AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I was smiling, and I couldn’t stop. “Something like that.”
“So until they’re married—finally—and the last photo is taken, we’re the best man and the maid of honor. We play nice.”
“Correct. And after the last photo is done, we come back up here, and we do not play nice.”
“Deal,” he said, and held out his hand. I took it. We had waited thirteen years—we could wait until after this wedding. I could do this. I could do anything as long as I had Finn.
I looked into his eyes. “I hope you’re ready for some excitement,” I told him. “This might be a wild ride.”
“I’m ready,” he replied. “By the way, I owe you sixty thousand dollars.”
“Fuck you, Finn Wiley.”
“Fuck you, too, Juliet,” he said. “Let’s go.”
THIRTY
Excerpt from “The Unstoppable Finn Wiley,” in Rolling Stone, one year later:
The album, Midnight Blue, has been a chart-topping success for Wiley, with three singles hitting number one and the album one of the most streamed of the year. A Grammy nomination is a given, and he played two sold-out shows in L.A. last month, but Wiley takes it all in stride. “I’m not planning a world tour,” he says definitively as we sit over lunch in an upscale Seattle restaurant. “That isn’t where my head is at right now. I did all of that at seventeen. I have other things in mind for my career.”
Indeed, Finn Wiley, for all his success, has diverted from the standard album-tour-album-tour template of the music business. After producing Midnight Blue himself, he has turned his hands to producing other artists, mostly with the Road Kings’ independent RKS label. He won’t confirm rumors that he’s producing his friend Travis White’s first solo album, but he won’t deny it either.
There’s no doubt that White’s upcoming album would only benefit from Wiley’s deft production work, which is hailed as skilled and creative. He’s been writing songs for other artists, too, including Lana del Rey’s smash hit, “Choose Me,” which broke streaming records last month.
For a man who works so much, Wiley seems exceptionally centered, without a hint of exhaustion. His fiancée, bass player Juliet Barstow, just finished a tour with the Road Kings, and is rumored to be working on an album herself with a new band. The couple spend their time off in their home in rural Washington, where they keep their life private and rarely give interviews. On Grammy night, Wiley says, they plan to be in Paris instead of attending the ceremony. The couple was photographed holding hands in Paris last month.
Wiley’s philanthropy also became known when it was leaked that he donated seventy thousand dollars to Be Yourself, a local Seattle organization that provides support to LGBTQ youth. When I asked Wiley about the donation, he declined to comment.
Excerpt from “The Road Kings Just Might Surprise You,” from Soundcheck magazine:
In their forties, the Road Kings have innovated more than ever, and more than most bands half their age. They’ve added Juliet Barstow to their roster, who was supposed to be a temporary replacement for bass player Neal Watts. But in a decision that has turned out to be wise, Barstow has stayed on in the band even after Watts’ return.
Barstow played on the band’s latest album, Yard Sale, which is the bestselling album of their long career, and she tours with the band off and on, when she isn’t working on her own music. “Juliet shakes us up every time,” Denver Gilchrist admits. “She’s a shit-stirrer in the best way, and we love it. We’re never bored or complacent when we’re working with her. Being bored and complacent is a death sentence for any band.”
Adding Barstow as the fifth band member has brought the Road Kings a new audience of young women, who see Barstow as a feminist icon and a role model. “She’s completely original,” says the Road Kings’ manager, Will Hale. “She’s always been outspoken and fearless, ever since her punk days. She’s opinionated and doesn’t let the music business own her, which her fans look up to. The live shows are better than ever, and the atmosphere on the tour bus is interesting, to say the least.”
Yard Sale has been hailed as a brilliant album in a long career of brilliant albums, made stronger by Barstow’s bass work and backup vocals in some of the songs. Still, “I’m forming another girl band as a side thing,” Barstow told a journalist last year. “I like playing with women. I get tired of being in a sausage party all the time.”
Now that they run their own studio and their own record company, the Road Kings make their own schedules, which include regular down time with their families. “I’m home with my kids most of the time when I’m not on the road,” says Neal Watts. “The band hangs out a lot, and we’re not just working. We do barbecues. We go to baseball games.”
A Portland fan was surprised when she went bowling one weeknight and found the four original members of the Road Kings bowling in the lane next to her. She introduced herself, and the selfies she took with the band got thousands of likes.
“They’re actually good bowlers,” the fan said. “I was surprised. Stone kept getting strikes, and I think he was winning, but it was a close game. They were having a good time, and they kept making each other laugh. I invited them to join my league, but they haven’t accepted yet.”
THIRTY-ONE
Finn
One Year Later
“This is your fault,” my wife said.
We were standing in our bedroom, facing each other. She was wearing sweatpants and an old tee, her hair damp from the shower. Gary was curled up on his dog bed in the corner, watching us.
Juliet wouldn’t admit it, but she was tired. I could see it, and I knew exactly why.
“It isn’t entirely my fault,” I countered. “You were there, too.”
