“Yes.” I practically held my breath at where this could possibly be going, but she apparently took what I said at face value. Jared, Kirk, and Mason replied the same.
“I’m from small-town Illinois,” Aaron said. “But I moved to L.A. when I didn’t get into Juilliard.”
“Do you ever regret that you didn’t make it in?” she asked him.
“Hell, no. Originally I wanted to compose movie music, but rocking the stage night after night is way more fun.”
“And more likely to get him laid,” I said with a chuckle.
The rest of the guys laughed. My knee bounced faster. C’mon, end the interview. I kept silently repeating the words to myself, hoping to send her a subliminal message.
Jodi rolled her eyes. “So, what was the spark about each of you that made you want to put together the band?”
“Jared and I had known each other for a few months,” I said, trying not to groan out loud at my failed attempts at subliminal messages, “after the girls we were seeing at the time decided we should meet. We were both musicians playing the L.A. scene, but neither of us was in a regular band. We were just jamming around with other musicians. I’d been writing my own songs for years, but I’d never played them for anyone.” Other than for Hailey. “It was only with Jared’s encouragement that I finally played them for him.”
“I knew Tyler was a great singer and not a bad guitar player,” Jared explained, “but I had no idea about the depths of his talent. Not until I heard his songs. That’s when I knew he shouldn’t be wasting his time playing with cover bands. So I told him as much.”
I burst out laughing. “Actually, what he really said was that we had a chance to make it big if I’d stop screwing around with covers. But I realized he was right. I already knew we worked well together onstage, and once we started collaborating on songs, we knew we had what it took to get where we wanted to be. But we needed a bassist and drummer. We’d seen Kirk and Mason playing around the circuit with numerous other bands. None of the bands seemed right for them. I knew Kirk was a business major, and figured he’d bring more to the table than just his musical talent.”
Kirk snorted. “Face it. You only asked me ’cause you guys needed a manager.”
I grinned at him. “Damn straight.” I looked back at Jodi. “It was the best decision Jared and I made. Without Kirk, we would be just another band trying to be heard in the crowded L.A. music scene. He got us seen.” Mason slapped his buddy on the back.
“Aaron joined us after he approached us one night at a gig,” I went on, “and told us we needed him. We were skeptical at first when we heard he was a classically trained pianist, but we gave him a chance to audition and he proved himself right.”
Aaron chuckled. “I’m always right. Eventually you guys will realize that.” He high-fived Kirk, his biggest supporter in the band.
The interview continued with some thought-provoking questions about our lyrics and ambitions for future projects.
“Right now we’re just focused on writing songs for our next album. Beyond that…well, who knows,” I said, biting back the urge to check the time. I could practically hear the seconds ticking. And as each second passed, my restlessness climbed a hundredfold. If this interview didn’t end soon, I’d have to feign a sudden illness.
“More and more singers have dabbled in Broadway and Hollywood. Have you considered becoming an actor, Tyler?”
Considered? I am one, every freakin’ day. I shook my head. “It’s all about the music for me.”
“What about the rest of you?”
They just shrugged. I doubt it was something that had entered any of their minds.
Then came the questions I always dreaded: the girlfriend ones.
“Of the five of you, only Tyler has a girlfriend. Tell me, Tyler, what’s it like to be dating Alyssa Graham?”
“We’re just friends.”
In Hollywood and the music industry that was the code for “Yes, we’re fucking each other’s brains out, but we don’t want anyone to know about it.” But in our case, it wasn’t even true. We actually were just friends, or more like acquaintances. But the paparazzi loved her, and before I knew it, I’d been romantically linked with her. I quickly learned that explaining myself was pointless. People wanted to believe whatever suited them, and Jodi was no exception.
She nodded in a way meant to signal she understood what I was saying, but the gleam in her eyes told the opposite. She was as much in love with the fictitious romance between me and Alyssa as everyone else was. It didn’t help that Alyssa was doing nothing to dispute the erroneous belief.
Jodi asked the guys several questions about girls in general and about what they looked for in a possible mate.
“I don’t know,” Mason said. “I like being a free agent.”
Unable to hold back any longer, I removed my phone from my back pocket and checked the time while the guys laughed at Mason’s answer.
Would this interview ever end?
Chapter 4
Nolan