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Snowdog · 10-02-2004, 08:41 PM

In the Green Dragon one night, talk came up of the rock scene. Some young hobbits asked about the Beorish invasion and the Darkness scene that grew out of its fringes. A gaffer, who had many an ale spoke up....

"I was there... I remember!

A young hobbit countered as he engaged the gaffer in the converse.

Yeah? My dad said that if anyone says they remember the Darkness then they most likely wasn't there."

"Oh I was there sonny. Let me tell you....

I used to write for the Rolling Stone of Erech (magazine) and I cover many a scene. The wild stage pyrotecnics of bands like Orthanc, Mithrander and My Friend Sarumann I remember well. Their music sucked but they sure wow'd the crowds with the pyrotechnics.

(A sip of his ale paused his talk, but he went on...)

Yes, the Bëorish Invasion.... were were on that, and the scene of Darkness... Bëorish scene, as others said, was quite a phenonenon when it hit. But it was only a beginning, and it led to some rather extreme tangents. The Darkness was one of the wildest extremes. It was a dark, cultish vein that became marginally popular with disenchanted young hobbits and men of Bree, and at its peak, in the Shire. The sure sign your son or daugher was into it was the loads of heavy black makeup, black clothing, and black-dyed hair.

There were several bands that got into it at its peak, but the scene was primarily centered around bands like the dark and depressing vibe band, Carn Dum and and the heavy, hard-edged Tharbad Crossing. They became regulars at the Forsaken Inn, complimenting each other and trading headliners. Shortly thereafter, another band, even more outrageous than Carn Dum, got it start in Bree by some local young folk called The Carrion of Dunland. They got their start playing in various barns and open fields around Bree, and soon started playing the Forsaken Inn.

The lead singer of The Carrion of Dunland (often billed and shortened to 'The Carrion', or just 'Carrion') was a sultry, gravelly-voiced woman from Bree, Lisa Ferny. Her vulger lyrics, excesses in smoking aethelas in her pipeweed, and her outrageous and sometimes scantily-clad stage attire earned her the ire and disdain of most proper folk of Bree. Parents of tweenage hobbits in Bree and the Shire alike feared this Darkness sub-culture as it spread, though at first it was a local Bree phenom. A saying soon cropped up among the Shire clubs that would be used when telling of any band that seemed even mildly odd... As strange as a band from Bree!"

It wasn't until a business partnership developed in the Shire between the millowner Ted Sandyman, who wanted to buy the failing Floating Log tavern in Frogmorton, and the unscrouplous Lotho Sackville-Baggins that the Darkness scene took solid hold in the Shire. Rumor at the time around the Green Dragon was that Lotho had some out-of-Shire finiancing, and Ted Sandyman wanted to anage a club and was said he dabbled in the fringes of Darkness, and he bought rights and remodeled the Floating Log. When the Floating Log re-opened, the grand opening featured a triple bill:
_______________________________
Grand Opening of the Floating Log
The first time in the Shire!

Lisa Ferny & The Carrion

with special guests

Nazgul

Carn Dum

Tharbad Crossing

_______________________________

The show was a mildly major success for Ted Sandyman, and the bands were invited back several times. Soon some local Shire Darkness bands formed around the hub of the Floating Log,and it was the place to be to meet friends and hobbits of the opposite sex. It was during this time that some daring hobbit souls discovered that the purplish mushrooms Farmer Maggot said were poisonous would indeed not kill you, but bring on extreme hallucinations. With them growing all over the place, the practice of eating some before a show at the Floating Log got started.

However, this whole scene was a nightmare for the locals, and their concern spilled out at Frogmorton council meetings. In turn the Mayor got his hear filled at the Shire meetings. Parents wanted to know how this happened under their noses and poured out their wrath about "that Bree Music".

Yes, Ted managed to get his club permitted for live music, there was nothing that could be done about the kind of music. So pressure was put on in other ways. Undercover Sherrifs would be on hand and among the crowds and would check for underage hobbits drinking and smoking. Despite Ted's claims in court that he was being harassed, he had little sympathy among the populace. Ordinances were passed that put increasing pressure on the Floating Log. There was a noise ordinance that basicly dictated that all music had to stop by 9 PM. Another was an ordinance prohibiting the posting of advertising bills.

The end came when a mysterious fire burned the Floating Log to the ground just before sunrise. Whether it was incensed parents, or Ted looking for a way out, it effectivly ended the darkness scene in the shire. All that was left with no place for the great bands to play were inprompu gatherings of the local Shire bands. Once again hardcore fans had to trek to the Forsaken. Soon the scene in the Shire faded, with some mushroom-spaced-out hobbits being all that was left.

Meanwhile in Bree, none of the in-town clubs would allow bands playing the Darkness style of music to be played. But at the height of the Floating Log days, The Carrion finally managed to get an opening gig at the Prancing Pony in Bree. The Pony was known as the premiere club in town, and it was considered a small victory of acceptance had been gained for the dark music. But an ugly incident at the gig involving Lisa Ferny and some of the more conservative regulars caused Barliman to have them tossed out, never to return.

After the Floating Log burned down, and the incident at the Pony, the climax of the darkness scene seemed to have passed. The Carrion were relegated pretty much to playing at the Forsaken, though Tharbad Crossing and Carn Dum still managed to get other gigs in Archet & Staddle. Parents of Bree and the Shire breathed a little easier as the scene faded. But still, cult-fanatic elder tweens and young adults from as far away as the West Farthing would make the pilgramage to the Forsaken, and a cult held on in Bree and the Forsaken though it was slowly fading.

The hard lifestyle though took its toll on the fans and bandmembers alike. Heavy ale drinking, Aethelas in pipeweed, and the practice of eating pourple mushrooms (quickly brought to the Forsaken from the Floating Log in the Shire), made the bands music take on a more somber, unorganized sound. Artistic differences and in-fighting developed among some of the bandmembers, and after a major fight onstage between drummer Hats Hardbottle and bass lyreist Barahir Butterbar spelled the end of Carn Dum. The problem of course centered around Lisa Ferny. She had been dating Hats, but dumped him for Barahir before a show, saying the Hobbit thing wasn't her bag anymore. The rest of The Carrion didn't like the seemingly dictatoral control over the artistic direction that Lisa had taken, and the fact she was insisting they be billed as Lisa Ferny & the Carrion, caused a growing disgruntled undercurrent among the other members. Lisa's excesses caused her to miss more and more practices, so finally Carrion's drummer David E. Dain organized with Carn Dum bassist Barahir Butterbar (after his brief romance and breakup with Lisa Ferny. It lasted a week), and the Archer brothers who made up the powerful rhythm and lead lyre duo of Tharbad Crossing, formed the hard driving psychedilic band Annuminas. They played mainly a spacey instrumental rock, with songs like 'Varda' and 'Evendim Twilight' becoming favorites at their shows. They had moderate success and were allowed to play at the Pony, and also at clubs in the Shire, and finally their big break came when a traveling Gondorian talent agent saw one of their shows in the Pony, and they went on a southern tour through Rohan and Gondor. They would never return north for many years. Their music changed with the times and the influences of other music styles they would infuse (Some say it had to change, because the purple mushrooms didn't grow in the south) with their own.

In a club in Pelegir they were influenced by the southern and eastern cultures. It was here they first saw a particularly savage form of rock n roll played by the Varaigs from Khand. Their fans all had their heaads shaved except for a center mane which they spiked. Also, a style of music that featured a rhythmic drumbeat that was melodic and soothing was played by a band called Ghan-buri-Ghan.

The summer of Love was proclaimed as a huge three day event east of Osgoliath developed out of a small pop festival. Men from all lands, Elves, Dwarves, and even some Orcs and Trolls came. It became known as the Middle Earth Peace Festival! Annuminas attended and played some of their old Northern hits, and even belting out some mean instrumental versions of their previous band's songs. They played with some of the Middle Earth rock greats like the Fabulous Furry Dwarf Brothers, Steppinwarg, The Ithilien Rangers, The Beacons and a particularly hard rock band called The Cave Trolls.

Sadly, around this time, Hats Hardbottle was found dead in his room at the Forsaken, where he had drank himself silly. It was ruled he died of afixiation in his sleep.

Lisa Ferny grew evermore outrageous after going solo, but as her brand of music was ebbing, she fell off the stage in a smoked up, mushroom enhanced drunken stupor and hit her head. Some bells must have went off, for she never performed live again for several years. She turned herself in to the Shire-Shadel hospital and after some months of rehab, she quietly moved to Gondor where she married a handsome Citidel Guard and became Lisa Bragaden, and had 3 kids. When she came back to Bree with her family to attend her fathers funreal, she and her former bandmates played an impromptu acoustic set. It was not known at the time, but it would be Lisa Ferny's last performance. The years of abuse and hard living took its toll, and she died a year later. Her eldest daughter would later become famous as a vaudville dancer in Minas Tirith, but thats another story.

David E. Dain eventually quit the music scene, and got into extreme sports. He was killed in a fall rockclimbing in the Misty Mountains.

The Archer Brothers mellowed after the breakup of Annuminas, and were for years the music behind a young star named Khamul and would play small gigs all over Middle Earth.....

(The gaffer went to sleep, ale in hand...)

10-02-2004, 08:41 PM	#9
Snowdog Emperor of the South Pole Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: The Western Shore of Lake Evendim Posts: 647	In the Green Dragon one night, talk came up of the rock scene. Some young hobbits asked about the Beorish invasion and the Darkness scene that grew out of its fringes. A gaffer, who had many an ale spoke up.... "I was there... I remember! A young hobbit countered as he engaged the gaffer in the converse. Yeah? My dad said that if anyone says they remember the Darkness then they most likely wasn't there." "Oh I was there sonny. Let me tell you.... I used to write for the Rolling Stone of Erech (magazine) and I cover many a scene. The wild stage pyrotecnics of bands like Orthanc, Mithrander and My Friend Sarumann I remember well. Their music sucked but they sure wow'd the crowds with the pyrotechnics. (A sip of his ale paused his talk, but he went on...) Yes, the Bëorish Invasion.... were were on that, and the scene of Darkness... Bëorish scene, as others said, was quite a phenonenon when it hit. But it was only a beginning, and it led to some rather extreme tangents. The Darkness was one of the wildest extremes. It was a dark, cultish vein that became marginally popular with disenchanted young hobbits and men of Bree, and at its peak, in the Shire. The sure sign your son or daugher was into it was the loads of heavy black makeup, black clothing, and black-dyed hair. There were several bands that got into it at its peak, but the scene was primarily centered around bands like the dark and depressing vibe band, Carn Dum and and the heavy, hard-edged Tharbad Crossing. They became regulars at the Forsaken Inn, complimenting each other and trading headliners. Shortly thereafter, another band, even more outrageous than Carn Dum, got it start in Bree by some local young folk called The Carrion of Dunland. They got their start playing in various barns and open fields around Bree, and soon started playing the Forsaken Inn. The lead singer of The Carrion of Dunland (often billed and shortened to 'The Carrion', or just 'Carrion') was a sultry, gravelly-voiced woman from Bree, Lisa Ferny. Her vulger lyrics, excesses in smoking aethelas in her pipeweed, and her outrageous and sometimes scantily-clad stage attire earned her the ire and disdain of most proper folk of Bree. Parents of tweenage hobbits in Bree and the Shire alike feared this Darkness sub-culture as it spread, though at first it was a local Bree phenom. A saying soon cropped up among the Shire clubs that would be used when telling of any band that seemed even mildly odd... As strange as a band from Bree!" It wasn't until a business partnership developed in the Shire between the millowner Ted Sandyman, who wanted to buy the failing Floating Log tavern in Frogmorton, and the unscrouplous Lotho Sackville-Baggins that the Darkness scene took solid hold in the Shire. Rumor at the time around the Green Dragon was that Lotho had some out-of-Shire finiancing, and Ted Sandyman wanted to anage a club and was said he dabbled in the fringes of Darkness, and he bought rights and remodeled the Floating Log. When the Floating Log re-opened, the grand opening featured a triple bill: _______________________________ Grand Opening of the Floating Log The first time in the Shire! Lisa Ferny & The Carrion with special guests Nazgul Carn Dum Tharbad Crossing _______________________________ The show was a mildly major success for Ted Sandyman, and the bands were invited back several times. Soon some local Shire Darkness bands formed around the hub of the Floating Log,and it was the place to be to meet friends and hobbits of the opposite sex. It was during this time that some daring hobbit souls discovered that the purplish mushrooms Farmer Maggot said were poisonous would indeed not kill you, but bring on extreme hallucinations. With them growing all over the place, the practice of eating some before a show at the Floating Log got started. However, this whole scene was a nightmare for the locals, and their concern spilled out at Frogmorton council meetings. In turn the Mayor got his hear filled at the Shire meetings. Parents wanted to know how this happened under their noses and poured out their wrath about "that Bree Music". Yes, Ted managed to get his club permitted for live music, there was nothing that could be done about the kind of music. So pressure was put on in other ways. Undercover Sherrifs would be on hand and among the crowds and would check for underage hobbits drinking and smoking. Despite Ted's claims in court that he was being harassed, he had little sympathy among the populace. Ordinances were passed that put increasing pressure on the Floating Log. There was a noise ordinance that basicly dictated that all music had to stop by 9 PM. Another was an ordinance prohibiting the posting of advertising bills. The end came when a mysterious fire burned the Floating Log to the ground just before sunrise. Whether it was incensed parents, or Ted looking for a way out, it effectivly ended the darkness scene in the shire. All that was left with no place for the great bands to play were inprompu gatherings of the local Shire bands. Once again hardcore fans had to trek to the Forsaken. Soon the scene in the Shire faded, with some mushroom-spaced-out hobbits being all that was left. Meanwhile in Bree, none of the in-town clubs would allow bands playing the Darkness style of music to be played. But at the height of the Floating Log days, The Carrion finally managed to get an opening gig at the Prancing Pony in Bree. The Pony was known as the premiere club in town, and it was considered a small victory of acceptance had been gained for the dark music. But an ugly incident at the gig involving Lisa Ferny and some of the more conservative regulars caused Barliman to have them tossed out, never to return. After the Floating Log burned down, and the incident at the Pony, the climax of the darkness scene seemed to have passed. The Carrion were relegated pretty much to playing at the Forsaken, though Tharbad Crossing and Carn Dum still managed to get other gigs in Archet & Staddle. Parents of Bree and the Shire breathed a little easier as the scene faded. But still, cult-fanatic elder tweens and young adults from as far away as the West Farthing would make the pilgramage to the Forsaken, and a cult held on in Bree and the Forsaken though it was slowly fading. The hard lifestyle though took its toll on the fans and bandmembers alike. Heavy ale drinking, Aethelas in pipeweed, and the practice of eating pourple mushrooms (quickly brought to the Forsaken from the Floating Log in the Shire), made the bands music take on a more somber, unorganized sound. Artistic differences and in-fighting developed among some of the bandmembers, and after a major fight onstage between drummer Hats Hardbottle and bass lyreist Barahir Butterbar spelled the end of Carn Dum. The problem of course centered around Lisa Ferny. She had been dating Hats, but dumped him for Barahir before a show, saying the Hobbit thing wasn't her bag anymore. The rest of The Carrion didn't like the seemingly dictatoral control over the artistic direction that Lisa had taken, and the fact she was insisting they be billed as Lisa Ferny & the Carrion, caused a growing disgruntled undercurrent among the other members. Lisa's excesses caused her to miss more and more practices, so finally Carrion's drummer David E. Dain organized with Carn Dum bassist Barahir Butterbar (after his brief romance and breakup with Lisa Ferny. It lasted a week), and the Archer brothers who made up the powerful rhythm and lead lyre duo of Tharbad Crossing, formed the hard driving psychedilic band Annuminas. They played mainly a spacey instrumental rock, with songs like 'Varda' and 'Evendim Twilight' becoming favorites at their shows. They had moderate success and were allowed to play at the Pony, and also at clubs in the Shire, and finally their big break came when a traveling Gondorian talent agent saw one of their shows in the Pony, and they went on a southern tour through Rohan and Gondor. They would never return north for many years. Their music changed with the times and the influences of other music styles they would infuse (Some say it had to change, because the purple mushrooms didn't grow in the south) with their own. In a club in Pelegir they were influenced by the southern and eastern cultures. It was here they first saw a particularly savage form of rock n roll played by the Varaigs from Khand. Their fans all had their heaads shaved except for a center mane which they spiked. Also, a style of music that featured a rhythmic drumbeat that was melodic and soothing was played by a band called Ghan-buri-Ghan. The summer of Love was proclaimed as a huge three day event east of Osgoliath developed out of a small pop festival. Men from all lands, Elves, Dwarves, and even some Orcs and Trolls came. It became known as the Middle Earth Peace Festival! Annuminas attended and played some of their old Northern hits, and even belting out some mean instrumental versions of their previous band's songs. They played with some of the Middle Earth rock greats like the Fabulous Furry Dwarf Brothers, Steppinwarg, The Ithilien Rangers, The Beacons and a particularly hard rock band called The Cave Trolls. Sadly, around this time, Hats Hardbottle was found dead in his room at the Forsaken, where he had drank himself silly. It was ruled he died of afixiation in his sleep. Lisa Ferny grew evermore outrageous after going solo, but as her brand of music was ebbing, she fell off the stage in a smoked up, mushroom enhanced drunken stupor and hit her head. Some bells must have went off, for she never performed live again for several years. She turned herself in to the Shire-Shadel hospital and after some months of rehab, she quietly moved to Gondor where she married a handsome Citidel Guard and became Lisa Bragaden, and had 3 kids. When she came back to Bree with her family to attend her fathers funreal, she and her former bandmates played an impromptu acoustic set. It was not known at the time, but it would be Lisa Ferny's last performance. The years of abuse and hard living took its toll, and she died a year later. Her eldest daughter would later become famous as a vaudville dancer in Minas Tirith, but thats another story. David E. Dain eventually quit the music scene, and got into extreme sports. He was killed in a fall rockclimbing in the Misty Mountains. The Archer Brothers mellowed after the breakup of Annuminas, and were for years the music behind a young star named Khamul and would play small gigs all over Middle Earth..... (The gaffer went to sleep, ale in hand...) Last edited by Snowdog; 10-04-2004 at 01:53 AM.