Rock Band

This was it, the moment, the one time everybody hoped for in their live.  It seemed like nothing could stop us now, we were on top of the world.  I am getting a little ahead of myself though, in order to tell the entire story I need to go back to the weekend before…

It started like every Saturday that has come before, my band Metric Friday all got together and started jamming in my basement.  On lead guitar we had Reggie, he is insane with his speed but he still has some work to do technically.  Our drummer, Bryant, kept a smooth beat and was the backbone of our rhythm.  On the rhythm guitar Ian made all of our songs flow like a calm mountain stream.  Over on bass is John, you can’t help but tap your foot when he slaps that bass of his.  Then there is me, Brett, I am the lead singer and the guy who brought us all together.  Our sound was unique; we all had our different tastes.  I guess if you had to describe it, it would be a melting pot of blues, rock, and hip-hop.  We just finished writing a new song titled “Mind Games” and it was our best song yet.

“Who would have ever thought we would get to this point….actually writing our own music” I said.
“Not me, that’s for sure” said Reggie.

Just then there was a voice from upstairs, it was Kyle, one of our friends who wasn’t as musically talented as the rest of us.  He trotted down the stairs making as much noise as possible to alert us of his presence and we all greeted each other.

“Hey, do you want to hear our new song ‘Mind Games’?” John said. “It’s pretty much done now and we need some input.”
“Sure, why not, ill give you my opinion of it” Kyle said.

We turn up the amps and let loose all that we have.  After about three minutes of playing the song finally ended and we look over at Kyle, whose jaw it seems has fallen to the floor.

“So…what do you think?” I asked cautiously.
“That…was…AMAZING!” Kyle shouted. “When did you guys get this good? Why didn’t you tell me? Why hasn’t there been a concert? Why haven’t you made a CD? Why…”
“Whoa, slow down there Kyle, we just got finished today!” John Said.
“Well we need to showcase this somehow fo’ sho’!” exclaimed Kyle. “I hear there is a battle of the bands this weekend, you should sign-up.”
“I don’t really know if we are ready for that…” Reggie said half-heartedly.
“Sure we are guys, we aren’t half-bad and everyone needs to start somewhere right?” I questioned.

There was a mix of nods and “yes’s” throughout the room.  This was it, our first big gig. Look out Battle of the Bands…here comes Metric Friday.


One week of blood, sweat and tears later….

As we finish loading up the truck with our guitars and band members I look to everyone in the band. An assuring voice comes from behind us, “Don’t sweat it guys, you have this, you WILL win.”  It was Kyle, he turned into our Manager in the past week but he was unable to make it to this event because of work.

“I know we will, this is our time and nobody will take it away from us.” I said.
Another mixed reply of “yes’s”.

About 20 minutes later we arrive at the building.  The event was held in a local school gym because the auditorium was being used by the theater class.  It is what most high school gyms look like, big, basketball hoops and banners of who won state in which sport.  A fairly large crowd is forming; around 300 people are standing around and talking.  We check in and find out we are 6th out of 8 bands.  It’s not a bad position but I think it’s harder to compete when higher standards will be set. About three bands in our tension is getting higher…these guys were a lot better than we anticipated.  I can tell the thoughts going through everyone’s minds were the same as mine.  Next thing I knew I hear “Metric Friday” being called to the stage…

Once I get up on the stage and make sure everyone is plugged in and tuned I clear my throat and look out into the sea of faces
.
“Hey everyone!  How are you all doing tonight?” I yell out
.
There is a mix of chattering students and coughs.  WE don’t really have the crowds attention, but that’s ok because we were about to take hold with our music.  Bryant counts off, “A one, a two, a one two three four.” Ian and Reggie roar to life with the heart of the song, this gets everyone’s attention.  Bryant starts hitting the bass pedal to keep us steady and bangs the snare drum to get this thing going.  John comes in on the bass, and so far everything is going great.  “Common everyone, get your hands together!” I shout.  I hear the rhythm of the audience now too; I am fired up and ready to go.  When I start to sing it feels unreal, like this was just a dream.  I didn’t even have to think like in rehearsal…I just did. About half-way through the song Reggie starts his solo, and he even improvises to make it better.  There was no way that we were going to loose now, we were just too good. 

About two minutes later our song ends and we are greeted with a roar worthy of a stadium, much less a high school gym.  We took our bows and left the stage waiting for the competition to end.  About 30 minutes later the MC got up on stage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we now have the winner of this years Battle of the Bands.”

He continues on for what seems like hours thanking everyone who made this event possible and so on.  There was a shout from the crowd, “Hurry up and just tell us who won!”
“Alright, the moment you have all been waiting for…the winner is…The Clones!”

We all sit there in disbelief, our jaws on the ground.  We all knew our performance was better than theirs and even the audience seemed to agree.  There was nothing we could do about it now.  Our half-hearted clapping showed how we felt on the inside, broken.  I turn to the rest of the band and say, “There is always next time, guys.”  So we all took of our plastic instruments and powered down the Xbox.  Maybe next week we will be the best band on Xbox Live.