Hard Rock Unrehearsed

HARD ROCK   UNREHEARSED

René Van Dalen

Kindle Edition

Kindle Edition Licence Notes

All rights reserved.  In accordance with the U S Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading and electronic sharing of any part of this book without permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author's intellectual property.  Thank you for your support of the author's rights.  This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead is coincidental.

Copyright © René Burrows

Cover : Danielle Kara Burrows

Copyright © Danielle Kara Burrows Photography

DEDICATION

This one is for you Dee.

"
If music be the food of love, play on."

William Shakespeare

Warning:
Don't continue reading if a dominant, f-bomb dropping, tattooed and hot as Hades male is not your cup of tea.  Tattoos on a female not your thing?  She has some in interesting places, just a warning.  Oh, and let's not forget about the red-hot sex burning up the bed sheets.  So if the above makes your toes curl in a bad way stop reading right now.

CHAPTER ONE

Trace didn’t know what he felt or what else he was supposed to do as he stared down at his best friend and band mate being worked on by the EMT’s.  Finding him lying unconscious in a pool of vomit on his hotel room floor he had called 911 and started praying, something he hardly ever did.  Richie had gone too far in his drugging and drinking, he needed help, which Trace, the rest of the band and their management had offered over and over.  But Richie wouldn’t admit that he had a problem, claimed it was all just recreational, but this on the floor here was anything but fuckin’ recreational.  Trace fisted his hands by his sides in helpless anger.  It was such a fucking waste!  Richie was rated as one of the best drummers on the rock scene and he was shitting on his talent.  Trace sighed with relief when Luis Delgado, their new manager of scarcely four months, walked through the door.  Luis would know how to fix this.  He always knew how to fix things, hell he had fixed most of the shit they were drowning in when he signed on with the band.  Luis was an imposing figure, fifty-something years old and still fit and trim with not a soft muscle anywhere.  His black hair was slightly long in his neck with silver grey flecks at his temples.  Luis believed in a healthy body harbouring a healthy mind and it showed.  His one rule when he had taken over the management of the band was to clean up their act, to get rid of the drugs, the excessive drinking and partying they had been known for.  They had all agreed to his rule, Richie included.

He watched as Luis’s black eyes took in the scene before they settled on the four of them.  His eyes were hard and cold but then they softened as he sighed and shook his head.

“Let’s give the guys room to work.  Come with me.”  With that he walked back out of the room.

Trace rubbed a hand over his face, glanced at Richie one more time and followed his band mates out of the room.  Luis was in the room next door, Trace’s room.  The groupie he had picked up after the show was sitting on his bed staring at them avidly and he was grateful when Luis escorted her to the door and got one of the security guys to take her and the girls waiting for the rest of the band out of the hotel, most probably paying them off as well.  This shit had to stop. Trace felt it like a heavy weight in his gut.  He knew that tonight had been the last time he would ever pick up a groupie to burn through his post concert adrenalin high.  He was done, done with all of it.  Storm Front was done with it!  The parade of groupies through their dressing rooms was done.  The drinking until they fell down was done.  All that shit was done.  Marcella, her girls and all the other groupies were going to be pissed when they found out but they would just have to get over it and find another band to bang.  He sank down onto the bed with a heavy sigh and waited for Luis to stop pacing.

Luis turned to the four of them with a heavy frown.

“Unfortunately I was expecting something like this so I have a plan in place.  Richie is going to be transported to the hospital once they’ve got him stable and then he’s going into rehab, we’ll plan our next step once he gets through it.  Our problem now is the tour; do we continue or do we call it off.  We are only two weeks in and we have six weeks left before we have a three week break to prepare for the European leg of the tour.  I need to know how you feel about getting a drummer to stand-in for Richie for this leg of the tour.  If you boys want to cancel I can do that but it’s going to cause one hell of a mess with the label and the fans.”

He waited for their reaction, arms crossed over his wide chest.

Everyone started talking at once, worry about Richie at the fore front.

“We can’t do this without Richie!  He’s the best!  No one else could do what he does behind the drums Luis!”  Jimmy burst out.

RJ leant forward and stared hard at Luis.  “What do you think we should do?”

Luis shrugged.  “I know what I would have done, but what I need to know is what
you
want to do.  Do we continue with the tour or do we cancel?  There are drummers who can do the job to get us through the next six weeks and pacify the label.  Do I set up auditions or do I cancel this leg of the tour?  If we cancel, the label and ultimately all of us are going to bleed money, not that the money is important but it is a part of our agreement with the label.  I need to know your decision, before this becomes an even worse media circus than what it already is.”

Trace looked around at the guys, they all looked to him.  The band had started with him and Richie, the others had joined over time, and therefore the decision was mainly his.  He knew that Richie would want them to continue with the tour, he wouldn’t want to disappoint the fans.

“We go on with the tour.  Let’s set up the auditions as soon as possible.”  Trace’s heart was heavy as he made the decision.

Luis smiled and held up one finger to silence all of them as he slid his phone out of his pocket.  They all watched as he found a number and then dialled.

“Diego we just hit a shit storm and I’m going to need you along with some more of your boys.”  Luis barked at his son then listened with a dark frown.  “Yeah, he’s stable and on his way to hospital but I want to be sure no one can get to him or to the band.”  Luis listened and then grinned with evil in his eyes.  “We have all agreed that we have to carry on with the tour, it’s what Richie would want us to do.  I’m setting up auditions for a stand-in drummer to finish out the tour.  I’m going to give Jay a call.”  Luis smiled evilly as he ended the call with his son still audibly shouting at him.

“It is time to step up to the plate Diego.”  He mumbled softly.

“Who is Jay?  Do we know him?  Who has he played with?  What are his credentials?”  Trace and the band threw the questions at Luis but he just waved them away.

“Make me a list of the drummers we can get on short notice, guys you know can do the job.  Think about it, talk about it amongst yourselves and after we’ve seen Richie I’ll start making the calls.”

With that they let Luis lead them from the hotel to the hospital.  They sat in the waiting room throwing around the names of drummers that could do Richie’s job and would be available at short notice.  Hours which had felt like days later a doctor came to let them know that Richie was stable and resting comfortably, whatever the hell that meant!

“When can we see him?”  RJ asked as he straightened from the wall he had been leaning against for the last hour.

“Give him tonight to rest and come back in the morning.”  The doctor wasn’t being cruel just very honest as she faced them.  “He needs to process what he has done to himself and seeing you might just be detrimental to his recovery.”

Before they could say anything Luis agreed, thanked her and herded them out of the waiting room.  Diego Delgado was waiting for them at the elevators with four huge mothers!

“Jesus!  Look at the size of them!”  Givens said softly.

Jimmy snickered.  “Yeah, though I didn’t think you would be intimidated by Diego and his guys!”

“I’m not fuckin’ intimidated!  I’m just sayin’.”  Givens snarled.

Diego dropped his arms that had been crossed over his wide chest as they approached his eyes on his father.

“Hello Papa.”  Diego said as he hugged Luis.  “I’ve got men downstairs and the Hummer limo ready to get you all out of here.  The media is everywhere so it’s going to be a hell of a ride back to the hotel.”

Diego had been right, they were swarmed as they left the hospital but the security guys got the band into the vehicle without mishap while Luis gave a short statement.  He promised an update in the morning as he moved back to the Hummer and got in.  The ride back to the hotel was silent, everyone sunk in their own thoughts.

Trace wondered if there had been something else he could have done to stop Richie from OD’ing, but he didn’t think so.  Everyone had tried but Richie had ignored them, laughed at them as they all cleaned up their acts.  He taunted them, called them pussies for listening to Luis, and now he was in hospital!

“I’ve got your list of drummers, all four of them.  I’ll let you know at breakfast if any of them are interested in auditioning.”  Luis said as he strode down the passage to his room.  One of the security guys followed him and disappeared inside with him.

Diego cleared his throat to get their attention back to him.  “You will each have a bodyguard for tonight.  We’ll strategise in the morning.  Try and get some sleep, you guys look like shit.”  He snapped at them before he turned and got back into the elevator.

“He’s worse than his Dad!”  Jimmy growled as he walked to his room.  “I’m going to try and get some sleep.  I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

With a sigh Trace opened his door and walked in only to come to an abrupt stop.  Jennie was sitting on his bed.  Why the hell wasn't she back in San Diego?  Fuck! Shit! Fuck! FUCK!

“How is he Trace?”  Her red tear swollen eyes never left his face.

“He made it through Jen but now it’s up to him if he recovers or if he fucking throws it all away.  He lost you because of this and now he’s going to lose the band if he doesn’t sort his shit out.  We’re continuing with the tour so he’s going to be alone, he’s going to need you Jen, more than he even knows.”

Trace rushed through it.  He didn’t want to give her a chance to say anything, to deny that she loved Richie and that he loved her, however much he had fucked that up, and that his friend needed her.  She watched him with wide eyes as he organised an escort to take her to the hospital, not giving her a chance to back out.  He sighed with relief when the guy arrived to take her to the hospital, all he wanted to do now was sleep, to forget about this night and to try and be ready for whatever Luis would have for them in the morning.

Diego was pissed off!  Pissed at his Dad and especially at these pussies who had more than they could ever imagine and were pissing it away on drugs, drinking and fucking skanks.  If he had even a scintilla of their talent he would have been working his ass off to get to the top and stay there.  But these assholes!  They played at it, weren’t working as hard as they should and the level of success they had achieved up to now could have been so much more.  Hell, with his Dad now on their tails they were going to get a rude awakening.  He grinned as he walked into the foyer of the hotel, but his grin was not an easy one.  His eyes flashed with temper as he saw his guys keeping the media and paparazzi away from the front of the hotel, the bastards were about three deep out there.

Sighing as he made his rounds, he checked each of the possible entrances to the hotel, making sure his men were on the doors and kept it secure.  He knew he wasn’t going to get a lot of sleep as he went up to the conference room his Dad had arranged for the morning.  The room was the same as hundreds of others all over the world, table, chairs and wide-screen on the wall.  Everything looked okay but Diego knew they would have to sweep for listening devices before the meeting in the morning.  He walked around doing a visual check before he left, locking the door behind him.

His phone started to vibrate as he made his way to the elevators.  With a sigh he took it from his pocket but grinned as he read the name.  He answered with a smile in his voice.

“Hey handsome.”  The sultriest voice in the world purred in his ear and he swore he felt the hairs on his arms lift.

“Jade sweetheart, how are you?”  He growled at her.

“Better than Richie Vierra that’s for sure.”  She sighed.  “I hate it when talented people treat their bodies like shit.”

“I hear you baby, I hear you.  Why are you calling?”  He asked but he knew why.

“Your Papa just called me and offered me an audition but I wanted your opinion before I made any decisions.  How fucked up are they?”

Diego laughed out loud as he stepped in and punched the button for his father’s floor.

“They look pretty badly fucked up by this, but nothing you can’t handle.”

He loved the way she snorted in derision.

“I haven’t played with a band in a while now Diego and I love the studio work I’ve been doing.  But I miss the road, the energy, the whole vibe and I do like their work.  Givens is a kick-ass bass guitarist and I know I can work with him but I don’t know about all that male testosterone they throw off.  One of them comes on to me and I’m liable to pull his nuts out through his nostrils!”

Diego had stepped out of the elevator when she made her last statement and he threw his head back as he roared with laughter.

“Baby you are killing me here!”  He laughed as his eyes met those of Trace and RJ who were standing outside their rooms.  He watched their eyes widen with apparent shock as he walked up to them.  “Sweetheart I’ve got to go, Papa is waiting for an update and I’d like to get some sleep sometime tonight.”

She sighed before she answered.  “Do everyone a favour and get some sleep Diego, you know you get a little punchy when you are tired.  See you tomorrow night, maybe, kiss-kiss big guy.”

“Sweet dreams sweetheart.”

And then she was gone and Diego grinned as he shook his head.  She was going to make things interesting around here, that’s to say if the band agreed to her joining them for the last six weeks of the tour.

“Didn’t know you had a woman Diego.”  Trace grinned at him while RJ watched him with a knowing twinkle in his eyes.