Highway Song: A Smokey's Roadhouse Novel (28 page)

Amy
 

R
ex gave the best performances I
’
d ever seen while we were in San Francisco. Because he outdid himself, I did my best to do the same. The response we got led me to believe it was working, too. If this was what we were in for when we started touring, I could get used to it.

No indication of trouble had cropped up, and I was beginning to hope I
’
d been paranoid for nothing all these years. For the first time since I
’
d run from my captors four years ago, I questioned whether what I
’
d felt as a threat was real. Not only was I in a city, where cartel members were nearby, but I was also visible, onstage with the rest of the band.

Granted, my appearance had changed in four years. I
’
d put on some weight, even though Rex still pushed food on me, saying I was too thin. The main thing I noticed when I looked in the mirror was I looked happy. It wasn
’
t just Rex. It was being part of something positive and good. I enjoyed my growing friendships with the guys. I looked forward to nights of passion with Rex. And the work was the least stressful of anything I
’
d ever done in my life. It was more like a constant party.

Of course, I couldn
’
t drink a lot with the guys, and definitely couldn
’
t indulge in recreational drugs. I hadn
’
t shown any symptoms of my addictive behavior when it came to alcohol, but drugs of any kind were out. And they
’
d told me during rehab that I should watch out for alcohol, since my father was clearly an alcoholic. It didn
’
t matter, though. I had as much fun as the guys did without the crutch. I noticed Rex didn
’
t really drink much, either, though he usually had something with the others. He just didn
’
t put it away as fast. It made me wonder if he had a reason from his past, too.

For now, I
’
d put away my concern over eventually telling him the truth about who I was. In fact, I
’
d buried it deeply and didn
’
t even think about it anymore, except in the middle of the night when dreams woke me. I still had nightmares, and they were still the same. But I had Rex now. Whenever I
’
d begin to thrash around in the bed, he
’
d put his arms around me and chase away the dreams, along with the memories that triggered them.

As our time in San Francisco came to a close on Saturday night, we boarded the bus again for the first time since arriving on Friday morning. Joe would drive through the night and deliver us to a hotel tomorrow morning, and then bid us goodbye to return to his home base. On Monday, new lives awaited us.

Sunday brought us to the unmistakable smell of Los Angeles. The ever-present smog dimmed my spirits as we approached and could see it hanging, evil and yellow, over the city. Except for getting used to the caustic feel of it in our lungs, it didn
’
t really affect us once we were inside it. The sun still shined, and the city still held an air of excitement, as if everyone were holding their breath, waiting for our arrival. My cynicism even took a break as we arrived at the hotel where the label had arranged to put us up until we could make our own housing choices.

It wasn
’
t a five-star hotel, of course. We were unknowns. But even a three-star hotel in a national chain felt like luxury accommodations after what we were used to. Rex and I had been given separate rooms, but he managed to switch us to a larger room together. After checking in, we parted company with the others for the night. We would meet in the morning for the label
’
s van to take us to their offices, where paperwork and orientation awaited us.

TWENTY

Rex

I
’
d tried to prepare Amy, but the reality of the next day was overwhelming even when I knew something of what to expect. Perseid, our new label, was a small cog in a much larger label
’
s enterprise, which I hadn
’
t known. It was impossible to keep up with all the imprints, and Perseid was a relative newcomer, the big company
’
s nod to indie musicians. All of their artists, and there were only a few as yet, had been selected in the same way we had, by popular vote in a Battle of the Bands-type competition. Nevertheless, we got the same treatment as the artists on the older, more established labels.

That meant meeting with what seemed like an endless line of department liaisons, beginning with the legal department. That
’
s where we met our first bottleneck, because we hadn
’
t thought to retain an attorney to look over the contract with us.

“
Look, guys. This is a boilerplate contract. There
’
s nothing in here that all our artists don
’
t sign. We
’
ve got a long day lined up for you, and none of it can happen without your signatures on these papers.
”
The company lawyer was visibly trying to control his impatience, but I couldn
’
t sign without some advice from someone on our side. I told him everyone would need to sign their own contract, because we hadn
’
t formed a legal entity as the band.

It was my Oklahoma DBA that gave me status as a business. I paid the taxes on a self-employment form, after I paid the others as employees. In terms of how I spent the money it worked more like a commune. That needed to change with this change in our circumstances.

“
Look, you can
’
t object to us reading the contract before we sign it. I
’
ll see what I can do to get a lawyer here who knows the ropes. While we read what we
’
re signing, maybe he
’
ll have time to get here.
”

To borrow a football phrase I hadn
’
t used since my high school days, it was a Hail Mary. I didn
’
t even know a lawyer, much less expect one to come running. I went out into the hall and looked in any office with an open door to try to find a computer with a sympathetic operator who
’
d let me use it to find a lawyer. What I found instead was an old friend.

“
Danny! What
’
s up?
”
I hadn
’
t seen him in a couple of years, when we
’
d taken separate paths in our careers. He
’
d stayed in Nashville, solo, and I
’
d taken my band on tour after failing to make any headway there.
“
Did you make it to the Grand Ole Opry?
”

He laughed.
“
Not yet. Got hungry and got a new band together. We
’
ve been following you around, to tell you the truth. I hear good things whenever we
’
ve played where you
’
ve been.
”

“
And yet, you seem to have beaten me here. Tell me about it.
”

“
Same way you got here, I expect. Did a Battle of the Bands in Salt Lake City a couple of months ago, and here we are.
”
He flashed a set of extra-white teeth at me. I remembered when we played around Oklahoma City, he usually went home with the most groupies in tow.

“
Salt Lake City. Man, don
’
t mention that town to me. Had a run of bad luck. If I ever land there, they
’
ll probably chase me out.
”
Thinking about the phone call to tell the club there we wouldn
’
t make it almost broke me out in a sweat again. But I didn
’
t have time to waste.

“
Listen, Danny, we
’
re in a bind. Didn
’
t think about a lawyer. You have one?
”

“
Oh, sure. Gotta have representation, dude. What were you thinking?
”
He fixed me with an incredulous stare, making me feel like an idiot.

“
Remember that run of bad luck? Well, it was a little distracting. Would your guy come down here right now and take us on? Can you recommend him?
”

“
I don
’
t know about right now, but I
’
ll be glad to call him. He took care of us, as far as I know. Whether he
’
d consider it a conflict of interest, since we
’
re with the same label, I don
’
t know.
”
He pulled his cell phone out of its holster on his belt and started looking through his contacts.

“
Well, I
’
d appreciate it. Otherwise, we
’
re gonna have to sign without benefit of counsel, or walk away.
”

“
No problem. Oh, here it is. Give me a second.
”

In a stroke of luck that probably used up a year
’
s worth, Jeremy Taylor, Esq. was free, willing, and close by. He arrived twenty minutes later to tell us the contracts were boilerplate and the best we
’
d do under the circumstances. He presented us with a bill for $500 and walked out. There was no help for it. If we wanted to move forward, we
’
d sign the paperwork, and so we did.

We were already behind schedule, so our meeting with the business affairs department was quick. They handed us tax forms and sent us on our way with the admonition that if we didn
’
t bring them back the next day, we couldn
’
t be paid. Amy turned white when she saw them, and I wanted to ask if she was okay, but we were already being greeted by the A&R department. Once I figured out what they did, I wondered why they hadn
’
t been first. I guess their role as liaison with Business Affairs was just for the accounting for the recording.

After a brief lunch, we were informed that we
’
d be on the label
’
s payroll only until the record had
‘
earned out
’
and begun paying us royalties. After that, we could renegotiate our contract to change the business relationship if we wanted to. It was the first I understood we
’
d be earning a legitimate salary as part of our advance. That was good news in a way. On the other hand, it left Mark with no role. He took it in stride.

“
No, I
’
m happy for you guys. I
’
ll be okay. Don
’
t worry about me.
”
He left before the next meeting, saying he
’
d better start looking for a new band to manage. I was sick at heart. We never meant to cut him loose like that, and I probably should have done more research before we accepted the prize. Now we were here, we couldn
’
t do much about it.

Before he got out of earshot, I yelled,
“
Hey, Mark!
”
He turned around.
“
My room tonight around seven. We
’
ll take you to dinner.
”
He waved and continued on his way. The money from the initial advance payment should have cleared the bank by now. With the other guys
’
agreement, I planned to give him a decent severance check.