A Taste of Home

After the show, the five of us sat together at a table in the hotel bar. It was vaguely patronizing that Skye and I were the only ones who weren’t old enough to drink, but it made for a few good jokes while we sipped on Red Bulls.

This was the first time my bandmates invited me to hangout after a show, and it felt good to be an accessory with them rather than a centerpiece.

“I can’t believe how many people were there for our set tonight, that was nuts,” Max said, a little too loud, drawing attention to the table. “Ariel’s team said there were 54,000 by the time we started, and 61,000 total tickets sold.”

“Imagine how I felt playing Darker Days for an audience for the first time,” Ian lamented. “I was shaking so badly, and it’s hard to hide your mistakes on an acoustic.”

“Yeah, but you nailed it,” I said with a smile.

“I don’t know how you’re always so calm at these shows. Respectfully, it’s not like Embers of Twilight ever played shows this big,” he pushed back.

From a high level perspective, he wasn’t wrong, but it also wasn’t an accurate assessment of what I had done in my career.

“The biggest show I played with EoT was probably about forty-thousand people at a festival, but I once played for over a hundred-thousand with X-Mass,” I locked eyes with Ian. “Once you’ve done that, you can do anything.”

“When were you playing with X-Mass?” Sean asked.

“I played with them at Heavy Tulsa 2013, on the thirtieth anniversary tour for their second album, right before I went on tour opening for them.”

“I wonder if there’s any video of that on the internet,” Max said.

“I’m not sure,” Skye interjected. “But I was there, and it was intense, even standing on the side of the stage with Stan.”

All three of them went silent. Max and Ian both tilted their head after trembling in their seats for a brief second. Sean literally almost fell out of his chair.

“You’re referring to Stan McSorley, yes?” Sean asked after a minute of silence.

“Yeah, what of it?” she replied, a little confused.

“You’re on a first name basis with the President of R&R records?” he answered her question with a question.

“Yeah, Stan’s both a friend and a mentor to both of us,” I added.

I never thought it was strange how close Stan and I were. I just assumed everyone who signed to his label got that kind of treatment. Especially considering his closeness with Caleb.

“That’s wild,” Ian said. “I thought he was more of an urban legend than a real person. When I auditioned for this band people told me that Mr. McSorley was listening to all of the auditions personally, but I thought that was bullshit.”

I chuckled, “No, that’s true. Stan, Skye, and I evaluated all of the auditions together,” I paused. “Stan actually really pushed for you.”

Ian was embarrassed and flattered all at once. He downed his Screwdriver and quickly ordered another.

“I wish that we talked about this sooner,” he mumbled. “You’re more interesting than I thought you were, Wes.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

Ariel

OMW back to the hotel. PLS be on floor 14 with Skye waiting

I didn’t realize my expression soured.

“Jesus, what could possibly create a face like that?” Max asked.

“I’ve been summoned by Ariel,” I said, not realizing I should have lied.

“No offense Skye, but what is going on between you and Ariel, Wes?” Sean pressed.

I let out a long sigh, “We’re just friendly…I’m her most convenient source of entertainment.”

Skye frowned.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow morning, I don’t want to disappoint the queen,” I said, rising from the table and helping Skye up from her chair.

We held hands on our way to the elevator. It was nice that no one in the hotel lobby recognized us. As much success as I had, the public was only a nuisance closer to home.

“Are you okay?” she asked as we rode up the elevator.

“Yeah, I’m just not sure how this is going to go…Ariel’s a little…strange.”

“It’ll be fine. I imagine her manager has told her that her label is paying R&R for me to work on her next album,” her voice was cocky.

“When did that come together?” I asked.

We stepped out of the elevator and stood in the hallway.

Ariel’s security team recognized me, and gave me a discreet thumbs up that I was allowed to be here.

“It was one of the last offers I agreed to for the fall before leaving Nashville,” she paused. “Stan will have contracts for a couple of projects for you too.”

“Oh?” I asked.

“Yeah, we’ve got an offer to do three songs on Ariel’s next record…which is the second coolest project on the table.”

I smiled, “Are you going to keep the other one secret?”

“No, I just wanted to build up the anticipation,” she said, pulling me down to her for a kiss.

“We have an offer to co-write and play on the entire next X-Mass album…which is going to be their last before a years-long farewell tour,” she stopped, smiling. “They really wanted to pass the torch to you.”

I was overwhelmed with emotion, but I couldn’t fully process it yet…I wouldn’t be able to truly express it until we were in the studio. I’d learned through my time in the music industry to not get excited until it was tangible.

My chest was tight as I pulled myself together.

“That’s great, Skye. I can’t wait to work with you on something that isn’t for me,” I said softly.

“It’s fun to write music for other people…I think you’ll really enjoy it,” her voice was sweet.

I wasn’t sure how this emotional shift was going to affect our first conversation with Ariel.