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Daylight

My name's Petula. Petula Langley.

Once you're finished laughing at my name, I'll go on.

I was born in a little town in Minnesota. My folks were—are—nice people who brought me up in a stable, middle-class home. I’m the oldest of three. My dad is Irish and my mom is Swedish. Dad likes to say that we kids have a bloodline similar to James Cagney’s. (Not sure, but I think he was an actor a long time ago.)

I went to Northwestern University in Chicago, and used my free time to learn guitar. I found some friends around campus who were also into music--garage rock, punk, pop--you name it--and we started playing together.

We formed a band and called it the Daylight Bathers, after an idea I had while stepping into the shower one afternoon. We didn’t think of ourselves as a big deal, but we had fun singing other people’s songs. We tried putting our own twist on them, played them at various functions, and to our huge surprise, people liked them. Then we tried our originals, which to our even bigger surprise, people liked as well.

One weekend, we were playing in a college bar, and this suspicious-looking guy approached us, asking did we want to audition for his label. We blew him off, figuring he was just on the make and messing with us (we’re four decent-looking girls), but took his card anyway.

I got outside after the gig and screamed once I took a good look at the card: the guy really WAS from a small local label we’d actually heard of!
My bandmates were furious, but I appeased them by calling the guy as soon as possible. We played for him and his cronies later that week, and hey presto! We were ON A LABEL. Who cared about anything else? We sure didn’t.

So now, with our first cd out, we’re about to start the greatest (and dirtiest) adventure so far in the Daylight Bathers’ short history: Warped Tour. Not many girls get picked for this one, but it’s well-known enough for us to get excited about it anyway.

Of course our folks—mine in particular—were less than pleased. (They’d thought my English degree would lead to a teaching position somewhere, and declared that I’d broken my mother’s heart.)
But this isn’t about them. It’s about giving us a chance. Maybe we’ll suck…but maybe we won’t.

As Paul Westerberg once sang, I can’t hardly wait.

***All original characters in this work, as well as the story itself, are copyrighted by me,
mcrmom, 2009. I do not own, nor do I know, any famous people who might be featured in this story at any time.

The Daylight Bathers:

Petula Langley: vocals, guitar
Sandra "Sal" Marciano: bass, vocals
Maureen "Mo" Kinsella: lead guitar, vocals
Christiana "Tia" Vasquez: drums, vocals

The Madmen:

Tom McCullough: vocals, bass
Joe McCullough: guitar, vocals
Bryan Fawkes: guitar
Glenn Prothero: drums

Peter Brand: manager for the Madmen
Shoshi Levi: manager for the Daylight Bathers
Viv Nordstrom: Pet's godmother and on assignment for AP
Billy Z: singer from the Scottish band the Jung Ones
  1. On the road to find out
    In which our heroines arrive at Warped.
  2. Death or glory
    In which we meet the Madmen.
  3. Too much, the magic bus
    In which our heroines get a surprise.
  4. Career opportunities
    In which Viv gets her say.
  5. Bury me and fade to black
    A drunken night out
  6. Know your enemy
    In which our heroines show what they've got.
  7. Say it like you mean it
    In which the Madmen show their stuff.
  8. Say a prayer
    Day One, Raleigh, North Carolina
  9. Today was gonna be the day
    The First Day Continues
  10. Hotter than a thousand suns
    Day Six, Nashville, TN
  11. Lonely old night
    Later that night
  12. See my friends
    Day Seven, Kansas City, MO
  13. Talk to me
    Getting to know you.
  14. Getting to know all about you
    Getting to know you, part 2.
  15. Hit me!
    Day Ten: Davenport, IA
  16. We never knew...
    The fallout
  17. Mama, we're all gonna die
    Day Eleven: traveling
  18. Do you have the keys to the hotel?
    Day 12: Omaha, NE
  19. Just sleep
    Omaha, NE (part 2)
  20. Chapter Twenty
    Omaha, NE (part 3)
  21. Chapter Twenty-One
    After dinner, part 1
  22. Chapter Twenty-Two
    That night, part 2
  23. Chapter Twenty-Three
    Day 13, Omaha
  24. Chapter Twenty-four
    Omaha, NE part 2
  25. Chapter Twenty-Five
    Day 13, part 3
  26. Chapter Twenty-Six
    After the Omaha show
  27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
    Day 14
  28. Chapter Twenty-Eight
    Surprise!
  29. Chapter Twenty-nine
    On the Rolling Stone website and in the magazine
  30. Chapter Thirty
    Day 17
  31. Chapter Thirty-One
    Day 18
  32. Chapter Thirty-Two
    The greatest show on Earth?
  33. Chapter Thirty-Three
    A date
  34. Chapter Thirty-Four
    A date, pt 2
  35. Chapter Thirty-Five
    On the road again
  36. Chapter Thirty-Six
    Day 20, Park City, Utah
  37. Chapter Thirty-Seven
    Day 20, later that night
  38. Chapter Thirty-Eight
    Midnight (?) confessions
  39. Chapter Thirty-Nine
    Day 21, Part 2
  40. Chapter Forty
    Day 21, afternoon and evening
  41. Chapter Forty-One
    Day 21, night
  42. Chapter Forty-Two
    Day 22, Tucson, AZ
  43. Chapter Forty-Three
    Day 22, a courtship in song
  44. Chapter Forty-Four
    Day 22--the show goes on
  45. Chapter Forty-Five
    Tucson, AZ, 7:00 pm
  46. Chapter Forty-Six
    Tucson, AZ, 10 PM
  47. Chapter Forty-Seven
    11:30 PM
  48. Chapter Forty-Eight
  49. Chapter Forty-Nine
  50. Chapter Fifty
    On the way to Cali
  51. Chapter Fifty-One
    Going to California
  52. Chapter Fifty-Two
    A surprise for Viv
  53. Chapter Fifty-Three
    More about Billy
  54. I think we're alone now
    After the reception
  55. Let's talk about...
    Later that night
  56. Chapter Fifty-Six
  57. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  58. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  59. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  60. Chapter Sixty
  61. Chapter Sixty-One
  62. Chapter Sixty-Two
  63. Chapter Sixty-Three
  64. Chapter Sixty-Four
  65. Chapter Sixty-Five
    Early morning phone calls
  66. Chapter Sixty-Six