Strung Tight (The Road To Rocktoberfest #1) - Ann Lister Page 0,79

in the food tents, and into the holding area before you perform.”

My heart was pounding with excitement as we stepped off the bus, and a four-man security team surrounded us. It was probably overkill on the security end of things, and I couldn’t speak for the other guys, but it made me feel like a total rock star. Walking around the venue’s grounds with my lanyard hanging around my neck like an Olympic gold medal and an entourage of badass looking guards didn’t get any cooler than this. I only wished Dallas was here to experience this with me.

We found the entrance to the stage area, but the pavilion crew was still finalizing the setup and a team of inspectors were waiting there to check out their work to make sure it was safe. We didn’t want to get in anyone’s way, so we took a walk through the building attached to the back of the stage. It was as tall as the warehouse and just as wide. The back of the building’s huge garage doors were fully open, and trailers were being moved inside to unload equipment. It was a beehive of commotion everywhere we looked as the roadies ran around getting things organized. Along each side of the loading area were hallways, so we took a walk in there and found a bunch of changing rooms, bathrooms with showers, a room with nothing but food and chairs to sit and eat, and another larger room that looked like it could be used for press conferences.

One of the guards pointed at his watch to signal it was time to get over to the interview tent. I followed my band brothers and the guards out of the building, and we headed over to the line of tents that housed the vendors. I continued to take photos with my phone, still in disbelief that this was my life. I just couldn’t imagine being here with a pass around my neck that was allowing me to perform on that monstrous stage and hang with the talent backstage.

“Hey guys,” I called out to my band and motioned for them to come stand beside me for a group selfie. I wanted to have images of every aspect of this event to remember and maybe make some kind of photo file to keep on my laptop.

While we continued over to the interview tent, I noticed the venue was filling up already with people who mostly looked like workers or band members milling about. I didn’t recognize anyone famous yet, but we’d been told the headlining acts wouldn’t be arriving until Friday, and they’d be pulling into the back lot throughout the day.

We arrived at the tent fifteen minutes before our interview and were able to watch Jupiter Rising finish up their talk with the radio host. They were another new band on the LA bar circuit like us, and we sometimes saw them around the city while playing gigs. They were a nice bunch of guys and friendly, too, so I hoped we could maybe hangout with them a bit after we finished here.

I probably should’ve been nervous about this interview, but I wasn’t all that concerned since I’d be with my band and there was no audience. Jupiter Rising thanked the female host and came out of the tent.

“Hey, we know you,” Colum, their lead singer said to our group. “You were the opening act for us at the Apex not long ago.”

“Nice to see you, Colum, and the Apex show was killer,” I said and stuck my hand out for him to shake.

“You remember, Trent, Slayer, and B. Angsty,” Colum said as he introduced his guys and everyone shook hands. “We heard you scored the coveted last time slot on the lineup for Friday’s show. We’re up right before you guys.”

“It’s cool we’ll be back to back,” I said.

Dagger had told us that piece of news during our last band meeting, but I didn’t know it held such merit. He hadn’t eluded to it being such a sweet spot in the lineup, and I didn’t think much about it at the time. I knew the headliners all fought over their time slots, but I wasn’t sure if the newbie bands did the same thing.

“Are you nervous?” Colum asked us.

“I’m excited right now, but come show time, I’ll be ready to shit my pants,” I said.

“It’s a rush to be here,” Mike added.

“We were here as spectators last year and were blown away by