“How did he get back stage anyway?” Jonas asked. “I know his name wasn’t on the list.”
“Ethan Savage was notorious for remembering the names of anyone who helped him at his concerts,” John Dixon continued. “Since he played his last concert here at this stadium, he probably still remembered their names. Besides we are talking Ethan Savage here. Who would deny him entrance to a concert stage?”
“I don’t like the fact that he could just charm his way in here and mess up the concert flow,” Mark continued, still angry.
“Their set only ran ten minutes overtime,” Colin Porter explained. “I signaled Daniel to cut a number and he did, to make up for the time ‘Party Girl’ took.”
“This whole business sounds like a set up to me,” Mark replied. “How did that band just happen to know his song?”
“We have been playing that song as a cover since we formed the band,” Daniel replied with some anger in his voice. “If you had actually listened to what Ethan said on stage, you would know that the song ‘Party Girl’ was part of the reason that we met each other.”
Jason then entered the conversation with the Biloxi Brothers. “Who are you to criticize what Ethan Savage does? Were you going to tell one of the most popular rock stars ever that he couldn’t come on stage and perform with Daniel’s band because he wasn’t on your guest list? You should be grateful for all the extra media coverage this tour will now receive!”
The managers pulled everyone apart to try and calm things down. The calm seas of a happy tour moving along like clockwork were now choppy with anger and hurt egos.
Chapter 35
The End of the Tour
(Friday Through Monday)
Sales of the Second Chance All Stars CD went through the roof after Ethan Savage’s endorsement and appearance on stage with the band. All the remaining copies were sold. When Daniel was told this, he enlisted all of the rest of the band members to sign autographs so that his fans wouldn’t have to stand in line for hours. This ended up being another point of contention with the Biloxi Brothers because sales of their CD at the show were a lot less than those of Daniel’s band.
Friday was a travel day to Los Angeles. The trip would take about seven hours, so everyone agreed to leave at nine in the morning. Nick’s mother, Caterina, went to pick up Jonathan’s mother, Madeline, who would be replacing her on this segment of the tour. Daniel was especially grateful for a day away from the concert scene. He didn’t like the fact that the Biloxi Brothers were so upset about Ethan Savage’s gesture. He did understand their jealousy, but felt that it was sort of petty.
Diana told him, “Don’t worry about it, Daniel. It’s not like you were responsible for Ethan doing what he did.”
Jason told him that, “Ethan did what he did to honor you, Daniel. You saved him from a terrible financial mess, rescued him from kidnappers, and you put your life on the line to do it. Now accept your reward and don’t worry about the Biloxi Brothers. In a few years no one will ever remember who they are unless they somehow grow out of the music for tweens market.”
The other band members had similar thoughts. Eric told him that, “The Biloxi Brothers have a nice sound. But it’s all fluff so after a while you would get bored with it. What appeals to tweens has less appeal to teens like us, and even less to older audiences.”
Nick said, “Their music is bland so it isn’t going to get much notice on its own. That explains why their perceived star status is a big deal to them. I talked with their keyboard player for a while. We showed each other some of our keyboard charts. His were just pages of chord symbols. Pretty much all he does is fill in chords behind the guitars. He was quite surprised at how much more technical ability was required to play our music, and how much thought went into our arrangements. ‘I’d really have to practice this,’ he told me.”
Jonathan echoed that sentiment. “With our music, I can go on a musical journey when I solo, and then come back to an interesting chart. Our music has a good variety of styles and demands technical ability, while their music is pretty much the same thing over and over again. I can see why they don’t even have a horn player in their band. There wouldn’t be much for him to do!”
Tim summed things up the best when he said, “You know, there is more musical action and variety in our introduction to ‘Can You Love Me’ than in their whole set! That’s why Mark Biloxi was so upset when Ethan Savage showed up and played one of his songs. It reminded the audience what a true headliner was capable of, and how much more interesting a song like ‘Party Girl’ was when compared to ‘I’m Calling You, Babe’.”
But the show must go on. There were two more concerts to perform, and in a key market venue. For the most part, the two bands avoided each other. The two concerts were more like the one in Portland. Things had returned to their normal order, with Daniel and his band the new boys on the block and not the center of attention.
Ironically, now Heathcart, the second band on the tour, became the focus of attention. With the Biloxi Brothers not speaking to them, Daniel and his other band members spent their back stage time getting to know the musicians in Heathcart better. Although the two bands had very different styles of music and looked totally different, they both could appreciate the hard work and emotion that went into the other group’s performances.
Jason and the manager of Heathcart, Lonnie Givens, struck up a conversation with each other backstage at the Portland concert, connected on a personal level, and ended up having some very interesting and revealing conversations. Lonnie, after seeing Jason and Daniel, did remember the Ethan Savage incident where crooks in his management team hired an actor to impersonate the rock star to divert money to phony non-profit organizations. Lonnie asked Jason about that incident, and Jason told him about some of the cases that he and Daniel had worked on. The most interesting thing to Lonnie was the fact that Daniel’s band was made up of crime victims that Jason and Daniel had helped.
“Although it is different in the details, your experiences echo mine,” Lonnie explained. “Most of the band members in Heathcart were rescue missions. They were street kids that escaped from horrible home situations, or were drug addicts, or were abandoned by their families and ended up homeless. They were considered to be human garbage by the very people who should have been supporting them. A lot of the anger you see in their performances comes from the desperate reality that these kids faced. Johnny, the band leader, and I spent a lot of time working with these kids and turning them into contributing members of society. I know their style of punk rock is not for everyone, but their music does speak a powerful message.”
Saturday evening, the Los Angeles performance went on without incident. Everything seemed to be back to normal. The management team sighed with relief when this became apparent. There was too much at stake for the Ethan Savage incident to carry over to another venue in another city.
One bright spot of the Los Angeles performance was that Cody Johnson was able to attend. He came with Katelyn Meyer, a friend of his from school, who he had dated on and off. Just like Cody, Katelyn was striking in appearance, with long blonde hair, light blue eyes, a slim and sensual looking body, and pleasant face. Katelyn was wearing a pale orange blouse that came down to her midriff, tight fitting jeans and running shoes. Cody was quite dressed up for him, wearing a surfer tee shirt, jeans, and the white high top chucks that Jason had given him. For the concert, Jason was able to score three luxury box tickets from Lonnie Givens that he wasn’t going to use. Jason thought it would be cool to watch the show from the arena rather than back stage. Cody and Katelyn were very impressed and they had a great time watching the concert and enjoying the extra amenities that came with the box seating.
At the end of the concert Jason offered to bring them back stage to see Daniel, but Cody declined. “Tell Daniel that he and his band were bodacious, clearly the best band of the three! But then I’m not a little eleven-year-old tweenie-bopper. I did promise to get Katelyn home by eleven, and her f
ather is one mean dawg when we come back late from a date!”
As Jason was walking with them toward the arena exit, Cody took him aside and asked if he had considered his offer to spend the summer in Malibu. “I really think you need to get away from the Silicon Valley and heal. I will show you an awesome time, you can count on that!”
“I will talk to my dad about it,” Jason told Cody. “He is with us on this leg of the trip. We are headed home on Tuesday. I will come down later in the week if it is okay with my parents.”
“Please have them call my grandmother if they have any questions or concerns. You know that we all consider you family, Jason, for what you have done for me. She is expecting you and will be very disappointed if you don’t come and stay for a while. The other good news is that my grandfather has made a remarkable recovery from his stroke. He can talk again. I think you would enjoy connecting with him. He has some amazing stories to tell about his life and, believe it or not, even some experiences like you had!”
When they reached the exit doors, Cody gave Jason his usual bear hug and then Katelyn gave him a little hug and kiss as a thank you for the concert tickets and pleasant evening. “I sure hope you can come and visit Malibu for a while. All of Cody’s friends are very thankful for what you have done for him. It would mean a lot to Cody if he could somehow return the favor.” Katelyn winked at him and said, “Plus Malibu is filled with beautiful ladies!”
The next morning, Jason asked his father to have breakfast with him alone so that they could talk about the summer.
“I think I already told you about Cody inviting me to spend time with him at his home in Malibu. I think I would like to take him up on his offer, Dad. What do you say?”
“As you know,” Bill replied, “your mother and I have been very concerned about you, Jason, after the brutal attack on you and all the ramifications of it. We have kept you in check since then, perhaps more than we should, but we really felt that it was necessary to keep a close eye on you to make sure you were able to recover. It does seem to me that at least outwardly you have made quite a recovery.”
“Yeah, I have recovered, at least physically. Everything is now healed in my body, and I have gained my strength back. I can play basketball again without any pain. But here is the issue. This whole last two months has been very confusing to me and I need to get my head straight. By that I mean I am not going crazy or anything, but I feel the need to get away from everything and try to erase all the stress and uncertainty that I have experienced lately. Cody has gone out of his way to encourage me to do this. It is his way of thanking me for what has been done for him, from the rescue, to the foundation supporting his education.”
“What you did for Cody was one of the finest things you could do for another human. You gave him his life back and new purpose to be successful doing what he loves doing. Edith and I are very proud of you for that, Jason.”
“So does that mean I can go to Malibu?” Jason asked.
“Before any final decision is made, we should discuss it with your mother. She might have other concerns or plans for you.”
“It’s not like I’m some little kid anymore,” Jason complained. “In another month I’ll be seventeen and in two months a senior in high school. Why is going to spend time with my friend Cody a big deal?”
“It’s not just that. There is that whole issue of Laura to be dealt with. While you were gone on the tour, a letter arrived from Europe for you.”
“Why didn’t you bring it to me when we were in the Bay Area?”
“We didn’t want you to become upset if it contained bad news and since the purpose of you going on the trip with Daniel was to focus on his band, and what you do for them, we didn’t want this to be a distraction. We figured you would have plenty of time to deal with it when you returned home.”
* * * * *
Sunday afternoon everyone traveled on the bus for the ninety minute trip to San Diego, the last stop on the tour. After arriving at their hotel, getting checked in and unpacking, the general consensus was that everyone wanted to spend some time at one of the many fine beaches. It had been worked out that a bus would take everyone to Ocean Beach, and pick them up four hours later. That would give everyone plenty of time to enjoy the beach or the nearby attractions.
Monday morning, the tour promoters had a breakfast for all of the participants in the tour at 9:00 in the hotel. They had decided this was a better way to go than having a dinner the evening before, as they knew most everyone wanted to spend time at the beach or in downtown San Diego. A buffet line with a large variety of breakfast items was set up. As people came in, they worked their way through the line and then sat down at tables.
Around 9:30, John Dixon got up and signaled for everyone’s attention. “As you all know, this is the last day of our tour, and after your performance tonight you will all be going your separate ways. I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work put in by our various crews, our management staff, and of course the musical contributions of the three bands that made this tour possible.” Mr. Dixon then took the time to introduce everyone by group. “Thank you all for making this a most successful tour. Other than a surprise visit by rock legend Ethan Savage, and several young girls overcome with emotion and excitement, everything went as planned.” There were some hoots and hollers and even a few cheers from the crews at that statement. Daniel and the other band members looked at each other, smiled and shrugged their shoulders at the mention of Ethan Savage. Even some of the Biloxi Brothers band laughed at the comment. “I am looking forward to another fine performance from everyone tonight. Good luck to you all in your future endeavors!”
As was the case for all the prior concerts, the set up and performances went very well. Prior to going on stage, Daniel held a short meeting with the band members. Jason was also present to take pictures. “Eric, Nick, Tim, and Jonathan,” he began, “I always knew you guys were great musicians, but I have grown to appreciate what you do even more on this tour. You guys were focused, never missed a cue, played fabulous solos, and provided me with outstanding backup and accompaniment. Playing this tour with you has been a dream come true for me. I don’t know where the band goes from here, but I want you to know that I love you guys, and will do anything for you in the future! Now I want to go out there and play our best set yet! Are you with me?”
The band members put their hands together and gave a ritual cheer, “Band!”
Then Eric stood up to speak. “Daniel, this band wouldn’t be possible without your hard work, vision, and musicianship. Ever since we started as just a trio, you always had a greater plan in mind. I know I have learned so much from you and we all appreciate the confidence that you had in us. So I think we need another cheer for you, Daniel.” The band members put their hands out again and yelled, “Daniel!” Then they went out on the stage and gave their best performance of the tour.
Chapter 36
The Long Summer
(The First of July)
Tuesday morning everyone was eager to return to the Silicon Valley and their homes. The bus was scheduled to leave at 8 AM for the eight hour trip. The band members were especially tired; now that the concerts were actually over, fatigue set in from having to be on their A game at all times. The bus did stop for lunch at a restaurant off the freeway at around noon.
Colin Porter asked Daniel and the other band members to sit at a separate table with him so that they could do a short post mortem on the tour. After the waitress took their orders, Colin started by asking Daniel and anyone else who wished to comment how they thought they had done on the tour.
“Being on stage in that kind of venue was like no other experience we ever have had as musicians,” Daniel began. “The largest crowd we had played in front of until now was around 3,000 people. Nothing like a crowd of 30,000 screaming teenagers! As far as how we did, I thought that the band was prepared and played our music flawlessly most of the time. Since we received the contract to perform, we al
l made it a point to get ourselves in the best possible shape and perfect our pieces. That came through numerous extra rehearsals and recording sessions. As I told the band last night, they all are awesome musicians, and it was an honor for me to perform with them.”
“I agree with Daniel,” Eric added. “We were well prepared, and had that confidence on stage. It enabled us to deal with all of the sound and lighting issues that we hadn’t experienced before at this level.”
“I think that we did the best we could to appeal to the tween type of audience that this tour was designed for,” Jonathan said. “I don’t feel that the direction of this band is meant just for that type of audience. Unlike the Biloxi Brothers and Heathcart, we are capable of performing in many musical styles and at a fairly sophisticated level.”
“Jonathan hit the nail on the head about the music,” Nick stated. “Just comparing notes literally with the Biloxi Brothers keyboard player, I realized that our charts were quite intricate in comparison to what he was expected to do, mostly just fill in chords from a leadsheet. But it was a great thrill to be able to play our own original music in front of a large crowd. I am really thankful to your management group for giving us this opportunity.”
Tim then said, “I was very pleased about the professional way that we were treated by all the different crews. Even though we were rank beginners in their eyes, they made it easy to get through the initial two concerts. And I think that after they heard us perform, they gave us some respect. We were the third string band, but still capable of connecting with the audience and performing good music.”
“Thank you for all your comments,” Colin replied. “I appreciate your candor and I do agree that you were all very well prepared for the tour. I could see that when you performed the practice set for me. I did sense that your band was capable of so much more musically, and I am glad that you didn’t allow that to get in the way of the tour’s purpose, which was to entertain the fans of the Biloxi Brothers. I was sorry that the surprise appearance of Ethan Savage caused a wedge to develop between you and the Biloxi Brothers. While it wasn’t your doing, it made them feel upstaged, and as the headliner group, they are not going to want to perform with you again because of that. That’s too bad because this tour was highly successful financially.”
Jason's Network Page 24