A Joyride to Remember, chapter 3
The long-awaited day had finally come, and Caitlin, Caitlyn and I couldn't stop talking as we drove to the concert. We were all wearing Green Day shirts, and had "Green Day are Gods" colored onto our foreheads. Our cheeks wore the Warning logo and heart grenade, colored on with markers to the best of our abilities. We looked like geeks, but we didn't care. We were being ourselves, and that's all that mattered.
We walked into the crowded building and showed security our tickets.
"Have fun!" the security guard said cheerfully as she scanned our tickets.
"Believe me, we will!" I replied, a huge grin spread across my face as we dashed through the crowds to as close as we could get to the front of the mosh pit. We didn't even stop for drinks and popcorn, we were too damned excited! We looked up at the stage, all grinning and squirming madly as the warm-up band finished their performance. We never came to watch the first band, since we would probably explode with excitement half way through their performance. As the lights went on, signaling the end of the warm-up band's act, we all exchanged eager glances for the performance to come. I had never once gone to a Green Day concert that didn't make me shake with enthusiasm, and this was no exception. Standing there waiting was killing me, and my attempts to stay calm only resulted with me shaking as if I was having a seizure. Yes, you may say we were overly excited. But come on: THIS WAS GREEN DAY!!!
As the lights dimmed, and the crowd began to roar, Caitlin, Caitlyn and I all began jumping up and down uncontrollably, screaming at the top of our lungs as we prepared for the thrill of our lives; well, at least, the biggest thrill we've had since the last Green Day concert.
"I SAID HAAAAYYY-OOOH!" a booming loud voice shouted through the stadium, causing the three of us to go wild.
"I SAID HAAAAYYY-AIIIII!" the voice boomed, and out ran Billie Joe from the left side of the stage. Behind him ran Mike, who took his place at the right of the stage, and behind him Tré, who leaped up on the drum's stage and stood behind them proudly. I screamed with delight at the sight of Tré once again, noticing that Caitlin and Caitlyn were going equally insane at the sight of Billie.
"WHO'S READY TO MAKE SOME NOISE!?" Billie yelled into the microphone, and started off the concert with the legendary beginning chords to "American Idiot". This was what I had been wanting to see since the moment I had left the building at the last Green Day concert. My heart leaped with joy as Tré started his part of the song, his extraordinary drumming, and I cheered as the song was born.
This is going to be the best concert yet... I thought as American Idiot stopped, leaving the crowd to cheer their hearts out. After a quick break to catch his breath, Billie continued, mic in hand.
"So, are all you people here tonight looking to have some fucking fun?!" he asked loudly, grinning as the crowd responded with more deafening cheering.
"Okay, okay, I get it! But first I must introduce to you, a man who looks just SO good naked, MISTER MIKE DIRNT!" he announced, walking over to Mike and putting his arm around Mike's shoulders. He held up the mic as if challenging anyone to disagree, but was instead answered by a roaring cheer from the crowd. Mike bowed proudly, nodding his head as Billie walked back to the center of the stage. After a moments pause, he walked back to Tré and his drum set.
"And here is a man who I LOVE taking showers with, GODDAMN GIVE IT UP FOR MISTER TRÉ COOL!!" Billie roared, taking Tré's drumsticks as Tré ran down the catwalk, giving everyone the finger, tongue sticking out playfully. At this I screamed at the top of my lungs, reaching as far as I could forward and jumping up and down. I thought I saw Tré smirk at me for a moment, although then again that was probably just my Tré obsessed imagination. After a little hop and a bow at the end of the catwalk, he ran back to his drum set and sat back on the stool. Billie walked back to the middle of the stage, paused for several moments as the crowd was cheering, and then took his guitar in his hands.
"Do you have the time, to listen to me whine?" he sang in to the microphone, starting of one of my favorites, "Basket Case". This concert was already a hell of a success.
Green Day continued the concert, playing some of their old, and new, greatest hits: "Holiday", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "When I Come Around", "Hitchin' A Ride", "Waiting", and several others. Finally, one of my favorite parts, all three of them walked off stage and I knew it was time for "King For A Day". They soon came back on, Billie wearing his very shiny king's crown, Mike wearing a pirate hat, and Tré wearing a fluffy, feathery pink sun hat. They played and played their hearts out, the crowd screaming in delight as Billie slowly lay, facedown, on the ground. The lights dimmed, and when they came back on Billie had a velvety red robe draped over his back. After singing into the mic there, on the ground, for several moments, he slowly rose to his feet and finished the song. I noticed that on the right side of Tré, two guys, one in a bumblebee suit and the other in a pink bunny suit, were playing the trumpet and trombone, just like they had at each concert I had been to. The song ended with the usual, but fantastic, grand finale, and they all walked off stage again. A few minutes later they came back out, dressed as they were before the concert started, and went back to their original positions. Billie took the mic into his hand, walked up to the end of the catwalk, and stood waiting as the crowd's cheering softened slightly.
"Now for my favorite part," he said, looking around at the crowd, "I'm gonna make a band out of you."
The crowd began jumping around excitedly, screaming and shouting for Billie to pick them. He raised his hand, trying to silence the crowd, which obeyed and the arena was nearly completely quiet.
"Now, I'm gonna need a drummer. DOES ANYONE OUT THERE PLAY THE DRUMS??" he shouted into the mic, grinning as many, many people started jumping and shoving their way towards the stage. That's when I was hit by surprise. Caitlyn, without saying a word, grabbed me and lifted me onto her shoulders. I was now the tallest person in the crowd, a dumfounded look on my face as Caitlin helped her walk me closer to the catwalk. I knew what they were doing, and looked at Billie Joe hopefully. I screamed out with the crowd, and to my utter amazement, Billie looked at me, smirking and trying to suppress a laugh.
"You there, the tall kid," he joked, pointing at me. "What's your name?"
I balanced there on Caitlyn's shoulders for several seconds, and all my mind was saying was "OHMYEFFINGGODI'MTALKINGTOBILLIEJOEARMSTRONG!!!"
"Err, umm, E-Erin!" I stammered as security helped Caitlyn and I closer to the stage.
"Well, Umm Erin! Can you play the shit out of the drums for me?" he asked. I grinned, nodding, and to my extreme delight he grabbed my arm.
"WELL THEN GET YOUR ASS UP HERE!" he shouted into the mic, hoisting me up on stage and then looking back at the crowd.
"Well, I'm gonna need a bass player!!" he yelled, but looked down as he saw Caitlin shouting uncontrollably up at him.
"You were with her, weren't you?" he asked, glancing at me before crouching down to see Caitlin, who might I add was rather short.
"YEAH! AND I CAN PLAY THE BASS!!" she said rather loudly, grinning the biggest grin I have ever seen as he smiled back.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? GET YOUR ASS ON THE STAGE!!" he yelled, grabbing Caitlin and placing her beside me.
"So, I'm guessing that the other half of you is a guitarist?" he asked, grinning, as I nodded. I quickly noticed that my face was as red as a tomato, and took a deep breath to try and hide it.
"Well, then, you!" he announced, pointing at Caitlyn who was standing, wide eyed, next to a security guard, "GET YOUR FUCKING ASS UP HERE AND LET'S GET GOING!!!"
He got Caitlyn up on the stage, and looked at us with a grin.
"Goddamn, how old are you?!" he asked with surprise, looking us over as if we were children.
"Caitlyn and I are fourteen," I said into the mic that he had pointed to my face, pointing to myself and Caitlyn, "and Caitlin here is thirteen."
"Shit, you're kidding me, right? Well, okay then, you! Caitlin!" he said, turning Caitlin around so that she was facing Mike. "Go over to Mike and START PLAYING YOUR INSTRUMENT!"
Caitlin squealed with joy, not loud enough for Billie to hear, and skipped briskly over to Mike, who handed her his guitar.
"YOU!!!" he shouted, making me jump, "get your ass over to Tré so you can start hammering on those drums!!"
Giving Caitlyn a last, face-splitting grin, I ran over to Tré where he was smirking on his stool, drumsticks on one hand.
"You're that hyper, jumpy chick, huh?" he said in his heavenly voice, getting up and gesturing to the stool dramatically. I nodded with a grin.
"PLAY MY BABIES!" he said, making me snort as I tried not to burst into tears laughing, and I sat down on the stool carefully. It was still warm, making me grin with eagerness to start playing. This was what I had dreamed about my entire life, twenty-four/seven, and now it was coming true!!!
"How about we show you how to play 'Minority'!" Billie Joe announced, but stopped talking as Caitlyn said something to him. I couldn't hear a word they said, though, the crowd was too loud.
"Caitlyn here says that you guys already know how to play 'Minority'!!" Billie said, laughing a little, "okay then, prove it! Let's see you guys!!"
With one last nod to us, Billie Joe stepped up to the microphone, and Caitlyn began 'Minority'. I started the drums on queue, and Billie started to sing.
"I wanna be the minority, I don't need your authority!" he sang beside Caitlyn. Mike was standing off to the left of Caitlin with his microphone, and I quickly realized that Tré was watching me from the left. I tried to concentrate, though, so that I didn't make any mistakes, and was soon unaware of anything but the music.
"I WANNA BE THE MINORITY!" Billie Joe and Mike finished, Caitlyn playing the last little guitar tune, and the crowd roaring and clapping. Billie took a moment or two to catch his breath, and then turned to Caitlyn.
"You can keep that, just go back stage so no one steals it!" he said, Caitlyn grinning one last time before running off backstage to where Billie was pointing.
"As for you, Caitlin, ever been crowd surfing?" he asked daringly, grinning at Caitlin. We'd seen this at all of their previous concerts, so Caitlin knew just what to do. Excitedly, she ran over to Tré's drum set, and then ran all the way to the end of the catwalk and leaping into the crowd. After a minute of surfing around, she returned to the stage and Billie sent her backstage.
"And you, Erin!" he said, pointing at me, "Err, well, just get your ass backstage missy!" I didn't need any more instructions, with one last grinning glance at Tré, who winked and nodded with a smirk on his face, I ran backstage. A security guard led me down a hallway where we came to a door that said "Green Day" on it. He opened the door and let me in, where I found two girls shaking and squealing with excitement. The room was fairly large, with three couches at the far end, and a buffet table with tons of food on it on the left wall. As I walked in, I noticed there was a TV in the top right hand corner of the room, nearest to the door, where we could watch the concert continue.
"HEY ERIN!!" Caitlin and Caitlyn squealed, giving me a huge hug and grinning the biggest I had ever seen. In her hands Caitlyn had Billie's guitar, and she showed me it eagerly.
"That's frickin' awesome, Caitlyn!!" I exclaimed, stroking the guitar's beautiful black body and white neck. It was a Les Paul, and I knew Caitlyn couldn't be happier.
"How was crowd surfing?!" I asked Caitlin, watching her bounce up and down dramatically. She grinned, and I didn't need anything else: she loved it. We all stood there, grinning at each other for what seemed like years before we all broke into a tremendous scream:
"WE MET GREEN DAY!!!"
Jumping up and down, squealing, screeching, and shaking was what we did for a few minutes, letting our excitement out before we all exploded. After calming down a little, and taking a deep breath, we were ready to talk again.
"When Billie, Mike and Tré come in here after the show, we HAVE to stay calm, okay?" I asked urgently, and both Caitlin's nodded.
"What did he say to you?" Caitlin asked me eagerly, knowing that Tré was bound to have said something cool. I relived that moment up on stage, talking to Tré and playing his gorgeous drum set. The whole thing was pretty much a fairy tale come true for me. I listened as Caitlin told us about how Mike's guitar was, and that even though she loved Billie, she thought Mike was really cool. Finally Caitlyn told us exactly what Billie Joe had said, word for word, and that his guitar was "the most freakin' awesome thing I've ever touched". We all agreed that being up there on stage, playing as a band in front of Green Day and thousands of people, well, it was amazing. No doubt the best day of our lives.
Caitlin and Caitlyn sat down on one of the couches, while I busied myself by stuffing my mouth with the delicious food on the buffet table. Chocolate, sandwiches, cakes, salad; anything you could imagine. And of course, some of Tré's famous drink, The Cheech. I didn't have any, due to the fact that it's alcoholic and I'm fourteen, but I would've loved a taste. I was so busy with the food that I didn't notice the music outside stopping. I looked at the door and realized that it was time: Billie Joe was going to wrap up the concert with "Good Riddance", and Mike and Tré would come in! I glanced at Caitlin and Caitlyn, who were both thinking the same thing. As if to answer my thoughts, the door opened and Mike strode through the door. He looked pretty tired, and sweaty, and smiled as he saw us three staring at him.
"I see you like the food," I heard Tré say as he stumbled through the door, grinning and pouring himself a glass of Cheech. I stood there, dumbstruck, tiny bits of food falling from my mouth.
Oh crap, Tré's standing right beside me and I have chocolate all over my face! I thought, my stomach curling and my face turning red. When he wasn't looking I wiped my face with my shirt, fixing my hair as quietly as I could. Mike slumped down on the couch, next to Caitlin, as if they were already good friends. She smiled, and I could tell that she was doing her best to stay cool. Mike put his head on the back of the couch, closing his eyes and sighing heavily. His eyes popped open instantly, and he looked at Caitlin, a huge grin on his face.
"God, you guys are really good! Are you in a band together or something?" he asked Caitlin with enthusiasm. For a second I thought he was psychic. Then I returned to my senses, just in time to receive a slap on the back from Tré.
"You banged my drums shitless, girl!" he laughed, jumping onto the couch next to Caitlyn, Cheech in hand. Caitlyn's eyes showed her surprise, and she looked at me as if to tell her what to say. I shrugged. I mean, it's hard to tell someone what to say when you're doing your best to stop laughing. I was such a dork, but Tré laughed at me for laughing, and that sent everyone in the room into a fit of laughter. After a moment of snorting and laughing, the room was quiet again. I turned to the TV, pretending to watch it as I wiped tears from laughing off of my face. I then plopped myself down on the couch next to the one everyone was sitting on, as that one was now very cramped.
We all sat there in an awkward silence for several minutes, watching Billie sing on the TV in the corner. As if to break the silence, something hit my head and bounced onto the floor, and I realized that Tré had thrown a drumstick at me. I rubbed my head, giggling and snorting at the same time, which made me sound like some sort of hurt rhinoceros. Tré smirked proudly, while Mike glared at him.
"Behave yourself now, Tré. I don't want to have to kick your ass again," Mike said, a smile spread across his face as Caitlin and Caitlyn giggled quietly. Tré stuck out his tongue and Mike, playfully punching Caitlyn to make her stop giggling.
Just then I noticed that the TV had turned off, and Billie walked through the door, looking at us all oddly.
"What did Tré do now?" he asked impatiently, but didn't press the question. Instead he grabbed a glass of Cheech and sat down next to me on the couch.
"Wow, you guys were good!" he told us, glancing at Caitlyn who was still clutching the guitar tightly. He grinned, watching Caitlyn as she started blushing madly.
"Err, thanks!" I said, trying to make conversation. "It feels so weird to be sitting here... talking to all of you. I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but I've basically worshipped you guys since I can remember! Them too," I said, gesturing to Caitlin and Caitlyn, who nodded their agreement.
"Well, I already knew that, ye who wrote 'Green Day are Gods' on your foreheads," Tré said, and I realized that he was indeed right. Now my face looked really messy, since the warning logo had smudged and the words on my forehead were smudged together. I blushed, trying to wipe the marker from my face, only making it worse. Caitlin's heart grenade drawing on her cheek was now so smudged that it didn't look like much of anything, other than a large, red and black blob. Caitlyn's "tattoos" were pretty much intact, but I realized that when I had written them on her forehead I mispelt "gods" so it read "goods". Man, I'm really lame sometimes. Luckily, no one noticed.
"So, what's your band's name?" Mike suddenly asked, making everyone turn their head's to him in surprise.
"Uhh, it's Haphazard." Caitlyn said quietly. Mike nodded thoughtfully, before answering, "So you write your own songs and stuff? Got a CD?"
Billie shot him a warning glance, as if to let him know he was being nosy. Caitlyn just nodded, "Yep! It has fourteen songs on it. We've been thinking about a record label, but no body likes our stuff... " she added that last bit quietly.
"What the shit? Why wouldn't they? You guys sounded awesome out there tonight, I'm sure your songs are good," Tré said reassuringly. "Hey, got a demo tape handy?"
My eyes widened with surprise. Was he serious? Did Green Day want to hear OUR music??
"Uh, yeah! Actually, I do... I always keep it in my pocket." I said, pulling out a small CD case that said "Haphazard" on it with a marker. Obviously, we weren't planning on anyone looking at it, so it was pretty simple. I handed it to Tré, who gave it one look and said, "I like it. They're pretty cool, almost as much as me, why don't we have a listen?" He got up and put the CD into a small stereo on the ground next to the couch. The first song on the CD, "Killing For You", began to play, and Caitlin, Caitlyn and I all exchanged nervous glances. I wished with all my heart that Green Day would at least think it was "okay". After the song ended, and the next one started, I noticed Billie looking down at the stereo thoughtfully.
"Who writes your songs?" he asked, not looking up.
"Well, I wrote that song," I said, "but Caitlyn and Caitlin also wrote some of them. I mainly come up with the lyrics, and they come up with the music."
With that he nodded, listening intently to the next song titled "JRS". THAT one was written by Caitlyn, and I noticed her glancing nervously at Billie, obviously hoping that he would like it. After several more songs played, Billie finally looked up.
"You guys are damn good." He said simply, smiling as he noticed all three of us grin with relief.
"Wow, your drum rolls are fucking awesome!" Tré said, listening to one of my favorite songs on our CD, "All Jazzed Up". I grinned, looking at Caitlin as she nodded to me happily.
"And those guitar riffs are really great, very original... " Billie said, as if to himself, as he went back to listening to the music.
Mike nodded his agreement, giving Caitlin a pat on the back and smiling. I knew Billie liked the lyrics, because as the chorus played for the third time I could just barely see him mouthing along to the words. We waited in silence until the last song on the CD ended. Wow, time sure flies when you're showing Green Day your demo tape!
"What's your phone number?" Billie asked suddenly, looking at Caitlyn expectantly. Caitlyn rummaged through her pants pocket and found a pen, handing it to Billie.
"I don't need paper," he told her as she went back into her pocket looking for some, "I've got a hand to write on."
Caitlyn grinned, and told him the number, watching intently as he wrote it on the palm of his hand. Out of nowhere Tré jumped up off the couch, running for the door as he cried, "I hafta go pee!"
I laughed, this time not holding back my snorts and giggles as Tré left the room. After Mike finished mocking Tré for a minute or two, everyone in the room started laughing and snorting, all except for Billie. He had gotten up and took the CD out of the stereo, carefully placing it back in it's case and putting it into his guitar case which was near the door.
"It's getting late, we'd probably start heading back to the hotel... " said Billie, looking at Mike expectantly while he grabbed his guitar case.
"Oh, yeah. Err, nice meeting you guys, see you around!" he said cheerfully, patting Caitlin, Caitlyn and me all on the back as we got up and headed for the door. Billie nodded his goodbyes, lost in thought, barely noticing that everyone had left the room.
"You coming, dorkwad?" Tré called, as the group of us started walking down the hallway. I watched him as he snapped back to reality and jogged up to join us, as Green Day escorted us secretly out of the building, Caitlyn still clutching her guitar tightly.
We walked into the crowded building and showed security our tickets.
"Have fun!" the security guard said cheerfully as she scanned our tickets.
"Believe me, we will!" I replied, a huge grin spread across my face as we dashed through the crowds to as close as we could get to the front of the mosh pit. We didn't even stop for drinks and popcorn, we were too damned excited! We looked up at the stage, all grinning and squirming madly as the warm-up band finished their performance. We never came to watch the first band, since we would probably explode with excitement half way through their performance. As the lights went on, signaling the end of the warm-up band's act, we all exchanged eager glances for the performance to come. I had never once gone to a Green Day concert that didn't make me shake with enthusiasm, and this was no exception. Standing there waiting was killing me, and my attempts to stay calm only resulted with me shaking as if I was having a seizure. Yes, you may say we were overly excited. But come on: THIS WAS GREEN DAY!!!
As the lights dimmed, and the crowd began to roar, Caitlin, Caitlyn and I all began jumping up and down uncontrollably, screaming at the top of our lungs as we prepared for the thrill of our lives; well, at least, the biggest thrill we've had since the last Green Day concert.
"I SAID HAAAAYYY-OOOH!" a booming loud voice shouted through the stadium, causing the three of us to go wild.
"I SAID HAAAAYYY-AIIIII!" the voice boomed, and out ran Billie Joe from the left side of the stage. Behind him ran Mike, who took his place at the right of the stage, and behind him Tré, who leaped up on the drum's stage and stood behind them proudly. I screamed with delight at the sight of Tré once again, noticing that Caitlin and Caitlyn were going equally insane at the sight of Billie.
"WHO'S READY TO MAKE SOME NOISE!?" Billie yelled into the microphone, and started off the concert with the legendary beginning chords to "American Idiot". This was what I had been wanting to see since the moment I had left the building at the last Green Day concert. My heart leaped with joy as Tré started his part of the song, his extraordinary drumming, and I cheered as the song was born.
This is going to be the best concert yet... I thought as American Idiot stopped, leaving the crowd to cheer their hearts out. After a quick break to catch his breath, Billie continued, mic in hand.
"So, are all you people here tonight looking to have some fucking fun?!" he asked loudly, grinning as the crowd responded with more deafening cheering.
"Okay, okay, I get it! But first I must introduce to you, a man who looks just SO good naked, MISTER MIKE DIRNT!" he announced, walking over to Mike and putting his arm around Mike's shoulders. He held up the mic as if challenging anyone to disagree, but was instead answered by a roaring cheer from the crowd. Mike bowed proudly, nodding his head as Billie walked back to the center of the stage. After a moments pause, he walked back to Tré and his drum set.
"And here is a man who I LOVE taking showers with, GODDAMN GIVE IT UP FOR MISTER TRÉ COOL!!" Billie roared, taking Tré's drumsticks as Tré ran down the catwalk, giving everyone the finger, tongue sticking out playfully. At this I screamed at the top of my lungs, reaching as far as I could forward and jumping up and down. I thought I saw Tré smirk at me for a moment, although then again that was probably just my Tré obsessed imagination. After a little hop and a bow at the end of the catwalk, he ran back to his drum set and sat back on the stool. Billie walked back to the middle of the stage, paused for several moments as the crowd was cheering, and then took his guitar in his hands.
"Do you have the time, to listen to me whine?" he sang in to the microphone, starting of one of my favorites, "Basket Case". This concert was already a hell of a success.
Green Day continued the concert, playing some of their old, and new, greatest hits: "Holiday", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "When I Come Around", "Hitchin' A Ride", "Waiting", and several others. Finally, one of my favorite parts, all three of them walked off stage and I knew it was time for "King For A Day". They soon came back on, Billie wearing his very shiny king's crown, Mike wearing a pirate hat, and Tré wearing a fluffy, feathery pink sun hat. They played and played their hearts out, the crowd screaming in delight as Billie slowly lay, facedown, on the ground. The lights dimmed, and when they came back on Billie had a velvety red robe draped over his back. After singing into the mic there, on the ground, for several moments, he slowly rose to his feet and finished the song. I noticed that on the right side of Tré, two guys, one in a bumblebee suit and the other in a pink bunny suit, were playing the trumpet and trombone, just like they had at each concert I had been to. The song ended with the usual, but fantastic, grand finale, and they all walked off stage again. A few minutes later they came back out, dressed as they were before the concert started, and went back to their original positions. Billie took the mic into his hand, walked up to the end of the catwalk, and stood waiting as the crowd's cheering softened slightly.
"Now for my favorite part," he said, looking around at the crowd, "I'm gonna make a band out of you."
The crowd began jumping around excitedly, screaming and shouting for Billie to pick them. He raised his hand, trying to silence the crowd, which obeyed and the arena was nearly completely quiet.
"Now, I'm gonna need a drummer. DOES ANYONE OUT THERE PLAY THE DRUMS??" he shouted into the mic, grinning as many, many people started jumping and shoving their way towards the stage. That's when I was hit by surprise. Caitlyn, without saying a word, grabbed me and lifted me onto her shoulders. I was now the tallest person in the crowd, a dumfounded look on my face as Caitlin helped her walk me closer to the catwalk. I knew what they were doing, and looked at Billie Joe hopefully. I screamed out with the crowd, and to my utter amazement, Billie looked at me, smirking and trying to suppress a laugh.
"You there, the tall kid," he joked, pointing at me. "What's your name?"
I balanced there on Caitlyn's shoulders for several seconds, and all my mind was saying was "OHMYEFFINGGODI'MTALKINGTOBILLIEJOEARMSTRONG!!!"
"Err, umm, E-Erin!" I stammered as security helped Caitlyn and I closer to the stage.
"Well, Umm Erin! Can you play the shit out of the drums for me?" he asked. I grinned, nodding, and to my extreme delight he grabbed my arm.
"WELL THEN GET YOUR ASS UP HERE!" he shouted into the mic, hoisting me up on stage and then looking back at the crowd.
"Well, I'm gonna need a bass player!!" he yelled, but looked down as he saw Caitlin shouting uncontrollably up at him.
"You were with her, weren't you?" he asked, glancing at me before crouching down to see Caitlin, who might I add was rather short.
"YEAH! AND I CAN PLAY THE BASS!!" she said rather loudly, grinning the biggest grin I have ever seen as he smiled back.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? GET YOUR ASS ON THE STAGE!!" he yelled, grabbing Caitlin and placing her beside me.
"So, I'm guessing that the other half of you is a guitarist?" he asked, grinning, as I nodded. I quickly noticed that my face was as red as a tomato, and took a deep breath to try and hide it.
"Well, then, you!" he announced, pointing at Caitlyn who was standing, wide eyed, next to a security guard, "GET YOUR FUCKING ASS UP HERE AND LET'S GET GOING!!!"
He got Caitlyn up on the stage, and looked at us with a grin.
"Goddamn, how old are you?!" he asked with surprise, looking us over as if we were children.
"Caitlyn and I are fourteen," I said into the mic that he had pointed to my face, pointing to myself and Caitlyn, "and Caitlin here is thirteen."
"Shit, you're kidding me, right? Well, okay then, you! Caitlin!" he said, turning Caitlin around so that she was facing Mike. "Go over to Mike and START PLAYING YOUR INSTRUMENT!"
Caitlin squealed with joy, not loud enough for Billie to hear, and skipped briskly over to Mike, who handed her his guitar.
"YOU!!!" he shouted, making me jump, "get your ass over to Tré so you can start hammering on those drums!!"
Giving Caitlyn a last, face-splitting grin, I ran over to Tré where he was smirking on his stool, drumsticks on one hand.
"You're that hyper, jumpy chick, huh?" he said in his heavenly voice, getting up and gesturing to the stool dramatically. I nodded with a grin.
"PLAY MY BABIES!" he said, making me snort as I tried not to burst into tears laughing, and I sat down on the stool carefully. It was still warm, making me grin with eagerness to start playing. This was what I had dreamed about my entire life, twenty-four/seven, and now it was coming true!!!
"How about we show you how to play 'Minority'!" Billie Joe announced, but stopped talking as Caitlyn said something to him. I couldn't hear a word they said, though, the crowd was too loud.
"Caitlyn here says that you guys already know how to play 'Minority'!!" Billie said, laughing a little, "okay then, prove it! Let's see you guys!!"
With one last nod to us, Billie Joe stepped up to the microphone, and Caitlyn began 'Minority'. I started the drums on queue, and Billie started to sing.
"I wanna be the minority, I don't need your authority!" he sang beside Caitlyn. Mike was standing off to the left of Caitlin with his microphone, and I quickly realized that Tré was watching me from the left. I tried to concentrate, though, so that I didn't make any mistakes, and was soon unaware of anything but the music.
"I WANNA BE THE MINORITY!" Billie Joe and Mike finished, Caitlyn playing the last little guitar tune, and the crowd roaring and clapping. Billie took a moment or two to catch his breath, and then turned to Caitlyn.
"You can keep that, just go back stage so no one steals it!" he said, Caitlyn grinning one last time before running off backstage to where Billie was pointing.
"As for you, Caitlin, ever been crowd surfing?" he asked daringly, grinning at Caitlin. We'd seen this at all of their previous concerts, so Caitlin knew just what to do. Excitedly, she ran over to Tré's drum set, and then ran all the way to the end of the catwalk and leaping into the crowd. After a minute of surfing around, she returned to the stage and Billie sent her backstage.
"And you, Erin!" he said, pointing at me, "Err, well, just get your ass backstage missy!" I didn't need any more instructions, with one last grinning glance at Tré, who winked and nodded with a smirk on his face, I ran backstage. A security guard led me down a hallway where we came to a door that said "Green Day" on it. He opened the door and let me in, where I found two girls shaking and squealing with excitement. The room was fairly large, with three couches at the far end, and a buffet table with tons of food on it on the left wall. As I walked in, I noticed there was a TV in the top right hand corner of the room, nearest to the door, where we could watch the concert continue.
"HEY ERIN!!" Caitlin and Caitlyn squealed, giving me a huge hug and grinning the biggest I had ever seen. In her hands Caitlyn had Billie's guitar, and she showed me it eagerly.
"That's frickin' awesome, Caitlyn!!" I exclaimed, stroking the guitar's beautiful black body and white neck. It was a Les Paul, and I knew Caitlyn couldn't be happier.
"How was crowd surfing?!" I asked Caitlin, watching her bounce up and down dramatically. She grinned, and I didn't need anything else: she loved it. We all stood there, grinning at each other for what seemed like years before we all broke into a tremendous scream:
"WE MET GREEN DAY!!!"
Jumping up and down, squealing, screeching, and shaking was what we did for a few minutes, letting our excitement out before we all exploded. After calming down a little, and taking a deep breath, we were ready to talk again.
"When Billie, Mike and Tré come in here after the show, we HAVE to stay calm, okay?" I asked urgently, and both Caitlin's nodded.
"What did he say to you?" Caitlin asked me eagerly, knowing that Tré was bound to have said something cool. I relived that moment up on stage, talking to Tré and playing his gorgeous drum set. The whole thing was pretty much a fairy tale come true for me. I listened as Caitlin told us about how Mike's guitar was, and that even though she loved Billie, she thought Mike was really cool. Finally Caitlyn told us exactly what Billie Joe had said, word for word, and that his guitar was "the most freakin' awesome thing I've ever touched". We all agreed that being up there on stage, playing as a band in front of Green Day and thousands of people, well, it was amazing. No doubt the best day of our lives.
Caitlin and Caitlyn sat down on one of the couches, while I busied myself by stuffing my mouth with the delicious food on the buffet table. Chocolate, sandwiches, cakes, salad; anything you could imagine. And of course, some of Tré's famous drink, The Cheech. I didn't have any, due to the fact that it's alcoholic and I'm fourteen, but I would've loved a taste. I was so busy with the food that I didn't notice the music outside stopping. I looked at the door and realized that it was time: Billie Joe was going to wrap up the concert with "Good Riddance", and Mike and Tré would come in! I glanced at Caitlin and Caitlyn, who were both thinking the same thing. As if to answer my thoughts, the door opened and Mike strode through the door. He looked pretty tired, and sweaty, and smiled as he saw us three staring at him.
"I see you like the food," I heard Tré say as he stumbled through the door, grinning and pouring himself a glass of Cheech. I stood there, dumbstruck, tiny bits of food falling from my mouth.
Oh crap, Tré's standing right beside me and I have chocolate all over my face! I thought, my stomach curling and my face turning red. When he wasn't looking I wiped my face with my shirt, fixing my hair as quietly as I could. Mike slumped down on the couch, next to Caitlin, as if they were already good friends. She smiled, and I could tell that she was doing her best to stay cool. Mike put his head on the back of the couch, closing his eyes and sighing heavily. His eyes popped open instantly, and he looked at Caitlin, a huge grin on his face.
"God, you guys are really good! Are you in a band together or something?" he asked Caitlin with enthusiasm. For a second I thought he was psychic. Then I returned to my senses, just in time to receive a slap on the back from Tré.
"You banged my drums shitless, girl!" he laughed, jumping onto the couch next to Caitlyn, Cheech in hand. Caitlyn's eyes showed her surprise, and she looked at me as if to tell her what to say. I shrugged. I mean, it's hard to tell someone what to say when you're doing your best to stop laughing. I was such a dork, but Tré laughed at me for laughing, and that sent everyone in the room into a fit of laughter. After a moment of snorting and laughing, the room was quiet again. I turned to the TV, pretending to watch it as I wiped tears from laughing off of my face. I then plopped myself down on the couch next to the one everyone was sitting on, as that one was now very cramped.
We all sat there in an awkward silence for several minutes, watching Billie sing on the TV in the corner. As if to break the silence, something hit my head and bounced onto the floor, and I realized that Tré had thrown a drumstick at me. I rubbed my head, giggling and snorting at the same time, which made me sound like some sort of hurt rhinoceros. Tré smirked proudly, while Mike glared at him.
"Behave yourself now, Tré. I don't want to have to kick your ass again," Mike said, a smile spread across his face as Caitlin and Caitlyn giggled quietly. Tré stuck out his tongue and Mike, playfully punching Caitlyn to make her stop giggling.
Just then I noticed that the TV had turned off, and Billie walked through the door, looking at us all oddly.
"What did Tré do now?" he asked impatiently, but didn't press the question. Instead he grabbed a glass of Cheech and sat down next to me on the couch.
"Wow, you guys were good!" he told us, glancing at Caitlyn who was still clutching the guitar tightly. He grinned, watching Caitlyn as she started blushing madly.
"Err, thanks!" I said, trying to make conversation. "It feels so weird to be sitting here... talking to all of you. I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but I've basically worshipped you guys since I can remember! Them too," I said, gesturing to Caitlin and Caitlyn, who nodded their agreement.
"Well, I already knew that, ye who wrote 'Green Day are Gods' on your foreheads," Tré said, and I realized that he was indeed right. Now my face looked really messy, since the warning logo had smudged and the words on my forehead were smudged together. I blushed, trying to wipe the marker from my face, only making it worse. Caitlin's heart grenade drawing on her cheek was now so smudged that it didn't look like much of anything, other than a large, red and black blob. Caitlyn's "tattoos" were pretty much intact, but I realized that when I had written them on her forehead I mispelt "gods" so it read "goods". Man, I'm really lame sometimes. Luckily, no one noticed.
"So, what's your band's name?" Mike suddenly asked, making everyone turn their head's to him in surprise.
"Uhh, it's Haphazard." Caitlyn said quietly. Mike nodded thoughtfully, before answering, "So you write your own songs and stuff? Got a CD?"
Billie shot him a warning glance, as if to let him know he was being nosy. Caitlyn just nodded, "Yep! It has fourteen songs on it. We've been thinking about a record label, but no body likes our stuff... " she added that last bit quietly.
"What the shit? Why wouldn't they? You guys sounded awesome out there tonight, I'm sure your songs are good," Tré said reassuringly. "Hey, got a demo tape handy?"
My eyes widened with surprise. Was he serious? Did Green Day want to hear OUR music??
"Uh, yeah! Actually, I do... I always keep it in my pocket." I said, pulling out a small CD case that said "Haphazard" on it with a marker. Obviously, we weren't planning on anyone looking at it, so it was pretty simple. I handed it to Tré, who gave it one look and said, "I like it. They're pretty cool, almost as much as me, why don't we have a listen?" He got up and put the CD into a small stereo on the ground next to the couch. The first song on the CD, "Killing For You", began to play, and Caitlin, Caitlyn and I all exchanged nervous glances. I wished with all my heart that Green Day would at least think it was "okay". After the song ended, and the next one started, I noticed Billie looking down at the stereo thoughtfully.
"Who writes your songs?" he asked, not looking up.
"Well, I wrote that song," I said, "but Caitlyn and Caitlin also wrote some of them. I mainly come up with the lyrics, and they come up with the music."
With that he nodded, listening intently to the next song titled "JRS". THAT one was written by Caitlyn, and I noticed her glancing nervously at Billie, obviously hoping that he would like it. After several more songs played, Billie finally looked up.
"You guys are damn good." He said simply, smiling as he noticed all three of us grin with relief.
"Wow, your drum rolls are fucking awesome!" Tré said, listening to one of my favorite songs on our CD, "All Jazzed Up". I grinned, looking at Caitlin as she nodded to me happily.
"And those guitar riffs are really great, very original... " Billie said, as if to himself, as he went back to listening to the music.
Mike nodded his agreement, giving Caitlin a pat on the back and smiling. I knew Billie liked the lyrics, because as the chorus played for the third time I could just barely see him mouthing along to the words. We waited in silence until the last song on the CD ended. Wow, time sure flies when you're showing Green Day your demo tape!
"What's your phone number?" Billie asked suddenly, looking at Caitlyn expectantly. Caitlyn rummaged through her pants pocket and found a pen, handing it to Billie.
"I don't need paper," he told her as she went back into her pocket looking for some, "I've got a hand to write on."
Caitlyn grinned, and told him the number, watching intently as he wrote it on the palm of his hand. Out of nowhere Tré jumped up off the couch, running for the door as he cried, "I hafta go pee!"
I laughed, this time not holding back my snorts and giggles as Tré left the room. After Mike finished mocking Tré for a minute or two, everyone in the room started laughing and snorting, all except for Billie. He had gotten up and took the CD out of the stereo, carefully placing it back in it's case and putting it into his guitar case which was near the door.
"It's getting late, we'd probably start heading back to the hotel... " said Billie, looking at Mike expectantly while he grabbed his guitar case.
"Oh, yeah. Err, nice meeting you guys, see you around!" he said cheerfully, patting Caitlin, Caitlyn and me all on the back as we got up and headed for the door. Billie nodded his goodbyes, lost in thought, barely noticing that everyone had left the room.
"You coming, dorkwad?" Tré called, as the group of us started walking down the hallway. I watched him as he snapped back to reality and jogged up to join us, as Green Day escorted us secretly out of the building, Caitlyn still clutching her guitar tightly.
Previous | Page 3/3
