Battle of the Bands - Bill the Warthog Mysteries

•Bill the Warthog MYSTERIES•

Get a backstage pass as Bill becomes a musical sensation! Bill, the world’s one and only warthog detective, is also the world’s only warthog drummer. When his talent is discovered, a shady music agent tries to sign him up.

Instead, Bill joins a neighborhood band. The band enters its biggest gig ever—The Elm Street Battle of the Bands—but someone tries to sabotage the contest. The crowd goes wild as Bill solves the case just in time!

Every chapter features a different Psalm, providing clues to each mystery.

Be sure to investigate all of the Bill the Warthog Mysteries books today!

LP48309 Battle of Bands_CVR.indd 1

An imprint of Rose Publishing, Inc. 17909 Adria Maru Lane, Carson, CA 90746 See more excellent children’s teaching aids at www.Rose-Publishing.com

Dean A. Anderson

LP48309 ISBN 10: 1-58411-159-3 ISBN 13: 978-1-58411-159-7 Juvenile Fiction/Religious/Christian/General

•

Dean A. Anderson 10/15/15 10:58 AM

c

This is a Preview of Bill the Warthog Mysteries: Battle of the Bands (118 Pages) Get the full version at www.rosekidz.com

An imprint of Rose Publishing, Inc. Carson, CA www.Rose-Publishing.com

An imprint of Rose Publishing, Inc. Carson, CA www.Rose-Publishing.com

CC5Q Q O88Q &J 8Q &>"0Q @ JQ AA6Q Q N F$3?.QK1'Q !9'KHQB(Q KB?'Q

CC5Q Q JJ "7Q@)QL0&Q OJ >JQ GO4JQ AA6 Q N'HMQ-FQM1'Q '<D:'QB(Q NK1Q

AA5Q Q 2&Q @/OIQ 4>%Q "04>&Q AA6Q Q ?.Q B?Q

CC5Q Q 0&Q I&Q@)QL0&Q =E,G&Q E&GQ AA6Q Q BPQ +#'Q 3::Q AA6Q Q

LL;&Q@*QL2&Q >%IQ

To my piano teachers (including my grandma): Sorry so little of what you taught stuck. It wasn’t your fault.

BILL THE WARTHOG MYSTERIES: BATTLE OF THE BANDS ©2014 by Dean Anderson ISBN 10: 1-58411-159-3 ISBN 13: 978-1-58411-159-7 RoseKidz #LP48309

JUVENILE FICTION / Religious / Christian / General

RoseKidz An imprint of Rose Publishing, Inc. 17909 Adria Maru Lane Carson, CA 90746 www.Rose-Publishing.com Interior illustrator: Chad Thompson Cover illustrator: Aburtov and Graphikslava Scriptures are from the Holy Bible: New International Version (North American edition), ©1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of Legacy Press.

Printed in South Korea

' &' '"

' # ' ' ' ' ' "" ' '% "'& $'" $ "'!"$ ' "'% ! '& # ' # " '

+8;= J62 O(GJ6B4 >PHJ2G82H$ +'L;2 B3 J62 +(A0H T 1[Rk *X[s{ok 9I,? % !

7I-@ % " " ;\`SV t\ptY\t ;D "

<[aRW Es[{{ FC ,o " ISl 0d\`o .( " " ;\`SV Dt\||:eY| Vpi

7k}[sdos dgg {}sS}os% /bRX Kbojq{ok /o [s dgg {}sR}os% (T s}o RkX 5sRqbdf|gR R HVter~ t\| St\ _pi ~c\ 6ph -eUh\& @\ 8l~\vS~eplSg N\t|dpl Apyc )i\teVSm \Ye~epl # # # U ~c\ 8l~\wS~epmSh -eUh\ HpVe\~ M|\Z U r\tie||epl p] QpnY\zSl -eUh\ D Uhe|c\t|

(gg sdab { s[{[s [X @o qRs o^ }bd{ q TgdWR}dok jR T[ s[qsoX W[X {}os[X dk R s[}sd[ Sg { {}[j os sRl{jd}}[X dl Rl ^pui ot T Sl i\Rl{ d}bo } td~}[l q\x d||dpl p] ;\`SV Dt\||

o

Table of Contents I: Into His Gourd .............................................. 7

2: Bill Joins the Band ...................................... 15 3: Band Practice ............................................... 23 4: Bob the Amazing Underwater Sheep .......... 31

5: The Name Game .......................................... 39 G: The Case of the School, Chicken and Grandpa Rock ........................................ 47 7: The Case of the David Dream ..................... 55

8: The Case of the Game Bribe ......................... 63 9: The Case of the Coded Clue ....................... 71 10: The Battle of the Bands ............................... 79

o

o Chapter I

Into His Gourd Have you ever heard the phrase, "out of his gourd?" My dad uses it all the time; it means someone is crazy. My dad will it say when he sees my dog, Daisy, chasing her tail, "She's out of her gourd!" He always says it about politicians on TV. When I tell you that my best friend is a warthog who is also a detective, you might well be saying, "This guy's out of his gourd:' But he is, and his name is Bill.

And in the story I'm telling here, Bill was very much into his gourd. A gourd is the fruit of some plants, like a

pumpkin or squash. And there is a kind of a gourd called a "calabash:' and that was what Bill was into.

Bill had several calabash gourds that had been made into drums. The Thompsons, the family that raised him, 7

o

â&#x20AC;˘ Battle of the Bands â&#x20AC;˘

visited Africa and sent the calabashes to Bill. And Bill started playing them all the time.

In fact, one afternoon he was playing his calabashes in my backyard (my parents kicked us out of the inside of the house because of the noise) and Soren Johansson came walking by. Soren runs the radio station at my school.

"Hey, Nick!" he said. (Nick is me, by the way, Nick Sayga.) "Hey, Bill! Were you playing those things?"

"Yes, they're calabashes;' Bill said. "They're African percussion instruments:' "Dude, those are awesome! Do you think you could play those on my radio station?"

So that's how Bill came to play the calabash on the Elm Street Middle School radio station and how we ended up meeting Perry Stevens. But I'm jumping ahead in my story.

Soren's radio station used to be a janitor's closet in our school. The FM signal only went out a couple of blocks past the school grounds, but last year Soren got the radio station on the Internet.

The radio station is only on a couple of hours a day. He interviews kids and teachers on the show. He interviewed Mike Green about his comic books and John Cesano when he won the arm wrestling championship.

9

Bill the WarthoCJ Mysteries He also had music on the station: the school choir, our kazoo marching band and now Bill. He interviewed Bill on his after school show and then let Bill play his calabashes.

The response was amazing. Bill got all kinds of texts and tweets saying how well they thought he played (though many said he played well, for a warthog).

And the next day, Bill got a call from Perry Stevens.

"Bill, baby, this is Perry Stevens, the Perry Stevens of musical management fame, and this is your lucky day! I'd like to represent you. I can make you big! Let's get together tomorrow, we'll do lunch!"

I wasn't surprised that Bill agreed to meet with the guy.

Bill had a natural curiosity about people (one of the qualities that made him a great detective) . But he wanted to do a little Internet research about Perry Stevens before they met.

A quick search found that Perry Stevens was an agent who represented some pretty big names in the music business (big names, but not necessarily good names), like the rock group the Croaking Toads, whose biggest hit was 10

o

â&#x20AC;˘ Battle of the Bands â&#x20AC;˘

"Parents are Dumb;' and the rapper B Sear 1 Us with the album "Peeps I'd Like to Punch:' They made music with not very positive messages.

Bill didn't meet Mr. Stevens for lunch; he agreed to meet for sodas at Marvin's Malt Shop after school so 1 could come along.

After greetings and shaking hands (or hooves as the case may be), Bill and Mr. Stevens quickly got down to business.

Bill said, "I want to start off by saying that when 1 go into business with anyone, I expect high standards of honesty and integrity:' Stevens said, "Well, 'Honesty' is my middle name. 1 hold myself and the people I represent to high standards. And I'll tell you, when I heard you on the radio yesterday, I knew you were my kind of people ... 1 mean pig ... er, my kind of ..."

"Warthog;' Bill said.

"So you say you heard me on the radio?" Bill asked.

"Oh, yeah, because 1 do all my own work discovering new acts. So I was driving down the freeway and I happened upon your performance on the FM radio. So as I drove for miles, 1 listened to the whole show, and you were amazing:' "Oh, really;' Bill said. "So, honesty and high standards II

o

â&#x20AC;˘ Battle of the Bands â&#x20AC;˘ are important to you. But some of the acts you represent don't seem to be held to high standards. Nick here was telling me some of your acts have songs and albums with foul language and that encourage rebellion against parents and other authorities:' "Well, yeah, but it's all in fun. You just can't take all of the lyrics of these musicians seriously. After all, no one listens to the words:' "Well, I've been listening to your words;' Bill said, "and they haven't been true. If I put time in my music, I'll be careful who I work with. I'll follow the advice of the first song in the best song book in the world:' "You'll regret not working with me;' Stevens said. "I'll make sure you never amount to anything in the music business:' Bill just smiled (or showed more of his tusks) and said, "Have a good day, and thanks for the Insect Soda!" (We often went to Marvin's because they mixed a special drink for Bill that you don't really want to read about, especially if you're eating.)

As I walked home, I asked Bill, "What did you mean 13

Bill the WarthoCJ MlJsteries when you said he wasn't honest?"

"Did you hear him say he heard me on his radio while driving down the freeway? I don't think he was listening to me on the radio. Someone who worked for him probably told him about me. Which would have been fine, if he had just said so:' "And what's this song book you're talking about? Is it new?"

"Oh no;' Bill said. "It's been around for centuries. And it is the best:' So, what did Perry Stevens say that was dishonest? And what is this songbook Bill was talking about? What does it say about being careful about who you're with?

r:::if!=' Turn to p8CJe 88 to find out_

14

o Chapter 2

Bill "oins the Band Perry Stevens was certainly wrong about Bill's musical career coming to an end. It was just beginning. And surprisingly, mine was just starting as well.

Soren Johansson started our careers. You see he was trying to figure out how he could improve his radio show.

One improvement would be to include original music during breaks in his show, which made him think about forming a band.

Soren came to my house while Bill was in the back yard practicing on his drums. I knew someone was coming because my dog Daisy was barking up a storm.

"Calm down, Daisy, it's just Soren, from school. What's up, Soren.(" 15

Bill the Warthog MlJsteries Bill said, "Hi;' and also asked Soren if he had come over for any particular reason.

Soren then launched excitedly into his ideas for forming a band.

first I was just thinking about recording songs for

the breaks on my radio show, " he said. "But if we're good, the school has that talent competition ... And there's that Battle of the Bands in town in a few months ... Maybe we could do an album ..." you kind of getting ahead of yourself, Soren?"

Bill said. "You don't even know who will be in your band, and aren't even close to having your first rehearsal:' "Oh, I know most of the band. I think you know Mike Green:' "Of course;' I said. "We've been friends since preschool.

I knew he was an artist but I didn't know he was a musician.

Have you ever seen his comics? They're amazing:' "I've never seen his comics;' Soren said. "But I have heard him play the guitar, electric and acoustic. He has a great sound:' "That's very interesting;' Bill said.

other recruits?"

"Do you know Buck Petty? He's new to the school. He has a wild assortment of musical instruments he plays very well. He plays the electric violin, the cello, the sitar as well as 16

Bill the Warthog MlJsteries the comb and saw:' "He sounds quite talented;' Bill said, "and I assume you're looking for a drummer?"

"That's where you would come in;' Soren said.

"What do you play?" Bill asked, "or do you sing?"

"I don't sing. But my sister Lulu does. I could use a guy singer as well. Any ideas?"

"Nick has a good voice;' Bill said.

"Hey, wait a minute ..." 1 wasn't ready to be volunteered.

"He's good?" Soren asked.

"I think so;' Bill said. ''I've only heard him sing along with the radio, but he can carry a tune and has a pleasant voice:' "I don't know about this;' I said.

"Oh, don't worry;' Bill said. "You'll be great. So what will you be doing in the band, Soren?"

"I hope mainly enjoying it. I'll work the sound system and eventually do the recording. And I hope to write the songs:' "Oh really?" Bill said. "What do you want to write songs about?"

"I hope you don't think this sounds dorky, but I'd like to write about nature:' "Not at all, Soren;' Bill answered. "My favorite song book 18

o

o

â&#x20AC;˘ Battle of the Bands â&#x20AC;˘ has a lot about nature. There's a great song about the sun and the heavens:' "That could make a great song!" said Soren.

"It is fascinating how words and music blend together

and have such a powerful effect on people:' said Bill.

"Bill, I'm going to need help writing the songs as well.

Would you be interested?" Soren asked.

"Perhaps:' Bill replied.

"I know you're smart, that you like riddles and puzzles, I guess that goes with being a detective;' said Soren. "But I need to know if you're really a person of note. Can I ask you a couple of questions?"

"Sure:' Bill said. "You just did:' "Okay. Bill, if you were writing a song, would you use a CAB or a TAXI:' "Well, if I'm right about how you're thinking, I could use a CAB but certainly not a TAXI:' "Good;' Soren said. "Okay, again, writing a song, would you use EATEN or FED?" "FED, certainly:' Bill said.

"EATEN would never do:' "Okay, very good, Bill, 19

Bill the WarthocJ Mysteries last one:' Soren looked in Bill's eyes. «What would you use in a song, GAB or TALK?" «GAB:' Bill said, «TALK just wouldn't do:' ''I'm impressed:' Soren said. «I think we'll work well together."

Soren and Bill convinced me to tryout for the band.

First Soren had me sing «Happy Birthday to You" and then a song by Toby Mac (which I'd sung along with plenty). And then a song Soren had written.

The song had a verse about walking in the woods on a cool, quiet evening and coming to a meadow and looking at the stars. And the next verse was about jogging in a big city on a hot day and looking up the sun. And the chorus was about how the sky was big and the world was big but there had to be something bigger.

I know it sounds kind of simple when I describe it, but it was a pretty good song. Bill said it reminded him of a song from his favorite song book.

"What song book is that?" Soren asked. And I said it's the book of Psalms from the Bible, which I knew because as you know, Bill had talked about it before (in the last chapter, in fact).

Soren said we should get together to see if it might 20

o

Bill the WarthoCJ MlJsteries work. So Bill, Mike, Lulu, Buck and 1 went to Soren's studio (yes, the old janitor's closet at our school) and crammed in together. Breathing seemed to be optional.

We started with that song of Soren's and went through it again and again. Eventually, it started to sound like something-something very close to actual music.

"Not bad;' Mike said.

"But not good either;' Buck said.

"We'll get to good:' Lulu said, "I just know it:' "I think so, too;' Bill said.

So, a new band had begun. But I still wasn't sure I wanted to be part of it.

Just a couple of things to wrap up before the next chapter: You may still be wondering what those questions Soren asked had to do with song writing.

And you may wonder which Psalm reminded Bill of Soren's song.

Cif=' Turn to page 90 to find out_

22

o

•Bill the Warthog MYSTERIES•

Get a backstage pass as Bill becomes a musical sensation! Bill, the world’s one and only warthog detective, is also the world’s only warthog drummer. When his talent is discovered, a shady music agent tries to sign him up.

Instead, Bill joins a neighborhood band. The band enters its biggest gig ever—The Elm Street Battle of the Bands—but someone tries to sabotage the contest. The crowd goes wild as Bill solves the case just in time!

Every chapter features a different Psalm, providing clues to each mystery.

Be sure to investigate all of the Bill the Warthog Mysteries books today!

LP48309 Battle of Bands_CVR.indd 1

An imprint of Rose Publishing, Inc. 17909 Adria Maru Lane, Carson, CA 90746 See more excellent children’s teaching aids at www.Rose-Publishing.com

Dean A. Anderson

LP48309 ISBN 10: 1-58411-159-3 ISBN 13: 978-1-58411-159-7 Juvenile Fiction/Religious/Christian/General

•

Dean A. Anderson 10/15/15 10:58 AM