The Prince of Punk Rock (49 page)

The next
six weeks were chaotic.
 
The band flew
between
New York
,
Chicago
and
L.A.
to
make appearances on several syndicated late night talk shows.
 
Television. It was unimaginable.
 
It was the first time Angel was nervous
before a performance.
 
Immortal Angel was
virtually unknown to the studio audiences and he was worried about making a
good impression.
 
His concerns proved
unwarranted.
 
They were immediately won
over by Angel’s stage presence and superb vocals and the band’s electrifying
musical ability.  The reception the band received was overwhelming, and it
escalated with each show.

They did
about a dozen intimate performances at radio stations across the country.
 
At each one, the number of people who came to
see them doubled, and then tripled.  Fans that couldn’t fit inside
the small studio, waited outside in hopes of an autograph or a photo.

The band
released their first single,
Without You
, and it was already climbing
the charts, bringing with it another round of television performances and radio
promos.  It gave the band the opportunity to perform a few songs in front
of the growing number of fans, but what Angel really wanted to do was be back
on stage and play a full concert. 
  
Even so, he was still anxious to get out in front of the 40 or so people
that were waiting for him to perform four songs in the radio station
today.  They were already lining up when he arrived at the studio early this
morning.

Jessi was
still outside talking to the fans and Angel was getting worried.
 
She needed to be on set when they
performed.
 
She went out before every
show to talk to the fans and they began to recognize her and know her by
name.
 
She garnered for their attention
and stayed out longer than she should.
 
Angel was always worried that she took on too much, but somehow she
always managed to successfully juggle at least half a dozen things at once.
 
He didn’t know how she did it, but it was her
forte, so he had to trust that she would make it back in time.

Five
minutes later Jessi returned to the dressing room, Audra and Kira in tow.
 
Since their father owned the record label,
they were at all the promos, but not backstage, like now – that was clearly Jessi’s
doing.
 
Audra and Kira sat in the
audience, just like everyone else.
 
They
weren’t spoiled rich kids.
 
They never
dropped Ron Ableman’s name, even though it would have provided them with a huge
level of entitlement.
 
They were always
nearby but they never invaded his privacy.
 
Even back at The Quadrangle, they always waited until he was done with a
conversation before they approached him.
 
They never intruded.
 
Even now,
they could see he was busy speaking with the production crew, so they kept
their distance.
 
Kira must have felt his
stare, because she turned toward him and gave him a tiny wave.

Angel
excused himself from the production assistant.
 
“Girls,” he opened his arms, “come here and give me a hug.”

They flew
into his arms, and he swore one of them sniffed his chest.
 
“Thank you for coming to all the radio
stations.
 
If it weren’t for you two, we
wouldn’t be here right now.
 
We owe it
all to you.”

“Oh, no,”
Audra said, “thank
you
!
 
It was
because of you that Daddy finally takes us seriously.
 
He’s finally treating us like adults.”

Kira
nodded in agreement.
 
“He sent agents to
see a few other bands we recommended, too.
 
Of course, they don’t possess half the talent you do, but at least Daddy
values our opinion now.”

“He
talked about offering us an internship as junior scouts,” Audra said.
 
“We’ve been begging him to let us work in the
studio for years, doing
anything
.
 
I would’ve been happy sweeping the floors, but he never let us near his
business before. Not until he met you.”

Marissa
signaled to him from the doorway. It was time for his interview.
 
He kissed Kira and Audra on the cheek and
kept his arms around their petite shoulders.
 
“You girls are very sweet.
 
I wish
I could spend more time with you, but I got an interview before we
perform.
 
Make sure you sit right up
front, like always.”

Marissa
escorted him out of the dressing room, her Louboutin’s clicked on the
travertine floor as they walked down the long corridor.
 
“I hope you’re ready for the paparazzi,
because I arranged for Celebrity Today to
accidentally
run into you
leaving the radio station.
 
We want
people to see your face.
 
We want the
entire band to be recognizable.”

Celebrity
Today was part of a major entertainment media network, known for getting the
latest breaking news on celebrity gossip.
 
They were also known for their unscrupulous behavior, which made Angel
apprehensive about talking to them.

A
journalist, cameraman and photographer rushed toward the band as soon as they
exited the building.
 
The journalist shot
off a series of questions, quicker than Angel could answer them.
 
Luckily, Marissa stayed right next to him, to
thwart off any unwanted questions, because it was more like an interrogation
than an interview.

Tommy was
quiet, and Damien and Jimmy didn’t say much.
 
Alyssa mostly stayed in the background, but you couldn’t shut Jessi
up.
 
She fed off the camera and the
attention.
 
Her smile and vivacious
personality quickly won over the paparazzi.
 
They were eager to film Jessi and kept the camera on her as they continued
to ask her questions.

Marissa
was beaming, because every word out of Jessi’s mouth further promoted the
band.
 
“That’s the way to schmooze with
the paparazzi,” Marissa whispered in Angel’s ear.
 
“Befriend the devil, because in this
business, bad publicity will ruin you.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The band’s first round of shows was
going to be on the east coast where their music was fairly well-known.
 
It was a small tour, only about five weeks
long, and included two stops in
New York
followed by
New Jersey
,
Connecticut
and a few scattered dates in
New England
.
 
The venues in the tri-state area were already
sold out and the rest were selling fast.
 
The label was impressed, and talks of a full fledged national headlining
tour were in the works.

Tonight was the last night of
practice, and it was one of the most grueling sessions they ever had in the
studio.
 
Everyone was exhausted. 
All Angel wanted to do was go home and lie down in bed, but Damien and Jimmy said
they needed to talk to him.

Angel had a bad feeling that they
were upset about the contract.  The label gave the four of them an equal
cut, and it was a generous amount.
 
As
lead singer, Angel was expected to do occasional promos and appearances on
behalf of the band, so they gave him a healthy stipend.  He didn’t want
any friction.  If Damien and Jimmy had a problem with the stipend, he would
gladly share it with them.

“I think I know what’s bothering
you.  I didn’t ask for the stipend.  They gave it to me.”

“No.” Jimmy said.  “We don’t
care bout the extra money.  You deserve it.”

“It’s your personal life,” Damien
pointed out.

“My personal life?
 
What does my personal life have to do with
the band?”

“You, Tommy, Jessi.
 
How is the public going to react to
that?
 
It’s a stretch, even by rock star
standards.”

Angel never thought about how the
media or the label would react to the publicity around their relationship.
 
As a celebrity, you gave up your right to
privacy.  Every aspect of their life would be subject to criticism and
judgment.  Angel really didn’t care what people thought, as long as the
music didn’t suffer because of it, but he worried about Tommy’s feelings. 
Tommy wasn’t used to cruel, slanderous ridicule especially broadcast to the
world by the sensationalistic media.

The label knew that Tommy and Jessi
were married, and Angel assumed they knew he was gay, but he didn’t think they
knew that the three of them were in a relationship.
  
He began to wonder if it would matter. 
He never thought it could jeopardize their success, but he wasn’t about to hide
it either.
  
Damien and Jimmy had a
point, though.
 
He furrowed his brow and
tried to find an answer, but he didn’t have one. He decided he wouldn’t say
anything.
 
If the issue came up,
when
the issue came up, that’s when he would explain their relationship.

Chapter Forty