Worlds Apart, chapter 11
It was so hard keeping the fact that Green Day were coming to myself. I wasn’t sure I was going to even make it to Thursday night without exploding. The only people I told were my parents and Bill, the guy who owns the Stage Door, which is the pub where we were having the party. He was pretty excited too. He’s never had anyone perform there who was remotely famous, so I knew it was going to mean a lot to him.
I made Ben come with me to the airport to pick up the guys. Partly because I thought we might need an extra pair of hands for carrying their equipment, and partly because I just couldn’t wait any longer to see the look on his face when he found out who I’d replaced Dead Like Jack with. Dad lent me the van so I could fit all their stuff in.
“So where are these dudes coming from?� Ben asked, putting Less Than Jake on and turning it up loud. It suited the sunny day.
“London� I replied,
“I thought you knew them from Newcastle�
“I do…it’s the holidays, remember…so they’re in London�
“Right� he said, “Well, its really nice of them to come all the way up�
“They’re nice guys� I shrugged.
I nervously checked my reflection in the rear view mirror. I’d put a lot of effort into getting ready that day. And I was wearing my pink Green Day t-shirt. I thought they might find it funny.
We stood in the sun at the airport waiting for their plane to come in. I held my breath as people started to come off the flight. Then Tre, Billie Joe, Mike and Jason came into view. I grinned and went towards them. Tre grabbed me and pulled me into a hug,
“Hey gorgeous� he smiled.
I laughed before hugging the other three guys too.
“It’s fucking hot here� said Billie, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much sun in England before.�
“I know� said Mike, shifting his bass from one shoulder to the other, “When we landed I worried we’d got on the wrong plane�
Suddenly, I remembered Ben and turned round to face him. He stood there, dumbstruck, his jaw hanging open and his eyes flicking wildly from one of the guys to the other.
“Ummm…guys this is my brother Ben� I said, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Ben…this is Mike, Billie Joe, Jason and Tre�
He looked from them to me, and back again.
“Oh my God� he said, “Its…. fucking hell….good to meet you�
Billie shook his hand, and the others followed suit
“You too man, and Happy Birthday�
Ben grinned, then turned to me,
“How is this…what did you do?� he asked, wide-eyed
I told him about the weekend I’d spent with them and he shook his head in disbelief. He looked a little pale as we carried the equipment to the car park.
“Heyy, new wheels� said Tre, as I opened the back of the van,
“It’s my dad’s� I explained, “And I’m crap at driving it, so don’t distract me�
“Would I?� Tre smiled, piling stuff into the back of the van and getting in after it.
“I call shotgun!� grinned Billie Joe,
“How old are you?� asked Jason, rolling his eyes.
“Too old to rough it in the back of a van with you people� Billie smiled, jumping in the front seat.
“Nice shirt.� he commented, looking at me, his eyes twinkling.
“Thanks� I said, smiling back.
The guys loved the Stage Door. We went straight there to set up before anyone was about.
“This is going to be really cool� said Mike “I love playing venues like this. Let’s set up and see what it sounds like�
“I wanna see your drums,� said Tre
“They’re already on the stage� I said, “Come on, I’ll introduce you�
When we got up there I looked down at the area in front of the stage where Billie Joe was kneeling on the floor, tuning his guitar by ear. I couldn’t believe they were here. It just felt so bizarre. I’d been coming to gigs here since I was about fifteen and to have them here, in my world, was completely different to being in posh hotels with them in theirs.
Tre sat down behind my drum kit and started to play. My drums had never been played so well. After a few minutes of energetic bashing, he stopped and said,
“The drums sound nice but your crash sounds like shit�
“I know,� said Ben, sheepishly, “That’s cause I dropped it down two flights of stairs at our last gig�
“Fuck…� said Tre, lowering is head so he was at eye level with the cymbal and noticing the slight bend in the metal. “You really need a new one�
“Its not top of my list of things to spend money on right now� I shrugged, “It’s playable�
Tre raised an eyebrow as he sat back up straight again.
“You’re used to playing a kit worth twenty times what that is� I reminded him, “But nobody else is going to notice that the crash sounds a little tinny�
“Ok� he said, smiling as he started playing again, “I’ll take your word for it�
After they’d sound checked the rest of my band turned up to do the same, and got a bit of a shock. Rob, the lead singer, was one of the few people that knew about the situation between Billie Joe and I but I hadn’t told him they would be playing that night. Everyone was really excited to meet them. Once we’d finished I dropped the guys off at the hotel I’d checked them into for the night so they could get changed and have some food and gave them strict instructions to be ready when Ben came to pick them up again at seven. Then I went home to get ready. We were meant to be playing first, so I was completely frantic with nervousness when I got to the party. I was hoping going first would mean not everyone would be there, but there were loads of people there which sent me into a bit of a panic.
“Don’t worry� said Rob, “You look gorgeous, you’ve played fine in practice, nothing’s gonna go wrong�.
By quarter past seven I was getting a little edgy. Green Day were late. It was going to be very difficult to smuggle them in with this many people about. Not only that, they were going to miss our performance. Where the fuck were they? They didn’t turn up till half past, when I was just about to go on stage.
“Where have you been?� I asked, them, incredulously as they snuck in the back entrance.
“You look hot� said Tre, wide eyed.
“Thanks� I smiled, momentarily distracted from being pissed off. I was about to continue when I looked from one of them to the other and took them in for the first time. “Wow…so do you guys�
They were all dressed up and looked gorgeous.
“Thanks� said Billie Joe, as we stared at each other. He looked stunning in a black shirt and white bow tie hanging untied round his neck. His hair looked great, his eyeliner was particularly well applied and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“They ought to look good,� said Ben, bringing me back down to earth, “They took bloody forever. I’ve been waiting in the car for twenty minutes�
“You can’t be mad though,� said Tre, “I brought something cool�
He reached into the carrier bag he was holding and brought out a crash cymbal.
“It’s new, it’s improved, and it sounds sexy as fuck�
“Wow,� I grinned, my eyes widening, “You didn’t tell me you had that with you!�
“I didn’t� he said, “I bought it today. I told you I’m a perfectionist�
“We went to this store called Sound Control,� said Mike, “They closed it up for us. It was sweet. “
I went on stage and swapped my old cymbal for the new one. I gave it a bash. It sounded great. Tre watched me from the side of the stage, out of view of everyone in the pub. I gave him the thumbs up and he smiled.
“New crash?� Rob asked, walking out onto the stage and plugging his mike in.
“Yep. Tre picked it up this afternoon. It’s a vast improvement on the old one. I didn’t realize how bad it sounded till I heard this�
I hit the cymbal to demonstrate. Rob nodded,
“It is better.� He agreed, “What a dude. Look, its time we got started. Pretty much everyone’s here and we’re all set up. We just need to round the others up�
“I’ll get them� I said.
I walked into the back room to find a mini party for Green Day Insiders taking place already. It was helped along by the fact that Bill was giving the Green Day guys all their drinks on the house. I found Jamie and Nick, our guitarist and bass players, getting autographs from Mike.
“Hey you guys� I said, “We’re on. Where are Matt and Josh?�
Nick, who seemed a bit too in awe of meeting his bass idol to speak, pointed to the other side of the room, where Billie Joe was talking to Josh and Matt. I went over.
“Hey� Billie Joe, smiled at me, “I’m just recruiting your horn section so we can play King For A Day, that ok?�
“I expect so� I smiled, “But Rob’s our boss so you should talk to him, really. Come on guys, we’re on�
“Cool� said Billie Joe, picking up his drink, “I’m going to come watch from the side�
And I foolishly I hadn’t thought I could get any more nervous.
I made Ben come with me to the airport to pick up the guys. Partly because I thought we might need an extra pair of hands for carrying their equipment, and partly because I just couldn’t wait any longer to see the look on his face when he found out who I’d replaced Dead Like Jack with. Dad lent me the van so I could fit all their stuff in.
“So where are these dudes coming from?� Ben asked, putting Less Than Jake on and turning it up loud. It suited the sunny day.
“London� I replied,
“I thought you knew them from Newcastle�
“I do…it’s the holidays, remember…so they’re in London�
“Right� he said, “Well, its really nice of them to come all the way up�
“They’re nice guys� I shrugged.
I nervously checked my reflection in the rear view mirror. I’d put a lot of effort into getting ready that day. And I was wearing my pink Green Day t-shirt. I thought they might find it funny.
We stood in the sun at the airport waiting for their plane to come in. I held my breath as people started to come off the flight. Then Tre, Billie Joe, Mike and Jason came into view. I grinned and went towards them. Tre grabbed me and pulled me into a hug,
“Hey gorgeous� he smiled.
I laughed before hugging the other three guys too.
“It’s fucking hot here� said Billie, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much sun in England before.�
“I know� said Mike, shifting his bass from one shoulder to the other, “When we landed I worried we’d got on the wrong plane�
Suddenly, I remembered Ben and turned round to face him. He stood there, dumbstruck, his jaw hanging open and his eyes flicking wildly from one of the guys to the other.
“Ummm…guys this is my brother Ben� I said, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Ben…this is Mike, Billie Joe, Jason and Tre�
He looked from them to me, and back again.
“Oh my God� he said, “Its…. fucking hell….good to meet you�
Billie shook his hand, and the others followed suit
“You too man, and Happy Birthday�
Ben grinned, then turned to me,
“How is this…what did you do?� he asked, wide-eyed
I told him about the weekend I’d spent with them and he shook his head in disbelief. He looked a little pale as we carried the equipment to the car park.
“Heyy, new wheels� said Tre, as I opened the back of the van,
“It’s my dad’s� I explained, “And I’m crap at driving it, so don’t distract me�
“Would I?� Tre smiled, piling stuff into the back of the van and getting in after it.
“I call shotgun!� grinned Billie Joe,
“How old are you?� asked Jason, rolling his eyes.
“Too old to rough it in the back of a van with you people� Billie smiled, jumping in the front seat.
“Nice shirt.� he commented, looking at me, his eyes twinkling.
“Thanks� I said, smiling back.
The guys loved the Stage Door. We went straight there to set up before anyone was about.
“This is going to be really cool� said Mike “I love playing venues like this. Let’s set up and see what it sounds like�
“I wanna see your drums,� said Tre
“They’re already on the stage� I said, “Come on, I’ll introduce you�
When we got up there I looked down at the area in front of the stage where Billie Joe was kneeling on the floor, tuning his guitar by ear. I couldn’t believe they were here. It just felt so bizarre. I’d been coming to gigs here since I was about fifteen and to have them here, in my world, was completely different to being in posh hotels with them in theirs.
Tre sat down behind my drum kit and started to play. My drums had never been played so well. After a few minutes of energetic bashing, he stopped and said,
“The drums sound nice but your crash sounds like shit�
“I know,� said Ben, sheepishly, “That’s cause I dropped it down two flights of stairs at our last gig�
“Fuck…� said Tre, lowering is head so he was at eye level with the cymbal and noticing the slight bend in the metal. “You really need a new one�
“Its not top of my list of things to spend money on right now� I shrugged, “It’s playable�
Tre raised an eyebrow as he sat back up straight again.
“You’re used to playing a kit worth twenty times what that is� I reminded him, “But nobody else is going to notice that the crash sounds a little tinny�
“Ok� he said, smiling as he started playing again, “I’ll take your word for it�
After they’d sound checked the rest of my band turned up to do the same, and got a bit of a shock. Rob, the lead singer, was one of the few people that knew about the situation between Billie Joe and I but I hadn’t told him they would be playing that night. Everyone was really excited to meet them. Once we’d finished I dropped the guys off at the hotel I’d checked them into for the night so they could get changed and have some food and gave them strict instructions to be ready when Ben came to pick them up again at seven. Then I went home to get ready. We were meant to be playing first, so I was completely frantic with nervousness when I got to the party. I was hoping going first would mean not everyone would be there, but there were loads of people there which sent me into a bit of a panic.
“Don’t worry� said Rob, “You look gorgeous, you’ve played fine in practice, nothing’s gonna go wrong�.
By quarter past seven I was getting a little edgy. Green Day were late. It was going to be very difficult to smuggle them in with this many people about. Not only that, they were going to miss our performance. Where the fuck were they? They didn’t turn up till half past, when I was just about to go on stage.
“Where have you been?� I asked, them, incredulously as they snuck in the back entrance.
“You look hot� said Tre, wide eyed.
“Thanks� I smiled, momentarily distracted from being pissed off. I was about to continue when I looked from one of them to the other and took them in for the first time. “Wow…so do you guys�
They were all dressed up and looked gorgeous.
“Thanks� said Billie Joe, as we stared at each other. He looked stunning in a black shirt and white bow tie hanging untied round his neck. His hair looked great, his eyeliner was particularly well applied and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“They ought to look good,� said Ben, bringing me back down to earth, “They took bloody forever. I’ve been waiting in the car for twenty minutes�
“You can’t be mad though,� said Tre, “I brought something cool�
He reached into the carrier bag he was holding and brought out a crash cymbal.
“It’s new, it’s improved, and it sounds sexy as fuck�
“Wow,� I grinned, my eyes widening, “You didn’t tell me you had that with you!�
“I didn’t� he said, “I bought it today. I told you I’m a perfectionist�
“We went to this store called Sound Control,� said Mike, “They closed it up for us. It was sweet. “
I went on stage and swapped my old cymbal for the new one. I gave it a bash. It sounded great. Tre watched me from the side of the stage, out of view of everyone in the pub. I gave him the thumbs up and he smiled.
“New crash?� Rob asked, walking out onto the stage and plugging his mike in.
“Yep. Tre picked it up this afternoon. It’s a vast improvement on the old one. I didn’t realize how bad it sounded till I heard this�
I hit the cymbal to demonstrate. Rob nodded,
“It is better.� He agreed, “What a dude. Look, its time we got started. Pretty much everyone’s here and we’re all set up. We just need to round the others up�
“I’ll get them� I said.
I walked into the back room to find a mini party for Green Day Insiders taking place already. It was helped along by the fact that Bill was giving the Green Day guys all their drinks on the house. I found Jamie and Nick, our guitarist and bass players, getting autographs from Mike.
“Hey you guys� I said, “We’re on. Where are Matt and Josh?�
Nick, who seemed a bit too in awe of meeting his bass idol to speak, pointed to the other side of the room, where Billie Joe was talking to Josh and Matt. I went over.
“Hey� Billie Joe, smiled at me, “I’m just recruiting your horn section so we can play King For A Day, that ok?�
“I expect so� I smiled, “But Rob’s our boss so you should talk to him, really. Come on guys, we’re on�
“Cool� said Billie Joe, picking up his drink, “I’m going to come watch from the side�
And I foolishly I hadn’t thought I could get any more nervous.
