Page 21 of Wish We Were There

“Yeah, that’s the main thing,” he said. “Lyssa wanted me to do some interviews to, uh, improve my reputation, in her words. I’m doing a lot better now, actually, but I haven’t done any kind of interviews since I was, uh, not doing so well. She’s wanting to set the groundwork for a better public reception before we announce the album.”

“I hear you talking in there already,” Lyssa called from the kitchen.

“Nothing on the record yet,” Parker called back with a laugh. Jason rolled his eyes, but remained smiling; still, Parker waited until Lyssa was back in the room to speak again. She handed him a bottle of water—one of the fancy glass bottles that wouldn’t make noise when he opened it, which was a point in her favor.

“Alright, so, I’ve got some questions here we can fall back to, but I figured you’d probably want to take the lead today. Does that sound good?” Parker asked. Jason glanced at Lyssa, who nodded, then he nodded as well. “Great. Just tell me whenever you’re ready, and I’ll start recording.”

Lyssa settled into the green armchair between them, pulling up her phone. “You won’t even know I’m here,” she whispered.

“I’m ready,” Jason said, and Parker nodded, first taking a long drink of water, then hitting the record button.

“So, Jason,” he started, leaning back with his tablet. “First, I’m curious as to what you’ve been up to since your last album release. You’re one of the last holdouts against having any sort of personal social media, and the band’s socials are pretty much business-only. So I’m sure a lot of fans are wondering how you’ve been.”

“Well, I was definitely going through it,” Jason sighed. “But I’m doing a lot better now. Honestly, I’m probably never going to be on any kind of social media—my mental health is already shit enough without it, you know? If I had been live-tweeting my first rehab stint, I probably would be in a very different place right now.”

Parker chuckled, glancing over at Lyssa, but she seemed unconcerned with her eyes still on her phone.

“But, yeah, for a while I was in rehab again,” Jason continued. “This time I kept it pretty quiet. Knowing everyone knew I was in rehab the first time made it harder for everything to stick, I think. But I’m doing a lot better now. I’ve been sober over a year now, so I think I’m ready to get back into the swing of albums and touring and all that.”

“That’s great to hear,” Parker said, nodding. “And congrats on a year sober. That’s no easy feat. I’m really glad to hear that. So are you working on a new album now? Or is one already in the pipeline?”

“I wrote a lot of songs when I was in rehab, so the album’s coming really soon. It’s already in the works. And, I mean, I stand by all my work, really; but I think this album is some of my best.” Jason paused, his eyes flicking over to Lyssa before he added, “Well, I stand by most of my work. If I could go back in time and change anything… I don’t know. I’m not exactly proud of Dying to Leave anymore, but it really changed the trajectory of my life forever. It was really hard, but I’m proud of the person I am today, finally, and I don’t know how different I would be without that album.”

Lyssa’s fingers were hovering over her phone, clearly listening intently, but she didn’t look up at them or interrupt.

“It’s definitely part of the lasting legacy of the band,” Parker agreed, watching Lyssa too. “Has it been difficult to move on from that? I know that a lot of critics will always go back to that as the ultimate representation of the band, even over your previous albums that really launched so much of your initial success in the first place.”

“It’s tough for sure,” Jason agreed. “But, I mean, what’s done is done. There’s no point in wishing I could change the past. It took a long time for me to really accept that. That everything that happened is on me, not Sterling—”

“Nope,” Lyssa interrupted, holding up a hand to stop him. “No mentions by name.”

“Right, sorry,” Jason muttered. “Well, long story short, yeah, it’s been challenging. But I’m doing really well right now. Trying to take things one day at a time, but I really feel like this year has been a turning point for me. The first time I went to rehab, I had been spiraling because I hated how Dying to Leave was going to define me, and especially the rest of the band. And, I mean, all the shit that led up to that, too. But I spent a lot of time in therapy trying to grapple with that and be grateful for all the success I had. I’m lucky enough to still make music for a living. That’s what I’m trying to focus the most on, instead of dwelling on what I used to have, or thought I could have had.”

“That’s some really good stuff,” Parker agreed, glancing between Jason and his notes. “I think that’s what it comes down to in the end, being grateful for what we have instead of obsessing over what we think we should have.”

“It’s all about mindfulness, dude, seriously,” Jason laughed. “Wish I wasn’t so hard-headed. I feel like a lot of people could have gotten that from a book, but it took me two rounds of rehab and a lot of therapy to really get that. Anyway, uh, that’s a lot of what the new album is about. Just trying to reflect on all that.”

“Does the album have a name yet?”

“I’m throwing a few ideas around—”

“Just stick with the working title for now,” Lyssa interjected. “Parker, we’ll contact you if it ends up changing before release. It might change.”

Jason visibly scowled. But whatever the story was there, Parker was sure he wasn’t going to hear it now. He nodded, then looked back at Jason.

“The title right now is What Remains. I feel like it’s going to be a total opposite to Dying to Leave, so I tried to kind of... reverse the title, I guess. Staying instead of leaving. A lot of it is about trying to learn to be happy with the person you are, instead of finding worth in the person you’re with. That kind of shit.”

Parker chuckled, nodding. “No, I like that. It’s a nice balance between a nod toward it and moving on to the next thing, which it sounds like is a lot of what the album touches on.”

They went back and forth about the new album for a while, as Jason went more in-depth on his process of writing much of it in rehab, and how starkly different the recording process felt going at it sober. Luckily, Lyssa didn’t interrupt again.

“Alright, I think I’ve got enough for the article,” Parker said when they’d been talking for close to an hour. “Unless there’s anything else you want to add?”

“Hold on, sorry,” Lyssa said quickly. She stood, but was still looking at her phone. “Ugh, I need to take a call from another client really quick. Sorry, guys. I’ll be right back. Nothing on the record while I’m gone, alright?” She shot Parker a sharp look; but her expression softened, and she laughed as she walked away.

“Right,” Parker agreed, laughing nervously. Both he and Jason were silent until the click of another door echoed down the hall.

“Well, hey, since we’re off the record,” Jason said, pulling Parker’s attention back to him. “You’re friends with the guys from Get Well Soon, right?”

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