“Look, Mr.Daily, sir.” I raised my hands in an effort to ward off his temper but stood alittle taller so he could see I wasn’t fuckin’ around. “I think we got off onthe wrong foot. We haven’t met yet. I’m Train and I’ve been personally hired byMs. Morgan to play guitar for the tour. I’m not sure why I was given space onthe truck, and you weren’t, but I can only guess it’s because I asked nicelyand I’m better looking than you. But if you need another reason, you can step alittle closer and I’ll give you one.”
Puddin’s jaw stiffened,his fists clenched at his side, and he stared at me in furious silence untilfinally bursting into maniacal laughter, joined then by the others.
“I think I justshit me pants,” Puddin’ roared. “You guys see the size of this guy’s arms? I’dbe uglier than Rod if he actually hit me. Christ almighty, new guy. You gottalighten up, son,” he said, shaking my hand. “I’m only takin’ the piss outta ya,mate.”
I smiled andbreathed a sigh of relief, happy that I wasn’t going to have to mangle the faceof one of my heroes.
Once we’dfinished setting up, Vick had us run through the first half of the set twice.Even though the songs were imprinted on my brain, I was working overtime to getthem firmly underneath my fingers. The songs whizzed by at a break-neck pace,ending just as I felt like I was getting the hang of them. Meanwhile, the restof the band looked like they could play this material in their sleep.
“You soundfuckin’ great, man,” Vick said during a break.
“Really?” Iasked. “Because I feel like I’m hanging on by the skin of my balls.”
Vick laughed.“That’s the only time music sounds good. When it’s on the razor’s edge ofbeauty and disaster.”
“I’m shootingfor more of the former and none of the later.”
“No mistakes?”Vick asked. “There’s no such thing as a gig with no mistakes.”
“I sure as shithaven’t heard any of you guys make one yet.”
“Being a proplayer doesn’t mean you don’t make mistakes. It means you get paid to coverthem up skillfully.”
Vick was aninstantly likeable guy. No nonsense, but still warm. He couldn’t have been morethan five years older than me, but he spoke with wisdom and authority. Probablywhy Melody chose him to be her musical director.
Rod, on theother hand, looked at me like I was a neighboring gold prospector looking tojump his claim.
“Can I ask yousomething?” I asked Vick, lowering my voice.
“Sure. Anything.What’s up?”
“What’s shelike? You know. To work with?”
“The Boss?” Vicksmiled wide. “She’s great.”
“Really?Because…you know. All the shit in the tabloids.”
“You don’t haveto worry about that bullshit. That’s all in her rear-view mirror. She’s grownup and has her head on straight.”
“You sure?” Ipressed.
“Well, she’s anartist, so there’s the normal amount of crazy we all have to deal with, butshe’s got a good heart and she’s loyal as hell. You gotta remember that thisall started before she can even remember. I can’t even imagine how hard thatmust have been to deal with.”
“You been withher a while?” I asked.
“I did my firsttour with her as a keyboardist ten years ago and then she offered me the MDgig. Rod’s been with her longer than any of us. He can tell you exactly howmuch working with Melody has changed over the years.”
I cleared mythroat. “Yeah. I’m not so sure Rod’s excited about my being here.”
“He’s supertight with the boss, and he’s protective of her. That’s all. Give it some time.He’ll warm up to you.”
“Or set my bunkon fire,” I said.
He smiled.“We’re all still pretty charged up about everything that went down with Gill,so try not to take anything personally.”
“I get it.Thanks, man.”
“My office dooris always open,” Vick said, pointing to his keyboards.
