quieted down a bit, Ash said, “He didn’t want us to make any speeches in his honor or anything, but this just needs to be said. The Players wouldn’t be standing here right now without you, brother.” He turned to me and did a deep bow as the audience went nuts, then handed me the mic.
I took the mic and looked out over the crowd as they whistled and applauded. When I looked out there, my future looked so goddamn bright, it almost blinded me.
I promised myself right there that if I made it through this night, I was going on tour with the Players. I was joining the band.
And I was going to marry Taylor.
I felt like I could do anything, with her by my side.
I could see her over at the side of the stage, watching. Listening. Cheering me on.
“Thank you,” I said, and the crowd noise swelled again. When things had quieted down enough that people could hear me again, I said, “I literally couldn’t be here right now without all of you. And everyone on this stage. Everyone backstage. And all the beautiful people sitting up there.” I pointed and dragged my finger along the big windows on the VIP room, up at the back, overlooking the club.
I glanced side stage and I could see Taylor, standing with the other girls. She blew me a kiss.
I looked down at the line of monitors in front of me, the black of the speakers helping me to concentrate.
“I’d say the most important part of my job as a music producer is knowing how a song should sound. Knowing who should play what part, what instrument, and how they should play it. And being able to communicate what I hear in my head to the musicians I’m collaborating with. So, I’ve taken this special song and tried to reimagine it for the musicians on this stage. We’ve been rehearsing it in secret and I think we have a pretty good lineup to play it for you.”
The crowd kept applauding, whistling. I knew I had them on the edge of their seats for whatever was about to come.
I turned to hold up a hand in each musician’s direction as I spoke. “We’ve got Xander Rush on drums. Matt Brohmer is on bass. And Ashley Player is putting down his guitar on this one to kill it on lead vocals. I’m gonna play lead guitar and do some backing vocals. And I want to welcome the members of Dirty, who’re helping us out.” More applause. More screams. “Jesse Mayes and Seth Brothers are gonna play some rhythm guitar for us. Zane Traynor is gonna play the shit out of his harmonica. And Dylan Cope is gonna absolutely slay this thing on maracas and the güiro. That’s this scraper instrument…” People laughed as Dylan scraped the güiro in his mic with focus.
I looked at Taylor again. I could see her clearly. Her hand went to her face, and I knew she knew what song it was. Wasn’t every day a güiro made an appearance at a rock concert.
“But maybe most important of all,” I said, “to pull this off right, we’ve got the absolutely stunning Elle Delacroix up here to grace us with some killer vocals. We’ve got some big shoes to fill on the vocal harmony here. Mick Jagger and Merry Clayton sang on the original track, and we’re gonna do our own thing tonight. Elle’s gonna blow you away. I hope you enjoy it.”
“You forgot Summer,” Ash said into his mic.
“Oh, shit,” I said, and people kinda laughed and whistled for Summer. “The beautiful Summer Sorensen is gonna play piano.”
Summer waved at the crowd.
“I didn’t forget you,” I told her. “I’m just nervous. And you’re so quiet back there.”
“No one’s ever accused me of being quiet,” she said, and the crowd laughed. “But this is your moment, sweetheart.”
The crowd exploded with noise again, for me. Then a hush spread through the room as I stood at the mic in silence. I took a deep breath. A few people started saying my name.
Cary… Cary… Cary…
It spread, growing into a chant that resounded through the room, then broke apart in applause and whistles and screams.
“I just have one more thing to say,” I said. “This night would not be possible for me without one special person who came into my life recently. When my best friend, Gabe, died…” The whole room quieted down to hear me, and I took another deep breath