Something's Gotta Give

357 28 1
                                    

Chapter Eight: Something's Gotta Give

1 WEEK LATER

KARA

Today was the day I was meeting with the rest of the band. It still felt alien to me saying the word band, because it meant that I'd actually found one and now we could move onto the next stage of our musical journey. We were meeting to discuss putting a demo together to show the label, and if the label liked what they saw, then they would sign us.

I had a radical switch up idea for the genre of the band, which would either go down a storm or sink like the Titanic. The other day I was out shopping with Dylan and Ben when my phone went off. My ringtone was Nemo by Nightwish, and they both asked what type of sound it was because they both liked it. That night I sent them my symphonic/power metal Spotify playlist to listen to. That kind of music was very European and not many American bands were doing something similar.

Dylan and Harry's dad let me into the shop which had become like a second home to me after Alex's of course. In the short amount of time, I'd been out here he'd been more of a dad to me than my real dad back in England. It was sad that I had to come out to America to find support, but he always knew how to make me laugh, which was a bonus.

'Good morning,' I call out cheerfully.

'Morning Kara, the usual suspects are downstairs where they always are. But be wary of Max today.'

I raise an eyebrow in his direction and stop in front of the counter where he was sorting through paperwork.

'She already hates me.' I sigh in frustration.

He chuckles, 'I think she knows change is in the air again, and Max can be a little stubborn and stuck in her ways.'

I make a mental note to walk on eggshells around her. One day we would be friends, but for now, that day was very far away on a whole different planet to ours.

'Thanks for the heads up. If you hear screams or complete silence, then call the Police.'

He shakes his head and turns his attention back to the scattering of paper on the counter. Clutching my backpack straps quite tightly, I take a deep breath and open the basement door. Maybe instead of walking on egg shells, I'd rip it off like a band-aid. Alex knew where I was if I didn't come home tonight.

Whoever was down in the basement was blasting some Lacuna Coil and HammerFall, whoever it was had good taste in music. Everyone but Max looked to be enjoying the songs, whereas Max looked like she was sucking on a lemon in the corner. She wasn't very subtle in showing her dislike of something.

'I see you're putting my playlist to good use, Dylan,' I joke.

I sit down next to her on the torn-up sofa, and she smiles before turning the music down.

'I guess in America the genre is foreign to us. But I think I like it.'

Hopefully, Dylan's enthusiasm would radiate through the rest of the band as I made my suggestion, making it seem less drastic.

'Guys, have you ever thought of attempting a fusion of power and symphonic metal? It's just a suggestion.'

'We're a rock band through and through Kara. That's what we've always been, I can't see the others wanting to change our whole sound and appearance, ' Max retorts.

Of course, Max would have a vocal opinion, but I fully understood where she was coming from. Before me showing up they had a clear image of what their band would be, and now I wanted to change that.

'What is this metal genre exactly? I mean, I know what metal is, but this sounds completely different.' Johnny chimes in, sitting up in the armchair he was lounging on.

Max scoffs, but Johnny's question was a fair one. I had limited knowledge of the genres; I just knew I liked the songs and appearance.

'Power metal is not as bone-crushing and heavy as other metal genres, with the focus on anthem-like songs that the audience can sing along to as well as the use of keyboard.'

At the mention of a keyboard, he perks up. Now I just had to hook the rest of the band.

'Symphonic metal combines distorted guitars, powerful drums, with some classical elements, for example, violins and the occasional operatic element. Like power metal, the lyrics are softer, but with the instruments sounds quite heavy.'

'As I already said Kara we're a rock band. You think you can come in and ruin what we've worked for,' Max huffs. She was starting to get on my nerves. 

Harry clears his throat, grabbing everyone's attention, 'Max, we didn't have a chance of being signed until Kara came along. I, for one, think we should record both genres and see which one the label prefers.'

'It would be nice to have a bit more keyboard thrown in because right now I feel like some people in the band think I'm a useless instrument ruining the sound.'

Johnny's comment was aimed towards Max, who swears under her breath before getting up from one of the other chairs and storms up the stairs. The door slams making me flinch, I had a feeling she wasn't coming back for the rest of the day. Now I felt kind of bad for causing tension again.

'Shit guys, I'm sorry for causing drama again. It was only a suggestion; I don't want to step on anyone's toes,' I confess, genuinely upset about what had just taken place.

'Don't worry about it, Kara, Max doesn't play well with others.' Dylan sighs and pats me on the back.

Across the room, Ben nods, 'We've known for a while now that she's a ticking time bomb, and we've always had to cater to her needs over ours.'

'Maybe we're finally seeing her true colours,' Harry chuckles trying to lighten the mood in the room.

I scratch the back of my head, thinking if this was the right time to tell the guys what Alex thought of the performances I'd recorded a week earlier.

'If it helped when I showed Alex the practice videos, he liked them. He said it felt like as a band we fed off each other and interacted like a band who'd been together a lot longer than we have.'

"So, no negatives or creative criticism then?' Johnny questions.

'Johnny, Alex had one criticism. He liked everything but felt Max was detached and doing her own thing, which drew his eye in a negative away from the rest of us.'

Johnny nods, 'thank god you didn't say that when she was still here, otherwise Max would have your head on a silver platter.'

I smirk; I think I could take Max in a fight if it ever came down to that. I'd been raised in England, and had been in a fair few scrapes and scraps during nights out in my university days.

'To quote All Time Low in terms of Max, something's gotta give.'

The whole room bursts into laughter at Dylan's use of All Time Low lyric to describe the current situation and mood. I couldn't pick a more perfect song, and if Alex were here, he'd agree with us before blushing at the fact we'd used an All Time Low lyric.

The Band And The Busker (All Time Low/Alex Gaskarth) *COMPLETED*Where stories live. Discover now