Page 36 of Down Beat
FOURTEEN
Tabitha
“Tomorrow” - Silverchair
Sitting on my damn hands won’t stop them shaking. Probably doesn’t help that my whole body vibrates with the rush I got when half the auditorium stood to give me… well, it wasn’t exactly an ovation.
A cheer? Yeah. That would describe the thunderous noise they made whooping and hollering better.
A flash of cherry red catches my eye, and I turn to see Kendall sneak up the stairs side of stage.
“Where the hell were you?’ I ask.
She points to the balcony. “I was making myself feel posh.” She giggles. “Sat in the fancy-schmancy section at the side.”
Crazy damn woman.
“How do you feel?” She sets her icy-cold hands on my arms and stoops to level our faces. “You killed it, babe.”
“Nervous.”
“Huh?” She cocks her head before gesturing for me to scoot over.
I jerk my chin toward where Dark Tide bang their way through one of their more radio-friendly tracks. She perches on the hard case beside me, her knees bent and legs tucked to the side to accommodate her tight miniskirt.
“I didn’t get a chance to gauge what they thought before they barreled on stage.”
“Ugh.” She rolls her eyes. “Who cares what they thought? You did your thing and the people loved it.” Kendall’s eyes go wide. “Shit. We didn’t bring any promo stuff. Flyers, cards… hell.”
My shoulders drop as I return to watching Rey own the stage. “I know. I realized that too.”
How damn stupid could I be? Or distracted. Selling yourself 101: Always have promo material on hand. All these people in here who watched me perform, who enjoyed what I did, and they have no way to stay connected.
Take two groups of people and give one the information all laid out nice and neat for them to follow, while you leave the other group to search out the same for themselves, and one guess which group would be more likely to follow through.
I’ve lost so many potential supporters by not staying on my game. When the hell will I get an opportunity like this again?
Easy: never.
“How are we all feeling?” Rey belts out once the song ends. “Still alive?” The audience roars, the unmistakable thunder of drumming feet taking over. “Still… sane?” They absolutely lose it as he drags out the tease.
Rey’s pick hits the strings and he leads the boys into the song they practiced yesterday—their next big hit, “Descent of My Mind.” The people go mad as he slides along the strings, leading into where Kris takes over.
“It’s insane how much they love them, huh?” Kendall hollers as she watches Toby thrash the living hell out of his drum set.
“Totally.”
I can see how addictive that thrill would be, how a person could come to live for the attention.
How it could make them lose their mind in the challenge to keep it.
I’ve slipped yet again, lying cradled on the floor,
Falling harder, deeper, faster than before.
I’ve gone too far, I’ve sunk too low,
Stay a while and catch the end of the show.