(( Monroe, Lousisana. It is nearing 9 o'clock on this Saturday night. The city, for the most part, is nearing the point where all of the teenagers start going out, and just start trying to find something to do. The main activity going on in Monroe is at Pecanland mall, a popular hang-out for the teens on the weekend. While not used for shopping mainly, it is more of a place for socializing.....
Along Louisiville Street in Monroe, right past the Ouchita river, a police officer has pulled over a car full of teenagers who were on their way to a local show. They were speeding, going 45 MPH on the street's 30 MPH zone. After much pleeding, though, they talk the officer out of a ticket. They go on their way down the street, scanning through the radio channels, before finally resting it on 91.1 fm.....
On the other side of the river, in West Monroe, a group of teenagers from West Ouchita high school are parked in the McDonalds' parking lot. Truck tail gates are backed against each other, and everyone is just standing around, talking and hanging out with friends, knowing that there are only ten days left before school starts back.....
One kid has his car stereo turned up a little. The radio station is 91.1. Everyone is listening to some rock music while eating their cheeseburgers and discussing what they could do later on in the night.....
Slowly, "High" by Jimmy's Chicken Shack starts to fade off on the station, and the dj comes on to talk for a few minutes. No one is really regarding what the dj is saying, but one kid has to go to the car to get a lighter to light his cigarette. He sits in the car, fumbling to find the lighter, as the dj starts to go over what bands will be playing in Monroe/West Monroe tonight. He stops looking for the lighter, and listens as the dj goes over the line-up.....
DJ: "...but there are a lot of local shows that will be happening tonight for anyone who is looking for something to do. Impossible 78 will be performing at the Big Easy at 10 o'clock. Admission will be $7. At the Bait Shack, The Nap makes a return visit to the club. Show starts at 10 o'clock, as well. Admission will be $6. And, also, at the Clubhouse in West Monroe, Fast To Nowhere will be performing at 9:30. Admission is free..."
The teenager the part about "free". He quickly finds a lighter, and gets out of the car. Lighting his cigarette, he goes over to one of his friends, and tells him the news. ))
Teenager: " Hey man, there's gonna be a concert at the Clubhouse tonight. It's friggin' free! "
(( His friend was talking to a girl, but turns around when his friend mentions free concert. ))
Teenager 2: " Say what! Free? Who's playing, and what time does it start? "
Teenager: " Um...Fast To Nowhere. It starts at 9:30, like thirty minutes from now. If we hurry, we can make it for the start of the show. "
Teenager 2: " Fast To Nowhere? Oh yeah, I saw fliers at the school one time for a show of theirs. Their drummer goes to West Ouchita. Sure, it's free, let's go to it! "
(( The two teenagers turn the music down, and tell their friends about the show. Not everyone wants to go; some are wanting to go to a big party that starts at 12 o'clock. But others are eager to go, so the two teenagers get their drinks, pile some other friends into the car, and pull out of the parking lot, spinning their tires as they do.....
Meanwhile, across from the Monroe Civic Center, at the Holiday Inn hotel, the HEW wrestlers are resting up from their recent Mayhem show the previous night. This is their only night to rest before the big HEW PPV, Innovators of Hardcore, tomorrow night.
Zero, in his motel room, #13, has just heard on the radio that Fast To Nowhere, a punk band that he had seen play on Gilman street in Berkeley a few months back, is having a show tonight. He knew that this was their hometown, but he had no idea that they would be having a show the day after the HEW had Mayhem here.
Tonight, at 9:30. He checked the clock. It was nearing 9:15. But he had no idea where the Clubhouse was. It was a free show, and he had nothing better to do. He could stay around the motel, and be around all the jock wrestlers. Or, he could go hang out with some punks for a night, and catch a show. So, he grabbed a phone, and called directory assistance.....
Five minutes later, he had found out the street address, and was going into the parking lot to get his Blazier. He turned the engine on, lit a cigarette, and, soon, was going down the interstate to find the Clubhouse.....
Back at the Clubhouse, Fast To Nowhere: Jamie, the guitarist and lead singer, Justin, the bassist, and Andy, the drummer, were doing their last sound checks before the show was about to start. They would throw occasional glances at the people, seeing how big a crowd was showing up. So far, only about fifty people, but there was still fifteen minutes left before the show began.
Andy got up from behind the drums, and went out in front of the stage to hear how Justin's bass amp mic'ing was sounding through the PA. ))
Andy: "Ok, just play something slow. Sounds good to me. Okay, little faster. Coming through good. I think everything is mic'ed up good. Hey Jamie, give me a sound check on the drums. "
(( Jamie was playing a little "No Control" lead on his guitar, but sat it down and went and sat down on the drums. Then, he started playing the only beat that he knows, a little snare roll and bass thumping. Andy listened closely, but was finally satisfied by the way that it sounds. He walked back up to the stage, where the guys talk a little before the show was to get underway. ))
Justin: "Dude, this is going to suck. There's only like fifty people here. And I think my bass sounds like shit. I should of borried Ben's wireless. "
Jamie: "Nah dude, sounds fine. I'm excited! The last time we played here with Impossble 78, not even this many people were here. Let's just have a little fun. And if we fuck up, who gives a shit. "
(( The anticipation was growing in all of them, though. Andy looked out at the people standing around, and noticed a guy wearing an HEW t-shirt. ))
Andy: "Whoa, cool. That guy over there is wearing an HEW shirt. I bet he was there at Mayhem, too, last night! I told you'll you should of went. It was cool. There was even this street fight... "
(( Jamie and Justin exchange glances, and just sigh. ))
Jamie: " Dude, that shit's fake. None of it's real. Why do you have to waste your money on stuff like that? Sheesh....let's get on with the show. Looks like it's almost 9:30. Oh, and don't mention anything about wrestling during the show, Andy! Me and Justin have a reputation to keep! "
(( Jamie and Justin laugh a little amongst themselves, and it helps everyone get ready to start playing. They all go take their positions at their instruments, when they suddenly hear a commotion outside the door. They hear some laughing, lot's of carrying on.
" You just got pulled over! And the cop let you go! Wow, that would never be my luck. "
" Heh, it was cool. He was cool about it, and just gave me a warning. Isn't it weird how we arrived here at the same time... "
" Yeah, I heard about it on 91.1, and just came on cause it was free. "
" Me too.... "
The people outside come in. It is the teenage girl who was pulled over on Louisville, coming in with the group of kids who were at the McDonalds.
Justin looks over at Jamie, and shrugs his shoulders. Jamie takes this as a cue to start up the show. Andy flicks a switch behind the drumset, and all the lights except for a spotlight go out in the Clubhouse. Feedback comes up slightly as Jamie turns his mic on.
All of the people in the Clubhouse start walking up to the front of the stage. There are close to 70 people in the club at this point. Jamie steps up to his mic. ))
Jamie: " How's everybody tonight? (( crowd hollars a little )) Well, we're Fast To Nowhere. I'm Jamie, Justin plays bass, and Andy plays drums. Just, before we start, gotta tell you...don't go outside during the show, cause cops might stop by, and we don't really feel like fooling with cops. If you want to smoke, you're free to. Besides that, just have some fun! "
(( The crowd starts hollaring as Andy does a 4 click with his drumsticks. Suddenly, the fast, loud guitar opening of "5 Minutes Ago" starts up, followed by a quick jump in with Andy and Justin. Soon, Jamie starts singing the first verse.
Some people in the crowd are a little hesitant to start jumping around. Most are just standing around, watching Jamie jump around on stage.....a few people start to move to the front of the crowd, and start jumping a little, bumping into each other, and soon, the mosh pit begins.
Coming off of the interstate, Zero looks down at his watch. 9:40. The show has already began. He starts looking for the right turn off. Did he miss the turn off? He looks....the signs a little dirty. Yeah, there's his street. He turns down it, and starts going through a neighborhood that is reminicsent to Berkeley. There are dull alleys. Broken homes. Rusted shut buildings. And punk rock! Right there, past the red light, he saw the Clubhouse's banner hanging above the double door. He wasn't so later after all.
After stopping at the red light, he turns into the Clubhouse's parking lot. He sees some kids getting out of their car, heading towards the main door. Zero looks around at the complex. Not real big, but big enough for a punk show. He is eagerly anticipating seeing this show, Fast To Nowhere, playing in their home city.
Zero turns the Bad Religion cd that he had playing down, and listens for a moment. They've already started. He gets out of his Blazier, locks the doors, and walks up to the front door, and inside.
It was dark, except for the spotlight on the band. He saw the guitarist do a little leap into the air, right as the drummer done a little tom roll at the end of one of their songs. The lead singer, his name was Jamie, Zero thought, went up to the mic, and started talking. ))
Jamie: " That song was called Could Never. One of the first songs we wrote as a group. How's everybody doing so far? (( the crowd responds with some "fuck yeahs" and hollars )) Well, I think I'm gonna turn the mic over for a moment to Justin here. "
(( Justin steps up to his microphone. ))
Justin: "What's up. This is a cover of one of my favorite bands, the VooDoo Glow Skulls. I know my singing sounds like shit, but here it goes... "
(( Jamie starts to play the intro, and then, suddenly, Andy hits a cymbal, and Justin starts driving the song with the bass. After a couple music loops, Justin puts his face to the mic, and starts singing.
Zero stands at the back of the Clubhouse for a moment. He isn't worried about someone noticing him from Mayhem last night. He's just wearing an AFI t-shirt, and a pair of pants. His green hair and tattoos and facial piercings might stand out in the wrestling arena, but there are plenty of people here with that to make Zero look similar to everyone else. He isn't worried about being noticed as the wrestler, though. He could care less. People in Berkeley know he's a wrestler, but he's still the same Zero that everyone has known of for 24 years in Berkeley.
Zero decides to start walking up to the front, near the stage. As he does, a person slams into him, and before he knows is, Zero is slamming right back, leaping straight into people, and pogoing right along with the music. Suddenly, punk music filled him up once again. Zero through his back into a person. The person went down, but came back with just as good of a shot, knocking Zero into some people standing around. Suddenly, almost everyone in the Clubhouse was going crazy.
Justin looked at Jamie out of the corner of his eye, and smiled. Yeah, things were going great. Jamie looked back at Andy. It was turning out to be a good show, they agreed through silent smiles.
But Andy was also noticing the new guy in the pit. The one with the spider-web tattoo on his elbow. Andy couldn't get a good luck at his face, but he knew that guy looked familiar. He almost messed up at the end because he was thinking so hard. But they finished the song without a glitch. The crowd was going crazy.
But Jamie didn't stop. He instantly went into the next song, "Nothing's As It Seems". Andy came in with a beat to the floor tom, and suddenly, the crowd was right back in the pit, including the guy Andy was wondering who was.
Andy was watching, as suddenly, the guy just leaped up into the air, barely being caught by people below him. As he was being thrown around on top of the people, his face came around, and he and Andy made eye-contact. Zero! Zero's here! Andy couldn't beleive it. He had just saw this guy in a match the previous night at Mayhem, and now, Zero was at his band's concert!
Andy was so surprised, that he actually skipped a beat. It wasn't noticable too bad, but Justin gave him that look that he knew he had just fucked up. Andy half smiled, and tried to just concentrate on playing drums, and put the fact that Zero was here out of his mind.
They finished the song, and the crowd was getting sweaty and having some fun. By now, everyone was in the pit. Zero was just another person filling out the crowd. He was enjoying himself.
Jamie said that they had three more songs to do. Everyone started hollaring, but it was instanting drowned out by Justin's bass as he started to play "Play for Free". The crowd started moving with Justin's finger's, until Andy suddenly came in with an extended roll, and suddenly, the noise was back, and everyone was jumping around.
Through out the whole song, though, Andy kept noticing Zero. How he was just being a normal guy, bashing against some people in the pit. He knew that he would definately have to talk to him once the show was over.
They played another song, and then Jamie got on the mic to tell the crowd that this was their last song. ))
Jamie " Hey guys, we've had a blast. You all have been the best fucking crowd ever! But, we're coming to a close. This is a song I wrote about a character from the book, "Lord of the Flies". Last song of the night, this is called "Simon". "
(( As Jamie started the crunchy opening, Zero stood still for a moment. People were jumping around him, but he was suddenly still. The name of the song. It was called "Simon". It suddenly made him remember about Simon, his friend from long ago, who has been trying to get back in touch with him. Simon. And now, Fast To Nowhere was playing a song called Simon.
Zero tried to get back into the mosh pit, but he couldn't get his thoughts right. His mind was suddenly back on Simon Kit. He felt flashes of anger, bitterness, contempt, and yet...also a feeling of acceptance. He wasn't sure of his emotions.
As the ending to the song bashed away, with Jamie and Justin jumping up and down on stage, and Jamie giving it his all for this song, and Andy crashing away on the cymbals, and pounding the drums like it was last chance to play, Zero felt like leaving now. He wanted to stay at least for the end of the show, though. He had heard a lot of new songs, and wanted to see how they ended the show.
The end of the song came. The crowd was sweaty and hot, and going crazy. Jamie told everyone goodnight, and they started disassembling their instruments.
Andy started taking his cymbal stands apart, as he saw Zero making his way to the door. He knew he probably wouldn't get another chance to talk to him again, and quit taking his drums apart, and caught up with Zero. ))
Andy: " Zero! Hey man, how's it going? "
(( Zero turned around, and looked at Andy. ))
Zero: " Going alright man. You? "
Andy: "Pretty good. Hey, saw that street fight last night! Amazing. You had HaVoC down so many times! I never would of that you'll would help out jwo. Totally threw everyone off guard, I think. "
Zero: " Thanks. Hey, you'll put on a good show. I saw you'll once when you'll played at Gilman. I was with, my girlfriend at the time, when we saw you'll. Didn't get a chance to talk to you'll, though. "
Andy: " Oh man, you were there?! That was the greatest moment of my life, getting to play at Gilman.
So, hey, PPV's tomorrow night! Already ordered it. It's going to be cool. Aren't you and Blade taking on the tag champs? "
(( Zero pauses for a moment. He had forgotten all about the PPV. He would probably be exhausted. Didn't matter. He had gotten to see a punk show while on the road.
He reaches into his pocket, and gets a cigarette. Lighting it, he finally responds to Andy. ))
Zero: " It should be interesting. Daredvil and I have had our moments in the past. Now, though, he's wearing the gold, and I'm the challenger. It should be a good match. Only if HaVoC doesn't try to screw me over in the match. "
(( Andy quickly responds. ))
Andy: "Yeah, what's up with that. He's calling you Lint now, and becoming a bitch. I'd love to see you just beat the shit out of him in a typical Zero match. I think he can talk a lot, but he always has to depend on Terror to help him out. "
Zero: " If he thinks he has to call me by a name which I consider doesn't even exist anymore, that's his business. I'm still Zero.
But who knows, maybe one day. I've beat him before when he wanted my Hardcore title. I could do it again. But he's changed a lot since.....I've returned. "
(( They both remain silent for a moment, not really wanting to speak about that two month period where Zero was framed, and wanted by the law.
Finally, Zero breaks the silence. ))
Zero: " Well, Andy is it? It was nice meeting you. Had a good show tonight. I have to be start back to the motel though. It's almost 12 right now, and the plane leaves at 6 in the morning. But, maybe I'll see you again. "
Andy: " Later man. Good luck tomorrow night. "
(( Zero nods his head as he exits the door. Andy just stands there, not really noticing the people passing back and forth.
Finally, Jamie comes walking up behind. ))
Jamie: " Hey dude, saw that guy you were talking to. Who was that? "
(( Andy doesn't respond at first. He's just staring off through the door. Finally, he turns around, and faces Jamie. He looks him in the eyes, and responds. ))
Andy: " Dude.....you wouldn't believe me if I told you. "
midi: "Infected" by Bad Religion
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