Page 3 of Love is a Drum Beat
And she wasn’t about to let everyone know it was all an act.
That she wasn’t quite sure who the real Jo Jackson was.
2
Dax
“No, that isn’t right.” Dax Nelson removed his glasses and scrubbed a hand over his face. He was never going to get this song done.
“Dax.” Marco crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat beside Dax. “I don’t hear anything wrong with it.”
Of course he didn’t. No one ever did. But Dax could pick out the tiniest imperfection in his songs. He knew when a single note needed to be altered, how a misplaced breath could change the entire song.
Marco was the best producer in L.A., and when Dax told the label it was who he wanted for his new album, they didn’t argue. What Dax Nelson wanted, Dax Nelson got.
But it also meant butting heads with the producer constantly because they both thought they knew best for the song.
“I want to sing it again.” Dax stood, preparing to walk into the recording booth.
Marco stopped him. “The song is good, Dax.”
Dax shook his head. “Good isn’t great.”
Marco sighed but didn’t argue further. He’d probably been told the artist was always right, at least when that artist was Dax.
Dax had been a child musical prodigy who turned into one of the most successful artists in the world, but he didn’t let that slow him down. Hard work was all he knew, all he had.
Outside the recording studio he was an awkward man who never knew the right thing to say or the right way to act. But here, surrounded by the music, every move was so clear. Here, he could be confident, be in charge of his own destiny.
He stepped up to the microphone. “You ready, Marco?”
Marco gave him a thumbs up through the glass, and the music started to play.
Dax let the song wrap around him as he started to sing. This was his least favorite part of any song, the singing. He played every instrument for his songs, recording them at different times to layer in. Piano. Guitar. Violin.
Everything was in his control.
When the song finished, he took a seat beside Marco once more. “Let’s hear it.”
Marco played the song, and Dax smiled as soon as he noticed the changes. “It’s good, maybe even great.”
“It’s the same as it was before.” Marco raised a brow.
“Only if you’re listening to the words. You have to pay attention to the spaces between them, the extra breaths, the build.”
“Dax, your fans will listen to the words.”
Dax shrugged. “I didn’t make those changes for them. They’ll like the song regardless, but I can’t put my name to something I don’t believe in.”
Marco grumbled something about artists that Dax didn’t catch.
Dax only shook his head and stood. “I need to get over to the label for a meeting with my new publicist.”
“What happened to Melanie?” Marco glanced up at him.
That was a good question. The Melanie he knew never would have run off with Noah of all people. He was happy for them, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t weird. He would never understand love. Unless it was a love for music.
He realized he’d waited too long to answer. “She quit the label and is currently in London.”
