I sat for hours. Waiting. Waiting, for any kind of inspiration to come to me. Who knew writing a new song could be so hard? Damn it, I thought to my self. The record company was expecting a new song by tomorrow. "What am I going to do?" I mumbled to myself. Sighing, I decided it was hopeless and set my guitar down. I was never destined for greatness anyway. I went up to the balcony and sat staring at the amazing ocean view this hotel had. I lit a cigarette to calm my nerves.
Man the band was going to kill me tomorrow, I groaned to myself. I don't understand why everyone put the pressure on me. It was always Levi do this. Levi do that. Why couldn't I get a break? Oh I know why, because I wanted to be famous and follow my dreams. Who knew following your dreams took so much hard work? I missed the days when I was practicing in my garage with the boys, waiting for an opportunity to come knocking on our door. And opportunity did knock. Don't get me wrong I'm glad Ive been given this chance but the prospect of others changing our style, look and even band name irritated me. I mean come on, I was lucky enough to even get to write our own songs still.
I slowly watched as the sun started making its way down the horizon and the sky started getting darker. I threw the cigarette on the floor and smashed it under my shoe. Time to get back to work. I went back into my trashed hotel room, I was a rock star after all, grabbed my guitar and started playing a song I was working on. I was getting frustrated. It just didn't sound right, something was off. I've never had trouble writing songs before, I don't know whats gotten into me lately. I ran my hand through my hair, making it stick out at odd ends. I breathed deeply, closed my eyes and listened. I could hear the clock ticking, the waves outside crashing and the sound of the t.v humming in the background. I opened my eyes and it hit me. I grabbed my notebook and started scrawling words that were coming out of no where, my hand seemed to know exactly what to write.
I smiled to myself. All this needed was a rocking tune and it could be our next big hit.
*****
"No." Marcus my manger said.
"What do you mean, no?" I asked in disbelief, this couldn't be happening.
"I mean its all wrong. This isn't what we're expecting for your image." He replied slightly irritated.
"What is out image exactly? I worked my ass off to finish this song and i cant believe your shooting it down like this."
"Listen kid, its nothing personal. Its just-" I cut him off before he could finish that sentence. I was sick of dealing with the crap. I mean come on! Change the way I dress, ok. Change MY band name, ok. But changing my songs? That's were I draw the line. The songs I wrote always came from something, they were always inspirational. Taking them away was like taking away myself, my dreams, wishes, past. The lyrics to my songs is what made this band, what made me want to be a 'star'. I was definitely not singing the crap other writers came up with.
"Stop screwing with me" I spat. "If you want this band, you use my songs." I was relieved to see my band mates nod and mumble their agreements in the background. I smiled to myself, they would always have my back. I looked at Marcus who seemed unimpressed.
"Levi, you don't understand this business. If you want to make it big, you need to listen to me and I'm saying that this song just isn't it." He said smugly. Sighing deeply I looked anywhere but at our so called manager. I knew he had a point, I really didn't know anything about the music industry, I was just paid to show my pretty face and sing a song along with my band and move on with my life.
"Ok" I mumbled. "What did you have in mind?" I finally gave in.
"That's what I like to hear, so this is what I'm thinking..." Marcus started talking but I already zoned out.
*****
I was at yet another photo shoot along side my band members. We were a group of five boys who just so happened to be best friends. We grew up together and always shared the love of music, but it wasn't until high school that we decided to actually start a band. We had called it The Note Smashers. Yes I know not very original but we were fifteen and not very bright. That's why I didn't really mind the name change, it was now called Unfazed. And I had to admit I actually liked it. In interviews we were required to say that we thought of it ourselves and that it was meant to represent our attitudes towards stardom, how all of it didn't effect us and we were still those immature boys playing music in our parents garage. Well one of those things was true.
I was sitting down next to Aaron, who played the drums. Cole and Joel, who happened to be twins and both played the guitar (one base and one electric). And Seth who played the keyboard or piano. These were the guys. We've been through thick and thin, as some people may say, and just opened another chapter of our lives together. Ok that sounded cheesy but what can i say, its true! I don't know what I would do without them. Finally finished with our makeup and hair we made our way for our close up.
After what seemed like eternity we finally managed to finish all our shots and make our way into a dressing room. I slumped down on a couch while Aaron and Joel started bickering about who could get the most fan girls. Imbeciles. Just then, Marcus burst into the room with a wide grin on his face. "Great job today boys!" He beamed. "Just think by next week your faces will be all over billboards, posters, and magazines!" I smirked to myself knowing that this was one of the perks that came with being famous. "Ok well you have an interview in five, so get ready and don't be late. I'll be waiting out front." He said before opening the door and parting.
"Yo Levi" I heard Seth call. He was definetley the mysterious bad boy in the band. People usually assume that its me, being the lead singer and all but thats not my style. I cant wear black all the time and scowl for no reason. No you can leave that to Seth, who actually enjoyed playing the roll but was actually the kindest one out of all of us. "Yeah?" I asked. "Do you think we could go for ice cream afterwards?" I chuckled to myself. "Yeah man, we can do that."
"Yes! Ice cream!!!" Aaron screamed. "What are we waiting for? Lets get this interview over with so i can get my creamy deliciousness!" And with that we left.
YOU ARE READING
Unfazed
Teen FictionRock star Levi has been waiting for his big break ever since he can remember and when his band is finally discovered and he gets everything he has dreamed of, he's ecstatic. But fame, fortune and screaming girls aren't enough for his taste if he doe...