank you," Hugo accepted Glen's praise with a smile. He raised his beer glass, nodded, and took a big sip to express his gratitude, "Don't worry, those bad things won't affect me. I'm actively looking for my next project. But since I have the time, why not pursue my music dreams as well? Perhaps it's not a bad idea."

Glen looked at Pepe, then at Neil. These were young people he had heard of, knowing their skills. He hadn't thought about it before, but now that he thought about it carefully, his interest was sparked. "This is a fantastic decision! You're forming a band? Oh God, I'm already looking forward to your music."

Although gathering a group of talented young people doesn't guarantee the production of good music, and even if they can produce decent music, it doesn't mean they can make a name for themselves in the highly competitive underground rock music scene. However, as Glen looked at these three young men, their abilities were the band's talent. As long as they could find the right soul for the band and develop it further, the music of this band would be worth anticipating!

"What's the name of your band?" Glen couldn't wait to ask.

Hugo looked around, and Pepe and Neil both had confused looks on their faces. Neil spoke up, "We just decided to form a band five minutes ago, so the name isn't important right now."

"Yes..." Glen also realized, "And a band with only three members is far from enough. You need to recruit more members."

"Yes, right now it's just the embryonic stage of the band," Pepe excitedly said, "But it's still a good start, isn't it?"

Although after entering the 21st century, a band usually only needs four members to form, typically with bass, drums, keyboard, and guitar, and many traditional heavy metal bands disdain keyboards, considering them a desecration of rock music, so bands tend to be more concise. However, most bands consist of five members, with one each for bass, drums, and keyboard, and the rhythm and lead guitars have specific roles, and sometimes the guitarist may also handle the keyboard, or the vocalist may also be a guitarist. There are various composition options.

Regardless, a band with only three members is incomplete. The positions for keyboard and drums in the band are temporarily vacant, so they definitely need more members to complete the band.

"Of course. I didn't expect to form the band in just one day," Hugo's face was filled with a smile. Today, reaching a consensus with Neil and Pepe was already a pleasant surprise. "If we find a practice space, our band will be taking the first step, won't it?"

Although the band members are not complete yet, having a dedicated practice space is a symbol of getting things settled, and it will rejuvenate their enthusiasm. Neil and Pepe also nodded in agreement. Unfortunately, the three of them were not locals of Los Angeles. Neil was Swedish, and Pepe was Brazilian. They couldn't start their band career in a garage like many locals do.

"If you can't find a practice space, there's one back here," Glen pointed to the area behind the bar. "Behind here is a row of old warehouses. I usually open them up as practice spaces for some bands. If you need it, just make a reservation in advance."

"Really?" Hugo appeared very surprised, but upon careful consideration, it wasn't that surprising. Glen was a wealthy man, and Al's Bar was his business, so it wasn't surprising that the area behind it belonged to him as well.

"Is the rent expensive?" Neil remained relatively calm and didn't see the smile on Pepe and Hugo's faces as he asked.

"It's $100 per month, and you pay for electricity separately," Glen said casually. It was evident that his support for underground rock music came from the heart.

Hugo hadn't considered the rent before. Although he wasn't wealthy, he did have money to rent a house, but he quickly understood Neil's intention. They had just become friends, brought together by their love for music, but underground bands often struggle to have a steady income, making it difficult to sustain the band financially. If they relied solely on Hugo, there were only two possible outcomes: either the band would become Hugo's band alone, losing the meaning of friends coming together to create music, or Hugo would be overwhelmed and leave the band, resulting in its dissolution. Therefore, when it comes to close friends, money matters need to be clarified to ensure the band's purity.

So Hugo didn't object to Neil's words and instead smiled affirmatively. Then he heard Pepe's eager voice, "When can we go and take a look?"

"Well, if you're willing, we can go now," Glen turned around and took a bunch of keys from the liquor cabinet, throwing them on the counter. Pedro picked up the keys and ran outside immediately. Glen explained with a smile to Hugo and Neil, "Those warehouses are all similar. You'll see when you go inside."

Hugo and Neil nodded and followed him outside, leaving Al's Bar and walking along the adjacent alley to the back. As expected, they saw a row of warehouses, but at this moment, everything was pitch black with no lights. They only saw Pepe standing at the entrance of the first warehouse, turning back in astonishment and asking, "Which one can be rented?"

"You ran so fast," Hugo chuckled. "Glen said any of them would do. The layout inside is similar."

Pepe ran straight to the nearest warehouse, opened the door, and walked in. When the lights in the warehouse turned on, the darkness receded like a tide, revealing a spacious warehouse of about 700 square feet (65 square meters). On the left side was a massive wire mesh fence with stacked layers of wood inside, whose purpose was unknown. The remaining half of the space was an open area, with a large pile of extension cords placed nearby, and some scraps of paper scattered on the floor. The space wasn't large, but it was sufficient for a band.

"How is it?" Pepe paced around in the middle, and his voice reverberated through the warehouse. It was unknown how the soundproofing was towards the adjacent warehouses, but since Glen was willing to offer it as a practice space, even if the soundproofing wasn't top-notch, it should still be decent.

Hugo and Neil exchanged a glance and smiled together.

Hugo shrugged. "Well, this is it." Then he extended his right hand into the air, and Neil looked at Hugo before placing his right hand on top of Hugo's hand. Pepe rushed over and placed his right hand on top as well. Hugo spoke, "It seems like our band has taken the first step. It's a good start!"

"Oh yeah!" The three of them raised their hands together towards the sky. The dream was starting right here.