The Black Mass

October 21, 2014

Misty’s POV

I walked into the venue for our first show of the tour and began to wander around, searching for the man who was supposed to interview me. I didn’t know what he looked like so that certainly didn’t help my situation.
After about 5 minutes of searching, I finally found a guy with a camera and a sheet of paper in his hands and assumed it was the interviewer so I walked over to him and shook his hand.
“Hello, my name is Joe. You must be Misty?” He greeted me with a warm smile. I nodded my head before replying.
“Yup, that’s me.” I answered, giving him a smile as well and sitting down on the couch behind me. Joe sat down on the other side of the couch and gave the guy behind the camera a thumbs up and then a little light flashed on, meaning the camera had turned on.
“Hello everybody, today I’m here with Misty Moore of Falling In Reverse. Would you like to start by telling everyone what instrument you play?” Joe said, smiling at the camera and then turning back to me.
“I play bass in the band.” I stated simply.
“In the band? Does that mean you play other instruments?” Joe asked me curiously. I chuckled and nodded.
“Yeah. I also play guitar, piano, and the drums. And I do backing vocals for the band.” I stated proudly. I’m not a very modest person to be honest.
“Wow. Is there anything you can’t do?” Joe asked jokingly.
“Well I can’t scream for the life of me.” I replied with a laugh. Joe chuckled as well before looking down at the paper in his hands.
“So how do you feel about this tour? I know it’s only the first day but is there anything in particular that you’re looking forward to?”
“Well, I’m definitely looking forward to playing obviously, and I’m also excited to see the guys from Black Veil Brides again. I’ve known them for a while now and they’re always a fun group to hang out with and party with.” I said with a fond smile.
“Nice. And what about the other bands?” Joe asked.
“Well I’ve never really heard of or talked to the guys from Drama Club, but I love to meet new people so that’ll be nice. And I’ve never met the guys from Set It Off but Ryan is good friends with all of them so I’m sure I’ll get along fine with them too.” I stated.
“Oh thats cool. So I’m sure you get this question a lot, but what’s it like to be the only woman in a band full of men?” Joe asked.
“Well, it has its ups and downs to be honest. Like sometimes the guys are really sweet and funny but other times they’re annoying pigs. Like when I first joined the band, all Ronnie ever did was flirt with me and try to get in my pants. But eventually he gave up so it’s all good now. And I think the fact that he has a little daughter has definitely helped with that problem too.” I answered with an eye roll. Joe chuckled and looked down at his paper again.
“So I’ve heard that you live with one of your bandmates. Is that true?” Joe asked me.
“You must have some pretty good sources. But yeah, I live with Jacky in Nevada. We moved to the U.S. together so it only made sense for us to live together too.”
I answered.
“Wow, so you guys don’t get any time apart. How do yours and Jacky’s significant others feel about that?” Joe asked with a chuckle.
“Well we’re both single at the moment so thats not really a problem.” I answered with a smile.
“So let’s talk instruments. What bass are you using right now?” Joe asked, quickly changing the subject.
“Well for the last few tours, I was using an Ibanez MDB3 Mike D’Antonio signature bass, but for this tour, I decided to bring out one of my custom built basses, just to see if it’ll be able to hold up. If it does, I might use it full-time and just use my Ibanez as a back-up.” I answered matter-of-factly.
“I was actually going to ask you about your customs. Where did you learn how to build instruments?” Joe asked curiously.
“Well my family back in England owns an instrument shop where they sell handmade guitars and such, so it was only natural that I learned how to build too.” I told him.
“Really? You must come from a very musical family. How much would you say they influenced you to become a musician?”
“Oh my mum and dad were and still are huge influences on my musical career. They started teaching me how to play as soon as I could walk. My father, who plays drums, tried to teach me the drums first but it didn’t quite take so my mum took over and taught me guitar and I loved it. Other instruments followed as I got older.” I answered nostalgically.
“So bass isn’t actually your first instrument?” Joe asked in surprise.
“Nope. I didn’t start learning to play bass until I was about 10 years old.”
“Wow. So if you and Jacky did a shred off on guitar, who would win?” Joe asked while looking at Jacky who was standing next to the camera. I looked up at him and smirked.
“Well when we were kids, I could kick Jacks arse easily but now, I’m not so sure. I’ve been so focused on polishing my bass skills over the past few years, there’s a chance that he could actually out shred me.” I answered truthfully.
“Wow. So do think the fans could ever see an on-stage shred off between you two in the future?” Joe asked semi-jokingly.
“I dunno. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.” I said with a shrug.
“Speaking of Jacky Vincent, why don’t you come and join us?” Joe asked Jacky who shook his head and pulled his shirt up to his mouth out of habit.
“Aw come on Jackrabbit! Come sit and have a chat with us!” I pleaded, giving Jacky my best puppy-dog eyes. Jack rolled his eyes and smiled before coming and sitting next to me.
“Yay!” I exclaimed and gave my best friend a tight hug, causing him to blush and Joe to chuckle.
“So Jacky, who do you think would win in a shred off? You or Misty?” Joe asked. Jacky simply shrugged and continued to chew on his shirt.
“Oh come on Jacky, give him a real answer.” I said, poking Jacky in his side and pouting.
“I dunno. It’s been awhile since Misty played but she’s always been a bit better than me so she could probably still win.” Jacky answered after pulling his shirt away from his mouth. I grinned triumphantly at his answer.
“Well you both seem to think that the other one would win so I guess we’ll never know.” Joe stated with a chuckle.
“I think we’ll have to have a shred off to figure this one out. Maybe we can do one on the bus later and post it on youtube or something.” I mused aloud.
“Well there you have it folks! Keep your eyes open for a shred off video on youtube! Well it was great talking to you but it looks like you guys need to go. Good luck on tour.” Joe said as Ronnie came up behind the camera and motioned for us to get up and follow him. We both shook Joe’s hand and got up to follow Ronnie.
“It’s time for our soundcheck.” Ronnie told us as we followed him out to the stage.
The techs gave us our earpieces and instruments before we walked out and Ronnie’s mic was already on the stand and we played through our setlist while the tecs made sure everything was working.
I had to play around with my new bass a little more than normal to make sure it was working properly and to make sure my volume and effects pedals were all working properly as well. Luckily, I don’t use a lot of effects so it didn’t take very long. Once I had assured myself that everything was in order and we had finished going through the setlist, we all walked out to the tour bus.
“Hey, is anyone else hungry?” I asked the guys after we had all climbed onto the bus.
“Yeah.” Ryan, Ronnie, and Derek all answered, and Jacky nodded as well.
“Alright. What do you guys want? Pizza?” I suggested as my stomach growled. The guys all nodded again so I pulled out my iPhone and searched for a pizza place near by and ordered two large pizzas from the closest place I could find.
“Alright, who wants to come get the pizza with me?” I asked, with my hands on my hips but when I turned to ask the guys, they had disappeared. Suddenly, I heard shouting from the back lounge so I walked back there and found Ronnie and Ryan playing Black Ops 2 on the Playstation. I rolled my eyes at my bandmates antics and walked over to Jacky, who was sitting on the floor and watching the game quietly. A devious smile crept onto my face as I tiptoed over to Jacky and bent down so my mouth was next his ear.
“Wanna come get the pizza with me?” I asked rather loudly. Jacky jumped up and made a strange sound in surprise, before turning and glaring at me. I covered my mouth with my hands so that Jacky wouldn’t hear me giggling but I burst into rather loud laughter when he glred at me. I just couldn’t help myself.
“Haha, very funny.” Jacky said sarcastically, while crossing his arms and pouting.
After I composed myself (which took a few minutes), we got off the bus and walked to the pizza place, since it was only two blocks away.
By the time we got to the restaurant, our pizzas were done so we didn’t have to wait, and as the cashier handed them to me, Jacky pulled out his wallet and paid before taking the top box and carrying it for me.
We spent the next few hours eating and relaxing on the bus until it was time for us to get ready. While the guys all fought and argued over the bathroom, I grabbed my lovely (I say that with sarcasm) uniform and went to change in the back lounge.
I pulled on my purple basketball shorts and tank top, as well as a set of sweatbands for my wrists, before slipping on my black vans. I had a sweatband for my head that I could have worn but I didn’t want to risk ruining my signature cornrows on the left side of my hair.
While I was applying my eyeliner and mascara, someone knocked on the door to the lounge.
“Is it safe to come in?” I heard the muffled voice of Jacky ask.
“Yeah!” I yelled back and continued to draw on my eyeliner.
“Can I borrow your eyeliner please? I lost mine.” Jacky asked. I rolled my eyes in response and handed him my eyeliner after I finished.
“How did you manage to lose your eyeliner already?” I asked curiously.
“I dunno. Ronnie probably stole it.” Jacky replied, while looking in the mirror i was holding up for him.
“Or you forgot it on the counter again. This is why I make a checklist.” I said, while putting my free hand on my hip.
“I made a checklist. I just didn’t check mine 50 times before leaving.” Jacky replied teasingly.
“Yeah well maybe you should.” I replied as I pulled my eyeliner out of Jacky’s hand and stuck it back in my makeup bag.
“Rude.” Jacky mumbled under his breath. I smacked the back of his head before turning and walking out to the front of the bus, with Jacky following me closely.
Derek, Ryan, and Ronnie were all waiting for us and we walked back to the venue together, all talking and catching up since we hadn’t seen or talked to each other much since the last tour we were on.
Once we all got inside we split up and wandered around the backstage area, looking for things to do and people to talk to. It didn’t take me very long to locate Ashley Purdy, who was of course, chatting up some random girl.
“You probably shouldn’t get too close to him sweetie, you might catch an STD.” I told the girl, and snickered when she made a disgusted noise and walked away.
“You’re such a cockblock.” Ash said and pouted, causing me to roll my eyes in exasperation.
“Well thats what you get for trying to get into some chicks pants on the first day of the tour. Who was she, anyway?” I asked curiously.
“I don’t know. I think she’s a merch girl. I wasn’t really paying much attention to what she was saying.” Ash replied while reaching down to adjust himself.
“What’s wrong Ash? Got a bit of a biggie do you?” I asked Ashley with a laugh.
“A what?” Ashley asked me in confusion.
“An erection, Ash. Biggie means erection.” I explained.
We talked and caught up with each other until the show started and then we went and stood side stage to watch Drama Club’s set, which was pretty good. We even danced to a few of the songs, and sang along when they played a remix of Andy’s solo song, They Don’t Need To Understand.
Ryan came and stood with us while the techs were setting up for Set It Off, and a guy with blond hair and gauges stood next to him too.
“Hey Ryan, are you gonna introduce us to your friend over there?” I asked after a few seconds of us just standing there quietly.
“Oh right, Misty, this is Cody Carson, the lead singer for Set It Off. Cody, this is Misty Moore, the bassist for Falling In Reverse.” Ryan said. Cody and I shook hands but before we actually start talking, it was time for Set It Off to take the stage.
Ashley wandered off at some point during the set so Ryan and I stood together and watched until we were called backstage to get our earpieces and to warm up. I grabbed my spare bass and played through a few of our songs and did some vocal warm ups with everyone else. As we continued to wait for the techs to get everything set up, I felt my nerves begin to overtake me as they always do before the first show of a tour but tonight, it was even worse because of my new bass.
It started with my hands shaking as I thought about all of the things that could go wrong, and then it became harder for me to breathe. Next, I began to feel nauseous, and then I started pacing, with the hope that it would help me calm down, but it only made me feel worse.
Jacky noticed that I was having an extra bad time and stood in front of me, grabbing my shoulders.
“Misty, look at me.” Jacky demanded softly. I looked up at him and tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace.
“Do you have your lucky ring on?” Jacky asked. I looked down at my left hand and twisted my father’s ring around my thumb. It was made with pure silver and had my dad’s birthstone, a large ruby in the center.
“Okay good. Now what about your mum’s pick? Are you wearing that?” Jacky asked me. I pulled the green guitar pick out from under my shirt and rubbed it between my fingers. It was the guitar pick my mother had always used when she played her guitar, whether she was practicing, playing a show, or teaching me she had always used it. And now, it hung from a bit of black twine, wrapped around my neck for good luck.
“See, you’ve got them both so there’s nothing to worry about. Your mum will be right there on stage with you, making sure that nothing bad happens, okay?” Jacky assured me calmly. I nodded and pulled Jacky into a tight hug and he kissed the top of my head reassuringly.
We stayed like that until I was mostly calm, and we lined up with our instruments so we could take the stage.
Ryan went on first and then Derek, me, Jacky, and finally Ronnie. We immediately launched into Sink Or Swim and then Goodbye Graceful, before Ronnie took a few minutes to speak to the crowd. While Ronnie was talking, Jacky came over to check on me.
“How are you feeling?” He whispered in my ear.
“I’m doing better. A few more songs and I’ll be fine.” I answered him truthfully. Jacky nodded and walked back to the other side of the stage and we began to play Fashionably Late which is one of my favorite songs to perform because the crowd usually gets really hyped up for it.
After that we played Raised By Wolves and Bad Girls Club, and then we started Good Girls Bad Guys.
During the first verse, I wandered over to the opposite side of the stage and goofed around with Jacky, bumping his shoulder and teasing him while we played.
We got so into our shenanigans that I forgot to go over to my mic during the chorus and had to share Jacky’s mic during the backup vocals, but he didn’t mind.
The rest of the show went smoothly, and my bass help up through the show, much to my joy, and we all came off the stage covered in sweat. Just as I was about to go back to the bus for a shower, Ashley stopped me.
“Hey, you guys did great out there. Would you like to watch us from side stage?” He asked me with his charming smile. I rolled my eyes and reluctantly agreed, deciding that I’d just take one after the show.
Throughout BVB’s set, Ash would look over to me and wink or shoot me a smile and I would simply wink or smile in return. As soon as their set was done, I ran to the bus and took a long, hot shower, enjoying the rare peace since everyone else was still inside the venue, probably partying. I of course didn’t want to miss out on a good party so I pulled on a fresh pair of skinny jeans and a shirt, before pulling on my converse and going back inside the venue to have a few drinks and catch up with my friends.