Star Maker

by J. M. Nevins

  He shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”

  Kit’s eyes lit up and she smiled. “You’re going to put them into rotation?”

  He glared. “No. I’m going to listen to it and see if you’re bullshitting me.” He walked over and cut the feed to the station on his office stereo, flipping the input to the cassette player so he could hear it without distraction. He pressed play, went back to his chair, and listened intently. The song was just past the first chorus when he stopped the tape. He looked at her. “Who’s your frontman?”

  “Sully Foxx.”

  He nodded. “The guy has a killer voice. Talented. The band’s tight. Ok, I’ll put ‘em in rotation. I’ll start ‘em in odd hours. If they do well, I’ll put ‘em in prime time.”

  Kit smiled, trying to hide her girlish enthusiasm and keep it professional. She looked him in the eye again. “George, you won’t regret this. I’ll see you back here when you bring the band in to do an on air interview, after they’re ripping up the charts!”

  He rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh. We’ll see about that Ms. McKenna.”

  She got up, grabbed her purse, and smiled at him. “Thanks again. Have a great day!”

  He nodded, looking smug and annoyed with her. Kit walked out of office with a spring in her step. Once she was in her car, she screamed out in joy. She put her car into drive and sped home.

  A full week had passed and Kit hadn’t heard Gypsy Tango’s song, ‘Jaded’, on KNAC. She wondered if she had been duped by the station manager. Her notes and law books were spread out in front of her on the table. Steve was due any minute and they were going to start a late night study session.

  Alexa walked in and looked at her. “Hitting the books again?”

  Kit sighed. “Yes. Second year classes are kicking my ass. The professors don’t hesitate to pull punches. That’s for sure. I’m getting my ass handed to me daily. Luckily Steve is helping, but I’ll tell ya, he’s certainly not very supportive of my managing bands. Every time I bring GT up, he changes the subject. He thinks it’s a joke. That concerns me. The guys are due home and things are going to get crazy again. He only knows me with them on the road.”

  Alexa grimaced. “Oh. Yeah, that’ll be a problem. Good luck with that.”

  “You going out with Wes right now?”

  “Yeah. He’s taking me to dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow. No date, huh? Just study time?”

  “Tonight, yes. I’ll have to wait until the weekend for that nice date.” She winked.

  Three hours later, Kit sat across from Steve at the table. She was starting to get burnt out with the incessant studying. He was drilling her constantly. In some ways it was good, but in other ways boring. Without the distraction of Gypsy Tango, she hadn’t gone out for eight weeks. Staying home at night either with her nose stuck in a law book or cuddled up on the sofa watching a movie with Steve was not her normal pace. She was starting to get antsy.

  She had talked to Sully the day before and knew they were on their way back into town, quite possibly that very evening. Sully had asked if he could crash there. He still didn’t feel completely comfortable alone in Joe’s condo. She told him it was fine and had already cleared it with Alexa, but sensed that Steve would have a big problem with it. She didn’t really care about his opinion at this point.

  The guys had done an amazing job on the road without Kit and she was impressed with Sully’s take-charge attitude when she wasn’t there, whipping the guys into shape and managing the money like a pro. She was happy to see all the coaching she had done pay off. She finally saw the evidence that Sully was much more intelligent than he led on. She had always suspected and now she had full proof. He had informed her that they were safely positioned in the black as they closed out their dates. She was excited to see how much they had made. They were out of T-Shirts and photos again, completely sold out for the third time.

  Airplay had continued for them on radio stations back east and a buzz was building throughout the country. A few indie labels had called already, but Kit and the boys were in agreement that they wanted a major label and were willing to wait for that big fish to bite. The buzz locally was now at a fever pitch. Their fans were eager to have them back. Their show at the Roxy, coming up in five days, was completely sold out and the VIP guest list was maxed, including a slew of major label record executives.

  Kit snapped out of her Gypsy Tango world and back to the drab reality of notes and law books. She made a comment to Steve about something in her notes and he answered her. She felt bored, but pushed through, knocking back another can of Jolt Cola to help her stay alert. It was going to be a long night.

  Wes cracked a joke and Alexa laughed as they crept down La Cienega Boulevard in his Jaguar. They had finished a romantic dinner at L’Orangerie and were headed back to his place.

  She leaned forward. “Honey, do you mind if I change it? I hate this song.”

  He kept his eyes trained on the road. “Sure, baby, change it to whatever you want. I have some cassettes if you’d prefer that instead.”

  She shook her head. “Naw. Let’s try 105.5.”

  He glanced over at her while they sat at a red light. He grinned. “Still waiting to hear ‘Jaded’, huh? It’s pretty cool how this is all unfolding. I’m not a huge hard rock fan, but I like these guys. Tell Kit I’ll front money if she needs it.”

  Alexa smiled. “Wes, are you joking? Mister conservative hedge fund manager is willing to take a gamble on my friends with his own money? Are you feeling ok?”

  He nodded and grinned as the light changed to green and he turned his focus to the road in front of him. “Yeah. I like ‘em. They’re all decent, hard-working guys. And Sully always cracks my shit up. He and I have had some good laughs together.”

  Alexa rolled her eyes. “That’s why we don’t let you guys hang out on your own. You two together would be trouble. It’s like leaving toddlers alone with matches and gasoline.”

  He chuckled. “When do they come back from the tour?”

  “Tonight, I think. Sully’s gonna crash with us again for a bit, but he was telling Kit that things are looking good money wise. He has to figure out his roommate situation before he moves into Joe’s place.”

  “We should all go out.”

  She frowned. “Who?”

  “You and me, Kit and Sully. It would be fun.”

  Alexa giggled. “Wes, are you trying to set up Kit and Sully? That’s a little devious of you, don’t you think? She’s got a boyfriend.”

  He chuckled. “I think Kit and Sully would make a fantastic pair, that’s all. Kind of like you and me.” He reached over and patted her knee.

  She smiled. “I like that you think of us as a fantastic pair. If you weren’t driving this car, I’d kiss you right now.”

  He grinned. “I guess I’ll have to wait until we get back to my place.” He turned onto Wilshire Boulevard and started heading west.

  Alexa was about to say something flirty to him, when the DJ’s voice caught her attention. “…New band out of our very own Sunset Strip in Hollywood, here’s Gypsy Tango with ‘Jaded’.” Their song started seconds later. Alexa screamed with delight.

  Wes pulled his car across three lanes, almost causing an accident, and sped into the parking lot of a liquor store. He reached behind under his seat and retrieved a portable phone. He hastily opened the case and handed it to Alexa. “Call Kit! Call her now.”

  Alexa seized the phone and hastily dialed their apartment. The phone rang and Kit was grateful for a distraction. It was half past eleven and studying wasn’t getting any easier. She answered on the second ring.

  Alexa screamed into the phone. “Put on KNAC now! Right now!”

  Kit didn’t have to ask why. She threw down the phone and bolted into the living room, where she quickly turned on the stereo. She had already programmed the preset to 105.5 and cranked it up. Sully’s voice blared through the speakers, backed up by the band, sounding amazing. She jumped up and down a
nd hooted with joy and excitement. She ran back over to the phone. “Lex! Where are you?”

  “In a parking lot on Wilshire. I’m on Wes’s portable.”

  “Come over, you and Wes both. We have got to celebrate. This is huge!”

  “We’ll be right over.”

  Steve stared at her, partially stunned and slightly annoyed with her behavior. She pointed to the stereo. “That’s my band on the radio! That’s one of the bands I manage! That’s Gypsy Tango…on the radio!” She screamed again and started giggling.

  He chuckled. “That’s great Kit, but we still have a lot to do tonight.” She stared at him and shook her head. Nothing like a good buzz kill, she thought.

  Bryan changed lanes on the 101 Freeway, moving over to exit on Highland Avenue as Sully changed the radio station. He flipped it to 105.5 and heard his own vocals. The band and Sully were all momentarily speechless and then started screaming at the top of their lungs. Bryan yelled excitedly. “She did it! She got us on KNAC! Fuck yeah!”

  Sully nodded and smiled confidently. “Of course she did! I knew she would.”

  Jimmy leaned forward and tapped on Bryan’s shoulder. “Head over to Kit’s. We have got to celebrate with her.”

  Kit didn’t know how to break it to Steve that Wes and Alexa were coming over to celebrate. She figured this might end up being a night where they either decided to take a break from dating so seriously or break up altogether.

  Alexa flew through the door fifteen minutes later with Wes in tow. He was carrying the champagne. Alexa ran over to Kit and hugged her. Both of them jumped up and down, screaming and Wes laughed, happy to see them celebrating months of hard work.

  He then hugged Kit and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Congratulations, beautiful. You did it! We brought something to do a little celebrating.” He presented her with a chilled magnum of Dom Perignon champagne.

  Alexa giggled. “This man does not mess around when it comes to celebrating.”

  Steve stood up and looked at Kit. “Hey! We’re supposed to be studying here.”

  She looked at him and shook her head, smiling. “Not tonight. We’re done with our study party, honey.”

  He shook his head and angrily started packing up his stuff. “Then I’m outta here.” He left in a huff, slamming the door behind him.

  Alexa laughed. “More for us!”

  Seconds later, Gypsy Tango came running through the door yelling, screaming, and cheering as they tackled Kit onto the sofa, hugging and kissing her. Wes shook up the magnum and opened it over the band and Kit, expensive champagne christening their victory.

  Sully pulled Alexa into their big dog pile. She had certainly helped Kit get them there and they all respected her for that. Wes stood back watching and laughing as Alexa grabbed the bottle from him and started chugging it, then handed it to Kit who did the same and passed it onto Sully.

  It was ten full minutes before everyone settled down. Bryan headed out to move his van, hoping it was still there. He had parked in a red zone in front of the apartment building with his hazard lights on. Wes talked with Sully and the guys for a bit, while Kit pulled Alexa into the kitchen.

  She grinned. “I wanted to say thanks again. If it weren’t for your connections we wouldn’t be here… yet. We got here much quicker than I expected. Really, Lex, I appreciate it more than you know.”

  Alexa smiled. “Baby, I am in this with you one-hundred percent. I’m in it to win it as much as you are. I see how brilliant these guys are. I see how Sully can light up a stage and seduce his audience like a pro. This is just the beginning, sweetie. This is what we came here to do. We’re in it and it’s better than I ever imagined it would be.”

  Kit squealed with joy and hugged her tightly. “This is really exciting!” She pulled back and looked at Alexa. “I have an idea that I want to run by them—something that hit me the other day. It’s going to cost a chunk of change, though. We’ll have to talk about it.”

  Alexa grinned. “How much are we talking here? A few thousand or a whole lot more?”

  “Not sure yet, but I know it’s going to be over ten for sure.”

  Alexa giggled. “Hold that thought.” She leaned out of the kitchen. “Hey, Wes, get your ass in here, brown sugar.”

  Kit chuckled. “Do you always talk to him like that?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Once in a while. He kinda likes it.”

  He walked into the kitchen and smiled at her. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “You rang?”

  She looked up at him and grinned. “Remember that conversation we had in the car earlier about GT?”

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  “Here’s your golden opportunity, honey. Kit, here’s the pitch of your lifetime. I’ll leave you two to your own devices.” She walked past Wes and out of the kitchen.

  Kit grinned and tilted her head to the side. “I’m sorry, Wes. I’m a little confused. Care to clue me in?”

  He leaned on the counter and grinned. His kind, dark brown eyes twinkled. “How much do you need, Kit?”

  She chuckled. “I don’t know my number yet, but let’s say it’s definitely over ten grand. Why are you asking?”

  He smiled. “Lex told me you want to take your management company, KMK, to the next level and that you already have some bands established. I’d like to be one of your investors for KMK Management, but I want the majority of my funding to be allocated specifically to Gypsy Tango.”

  Kit’s mouth dropped open. She couldn’t believe her ears. “Are you serious, Wes?”

  He nodded and grinned. “Oh yeah. You and Sully willing to meet with me this week to talk about the details?”

  She giggled. “Absolutely.”

  Kit walked into the rehearsal studio where the guys were running through their set for the show coming up in two days. She was pleased to see them much more serious and focused. They looked like a polished, professional band—one that would be worthy of a seven figure record deal. She took a seat on the sofa in the back and watched them until the song ended. She nodded. “You guys sound good.”

  Sully looked at her. “Any tweaks?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’d say Tony needs to turn up a bit, but that’s it. Ok guys, band meeting, right now.”

  They all assembled moments later with Sully taking a seat to her right, while Jimmy sat on her left. Remo, Tony, and Bryan sat in front of her on plastic crates—each one of them eager with anticipation. She wanted to laugh. She had never seen them this attentive, but ever since the success of the national tour, the sell out show at the Roxy, and the radio airplay on KNAC, they hung on her every word.

  “Guys, I have an idea. Your single is building momentum back east and I have a sneaking suspicion that you’ll be charting soon. This puts us in a good position because record companies are going to come after us, and a few already have.”

  Jimmy looked at her. “They have?”

  “Yes. We have interest from several indies, including Enigma, right now.”

  Remo’s mouth dropped open. “Holy shit.”

  She shook her head. “We don’t want an indie, guys. We want to go big. We need corporate muscle behind this.”

  Sully nodded. “Yeah guys, c’mon. This is not the time to settle.”

  Kit looked at him and nodded in agreement. “Here’s the idea. We cut a four song EP on our own and push it out at shows, through the fan club, give it to the stations, etcetera.”

  Tony frowned. “But, we don’t have the songs for an EP.”

  Kit stared at him. “Tony, we take the songs from the demo, turn it into an EP, and promote the shit out of it locally. It’s a very grassroots strategy. And yes, it’s a risk, but I’m willing to do it if you guys are. If this goes how I think it will, we’ll be poised to have the majors we want coming after us in the New Year. We can probably push this out right after Thanksgiving if we hustle.”

  Bryan nodded. “Kit, we did make some money on the tour, but we don’t have that much. Are you bankr
olling this?”

  Kit shook her head. “We have two potential investors, Bry. Sull and I are meeting with them this week.” She glanced at Sully.

  He knew better than question her. He didn’t know the details, but went along with it anyway. He sat back and put his arm along the back of the sofa. “Yeah, we’ve got a meeting all set up.”

  Kit looked around at all of them. “I think the investors will go for it. If that’s the case, we’ll pull the trigger and go into production getting the demo pressed. We’ll go vinyl and cassette, more cassette than vinyl, though. You could potentially chart without a deal, which would put us in a position to pick and choose what we want. It will position you to go with the highest bidder—one that you want and not the other way around. It’s the ultimate power play. What do you guys think?”

  Jimmy chuckled. “Once again, Kit-Kat, I think you’re fucking brilliant. Let’s do it.”

  All of the other guys nodded their heads in agreement and Sully spoke up. “Ok, then that’s the plan. Kit and I will call another meeting after we meet with the investors. In the meantime, let’s focus on being on point for our upcoming show. And guys, let’s optimize our time with Kit, ok? She’s under a lot of pressure with school this year. Let’s help her out as much as we can and make her job easy. Got it?”

  They all nodded. She looked over at him and smiled. “Thanks, Sull. Ok, guys. Get back to it. I’m outta here—back to the law library for me. I’ll be home tonight.”

  Sully ran after her. “Hey! Let me walk you out.” He strolled out to her car and leaned against it. “So, tell me, who is this investor? I know Veri is in town and we agreed to meet her this week, but there’s another one too? Is it Alexa?”

  Kit grinned. “Yes, we’re meeting with Veri and another person. It’s not Lex. This is a whole lot bigger, babe.”

  “Who is it?”