Life Is For Living

“What do you mean they can’t make it? They’re our fucking support act,” bellowed Matt. The rest of A7X were making noises of agreement behind him.
“Their singer can’t make it, there’s nothing I can do,” shrugged their manager, Larry. “I’ve already gotten on to the venue for a replacement.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Synyster groaned, kicking the nearest inanimate object. “We’ll get someone shit, I know it.”
The band all nodded in agreement and resigned themselves to the idea that their opening act would likely not warm the crowd up.
“Don’t forget that you’re who the audience wants to see. I’ve done what I can, now suck it up and get on with the sound check,” Larry commanded. They all sloped off, looking less than pleased about the situation.

The sound check passed by without a hitch and the band began to return to their bus in grim spirits.
“This sucks,” Zacky grumbled, reaching for his cigarettes. His action was mirrored by the other smokers and they all lit up.
Johnny nodded in agreement, “This venue better not fuck us over,” he said, flicking some ash from his cigarette. They continued their discussion until their smokes were down to nothing. Jimmy flicked the butt in his hand away and then craned his neck.
“That looks like our support band coming,” he remarked, gesturing to two black vans in the distance. The rest of the band all peered over in the direction Jimmy was pointing as he opened his mouth again. “Of course, you won’t be able to see, Johnny, you fucking short ass.”
Johnny fired a devastatingly accurate punch, landing his fist into the Rev’s gut. Jimmy doubled over in pain and laughter before launching himself at Johnny, who ran for cover in the bus.
“Stupid move,” Zacky commented, as the others smirked at the antics. The vans drew near and pulled over near the venue entrance. The Avenged members who were still hanging around outside the bus watched curiously as the support act disembarked from their vehicle, one by one.

First to appear was a young guy with dreadlocks. His muscles bulged through his tank, rippling as he ripped the back door of the van open with a sharp tug. From the back of the van appeared another man, a polar opposite to his band mate. He was slim with shaggy, tousled brown hair. His face was fixed in a permanent grimace as he stepped out onto the asphalt. Following shortly behind him was another tall man, sporting long blonde locks, a thick beard and heavily tattooed arms. He turned into the van, calling something they couldn’t make out with a devilish smile on his face. What they could make out was the next man’s reply. With a ‘fuck you’, he leapt out of the bus at the tattooed man in attack. His black hair hung around his shoulders loosely. He had dark eyes and his harsh features were accentuated by various facial piercings. Dreadlocks rolled his eyes at the pair and called impatiently into the van, “Come on, Bea, get your ass moving.”
Matt, Zacky and Synyster looked between themselves, clearly thinking the same thing.
“Oh Jesus Christ, he looks like a piece of work” Brian said, with a curled lip and a raised eyebrow.
“At least they look the part, I guess,” Zach muttered, less than impressed. Matt was about to speak but was cut short by the appearance of a final member. A girl hopped out of the van, laughing gleefully at the scuffle that was breaking out in front of her. Her flamingo pink hair was pulled into two messy buns, one either side of her head, with the loose wavy ends hanging down and grazing her shoulders. She sported bright make-up on her face and a nose ring. Her arms were full of colourful ink and she twiddled a drumstick in her hand. Her loose, cropped tank showed off a toned midriff. Matt let out a sharp laugh at the sight of her.
“A female drummer; the Rev’s gonna lose his shit,” he chuckled. Zacky shook his head with a smirk. They all watched the band disappear into the venue, their techs unloading their gear and following closely behind them.
“Well, they’ve got their own road crew, that’s something,” Brian commented, his eyebrows knitted together. There were murmurs of agreement from his bandmates. The action finally over, they boarded their bus to find out what had become of Jimmy and Johnny.

“You guys check out the support act?” Jimmy asked, casually. Syn nodded and reached for a beer.
“They look alright, but who knows what they’ll sound like,” he answered. “Perhaps someone should check out their sound check.”
Matt snorted, “I’d rather not prolong the agony if they’re terrible.”
No one offered to go and preview the music so they settled for straining to hear the distant noises coming from the venue. It was hard to make much out, but what they could hear didn’t sound terrible. The quiet of the band was broken as Zacky wondered aloud from behind the house of cards he was attempting to build.
“I wonder who’s who,” he pondered.
“Well we know the drummer, and I bet Dreadlocks is the vocalist,” Matt guessed. “The terrified Mousey guy is the bassist, obviously.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Johnny shot, narrowing his eyes.
“He means that all you bassists are wimpy losers,” Jimmy cackled, sending the card house tumbling as he dodged a kick from Johnny. Vengeance groaned before gathering the cards and starting again.
“I’d put money on Tattoos being the lead guitarist,” Brian chimed in.
“That would make Metal Face the rhythm then,” Matt finished, rubbing his chin. Jimmy looked between the three of them.
“Well?” he said, raising his eyebrows. They looked at him, waiting for more. He sighed in exasperation. “What about the drummer? Gotta size up my competition.”
Matt smirked at Brian and Zach knowingly.
“Nah, not interesting. You wouldn’t care, dude,” he replied, a laziness to his voice.
“I would care, and I do. Fill me in,” Jimmy insisted, looking to Zachy for answers.
“Why don’t you go and see for yourself?” Zachy suggested, placing another pair of cards delicately to his second row.
“Don’t care that much,” huffed Jimmy, in return. He had a gnawing curiosity though. He was always fascinated by other drummers, looking for new techniques and inspiration. It could wait until they played tonight though.

Crowds were starting to gather and queue around the site, an old fashioned cinema that had been restored into a concert venue. It was a monster of a building and a popular destination for touring bands. Avenged were back stage and had just about finished getting ready to perform.
“Wanna go watch from the side?” Zachy asked, knowing they were all dying of curiosity to see what their last-minute support act had to offer. They were due to play any minute and the boys were all interested to see how they’d fare. They all nodded in consensus and filed out of their dressing room. They settled themselves to the side of the stage and waited. After a few minutes, the support act appeared and slunk past Avenged to take the stage. Dreadlocks was followed by Weedy, Metal Face and Tattoos were next and then she brought up the rear, a pair of drumsticks in hand. Matt laughed heartily as he noticed Jimmy staring, open-mouthed, at the drummer who was now taking her place behind her kit.
“That’s your competition, bro,” Brian sniggered, nudging Jimmy who was still speechless.
Dreadlocks took his place behind the microphone, and Tattoos and Metal Face picked up their guitars as Mouse picked up his bass.
“We are Chemical Conspiracy, and this is our first song tonight: Waking Nightmare.” They launched straight into it, the girl launching into a crazy drum fill to kick the song off. Jimmy’s mouth hung open even wider as she hammered her double bass peddles.
“She’ll give you a run for your money, Rev,” laughed Johnny, prodding his friend out of his shock.
“Fuck off short shit,” Jimmy shoved him in response without once taking his eyes off of the pink-haired drummer. He watched the rest of the set, fixated on her speed. It wasn’t at his level but it was certainly enough to impress him. She was intriguing to watch as well, her eyes framed by neon hues, offset by the starkness of the black eyeliner that flicked off into wings and her face screwed up in concentration. Her arms moved fluidly across the kit and she smashed the sticks down into her fills. The band’s sound itself had a typical metal vibe and the crowd ate them up. Dreadlocks had a menacing stage presence and the guitarists did a good job of also demanding attention. Before Jimmy knew it, their set was over and they were waving their thanks to the crowd. They headed back the way they’d come and Avenged stood back to let them pass. The drummer was breathing heavily as she passed them, now covered in a glorious sheen of sweat, the tips of her hair spiking with it. She caught Jimmy staring and gave him a beaming grin and wink, riding the post-show high. He wanted to follow her and spend time in her company but there was no chance yet. Their techs were starting to float around and get them ready for the show. CC drifted to the edges of the area to give the techs space to work. They were cracking beers and chattering amongst themselves excitedly about the set.

Before long, it was Avenged’s turn to take the stage. They stepped into their positions to deafening cheering from the crowd. The support act had definitely riled them up. Jimmy glanced to the side and caught CC crowded together, settling to watch the show. He caught his counterpart staring at him with excited eyes, a beer in hand. His heart raced, and he used the adrenaline to push himself right to the end of the show, where it crashed with the post-performance high and made him almost dizzy. They had played an amazing set, thrashed out an incredible encore and were now ready to party, especially considering that tomorrow was one of their coveted breaks.
“Let’s get SHITFACED,” Zacky bellowed, as his bandmates ruptured into shouts of approval. Matt approached the members of CC.
“Great job, guys. We’re having a party in the lot and you’re welcome to join. It would give us a chance to say thanks for filling in at such short notice,” he smiled, extending a hand to Dreadlocks, who shook it.
“We’ll be there,” Dreadlocks replied in his deep timbre with a nod, as Avenged Sevenfold began to make their way back towards their bus.

Notes