The Mystery of the Red Yurble Piano Player Revealed!

Poobo was raised in humble digs on the edge of the Tyrannian jungle. As an infant he was rocked to sleep listening to the distant melodies wafting down on the breeze from the concert hall on the Tyrannian plateau. One humid evening when Poobo had only recently learned to crawl, he climbed out of his pastel cot and snuck all the way up to the Tyrannian plateau by himself!! The music-crazy baby followed the drifting strains of the Neopian Philharmonic, who were playing that night. Thankfully, he was discovered by a guard as he tried to crawl into the concert hall to hear them, and was returned to his grateful parents! It was after the third such incident that Poobo’s mother and father decided that he needed music lessons.

Poobo was fondest of keyboards and soon his parents purchased his first piano, a standard upright. He studied at first under a lovely old Elephante who lived in the jungle nearby. She was amazed at how fast Poobo learned to play! It seemed he spent every waking hour practicing! He would show up for his next lesson, not only having mastered whatever she had asked of him, but even going beyond that and learning the next piece or exercise! Let me tell you, soon Poobo had learned all she had to offer and more. In fact, it was before he was even out of babyhood that Poobo Pahmoneo was composing his own music! None of his family or his family’s friends could even believe it!!

And then one day the famous Jazzmosis Blumaroo was walking in the Tyrannian jungle on his way home from a round of Tyrannian Mini Golf with Chomby of the Fungus Balls, when he heard a haunting melody tinkling through the trees. He stopped for a moment to listen and then left the path he was on and pushed his way through the furrns and meepie trees until he came upon Poobo’s house, which was of course, where the beautiful music was coming from! The Jazzmosis Blumaroo himself says that he stood there for over an hour, just listening to Poobo “tickle the ivories” before he went up and knocked on the door.

The Pahmoneos were completely surprised to see such a famous celebrity at their front door, but they welcomed him in, of course. He is a very imposing figure, as you know, always wearing his sunglasses, and he’s very, very cool. Coolness is not something the Pahmoneos were really used to either. Mr. Pahmoneo stood back with his fingers tugging nervously at his fur while Mrs. Pahmoneo offered to bring him some Raspberry and Burdock drink. But the Jazzmosis Blumaroo was only interested in meeting Poobo. They took him down the hall to where Poobo was practicing in the den.

“Hey, cat, you can really jive,” said the Jazzmosis Blumaroo, walking briskly into the small room. Poobo looked up from the piano, and did a double take.

“Th-thanks!” stammered Poobo shyly. “I—I’ve always admired your music! I’m so pleased to meet you! B-but what’s a cat? I’m a Yurble.”

So, the Pahmoneos introduced Poobo to the Jazzmosis Blumaroo, and the two of them went for a long walk in the jungle. The two chatted about the history of music and music theory, and music composition. Poobo had never had anyone to discuss these things with and he was elated and lit up inside like never before! The two of them found a place to sit and watch the sunset over the plateau and they talked until the stars came out. When they finally returned (much to Mrs. Pahmoneo’s relief), Poobo had a new, very famous, piano instructor!

With the Jazzmosis Blumaroo as his personal instructor, soon many of the more famous bands in Neopia had heard of this Yurble protégé. And before long, word spread like wildfire about this new Neopian talent. He was introduced to all of the top musicians in Neopia and even on Kreludor. With his timid and gentle manner, he made friends of all the musicians he met. Well, pretty soon Poobo no longer had to sneak anywhere to hear the bands in the concert hall, let me tell you! Instead this shy, retiring red Yurble was suddenly being asked to sit in with Twisted Roses and Blue Kacheek! In fact, when he’d been working with the Jazzmosis Blumaroo for less than a year, he was featured in a sonata played by the Neopian Philharmonic! Meanwhile his compositions were getting better and better until he even began playing his own music when he sat in with other bands.

At this point in his career, Poobo Pahmoneo has jammed with almost every group that has played the concert hall. In fact, you may not know it, but some of the more famous tunes played by M*YNCI and some of the other bands were even composed by Poobo!! He is one of the most respected musicians in all of Neopia and even Kreludor.

The only difficulty in all of this, is that all the attention at such an early age has made Poobo Pahmoneo a bit eccentric and exceedingly shy. When he first started sitting in with the bands no one really noticed him too much. The autograph hounds in Neopia would swarm around the bands, but they pretty much left Poobo alone. But then, as he became more well known, and played with more and more bands, people started asking him for autographs too. But Poobo is terribly shy, and the fame always made him very uncomfortable, especially when fans would crowd around him on the street.

As a result of this shyness, Poobo determined that rather than play in a band himself, he would play primarily in shops throughout Neopia, playing tunes for Neopians to listen to while doing their shopping, but not grabbing a lot of attention for himself. In fact, in keeping with his desire for anonymity, Poobo uses a different name in practically every shop he plays in! Don’t mistake his shyness for aloofness either! Peebo does appreciate his many audiences. Somehow he’s just more comfortable without all the attention that goes with fame.

Nevertheless, despite his shyness, Poobo’s fan base has grown and grown. In fact, many of his fans have begun begging him to put out an album on CD, or to open a show of his own at the concert hall. So far we’ve had no luck, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed! So if you are shopping and happen upon a handsome red Yurble playing dulcet tunes on the piano, no matter what name he’s going by today, you’ll know that it’s Poobo Pahmoneo, the greatest Yurble pianist of them all! Please be discreet when you say hello!