Date: Thu, 09 Nov 2000 11:38:04 -0500 From: fsw99 Subject: Chapter 58 of One Big Happy Family Legal Notice: The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts. The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality. Don't read this story if: **You're not 18 or over, **If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live, **Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex. The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission is a violation of that copyright. Legal action will be taken against violators. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to me at fsw99@mindspring.com. Chapter Fifty Eight The week flew by and it was already Saturday. We were in the process of unloading all of our instruments, and would soon go in for sound check. Word about our concert appearance had spread all over our school, and BD had asked Isaiah if he could come with us. Everyone had readily agreed. He was very helpful in getting all of our stuff inside. Nate was glad for his help. The boys were all remarkably calm. They all had a look of determination on their faces, rather than fear. We were just about ready to tune the instruments and go though our sound check when Kenny Wayne came back stage. "Jimmy, good to see you, bro," he said, as he walked over and shook Jimmy's hand. "Mom called about Dad. That kind of sucks, you know? I am glad the bastard is gone, though. What's this shit about you being gay?" Jimmy just shrugged his shoulders, but didn't back down from his brother. "It's true. I am. What about it?" "You can't be. What about all the times we slept in the same bed when we were on trips or vacations? You never came on to me or anything," Kenny said. "I was lots younger then. Besides, you weren't exactly my dream guy, you know? We weren't exactly friends, remember?" Jimmy said, getting louder. "Well, just don't let anyone around here know you are gay, all right? I don't want anyone to know my little brother is a fag." "Fuck you, Kenny! I'll make you a deal. You don't tell anyone I am your brother, and I won't either. I haven't seen you in months, and I would have liked to have kept it that way. This concert was just too good an opportunity for us to pass up," Jimmy said loudly. "You have a big mouth, little brother. You want me to shut it for you like I did before I left home?" Kenny snarled, walking closer. "I wouldn't even think about that, if I was you," Paul said, stepping closer. Kenny wheeled around and stared at Paul. "Who is this, your boyfriend?" "Yeah, as a matter of fact, he is. This is Paul, and he doesn't like it too much if someone hits me," Jimmy answered. "Huh! Two fags ganging up against me. That might make it more even. I think I might just go find some of my roadies, though. I don't want to take them chance that some more of your fag buddies might join in," Kenny snarled. "If you go get some help, make sure they are really big guys," BD said, stepping closer to Kenny. Kenny turned towards him, and immediately backed up some more. "I am going to make sure you never play as my back up band again," he said. "That would be fine with me," Jimmy said. "Once people hear us play, we won't need you any more. Oh, by the way, I wrote a song for you. It will be the first song we play for our encore. Make sure and listen to the words. I mean every one of them." "If you even get an encore, you mean. The audience will probably have booed you off the stage by then," Kenny answered. "Just get the fuck out of here, OK? You have wasted enough of our time," Jimmy said, and turned and walked away. "Fucking faggots!" Kenny yelled as he stomped off the stage. "Are you all right?" Paul asked, as he put his arm around Jimmy. "I'm fine. I better than fine. I am ready for us to kick his ass. Right, guys?" he asked, looking over at everyone. "Right!" Isaiah said. Isaiah even had a little bit of fire in his eyes. "Yeah, let's show him exactly what we can do," Phill said. Just then, Mike walked up. "Hi, guys. What's going on?" "Nothing important. We were just getting our instruments tuned, and getting ready to play," Jimmy said, neglecting to tell him about the confrontation with Kenny. "Well, a couple of your fans asked if they could come with me back stage. They are waiting over by the side. Do you mind if I bring them over?" Everyone looked puzzled, but Jimmy said, "No, we don't mind. Who is it?" "Let me get them. I think you will recognize them pretty easily," Mike said. "Come on out, guys." Out walked Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard of ZZ Top. All had huge grins on their faces. Everyone ran over and shook their hands. "Hi, guys. We didn't have anything to do tonight, and Mike said he could get us in free, so we decided to come and hear you play," Billy said, laughing. "Thanks. That is really nice of you," Robbie said. "I hope we do OK." "You guys are going to be great. We have all the confidence in the world in you. If you could play our songs in front of the crowd at the party, this should be a piece of cake," Dusty said. "We are going to play `Got Me Under Pressure` for our second song," Isaiah added. "Great. We wondered if you were going to play any of our songs," Frank said. "We are going to open with `Foreplay/Long Time` by Boston, then tell the audience that the next song is what we all feel like being up on stage in front of them," Isaiah said, laughing. "That is a great idea. Are you guys going to play `Nationwide`?" Billy asked. "No, we hadn't planned on it," Phill answered. "Well, Dusty and I brought our guitars. We could play the end with you if you want us too," Billy added. "No kidding? That would be awesome," Ed said. "Yeah, thanks. We would love to do that again," Robbie almost screamed. "Let's pull `Crystal Ball` and replace it with `Nationwide`, OK? That would be a great way to end our first set," Isaiah said. "Great! Let us get our guitars and we will go through sound check with you, OK?" Dusty said, as he and Billy hurried off the stage. They seemed almost as excited as the boys to play together again. Frank walked over with Paul and started to talk about playing drums. All of the boys were sky high now, and any nervousness had totally disappeared. Mike and I stood off to the side, and watched them go about their business with big smiles on our faces. I wished we could tell them the news now, but it had to wait until they were finished. I didn't think they could play their best if we told them first. Sound check went quickly, and the boys even played a little bit of the end of `Nationwide` with Billy and Dusty. Kenny walked back in with the rest of his band for their sound check just as they were finishing. His eyes grew wide when he saw who was playing with them. When everyone finished playing, he hurried over. "Billy. Dusty. What are you doing here? Did you come to hear me play?" he asked. "Oh, hi. No, we are going to have to leave as soon as the boys are finished. We have some business to take care of. Maybe some other time," Dusty said, as he and Billy walked away. Kenny looked over at Jimmy, and said, "How did you ever meet them?" "Oh, we have been friends for a long time," Jimmy said, as he walked off. "I guess they like a bunch of faggots, huh?" OK, so they hadn't known them for a long time. One week. Jimmy kind of exaggerated, but the effect was exactly what he wanted. Kenny just turned around and stared at the band with his mouth open, as they all walked away. The boys all sat down in their dressing room, and Mike went over what was going to happen. They would come out when they were called, make sure everything was already tuned and still plugged in, then signal Mike. Mike would relay the signal to the announcer, who would introduce them and then walk off. They would then immediately launch into the dual keyboard solo that starts `Foreplay`. "Everything will be dark, so don't even think about the crowd. You won't be able to see but a few rows of people, anyway. Just think you are back in your high school gymnasium. There really isn't a lot of difference, until they all applaud for you. And they will. You are going to be awesome. Is everybody ready?" Mike asked. "Yeah, we think so," Jimmy said, pacing around. "Don't be nervous, Jimmy," Mike said. "Oh, I'm not nervous. I am just keyed up. I am so ready to go out on stage, I can't sit still." "That's good, actually. Most bands feel that way," Billy said from the corner of the room. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. It opened, and a man said, "We are ready for you." "Show time, guys. Go out and kick some ass," Dusty said. The guys all came together, put their arms around each other, and shared a group hug. As they broke it, Jimmy said, "Let's go, guys. Kick ass time!" They were led back to the stage. They stopped for a moment, looked at each other, and then calmly walked onto the stage. Like the start of lots of concerts, lots of seats were empty for the start of the back up band. Many people were still trying to find their correct seats. Lots of people were walking around in the dark. Everyone checked their instruments. Isaiah looked out at Tim and Tom at the mixing board, and they waved so he would know they were ready. Tim was running the board and Tom the lights. Isaiah waved to Mike, who relayed that they were ready. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you `Too Young To Be Scared`," the announcer said, and Jimmy and Isaiah started the lead keyboard part. By the time they got to the end of `Foreplay`, people all over the auditorium were rushing to get to their seats. By the time `Long Time` was over, everyone was seated and they gave the band a huge round of applause. "Thanks, everyone. Thanks a lot," Isaiah said, trying to get the crowd to quit applauding. "The next song is by some friends of ours. The title sums up how we are feeling right now. This is `Got me Under Pressure`, by ZZ Top. By the time they were finished with this song, the place was really rocking along with them. All of the boys had huge smiles on their faces, as they acknowledged the applause. They played five songs off their new CD next, and the crowd gave them almost as much applause for them as for the songs they had heard previously by Boston and ZZ Top. "Thank you. Those songs were from our new CD that is being released Monday. Please buy it. We need the money," Isaiah kidded. Everyone in the audience laughed along with him. "We have two guests that are going to help us out with the next song ending. I think you will be able to recognize them. This is `I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide`. They kicked into `Nationwide`, which starts out kind of slow. There was a huge roar of approval from the crowd as Billy and Dusty walked out from opposite sides of the stage as the song started into the fast ending. The noise was deafening as the band, along with Billy and Dusty, ran off the stage when they finally ended the song. They again jammed for over ten minutes. They all got back to their dressing room, as chants for them to come back filled the auditorium. "See, I told you that you guys were going to be great," Mike said. "And you were, too," Billy said. A huge smile was on his face. Everyone drank some spring water and relaxed for a couple of minutes. "Are you guys ready to go back out?" Mike asked. "Yeah. Let's not keep them waiting," Isaiah said. All the boys eagerly walked back to the stage, relishing getting to play some more. For bands, life on the road is never easy, but they all love their time on stage. Jimmy walked up to the microphone as the crowd erupted with thunderous applause. "My partner Brian and I wrote this next song for my older brother. This is `Coming To Get You`," Jimmy said, and then he sat down behind his keyboards. They played it, and the audience really exploded when they finished. By their reaction, it looked like it could be a hit. They played two more songs that were also very well received, then told the audience good night and walked off the stage. The audience wouldn't calm down, and Mike finally came into the dressing room and said, "They want you to do one more encore. Want to?" "Sure," everyone yelled. Tim and Tom had to hurry back to their seats, as they had come in thinking they were finished. They came back out and played three more songs, then said they really couldn't play any more, and walked off for the final time. They all passed Kenny, who was standing off to the side with a frown on his face. "Good luck, chump. After the way we played, you are going to have lots of fun getting the audience back up again," Paul said, as he passed. Everyone was in really good moods in the dressing room. Everyone seemed to be talking at once. Mike finally got everyone's attention. "Guys, listen. I know you are all excited. I have received an offer for you to go on tour for six months, and maybe a year. We may also tour Europe, but that is not for sure yet. There will be regular week long breaks during the tour, and you won't play every night. The head liners are kind of old and they like to have two or three days between concerts in different cities so they can rest up," Mike kidded. "That is awesome," Jimmy yelled. "Unbelievable," Isaiah yelled. "Who are they?" Phill finally asked, when they all calmed down. "Us," Dusty replied. "You're kidding! That is great," Robbie yelled. "Fucking awesome!" Paul yelled. I went over and stood next to Paul, who immediately calmed down. Paul had a sheepish look on his face. I think he was just wondering how Dial soap tasted. I planned on giving him a demonstration when we got home. "We have two things to ask you. We want to make a deal," Billy said. "What?" Isaiah asked. "We want you to learn one new song. It is something I have always wanted to play on stage. If you will do it, Dusty and I will continue to play the end of `Nationwide` with you all through the tour. We also may get you to play on one song with us during our set. What do you think about that?" Billy asked. "That's a great idea," Phill said, as he and Robbie looked at each other and thought about trading solos for six months with Billy Gibbons. "We agree," Jimmy said. "What is the song, anyway?" "It's called `Free Bird` by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The end has one long solo that I want to play. The start has a keyboard solo and another guitar solo that one of you can play. We would all three jam at the end, along with Ed. Have any of you heard of it?" Billy asked. "I have. It's great," Jimmy said. None of the rest of the band had heard of it. "Here are two CD's with it on it. The first is called `Pronounced Lynyrd Shynyrd` and was their first record. The second is called `One More From The Road` and it is live. Listen to it a few times, and then we can all get together and practice, OK?" Billy asked. "Great!" Robbie said. "Awesome!" Paul said, leaving out the first word. He looked at me when he said it, and smiled his innocent boy smile again. I had to laugh. "What is the second thing?" Isaiah asked. "We want you to start every concert with the same four songs you played at the party, complete with your beards. I think the audience will really like that," Dusty said. "Yeah, that would be fun," Ed said. "Oh, no. I'm not singing `LaGrange` every night for a year," I said. "Well, it won't be every night," Billy said, smiling. "Oh, no. Not me!" I answered. "Oh, yes you are," Paul said. All the boys crowded around me with smiles on their faces, and started begging. "Please. Please. Etc. Etc." I gave in like I always do. I knew when I was beaten. "We have two weeks before we start the tour. That should give us plenty of time to go over the new song with Billy and arrange for everything to be ready for the start. I will start to work on lining up everything Monday morning," Mike said. Everyone was very excited. My head was hurting once more. I had to take the kids out of school, figure out how we were going to pack enough clothes to take with us, call my editor, etc, etc. I have to get up on stage every time the band does. How do I get myself into these messes? Comments can be sent to me at fsw99@mindspring.com.