Chapter 28

Lilly
“ I need to do a walk through first. We will go from there.” I told them. “ Mr. Tank, why don’t you and Mr. Goof find somewhere to get comfortable. I’m sorry to say you guys are going to be here for a while.” “ Mr. Harry. Would you mind if my friends here had something to drink? You can add it to my tab and I’ll take care of it as always.” For someone who doesn’t drink I still keep a tap so I can pay Harry back for the sodas I drink when I’m done singing. And I always add some extra for the bartender as a courtesy. “ “ Of course Lilly.” I hear someone approaching I’m not familiar with yet so I pay close attention. “ I have your friends taken care of. No worries Lilly. Do I get a hug?” I turn to where I think he is and wait. Then I have a pair of strong arms pulling me to him. “ Good to see you back.” he says. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and lay my head on his chest. “ It is good to be back, Randy.” Since my first night of singing Randy has made a point to talk to me whenever I am here. He always makes sure I have a few bottles of water chilling on ice close to the stage for us to have.

I introduce Tank to Randy. Goof I didn’t have to since they know each other. “ I have your favorite water on ice for you when you are ready.” Randy says. I say my thanks and he goes back to the bar. “ Mr. Lug, will you help me up?” Lug takes my arm and leads me to the side of the stage to the steps. “ I’m going to map it out. I’ll yell when I’m ready.” By mapping it out I am counting the steps from one side to the other. Then I do the same from the back to the front. I do it repeatedly until I’m comfortable with it. “ I’m staying right here just to be safe. I had them turn the rope lights on. That should help.” I start with the wall I’m on and go forward counting my way. I keep my hand out in front of me as a guide. I see the lights and Lug is right, they help a lot. That gives me some extra piece of mind.

I walk the stage at least ten times before I feel good about it. Now to test the instruments. “ Lug, I’m ready to do just a gear check.” “ Alright. What do you want to start with?” “ Let’s do instruments first. Then mics. After that we can work through vocals. I think I want to do four runs on the vocals if that is good with everyone.” “ It is fine by me as long as you sit down.” Dez says. I feel Rick come up. “ Come on Songbird. I’ll help you sit at the edge where you can hear from all sides.” He picks me up around my waist and walks me a few steps forward. He gently sets me down with my legs dangling off the edge.
I hear Rick's drum beats first. He plays a quick solo. I don’t hear anything wrong. “ It was smooth Rick.” I say letting him know there are no problems on his end. Dez taps the keys of his keyboard next. Something isn’t right. “ Dez, could you do it again? I’m getting some sort of distortment when you hit the fifth key.” Dez plays it again. The nose is still there. “ Dez would you just hit the fifth key?” Still the noise. “ Dez I’m sorry. The key is off somehow. When playing with the rest of the notes and the guys it shouldn’t be noticeable to anyone else.” I say. “ Don’t worry about it. I’ll take it in for a tune up and try to find the problem.” Dez says. Steve is up next. I do love the sound of his bass. He plays his riff. “ Steve, one more time please.” “ Did you hear a problem?” Steven asks. I giggle “ No. I just wanted to hear it again.” Steve laughs, “ Sure thing.” “ Are you ready for me?” Connor asks. I smirk “ Always.” He plays his riff and it is perfect.

We move on to the mics. I get to test out my one. I like it.It is lightweight and I can wear it like a headband. I’ll have to let Anna do a few practice runs with my hair while wearing it. I discovered Dez’s mic is the only one with feedback. But it was a quick fix. We had to adjust his cord. Silly guy didn’t plug it in all the way.Now vocals. I turn around facing the guys. “ Sing for me Mr. Lug Nut.” He laughs. I swear he is shaking his head at me. “ How about the one we found for Axel and Rowdy. “ We all start laughing. Then Lug sings ‘Mr .Mom’ by Lonestar. It reminds us of the time Merigold had the flu and Axel and Rowdy had to take care of the kids all by themselves. Don’t get me wrong. The guys are great dads. But they have never had to take care of two four year olds and two infants without Merigold there for backup. Or one of us. It was hilarious to hear the stories. And we thought that song fit them. When Lug is done I hear Goof and Tank laughing as well.

“ I got something special for you Songbird.” Neil says. He darts singing ‘ Playing With The Boys’ by Kenny Loggins. He knows I love this song. I’m dancing on my butt on the floor. I probably look funny. But who cares. They aren’t going to judge me. And it definitely is not the first time I have done something silly like this. “ I need an acapella one now.” The guys do ‘ The Longest Time’ By Billy Joel.The acoustics in here are great.So far I haven’t found a problem. “ Alright Songbird. You are up.” Connor says. “ Any request?” I ask. Being a smart ass I didn’t expect anyone to answer. Randy shouts “ Title.” I laugh and sing ‘ Title’ by Meghan Trainor. I hear the guys clapping along with the beat.