The Break - Chapter 34

Chapter 34 Since Annie was arriving in a little less than hour, Schneider pulled the bus into the arrivals aisle at the Vancouver airport. Ronnie wanted to spend a little time alone with her, so he told everyone that they should go ahead, check into the hotel and get everything ready for rehearsal. He would wait for Annie at the airport and then they would catch a cab to the arena. Feeling the excitement build, Ronnie bounded down the steps of the bus. The last time he saw Annie was a little over three weeks ago. She was coming, so that must mean she had forgiven him for being such an ass to her. After not being with her for three weeks, he knew he never wanted to be away from her again. It would be up to him to show her she made the right decision. It took him a several minutes to locate the baggage claim which was the agreed upon meeting point. Glancing at the clock, he saw that he had forty-five more minutes to wait. Strolling around, he saw that the arrivals area looked pretty much like any other airport he’s been to. Since there wasn’t really anywhere to sit, Ronnie decided to lean up against the wall and watch the mini-dramas unfold in front of him. To his right, there was a large group of people that were holding balloons and a few signs to welcome a soldier home. On his left he saw an older couple peering intently at the door that Ronnie determined to be the exit from Canadian customs. As his eyes scanned the crowd for anything interesting, he jumped a loud sound. Tracking to the direction of the noise, he saw a very large man bent over trying to retrieve his matched luggage from the pile on the floor. His girth, combined will his ill-fitted business suit, was preventing him from making real progress. Each time he bent over, the cloth of his trouser stretched to its capacity. As soon as he managed to grasp the overnight bag, his laptop bag would slide down his arm, hit the bag and knock it out of his hand. Then he would stand up, fling the laptop back over his shoulder, adjust his pants and try again. Soon, Ronnie went from finding this humorous to really feeling bad for the guy. Deciding to help, he made his way over. “Here, let me give you a hand.” Ronnie said in a helpful tone. The man turned toward Ronnie. When he saw his long hair, old t-shirt and ratty jeans, he frowned noticeably. “I got it.” The man responded indignantly. “You sure?” Ronnie asked taken aback by the man’s attitude. “I said, I got it.” The man snapped loudly. “You got a hearing problem?” “Knock yourself out.” Ronnie said as he shrugged his shoulders. As he turned to walk leave, he noticed a man quickly look away. It was obvious that he had been watching Ronnie. It was almost as if he was caught off guard as Ronnie by the man’s reaction. He hadn’t expected Ronnie to turn around that quickly. Although he looked as if he were in his late sixties, the man looked solid, well muscled. It seemed to Ronnie that he had seen the man before, but he didn’t know anyone in Canada. Just as he was trying to place the man, his phone rang. “Hello.” Ronnie answered. “Ronnie, it’s Randy.” The voice said. “How ya doing? “Great, Randy.” Ronnie responded. “How bout you?” “Unbelievable, my very talented friend.” Randy said cheerfully. “Unbelivable. Have I got some news for youse?” Ronnie return to the spot he occupied prior to attempting to help the friendly stranger and leaned up against the wall. “Sup?” He asked. “You are about to hit the big time, buddy.” Randy replied. “Whaddya mean?” Ronnie asked as he stood up straight. He felt the tingling of the rush of adrenaline brought on by the excitement in Randy’s voice. Having known Randy for almost a year, Ronnie knew when he was being the phony A&R man and when he was truly excited. Right now Randy could barely contain himself. "I managed to book you five gigs in California." Randy replied. "Five more?" Ronnie asked. "Yeah, but that's not the best part." Randy bragged as he snjoyed build the suspense. "I got you on Leno." "The Tonight Show?" Ronnie asked very excitedly. "No shit?" Randy was on top of the world. This band was on fire, everyone wanted them including TV. That meant they were now officially a goldmine. It was Randy's attention to milk them for all he could get. The unbridled excitement from Ronnie was exactly the reaction he was looking for. Until now, Ronnie had the edge in the negotiations. But that reaction told Randy that Ronnie might be a little star struck. If that was true, Randy would have the upper hand. He knew it and he planned to use it to his advantage. These guys were a flash-in-the-pan, but they were going to generate cash. Randy planned on taking a very large cut of that for himself. “Uh…that is huge.” Ronnie said as he thought through his initial reaction. “But I am going to have to talk to the guys.” “What’s to talk about?” Randy said somewhat irritated. “It’s the fucking tonight show. It’s what you have been working for.” Ronnie paused for a minute. They had discussed making it big and all of them agreed that they wanted to make some money, but none of them really wanted to be famous. Watching what happened to Pearl Jam and even worse what happened to Kurt Cobain was in all of their minds. Maybe because of where they came from or who they were as people, they understood exactly what Eddie Vedder meant when he said he didn’t want to be a rock star. They weren’t a reincarnation of an eighties hair band. They were musicians and they never wanted to loose artistic control over their music or be slaves to a record company. “Maybe.” Ronnie said. “We like playing music, but I’m not sure any of us want to be rock stars.” This statement did not sit well with Randy. Not at all. He had spent months developing this band and he had driven them to the brink of making serious money. After all of that, there was no way he was going to let them piss away his opportunity at a huge windfall. This was his career. The record company had assigned him to this band because they had very low expectations. All his work had not gone unnoticed. If these guys made it, the president of the record himself promised Randy some big name acts. No, he would not, could not allow them to mess this up for him. “Hey buddy, come on.” Randy said with false cheer as he bit back on his anger. “Don’t get me wrong Randy.” Ronnie explained. “I’m not saying we aren’t going to do it. Just saying we’re a band and we make all the decisions as a group.” “I trust you are going to steer them in the right direction.” Randy said as his anger receded now that Ronnie hadn’t totally nixed the idea. “We’ll talk about it and I’ll let you know.” Ron repeated. “I have a feeling everyone will be up to it, but we do have some things to talk about.” Now that was music to Randy’s ears. He finally had the kid talking sense. Then, he made a huge miscalculation. “Now your talking, buddy.” Randy said in a very relieved tone. “I was thinking I might have to remind you that we have a contract.” It was Ronnie’s turn to get angry. He didn’t want to blow an opportunity, but he knew he had to keep Randy in his place. Randy had to understand that they were the talent and without them there was no album, no tour, no Leno. “Not for this, we don’t.” Ronnie reminded him. “Our contract is for one album and a support tour consisting of fifteen gigs extendable on mutual agreement. We agreed to do the five additional shows, but this is the first time you offered us more.” There was a pause on the other end. Randy was reeling. Hearing the tone in Ronnie’s voice made him shudder. It wasn’t that he sounded angry, he just sounded decisive. Any gains he had made to swing the negotiations in his favor had evaporated with a single ill-conceived statement. “Your deal, remember?” Ronnie asked not waiting for a response. “We wanted a three album deal with unlimited support, but you wanted to take it slowly.” Ronnie was on fire. Once again, watching his father had paid a huge dividend. No matter how angry he was, he wouldn’t say the wrong thing. But he did need to put a stake in the ground right now. “So, Randy.” Ronnie said matter-of-factly. “Don’t ever pull that “We have a contract” bullshit with me again. We’re hot right now. You wouldn’t have been able to get on Leno if we weren’t. That means there are other labels out there that would be interested in us. Don’t make me pick up the phone – understand.” Knowing his position was untenable, Randy wanted to back off this as quickly as possible. “Hey, easy there big fella.” He said jovially trying to diffuse the situation. “I’m taking care of you. It’s all good. You talk to the guys and get back to me. You know, it’s all good.” “Okay, okay. As long as we understand each other, this will work out for all of us.” Ronnie said in a tone that served as a reminder that he could hold his own. “It’s going to be awhile. I am picking up a friend at the airport and then we have rehearsal scheduled. I’ll get back to you around nine tonight, cool?” Somewhat relieved that he hadn’t totally blown it, but still upset with himself because of his gaffe, Randy had no choice but to accept Ronnie’s proposal. “Cool. Talk to you then.” Randy said and then he hung up. As Ronnie closed his flip phone, he felt good. He was really starting to get the hang of this. This was the first time that he handled himself without the slightest twinge of anxiety. Before and after the first face-to-face with the record company, Ronnie had to visit the restroom for a quick stomach purge. Now, the only twinge in his stomach was hunger pains. He realized he hadn’t eaten since before noon. Glancing at his watch, he saw that he still had forty minutes before Annie arrived. He began scanning the arrivals to see if there was anywhere that he could grab something to eat. To his surprise, he saw the same well muscled man, moving quickly away from him. It seemed to Ronnie that the man was trying hard not to be noticed. He kept dodging in front of people, pillars and anything else that seemed larger than he was. Since he had time, Ronnie decided to follow the guy just to see what he was up to. The man glanced over his shoulder and saw Ronnie following him. Upset with himself for being noticed, Ian went into stealth mode. How could he let an amateur spot him? “Christ, I must be getting old.” He thought to himself. Ducking his shoulder down to the right, Ian sped around a post. With the quickness of a much younger man, he ducked low and sped behind the row of pay-per-use luggage carts. When he got to the end of the carts, he paused momentarily and then he saw a family with an overfull cart. Instantly, he sprung into action. Without the family noticing, he used them as a shield. In seconds, he was behind Ronnie. After seven more seconds, he was out the exit and into the first cab in the taxi rank. Walking through the maze of people, Ronnie suddenly realized that he couldn’t see the man any more. He stopped and looked around. The man had simply vanished. Ronnie shrugged and returned to his quest for some food. Looking through the window, he saw the face of the man he had been tracking in the back seat of a cab. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ronnie and Annie walked into the dressing room with their arms around each other waist. “Isn’t that just about the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?” Pete teased. “Bite me, Pete.” Annie said. “Whoa, I like her already.” Big Ron said with a chuckle. “Bustin’ Pete’s ball right off the bat.” Ronnie smiled. He forgot that his Dad didn’t know anything about Annie. Such as, she used to work with Pete and had always known how to handle him. “That’s what I thought the first time I met her.” Ronnie added. “When she put ole Petey right in his place.” “Yeah, I’m still a little pissed about that one.” Pete said jokingly. The introductions were made and the travel band of gypsies became nine. Annie instantly like Emily, but something about Chelsea told her to watch out for her. Meeting Ronnie’s Dad for the first time was pretty strange given the circumstances. Rarely do people due justice to their family when describing their kin. In the case, Ronnie could not have done a much better job. “All right, enough of this love fest.” Pete said. “We playin’ or what?” “Hang on a sec.” Ronnie interrupted. “I have some important news from Randy.” “What’s up with that fag?” Pete said instantly regretting his choice of words. “Uh, sorry dudes…you know…” “Fuck Pete, if we got pissed every time you said something stupid we’d pissed every time you opened your mouth.” Ass said with a wink. Ass gave Ban a slap on the back and he responded with a smile. Pete always did find a way to say the wrong thing, but none of them held it against him. They knew who he was and they liked him anyway. Just like he liked them in spite of their faults. “Listen up.” Ronnie retaking the initiative. “They have five more gigs for us in Cali if we want them.” “Let’s play.” Pete said enthusiastically. The other two nodded their heads in agreement. There was absolutely nothing they would rather be doing the traveling around playing. “Hang on.” Ronnie cautioned. “There is one additional factor.” “Yeah, what’s that?” Pete asked. “The Tonight Show.” He said. “Randy got us a spot on Leno.” The room simply erupted. The conversation was impossible to track. Ronnie felt his head spinning trying to keep up with what everyone was saying. He needed it to stop. Just as he was about to scream for everyone to shut up, he was preempted. “Hold up.” Big Ron boomed in an authoritative voice. “Let him finish.” Silence. “K, remember how we all talked about how big we wanted to be?” Ronnie began. “We all agreed we’d rather play than to be rich and famous.” “Fuck that.” Pete stated strongly. “I wanna be fucking famous as hell.” “Ronnie’s got a point …” Ass started. “Dude, if we go on Leno do you have any idea how much pussy we are going to get.” Pete continued. Ever so slightly, many of the eyes in the room turned to Chelsea. The anger was unmistakable. Of course, Pete’s eyes didn’t glance in her direction. “Jesus, dude.” Ben said. “I think what Ben’s trying to say is,” Ass added. “What the fuck is wrong with you, dude?” “What?” Pete asked innocently. All his three band mates could do was to shake their heads back and forth. They continued to discuss the pros and cons of the opportunity. Other than Pete, each of the other three was torn between living within their current arrangements and the thrill of hitting it big. All of them had imaged being a rock star, but those fantasies usually only included the fun stuff. In practical terms, the daily grind of being famous was not at all appealing. “Not saying we are going to be pop culture icons,” Ronnie said finally. “But Jesus, Brittany Spears can’t even drive down her driveway without people taking her picture.” “Shit, dude.” Pete said. “We’re not going to be Brittany Spears, but we might be Bad Religion. I’d like to give that a shot.” “I think I agree.” Ass chimed in. “Yeah.” Ben agreed. “Dad, any thoughts?” Ronnie asked. “Watch your ass and don’t let’em get between you, cause they’ll try. Big Ron warned. “In order to keep you in line, they’ll go after you and Pete. They’ll do anything…anything.” The boys thought for a moment. “What makes you say that, Mr. Harrison?” Pete asked. “Cause it’s exactly what I would do.” Ron responded without hesitating. “From what Ronnie said about the conversation and how he negotiated your last deal, this Randy guy knows Ronnie’s running the show. To regain the advantage, he is going to go after the one that has the most talent and the most desire to be famous.” “That’s cold blooded.” Pete said. “Exactly.” Big Ron said. Then he turned to Ben and Ass. “You know I think you guys are the tightest rhythm section I’ve ever seen. It’s not that I think Pete is that much more talented than you, it’s just lead guitar…” “No worries.” Ass said. “There’s a reason we’re in back. Ben nodded in agreement. After a few moments of looking at the sober expressions, Ronnie asked the question again. “So, were doing it, right?” He asked. All nodded in response. “Pete, we’re cool.” Ronnie continued. “We’ll be cool as long as we remember, right.” “Fuckin’ A, dude.” Pete said. “Can we play now?” “Oh, yeah.” Ronnie agreed and they all headed out toward the stage. The boys started out roughly. All of their thoughts were focused on the conversation that just ended. Wondered what it was going to be like to be famous. Wondered if they would actually be famous from just one television show. Wondered if they could keep it together. “Dudes.” Ronnie said in disgust. “We know, dude.” Pete said. “Let’s kick “Debbie”. Without hesitating, Ronnie started it off. When the others jumped in, the explosion blew the thoughts from their minds. Without interruption they played song after song for the next forty-five minutes. None of the four spectators could see how they decided to play the next song. It was the fourth time Emily had seen them play together and they had never played the same songs back to back that she could recall. Annie stood between Emily and Big Ron. She was the only one that noticed Schneider slip out. She was glad he left. Schneider gave her the creeps and she could never understand why Ronnie was friends with him. He was so old and such a freak. But that was just the way he was. She actually liked the fact that he could see past what others couldn’t. Finally, they took a break. “Whew, gimme a little baby.” Pete said to Chelsea. Emily went over to talk with Ben and Ass. While Annie and Big Ron chatted with Ronnie. This seemed to be the most comfortable set of groups. All the boys drank in liquids as quickly as they could. The ferocious playing produced gallons of sweat that needed to be replaced. After a few minutes, Ronnie was back on stage. “Let’s do two more and call it.” Ronnie said. “Hey, I had an idea when I was watching you.” Big Ron interjected. “May I?” “Sure, Dad.” Ronnie said a little tentatively. “I was thinking, you guys are in Canada and Ass is a hell iof a drummer.” Big Ron said. “Why not start of with a Rush song. You know, honor the artists from the country you’re playing in.” “Neil Peart.” Ass said enthusiastically. “Hell, yeah.” “What song?” Ronnie asked warming to the idea. “Spirit of the Radio.” Big Ron said with a smile. “Thought it might be appropriate.” Before he finished, Pete was playing an amazingly accurate version of the guitar intro. Ben fiddled his bass and found the rhythm. Ass just sat anxiously waiting for Ronnie to okay the song. He was burning to play it. “Not sure I can sing it.” Ronnie said. “Yeah, ya can son.” Big Ron encouraged. “Just make it your own.” “Let’s do it.” Ronnie said. Instantly, Pete stopped and started over at the beginning. The others joined in where appropriate. They played it through and it was decent. Ronnie faked most of the lyrics, but he felt confident with the melody. They could play this. “Need to get the lyrics from the Internet, but we can do this.” Ronnie said. They played it through three more times. When they felt they had it, they broke for the evening. Ronnie could not wait to be alone with Annie. Without a word, he grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the arena. <<< Chapter 33 More stories from Paul Gavin. Info on novels Paul Gavin's Storefront. Technorati Tags: Fiction, Online Book, Chapter, rebeleyeball, Paul Gavin IceRocket Tags: Fiction, Blook, Chapter, rebeleyeball Copyright (c) 2006 Paul Gavin. All rights reserved.