Page 88 of Flipping the Script

“Really?”

“Yup. And his new sound is way different from when he was with Vessel. I swear that guy can write anything. Pop, country, rock, metal, even jazz. It’s crazy how talented he is.” Adam snort-laughed. “Dude plays multiple instruments, can sing as well as Quinn,andhe paints. Hannah says all the artistic talent in their family got passed on to him, and all she got was a head for numbers.”

I sat there, stunned.

I thought he retired from the industry and that was it. I hadn’t heard anything about him performing or still writing music. Was this a recent thing?

“Want to come with us? Doors open at ten.”

I glanced at my phone out of habit. It was almost eight.

“Hannah’s picking me up in about twenty minutes. You can catch a ride with us,” he offered.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

“Are you sure? It’s not like you have plans—or a life.” He pretended to flick something at me.

“I’m good. Not really in the mood to go to a bar.”

“Suit yourself.” He pushed up from the couch and stood. “I’m going to grab a beer to pregame. Want one?”

I shook my head.

He shrugged and disappeared into my kitchen again.

The last thing I needed was to watch Sebastian perform, even if I would be with my brother and Hannah.

The less we saw of each other, the better.

And it wasn’t like a night at home alone would kill me.

The sensual notes of a Gothic-sounding rock song played through the speaker of my phone, filling my truck cab.

“Holy shit,” I muttered, my eyes glued to the screen.

I’d spent over an hour going through Sebastian’s and Vessel’s social media channels, my curiosity piqued after my conversation with Adam.

After watching various videos he’d posted of him performing in bars, stadiums, festivals, and recording studios, both with Vessel and solo, I’d gotten in my truck and driven to The Honest Lawyer, where I currently sat in the parking lot contemplating if I should go in or turn around and head home.

I’d never looked up his music because I assumed it would be heavy and loud like in high school, but I’d been wrong.

Most of the videos I’d seen of him performing with Vessel were what I pictured when I thought of a heavy metal band, but it was also so much more. The lyrics were profound, and the non-screaming parts of the song were catchy as hell. Theyreminded me of a mix of the Gothic rock and heavy alternative bands that were popular in the ’90s.

His solo stuff was completely different.

I assumed he could sing since he’d spent over six years in the music industry and signed with a major record label after two years of touring as an indie band, but I hadn’t realized he couldsing.

Quinn was the only other singer I knew. He’d moved to New York City when he was twenty with dreams of making it on Broadway. He was an incredible singer and could mimic every genre out there, from pop to rock to blues to show tunes.

Sebastian’s voice was just as versatile. I’d seen a video of him performing an a cappella cover of The Phantom of the Opera with a female vocalist from one of the bands he’d toured with that sounded as good as any opera singers I’d ever heard. I’d also watched him perform sensual-sounding rock songs with her and a variety of other types of heavier music with other bands as a guest vocalist.

Then there were the videos of him performing piano covers of classic rock songs like “Who Wants to Live Forever” by Queen and “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel in concert halls, and stadium favorites like Bryan Adams’s “Summer of ’69” and Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” to massive crowds of screaming fans at festivals and open-air concerts.

But the video that absolutely enthralled me was one of him on the beach near his cabin. The video had almost no production value and was just a single shot taken at sunset while he played his guitar and sang a hauntingly beautiful song about being nothing more than a background character in other people’s lives and how much it hurt to feel invisible unless people wanted something from you.

The visuals of the video were stunning, with the sun setting over the water, but it was the lyrics and how he sang them that really hit hard.

I could have written it myself. The emotion he put into every word was palpable, and the way he looked at the camera was shy and sweet, a far cry from the frontman who radiated sex appeal and sensuality in his other videos.

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