The Day We Forgot The Guitarist

Apparently Not ALL Of Evanescence Is Forgotten

Apparently Not ALL Of Evanescence Is Forgotten

I had just gotten off of the phone with Gerard, and I had never felt more alone. My bandmates had left me, and I was stranded at a truck stop with no way to get to the next venue. If this continued, I would probably end up sending a video to my bandmates of myself singing along to an angsty Linkin Park song like Bob.

Actually, I would never let it get that far. I'm not the desperate type - I'd never make a complete fool of myself like that.

I had nothing to do, so I just kept walking around. My phone was almost out of battery, and I wanted to save whatever I had in case I had to contact the band again. I hoped that they had found a replacement guitarist. It would be nearly impossible to play in Chicago if they didn't find one fast.

All of a sudden, I found something. There was a small building on the side of the road near the truck stop with a big sign in front of it. The sign read "This Way To The Forgotten and Underappreciated Band Members Conference." After today's events, I certainly fit the description well, so I opened the door and entered the building.

I was in a large, open room with motivational posters stuck onto the walls. There were chairs arranged in a circle, and almost all of the chairs were filled. This seemed like a good place to wait while I figured out a plan, so I sat down in one of the chairs and waited.

It was just a matter of time before I was found out.

"Hello Ray," I heard someone say softly. "I was wondering if you'd be here."

"Andy?" I said. Of course, it was Andy Hurley. "What are you doing here?"

Joe Trohman was sitting next to him. "We're here for the Forgotten and Underappreciated Band Members Conference, obviously," Joe said.

"Our band's not even together right now, and we're still forgotten!" Andy complained.

"Even some guy named Jason is more remembered than us, and he doesn't even exist!" Joe said.

"That's pretty similar to my situation right now," I said. "My band members left me at that truck stop over there."

"Ugh, that sucks," Joe said.

"But this is what the conference is for," Andy said. "All of us can relate to the feeling of being forgotten."

"Who else is here?" I asked.

"Well, there's everyone in Maroon 5 who isn't Adam Levine," Joe said, gesturing towards a few guys on the other end of the circle who were talking to each other and looked like they had overdosed on testosterone. "And that's everyone in Paramore who isn't Hayley Williams. I think a few members of Evanescence might be here too."

"I don't know why I'm here!" one of the Evanescence guys whined, confirming every stereotype we had had about his band in one sentence. "I don't deserve this."

"Oh yeah, that's Ben Moody," Joe explained. "He's ostensibly the most famous member of Evanescence besides Amy Lee, even though he left."

"I thought that Evanescence was just a forgotten band."

"Apparently not," Andy said.

"Who are you?" one of the Paramore guys asked me. I think his name was Taylor or something, I had apparently forgotten him myself.

"I'm Ray Toro," I said. "I'm from My Chemical Romance."

"Oh yeah," Taylor said. "I kind of remember you. Why are you here?"

"My band members left me here," I said. "They're all playing a show in Chicago right now, and I'm stuck here!"

"That's terrible," Taylor said, "but I can't say that I haven't had experiences like that. The Paramore fandom seems to forget that I exist."

"Well, my own bandmates forgot that I existed!" I said. "That's even worse."

"That is worse," Andy said. "Pete and Patrick never forgot that Joe and I existed."

"And we probably would have killed them if they did," Joe added.

"I just feel so dejected right now," I said. "Is it wrong to be jealous of the amount of fanfiction that gets written about my bandmates? I know that most of it's really disgusting, but even so..."

"That's normal," Andy interjected. "Pete and Patrick have so much fanfic written about them, but we never get any." Everyone else at the conference nodded and shared their own stories about all of the crazy things that their more popular bandmates had done.

"Even the most devoted of our fans think that the band is just the lead singer and the guitarist," one stated. "Everyone forgets about me."

"Our lead singer steals all of the attention," another complained. "I wish I could be the spotlight for once."

"Our band is the same way," a third person said.

"I just really wish that I could get more recognition," a fourth person said.

I felt great knowing that all of these people were in the same situation as I was. However, it didn't solve the problem at hand. "Can anyone give me a ride?" I said. "I really need to get to Chicago. Well, that might not be possible, but if it isn't..."

"I can do it," Joe interrupted.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"I'm sure," Joe said. "Come on Ray. Let's get you to Chicago." I waved to my new friends at the Forgotten and Underappreciated Band Members Conference, and Joe and I left. I hopped into the passenger seat of his car and turned on the radio, which he had replaced after a while of sitting in silence because somebody stole it. I knew this was going to be a long ride, so I kicked my feet up on the dash and savored the feeling. While I was with Joe at least, I could pretend I wasn't being driven away by my band mates, and that every street sign seemed to know my name.