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“They’re an institution. They’re not going anywhere, and neither are their fans. It doesn’t matter how many other bands crop up. Full Moon will always be near the top of the food chain.”
“I hate to say it, bro, but I don’t think so,” he muses, tilting his head to one side as he looks back at me. “They’re still popular, but they’re getting older. I think they’ll always be legends, but I also think this is going to be one of their last big international tours. They might have two or three more in them, but they’re already looking forward to scaling back. They’ve earned it too.”
“Shit.” I breathe, shock radiating through my entire system. “You really think they’re close to retiring?”
Maxim jerks and shakes his head. “No. I didn’t say anything about retirement, just scaling down on the travel and the frequency of their shows. They’re still selling out stadiums now, but what happens when they only manage to fill them to half capacity? It’d kill them, man. Better to just start taking it easy when fans start saving their money for tickets to other acts.”
Practically feeling the blood drain from my cheeks, that familiar itch to get out starts spreading through me. “Do you think that’s going to start happening soon?”
He shrugs. “Within the next five or so years is my best guess. They’ve been at this an insanely long time. It’s a miracle they’re still doing as well as they are. Why do you suddenly look like you’ve seen a ghost and it’s about to chase you?”
My head shakes without my brain giving it the command to do so. “I’m just surprised is all. When you think about an act like Full Moon, you kind of just think of them as immortal. I didn’t know they were thinking about slowing down.”
“As I said, I don’t think they’ll do it anytime soon, but eventually, sure. Everyone has to slow down eventually, even rock legends. Look at all the others, the big guys who now only tour about once a decade if at all. There comes a time when it’s better to bow out gracefully, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Despite his assurances that it won’t happen anytime soon, I’ve never thought about what comes next. I suppose he’s right about it having to happen sometime, but fuck… “What will you do when you’re not managing them anymore?”
A frown knits his eyebrows together when he turns to me. “I’ll always manage them. For as long as they need a manager anyway. I’ve been thinking about starting my own management company when we get back, though. I think it’s the right, logical next move for me. Dad and the guys will always be my number one priority, but I think it could be great to discover new acts and help them thrive too.”
“A management company?” I repeat hollowly. “How did I not know you were considering that?”
“It’s a new idea. Emma and I have been talking about the future, and I don’t only have to manage one band. Once the tour is done, they’ll probably lie low for a few months anyway. It’ll give me enough time to get a business up and running. Even when they crawl out of their holes and back onto the scene, it’ll be at least another couple years before they tour internationally again. By the time that happens, I hope to have people working for me who can help with my other acts while I do the tour.”
“You’ve given this a lot of thought,” I say after pausing for a minute. My brain feels like it’s exploding with all this new information, and the itch is getting so much more intense. “That sounds like a good plan, though. You’re a great manager, and you were literally born into the industry. You’ll do well.”
He holds my gaze, and it’s like I can see the wheels of confusion turning in his brain. “The words you’re saying don’t match your tone or your face. What’s up?”
“Nothing. I just…” My phone vibrates to remind me of all the new notifications when I shift in my seat as I trail off. Desperate for any excuse to stop talking about this, I dig it out. “Look, man, I’m just surprised. It’s going to take me five fucking minutes to wrap my head around it is all. Do you still want to see the messages? I’m going to reply to a few now.”
Still frowning, he nods and moves his chair beside mine. We’re working in my room so Emma can write in theirs without us bothering her every two minutes, and while having Maxim in my space is familiar, it also means I can’t escape him until he’s ready to leave.
As I unlock my phone, he turns to me. “You can always start the company with me if you want. We’ll do it together. You could be on the marketing side, possibly helping me find acts and then promoting them once we do. You don’t have to give me an answer right now, but think about it. It could work.”
“Is that a pity offer?”
“No.” He narrows his eyes, sweeping them across my face, but I keep mine firmly fixed on my phone. “It could really work, Vince. I’d need to find someone who’s good at all the stuff you’re good at anyway. There’s no way I’d be able to do any of that because I just don’t have a feel for it. You’d be perfect, and I’d much rather work with you than anyone else.”
“I’ll think about it,” I mutter as I open my messages, scrolling through them and tapping out replies to the ones that are easy and fast to answer. One name catches my eye, and I sigh when I see there are six new messages from this person.
@FMVR has been messaging me for months. I think it’s a guy, but I just don’t know for sure. They refuse to tell me, and while I’ve assumed the “FM” in their handle stands for Full Moon, I’m also not sure about the rest. “V” could be for Vincent, but since I’m not part of Full Moon, that just doesn’t make much sense.
The latest message is the one my phone chimed with a few minutes ago it seems. Most of the time my phone goes off these days, it’s a message from this person. It looks like they’re starting to get tired of me not responding, though.
@FMVR:Why are you ignoring me, Vincent? I can help you.
Maxim arches an eyebrow when he looks up at me. “What the fuck is that all about? What do you need help with?”
I shrug. “No idea. This guy, or girl, is like that, though. They’re always talking like they know me. I think it’s just a superfan, but I don’t know who of.”
“Have you told Mike about it?” He leans over and reads a few more of the messages that are visible on the thread. “This seems like something he should know about.”
“Why?” I snort, tapping the button on the side of my phone to lock my screen. “It’s not a big deal. He or she hasn’t said or done anything to justify me running to security.”
Based on the way he eyes me, he clearly doesn’t agree. “At least mention it to Olivia. You guys have been hanging out, right? Tell her about the person the next time you hang out and see what she suggests. If she doesn’t think it’s anything to worry about, then you’ll know, and if she is worried about it, then she can bring it up to Mike.”
“I’m not telling her shit,” I retort. “That girl has become the bane of my existence. She’s fucking everywhere all of a sudden. On our first night back in London, she came out with us, and now we can’t seem to get rid of her.”
“It can’t be that bad,” he says on a chuckle, raking his hand through his hair as his expression lightens and he sits up. “She’s nice, and you haven’t gone out since then as far as I know, so she can’t be around that much.”
