Page 17 of Tangled Weeds

“Morning, boys, everyone ready to go?” he asked and did a double take when his eyes landed on me. “You must be Devon, Glenn’s nephew.” He held his hand out which I shook. “I’m Vance their manager.”

“Yes, thanks for giving me the opportunity to play with Blinding Light,” I said, not really sure if he was actually involved with that decision or not.

“You were who Glenn recommended, he said you knew all the songs and you weren’t in a band at the present time, so it really was fortunate for us all. Easy said you’re doing a great job.” Vance watched as everything was loaded while he spoke, not even noticing my shock.

I glanced at the front of the bus to see Liam and Easy standing by the door watching me speak to Vance, and while Easy’s expression had softened, I didn’t think it was only because he wasn’t a morning person. “I’m glad to hear that. I want to do the best job I can.”

Vance turned then and met my eyes. “I know what happened to your last band, and to be completely honest I also know your reputation. If I know Easy, he’s made it clear that we won’t accept anything other than professionalism and your complete commitment. They’d rather cancel the tour than deal with bullshit.”

“Yeah, he told me that, a few times. I’m going to do my best. I don’t want to let any of them down, and I also want to someday get my own band together. The past me was a fucking mess, and I regret that, but I want to prove to everyone that I’m committedto Blinding Light,” I said, and hoped he believed me because I’d probably never been more honest in my life.

“Well, you’ve got four shows to do just that. Don’t fuck up, kid,” he said and walked away. I handed one of the guys that was loading up the bus my suitcase and walked toward the door. The bus was old as fuck, but Glenn had said it wasn’t that bad, and having the time to practice and brainstorm while they were driving to a gig was something they were all adjusting to but mostly they liked it.

I stepped onto the bus that was already running and walked past where Rory and Kai were sitting at a small booth drinking coffee and eating. After having barely slept last night for fear I wouldn’t wake up, I hadn’t even thought of eating.

“Good morning,” Kai said. “There’s coffee and some food just over there.” I looked where he pointed and moved right to it, pouring a cup of coffee first before seeing what there was to eat. Thankfully there was a little of everything and lots of it. I turned around and Kai pointed at the bench seat across from them.

“Thanks, I didn’t even think about stopping on the way here,” I said and took as big a drink as I could without burning most of my tastebuds off.

“How are you feeling about the playlist?” Rory asked.

“Yeah, it’s good. I’ve been listening to your tracks from your website and that’s honestly been very helpful. There’s so many little things Glenn throws in that I really hadn’t noticed.”

“He’s great. Hopefully everything works out and he’s back playing soon,” Kai said, and I tried not to imagine that happening before we played a few gigs.

“There’s so much finesse I hadn’t paid attention to. I’ve listened to your music as long as you’ve all been together, but I never looked at each piece the way I have this week. Thanks for giving me the opportunity, I swear I won’t waste it.” It seemed I’d said this a million times to each of them, but it still wasn’t enough, and shit could still change. I needed to put in every effort with them.

“You’re doing great,” Rory said. “It definitely helps that you’ve heard our music for years. Don’t worry so much, as long as you’re doing the best you can there won’t be a problem. Hey, I meant to ask you something. I know you’ve been with other bands, what’s the biggest show you’ve done?” He and Kai both waited for me to answer. I wasn’t sure where Easy and Liam were but when I heard the storage area close, I thought they must be in the back of the bus.

“Nothing too big. I played at a college arena once, but it wasn’t full, and it wasn’t a full set, just two songs,” I said being completely honest.

“The club we’re playing tomorrow is a strip club but it’s also one of the bigger live venues in Vegas. Vance said it’s sold out. The other three shows are too. I just wanted you to know so you weren’t surprised. It can be a lot,” Rory said as my nerves kicked in.

“I don’t have stage fright or anything like that, but you’re right I haven’t played anything that big, and I also don’t want to fuck it up. Do you know if we’ll get there before they start letting in guests?” I asked.

“We usually get there early enough to do a soundcheck. And Easy is picky as fuck so it’s in our contract that we have plenty of time to set up and do whatever we need to do before anyone arrives for the show,” Rory said.

“That’s great. I’ll feel better once I can see it and I’m sure my drums are set up the way I like them.” They both looked at each other and grinned.

“You’re going to fit right in, all of us like to set up our own equipment, and Easy would never do a show without a soundcheck.”

“Do you know much about the warm-up band? Like how long they’re playing and if they’re getting there early too?” I had so many questions I hadn’t considered, but now I wanted as much information as I could get.

“They have an hour before they play to do whatever they need to do. We make sure we’re done by then so we can get ready in plenty of time for the show,” Liam said when he walked out from the back of the bus and filled a cup of coffee. “We like to make sure everyone has plenty of time to prepare.”

Even if Easy did still give me his murder glare, I had learned more in the past few days about how a band should operate thanI had in all the years I’d been with multiple bands. Blinding Light had found a great balance between managing their careers and still keeping it fun. Plus, they had a great reputation of showing up on time and not keeping anyone waiting. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be playing with them, but I was going to try to learn as much as I could. They obviously had a winning combination, and I loved how protective they were of each other. Even their manager, and I knew they’d wanted to fire him before they had laid down the law and took control of their fates away from him and the production company they’d been with.

“Let’s go over the lyrics of the new song,” Rory said, and the morning passed with us bouncing ideas back and forth that Rory either shot down or hurried to write down. I struggled to remember a time with any other band where working together had been as relaxed and fun, and I knew if I was lucky enough to find my own band, I wanted it to have the same feel Blinding Light did.

Sixteen

Johnny

We all drove to the strip club from the airport. Jayne rode with me while Mateo and Jeremy rode together in Mateo’s van, they’d driven from Sacramento carrying the equipment. Tanner pulled in right after they did. There was an old Greyhound bus parked across the parking lot near the loading ramp and Mateo drove past us and parked next to it.

“Hey, guys, you ready for tonight?” Tanner asked as he joined Jayne and I walking to the loading ramp.

“Hell yes, I think we sound great. I can’t wait,” Mateo said. He was more than excited to not be playing the drums and Jayne highlighted how much he wasn’t into it by showing how good she was.

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