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NOTE: As of February 2017, Countdown has been disbanded, and Count Dooku has embarked on a new career path.
Since being imPorted, Dooku has grudgingly adapted to his government-assigned position as a heavy metal performer as the best path to wealth and influence currently available to him. In between diplomatic and military dramas, he has been pursuing singing lessons, arranging marketing and production deals with his business contacts in Nonah, and getting his band's drummer some much-needed rehab. He has been putting his own mark on 'Sulfur Mustard', and is ready to take the band in a new direction under a new name: COUNTDOWN.
Previously, Sulfur Mustard was a moderately successful conventional metal band, barely earning a living playing the Maurtia Falls circuit. Countdown is something else altogether... partly because Dooku has ousted the previous lead singer and the manager over 'creative differences' and signed the band with a new Nonah-based independent record label (Gadfly Studios) unafraid of backing bold, unconventional music.
Countdown is an operatic symphonic metal band with a revamped sound, performance style, and songwriting scheme. Their music incorporates an orchestral sound alongside Dooku's deep, booming vocals and the higher-pitched vocals of the band's soprano singer: metal with an operatic tinge. Dooku has maneuvered himself into position as the band's frontman and show runner, which just so happens to net him the largest slice of their earnings.
The band's promotion and marketing strategy is intense, making full use of the Count's celebrity imPort status and his unorthodox style. Their live performances are characterized by Dooku using his Dark Side powers as spectacular special effects, as he flings bolts of lightning over the heads of the audience and occasionally levitates lucky fans with the Force for the ultimate in crowd surfing. But a lot of their publicity stems from Dooku's willingness to incite controversy in his band's songwriting: their self-titled debut album will be politically charged, opposed to the Cold War and government overreach, and offensive to many Americans in the current political climate.
As a concept album, 'Countdown' is structured to tell a story like a musical saga, ostensibly inspired by the largely-mysterious heroics of the first generation of imPorts and their native vigilante allies against America's 1984 police state regime (the contributions of reform-minded soldiers like Parc Holiday are less represented). Songs like 'Nova Man,' 'Chains of 1984,' 'Families Dreaming of Atomic Flame,' and 'Betrayal at Death Island' paint a picture of a world where governments are corrupt and oppressive, where ordinary citizens are at the mercy of nuclear annihilation and perpetual war, where the law is no guarantee of justice, where terrorists, foreign invaders, and ruthless criminals plot in the shadows, where the media lies and secrets are concealed.
In this world, authorities are all too often untrustworthy... But imPort Heroes can always stand up and act above and beyond such compromised institutions, armed with powers, courage, and intelligence surpassing that of ordinary humanity. ImPort Heroes can make things right for the common people, creating a better world of freedom, justice and peace. The message of the album is that imPorts are friggin' fantastic, basically, while the US government is impotent at best and wicked at worst.
Needless to say, the moral authorities of America will flip their shit at this music, which will not be well received by the mainstream in an atmosphere of militarist fervour and patriotic Cold War rallying around the government. However, Dooku thrives upon controversy, and will turn the outrage (and free publicity) to his advantage. 'Countdown' will sell well within the countercultural corners of the American market, among those who relish edginess and dissent and who may be tired of the unending politics of fear. The band will also net some limited sales abroad, particularly among English-speaking fans in Mexico, where imPort media tends to be notably popular. Fans of Countdown are often intensely devoted, and describe themselves as being 'Down for the Count,' a common chant at concerts. Countdown will be touring the four Porter cities over the course of spring/summer 2016 to promote their new album.
Countdown's niche audience and mainstream unpopularity will result in a relatively small market, but the band will still serve its purpose as a way for Dooku to slowly expand his wealth and public image. While he will still be living in his private residence in Maurtia Falls (the better to be close to his fellow imPorts), he will be hiring a private bodyguard and a personal assistant (preferably PCs, depending on who volunteers). After a few months of sales, he will also be going from place to place in a chauffeured hover-limo, because hell yes. As a result of his subversive music, Dooku will be placed on the government's secret surveillance watch list.
BAND ROSTER
Count Dooku: lead singer, frontman, show runner
Marcia Fallon: backup singer
Kevin Yun: drums
Tuula Korhonen: cello
Oliver Exalted (not his real name): guitar
Cynthia Sin (her actual, legal name that she had changed): bass
Irving Hanes: keyboarder
Also of note:
Alex Tode: manager/producer/marketing, although Dooku wields an unofficial veto over his decisions
Mark Slade: secret ghostwriter for many of Dooku's songs. What, you didn't think a Lord of the Sith had the time to devote to lyrical scribblings, did you?
EXAMPLES of what Countdown's music may sound like:
Magic of the Wizard's Dream (Rhapsody)- example of Christopher Lee's voice
Deter the Tyrant (Epica)- example of symphonic metal with political themes
Wishmaster (Nightwish) - example of one of the most influential symphonic metal bands
The Path (Apocalyptica) - example of what metal sounds like with cellos in the mix
If you have any questions or would like to plot regarding Countdown, please let me know here!
Since being imPorted, Dooku has grudgingly adapted to his government-assigned position as a heavy metal performer as the best path to wealth and influence currently available to him. In between diplomatic and military dramas, he has been pursuing singing lessons, arranging marketing and production deals with his business contacts in Nonah, and getting his band's drummer some much-needed rehab. He has been putting his own mark on 'Sulfur Mustard', and is ready to take the band in a new direction under a new name: COUNTDOWN.
Previously, Sulfur Mustard was a moderately successful conventional metal band, barely earning a living playing the Maurtia Falls circuit. Countdown is something else altogether... partly because Dooku has ousted the previous lead singer and the manager over 'creative differences' and signed the band with a new Nonah-based independent record label (Gadfly Studios) unafraid of backing bold, unconventional music.
Countdown is an operatic symphonic metal band with a revamped sound, performance style, and songwriting scheme. Their music incorporates an orchestral sound alongside Dooku's deep, booming vocals and the higher-pitched vocals of the band's soprano singer: metal with an operatic tinge. Dooku has maneuvered himself into position as the band's frontman and show runner, which just so happens to net him the largest slice of their earnings.
The band's promotion and marketing strategy is intense, making full use of the Count's celebrity imPort status and his unorthodox style. Their live performances are characterized by Dooku using his Dark Side powers as spectacular special effects, as he flings bolts of lightning over the heads of the audience and occasionally levitates lucky fans with the Force for the ultimate in crowd surfing. But a lot of their publicity stems from Dooku's willingness to incite controversy in his band's songwriting: their self-titled debut album will be politically charged, opposed to the Cold War and government overreach, and offensive to many Americans in the current political climate.
As a concept album, 'Countdown' is structured to tell a story like a musical saga, ostensibly inspired by the largely-mysterious heroics of the first generation of imPorts and their native vigilante allies against America's 1984 police state regime (the contributions of reform-minded soldiers like Parc Holiday are less represented). Songs like 'Nova Man,' 'Chains of 1984,' 'Families Dreaming of Atomic Flame,' and 'Betrayal at Death Island' paint a picture of a world where governments are corrupt and oppressive, where ordinary citizens are at the mercy of nuclear annihilation and perpetual war, where the law is no guarantee of justice, where terrorists, foreign invaders, and ruthless criminals plot in the shadows, where the media lies and secrets are concealed.
In this world, authorities are all too often untrustworthy... But imPort Heroes can always stand up and act above and beyond such compromised institutions, armed with powers, courage, and intelligence surpassing that of ordinary humanity. ImPort Heroes can make things right for the common people, creating a better world of freedom, justice and peace. The message of the album is that imPorts are friggin' fantastic, basically, while the US government is impotent at best and wicked at worst.
Needless to say, the moral authorities of America will flip their shit at this music, which will not be well received by the mainstream in an atmosphere of militarist fervour and patriotic Cold War rallying around the government. However, Dooku thrives upon controversy, and will turn the outrage (and free publicity) to his advantage. 'Countdown' will sell well within the countercultural corners of the American market, among those who relish edginess and dissent and who may be tired of the unending politics of fear. The band will also net some limited sales abroad, particularly among English-speaking fans in Mexico, where imPort media tends to be notably popular. Fans of Countdown are often intensely devoted, and describe themselves as being 'Down for the Count,' a common chant at concerts. Countdown will be touring the four Porter cities over the course of spring/summer 2016 to promote their new album.
Countdown's niche audience and mainstream unpopularity will result in a relatively small market, but the band will still serve its purpose as a way for Dooku to slowly expand his wealth and public image. While he will still be living in his private residence in Maurtia Falls (the better to be close to his fellow imPorts), he will be hiring a private bodyguard and a personal assistant (preferably PCs, depending on who volunteers). After a few months of sales, he will also be going from place to place in a chauffeured hover-limo, because hell yes. As a result of his subversive music, Dooku will be placed on the government's secret surveillance watch list.
BAND ROSTER
Count Dooku: lead singer, frontman, show runner
Marcia Fallon: backup singer
Kevin Yun: drums
Tuula Korhonen: cello
Oliver Exalted (not his real name): guitar
Cynthia Sin (her actual, legal name that she had changed): bass
Irving Hanes: keyboarder
Also of note:
Alex Tode: manager/producer/marketing, although Dooku wields an unofficial veto over his decisions
Mark Slade: secret ghostwriter for many of Dooku's songs. What, you didn't think a Lord of the Sith had the time to devote to lyrical scribblings, did you?
EXAMPLES of what Countdown's music may sound like:
Magic of the Wizard's Dream (Rhapsody)- example of Christopher Lee's voice
Deter the Tyrant (Epica)- example of symphonic metal with political themes
Wishmaster (Nightwish) - example of one of the most influential symphonic metal bands
The Path (Apocalyptica) - example of what metal sounds like with cellos in the mix
If you have any questions or would like to plot regarding Countdown, please let me know here!
