Kruppo

Chapter 22
It was a shame to have to say goodbye to Marty and his wife after all they’d done for us; letting us stay there for a little bit, play a few songs in Marty’s shop, and put up with our fuckery for a few nights. It had been a great few nights, but now it was time to go home. For now.
I knew that somehow, I would fine the time to get back to Virginia Beach for another run. It was either that, or somewhere even better. Myrtle, maybe even? The possibilities ran wild in my mind as we each in turn shook Marty’s hand, outside on his lawn.
It became my turn, and I grasped his hand firmly, and he shook it heartily. “It was great having you here,” He said. “Maybe you guys can come back sometime?”
“I’d look forward to that.” I grinned.
“Well, you guys take care.” He hugged Brian and Ty and said goodbye to them, and then we were on our way back home.
-
“So what’s the scoop for you guys?” I turned around to look at David, who was asking us something.
“Are you guys all getting jobs, or have them already?” he concluded.
“Me and Ty work for our dad,” Brian said as he steered us through traffic. “So we’re covered.”
“Yeah, and my dad’ll probably let me work for him too.” Jessie shrugged. “No big deal there.”
That left me, who hadn’t had a steady, decent job in a long time, and Jake, who had just lost his. We both glanced at each other for a moment before Jake spoke first. “You and I should get started looking when we get back.” He said.
I nodded and agreed with him. “Need to,” I said. “After all, we have to keep Juggernaut financed if we wanna keep doing trips like this.”
“How many more times are you planning on doing this then?” Brian stared at me inquisitively. “I mean, this is more than I expected. Are you trying to make this a full-fledged thing or something? We can’t do this and school at the same time.”
He had a point. We were all workers in some way or another. None of us had the time to support Juggernaut for every minute of the day. But I had this feeling in my gut, one that I couldn’t explain properly. I’d had the feeling in me since we’d finished the show that previous night. Juggernaut was going to go places, that was what feeling was declaring within me.
Call it Fate hollering away or whatever, I was inclined to start believing it. The crowd reception had been incredible…even with the older material that we’d played. It seemed to be a sign to me. I’m sure that Brian was getting tired of my vision; he didn’t understand, after all, what I wanted to do. I wanted to make Juggernaut my life.
And if it came down to it, I would do it alone. I knew Brian was already having issues with the sound, but now I couldn’t help but wonder what the rest of the guys thought. Were they going to stick around? Maybe Jake would. I could see David jumping ship if it came down to it; if another band really wanted him and he found them intriguing I had no doubt that he’d leave us. In my mind it almost seemed inevitable.
And Ty? I couldn’t be sure about Ty. Part of me wanted to believe that he, Jake, and I were the solid core of this group. Regardless of who had joined when, and who had founded the band, Ty and Jake were the only two members of the band who weren’t bitching, or complaining about circumstances. They were always there to jam, and they always were interested in trying something new. Both also believe in the do-it-yourself ethic that I felt really defined Juggernaut as a band.
But as it was with David, Ty struck me as a person that would leave if there were greener pastures nearby. The only member I could completely trust in the end was Jake. And perhaps that was why I liked Jake so much; he was a reliable guy, in more ways than one. I could depend on him to be solid, and really care about the band. His life was about music just as much as mine was.
“Yeah,” I finally told Brian after quickly thinking about all of this. “I wanna keep doing this. We could really do something with this band, man.”
“What, go around selling albums for five bucks, and living our lives out selling music, occasionally touring, and earning money to record by washing windows or serving people in restaurants?” Brian snorted. “You know that’s what’s going to happen. Do you even realize how hard it is to live as a musician, man?”
Yeah, I was well aware of the life of a musician. I had known even before Juggernaut had been formed. I knew it better than Brian suspected. He, on the other hand, did not understand my excitement about said life. I didn’t want it any other way.
I didn’t expect Brian to grasp that, or even consider it, so I just nodded simply and said “Yes.” The car ride got quiet from there. We played some Tool, which was a surprising change from all of the Jimi Hendrix we’d soaked in. The music was somber, almost to a point of humor, and I immediately got bored of it. I lit a cigarette, hoping to God that the car ride wouldn’t last longer than a few hours.

__________________
I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds