Walking Alone, chapter 7
Mike plucked each string of his bass, obviously bored. "Guys, if we're gonna make this CD, what the fuck is gonna be ABOUT?" He groaned, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling. Tre put his hand up suddenly, directing our attention to him. Then he put one finger from each hand against his temples and closed his eyes, as if meditating. "Wait for it... wait for it... " We sat still as Tre thought. After about five minutes, he held up his hands and said, "I got nothing."
Leave it to Tre to make me laugh, I thought. What were we going to do for the new album? We all agreed we wanted to try something new, so we decided on something like a punk-rock opera. It had to be at least 98 degrees in Cali, and for me that was too hot to think.
Mike stood, packing up his bass. "Sorry guys, I promised Stella I'd come to her recital... or whatever it is," He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll call you guys later." He picked up his BMW car keys from the table and left the studio.
I glanced at my watch to see it was only 7 PM. "Hey, you wanna get something to eat?" I asked Tre. He only shook his head. "Sorry, dude, I got a bad headache. Think I'm gonna go home now. Maybe tomorrow, OK?" Tre stood, too, and left.
Sighing, I closed up the studio and walked out into the empty parking lot. Climbing into my car, I began to drive home, feeling somewhat hopeless. It'd been weeks now, and we still had nothing for our album. It occurred to me that maybe we wouldn't make a huge comeback, and my career would be over.
Hell, I thought, look at people like U2 and Mick Jagger! They were still big, right? If they could do it, so could we. We'd make it huge this time, I was sure of it. I didn't really much care if people like it or not, because we wrote the music mostly for ourselves. But I wanted us to be completely satisfied with our work.
I was still thinking about this when I pulled into the driveway of my home. Opening the front door, I could hear the kid's laughter as they played with Adrienne. There had also been that constant, almost nagging thought that I'd be gone for a long time on tours if we did this CD. They'd already grown up differently from most kids, with me as their dad, and I didn't want to fuck their lives up anymore. But it was the only thing, really, bringing money in, since Adi had to stay with the kids all the time.
Joey and Jakob ran up to me. "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!" They screamed. "Guys, don't yell in the house!" Adrienne scolded. She gave me a kiss. "How was it?" I said nothing, just tossed my keys on the end table. She read my mind, like she always does. "Not so good, huh?" Again I didn't respond, just sighed. Gently, Adi massaged my tensed shoulders. "It's OK, you'll think of something," She said, though it sounded like she was assuring herself rather than me.
********
I spent what seemed like most of the night when it came to me. Actually, it didn't come to me—it hit me like a punch in the face. It had been sitting in front of my nose the whole time, and I had missed it like the jackass I am. I had been sitting in the basement, thinking, not really about the CD, but more about my life. I got to thinking about Adrienne and how much I loved her. Then I thought about Whatsername. To me, she and Adi were kind of similar... .
And, right about then, it occurred to me. No one knew about my past, except for me. So, why not design lyrics based on the Jesus of Suburbia, Jimmy, and even Whatsername? It could be almost like a story. I knew I loved it, and the guys would too.
I begin to scribble on the white-lined paper, titling the first song on our new CD:
Extraordinary Girl.
Leave it to Tre to make me laugh, I thought. What were we going to do for the new album? We all agreed we wanted to try something new, so we decided on something like a punk-rock opera. It had to be at least 98 degrees in Cali, and for me that was too hot to think.
Mike stood, packing up his bass. "Sorry guys, I promised Stella I'd come to her recital... or whatever it is," He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll call you guys later." He picked up his BMW car keys from the table and left the studio.
I glanced at my watch to see it was only 7 PM. "Hey, you wanna get something to eat?" I asked Tre. He only shook his head. "Sorry, dude, I got a bad headache. Think I'm gonna go home now. Maybe tomorrow, OK?" Tre stood, too, and left.
Sighing, I closed up the studio and walked out into the empty parking lot. Climbing into my car, I began to drive home, feeling somewhat hopeless. It'd been weeks now, and we still had nothing for our album. It occurred to me that maybe we wouldn't make a huge comeback, and my career would be over.
Hell, I thought, look at people like U2 and Mick Jagger! They were still big, right? If they could do it, so could we. We'd make it huge this time, I was sure of it. I didn't really much care if people like it or not, because we wrote the music mostly for ourselves. But I wanted us to be completely satisfied with our work.
I was still thinking about this when I pulled into the driveway of my home. Opening the front door, I could hear the kid's laughter as they played with Adrienne. There had also been that constant, almost nagging thought that I'd be gone for a long time on tours if we did this CD. They'd already grown up differently from most kids, with me as their dad, and I didn't want to fuck their lives up anymore. But it was the only thing, really, bringing money in, since Adi had to stay with the kids all the time.
Joey and Jakob ran up to me. "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!" They screamed. "Guys, don't yell in the house!" Adrienne scolded. She gave me a kiss. "How was it?" I said nothing, just tossed my keys on the end table. She read my mind, like she always does. "Not so good, huh?" Again I didn't respond, just sighed. Gently, Adi massaged my tensed shoulders. "It's OK, you'll think of something," She said, though it sounded like she was assuring herself rather than me.
********
I spent what seemed like most of the night when it came to me. Actually, it didn't come to me—it hit me like a punch in the face. It had been sitting in front of my nose the whole time, and I had missed it like the jackass I am. I had been sitting in the basement, thinking, not really about the CD, but more about my life. I got to thinking about Adrienne and how much I loved her. Then I thought about Whatsername. To me, she and Adi were kind of similar... .
And, right about then, it occurred to me. No one knew about my past, except for me. So, why not design lyrics based on the Jesus of Suburbia, Jimmy, and even Whatsername? It could be almost like a story. I knew I loved it, and the guys would too.
I begin to scribble on the white-lined paper, titling the first song on our new CD:
Extraordinary Girl.
