Madelynne Ellis - Come Together

‘It was a good set of venues we had booked.’

‘Dives. You’re too good for them, son. Your lyricist writes dire teenaged drivel. He has no concept of what real agony feels like.’

‘Actually, Lykke’s started writing most of the lyrics now.’

‘Aren’t you being a little harsh?’ Dani remarked, annoyed to see Luthor gritting his teeth. He hung his head forward, so that his long hair masked his expression.

‘Sometimes the truth is harsh,’ Ulf insisted. ‘It hurts to hear it, but we all need someone to be brave enough to tell us when we sound shit. You’ve talent enough to make it big, but not with that outfit. This Fear or whatever it is you’re called.’

‘Denna Rädsla,’ Luthor corrected him.

‘That’s what I said.’

They stared grimly at one another. ‘So, when are you going to tell your precious darlings that they sound shit?’ Luthor asked. ‘Or aren’t you man enough for that?’ He rose to his feet.

‘When it’s the right moment. Which it isn’t yet.’

‘What?’ Dani jumped out of her chair. Her gaze danced expectantly between the two men, seeking clarification. ‘Do you mean Black Halo? They’re not awful.’ A horrid thought struck her. ‘Is something wrong with Xane’s voice? He’s not ill, is he?’ Maybe that’s why they were keeping her away from him.

Ulf sucked his front teeth. ‘He’s fine, or as fine as you’d expect given that the man he was screwing has just died.’

‘I know that, but something prompted that remark.’ She looked to Luthor for an answer, since it had been his comment. She was terrified by the thought that Black Halo might be about to split again.

Luthor flicked a glance at Ulf, who showed no sign of explaining further. ‘They need a live drummer. Using old recordings of Steve Matlock playing doesn’t work. It sounds shit.’

‘But Steve … this is about honouring and remembering him. How can they replace him?’ Not taking on a new drummer was the one thing Xane had said they’d all agreed on.

‘They might not want to, but they need to. Otherwise, they’re going to get the worst slating of their careers from the fans and music press.’

Ulf shook his head. ‘It won’t come to that. Xane will realise it himself as soon as the soundcheck starts. They all will.’

‘But doesn’t the actual gig start in just over two hours?’ Dani shot them both a look of disbelief. Even if, as Ulf claimed, the band realised their mistake, where were they supposed to produce a drummer from at such short notice? Then she looked at Luthor again and everything dropped into place. Ulf hadn’t employed him to crew for the band, he meant him to drum for them. ‘Wow!’ She sank back into her seat. She ought to have twigged that sooner. He had drummer’s arms, after all, though his haircut was more emo than most of the lead guitarists out there. ‘So you’re going to step in and save the day?’

‘Not exactly. I’ll offer my services, yes.’

‘You know that Xane and Steve were really close?’ Far closer than she liked to admit. She’d watched Xane during one outpouring of grief cover the walls of a hotel room in lyrics about the guy. She knew they’d been lovers – a fact that inspired nightmarish fears. Xane was completely at ease with his sexuality, but she was only gradually coming to terms with it. There was a lot of baggage in her past she needed to work through. ‘Actually, I don’t know that Xane’s ready to take on someone new.’ She could only guess about the rest of the band, but presumably Elspeth would throw up objections too.

‘And that is exactly why I haven’t said anything yet.’ Ulf raised his bushy brows and gave her a tight-lipped smile. ‘Give it half an hour. I guarantee, they’ll be begging me to find them a drummer, and, because I’m prepared, I have one all lined up.’

The sound of Spook’s rhythm parts being played repetitiously greeted Xane as he and Rock Giant entered the auditorium. It served to drag his attention away from the band’s relationship politics and back to where he needed it to be, on the music. They could deal with the travel arrangements later. First they had a soundcheck and the gig to get through, and even though he’d done it a thousand times before, there was still a flutter of self-doubt in his stomach when he first walked onto the stage.

The rest of the band were already positioned on their X-marked spots. Ash joined the sound of his lead guitar to Spook’s as Xane headed to his mic. They were running through the lead and rhythm parts of their newest addition to the set, ‘Taken’, one of the songs Xane had written about Steve. Tonight would be their first live performance of the track, and the plan was to record it, so they needed to nail it or risk delaying the release until they could arrange another live recording or book some studio time.

Having exchanged nods with both guitarists and already bashed heads with bassist Rock Giant, Xane turned his attention to Elspeth. Their relationship remained particularly fraught. Throughout the tour planning, they’d exchanged only basic civilities. However, mindful of Rock Giant’s warning shots in the corridor, Xane battened down his feelings and offered her something like a friendly smile. If this was the price of buying Dani’s place on the tour bus, without a load of aggro, then he guessed he’d do it. ‘How are you doing?’

Seriously not well, if her appearance was anything to go on. Elspeth had always cultivated a wan, faded beauty, but she looked like a glass about to shatter. The change to her hair, while dramatic, certainly hadn’t helped, for it drained her of what little colour she did possess. Once blonde, after the funeral she’d dyed her hair black, complete with a Lily Munster white streak.

Instead of responding to Xane’s gesture, her gaze remained fixed upon the empty space where Steve ought to have been. His drumkit was all set up, but they’d be relying on old recordings rather than a live drummer to make up for his absence. At least, that was supposed to be the plan.

‘What the fuck?’ he growled, noticing the guy behind the drumkit looking perky and ready for action. The nearby microphone unfortunately picked up his voice and amplified it to an ear-splitting level. It got everyone’s attention.

Ash’s footsteps sounded like a stampede as he moved to intercept Xane before he dragged the guy out from behind the drums.

‘Xane. Can we talk?’ Ash wrapped himself like a straitjacket around Xane’s torso.

‘In a minute, when he’s got the fuck away from Steve’s drums.’

‘Now,’ Ash insisted, manhandling him sideways into the wings, away from the microphones. ‘There’s no point in getting all Robocop on his arse, when I’m the one responsible. Yell at me about it.’

‘Get the fuck off me.’ Xane shook off Ash’s hold. ‘What the hell are you playing at? Who is he? Why is he here?’

‘I’m making sure we don’t sound like shit. It’s a lovely idea, Xane, us all pretending Steve’s still here, but you know what? He isn’t, and the backing track seriously doesn’t cut it. We’ll be laughed off if we use it.’

‘If that were the case, Ulf would have said so.’ Their chief sound technician was a straight-talking, gruff old bastard who’d worked with them on their last four tours, and was responsible for such gems of wisdom as ‘You’ll be cutting off your collective bollocks if you sing that soppy crap.’ He never minced words.

‘The crew haven’t said anything because they’re all scared they’re going to end up out of work. When you broke us up a few weeks back, they’re the ones it hit hardest. We all might have money enough to pay the bills, but most of the crew are living from paycheck to paycheck.’