Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron Read Free Book Online

Rick,” said Jen5. “Come on, let’s at least try to look around a little.”
    We made our way through the crowds, scanning the top for TJ’s mop of brown hair. While we were looking, I spotted Joe and Laurie in a dark corner making out. Rick followed my look.
    â€œShit!” he said.
    â€œCome on, guys,” said Jen5, pushing us on.
    â€œDid you see that, Fiver?” asked Rick. “Joe’s totally grabbing her tit.”
    â€œYeah, yeah,” she said. “Keep it moving.”
    We found TJ backed up against a wall looking lost and bewildered. Like he couldn’t even comprehend all the trendy people swarming around him. The look of relief in his eyes when he saw me wave to him made me feel like I’d just thrown him a life preserver. But by the time we worked our way over to him, we didn’t really have any time to talk because Monster Zero was onstage.
    Nobody noticed right away. The band just climbed up there, all casual, like they couldn’t care less that this was the biggest crowd they’d ever played to. It wasn’t until they started tuning up that people noticed and started to get quiet.
    Eric Strom, the lead singer, looked more like a computer geek than a rock star. He had thick, square glasses and short spiky hair, and he always wore thin polyester button-up shirts.He waited until the crowd was looking at him, then he cleared his throat.
    â€œWow,” he said into the mic, totally chill. “Listen, I just have one thing to say to you people: Don’t believe everything you read.”
    And then the band blasted into their first song. A wall of noise washed over the crowd, punctuated by Eric’s howling vocals. Somehow, in a split second, he’d transformed before our eyes into a punk rock god. This was charisma. This was what I was talking about when people asked me why I wasn’t the lead singer. Because I didn’t have that.
    Eric’s energy, backed by the sheer power of the band, transported me, and suddenly the crowds didn’t matter. Joe and Laurie groping each other didn’t matter. An army of marketing minions and their bullshit magazines didn’t matter. There was just this band doing their thing.
    It’s hard to explain. When I’m playing music, that’s when I feel most alive. I escape from all the crap: no doubts, no worries, no fears. Just me. And when I listen to really good music, especially if it’s live, it’s the same thing. I’m transported and nothing else matters.
    When Monster Zero finished their set, I came back to the real world and looked around. Half the people had left at some point. I hadn’t noticed, and I didn’t really care. Because I knewthat Monster Zero was for real. They wouldn’t sell out. They had proved that to me. And I was so relieved. I almost felt like crying. Not cool, I admit. But at the same time, I didn’t want that feeling to ever end.
    â€œSam,” said Jen5. “It’s time to go home.”
    â€œYeah,” I said, and all the fears and doubts that I had escaped came flooding back, making me feel twenty pounds heavier. “I guess you’re right.”
    â€œThat’ll be you someday,” said Jen5.
    â€œMost of the time I think so,” I said. “But when I see a
real
band play, as much as I love it, it makes me feel like we’ve still got a long way to go.”
    â€œYou
are
a real band, Sammy.”
    â€œWe’ve only performed twice, and we didn’t finish our set either time.”
    â€œWell, okay . . . ,” she said. “It wasn’t your fault some neighbor called the cops on Laurie’s birthday party. You guys weren’t really playing that loud. That neighborhood is just full of old rich snobs who hate teenagers. And getting shut down by the cops is kind of cool, right?”
    â€œWhat about the show in Heath?” I asked.
    â€œWas that the one you did at the Union Hall