Page 6 of Broken Melody
“Yeah, what was it they said?” Henley asks. “They are hoping whomever she is, that she’ll help ‘revive’ us or some shit? We don’t have a choice.”
“Not unless we want to quit the label,” Nixon says and looks at all of us and we all remain quiet. We like our label, have never had a problem until now. They’ve been good to us. Nixon nods when our silence is answer enough.
We remain contemplative until the silence is broken by the doorbell ringing. Rocco stands, “It’s probably Jace. He called when you were in the shower knowing we were meeting. He said earlier he had news, guess he wants to give it to us in person.” He takes a couple steps, then stops turning back. “We told him we moved the meeting here – that’s all.” I nod letting him know that I understand what he’s not saying out loud. They didn’t tell Jace I didn’t show up earlier and that’s why we are all here.
“Hey guys,” Jace says when he walks into the room with Rocco at his back.
“Hey, man,” I greet him. “Want some food? Nixon made grub.”
“No thanks, I’m good. I already ate. But coffee, I will take,” he says while he moves to the coffee maker, grabs a mug and fills it up.
“We were just discussing the audition tomorrow,” Rocco tells Jace.
Jace moves to the table, and looks around at all of us seeing the lack of enthusiasm on our faces as he takes a seat. With a sigh, he takes a sip of coffee worry lining his face. Jace is a good guy. When our band started to take off when we were finally drinking age and could start playing in bars, we met Jace at a one where we headlined. He was a fan of our music and we all became friends. With his fancy business degree, love of music and knowledge of the industry, Jace became the perfect choice to represent us when we generated some interest and put together our first demo. It’s one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. He listens to us, knows what’s important to each of us, always has our best interests at heart and doesn’t bullshit. He’s perfect and we’re lucky to have him on our side.
“I know you aren’t thrilled about Rick’s idea, but I think you’ll be happy with a compromise I was able to get him to agree to,” Jace says.
“A compromise?” I ask, my interest piquing.
“Yes.”
“Well, spit it out,” Henley says impatiently.
“Rick and I have six women lined up to audition tomorrow,” he tells us talking about Rick the owner of our label. “He’s taken a personal interest in getting you all back on track and has been pursuing singers with me trying to find a voice that he feels would blend well with your sound.”
“And what do you think? Is he on the right track as far as what he’s looking for or are we going to hate this every step of the way?” Rocco asks the dread in his tone clear.
“I think the choice will be tough, and that all of them would be an asset to the group. They have great voices, and positive attitudes as far as I can tell. Their experience varies, but I have to admit that I think this will be a good thing. A great way to push past the negative press that’s out there and put the focus on something else.”
“I just can’t imagine that it will be a good thing. It’s hard to imagine anyone else joining us - it’s always just been the four of us,” Nixon says with a frown.
“I know, and I get it, I do. A few of the ladies we already had demos for, another we requested, one is a solo artist that’s had a couple hits so far and is also signed with Black Lamb Records, and the last girl is one we… well… it doesn’t matter.” His voice falls off and my brows rise curious about why he’s not telling us more. “The point is I’ve spent a lot of time with Rick over the last several days as we’ve spent hours listening to their music, working with a sound technician to hear what their voices would sound like blended with yours before we extended an invitation to the audition, if possible. But again, I know you have reservations, which is why I think you’ll be happy that I was able to get Rick to agree to sign the singer on a conditional basis.”
“You said that already,” Rocco says impatiently. “But, what does that mean?”
“It means that after you listen to them and choose the singer you think would fit best with the group, we will extend them an offer on a conditional basis – we will try them out, and they will try us out. A probationary period, if you will.”
“In other words, this is temporary? Sold!” Nixon says and we all nod our agreement.
“Hold it,” Jace lifts up a hand halting our outburst, “let me finish. There’s a lot to do in a relatively short period of time. The label wants you to get a new album recorded quickly. They want to push it out at the same time you tour, so that doesn’t give us a lot of time.” We all nod in understanding. “Rocco, I know you’re working hard at adding the female part to each song that you already had written,” Rocco nods confirming this. Rocco plays the drums in our band, but he not only plays the drums, he can also play the guitar and keyboard too. He’s multi-talented and one of the best song writers out there right now. He’s even written songs for some other bands, including The Sinners - a really popular band that we’ve dreamt of collaborating with at some point.
“Then, she’ll go on tour with us and you’ll perform your new songs, along with some old ones that we’re adjusting with the new female part. This will be a chance to introduce your fans to your new work, get them more excited about the album, and ultimately, to see how it feels having an additional vocal lead aside from Maddox.”
“We can handle that,” Rocco says.
“I know you can, and I want to be upfront with you. Rick agreed to sign someone on a temporary basis, but who knows what’s going to happen here. She may be the best thing to happen to the band.” We make sounds of protest and Jace holds up his hand silently telling us to shut up and listen, “You don’t know. What I’m saying isn’t crazy, although it may be hard to imagine. The trial period is not only for you guys - it’s for her too. She may decide she can’t handle your asses - who knows. What I do know is that it’s entirely possible that Rick may say she stays. And if all of you feel that that’s the wrong decision, then we’ll meet and discuss what you want to do going forward. What the future of the band is with Black Lamb Records, understand?”
We all nod. “Okay good. The hope is that during this time, things will calm down, sales will pick up, and we’ll be good to go – girl or no girl. Truth is, Rick and the label are putting a lot of stock into the new music you’ve got coming out. And they are doing so on faith really because they believe in you and to show respect for your historic contribution. But, not meeting their projections would not bode well for us, and I don’t think it would be in our best interest right now to be dropped. Not with your reputation like it is at the moment.”
“Meaning you think another label wouldn’t want to pick us up,” Rocco states.
“That’s correct,” Jace says and his eyes swing to me. I know he places the blame entirely on me, like the rest of them.
“It’s stupid, Jace,” I burst out feeling a mixture of embarrassment and anger. “We’re rock stars after all,” I say feeling ridiculous just saying the words, but desperate to find an excuse – any excuse. “Isn’t bad behavior to be expected?”
“No, it’s not. Not in this day and age. Yes, the world is much more tolerant I suppose of this kind of behavior than they’ve ever been. Reality TV proves that, but the thing that people forget is that we are also much more educated and informed. Fighting, bullying, and promiscuity…those things are frowned upon now more than ever. People don’t find those things funny – not when you’re putting people’s mental health, or your own physical health in jeopardy in doing so. So, sorry, no, you can’t use that as an excuse because it’s not cool anymore, and frankly, you know damn well that Black Lamb Records doesn’t tolerate that kind of shit. They are a pristine company with an outstanding reputation in the industry – they won’t put up with anyone tarnishing their hard work.”
“I bet they would feel differently if our sales were going through the roof,” I mumble.
