ROCK MY WORLD

6. Meeting the Band

As I try to bring myself back to focus, Kirk hands me the guitar.
"Just play it how you would when you're alone", he says.
The sound of his voice is so soothing, it does something to me.

I stare into his hypnotic eyes and I start to play the opening of Stairway to Heaven. I pluck along the strings repeatedly until the song progresses on to some delicate riffs and then a faster strumming pattern. I slide my fingers up and down the frets of the guitar as Kirk watches me in amazement. I imagine the song in my head, I can hear Robert Plant singing along as I strum the chorus.
The song ends and I look up to Kirk to see his reaction. His mouth is gaping open in astonishment.
"There is no way you taught yourself. That was incredible", he says.
"Really?"
"I know a good guitar player when I hear one and your guitar playing is above average".
I blush. I've never been complimented on my guitar playing before because I refuse to let anyone hear me. My parents have never even heard me.
"You're definitely the female Jimi Hendrix of our generation", he says.
"Thanks", I reply shyly.
I'm a little overwhelmed by his statement. It's one thing to be told that your guitar playing is above average but to be compared to Jimi Hendrix is a bold comment to make.
"Would you like to meet my band? We're meeting at a studio in Sausalito, I can take you with me if you have no plans today" he says excitedly, as though he has just come up with some sort of great idea.
"Sure I'd love to, I'll go get ready".
I walk back into the guest's bedroom and throw on one of my long kimonos, a t-shirt, a pair of high-waisted denim shorts and some gladiator sandles. After I brush my teeth, I put my hair into two long braids that fall over my shoulders. I throw on some mascara and we head out the door.

Kirk drives us to the studio in his Jaguar. As we reach the Golden Gate Bridge, I look over to Kirk. He has the biggest smile on his face. I stare at him for a moment, wondering what he is thinking.
"Why are you smiling?"
"I just can't wait for you to meet my band", he says.
"What are their names?"
"James is the lead singer, Jason plays the bass and Lars is the drummer", he replies.
"Are they all as calm and collected as you or am I meeting a bunch of stereotypical metal heads who have anger issues?" I say jokingly.
"James is a great guy, he's the type of person you could sit and have a beer with. Jason is a pretty laid back dude until he gets on stage".
"What about Lars?"
"He can be a bit of a dick sometimes but he's loyal to the band so that's all that matters".

We make it to the studio in Sausalito. A light haired guy that is at least over six foot is leaning against a motorbike.
Kirk turns the engine off and turns to face me.
"Wait here, I'll be back in a minute".
He gets out of the car and walks over to the tall guy. I sit and watch them talking. Kirk points towards me and the light haired guy quickly glances over, making that same weird face that Kirk made at me in the diner.
What is he saying about me?
Kirk walks back over to the car and opens the door for me. I walk over with him to introduce myself.
"This is Blake, she's visiting San Francisco", Kirk answers before I can say anything.
He smiles at me and shakes my hand.
"Hi I'm James" he says with a low, raspy voice.
"Nice to meet you", I reply.

We walk in to the studio where I see two guys slouching comfortabley into a large leather couch. I stand next to Kirk as James walks over to the two guys. He whispers something to them as they both respond with that exact same look on their faces.
"Blake" James says, as he motions me over to them.
"This is Jason and Lars".
"Nice to meet you", I say with a smile.
"So you're the hot hippie chick James was talking about", Lars says.
I look over to Kirk. He seems a little jealous as Lars said that.
"Is she our new groupie?" He asks.
"No, I prefer famous bands", I say sarcastically. I'm not sure what I think of Lars yet. They all laugh hysterically.
"I already like you Blake" James says with a smile, as he pats me on the back.
"We still have a few stuff to arrange before going on tour next week", he says to the guys.
Tour? I didn't know small bands are able to go on tour?
"That guy Peter Mensch has been sitting on his ass these past few weeks", James continues.
"What is there left for us to sort out?" Jason asks.
"He was supposed to arrange the concert tickets for Florida", he replies.
Florida? I look over at Kirk with a confused expression on my face and he smirks.
"I'm going to call him now and he better get his fucking ass down here" James says while raising his voice. He leaves the room, slamming the door behind him making me jump.
"Sorry about that Blake, he's working on his anger issues" Jason says casually, as though they are all used to him slamming doors on a regular basis.
"It's okay, it must be pretty stressful being in a band", I reply.
"We're in a better position now than we were a few years back", Lars replies.
"How long have you all been in this band?"
"Since '81", Jason answers.
"We were only kids. We've grew a lot as a band and we've developed our sound over the years", he continues.
"Our fans say that the new album sounds completely different than our other albums but we like to challenge them", Lars says.
"Your fans?"
"So it's true, you really don't know who we are do you?" Lars says.
I look to Kirk confused.
"We're considered one of the biggest metal bands of all time", Kirk answers.
"Thee biggest", Lars corrects him.
"I'm so sorry I don't who you guys are, I'm not familiar with metal music" I reply, feeling slightly embarrassed. I feel as though I have disrespected them.
"Don't worry about it, it's nice not having a crazed fan girl trying to have sex with us", Jason says while laughing.
Knowing that Kirk is a famous rockstar in a big metal band still doesn't make me view him any different. He's still a random guy I met in the diner.
James walks back in to the room after his phone call with the tour manager.
"We should probably go practice now guys, we have only a week left before we head out on to the road", he says.

I sit in the corner of the sound room watching the guys get set up. Kirk flicks a few buttons on his amp and tunes his guitar before playing the opening to Nothing Else Matters. He looks so hot standing there with his electric guitar and the pick pressed between his lips. He winks over at me and I blush.
They go through their set list, playing all the songs they'll play on tour. The whole time they practice, my eyes never leave Kirk. I watch how he gets lost in the music and shreds his guitar effortlessly.
As the guys finish up, Kirk walks over to me.
"We're finished now, I'll drive us back to my place", he says.
"It was nice meeting you Blake", the guys shout out at me just before me and Kirk leave the room.
"You too", I say back with a smile.

It's dark now and we arrive back at Kirk's house. He switches the engine off.
The whole drive back I couldn't help but wonder why he never mentioned that he was actually famous. It was as if he wanted to keep it a secret. Kirk looks over at me as I am deep in thought.
"What you thinking about?" He asks.
"Why did you never mention it?"
"Mention what?" He asks confused.
"That you're a rockstar and in this huge metal band. I think it was pretty obvious I had no idea who you are", I reply.
He looks at me and smiles.
"But you do know who I am because you don't see me as this guitar god like all my fans think I am", he replies.
"Do you not like that they view you as that?"
"I do, but they forget that I'm also just a human. When we were talking in the diner, I couldn't help but love that you weren't an obsessed fan. It was nice just to be able to sit and talk to a girl who wasn't obsessively asking for my autograph and getting all touchy trying to have sex with me".
He lowers his voice into a more serious tone.
"I thought if I told you that I was in a famous band that you would end up just wanting to sleep with me and then leave. I was kind of hoping that you would stick around because I think you're pretty cool".
"Well to me you're some random guy from the diner that luckily didn't kidnap me", I say jokingly.
He smiles at me for a moment and my laughter fades away as I become hypnotised by his beauty again.