The Loneliest Tour by Karolyn James Read Free Book Online

laughing, all looking for a chance to talk
to someone famous.
    Jett was famous.
    He was stopped two times by people
who were looking for answers to a couple quick questions. Of course the
questions revolved around his arrest and what the future of his addiction would
be. With a smile on his face, a forced smile at that, Jett declined to answer
any questions about his personal life.
    It felt like walking through a maze
just to get to somewhere private. When he finally did, he grabbed a beer from a
small fridge and stood at a large mirror, staring at himself. In the background
he could still hear the droning sound as Crutch Fail worked through their set.
    The five minutes of quiet were
definitely needed. Jett sat with a guitar and strummed through a few songs,
desperate to clear his mind. It seemed the second he was able to actually clear
his mind, the door exploded open and in walked the rest of the band.
    "What the hell you doing here
alone? ” Ryker asked.
    “ Just
needed a minute, ” Jett said.
    “ They're
not very good, are they?" Colby asked.
    "I don't think it really
matters," Jett said. "We have to thank those guys out on the road
with us."
    "Personally, I don't give a
shit, ” Van said. "As
long as we ’ re on
the damn road I'm happy. I just want to play music."
    There was a knock at the door and
then it opened.
    It was Harry.
    He approached the room with
caution, as though he knew he was going to get ganged up on. He put his hands
out, asking for peace.
    “ Relax, ” Brantley said. “ We know they suck. We ’ re going on tour with them. ”
    “ Like
we have a choice, ” Colby
said.
    “ It ’ s not all bad, ” Harry said. “ Portis is the one putting the
money up for it all. Not you. Not me. Just roll with it. You know how these
things work. It plays its course. The more important thing is the new music.
You guys have to get some things together. ”
    “ We ’ re working, ” Jett said. “ No worries. Hey, what was with
the interview ambush? ”
    “ Yeah,
that was crap, ” Harry said.
"I'm really sorry that it happened the way it did. ”
    “ I ’ m not, ” Jett said. “ I
said what I had to say though. No bullshit. No cookie cutter answers. I just
let it out there. Portis watched me do it. So he didn ’ t seem to mind. ”
    “ Good, ” Harry said. “ This is all going to pass over
soon enough. I promise. As long as the fire dies out on its own and stays out. ”
    “ You
mean, as I long as I don ’ t
have an actual addiction? ”
    “ I
never said that, ” Harry
said. He opened the door. “ Crutch
Fail is playing their last song. You have about twenty minutes until showtime.
Get out there and destroy the place, guys. Make Willow Son what it deserves to
be. The fans are behind you. I ’ m
behind you. Goddammit, even Portis is behind you, even if he ’ s covering his own ass. He can ’ t do anything without you guys.
But don ’ t get cocky. ”
    “ You
have nothing to worry about, ” Jett said.
    The door shut.
    “ He
better not, ” Ryker said.
    Jett looked at Ryker and made a
fist. “ Want me to match the
other side of your face? ”
    “ Okay
then, ” Van said. “ No more fighting. Let ’ s get out there and get some
buzz going. Grab a drink, gear up. I just want to play a fucking show. ”
    “ Agreed, ” Jett said.
    The band opened the door and
started to linger around. People asked for autographs and pictures. The guitar
techs were quick to ask for a set list to get the guitars in order. Sound guys
met with Colby to talk about acoustics and vocals. Since this was a smaller
venue there wasn ’ t a
traditional soundcheck where the band would set up earlier in the day and play
some songs. They kind of had to go by the seat of their pants right now.
    It made it raw. It made it
dangerous.
    The noise that called themselves
Crutch Fail was done playing. The house music was playing some local radio
station.
    The band appeared in the hallway,
sweating and cheering themselves for a