Unbound - The Wild Ride
Chapter 20
One thing that stays the same on every tour is radio contests and meet and greets. The guys always get a kick out of hearing what crazy stunts their fans had to perform in order to get all access passes to the show. This particular show had four winners who were all allowed to bring one guest. The group consisted of five girls and only three boys, most likely all boys being actual winners that had to bring their girlfriends or sisters as their guest.
Jason brought the eight of them down the long hallway between the equipment loading docks and the backstage. Michelle and I hung back in the back of the room as not to distract the guys from giving their full attention to the fans. Zacky, Jimmy and Matt sat on a large leather couch and Brian and Johnny on another, each drinking a beer.
“Come in!” Matt’s gravelly voice invited as he lifted his large arm to set their attention to some vacant seating.
As the fans came further into the room, all the guys raised to their feet to greet each and every one of them; hugging the girls with a kiss to the cheek and macho handshakes for the boys.
“So tell us what horrible stunt you had to do to be here. Hopefully nothing too bad…that’d be a shame to go through hell to hang out with five smelly guys!” Zacky inquired.
“A group of twenty finalists had to drink a gallon of milk in an hour without puking,” a tiny blond explained shyly, not believing she was standing backstage talking with her favorite band.
“Seriously?” Jimmy began to laugh. “That’s what we do to decide who has to empty the tour bus shitter tank,” he teased.
The girl blushed and tightly grabbed her friend’s arm and covered her mouth as she laughed.
“So out of twenty people, only four of you were able to keep from throwing up?” Johnny piped in.
“She was the only girl who won!” the blond’s friend spoke up eagerly.
“Impressive!” Brian raised his beer and nodded his head in acknowledgment.
The group continued to make idle chit chat and the boys signed their merch for another twenty minutes before it was time to head to yet another area of the arena for the hour long meet and greet. The winners were then escorted to their ring side seats on the right side of the stage. I remember watching them smile and be so excited and couldn’t help but think how bad I wish that kind of thing would’ve happened to me when I was a teenager!
Ah, the meet and greet. I have been to a few of these before for other bands, but they are all pretty much standard: slutty groupies that have their tits and asses hanging out, asking for hugs and to be allowed to come to the bus, the real fans that are just thrilled to have a minute to say a few words to the guys and get an autograph--then the dreaded parents. You know, the 55 year old dad who knows somebody who knows somebody and accompanies their misguided youth as a bonding experience. Don’t think that the boys don’t make their experience…”unforgettable”.
Michelle and I followed the band to the meet and greet room and stood behind them as they took their seats behind a metal fold out table. We scanned over the room observing the crowd and we both smiled when they began to scream for the guys and the room exploded with flashes from their cameras.
“Get to work,” I leaned down and whispered in Matt’s ear with a squeeze to his shoulder.
He looked to me and grinned, patting my thigh as I walked behind him towards Michelle.
“Come on,” Michelle grabbed my arm and lead the way out of the crowded room.
We trekked through the maze of hallways, finally getting to the support band’s dressing room. A sign that read, “PAPA ROACH ONLY! NO EXCEPTIONS!” hung on the door and loud music pulsated the entire door.
It was an added comfort having them on the tour. I had known Jacoby for several years; he was quite the presence in LA. “Open the fucking door Jacoby!” I screamed loudly, banging on the door with my fists and laughing hysterically.
The door quickly flung open, Jacoby standing with a scheming grin on his face. “Didn’t you see the sign?” he teased.
“On this tour, we are honorary band members!” I answered like a spoiled brat with a grin, pushing our way past him.
I could hear his laughter erupt behind us, “Being with Shadows sure has made you a princess, hasn’t it Kat? You think you run the place now?”
I put one hand on my hip and held my chin with the other, looking as if I was in deep thought. “I was thinking more of ‘queen’, but I don’t worry about specifics.” I threw him a quick wink.
“Where’s the fucking alcohol?” Michelle blurted.
“I think the question is where ISN’T the alcohol?” I answered as I pointed to a huge keg, a coffee table with a vast assortment of liquors and another large table that sat against the wall with even more. “Does your tour rider only include booze?” I was amazed. “I thought our boys drank a lot!”
“Help yourself! If no one has it to their mouth, it’s all you!” he offered graciously.
Never ones to pass up drinks, Michelle and I made our way to the booze buffet and grabbed two cups. Whiskey and Coke for me, vodka and more vodka for Michelle. This was a good way we could entertain ourselves while the guys were doing their thing. Drink before the show starts, drink while the show is going on, drink while the guys relax after the show and maybe take another sip on the bus heading to the next stop.
After hanging out with Jacoby and the rest of the band for about forty five minutes, we decided it was time to head back to the A7X dressing room. This time going down the maze of hallways was a lot harder; we had to lean on each other and the wall to keep from falling down as we laughed at ourselves.
“We are pathetically drunk and the show hasn’t even started yet,” Michelle laid her head on my shoulder as we continued the journey.
“It’s tour kick-off! We have to get smashed early,” I assured her.
“You’re totally right,” she agreed before taking another large gulp of her vodka. “Listen,” she came to a stop, halting my forward motion with her arm in front of me, “I know this whole thing is awkward,” she turned to look at me. “If we met under different circumstances, I’m sure we’d get along great…”
“Michelle…I understand how you must feel…like you’re befriending the enemy,” I explained. “I just want you to know that I didn’t know…”
“Stop,” she interrupted. “I hate Matt for what he did to my sister and don‘t think Brian and I haven‘t had words about him being so welcoming to you…but we’re going to have to tolerate each other for the next two months, whether I want to or not. These guys are as much my family as Val is. Don‘t fuck that up,” she spoke her piece and turned away from me and continued down the hallway.
I knew being accepted by Michelle was going to be a full time job, a hearty effort. I understood that. I’ve been cheated on before, but that didn’t make being an accessory to extra curricular activities an easier pill to swallow.
Jason brought the eight of them down the long hallway between the equipment loading docks and the backstage. Michelle and I hung back in the back of the room as not to distract the guys from giving their full attention to the fans. Zacky, Jimmy and Matt sat on a large leather couch and Brian and Johnny on another, each drinking a beer.
“Come in!” Matt’s gravelly voice invited as he lifted his large arm to set their attention to some vacant seating.
As the fans came further into the room, all the guys raised to their feet to greet each and every one of them; hugging the girls with a kiss to the cheek and macho handshakes for the boys.
“So tell us what horrible stunt you had to do to be here. Hopefully nothing too bad…that’d be a shame to go through hell to hang out with five smelly guys!” Zacky inquired.
“A group of twenty finalists had to drink a gallon of milk in an hour without puking,” a tiny blond explained shyly, not believing she was standing backstage talking with her favorite band.
“Seriously?” Jimmy began to laugh. “That’s what we do to decide who has to empty the tour bus shitter tank,” he teased.
The girl blushed and tightly grabbed her friend’s arm and covered her mouth as she laughed.
“So out of twenty people, only four of you were able to keep from throwing up?” Johnny piped in.
“She was the only girl who won!” the blond’s friend spoke up eagerly.
“Impressive!” Brian raised his beer and nodded his head in acknowledgment.
The group continued to make idle chit chat and the boys signed their merch for another twenty minutes before it was time to head to yet another area of the arena for the hour long meet and greet. The winners were then escorted to their ring side seats on the right side of the stage. I remember watching them smile and be so excited and couldn’t help but think how bad I wish that kind of thing would’ve happened to me when I was a teenager!
Ah, the meet and greet. I have been to a few of these before for other bands, but they are all pretty much standard: slutty groupies that have their tits and asses hanging out, asking for hugs and to be allowed to come to the bus, the real fans that are just thrilled to have a minute to say a few words to the guys and get an autograph--then the dreaded parents. You know, the 55 year old dad who knows somebody who knows somebody and accompanies their misguided youth as a bonding experience. Don’t think that the boys don’t make their experience…”unforgettable”.
Michelle and I followed the band to the meet and greet room and stood behind them as they took their seats behind a metal fold out table. We scanned over the room observing the crowd and we both smiled when they began to scream for the guys and the room exploded with flashes from their cameras.
“Get to work,” I leaned down and whispered in Matt’s ear with a squeeze to his shoulder.
He looked to me and grinned, patting my thigh as I walked behind him towards Michelle.
“Come on,” Michelle grabbed my arm and lead the way out of the crowded room.
We trekked through the maze of hallways, finally getting to the support band’s dressing room. A sign that read, “PAPA ROACH ONLY! NO EXCEPTIONS!” hung on the door and loud music pulsated the entire door.
It was an added comfort having them on the tour. I had known Jacoby for several years; he was quite the presence in LA. “Open the fucking door Jacoby!” I screamed loudly, banging on the door with my fists and laughing hysterically.
The door quickly flung open, Jacoby standing with a scheming grin on his face. “Didn’t you see the sign?” he teased.
“On this tour, we are honorary band members!” I answered like a spoiled brat with a grin, pushing our way past him.
I could hear his laughter erupt behind us, “Being with Shadows sure has made you a princess, hasn’t it Kat? You think you run the place now?”
I put one hand on my hip and held my chin with the other, looking as if I was in deep thought. “I was thinking more of ‘queen’, but I don’t worry about specifics.” I threw him a quick wink.
“Where’s the fucking alcohol?” Michelle blurted.
“I think the question is where ISN’T the alcohol?” I answered as I pointed to a huge keg, a coffee table with a vast assortment of liquors and another large table that sat against the wall with even more. “Does your tour rider only include booze?” I was amazed. “I thought our boys drank a lot!”
“Help yourself! If no one has it to their mouth, it’s all you!” he offered graciously.
Never ones to pass up drinks, Michelle and I made our way to the booze buffet and grabbed two cups. Whiskey and Coke for me, vodka and more vodka for Michelle. This was a good way we could entertain ourselves while the guys were doing their thing. Drink before the show starts, drink while the show is going on, drink while the guys relax after the show and maybe take another sip on the bus heading to the next stop.
After hanging out with Jacoby and the rest of the band for about forty five minutes, we decided it was time to head back to the A7X dressing room. This time going down the maze of hallways was a lot harder; we had to lean on each other and the wall to keep from falling down as we laughed at ourselves.
“We are pathetically drunk and the show hasn’t even started yet,” Michelle laid her head on my shoulder as we continued the journey.
“It’s tour kick-off! We have to get smashed early,” I assured her.
“You’re totally right,” she agreed before taking another large gulp of her vodka. “Listen,” she came to a stop, halting my forward motion with her arm in front of me, “I know this whole thing is awkward,” she turned to look at me. “If we met under different circumstances, I’m sure we’d get along great…”
“Michelle…I understand how you must feel…like you’re befriending the enemy,” I explained. “I just want you to know that I didn’t know…”
“Stop,” she interrupted. “I hate Matt for what he did to my sister and don‘t think Brian and I haven‘t had words about him being so welcoming to you…but we’re going to have to tolerate each other for the next two months, whether I want to or not. These guys are as much my family as Val is. Don‘t fuck that up,” she spoke her piece and turned away from me and continued down the hallway.
I knew being accepted by Michelle was going to be a full time job, a hearty effort. I understood that. I’ve been cheated on before, but that didn’t make being an accessory to extra curricular activities an easier pill to swallow.
4/26/13