Aaron Connor (12 page)

Zo, Stewie, Stan and Ritchie
were already there setting up. The drum kit was only half complete
so I carried, with Lizzie, the remaining pieces for the band to put
together. All the guitars were plugged into the amps. In the bar
you could hear Stewie plucking away at his strings, testing to see
if they were all tuned up accordingly.

Lizzie, already attending to
her sound duties, began playing with the dials on the amplifier to
get them all level. Didn’t know what levels from each dial was the
right one, but from years of listening to M.P.N.T she knew what the
wrong ones were. She adjusted the amp that Stewie was plugged into
until the bass sounded crisp and clear. As the other band members
plugged in their instruments and tested them, Lizzie readjusted the
amps at the same time. Nick had arrived by this point and was
sorting out his guitar as well.

I went over to the lightning
board and sat on the black stool that was in front of it. All
across the board were at least twenty fader switches, which you
slide upwards to bring lights up and down. The faders were all
numbered. This didn’t help me because I had no idea what number
each of the lights was. I look up to see an iron bar bolted across
the ceiling, on this bar was only five lanterns with different
coloured gels inserted in them. This meant that, out of this
collection of twenty faders, only five controlled those lights.

To find out which faders these
were I used a sophisticated method, I was going to go through all
of them and note which ones work and which ones don’t. I began
doing this as the band went kept on setting up. Zo’s drum kit was
finally complete and he was practicing some beats on them as a warm
up. I went through all of the faders, sliding them up and down, and
discovered that the first two, one in the middle and the last two
faders were the ones I needed to work with. Just on the side to the
left of me was a black marker, I used this to draw a small line on
the faders I discovered where the active ones.

Lizzie came and sat next to me
in front of the sound board. Like me, she fiddled around with the
faders to see what they did. After figuring what which one was the
master sound, I passed her the marker pen to note which one it
was.

“
How you
feeling?” I asked after our checks were done,

“
Ok” she
replied, “Bit worried about this”

“
Why?” I
asked,

“
What if I
bugger up?!” she said, “One slip of that and everyone in here will
be deaf!”

“
No need to
get all dramatic” I said with a smile, “You’ll be just fine, I
promise”

“
I don’t know”
said Lizzie still feeling unsure.

It was a good thing that Lizzie
scared off that girl earlier, neither of us could do with any kinds
of distractions. The band weren’t quite ready yet, so I looked over
to the bar to see what was going on. One bloke was doing a line of
shots, out of shot glasses which were rimmed with salt. The bloke
was halfway through, with all his mates chanting and encouraging
him, but already he was looking ill. Brave guy, I couldn’t do it. I
can see how people get respect for drinking like that. If that was
me I’d be afraid that my liver would explode, like I’d just
swallowed a hand grenade.

The hen night girls were
cackling away like a bunch of witches at a table not so far from
us. They were drinking their beverages through straws that had been
deigned to look like men’s willies. One of the girls was wearing a
bright pink tiara on her head, which had little lights that flashed
on and off. I was guessing that she was the bride to be. She was by
far the loudest of the cacklers. There would be a murmur,
supposedly someone telling a joke, followed by an explosion of high
pitched laughter. The sound cut through the air like a knife and
make everyone jump out of their skin. It made one women jump so
much, that she spilt her martini all over the bar top.

Nick gave us a thumbs-up, to
say that he was ready. Lizzie turned up the fader for the main
microphone. Nick tapped the microphone to check that it worked. The
tapping sound was amplified across the length of the bar and gained
everyone’s attention. Nick smiled at the many staring eyes without
any fear. He must have been used to all different kinds of
audiences, because his entire persona was void of any signs of
stage fright.

The people in the bar quietened
to listen to Nick. The bartender opened a cupboard where the CD
player was and turned down the music. The place fell silent. All
were ready for some live rock music. Even I was feeling a fair
amount of anticipation to hear these guys play.

“
Hey
everyone!” said Nick into the microphone,

Every audience member in unison
replied; “Hey!”

“
Are you lot
having a good time?” Nick asked,

“
Yah!” replied
the audience,

“
Very good”
said Nick, “But, it doesn’t hurt to spice things up a
bit”

Nick turned around to the band,
with his guitar strapped over his shoulder and a grin spread across
his face. Zo had his drum sticks bared, Stewie held his bass ready,
Stan held his guitar with a pick in one hand and Ritchie was at the
bar nodding at nothing in particular.

“
Ready guys?”
said Nick, “One, Two, One, Two, Three, FOUR!”

After Nick said the number
“four” the entire band went into action. The crowd cheered as they
recognised the song they were playing instantly. I knew it was
well. It was a perfect choice for a fun bar like this, a song that
everyone knew and loved. It was Heartbeat by Scouting for Girls. I
don’t think I’ve come across anyone who didn’t like a track from
Scouting for Girls, they are the ultimate feel good band.
Perfect.

I gave the stage a basic glow
with a mixture of white, red, green and blue. It wasn’t perfect. In
fact I made it look like a Top of the Pops performance from the
80’s. Lizzie had the sound down though as she, without any previous
experience in stage electrics, made the sound sharp and crisp. It
sounded as if we were listening to a CD playing a studio recording,
rather then an unsigned live band.

Everyone in the bar was singing
along during the chorus; the hens, the men, the women, the teenage
girls, the teenage boys, the old fogies and one middle aged man
wearing tight jeans, who was probably going through some sort of
crisis. All differences were forgotten in those few moments, that
my friend is the power of music.

Music is the universal
language. It’s the one thing that brings all sorts of people
together to celebrate life in all its forms. Through music
celebrate life’s high points, life’s low points and the experience
of love. It can make us dance, it can make us cry, it can make us
laugh and it can make us see the beauty of the world we live in.
People remember their first kiss by remembering which song was
playing. Music is a key part of weddings, funerals, birthdays and
every important event we have. The art of the musician is the art
to pull at your fan’s heartstrings. Music can even make a
difference. The two different revolutions were started by John
Lennon and the Sex Pistols. Bob Geldolf used music to help Feed the
World with Band Aid and the forever legendary Live Aid concert of
85’.

Even on the much smaller scale
of the band playing in this Essex cocktail bar, the sheer power of
music is still evident. I even found myself singing along. Lizzie
sang too. Soon we had both of our arms around each other and were
singing at an unbelievable volume. The feeling was electric and
purifying. Lizzie stopped singing half way through the chorus to
kiss me on the cheek. I felt my cheeks going red.

This made me realise how right
old Shakespeare actually was. I remember doing one of his plays for
English class, Twelfth Night. I thought that it was going to be
boring, but it was actually brilliant. Anyway, it was in that play
that Shakespeare said: “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On” and
he was so right. The right music choice can be the difference
between a successful kiss and an instant dumping.

It was these lovely moments
that made me glad that I ran off when I did. If I’d stayed put in
that depressive town back in the fens, I wouldn’t have been there
in that bar at all. I would have never seen the unity of man, in a
time of such struggling, in the form of adoration of a piece of
music. I remember smiling to myself as I sat that stool. Running
away was the best decision I ever made.

I’m not saying that you should
runaway just because it went alright for me. For many others it can
go horrifically wrong. In my case I believe that I was meant to
leave, like it was fate for me to go on an adventure with Lizzie.
If I had stayed in St.Ians, I would had been stuck in that Town all
of my life. I choose to go down a different road, literally, and
begin a life that is full of uncertainty and excitement.

I couldn’t help but think about
Simon Grant, his gang, those teasing pretty girls and everyone of
those poor sods who were going to be forever stuck in that pig sty.
They chose the route in which they’ll spend their lives being
arrogant, nasty, bicthy and nasty small town gits. I’d left that
life behind. As the band finished up the song, I then realised how
lucky I was. To be chosen to have a much better life then those
losers back home. The most important thing for me to remember at
that point was to not allow it to get to my head. I wanted to stay
a nice bloke, instead of becoming big headed because I escaped from
an ordinary life.

The guys on stage played the
final power chord, to receive a standing ovation from everyone in
the audience. There was clapping, whooping, cheering and whistling.
The band bowed and continued playing a few more tracks. It was a
lovely night. The boys were fantastic players and Nick was a
fantastic singer. Unfortunately, that was going to be the only
night we’d hear them play. Even though at that point neither I nor
Lizzie knew it, this was going to be our last night with Purple
Skull.

Not for a bad reason mind you.
The next part of our journey was about to begin. The next adventure
was the start, right there in the Speakeasy bar. As we sat there
watching the band and the working the electric boards, we had no
idea that a man was watching us two. He was watching us work on the
desks and was very impressed.

This man had been looking for
two people who could work lightning and sound desks like that. In
fact he was desperate to find someone. He’d just come into the bar
to unwind, after an unsuccessful day of trying to find people with
those skills. He had unexpectedly found the two people he had
required. He waited patiently for the band to finish their set,
before coming up to the stage so that he could talk to me and
Lizzie.

CHAPTER TEN

The man came up to the stage as
the band were just beginning to pack everything away. He was a
short fat man with no hair on his head. He looked at me and Lizzie
through thick glasses, like the ones that Buddy Holly wore. He wore
a brown jacket and a dirty white shirt, he looked like a time
traveller from the 1950’s. The lads stared at him suspiciously, in
case he turned out to be some sort of pervert or something.

“
Very nice job
everyone” said the man in a loud and booming voice, “if I closed my
eyes, I’d swear I was listening to Scouts for Girls, I
would!”

“
It’s Scouting
for Girls, mate” said Zo, who was holding his drumsticks in
readiment to put them up this bloke’s backside if he causes jip,
“what the bloody hell do you want?”

“
Just wanted
to enquire to the employment of your Sparkies” said the man, “I’m
the director of the local youth theatre. Joe’s the name, Joe
Pepper. My troupe is heading for the Edinburgh Fringe to do a
performance. Unfortunately our sound and lightning chaps have
dropped out to do another job. I saw them two working away like two
professionals, and I just wondered if I could use their
services”

“
They’re not
slaves mate!” said Nick, “they’re not for sale!”

“
Who the hell
do you think you are?” asked Stan,

“
We’ll do it”
I said,

“
Yah, we’ll do
it” piped in Lizzie.

The band members looked at us
almost horrified. Ritchie didn’t really care either way, as he was
too busy downing more drinks. The boys were giving us looks of
confusion. I gave them a look and a smile and without words the
boys understood. It was time to move on. We’d done our bit to help
Purple Skull and now it was time to help someone else. As sad as I
as was to leave them, I knew that I couldn’t stay with them
forever.

“
That’s
wonderful!” said Joe, “we leave for Edinburgh the day after
tomorrow. We have the lights and such set up at the school’s drama
studio, where we have been rehearsing for the last month. Come
there tomorrow at twelve. It’s our last big rehearsal before we
leave, it’s going to be an all-dayer, so that’ll be enough time for
you guys to catch up. Thank you so much, you two are lifesavers.
The school is just on the outskirts of the town, down the left side
of the street from here, its right at the end of the road. There’s
a massive sign and everything, you can’t miss it. Promise you guys
can make it?”

“
Sure” I said,
“we’ll see you there”

“
Fantastic!”
he bellowed, “see you tomorrow at twelve”

“
See yah”
called Lizzie, as Joe powered walked out of the building punching
in numbers on his mobile,

“
What was that
all about?” asked Stewie, “that blokes a complete stranger, are you
seriously going to go with him?”