The Music We Make

I woke up the next morning really early and could not fall back asleep. All night I had weird dreams that I couldn’t comprehend. They were already beginning to slip from my memories, but I couldn’t shake the weird feeling that they gave me. Lying there, staring at the ceiling, I knew I wasn’t going to get back to sleep. Besides, I had to pee.

Sighing, I got out of my warm bed and made my way to the bathroom. Looking at the clock I saw it was only 6am, but there was no going back now. I did my business, brushed my teeth, and got ready for the day. I figured I might as well go in early and get some work done.

Andrea was already in the kitchen when I made my way to make breakfast, but that was no surprise. I swear I hardly saw the girl anymore with her working so much and going to school.

“Morning, sunshine,” I said groggily. She smiled at me, but I could tell from the bags under her eyes that she was struggling too.

“You’re up earlier than usual,” she stated, taking her attention back to the eggs she was cooking.

“Couldn’t sleep,” I told her. I put a bagel in the toaster, then sat at our table as I waited.

Andrea sighed as she finished making her meal then sat with me. “I only have like five minutes to eat,” she said. “I feel like I never have time for anything anymore.”

“Yeah this year has been crazy for you.”

“I’m almost done,” she reminded herself. “Once school is out in the next few months, life will slow down again.”

We chatted while we ate our breakfast and I told her about what had happened at the studio yesterday. She always loved hearing about all of the drama that occurred with the bands, especially when I got involved somehow.

“You’ve got the hots for this guy, don’t you?” she asked me as she cleaned up her dishes.

I shrugged. “Physically, yes. But I’m not sure about him yet. I’m not sure what he thinks of me, either.”

“Well, just go with the flow and see how it goes. You know what you want, so don’t let him push you around. I gotta go. Good luck today,” she said, giving me a hug before running out the door.

I decided to just go into work so I could have some quiet time to get things done for myself. Mudrock never minded when I got there early or stayed late because he knew I was always working hard on our projects. He knew that sometimes I worked on my own personal projects, but as long as I got my work done, he didn’t really care.

When I got to the studio, I immediately went to the back area where all of our guitars where. I picked out an acoustic one for now and got things ready. I had a new song that I had written that I wanted to record a rough demo of before anyone else got here, which would be in a little over an hour.

I had been writing songs ever since I could remember. Honestly, that’s really what I’ve wanted to do my whole life. I became a producer so I could be a part of the music industry, but deep down I always wanted to be a song writer. I knew I had the talent to write, play, and sing, but I never wanted to be the star. Being in the background always worked for me.

After I got things set up, I began to play, strumming the simple melody I had been working on. I closed my eyes, let myself go, and began to sing. The words flowed out of me easily and I got lost in my words, in my song. Eventually, I made a mistake while playing, which made my voice crack. Sighing, I started over, letting the track continue to record so I could just edit it later.

I did a few takes of the song, and the more I did it, the better it sounded. Eventually, with my voice warmer, it was sounding just the way I wanted it to. I was so lost in the sound that I didn’t hear anyone walking in.

When I finished, the sound of clapping made me jump. It was very faint from behind the glass, but when I looked up, I noticed Matt standing there, applauding my work. Time had passed so quickly! I must have lose track of it.

I scrambled out of the recording booth, running over to stop my recording before I talked to Matt. My face was beet red and I was so embarrassed that I had just been caught. I should have waited until everyone left to do this.

“Holy shit, Rosie!” Matt said behind me. He put a hand on my shoulder and gently turned me around. “You are fantastic!”

“Uh, thanks-” I started, not really knowing what to do.

“What artist is that song by? It was really good,” Matt asked.

I chuckled a little out of nervousness and said, “Uh, it’s by Rosie White.”

“No shit!” he said. “I’m really serious, Rosie. You’re really good.”

“Well, thanks,” I said to him, blushing still. “Just, uh, don’t tell anyone I was here doing this, OK? I don’t think Mudrock cares that much but if out bosses found out I was using the studio for free, it would piss them off.”

“Hey, that’s cool, I get it. Are you trying to make a record?”

“Oh, no it’s nothing like that. I just write. I haven’t really sold any of my songs or anything, but that’s the goal at some point,” I said, shrugging. I was becoming even more embarrassed now, having to admit that I haven’t even sold one damn song.

“Hey, man, we all gotta start somewhere!” Matt said with a grin, showing off his adorable dimples. “If I hear about anyone who needs a song, I can send them your way.”

I laughed and said, “I don’t many metal bands want some slow acoustic song.”

“Well, it’s not like the only musicians I know are in metal bands, Rosie,” he said. “And besides, a band could always use the words and melody and add more instruments.”

I nodded. “True. Thanks, Matt.”

Matt was quiet for a second and he looked as though he was deep in thought. I didn’t have the chance to ask him what was going on before some of the other band members walked in.

The rest of the day was very typical and I had the chance to work with Brian and Zack again on a different song. Both boys were in a much better mood today; no one was pouting with a bruised ego and no one was hung over. All in all, it was a great formula for making music.

We were working on Burn It Down, which had some extremely complicated parts in it. We had the music with us to look at because of this, and Brian and Zack had to slow down the process to practice their parts because of ho complex they were. After some practice, Brian decided he was ready to record.

After our first time trying, Brian made a mistake, screaming, “FUCK!” as loudly as possible. I wasn’t super surprised, as I had heard it from other musicians before, but it was odd coming from Brian, who was usually so cool and collected. But the next few takes he’d do the same thing, screaming obscenities or weird noises when he messed up. Eventually, I couldn’t hold it in any longer and I busted out laughing.

Zack and Brian joined my laughing fit until I said, “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t hold it in any longer.”

“Hey, get used to it, girl,” Zack said. “He does this all the time.”

Brian grinned then, saying, “I can’t help it. I can’t get this fucking song down and I’m pissed.”

“Hold on,” I said, getting up for a moment. I walked over to the back room and grabbed a guitar, then walked back to the guys and sat with them. “Try this.”

I played the part on my own guitar then, taking it a tad slower than tempo. It was really tricky, but I was able to play it.

“Well, shit,” Zack said. “Syn, you’re fired. Rosie’s our new lead guitarist!”

Brian laughed, “Fuck you, Baker. Let’s play together.”

We took it slow at first and eventually built up to tempo, stopping every once in a while to talk about different techniques and ways to play. After some time, Brian was able to play it perfectly.

“Damn,” Brian said. “Thanks for that. I was just getting so frustrated.”

I nodded. “Glad to hear that. The rest should be easy!”

“Where did you learn to play like that?” Zack asked.

I shrugged. “I guess my dad taught me the basics when I was young, but then I took lessons and things to improve. I’m not that great, but I have a good ear and can copy-cat things once
I hear them a lot.”

I honestly hadn’t thought much of my playing abilities; for me, playing guitar was easier and much less embarrassing than singing. I always felt like singers were judged much more harshly than guitar players, but maybe that was just my experience. I thought back to my middle school talent show and shuddered at the memory of singing in front of my peers. My only saving grace from that time was my guitar skills.

“Well, it helped me today. Thanks, Rose,” Brian said with a smile, making my stomach flutter with butterflies over the cuteness of his grin.

I shrugged, trying to act as if it was no big deal. I didn’t foresee myself playing guitar much with them in the future, but it was really cool to have the chance to do it today. How many people could say they got to play guitar alongside the great Synyster Gates?

Notes

Thanks again for the comments, views, and subscriptions! :) I was having a moment of writer's block but now I'm pretty sure I know where I want to take this one. I'll try and update sooner than last time!