It's the summer of '96 and Blake Woods just graduated high school. The socially awkward, shy girl and wannabe 70s chick, with an obsession for classic rock takes a road trip by herself to San Francisco.
In hopes of finding her purpose and to meet pe...
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I grip on to Kirk's hand, squeezing it tightly as we walk out on to the stage together. My heart is pounding in my chest as I look out at the endless ocean of screaming fans. A sight like that isn't something you see every day and when you do, it almost takes your breath away completely.
I feel myself starting to panic as Kirk leads me up to the mic, James standing next to it. Kirk holds on to my shakey hand for a moment longer, looking down at me with his eyes full of confidence, believing in me. He gives me one slight nod, 'you can do this' and I nod back. He smiles softly at me, slowly letting his hand slip out of mine before walking across the stage to put on his guitar. I turn to face the mic where James is standing and he gives me a firm pat on the back. "You'll do great Blake", he says with a confident smile. He hands me my flying v electric guitar and helps me to adjust the strap. I smile up at him sweetly before he leaves the stage. I move closer to the mic, standing in front of it for a moment before looking back to Kirk for reassurance, his face being the only thing I need just to make me feel safe. He stares over at me with a look of comfort and my heart instantly slows down to a steady rate. I look back out to the sea of people with the blinding spotlights fixated on me, making me feel so small and vulnerable as I stand in front of these thousands of strangers. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath, listening to the loud screaming fans as they defean my ears. Instant anxiety rushes over me until I suddenly think back to what Kirk told me the night that I ran off, "Believe in yourself and nothing else matters".
I'm instantly hit with a wave of emotion and I begin to play. I pluck along the strings to the opening of the song, feeling myself starting to fade into the isolated sound of my guitar. The riff is coming up...shit. My palms start to sweat as I desperately try to steady my shakey hands. I play it, quickly doing a hammer on and pull off before sliding up to the 5th and 3rd frets. I done it! I fucking done it! I smile and quickly look over to Kirk as he smiles back proudly and winks at me. I continue to play the next few chords until Kirk joins in with me for the next part of the intro. The crowd screams for Kirk as he slowly walks up to the front of the stage and begins to play along with me. I smile over at him, watching him next to me as he plays effortlessly.
The lyrics are coming up and I swallow hard. Lars comes in with the drums, while shortly after Jason follows in with his bass. I take another deep breath in, filling up my lungs as I begin to sing. "So close, no matter how far". I close my eyes as I open myself through the song, feeling every ounce of emotion rush out of me. "Forever trust in who you are, and nothing else matters". I look over to Kirk, suddenly feeling my anxiety and shyness wash away as he holds a gentle gaze on me. I dive deeper into the song, my emotions spilling out of me as I sing in front of the screaming fans. They all throw up devil horns, slightly swaying them side to side while some of them sing along. The song slowly starts to escalate more intensely with the vocals and something suddenly takes over me. I lose myself as the chorus comes round the second time and I take in a deep breath, making sure to fill up my lungs. I squeeze in the core of my stomach, picking up as much power in my voice as I possibly can and I belt out the lyrics into the mic, my voice filling the arena as the crowd screams. "And nothing else matters!" I scream out the lyrics, holding on to the last note as I strum the guitar with my pick. My mouth gapes open and my eyes are tightly shut as the fan in front of the stage blows into my hair. I belt out the lyrics from the top of my lungs, "Never care for what they do, never care for what they know, but I knowww...yeah!"
