Page 7 of Strike A Chord

“Ha-ha. It’s been a topic of more than one drunken conversation.” I had a bad habit of ending up naked after one too many drinks and not always for fucking. “If the kitchen’s still open, I’ll take an order of nachos.” That would keep my pie hole shut. No more oversharing. The dude was already not your biggest fan, Josh. Though I did feel a change in the air tonight, if only for a moment. Maybe someday, Reagan and I would be ready for a relationship at the same time, and I’d have a chance. Says he who’s the surliest fucker of all. Jesus Christ, why did everything in my head sound like a Disney metaphor? Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the surliest fucker of all?

“Hey, man,” Jason slung his arm around my shoulder. “We’re gonna take off. Gotta work mañana and we’ve got another show in Seattle tomorrow night. Great job, mi amigo.” He turned to Reagan, “Thanks again for letting us kick it off here. Show went off without a hitch. This guy’s got a few tricks up his sleeve.” Jason winked at me. Not long after he left, Marley and Nigel did, too.

As the crowd wound down and midnight neared, I paid for my tab, loaded up the car and went home feeling lonelier than I ever had. Had I become a people person or just a Reagan person?

Fucking crushes suck.

When I woke up the next day it was to rapid-fire texts in the Chaotic group chat. They loved that name to a scary level and even renamed the chat to match. Tonight, we had a gig at High Dive, but the band scheduled at El Corazon for Saturday cancelled, and Jason was able to get us their slot. That was a major steppingstone, some big names kicked off there over the years, and it was a huge deal to get into their lineup. That place was booked for literal months out. Jason and Marley were in panic mode, concerned I only learned the four songs we’d played at the bar last night, but I assured them I had them all down.

For tonight, I suggested four different songs for us to play just to prove to them I knew my shit. The band only had about a dozen songs in total, and I had a notebook full that screamed to be shared. Hopefully, I’d grow a pair and do it and they’d like them enough to lay down new tracks with. The idea of sharing something as personal as my lyrics was really putting myself out there, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to be that vulnerable.

“All right, guys,” Jason said as we waited backstage. “We have ten minutes,” he scanned our shocked faces, “no joke, to set up and tear down. As soon as…”

“You’re up, Chaotic,” the manager hollered as he reached us. “Let’s go.”

We filled our hands, arms, and any available limb with equipment and began setting up while the previous band tore down theirs. Organized chaos? Not so much, but that’s how these shows went. Most fans didn’t realize what bands went through at every show. The only reason I did was because in my previous life I was the behind-the-scenes guy and after I tuned Ryder’s guitars I shifted to roadie and helped out there.

“Hey, Josh,” Jason leaned toward me. “Maybe keep your head up tonight and eyes on the crowd. That is, unless you can’t play without staring at your fingers.”

His laughter said he knew better. “Fuck off,” though I said the words through a smile. I think these guys were just what I needed. Well, a relationship with Nigel was still a work in progress but yeah, the rest was falling into place.

If I thought the energy last night was insane, I was wrong. This—seeing the excitement in the crowd as they sang along was beyond words. Given the larger venue, and we played a non-acoustic set with our amps and pedals locked and loaded, it was kick ass. More bodies in the crowd showed the band had a decent local following. The cheers when I hit the guitar solo on “Break it Up” with the added riffs were mind blowing.

Things are out of control, the place is hopping tonight

Someone’s gonna blow, the crowd is rowdy all right

So grab your gear, let’s give ‘em a show

This is the life, they’re here for us

When the melodies play it brings them to their knees

And the reaper’s held at bay

Chorus:

Break it up

Or you’ll miss the show

Break it up

What the fuck do you know

Break it up

Just you wait and see

Break it up

Chill the fuck out, or leave

I see you eye fucking me from across the room

Let’s find a dark hall, a few minutes will do

The bouncers had their hands full breaking up a fight