Thumpman settled into his comfy chair, and signaled for Johnny to sit in a similar chair on the other side of his large desk. He spoke in a solemn tone. "Have a seat. Now, this is a very serious matter, you joining the band. I was so caught up in the excitement, I forgot to do the initiation process..."

The doorbell to the office rang. "If you'd wait a minute, please..." he said as he stepped outside. 30 seconds later, he stepped back in with a box. "Here is your task..." he mysteriously said. "You must..."

He opened the box. "...like all meat, since that's the pizza I ordered! Welcome to the crew, man!" he cheerfully said as he patted Johnny on the back. "Whenever somebody joins the band, I buy them an extra large all-meat pizza." He paused.

"You're not gonna eat all that, are you? I havn't eaten dinner either, and I havn't gone to the grocery store yet, you see..."

Johnny had been expecting something like the ritual branding he had seen in certain street gangs, or the Lintha pirates' habit of castrating their new recruits. He gulped and steeled himself for the worst.

So it came as a surprise when Thumpman produced a pizza instead, and an all meat pizza, no less.

"Hey, thanks, T-man... you don't mind if I call you that, right? And yeah, this pizza is good... but I'll just take one slice. I don't eat that much nowadays, anyway."

Thumpman smiled. "Go ahead and call me T-man, if you'd like...but we also need to give you a 'Thumpmasta Name.' Dezil's is 'Techmasta D,' mine is 'Thumpman'...what should yours be?"

Before he Johnny could reply, Thumpman had already scarfed down a slice of pizza. 'Dang! This stuff tastes better than I remember! Ah, the taste of pizza...nuthin' like it in the world!"

"People have called me "Special K" in the past, but after a few run-ins with the law, I tried to drop that nickname... as well as the people who gave me that name. Now let's see... Perkmasta J? Nah, sounds too much like a porn star title, and it's not original enough... Johnny Drumbanger?"

Thumpman continued on his second slice of pizza. "Johnny Drumbanger? Naw, it sounds like a caveman name to me...*munch munch*...but it is your decision, after all."

"I think GDK is good enough... besides, everyone I know calls me that."

Johnny reached for a bottle of soda, then checked himself. He opened a bottle of mineral water instead, and downed it in one gulp.

"What say you, T-man?"

"GDK it is, then!" Thumpman struck a victory pose for ne real reason. He paused in mid-pose, and spoke: "Oh, you don't know my real name, do you? Well, I go by my bandname so much, only a few fans really know my name..."

"I see... so what's your real name, then?"

"My real name is Blyr...but call me Thumpman. I don't like anyone knowing my real name...if the news people found out, well, I'd be having a lot more stalkers than I currently do." he said. "Which I really hope is none."

"Well, if they were chicks they wouldn't be so bad..."

Then Johnny recounted the horde of fangirls, and he shuddered.

"On second thought, chick stalkers are quite bad too."