GEAR GIRLS shatter WHRN records with Rebellious Rock — 164,877,241 units sold in first 24 hours

Debut rock album claims #1 position on the ROCKBOARD and rewrites Clockworks City music history overnight

CLOCKWORKS CITY — Gnome-Tone Records™ is proud to announce that Rebellious Rock, the highly anticipated third album from GEAR GIRLS, has broken multiple WHRN sales and streaming records in its first twenty-four hours of release — moving 164,877,241 units and claiming the #1 position on the WHRN ROCKBOARD in Clockworks City.

The milestone marks the fastest-selling album in WHRN history, surpassing the previous 24-hour record of 41,200,000 units held by the Refinery Belt Brass Collective. Rebellious Rock also set the record for the highest single-day debut by an independent act on Gnome-Tone Records™, and became the first album in ROCKBOARD history to enter at #1 without prior charting singles.

“We have been in this business a long time,” said MS, label owner of Gnome-Tone Records™. “What GEAR GIRLS have done in twenty-four hours is not a chart result. It is a statement.”

About the album

Rebellious Rock is available now on all major streaming platforms.

Stream it here: GEAR GIRLS — Rebellious Rock on Spotify

Fans who want to directly support the world behind the music can purchase the album through the Life of Fiction store on a pay-what-you-want basis:

[Support GEAR GIRLS — Buy Rebellious Rock at lifeoffiction.com]

The Double Loop Live Tour

GEAR GIRLS show no signs of slowing down.

Following a sold-out run of 40 concerts across Clockworks City, the band has announced an encore Double Loop — returning to the stages that started it all.

Confirmed venues:

• Bellows Fabrication Hall (Tour opener — encore leg)

• District 10 Public Venue (TBA)

• District 11 Public Venue (TBA)

• District 13 Public Venue (TBA)

• District 15 Public Venue (TBA)

• Roller Stadium, District 16 (Encore leg closer)

Tour dates and ticketing information will be announced through WHRN…

Private performance rumored for Twin-Gear Orphanage fundraiser

Sources close to the band have confirmed that GEAR GIRLS are in discussions to perform a private benefit concert in support of the Twin-Gear Orphanage. Full details, including date and location, are forthcoming.

Given the band’s own history — all three members, Ezra Gearwinder, Katt Bolttwist, and Juno Humrunner, were orphaned by the Great Boiler Explosion in the Refinery Belt District — the significance of this performance to the band is not lost on anyone.

An official announcement is expected soon.

About GEAR GIRLS

GEAR GIRLS are Ezra Gearwinder, Katt Bolttwist, and Juno Humrunner — three gnome women from the lower districts of Clockworks City who have been making noise since they had nothing left to lose. Their debut album You’re Not Alone was the subject of a Public Blasphemy lawsuit filed by the Church of TGII. The RISE UP Tour and Rebellious Rock is their answer.

Explore the world behind the music at lifeoffiction.com

About Gnome-Tone Records™

Gnome-Tone Records™ is an independent label operating as a division of WHRN / Wanted Hero Radio Network, dedicated to amplifying the voices of Clockworks City’s most uncompromising artists.

Press inquiries: WHRN Media Relations | lifeoffiction.com © Gnome-Tone Records™/ © Jaime Buckley. All rights reserved.

Enjoy the Album: Rebellious Rock

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GEAR GIRLS released their album, You’re Not Alone, within a month after the Bellows explosion. Showing both powerful rock vocals and acoustic skill, the band performed sixteen songs stripped of pretense, built for voices and rooms…and people sitting close together.

The Church of TGII filed a second “Public Blasphemy” suit against the band during the album’s launch. This charge is typically applied to the defacement of sacred property, not song lyrics, which made the legal filing novel in a scholarly sense and catastrophically counterproductive in every practical sense.

The lawsuit increased the band’s reach by an order of magnitude, especially after the public learned the album was sold via ‘Pay What You Want’, with 100% of proceeds going to needy families.

I cannot speak to whether the Church anticipated this.
Though…I suspect they did not consult anyone under sixty before filing.

Ezra knew what they were building toward. The album was sequenced to move a community from grief through anger through solidarity into something that could sustain itself after the music stopped playing.

GEAR GIRLS sought to gather gnomes to mourn together.
They sang together.
They began, carefully, and then less carefully, to push back.

None of that required a battle. None of it required anyone to storm a government building or issue a manifesto. It required three gnome women from the Refinery Belt...orphans who had grown up understanding exactly what it cost to keep this city running.

GEAR GIRLS continue to stand in rooms full of people who have no voice.
The band gives them one.

That is what heroes actually do, in my experience.

They do not arrive armored and perfect.

They arrive carrying their own grief, with secondhand instruments and something true to say, and they refuse to go quiet.

— Höbin Luckyfeller, Field Historian

Enjoy The Album: You're Not Alone

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Jaime,

I’ll keep this brief because the music says everything better than I can — and you know how rarely I admit that.

Three weeks after the Bellows Gearworks tragedy, Philburt came to me directly. Not through his people. Not through a letter. He walked into my office, sat down without being asked, and told me he wanted to find the GEAR GIRLS.

I told him I’d make the call.

You have to understand what Philburt Bellows is, for those who don’t know him the way we do. His factories are the only reason half the lower Clockwork Districts still has working families instead of broken ones. He doesn’t invest in businesses. He said that to me once, years ago, and I never forgot it.

I invest in people.

That’s Philburt.
All of him, in four words.

When the fire took his factory…his people…he didn’t call his lawyers first. He called his foremen. Made sure every surviving family had what they needed before the ash had finished settling. Then he went quiet for two weeks. That’s how I knew it had broken something in him. Bellows does not go quiet.

When he came to me about the girls, he wanted to do something real. Something that belonged to the workers, not to the press.

A private concert was held in what remained of the east loading dock of Bellows Gearworks…the only section of the building still standing. Philburt had it cleaned, not rebuilt. He wanted it to feel like what it was. Over five hundred folding chairs. No stage. No lighting rig. Just Ezra, Juno, and Katt with their instruments, and the families of those who survived …and those who didn’t.

I don’t attend many things anymore, as you know, but I attended this.

There is a moment in a performance when the room stops being an audience and becomes something else entirely. I’ve seen it happen perhaps a dozen times in my career.

It happened that night during Here, Still.

There wasn’t a soul in that dock who wasn’t on their feet.

Workers who had lost colleagues. Spouses who had lost partners. Children who were too young to understand why they were there but old enough to feel it.

Here. Still.

Philburt stood in the back the entire time. When it was over he didn’t applaud. He just nodded…that small, private nod he does when something has confirmed what he already believed about people.

What you are about to hear is the recording from that night. Not a studio version. Not a cleaned-up mix. The real thing …the room, the voices, the drops in sound out of respect, the moment the chorus became a congregation.

It belongs to the workers of Bellows Gearworks first.

It belongs to everyone else second.

— MS

P.S. — Yes, I’m still working on getting more of this music to your side of things. Some doors take longer to open than others. But they open, Jaime. They always open.

🎵 Here, Still

[verse 1]

Six months ago I couldn’t find my footing
Kept reaching for a hand that wasn’t there
Kept waking up and having to remember
All over again
Every morning
Like the first time
Every time

[verse 2]

They said take a break
They said give it a moment
They said grief needs space and time will do its work
But time just kept on moving without asking
And I had to keep on moving
Or get buried in the hurt

[pre-chorus]

I’m not going to tell you that I’m over it
I’m not going to dress this up in something clean
I’m just going to tell you that I’m standing
And some days
That’s the bravest thing I’ve ever seen

[chorus]

I’m here
Still
With everything they put me through
I’m here
Still
Not graceful
Not renewed
Just breathing
Just moving
Just refusing to be through
I’m here
Still
And that is all I have to prove
(Hold the line)
(Keep the flame)
I’m here
Still
And I will say it till it’s true

[verse 3]

They changed the rules when we were almost winning
Rewrote the terms and called it due process
Painted over everything we’d built here
And dared us to come back and ask for less
I came back
Not because I wasn’t broken
But because this district still has people in it
Who need someone standing at the front
Who need to know
That broken doesn’t mean the end of it

[verse 4]

I think about him on the mornings that are hardest
The way he never needed to be asked
He just saw what needed doing
And he did it
And I keep trying to be worthy of that
Keep asking myself
What would Derrin do right now
And every single time
The answer is the same
Get up
Go back
Stand up for the ones who need it
And do not let them make you small again

[pre-chorus]

I’m not going to tell you that I’m over it
I’m not going to dress this up in something clean
I’m just going to tell you that I’m standing
And some days
That’s the bravest thing I’ve ever seen

[chorus]

I’m here
Still
With everything they put me through
I’m here
Still
Not graceful
Not renewed
Just breathing
Just moving
Just refusing to be through
I’m here
Still
And that is all I have to prove
(Hold the line)
(Keep the flame)
I’m here
Still
And I will say it till it’s true

[bridge]

Katt is still here
Juno is still here
Every face I know from the lower district
Still here
Every name they tried to erase from the record
Still here
Every voice they called too loud
Too angry
Too much
Still
Here
We are not what they reduced us to
We are not the verdict of their contempt
We are still standing in the wreckage of the thing they built to break us
And we are
Still
Here

[final chorus]

I’m here
Still
With everything they put me through
I’m here
Still
Not graceful
Not renewed
Just breathing
Just moving
Just refusing to be through
I’m here
Still
And that is all I have to prove
(Hold the line)
(Keep the flame)
I’m here
Still
And I will say it till it’s true

[outro]

I planted my feet in this district
I buried my friend in this district
I built everything I have in this district
And I am
Still
Here
Try again

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Manager Commentary – Intro to “Flesh & Wire” by The GEAR GIRLS
For Press & Public Use

“If I Could Tell You” is Ezra at her most exposed — no armor, no filters, just heartbreak.

This song isn’t about love unrequited. It’s about love unspoken… and the cost of silence when time runs out.

Written after losing the man she never told, Ezra channels grief into melody — whispering what she never got to say. The vocals are delicate, deliberate, and devastating.

Katt’s backing harmonies don’t just support — they haunt, like memories woven into the edges of every verse.

Musically, it’s restrained: minimal instrumentation, emotional clarity. Because the message is the moment.

If I Could Tell You isn’t just a ballad.
It’s the echo of regret.
The ache of love caught between “almost” and “too late.”

And for Ezra, it’s finally saying what needed to be said — even if he’ll never hear it.

🎵 If I Could Tell You

Written by Ezra
Lead vocals: Ezra | Backing vocals: Katt

If I could tell you one more thing
My heart would heal
…and I could feel
Again.
But I can’t —

If I could hold you just once more
I would whisper
In your ear
What I longed to say,
But I can’t —

They say we never know the time
But I should’ve known when you crossed that line

If I could tell you…
You’d know my love was real
I wanted to tell you,
But I didn’t.
Now I can’t.
(My heart keeps breaking)
(In every waking…moment)
If I could tell you…

If I could take back every hour
I’d leave the anger
I’d keep the flower
Though I pushed,
you never fled
The quiet fire in what you said

And now your name’s a whisper
A woven thread
I can’t forget now
The things we said
I miss you
My love, …I miss you

If I could tell you…
You’d know my love was real
I wanted to tell you,
But I didn’t.
Now I can’t.
(My heart keeps breaking)
(In every waking…moment)
If I could tell you…

If I could tell you anything…
I’d say I love you
I…
…always loved you

Buy The FULL ALBUM!

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Manager Commentary – Intro to “False Promises” by The GEAR GIRLS
For Press & Public Use

“False Promises” is where the gloves come off.

The GEAR GIRLS don’t pull punches here — this track is a takedown of power that deceives, profits, and forgets.

Written in the aftermath of betrayal, it channels righteous fury into sharp lyricism and pounding rhythm. Ezra’s vocals cut like a blade, spitting truth through clenched teeth. Katt’s harmonies don’t soothe — they seethe.

This isn’t protest music that pleads.
It’s a warning.
A reckoning.
A reminder that the people remember — every lie, every theft, every boot pressed into their backs.

With industrial grit and militant energy, False Promises calls out the smiling tyrants and systems built to suffocate.

It’s the sound of silence breaking, of voices rising.

You wrote the laws? Fine.
But now — we write the songs.

🎵 False Promises

Written by Katt
Lead vocals: Ezra | Backing vocals: Katt (low harmonies and whispers)

(Trust a liar…)
(You know what you get)

They came with smiles and silver tongues
Spoke of peace with practiced lines
Shook our hands and kissed our young
While counting coin from shadowed crimes

They say the system’s fine
Over cigars and casks of wine
Built their towers on our toil and pain
Then raised a glass to the acid rain

They call it order,
we call it theft
Robbed us blind
—just the anger’s left

False promises,
it’s how they thrive-
They don’t care if we live or die.
Empty words used to hold us down.
Boot on our necks, in the mud, til we drown.
But we remember…
Oh, we remember…
…what you took!
(Your power won’t last)
(We remember the past)

They starve the streets, then call it ‘the law’
When caught in your lies, you never learn.
Pass more restriction, and ignore all the flaws
But justice is coming, and then it’s our turn

We don’t want your scripted grace
Your false promises or hollow face
You had your chance, you’ve run for a while—
We’re done with your lies and your plastic smile

False promises, it’s how they thrive-
They don’t give a damn if we live or die.
Empty words used to hold us down.
Boot on our necks, in the mud, til we drown.
But we remember…
Oh, we remember…
…what you took
And we’re not fooled by your holy look
(Your power won’t last)
(We remember the past)

You wrote the laws,
but we write the songs
And we’ve been silent far too long.

Buy The FULL ALBUM!

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Clockworks City has always run on the backs of the unseen.

The workers. The salvagers. The gnomes in the belly of the city who keep the gears turning, yet are left behind when the lights go out.

The GEAR GIRLS haven’t forgotten.

Their latest release, The Poverty Bundle: Songs for the Forgotten, brings together their most soul-striking protest anthems and emotional ballads—“You’re Not Alone,” “Echoes in the Smoke,” “False Promises,” and more—into one unified release.

But this isn’t just a bundle.

It’s a movement.

100% of the bundle’s earnings go directly to aid for the gnomish quarters in the lower districts—supporting housing repairs, heating networks, and essential food stations that serve the most vulnerable.

Ezra said it best:

“They built this city on our backs. It’s time we stood up for those holding it together.”

When you purchase this bundle, you’re not just buying music.
You’re becoming a part of something louder than injustice.
Music with meaning. Action with rhythm.

🎶 Purchase the Bundle Now

Even if you don’t purchase the bundle, you can grab your favorite individual song by visiting our online store. Just chose the song you want, and put it on loop for a high-energy experience!

I Want My FAVORITE Song!

Manager Commentary – Intro to “Flesh & Wire” by The GEAR GIRLS
For Press & Public Use

This isn’t just another song—it’s a pulse, a challenge, a reminder that there’s still something human underneath the systems designed to erase us.

The GEAR GIRLS don’t play for praise—they play to wake you up.

With Flesh & Wire, they’ve built a soundscape where metal meets memory, where soul fights circuitry, and where the heart refuses to be outsourced. Ezra’s voice leads like a torch through the dark—gritty, defiant, and electric with purpose—while Juno and Katt layer in harmonies that carry both pain and rebellion.

This track isn’t just a protest.
It’s proof that the human spirit isn’t obsolete.

Tune in.
Feel it.
And remember: you are more than your function.

🎵 Flesh and Wire

Written by Katt
Lead vocals: Ezra | Backing vocals: Katt (low harmonies and whispers)

They scan your name,
count every breath
From birth to death 'til nothings left
Stripped to skin, to blood, to bone
You know it.

You work and you pay,
But you stay in line…
While our names are all sold in silent crime.
No one stops them.
No one cares.
You're seen as coin and tossed aside,
Just a cog to grease the lie.

We are more than moving parts
There's still light amidst the dark
Remember…

We're not flesh and wire
No matter what they say…
We're beating hearts deep under steel
Eating scraps for every meal.
But we're here.
(Still breathing)
(Still dreaming)
They can't erase what’s real

They forced our silence,
made words a crime
That's why we sing this,
In every rhyme.
Don't give up.
Become a spark.
Become a light out in the dark

You are more, remember it.
You are more.
Don't ever quit.
We’re not just data.
We matter.
Remember that…

We're not flesh and wire
No matter what they say…
We're beating hearts deep under steel
Eating scraps for every meal.
But we're here.
(Still breathing)
(Still dreaming)
They can't erase what’s real

Our time will come.
They'll hear us scream
We’re more than numbers,
Not just a dream.

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Today we received a letter from Ezra, lead singer of The Gear Girls, and it left us stunned.

It wasn’t press. It wasn’t fanfare.
It was a cry.

A cry for help from deep inside Clockworks City, where music has always been rebellion wrapped in rhythm.

But this time… the rhythm’s wrapped in ashes.

One of their own—her best friend—died in a fire trying to save others. And the system?

It shrugged.

They called it an accident.

She called it what it was: indifference masked as protocol.

And now she’s asking us to help finish an album that might be the last sound of the truth anyone hears from the underground.

Ezra doesn’t want revenge.
She wants voices heard.
She wants names remembered.

We’ve promised her protection.
Transport. Tech. Distribution.
We’ll use whatever the gnomes can muster—because some voices aren’t just songs, they’re the pulse of a city fighting to survive.

This track—“Echoes in the Smoke”—is the first.
It’s raw. It’s real.
And it deserves to be shared.

Listen.
Feel.
Then make others hear it too.

💥 SHARE this post. Spread the word. Let Ezra and the girls be heard beyond the Watchers, beyond the silence.

They gave us music in the darkness.
Now we give them light.

— Höbin Luckyfeller
Archivist. Rebel. Gnome.

Echos In The Smoke

The sirens wailed before the sky turned—
the ash low like snowfall, silent and heavy.
You didn’t stop. You didn’t look back.
You dashed into the blaze like you belonged to it—

They called you a hero on the evening news—
while ash of workers are swept by crews.
I stood where you fell, the place where you're buried.
They call it bravery.
I call it the burden you never should have carried.

They watched from towers too high to hear screams.
Counting profits while you went back to save another.

Echoes in the smoke—you speak to me.
While my heart breaks, cause I just can't believe...
My friend is gone.
…you're gone.
Echoes in the smoke—you call my name
Rising through the grief, the heat and flame
(We will not forget.)
(We are not alone.)
Echoes in the smoke still lead us home.

The district’s clean now. Brighter. Safer, they say.
But I see your face in every shop window they repaired.
It's the weight of what’s unfinished.
I light a candle. I say your name. I raise my voice.

Who gets to stay? Who decides who’s worth the air?
Why is it always the ones who love most
who die for the ones who don’t care?
They think memory fades.
…but memory is a match.

Echoes in the smoke—you speak to me.
While my heart breaks, cause I just can't believe...
My friend is gone.
…you're gone.
Echoes in the smoke—you call my name
Rising through the grief, the heat and flame
(We will not forget.)
(We are not alone.)
Echoes in the smoke still lead us home.

I play for those they leave behind,
for every soul they won’t defend.
You lit the fire with your life—
and I will burn it to the end.

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Secondhand Halo wasn’t written—it boiled over.

It came after the band discovered that a top-tier SLAG pilot had been awarded the Iron Crest of Valor—for a kill credited to a RAT tech's last-minute sacrifice. The crew's body was never recovered. His name was never mentioned.

Ezra found out the truth during a data leak trade at a relay junction two levels below Clockworks East. The band locked themselves in a forgotten broadcast room and tracked the whole song live in one take, using busted gear and echo distortion from a decommissioned drone antenna to dirty the final mix on purpose.

“We wanted it to sound broken.
We wanted it to sound stolen back.”
—Juno

The halo in the title? It’s the shiny PR mask handed to execs, influencers, and career climbers—while the true work, the blood, the soul? Left behind. Buried quiet.

Secondhand Halo is a blistered tribute to every ground-level hero who held the line while someone else got the credit. It’s fury in four minutes. It’s a crown built from junk metal and real fire.

And it never forgets.

☕ If you enjoyed this song, consider buying us a cup of coffee to help sponsor the next single.

Secondhand Halo (Lyrics)

Shiny, isn’t it?
Shame it never fit

You wear that promotion like you earned it
But your hands have never touched a wrench
Gave the presentation, skipped the all-nighters
Guess credit comes easy from the bench
I trained you for six months straight
Showed you every system, every fix
Now you’re my supervisor making twice my pay
And I’m still the one who knows the tricks

You talk in buzzwords, smile for the boss
Built your career on our unpaid overtime loss

Secondhand halo, shined up bright
Wearing credit that was never your right
Success looks easy when you didn’t earn it
You take the bow while we still burn it
Secondhand halo, borrowed crown
We lifted you up while you looked down
But polish fades and truth will show
So take your praise and let us go

You got the corner office, got the raise
While we’re still fixing your mistakes
You give the orders, we do the work
You get the glory, we get the aches
I watched you take my ideas to management
Present them like they came from you
Got promoted on my problem-solving
While I’m still stuck in the same old crew

Secondhand halo, shined up bright
Wearing credit that was never your right
Success looks easy when you didn’t earn it
You take the bow while we still burn it
Secondhand halo, borrowed crown
We lifted you up while you looked down
But polish fades and truth will show
So take your praise and let us go

We solved the problems
(you took the credit)
We worked the weekends
(you took the bonus)
You got promoted on our foundation
And still you act like it’s just how it goes?

Secondhand halo, we see it clear
Borrowed glory won’t last a year
You shine with talent that’s not your own
But eventually you’ll stand alone
Secondhand halo, enjoy your climb
While we go build something that’s actually mine
The skills you borrowed?
We taught them first
And we’ll still be standing when your bubble bursts

Halo cracked, we’re done asking
Real skill lasts longer than that mask you’re wearing

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NOTE: I’m a historian, not a musician. This is new to me. Be patient…I’m doing my best.

☕ If you enjoyed these songs, consider buying us a cup of coffee to help offset Gnome Tone Records studio costs. (we share most music completely free).

Cause I’m a Trucker

Finger Walk

First Date

It’s Just a Hangover

It’s Payday

Roads Walked

She’s Gotta Stop Talkin

The Way She Walks

☕ If you enjoyed these songs, consider buying us a cup of coffee to help offset Gnome Tone Records studio costs. (we share most music completely free).

☕ If you enjoyed these songs, consider buying us a cup of coffee to help offset Gnome Tone Records studio costs. (we share most music completely free).

Deep in the forgotten levels of Clockworks City, where the gears never stop and the workers are invisible to those above, Big Benny Geargrin and his eight-piece ensemble turn survival into swing.

With polished brass, seductive saxophone, and Benny's smooth crooner charm, the Fat Bottoms don't just entertain the under-levels — they remind them they're alive. Born from loss and fueled by joy, this band refuses every topside offer, every corporate stage, because their sound belongs to the workers who need it most.

They play in service tunnels and shift-change corners, turning factory rhythms into danceable defiance, grief into groove, and fifty-two years of invisible suffering into the loudest, proudest celebration Clockworks has ever heard.

If you've been forgotten by the world above, Big Benny's got a song for you — and it's already playing.

LIVE - We’re Still Here

Still Here With You (duet)

☕ If you enjoyed these songs, consider buying us a cup of coffee to help offset Gnome Tone Records studio costs. (we share most music completely free).

If there’s a sound that expresses the power of the Lower Districts of Clockworks City, it would be GEAR GIRLS. Ex-SLAG mechanics, Ezra, Juno and Katt took their passion for music and the community they came from and turned it into movement that grew so large, it leaked into the human world.

You can find GEAR GIRLS on Spotify.

Gnolaum (Wendell P. Dipmier as a Trench Pilot)

We Are The Beat

Rise Again

NOTE: When Ezra

was accused by idiot critics that she couldn’t actually sing, she laughed.

“You think our music is used to drown out the vocals? Fine, cupcake, I’ll switch it up…”

Your coffee donations helped Gear Girls re-record this song.

We Got Us

Stitches

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Stand Anyway (Lyrics)

Ohhhh, oh oooo
They never saw me coming
Guess they never looked
Quiet hearts
Yes, we matter

I worked behind the forges
While they watched the stars
Not built to shine for others
I bear the scars
Three decades in the shadows
Keeping engines running right
Nobody knows my name
But I show up every night

Don’t need medals on my chest
Don’t need my name in lights
Some work isn’t done for glory
Some things are worth the fight

So I stand
When silence tells me to kneel
I rise
Though no one knows how it feels
Some fights are lost before they begin
But I stand there anyway
Because it’s right,…not to win

I’ve been the one who stayed late
After everyone went home
Fixed the mistakes nobody saw
Did the work I wasn’t shown
I’ll hold the line in silence
When others walk away
Not for recognition
Just because I stay

So I stand
When silence tells me to kneel
I rise
Though no one knows how it feels
Some fights are lost before they begin
But I stand there anyway
Because it’s right,…not to win

[Guitar Solo]

You don’t need to see me
I’m not here for praise
I know who I am
Even on the hardest days
We all fall
Yes
But some fall forward

So I stand
When silence tells me to kneel
I rise
Though no one knows how it feels
Some fights are lost before they begin
But I stand there anyway
Because it’s right, …not to win

Stand anyway
When no one knows your name
Stand anyway
When no one sees your pain
Right is still right
The valiant will remain

☕ If you enjoyed this song, consider buying us a cup of coffee to help sponsor the next single.

Before they were thunder on stage, they were silence in the pit.

Before Ezra, Juno, and Katt became Gear Girls, they were invisible—technicians, cadets, factory ghosts of the Clockworks underground. Bystanders in the glamorized bloodsport of the Trench Wars, a corporate spectacle where polished SLAG pilots flew high, and everyone else… watched from below.

But then came the crash.

“We called it the Disbandment, but really—it was a culling,” says Ezra Volek, lead singer and synth provocateur.

“Pilots without ratings? Scrapped. Teams without sponsors?

Ghosted.

No one cared how much tech we built, how many shifts we pulled, or how much we bled behind the curtain.

We were never the story.

So we made our own.”

Born in the Scraps ⚙️

The Trench War Entertainment Disbandment Crisis wasn’t just about losing entertainment value—it was a cultural fracture. When private factions pulled out, they didn’t just abandon pilots.

They dismantled hope.

Juno Caellum, the band’s bassist and structural harmonist, remembers it bitterly.

“I watched five cadets break down in the same week—told their contracts were canceled mid-training. One of them overdosed in a mech bay. No coverage. No funeral. Just another off-grid incident in the system.”

That same week, Ezra, Juno, and Katt Merrow met in a weapons disposal dock.
Not to protest.
To build something else.

“It started with Juno thumping on an oil drum and Katt rerouting speaker loops through SLAG cores,” Ezra laughs. “I was screaming lyrics from some angry poem I wrote at 3 AM. And we looked at each other like—wait... this is working.”

No Stage? No Problem. 🔧

With zero backing and outlaw status in multiple sectors, Gear Girls began rigging their own shows in the lowest Districts of Clockworks City.

Abandoned hangars. Cargo elevators. Tunnel junctions.
Anywhere with power lines and shadow.

They crafted their rigs from scrap: lights from mining bots, mics from broken pilot headsets, amps soldered from retired SLAG cores.

Their sound? A Frankenstein fusion of industrial tension, blues roots, and funk-infused rock strut.

The first viral track—“Flesh Wires”—was recorded on a repurposed security cam. The video shows Ezra howling into a stripped transmission dish, Juno hammering bass from a piston rod, and Katt triggering feedback loops from exposed drone wires.

The song hit 7 million undernet plays in three days.

“We didn’t make music to get attention,” says Katt, “we made it to scream in the face of silence.”

Not Here to Win—Here to Stand 🧨

The more they played, the more they discovered their sound, which grew in range. Before long, their fans branded the bands genre as: Funk-Infused Rock / Alt-Rock / Electro-Blues. What sets Gear Girls apart isn’t just their sound…it’s their soul. Their lyrics hit where it hurts:

• “Stand Anyway” became an anthem for disbanded pilots, anti-faction gnomes, and defectors across Pävärios.

• “Neon Doesn’t Heal” calls out the glamorization of mech violence.

• “No Applause Zone” is a haunting ballad sung from the POV of a SLAG technician who dies mid-match.

And yet—Gear Girls doesn’t preach. They pulse. They move bodies before they move minds.
That’s the hook.

“We’re not trying to win over the system,” Ezra shrugs. “We’re building a new frequency.”

Why They Matter in the Life of Fiction 💥

Gear Girls aren’t just background noise in the Life of Fiction universe—they’re the unofficial voice of resistance. Where others chase fame or factions, they chase truth. Whether through aether leaks, secret shows, or soundtrack syncs to key rebel ops (you didn’t hear that from us), their music spreads in whispers and bootlegs.

They’re the rhythm under your protest.
The echo in your climb.
The song you sing when no one’s watching.

“They told us we weren’t built to fly,” Juno once said before a blackout set.
“So we built something louder.”

Band Members 🎸

Ezra "Spark" Volek – Lead Vocals, Synth FX

Role: The voice. The fire.
Background: Former engineering student turned whistleblower after exposing a rigged pilot training sim in Sector Nine.
Style: Raven locks, copper goggles, black jumpsuit with repurposed Trench tech symbols.
Personality: Unfiltered. Obsessed with truth. Emotionally precise on the mic.
Signature: Vocal break into spoken-word truthbombs mid-chorus.

“You don’t need a rank to speak out. You just need guts and a mic.”

Juno Caellum – Bass, Harmony Vocals, Structural Comms

Role: Groove architect, emotional anchor
Background: Raised in the dock levels, Juno built her first guitar out of melted gear teeth and a cracked hydraulic rod. Former courier for black market resistance comms.
Style: Redheaded mop, steel-toed boots, glowing tattoos (inked with discarded circuit dyes).
Personality: Quiet, centered, fiercely loyal. Always watches first, plays second.
Signature: Basslines that speak louder than words.

“Music is resistance. I don’t talk much—but when I play, you’ll feel it.”

Katt "Spindle" Merrow – Lead Guitar, Vocals, Sound Design

Role: Technical wizard, mood shapeshifter
Background: Trench War dropout. Left the academy after refusing to endorse a corrupt SLAG tech patent. Built most of the band’s soundboard from torn-down drone cores.
Style: Tinted visor, asymmetrical jacket, always barefoot on-stage for “tactile grounding.”
Personality: Quirky, brilliant, rides the line between cosmic and sarcastic.
Signature: Improvisational solos during live shows, often bending melodies into SLAG-sim waveforms.

“You don’t break out by following the manual. You melt it and remix it.”

The Name: “GEAR GIRLS”

Originally a slur hurled at them for being "grease monkeys" who "should stick to fixing toys," they reclaimed it with pride. Their emblem—a gear with one broken tooth—symbolizes persistence through damage.

Band Philosophy

Gear Girls isn’t just about sound—it’s resistance through rhythm. Their songs speak to the discarded, the silenced, the overlooked. Each track is a statement. Each show is a strike.

They don’t aim to win charts. They aim to move hearts and crack false systems—one riff at a time.

Want more on Gear Girls? Stream their newest release “Stand Anyway” or grab a blacklisted sticker pack from any side vendor brave enough to stock them. For those in upper-floor sectors: Ask your echo market dealer for ‘Rust Rhythms – Tape 3’ (codeword: sprocket blues).

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It Started Here is an album that captures the essence of B.B. Wing’s life, each song a chapter in his long, winding journey through the heart of Clockworks City. Released exclusively for Life Of Fiction, we hope you’ll enjoy this masterpiece of timeless Gear Blues, and share it with a good friend over a cold drink.

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The Eternal Echo of ‘Gear Blues’

Each of these songs paints a vivid picture of B.B. Wing’s life, offering glimpses into the moments that shaped him as both a gnome and a musician. It Started Here isn’t just an album; it’s a musical autobiography, a collection of stories told through the universal language of the blues.

B.B.’s legacy is carried not just in the notes of his songs, but in the hearts of those who hear them.

His music has inspired generations of gnomes and others in Clockworks City to find their voice, to persevere through hardship, and to create beauty from the struggles of life.

Even at 68, B.B. continues to perform, his music as relevant and powerful as ever, ensuring that his story—and the stories of the people who shaped him—will never be forgotten.

The Album: It Started Here

For the first time ever, these forgotten tracks, kept from the public, are available for your listening pleasure. Pulled from BB’s on private stash, the following music is raw, uncut, and from the original recording tapes. The quality of sound does vary from track to track, but we have maintained, at Mr. Wings request, the original take and feel it was meant to be.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed brining it to you.

Buy The Album: It Started Here

1. Cause I’m a Trucker 1:53

This opening track is an homage to B.B. Wing's early days working as a delivery gnome, hauling goods through the treacherous, winding roads of Clockworks City. Before he became a full-time musician, B.B. spent years driving an old steam-powered truck, navigating the narrow streets and bustling marketplaces. The song’s rhythmic beat and rolling melody mimic the steady pace of a truck’s wheels on cobblestones, and its lyrics speak to the grind of the working class, emphasizing the resilience needed to survive in the city’s unforgiving environment.

2. Finger Walk 3:50

"Finger Walk" is a soulful instrumental piece that showcases B.B. Wing's extraordinary guitar skills. The song was inspired by the countless hours he spent honing his craft, his fingers "walking" across the strings as if they had a life of their own. The track’s intricate melodies reflect B.B.’s deep connection with his instrument, a relationship built on years of practice, pain, and passion. It’s a testament to the idea that music, like life, is about the journey more than the destination.

3. First Date 3:25

“First Date” is an energetic, upbeat track that captures the thrill and excitement of young love. Unlike the slower ballads, this song bursts with the racing heartbeat of anticipation. It’s all about that jittery, electrifying energy you feel when you're getting ready to meet someone special for the first time. The lively rhythm and infectious melody make it impossible to sit still, reflecting the joy and nervous excitement B.B. felt as he prepared for his first date with Ruby Sparks.

The music is driven by a quick, snappy beat, and B.B.’s guitar work is particularly playful here, with bright, staccato notes that mimic the fluttering pulse of someone in love. The lyrics are light and joyful, celebrating the simple pleasures of a shared smile, a touch of the hand, and the dance of getting to know someone new. It's a song that makes you want to get up and move, embodying the fun and exhilaration of young romance.

4. It’s Just A Hangover 4:00

"It’s Just A Hangover" is a gritty, tongue-in-cheek tune that reflects B.B. Wing's more rebellious years. After Ruby’s death, B.B. went through a period of heavy drinking, using alcohol to numb his pain. This song is a darkly humorous take on those wild nights, filled with rowdy bar scenes and the inevitable morning-after regret. Despite its lighter tone, the track has an underlying sadness, a recognition of the emptiness that often follows temporary escapes. It serves as a reminder that B.B.’s life, while marked by moments of joy, has also been shaped by deep loss and heartache.

5. It’s Payday 5:34

This upbeat, celebratory track is an ode to the small victories in life, particularly the joy of getting paid after a long week of hard work. In his early days, B.B. often played gigs just to make ends meet, eagerly anticipating the few coins he’d earn at the end of the night. "It’s Payday" captures that feeling of relief and satisfaction, with lively, infectious rhythms that make listeners want to dance. The song has become a favorite among working-class fans, resonating with anyone who’s ever lived paycheck to paycheck.

6. Roads Walked 2:53

"Roads Walked" is a reflective, introspective song that looks back on the paths B.B. Wing has taken throughout his life. The lyrics speak of the literal and metaphorical roads he’s traveled, from the slums of Clockworks City to the heights of underground fame. It’s a song about choices, regrets, and the inevitable passage of time. The melancholy tone is balanced by a sense of acceptance, as B.B. acknowledges that every road, no matter how rough, has led him to where he is today. This track is particularly beloved for its hauntingly beautiful guitar solo, which seems to capture the very soul of the blues.

7. She’s Gotta Stop Talkin’ 5:00

With a wry sense of humor, "She’s Gotta Stop Talkin’" is a playful, bluesy number that recounts the frustrations of a relationship where one partner just can’t seem to hold their tongue. While the song might seem light-hearted, it’s also a reflection of B.B.’s complex relationships with the people in his life—whether it’s the gossiping neighbors in the slums or the well-meaning but overbearing fans who sometimes get too close for comfort. The track’s catchy hook and snappy lyrics have made it a staple in B.B.’s live performances, always drawing smiles and laughter from the audience.

8. The Way She Walks 4:00

The album closes with "The Way She Walks," a slow, sensual blues track that returns to B.B.’s memories of Ruby Sparks. This song is both a tribute to her memory and a lament for what could have been. The lyrics describe Ruby’s graceful, confident stride, a metaphor for the impact she had on B.B.’s life and music. The song’s gentle, swaying rhythm and soulful guitar work create a bittersweet ending to the album, leaving listeners with a lingering sense of longing and love.

A Special Thanks

We want to acknowledge the folks down at Gnome-Tone Records™, a division of WHRN Publications™. To Shelly Comcrank for his diligence in coordinating all the moving pieces, so we could craft a complete album. To Cesilea Dibblim and her breathtaking smile, which distracted the Centurion while Höbin and I smuggled the music out of the city.

…and to Dax, who was willing to port me home to bring this amazing music to the community we love so much. There’s more to come.

So…much…more.

Jaime & Höbin

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