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“Even with the yoga?”
“That only does so much. I mean, yeah, it helps, but it’s not a cure.”
“That’s unacceptable. I wish you’d talked to me sooner. We can get a doctor to look at you.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary. Not yet. I feel like it’s because I’m tired, and I would really like to just rest during this time off. See where we are with it after.”
I didn’t like the idea of Ziggy being in pain. I knew that was a thing with drummers sometimes, but I also knew some things could help, besides yoga and pot. “Okay. We rest, but if you’re not doing better after the Denver show, we’ll get a doctor. We can get one to meet us along the way. Maybe Reno.”
“Deal. Let’s seal it with a kiss.”
“Happy to.”
We spent our time resting, fucking, and even getting in the hot tub while the guys skied, hiked, and shopped. And when they were back, we hung out together at my house, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
The last night before the show, Ziggy even commented that I seemed relaxed and in my element, and I told him how much it meant to me to have everyone there, but especially him. And weeven played with the Giant Purple People Fucker, as Ziggy called it. Though, we didn’t get very far before he tossed it aside and fucked me himself.
But soon it was time to do the show. We got up early and headed out to the Empower Field at Mile High Stadium, where we were playing. I’d hired a Hummer limo and we all crawled in.
The show went well, and Ziggy kicked ass, playing like he did at the beginning of the tour. I thought maybe he was right and had only needed rest. I made it my mission to be sure to spread their show dates out a little more in the future. I knew they wanted to do a healthy tour, but they had to be healthy to do it.
After the last encore, I walked with Ziggy back to the dressing rooms. “Zig, maybe we should skip the party and head on to the hotel.”
“No fucking way. These are the fans, the reason we do it.”
I did admire his love and appreciation for his fans, but he had also been through a lot lately. “Agreed, but if you can’t play, there won’t be any of this.”
“Fuck. You’re right, I know. Let’s compromise. We go but leave early.”
“Deal.”
I watched Ziggy work the crowd. He smiled, took selfies, shook hands. But I would swear Ziggy picked up drugs from three different people. Maybe four. I could have been mistaken. But I didn’t think so. That worried me. I knew Ziggy partied. I knew he smoked pot. A lot of pot. And I knew he occasionally did other illegal drugs. But this seemed like more than that. It was different. He wasn’t casually using with friends—he was collecting a pharmacy.
twelve
Next Stop is Utah
We had two more shows before Rocktoberfest. That was always a killer festival, and I was stoked for it this year. Masterson Management took over running it and extended it to four days, and we were going to stay there all. Four. Days. I felt like a kid with the promise of spending all day in the candy store.
It would be like fucking camping. We had the buses, but Coleman said he was thinking of getting a tent to pop up for us next to or behind the bus instead of cramming into my smallbunk. Haha, cramming into a small tent with a blow-up mattress instead. Either way was going to be a riot.
But first, we had to get through Salt Lake City and Reno. We flew into Salt Lake City and the buses were there to meet us right on time, so we all piled our jet-lagged asses aboard. We were also tired from the fun we had on our off days. Well, the rest of the mother fuckers were. I didn’t do much, which was actually pure bliss for once in my life.
The buses pulled up to the back gates at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre. It was one of the smaller venues on this tour but still held twenty-five thousand, so nothing to sneeze at. We were still able to bring in our giant screens, which would be super great for the people out on the lawn behind the seating. We parked, and our roadies got busy setting up the stage. Kai and Marci went to make sure things were getting set up right in the merch stations. The rest of us headed into the backstage area, which in this venue was a building attached directly to the back of the stage. It was actually set up nicely when we walked around to check it out. We could slip in and out of the VIP area, which was to the side of the stage, where we’d have our contest winners and a few of the DJs from the local rock station hanging out. And we were planning on having the after-party there as well.
“Soundcheck in twenty guys,” Marci called as she buzzed down the hall.
“I’m heading there now.” I grabbed Coleman’s hand and pulled him toward the stage. “If they’re not finished, I’ll help out.” I’d been told that wasn’t my job, but I knew what I was doing and loved working with the equipment. The only thing I didn’t mess with was the mics. Those needed to be precise. I worked with our techs, but they placed everything.
When we got to the stage, they were finishing up and pretty much ready for soundcheck. Bramble punk had their equipmentto the side, ready to be loaded. I gave their drummer, Randy, a fist bump. “Fuck yeah! You guys fucking killed it the last show. Good to see you, man.”
“Yeah. Sucks we aren’t flying on your fancy plane, but we got here all the same.” He turned and did a quick rim shot on his drums, which were already set up in front of mine.
“Haha, funny, man.” I pointed at him with my index finger for a change.
“Seriously, though, Ziggy. It’s been killer being on tour with you and the Hunt. I think we’re starting to gel as a band.” It was no secret that we’d built the band around Kay after Miami befriended the guy. The others had been studio musicians or working gigs with other bands. People who knew people. And after a few days of phone work and networking, Jinx and Harrison had pulled a decent group of guys together. They practiced and we came up with a few original songs and a couple of covers for them to perform at the shows. And every time they played, they got a little better. “In fact, Joe and Kay have started writing a few more songs. Not for this go-round, but maybe for recording. Who knows.” Kay was the front man and played guitar, but Joe was the lead guitarist in the band. They also had Matty on another rhythm guitar to fill out their sound, along with Dave on bass.
“Yeah, it seems to be working for you. Maybe we can arrange studio time at ours down in Miami.”
