The Hose-a-phone

Someone dropped a comment to April’s Real Blog for the hose-a-phone website a few days ago, and I thought I would check it out. Among other things on there is a link to a Dr. Demento broadcast featuring a jazz piece actually written for hose-a-phone. I listened to it and it basically sounded like a trumpet, except the pitch content was limited to jumping intervals and not notes next to each other in a scale, which the valves would allow a trumpeter with a trumpet to do. When Uncle Phil plays the hose-a-phone with 4Evah&Eva, he is basically going to sound like a professional jazz trumpeter. In tomorrow’s strip, when Becky makes her comment about 4Evah&Eva being too good, it should be in reference to Phil’s performance. Neither Becky nor her band members are going to be able to match Phil’s 3 decades of professional trumpetry. The hose-a-phone used by Uncle Phil is a novelty act, and April’s point is that their music is fun, but the simple fact of the matter is that April has brought in a ringer. If this were a real competition, I would be crying foul. What you have then is:

1. Becky leaves for 4Evah, because the band is not good enough for her, and she wants a career on her own.
2. Becky gets her career, but loses April’s friendship, because she considers Becky’s comments on 4Evah’s abilities to be a personal insult.
3. April, Gerald, and Duncan rehearse and after declaring they stink without Becky, they bring in Luis and Eva and rename the band.
4. Rehearsing together, they are making music again.
5. A week before the Gym Jam, 4Evah&Eva decide they sound like crud, indicating that April, Gerald, and/or Duncan have managed to bring Luis and Eva down to their level, and adding even more justification for Becky’s departure.
6. Using the same tactic as she did when she added Luis and Eva, April adds Uncle Phil to the band to improve the sound and makes a favorable impression on Becky.

Moral of the story: 4Evah sucked and it was good for Becky to leave. If April adds quality people to her band, then the band will improve to be good. Yes, that’s the way to show Becky she shouldn’t have left.