Kerry Eurodyne

Kerry Eurodyne is the former vocals and lead/rhythm guitar for Samurai. A frequent central character appearing in Cyberpunk 2013, Cyberpunk 2020, and.

2000s
Kerry Eurodyne achieved initial fame as a member of Samurai, performing vocals, lead and rhythm guitar. He went in with a vision of changing the world through music, one he shared with his best friend, Johnny Silverhand, but their perspectives regarding the execution of this plan often came to conflict. This lead to Kerry's multiple attempts at leaving the band, which were nearly successful at launching his own solo career, but, eventually, the complex relationship he had with his friend always pulled him back.

In the end, Samurai's final disbandment followed Johnny's departure instead, which lead Kerry into a rocky couple of years. He ended up going back to his roots, staying on Masbate for two years, refilling his batteries and dealing with spiritual needs. Luckily, he did manage to recollect the pieces and came back to the music scene renewed and inspired, if not even encouraged by the idea of elevating his own name out of the shadow Silverhand left behind. This new beginning was rough but, just as all diamonds, through a lot of hard work and effort, his music managed to shine brighter even than contemporary commercial competitors. He withstood the test of time, his albums have gone platinum, his broken guitars had been auctioned for thousands of Eurodollars and his singing voice is recognized worldwide.

2077
In 2077, Kerry can be found spending most days in his own Villa in North Oak, maintaining a successful career of a solo artist. His label, MSM MediaCorp, had already announced a new album in the works and the audience that is more accustomed to mass-produced reduplications has started growing impatient. As someone who gives great importance to public image, Kerry is deeply influenced by peer reviews - various articles mentioning him, his life and his business rivals can be found in all corners of his home. Staying concurrent and able to produce music that will agree with the times while simultaneously not conforming and retaining originality is not easy for any artist, especially one that has been in the public eye for half a century. While topics he addresses with his music, mainly the suffering of the people under the heavy foot of corporate capitalism, has never truly gone stale and could provide yet another expected source of profit and affirmation, the sincerity of the thoughts put into the songs has started waning. Without inspiration, without a change to look forward to and without any real friends to speak of, Kerry slowly started falling back to a state he once was in, the overshadowing 2020s. The feeling of loss was mirrored in his social deprivation, reduction of individuality, depletion of creative inspiration and overall exhaustion of will, which lead his mind back to the source of negativity – the loss of a friend. Friend who cast a shadow so long that, even in his brightest moments, Kerry could still feel dousing his flame, regardless of decades passed and media scorn grinding the name down to not more than a footnote in the city's history.

For a peace of mind, every couple of years, Kerry would visit his guru Khian in Tangalan, go off the grid, recollect his thoughts and fulfil his spiritual needs, however, the tight schedule, public pressure and criticisms of the media put him in a rather difficult spot, forcing him to pick between the audience and his own health. Facing a familiar darkness, in a battle with his own conscience and desperate wish to keep himself afloat, he tries willing his recent acquaintance, Ariel Velasco to stay with him, keep him company, no matter the excuse. Not feeling strong enough to admit the real reason behind this constant pestering, he tries offering Ariel a proper housekeeping job of any variety, resulting in a straightforward refusal of the offer.

Notably yet, the recent hot topic of Night City scream sheets has been the rumour of Kerry attempting to end his own life, fortunately, prevented by a bodyguard who managed to take his gun away in time. The details of the event remain unclear although the constant mentions through media regurgitation managed to attract the attention of the digitized psyche of his long-since-departed friend, Johnny Silverhand. Not long after, a familiar sound of guitar interrupted Kerry's shower at home. Expecting an intruder able to bypass the high-end security, he faced them with a loaded gun. The way the guitar strings were plucked however, cast away all doubt that, in spite of appearances, within the head of a minor Afterlife merc before him, was his friend, the person on whose loss towers have been built. Kerry maintained a civil conduct, put up a brave front and denied all of the media accusations with a smile on his face, although a sliver of melancholy shone through every word he uttered, no matter how well he played the role. Now that Johnny is back, he thought there is maybe a chance for closure – one more Samurai gig, for old times' sake – In hopes of shedding the weight of the shadow once and for all. Kerry felt the need to prove to himself that it was not the loss that made him into what he is now, as he would still perform just as well with Johnny on stage beside him. In addition to this, he also desired to demonstrate to Johnny how he has made it fine without him. They agreed to get the band back together without dragging them into the complexity of Johnny's situation, so instead, the concert had been announced in honour of his name. To achieve this, they have set themselves on a path of finding Nancy, the keyboardist, Henry, the bassist and contacting Denny, the drummer, who has been living just a street away from Kerry. While V takes care of Nancy, Kerry's duty is to get in touch with the band's divisive bassist Henry. There was no problem finding him, being situated in a rehabilitation facility, but his days there have not yet come to an end, so a permission to vacate the premises was not available. This did not pose much of a drawback for Kerry, Henry willing, so they exited the building through a window. Their misadventure did not stop there – finding out his former partner, the drummer Denny, was living in the same city as him, everyone but him knowing, set Henry off the rails quickly. Being provided drugs right after detox did not help either, resulting in a series of rash decisions and irreversible events, which placed Kerry in the role of the problem's architect - being blamed by all parties. Denny will refuse spending another minute in Henry's presence, so a decision between the two must be made. A decision Kerry, as the initiator of the event and friend of both parties, cannot make on his own so V helped by giving the final verdict. Once the band members have been more or less collected, Kerry will find a replacement bassist or drummer for the gig. Drausin from the popular band Cutthroat will all but volunteer, as a big fan of Samurai, and will be capable of taking either spot. His enthusiasm for receiving something he always wished for affects Kerry the wrong way, so he tries to calm him down, downscaling the event's relevance and bringing up that he is the only one among them that achieved true fame. Whether this behavior came from being nervous over still having something to prove to Johnny and the subject being taken lightly or due to knowing just how empty it feels to have your dreams come true, is left unanswered, but Kerry remained audibly annoyed, silently acknowledging being nervous to the point of shaking. The gig itself has been successful, executed rather professionally, with Kerry even taking a few moments to step into the spotlight in front of Johnny, which is something he would never have been able to achieve in the past. He admitted to Johnny later that, looking back at his expectations, he was not sure what he was so anxious about. One gig was quite enough to prove his own fears irrational. Although once V took over the body and the sore reality of Johnny truly being gone making itself apparent once more, Kerry quickly made himself scarce, leaving the feeling of having more pressing matters to attend to. V received a parting gift – Kerry's pistol, the Archangel, a novelty that comes with a story of being used to almost shoot Johnny with. Implied, although not spelled out, he no longer felt the need for it, now that he seems to be awake from a 50-year-old dream.

Returning to the present, Kerry is yet to face a different type of demon – finding out that a lazr pop sensation, girl group from Japan called Us Cracks, announced their NUSA tour with a cover of his song – profit off his hard work without even notifying him of it, let alone consulting him regarding author's rights. Feeling attacked by the competition and fearing falling under someone's shadow again, Kerry hires the most effective merc he knew, that being V, to assist him in exacting revenge, Night City style. The most effective, yet least harmful way he could think of was simply preventing their gig from ever happening, so sabotaging the band's equipment seemed like the easiest way of achieving it. The mission had been planned out to the detail, from getting military-grade equipment from fans to making sure his identity remains unknown. V's only role in the ordeal was simply being backup, so Kerry managed to do the whole job on his own, even having fun while at it. The following car chase, once NCPD caught wind of the roadside explosion he caused, reminded him of better times in the past, of rare positive memories of Johnny – and he is very willing to compare them to current events. Losing the cops tailing them, per Kerry's request, the two have shared a coffee in Carnita Street's Chombatta fast food joint. While he does not say it aloud, excusing the visit by praising the coffee, the restaurant is yet another memento from a simpler time and days spent with Johnny. A little story explaining their youthful desperation and eating junk food followed. He once more falls back to reminiscing – being as upset about his song being covered without his consent might actually be due to, as Johnny once claimed, his striving for money and fame rather than love of music itself and artistic values. Having a media corporation leash around his neck and allowing them to make administrative decisions for him does not disprove Johnny's point. Kerry's state of mind then fell into V's hands, and, depending on their reaction to his opening up about feeling like nothing more than a product will heavily influence his following days.

Regardless of efforts invested into sabotaging the gig Us Cracks have scheduled, Kerry was informed that they would proceed with the event and simply obtain a different set of equipment for the performance. This was one step too far for Kerry's standards, so he decided to deal with the problem in person. Once more, he hired backup, and with V's help, infiltrated the Watson club Riot in which Us Cracks were about to perform, barged into their dressing room and with a gun aimed at them demanded they call the concert off. V has the opportunity to alter Kerry's life once more, bringing up that both parties had managers work behind their backs and spread misinformation. If this is done, Kerry will own up to his harsh approach and apologize, opening up a path for future collaborations and a modernization of his own music, as well as the approach to a broader new-age audience. Should V instead follow the plan and support Kerry's threat, not allowing excusing arguments, the concert is called off and the two leave with a deep feeling of vindication. Kerry appears to be satisfied no matter the result and calls V some time later to an exclusive club, Dark Matter, for a conclusion of their business. Depending on the choice made during the previous meeting, the club will have two different stories to tell.

In the case of reconciling Kerry with Us Cracks, V will walk in on a crazed crowd lined with journalists after a collaborative concert with Us Cracks, where Kerry had just presented their new project, "Off The Leash" - a cover of his own song by the same title. He affirmed a positive position in the media, loudly denying any mention of potentially falling on hard times, while the girls from Us Cracks seem absolutely bedazzled by his presence. Kerry is not keen on upholding this act however, and as soon as he saw V, he will use them as an escape plan, leading them to the club balcony, explaining how he feels the need to get revenge on his manager L. B. Kovachek for working behind his back.

The club will host an entirely different mood should V not unite Kerry with the girls. Dark Matter is silent, emptied out for the evening, Kerry sitting in a booth with his old friend Spector Cheng, looking rather distraught. Despite blaming managers, claiming ignorance and promising not to go on with covering the song, Us Cracks do regardless, sending Kerry a restraining order on top. Unable to deal with the situation directly, while leading V to the club's balcony, Kerry lays down a plan to hit Kovachek instead. The feeling of betrayal, learning his manager put the label before him and manipulating him to sign papers he otherwise would not, truly hit him hard, so he was not intending to let it go without a fight, especially since there was no way for him to actually fire the man, seeing how the media corporation he works for owns the rights to his songs.

Kerry is very aware of being in the corps' pocket but he simply dismisses the idea of breaking the contract as the price of fame – should he actually decide to leave, he would not be able to release his own music, deal with administration, promotion, the media and the fans all on his own. Considering the labels have their claws on all of it, he went into comparing that sort of life, something Samurai was known for, to yet another type of cage. Once they're out on the balcony bar, shut down for the remains of the day for Kerry's use alone, he melancholically praises the view, pointing out how it's an excellent place to look down on the city from, but the sadness in his voice and forlorn gaze into the distance shows that something seems to be terribly wrong. Whether V decides to ask about it or not, Kerry expresses himself in carefully chosen words. He has come to the realization that his dread brought on by the copyright infringement issue wasn't simply due to fear of public seeing him as a sellout, but much deeper. He confesses realizing that the root of the fear was in fact falling under yet another shadow, barely days after he managed to release himself from the shackles Johnny's legacy restrained him with. He was not ready to get back to simply being part of the scenery that helps someone else shine brighter, especially since even now, that he is on the very top, he still wakes up daily thinking how it's only a matter of chance that he has not yet faded into the city's steam.

Kerry's life may be altered by V's chosen response to this revelation.

Declaring that he does not need anyone's help to keep himself afloat shows V believes in his strength and will invite an expression of hopefulness, albeit in a rather disconsolate, unconvincing tone.

A different approach offered is the romantic kind, where V may conclude the declaration of faith with a kiss. The gesture will be unexpected but only reciprocated in the case of male V, after which Kerry suffers a flash of uncertainty, asking whether Johnny was present during such an intimate exchange. The notion is rejected near immediately, as he reminded himself that he managed to grow out of Johnny's shade, so his presence no longer mattered. Looking back at the city spreading below his feet, he remembered the passing of time and expressed a wish to remain in this uniquely peaceful moment forever. However, life will not wait, so they departed - Kerry remaining a little bit longer on the balcony to process his thoughts and enjoy a rare breath of optimism about the coming days.

Within the next few days, Kerry contacted V once more, for what appeared to be a pleasant afternoon sailing. He brought a special guitar with him too, a custom-built Lancaster, one of five in the series. An instrument of high significance, on which he played a brand new tune, announcing, exclusively to V, that he has made a decision to close a chapter of his life. He elaborated that the first real and meaningful music he ever wrote was while out on the open sea, catering to the upper class on a cruise ship. Being here, on a yacht, after the success he achieved, he is finally coming to peace with the realization that Johnny's heritage was not in fact the basis of his own success. The two drove inspiration from different wells and, ultimately, their perception of beauty in this world differed - where one saw an opportunity to elevate, the other used it to incite rebellion. Closing the door on the days spent looking back, Kerry is finally ready to move away from practicing what he saw as Johnny's principles and start focusing on himself, building his own life instead, no longer afraid of his own shadow. He promised that the days of chaos and mayhem he would usually resort to were over – starting morning after, that is, as the assumed evening had an ulterior motive. Violently breaking the Lancaster, as would the ancient rocker tradition of concluding concerts demand, he mentioned that the luxurious yacht they were on was actually owned by L. B. Kovachek, the man he swore revenge on. Destroying it felt as if it would provide just the right amount of relief, considering the nature of the betrayal. V is invited to participate in this exhibition of savagery and potentially expand on their previous romantic exchange, right before an explosive finish, observed from the beach. Should V go along the romance route, Kerry will express interest in an encore. V's reply in this moment is of great significance once more. Stating that it was a one-time thing after all that's been said will push Kerry into a relapse, where he will close up and walk away without turning back, potentially undoing all personal growth he achieved over the past several days. On the other hand, agreeing with his proposal will start a relationship, after which, Kerry will drive V back to Watson and head off home to focus on finishing off the new album. As he explained it, it will be titled after his own name, signifying a rebirth through songs that are nothing less than portraits of his old selves.

Database Entry (2077)

 * A devilishly talented musician, incorrigible rebel, celebrity, and rockerboy from Night City. People say different things about Kerry, but there's no doubt he's America's God of rock. In the old days, he played bass next to Johnny Silverhand in the cult rock band Samurai. When the two drifted apart, Eurodyne kickstarted a solo career which, in spite of its ups and downs, is still going strong. Kerry's proud of his Filipino roots, though for someone of his fame, he's especially private about his personal life. For all its numerous flaws, he's made Night City his own - his most faithful muse.

Night City Media
The following media are excerpts from articles and stories found in Night City, 2077.

Articles
 * The Last Rockerboy: The Solo Career Of Kerry Eurodyne
 * Kerry Eurodyne - "Second Conflict" - New Album Review
 * A Neon Typhoon Is About To Hit America! It's US CRACKS And Their New, Shocking Single!
 * Glam Now! - The Mag For Those Who Love This For Themselves

Other
 * Samurai: Swords Crossed

People of Night City
 * Eurodyne: The Unauthorized Biography

Main Quests

 * Love Like Fire (Johnny's flashback)
 * Never Fade Away (Johnny's flashback)
 * Nocturne Op55N1 (dependent)
 * All Along the Watchtower (dependent)
 * Path of Glory (dependent)
 * Where is My Mind? (dependent)

Side Quests

 * Holdin' On
 * Second Conflict
 * A Like Supreme
 * Rebel! Rebel!
 * I Don't Wanna Hear It
 * Off the Leash
 * Boat Drinks

Concept Songs
Within Kerry's home are two linked terminals containing three files, songs in progress, enriched by the author's comments. All three songs appear prior to meeting him.

Official Art Book Description
''Though cutting-edge plastic surgery and rejuvenation treatments have regenerated pretty much every cell a thousand times over in the intervening decades, Kerry still bears a scar from his days playing bass for Samurai, earned when Johnny swung his mic stand straight into Kerry's lip during a particularly raucous abandoned-cellar gig. He's been through a lot since then-a record label deal with the corporate devil, stints on and off the wagon, a trip back to his roots in the Philippines and, most recently, a successful solo career-but he remains defined by the could-have-beens and shouldn't-have-beens of his time at Johnny's side.''

''His left arm sports a full-sleeve tattoo, a celebration of his Filipino heritage and love of music... but it's also an eerie echo of Johnny's silver arm. He's had vocal cord implants done to let him croon solo, but something in that perfect pitch sounds tuned for Johnny. Only when he meets V does Kerry get a chance to escape the unfinished hangover from his past and re-enter his own life.''

Complete Official Guide - Collector's Edition
The collector's edition guide book offers a screamsheet-style article detailing Eurodyne's career from a media perspective, focusing on his career, labels and direction of music. It is followed by positive critic reviews and decorated by poster illustrations and album covers.

Description
''Kerry Eurodyne - Rockerboy. Star. Charismatic guitarist and vocalist. A legend. Kerry Eurodyne is this era's undisputed king of REAL rock. Adored by his fans, praised by his critics, respected by his rivals. For years he's been riding a wave of popularity, resulting in instantly sold-out concerts and record-breaking plays of his songs.''

''His Career started in the underground punk band Samurai, until, he says, "One day I just decided to grow up," beginning his journey to true fame. Kerry went solo. The rest is history, filled with explosive sounds, unforgettable lyrics, Richter-scale-breaking stadium concerts, and countless hits.''

''Kerry Eurodyne's career soared under the wings of MSM. From the moment he signed, thus began the Golden Age of Kerry Eurodyne - month after month of topping the charts with hit singles like "Holdin' On" or "Scream and Whisper," perfectly choreographed, spectacular concert tours (how could anyone forget the "chrome" zeppelins in Memphis?!) and unprecedented artistic heights reached. The rockerboy lives in his beloved Night City and is currently working on his latest album, brought to you soon by MSM.''

From his debut album, "False Terrorist" to the mystical "Aether", the hit "Spiral Distortion" and the surprisingly conceptual "Persuasion of the Undecided," all the way to the controversial "Second Conflict" - Kerry Eurodyne's music is a masterpiece of rock, with uncompromising lyrics, sounds and ideas that bring everyone together, no matter their ideological or spiritual creed - a one-size-fits-all.

Critic Reviews
The reviews included with the article are unequivocally positive, offering praise from angles of first-time listeners, seasoned fans and psychological content analysts, describing the impact of Eurodyne's music on the contemporary audience and its continuous increase in quality. Whether this assortment of glowing commentary is sincere or under the influence of media corporations is up to the reader to decide.

Trivia

 * Kerry's game appearance has been conceptually designed by Adam Daroszewski and modelled by Maciej Paczkowski.