Rocked Up

“Okay, Mr. Snyder. First stop is 865 Battery Street. Away we go.”

We pull away and I stare out the window, sipping my still hot coffee. This will be a fairly standard day, save the party at Kirk Hammett’s house, which sounds absolutely unreal. I’ve learned to take things one step at a time. I tend to be a good boy and do all that’s asked, but on occasion I put the itinerary in the waste basket and disappear for the day, only to show up when it’s time to play. I wish today was one of those days.

Especially when it comes to the first stop. I hate morning radio shows. There’s nothing worse than fake enthusiasm and sound effects. I guess the only good thing is there are never any curve balls—all the questions are standard, a couple call-in questions from listeners that have been screened, some fake laughter, and you’re done.

Our vehicle is at a stop due to heavy traffic, and we’re only a couple of blocks further down the street from where we started. My driver has his attention on his GPS, where he’s looking for a better route.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Snyder. We’ll be on time.”

I wasn’t worried. I try to worry as little as possible. I’m content just people watching out of the tinted window from the confines of this Suburban.

Then I see Lael walking back toward the bus, her hair tied up under a hat, large vintage sunglasses covering half her face. I roll down the window and shout to get her attention.

“Lael!”

She smiles when she sees me and walks over to the stopped Suburban.

“Good morning, Brad,” she says, polite as always. Even though I’ve slowly been getting to know her better, I still get the impression that she’s not letting her guard down around me. Not that I would blame her, being Ronald’s daughter and all.

“So what does your day look like?” I ask her, curious.

“Just going to take it easy, maybe use the gym at the hotel if I can stop being so lazy.”

“Take it easy?” I raise my itinerary. “You didn’t get one of these?”

“No. Arnie just told me to meet at one-thirty at the venue.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem fair that the new kid gets the day off while I’m running all over town alone. Care to join me? We can get through this together.”

I smile and she gives me a cautious smile back, mulling it over.

I open the door. “Come on.”

Lael slides in and I give her the itinerary to peruse.

She looks it over and her eyebrows raise.

“Kirk Hammett?” she asks.

I laugh, and before long we’re moving again.

We arrive at the radio station just in time. Everyone that works there is fake smiling and completely obnoxious in their excessive energy.

***

It was an easy interview in the end, but it wasn’t without some annoyances. When Lael and I first walked into the studio and put our headphones on, the DJ, Stuntman Jim, made a comment about my girlfriend being too young for me. I corrected him and introduced Lael as the new bass player but his opening remark lingered in my mind for the entire live broadcast.

When I’m asked at the end to do some sound bites for the radio station, I tell them that Lael will do it instead. There was a time I got a thrill out of doing these live interviews, but that enthusiasm has long since gone. But watching Lael’s excitement is refreshing and fun, like a parent seeing Christmas again through their child’s eyes.

She does more takes than anyone should, her nerves getting the best of her while the jackasses at the radio station increasingly lose patience. Even their fake smiling stops while our laughing increases until Lael and I have tears in our eyes. Finally, she nails it so we can move on.

This is Lael Ramsey, the new bassist for And Then and you are listening to Live 105.

We laugh at the ridiculousness of the moment, and just like that the tone is set for the day. We find amusement in just about everything on our way back to the hotel: the wide-smiling receptionist, our little Italian driver… It’s like we’re kids on a field trip, amused solely by our own laughter.

In the hotel lobby we sign a few autographs and run into Switch, dressed in a leather jacket with a fur collar and aviator sunglasses. Switch enjoys the attention and tries to goad the paparazzi into taking pictures of him every chance he gets.

“Hey, man, what are you up to?” I ask Hollywood Switch.

“I have an interview downtown,” he answers, turning his head so the fan taking a picture with their phone gets his good side.

“Right on. Who with?” I ask and motion to Lael who is walking by to wait for me.

“Costco,” he says.

I raise my brows. “Like the store where you can buy six packs of underwear?”

“Yeah, dude, they have their own magazine.”

“All right, man. I’ll see you later.”

Have fun with that.

I walk with Lael to the elevator and head up to the top floor. All I can think about is a warm shower and a little downtime.

And yet…

Lael’s room is directly across from mine, and as our backs are to each other, putting in our key cards, I say, “I hope you don’t think you’re done.” I pause until she turns around to look at me with an open expression. “What’s next on that silly list?”

Lael holds the door open with her foot while she takes the itinerary out of her pocket.

“Let’s see,” she says, looking it over. “Ah, right, you have a lunch at noon to discuss the Brad Snyder app with an app designer.”

I bow my head, shaming the concept.

“I think that’s exactly what the world is missing,” she says with a playful tone. “A Brad Snyder app.”

“We’ll skip that one,” I tell her quickly. “I’ll tell Arnie it’s a no. Let’s just go to the wharf and get some chowder or something.”

“Are you sure? Playing hooky seems awfully rock star of you.”

“If the shoe fits. So are you in?”

“Hell yeah.”

We both smile, somewhat still giddy from earlier. I find myself not wanting to say goodbye to Lael. Her face has a glow from all the laughing and fresh air, and she looks beautiful. I wonder what would happen if I invited her into my room. For a moment we stand there holding open our doors, letting the possibility hang in the air, subtle but undeniable.

“Rest up, mister. I’ll knock on your door in an hour,” she says with a smile. Then she winks and disappears into her room. I stare at her closed door for a moment before I retreat into mine.

Luckily, it’s not long before I’ve had a shower and freshened up and the two of us are back out there. It’s high noon on a sunny San Francisco day, and we’re walking along the wharf looking for a place to have a bite.