Status: Active.
The Meaning in the Rhyme
we just sing this song for you
I stepped around a cord that was taped to the floor and grabbed a water bottle off the counter. We were three hours from the first show. The Farewell and Valencia guys were going to be there at any moments and I was crazy nervous. Chelsea had disappeared to find a Vault.
“Yeah dude! That was crazy!” A voice exclaimed stepping in through the back door of the venue. Cold wind blew in with them. I couldn’t tell who it was from the shape for it was dark but it was enough to make my heart pound. The heart that belonged to both Valencia and Farewell.
“Yo! Marshall, Wil! What’s happenin man?!” Alex asked doing that stupid bro hug thing.
Farewell. Holy. Shit.
“We just got here like 30 minutes ago from the airport! I don’t even know where my instruments are! Marshall threw me on the bus which by the way was way warmer than it was out there.” Wil said following Alex. I stepped back and played with the label on my bottle.
“Now your shy? No fucking way. This is Taige. Guitarist for Burn This City.” Alex said wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me forwards.
“Hey! I’m Wil and this is-”
“Marshall….I know you guys. I love you guys actually.” I said shyly looking back at the bottle.
“She’ll warm up to ya’ll. Where’s the rest of your shit band?” Alex asked dismissively. I punched him in the chest and ducked out from under his arm.
“Around.”
“Are you sure they aren’t lost?” Marshall asked. I laughed. He looked taken aback.
“Er…sorry to laugh. It’s just were from here so we know this place like the back of our hands.” I said shrugging.
“Find your band members!” Matt yelled, he already looked agitated.
“You aren’t our manager though Matt!” I said sticking my tongue out at him.
“Find your idiot brother then!”
“He’s with the band!”
“Which isn’t here!”
“We have three hours!”
“Where’s your van at?!”
“Where the band is!” I said stomping my foot. The three guys near me watched amused as we fought.
“Why aren’t you with them then?!”
“Call Chelsea. She’s responsible.” I said lifting the bottle of water to my lips.
“None of this damn band is responsible.” He grumbled walking away.
“Poor Matt. You give him such a hard time.” Alex said shaking his head.
“I wasn’t the one who was hiding in the bathroom at the airport when we had changeover was I? No. That was you, Jack, and Vinny!” This left Marshall and Wil in stitches. The door opened and Kevin, Buddy, and Jeff all from Farewell walked into the door carrying a bag or instrument.
“Thanks for all your help.” Buddy said sarcastically.
“We found a new friend!” Marshall yelled smiling at me. I almost melted.
“Well this was fun but I want to avoid Matt’s constant yelling so I’m going to go find my band.” I said waving and walking away and pulling out my phone. Dallas, our merch guy picked up on the second ring.
“Yo?”
“Where the hell are you guys? Matt is going to eat my head off!”
“Give him a Mickey Mouse sucker. That will shut him up!” Dallas said laughing.
“Un-amused. Where’s my doofus brother at? Or Chelsea? Or Andrew? Put someone on the phone!” I said pulling on my jacket and walking outside.
“We’re at the coffee shop down the street. Join us!” Dallas said excitedly and hung up.
“Oh my god you guys! It’s Taige Dilionno!” Greeted my ears seconds after I walked around the corner. I didn’t know whether I was more shocked that they knew who I was or whether they had even noticed that fast. The girl who had yelled said words was flanked by a tall, bored looking guy and a short, red head who looked nervous. Cliché as it came. Bored boyfriend. Out going friend. Shy friend. They slowly walked over to me unsure if it was okay.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked waving. The average blonde girl smiled and ushered her posse forwards.
“Nothing much. Waiting for these doors to open. We saw you guys back in August at Alley Katz! It was so amazing.” The minute she said it I recognized them all immediately.
“Oh yeah! You were all up front! Andrew and Jeph spent half the night flirting with you and her. Uhm, shit. You gave us your names. I’m totally blanking right now. Sorry.” I said smiling apologetically. They all shrugged.
“It’s cool. I’m Adalia. That’s Gabi.” She said pointing to the red headed girl who smiled shyly. “And this is Patrick.” She said motioning to the boy who perked up at his name.
“You never looked very entertained at shows.” I said making an observation. He gave me a small smile.
“I’m more A Day To Remember or Set Your Goals fan.”
“You have very good taste in music, man! Give us a chance though. You better fucking crack at least one smile while we’re on stage!” I said shoving my frozen fingers into my jacket. The October wind whipped around us. They all laughed.
“So, uhm I know this must get annoying but could I get a picture?” The girl named Adalia asked. I smiled.
“Annoying. It’s still a whole new concept to me. We played a show in Baltimore about five weeks ago and we had a line of people for all four of us. It’s so weird to think anyone wanted a picture with us. Dude, of course.” She smiled wide and handed the camera to Patrick. Her arm slipped around my waist, mine around her shoulders. It was the same for all but Patrick who at last minute lent down and kissed my cheek. Adalia’s eyes flashed but she quickly recovered.
“Thank you!” Gabi said pocketing her camera.
“You’re all quite welcome. Yo! Patrick, say sorry.” He looked confused for a second and then looked down at his quiet girlfriend. He nodded and they all made their way back to the line. I continued my way onto the coffee house.
>>
“Have you met the Valencia guys yet?” Chelsea asked an hour and a half later when we walked back through the door.
“Nope. I met Marshall and Wil though! Oh my god, I freaked. It was awful.” I said dropping my jacket on the couch. The others followed suit. We walked down the stairs. A very irate Matt met us at the bottom.
“Where have you all been?! You have sound check in thirty!” He demanded. Saxon was at the top snickering.
“Coffee. Fans. What’s the big deal?!” Andrew asked leaning against the rail.
“The big deal is that none of you are set up, guitars or bass’s aren’t tuned and your merch isn’t set up! You guys aren’t going to be that band are you?!” He asked defeated. I stuck my head around Andrew’s small body.
“We won’t be that band. We hired Dallas because he can set up in ten minutes tops. Andrew can have his set up in five as long as he knows where everything is. Jeph stayed up all night tuning our guitars and shit. They’ll need a little tweaking but other than that. We’re set. Go deal with your own damn band.” I said pointing him in the direction of a working out Zack. Alex and Jack were on the opposite couch from the one we had filled with jackets and Rian was in a chair with head phones in his ears drowning out all noise.
“Fine. Don’t mess up. We almost sold out. Fifteen tickets away from selling out The National.” He said sighing wistfully. I rolled my eyes and shooed him away so we could continue our trek through the venue.
“Their like a marching band. It’s kind of funny.” We heard from the balcony. I spun around and squinted.
“Yo! Mark, lower the lights a little.” I yelled still squinting.
“If you don’t have your contacts in then you aren’t seeing shit.” Saxon yelled from the back.
“Thanks. Like I didn’t know that.” I said spotting Marshall who was accompanied by Shane and JD from Valencia. I turned to Chelsea and smiled widely. She was a hard core lover of Valencia.
“JD, Shane! What’s up?” She asked waving.
“We’re watching you guys set up really fast because you love coffee more than us!” Marshall said. I stuck my bottom lip out and pouted at him.
“Coffee and fans!” Jeph yelled not looking up from the chair he was sitting in concentrating on the tuning he was doing on his bass.
“Whatever. My feeling are still hurt.” JD said leaning on the railing. The curtain moved on the balcony and Jack appeared. He beamed down at us. Chelsea smirked and handed me the thick case that held my guitar. I slowly lifted it out of the case. I slipped it out and
“Damn. That’s nice.” Evan commented walking on stage and over to the small booth that was hidden by the black curtain.
“Thanks! Dude, you’re going to take us care this tour right? We aren’t cool enough to have a sound guy yet.” I said sitting on the edge of the stage between two speakers.
“I think you should play right there all night!” Jack yelled interrupting whatever Evan was about to say.
“Nah. Then I wouldn’t be able to crowd surf at the end like you!”
“We can jump in together at the end of the show!” He said smiling like a child on Christmas morning.
“Cool. I’ll do it. Yo! Evannnnn! You didn’t answer me.”
“Of course I am.” He said messing up my hair. I smacked his leg and went back to what I was doing.
>>
“I’m staying out there for fans for like 20 minutes but when Valencia goes on I’m going to sit with Evan and the guys and watch from the sound booth.” Chelsea said running a brush through her tangled hair.
“Fine. But, you have to come out there. Don’t be a diva, Chelsea.” Saxon said throwing a towel at the two sweating guys.
“A diva is just what someone calls a bitch when she’s in the room.” I said leaning against the wall. Andrew laughed and came over, leaning against the wall beside me.
“Someone’s sleepy.”
“Always. Every fucking show. I’m going to stick around and watch them though. Anyone know if the next venue has a shower?” I asked leaning my head against Andrew’s folded arms.
“Uhm…..I think it does. You guys have played there before. Why don’t you remember?” Saxon asked sitting down.
“Not this place. We were a block away from it at the smaller venue.” Jeph said. Chelsea followed him down the stairs. We followed them, the tall, black security guy who had worked there for years stepped aside.
“Good show ladies.” He said to me and Chelsea. Regulars as concert goers in this very venue we were remembered by most of the security guards at all the Richmond venues.
“Thanks! Good security skills.”
“Eleven years. I better.” He said laughing. We waved and walked down the concrete steps into the crowded lobby. A group of kids were gathered at the bottom. Immediatley posters, cameras, Sharpies, and tickets were shoved in our faces. We took it all with a smile. Many rushed off before we could get them as the first notes of “Better Be Prepared” rang from the speakers. We finished what we were doing and rushed over to the sound booth. The rest of the show was spent embarrassing ourselves and singing every word to the songs they played.
“Yeah dude! That was crazy!” A voice exclaimed stepping in through the back door of the venue. Cold wind blew in with them. I couldn’t tell who it was from the shape for it was dark but it was enough to make my heart pound. The heart that belonged to both Valencia and Farewell.
“Yo! Marshall, Wil! What’s happenin man?!” Alex asked doing that stupid bro hug thing.
Farewell. Holy. Shit.
“We just got here like 30 minutes ago from the airport! I don’t even know where my instruments are! Marshall threw me on the bus which by the way was way warmer than it was out there.” Wil said following Alex. I stepped back and played with the label on my bottle.
“Now your shy? No fucking way. This is Taige. Guitarist for Burn This City.” Alex said wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me forwards.
“Hey! I’m Wil and this is-”
“Marshall….I know you guys. I love you guys actually.” I said shyly looking back at the bottle.
“She’ll warm up to ya’ll. Where’s the rest of your shit band?” Alex asked dismissively. I punched him in the chest and ducked out from under his arm.
“Around.”
“Are you sure they aren’t lost?” Marshall asked. I laughed. He looked taken aback.
“Er…sorry to laugh. It’s just were from here so we know this place like the back of our hands.” I said shrugging.
“Find your band members!” Matt yelled, he already looked agitated.
“You aren’t our manager though Matt!” I said sticking my tongue out at him.
“Find your idiot brother then!”
“He’s with the band!”
“Which isn’t here!”
“We have three hours!”
“Where’s your van at?!”
“Where the band is!” I said stomping my foot. The three guys near me watched amused as we fought.
“Why aren’t you with them then?!”
“Call Chelsea. She’s responsible.” I said lifting the bottle of water to my lips.
“None of this damn band is responsible.” He grumbled walking away.
“Poor Matt. You give him such a hard time.” Alex said shaking his head.
“I wasn’t the one who was hiding in the bathroom at the airport when we had changeover was I? No. That was you, Jack, and Vinny!” This left Marshall and Wil in stitches. The door opened and Kevin, Buddy, and Jeff all from Farewell walked into the door carrying a bag or instrument.
“Thanks for all your help.” Buddy said sarcastically.
“We found a new friend!” Marshall yelled smiling at me. I almost melted.
“Well this was fun but I want to avoid Matt’s constant yelling so I’m going to go find my band.” I said waving and walking away and pulling out my phone. Dallas, our merch guy picked up on the second ring.
“Yo?”
“Where the hell are you guys? Matt is going to eat my head off!”
“Give him a Mickey Mouse sucker. That will shut him up!” Dallas said laughing.
“Un-amused. Where’s my doofus brother at? Or Chelsea? Or Andrew? Put someone on the phone!” I said pulling on my jacket and walking outside.
“We’re at the coffee shop down the street. Join us!” Dallas said excitedly and hung up.
“Oh my god you guys! It’s Taige Dilionno!” Greeted my ears seconds after I walked around the corner. I didn’t know whether I was more shocked that they knew who I was or whether they had even noticed that fast. The girl who had yelled said words was flanked by a tall, bored looking guy and a short, red head who looked nervous. Cliché as it came. Bored boyfriend. Out going friend. Shy friend. They slowly walked over to me unsure if it was okay.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked waving. The average blonde girl smiled and ushered her posse forwards.
“Nothing much. Waiting for these doors to open. We saw you guys back in August at Alley Katz! It was so amazing.” The minute she said it I recognized them all immediately.
“Oh yeah! You were all up front! Andrew and Jeph spent half the night flirting with you and her. Uhm, shit. You gave us your names. I’m totally blanking right now. Sorry.” I said smiling apologetically. They all shrugged.
“It’s cool. I’m Adalia. That’s Gabi.” She said pointing to the red headed girl who smiled shyly. “And this is Patrick.” She said motioning to the boy who perked up at his name.
“You never looked very entertained at shows.” I said making an observation. He gave me a small smile.
“I’m more A Day To Remember or Set Your Goals fan.”
“You have very good taste in music, man! Give us a chance though. You better fucking crack at least one smile while we’re on stage!” I said shoving my frozen fingers into my jacket. The October wind whipped around us. They all laughed.
“So, uhm I know this must get annoying but could I get a picture?” The girl named Adalia asked. I smiled.
“Annoying. It’s still a whole new concept to me. We played a show in Baltimore about five weeks ago and we had a line of people for all four of us. It’s so weird to think anyone wanted a picture with us. Dude, of course.” She smiled wide and handed the camera to Patrick. Her arm slipped around my waist, mine around her shoulders. It was the same for all but Patrick who at last minute lent down and kissed my cheek. Adalia’s eyes flashed but she quickly recovered.
“Thank you!” Gabi said pocketing her camera.
“You’re all quite welcome. Yo! Patrick, say sorry.” He looked confused for a second and then looked down at his quiet girlfriend. He nodded and they all made their way back to the line. I continued my way onto the coffee house.
>>
“Have you met the Valencia guys yet?” Chelsea asked an hour and a half later when we walked back through the door.
“Nope. I met Marshall and Wil though! Oh my god, I freaked. It was awful.” I said dropping my jacket on the couch. The others followed suit. We walked down the stairs. A very irate Matt met us at the bottom.
“Where have you all been?! You have sound check in thirty!” He demanded. Saxon was at the top snickering.
“Coffee. Fans. What’s the big deal?!” Andrew asked leaning against the rail.
“The big deal is that none of you are set up, guitars or bass’s aren’t tuned and your merch isn’t set up! You guys aren’t going to be that band are you?!” He asked defeated. I stuck my head around Andrew’s small body.
“We won’t be that band. We hired Dallas because he can set up in ten minutes tops. Andrew can have his set up in five as long as he knows where everything is. Jeph stayed up all night tuning our guitars and shit. They’ll need a little tweaking but other than that. We’re set. Go deal with your own damn band.” I said pointing him in the direction of a working out Zack. Alex and Jack were on the opposite couch from the one we had filled with jackets and Rian was in a chair with head phones in his ears drowning out all noise.
“Fine. Don’t mess up. We almost sold out. Fifteen tickets away from selling out The National.” He said sighing wistfully. I rolled my eyes and shooed him away so we could continue our trek through the venue.
“Their like a marching band. It’s kind of funny.” We heard from the balcony. I spun around and squinted.
“Yo! Mark, lower the lights a little.” I yelled still squinting.
“If you don’t have your contacts in then you aren’t seeing shit.” Saxon yelled from the back.
“Thanks. Like I didn’t know that.” I said spotting Marshall who was accompanied by Shane and JD from Valencia. I turned to Chelsea and smiled widely. She was a hard core lover of Valencia.
“JD, Shane! What’s up?” She asked waving.
“We’re watching you guys set up really fast because you love coffee more than us!” Marshall said. I stuck my bottom lip out and pouted at him.
“Coffee and fans!” Jeph yelled not looking up from the chair he was sitting in concentrating on the tuning he was doing on his bass.
“Whatever. My feeling are still hurt.” JD said leaning on the railing. The curtain moved on the balcony and Jack appeared. He beamed down at us. Chelsea smirked and handed me the thick case that held my guitar. I slowly lifted it out of the case. I slipped it out and
“Damn. That’s nice.” Evan commented walking on stage and over to the small booth that was hidden by the black curtain.
“Thanks! Dude, you’re going to take us care this tour right? We aren’t cool enough to have a sound guy yet.” I said sitting on the edge of the stage between two speakers.
“I think you should play right there all night!” Jack yelled interrupting whatever Evan was about to say.
“Nah. Then I wouldn’t be able to crowd surf at the end like you!”
“We can jump in together at the end of the show!” He said smiling like a child on Christmas morning.
“Cool. I’ll do it. Yo! Evannnnn! You didn’t answer me.”
“Of course I am.” He said messing up my hair. I smacked his leg and went back to what I was doing.
>>
“I’m staying out there for fans for like 20 minutes but when Valencia goes on I’m going to sit with Evan and the guys and watch from the sound booth.” Chelsea said running a brush through her tangled hair.
“Fine. But, you have to come out there. Don’t be a diva, Chelsea.” Saxon said throwing a towel at the two sweating guys.
“A diva is just what someone calls a bitch when she’s in the room.” I said leaning against the wall. Andrew laughed and came over, leaning against the wall beside me.
“Someone’s sleepy.”
“Always. Every fucking show. I’m going to stick around and watch them though. Anyone know if the next venue has a shower?” I asked leaning my head against Andrew’s folded arms.
“Uhm…..I think it does. You guys have played there before. Why don’t you remember?” Saxon asked sitting down.
“Not this place. We were a block away from it at the smaller venue.” Jeph said. Chelsea followed him down the stairs. We followed them, the tall, black security guy who had worked there for years stepped aside.
“Good show ladies.” He said to me and Chelsea. Regulars as concert goers in this very venue we were remembered by most of the security guards at all the Richmond venues.
“Thanks! Good security skills.”
“Eleven years. I better.” He said laughing. We waved and walked down the concrete steps into the crowded lobby. A group of kids were gathered at the bottom. Immediatley posters, cameras, Sharpies, and tickets were shoved in our faces. We took it all with a smile. Many rushed off before we could get them as the first notes of “Better Be Prepared” rang from the speakers. We finished what we were doing and rushed over to the sound booth. The rest of the show was spent embarrassing ourselves and singing every word to the songs they played.