Lips backstory blurb
Lips (short for Eclipse) was born into a cult that sought to divine the future by giving its members psychedelic substances from as young an age as possible. Because of the chronic exposure to psychedelic drugs, Lips frequently has hallucinations and trouble keeping track of reality. He was removed from the convent as a young man by police who raided the place after some former members reported the dangerous and illegal behavior that was transpiring. He knew practically nothing of the outside world, and his parents had apparently “transcended this realm”, leaving him without any real source of guidance. He lived as a vagabond for a while until by chance he found a community outreach center that was offering a small musical enrichment program. It turned out that he had a real skill for the trumpet, despite music never being permitted by the cult. He scrounged up enough money to buy a trumpet from a pawnshop and entered a talent show the Benny Vandergast Memorial Theater was hosting. The band was hanging around and liked his style & energy. He didn’t win the talent show (nobody did, it was a complete disaster), but he still got hired by the Electric Mayhem. It was only supposed to be for a couple of gigs, but they quickly adopted him. He may be Janice’s cousin, since when she was young she had a step-aunt who got pregnant and ran away with the father, supposedly to live in a commune.