“Sorry, you’re probably busy. I can call back later. I—” This was a mistake. I’m not feeling good. I’m hung over. In a few hours, I’ll be fine and realize how stupid I’m being.
“I have time,” she says. The sound in the background dims, and I hear a door close, so I assume she’s walked into that library-like office I saw in the background of our calls. “It’s my job to be here when you need me. You’re not an inconvenience.”
“Shit. Sorry. There’s this pressure in my chest, you know the type you get when you’re stressed?”
“Well, no, I don’t. But it’s not uncommon for people with anxiety. Is that what you wanted to talk about?” Her cool voice settles something in me. Not entirely, but enough for my thoughts to knit together into something cohesive.
“No. I ran into someone last night and I thought I’d be fine.” I squeeze my eyes shut, pulling my body into itself. “That I was past it, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be. Fuck, what if I’m never okay?” The thought terrifies me more than anything else. That this is all that I am, all I can be. “Shit. I don’t know how to do this.”
“We’ll figure this out together. You took an important step by calling. I’m here to help.”
Track Seven
Jared:We finished school and all moved into this rental close to the studio. We called it Graceland II.
Garrett:No, we didn’t fucking call it that. We were in a split-level in Nashville, not a gated mansion in Memphis. The pool was nice, though.
Jared:Oh my gosh, that pool! That’s where we were when we heard our single on the radio for the first time. None of us would say that’s why we switched from Avery’s CDs to radio, but it absolutely was. We all just froze and listened, not saying a word until it was over and then we all jumped into the water.
Jared:I might have burned the burgers on the grill.
Martin:Their first single? Yeah, it was nothing to dwell on. We learned from it. All the charisma and youth that made them worth seeing was lost in production. They still had that wannabedive bar sound. It didn’t work. Kids like them have all these big ideas. My job was to guide them in the right direction.
With only one single out in the world, Fool’s Gambit already had a growing fan base due to their internet presence. They replied to comments, forging authentic connections with their audience. It is likely that without the existence of these videos that Fool’s Gambit would not have been able to rise to stardom as quickly as they did. If they formed even a decade earlier, we might not know who they are now. They were a band for the internet age.
Martin:What happened with the younger Mariano just got them there sooner, even if the label did consider suing the kid.
Evelyn:It’s their own fault for letting me in there to record.
Martin:One of the label execs had a daughter who saw the video, and that was enough for them to commit to a major marketing and production budget. After that, they wanted to kick Evelyn out of the studio for good and take down the channel because of the potential for leaks. Legal was about to get involved. I made a case that we could use it to build an audience before the music was released and it worked.
Evelyn:They let me keep the channel, but I had to send the clips to be approved. I told them if they were going to profit from my work, then I deserved to get paid. I just want to say thank you to Momentum Records for my college fund.
Wesley:None of us thought much of Evelyn bringing the camcorder into recording sessions. It was cute, and she wanted to be included. We’d be in the booth and she’d either be in there with us or out with the sound tech, capturing all of it. I remember thinking that once we were big in five or ten years it would be cool to pull them out to see how far we’d come. The last thing we expected her to do was upload them.
Wesley
Summer 2008
The first I learned about the videos was at lunch with my mom. I still made a point of meeting up with her once a week, and I loved the validation she’d give. Well, that, and she had a gift for keeping me grounded.
“And we ended up falling asleep after the session. I was out for hours,” I explained between bites of fries.
She nodded, picking at her Caesar salad. “I know. I saw it in the video.”
“Video?”
“I like the new one. You kids seem to be having a lot of fun.”
“The new one?”
“Yeah.” She twirled a fry in the air humming the song we were experimenting with last week. “Catchy. Can’t get it out of my head.”
I choked on my drink. “Where did you hear that?” I asked when I managed to breathe regularly again.
“That YouTube channel Evelyn made for you. The videos usually only get a thousand views, but that last one has more every time I look. I’ve emailed it to everyone in my contacts.”She took another bite. “It’s different from your other stuff, but it suits you guys better. I can picture it on a massive stage with all these fireworks.” She fanned out her fingers and wiggled them to imitate sparkles.
I paid for our meal once we were done. Mom made a fuss about it, but we’d gotten decent royalty checks from our single. I liked finally being able to take care of her.
