by Rob Jones
“I am serious as sin. He also said that he could help me out as well, by being an intern at Meltdown Records.” Bella’s face glowed.
“I can’t believe this; I just was reading about that record company earlier this week. Meltdown Records is Allen Downs’ label,” Wes interjected with enthusiasm.
“Allen Downs from the band Whiskey Talk?” Ethan asked, scrunching his face and scratching his chin. “His band used to be a country band. Why would he be interested in a hard rock/ metal band like us?”
“Well, whenever he’s been interviewed, he always talk about his love for rock music, how he grew up listening and loving both rock and country music, and how he really wanted to sing rock music but his voice was more suited for country. So I guess this is his way to get involved in metal music and scratch that itch,” Wes replied as he wiped the dripping sweat from his brow.
“This is really cool, I mean really cool. There is no doubt that we are about to be signed and become the biggest band in Nashville. Wake up, dream boys, because we are about to start living out our dreams.”
Ethan was filled with excitement and confidence about the bright new prospect. He couldn’t wait to share the news with Zoe. It never occurred to him how gratifying it was to have someone in his life that he could share an amazing moment with. This was something that took him by surprise. He didn’t recognize that peculiar deficiency of joy that he was missing. In such a short time Zoe had added so much to his life. Fulfilling a quiet longing that was latent under music, popularity, whiskey, and women. She had breathed authenticity and added another layer of value in his life, something that he thought he already possessed.
Everything was coming up roses for him. What were the odds of embarking on the career of his dreams and having the girl of his dreams merging together all at once? Life couldn’t get any better.
Strangely, while dwelling on his good fortune, a feeling of melancholy slowly descended down on him like an unexpected rain that washed in the memories of his parents. How he wished that they could have witnessed these life-changing events with him. Nostalgia brought to mind how he told them at an early age that he would be a rock star like his dad, touring all over the world, making a career by living out his dream. They always encouraged him and helped foster and cultivate his dreams, not only verbally but also in action. His father taught him how to read music and play the acoustic guitar and drums, his mother taught him how to play the piano and paid for voice lessons. They made him join the boys’ choir and reinforced in him that it would take discipline and hard work to achieve his goals in life. That he must first be a competent musician before he could be a bona fide rock star like his dad.
And when it came to Zoe, they would have been like him, head over heels for her. His mom would have jokingly said that she could do better than him and the truth of the matter was she probably wouldn’t be wrong about that. Zoe was a virtuous angel and he was considered a dirty devil. Out of all the girls that he had been with, Zoe was the only girl he would have told his parents that she could be the one.
“It’s time to get turned up, boys. Let’s invite some cool people in the leftover crowd out there over to my pad and extend this night. And when I say cool people, I mean all of the sexy, smoking-hot chicks,” Ligon demanded.
“Sorry, Lig I’m going to have to sit this one out. You guys have a good one.” Thinking about Zoe caused a longing in Ethan’s heart to hear her voice, so he decided to go home so that he could call her and tell her the news and how he felt about her.
“Oh well, that just means more girlies for me to show them how much I appreciate their fandom.” Ligon took a sizeable drag from his cigarette.
“On that note I’m out of here,” Bella said. “I will do some recon on Meltdown Records on my laptop so I will be up to speed on what they are all about, and what other bands they have signed to their label. Then I will call this Dan guy to see what they want and can do for us.” She wrote a note for herself on a pad. “I’ll brief you guys tomorrow. Great show tonight, by the way. Love you boys.” Bella took the last swallow of her beer, tossed it in the garbage, grabbed her laptop and keys, and walked out.
***
It was two a.m. and there was no sleep to be found for Ethan after he talked with Zoe on the phone. He lay motionless in his bed with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling and wondering what Zoe was dreaming about. He imagined that her dreams were just as beautiful as she was, filled with striking colors, the sweetest smells, and the most mysterious and alluring music. A magical place where he and she conceived and birthed an agape love, a love that they fostered and cultivated in an exotic garden where life and passion kissed in glorious silence, and where they beheld the stars dancing with the dawn. Thinking about her filled his imagination with wonderment. There had not been a time where he’d came close to having someone suddenly seize the parts of him that were free, the parts that were just for him, and him only. He hadn’t thought this person ever existed, until he met the miracle of Zoe Edwards.
He slightly raised his head only to find the big blue eyes of Sue looking at him at the foot of his bed.
“Sue, I hope you will have the opportunity to find that once-in-a-lifetime mate for you like I have. At least I think I have. You know what, we will go to the dog park tomorrow to find someone for you to look at like you’re looking at me right now. Ooh, you know what would be really cool?” He sat up even more, criss–cross applesauce. “If there was a dating app for dogs. It would have a pic and a profile of a dog. It would give details of what the dog is like, and what it’s looking for, like nerdy dogs, shy dogs, aggressive dogs, self-loathing dogs, if it’s lazy or energetic, if it’s housebroken. This also could help other people find love as well. The possibilities are endless.” Ethan smiled and laid his head back down. “I’m going to see how to get a patent for this. I’m sure we could make so much money for something like that. We could call it Puppy Love. What do you think, Sue?” Sue started licking his paws. “Yeah, you’re right. I sound like a crazy person talking about dating dog apps. It’s Zoe’s fault, she has got me trying to find love for everybody and everything. We better get some sleep. Goodnight, buddy, love you.
***
“All right, guys, here’s the scoop. I spoke to Dan Byers this morning and he said he has talked you guys up to the executives at Meltdown Records and played your song First Blood for them and showed them how well it was doing on the radio and request lines. Their interest was piqued so much that they want us to come to Meltdown Records for a meeting with the A&R management team to discuss the contingent plans that they have for you guys,” Bella expressed with a warm smile.
“Did he divulge any specific plans they may have for us?” Ethan inquired. “I really don’t want us to get screwed around by these guys.”
“What he knows for sure is that they want you to do a showcase at Meltdown Records for their staff, but I suggested to him to do the showcase here at the Black Dive where 102.9 F.M. The Buzz will be doing their live remote next month, and guess what?” She paused for effect.
“He thought that was an amazing idea because that would give the A&R team and Allen Downs an opportunity to see you guys live and in action, interacting with the crowd, and if they like what they see and hear, a development deal may be in the works.”
“Booyah! That is what I’m talking about! We need to slay this showcase so they won’t have a choice but to sign us on the spot,” Ethan said. “We need to practice, practice, practice with a reckless abandonment. We need to rehearse like we are actually performing on stage in front of a packed stadium. I’m going to go home to put the finishing touches on the songs I’ve been working on, and tomorrow at practice we can breathe life into them and give them some shape and color.”
“That’s a good idea, Ethan, you guys can’t leave anything to chance. Do all that you can to wow them, and to show them that you deserve to be on that label. It’s time for everyone to step up their game because it just got real,” B
ella said.
“We gotta pack this place out,” Ethan said. “I know that The Buzz is going to promote this, but we need to grind and do our due diligence. We need to get on all of our social media outlets and promote the heck out of this.” Ethan took out his phone and bombarded his media outlets.
“Let’s also go old school with this and pass out flyers to the colleges all around. They say for every one hundred flyers given out, only ten will actually come to that event so we have some work to do,” Wes voiced.
Ethan could feel the excitement pulsating off everyone, including himself. He had never seen this energy and passion from them before. Ligon was doing a little dance, Owen was going around hugging everybody and saying that he loved them. Wes, well Wes was just even keel, but he did manage to put a smile on his face. In fact, it was impossible for them all not to smile. Bella looked at Ethan with elated damp eyes that were bordered with long eyelashes. She mouthed, I’m so proud of you. Ethan smiled and mouthed back, I’m proud of you, too.
Chapter Sixteen
Ethan
“This is it, guys. The shot that we all have been aiming for.” Bella paced back and forth like she was trying to figure out how to cover up a murder. “This moment is the biggest moment of your lives. It can change everything for everybody. You have worked hard for over a month for this opportunity. No one, absolutely no one deserves this more than you guys.” Her pace quickened.
“Will you please stop pacing back and forth? You’re making me nervous. I have never seen you tripping like this before,” Owen said while tuning his bass.
“Sorry, sorry, I just want this so much for you guys. I also—”
“Want Dan to look good for the record company so that you two can continue to work closely together because you caught some feelings for him,” Owen interrupted her. “It’s no secret that you developed a little crush for the man.”
“What?” Color rushed over her face. “Whatever, chump. I don’t even know him that well.” She folded her arms. “Granted, we have spent a lot of time together over the last couple of weeks, but those were only business meetings concerning you guys and about me networking so that I can get my foot in the door at the record company.” She shifted her weight. “Dan and I are only interested in the success for the band.”
“Yep, our success translates to his success,” Ethan interjected.
“Spoken like a true cynic,” she countered.
“Oh. Not only is he seeking success with the record company, but with you as well. Sasha gave me the scoop on him. He’s digging you too, and he wants to make some sweet, sweet music with you.” Owen started playing a riff on his bass.
“Sasha, is that true?”
“Well, sort of.” She shot Owen a look of disapproval.
“Sasha, can I have a private word with you, please?” Bella said.
They walked out of the band room. Ethan, Wes, and Owen each pressed an ear to the door to hear their conversation.
“Why didn’t you tell me that Dan was interested in me?”
“Because you never mentioned that you were feeling him, and I kinda had a small, a very small crush on him. Sorry.”
“I understand. Well, in full disclosure, I do have a massive crush on this guy,” Bella confessed.
Owen snickered while Ethan nodded his head like he knew that she did all along.
“I thought that I felt a connection with Dan whenever we got together to discuss the band and other music business, but I couldn’t get a proper assessment on him. I didn’t know if the connection that I felt was fabricated by my imagination or if it was an unspoken mutual correspondence.
“So now I’m pretty sure that he has been flirting with me, I think. He would sometimes place his hand on my shoulder in the middle of a conversation, his eyes would pop when he gave me a compliment. He’s always teasing and joking with me. When I tell him a story he exaggerates his expressions like aww, that is so sweet. There was this one cloudy day when he invited me to a party at his record company so that I could get to know some of the people who worked there and perhaps strike up a relationship or two. It was there where I felt a gravitational pull between us, even though we were in a room full of people where everyone was clamoring for his attention, and for mine as well. Every time I looked up I found his eyes warmly clothing me, examining me, and protecting me from afar.”
Ethan placed his hands over his heart and made a sad, sarcastic face. Owen and Wes muffled their mouths, trying not to burst into laughter.
“Knowing he has a real interest in me tells me that my woman’s intuition wasn’t as far-fetched as I thought it was.”
“You always get the hot guy, Bella. You are a lucky girl. I guess I will entangle myself with his pleasantly cute friend in my seductive web. He was extremely thirsty for me. Then we could start double dating, how exciting!”
The smile painted on Bella’s face when she walked back into the green room quickly faded when she saw Ethan, Wes and Owen scampering away from the door as they tried to pretend they were busying themselves with something else, but their faces gave away that they were eavesdropping.
“You guys are pathetic. I know you were listening to us.” Bella’s face hardened. “You need to be focusing and getting ready for the show instead of behaving like you’re in the third grade. Speaking of getting ready, where in the world is Ligon?” She started to pace back and forth again.
“We are about to embark on the biggest night ever and he’s nowhere to be found. You guys go on in about thirty-five minutes.” She picked up her pace.
“I need a drink. This guy is going to give my liver a heart attack.”
“I’ll go see if I can find him.” Wes got up and went out the back door.
The backstage green room suddenly felt like a library as everyone sat in silence. After doing his pre-show ritual, Ethan, in nervous contemplation from the weight of the importance of tonight’s showcase, instead of his default of biting his bottom lip, he closed his eyes, expanded his chest for several seconds then contracted it over and over again, trying to keep his anxiety at bay. Owen was in the corner fingering his bass guitar with a lit cigarette dangling precariously between his lips. Ethan rose from his seat and walked toward the mirror and began to do his vocal exercises again.
“What’s up, what’s up, what’s up?” Ligon stumbled in, sniffling and slurring his words. “I am so, so, so, so, so ready to face the rock off the crowd tonight.”
“You mean rock the faces off the crowd, you drunk monkey. I can’t believe you’re already wasted!” Owen expressed his disapproval. “You know that this is a real important show for us and we need to be on point tonight.”
“Pipe down, son, I, I got this.” Ligon altered his weight with his hands in his pockets. “You know that I play impeca- impeca- impeccably when I’ve had a shot or seven.”
Ethan looked at him sternly through the mirror, then turned around and darted toward him and grabbed him by his t-shirt. He noticed a white substance underneath his nose. “Have you been doing blow?” He muttered so that no one else could not hear him. “If you ruin this for us tonight, I promise that you won’t be able to play your guitar for a year because I will one by one break every finger that you have in several places with your own guitar.” His tone was even but dripping with severity.
“I can’t find Ligon anywhere.” Wes came back into the band room and saw Ethan with a handful of Ligon’s shirt. Ethan could feel the unnerving tension’s stranglehold on them all because of his heated fervor. He looked around at their faces and saw that the episode disturbed the atmosphere and began to drain the excitement and the raw energy that was accumulating. He took a longer than necessary breath, and released the hold that he had on Ligon.
“Go splash some cold water on your face and get in the game. We go on in a few.” Ethan shot a disparaging look at him. “You better be on point tonight!”
“Wow, this is an auspicious start to what should be the greatest night of our lives,” Owen sarcas
tically conveyed.
“Is everybody ready to blow some minds tonight?” Dan Byers blazed into the room with a bounce in his step, wearing a gray three-piece suit, a gray and black tie, and cuff links. His face was finely shaped, stern but with soft features. His eyes were blue like a sea of glass, and his hair was strategically supported by gel, making him look as if he’d just stepped out of a GQ magazine.
“I just want to wish you guys good luck out there and also let you know that we got some heavy hitters out in the crowd besides the record executives.” A proud smile appeared on his face as he ran his hand through his hair.
“Syd and Manix of the Gutter Dollz are out there and rumor has it that they are looking for an opening act for a couple of dates for their Angry at the World Tour. Apparently a little bird told them about this showcase, and how fierce and electric your shows are, and you guessed it.” He paused. “That little bird was me.”
Halfhearted and broken smiles flashed on the faces of Owen, Wes, and Bella, while Ethan stood there stoic, still fuming over Ligon’s antics.
“Is there something wrong? You guys are not giving it to me. You are far too reserved for this once-in-a-lifetime chance here. It’s time to get amped up and ready for what I know will be an untamed and wildly successful show, so put aside whatever is going on between you guys, go out there and wreck that stage.”
“You’re right. It is between us and we got it handled, so you can save your inspirational Rudy speech. So go on out there and do whatever it is that you do, sir.” Ethan looked in the mirror as he put on his glasses.
“That’s it! Use that angst to your advantage, let it burn so that you can set the crowd on fire.” Dan jabbed his fist in the air.
Ethan slowly turned away from the mirror, took off his shades and exposed flared eyes in Dan’s direction. He tilted his head from side to side like a boxer before a fight, his posture indicating that he was a man who was about to lose control.