Rock Radio (8 page)

“Jonny this is a very big deal.  We’re talking a fifty thousand dollar contract.  That’s a lot of money, no?”

“I didn’t realize flashlights were so big.”

“Think about it Jonny.  A hurricane hits, the lights black out.  A flashlights store could be very big down here,” he paused for effect, “and between you and me, this guy has a lot of money to burn.  He could go elsewhere, but he likes Jay Jay.  He thinks people will listen to him.”

“They will,” Jonny agreed.

“I know, it baffles me, too, Jay Jay’s reluctance,” Carlos implied Jonny’s unspoken disbelief, making them partners on the issue.  Yes, Carlos was good.

“Carlos, Jay Jay is firm on this.”

“Jonny we could go back and forth on this, but the fact remains, if I take this to Bill, he’s going to side with me.”  Bill was Bill Fox, the radio station’s General Manager.

“I realize that may be true; however, Jay Jay is allowed to have standards.”  It was hard for Jonny to say that with a straight face.

Carlos laughed.  “Please Jonny, he was talking about drinking breast milk this morning.  You can only take this standards argument so far.”  Carlos folded his hands in front of him.  “Here are the facts.  Jay Jay will get paid for every live spot he does.  Maybe you can remind Mr. Jay Jay he has to talk to fill the time anyway, these extra words he gets paid for.  So, do not say we are not thinking of his best interest.”

Jonny nodded.

“Now, the client is planning on doing five live spots a morning.  That’s a lot of extra cash for doing what you’re already getting paid for.  Right now, the client is talking about a two month run with live appearances by Jay Jay and the gang.  Now, true, they may not do five spots a day for more than a few weeks before they scale it down, but you do the math.  We’re talking thousands of
extra dollars for Mr. Jay Jay.  So why don’t you take this information to him and see if he does not realize he loves flashlights, too.”  He tapped his calculator.  “And don’t forget to mention the extras.”

Jonny couldn’t say much.  “Okay, Carlos, I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you Jonny, you’re a smart man.”

Cody fell into his role as singer songwriter for Red Lawn with ease.  He moved into the house and for the first time in his life felt like he was part of a family.  Alex, Harper and Bobby shared their wealth of songs without lyrics with Cody.  Cody loved matching his words to music and, unlike running track, this came easy.  Cody pulled out his journal and drew on his own personal experiences to write lyrics.  His words were emotional and deep, multi-dimensional feelings that were extremely relatable.  Alex, Harper and Bobby couldn’t believe their luck.  Cody was a godsend for the band.  They realized that now there was potential for something to happen.  They needed to get serious about practice.  Their neighbors however did not agree.  So in the interest of keeping the police away, the band rented out a storage unit to practice in.  It was a great set up.  No one cared about the noise and they could leave their instruments in the locked air-conditioned space.

“Hello!  Hello!  Everyone!  Are you guys here!”  Harper ran yelling through the house.

“What’s up?”  Alex and Cody appeared in the kitchen.

“Where’s Bobby?”

Alex took a bite of an apple.  “Probably sleeping.  What’s going on?”

“Let me get him.”  Harper ran into Bobby’s room and shook him awake.  “Dude get up.”

Bobby got out of bed and joined the guys in the kitchen.

“All right, spill it,” Cody said.

“I got us a gig.”

“What!” they all screamed.  “Are you kidding?  Where?”

“We’re playing Saturday night at Chloe’s Backroom.”

“How?” Alex asked incredulously.

“I took a tape from our last session to the owner today.  He booked us to play Saturday...at one a.m., but we’re on the bill.”

Chloe’s Backroom was the hottest club in their college town.  This was huge.

“We gotta practice,” Cody said, suddenly aware of the time pressure.

“Let’s go.”

Red Lawn rushed to their storage space and began practice.  Cody grabbed the microphone and sang his heart out.  He closed his eyes and let the emotion flow.  Behind him the band played.

“Hey!  Hey!”  The music stopped.  The voice belonged to a female.  Cody squinted up.  He first saw her shadow on the ground.  His eyes followed the silhouette up to meet the gaze of a beautiful girl.  Ash blonde hair, hazel eyes and a slight frame.

“Can I help you?
” Cody said, hoping his nervousness didn’t show.

“Hey, I’m Laura.”  She extended her hand.

“I’m Cody.”  He met her grasp with his hand.  Her skin was soft.

“Ahem.” Alex cleared his throat.

“Oh, this is Alex, Harper and Bobby.”  He motioned behind him.

“Nice to meet you.  I just transferred here.  My apartment’s not ready so I’m storing my stuff next door.  I heard you guys playing.  You sound awesome.”  She tipped her head so her hair caught the sun.  It looked like spun gold.

“Thanks.”  Cody smiled and leaned on the mic stand.  “We’re a band, Red Lawn.  We’re playing this Saturday night at Chloe’s Backroom, downtown.  You should come check us out.”

“Yeah, maybe I will.”

“We’re not going on till one in the morning...just so you know.”

“Thanks I’ll try to make it.  Like I said, you sound awesome.  Good luck.”  Laura turned and walked away.  Cody couldn’t take his eyes off of her.  He turned to his friends when she was out of earshot and grasped his heart.  “I think I’m in love.”

Harper rolled his eyes.  “Gimme a break man, you just talked to her for what, two seconds?”

“She was hot,” Alex said jealously.  Why did Cody have claim to her?

Bobby interrupted their hormones.  “Look, guys, she’s a girl.  If we can make it as a band we’ll get lots of girls.  We got a gig.  Let’s practice.”  Bobby’s words put them back on track.  They began playing again.

Cody couldn’t wait until Saturday.  He couldn’t wait to see Laura.  Somehow the gig was secondary.  He’d dated a lot in college.  He was handsome with a good build, it was easy to meet girls, but no one interested him like Laura did in those two seconds of hello.  He hoped she showed up.

Saturday came quickly, but time moved slowly.  It was May in Gainesville and their air conditioner was unreliable.  Hot and sticky were the high and low of the day.  Summer had settled early into the state’s armpit.  Gainesville was in North Central Florida, midway between both coasts.  There was no breeze, just an overpowering blanket of wet humidity.  The guys tried to sleep during the afternoon so they’d be wide awake for their gig, but they were too excited.  Restlessness found the eager four wandering their small house.  Restlessness and discomfort.

“I think I need another shower,” Harper said peeling his wet shirt from his skin.

“You always need another shower,” Bobby replied, shirtless.

“What are we now...seven hours to our gig?  I can’t wait.”  Harper was growing impatient.

“Chill out, man.”  Alex reached into the refrigerator for a beer.  He tossed one to Harper, Bobby and Cody.

“No thanks.”  Cody tossed his back to Alex.  His father gave him a strong distaste for alcohol.  He had no interest in it.

Alex shrugged.  “Suit yourself.”

The day dragged on.  Finally it was nine.  The guys decided it was time to get ready.  Wardrobe selection was an important process.  Each chose jeans to wear – Alex picked a white baseball style shirt with blue sleeves, Harper picked his old gym shirt from high school, Bobby wore a plain black t-shirt and Cody picked a crisp white button down shirt.  He purposely left the top two buttons undone to show off his muscular chest.  All members of the band took hours to choose their outfits h
oping to come off as nonchalant ‘we don’t care about fashion’ as possible.

Even with careless dressing, Cody looked striking.  He had cut his light brown hair so the front stood up on end, going in no particular direction.  His white shirt accentuated his light blue eyes and early summer tan.  His lean muscular body poured into his dark blue jeans.

He looked like a rock star.

The other guys whistled when they saw him.

“I thought we didn’t care about looks,” Alex said tersely.

“We don’t.”  Cody twirled.  “Why, Alex...do I look too dressy?” he teased.

Alex backed off.  “No you’re fine.”

“Good,” Cody said, “Now, let’s get this show on the road.”

The boys drove to Chloe’s Backyard in downtown Gainesville.  They arrived at eleven, wanting to get a feel for the crowd before they hit the stage for their debut appearance.

Chloe’s was an institution.  In a town where clubs changed hands as often as students changed semesters, Chloe’s had been there for years.  The club had wood floors and wood ceilings.  It was dark inside and cozy, a favorite among students.  Tonight the place was packed.  Two weeks before the end of the semester and everyone was out for the last weekend before it was time to buckle down for finals.

The guys looked around, very pleased.  The one good thing about the hot weather was the clothing it encouraged.  Scantily clad college girls lined the bar and filled the room.  Another local band, Kate’s Last Dance, was playing.  They were a town favorite.  People sang along to their songs, crowding the stage, swaying to the beat.

“Well, at least we have a good warm up,” Alex observed.

“Yeah, we just gotta keep their interest,” Cody said looking for Laura.  He didn’t see her.

The band finished up on stage.  It was time for Red Lawn
to make their debut.  Andy Carr, the owner of Chloe’s, took the stage.  He was well known in town and received loud applause as he took the microphone.

“Hey Gainesville!”

The crowd cheered.

“I have a special treat for you tonight.  A new band in town that I think you’ll like.”

More cheers.

“They call themselves Red Lawn.  Now, give them a hand...maybe you’ll be able to say you saw them here first!  Here’s Red Lawn!”

The crowd erupted as the guys took the stage.  Andy walked past them.  “They’re yours to lose,” he said.

Alex played a riff on his guitar.  Harper gently tapped the drums.  The crowd grew silent.

“Five, six...five, six, seven, eight!”

They started the set with a new song they had just put together,
The Winner
.  It was upbeat with a catchy rhythm.  The crowd responded.  Cody worked the microphone like he’d been singing all his life.  The passion was evident in his voice and the crowd loved him for it.  Cody looked out into the sea of people, scanning for Laura.  No sign of her, but he did see people responding to the music.  It was a great feeling.  They finished the song and went into the next.  They had found their groove.

It was then that Cody looked up and saw Laura.  She was leaning up against a wood post in the back chatting with some other girls.  Her long blonde hair fell softly around her face.  She looked amazing.

The song ended.  Cody took a moment to address the crowd.  “How’s everybody doing tonight?”

The crowd yelled their approval.

“We’re Red Lawn and we’re glad you are staying up late with us!”  Cody paused and looked directly at Laura, “Our next song is called
All You Were
and I hope you like it.”

He saw Laura smile.

The band broke into his powerful song about love and loss.  Cody crooned,
“And all you were is all I was.”
  He was singing for Laura.  He only knew her name, but he also knew he wanted to know more.  He belted out the lyrics.  The crowd applauded and cheered like crazy at the end of their song, the end of their set.

“Thank you, goodnight!”

Red Lawn left the stage in ecstasy.  “Did you hear the crowd?”

“They loved us!”

The applause was like a drug, they all wanted more.

Cody wanted to get out to see Laura.  “I’ll be back.”

“Cody’s in love,” Alex chided.

“Can it.”

“Don’t stay out too late, Cody, we’re gonna go home soon,” Alex said.

“Maybe, you’re going home soon,” Harper chimed in, “but as far as I can see there’s a lot of single women out there who want to meet me.  I’m not going anywhere so fast.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Bobby agreed and followed Harper and Cody to the bar.

Alex shrugged his shoulders, if he couldn’t beat them, he’d join them.

Cody made his way to the back of the bar, to Laura.

“Hey,” he said, sidling up to her, “I’m so glad you came.”

“What?” she spoke loudly trying to hear him over the loud crowd.

“I said I’m glad you came tonight.”

She smiled and melted his heart.  “Me too.”

“Are you here alone?” he asked, hoping she was single.

“No, I came with my girlfriends.  That’s Holly,” she said pointing to a petite brunette who was in deep conversation with a fraternity guy.  “And that’s Marci over at the bar.”  She waved to her friend who was desperately trying to get the attention of the bartender.  Marci waved back then resumed her pursuit.  “You guys sounded great...again.”