Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
So, I was watching Justice League Unlimited yesterday (about 2 and a half hours straight), and kind of realized it's similar to how I see the Spoony Bards.
Hear me out.
So the first seasons of Justice League focused solely on the Big Seven - Superman, Batman, Green Lantern (Stewart), Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Flash, and Martian Manhunter. They had their adventures and their difficulties and their battles and differences, but they were a team. Eventually, though, in Unlimited, the seven extended an open invitation to all others like them - heroes and heroines major and minor, from any walk of life, to join the League, united and coordinated for the purpose of protecting those who need protecting.
With the larger numbers, though, came opportunity for two things: greater good, and greater disagreements. However, the Seven still were held in high regard by all the others. As Steel put it: "Everybody in the League is good at their job. But those seven - they're the best ever. Not because they're the most powerful. They're not - not all of them. It's not just because they were the first. It's because they're special. They've proven it time and again - they make the hard choices, they set the example. They do what's right, not what's easiest. And they always come out on top."
And yet even though the Seven were technically the ones running the show, or in the spotlight, the League couldn't have been the League if not for the efforts and heroism of each and every one of its members. Sometimes even that was the source of tension within the league - "Who guards the guardians?" Green Arrow or the Flash acted that part, having to refocus the team back to what was important when they begin losing sight of things.
Sound at least a little familiar?
Yeah, the Bards are great. I love being a part of it, the whole experience. Living and breathing music I love for days at a time. I'm doing what I do best, and if I can boast a little, I do a pretty damn good job at it. And everyone I play with brings something to the table:
Jeremiah brings a lot. Not only a large repertoire, but one that I've noticed consistently lets others in the group participate. I don't have a lot of that, admittedly. I do a lot on my own, or someone just happens to know the same song I do. Jeremiah knows who to use, and when. He's also been like a brother to me, especially in music, for a long time now. We are a well-tuned fighting machine, in the musical sense. Back to back and taking names.
Dave offers an edge to the group that it probably wouldn't have had without him. He, for all purposes, rocks. When a song features Dave, people listen, people have a good time. Dave knows how to work an audience, and he has the musical knowledge not only to back it up, but to enforce and enhance the overall sound and knowledge of the group. His ability to adapt his sound is also useful, when one has to play songs as different as Moon on the Water and Those Who Fight Further.
Natalie, Ronnie, our two wonderful vocal ladies, are our emotion. The two of them, contrasting voices and different personalities, tug at all the right strings in their songs. They evoke stories of sorrow or tales of hope, draw smiles or tears. It takes a special sort of state of mind for me to be able to do that with just a piano, but with our vocalists, well. Seems they can change the mood of a crowd like they're changing from a spring outfit into a sultry evening dress.
Chris? Where do I start. He's our charisma. He's the reason some people sit down in the first place to hear us, though hopefully it's all of us that convince them to stay. Chris can draw an audience (usually consisting of underage girls, but it's an audience nonetheless) without playing any music at all. And it's not just how he looks, but how he acts. He is, without a doubt, one of the most effective charmers I've ever seen in action. And I don't think he does it on purpose half the time. His enthusiasm for the music only enforces that, which I really am thankful for, as he isn't an asshole, and it has been a big pleasure for me to see him develop as he has musically over the past couple years. (Not that I'm owing that completely to us, but hey, I can pat us on the back a little if I want.)
Alisa I think I can only describe as the most active anime-con-goer among us. She plays with us when she can find the time, but man does it seem like she has a lot on her plate at every con. Between costuming, photo sessions, panels, and whatever else she does, it seems she exudes a little bit more of that "con-goer, just like you" aura than the rest of us. She just happens to know how to play a lot of good stuff on her violin. She and the other two violinists can combine for some awesome diverging string parts. Like if Captain Planet were made of music instead of nature.
Jamie. Ah, a little bit of sunshine. When I picture people in my head, a lot of them are wearing certain expressions on their faces. And Jamie is usually smiling like a little sweetheart. I'm not sure how one can really be so pleasant all the time, but it's a breath of fresh air sometimes. When Jer and I play piano together, it's always that kind of back-to-back kicking ass kind of mood, but if Jamie jumps on the keys and we play something together she's always bouncing around a little and grinning like she's playing with a new toy or something. Some of us can be a little business-all-the-time-ish, but Jamie seems to be a good polar opposite of that. And that kind of balance is good.
Ah, Jon. He is our nervous system. Jon knows where there can be improvement in how we function and sees if it would be effecient to put it into effect. He optimizes our space and for the most part saves us a lot of time in the end, especially when it comes to having to break off a cell of Bards to play another event while some of us stay and hold the fort. Jon has a great background in sound setup, which helps us a ton again and again. Not to discredit the valiant efforts of Jeremiah to quickly learn everything there was to learn, but the two of them together can really do some damage.
Stephen, of all of us (sorry Dave), is Superman. He does it all, from working with the people, being a spokesperson, to mingling with the crowd, to mingling with the band. He is known by the audiences we play, and I can't think of a person I've met that doesn't like him. He's a symbol of us, as much as the Superman "S" shield is a symbol of what big blue stands for. He coordinates our efforts and puts himself on the frontlines. He's our frontman, despite others stepping up to the front from time to time. And when he's not there, that's like when the other heroes have to step forward and take the lead for the time being because Superman is on a mission in space.
(LJ CUT ENDS HERE.)
Though these people seem to make up what most of us consider the core, the big seven, I really like to think we're more like just part of the league. We may have been the first, but as Steel said, "Everybody in the League is good at their job." We've had countless other musicians improve our sound tenfold when they play with us.
Vocalists recorded with us, instrumentalists have jammed with us, musicians taught us songs we previously though unlearnable. We've inspired others to try to be us. And they can be. We're not much different from them. We've just proven, time and again, that we can do what we do. And that's enough to inspire some to try to join our League.
Though those of us in that "core" may be featured in the show's theme song, there are still episodes that focus on others of us who consistently contribute their efforts into protecting those who need protecting. Our Green Arrows, our Questions, our Huntresses and Black Canaries, our Wildcats and our Vigilantes, our Shining Knights and Booster Golds - We can't have much of a League without them. And when the time comes that our Big Seven start losing focus on the big picture, sometimes it takes people like them to bring us back us back to our senses.
By the way, I call Batman.
Hear me out.
So the first seasons of Justice League focused solely on the Big Seven - Superman, Batman, Green Lantern (Stewart), Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Flash, and Martian Manhunter. They had their adventures and their difficulties and their battles and differences, but they were a team. Eventually, though, in Unlimited, the seven extended an open invitation to all others like them - heroes and heroines major and minor, from any walk of life, to join the League, united and coordinated for the purpose of protecting those who need protecting.
With the larger numbers, though, came opportunity for two things: greater good, and greater disagreements. However, the Seven still were held in high regard by all the others. As Steel put it: "Everybody in the League is good at their job. But those seven - they're the best ever. Not because they're the most powerful. They're not - not all of them. It's not just because they were the first. It's because they're special. They've proven it time and again - they make the hard choices, they set the example. They do what's right, not what's easiest. And they always come out on top."
And yet even though the Seven were technically the ones running the show, or in the spotlight, the League couldn't have been the League if not for the efforts and heroism of each and every one of its members. Sometimes even that was the source of tension within the league - "Who guards the guardians?" Green Arrow or the Flash acted that part, having to refocus the team back to what was important when they begin losing sight of things.
Sound at least a little familiar?
Yeah, the Bards are great. I love being a part of it, the whole experience. Living and breathing music I love for days at a time. I'm doing what I do best, and if I can boast a little, I do a pretty damn good job at it. And everyone I play with brings something to the table:
Jeremiah brings a lot. Not only a large repertoire, but one that I've noticed consistently lets others in the group participate. I don't have a lot of that, admittedly. I do a lot on my own, or someone just happens to know the same song I do. Jeremiah knows who to use, and when. He's also been like a brother to me, especially in music, for a long time now. We are a well-tuned fighting machine, in the musical sense. Back to back and taking names.
Dave offers an edge to the group that it probably wouldn't have had without him. He, for all purposes, rocks. When a song features Dave, people listen, people have a good time. Dave knows how to work an audience, and he has the musical knowledge not only to back it up, but to enforce and enhance the overall sound and knowledge of the group. His ability to adapt his sound is also useful, when one has to play songs as different as Moon on the Water and Those Who Fight Further.
Natalie, Ronnie, our two wonderful vocal ladies, are our emotion. The two of them, contrasting voices and different personalities, tug at all the right strings in their songs. They evoke stories of sorrow or tales of hope, draw smiles or tears. It takes a special sort of state of mind for me to be able to do that with just a piano, but with our vocalists, well. Seems they can change the mood of a crowd like they're changing from a spring outfit into a sultry evening dress.
Chris? Where do I start. He's our charisma. He's the reason some people sit down in the first place to hear us, though hopefully it's all of us that convince them to stay. Chris can draw an audience (usually consisting of underage girls, but it's an audience nonetheless) without playing any music at all. And it's not just how he looks, but how he acts. He is, without a doubt, one of the most effective charmers I've ever seen in action. And I don't think he does it on purpose half the time. His enthusiasm for the music only enforces that, which I really am thankful for, as he isn't an asshole, and it has been a big pleasure for me to see him develop as he has musically over the past couple years. (Not that I'm owing that completely to us, but hey, I can pat us on the back a little if I want.)
Alisa I think I can only describe as the most active anime-con-goer among us. She plays with us when she can find the time, but man does it seem like she has a lot on her plate at every con. Between costuming, photo sessions, panels, and whatever else she does, it seems she exudes a little bit more of that "con-goer, just like you" aura than the rest of us. She just happens to know how to play a lot of good stuff on her violin. She and the other two violinists can combine for some awesome diverging string parts. Like if Captain Planet were made of music instead of nature.
Jamie. Ah, a little bit of sunshine. When I picture people in my head, a lot of them are wearing certain expressions on their faces. And Jamie is usually smiling like a little sweetheart. I'm not sure how one can really be so pleasant all the time, but it's a breath of fresh air sometimes. When Jer and I play piano together, it's always that kind of back-to-back kicking ass kind of mood, but if Jamie jumps on the keys and we play something together she's always bouncing around a little and grinning like she's playing with a new toy or something. Some of us can be a little business-all-the-time-ish, but Jamie seems to be a good polar opposite of that. And that kind of balance is good.
Ah, Jon. He is our nervous system. Jon knows where there can be improvement in how we function and sees if it would be effecient to put it into effect. He optimizes our space and for the most part saves us a lot of time in the end, especially when it comes to having to break off a cell of Bards to play another event while some of us stay and hold the fort. Jon has a great background in sound setup, which helps us a ton again and again. Not to discredit the valiant efforts of Jeremiah to quickly learn everything there was to learn, but the two of them together can really do some damage.
Stephen, of all of us (sorry Dave), is Superman. He does it all, from working with the people, being a spokesperson, to mingling with the crowd, to mingling with the band. He is known by the audiences we play, and I can't think of a person I've met that doesn't like him. He's a symbol of us, as much as the Superman "S" shield is a symbol of what big blue stands for. He coordinates our efforts and puts himself on the frontlines. He's our frontman, despite others stepping up to the front from time to time. And when he's not there, that's like when the other heroes have to step forward and take the lead for the time being because Superman is on a mission in space.
(LJ CUT ENDS HERE.)
Though these people seem to make up what most of us consider the core, the big seven, I really like to think we're more like just part of the league. We may have been the first, but as Steel said, "Everybody in the League is good at their job." We've had countless other musicians improve our sound tenfold when they play with us.
Vocalists recorded with us, instrumentalists have jammed with us, musicians taught us songs we previously though unlearnable. We've inspired others to try to be us. And they can be. We're not much different from them. We've just proven, time and again, that we can do what we do. And that's enough to inspire some to try to join our League.
Though those of us in that "core" may be featured in the show's theme song, there are still episodes that focus on others of us who consistently contribute their efforts into protecting those who need protecting. Our Green Arrows, our Questions, our Huntresses and Black Canaries, our Wildcats and our Vigilantes, our Shining Knights and Booster Golds - We can't have much of a League without them. And when the time comes that our Big Seven start losing focus on the big picture, sometimes it takes people like them to bring us back us back to our senses.
By the way, I call Batman.