Chapter 39

"Because we only had one rehearsal, my understanding of your band is still quite superficial and may be somewhat one-sided. However, based on my years of experience in music, I believe my assessment of the band members is still fairly objective. There are some bright spots among you, but there are many more shortcomings."

Lin Zaishan pointed out the problems directly: "First, I want to talk about your band's lead guitarist—his name is Song Peng, right? The one with the big head. His skills are really poor. I don't understand why your band chose him as the lead guitarist. That night when we rehearsed 'Bao Qingtian,' the chord changes were so simple, but he couldn't play them well and had to practice several times. This is not the level of a lead guitarist in a rock band. You're a band, and you should all understand this: the drummer and the lead guitarist are the soul of the band, controlling the rhythm and melody! The quality of the lead guitarist directly determines the band's level. If this kid doesn't improve his lead guitar skills, your band won't be able to solidify."

Zhang Pengfei agreed, "You're absolutely right. That kid's guitar skills aren't even as good as mine. It's too low for him to be the lead guitarist. Haozi and the others have been looking for a good guitarist to replace Song Peng, but they haven't found the right person yet."

Zhang Hao explained, "Song Peng is my junior. He's actually quite hardworking and wants to improve his guitar skills, but his talent is limited, and he understands that. Our band will definitely find a better guitarist to replace him in the future, and he can switch to rhythm guitar."

"Replace him as soon as possible. A band's most important aspect is the默契 (chemistry) among its members. Using such a lead guitarist for rehearsals will drag down the other musicians' levels."

"You're right. As soon as we find the right guitarist, we'll make the change."

Zhang Pengfei asked Lin Zaishan, "What about the other members of the band? Do they need to be replaced too?"

"Let's see. It's hard to tell much from just one rehearsal. Their skills are definitely better than the lead guitarist's. Especially the drummer—the quiet one. His drumming is very skilled, with a great sense of rhythm that makes the music sound great. Without him, your band's music wouldn't even take shape."

Zhang Hao smiled slightly, pleased: "To be honest, Uncle, our band's drummer, Bi Yonggang, is a seasoned player. He's been playing drums since high school, for six years now."

Lin Zaishan said, "Six years isn't long, but to reach this level while balancing school and drumming shows he has good talent."

Zhang Hao asked hopefully, "What about the others?"

"Is your keyboardist formally trained in music?"

"Yes, Liu Yang has been playing the piano since he was a child. He comes from a musical family; his parents are in the symphony orchestra."

"No wonder. He has his own interpretation of the music, which is great. But his biggest flaw is that he's too rigid. His keyboard playing lacks tension. He might have been nervous that day and didn't play freely. This is something the whole band needs to help him improve."

Zhang Hao nodded, understanding that Lin Zaishan was also satisfied with their keyboardist.

The band's bassist, Li He, was very good at flattering people, so Lin Zaishan had a strong impression of him and directly named him: "Li He's bass playing is a bit immature, but his musical sense is excellent. If he practices diligently, he should be able to improve. But I feel he's a bit lazy and doesn't practice much. During the rehearsal, I noticed he practiced the least."

"That kid is pretty lazy, hehe."

"Lazy—means he's not truly passionate. If he were truly passionate, he wouldn't be lazy."

"I'll definitely give him a good talking-to and make him practice more."

After everyone else was evaluated, it was Zhang Hao's turn. He couldn't wait to ask Lin Zaishan, "Uncle, what do you think of my skills?"

"You? Hehe."

"Don't just 'hehe.' Give me an objective and encouraging evaluation!"

Zhang Hao smiled confidently, eager to hear praise. He was very proud of his voice and hoped to get the approval of a professional musician like Lin Zaishan.

"If you want to hear something nice, here it is: Your voice is the real reason I agreed to produce your band's album."

Zhang Hao was overjoyed!

His voice was his greatest strength, and he never expected Lin Zaishan to value it so much!

He excitedly toasted Lin Zaishan, "Uncle, you have such good judgment! I'm toasting you! We really found the right person this time!"

Lin Zaishan reminded him, "You should drink less and take better care of your voice. If you're serious about a music career, your voice is your bread and butter. Your high notes are excellent, and I can see a bit of my younger self in you."

This praise made Zhang Hao even more excited!

He loved hearing compliments, especially from a super rock star like Lin Zaishan!

"Uncle, you're too kind! His voice is nothing compared to yours when you were young!" Zhang Pengfei flattered Lin Zaishan, "Your voice when you were young was amazing! It could bring people to tears! No one has matched your voice in all these years."

Zhang Hao also praised, "That's right, Uncle, I can't compare to you when you were young."

"Don't be falsely modest. Your voice is great, and you should be proud. But remember to take care of it. Don't waste your talent and health just because you're young. I'm a good example of what not to do. I didn't take care of my voice, and now I can't hit the high notes like I used to."

Zhang Pengfei said, "Your singing now has more depth and flavor than when you were young. You don't rely on your voice as much."

"How can I not rely on my voice?" Lin Zaishan sipped his tea and laughed, "Who sings without using their voice?"

Zhang Pengfei explained, "Of course, you rely on your voice. But your singing now isn't just about your voice. Your songs contain a sense of life's experiences, which I find even more captivating than your high notes when you were young."

"These are things that can't be forced. If I had taken better care of my voice, I might have done even better. Learn from my mistakes and don't waste your talent. Since you're learning from me, don't just focus on music; learn from my mistakes as well."

Lin Zaishan didn't elaborate, letting the young people draw their own conclusions.

The more you try to instill ideas in young people, the more likely they are to rebel. They might even think you're being pretentious.

Only when they experience things themselves will they truly learn from these lessons.

Zhang Hao felt he had learned a lot from this conversation with Lin Zaishan, who was so candid and sincere.

After that, Lin Zaishan got back to the main topic and told Zhang Hao that he was about to participate in the recording of "The Strongest Singer," which would keep him very busy. He would have limited time to rehearse with the band.

He hoped that Zhang Hao and the others would cherish every rehearsal opportunity and practice diligently in their free time without affecting their studies. They needed to practice intensively to improve.

Since they were a very young band, they had no shortcuts and could only improve through hard work. Without long, rigorous rehearsals, they shouldn't even think about recording in a studio.

Given this, Lin Zaishan gave Zhang Hao a rough timeline for the album—aiming to complete it by next July or August, when the three band members would graduate.

Zhang Hao was taken aback by the long timeline.

Their recently completed "Truth" album took less than two months to finish, including a significant delay because Zhang Pengfei was not in Donghai to help with the recording.

If Zhang Pengfei had been in Donghai, they could have finished "Truth" in about a month.

Now, Lin Zaishan was suggesting a ten-month to one-year timeline, which seemed too long!

"Uncle, do you mean we need almost a year to finish the new album?"

"I'm being optimistic. You don't even have a competent lead guitarist, so how can you talk about recording? Once you have a lead guitarist, the band will need a lot of time to rehearse and develop chemistry. It's a huge challenge for a new band to complete an album in a year. I doubt you can do it in a year. It might take two or three years."

Zhang Pengfei was also stunned. Was this uncle being too responsible? Two or three years to record an underground album? That was too much time!

In that time, he could record and release dozens of albums and earn a lot of money!

Did this uncle really like Zhang Hao's band and want to cultivate them?

Otherwise, it didn't make sense!

Zhang Hao didn't expect Lin Zaishan to be so responsible. For 100,000 yuan, he was willing to teach them for one or two years. This was truly a mentor!

He was deeply moved but also very anxious. He had an urgent matter that needed Lin Zaishan's help.

Seeing Zhang Hao's youthful impatience, Lin Zaishan patiently advised, "I already told you, don't rush. Have you ever seen a crab being steamed?"

"Yes, I have." Zhang Hao didn't understand why Lin Zaishan asked such an unrelated question.

"If you've seen it, you should understand. To become famous, you need to endure the heat. When the true flavor is cooked out, you can come out. Otherwise, if you come out smelling and tasting bad, people will spit you out."

Lin Zaishan's metaphor was brilliant, and Zhang Hao was enlightened, though still anxious.

"Uncle, I understand what you're saying. We will practice and not rush. But I have a favor to ask. It's urgent—next month, Donghai will host the latest Minzhou University Student Arts Festival, which includes a traditional band competition. Our band, Believers, has already signed up. Can you help us rehearse a few songs to participate in the competition?"

Zhang Pengfei, who was also interested in the competition, told Lin Zaishan, "As far as I know, many record companies pay attention to the band competition at the university arts festival. If Haozi and the others perform well, they might get a chance to sign with a record company. Then the underground album you help them produce can be officially released through a record company."

Lin Zaishan thought, how could a band without a reliable lead guitarist even dream of signing with a record company? This was clearly rushing things.

However, participating in a formal large-scale band competition would help the Believers improve their skills and gain stage experience.

Seeing that Lin Zaishan wasn't responding, Zhang Hao said anxiously, "Uncle, we're not doing this for fame. We're doing it to prove ourselves!"

"Prove what?" Lin Zaishan asked.

Zhang Hao explained with righteous indignation, "Our band's drummer, Bi Yonggang, was cheated on by his girlfriend, who left him for another guy from our school. That guy is also in a band, and they're also participating in the competition. His ex-girlfriend is particularly nasty and says our band isn't as good as theirs. We're all holding a grudge and want to beat that band! We want to make Bi Yonggang feel proud and forget about that girl!"

"What does winning the competition have to do with Bi Yonggang forgetting that girl?" Lin Zaishan didn't understand the logic of these young people.

"You don't know Bi Yonggang. He's a quiet person, and he's been deeply hurt. His girlfriend cheating on him has really affected him, but he doesn't talk about it and just endures it. We all feel that if we don't help him get this out of his system, he'll end up with a serious problem."

Zhang Pengfei joked, "No wonder Bi Yonggang is so quiet. He must have been really hurt."

Lin Zaishan, speaking from experience, said, "In matters of the heart, it's best to let go. Why make it so complicated?"

"It's easy to say, but it's not so easy to do. We've all tried to convince Bi Yonggang that the girl isn't worth it, but he's stubborn. This grudge is weighing on him, and he can't let it go. If our band can help him get this out of his system, he'll truly recover."

Zhang Pengfei joked, "Uncle, it sounds like you have to help. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda."

"Don't be ridiculous." Lin Zaishan laughed and said to Zhang Hao, "I haven't started recording yet, so I should be able to find time to help your band rehearse and get to know your band's level and style better."

"Great! Uncle, thank you so much! I'll toast you again! From now on, you're my master!"

Zhang Pengfei laughed, "You're pretty bold. Has Uncle agreed to take you as a disciple? And you're already calling him master?"

Zhang Hao smiled confidently, "Even if Uncle doesn't agree, in my heart, he's already my master!"

"Since I'm a bit vulgar, I'll take you as a disciple for the 100,000 yuan. But I want to make it clear: I currently only recognize your voice. I hope you can make me truly recognize you as a person and make me proud to have you as a disciple."

"Absolutely! Uncle, I'll work hard! I'll use my high notes to break the rock music scene and the entire music industry!"

Zhang Pengfei laughed, "You're still calling him Uncle?"

"I'll call him Uncle tonight, and once I transfer the 100,000 yuan, I'll call him Master!"

Being accepted as a disciple by Lin Zaishan made Zhang Hao extremely excited!

"You're quite resourceful. Since we're talking about money, let's discuss the copyright and future revenue sharing of the new album..."

Lin Zaishan then discussed the copyright and revenue issues with Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao agreed to everything Lin Zaishan said.

For 100,000 yuan, he felt he had already gained a lot and didn't dare to haggle over the revenue with Lin Zaishan.

His main goal was for Lin Zaishan to help them improve and truly become skilled musicians. The money was insignificant to him.

Very excited, after dinner, Zhang Hao, still tipsy, went home and immediately transferred 100,000 yuan to Lin Zaishan's account. He didn't even think about the contract Lin Zaishan had suggested drafting a few days later, not fearing that Lin Zaishan might cheat him.