Everything I cared for was packed. I didn't have very many thing, other than the essentials. I sold some of my furniture and my last rent payment was paid in full. I told my boss yesterday that I was quitting and moving to Los Angeles. He was less then thrilled, but he couldn't do anything about it. All that was left was to say goodbye to Maya and Naomi. I didn't have those sort of feelings for Naomi when we dated. I guess we're just friends because I'm happier that way. She felt the same and we left it at that.
I stood in front of her door, waiting for her to answer my knock. My apartment was locked and I had my key in my pocket, all ready to be taken by the landlord. Scuffling noise could be heard on the other side. I told Naomi the other day that I was leaving and going to Los Angeles. She was thrilled about me doing what I was doing, but Maya, shall we say, wasn't too happy about me leaving. She has come to like me. The door opened and Naomi stood, holding Maya's hand. "Well, all ready to go?" She said with a smile.
"Yeah, but I wanted to get in one last goodbye before I left."
"Please don't go." Maya cried as she released her mother's grip and hugged my leg.
"Hey, don't worry. This isn't goodbye forever. I'll come and visit."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Okay." She stepped back and re-gripped her mother's hand.
"You better keep you promise." Naomi said.
"I'll call you as soon as I get there. You'll have the address and know where exactly I am."
"Alright. I'm glad you're doing this."
"I am too."
"Okay. Well, I'll see you later."
"Same here."
"Bye."
"Bye."
"Bye-bye!" Maya shouted from the ground.
"Bye-bye, Maya." I rubbed her head as she laughed the perfect child's laugh. Naomi closed the door and I was ready to leave this place. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally time to bid this place farewell. It was a beautiful place to call home, but not at the time. Maybe in the future, I could call it that, but not now. I had a new home ahead of me.
Again, I hate long drives. They irritate the best of us sometimes. The most calm person in the world would not be able to survive in L.A. traffic. I, after longer then anticipated, finally made it to Stan's loft. It was on the second floor of a five story building. He told me he broke the news to his band that he was leaving to pursue greater projects, which was a downer for them because they were about to release their debut disc. I heard a little of it, and, to be completely honest, it sucks. The most modern, generic screamo punk I have ever heard. Sometimes I wonder what happened to the world we lived it, then I realize the problem: Me. I was letting it get to me, and that was the problem. If I didn't let it get to me, there would be no problem, so I rolled it off my shoulder and looked forward to the future. Standing outside, waiting for me, was Stan. I parked my car and he greeted me upon me exiting with a big grin. "What's up, man?", He said with great excitement. He stood in front of a large, dull looking building.
"Hell yeah. So this is paradise? Nice."
"You should see the inside."
"It's probably more empty then your locker in high school."
"Hey, who needed books?"
"You?"
"I wasn't that bad."
"You took Geometry twice."
"Geometry sucks."
"Touché."
"So, I think we have enough room to accommodate you?"
"You better." He grabbed some of my stuff and we marched up the stairs to his room. We walked down a long hall to the very end and Stan open the door. Upon entering, the vast emptiness was the first thing that caught my attention. "Shit, I was right."
"Shut up. I don't have very many luxuries, but at least I got a toilet and my drums." He pointed to his drum set, all set up in the corner.
"Sweet, got any new rhythms to show?"
"You have no idea, man. When I joined Anti-Static, I learned a whole bunch of different styles."
"Really?"
"Yeah, man."
"You still love punk rock, right?"
"Oh, hell yeah, man. I'd never give that up."
"Catch the new Pennywise?"
"Oh, it was incredible."
"I know you'd like it."
"But, you know, I've really been getting into this band called Strike Anywhere."
"Oh, yeah, I heard about them. They any good?"
"Pretty tight band."
"Cool."
"What have you been into?"
"Well, The Offspring, of course."
"Oh, their new disc was bomb."
"Oh yeah, it was. I've also been listening to a lot of A Wilhelm Scream."
"Oh, they are sick."
"I know."
"Hey, I was going to tell you that when I logged on our Myspace to show Jimmy and Steve our stuff, it had like 30 friend request."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. All built up in one year, without any promotion or solicitation."
"That's pretty impressive for a band that never played a gig outside their home town."
"Yeah."
"I haven't been on my Myspace page in two years."
"Really? Damn, that secluded?"
"Hey, I had to sell my laptop."
"Maybe you can get a new one."
"Maybe. We'll have to see how my job hunt goes down here."
"I could pull a few strings and get you a job at Breaking Music, or something like that."
"Thanks."
We spent the next hour unpacking, putting things into place. I had my mattress on the roof of my car, tried down like an escaped convict. I'm surprised it stayed on. We brought that up together and put it in the very corner of the room. Stan had a big, empty place, which concerned me because diapers were a necessity for me. Maybe I could keep it from him and hope my bladder regains control faster the I expected. I had used the toilet once today and the rest was in my diaper. It's getting there, though.
We left his house and headed for Breaking Music to, among other things, get me a new guitar. I haven't played in a long time, so I hoped that it would come back to me with ease. I played almost everyday before I sold them, so I had a feeling it would. We arrived an hour before closing and were greeted by Steve and Jimmy. "Hey, it's the Abomination!" Steve said with glee.
"Hey, we're here to get Brian an axe." Stan pointed out.
"Alright, follow me." I followed Steve to the guitar corner of the store. On the wall, 20 guitars laid still, awaiting to be played. Stan went with Jimmy, following him to the back room and talking about something I couldn't quite make out. My attention was taken and redirected to Steve and his guitar expertise. "Alright, bro, what did you used play?" He ask inquisitively
"I used to play a Squire Strat and a Epiphone SG."
"Ah, dude, you will not find any of those cheap knock off's here. Here we have the real deal. We carry the big names: Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, PRS, even First Act."
"Wow, that’s a good selection."
"And if you can't find the one you like, we do orders."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but we've never had to, but the option is available."
"What kind of amps you carry?"
"Mostly Marshall, Mesa Boogie, and Peavey."
"Peavey? I've always wanted to try that."
"Yeah, it is bomb. Also, we got best strings for any hard rock player."
"Ernie Balls?"
"Yeah, but I use D'addario. They are really good strings."
"Really. I'll give those a try."
"I'll hook you up."
"Alright, let me see what you got as far as guitars."
"Well, try this." He handed me a red guitar is a black outline that faded into the color. It was a pretty body and the fret board was smooth and comfortable, which was one of my pet peeves when it came to guitars. "This is the Ibanez SA260FM. Thin body, flat back, and a wide range of uses. From Punk to Country, this is your guitar, trust me."
"Well, let me get an try it out, man."
"Alright, you said you wanted to try a Peavey, right?"
"Yeah." He walked away and came back, dragging an big amplifier behind him. He lets it rest in front of me and goes to plug it in. Me and my experiences with guitars leaves me well aware of how to set up an amp. I hook it all up and wait for the go ahead from Steve. "Alright, go for it." He shouts from across the room at the nearest outlet. I turned on the amp and waited for it warm up. I took one strum of the guitar and felt the vibration off the amp. The fret board was smooth and the sound was crunchy and distorted. Steve walked over, looking to see if I had made my decision. I played a few bar cords and then switched to soloing. The distortion was amazing, but not as hard as I wanted it to be. "What do you think?" Steve asked.
"It's alright, but I'm not quite sold on the sound."
"What do you want?"
"Something with a little more punch."
"Alright, I think we can handle that." He takes the guitar and walks over to the other corner. He lifts himself up and grasp a solid blue guitar. He carries to me, explaining it along the way. "This is a PRS McCartny II. It's got a solid sound and perfect for heavy rock. As for punk, I don't know. Maybe if you want a harder kind of punk rock, it might be good." I plugged it in and started strumming. My ears absorbed the sounds and began to analyze what it was doing. "Yeah, It's a little too metal." I said as I set it down.
"Yeah, I know. What kind of a sound are you going for?"
"Do you know bands like The Offspring, Lagwagon and A Wilhelm Scream?"
"A mix of those sounds?"
"Yeah."
"I think I got what you need." He walked in the other direction and pulled down a dark grey guitar. He spoke as he handed it to me. "This is an Ibanez RG, model number unknown."
"Whats in it?"
"Stock pick-ups, a floating bridge and I have no idea what kind of strings."
"Alright. Let's see." I plugged it in and strummed a chord. The sounds oscillating were perfect. The fret board was nice and comfortable for my fingers to move up and down on, which made going fast easy. I knew this one was it. "Dude, I am sold. This is perfect." I said with glee.
"I knew you'd like it. I have a sense about these things."
"That, or your just damn lucky all the time."
"Hey, somebody up there likes me."
"How much?"
"Well, the amp with the head will run you about $1000, but I can knock off a $100 if it helps."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's not much, but hey, a little always helps."
"Thanks, what about the guitar?"
"$350."
"Okay, do you guys take checks?"
"Yeah, come on over and we'll ring you up." We walked over to the cash registered and he rung up the selection of stuff I needed to buy. "Alright, all together, we got $1454.62."
"Can I get some D'addario strings?"
"Yeah, sure." He grabs the strings and puts them on the pile. "You need a strap?"
"Oh shit, I forgot about that."
"Don't worry. How do you play?"
"Like right about here." My hands gestured where my guitar sits when I play. He took notice and reached under the counter. He pulled out a strap bundled by a string. On the strap was a weird pattern. "What is that?"
"It's a flying saucer."
"Cool."
"Alright, is that it?"
"For now, yeah"
"Alright, you new total is 1465.61." I filled the check and handed it to him. "You sure this wont bounce?"
"No, I got about $2000 in there." I reassured him.
"Really, that’s all?"
"Yeah, I have another $2500 in a savings account which I keep close by for emergency."
"Man, I wish my sister knew how to save money and organize like you. Course she has kids, so I thinks that's where it goes."
"Yeah."
"Need help with all of this?"
"Nah, Stan can help me." Just as I said that, Stan emerged, grinning and laughing along with Jimmy. "Ready to go?" He asked.
"Yeah, can you help me with my stuff?"
"Sure." We both carried to amp to his car and stuffed in into the back seat. Jimmy followed, carrying my guitar in his hands. "Thanks, Jimmy."
"No problem, bro."
"See ya, and remember to ask her." Stan shouted as he walked over to his side of the car.
"I will." He shouted back to him as Stan started up the car and pulled away.
"Ask who?" I asked.
"Jimmy has a cousin who plays bass and she might be available to join us."
"So, you are giving up on Adam?"
"Well, he wasn't really committed to this band to begin with. He saw it as a thing to do as he went through high school, and I figured he might be better off working with his dad."
"What else did you guys talk about?"
"Getting you a job. He said he as a buddy that's manager of a Hawthorne music store, and they are looking of new people. He thinks he can pull some strings to get you in there."
"Let's hope."
"So, what are we going to do tomorrow?"
"Let's take over the world."
"Haha."
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