“ ‘There were competitions between the Shockers to see who could get the most elaborate dragster. At one point, my band had the three-story “Tarmansion.” It was built on the chasse of a tractortrailer and was pulled by twenty-six horses. It’s a wonder we didn’t get eaten by zombies trying to put on a show just traveling from point A to point B.’ – Big Bubba Tarmancula, Big Bubba Tarmancula and the Tarmen, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“Shock-a-Billy T-shirts, tour posters, and images are infused in pop culture throughout the Recovery Era.”
The voice said, “Read section forty now.”
The man drank the rest of his water and then read, “Several styles of urban infusion developed during the Dead Era and were all connected by and counter-influenced by one another through Tiny’s travels.
“Gangster and Western was defined by rivalry as opposed to isolation. Vocals are considered more melodic than traditional BZ Era rap. There were often references to local blood feuds between ranches that don’t make much sense to modern listeners.
“The ranchers herded animals for food and herded zombies between ranches to foil rustlers and to threaten rival ranches. The results were often quite bloody and costly to human life. Tiny was the only collector to ever go to certain sections of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.
“The most infamously violent ranch war was between Big Daddy Bronco and His Boys versus the Lincoln County OGs. Tiny was the only one who succeeded in recording music from both camps.
“Hip Bach is the tag given to another style of music Tiny documented where inner city orchestras and concert halls became the shelters for local populations.
“ ‘In all the history of time, you have never heard a style as close to God and as close to the street as this. This music allowed people to transcend the situation and see the secrets of life while being surrounded by the walking dead.’—Mr. Butter Hands, Low Town Symphony.
“Tiny Jones often traced music back to its source as he did with Slam Jo. Tiny traveled all the way to the Lud Mine Camp in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Slam Jo featured spoken word over banjo. New Wave Slam Jo documented by Tiny and other collectors began to incorporate other instruments.
“Tiny Jones was a legend in the Zed Head community. He was deeply involved in documenting the evolution of this daring style of music which mixed techno and house music over recordings of zombies.
“The most famous story of Tiny’s involvement was the two weeks he accompanied DJ RomZom out in the open in a gathering expedition through Los Angeles.
“Many fans question modern Zed Head since most DJ’s don’t gather their own moan tracks anymore.
“The recent release of the alleged ‘final recording’ of Tiny ‘Mud Music’ Jones has resulted in a rebirth of the Zed Head movement. Border Patrol forces and security have been increased to discourage Zed Head gatherers from attempting to perform unauthorized expeditions into the uncleared, gray zones.”
The voice clicked back into the headphones, “You’re doing a great job. Turn to section sixty-four. This is all new material.”
The man turned to the page.
“Go when ready,” the voice requested.
The man read, “ ‘Tiny and the Mud Music Legend is the modern Area Fifty-one, Brown Mountain Lights, and Kennedy Assassination rolled into one. How do you tell a ghost story to a generation of people that either witnessed Z-Day and survived all the way to the Recovery or that were born in the world after the Dead Era began? What are you going to say that can scare a generation that treats the zombie drills in school like a tornado drill? You tell them about Tiny and the Mud Music. I hadn’t stopped being scared since that day.’—Kidd Banjo, former Dead World Records collector and solo artist.”
A map of the BZ Era United States with red lines drawing themselves across it appeared on the screen and distracted the man for a split second, but he found his place in the script and continued like a professional, “The first expedition Tiny Jones made into the Appalachian territory took him into the area that today roughly constitutes the border of Gray Zone Three. This collection exposed him to traditional, mountain music not unlike recordings from the early nineteen-twenties’ BZE from the same area. Tiny described trailers with wooden add-ons and trinket trash, folk art he saw on the expedition that expressed the same style, character, and sentiment of the music that had managed to stay unchanged through a century and a zombie invasion.”
The map now had blue lines appearing and drawing deeper into the mountains. The man read, “The second expedition into the infamous region known as Gray Zone Four came back with a corrupted recording that could not be found later.
“ ‘Something was different about Tiny after that second trip. He was devastated by the recording being garbled. He had me and Hollis drop what we were doing and immediately sit down in a closed, locked room to play it for us. He had whispered the words ‘Mud Music’ like it was something akin to voodoo. When it started out, it gave me chills because the sound was all fucked up and unearthly. I thought it was the music at first because of course this was Tiny and there was no telling what he might bring back. Then, I saw him crying like he had just watched his newborn child get torn apart by the zombies. He was shaking and beating his fists against his head. Hollis had to hold his hands down to stop him. Believe it or not, that’s the last time I ever saw Tiny.’—Tobias Baker, co-founder Dead World Records Incorporated; former CEO D.W. Farms; deceased.
“ ‘Tiny was changed. He was the most enthusiastic lover of music I had ever known. He was tough as a block of oak. I believe every story I ever heard of him parting seas of zombies, cutting off their heads and carrying them in to impress musicians, and walking right through them to find the music. He was fearless because he loved the music so much. After that trip, he was obsessed. He sat and listened to that recording over and over and over and over and over. After he left, we never found that recording again, but I still hear that shit in my nightmares because of him repeating it and repeating it those last few nights. He sat with his ear to the speaker swearing that it was under the interference. That it was under that ruined recording. Then, he said he heard the voices of the singers speaking to him. He tried to describe the instruments they built. I can’t remember now, but I wish I had recorded him talking. I didn’t know that when he left that last time that that was it. I would have tried to stop him, if I had known, but he was Tiny Jones. I don’t think I could have stopped him, if I had tried.’—Hollister Z, co-founder Dead World Records Incorporated.”
The man stopped and looked up to see a blown-up, color photo of Tiny Jones leaning over with his ear to a speaker.
When his headphones crackled, it made the man jump a little. The voice just said, “Section sixty-five.”
The man collected himself and began, “He did not return from his third expedition. There were no other confirmed sightings either. Only Donna Cash has more unconfirmed sightings on Internet America.
“As witnessed by Tobias Baker and Hollister Z, Kidd Banjo returned to the farm with a cassette he claimed was given to him by Tiny Jones. Kidd Banjo was a collector for Dead World and in the Recovery Era he rose to prominence as a Shock-A-Billy Revival artist. Cassettes were not in common use at the time and there are no other Tiny Jones recordings on a cassette tape. Kidd claimed he was in the Fort Guilford Colony in western Virginia near the North Carolina border. Somehow Tiny had entered his room in the fort, had awakened him without disturbing the other men in the bunks, and had given him the tape without being detected by the guards either entering or leaving the heavily secure fort.
“Kidd Banjo insisted it was Tiny and that he was covered in cuts and bruises. He told Kidd to take it directly to D.W. Farms. He said it was the only way he could record it and get out. He said he had to go back or they would know what he had done and they would come looking for him. Kidd asked who ‘they’ were, but Tiny shushed him and left without answering.