Sequel: Making the Album ›
Changes
Enter The Dolls.
"So, whose the support band again?"
Tre was absently spinning a drumstick, watching a Mike riffled through the papers on the table.
"Some new band... The Dolls, they call themselves." Mike answered, flipping Tre the demo tape.
"Not from around here, are they?" Billie asked, looking at the picture.
"Nope. Back East, North Carolina or something. Says here the lead guitarist, that chick with the funky hair, packed up her stuff, moved in with the lead singer's family. That's how they got out here. His family paid for the tour bus and other stuff."
"So... They do... Rock, right?" Tre asked, very seriously.
Mike laughed.
"If anything, they're LOUD. They do mostly covers, but they're pretty good covers. And I send them a suggestion sheet that me and Billie put together while you were sleeping off that hangover."
"So I didn't get input?" Tre said indignantly. Mike smirked.
"I rummaged through your CD collection. You had input."
Billie looked down at the picture of the support band... Of the Dolls, he reminded himself.
The lead singer looked angry, his brown eyes almost black. He wore the normal assortment of baggy jeans and a t-shirt with a beat-up pair of converse. The other two guys in the picture, the drummer and the bassist, were almost polar opposites. The guy Billie pegged as the drummer was tall, about six feet of muscle. Shaved head, earrings galore with a glare that could stop your heart. The bassist was a cheerful little guy, gangly almost, with a huge smile and thick mop of brown hair that was a throwback to the 80's. But the girl... The girl was something else.
She wore a neon blue button-up blouse over a black AC/DC shirt. Her jeans were so raggedy he was shocked they weren't falling apart. Her blond hair was streaked with neon shades of pink and blue. She wore eyeliner almost as well as he did, outlining blue eyes in thick, smudge black liner.
And she glared. She glared out of that picture with such rage and anger that Billie was taken aback.
"Are you sure they're opening for us?" Billie asked. Mike glanced at him.
"Yeah. They're not complaining. No required songs, just suggestions, generous paycheck and a shitload of performing time."
"Better than we got when we were starting out." Tre reminded him. Mike shrugged and took a sip of his beer.
"If it goes well for them tonight, we'll take them on the road with us. It'll be a huge break for them and make life easier for us."
Billie shook his head.
"I don't think they need a break, Mike. I think this band can make it on their own."
Mike shrugged.
"You never know. Everyone can use a bit of help."
~~~
'Hey Adri, it's me.
We're doing the first gig since you... Well, the first in a while. You should see the opening band, they look like the real deal. Mike thinks they're just amateurs, but I know they aren't.
And we're going on the road. Maybe, if these kids do good tonight, we'll take them on the road with us. I hope they say yes. They're way too young to be traveling on their own. The guitarist is barely sixteen. And their bassist, barely out of grade school.
Its almost time for starting act, Adri.
And I miss you so goddamn much it's almost killing me. '
Tre was absently spinning a drumstick, watching a Mike riffled through the papers on the table.
"Some new band... The Dolls, they call themselves." Mike answered, flipping Tre the demo tape.
"Not from around here, are they?" Billie asked, looking at the picture.
"Nope. Back East, North Carolina or something. Says here the lead guitarist, that chick with the funky hair, packed up her stuff, moved in with the lead singer's family. That's how they got out here. His family paid for the tour bus and other stuff."
"So... They do... Rock, right?" Tre asked, very seriously.
Mike laughed.
"If anything, they're LOUD. They do mostly covers, but they're pretty good covers. And I send them a suggestion sheet that me and Billie put together while you were sleeping off that hangover."
"So I didn't get input?" Tre said indignantly. Mike smirked.
"I rummaged through your CD collection. You had input."
Billie looked down at the picture of the support band... Of the Dolls, he reminded himself.
The lead singer looked angry, his brown eyes almost black. He wore the normal assortment of baggy jeans and a t-shirt with a beat-up pair of converse. The other two guys in the picture, the drummer and the bassist, were almost polar opposites. The guy Billie pegged as the drummer was tall, about six feet of muscle. Shaved head, earrings galore with a glare that could stop your heart. The bassist was a cheerful little guy, gangly almost, with a huge smile and thick mop of brown hair that was a throwback to the 80's. But the girl... The girl was something else.
She wore a neon blue button-up blouse over a black AC/DC shirt. Her jeans were so raggedy he was shocked they weren't falling apart. Her blond hair was streaked with neon shades of pink and blue. She wore eyeliner almost as well as he did, outlining blue eyes in thick, smudge black liner.
And she glared. She glared out of that picture with such rage and anger that Billie was taken aback.
"Are you sure they're opening for us?" Billie asked. Mike glanced at him.
"Yeah. They're not complaining. No required songs, just suggestions, generous paycheck and a shitload of performing time."
"Better than we got when we were starting out." Tre reminded him. Mike shrugged and took a sip of his beer.
"If it goes well for them tonight, we'll take them on the road with us. It'll be a huge break for them and make life easier for us."
Billie shook his head.
"I don't think they need a break, Mike. I think this band can make it on their own."
Mike shrugged.
"You never know. Everyone can use a bit of help."
~~~
'Hey Adri, it's me.
We're doing the first gig since you... Well, the first in a while. You should see the opening band, they look like the real deal. Mike thinks they're just amateurs, but I know they aren't.
And we're going on the road. Maybe, if these kids do good tonight, we'll take them on the road with us. I hope they say yes. They're way too young to be traveling on their own. The guitarist is barely sixteen. And their bassist, barely out of grade school.
Its almost time for starting act, Adri.
And I miss you so goddamn much it's almost killing me. '