Shadow & Flame - Part Two: The Collective - Season One, Episode 9

by Elias Raven

  Jezz and Ace were chatting back and forth. Abel and Elias both heard them talking and barged into their conversation. Both of them laughed because it was a story about playing club Kink in Los Angeles and they had been there! Jez rolled her eyes and gave me the middle finger just for shits and grins and I smirked and returned the favor. I loved that girl, she was all attitude. Ace was asking Elias a question about drumming on a Metal Insanity track called “The Young Gods.” Shit that was an oldie, if I remember right; it was off of their first self titled EP. Rhianna had a framed copy of it on the wall in the hallway.

  “Who did the drumming on the track for that song? The dude was fucking brilliant the way he did the rolls on the track and it sounded like a double bass drum. He was like really heavy on the playing. I must have listened to that song a million times when Rhianna first gave us the tape.” He asked.

  Elias gave Abel the look as he leaned forward and joined in.

  “Fuck if I remember who did the playing on that track? Abel you remember? Abel squinted his eyes and rubbed his chin.

  “Fuck dude, that was a long time ago. Doesn’t Rhianna still have that EP?” He asked.

  I smacked my girls ass and she reached to return the favor. I was of course too quick for her. She caught air as I dodged away.

  “The guys are calling your name beautiful.” I said pointing. Rhi looked at the boys.

  “You still got that EP from our first release?” Elias asked. Rhi smiled and walked into the hallway and came back holding a big framed picture. Abel covered his eyes.

  “You still have that??? Damn if that ever got out Rhi! There are some incriminating mother fucking paparazzi worthy pictures there that I am not sure I want Gia to see!” he growled, but I could see the smile on his face. Well as close to a smile that Abel would give.

  As soon as he said it Gia elbowed him and jumped up. Rhianna spun the frame around and everyone leaned forward. It was all vintage Metal Insanity. There was one picture called “The Golden Serpent” that raised some eyebrows. All vintage Polaroid’s and early shots of the band backstage and live.

  Gia whistled as she looked over the pictures.

  “I can see why you don’t want anyone to see these!” She smirked.

  Rhianna laughed with everyone else.

  “Yeah this was when they pushed the leather look all the way. The fan girls ate it up and you know neither of them was shy, so all bets were off.” She laughed looking at Abel.

  “Right Big Balls Tony!” she howled. Abel gave her a hard look and started laughing.

  “You always thought that shit was funny. It was a costume malfunction you little bitch!” he said in a playful growl.

  “Yes so was the cobra picture!” Rhianna replied laughing.

  Abel smirked and put his arm around Gia looking at the pictures then pulling her back on the couch. Gia slid her leg over Abel’s as she whispered something in his ears. Whatever it was she got a rise out of him.

  Rhianna carefully opened up the frame and slid out the EP handing it to Ace.

  Ace smiled and took the album and flipped it around handing it delicately. They only made a few hundred copies. When they had first started, they couldn’t give them away. Later they went into demand, but by then CD’s and MP3’s took over so the album versions were now highly sought after collector’s items. Ace scanned the sleeve and liner notes before he found what he was looking for.

  “So you guys did this at The Record Plant?” Abel snapped his fingers and nodded.

  “Yeah that was it! According to this you just thanked a guy named Animal for drumming on the track? Who was that?” he asked.

  Elias smacked his head as soon as he heard the name.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you!” he started laughing.

  “It was Bonzo’s kid!” he exclaimed. Abel started chuckling.

  “Fuck, I forgot about that. He was in town with his band and we had hooked up at Slither and told him we were working on the EP. He was so trashed he came in and drummed on the track. He asked us to keep it anonymous, since he was under contract at the time with Geffen or one of the labels, the pricks!” He said.

  “No shit! No wonder! He has a distinct style of play just like his dad. The drumming makes total sense now!” He said.

  Just then my phone chimed with a text message. I looked down and saw it was Neely. I walked over to Royston who was sitting quietly in the dining room eating and showed him the text message.

  “So you told Neely we would play at Reds?” I asked.

  Royston laughed when he saw the message.

  “I hadn’t had a chance to ask you two. Since she is one of your friends and I do believe you’re on good terms. She asked if we would come down to Reds and do a quick set maybe an hour or so? She is trying to get more bands to book with them to pack the house. She took over their PR job.” He said candidly.

  “I don’t know Royston, I mean we’ve drank there once or twice, it’s more of a MC type of place, but we can hang with the best of them.” I replied.

  “Well what I was thinking was we do a quick fan club announcement. You’re playing Red’s as Leather & Lace or some such name to keep the place from getting mobbed and only fan club members that sign up will get in. Neely said she has a few guys to man the door and we can pack the place for Neely and you give your fans something and we can do our tune up there.” He replied.

  “What about Abel and Elias?” I asked looking over at the boys.

  “We don’t want to let the cat out of the bag just yet. Let's see if they want to come along and just hang in the audience. If they do want to come up to play then can, but if they just want to drink and enjoy the show they can do that too and save the surprise for The Fillmore.” He replied.

  I waved Rhianna over from the living room and showed her the page.

  “Royston, that place is a dive!” she said.

  “I did say we were going to play a bar Rhianna remember?” He replied smiling.

  Royston explained the plan and Rhianna crossed her arms then waved everyone over. Ace and Jez were in immediately.

  Abel laughed as soon as he heard the name.

  “Fuck, I haven’t heard that name in forever! Didn’t we play or get drunk there when we were still in college?” he looked over at Elias.

  Elias started laughing.

  “I remember Red’s. He is a shrewd business man, but he was fair. After he totaled our liquor bill against what he was going to pay us for the night, we owed him a hundred bucks!” he exclaimed.

  We all rolled with laughter at the comment including Royston.

  “Well I guess we're playing Red’s then!” I held up my beer and everyone did the same.

  Chapter 6

  ~East Coker~

  You say I am repeating

  Something I have said before. I shall say it again.

  Shall I say it again? In order to arrive there,

  To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,

  You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.

  In order to arrive at what you do not know

  You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.

  In order to possess what you do not possess

  You must go by the way of dispossession.

  Excerpt from Four Quartets by T.S. Elliot

  Genevieve~ Attitude is everything in the music or fashion industry. Depending on your fans, you either strut out on stage and own the place or you go out with a quiet dignity and humility and the fans find it endearing. In the case of my mate Elias and his best friend Abel, the attitudes they have is kick the front door in and own the place. Pretty much the biggest meat in the locker room and get out of our way. Both of them have that element they bring to the party. It was one of the things that attracted me to Elias when we first met at UCLA. He walked in and he knew who he was and what he was about and he didn’t back off of that position ever. When he hooked up with Abel and formed Metal Insanity they cut their teeth at the local
bars and venues in LA, but not once did they not know who they were or what they brought to the table.

  Rhianna, Misty and her band were schooled the same way. Go in and blow them away and afterwards pick up the pieces and see who was standing. It was just a fact of life. It was good to see my future husband back in his element. Stripped of the suit and tie, stripped of the façade of corporate culture he was back to just being the man I fell in love with. I liked it a fucking lot. The more we were away from Los Angeles, the more we both were away from responsibility and just being with each other, just loving each other, just being in the moment and fuck all the rest of it was an amazing feeling. Yes, Khyentse was in the background keeping watch on us. Yes, Elias was getting an occasional message about something he had to decide on, but for the most part the reality and the fantasy were almost separate and it gave us time to really unwind.

  Seeing him on the stage practicing, playing the hell out of that black SG, the look of ferocious glee that was spread across his face. His head arched, shredding, jamming, going neck and neck with Abel. Fuck it was primal and I was wet as hell seeing him like that again. When we were in college, after he was done we would go back to his place and screw each other senseless. It was such a turn on watching him play, listening to the words and knowing which ballads were about me, about us, fuck it was hot.

  Gia and Mia and Chance were really digging the practice session as much as I was. It was free form anarchy in the sound booth. Royston was a good sport about it, considering we bumped and grinded him a couple of times. It was all in good fun, but yeah, it was good to have my Elias back again. Don’t get me wrong, after all the shit that had gone down with his brother, I was grateful to still be walking and six feet up. We still had a shit storm to deal with at some point, but right now there was this moment and we needed it desperately.

  After the practice, I slipped easily next to him smiling. Cold beers and good Italian food always make for great times. Royston had impeccable taste, I’ll give him that. His sense of humor was well... English, but that was why the boys gave him a hard time. As soon as they asked about the gig at Reds I started laughing.

  Red’s was a good bar; the owner was a pain in the ass. We hadn’t played there in forever and a minute and that was being kind. If Neely wasn’t asking, I wouldn’t do it. Since she was doing the music promotion and helping Red out, I was ok with it. We would slide in the stage door, pack the place out, feed Rhianna and Abel’s fans really quick and out we would go. I knew we could all hang backstage while the band jammed and I would get to see my baby in all his glory again. I was tingling just thinking about it. I hope Rhianna and Misty didn’t mind me screaming later. I was going to be vocal after tonight’s show that was a fact. I clenched thinking about it as everyone gave Royston the nod and we sat down to eat. There is something about Fresh Lasagna, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Eggplant Parmesan, fresh antipasto salad and bread, the whole meal was fucking fantastic! It was balls out delicious old school out of bounds good.

  Ace and Jezebel went out to the garage and started staging gear on the driveway. I walked out with the boys as Royston slid around the side of the garage and fired up the band's tour bus that was under a canvas vehicle storage. Leave it to the British Pimp to score large for his girls. Everyone smiled when he backed out the black Turtle Top Vanterra XLT. It looked bad ass. Royston had pimped the shit out of the van with burgundy red and blue decals that matched Misty’s hair with high resolution shots of the golden gate bridge and Shadow & Flames first album cover on it. There were also different live shots of the band performing on stage. Add opaque windows so you couldn’t see inside from the outside and a divider in the back to stow the amps and stuff and a portable wet bar inside that was fully stocked to the nines and it was stylish.

  Elias was a little distracted texting on his phone, I’m sure to let Khyentse know what the plan was and make sure there was extra security if needed. Abel walked around the bus and looked back at Royston.

  “Fuck Royston, you scored on the wheels. No wonder the fans go ape shit when they see her coming into town!” he said.

  At that moment, it occurred to me going on the bus might be a bad idea for the small gig, I think Abel was thinking the same thing.

  “Not a problem Abel, I’ll take the gear down to the bar and unload with Jezebel and Ace and stash the van in a garage until show time. You all can take your own vehicles down instead. Besides it will throw any paparazzi that might get wind of the show off your trail. Does that sound agreeable to everyone?” Royston asked.

  “I can see why Rhianna loves you. You think fast on your feet. You’re a regular cheetah sometimes Royston!” Chuckling Elias spoke up, then we all did.

  Royston returned the smile. He knew they were fucking with him. It was his job to think of these things.

  “I could rent a U-Haul and go completely non-descript, but the tour bus will get the fans going when they see it, it will be a nice precursor for The Fillmore.” he replied with a quick smile.

  Abel gave him the chin. That was his way of saying good thinking.

  We all pitched in getting the bus loaded. We had the studio rolled up in no time. It totally felt old school at that moment, when we were first starting out. I knew I was in my head waxing all nostalgic, but things were a lot simpler then. Royston hopped in the bus with Jez and Ace and they headed to Reds. Rhianna and Misty left to join them and told us to hang out till tonight’s show. Abel leaned over and whispered into Elias ear, it had to have been something nasty because Elias started laughing his ass off. Abel looked over at me.

  “I’m going back to the rental to kick with the missus and baby, we'll hook up with you later at Reds” he said smirking.

  I couldn’t resist the comeback and leaned over and whispered in his ear.

  “You look like you’re going to bang the shit out of Gia and don’t even tell me that is not what you have planned you fucker!” I told him.

  Abel started rolling with laughter and Gia raised her eyebrows. I leaned over and whispered in Gia’s ear what I had said. She tilted her glasses down and fist bumped me.

  “You’re damn fucking right that’s what’s going to happen!” she said back and flipped her glasses down.

  Abel wrapped his arms around Gia and grabbed her ass pulling her close.

  “Catch ya!” he said. They all walked to their car while I grabbed Elias and pulled him into the house. Gia wasn’t the only one that was about to get hammered and I was going to enjoy every fucking inch of it.

  Chapter 7

  ~Burnt Norton~

  Here is a place of disaffection

  Time before and time after

  In a dim light: either daylight

  Investing form with lucid stillness

  Turning shadow into transient beauty

  With slow rotation suggesting permanence

  Nor darkness to purify the soul

  Emptying the sensual with deprivation

  Cleansing affection from the temporal.

  Neither plenitude nor vacancy. Only a flicker

  Over the strained time-ridden faces

  Distracted from distraction by distraction

  Filled with fancies and empty of meaning

  Tumid apathy with no concentration

  Men and bits of paper, whirled by the cold wind

  That blows before and after time,

  Excerpt from Four Quartets by T.S. Elliot

  Rhianna~ It was great to see Neely. It had been a minute since we had talked. She was waiting for us behind the bar when we pulled up already going over things with Royston. She was efficient, I’ll give her that. Ace and Jezebel were already unloading and moving our gear into the bar. Red slid out the back door when he saw us pull up and walked up and shook our hands and thanked us for coming down. He still looked the same, grizzled and hardened, a no nonsense type of man that didn’t take anyone’s shit. He was a shrewd business man and was a tough negotiator. Royston always had his hands full with him, but in this par
ticular case we were doing Neely a favor, so Red was covering grub and drinks as long as we didn’t abuse the privilege.

  We walked up to Neely and gave her a hug. Neely kept thanking us repeatedly for coming. When Royston told her who else was joining us for the set, her eyes got really big.

  “Shit, I’ll make sure that Tommy and John are working the doors and I’ll put extra guys on the back to make sure no one sneaks in.” She said.

  She leaned over and whispered in Red’s ear and told him what was up.

  “Abel and Elias? That was that band out of LA, Insanity something or other. I remember those two! Damn near emptied the bar one night! I thought they were going to start a fight when I told them they owed me money after playing for me. The bar bill was through the roof!” he exclaimed.

  We all laughed when we heard the story. There had been some years between the last time they had played Red’s and now and Red was happy they were going to stop in during the set. Since he wasn’t paying us the house minimum, he didn’t mind bringing in extra guys to cover in case the fans get rowdy.

  Misty and I jumped in and helped everyone get the stage setup. Neely told us she would have one of the guys keep an eye on our gear until show time. We went up to the bar and Red handed everyone cold beers. The place was quiet. Usually Red would get a lot of MC types in, but today the jukebox was playing and just a few of the locals were hanging at the bar, shooting darts or playing pinball. Neely sat to the right of me and started talking my ear off.

  “Misty came in for a quick visit awhile back, I was going through a rough breakup and needed an ear. I keep telling her to drag your happy ass over here, but you're always busy!” She said.

  “We both are! She’s back and forth to LA a lot and I’m working on new album material in the studio with Royston and taking care of things, you know how it is?” I told her.

  We chatted back and forth while Royston went and stashed the bus. He went over and checked the sound board. Jez and Ace were running a sound check and making sure we were ready to go. The acoustics would change once the place was packed, but at least we could get our preliminary stuff done. Royston was a wizard about dialing in our sound during live gigs. Red’s didn’t have the best sound setup but he would push it hard and with Abel and Elias playing they were going to need it.