Lips of Deceit
Two
POV Switch...
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked, feeling myself grow a bit angry that our manager, Larry, had even suggested such a thing.
“Zack, think about it... Think about all the publicity this would give you... Give you clothing label, the band, everything...” he said in a sickeningly sugary tone, like that should easily sway me.
“Let’s get something straight right now...” I said, pulling a piece of worn rubber off of my sneaker, “I’m not looking for publicity, I’m not doing what I do for fame and limelight... I’m doing it because I fucking enjoy it.”
“Yeah? Well, now you listen Zack, everything you enjoy can easily go away if you don’t get publicity... The public will get bored easily.”
“It’s not about the public, Larry,” I said in a sarcastic, mocking tone, “it’s about my best friends, music and our fans...”
“Zack, you’re going on tour with the biggest upcoming band of the past few years... The publicity surrounding Fall-Out Boy or other mainstream bands is going to be nothing compared to this band... And this band actually has a decent fucking sound... If you can get the lead singer to fall for you, and you can date her, you’re going to get every bit of that fucking exposure that they get, that she gets.... You think Avenged is big now? You date her and you’ll triple your fame, your fan base... ‘Zacky and Ginger’ would be a household name.... The stuff that tabloids dream of...” he explained.
“Yes, because it’s always been my dream to sell my soul to the tabloids... Do you not get it, Larry? I don’t fucking care! It’s not right to play with people like that, to fucking make some girl fall for me for the sake of my band... That’s fucked up!” I yelled, feeling my face grow red.
“You don’t have to live with the tabloids forever Zack. Shit, break the chick’s heart in 6 months, I don’t give a fuck, the press would love that! The bad boy rocker breaks his girlfriend’s heart... Oh!” he said with excitement, like he’d just had the greatest idea in the world. “Cheat on her! Oh shit, the press would have a field day!”
I jumped out of my chair on the other side of his desk. “I’m fucking out of here!” I growled, heading for the door. “You’re a fucking money hungry suit, Larry...”
“Zack, think about it! Don’t be an idiot!” he called after me.
“Listen,” I said, turning to him with warning written all over my expression, “you need to stop talking now, before I knock you the fuck out... Because, let me tell you, I’m very close to beating your ass, douche bag...”
I didn’t give him time to respond, I simply left before I really did hurt the middle aged gawky man. I then jumped into my blue Ford fusion and made the short drive home, looking down at the Monroe Syndrome CD case sitting on my passenger seat as I continued to vent to myself over Larry’s harrowing suggestions.
Don’t get me wrong, from what I’ve heard and seen on the CD, Ginger was pretty and their music was great. But I couldn’t get over the publicity stunt he’d come up with... using the co-headliner’s lead singer like that? Using anyone like that, to gain something is just messed up, and not my style. A7X... we got here working our asses off without all the shady bullshit of other bands, and we’ve stayed here working our asses off. With or without tabloids or publicity, we’ll always be here... Our fans won’t let us go anywhere.
I could never respect someone who would trick a girl, or anyone really, into that for person gain. In fact, if I saw someone doing that, I’d most likely beat their ass... So would Matt, Bri and Jimmy, maybe Johnny but he’s may be too little... Just because we play music and drink beer, that doesn’t mean we don’t have fucking morals.
The ringing of my phone brought me out of my internal ranting and I looked over to see Matt’s number.
“City morgue, you kill ‘em we fill ‘em.... Can I interest you in our two for one special?” I muttered into the receiver.
“Nice...” Matt responded to my greeting. “Hey, I you need to come to the practice garage,” he said. “The new band is on there way over here dude... And Aaron Simmons from Warner may be stopping by to talk to them about signing, if not we’re taking them to Warner tomorrow... Oh, and my mom wants me to tell you she’s making us all dinner, so don’t eat,” he added the last bit in an amused tone, clearly entertained by the fact that his mom was still making us dinner, despite us being 26.
I laughed slightly, “Alright, I’ll be there in ten minutes... Oh, and dude...”
“Yeah?”
“I have the most ridiculously fucked up story for you when I get back,” I added.
I could almost feel him nod as he let out a brief hmm... “I thought you sounded a little down, man,” he added.
“Yeah, but... I’ll be there soon.”
“Later asshole.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked, feeling myself grow a bit angry that our manager, Larry, had even suggested such a thing.
“Zack, think about it... Think about all the publicity this would give you... Give you clothing label, the band, everything...” he said in a sickeningly sugary tone, like that should easily sway me.
“Let’s get something straight right now...” I said, pulling a piece of worn rubber off of my sneaker, “I’m not looking for publicity, I’m not doing what I do for fame and limelight... I’m doing it because I fucking enjoy it.”
“Yeah? Well, now you listen Zack, everything you enjoy can easily go away if you don’t get publicity... The public will get bored easily.”
“It’s not about the public, Larry,” I said in a sarcastic, mocking tone, “it’s about my best friends, music and our fans...”
“Zack, you’re going on tour with the biggest upcoming band of the past few years... The publicity surrounding Fall-Out Boy or other mainstream bands is going to be nothing compared to this band... And this band actually has a decent fucking sound... If you can get the lead singer to fall for you, and you can date her, you’re going to get every bit of that fucking exposure that they get, that she gets.... You think Avenged is big now? You date her and you’ll triple your fame, your fan base... ‘Zacky and Ginger’ would be a household name.... The stuff that tabloids dream of...” he explained.
“Yes, because it’s always been my dream to sell my soul to the tabloids... Do you not get it, Larry? I don’t fucking care! It’s not right to play with people like that, to fucking make some girl fall for me for the sake of my band... That’s fucked up!” I yelled, feeling my face grow red.
“You don’t have to live with the tabloids forever Zack. Shit, break the chick’s heart in 6 months, I don’t give a fuck, the press would love that! The bad boy rocker breaks his girlfriend’s heart... Oh!” he said with excitement, like he’d just had the greatest idea in the world. “Cheat on her! Oh shit, the press would have a field day!”
I jumped out of my chair on the other side of his desk. “I’m fucking out of here!” I growled, heading for the door. “You’re a fucking money hungry suit, Larry...”
“Zack, think about it! Don’t be an idiot!” he called after me.
“Listen,” I said, turning to him with warning written all over my expression, “you need to stop talking now, before I knock you the fuck out... Because, let me tell you, I’m very close to beating your ass, douche bag...”
I didn’t give him time to respond, I simply left before I really did hurt the middle aged gawky man. I then jumped into my blue Ford fusion and made the short drive home, looking down at the Monroe Syndrome CD case sitting on my passenger seat as I continued to vent to myself over Larry’s harrowing suggestions.
Don’t get me wrong, from what I’ve heard and seen on the CD, Ginger was pretty and their music was great. But I couldn’t get over the publicity stunt he’d come up with... using the co-headliner’s lead singer like that? Using anyone like that, to gain something is just messed up, and not my style. A7X... we got here working our asses off without all the shady bullshit of other bands, and we’ve stayed here working our asses off. With or without tabloids or publicity, we’ll always be here... Our fans won’t let us go anywhere.
I could never respect someone who would trick a girl, or anyone really, into that for person gain. In fact, if I saw someone doing that, I’d most likely beat their ass... So would Matt, Bri and Jimmy, maybe Johnny but he’s may be too little... Just because we play music and drink beer, that doesn’t mean we don’t have fucking morals.
The ringing of my phone brought me out of my internal ranting and I looked over to see Matt’s number.
“City morgue, you kill ‘em we fill ‘em.... Can I interest you in our two for one special?” I muttered into the receiver.
“Nice...” Matt responded to my greeting. “Hey, I you need to come to the practice garage,” he said. “The new band is on there way over here dude... And Aaron Simmons from Warner may be stopping by to talk to them about signing, if not we’re taking them to Warner tomorrow... Oh, and my mom wants me to tell you she’s making us all dinner, so don’t eat,” he added the last bit in an amused tone, clearly entertained by the fact that his mom was still making us dinner, despite us being 26.
I laughed slightly, “Alright, I’ll be there in ten minutes... Oh, and dude...”
“Yeah?”
“I have the most ridiculously fucked up story for you when I get back,” I added.
I could almost feel him nod as he let out a brief hmm... “I thought you sounded a little down, man,” he added.
“Yeah, but... I’ll be there soon.”
“Later asshole.”