Do you know what nobody warns you about when you dream of being in a band? The amount of 5am wake up calls you must endure at times.
Today is the final leg of promotion for our appearances at several upcoming festivals. Having been written about by some of the most influential alternative press, I could have only ever imagined all that has come our way so far to be possible.Yet, I am ravenous for more.
Myself, Danny (rhythm guitar), Elijah (lead guitar), Oli (Bass), Maria (keyboard/synth), Alex (drummer) and our manager Tom are crammed into the back seats of our second hand Mercedes Vito.
Tom has begun the debrief of our day, despite the fact we have all been well versed with our schedule already. Nerves I imagine, the poor bastard has never got a band to this point before. Our EP and debut album had greater success than we ever anticipated. We packed out venues on our first tour and we're starting the process of writing for our second album. We've all known each other since our teenage years. Our previous projects began to stagnate or fall apart, we naturally gravitated towards each other and the rest is history. This was a final shot for most of us, in our late 20s and early 30s, we felt like this was our last chance to take a fucking chunk of the industry for ourselves."Let's go, part one of four, guys!" Tom slid the rear door open and we poured out into the beating sun shadowed only by the offices ahead of us.
We get a lot of the same questions - who are we hoping to tour/collab with, where do we draw our inspiration from and let's not forget "are any of you dating each other?". According to popular belief, men and women simply can't be around each other for any extended period of time without fucking, oh no! Years of devotion to our craft and we're met with the most mind numbing questions, time and time again.
"It would be like incest at this point, not in a 'hehe he's like a brother to me' way either. These guys are genuinely my family. When you are ill, injured, tired, drained, fucking stink and are no where near home, you choose what your safety net is, your home. These people are my home. You don't shit where you eat." I state, looking the interviewer, Max, right in the eyes, gesturing to my bandmates with an open palm.
That shut him up. There was a low hum of "exactly"s between the rest of the band. To which Max simply nodded, eyes down and cleared his throat.
"You're starting off with Las Vegas this weekend, any people there you might be star struck to meet?""Slaughter to prevail. Absolute giants! If I don't shit myself first I'd love to meet Alex" our Alex confesses, met with laughter in the room.
Maria answers "Bleeding Through, Marta was a massive inspiration to me growing up."
Elijah, without a second thought says "Lorna Shore, hands down. They're the absolute pinnacle of the genre at the moment" We all agree immediately. "Until we take over that is" He adds.
"A bold statement, how would you fancy your chances against Will?" Max looks at me directly.
"In a fist fight or the recording booth?" I shrug "I think we'd hold our own either way".
"The term 'Female Will Ramos' has been circulating around you. Do you feel any pressure to live up to a vocalist held in such high esteem?"
I rolled my eyes. "I'd like to be put up on my own pedestal. Not placed on the shelf, being compared to someone else who's killing it too. We're both fucking good at what we do. Ask Will how it feels to be the Male equivalent of me when he graces your halls."
"We will certainly do just that! Guys thanks for your time and good luck with the upcoming dates!" We all say our thanks and the camera stops rolling.
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YOU ARE READING
Two Intertwining Melodies (Will Ramos)
Hayran KurguAs vocalist of a fairly well established symphonic deathcore band, you're on the cusp of what is hopefully your massive breakthrough. You're gathering your own fanbase, your first tour after the release of your EP and debut album is completed, with...