Page 1 of Another Postcard

1

Levi

“Would somebody putthis drumstick in my eye and swirl it around in my brain? Maybe then some of these singers will sound less sucktastic.” Matteo twirled his drumsticks through his fingers, scowling at the currently closed door to the sound room. I rolled my eyes and looked down at the music in my hands, not wanting to encourage him, but secretly agreeing.

Since Sheryl, one of the backup vocalists for Stone Butterfly, announced she was pregnant, we knew we would eventually have to replace her, if only temporarily for maternity leave. If we didn’t, we’d have to rework all of our music to remove the need for that vocal line and the harmony it created. The more singers a band has, the fuller the sound, and while not all our music called for six voices, it was frequent enough that we’d made them permanent members.

Despite Sheryl’s nagging, we’d successfully put it off until the last minute. Unfortunately, it meant that the session musician she and our manager, Noah, had wanted was booked and unavailable. They were pissed when they found out, and I was fairly certain Noah was punishing us by making us sit through auditions. No doubt at Sheryl’s suggestion.

It was early afternoon and we’d already been subjected to seven “musicians.” Stone Butterfly was a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning rock band. We didn’t hold fucking auditions. Don’t get me wrong, we jammed with any new session musician to make sure it was a good fit, but outright auditions? Fuck no!

And yet, here you are, dumbass.

“Shut it, Teo. Let’s just get this over with so we can get the hell out of here.” Simon scowled at Matteo as he plucked out a few notes on his bass. “I’ve got a date with the lead singer of Lady Luck tonight.” His expression morphed into a wolfish grin, and I chuckled. Simon was the poster boy for a Latin lover with his tan skin, dark brown eyes, black hair, and a silver tongue (literally and figuratively. He had a sliver barbell piercing) that had talked many a groupie out of their panties.

Sasha was sprawled out on the piano bench, her feet tapping out a rhythm and her fingers prancing over her stomach, playing the music in her head. She sat up and looked at Simon, cocking her head curiously. “Which one? It’s a trio.” Simon snorted and then grinned at her salaciously.

“Who said it was only one?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Sasha rolled her eyes, then winked and reached out to fist bump Simon as they grinned widely at each other. Yeah, Sasha was the shit. She’d been our keyboardist for almost as long as we’d been a band. She fit right in and didn’t go all girly on us, getting offended by our language, partying, and whore-ish activities. Sasha could actually drink a lot of guys under the table and she had the mouth of a sailor, particularly when she played poker. She was all woman, though, with her long, lean body, and stunning face. She could have been a runway model, but, she preferred ragged jeans, and even more ragged T-shirts. Her coppery hair was usually under a baseball cap, with a long ponytail down the back.

I stifled another sigh as the door opened. When I saw it was Noah, I slumped down a little in relief. He stepped into the empty space in front of us and slipped his hands casually into his expensive, gray suit pants. I almost never saw him in anything but suits these days. It was a far cry from the kid I learned to play the guitar with, the one I used to jam with whenever our parents let us. Noah grew up in the rock and roll lifestyle, his parents having their own rock star careers before they settled down on Long Island and focused on producing. Noah and I were both ten, and from the moment we met in school, we became inseparable. He’d grown up playing instruments and singing, and I used to lurk around during his lessons, soaking up as much as I could. Eventually, Noah’s parents encouraged me to join him, and we learned to make music together. My younger brother and sister had no interest in the music industry, but they had been our faithful audience and were still our biggest fans.

In high school, we met Matteo, who immediately felt like our brother, and we became a band without really thinking about it. Our natural instincts leaned toward alternative rock, but we dabbled in other genres, refusing to be pigeon holed. As we developed into a working machine, Noah started booking our gigs and managing all of the behind the scenes shit. After graduation, we stayed close, each of us having been accepted into different New York music programs. It allowed us to stay together and perform whenever we had the opportunity. Shortly into our first year, Noah showed up to a rehearsal with Simon in tow and told us he was the brother we were missing. I thought Noah was bringing him in as second guitar, but he handed Simon a bass and stood back to listen and watch. The notion of replacing Noah didn’t sit well with me, but I trusted him. And, he was right.The jackass was always right. Simon was the puzzle piece we didn’t even realize had been missing.

Noah pointed out what Teo and I weren’t willing to admit, that he didn’t play at the same level as the rest of us. We argued, but in the end, he decided to step out of the limelight and take on the role of manager. He thrived on the business side of things, and it quickly became clear that it was what he was born to do. I could honestly say; I didn’t know where Stone Butterfly would be without him. He brought Sasha on board at the end of our freshman year, right before he negotiated our first record deal. She was a brilliant pianist, and when we were feeling a little folksy, we would have her break out her fiddle. When she started sawin’ on her fiddle, the devil had nothin’ on Sasha Blue.

It wasn’t long before we left school behind to go on tour and became a solid group for the next three years, adding Kristi and Sheryl into the mix as backup singers when we headed into the studio to lay down our second album. They quickly became permanent members of the group, instrumental, rather than expendable backup singers. We really hated the idea of breaking in someone new.

Despite the urge I had at that moment to light his ass on fire, Noah was still my best friend, and I respected his position as my manager. So, when he casually looked us over, a small smirk on his face, I refrained from making a sarcastic insult. Instead, I whined, “Can we come out of time out now, Dad?” My tone was dry. “We want to play with the big kids.”

Sheryl waddled into the room, glaring at us as she joined Noah. “I don’t think you’ve been tortured enough, but Danny is flipping out about me not being home two weeks before my due date. FYI, I wouldn’t be anywhere alone with him for a while, he’s pretty pissed at you guys.” I almost laughed at the picture in my head. Sheryl’s husband was barely five foot seven, and maybe one hundred and fifty pounds soaking wet. Perhaps his level of anger would give him a leg up (pun intended, ‘cause I’m awesome like that) to my six foot four and one hundred ninety-five pounds of muscle.

What? I had the right to be a little cocky. It’s not like my body happened by accident.

I could see the others holding in their laughter as well, a fact that wasn’t lost on Sheryl. Her glare became more intense, but Noah interrupted, diffusing the growing tension. “We’ve got one more singer for you to see, and I expect you to behave like professionals. It took a lot of negotiating to get her here. She’s one of the best in the business and wrangling her away from other potential projects wasn’t easy, especially without the promise of more than a three-month gig.” Sheryl had informed us that she was considering retiring from performing to be a full-time mom. However, she hadn’t made her decision yet, so there was no guarantee that we would have to deal with a permanent replacement. A hassle none of us were eager to deal with.

Sheryl pointed a finger at each of us. “I’ve known her for years, and Brooklynn is perfect for you guys. So, don’t blow it.”

Brooklynn? I must have heard her wrong.

“Brooklynn Hawk?” Kristi inquired, her voice cautiously excited. No way did Noah get Brooklynn Hawk. Despite being only twenty-two, she was one of the most sought after singers in the industry. From what I’d heard, she was also a classically trained pianist. Many had tried, but so far, no one had been able to entice her into a permanent spot in a band. Especially, since she’d never been willing to tour. She traveled a little to do session work, but mostly, people came to her and worked in a studio near her home in upstate New York. With that in mind, I wasn’t sure what Sheryl and Noah were thinking. As excited as I was at the prospect of working with Brooklynn, with our tour fast approaching, we needed someone who was willing to go on the road.

Noah’s face broke into a wide smile, glowing with triumph. “If you knuckleheads hadn’t put off getting together with possible candidates, we would have had her contracted six months ago. Obviously, she wasn’t willing to wait around for you all to get your heads removed from your asses and she signed a three-month contract for a US and Canadian tour with Unhinged.”

“A tour?” I blurted the question in shock. “Brooklynn Hawk doesn’t tour!”

“Apparently, she does now,” Noah answered with a scowl in my direction. “Now if you’re done interrupting…” he trailed off, and I nodded with a one-fingered salute. “Anyway, when Unhinged put their tour on hold indefinitely, we begged her to give us one more chance.”

I’d heard about the troubles the lead singer of Unhinged was having. He’d done some damage to his vocal chords, and the doctors were unsure whether they’d be able to repair it. It was a shame, really, Unhinged had real talent and had been steadily rising on the charts.

Sheryl clapped her hands excitedly. “I’ll go get her!” Then she spun around like a Weeble Wobble, dangerously close to falling down, and wobbled her way out of the room. Two minutes later, the door swung open and I stopped breathing.

2

Brooklynn

Iwas grinningas I stepped into the large studio space. I’d been in the industry a few years at that point and I rarely got star struck. But, dude.It was Stone Butterfly!I managed to contain my fangirling to my huge smile as Sheryl introduced me to the band.

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