Page 2 of Not the Punk

Don nodded his head, and Kay tilted his to the side. “I, um, think I’ve heard that name,” Kay added.

“Maybe you have. Like I said, he’s been around the scene. Especially in LA.” Telly was the only person outside of Bramble Punk that meant anything to me. I honestly had no one else.

The day started out as best as could be expected when my shit still wasn’t unpacked and I couldn’t find half my clothes. I managed to scrounge around for a clean T-shirt and a pair of decent jeans. At least I had the coffee maker set up. I checked the time as I poured a cup. I wasn’t sure how traffic would go, being new to the area, so I wanted to leave early. I hated being late. I didn’t have a lot of pet peeves, but not being on time was one of them. I held myself to that higher standard and expected everyone else to adhere to it as well.

And that meant I needed to get the fuck on the road. I still had a rental car, but that was enough to get me to the studio where we were recording for now. We were almost finished with the album, and everyone was excited to start the tour.

When I arrived and passed through security, I parked and went inside. It was a very informal vibe with a nice breakroom. MH Management kept the fridge stocked and the coffee flowing. I refilled my cup and walked down to the recording area to see if anyone else was around.

Kay was tuning his guitar, so I walked in. “Hey dude.” He looked up and waved at me.

“Hey. Where’s everyone?”

“Do you mean the band or Donny and Saxon?”

“Uh…”

He chuckled and put his guitar back in the stand. “It’s alright. I don’t know where the rest of the guys are, but Donny and Daddy stayed home.”

I was used to him calling Saxon "Daddy" by now, but today it tugged at my heart. They had something I didn’t and maybe I longed for. Not that I wanted or needed a Daddy, but it would be nice to have someone… Perhaps, secretly down below I did want a Daddy, but I wasn’t ready to face that. It was something easier to ignore. “Hey, uh, Kay? Didn’t you say Saxon’s friend might be coming down?”

“Yeah.” His brows above his eyes crinkled up. “I don’t know when. He’s been working a lot. Getting certified for teaching on top of his normal shifts.”

“Oh.”

“But him and Daddy Saxon are close, so I think maybe. Hell, I don’t know, but if I find out…” He mimicked shooting me with a finger-gun. “Let you know.”

“Thanks.”

Pierce slammed through the door shortly after. “You losers ready to get to work?”

I flipped him off, but Kay was always more diplomatic. “Sure. Where’s Matty, Dave, and Randy?”

Randy walked in behind him. “Here.” He spun his drumsticks over his head.

The speakers crackled and a female voice came out. “If you’re done clowning around, let’s have Randy and…where the fuck is Dave?” Cat, our producer, was a serious badass, but she knew her stuff, and we did not argue with her.

Randy raised his hand. “Breakroom.”

I heard Cat mutter a mother fucker under her breath. “Randy, you stay there. The rest of you come on.”

We left Randy in the room and Cat rounded up Dave so they could lay down the rhythm section. Then they brought Matty in, and man, did he ever fill out our sound.

Soon enough, Cat called for me to come in with Kay to lay down the riffs. The song was called Demon Moon, and it was actually a cover from a scream metal band with a cult following called Bombastic. When Jinx first played it for us, we all loved it. Wolf helped rework it to fit our style and Pierce’s vocals better, and now it was fantastic.

“Ready?” Cat asked, and we both nodded.

“I’ll count it in and run the playback. Four, three, two.” She pointed at us at the same time the music started. We were going to pick it up at the bridge after Pierce’s vocals.

I’ll be alone the rest of my life

for if I take another his knife will come

his evil heart will cut out my tongue

demon moon please let me be

let me love another who’ll love me