Life As We Know It
Recording Studio
Zacky's POV*
Last night may have been one of the most frightening nights of my life. Nessa was in so much pain and even though the doctor cleared her to go home, I was still very skeptical on the situation. How was I supposed to react to my girlfriend being in pain. Once she was calmed down at home though, it was much better. I ran up to the local pharmacy and picked up some Tylenol for her too. She said it worked but I wasn't sure if she was just saying it to keep me okay. Either way, I didn't want to leave her alone today. I couldn't ditch out of studio time though because its been almost 3 years since we've put out an album.
"Zacky, go ahead and go. I will be fine babe." She said to me.
"I know. I just want to make sure though babe that's all." I said to her as I sat down on the couch beside her.
"Look if anything happens, I will call you. Maybe I will have the girls come over today and give them the house tour. Don't worry. I know how much you've been wanting to go into the studio and record." She said with a smile.
"Are you sure?" I asked her.
"Babe... Go. Don't give Matt a reason to chew you out in there." She laughed.
"Alright then. Promise you'll call me if anything seems wrong at all!" I said to her.
"Promise." She pressed her lips to mine.
I got up and went to go grab my car keys. Then I went into our little guitar room and grabbed my guitar too. It wasn't even 10 yet but better to be early than late. When I got in my car, I was still hesitant to leave. Maybe I was over worried. She seemed fine enough today. I know she would call me if anything went wrong too. Finally, I had enough courage to leave and make my way to the studio. As I was driving, I was listening to KROQ. Then I heard our song Bat Country come on. It still amazes me to this day that a group of 18 year olds starting a garage band and doing little shows has come this far. I started rocking out in my car to our song. I remember doing the video for this. We had gotten the title from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, so it was only right to have it kind of based on the theme. Good times. And now were off to make another album and fucking rock on stage again.
When I got to the studio, I was one of the first to arrive. The only other person who was here was Matt. So I took a moment to smoke a cigarette before going in since I was in no hurry. I pulled out my pack of Marlboro Reds and a lighter then took a long, much needed drag from my cigarette. I watched as a car pulled into the parking lot next to mine. First to come was Brian. He sat down next to me and we smoked our cigarettes.
"You look like shit Zack." He said.
"Yeah, well I was up all night with Nessa." I said as I took another drag from my cigarette.
"Ahh, how was that?" He asked in a less asshole tone.
"Let's just say we had to make a trip to the hospital last night." I said as I watched the expression on Brian's face turn from normal to worry.
"Man, is she okay?" He asked.
"She'll be fine. Just getting closer to labor." I said slightly happy yet worried.
"Fucking Vengeance man! You're going to have a fucking baby!" Brian shouted. He jumped up to give me a hug.
Truth was, even though its all happening, a part of me didn't believe it. It's just so crazy. I took one last drag then went inside. Matt was already working with our producer on a song that he had written. So me and Brian went and joined him. Johnny was already here with him too, even though I hadn't seen his car. I'm guessing Matt picked him up.
"Critical Acclaim!" Matt shouted as we entered the room.
"What?" I said baffled by his random shouting.
"Critical Acclaim is the first one we should record. I have so many ideas in my head. Wait, where's Jimmy?" Matt said.
"He'll probably be in later." Brian had said.
So Matt was talking to Brian about what solos he should do. Then Brian and I went over some dueling solos. Finally I came up with an idea to fit the song, so I sat Matt down and we talked about some lyrics I came up with. We each recorded our parts except for Jimmy who was still not here. That wasn't like Jimmy at all. I tried calling him a few times but still nothing. So Matt decided to just go over what we had so far and work Jimmy's drums in later. Even with just guitars and bass, the track sounded bad ass. There was a lot of rhythm to it. Brian and I did our dueling solo too which sounded fucking badass. All in all first track turned out to be fucking great. Since it did, we took a break. I decided to call Nessa and see how she was doing.
"Hey baby. How's everything?" I asked her when she picked up the phone.
"Its fine. and recording?" she asked.
"So far, so good. The only problem is, Jimmy isn't here and he isn't returning our calls." I said kind of worried. It wasn't like Jimmy to be M.I.A. during recording. Not to mention he had a lot of stuff written for the album too.
"I'll call Leanna and see if she has talked to him okay babe?" Nessa said.
"Alright. Bye babe I love you." I said to her and then hung up the phone.
"Just a spoonful of Jimmy helps the whole world go down!" Jimmy yelled as he entered the studio.
"What the fuck Jimmy! We were all worried." Brian said.
"Oh Syn... I have music for you all to play!" Jimmy laughed.
Thus, is when Almost Easy was made. It started off just basic but then Matt and Jimmy wanted us all to do some vocals. I was more than happy. I mean I have a good enough voice and Nessa loves hearing it all the time. So we recorded another track and then Matt called it a day. I was happy to just be getting out of there and going home to my girlfriend. Just as I was exiting out of the studio, I seen the guys who did Nessa's demo.
"Hey you guys worked with Vanessa Andrews right?" I asked them.
"Holy shit, you're Zacky fucking Vengeance!" One of the guys said.
"Yeah that would be me." I replied.
"Oh yeah blue eyed girl. You taught her how to play." He said eyeballing me.
"Yeah, me again. Anyways, I would like to say thank you for giving her that opportunity." I said to them.
"Yeah she was good. Sexy girl too. I'd hit that if you know what I mean? Too bad she's knocked up and in love with the father." The guy winked and elbowed his partner.
"Look. Thats MY girlfriend and the mother to MY child. Want to fix what you said before I fix your face?" I said threatening them.
"Sorry man. We didn't know. We don't want any problems." One of the guys said.
"Not like he's going to actually do anything. He's a rockstar and probably an idiot." The one who made the comment about her said. Before I knew it I blacked out. The next thing I knew the cops had arrived and the guy talking shit was on the ground bloody. Fuck, I'm going to jail.
Last night may have been one of the most frightening nights of my life. Nessa was in so much pain and even though the doctor cleared her to go home, I was still very skeptical on the situation. How was I supposed to react to my girlfriend being in pain. Once she was calmed down at home though, it was much better. I ran up to the local pharmacy and picked up some Tylenol for her too. She said it worked but I wasn't sure if she was just saying it to keep me okay. Either way, I didn't want to leave her alone today. I couldn't ditch out of studio time though because its been almost 3 years since we've put out an album.
"Zacky, go ahead and go. I will be fine babe." She said to me.
"I know. I just want to make sure though babe that's all." I said to her as I sat down on the couch beside her.
"Look if anything happens, I will call you. Maybe I will have the girls come over today and give them the house tour. Don't worry. I know how much you've been wanting to go into the studio and record." She said with a smile.
"Are you sure?" I asked her.
"Babe... Go. Don't give Matt a reason to chew you out in there." She laughed.
"Alright then. Promise you'll call me if anything seems wrong at all!" I said to her.
"Promise." She pressed her lips to mine.
I got up and went to go grab my car keys. Then I went into our little guitar room and grabbed my guitar too. It wasn't even 10 yet but better to be early than late. When I got in my car, I was still hesitant to leave. Maybe I was over worried. She seemed fine enough today. I know she would call me if anything went wrong too. Finally, I had enough courage to leave and make my way to the studio. As I was driving, I was listening to KROQ. Then I heard our song Bat Country come on. It still amazes me to this day that a group of 18 year olds starting a garage band and doing little shows has come this far. I started rocking out in my car to our song. I remember doing the video for this. We had gotten the title from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, so it was only right to have it kind of based on the theme. Good times. And now were off to make another album and fucking rock on stage again.
When I got to the studio, I was one of the first to arrive. The only other person who was here was Matt. So I took a moment to smoke a cigarette before going in since I was in no hurry. I pulled out my pack of Marlboro Reds and a lighter then took a long, much needed drag from my cigarette. I watched as a car pulled into the parking lot next to mine. First to come was Brian. He sat down next to me and we smoked our cigarettes.
"You look like shit Zack." He said.
"Yeah, well I was up all night with Nessa." I said as I took another drag from my cigarette.
"Ahh, how was that?" He asked in a less asshole tone.
"Let's just say we had to make a trip to the hospital last night." I said as I watched the expression on Brian's face turn from normal to worry.
"Man, is she okay?" He asked.
"She'll be fine. Just getting closer to labor." I said slightly happy yet worried.
"Fucking Vengeance man! You're going to have a fucking baby!" Brian shouted. He jumped up to give me a hug.
Truth was, even though its all happening, a part of me didn't believe it. It's just so crazy. I took one last drag then went inside. Matt was already working with our producer on a song that he had written. So me and Brian went and joined him. Johnny was already here with him too, even though I hadn't seen his car. I'm guessing Matt picked him up.
"Critical Acclaim!" Matt shouted as we entered the room.
"What?" I said baffled by his random shouting.
"Critical Acclaim is the first one we should record. I have so many ideas in my head. Wait, where's Jimmy?" Matt said.
"He'll probably be in later." Brian had said.
So Matt was talking to Brian about what solos he should do. Then Brian and I went over some dueling solos. Finally I came up with an idea to fit the song, so I sat Matt down and we talked about some lyrics I came up with. We each recorded our parts except for Jimmy who was still not here. That wasn't like Jimmy at all. I tried calling him a few times but still nothing. So Matt decided to just go over what we had so far and work Jimmy's drums in later. Even with just guitars and bass, the track sounded bad ass. There was a lot of rhythm to it. Brian and I did our dueling solo too which sounded fucking badass. All in all first track turned out to be fucking great. Since it did, we took a break. I decided to call Nessa and see how she was doing.
"Hey baby. How's everything?" I asked her when she picked up the phone.
"Its fine. and recording?" she asked.
"So far, so good. The only problem is, Jimmy isn't here and he isn't returning our calls." I said kind of worried. It wasn't like Jimmy to be M.I.A. during recording. Not to mention he had a lot of stuff written for the album too.
"I'll call Leanna and see if she has talked to him okay babe?" Nessa said.
"Alright. Bye babe I love you." I said to her and then hung up the phone.
"Just a spoonful of Jimmy helps the whole world go down!" Jimmy yelled as he entered the studio.
"What the fuck Jimmy! We were all worried." Brian said.
"Oh Syn... I have music for you all to play!" Jimmy laughed.
Thus, is when Almost Easy was made. It started off just basic but then Matt and Jimmy wanted us all to do some vocals. I was more than happy. I mean I have a good enough voice and Nessa loves hearing it all the time. So we recorded another track and then Matt called it a day. I was happy to just be getting out of there and going home to my girlfriend. Just as I was exiting out of the studio, I seen the guys who did Nessa's demo.
"Hey you guys worked with Vanessa Andrews right?" I asked them.
"Holy shit, you're Zacky fucking Vengeance!" One of the guys said.
"Yeah that would be me." I replied.
"Oh yeah blue eyed girl. You taught her how to play." He said eyeballing me.
"Yeah, me again. Anyways, I would like to say thank you for giving her that opportunity." I said to them.
"Yeah she was good. Sexy girl too. I'd hit that if you know what I mean? Too bad she's knocked up and in love with the father." The guy winked and elbowed his partner.
"Look. Thats MY girlfriend and the mother to MY child. Want to fix what you said before I fix your face?" I said threatening them.
"Sorry man. We didn't know. We don't want any problems." One of the guys said.
"Not like he's going to actually do anything. He's a rockstar and probably an idiot." The one who made the comment about her said. Before I knew it I blacked out. The next thing I knew the cops had arrived and the guy talking shit was on the ground bloody. Fuck, I'm going to jail.
12/4/14