The Prince of Punk Rock (8 page)

At first he thought Jessi was
Tommy’s beard, his wife for appearances sake, but he quickly realized that
wasn’t the case. Tommy and Jessi were free with their affection for one
another, and they shared their own sexual chemistry.
 
Their marriage was real, that much he
knew.
 
It was everything else that
confused him.

Chapter Nine

Tommy’s first show with Immortal
Angel was at The Quadrangle.
 
It was a
Williamsburg
staple and
the heart of the band’s fan base.
 
The
Quadrangle wasn’t a bar.
 
It was a venue
for indie musicians.
 
It prided itself on
showcasing top notch local music.
 
It was
the go-to hot spot.
 
It had a real stage
and a state of the art sound system.

It was the first time Jessi was at
The Quadrangle and she perused the venue with a curious eye.
 
It didn’t waste its money on fancy
décor.
 
The floor was a painted concrete
slab and the walls were a mish mosh of graffiti contributed by local artists.

The band stayed in the back room until show time, but Jessi wanted to
be in the middle of the crowd.
 
She was
interested in Immortal Angel’s fan base.
 
They were pretty much what she expected – leather clad, bright-haired,
tattooed punk rockers.
 
She fit in
perfectly.
 
The sweet smell of pot hit
her as she walked past the bathroom.
 
She
turned her head in the direction of the scent and spotted two guys making out
near the juke box.
 
The Quadrangle
definitely wasn’t a place for prudes.

Jessi overheard several
conversations, all discussing the return of Immortal Angel to the stage and the
anticipation of seeing Tommy’s debut.
 
She was impressed, and surprised, that they already knew Tommy by name.
 
They were obviously die-hard fans who did
their research.
 
And there was
camaraderie among them, like a small family.

She introduced herself to some of
the fans.
 
As soon as they heard she was
with the band, they treated her like an old friend.
 
They were full of compliments.
 
They loved her hair, her studded boots, her
makeup – they loved
her.
 
Some
wore Immortal Angel T-shirts, but she couldn’t find the band’s merchandise
table.
 
Angel had a sharp business
mind.
 
It was unlike him to miss the
opportunity to capitalize on merchandise for the band.
 
She made a mental note to ask him about it
later.

Twenty minutes before the band was
set to take the stage, Jessi was still at the bar shooting tequila.
 
The room was thick with people, and she had a
hard time squeezing through them.
 
A
voice in the crowd shouted, “She’s the new guitar player’s wife,” and a
collection of hands practically carried her to the front of the stage.
 
She found herself next to Alyssa, Damien’s
wife. Jessi liked Alyssa, and they were becoming close friends.

Since Tommy left Psychobabble, they
lost touch with their old circle of friends.
 
Years of friendship thrown away because of jealousy.
 
The members of the band didn't understand
that Tommy had a chance with Immortal Angel.
 
They only saw their talented lead guitar player jumping ship and leaving
them to fend for themselves in the competitive music industry.
 
They took it personally, and their
friendships slowly dwindled away.
 
It was
sad, because she thought Brian, the singer from Psychobabble, and his
girlfriend, Diana, were their closest friends.
 
Now, she realized how seamlessly Alyssa and Damien would fill that gap
in their lives.

“I was looking for you,” Alyssa
said.
 
“Where were you?”

“I was at the bar.
 
Do you know all the people here?
 
They’re very friendly.”

“Yeah.
 
Pretty much.
 
Everyone’s really cool, except . . .”
 
Alyssa trailed off without finishing her sentence, obviously unwilling
to share a name.

“Except who?”

“Never mind.
 
I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”

Showtime.
 
Nerves were never an issue.
 
Tommy was confident.
 
He knew music was his gift and it was his
mission to share it with the world.
 
He
cradled his trusty Les Paul in his hands and peeked out from the side of the
stage.
 
The Quadrangle was mobbed, but he
could see Jessi at the front of the crowd.
 
He smiled in her direction, even though he knew she couldn’t see him.

A chant rose up from the impatient
fans:
 
“Immooortal! Immooortal!”
 
Tommy tapped his foot to the beat of their
mantra and fought the urge to run out on stage.

Angel clapped him on the shoulder.
 
“Ready to make magic?”

“Never been more ready for anything
in my life.”

“How about a little guitar to
announce that we’re about to hit the stage?”

The fingers on Tommy’s left hand
found the fret board while the pick in his right met the strings.
 
A staunchly melody flew out of his amp and he
bounced his way out in front of the crowd.
 
They shouted and stomped until the floor shook beneath his feet.
 
The audience was a blur of black lipstick and
leather.
 
A sea of hands, covered in
black fingerless-gloves, filled the air.
 
They had waited eight weeks for the return of Immortal Angel and swarmed
the stage expressing their enthusiasm with a load roar. Tommy entertained them
with a spontaneous improvised riff while Jimmy situated himself behind his bass
drum.

Angel was making eye contact with
everyone in the audience.
 
He was in awe
as he took in the over-the-top reception.

Damien’s mohawk cut through the air
as he adjusted the strap on his bass.
 
He
looked up and nodded at Tommy.
 
They
locked eyes as Jimmy counted out four beats on his sticks.

Both Tommy and Damien sprung off
their feet as they played the first note in a choreographed leap three feet
into the air.
 
The beat of Jimmy’s drums
reverberated in the air and Angel’s immaculate vocals exploded throughout the
room.

The crowd screamed with an
earsplitting thunder.

Nothing Tommy saw in the studio, or
on video, compared to the showmanship and stage presence of Angel’s live
performance.
 
He strutted around the
stage in skin tight leather pants, thrust his leather-covered crotch at the
audience and touched himself to the point where it was almost obscene.
 
And his fans loved it.

Tommy ambled to the front and
walked the length of the stage with his guitar held out toward the crowd.
 
He wanted their attention.
 
He needed to stand out and make an
impression, which wasn't an easy thing to do when you shared the stage with
Angel Garcia.
 
He walked up to Damien and
initiated a challenge by rattling off a riff and pointing the neck of the
guitar at him.
 
They had a short
face-off, bass against guitar, both playing with exaggerated flair.
 
They gave each other a short nod, conceding
to a tie.

Tommy zeroed in on Angel and
circled him, aiming the guitar at him like weapon.
 
He leaned against Angel’s back and let his
head loll against Angel’s neck.
 
Searing
guitar riffs accentuated his posture.
 
He
rolled off Angel and stopped when they were shoulder to shoulder.
 
Leaning into Angel, he flung his hair from
side to side.
 
Through the blur of his
tresses he saw glimpses of the crowd, hands and horns raised high. He jumped in
front of Angel and stalked him with the guitar until he was trapped against the
drum platform and leaning backwards with no means of escape.
 
Tommy planted his feet wide, rocked his head
back and forth and whipped Angel in the chest with his hair.

Angel’s strong vocals reversed
their dance and sent Tommy scampering backwards with Angel aggressively
pursuing him with the microphone.
 
He
turned and started to strut across the stage, but Angel grabbed him by the back
of the hair and spun him around.
 
Holding
a chunk of his hair, Angel belted some lyrics at him before sending him away
with the jerk of his hand.

Their antics sent a loud roar
through The Quadrangle accompanied by fists pumping hard in the air.

Fueled by the sexual energy that
transpired between him and Angel, and by the energy of the crowd, Tommy was
ready to deliver a riveting, mind-crushing guitar solo.
 
Moments before it was about to begin, Angel
sauntered over to him and draped his arm around his shoulder.
 
Angel paused while he looked out into the
audience.
 
The longer he waited, the
louder they screamed.
 
Meanwhile, Jimmy
kept a steady beat on the drum.

“Do you want to meet my new guitar
player?” Angel yelled into the mic.
 
“His
talent will amaze you!
 
And he’s pretty
cute, too!
 
What do you think
ladies?
 
Do you think my new guitar
player’s hot?”