still be trying to hack it with posting crappy covers of songs that don’t suit me.
Now I have a wife and a career that I love, and I couldn’t be happier.
“Brendan said sales are going well.”
I nod, popping a few cashews into my mouth. “They are. My fan base is relatively small, but they’re active.”
“That’s the way to do it,” he says, as though he knows anything about building a small, loyal fan base and growing a career the way I’m doing it. But I bite back my laughter. He’s being supportive. And he’s offered me a spot opening for him on his next round of touring.
“Have you thought about my offer?” he asks, as though reading my mind.
I don’t hold back my laughter this time, and he gives me a quizzical look, not understanding.
Shaking my head, I wave him off. “Not yet. I’m still thinking about it and weighing my options.”
It’s his turn to snort with amusement. “Oh yeah? You have other big acts offering you spots on their tours?”
I roll my eyes. Because that’s such a Jonathan thing to say. “No, dick, I don’t.” I cut my eyes to him and then back to Alexis. “But that’s not the only consideration.”
He nods in understanding. “Yeah. It’s hard to be away. I get it.”
“Besides,” I shoot back. “Do you really want to tour with me again so soon? I thought you’d be glad to get rid of me.”
He reaches over and shoves my shoulder. “I figured you might not be so insufferable if you were performing and not managing my schedule.”
I shove him back, and we both laugh. I sip my champagne as our laughter settles and look directly at my oldest brother. “Seriously, though, I do appreciate the offer.” It’s a big opportunity. I know it as well as he does. But Alexis won’t be able to go with me, because she’s in the middle of recording her next album and planning her own tour.
I’m hoping to get a slot with her, if I’m honest. And she’s already said she’s working on making that happen. The marketing team still hasn’t decided if they’re going to release our duet as a lead single. If they do, then having me along for the tour would make a lot of sense. If not …
Well, I might just go with her and schedule my own shows along the same route. I’ll make it work, one way or another.
But if I go with Jonathan …
I’d be able to grow my audience exponentially. He’s hinted at reviving some Brash songs and we’d just use a different drummer since Brendan doesn’t want to perform anymore. It’d be fun, but …
But I’d miss Alexis too much.
And that’s enough to have me leaning toward no, even if I’m not ready to give Jonathan a definitive answer.
“My agent’s been telling me to give you her card,” he surprises me by saying. “I told her you were pretty committed to the indie thing, but she seems to think she can sway you to seeing her side of things.”
My eyebrows jump up my forehead, and I look at my brother again. He reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket and slides a card to me across the table. I pick up the heavy weight, luxury card stock emblazoned with his agent’s name and logo and slide it into my pocket.
He’s right that I’ve mostly ignored the smaller labels that have reached out with offers. I’m not sure they could offer me much I don’t already have. Brendan’s basically said he’ll produce anything I want to put out and says he’ll start taking a cut when I start grossing five grand a month. Honestly, part of me is toying with the idea of pitching a record label to my brothers at some point in the future. Brendan producing and Jonathan and I recruiting and marketing, respectively.
But that’s a distant dream, right now. I’m still working on my own marketing. And I’m happy with the way things are, even if I do have a few decisions to make. I’ll add this one on the pile.
“Just give her a call,” he says as though he has no real opinion either way on what I decide to do. “If for no other reason than to let her know I passed on her info.”
I chuckle. “She’s been bugging you about it for a while, huh?”
He nods, then claps me on the shoulder and stands. “This was great, Colt. I’m glad you did the whole