Chapter 1
Griffith
Adrenaline pumped through my body like a hallucinogenic drug. I felt as though any minute, I would sprout wings and fly. There was no feeling as heady as performing in front of a screaming, clapping audience. Whenever I was on stage, I wondered why anyone turned to needles or snorting when they could just step in front of a crowd.
I gripped the microphone and belted out the melody while my bandmates wailed on their instruments and sang harmonies that amplified the notes until they were ringing throughout the arena. As the chorus came to an end, I let go of the mic and returned my fingers to the strings of my Gibson Firebird.
Louie, our lead guitarist, dueled with me, his strings electrified and practically magic in his hands. Bex’s hands flew across his drum kit, and my heart was thumping in time with every pump of his foot on the bass drum pedal.
The music did a fast crescendo, getting louder and louder until we were practically shaking the fucking rafters. The crowd was going insane, jumping, clapping, singing their hearts out. Then we hit the final note, and there was utter silence throughout the arena. After about thirty seconds, the audience’s roar was deafening, making me grin like a fucking lunatic.
I had the best fucking job ever.
“You guys are the shit!” I yelled into the mic. “You want more?” They clapped and shouted. “More from Rising Phoenix?” Another boom of approval. I pointed my right index finger to the wings of the stage, and a couple sauntered out from behind the drapes. “How about from Stone Butterfly?”
The audience’s reaction almost had me putting my fingers in my ears as I laughed. I’d met and become friends with Levi, the lead singer of Stone Butterfly, years ago, before either of our bands went gold, then platinum. We’d remained close, and I’d even been a groomsman in his wedding to Brooklynn Hawk a couple of weeks ago. They met when she signed on to be a backup singer with his band. Their love story was well documented on fan and paparazzi sites, not only because of the tumultuous nature but also because when they sang together, you had no doubt that they were made for each other.
They happened to be stopping in Vegas on their way to a remote island for their honeymoon. We met for lunch the morning of my last concert at The Lennox Hotel and Casino, and I asked them to make an appearance and reveal a big secret. They loved the idea.
The crowd obviously loved the idea, too. Levi slung his guitar from his back around to his front as he came to a stop next to me. Brooklynn held a cordless mic in her hand, and Levi had a small one hooked over his ear.
Once the noise died down, I handed my Gibson off to Louie, who gave me my acoustic. Then I went back to the standing microphone. “So, it’s supposed to be a surprise, but we’ve decided to let you be the first to learn about a collaboration we’ll be releasing on Rising Phoenix’s next album.” I paused as the crowd went wild and waited until they calmed before continuing. “You guys want to hear it?” Levi, Brooklynn, and I laughed at the mixed reaction of screaming, crying, and clapping. I was anxious to see how the audience reacted to the new song. I was headed back to LA. the next day to begin recording. By testing it out on the crowd now, I could make any tweaks that were necessary before Levi and Brooklynn showed up to lay down the track in two weeks.
We cracked some jokes and got the audience riled up, especially when Levi bent Brooklynn backwards and kissed the hell out of her. Finally, I gave the signal, and a gleaming, white grand piano was wheeled onstage and positioned right next to Brooklynn. She sat on the bench and secured the mic before running her fingers over the keys a couple of times, which eventually morphed into a tune that was dark, heavy and thick with tension. Levi started strumming, and I joined in after a few bars.
Brooklynn leaned in and began to sing in her smooth, smoky voice. She sang about love, about the pain of loving one man and breaking the heart of another.
I joined her after a few lines, singing a contracting melody about loving a girl and not knowing if she belongs to me or another.
When we finished, the three of us launched into a chorus about love drowning us instead of breathing love into our lives.
This time, Levi started the verse, singing similar words to mine before Brooklynn joined him, confessing her love for him. We repeated the chorus, then I started the next verse. As I sang about the world falling apart when she left me for him, my eyes swept over the audience.