She-Rox: A Rock & Roll Novel (16 page)

Slade drove Eddie back to her van. She began to get out of the car, but Slade wanted to solidify her promise. “So, I’m leaving in three days, and
you
in one week are going to Sunset Studios to do your big demo. I’m having Todd send me the tracks, so I can hear them.” He watched her shrink back into her seat. He laughed. “Oh, the pressure is on. Can she do it? Or will she pack her bags, head home for—”

“San Francisco.”

“Ah, the city by the bay” he said. “You’re not going to run back home to an old boyfriend or some juvenile thing like that, are you?”

She felt the tags around her neck.

“So, you’ve got a boyfriend back home, then, eh? Seriously, with all the hours you must have spent practicing . . . when could you have possibly had time to manage a boyfriend?”

“There is a guy back home, but it’s, it’s more than complicated.”

“I like complicated,” Slade replied, “Bands trying to get record deals don’t need relationship aggravation. That’s the big killer.”

“He’s at Stanford trying to get into medical school. He wants to be a cardiothoracic surgeon, like his dad, so really, there’s no aggravation.”

“Now, why doesn’t that surprise me? You
would
go for a doctor boy. So, how long have you been together then?”

“I‘ve known him since high school, but we want our careers. I want music; he wants medicine.”

“Hmm, that’s just as it should be. This doctor boy gotta name?”

“Kai.”

“Well, Eddie, just between you and me, if he were really serious about you, he would have never let you leave San Francisco. What poor Kai doesn’t know is that in about, say, a year maybe two, it’s going to be, ‘Kai who?’”

“It’s not like that. I’m not like that,” she defended, remembering the Latin, “strictio infinitus”

“Oh, yes it is, and where you’re going, he can’t be.”

“And where’s that?”

“Like I said, give it a year or so and then you’ll see. Eddie, you will have more men coming on to you, at you, around, under you, over you – they’ll worship you.”

“I’m not looking to get worshipped. I’m not into the business of music for anything other than just that,
music
. It’s not all sex, drugs, rock and roll to me.”

“
I know that,”
Slade heartily agreed. “I completely believe that you are a clean and sober girl with nothing more than her raw ambition to play guitar. Anybody can see that your veins are as pure as the driven snow and as far as the sex goes, well, take your pick.”

“I’m not interested in men,” she said.

“Ever??”

“No, I’m just not going to do that stuff right now.”

“
Stuff??”

“You know—”

Slade asked, “You mean sex?”

Eddie’s cheeks inflamed.

Slade chuckled, “Eddie, don’t tell me you’re still a virgin.”

She didn’t dare answer.

“In this town??”
Slade asked.

Eddie felt cold sweat under her collar. She didn't want to completely spoil what had been a pretty good evening. “I’m sixteen.”

“Oh right, I do keep forgetting that. But, seriously, you’re not like, saving yourself for this doctor boy, are you?”

“You still want me to do this demo?”

“Ah, c’mon Eddie, I’m just, well, I’m surprised that’s all.”

“Surprised at what—that I don’t sleep around trying to get my way to the top? Why should I when there are Gretchens all over doing it for me?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend, really. Like I said, I’m just surprised.”

“Let’s forget it, Slade.”

Slade jumped out of the car to open her door.

As Eddie dug the keys out of her purse, he asked, “Will you do one more thing for me?”

Eddie patted his chest, and said, “Don’t sweat it—I’ll do the studio.”

Slade gripped her hand and said, “No, one other thing.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Kiss me goodbye. I’m not going to see you for the next four months, at least.”

Eddie looked up into his face but didn’t see Slade the Rock Star. He was a musician, like herself, trying to make a living doing what they loved more than anything in the world. Taking Eddie’s silence as a yes, Slade brought his lips to hers. They felt warm, wet and inviting. Slade lingered just long enough to bump their friendship up another notch.

It was cold outside for L.A., and enveloping her in a parting hug, he said, “Play well. Give ‘em the best you got. Write out your score sheets and don’t hand your music over to the engineer until you’re completely happy with it. Do your music, Eddie. Make sure it’s yours, even if Todd’s producing it. Don’t let him push you around to do it his way.” Looking down in her eyes, he urged, “You understand?”

She nodded.

He pecked her cheek signaling it was time to go. She got into her van and driving off, watched Slade from her rear view mirror as he climbed back into his Aston Martin.

Sunset Studios Parking Lot, February, 2007

As required by California’s no smoking laws, the studio had posted signs on every spare wall, instructing smokers to take their habit outside. Only those with said habit dared to spill out into the mist of the dark, cold night. The neon signs from off the strip couldn’t pierce the February sky, but the butt of Ginger’s cigarette glowed like a trooper. She had finished her drums tracks for ‘1-900’, ‘In The Confessional’ and ‘Beauty’, and now, she was killing time.

Raven too, had finished her tracks, venturing through the double glass doors to join Ginger.

“I thought you quit?” Raven looked at the cigarette Ginger held between her two fingers.

“I’m not really a smoker. It’s just when we’re in the studio. Well, that and when I’m outside the airport terminal going to visit the folks back in Nebraska—otherwise, no worries.” The cheeriness was back in her voice, but her facial expression belied her tone.

“Is everything okay?”

“Have you been watching all this Grammy stuff on TV? The reward keeps going
up
. It’s taken on a life of its own.” Ginger’s voice began to shake.

“Yeah, I have,” Raven said. “What’s it up to now?”

“It’s doubled. Somebody called Entertainment Today and made an anonymous donation of twenty-thousand dollars to some charity for Todd’s Grammy.”

“Yeah, I’ve kinda been wondering what you guys were gonna do about that.”

“What do you mean ’you guys’? I didn’t steal a thing. This is Gretchen’s baby. I don’t want any part of it. I just want to get this show on the road. That’s why Eddie’s in the band. I told Gretchen that if she didn’t let Eddie in the band, I’d tell Vince she’s engaged back home.”

“Gretchen’s
engaged
?” Raven shrieked.

“Well, yes and no,” Ginger explained, “There’s a guy back home, Jeremy, that she’s been with since like high school.
Really
cute—His dad owns the biggest car dealership in the state so he’s always had the best ride in town. They dated on and off for over six years and whenever we go back home, they pick up where they left off. Only two Christmases ago, he gave her a ring, and I was sure she wasn’t going to accept it, but she did. I guess Jeremy’s like her backup plan if this doesn’t work out.”

“What if this Jeremy shows up at our doorstep one day? What then?” Raven asked.

“Oh, he won’t.”

“You sound awfully sure.”

“I know, it’s weird, but Jeremy—he is so sure that Gretchen is gonna fall on her ass and jump right back into his arms. He’s just biding his time.”

“Does he know anything about Vince?”

“
Please
, what do you think? Gretchen’s just covering her bases.”

“What about you? Do you have a Jeremy back home?”

“Me? When I left Lincoln, it was for real. My big headache is this Grammy.”

“Where is it?”

Ginger crushed the smoke out under her heel. “Well, that’s just it. I don’t know. Gretchen won’t tell me. All she ever says is that it’s in a safe place, whatever that means.” She paused, and then said, “And once I find it, how do I get it back into Todd’s office?”

Raven nodded, “That’s a good question.”

“Vince said Todd might be coming down to check things out. I could stash it in his car but then he would know right off the bat it was from us. I can’t take that chance. If word ever gets out that we stole it, there is no way we’ll ever get signed. And if anybody has the clout to do that, it would be Todd.”

Raven nodded again.
Yep, it would be Todd.
It was a conundrum for sure, but like Ginger said, “
This is Gretchen’s baby”.

The two heard the creak of the heavy glass door and saw Gretchen coming out to join them in the cold. She didn’t look happy, but then again, she never did.

With her eyes to the skies, she blurted, “She’s like
guitar shrapnel
. I can’t get away from her. Every time I try to do something, Miss Rolling Stone in there pulls the rug out from under me with her … her
alchemy
!”

“Eddie doesn’t read Rolling Stone,” Raven said.

“She doesn’t deserve to
be
here,” Gretchen cried.

“Who does?”

“Somebody needs to put a collar on her.” Gretchen pointed back to the studio. “Or better yet, a muzzle.”

“Are you sayin’ we gotta
muzzle the music?
”
Raven wasn’t about to give Gretchen a sympathetic ear.

But Ginger was. “What’s going on?”

“Vince and whiz-boy Taz in there are letting her
double all
my guitar tracks!”

“
Why? What for?”

“Apparently,” Gretchen snapped, “they are going to pick out all the best tracks, regardless of who played them and those are the ones getting mixed in the demo.”

Timidly, Ginger questioned, “Even the guitar leads?”

“
Yes!”
Gretchen wailed, her arms flying up over her head.

“Vince is okay with all of this, then?” Raven asked. Normally, Gretchen could get Vince to do anything. Gretchen did her thing, Vince got what he wanted and everybody was happy.

“He just told me in the hallway, outside the control room. He said it came down from the top, way over his head. If we want the Moonshine deal, Todd wants to come in and hear all the tracks,
and
he wants double tracks from both Eddie and me.” Still mesmerized by it all, Gretchen lamented, “I just can’t believe what’s going
on
. I come all the way out here from Nebraska just to have somebody else
sabotage my life
!”

“Think of it this way, Gretchen,” Raven said, “it’s going to be your vocals on that CD and that
is
the voice of The Katz—you are the
face
of The Katz. You’re still the front man. Nobody can take that away. When we go out on stage, it’s you out there, not Eddie. She’s off to the side of the stage and besides, the men can’t take their eyes off you. So, really, I don’t know what you’re worried about. Everybody knows The Katz is all about the G-Force.”

“Yeah, that all sounds great Raven, but it’s her damn song that got us the write up in CMM.”

“Well, let’s think about that one. Eddie got you a good write up, which you
may
not have had. The envy is seeping through your eyeballs. Do you know what the word gracious means?”

“Oh, don’t even go there.”

“C’mon, Gretchen, you shoved her into a
pool
on New Years’ Eve in front of God and everybody else. Apparently she forgave you for that, ‘cause she’s still here.”

Three Weeks Later

“We have four affirmed labels showing up for The Troubadour gig and we’re getting phone calls from other Hollywood schmucks ‘cause the rumors are flying. But, this is what we need to do next . . . I need you girls to get dressed up as dangerous as possible and go hand out these.”

“Flyers,”
Gretchen scoffed.

“Give these to anybody with a pulse, staple them to every telephone poll, record store, night spot, coffee shop, liquor store or outhouse up and down the entire strip.”

“Can’t we just e-mail?”

“Normally, yes, but we gotta have that club packed to the walls, standing room only. Whenever you girls do personal appearances, the next gig is always better attended. I want this place packed to the rafters. I want the Fire Marshall showing up due to overcrowding.”