The Black Dog Apparition
Chapter 10
Laura’s Point of View
We were on for another interview - what was so interesting about us?! - and this time around, Michael was actually himself again, well as much of himself as weird ol’ Michael could be. He’d never really returned to the trailer-park Michael who was constantly annoyed by his little sister and in his own strange way hyper, but we had to be happy with what we had, right? Hey, he was still our Guitar Hero.
It was another guy again; he caught us right after we got off the stage after our performance. It took them a while to get the set up, but we had plenty to talk about while we waited. Jen, for one, was nearly jumping out of her shoes because Bret had kissed me. I had yet to tell him it was my first kiss… and, well… Oh, shut up, Laura! You’re starting to sound like a romance novel!
“Alright, then,” the guy, who introduced himself as Alex, started once the camera was rolling, “The Black Dog Apparition, what a pleasure it is to have you for this interview. Now, I have some questions for you that some fans have been asking about, the questions coming mainly from the Eyeball Records Internet website forums. You ready for this?”
We all nodded awkwardly at this stupid question. We were ready whether we liked it or not. What were we gonna do? Say “Oh, no, I gotta go piss… gimme a second…”?
“Okay,” Alex said dully, pulling out some note cards that obviously had the questions on them. “The first question is for the whole band; it asks, ‘What genre of music would you think your music is?’”
We all turned to look at Jen. She was the one with the songs in her head; she came up with nearly everything, instrumentally.
She gave a sly look-around and grinned, her cheeks turning her eyes into slits. And she thought for a moment, “Well, I hate labels, seeing as how we have so many… but when I come up with all the beats and the notes and put them all together, I don’t think in my head, ‘Oh, well, I want this to be a hard rock song’ or ‘No, this is suppose to be alternative, none of that mainstream shit’… And I think my mates would say the same. We don’t aim for just one genre, or just one type of sound. We just play what sounds good, or at least, whatwe thinks sounds good.
Alex nodded and so did we. Jennifer had a gift with public speaking, I just knew it.
“Next question,” the interviewer said, flipping his card over. “This one is for Jennifer… ‘Why are you almost always following Fall Out Boy around?’”
Jen’s mouth gaped in surprise, and she held up her hands as if she were holding the answer. “C’mon, aren’t I also allowed to drool over a band? What the hell’s so wrong about a person in one band liking another band? I mean, I’m still a kid; I’m not suddenly a mature adult just because I’m on stage. I like Fall Out Boy and My Chem and The Used and bands like that. I’m not giving up my obsessions just because we’re on tour.”
Bret smirked and snorted a laugh, “Heh, Jen - a mature adult? C’mon, carrot-top, I know you’re Miss Independent, but a mature adult - you’re pushing it.”
Jen squinted and pointed at the bass player like the Wicked Witch of the West, “Just you wait until this interview is done, mister…”
“Alright, then,” Alex began again. “And this question is for the whole band again, ‘How is it that you’re on tour, but you don’t have an album out yet? When will an album be released?’”
“Oh, wow,” Michael said, sitting back in his seat, crossing his arms and crossing his legs, “I was waiting for that one…” he thought, chewing his lip. I decided to take his place.
“We’re only on tour because Eyeball Records said it would be like a test run, to see how the crowds took to us, to see if we had a chance. Really I think they’ve just thrown us to the wolves, but so far it seems like the wolves like our scent,” I chuckled at my metaphor.
Michael cut in, “Yeah, but, well, as far the album thing… we haven’t honestly thought about releasing one, you know, with all the stress of the tour and shit like that. And like Laura said, this tour thing is just a test run. I guess if people like us then we might, but if they don’t, then we’ll just go right back to our garage and play for fun and not for profit.”
At the last bit of his sentence I shot him a dirty look. ‘If they don’t, then we’ll go right back to our garage and play for fun and not for profit’ - he just made us sound like a bunch of fat-headed kids who don’t give a shit about the fans, and only care about the money. I made sure he saw my look and he in return gave me a pleasant smile that made my insides burn.
Alex shifted in his seat awkwardly, I think it was because he could tell there was going to be a fight after this, but he continued none the less, “The next question asks, ‘What are your major influences, in life and in your music?’”
I was seething too much to answer, so Bret took over, “Well, for me… I’d have to say, as far as in my life, are Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, and Godsmack - weird arrangement, isn’t it? And the person who inspired me to play bass was my Biology teacher, actually. Mr. Grindstaff. He’s the shit.”
“My inspirational people-band-thingies,” Jen began, “are Blue October, Fall Out Boy, My Chem, and Papa Roach. No one really started me on drums. I’ve always been banging on something - pots, pans, tables… oh, god that sounded so wrong…”
Bret hissed a laugh that seemed to fit a hyena more than it did him. And I turned to look at her, brought out of my angry state given the chance to poke fun, “Now, Jen, I know you’ve been up to stuff,” I giggled, “but is there something we need to know?”
The drummer put up her hands and rolled her eyes, “You know what? I’m not gonna say anything anymore for the rest of the day - I quit!”
“About time,” Michael sneered, his legs and arms still crossed.
I was still looking up at Jen, but out of the corner of my eye, a red glint shone - probably a guitar or someone’s shirt. I would have dismissed it, but that was when I saw Bret freeze, and heard Alex’s crew start yelling “Call 911!”
We were on for another interview - what was so interesting about us?! - and this time around, Michael was actually himself again, well as much of himself as weird ol’ Michael could be. He’d never really returned to the trailer-park Michael who was constantly annoyed by his little sister and in his own strange way hyper, but we had to be happy with what we had, right? Hey, he was still our Guitar Hero.
It was another guy again; he caught us right after we got off the stage after our performance. It took them a while to get the set up, but we had plenty to talk about while we waited. Jen, for one, was nearly jumping out of her shoes because Bret had kissed me. I had yet to tell him it was my first kiss… and, well… Oh, shut up, Laura! You’re starting to sound like a romance novel!
“Alright, then,” the guy, who introduced himself as Alex, started once the camera was rolling, “The Black Dog Apparition, what a pleasure it is to have you for this interview. Now, I have some questions for you that some fans have been asking about, the questions coming mainly from the Eyeball Records Internet website forums. You ready for this?”
We all nodded awkwardly at this stupid question. We were ready whether we liked it or not. What were we gonna do? Say “Oh, no, I gotta go piss… gimme a second…”?
“Okay,” Alex said dully, pulling out some note cards that obviously had the questions on them. “The first question is for the whole band; it asks, ‘What genre of music would you think your music is?’”
We all turned to look at Jen. She was the one with the songs in her head; she came up with nearly everything, instrumentally.
She gave a sly look-around and grinned, her cheeks turning her eyes into slits. And she thought for a moment, “Well, I hate labels, seeing as how we have so many… but when I come up with all the beats and the notes and put them all together, I don’t think in my head, ‘Oh, well, I want this to be a hard rock song’ or ‘No, this is suppose to be alternative, none of that mainstream shit’… And I think my mates would say the same. We don’t aim for just one genre, or just one type of sound. We just play what sounds good, or at least, whatwe thinks sounds good.
Alex nodded and so did we. Jennifer had a gift with public speaking, I just knew it.
“Next question,” the interviewer said, flipping his card over. “This one is for Jennifer… ‘Why are you almost always following Fall Out Boy around?’”
Jen’s mouth gaped in surprise, and she held up her hands as if she were holding the answer. “C’mon, aren’t I also allowed to drool over a band? What the hell’s so wrong about a person in one band liking another band? I mean, I’m still a kid; I’m not suddenly a mature adult just because I’m on stage. I like Fall Out Boy and My Chem and The Used and bands like that. I’m not giving up my obsessions just because we’re on tour.”
Bret smirked and snorted a laugh, “Heh, Jen - a mature adult? C’mon, carrot-top, I know you’re Miss Independent, but a mature adult - you’re pushing it.”
Jen squinted and pointed at the bass player like the Wicked Witch of the West, “Just you wait until this interview is done, mister…”
“Alright, then,” Alex began again. “And this question is for the whole band again, ‘How is it that you’re on tour, but you don’t have an album out yet? When will an album be released?’”
“Oh, wow,” Michael said, sitting back in his seat, crossing his arms and crossing his legs, “I was waiting for that one…” he thought, chewing his lip. I decided to take his place.
“We’re only on tour because Eyeball Records said it would be like a test run, to see how the crowds took to us, to see if we had a chance. Really I think they’ve just thrown us to the wolves, but so far it seems like the wolves like our scent,” I chuckled at my metaphor.
Michael cut in, “Yeah, but, well, as far the album thing… we haven’t honestly thought about releasing one, you know, with all the stress of the tour and shit like that. And like Laura said, this tour thing is just a test run. I guess if people like us then we might, but if they don’t, then we’ll just go right back to our garage and play for fun and not for profit.”
At the last bit of his sentence I shot him a dirty look. ‘If they don’t, then we’ll go right back to our garage and play for fun and not for profit’ - he just made us sound like a bunch of fat-headed kids who don’t give a shit about the fans, and only care about the money. I made sure he saw my look and he in return gave me a pleasant smile that made my insides burn.
Alex shifted in his seat awkwardly, I think it was because he could tell there was going to be a fight after this, but he continued none the less, “The next question asks, ‘What are your major influences, in life and in your music?’”
I was seething too much to answer, so Bret took over, “Well, for me… I’d have to say, as far as in my life, are Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, and Godsmack - weird arrangement, isn’t it? And the person who inspired me to play bass was my Biology teacher, actually. Mr. Grindstaff. He’s the shit.”
“My inspirational people-band-thingies,” Jen began, “are Blue October, Fall Out Boy, My Chem, and Papa Roach. No one really started me on drums. I’ve always been banging on something - pots, pans, tables… oh, god that sounded so wrong…”
Bret hissed a laugh that seemed to fit a hyena more than it did him. And I turned to look at her, brought out of my angry state given the chance to poke fun, “Now, Jen, I know you’ve been up to stuff,” I giggled, “but is there something we need to know?”
The drummer put up her hands and rolled her eyes, “You know what? I’m not gonna say anything anymore for the rest of the day - I quit!”
“About time,” Michael sneered, his legs and arms still crossed.
I was still looking up at Jen, but out of the corner of my eye, a red glint shone - probably a guitar or someone’s shirt. I would have dismissed it, but that was when I saw Bret freeze, and heard Alex’s crew start yelling “Call 911!”