Chapter 39: The Band Stories 03 – Back To Work

Year 4

“Hello?”

“Erin, this is Marcus. We just got robbed.”

“Robbed? When? Was anyone hurt?”

Erin got up and walked to the back of the ballroom for some privacy.

“It just happened. I called 9-1-1 and then you. The guys had masks and guns and I gave them the entire money drawer from the register.”

“No one put up a fight?”

“No one was here yet. The Brothers had not come in and the local after work guys were gone. It was the gap where we normally restock and clean and do prep for the night. They must have been keeping an eye on us for a bit.”

“Pull the security tapes and put new ones in. If they have been coming in to get the lay of the land for a while we may be able to spot them as newbies on the tapes.”

“Will do boss. Are you coming in?”

“I am not planning on it unless you or the police need me. Call me if you need me. Marcus, I have all the faith in the world in you.”

“Thanks Boss. I will call you after the police are done.”

While Erin was on the phone, I began to explain things.

“Ronnie, Erin owns The Bar Bar. She has been grooming the guy she is talking with to become the manager or to buy the place from her.”

“I’ve been there. It is a cool little joint.”

“And we want her to help us put together a cool BIG joint in the near future. I want to open a permanent home for great music in Boise.”

“Well, from the looks of things,” he waved his arm around the house, “you seem to be doing good so far.”

“Ronnie, we do well. I guess we would need to, in order to afford six kids with seven more on the way. We have enough that I am going to be able to bank a new band. That is why I called you.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“I didn’t. I called six different shops. One of them just sounded like that wanted nothing to do with me. Carla, here, is the one who made me feel the most wanted and welcomed. I didn’t even connect Ronald and Ronnie Cartright. I think it is fate. We need to do this.”

“I agree. Are you still going to sing?”

“Oh yeah. Erin and Lynn and I went back to KC to see my son and they saw me get up with ‘They Only Look Dead’ and in Houston Blossom saw me with ‘Tuckers Music’ they told me I was nuts for not getting back into music. After some deep introspection, I agreed. So, yes, I will be singing.”

“Then we need to find a drummer and a guitar player.” Ronnie said.

“And a bass player. I want you to focus on playing with both hands and not using your left hand to do the bass lines on the keyboard.” I was adamant.

“We have a bass player. A damn good one too.” He looked at a blushing Carla.

“Reeaalllyyy?” My voice went up about three octaves!

“Yup. This woman can do miracles on the bass. Standup, fretless, four-string, five-string, six- string. You name it and she can rip it. Jazz, blues, funk, R&B, metal, rock and roll. The whole taco.”

I smiled. We were getting the band back together!

Erin came back from the kitchen and rolled her eyes.

“Marcus is going to call me back when the police are done. The guys came in during our dead time so there were no witnesses and they had guns. He gave them the cash drawer and they ran out. I have him pulling the security tapes for the police.”

“The Brothers weren’t there I gather.”

“The biker gang?” Ronnie asked.

“Our good friends and the people who protected Lynn and Erin when I was in Houston. Their leader is in a coma from a gunshot wound he received defending these two. They are good men, who occasionally get into a little trouble.”

“Wow.”

“Yup and if you go into this thing with us you are going to be working with them. If you are lucky, they will become as big a friend to you and Carla as they have been to my family.”

Erin was standing there with her babies on her tits and she was looking tired.

“Let’s top off our drinks and go back to the family room.” I said.

We got to the big serpentine couch and Erin sat down hard, forgetting that she still had two babies hanging on her tits. The babies jumped in surprise, their tiny hands snapping up to Erin’s breasts. She stroked their blond hair and cooed to them.

“I’m so sorry my loves. I didn’t know you were asleep.” She looked at the others. “Excuse me, let me take the babies to bed and I’ll be right back.” She stood, her huge breasts drawing Ronnie’s attention and he drew another of Carla’s elbows.

“Ouch! Carla!”

“Ronnie! First it is rude to stare at a woman’s chest. Second it is really rude to stare at the chest of a friend’s wife. Third it is totally rude AND disrespectful to do those things in front of your girlfriend.”

“Carla, it’s OK. Erin knows that she has huge breasts and the effect it has on men. You should have seen Blossom’s dad when he first met her. And she was dressed then.” Lynn and Blossom nodded and laughed.

“Look guys, we run around the house naked all the time. Our daughters run around naked and have since they got out of diapers.” I explained, setting myself up for a Ronnie ambush.

“As I recall, Paul, my buddy, my pal, my friend. You wore a very slight amount of clothing when we used to run together.”

“Oh really? I need to talk to you. We know very little about our husband’s early life.” Lynn looked at me.

“Lynn, he was a great guy and he is unbelievably trustworthy. I learned that the hard way as we told you. But I have never met a guy who felt so absolutely free to walk around naked. I would bring a date home and he would wander out naked like he was wearing a tuxedo and he wasn’t even aware that he was naked! I think I actually met more girls because they wanted to come home with me and see Paul naked.”

Erin returned wearing shorts and a sweatshirt. When she came to the couch, Blossom slid over and let Erin sit between her and me. I took her in my arms and kissed her.

“Is everything ok?”

“Marcus is going to call after the police are done. He has access to the safe so he will still have a bank to run the business off of. Worst comes to worst, he can send one of the Brothers over to the strip club and buy a shitload of singles.”

“That’s right! The Bar Bar is next door to the Hot Road Club.”

“Now that Erin is back I want to talk about our vision. Ronnie, I am putting together a band the way I want it to be. For the first time this will be MY band.”

“Bullshit. Every band I have ever seen or heard you with, it was clear as glass that it was your band.”

“I disagree. On stage, I was the guy in front, but I was never the driving force or creative driver. I always felt that my place was as just another instrument.”

“Yeah, that’s true, now that I think of it.” Ronnie smiled at me.

“So, I get the band, Lynn is going to find us a venue to buy. We are thinking about a warehouse that can serve as a concert venue for special occasions and still be a daily music club and a restaurant. Erin will run the day to day operations of the bar and restaurant and Lynn will manage the finances.”

“What have you been looking at?” He asked seriously.

“Like Paul said, Ronnie, warehouses right now. We even looked at the old Blues Rainbow.” Lynn answered.

“That place is a dump at best and a massive money trap at worst. I heard that the top three floors have been condemned.” Ronnie was shaking his head.

“That is true. It is useless for what we want.” Lynn added.

“How many seats?” Ronnie asked.

“We want about 5000 for the concert venue and 300 for the bar and restaurant, plus parking and easy access to all parts of town.” I said.

“I know a place!” Ronnie’s eyes got really big.

“What?” “Where?” Erin and Lynn asked together.

“I know of a shopping center that is in a great location, almost empty and soon to be completely empty. It would require some building to hold 5000, but it might work.” Ronnie smiled.

“Where is it?” I asked.

“It is the Lakeside Center. It is built around a small lake. The structure is solid and two floors in the main building. I think that you could remove the floor and make a 5000 house with a main floor and a balcony.”

Ronnie was looking at the ceiling trying to gather his thoughts.

“I know that place. There used to be a nice bar there that over looked the lake.” Erin said.

“The only problem is that I think the owners are wanting to keep it as a tax write-off. It has never made money or broken even.” Ronnie added.

“I have some friends who worked in those bars and they said that the owners would torpedo the places if they got too successful. It is a great looking place. You could do loud live music and not bother anyone. There is a small grove of trees on each end of the structure and very few houses around that side of the lake.”