Page 25 of Strike A Chord
“Too hot for ya?” The guys walked in a couple hours later drenched in sweat. “We got to mosh with the GP.” General Public. Marley was a big fan of acronyms. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and a towel from the cupboard and chugged it down as he wiped the sweat off.
“Nah, I saw a couple play and that was good enough.” Tonight, I knew I’d sneak around and watch some of the bigger bands, but they didn’t need to know I’d become a lame ass chicken shit who ran from his past. Watching Masterson’s latest pet project, Embrace the Fear, was on my list and they played later today. Might as well see what Chaotic was potentially up against.
The rest of the night went off without incident. Embrace had a huge following and even though I wasn’t familiar with their songs, I still got rowdy with the crowd. I was so amped up for our show on Sunday that deep sleep never came. Both a blessing and a curse, but no more nightmares in front of my bandmates were more than worth being tired the next day. Masterson was one of the best management companies you could get in with, but they took no shit from the talent. You fucked up and your ass was out.
No surprise, I was up with the roosters pacing our mobile confines. I’d either totally fuck things up for my band today or rock the shit so hard Sal wouldn’t dare walk away from us. Confrontation with Social and Maiden was inevitable, but it was time for my testicles to descend and for me to man the fuck up and face this shitstorm head on.
Jason, Marley, Nigel, and I had that nervous excitement coursing through us. Pacing, humming, Nigel ran around spinning his sticks between his fingers. When Deuce announced, “Head ‘em up, move ‘em out. It’s showtime, boys,” we huddled up one last time.
“Guys, best feet forward and let’s rock the fucking shit out of Rocktoberfest so they have to invite us back.” Jason was our frontman for a reason. Fair, energetic, and an all-around great guy I was proud to call a friend.
“Hey, um…” I paused. “I just wanted to thank you guys for taking a chance on me. I won’t let you down.” They patted my shoulder as they passed me on their way off the bus. No words were said. Now it was make it or break it time for all of us.
“You good?” Deuce asked when we were the last two on the bus.
“Well, about as good as I will be. I’ve worked my entire life for this.”
“All right, Rockstar, let’s see what you’ve got.”
As we neared the stairs to the stage, the familiar sea of bodies lining it only spelled trouble for me.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Stoli said so loud every set of eyes followed his line of sight, including my band brothers. And in typical Josh fashion, I went into protective smartass mode and blew Stoli a kiss.
“What are you doing playing with a has been like Josh Gray?” Ryder asked Jason. His husband, Max, was glued to his side, ready for whatever was about to go down. Little did they know, I wasn’t here to fight. At least not physically. My fight would be left onstage where I’d prove my worth.
“Now, now, gentlemen, there’s no need for such hostility.” Filter? Filter? Looks like I left it at home. I didn’t know what it was about these guys that made me act this way, but it was like I couldn’t help myself.
Jason backed up, hands in the air as Shadow pushed his way through. Shadow was fucking pissed. One punch from him and I’d likely never be the same. “I’m gonna break both his hands so he never plays again. End of story.” The guards nearly knocked everyone down to get between us.
“Stand down!” a huge ass guard said. That dude was a behemoth and was clearly in charge given the fact no one challenged him. Hell, I’d bow and lick his fucking boots if he told me to.
And there he was, the man of the hour. Lucas. “Daddy’s little lackey came to play. I see you’ve fucked your way through more bands.”
Shadow growled and tried to sidestep the guards, but Lucas put his hand on his chest, and he stopped. “No worries, I’ve got this,” Lucas was through the throng of bodies before anyone could stop him. Before my dumbass could say anything else, he clocked me with a right to the chin and I stumbled back. My boot caught on a roll of cable and down I went.
Fucking humiliating.
“Right on, babe.” Shadow picked him up and kissed him. “Let’s go ice your hand.”
“Great, now Masterson will never sign us,” Nigel was pissed. “Remind me again why we hired that asshole?” Well, there went the progress I thought we’d made.
“What did you say?” Joey asked Nigel at the same time Diamond screamed, “Easton!” and stormed off in search of his husband who’d just hopped a ride on a golf cart with one of their personal bodyguards. Every member of Maiden, Social, and Embrace followed them.
“Here,” Marley helped me up. “Let’s get up on stage and salvage our short career in the music industry.”
Fuck. My. Life.
“You all right to play?” Jason asked as I brushed off my pants.
“Yeah.”
When we got up on stage, the massive sea of fans in front of it was insane. “Good morning, or is it afternoon, Nevada!” Jason hollered into the mic, rousing them. “We are Chaotic Abyss from Seattle, and we are here to kick. Your. Sunday. Off!” That got them even more riled up and kept them busy while the rest of us got hooked up.
When I struck that first chord it was like…wow. All my hopes and dreams were finally within reach. I played without error, felt every note rip through me and headbanged along with the crowd.
Fucking amazing.
Our forty minutes of fame went far too fast and now it was time to face the firing squad, only as we walked off stage it seemed my band mates weren’t the only ones I’d have to contend with. So much for celebrating a kick ass show, thank fuck that at least went well. I even managed to enthrall the crowd with my mad eye contact skills I’d honed. Now, it was all coming to an end.