Page 3 of The Girl with No Name
“I was afraid you might ask that.”
“I’m trying to get to the heart of the matter. It’s what everyone wants to know.”
“I just sit down and write. And what comes out, comes out.”
“Come on, Reed,” she says. “We don’t even know if you’re single or not. Give me a little something. A name, maybe.”
I pause for a moment, and clear my throat.
I can hear her talking, but now I’m thinking back to that fateful weekend that changed it all for me.
“Is this short form, or long form?” I ask her, knowing she does both forms of content.
“It can be whatever you want it to be.”
I lean back in my chair, and take a sip of my Bacardi and coke. My preferred drink these days.
“I’ve never talked about this stuff. I think it might kill the mystery if I do.”
“You’ve already got the most successful album of the year.” She counters. “I think the way to build your legacy is with some authentic vulnerability, which is what my podcast is all about. Come on, Reed. In two years, you’ve gone from a nobody to playing at Red Rocks. That story is inspiring. And I want you to be able to tell me—and the world—about it.”
She’s known for ‘telling all’ when it comes to her own story. So if there was a time to tell it, it’s now.
“All right. What do you want to know?”
“Well, besides knowing who these songs arewritten about, I’d love to know if there was a turning point. How did you get the balls to just start putting out music three years ago, when no one was listening? You were just playing bars in Chicago before that, right? Sorry. Two questions at once. But my heart is actually racing finally getting to know the answers to these questions. I have goosebumps, Reed.” She holds up her arm to show me she’snot lying. “I’ve given some great interviews, but I’ve never gotten goosebumps from one.”
I chuckle lightly, staring into my drink. “It all started when my best friend dragged me to a music festival Zach Bryan was heading. And we had one extra ticket. So we ending up bringing along this girl we met at the bar.”
“Oh. A girl. Now we’re talking. Who was the girl? Does she have a name.”
“So, funny story…she didn’t give us her name, actually.”
“She…doesn’t have a name?”
I nod. “That’s right.”
“Well, obviously I’m curious to know more. If you’re willing to share, of course.”
Taking another hefty sip of my Cuba Libre, I let my mind drift to that fateful summer weekend in late July. It was only two years earlier, but it feels like lifetimes ago.
1
REED - TWO YEARS EARLIER
“GET RHYTHM” – JOHNNY CASH
Before my grandfather died, he told me you can’t chase what you want in life, that what’s meant for you will find you.
Essentially, that destiny is real.
And honestly, I think that’s a load of BS.
I don’t believe in destiny.
Life is about sacrifice. It’s about discipline, and it’s about doing those things you don’t want to do.
Don’t get me wrong—I don’t consider myself cynical per se, it’s just that there are no magic pills, no easy route to the life you want. I believe it’s dangerous to get caught up in that mindset.