Page 2 of The Girl with No Name

Take her out on the town

Like a real man

The chorus hits like a freight train, and the crowd sings along, a thousand voices lifting us higher:

When she wears that dress

Looks like a Goddess

Levis with Bacardi

She gets a little naughty

When she’s kissing on you

And you’re loving on her

Don’t be a fool

Throw a little party

Past 1 a.m.

Go and marry Bacardi

The final notes hang in the air, a perfect echo of everything we’ve poured into this night. I look at my bandmates, each one a part of this incredible journey.

“Thank you, Red Rocks!” I shout, my voice raw with emotion. “We love you!”

The stage lights dim, and the roar of the crowd is a deafening crescendo that follows us offstage. We’ve done it.

We’veplayed Red Rocks.

That night,I’m at a party when a well-known Tik Tok influencer, a friend of the host, asks me if she can interview me.

It’s a little irregular, but Teresa is one of my favorite influencers, and always tells the story like it is. On the day I’ve fulfilled my life-long dream, I can’t say no to an interview.

“Are any topics off-limits?” She asks.

“No,” I say.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Alright then.” She brings me to a room with a ring light and asks me if I’d sit down.

“So hi, Reed Walker. Most famous band out of the punk-folk scene in the past two years.”

“After the Red Lemons,” I say.

“Well, obviously.”

The Red Lemons helped me get my start, and I’ll never not be grateful to them for that.

“You’ve written one of the most romantic love song albums of the past year. But you’re notoriously private about your dating life. Can you explain that? Where do you get these ideas? Marry Bacardi? Who are you writing these songs about?”

I look down a little, then lift a smile.