Introduction
Dandy, show off, backpack, agent of chaos, wild mage, bard. At some point, all of these labels have been applied to the legendary artist known Godann. Little is know about the mysterious figure who became so powerful he transcended his physical form. How did this simple circus performer grow into the phenomenon known as Godann get his start? What made him brave enough to push the limits of slam poetry during the 'Troubled Nights?' Who taught him to cast spells? and most importantly why did
Godann's Tea Shop get taken over by otters? All this and more in a very special episode of behind the music.
Early life
Godann's childhood remains a mystery. It is believed that he spent time in his youth playing music in the once great city of
Emser. There have been several references to the city in some of Godann's most popular songs. His hit ballad "Where did I put my sandwich?" has soaring verses describing a beautiful city "painted of milky marble" and the beauty of the "lark in flight" in clear reference to the
Lark Society. Yet there is no clear evidence to show that he was born in the city. In his own words Godann describes his place of birth as "that one place with the stuff." What is known, is the time he spent in the company of
K D Pittman at the traveling circus Pitman's Fabulous Follies. There Godann explains he learned how to breath fire, work a crowd, and play the lute for the first time. KD Pittman couldn't be reached for comment at the time of this writing, but Godann explains that his decision to leave the circus came on the heels of a disagreement with Pittman himself over the creative direction of the circus. It was at that time that Godann and several other circus performers decided to strike out on their own and take their talents in a separate direction, they would form a band.
Bardcore
The first few seasons were difficult for the fledgling musicians. Godann recalled how the band members almost immediately got lost in the woods and became separated. They remained separated for several cycles. During that time spent apart Godann and the rest of his bandmates worked on their solo careers. "It was great!" he recalls "Most bands break up because their members want to do their own thing. We did that part first. It was really smart because by the time we were done being solo acts we could be a band again." Already an accomplished live poet, Godann decided to expand his repertoire into other areas of musical prowess. He discovered his love for the lute, even challenging himself to spend an entire season singing every single word. To this day Godann and his lute are never far apart, even though he now tragically lacks the physical capacity to play. After spending time undercover touring with a small indie folk group known as
The Heroes of the Valley, after saving them from a shipwreck in
Jangala, and defeating a vampire in
Riverweld during the 'Troubled Nights'; Godann happened to reunite with his long lost bandmates, all of which had been trapped in Riverweld the whole time! However, none of them had been as successful or dedicated to their craft in their time apart as Godann. It was at this time he revealed his secret identity to
The Heroes of the Valley as the famous minstrel Godann and set out on his famous world tour, headlining his band Bardcore. According to
Aiyanna the current
Abbess of the
Riverweld Arcanum Tower "He was just like: I'll be right back I need to use the bathroom. I may go on tour too. Don't wait up for me, by the way I'm famous. Then he walked out of my apartment and that was the last I saw of him for a little more than a cycle. Honestly, I thought he died."
Bringing the magic
After a cycle of touring across
Deren delighting fans, belting out ballads and selling more albums than any band in the history of music, Godann needed to return to his roots. He missed the simple life, the type of real connection he had when he was number one on the
Riverweld indie scene. He reconnected with that same small town folk group
The Heroes of the Valley. From there the Bard of bards quested forth to bring the magic of music to the people once again. This time though, through sheer luck he managed to reconnect with
K D Pittman in
Trott's Ferry. The two old friends mended fences and agreed to bring his new band along. According to a Cleric of Sogret that was interviewed for this story "Godann, had a really good energy man. He was always looking out for the world around him. Like, wow. You know?" It wasn't just the adulation of burned out holy men either, everyone recalls the antics of the magic minstrel and how he rescued his young bandmates from danger of the
Ferdir Ah Dain when they tried to bring their tour to the city of
Emser during Godann's homecoming tour. It was at this point that Godann made a realization he had the magic of music with him all this time. His one time equipment manager
Astraeus Tyche described that transcendent moment. "Yeah, he just turned yellow. Then I think something lit on fire? By the time we put it all out he had turned purple. It stayed like that for a few hours I think." With the magic within him Godann was able to bring down the house on the armies of the
Ferdir Ah Dain in a sold out show at the
Azmar Valley. With music so grand the entire elven army threw down their weapons. The bass player
Bruz mysteriously vanished in a trap door during the final encore. His music was so stirring and his magic so grand that he even liberated the minds of the mechanical soldiers that were sent to guard the show. When the dust settled on that epic night Godann decided he had achieved almost all his goals. Only one thing remained.
Becoming a Backpack
The members of
The Heroes of the Valley had mostly left to start their own solo projects. So Godann did what any industrius musician would. He kept the name and hired new musicians! Joined by his new companions he traveled south again. He knew the story of Godann was not complete. Eventually, Godann found himself beneath the town of
Verglais. He described the pivotal moment in his most tender ballad "Mad Raccoon" the chorus of the song that we all know and love. "The Raccoon keeps going, yeah yeah.
So I may be mad, yeah yeah.
But I should be a bag, yeah yeah."
And the rest as they say is history. The man who rocked the world with his talent and voice chose to take the next step in his artistic journey. Godann evolved not only his style but his body. Literally turning himself into art. He calls his latest artistic exploration "The Spirit Bag Project". He describes it as something combining his two great loves, carrying his teammates and training his dog Glenn. Godann is fulfilled now. He spends time outside, basking in nature and riding Glenn from place to place in his new private village estate. How will the spirit bag project turn out? Only time will tell. But if his life is any indication Godann will be able to add Genius to the list of accolades he's collected throughout his life.
This story was dictated by Godann and written by Sage Blackwell, because I don't have hands and she's the best.
