PRETTY BOY FLOYD - KALEO

Part I - Hazel

For as long as I can remember, I've loved music. My dad was always playing something new for me and we bonded over our love for music. When I was 22, my dad died and I inherited his recording studio, Mattingly Studios, to keep his memory alive. I'm 25 now and run the studio by myself. It's a small studio in Nashville, and fortunately, it's a popular studio to record at. Today I have a band scheduled to work in the studio. If I remember correctly, the band is called Kaleo. I'm not exactly sure what they're all about, but I'm excited to find out. 

I arrive at the studio around 9am, 2 hours before the band is supposed to arrive. I get everything set up, mics, drums, guitars, and such. By the time I finish setting up, I hear the door open and a group of men talking over each other in a language I can't identify. I get up, moving toward the door to investigate the source of the noise and see a group of 4 men. Two of them are blonde and the other are brunette. The first thing I notice about one of them is that he is extremely attractive, like he literally looks like he could be a god. I walk up to the group of men, and they immediately stop speaking. 

"Hey, I'm Hazel. I'm assuming y'all are Kaleo?"

"Yeah," one of the men answers, "I'm JJ." He turns to the other men, "This is Rubin, David, and Daniel."

"Nice to meet you," Rubin says, shaking my hand. The other men do the same. 

"Are y'all ready to get started," I ask them. They all nod their heads and follow me into the studio. The men start speaking to each other in the language I heard before, and David laughs. JJ catches the confused look on my face and approaches me. 

"We're Icelandic, so if you hear us speaking Icelandic, just ignore us," he explains.

"You got it." 

I look around the room before I ask them who's on which instruments and what the plan is for today. Rubin speaks up and says that they're working on their upcoming album, and that they need to mainly record JJ's vocals for a few songs, along with some instrumental stuff. I nod, turning to look at JJ.

"JJ, you can follow me, and I'll take you to where you'll be recording your vocals," I tell him, motioning for him to follow me. He nods and follows behind me. I get him all set up in the vocal booth, telling him to give me a thumbs-up when he's ready. I adjust the appropriate software to record his vocals and tell him through his headphones that I'm ready whenever he is. He nods and then gives me a thumbs up.

I press record, and JJ says "Skinny, take one" into the microphone. He begins singing and let me tell you, I was not expecting him to have the voice he has. It's gritty and raspy, but controlled and smooth at the same time. It's honestly so sexy. He finishes the first take and gives me a thumbs up to stop the recording. I tell him through his headset that if he wants to take a break and give the other guys a chance to do their thing, he can. He nods and walks out of the vocal room, heading my way. 

"Hey, where would I find water or tea, green if you have it," he asks. 

I look up at him, "Oh, it's in the kitchenette, I can show you to it." He walks with me to the kitchenette. "I just wanted to say that your voice is amazing. Where'd you learn how to sing like that?"

"Thanks, I actually never had any formal training, it just came naturally to me. I actually didn't even know I could sing until I was about seventeen." 

I look at him, impressed. "Wow, that's amazing," I tell him, "Y'all are the first band that I've had in a while that has truly impressed me." He blushes, smiling at me.

"Well, I'll leave you to your green tea. The tea bags are in the first drawer next to the fridge, and the tea maker is in the first cabinet," I say motioning to the cabinet next to the fridge. He thanked me and I walked back to the main room. 

"Hey, David. If you want to get started on your part, we can." He nods at me, heading over to the drum set in a glass room across from the mixing booth. I adjusted the computer software to record the drums, and pressed record once he gave me the go-ahead. As David is finishing his set, JJ returns to the main room, standing next to me, sipping his green tea.

"Once David finishes his part, is it cool if I do another take on vocals?" He asks me.

"Oh, yeah. Of course," I say, "the studio is all yours." He nods, setting down his mug on the table next to me, walking to the vocal booth. 

The guys finish all their takes for the day and start packing up.  "Y'all are scheduled for the rest of the week, so if I could get one of your phone numbers to coordinate time frames, that'd be awesome," I ask the guys. JJ comes up to me with his phone in his hand.

"Sure," he says, following with his phone number, "just text me and I'll save your number." I nod at him, sending a text message with my name. I hear his phone ding, which he looks at and saves my number. "I'll get back to you later today with what time frame works for us tomorrow."

"Awesome," I say, smiling at him, "I can handle all of the breakdown of the equipment, if y'all are ready to go." The band gathers their belongings, waving me a goodbye as they leave the studio. 

Once they walk out the door, I unplug all the mics and shut down the computers. I grab my phone and keys, turning off the lights as I head out to the parking lot. Once I arrive at my car, I check my phone to see what notifications I got while working with the band. I scoff and roll my eyes when I see 4 text messages and six missed calls from my ex-boyfriend, Connor, the last person I want contacting me. I toss my phone into the passenger seat before heading back home to my apartment. It's a shitty apartment, but it's a roof and four walls that I can afford. 

Once I pull into the parking lot of my apartment complex, I check my phone and see a text message from JJ.

JJ (Kaleo) 7:15pm

Hey, I talked with the guys, and 10:00 tomorrow morning works with us.

Hazel 7:24pm

Sounds good! I'll see y'all then.

Hazel 7:25pm

What were y'all planning on getting done tomorrow? 

I'm asking so I can get the stuff set up before y'all come in tomorrow.

JJ (Kaleo) 7:27pm

Pretty much what we did today. Rubin is going to get the guitar  takes done and I will be doing more vocals.

Hazel 7:29pm

Sounds good! See you in the morning!

I get out of my car, taking the elevator to my floor. I unlock my door and head inside, shedding my jacket and Doc Martens. I walk through my bedroom to the attached bathroom for a much-needed shower. After finishing up my nightly shower, I get into some comfy clothes and head to bed. Time to do all of this shit again tomorrow.