Different Circles

In the first week of July, stretching through Independence Day and the holiday weekend that followed it, Celia’s CD, Living in Limbo, sold more than fifty thousand copies across the United States. Matt’s Faithless, the CD, sold eleven thousand. The numbers were considered decent for the first week. Even the suits at National were impressed, though they were more fixated on the upcoming tours and the considerable ticket revenue that was now starting to pour in as the tickets in question went on sale.

In the warehouses in Los Angeles county, the rehearsals went on five days a week, at least seven hours a day. Jake and the Nerdlys continued to alternate back and forth between the two locations, doing everything they could to help make both shows everything they could be. The peace between the former Intemperance members not only held, but actually strengthened to a considerable degree. Jake and Matt did not socialize with each other. They never went out and had beers together, or hung out together the way they had back in the Intemperance days, but they enjoyed a mutual respect for each other’s work ethic and musical talent. When Jake suggested some change or tweak to the planned performance, Matt always listened to him and considered what he was suggesting. And if Matt disagreed with what Jake was suggesting, Jake always listened to his reasoning and they would put their heads together and try to come up with a mutual solution. So far, in every case, they were able to reach a conclusion without any sort of bitter argument or harsh words. Jake still did not know if this new Matt had appeared because of maturity and self-reflection or if it was simply desperation. In the end, he decided that it did not really matter.

In Celia’s warehouse, her show shaped up nicely as well. Miles O’Leary proved to be a quick study when it came to picking up Laura’s sax parts in Celia’s show and expressing them with his own phrasing and talent. As long as he kept his THC level therapeutical, he was pretty badass with his instrument. As for his other quirks, the band learned to live with them. All except the hygiene issue. Jake, as the titular head of the production, had been the one to lay down the law with him on this issue.

“It’s like this, Miles,” Jake told him one Friday after the rehearsal. “We love what you’re doing here, but there is something we need to address.”

“What would that be?” he asked calmly, his eyes red and half-lidded from the latest pipe hits he had imbibed in.

“To put it quite frankly,” he said, “you stink.”

“Stink? I’m playing my heart out for the lass! How can you say that?”

“Not that kind of stink,” Jake said. “The literal kind. You smell like a dirty sweat sock that someone has been blowing bonghits into. Your breath is terrible. And all of this only gets worse the more you stand up there under the lights and play. I have been asked by multiple members of the band to address this situation, so I’m going to lay down a new rule for you.”

“I had no idea that I was offendin’ people,” he said, quite clearly taken aback.

“You have been, I’m sorry to say. And these are people that you are going to be traveling in a small plane with, in limousines with, that will be hanging out with you in cramped dressing rooms. So, here’s the new rule: You shower at least once per day while working with us and out on the road on days there is a performance. You brush your teeth. You wear clean clothes after you take such a shower. There is laundry service out on the road so this should not be a problem. You will adhere to this rule faithfully and without fail. If you do not, it is quite possible that Coop, Charlie, and Little Stevie might resort to physical violence against your person.”

“They would do that?” O’Leary asked, shocked.

“In a heartbeat,” Jake told him. “Especially Charlie. He’s already a whacked-out germophobe. Your dirty clothes and unbrushed teeth are making the man psychotic.”

And so, O’Leary agreed to abide by the new rule. And, so far, he seemed to be doing so. Though his hair was still long and scraggly, his mustache and beard untrimmed and wild, he no longer exuded that offensive odor during rehearsals and his clothes were now different from day to day and seemed to be recently laundered.