Page 3 of Rock Out Together
I lean forward, placing my elbows on the sticky surface of the table we’re sat at. This run down diner is our frequent place to hangout. It matches our mood exactly.
“We do this, we do it without all the bullshit. It’s now or never.” I say, acknowledging what I know we’re all thinking. We’ve reached the end of the road for our solo careers. From now on, we’ll be better together than apart.
We should have done it fucking years ago if you ask me. Maybe then I would’ve avoided being pestered daily by my father to join his business, to wear a suit and tie for the rest of my life and crunch numbers.
But…shit happens.
Norrie grins. These are words he’s wanted to hear for years.
Smug git!
Cody nods in reluctant agreement. I’ve been where he is too many times. I know the feeling of defeat when performing at The Underground and my set gets ruined. It’s tough to stay positive. He’s been the most reluctant of all of us to form a band, but even he knows now is the time.
“We need Sebastian as well.” Cody’s jaw twitches with apprehension as I speak. “No bailing now. Your brother is part of the solution. Tonight just reminded us of the question.”
“We need to make music that’s pure. Music that isn’t sold-out to the highest bidder.” Norrie’s voice gets louder with each word, like he’s trying to convince the whole diner.
“Yeah!” I slap my hand on the table. “We go raw, unfiltered. None of this watered-down, mainstream shit.”
Norrie looks around the table. “No compromise. No one telling us what to do.”
“We can do this,” I say, pointing a finger at each of them in turn, like I’m conducting a symphony. “It’s now or never. No labels. No limits.”
Cody shifts anxiously in his seat. “Mixing in Sebastian changes things.”
“Your brother knows how to play that bass guitar of his. And you know he’s good. Are you afraid he’s gonna overshadow you?”
Cody’s eyes flash with a mix of irritation and unspoken secrets that we can’t let fucking derail us. “That’s not it,” he mutters.
“Then what is it? We have the chance to make something huge here, something we can’t do alone,” Norrie persists.
Cody impatiently taps his fingers against the side of the chipped mug in front of him, each beat a silent curse.
“I’ve been burned before, not by Seb, but there have been others. It happens to all of us,” I try to reassure him, but my voice comes out unsteady and raw. “But this? This time it’s different.”
“Different how?” Cody asks.
“Because we’re going to call the shots with our future. We won’t be fighting everybody else out there” Norrie cuts in. “We’ll stay true to what we believe in. We’re older now, and we can manage ourselves better.”
Cody glances sideways at the door as if he’s planning his escape. He’s had the toughest kick tonight with his show. To be mid set and have it disrupted is hard.
“I don’t know,” he shakes is head. “With Sebastian in the band, everything becomes much more complicated.”
“What’s not to know? We need you in on this, Cody, and we need your brother. It’s the only way it will work,” Norrie insists.
“This is a real chance, man. One you can’t walk away from.” Even I’m sounding desperate now.
“Tell that to my brother.” Cody’s eyes narrow, and his voice gets sharp. “Sebastian won’t be willing to take a back seat. You think he’ll let me have a say in anything? He never has before. He’s the older brother. The golden boy.”
“That’s why we’re doing this as a band,” I respond through gritted teeth. “We’ll back each other up. No frontman. No egos. We all know Norrie will be in charge. He’s the only one who can do it.”
“No egos, Otis?” Cody raises a skeptical eyebrow at me. “Coming from you?”
I almost laugh at the truth of it, but I know better than to treat it as a joke. “Yeah, including me,” I nod. “I’ll be putting it out there. Putting my heart and soul on the line. Putting faith in the unknown. We all have to.”
The table goes quiet as we all contemplate what we’re about to do
“I know what you’re both thinking,” Norrie acknowledges. “But we’re all in this together. That’s the point.”
