Rock Anderson

Rock Anderson is the protagonist of the narrative present in The Free Rock Trio's studio albums Free Rock, Gone Wild, and New Threads is Dead.

After murdering his brother Russ and the other two Threadsboro mafia captains over the discovery of an ancient portal, Rock Anderson is forced to flee the city ("Way Back Home").

Free Rock
Rock steals the identity of enforcer Shawn Crawford and heads for Mexico ("Head in the Sand," "15/16"). He manages to escape to the Caribbean island of Bongo, a longtime refuge for members of the Threadsboro Mafia. However, allies of the mafia are made aware of Rock's presence on the island and rat him out to the police ("Bongo"). Unbeknownst to Rock, this is also the stash island of the mafia's international Sudafed business, which is uncovered by the feds while on the island and pinned on Rock as well ("Sudafed"). Nearly arrested, Rock escapes Bongo and makes his way to Pogo Hotel + Casino, a money-laundering venue of the mafia's in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is here that he is cornered by authorities and mafia goons alike, leaving Rock no choice but to take the cuffs ("Pogo").

The rat from Bongo testifies and pins Rock for many of the mafia's unsolved murders and crimes, sending Rock to death row. For three days he waits in a cell before learning he's been bumped up to the top of the list after his mass murder spree in Threadsboro, and will be executed the next day ("Free Rock"). However, a small band of mafia rebels called the Free Rock trio manage to break Rock free, and they embark on a trek through Mexico on foot. The authorities are hot on their trail, but Rock and his crew are able to outrun them. With the severed heads of his fellow captains, nicknamed the 'New Threads' (the newest generation of Threadsboro mafia leaders), they aim for the distant mountains of Womble, where a longtime enemy of the mafia resides with a solution that may be Rock's only hope ("Womble").

Gone Wild
Picking up where Free Rock left off in the mountains of Womble, Rock and the Trio meet a member of the Blind Men Brotherhood, an ancient cult that protects a legendary portal called Space Jamaica. The mafia and the Brotherhood have been at odds ever since Rock's brother Russ discovered the Atlantis portal in Nashua, and murdered the guardians. Upon his arrival, Rock presents the cultist with the three severed heads of his brother and his fellow captains in exchange for passage through the portal, and the cultist accepts ("New Threads..."). However, only Rock can enter the caves- the trio must stay behind. They split up, and the Trio goes off in search of the cross-dimensional sorcerer Bagman, a rumored superhero who can supposedly open portals to other worlds. They cannot find him, and are ambushed by police while camping in the wilderness ("Off the Wall") before being taken into custody and questioned. Authorities go to the caves to find Rock, but they find nothing but a wreckage of stone and rubble. Everything's caved in, and they call off the search under the assumption that Rock is dead ("The Law is Goin' Home"). Meanwhile, in the caves, Rock and the cultist reach a large room with a twenty-foot tall portal against the back wall, seemingly opening into space. Rock presents the three severed heads to the Brotherhood, and they graciously accept his trade. Rock enters the portal, never to be seen in this world again. Upon entry, the walls collapse, and the portal implodes, killing the entire Brotherhood and closing the portal forever ("Racket").

New Threads is Dead
After passing through the portal, Rock finds himself in a speeding 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. He has no control over the steering, gas, or brakes, and as a result crashes into a highway sign, knocking him unconscious ("...is Dead?"). Meanwhile, the Free Rock Trio returns to Threadsboro following the collapse of the portal. Here, they build up a new town in Threadsboro's remains, passing the legend of Rock down through generations ("No Más"). On the other side, Rock wakes up in the crashed Trans Am and gets out, standing alone in a vast desert. There is but a single highway, Fagen Street, and off in the distance there are mountains with a pocket of light shining from within. Rock gets out of the vehicle and walks on foot down Fagen Street ("Fallacies") before meeting a prostitute named Ida. Ida is from a commune down the road in the lone mountains, and she offers to take Rock there ("Ida (In the Hills)"). Rock accepts, and upon their arrival, he almost instantly regrets it. Vagrants on the streets eating human flesh off the bone, weird, animal-human hybrids that look like something out of Chernobyl, and a lack of rules or enforcement makes Rock sick ("The Lowdown") and he opts to find his own way in the world. Ida warns him that there is more to this world, called Guyamar, than he thinks, but Rock wants nothing to do with The Hills and returns to the Trans Am ("Turning Blue").

Tracks Featured
The story of Rock is present in a majority of The Free Rock Trio's catalog, and it is likely that future releases will continue to reference this storyline. Below is a list of songs that the storyline is featured, in chronological order to the story:


 * Way Back Home (new threads)
 * Head in the Sand
 * 15/16
 * Bongo
 * Sudafed
 * Pogo
 * Free Rock
 * Womble
 * New Threads...
 * Bagman
 * Racket
 * The Law is Goin' Home
 * ...is Dead?
 * No Más
 * Fallacies
 * Ida (In the Hills)
 * The Lowdown
 * Turning Blue

Obviously this story serves some larger metaphorical purpose as well- the "old" side of the portal, where Threadsboro is and where Rock and Russ originated, is meant to represent New Threads, whereas the "new" side of the portal, where Rock escapes to and which has yet to be explored, represents The Free Rock Trio. In-universe, the leaders of the mafia are nicknamed "New Threads," meaning the new generation of Threadsboro mafia captains, while the small band of mafia rebels that break Rock free and live to tell the tale are self-described as "The Free Rock Trio."