Page 32 of Down Beat
I shake my head, my veins charged at the thought. “Nope. Make something modern sound like an old classic.”
She frowns.
“I’ll play one of their songs.”
Kendall jackknifes into a seated position. “Now you’re talking.”
“It shouldn’t be hard,” I muse aloud. “All their songs are basic when you break it down; easy chords and progressions. It’s just how they put it all together.”
“What one are you thinking?”
I open my Spotify app and thumb through their song list. “This one might translate well.” I tap the little triangle. “You have to remember that I’m replacing his voice with my violin, so it needs to be a melodic tune for me to carry it.”
She nods as Dark Tide’s “Pull Me Under” begins. The two of us sit in silence, listening to the ballad as it plays through the small speaker. The song wraps up with a long guitar solo, but I’m pretty sure I can wing it if I cut that out.
“Do you think you can do it?” Kendall asks as the next song auto plays.
My heart beats heavy in my chest. “Only one way to know.” She still sits where I left her when I return a few moments later, my violin in hand. “Play it again.”
I listen to their signature track upwards of forty times, scratching a few notes to guide me, before I’m confident enough to attempt it start to finish. The clock on the microwave shows we’re already into tomorrow as Kendal cradles her cup of coffee and sits cross-legged to hear me out.
“Are you ready?” I lift the violin to my shoulder.
She nods, one hand splayed. “I think I’ve memorized how it should sound by now.”
We both chuckle before I pull in a deep breath and let my eyes close. You can do this. I fuck up the start three times before it sticks. Easy chords, remember? I pull a deep breath, and to my relief play the ballad start to finish, all four and half minutes of it.
Kendall stares at me with her lips twisted as I set my instrument aside.
“What?”
“It’s missing something.”
I flop onto the arm of the sofa. “I know.” I jerk my chin toward my phone beside her. “Play it one more time?”
She taps the icon and we both sit staring off into space as the tune plays.
“I need the drums,” I say with a shake of my head. “That’s what makes it flat on my own.”
“Shit.”
“How am I going to do that without giving it away?”
A wicked smile creeps across her lips. “I have his number, you know.”
“Toby?”
She nods. “I could ask him to play drums for you, but not say what song it is.”
My shoulders drop. “He’ll want to know.”
“So tell him tonight before the thing kicks off.”
She might be on to something. It’s not as though he needs practice; he’s playing his own music. All I need is to be able to divert him from the details until the concert starts. And looking at the blonde knockout next to me, I think I have just the thing.
“Message him.” I give a nod. “Tell him I need a drummer to back me up on my final track and that I’ll give him the details when we get there. If he asks, tell him it’s an easy beat so he can play it from the sheet.”
Kendall remains silent beside me, drawing my focus to her. She sits with pride in her eyes, and what could almost be read as satisfaction in the way she relaxes into the seat.
“You okay?” I ask with a hint of a smile.
“You’ve totally got this, Tab. You’re going to show that arrogant bastard what’s up, that’s for sure.”
And if not, then damn it all if I’m not going to have fun in the process.