Apocalips, chapter 1
I sat silently at my desk at Adeline Records Studios. The calendar programmed on my computer read, May 12th, 2008. Isn't it amazing how quickly time flies by? It had been exactly a year and one week since Adrienne and I had officially divorced. We had stayed on friendly terms with each other of course. It was just so hard on Adie with me being away or on tour the majority of the time. Even before the divorce, it felt like we already were.
Mike, Tre, and I were taking a short-term hiatus on our musical career, so I had been spending most of my time working at Adeline. There wasn't much to do. Just listen to a band's tape, decided if it was shit or if it was good, and if they're good enough, sign them.
I pulled out my desk drawer to reveal manila folders, containing each band's signed to Adeline's information neatly organized--Thanks to Adrienne. My fingers flipped through the files until I came across a newer one for a band that had recently signed to the label, Apocalips. I opened the folder and picked up a picture from the band's recent photo shoot.
"All-girl band," I smirked.
I'd only heard them once, and I had to admit, they had a good sound. I began rummaging through the folder until I came across their biography.
[u]Apocalips[/u]
GENRE: punk/punk-pop/alternative
Abbey Benson (27; lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Antonia Gabriel (27; back-up vocals, lead guitar), Mary Anne "Mars"; Green (28; back-up vocals, bass), Jenny McDaron (27; back-up vocals, drums) formed in early 1996 in a small suburban town outside Oakland. The four young women have known each other since they could walk, and discovered a taste in alternative music in the sixth grade. By the time they reached the eighth grade, the girls had formed a band, Apocalips, that was quite popular with the local underground community. Apocalips recently ended their nation wide tour, which created a larger fan base. The band intends to begin another tour late next year.
"More women to deal with. That's all I need." I rolled my eyes. Ever since my divorce I had been pressured to go out with celebrity after celebrity after fan after fan to bring my popularity to the ultimate high.
I hated it.
Every girl I went out with was either a ditz, a drug addict, or an alcoholic. I wasn't interested in any of them. I checked my palm pilot and discovered that I had a luncheon that afternoon with the members of Apocalips to discuss the label and have them sign another contract.
* * *
I walked into Oliveto, a lavish, Italian restaurant in Oakland, to find that my party was already there waiting for me. I was led by the attendant to a table where four women with various hair colors were sitting.
For once in my lifetime, the country club type people weren't looking at me strangely because I was decked out in my rather spiffy Dior suit, but the members of Apocalips were all four wearing black, strapless, mini dresses with studded belts (which I made popular back in the American Idiot days) around their hips, and to top it off, they had fishnets and fucking army boots!
What have you gotten yourself into, I questioned myself.
As I approached the table, the girls stood up ready to greet me. I sat my briefcase down next to my chair, and the blonde chick was the first to shake my hand.
"Hi! I'm Abbey," she greeted in a cheerful tone. Her voice was smooth with a hard edge to it making me understand why she was the lead singer.
Next was the brunette. "I'm Mars," she said with her eyes fixed on mine like she was some type of psycho. I know I shouldn't judge people like that, but that shit just freak me the fuck out.
Then there was the one with the blue and black streaked hair. "Hey, I'm Antonia," she greeted me. I have to admit that her bluish hair looked a lot better than how mine did back when Dookie came out. Talk about total shit.
And finally, there was the pink haired one with the glittering nose ring. "I'm Jenny!" she squeaked as if she was rather excited to meet me.
We took our seats and I looked at each woman's face. They we're good looking; no doubt about that, and they were built like BA BA BOOM if you know what I mean. They looked younger than what they really were. Abbey could've passed for twenty or so because she has an innocent, angelic look about her, and the others I would say around twenty-two to twenty-four. They all looked pretty edgy. Even Abbey, which surprised me because I wasn't expecting that from a girl band. Not that I'm a sexist ot anything. I'm actually very pro-women, girl power, and all that shit.
I introduced myself to them, "Well, I'm Billie Joe Armstrong, as you most likely already know. I'm the frontman of a little known band called Green Day."
I smiled and the girls let out a snort of laughter which drew the attention of the older country club folk in the room.
"So, do you guys always match?" I asked.
"We tend to," Mars said, "See, one of us gets something, and then we all decide that we like it, so we always end up getting the same stuff."
"How...interesting." I sighed.
"Hey, is it really true that you have your dick pierced?" Jenny excitedly questioned. Where she got that idea, I have no fucking clue. The three other women rolled their eyes, and I decided, for laughs, I would play them.
"Fuck yea. You wanna see it?" I said watching their eyes get as big as saucers. It was hard as hell keeping a straight face. I stood up and began unzipping my pants, but Abbey stopped me.
"We really don't need to see any of your body parts that are supposed to remain unseen." She grabbed my arm, and I sat back down.
"Well, don't you just suck the fun out of everything?" I said.
"I do not suck the fun out of anything," she stated defensively, "I just don't think that anyone in this room besides Jenny wants to see your...your...pierced...thing."
"My thing, huh? Why don't you just call it what it is. Penis. That's the scientific term. I can't believe your bands logo is lips, which I know has a sexual meaning, and you won't even say the word penis," I laughed.
Abbey shot this glare back at me, but I just shook it off. Antonia and Mars started laughing hysterically while Jenny leaned over to me and whispered, "It's okay. You can shoe me later when Abbey isn't here to suck the fun out of everything."
I guess Abbey overheard her because she gave her the same look as she had given me just a few moments before.
"So before we start to do anything with you guys concerning recording and all that shit, I need you to sign another contract." I leaned over and pulled out the form from my briefcase. I gave the pen and paper to Abbey, and she skimmed through it.
"Don't I need a lawyer to look at this? I mean, I don't think I can trust you since you were about to whip out your "penis" in front of everyone." She made imaginary quotation marks with her fingers as she said penis.
I smiled.
"Oh just sign the damn thing." Antonia groaned.
"Alright, alright. I'm signing it," she replied. After she did so, she passed it around the table so everyone had signed. Jenny handed it back to me and I put it carefully back down in my briefcase.
I watched Abbey take a sip of her wine. Goddammit, she was too proper to be a rock star. After our food, had been brought out, and we were in the process of eating, Abbey accidentally bumped her knee against my thigh.
"Ooo, trying to get close, are we?" I cooed, while jokingly resting my hand on her thigh. She smacked my hand, and then grabbed me by the shirt collar.
"Don't you ever fucking touch me like that."
"I was only kidding," I responded, giving her a sincere smile as a gesture of apology.
Abbey rolled her eyes and finished up her salad. What type of a fuckwit goes to a five star restaurant and orders a salad anyway? She then excused herself and went to the bathroom, leaving me, Antonia, Mars, and Jenny to talk.
"What the hell is her problem?" I asked.
"Well, it could be the fact that she is PMSing, but she doesn't really appreciate "crude" humor," Mars explained.
"Oh well, she's gonna hate me then."
And from there, I knew we were off to a rocky start.
Mike, Tre, and I were taking a short-term hiatus on our musical career, so I had been spending most of my time working at Adeline. There wasn't much to do. Just listen to a band's tape, decided if it was shit or if it was good, and if they're good enough, sign them.
I pulled out my desk drawer to reveal manila folders, containing each band's signed to Adeline's information neatly organized--Thanks to Adrienne. My fingers flipped through the files until I came across a newer one for a band that had recently signed to the label, Apocalips. I opened the folder and picked up a picture from the band's recent photo shoot.
"All-girl band," I smirked.
I'd only heard them once, and I had to admit, they had a good sound. I began rummaging through the folder until I came across their biography.
[u]Apocalips[/u]
GENRE: punk/punk-pop/alternative
Abbey Benson (27; lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Antonia Gabriel (27; back-up vocals, lead guitar), Mary Anne "Mars"; Green (28; back-up vocals, bass), Jenny McDaron (27; back-up vocals, drums) formed in early 1996 in a small suburban town outside Oakland. The four young women have known each other since they could walk, and discovered a taste in alternative music in the sixth grade. By the time they reached the eighth grade, the girls had formed a band, Apocalips, that was quite popular with the local underground community. Apocalips recently ended their nation wide tour, which created a larger fan base. The band intends to begin another tour late next year.
"More women to deal with. That's all I need." I rolled my eyes. Ever since my divorce I had been pressured to go out with celebrity after celebrity after fan after fan to bring my popularity to the ultimate high.
I hated it.
Every girl I went out with was either a ditz, a drug addict, or an alcoholic. I wasn't interested in any of them. I checked my palm pilot and discovered that I had a luncheon that afternoon with the members of Apocalips to discuss the label and have them sign another contract.
* * *
I walked into Oliveto, a lavish, Italian restaurant in Oakland, to find that my party was already there waiting for me. I was led by the attendant to a table where four women with various hair colors were sitting.
For once in my lifetime, the country club type people weren't looking at me strangely because I was decked out in my rather spiffy Dior suit, but the members of Apocalips were all four wearing black, strapless, mini dresses with studded belts (which I made popular back in the American Idiot days) around their hips, and to top it off, they had fishnets and fucking army boots!
What have you gotten yourself into, I questioned myself.
As I approached the table, the girls stood up ready to greet me. I sat my briefcase down next to my chair, and the blonde chick was the first to shake my hand.
"Hi! I'm Abbey," she greeted in a cheerful tone. Her voice was smooth with a hard edge to it making me understand why she was the lead singer.
Next was the brunette. "I'm Mars," she said with her eyes fixed on mine like she was some type of psycho. I know I shouldn't judge people like that, but that shit just freak me the fuck out.
Then there was the one with the blue and black streaked hair. "Hey, I'm Antonia," she greeted me. I have to admit that her bluish hair looked a lot better than how mine did back when Dookie came out. Talk about total shit.
And finally, there was the pink haired one with the glittering nose ring. "I'm Jenny!" she squeaked as if she was rather excited to meet me.
We took our seats and I looked at each woman's face. They we're good looking; no doubt about that, and they were built like BA BA BOOM if you know what I mean. They looked younger than what they really were. Abbey could've passed for twenty or so because she has an innocent, angelic look about her, and the others I would say around twenty-two to twenty-four. They all looked pretty edgy. Even Abbey, which surprised me because I wasn't expecting that from a girl band. Not that I'm a sexist ot anything. I'm actually very pro-women, girl power, and all that shit.
I introduced myself to them, "Well, I'm Billie Joe Armstrong, as you most likely already know. I'm the frontman of a little known band called Green Day."
I smiled and the girls let out a snort of laughter which drew the attention of the older country club folk in the room.
"So, do you guys always match?" I asked.
"We tend to," Mars said, "See, one of us gets something, and then we all decide that we like it, so we always end up getting the same stuff."
"How...interesting." I sighed.
"Hey, is it really true that you have your dick pierced?" Jenny excitedly questioned. Where she got that idea, I have no fucking clue. The three other women rolled their eyes, and I decided, for laughs, I would play them.
"Fuck yea. You wanna see it?" I said watching their eyes get as big as saucers. It was hard as hell keeping a straight face. I stood up and began unzipping my pants, but Abbey stopped me.
"We really don't need to see any of your body parts that are supposed to remain unseen." She grabbed my arm, and I sat back down.
"Well, don't you just suck the fun out of everything?" I said.
"I do not suck the fun out of anything," she stated defensively, "I just don't think that anyone in this room besides Jenny wants to see your...your...pierced...thing."
"My thing, huh? Why don't you just call it what it is. Penis. That's the scientific term. I can't believe your bands logo is lips, which I know has a sexual meaning, and you won't even say the word penis," I laughed.
Abbey shot this glare back at me, but I just shook it off. Antonia and Mars started laughing hysterically while Jenny leaned over to me and whispered, "It's okay. You can shoe me later when Abbey isn't here to suck the fun out of everything."
I guess Abbey overheard her because she gave her the same look as she had given me just a few moments before.
"So before we start to do anything with you guys concerning recording and all that shit, I need you to sign another contract." I leaned over and pulled out the form from my briefcase. I gave the pen and paper to Abbey, and she skimmed through it.
"Don't I need a lawyer to look at this? I mean, I don't think I can trust you since you were about to whip out your "penis" in front of everyone." She made imaginary quotation marks with her fingers as she said penis.
I smiled.
"Oh just sign the damn thing." Antonia groaned.
"Alright, alright. I'm signing it," she replied. After she did so, she passed it around the table so everyone had signed. Jenny handed it back to me and I put it carefully back down in my briefcase.
I watched Abbey take a sip of her wine. Goddammit, she was too proper to be a rock star. After our food, had been brought out, and we were in the process of eating, Abbey accidentally bumped her knee against my thigh.
"Ooo, trying to get close, are we?" I cooed, while jokingly resting my hand on her thigh. She smacked my hand, and then grabbed me by the shirt collar.
"Don't you ever fucking touch me like that."
"I was only kidding," I responded, giving her a sincere smile as a gesture of apology.
Abbey rolled her eyes and finished up her salad. What type of a fuckwit goes to a five star restaurant and orders a salad anyway? She then excused herself and went to the bathroom, leaving me, Antonia, Mars, and Jenny to talk.
"What the hell is her problem?" I asked.
"Well, it could be the fact that she is PMSing, but she doesn't really appreciate "crude" humor," Mars explained.
"Oh well, she's gonna hate me then."
And from there, I knew we were off to a rocky start.
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