The Strange Music of Derrick Zugg

"The Strange Music of Derrick Zugg" is the third episode of the first season ofThe Unexpected Podcast. It aired on January 2nd, 2018. Creator Andrew Soucek drew up the concept, while co-creator Erik Bergstrom wrote the script treatment.

Soucek had envisioned the story idea years prior after reading the H.P. Lovecraft story, ''The Music of Erich Zann. ''In Lovecraft's tale, a narrator encounters strange music played on a 'viol' by a fellow tenant, Erich Zann, learning later that Zann plays the music to keep back the creatures from another dimension. Soucek wanted to keep true to the tale, though replace the 'viol' with a slide whistle.

After a production meeting at the Bloomingon, Minnesota Ihop restaurant, Bergstrom went to work on the script, writing a nearly shot-for-shot remake of the story. Contracted artist Dustin Riccio once again supplied the artwork for the podcast, which many critics lauded as his most ambitious creation yet. The original poster file has gone for upwards of $8 on Ebay.

Despite the well-known source material, the delightful voice acting of Bergstrom in the narrator role, and Soucek's courageous dual performances as building super Harold and Derrick Zugg, "The Strange Music of Derrick Zugg" ranks near the bottom of most Unexpected Podcast listicles due to its lack of originality and the obnoxious slide whistle effects.

Parts of the Unexpected Universe to return to the episode include another Tony commercial and a new character named after Tim, "Little Timmy". There's also mention of a baseball field, a call-out to the setting of the previous episode, "Field of Screams". The episode remains important in the podcast's history for being where the popular recurring prop, Mustard, is introduced.

Plot
Original Description: A young nursing student moves into a new lodging, where he meets an eccentric musician who plays for a very important reason.

In the present, an unnamed Narrator is speaking about his experiences in a strange lodging on South Miller Avenue. He begins by describing the house and how he's unable to locate again, even after getting directions from a boy named Little Timmy and his father.

After introducing himself to the paralyzed super of the apartment, Howard, the Narrator begins his stay. His only condition is to ignore the sounds he hears at night, which Howard attributes to it being an "old house". The Narrator, admitting to being very curious, ignores the warning, and traces the source of the noise to an apartment on the top floor. It's here where he's introduced to Derrick Zugg, an eccentric musician who lives in "squalor", surrounded by jars of unopened mustard.

The Narrator and Zugg have a small argument over whether or not Zugg was actually playing the music the Narrator originally heard, when suddenly a large storm comes over the house. The Narrator describes it as a "strange, hazy abyss", and estimates that Zugg plays his music to "keep something evil and monstrous" at bay.

To keep his distance, Zugg requests the Narrator move further away from him in the lodging, yet the Narrator still can't quell his curiosity. He returns to the room another night and finally hears the sound he heard on his first night—that of a slide whistle. Next, he hears a struggle between Zugg and Howard and breaks into the room, where he finds the two in a struggle over the instrument. Howard claims ownership over the slide whistle, though it's Zugg who's become protective of it, confirming The Narrator's beliefs. Another storm arrives once Zugg's kept from playing, carrying with it the sounds of cosmic beasts that claim the lives and sanity of the members involved.

Back in the present, it's revealed The Narrator is retelling the story to his grandson, to whom he's trying to teach the slide whistle for carrying on Zugg's responsibility. However, before he has a chance, The Narrator succumbs to a heart attack, leaving his grandson defenseless to another powerful storm.

Commercial
A commercial for Tony's Crematorium and Falafel Shop plays in the middle of this episode, continuing a theme of strange businesses either owned, operated, or both by a man named Tony. The premise of the commercial is to provide newly grieving family members a place to put a loved one to rest, all while curing their hunger they've been neglecting in the process.

Production
The episode is the first to feature completely original content, having existed in no other medium in The Unexpected library. Creator Andrew Soucek had been carrying around the idea of warding off the apocalypse using a simple instrument like a slide whistle, along the lines of the H.P. Lovecraft story The Music of Erich Zann, though he gave co-creator Erik Bergstrom the privilege of writing the script.

Being the first script to riff on another source's work, Bergstrom took caution with straying too far from the tropes and familiar concepts of Lovecraft's cosmic horror, unlike in future episodes of the podcast. The name of the building's super, Howard, is a play on H.P. Lovecraft's unabbreviated first name.

This is the third and final episode to feature the voices of Soucek and Bergstrom on their own. After back-to-back months of straining his voice, this time for the roles of Howard and Derrick Zugg, Soucek was advised by medical personnel to relax his vocal cords. The following episode, "Truth or Dare...or Death!", would be the first to feature all-new vocal talent on the podcast.

Memorable Quotes
"It remains so very odd that the house in which I stayed was but two blocks from where I schooled, and yet I’m unable to come upon it again, or find anyone who knows where it might be. So, you can see why my sanity comes into question any time I think upon that house, and whether I’d ever stayed there or not, and if I’d actually ever heard the strange music...of Derrick Zugg..." - The Narrator

"‘Twas an odd building. It was very tall, yet appeared quite empty, and it overlooked a small grove of trees that led into a quaint little baseball field where it appeared a grandmother was playing with her grandchildren." - The Narrator

"It’s an old house. Could be the pipes, or bats in the attic. Just remember to pay them no attention. You’ll be sorry if you do...now where did I put those pants?" - Howard

"Nah, you...you really don’t wanna hear it. It’s not for...your type." - Derrick Zugg

"And at that moment, the odd gentleman with such wild hair and even wilder eyes let me into his abode. It was quite the sight, if I do say so myself. There was only but a mattress on the floor for him to sleep. On it was four open jars of mustard, with another three unopened." - The Narrator

"It was as if hell itself had split in two, and from it every demon arose screaming and cackling into the night!" - The Narrator

"Don’t tell me to get a hold of myself! This S.O.B. stole it from me, and then he beat me with it until I couldn’t walk anymore!" - Howard

"You’ve unleashed...armageddon!" - Howard

"Well, my boy, I wasn’t going to teach you until you were much, much older, but since you asked, I suppose…*ack*...oh no…*ack*...heart attack!!!" - The Narrator