The Rockstar Within Me

The Rock Star Within Me - Chapter 18

Copyright 2012

"So kiss me again...Underneath the moonlight. You're more than a friend. I knew it from the first time."

I sang into the microphone in the booth, holding the earphone up to my left ear and tapping my right hand against my thigh.

"Hold me, feel my heart beat... put your arms around me...and kiss me again, kiss me again."

The music playing through my headphones was just a rough demo cut but it already sounded amazing. It was easy to sing to a song that I was excited about.

Through the sound proof glass, sitting, facing me, behind a large soundboard was River and a man in his early thirties. River and the producer, who's name was Matt, both had their heads moving to the beat. They both seemed pretty pumped too.

"Okay Alice, that sounded pretty good, let's do one more take from the top."

I nodded, looking over the lyrics I had scribbled all over. I had to focus to read the appropriate words and ignore the scratches.

River had stayed true to his words; he booked us studio time, got a producer to come in and here we were recording a demo for our very first song together! It was all such a new and exhilarating experience.

After spending a couple minutes outside the hotel signing autographs for the crazy fans who had slept over night outside, all of us managed to head over to a studio.

Jess, Mason and Drew had obviously come along; if Shatter was to be featured on a River Johnson track, they would be there throughout the recording process. Although they were present, they didn't necessarily have much to do.

River and Matt had already written a rough draft of a song. Of course as soon as I heard the demo music and sang out the lyrics, I started to fix it. Nothing major just a few words and phrases, also adding new lines and scrapping ones all together.

In the past Drew and I had always been the ones who composed and wrote our music, so naturally Drew made a contribution too.

The expression River had as I scratched out his precious lyrics was priceless. Apparently, no one had ever critique his writing skills so closely. He tried desperately to hide his horrified look but failed.

"Stop having a panic attack. We aren't ruining it; simply fixing it up so it sounds like something I'd say." I had tried to encourage River who stood hovered over Matt, Drew and I watching every flick of our pencils has they covered the once crisp, white lyric page.

"I am not having a panic attack." He had snapped, sitting down in the back of the room with Mason and Jess, who at the time, were looking at all of the guitars the studio owned.

Suddenly producer Matt's voice sounded through the headphones waking me from my thoughts and I was once again in the sound booth.

"Okay, here we go Alice, like before."

The music played once again and I sang out the chorus, this time trying not as hard to hit each note as precisely but trying just to loose myself in the song.

I finished up my vocals and exited the booth happy with what I had contributed. As I was leaving, River was entering the booth.

"Good job." He replied, curtly.

I nodded, acknowledging the impersonal compliment.

Sometimes River gave me whip lash with how easily he was able to pretend I was his girlfriend and how easily it was to behave like he had never seen me before. Of course, today we had to act as if we were dating in front of Matt and the couple of studio people we had been introduced to, but as soon as no one was looking all friendliness was put aside. His true feelings for me were always put into perspective by his actions.