Heartbreakingly beautiful, that’s what this song was, and yet I found myself mourning the one I’d listened to him slowly building and hoped he still intended to finish it. Johnny joined him on what proved to be the final chorus. I couldn’t believe how fast he’d picked up the words, but then, he was the singer.
Dash’s fingers were in constant motion by then too, the bass player already working out something in his head. Draven had placed his phone on the table, recording as soon as Rebel started playing, or maybe he was live streaming it to Ozzy. Silence followed the echo of the final fading note. Jagger swiped at his eyes while Johnny sniffled. It didn’t matter if I looked at one of the guys from Damaged Saints or the ones in Blissfully Immune; to a man, they wore looks of awe and disbelief until Johnny shot out of his chair and nearly dove across the table.
“I want those lyrics!” Johnny said. “Play it again and let me sing it with you.”
“Hey, watch the coffee; I’m in desperate need of that today,” Kayden declared, protectively wrapping his hands around his mug and pulling it closer to him. “Especially after hearing that. I need to wake the fuck up and get to work on something for our sets that can match up to that. Seriously, that was badass, my dude. Loved what you did at the ending. Do not touch that. It’s fire. I got goosebumps. It almost felt like you were stabbing me through the heart with those chords.”
Praise from the other guitarist in the room, plus Johnny’s enthusiasm, prompted Rebel to hand the notebook to Johnny before he crawled past the fruit salad to get it.
Rebel, I’ve already got a few ideas for the drumline that I want to run past Kit so he can get started on it. I’m not sure how much I’m going to be able to contribute to this next album, so its time you guys start creating with him. I’ll walk him through how we do things, and Dash, I’ll need you to work with him on the rhythm until I get back. It’s going to be a few more days, so send me a recording, and I’ll put some more thought into it. Kayden’s right. It’s fucking fire. I can’t wait to hear it completely come to life.
Ozzy’s voice coming through Draven’s phone confirmed my suspicions about him live streaming the song, and he wasn’t the only one who had something to say about it.
“We’ll get on that as soon as we wrap up brunch,” Dash declared. “I’ve got a bassline in my head already, and I’m about to record the song.”
“I’ve got my electric drum set in my room,” Kit declared. “I’ll take it to Dash's, and we’ll get started with what you send me. I’m kind of blown away at the moment, and a little hungover.”
Is there any OJ on the table?
“Half a pitcher of it,” Kit replied.
Chug as much of it as you can stomach, and next time, drink less.
Jagger passed him the pitcher with a grin on his face; others chuckled at the sage words from Blissfully Immune’s co-drummer.
Johnny barely paid any attention to what was going on in the room as he read through the notes, then came around the table, jerking his thumb at Mickey to switch places with him so he could sit beside Rebel as they ran through it. Despite having just heard the song, I was hit with the same depth of emotion as the first time Rebel played it. From my vantage point, I could see Dash beginning to draw waves on a napkin while Rebel played and Johnny sang along with him, their voices harmonizing beautifully. It took a moment for me to catch on that the waves depicted the flow of the song and the way it rose and fell in pitch and tempo.
Whoa. I was actually catching on to all of this.
“Shit, Mickey, can I borrow your bass?" Dash asked at the end of the second run-through.
“Yeah, sure, man,” Mickey said and retrieved it from its case.
What Dash played was rough, but midway through, Rebel nodded and started strumming the intro. “Right on, dude, keep going,” Rebel encouraged.
All the guys in Damaged Saints were kicked back in their seats, watching things take shape, while Kit leaned forward, eyes glued to his three bandmates.
Yeah, yeah, just that!
Ozzy’s encouragement spurred them on. It was truly a start-and-stop affair, but after several more run-throughs I could tell that they were onto something.
Someone send me all the recordings, and I’ll send some notes to Kit.
“I got you, man,” Dash said. “I think we’ve got enough to work with now.”
Hell yeah, we do. I’ve got to run, but you can expect those notes before dinner.
“Looking forward to it,” Dash said before Ozzy signed off.
“Alright,” Johnny said. “Let’s plan to meet in Dash’s room when we leave here. Our afternoon is free, right, Draven?”
Everyone fell silent as Draven checked their itinerary before picking up his text-to-speech device.You’ve got five hours before you four need to be at KLTZ for an interview and acoustic set.Saints, you're set up to live stream from Bernard’s Records on Fifth, it’s the oldest record store in the city and one of the few remaining ones. That’s three hours from now. Tonight’s yours to do what you want with, but don’t forget that we’re rolling out of here first thing tomorrow morning. Breakfast will be on the bus when you get there, courtesy of Wayward Waffles.
“Oh, hell yeah!” Rebel declared. “I love their food.”
“Oh my god, same!” Johnny declared.
I’ll be sure to order enough that you can all pig out.