Page 36 of The Librarian and the Rock Star

The old tale of Van Halen throwing a fit because there were brown M&Ms in their dressing room was actually quite genius. They had been bringing a huge stage rig into smaller venues, and there were a ton of technical details that had to be worked out. They mentioned the special candy dish so that they could easily check if the entire document had been read. One night in Pueblo, Colorado, when they saw the brown M&Ms, they went through the technical specs from head to toe. Sure enough, the local crew hadn’t bothered reading the technical rider thoroughly, and the weight of Van Halen’s gear crushed part of the rickety stage, causing eighty thousand dollars in damage. David Lee Roth was so upset that the show had to be canceled that he threw a little hissy fit, but it was on behalf of the fans being disappointed, not because he had to pick dull candy out of his pre-show snack.

KISS used to drive up to tiny little dive bar gigs in a limo so that people would think they were much bigger than they really were yet. They figured if the fans thought they were a huge success, everyone else would fall in line.

After a bit of entertaining meandering, I made a cup of Earl Grey and got down to serious business.

Record labels often have an incredibly wide range of bands that they choose to work with. Some of them are projects that they are fairly certain will earn money. Sometimes they take a bit of a chance when they’re only somewhat sure. And occasionally they’ll take a wild bet and sign a band because a person at the label is madly in love with them and wants them to succeed.

Delving in further, I poked and prodded through pages of information. Ten years ago, Jason Murray had started Neon’s Orange Records to make a label for a couple of his friend’s bands, which did really well and grew quickly. Six years ago, he signed Vegas Mud Disco after seeing them at The Junk Club in Toronto, when they opened for his friend’s band, Cherry Martini.

When his older brother’s band fell apart, Jason signed Paul on as a band promoter. It looked like the first round of bands that Paul attempted to work with all tanked, so a year ago he was given Vegas Mud Disco and Tiny Blue Robots.

Jason gave Paul’s previous bands to Magda Stevens, a young up and coming band promoter, who turned all three of them around and they now seem to be steadily climbing. The biggest band, One Two Sunglasses was on the way to becoming huge, and that band’s singer even won a slew of awards for his songwriting on a few important documentaries. So the problem didn’t seem to be with the bands.

Jason seemed to have the golden touch, and Paul must have been jealous. Checking Jason’s social media pages, he just got engaged, got a new sports car, and his company is doing really well. Paul certainly looked like a loser in comparison.

If Paul were a childish, petty person, and it certainly seemed to fit his attitude, he might get jealous enough to try to sink his brother’s record company, or at least one of his brother’s favorite bands.

I wonder how much the band suspected. I wonder if they were oblivious, or if they knew somethings up and just didn’t know how to go about fixing it. Is it so hard in the music business that bands are afraid to mess up a record deal if they’re lucky enough to get one?

A text came in from Jack.

Jack: Hey gorgeous – I just landed in Vancouver, and I miss your face already. Isn’t that funny? I didn’t know you four days ago, and now I can’t wait to see you next week when I’m back in Toronto.

Me: Hi, Jack. Glad you’re safely home. I was thinking about that too, how it’s odd that we seem to have clicked so fast. It’s weird.

Jack: Weird is good, right? I’ve always been a big fan of weird.

Me: Yes, but you know me, at least a little. I’ve always been a straight up, by the books kind of girl.

Jack: It’s never too late to become a weirdo.

Me: Especially with a bad influence like you skulking around.

Jack: Skulking? Moi?

Me: Okay, just taking innocent girls for midnight walks.

Jack: You loved it. Admit it. Sneaking around in the dead of night like a badass.

Me: You really are a bad influence.

Jack: You love it. You need a little bit of naughtiness in your life.

I really did, but I could scarcely tell him that. Every time I pictured those eyes I thought of naughty things indeed. Infatuation wasn’t something I normally allowed myself to indulge in, but here it was.

It was too early for me to be having a mid-life crisis. I knew it was likely time for me to try another relationship, but something so sudden with a rock star? I was a librarian, for goodness sake. The numbers just didn’t add up.

I didn’t know how to respond, but I had to say something.

Me: A fine, upstanding lady such as myself obviously has no idea what you’re talking about.

He sent me a photo of a bouquet of white roses.

Jack: I have to crash, I’m burnt out. Sweet dreams, sweet lady.

Me: Goodnight, Jack of all sleeping.

– SUNDAY –

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