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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
We barely had any time to talk with the other opening band when the A&R scouts arrived. Green Day was bound to arrive at any moment, but talking with those who represented actual recording labels was more exciting than meeting the famous band that had inspired me so long.
Two scouts came down the stairs after Leah retrieved them from upstairs, and they hugged both Leah and Jeff like they were the best of friends.
The first scout was a very tall, pale man with striking black hair braided down his back. He wore all black, almost as if to match his hair, and he clutched a tablet in one hand. The other scout was a Black woman who was on the shorter side, but she stood tall next to the man with her chin lifted and shoulders squared. Thick box braids sat on top of her head and had been pinned up and secured in a way which made me think of a crown.
Leah casually led the other band to their dressing room so that the scouts could talk to us. Once she was gone, the two approached us with Jeff at their side.
It was the woman who spoke first. “April Renegade in the flesh,” she beamed. She held out her hand and we took turns shaking it. I could feel Sean’s excitement vibrating off him from where he stood next to me. “I’m Laura Rose. I represent Tidal Wave Records.”
My breath caught in my throat. Tidal Wave Records had become quite well-known in the last couple of years. They took an interest in everything to do with rock and all the many sub-genres within it. I wasn’t aware of who they’d signed recently, but I’d read an article about them and their CEO inRolling Stoneonly a couple of months back.
“I am super stoked about the show. I’ve been watching some of the videos you posted on your channels.” Laura grinned and dipped her chin, then took a step back and allowed the other A&R rep to introduce himself.
Though the contrast between his hair and skin was a little off-putting, he smiled a boyish smile as he shook our hands, and I felt nothing but warmth radiate from him. Tattoos peeked out from underneath his t-shirt, and he smelled faintly of smoke.
“I’m very happy to be meeting you all. I have a feeling we might owe Jeff a favor after tonight.” He winked at Jeff and my stomach jolted. Did that mean he was already thinking of signing us?
After he shook our hands, he crossed his arms casually, making sure he had a good grip on his tablet as he did so. “I’m Pete, and I’m here on behalf of Peter P.B.G. Records.”
Drew’s jaw dropped, as did Brian’s, and then Sean’s, as we all figured out that the “P” in Pete must also stand for Peter Browning Gould Records. He seemed too young, but if it was him, he held a lot of power in the music industry and had signed many,manyextremely talented artists.
Pete’s eyes shone with amusement at our faces. “Yes, I’m Peter, but my father is the one who started the label, not me. I’m Peter Browning Gould Junior. Pete.”He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.
“He’s still with the company, but taking less on now that he’s nearing his retirement, and I decided it would be cool to keep the business in the family as much as possible.” He grinned and looked us over. “We’ve had our eyes on you since the beginning. Your first show was in D.C., at The Madder Hatter, right?” He asked it like it was a question, but I had a feeling he already knew.
“Uh, yeah. That’s right,” Drew said.
Pete nodded. “My girlfriend just so happened to be at that show and showed me some of the footage she took.”
Well, that was insanely lucky. We all gaped at Pete, then back at Laura. We were all at a loss for words.
The doorbell rang, and it made me jump. Jeff held up a finger and bounded up the stairs. We made small talk with Laura and Pete as best we could while we waited for Jeff to come back. Laughter and shuffling footsteps sounded from the top level of the building, and a moment later, Jeff came back downstairs with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Trailing behind him was Green Day.
The night becamea blur after Green Day arrived. We were introduced to Green Day alongside the opening band and chatted for a bit before they left to get settled in their dressing room. Meanwhile, the first band got situated on the stage. During the surrounding chaos, we sat at the bar with Pete and Laura and answered some of their questions. After a little while, we got over the initial shock of who they worked for, and we transformed from nervous young men to self-confident, passionate musicians.
I sipped on warm lemon water thanks to Leah and watched everything as though it happened in slow-mo: the first band performed their stage tests, Billie Joe Armstrong came out front with the rest of Green Day and helped them set up—I took in the sound crew dancing around the venue in a wild flutter of pre-show excitement, and noticed the way Leah and Jeff treated their staff with the utmost kindness as each bartender, server, and security guard arrived for the night.
We made our way backstage once the first people trickled in. The candles lit up the space in a dreamy way that made me want to sit amongst the audience, but it was getting crowded, and I had vocal warm-ups to do. I wondered if once we were backstage, I’d be able to sneak in a good luck kiss from Drew.
There was something about Drew at The Antidote. I knew he was as nervous as the rest of us with the prospective labels here, but despite that, he glowed. His hair was a bit shorter than he usually wore it; his curls were tamer than I liked, but the way they poked out around his face from beneath his deep green beanie brought out all the perfect, angular features of his face. He’d bulked up a little in the past few months, and his gray V-neck was snug against his tanned summer skin. Every time I looked at him, he was beaming, laughing, tapping his drumsticks on whatever surface was available, or sneaking looks right back at me.
Sean and Brian looked sharper than ever, too. Sean had his red hair tied back and wore a button-down shirt, probably for the first time in years. Brian wore his signature black vest with various, colorful patches sewn into it over a simple white tee and paired the look with black jeans which had several chains hanging from the belt loops.
The opening band went on right as Drew’s parents, Emma, Emma’s friend, Sean’s mom, and Brian’s parents arrived.
“Mom and Dad say break a leg,” Drew read off the text from his phone with a growing smile. “Mom has discovered emojis.” He rolled his eyes, and I bit my tongue to keep from howling with laughter.
“Let me guess—she sent a ton of hearts?” Sean asked with a cocked brow.
Drew groaned and nodded, but glanced at the screen with nothing but admiration in his eyes.
Sean stretched and then hopped up from the couch. “I’m gonna take this opportunity to take a quick smoke break.”
Brian followed Sean to an outside area that was reserved for band members and staff. When I’d gone out there earlier for some air, I found the space too claustrophobic for my liking. There was a single, rusted-over table and two chairs pressed up against a slanted chain link fence. No, thanks.
After they left, I peeked over at Drew’s phone from where we sat with our arms pressed against each other on the loveseat and grinned at the colorful heart emojis his mom sent. As I looked down, Drew opened a blank text on his phone, typed something, then handed it to me. We were all alone, but it was incredibly sexy that he wanted to type something for my eyes only.
