Chapter 12: Parental Visit Then On The Road

Judy came up for a visit just before they were going to leave for tour number one, stayed for a week or so enjoying everyone's company, and sitting in the studio every day with Billy while he recorded some of the sessions before leaving for the city.

Bob caught up with her one afternoon and they both took a long walk into the forest around the property.

"What are you thinking about," asked Bob softly?

"I don't know Bob, I just can't get over how much she's matured in, what, six months. Being away from home is definitely agreeing with her."

Bob nodded but remained silent so she could collect her thoughts.

"She calls me three or four times a week and we talk for what seems like hours. It's almost like she's sitting across the table from me, but she's not there."

With a loud guffaw, she said "I'm thinking about getting a cardboard cutout to put in the chair across the table. When Maggie stops by we can just put it away."

They walked a bit more then stopped to sit on a log on the side of the trail. Bob could tell that Judy was missing her "baby". Maggie leaving home was one thing, but Chelly is her baby girl, and he could tell it was hard for her.

"So, how's she doing," Judy asked with a sigh, looking into Bob's eyes.

"She's doing fantastically Judy. She's nearly mastered all of the new synthesizers and with only about week or so before the first tour, she's got them down for when we hit the road."

As an afterthought, "Oh, like all the girls, she's got about eighteen million in the bank so far."

He thought Judy's eyes were going to bug out.

Then he asked, "Are you planning on coming to any of the shows?"

Having recovered from the shock, Judy smiled and answered, "I'd like to come to all of them, but I don't think that's possible, and I don't think Chelly needs a clinging mother bugging her while she's trying to concentrate on a naked audience."

Bob laughed. Chelly had obviously told her what Heather's professor had said, and that all four girls are going to be seeing a lot of naked people. Judy laughed along with him, picturing a stadium or concert hall full of fifteen thousand plus naked people.

"Judy, you're welcome at any of our shows. You just need to let us know at least a day ahead so that we can arrange a band pass for you. I think Janell's mom and brother are going to come to one of the LA shows, and Maryanne's folks to San Diego. The plan is to do two shows at each stop, and we'll be making 2 stops in San Francisco this first tour. Tentatively Bill's working on Vancouver, Calgary, one show in Edmonton, then Boise, Salt Lake City, and Denver for the second tour. We haven't thought much beyond that yet."

"Are you going to go overseas?" Judy asked somewhat anxiously.

"I don't see how we can avoid it. Half our sales are in Europe and Japan. If it were up to me, and it sort of is, other than I've turned that part over to Billy and his staff, I would do Cabo or Cancun, maybe both, Rio, London, maybe Moscow, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Singapore, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, maybe Ho Chi Minh City, that used to be Saigon, Hong Kong, and then to Tokyo to finish the international part. On the way back we can hit Hilo, then Honolulu for a few shows and do a couple three weeks R&R at the beach on Maui."

"That's pretty ambitious, don't you think?"

"Yes." After a short pause, "Yes it is, but we may only do one international tour like that, so I'd like to bill it as These Girls Around the World Tour, and then book them around the world, literally. It will probably be the longest tour we'll ever do."

"Yeah. That will turn into a few months on the road."

"Yeah, more than a few months. I like having lots of time between the shows. I don't want the girls to burn out the way I did when I first started out with 260 shows in a row in 14 months. That's insane, but we did it. Fortunately with the girls the scenery will always be changing, so it certainly won't get totally boring, and I've been to most of those venues, so I have a fair idea of the downsides. We'll just try to avoid them."

Judy asked with a chuckle, "Do you need any roadies for that tour?"

"We can always use roadies sweetheart, but it's not an easy life! The roadies actually work ten times as hard as we do. We'll be treating our roadies a bit differently than most bands, so we hope to keep them all for all the tours."

"I'm kidding, that's all Chelly would need. Though it might be fun to fly out to Sydney," she lamented. "Maybe I'll see if Janell's mom and Maryanne's folks want to spend some time in Hawaii. I'm sure we could all find something to do that wouldn't interrupt anything.

"Well, Hawaii is going to be R&R for the most part. As long as we're there I'd like to do a show or two in Hilo, and a couple in Honolulu before heading to Maui to relax for a few weeks or a month."

"If you end up with that schedule pass it along Bob. I'll let the families know it's in the works and that as soon as it's scheduled we can decide if we can fit any of it in."

"You'll know at least a year in advance I would think," said Bob. "An international tour takes a lot of coordination, what with, visas, passports, customs for all the instruments. Sometimes it can be a fucking nightmare. The big positive is that we'll be in our own jet so we won't be subject to the commercial airline nightmare."

Then he added, "We're purposely avoiding the Middle East. I don't want to expose the girls to that level of insanity. It's just not worth the stress involved in safety and security. Maybe once they can all get along, if it's before were feeble and using walkers, we can reconsider, but for now, no way."

"I understand completely," Judy commented. "You remember those two young violinists that were touring the world and actually canceled a show or two scheduled in Saudi Arabia I think it was." *

Bob nodded, and she continued, "I think they made the right choice. They were there to play music not to play politics. Since the powers that be couldn't seem to separate the two ... I really think they did the right thing."

Bob nodded again, "Yeah, those two were phenomenal artists. I hope our four can handle the bullshit as well as those two youngsters did."

Then thoughtfully adding, "I'll tell you Judy, sometimes this business really sucks. Just let us perform without all the assholes and kiss asses we have to deal with along the way."

"Very few of the promoters are worth more than a cold bucket of shit, and I really get tired of dealing with all of their two-bit lackey's. That's one reason I turned the business side over to Bill; he loves that crap. He makes it a big game and he rarely loses. I just get pissed off and want to hit someone."

"Don't EVEN get me started on the media," he said with disdain. "You want to talk media and attitude? Go mention it to Heather."

Judy laughed, and nodded her head. "The media wasn't very kind to those two young girls, but it seems like they managed."

"Yeah, but they had to leave the country to do it," Bob said with some disgust. "And it was over bullshit. Personal shit that is nobody's damned business, but the fucking press just hounds and hounds and hounds. I think they get a tooth in and just won't let go. They're worse than a Pitt Bull, well, except the dog usually has some conscience. I sure hope we can all deal with it. Like I said, I just feel like I want to hit some of those jerks."

Then added, "I think I read somewhere that they're back in the country but not doing any more live performances. It's too bad, I saw one of their shows in LA and the vibe was absolutely electric. Man, they were good."

"Their road manager, Bob, is a real trip. I don't now how he puts up with all the surrounding bullshit, but he does it with grace."

They walked back to the compound and were met by Bill and Maryanne just hanging out in a gazebo. They sat down and talked with them for a while. It wasn't long before the rest of the girls had joined them for a lively banter session.

Michelle came in and immediately sat next to her mom. Bob could see that Judy was pleased. Chelly was well aware of her mom's mixed feelings.

"You coming to any shows mom?" Chelly asked.

"Bob and I were just talking about that, Honey. I think I might make some of them, but you don't need your mother hanging around."

"I know it's been hard mom, but you have to know like coming here for visits, you are welcome to come to the shows. We just need to know so we can get you a stage pass. I'll see if Bill can get you a photo pass, so all you have to do is show it and they'll either let you in or call one of us to the door."

Judy smiled warmly at her daughter and nodded her head. Bob looked on knowing there were some very mixed emotions on Judy's part. She heard what her daughter said, but knew also that she would be in the way and really needed to let go of the empty feeling she's had since Chelly left.

Maggie stops by far more often now, which isn't to say that she was avoiding Michelle. Quite the contrary, they both love each other very much, but Maggie also has a feel for what her mom is going through and tries to be there for her.

After a short time, Chelly stood up and asked Judy if she wanted to take a walk, the universal signal for "I have some private stuff for you". Judy stood up, they excused themselves and started down a different trail than Bob, and Judy had just used.

"How many trails are here?" Judy asked.

"I haven't got a clue. We've been here six months and I don't think we've found half of them yet. Bob's got a pretty good layout, and you really can't see other trails from the one you're on."

"Amazing," Judy observed.

"Mom, how are you doing, really?" asked Chelly quite seriously.

"I'm doing ok, Honey. I miss you bad some times, but I also know that part of life is raising your kids and then letting them fly with their own wings. I think it's hardest for me because you're my baby."

Chelly just acknowledged what her mother had said, and they sat on one of the logs that had been carved out of a huge downed redwood to make a seat along the side of the trail.

"Maggie comes over every couple days now, so that's really a good thing. I was getting the feeling that I drove her out and that's why she wasn't coming home that often, but I guess it was just that she knew you were there to keep me company and didn't want to infringe on our time."

"How are you doing with work and stuff?" Chelly asked.

"Oh, it's so-so. The bastards want to cut our hours again telling us that we're not making enough money, but remember I work in finance. They're not hurting for money, they're just fucking greedy. They end up laying off a few and just putting all the extra work on everyone else and expect everyone to just take it on. Honestly, I'm getting tired of it!"

"When was the last time you looked at your bank statement?" Chelly asked slyly. She knew Judy rarely looked at the bank information because it was always too depressing for her.

Judy worked hard for what seemed like very little and both of her daughters understood the sacrifices they'd all made being by themselves. They had a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs and warm clothes to wear, but there weren't a lot of frills but the girls never really lacked anything they needed.

When Judy sent Chelly to music lessons, it was a little strain, but it needed to be done. She was thankful now that she'd done it, though rock and roll wasn't her chosen path. They weren't poor by any stretch, but they certainly weren't wealthy.

"Why honey?" Judy looked at her concerned. "Is there something wrong with it?"

Then thinking about it asked, "Besides, how the hell would you know?"

Chelly looked at her mom with a smile, "I don't know mom, I just wondered."

Seeing the look on Michelle's face she queried, "Chelly, what have you done?"

Chell cackled softly and said, "If you haven't looked, I haven't done anything."

"Michelle Maria Tejano," Judy was getting a little exasperated. Mom was coming out.

"Mom, don't worry about it ok? I just made a small deposit for you."

"WHAT?? How? Can you do that?"

"Yeah, you'd be surprised how easy it is to put money in someone's account even though you have no access to get it back out."

"Chelly, what the hell have you done?"

"I told you Mom," she said mysteriously. "I made a small deposit in your account. You'll see it the next time you really LOOK at your bank statement."

"I can't believe you Chelly. You don't need to be doing things like that."

Chelly smiled warmly at her mother, put her arms around Judy and said, "It's the least I can do for the woman who raised me. Honestly, caring, loving, strict ... sometimes too damned strict," she chuckled, "but I understand now. Do I need to say any more?"

Judy looked at Chelly through big tears getting all emotional knowing that her youngest daughter now understood at least a little of what she had put her mother through growing up. Normal stuff!

"Chelly," Judy choked through her sobs, "What is a 'small deposit' to you?"

"Let's just say you won't be bouncing any checks any time soon, and if you want to pay off your credit cards and quit your job, you have the option," Chelly said with a grin.

"Chelly, You can't do that!"

"Too late," Chell said with a grin!

"Oh my god, ship her off to make a few dollars and she's giving it away. What am I going to do with you?"

"You're going to keep loving me mom. Like Bob said that first night at the house, 'It's only money'. Mom, it's only been six months, and I already have more money in the bank than I will probably ever use for myself. You sacrificed a lot of your life for me, for Maggie. You brought us up right, and this is my opportunity to give back to you. Mom, I can never repay you for my life. I could give you every cent I have and it wouldn't be enough. Just humor me, okay?"

Chelly reached out to hug her mother more tightly and they both held each other tightly both sobbing openly.

Bob and Heather came rapidly up the trail and spotting the two women embracing, slowed their pace to make sure Judy and Chelly had either heard or seen them.

"We heard crying," Heather said quickly.

"Is everything alright?" asked Bob.

Judy looked up at them with bleary eyes and nodded, "Yes, everything is fine." Then looking at Chelly said, "I think it may be too fine."

Chelly giggled and wiped the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt and watched both Bob and Heather's looks turn to a "Huh" look.

Chelly looked up at them and said, "I just told mom that I made a small deposit into her bank account so she could pay some bills and other stuff."

"She said I won't bounce any checks, I can pay off my credit cards, and believe me she knows the balance of those damned things, and that," looking up at the two with renewed sobs, "she said I can quit my job."

Heather just sat down next to Judy and brought her face up so that she could look her in the eyes. She started crying herself and said to her, "Judy, I'd give up every penny I have to have my parents back, even if only for one day, so that I could let them know how much I loved them."

Now everyone was in tears because everyone knew Heathers pain, and that she truly meant exactly what she had said. But Judy also knew that the McArthur's knew how much Heather loved them. They'd said so many times at get togethers and parties.

Judy placed her hands on either side of Heathers face and looking deeply into her eyes told her, "Your mom and dad knew how much you loved them sweetie. Believe me, they knew, and I also know how much they loved you. Please Heather, never doubt their love or their knowledge of yours."

Heather wrapped her arms around Judy and both cried for a long time with Bob and Chelly on either side giving support. It wasn't long before Bill and Maryanne showed on the trail wondering what all the fuss was about. Bob saw them and just signaled that everything was ok, and to just leave them all to themselves for now.

Bill gave him thumbs up and it looked like he had to nearly drag Maryanne away whispering to her. She looked back over her shoulder but Bob gave her the thumbs up and waved them away.

After a few more tears things quieted down a little and they were just talking quietly amongst themselves. Everyone was lightening up a bit and things were getting less somber. There were even some chuckles over a few of the things they talked about.

Suddenly Heather seemed to remember something, and pulled Judy over towards her and put her face away from Bob and Chelly so that she could whisper softly into Judy's ear without the others hearing.

"Judy," Heather whispered very quietly, "I have to tell you, Chelly finally got her pussy stuffed."

Judy's head snapped back with shocked surprise and looked in Heathers eyes. She started to laugh hysterically. She was laughing so hard her sides ached. She looked over at Chelly and laughed even harder.

Of course Chelly was wondering what the hell was so funny, so asked, "What? It has to be funny, so share!"

Judy looked at Heather and they were both rolling they were laughing so hard. This had definitely broken any residual tension that may have been floating around them. Judy looked at Chelly like she was going to say something and as soon as she saw Chelly's face, started laughing hysterically again. She was losing control!

They finally all got up and began to walk back down towards the house, Bob with his arm around Heather, Judy, and Chelly holding hands. Chelly giving her mother sideways glances, but each time she did and got caught, Judy would just start laughing again...

Bob looked at Heather with a queried look. She looked back and smiled brightly with a smug look on her face. He whispered to her, "Well, are you going to tell me?"

Heather looked at him and began to laugh again, but shook her head, "Nope."

So, laughing, they got back to the house and caught up with Bill and Maryanne who gave them all really strange looks when they bounced in laughing so hard. The last time they'd seen everyone they were crying.

"What's that about," Maryanne threw out to nobody in particular.

Heather looked at Judy and both started to laugh again, but she managed to choke out, "I just told Judy about something that I'd remembered, and it's pretty funny."

When Chelly heard that she looked at Heather and gasped, "You didn't ... Did you?" Chelly's eyes conveyed extreme shock and got huge when she was addressing Heather.

Heather just nodded her head and began to laugh hysterically again.

"Heather ... Shit ... I don't believe you would tell my mother THAT," Chelly said incredulously. She started to blush brightly, and then looking at Judy started to giggle and chuckle herself.

Maryanne, clueless, looked at Heather, and exasperated asked, "Good god, what did you tell her Heather?"

Judy looked at Chelly, who now knew what she was laughing at, and said to Maryanne, "Heather told my mother, Maryanne, that I'd had my pussy stuffed."

This caused both Judy and Heather to start all over again. Maryanne's jaw dropped, and now Bob was laughing too.

Once they had all recovered a little, they sat around the table in the kitchen and everyone heard the story about Michelle and Judy's prediction about Chelly getting stuffed.

A couple days later Judy headed for home and the group went back to their routines. Bob was only doing practice every other day by this time. He'd told them that they didn't need the practice because they already had everything down. There was something called "too sharp".

"We'll do a couple concentrated sessions before we leave," he told them. "I think it'll be a good idea to play at least the first three sets all the way through before we hit San Francisco. That's the same as doing the first show, it'll give you a better feel for the cadence we'll try for on the stage."

Bob handed out sheets to show everyone the first three sets and the encore that they figured to do the first night. After taking a look at the schedule they sat and discussed the list and their options.

The first show was to have the standard three sets and an encore. This is the list for the first show.

Show 1 Set 1 36m:59s

The Feeling Begins - Peter Gabriel

Helplessly Hoping - Crosby, Stills, & Nash

Sunset Grille - Don Henley

Devil Inside - INXS

Compared to what - Les McCann/Eddie Harris

A kind of Magic - Queen

Walking towards paradise - Robert Plant

So you want to be a rock and roll star - The Byrds

Show 1 Set 2 43m:37s

Beach Boys Medley 22m:37s

Be True To Your School

Dance, Dance, Dance

Catch a Wave

Little Deuce Coupe

Fun, Fun, Fun

Shut Down

Surfin' Safari

Surfin' USA

Surfer Girl

In My Room

California Girls

Shoot out at the fantasy factory - Traffic

Lawyers, Guns and Money - Warren Zevon

My heads in Mississippi - ZZ Top

Susie Q - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Show 1 Set 3 43m:21s

Classical Gas - Mason Williams -- Done by Bob, Maryanne, finished by Heather

Black Velvet - Alannnah Myles

Sweet Dreams - The Eurythmics

Wake up little Susie - The Everly Brothers

Hole Hearted - Extreme

Gold Dust Woman - Fleetwood Mac

Freedom 90 - George Michael

Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty

Spring - Leah West

The Heart of Rock and Roll - Huey Lewis & the News

Encore - (1) 10m:16s

Hot for Teacher - Van Halen

Dust in the Wind - Kansas

Where Have all the Flowers Gone - The Kingston Trio

Find the Cost of Freedom - Crosby, Stills, & Nash (Acoustic) -- Vocals a Capella

They reviewed the first shows offering and made some adjustments to add additional continuity, but for the most part they were all happy with the choices of music. They were going to script ten of them, so this was just the first.

Bob looked around the room and decided to discuss some of the observations he'd made over the months, things that could enhance the overall feel and look of the band on the stage. The girls listened with great interest.

"Something I've noticed in practices, is that once the music starts and the 'show's going', Janell takes control of determining the pace. I've also observed that Heather is, more or less, the 'boss' and you all look to her for that leadership, but Heather always defers that leadership role to Jan to set the pace once the music starts. Jan, you're excellent at doing that and you keep us all on track."

"That said," he noted with a smirk, "I like to screw around a little because it keeps the fun in what we're doing. I've impressed on you that we should just tick off the tunes and be professional in all that we do, but we still have to have some fun. Trust me, by the third or fourth show, you're going to want some levity. Understand there is more to doing a show than just the music. The music is important, but so is how it's presented."

Then looking directly at Janell, "I love the way you click the numbers off and keep us on pace Jan, but we also need to have some fun. It doesn't mean we dick around, we just need to be light with ourselves."

Bob looked around the room to see how these observations were being received ... So far so good, "I think we are all anal about our music, but sometimes we can be too anal. Do you remember what Billy said in the booth that day when we were getting you guys ready for the first fill ins?"

Looking around seeing blank faces he continued, "When Jan said she'd get pissed off if she spent hours doing a fill in and it wasn't used? It's part of how we get to perfection, and that there were six of us striving for the same goal."

They looked around at each other and nodded letting Bob know that they remembered the conversation.

"So we need to mess with each other, maybe even tell a few jokes, just to keep things light, but like everything else we do on the stage, Jan should be in charge of the timing. Like between a set of tunes, instead of clicking off immediately, you can say something, maybe like a "yeah", which tells the rest of us we can have a few seconds to give something different to our audience. Then when that "time" is up, you just say something like "ok" which is like the 10 second mark, and in 10 seconds you click us into the next number. Or if what's going on needs more than an additional 10 seconds, the "ok" signal can let whoever is "screwing around" that once they're done, everyone will hear the clicks. Jan is extremely proficient at managing the pace. I think you all have made an excellent choice in our stage leader." Bob looked at Jan with a smile and nodded his head reinforcing what he'd just said. Jan blushed a little, but smiled back.

"We can even mess around a little while we're doing a song. Like Chelly and Maryanne or Hey and me, or any combination just messing with each other. Not to mess up the music but to give the audience the impression that we are having a lot of fun entertaining them. As serious as we are, we do find it fun to do what we do! We need for the audience to sense that as well. It's called showmanship. We're not just musicians, we're also entertainers."

"If we're too serious, we'll appear stiff, and the audience will sense that stiffness. It may even detract from their enjoyment. We need to interact with them - maybe even do a few sing-along tunes. Hell, our audiences will probably know every tune we do, so a sing along isn't out of the question. Lola is a prime example."

Then chuckling, "Shit, one thing we can do for some laughs is just have Jan stand up so everyone can see her get-up. One of us can make a comment about it to draw attention to her appearance."

Then after a thoughtful second or two, "It could be one of the times she swaps headbands or takes a big swig of water. Something that the audience will be able to see that we're having fun with it too."

Everyone laughed loudly at that, even Jan, but she did scrunch up her face and give Bob a mock dirty look.

"Another thing we can do, is Jan can do her 'stand up' during the first set, and when we all come out for the second set, we can all have changed into something similar to what Jan is wearing."

Then looking at the smirks all around, "No, I will NOT put on a hot pink sports bra!" They all laughed at that, but got Bob's point and knew he "heard" what they had been thinking.

Then with a huge grin added, "Although, now that I think about it, I could put on a hot pink something to make it look like that's what I'm wearing. That should be worth some laughs and comments from you guys; let them fly. Then we get into playing, and every so often during that set you can make more comments about 'Bob's hot pink whatever it is'. The audience will get into the whole thing."

"We'll get laughs with those kinds of antics, and it will keep the show light and interesting. It's all to enhance the enjoyment of the music. We're not comedians, so it's just a little short side shit, but think about it.

It doesn't have to be rehearsed either, just ad-lib. You can also work with each other to come up with some routines that the rest of us don't know, so it's spontaneous. If it is spontaneous, it will feel spontaneous."

Again everyone laughed, and nodded their heads. Chelly picked up looking at Jan and with a giggle, "Jan will have to tell us where she gets her wardrobe."

Jan looked at Chelly with a bright sparkle in her eyes, and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Careful Honey, I'll give you something to do with that," Bob said before he could call it back. He hadn't meant to let that one fly, but it was too late now.

"Ok," Jan said with a gleam in her eye. "Your room or mine?"

Everyone's jaws dropped, and they all looked at Jan like she'd grown a third eye, but Jan just giggled, "I can't help it. I liked it."

Bob knew what she was referring to, but didn't think anyone else did until Maryanne quipped with a grin, "Tasty, Jan? You little devil you! And all this time..."

"Annie," Jan whined blushing brightly, knowing everyone now knew, as if they hadn't before, she had very much enjoyed her oral experience.

"Does that make sense to you all?" he asked trying to change the subject. "Any other ideas or suggestions?"

Once they were refocused, consensus was that it was a good idea but that they'd have to work on how to accomplish it since it wasn't a "natural" thing for them to do while playing. They needed to become "natural" things in their routine, and there was nothing that said that some of them couldn't be rehearsed.

Heather chuckled about being the "boss", but understood what Bob was saying and Jan acknowledged that she was pretty anal about the timing, which is why the group looked to her for the timing. Besides, she had the sticks and they were more unobtrusive than one of the others saying, "One, two, three..."