- It's a smoke detector.
- Right, but it's rebranded as a musical instrument.
- And, of course, you're doing that for what reason, to--
- To avoid the tariffs.
-
he read over the tariff laws
and told me that my work was far from done.
that this particular thing is accepted
by the general public as a musical instrument.
- Okay. - This label proves nothing.
- So how would you make it accepted by the public?
- If it's used in a song that people really recognize,
it's a #1 record, or, you know, one of these singers--
-
but I never thought I'd have to create a hit song
using one of the worst noises imaginable.
[shrill tone]
I'd need some serious musical talent.
So I put up some fliers
announcing open auditions for a new band.
And later that week, posing as a big-time record producer,
I opened my doors
to the best of what L.A. had to offer.
All right, let's see what you got, my man.
- Sure.
[clears throat]
♪ Don't look at the clock, it's deceiving ♪
♪ Everything you are so dependent on perceiving ♪
♪ The future, fickle notions of your mind ♪
♪ Dust, creatures of the surf ♪
♪ Always contemplating time to a saddening extreme ♪
♪ Many of us travel, sheep without shepherds ♪
♪ And unprepared for battle to unravel...♪
-
and it was clear right away I was drowning in talent.
- ♪ Arise, the time is now ♪
- So after auditioning a drummer named Chris
who could really pound the skins
and Jani, a physically attractive singer,
who had the right kind of ambition--
- I mean, on a wider perspective, like,
I want the whole world to hear what I have to say.
-
- This is freedom to me.
-
was best suited to playing the smoke detector.
So I organized the band's first rehearsal,
and after watching them jam...
[tuneless jamming]
♪ ♪
- It quickly became clear the standout talent was Eddie.
-
but also the best showman.
If anyone could make the smoke detector work, it was him.
So after rehearsal was over,
I kept Eddie behind to show him his new instrument.
-
This is not an instrument.
- It is. It's a blues smoke detector.
[smoke alarm sounds]
- No, no.
- This is gonna be the thing
that separates us from any other band.
- [laughs] Okay.
- And that means the guy who plays it
is going to be the most famous.
You want to be famous, don't you?
- Um...
maybe.
- You do. - Yeah.
-
Eddie agreed to learn the blues smoke detector
with the help of our instructional DVD.
- The best way to play it
is simply by pressing the "test" button on the front.
- [smoke alarm sounds]
- Okay.
[smoke alarm sounds]
-
writing lyrics for what would hopefully be
our breakthrough single.
And then I called the band back together
to see what they thought.
So you know when you really like a girl,
but she won't even look at you in the eye?
You know? - Mm-hmm.
- This song's, uh, kind of about that.
[exhales]
Sorry, I'm just a little nervous right now,
because it's, you know, it's personal,
and I'm not the best singer.
But... [clears throat]
♪ When I talk to other people about you ♪
♪ I say "her" ♪
♪ In my bed rests a pillow ♪
♪ Where you once were ♪
♪ My lips, my hair, my skin, my eyes ♪
♪ When you left me, it was a big surprise ♪
♪ Maybe one day I'll wake up on Jupiter ♪
♪ An entire planet, just me and her ♪
- The band seemed to like my song...
Thank you.
that he had a song of his own that he'd been working on.
-
we've distanced ourselves from each other,
and the song's kind of based off that.
- I like that message.
- I mean, we need to respect like the habitat we live in.
♪ It's time to revolutionize ♪
♪ We're bringing on on those orphaned skies ♪
-
and after taking a band vote, they liked his song more.
And that was great, because the best song won,
and that's what we wanted.
So I told Jani to teach it to the rest of the band,
with one minor adjustment.
- Just so you guys know, I took Eddie off guitar,
and he's going to be on smoke detector for this one.
- Smoke detector? - I know it's a bit weird,
but it's really important this band has a smoke detector in it.
I think it could be the thing that maybe makes us stand out.
- Do we have to have that one?
- The smoke detector? - Yes.
- I mean, no offense, but if you guys are good enough,
you should be able to make it work, right?
[singing indistinctly]
[smoke detector beeps]
♪ ♪
[beep]
♪ ♪
[beep]