Marko was the hotter one; he worked out so he could drag his drums around. All that practicing gave him a great ‘look.’ I’ve got to admit, I used to crush on him when I first met them, but at twelve I knew I had to stay focused, so I ignored my attraction. I kept telling myself it was business, and I didn’t want it to get messy. Back then he was thirteen, a year older than Ted and me. At seventeen years old we’d been together for years. I had a boyfriend now, anyway. Hank and I had been together for over a month, and we had celebrated our big anniversary just yesterday.[SO5][ES6]
Ted, on the other hand, was the best bass player I had ever known. He and Marko created pure magic together. They stayed in the pocket, and I loved them equally. He was a skinny dude, but they looked enough alike to know they were brothers with their matching dirty blonde hair and sexy, green eyes.
“I thought he was offering the Turtledoves a contract. I’m sorry, guys. When I realized it was just me, I split. I brought the contract for you to look over just in case he comes to his senses. I told him it was all of us or no one. Right?” I demanded as I looked between the two of them. “I’m not leaving you behind, goddamnit!”
I’d been playing with them since we were little kids, and our sound had solidified over the years. Marko was an excellent musician to write with, and Ted was brilliant with lyrics. Rock Star wouldn’t be such a formidable song without their input. I knew deep down I needed them.
“So, this Hunter guy offered you management? That’s hella cool, girl. Come on, Callie, we appreciate your commitment to all of us, but…" Ted’s words trailed off. He looked over at Marko, and they both nodded. These guys! Damn, they were so amazing. I would never want to make it alone. I knew they wouldn’t leave me behind, that was for damn sure.
“Who gives a fuck? We’ll make it on our own,” I said with a huff. As determined as I was that we would be successful, I felt conflicted. What if this was the only opportunity I ever had to make it to the big time? But I kept that to myself. I needed time to absorb everything that had happened today. The day I said no to my dreams.
“Do you think he’ll reconsider? Maybe there’s still a deal to be made?” Ted’s eyes lit up with hope, and I knew he was doing his best to stay positive.
I took a deep breath and put my head in my hands. This was starting to really upset me; my emotions took over. But I didn’t want to say anything I couldn’t take back. We stood, silently looking at one another, each of us lost inside our heads. But the quiet felt dense and thick with words unspoken. I looked over to Ted, expecting him to continue.
I finally took a seat on their large, comfy sofa. Ted grabbed the easy chair to the side, and Marko slid onto the end of the couch. The walls were covered with framed photos of them as they grew from babyhood to the young men they were now. I was even in some of them. I needed to find my lady balls and face them with all the integrity I could muster.
“I think you should take it, Callie.” Marko whispered words I never thought I’d hear. I was stunned stupid, and my heart shredded for my boys. I wouldn’t do it! I just wouldn’t. Fuck that asshole Hunter for trying to rip us apart. I felt the tears begin to well up. I swiped away the first one that dared to fall silently down my cheek.
“Not going to happen. Do you get me, Marko? It’s the Turtledoves or no one. I can’t do it without you.” I was obstinate as I tried to hold back, I was on the verge of tears. I trembled inside. I prayed they believed me. Honestly, it’s how I truly felt. They held me up when I was a mess, and I loved them. We were family. Didn't they know that goddamnit?
I dropped the useless Hunter contract on the coffee table. Then I stood up, ready to go. “Just look it over in case he comes back to us. We need to be ready, right?”
I hugged Marko, and then I went to Ted and put my arms around his waist. “I love you both,” I said in a hushed tone and walked out, leaving the crappy contract with them. I didn’t know if Hunter would be back, but I was as determined as ever to hit the ‘brass ring’ and believed with all of me that the Turtledoves would be discovered one way or another. We were destined for greatness.
Just as I headed for the front door, Ted called out, “Wait, hey girl, I wrote some lyrics and wanted to show you.” He handed me that piece of paper, and I saw the words he had handwritten in careful script, blur on the page.
“I’ll look this over when I get home with my guitar, okay?” I gave Ted a weak smile and stared into his eyes. I knew I would love whatever he wrote down, he could really spit the words that everyone wanted to hear. “I gotta go. I’ll contact you.” And I left, crawling into my Beetle, speeding down the street.
I started thinking over everything, and I knew in my heart, I had made the right decision. All three of us would have to be signed, or none of us.
And that was final.
Chapter 8
Hunter
Well, fuck me. I had to admit that girl had guts. I really had to give it to her. I respected her decision for sure. She had loyalty on her side, a quality you couldn’t buy. I thought that kind of devotion was so freaking rare. It was really hard to find, fidelity in this business, so I decided to change the contract to include the Turtledoves. The bass and drum players were really talented, anyway, so why was I struggling with this? From my experience, it just seemed to me that dealing with three personalities was always more difficult than dealing with one. But hell, maybe this would be different. I hoped it would be, that’s for damn sure. I hoped I could find a way to cultivate all the relationships and avoid drama.
But fuck it. I pulled up the contract on my computer and changed everything. I was still going to take my 15% of their gigs. And I’d still get them signed and take 15% of their advance, too. The more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right, and I was absolutely wrong. She was comfortable with these guys and that was a good thing when we get on the road.
After I printed it out, I put in the call.
“Hey Callie, I’ve decided to sign the Turtledoves. What do you say?” I tried to keep a lighthearted tone to my voice and added a bit of a chuckle at the end. I was suddenly struck with worry that she’d changed her mind about me. I could see how she might think I was an asshole because I was.
“Sure, Hunter, Let’s meet up and do this thing right.” I was so relieved. She sounded good, like really happy, so we set a time and I hung up. I was comforted that she hadn’t slipped through my fingers from my own stupid actions.
Later that same day, we met at Mary’s Diner again. I laid the new contract on the table in front of her and watched as she perused the print on the pages. Her eyes swept over the contract. They glittered happily, and finally she looked up at me with a broad smile and a gleam in her eye. “Now you’re talking.”
Relief coursed through me; grateful I hadn’t lost her after all. “Did you talk to your boys? Are they down to go into this agreement?” I sent a small prayer up into the warm, sunny sky.
“I did, and yes. They said let’s do it.” Callie smiled, and I felt myself relax for the first time today. Thank goodness I hadn’t lost this amazing opportunity. I was so happy and silently celebrated my huge win. I had almost fucked the whole management thing up, big time.
Just then, my buddy Cal strolled into the diner. He was wearing some long shorts and a faded rock shirt that said ‘Elvis’ across the front. He was a raggedy-looking dude, but he was as sharp as they came, even slightly stoned.as he was now. I could see his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he felt kind of hazy. He walked up to our table and said, “Hey, let’s get this over with.”
Callie signed the contract for the band. She said, “Ted and Marko should probably be here.” She was so excited she couldn’t wait any longer. Something told me they would back her decisions. She signed her name with a little flourish and smiled at me while Cal took care of the documentation. “So, what’s next?” Callie asked eagerly as she bit her lip. She looked so adorable, and I had to remind myself she was a client. I forced myself to think about the do
ves. I should meet them soon. That’s when I’d get their signatures. Callie spoke for the group, but I still needed their official John Handcock.
“I get to work, Callie. I want to get you in the studio and lay down some tracks. Then I’ll shop it around,” I said with a smile. “How does that sound?”
The idea of studio time was awesome! I loved producing and could hardly wait to record some of the songs I’d already heard. See what they were really made of. I didn’t mind spending the money up front. I knew I’d be repaid a thousand times over. “It sounds wonderful.” Callie said, all dreamy eyed, her cheeks pinking up.
“I’ll text you when I know when, okay? Tell the doves they’ll need to be ready,” I said, my smile beaming as my excitement rose. My enthusiasm burst inside; it was sticky with a confidence for the future I could now see clearly. I held these feelings close to my chest, I didn’t want it to spill over and make me look like a dork.
I got up and shook her hand. With the meeting over, I walked outside with Cal. He was a cool guy; we’d been friends for years. I was thinking that I’d better be careful around Callie, she was gorgeous, and I was extremely attracted to her. I wanted to grab her ass and kiss her until the sun rose in the morning. I scolded myself for having such inappropriate thoughts about my newly-signed artist. I had to keep things perfectly professional between us. Just buck the fuck up.
Callie grabbed her copy of the contract and jumped in her car. She said it was time to share our good news with her doves. “I can’t wait to see the expression on their faces. We’re gonna hit the big time, I just know it in my heart of hearts.” Her smile beamed brightly, and I could see how happy she was at this new outcome. “Thanks, Hunter.” I watched as she drove her beat-up VW bug out of the lot, rattling loudly.
Later, that day, I heard from Callie, “Hey girl, what’s up?” I asked. I hoped she had more great news for me.
“I met with Ted and Marko, and they’re excited. Just thought you’d want to know. We’re all so happy we signed with you, Hunter.” She sounded so enthusiastic, and I felt the same. “Don’t make me regret going to bat for you. Would you keep me posted? Let me know when and where we'll meet up?”
“We’ll have to celebrate,” I said and added, “How about dinner this week sometime? My treat. All of us?” I could get the boys’ signatures at the same time.
“We’re gonna get rich, bitch!” Callie yelled, and we laughed our brains out.
It was time to memorialize this momentous occasion.
We’d think about what this all meant, later.
Chapter 9
Callie
The music studio was incredible, hard wood covered the walls, and tile spread across the floor. The engineer sat at a huge console with rows and rows of buttons. Hunter had spared no expense, as we all sat in the small, acoustic room. He really got an amazing sound out of us. He was going to mix down the songs, and we would finally have our own professional CD to send out to all the record exec’s that ignored me earlier that year.
But Hunter wasn’t ignored, not even a little bit. The executives listened with open hearts and minds, and several called him to work on a deal, a record deal. After much negotiations, Hunter called me one day soon after he had spoken to everyone that had shown any interest in us,
“Callie, are you with the doves?” I looked over at Ted and then my eyes swept to Marco. They both looked excited when I put the call on speaker phone.
“Yes, they’re with me, and you’re on speaker.” I said, grinning from ear to ear. I chewed on my lip, wondering if this was the call, we all had waited for.
“Congratulations Turtledoves! We got signed!” Hunter whooped and hollered while we jumped for joy. We grabbed each other’s hands in a circle and danced yelling “Whoo-hoo.” Hell yeah, bitch, we got signed. Boom, just like that! We’d hoped and prayed for a record deal and now we were all ecstatic. This was huge news. Hunter paused before he went into all the details of our deal. “Yeah, you make me so proud.” he whispered almost to himself. I could tell he was getting emotional about such a huge achievement. He told me once, that his dream was to find a band like us and get the deal of a lifetime. “Dreams come true.” He added with a growl in his throat. “Let’s show ‘em how it’s done.” I could hear the grin stretched widely across his gorgeous face.
Hunter took us out to dinner that night. My heart danced the tango; our future looked so bright. My boys and I were happier than pigs in shit. We reveled in our belief in the future, knowing for certain this was the beginning of something big. “Hunter, you said you were proud of us, well, we are just as proud of you.” I said when we saw him later that night. We hugged him tightly, each taking a turn wrapping our arms around him to give him a squeeze.
When we were all settled down at the table, getting comfortable in our chairs, Hunter poured champagne in our glasses.
“Hey, Callie, here’s to you and that beautiful voice.” Hunter smiled and lifted his glass to tap ours. We clinked our glasses, with excited giggles, I slammed down the champagne. The cold bubbles hit my throat and I almost coughed, choking on the fizz.
Going into the studio in a professional way, with a talented producer, made all the difference in the world. We never sounded so good. We recorded six original songs. The Studio cost a fortune, but it was well worth it. We owed Hunter for the money he advanced us. ‘Rock Star’ was the first song we recorded, and Hunter even hired some studio musicians to fill in with keys. He added background vocals who brought the song to life.
The day we recorded our first song, I thought we sounded better than we ever had, and I was over the moon with joy. “Thank you, Hunter. We appreciate your hard work,” I said as I sat at the large console with hundreds of knobs that I had no clue how to work. The engineer had gotten up to go on a smoke break. He seemed happy with the results too.
“Damn good music,” he mumbled as he passed by Hunter, exiting the room.
Hunter pushed a button, and we listened to the play-back of ‘Girl Wild.’ My voice was startlingly clear and boomed through the dark, shrouded room. Ted said, “Holy hell, Callie, listen to you!” We all chuckled, our own thoughts of success swarming around us in a cloud of happy.
Time in a studio didn’t exist. I’d show up at the crack of dawn, and quitting time was late into the night. When I left, it was dark outside, and I lost all connection to the clock. Time slipped by like sand in an hourglass.
Hunter gave us a few copies of our new CD for our family and friends. I could hardly wait for my parents to give it a listen.
When I got home that night holding the CD tightly in my fist, I ran into the living room. “Mama, Daddy do you have time to listen?” I knew Gaby took up most of their time, but I hoped they could give me a few spare minutes. Daddy looked up from his lap and said, “Sure, peanut, pop that sucker on. I can’t wait to hear it.” Mama smiled broadly and sat down with Gaby in her arms. My brother looked so sweet, snoozing on her chest. They hadn’t planned for baby two, but now I couldn’t imagine life without my cutie pie brother. I melted the first time he smiled up at me, cradled in my arms.
I went over to our stereo and placed the CD in the player. I pushed play and dropped onto the sofa next to my dad. He was smiling and tapping his foot as ‘Rock Star’ played. I never got tired of listening to our song.
“Callie! This is incredible, honey! I’m so proud of you and the boys,” he said as I watched him closely. They both knew Ted and Marko well. My friends spent plenty of time here with my family. We had them over often, for family dinners or Sunday BBQ’s.
“Thanks, Daddy.” I felt all gooey inside and was all smiles. I knew this was gonna blow their minds.
“Honey, your voice sounds so crystal clear. You know I love this song!” My mom smiled a huge, fat smile. I could hardly contain my excitement that both of them loved our new songs. ‘Girl Wild’ had just played.
“I’ll be right back,” I said and went to my room to put away my purse. I pulled out my cell to plug
it in, and a small slip of paper fell to the floor.
I knelt and picked it up, mystified. Where the hell did this come from? I had never seen it before. This paper was very distinct, almost like cloth. On it, written in calligraphy, was:
You are gonna be a star. #yournumberonefan
Well, of course, I couldn't agree more. I thought maybe Hunter had it made and stuffed it in my purse for me to find. I grabbed my cell and found his name on my contacts, slid my finger over and listened while it rang.
“Hey Hunter, just wanted to thank you for the note,” I said, my heart doing a happy dance.
“Callie, what note?” Hunter whispered.
Aww shit, what the fuck? I decided to ask Hank in the morning if this was from him. I doubted it, though. It just didn’t seem like something he’d do.
It made me nervous, but I refused to let it bring me down. Nothing was going to affect me today, the day I was ready for anything.
Anything at all.
Chapter 10
Hunter
Two months later
There had been a tremendous whirlwind of activity swirling around The Turtledoves. After I signed them, I booked time in our local music studio. I had them write some new stuff and I chose six songs, including ‘Rock Star’ to get down on tape. I knew ‘Girl Wild’ was another stone-cold, solid hit.
They were professional for sure. We got everything I needed recorded, and I made a bunch of copies as soon as I mixed it all down. I wasn’t surprised at the response, but we actually got into a bidding war between two record labels. It’s almost unheard of in the biz.
Finally, we made our decision to go with Rock Life and got a $150,000 advance plus tour support, which was key. That was the thing I fought for; tour support was everything. It was the deciding factor for sure. I booked up the next four months, a piece of cake, and the band was about to leave.
Rock Star Page 4