“Yeah, that’s exactly it. I don’t know if our timing is off or if we’re missing a riff or two, but we just can’t get this track to align for anything,” Chase told them. The lyrics were written at the last minute, seemed meeting Ely inspired me in more ways than one and we were able to get that much done. But we hadn’t sat down to add the music to it before today.
“Well, let’s hear what you’ve got so far,” Joey said, taking a seat on the couch they had in studio.
I counted out the beats, when an idea struck me and I stopped. “Chase, what do you think about opening this song with you singing the first line acapella?”
Everyone looked at me like I’d grown a third eye.
Chase finally blinked, then shrugged. “Well, it’s worth a try.”
“Ready?” Dave called out over the intercom.
“Yeah, let’s give it a try,” Chase told him.
“One, two, one, two, three, four,” Seltzer counted.
“You walked into the room,” Chase sang, then David struck the first chords on his guitar.
Stoli stood, raising his hand. “I think it needs something more. Let me see the lyrics.” Chase handed him the sheet, he and Joey read it over.
“Try the opening four lines before the band joins in,” Joey suggested.
“Okay, on four guys,” I said, “One, two, three, four.”
You walked into the room
With nothing to say
You came into my life
Like you were meant to that day
Then David, Seltzer and I began to play with David and Seltzer singing backup on the chorus and just like that, “Reason to Live” came to life.
“Alright guys, good work,” Dave said. “Now let’s start it from the beginning without the pause between the word day and the instruments coming in. It needs to flow effortlessly.”
Seven songs down, five to go with only a week left…
At midnight, we called it a day. Stoli gave us their address and told us to come over tomorrow so they could help us out with the rest of the new tracks over the weekend. Easton ordered a car to take us there so we wouldn’t have to Uber it. Man, we couldn’t thank Social enough. Knowing next week was it for studio time we were in panic mode. We totally felt like the newbies that we were having not worked out all the kinks first. But in our defense, we didn’t know we were headed to the studio until three days prior to showing up.
Ely and I talked every night before bed, but I knew he had to work early tomorrow so I shot him a text tonight instead.
Me: Late night, don’t want to wake you up. Sweet dreams my little Chef.
My phone rang not two seconds after I hit send.
“Hey,” I said, smiling as I laid down.
“Hey yourself, thought you could go to sleep without talking to me first?” Ely asked.
“I didn’t want to wake you up,” I admitted.
“Was waiting for you,” he said, his voice light, laced with a hint of sorrow.
“Sorry babe, I didn’t know.” Now I felt bad.
“How’d it go today?” Ely asked around a yawn.
“It was stressful, we had trouble with a song and had to call in a lifeline,” I told him, reciting the infamous Who Wants to Be a Millionaire line. “No downtime this weekend, we’re gonna be working at Joey and Stoli’s house to try and get through our new songs before we attempt to record them next week.”
“Wow, that’s really nice of them to help you guys out. Aren’t they kind of a big deal?” Ely asked.
Ely was too damn cute, and he was right. “Yeah they are. That’s why it’s cool as shit they were not only willing to help us out but offered their home studio to us as well. We definitely owe them a shout out in our thanks section on the album.” I needed to make sure Easton was aware of this. I wish we could do more than that, but they weren’t doing this for gifts or notoriety. They were doing this because that’s just who they are. Great guys with big hearts who like to pay it forward.
We didn’t stay on the phone as long as usual. Ely had to get up early for work again and my brain was shutting down. Just talking to Ely did something to me. Was it possible to build a relationship this way? Long distance? Maybe a portion of it I supposed, and I couldn’t deny feeling our bond strengthen every time we spoke. We needed a solid foundation if we were gonna make it for the long haul with me on the road for months at a time. On that note, I slid in my AirPods and tuned into Octane. Gemini Syndrome’s song “Stardust” was playing, thoughts of Ely running through my brain. Their lyrics reminded me of him.
You are perfect
You are perfect in my mind
The next morning, the car service picked us up and dropped us off at Stoli and Joey’s house around eleven. Their place was amazing, tucked into what looked to us desert dwellers like a forest. Only a small portion of the house peeked out, giving it a cozy appearance. Once you were inside it was like holy shit. The place was massive and completely modernized with the best of everything. Yet the two guys who owned it were so down to earth it was crazy. They didn’t walk around flaunting their wealth, in fact they were currently barefoot, wearing aged jeans and concert tees.
Joey and Stoli surprised us by having lunch catered in. Mickey was there and a few minutes after we arrived, Easton and Diamond walked in. “Guys, welcome,” Stoli said, his arm around Joey’s waist. Damn these guys made me long to be with Ely. I wanted to be them when I grew up. “Fix your plate and meet us in the dining room. I wanna go over some of the lyrics to the other songs you still need to record. Joey and I have a couple ideas and I’m sure Mickey and Diamond might have some suggestions too.”
A feeling of inadequacy washed over me, it sounded like these guys were gunning to re-write our heartfelt lyrics. Lyrics triggered by things in our everyday lives. Things that meant something to us.
“Hey,” Stoli said, putting his arm around my shoulder. “I can tell by the look on your face you’re thinking the worst. Don’t. Your lyrics rock and most of our suggestions are merely a single word or beat sequence change.” The air rushed from my lungs. I realized I hadn’t taken a single breath while he spoke.
“It’s all about flow, man,” Stoli said, patting my shoulder as he took a seat beside Joey.
“We’d never consider for a minute re-writing your songs,” Joey said to us. “Songs are the heart of a musician’s existence. Our sole existence. We write what our hearts and heads tell us to. For many, ourselves included, our lyrics are a diary into our souls. For some, it’s a therapeutic outlet that an artist channels to help them get through traumatic experiences. Like the song Stoli wrote while I was in the hospital,” Joey leaned over, kissing Stoli. A deep, soul-filled love crossed their features as they stared deeply into each other’s eyes.
These five men— Joey, Stoli, Mickey, Diamond and Easton, sharing a meal with us— had been through so much. Granted, we’d only read about or seen it on the news, but they damn near lost each other. Between the bus accident, Benny’s kidnapping and Diamond’s homophobic father reappearing while Easton battled demons that almost took him away. They had all been to hell and back. Yet here they sat, more than willing to mentor and help us. Four virtual unknowns. Like they weren’t a million miles above us in the music food chain. But they didn’t see it that way. They welcomed us like old friends. Damn man, I was getting teary eyed watching their exchange and thinking about their limitless giving.