Strung Tight (The Road To Rocktoberfest #1) - Ann Lister Page 0,44

another layer of guitars to the mix. I think the sound we have now is pretty decent. We can lay down some serious noise with our mixture of talent. It’s inspiring. Right around the time Potts joined the group, we decided to change the name to Chaos.”

“Potter, how was it for you to step into a band that had already been doing gigs when you joined?” Ryan asked.

“I was nervous as hell because Fletch is known for his masterful riffs, and he and I were going to be playing off of each other,” Potter explained. “I had to come in hot and play with everything I had in my tank to compete with his mad skills. It was daunting at first, but we soon fell into a groove where I can now sense where he’s going to take a musical phrase and complement it without thinking.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I slightly mumbled. “You’re making me sound like some kind of freakish guitar genius.”

“In regards to your skill level, I’m speaking the truth,” Potter proclaimed. “You’re crazy good, man. You know that.”

“I play like anyone else who has a lot of years under their belt,” I said.

“Moving on from the love-fest, boys,” Mike said and rolled his eyes for emphasis.

“What’s wrong with having respect for another musician’s playing ability?” Potter defended.

“We get it, you’re impressed,” Jeff harped. “Let’s allow Ryan to move on with his interview.”

“Jeez, someone’s a little overly sensitive.” Potter teased.

“Please ignore them, Ryan, and feel free to continue,” I suggested, and Ryan glanced down at his notes.

“What thoughts come to mind when you think about performing at Rocktoberfest?” Ryan questioned. Suddenly, we were all talking over each other again, and Ryan had to rein in our spiritedness. “How about we take that question, and you each answer one at a time. Jeff, you can go first. What comes to mind when I mention Rocktoberfest?”

“Excitement and a boatload of nerves,” Jeff admitted. “But mostly excitement.”

“Same,” Mike answered. “This is our first trip to the big leagues, and we want to leave our mark, for sure.”

“I agree,” I said. “Dagger has given us an incredible opportunity by mentoring us for the last few months, and we’ll do everything in our power to capitalize on his lessons. Chaos is gonna burn up the stage at Rocktoberfest and leave people wanting to hear more from us.”

“This is definitely a stepping-up point for our band,” Potter added. “We’ve put in the long hours of hard work and applied the lessons and techniques Dagger taught us, and now it’s time to prove ourselves worthy of playing in the big arenas. We know we earned our spot on that stage, same as the other newbie bands, but we still need to prove it to everyone else.”

“When we began working with Dagger, we weren’t playing cohesively,” I elaborated. “His biggest lesson was teaching us how to play together as a unified band. I probably had the most trouble with that because I’m a high energy player. I rip into a song in a way that I can easily shred it, and that kind of power isn’t always necessary. I had to learn how to harness my energy.”

“What he’s trying to say is he overplays a lot,” Mike offered.

“That’s exactly what I said,” I corrected him in a hushed tone. “I figured out a way to underplay for these lame asses, and the new formula works like a charm.”

“Suck it, Fletch,” Jeff admonished.

“Who are you calling a lame ass?” Potter protested.

“You better sleep with one eye open,” Mike threatened. “I can easily get into your room since you sleep across the hall from me.”

We all broke into laughter, but my pulse quickened at Mike’s mention of him getting into my room. It brought to mind him coming home while Dallas was still with me in bed and the noises he might have heard us making behind that closed door. Thank god I’d locked it. I’d hate to think he might have walked in and seen what Dallas was doing to me.

I might be comfortable being with Dallas in a sexual way, but I had no idea how someone like Mike, who’d known me for almost all my life, would react to finding out I liked another dude. Maybe he’d be cool. Maybe he’d have a problem with it. I honestly didn’t know what to expect from him, but I knew it was a conversation we’d need to have soon. Frankly, I was surprised that he never mentioned anything