Play With You (Loneliness) (2 page)

"Gemma, I was about to blow my lid at you last night. If Johanna hadn't signaled me, I would have done so. Here's a copy of a review I found in our local paper. I warn you - it's painful reading. Read it and drown your sorrows at the pub," says Linny with disgust plain in his voice. He throws his review at Gemma.

Gemma begins storming around the studio. She picks up different items and flings them, breaking most. Music stands, music packets, paper, pens, chairs - if she could lift it, she threw it. All along, she screams and, given her vocal range, that makes her damn loud. "What the fuck are you wankers saying? We got publicity, publicity we've been crying for! If you fire me, I'll file the biggest fuckin' lawsuit London's ever seen. I'll bury you! So I bared a little chest - the blokes all loved it! You heard them yelling when I did it. These reviews - rubbish! They don't count." said Gemma.

"They don't count?! Gemma, listen to this," I say. I grab the paper from the floor where it fell and read a passage aloud: "One concert-goer said 'When Gemma McCullough bared her tits, that was great! I'd follow the band from city to city just to see that. To hell with the music - show me some tits!' Here that, Gemma? All he focused on was your fuckin' little tits! That is not why I joined this band! I am a serious musician and stunts do not cut it for me! Take these and go! And don't come back!" I yell at Gemma. As I do, I crumple the reviews and shove them into her arms.

Tim moves to Gemma's side and motions toward the studio door. "Gemma, go. I'll mail your last check to you. We're going to talk about auditioning a new member for the band. About that lawsuit - any lawyer you hire would refuse to take you on, given the stunts you've pulled. I pulled your contract out. Please read it, especially the clause where it talks about you promising not to do anything that gives our band a bad name. In case you forgot, you initialed each clause, including that one, and you signed the contract on the last page. You agreed that you wouldn't pull any stunts after I added that clause to your contract. And, bear in mind, I haven't had to do that with Linny or Johanna, because they take our reputation and publicity seriously."

Gemma forgets she's holding several newspaper reviews in her arms. Looking at us with shock, she backs up and bumps into the studio wall. Tim is following her closely and opens the door. Motioning with one hand, he escorts her outside, then closes and locks the door.

"Good riddance! I knew she'd pull that stunt again, but I needed to give her one last chance to prove herself. She didn't want to do that, so...let's talk about the next step. Johanna, do you know of any bassists?"

I pause and think of the guys I went to school with. "None that are at our level, Tim. Most are still in university or academy," I tell him.

"Linny?" he asks.

"I might know someone. He plays a mean bass and I believe he's got a pretty good voice, so he could join in on choruses. His name's Laslow Hadley. I could call him and ask him in for an audition," Linny says slowly.

"Laslow Hadley? Okay. I'll call an announcement in to the papers and put one on the website. Soon as we get some responses, I'll set up several auditions. We'll all need to be here to play and sing, so we see how they all fit in with the band. We'll take a vote on each one. For now, we're done. I just want to go home and wash the day away. Soon as the check clears the bank, I'll issue pay to everyone," says Tim.

Everyone splits ways and I go back to my apartment. Once home, I begin to relax, relieved that the deadweight of Gemma is gone. We don't have to worry about her, the antics she pulls or her attitude any more. Let her audition with a garage-level band and raise their publicity with her sorry tits!

"
O
y, lads, look at the applications we've gotten! We're gonna be very busy auditioning potential members to replace She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named," says Tim. I giggle at his little reference.

"We'll start auditioning tomorrow. And, be warned, we will be busy all day long until we get through the full list. As of this morning, I had over thirty applicants expressing interest in joining our crew!" says Tim.

Tim wasn't lying - we have loads of interested applicants wanting to join our band. It seems that we are still taken seriously in some quarters, notwithstanding Gemma's stunts. Thank God! Still, we get to the studio most mornings before nine a.m. and we don't leave until nearly twelve hours later. Some of the applicants are pretty good. We record every audition so we know who performed the best and who we won't be calling back. Some of the applicants are pathetic. Either they can't play their instruments or their singing sounds like drunk, out-of-tune dogs.

After a few days, Laslow comes in, as Linny promised he would. Boy, can he slap the hell out of the bass! His singing isn't half-bad, either. Along with him he brings his brother, Marcus. Marcus sits to the side and watches and listens attentively. And he is some bit of good-looking, that Marcus! He's not very tall, but he makes up for that with some impressive muscles. And his eyes? Intense, emerald-green and they seem to look straight into my soul. He's beautiful. I know men aren't traditionally "beautiful," but he is. Just the combination of his looks and his laid-back personality all combine to make a very beautiful man.

Finally, we finish auditioning all the applicants. Tim comes in with a tall stack of audition tapes - we are in for another long day.

"Okay, lads, we know what we're looking for. We need to whittle this list down and get just one who will become a member of our band," Tim says after he stretches.

"Tim, before we begin - I think we're all in agreement that we want someone who holds a deep passion for music, not just someone who is technically knowledgeable," I insert.

"True. I think some of these audition tapes will jump out at you," he says.

With that, we settle in with cups of tea and lots of snacks so we can review the audition tapes of each applicant. Tim is right - some were good, some fantastic and some were bloody awful. I hear one woman's singing and jump out of my chair. Her voice sounds like a bunch of cats in heat - and I am not exaggerating!

"Okay, this is the applicant that Linny recommended - Laslow. Remember his audition?" Tim clicks the play button.

I settle in, remembering not only his technical skill, but his passion for the music when he played his audition piece. As I watch him playing once again, I smile and I close my eyes. Now he is someone I can imagine playing with our band - he is that good!

"Tim, what kind of formal training does he have?" I ask.

"None whatsoever. He taught himself to play in primary school. In secondary school, he opted to go on to university but he never took any music classes. He played in a couple different bands, but no one big. But where he lacks in formal training, he more than makes up for in heart and soul," says Tim.

"I don't know, Tim. He is good, but what if he isn't serious. I've only ever met serious musicians in school," I comment. I make a note on my notepad, nearly missing Tim's grin to Linny.

"Look, Jo. We may be a successful, but our main criticisms are that we lack soul...personality. Now, while Gemma may have tried...a little too hard...to make up for that, we still need to adapt to what our fans want. Laslow brings that. I don't reckon he'll pull stunts like Gemma did," says Linny.

I toss the idea around in my head. I try thinking about Laslow but my mind keeps diverting to his brother, Marcus. I know I wouldn't mind seeing more of him around here. Plus, Linny is right about the need for personality. "Okay, I'll give him a shot. But let's watch the rest before we come to a conclusion."

We finish watching every audition tape. We discuss our thoughts and feelings, based on the notes we all took. It's really easy to eliminate some applicants - this whittles our list down considerably. Now, we have just over ten tapes to review again. This time, we have to look for any mistakes we can find. This is the hard part, because I like all the applicants, particularly Laslow - well, and his brother.

"Okay, you both wrote your notes down, correct?" Tim says. Linny and I nod. "Okay, let's go eat and come back. I'd like to narrow the list down even more before tomorrow."

After visiting the Royal Crown Pub down the street, we're feeling full and pleasantly relaxed from the food and beer. Going back to the studio, we settle in for more long hours of reviewing and discussing applicants. When we finally settle on an applicant, it's just after midnight and we are all heavy-eyed and extremely tired.

"Okay, I think it's unanimous. We all loved Laslow's audition. I'll call him tomorrow and let him know that, if he still wants to join The Lonely Lovers, he's our choice," Tim says in a tired, gravelly voice.

We wrap things up and he takes me home. "It's too late for you to walk and your mum and dad would kill me if something happened to you," he tells me.

Dropping me off at my flat, he drives on for his own home. I trudge upstairs and, once inside, drop my messenger bag. Heading straight for my room, I flop down onto my comfortable bed. I barely have the energy to pull the covers back, but I must - it will get cold later on.

The next morning, I wake up late. I hear my phone ringing, so I grab it.

"Hello?"

"It's me, Tim. I'll be calling Laslow in a few minutes, if he's still your choice."

My eyes spring open. "Of course! He's the only one we can have," I tell him. "The others are good, but Laslow...he's just fantastic," I tell him.

After we hang up, I get up and shower then putter around my apartment. I'm waiting for Tim's phone call, because he's going to want to set up some pretty serious rehearsals so Laslow can get up to speed with our music. After I get some housework done, I sit down with my crochet. I make a great start on the afghan for my sister's baby. This little one will be one well-outfitted kiddo! It's close to five when Tim calls me back.

"Laslow is officially the newest member of The Lonely Lovers. He just faxed his signed contract back to me. We talked about what Gemma did. He's in full agreement that a group of our calibre should take act as professionals. He's read accounts of what she did and said he had no problem signing that clause. Oh, and to keep things fair, you, Linny and I will also be signing amended contracts so we're all under the same terms," says Tim.

"Good. I'll be happy to sign," I tell him.

When I hang up, I trot to my computer, where I look for the new rehearsal schedule. Reading it, I shake my head - we will be practicing every day for several hours each day so we can get Laslow up to speed with our song sets, of which we have several. Looks like I'll be laying down several cases of water just so I can keep my voice fresh. Now that I know we're going to be so busy, I start working on my breathing and vocal exercises. By the end of the day, I am exhausted. This goes to show that a musical career isn't as easy as some would think. It is damned difficult and only those who are truly dedicated to the musical arts know this.

The next day, Tim, Linny and I meet Laslow at the studio. Laslow brings his older brother with him again - the gorgeous Marcus. Inside, we tune up as Marcus sits silently to the side, taking everything in.

Tim hands Laslow a thick folder full of the songs from our first play set. Scanning through them song by song, Laslow sight-reads them and nods his readiness to start. He's a quick study! Still, we have lots of stops, false starts and starts as he gets familiar with how each piece begins and is played. Stretching my back, I toss bottles of water to everyone, Marcus included.

"Let's take ten," Tim orders.

After a short break, The Lonely Lovers resume practice. And we practice every day. Each day becomes a routine of learning songs and helping Laslow to fit into The Lonely Lovers. He takes his music home and seemingly puts in many hours of practice at home, because he makes fast progress on learning each song and even adds his own feel as well. Also, his brother, Marcus, never misses a practice. He's soon as much a member of the group as any of us. While he doesn't play an instrument or sing, he loves music just as passionately as we do. Oftentimes, he'll bring a laptop with him and work while he listens to us practicing. A new routine develops between Marcus and me: we begin to chat with each other after practices - something I grow to look forward to. Still, I find that I have to force myself to restrict our interactions to those after-practice chats. Our group has an unwritten policy that we will not date anyone affiliated with the band. It could cause too much tension and endanger our group's cohesiveness, especially should couples break up. It's a good policy - one I appreciate - but, right now, it is damned difficult sticking to that! My desire to see the group stay as strong as possible helps me to honor our policy.