| APAGear II Archives | Volume 3, Number 9 | October, 2001 |
It's been 11 cycles now since Ingrid Hindrixson's first gig with Conspiracy in a seedy bar somewhere in Fort Henry. Since then, her band has been consistently releasing albums and playing to sold-out crowds all over Terranova. I finally caught up with Ingrid in Westphalia, where Conspiracy is playing three concerts at the Kaiser Palace casino.
I managed to sit down with Ingrid over a cup of cawfee in the lobby of the casino, the day after the first concert. She looks a little uncomfortable, but this is a long way from home for the Fort Williams native.
IH: It's a little strange playing the Kaiser Palace. But then again, Manny [Wasserman, the owner of the Kaiser Palace] has always been a supporter of Shock, so I guess we'd end up playing here anyways. It's just not the normal Shock venue.
GS: What is a 'normal Shock venue?'
IH: Oh, you know, smaller, poorly lit. Usually a cramped stage and second-rate equipment. Not that I'm knocking the owners of bars that put on Shock shows. It's just that going from a tiny cozy place like The Pit down in Fort William to the Kaiser Palace Casino in Westphalia...well, you notice a difference. But anyways, a normal Shock venue also generally has a more energetic audience.
GS: How did the show go last night?
IH: [With a big sly grin] Let's just say there have been more energetic audiences, but it went just fine.
GS: Any plans for another album? Conspiracy has been together for 11 cycles now, and you all seem pretty happy with the way things are going.
IH: Yeah, there's a new album in the works. We're recording our shows, listening to our improvised stuff. It would be nice to relax for a season before going into the studio. I think the boys [Carl Orff, lead vocals; Paulo Desjardins, bass; Tyler Desjardins, keyboards; Robert Nev, drums] also want some downtime. But we're really into getting another album out.
Conspiracy will be playing two more shows at the Kaiser Palace Casino in Westphalia before returning to Fort William.
-Gunter Scandale
Ingrid was born in Fort William WFP on 4 Summer 1910. Her parents are mid-level bureaucrats in the WFP civil service and have lived fairly uneventful lives since they came back from the War of the Alliance.
Not Ingrid. Since the moment she bought her first primal dream album, Ingrid knew she wanted to be a musician. Her adolescence was spent learning how to play a myriad of instruments, including electric guitar, drum sequencers and drum sets, keyboards and clarinet. By TN 1930, she had already toured with bands across the homesteads of the WFP and had made a name for herself as an accomplished musician and vocalist.
In TN 1932, her musical interests turned to the new Shock music genre developing in the youth underground of Fort William. In 1933, her band was in the first trans-polar shock tour in Terranovan history. Many more were to follow until the outbreak of the Interpolar War.
Ingrid currently lives in Fort William, where she busies herself with recording a new album with her band.
Ingrid is a musician first, and an entertainer second. Her technique on guitar is internationally acclaimed, and many young guitarists clamour to have a session or two with her. Music consumes most of her time. If she's not practicing, she's composing, recording or listening to music.
Ingrid loves her work. She loves her band and she loves music more than anything. She doesn't resent her parents and their lifestyle, but is very pleased that she did not end up a mid-level bureaucrat in the WFP civil service. She tries to maintain some distance from the political goals of the Shock movement, but has had to compromise her artistic integrity on a few occasions in order to get high profile gigs. Her distrust of politics is deeply ingrained, and she hopes that she won't have to abandon Shock if it strays too far from her middle-of-the-road values.
The closest Ingrid has ever been to a life-or-death situation was at one show in the Eastern Sun Emirates where the local riot police jumped the gun and began dispersing the huge crowd. Ingrid tried to calm the situation, but was roughed up, tear-gassed and arrested along with the rest of the band and stage crew. She now smiles cynically about the experience. However, she has never once talked about the two nights she spent in prison in the ESE.
Ingrid does not look the part of the typical Shocker. Her brown hair is cut short, and her face is free of tattoos, piercings or cosmetic surgery. With her slight build, she is quite glad to have the roadies carry the heavy stage equipment. Ingrid's stage attire is generally more subdued than most, as she prefers to let her playing speak for itself. Her day-to-day clothing is also subdued, bordering on plain.
Ingrid is an amateur music historian, and delights in frequenting out of the way music stores in search of eclectic and rare music. She prides herself on her collection of old 20th Century rock and jazz albums and goes out of her way to find new additions to her collection. When not practicing, she usually reads, meditates or jogs. She also sits in on weekly blues jams at various bars around Fort William, when she has the time.
A Quote: "I wouldn't know what it's like to be a rock star, since I'm just a musician."
Age (as of TN 1940): 30 Height: 160cm Weight: 55kg Hair: Brown Eyes: Green Attributes: Agility: 0 Appearance: 0 Build: -1 Creativity: +2 Fitness: 0 Influence: +2 Knowledge: +1 Perception: 0 Psyche: +1 Willpower: +1 Strength: 0 Health: +1 Stamina: 25 Unarmed Damage: Armed Damage: Skills Athletics 1+0 Business 2+1 Computer 1+1 Dance 1+0 Electronics 1+1 Etiquette 2+2 Foreign Lang (U. French) 1+1 Haggling 1+2 Human Perception 2+1 Law 1+1 Music 4+2 Teaching 2+2 Notice 1+0 Social Science: Mus. History 1+1 Streetwise 1+2
Ingrid has a nice apartment in Fort William, as well as a small recording studio/rehearsal space. She has a number of instruments, including a drumset, a very advanced sampler/synthesizer and half a dozen guitars, both acoustic and electric. She is very proud of her main stage guitar amplifier, which was custom made for her, and includes ancient vacuum tube technology, for a warm, thick and heavy sound.
Ingrid is a well-known, eloquent and charming individual. She is not much of a fighter, and will always settle her disputes diplomatically. As a friend to the players, Ingrid will always try to help in any way she can, and would never do anything to hurt her friends.
This is where using Ingrid in a campaign would be best. Ingrid Hindrixson has been to nearly every major city-state on Terranova, at least twice. She knows people in various positions of government, as well as in her field. A letter of reference from her is a sure way to get help from practically anyone in the music world on Terranova.
It's hard to imagine player characters coming up against Ingrid in any way. Depending on the campaign, she may be a business/music rival, or perhaps one of the PC's is an estranged boyfriend/girlfriend. As before Ingrid will not do harm to anyone, and will try to settle her disputes through diplomacy and dialogue.
| APAGear II Archives | Volume 3, Number 9 | October, 2001 |
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