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
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
-
On the road to find out
In which our heroines arrive at Warped. -
Death or glory
In which we meet the Madmen. -
Too much, the magic bus
In which our heroines get a surprise. -
Career opportunities
In which Viv gets her say. -
Bury me and fade to black
A drunken night out -
Know your enemy
In which our heroines show what they've got. -
Say it like you mean it
In which the Madmen show their stuff. -
Say a prayer
Day One, Raleigh, North Carolina -
Today was gonna be the day
The First Day Continues -
Hotter than a thousand suns
Day Six, Nashville, TN -
Lonely old night
Later that night -
See my friends
Day Seven, Kansas City, MO -
Talk to me
Getting to know you. -
Getting to know all about you
Getting to know you, part 2. -
Hit me!
Day Ten: Davenport, IA -
We never knew...
The fallout -
Mama, we're all gonna die
Day Eleven: traveling -
Do you have the keys to the hotel?
Day 12: Omaha, NE -
Just sleep
Omaha, NE (part 2) -
Chapter Twenty
Omaha, NE (part 3) -
Chapter Twenty-One
After dinner, part 1 -
Chapter Twenty-Two
That night, part 2 -
Chapter Twenty-Three
Day 13, Omaha -
Chapter Twenty-four
Omaha, NE part 2 -
Chapter Twenty-Five
Day 13, part 3 -
Chapter Twenty-Six
After the Omaha show -
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Day 14 -
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Surprise! -
Chapter Twenty-nine
On the Rolling Stone website and in the magazine -
Chapter Thirty
Day 17 -
Chapter Thirty-One
Day 18 -
Chapter Thirty-Two
The greatest show on Earth? -
Chapter Thirty-Three
A date -
Chapter Thirty-Four
A date, pt 2 -
Chapter Thirty-Five
On the road again -
Chapter Thirty-Six
Day 20, Park City, Utah -
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Day 20, later that night -
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Midnight (?) confessions -
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Day 21, Part 2 -
Chapter Forty
Day 21, afternoon and evening -
Chapter Forty-One
Day 21, night -
Chapter Forty-Two
Day 22, Tucson, AZ -
Chapter Forty-Three
Day 22, a courtship in song -
Chapter Forty-Four
Day 22--the show goes on -
Chapter Forty-Five
Tucson, AZ, 7:00 pm -
Chapter Forty-Six
Tucson, AZ, 10 PM -
Chapter Forty-Seven
11:30 PM - Chapter Forty-Eight
- Chapter Forty-Nine
-
Chapter Fifty
On the way to Cali -
Chapter Fifty-One
Going to California -
Chapter Fifty-Two
A surprise for Viv -
Chapter Fifty-Three
More about Billy -
I think we're alone now
After the reception -
Let's talk about...
Later that night - Chapter Fifty-Six
- Chapter Fifty-Seven
- Chapter Fifty-Eight
- Chapter Fifty-Nine
- Chapter Sixty
- Chapter Sixty-One
- Chapter Sixty-Two
- Chapter Sixty-Three
- Chapter Sixty-Four
-
Chapter Sixty-Five
Early morning phone calls - Chapter Sixty-Six