Strung Tight (The Road To Rocktoberfest #1) - Ann Lister Page 0,80

the whole three-day production,” Trent said to everyone.

“Kick some serious ass out there because there’ll be several reps from different record labels here on Friday to listen to the unsigned talent,” Colum stated. “Maybe both of our bands will get lucky and get a contract out of this gig.”

“Hell yeah!” Mike cheered and fist-bumped with Trent.

“If you’re around later, let’s all hang out and have a beer to celebrate being here,” I suggested.

“That sounds perfect,” Colum said and we shook hands again before we ducked into the tent for our interview.

We took the seats just vacated by Jupiter Rising, and the radio host adjusted the microphones on a table in front of us. Bottles of water and granola bars were also on the table.

“My name is Addy, which is short for Addison, but please don’t call me that,” the excited DJ said. “We’re just going to do a quick ten- to fifteen-minute segment. You saw what Jupiter Rising did, and I’ll be doing the same format with you. I’ll ask you simple questions and you can elaborate as much as you want. All of this will be edited, so if you drop an F-bomb, don’t worry about it. Do you have any questions before we get started?”

And we were off and running with our first official Rocktoberfest obligation underway. Addy was right, the questions she asked were pretty vanilla with no surprises, and we were done in just over ten minutes. We thanked her for her time and burst out of the tent ready to leave our mark all over this compound.

Mike wanted food so we walked inside the building again and hit the room with the buffet tables set up for the bands and crew members. I couldn’t believe how organized this event was, but considering it had been going on for years, I guessed they’d long since worked out the bugs of this mammoth production and figured what worked and what didn’t. Having free food and water available to us while the event was going on was a huge bonus for starving artists like ourselves.

This day had already been amazing, even with the letdown of Dallas being a no-show when we left LA, and we still had four more days to look forward to. I wanted to pinch myself because I was pretty sure this was some kind of fantastical dream that I didn’t want to wake up from any time soon.

Chapter Twenty-Five

We partied after dinner with a bunch of the other new bands in a common area behind the main building of the venue. A bonfire burned in the center of a dirt pit, and dozens of people stood around with a beer in hand or something a little more substantial. I smelled the weed blowing through the air and smiled. The camaraderie between everyone felt so good like we all belonged to a much bigger force or something. We laughed, shared our stories about the gigs we’d done, and we made friends with other musicians that I knew we’d keep in touch with long after we left the pavilion.

At one point, I’d seen Mike flirting with the lead singer of a band called Snake Charmer. It was something I might not have noticed before I knew he was bisexual. I watched them toying with each other like a well-played chess game. I was willing to bet at some point this weekend Mike would be hooking up with this guy. I thought his name was Deuce but wasn’t sure. He was about Mike’s height and loaded with lean muscles and a mop of wavy brown hair. Definitely good-looking with a killer smile, but I thought Dallas was far more attractive than this dude.

The night was slipping by, and I had to admit that I was spending too much time checking my phone for a call or text from Dallas. I needed to get over that. I’d have plenty of time to deal with whatever was going on with him after we returned to Los Angeles. Until then, I needed to live in these moments laid out for me right now in this Nevada desert and enjoy every last minute.

I reflectively watched my guys partying with various people from other bands. Although they were all drinking, everyone behaved themselves, and for that I was grateful. We were here this weekend as professionals but networking was equally as necessary, and there was no way we couldn’t be expected to partake in the kind of fun that happens at events