Chapter 3: Making the Band Part 1

Zelda wrapped her arms around Trent the moment she saw him, leaving Bree laughing. “There he is! The man who inspired the song that has inspired so many love birds! It’s lovely to meet you in person!”

“Thank you,” Trent said, his face a little pink from the attention. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’ve heard so many nice things about you.”

Zelda looked at Bree and smiled. “That’s good to hear. Bree is one of my favorites.” She wrapped her arm around Bree and pulled her close.

As soon as Zelda let her go, the manager was back to business. “Come with me,” she said, waving her arm and leading Bree and Trent back toward one of the studio rooms. “I’ve got some folks assembled I’d like for you to meet. We have auditions scheduled for the next few hours. We’ll have the prospective candidates come in, play for a few minutes in the studio so we can talk without them hearing, and then we’ll arrange call backs for anyone we’d like to hear play together. While it’s important that the individual musicians sound good, we need them to sound cohesive as well, as I’m sure you know.”

“That sounds perfect,” Bree noted. “When are call-backs?”

“Next Monday,” Zelda said. She pulled open the studio door and gestured for them to go through ahead of her.

Two men and a woman Bree had never met before sat behind the panel in the small recording space. They all stood as they came in, and Zelda stepped up to introduce them. “Bree, Trent, this is Alvin Cook, one of the chief music engineers here at Sonic Music. This is Sally Henderson, executive in charge of new musicians, and Jordan Right, chief sound engineer.”

Bree and Trent shook all of their hands, and they all exchanged pleasantries. She was glad Zelda had introduced him because she wasn’t sure if she should use the term boyfriend or not, but Zelda just said he was the inspiration for Bree’s most famous song, “Meant to Marry Me.”

Once they were all settled into chairs facing the currently empty recording stage, Jordan said, “I really love the soulfulness of your music. It definitely comes across in your recordings, and it’s even better live.”

Bree could feel her face pinking at the compliment. “Thank you,” she said, smiling. “I really appreciate that.” She was shocked someone of his caliber had gone to hear her live.

“What are you working on now?” Sally asked.

“I have several songs that I’m ready to record. Of course, with a band, we might make some changes, but I’ve got six I’m completely happy with.”

“Excellent,” the executive said. “Any hits?”

“All of them--I hope,” Bree said, which got a laugh out of everyone.

“This first guitarist has worked with several other recording artists on albums but hasn’t been in a band for a few years. I think you’ll like him.”

“Great,” Bree said, picking up the clipboard they’d set in front of her. It had information about each of the musicians they’d hear. They’d certainly worked a lot into the schedule. In the two hours they had available, they had forty musicians to listen to.

The door to the studio opened, and a man who appeared to be in his late twenties, possibly his early thirties, walked in. He gave a wave and then stepped over to one of the microphones. “Hi. Kell Spinks.” He was carrying a guitar case and quickly got out a Fender Telecaster, running a few scales before he plugged it into an amp and stepped up to the mic again. “Ready?”

“We’re ready when you are,” Alvin said into the microphone in front of him.

Kell looked pretty calm as he began to play. The song was “Little Wing” by Jimi Hendrix, one of the most difficult songs to play on guitar, but he not only played it well, it sounded great with just the solo guitar.

When he was done, Alvin turned the mic back on. “Thank you, Kell. Can you play a bit of one of Bree’s songs?”

“Sure,” he said, shaking his blond hair out of his eyes as he began to play one of Bree’s more complex songs, called “Night Life.” He played several measures before Alvin stopped him.

“Thanks a lot, Kell. We’ll be in touch.”

Kell gave a wave and unlooped the guitar strap from his shoulders. He carefully put his Telecaster back into its case and then waved again on his way out.

Everyone took notes on their clipboard, except for Trent, and Bree couldn’t help but smile at him. She knew he didn’t think his opinion counted, but it did to her. She liked Kell a lot. He seemed a bit shy, but definitely laidback, which was important to her. She didn’t want anyone who was going to be anxious or start drama.

The next musician walked in a few minutes later. Bree assumed there was a secretary or someone walking them back, but she didn’t know for sure. This was a drummer, a tall man without much hair on top but plenty down his back. He was great, and Bree really enjoyed listening to him. She wrote only positive notes next to his name, though she hoped it wouldn’t be a problem that he was so much older than her.

For the next two hours, there was a parade of musicians coming through the door, one right after the next. Most of them were great. A few were so nervous, they didn’t perform as well as they might have otherwise. Bree liked all of them, but a few stood out to her. They were down to the last person, and she thought she had a pretty good idea who she would recommend to come back to play together, though she wouldn’t have minded listening to all of them play again.

“This is our last guy,” Sally said, looking at the paper. “Zach Scott.”

“Cool,” Bree said, not sure what else to say. She hoped whoever was next would be good.

She had no idea....