Owner	Pose
Kim Hayes	'Monkey Heaven Records' isn't the trendiest independent record shop in the neighbourhood. Far from it. The logo of a grinning monkey with wings, harp and a vinyl record for a halo is eyecatching enough - especially after being defaced by rebellious local artists finding the imagery insensitive given the recent history of New York City, even though the store and its logo have been around for decades at this point.     As aforementioned, it's not a trendy store - in fact, some might classify it as 'struggling' if it were occupying more prime real estate than the out-of-the-way street it sits on. Instead, it relies primarily on repeat customers, mostly dedicated audiophiles who trade and purchase used music media. The store does have a reputation for stocking a very eclectic selection - just about anything you could ask for. It's not a great business to be in in the modern era, but Monkey Heaven is tenacious and a credit to its owner's ethos of diligence, customer service, and musical knowledge.     There's also a rumour that the owner is a vampire, because the store opens late nights as well as days, with Franz taking most night shifts.     He's not really a vampire, of course. There's only one employee with an urge to feed on humans at Monkey Heaven - and she's on duty tonight, because Franz and his Pixies tribute band (the Nixies) are playing their monthly gig at the bar down the street.     Sitting behind the counter, the store currently empty except for that one guy named Ernie in the back corner who hangs around every night shift, Kim is deciding between albums to put in the store's multimedia music system. She settles on the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack album, and as the previous record finishes, the Wallflowers' cover of David Bowie's Heroes starts to play over the store's PA system.     <<That guy just stands there in the corner every night we're here. Why can't we eat him? Surely no one would miss him.>>     "We're not gonna eat Ernie," Kim mutters grumpily under her breath.     "Did you say something?" Ernie asks, looking over and adjusting his glasses.     "Just talking to myself, Ernie, sorry," Kim calls back as she leans back in her chair and stares at the ceiling.
Sofia Maroni	Sofia Maroni really doesn't mind the insensitive logo, and she doesn't even care if the owner IS a vampire. Sofia is here for the music. You had her at 'eclectic'. The blonde singer was actually on her way to catch Franz, when the sign caught her attention. It's been a while since Sofia's been inside; long before the current owner bought the place and back when very different music was on the shelves. Her attire is more grunge than anything, ripped jeans tucked into leather knee boots. A black t-shirt beneath open flannel up top. Sofia pushes the door open, boot heels scraping on the wooden floor as she walks in. "Hi." she offers to the girl behind the counter.
Kim Hayes	The 90s soft rock cover continues to play over the sound system as Ernie goes back to his eternal night-browsing. He's quicker to look over when the customer bell above the door signals Sofia's entrance than Kim is, staring just a little awkwardly long before turning back to his perusal with just a little more sociophobic intensity.     <<Wake up. Someone is here.>>     Kim blinks as she snaps out of a borderline accidental nap, looking toward the door and noticing Sofia's presence. She blinks a couple more times, then quickly - for a zombie - pops up and slinks up to the counter, leaning forward against it on her hands.     "Oh, hey! Sorry, split shift and I haven't had my Red Bull yet," she explains with an apologetic smile. "Totally here, though. Franz is out on a gig tonight, if you were looking for him; I'm Kim."     She straightens her posture a little further. "Can I help you with anything, or are you just here to browse?"
Sofia Maroni	Sofia Maroni gives the place a once-over, then does it again more slowly. Yeah, she spots Earnie browsing as well. Back to Kim. Tactical instincts kick in for a moment, noting exits and potential ambush sites. "I'm Sofia." she replies. "And I was thinking about catching Franz's gig a little later, actually. I work the circuit a bit myself." She pauses, then brown eyes seek Kim's. Sofia's posture is proper and even schooled for someone who's trying to pass herself off as a grunge. Yeah, she could definitely be a performer. "You have anything interesting? I'm always looking for a new sound; something I haven't heard before."
Kim Hayes	"Oh, sick. Yeah, I thought you might be one of Franz's friends." Kim nods her head once in respect. For her part, she doesn't have the full grunge aesthetic going - her grey Deftones hoodie and jeans combo places her more early 00's, and certainly look newer than that - but she's definitely got both the posture and the notorious personal hygiene of grunge musicians of old down, with a clear preference for stick over shower.     She purses her lips in thought at Sofia's question.     "Ooh, that's a tricky one. What kind of music you into? Pixies?" It's an assumption based as much on the fact that Sofia was planning on seeing Franz as her aesthetic. "We've got pretty much anything in their back catalogue. Franz loves that shit. I can probably pull something out if you know what sound you're into - you looking for something you haven't heard of?"     Kim's own eyes turn to the racks as she taps her lips thoughtfully with one finger, her alertness visibly increasing at the presented challenge.
Sofia Maroni	Sofia Maroni grins, offering a shrug as well. Peeking beyond the black tee and flannel, however, the blonde is made up like a movie star. And she even smells good, like expensive perfume. Just a little. "I've sung just about anything, Kim." she replies. And she has, too, going all the way back to the 1920's. "The PIxies are cool, yeah, but I don't know. I'm looking for something I won't hear on the radio. Something I won't find at Tower Records, y'know?"
Kim Hayes	Kim's eyebrows lift a little at Sofia's claim, visibly impressed.     "Oh, you're a singer? Nice. I play bass."     Alone in her apartment on weekends, she declines to add.     "I mean, it sounds like you're looking for Clockwork Meow Meow, because Clockwork Meow Meow isn't on Tower Records. I mean, Franz is the only guy in Manhattan who sells Clockwork Meow Meow. They're like, experimental shoegaze fusion."     She pauses for a beat, then adds, "Aaand they're on permanent hiatus and their only album was kinda shit, so maybe not worth getting into. I was gonna suggest Wolf Alice if you like grunge, but they're not hard to find, they're just British." She chews her lip thoughtfully. "I'm kinda more jack-of-all-genres, Franz is more of a specialist - there's Hands Off Gretel, too, but that's more Courtney than Pixies. I like pointing at FAKE? too, but if you're already into J-Rock then that probably makes me sound like a casual."     She laughs a little awkward self-effacing laugh. She might not normally care whether she seems cool, but something about how cool this particular customer seems makes her slightly more self-conscious than usual; which is to say, at all.     "Anyway, I can put something on if you want a listen. Either something I suggest, or you can have a browse and let me know what you wanna hear."
Sofia Maroni	Sofia Maroni smiles knowingly, caching the doubt on Kim's face. "Yes, really." she offers. "A bass player?" Sofia gives Kim the once-over, then she nods as if agreeing. "Clockwork Meow Meow? Not to be confused with Clockwork Orange, of course." She considers, then. "Experimental. Shoegaze. Fusion." Do those words even go together? Sofia laughs a little, then she nods. "Put something on by them, if you don't mind." Taking another look at Kim, she asks. "Do you play older stuff? And I mean -really- older stuff."
Kim Hayes	Kim looks like she almost flinches when Sofia shows interest in the works of 'Clockwork Meow Meow,' though she puts on a smile as she steps back and reaches into a side shelf under the counter, pulling out a vinyl sleeve that looks like it's been sitting there for some time with a picture of a clockwork cat on the cover art. She places it down on the record player and hits a button on the control system, causing the PA to shuffle over from Jamiroquai's Deeper Underground on the Godzilla CD to the record. The first thing that can be heard is a female singer - actually, maybe a few - delivering a series of 'Meows' - before a bass line drops.     Ernie looks up. "Is that your band again, Kim?"     Closing her eyes at being outed, Kim sighs. "Yeah, Ernie."     "Thought so," Ernie says, before returning to browsing.     So far, the 'experimental fusion' element of Clockwork Meow Meow seems to be the combination of classic shoegaze style with the musical techniques found in cat food jingles.     Avoiding the subject of the song, to which fuzz guitar and a steady drumbeat have joined in the mix, Kim makes eye contact again with Sofia. "You mean basswise? The oldest stuff I play is probably Chilli Peppers. I could probably learn, though, if you got something you want playing."
Sofia Maroni	Sofia Maroni steps over to the counter, leaning heavily onto it while Kim cues up the music. Her upper lip twitches, head canting a little to one side as the record starts up. She nods slowly, just a little, and listens for a moment. "I'm actually thinking a bit farther back than that." she replies. "Nina Simone. Billy Holiday. Ella Fitzgerald. There were some dirtier singers out back then, but the record labels were pretty, um, closed-minded about certain things. Those are the ladies that were actually let into the studios." Sofia's gaze lowers a touch, then, the smile softening as well. "My dad loved that stuff, and it was some of the first music I ever sang. Anymore I sort of compromise at my shows these days. The Stones. Aerosmith. Even the Beatles."
Kim Hayes	The vocals are so awash in reverb, echo and equalization effects that they're virtually indistinct when they come in.     Kim looks thoughtful at Sofia's list, then nods, seemingly having a personal epiphany as she snaps her fingers. "Oh yeah! Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. Not my area of expertise, but I love the Lana Del Rey cover of that one. You're into like, real classic stuff, huh?"     "Ella is a goddess. You should work here. You have much better musical taste than Kim. She likes Smash Mouth," Ernie says in an illegible monotone.     "He's joking. I think," Kim explains away the random attack on her character. "And Smash Mouth is a nineties band that does sixties covers. Hella retro."     "Total mainstream covers of bands that only exist for teevee shows," Ernie accuses.     "Should I go on my smoke break so you can put back the Josephine Baker album you 'borrowed' last month?" Kim asks. "You know I can see it under your jacket this whole time."     "No, that's okay," Ernie says, surreptitiously slipping the sleeve out from under his jacket and into the rack.     "He's a little klepto," Kim tells Sofia, "I mean, a -little bit- klepto."
Sofia Maroni	Sofia Maroni tilts her head and listens, glancing back at Ernie when he offers his opinion. "And what's wrong with Smash Mouth...?" she quips back. Turning to Kim again, she nods slowly. "Truth is, there's not a lot of really original music out these days. So much of Rock came from Blues. And when you look at Punk, Alternative, Grunge, or whatever you want to call it, it's really guys who wanted to play without actually playing rock." Sofia shrugs, then. "Music is really all about the story, I suppose. You sing because you've got a story to tell. And you choose a music style that suits your story."