My Brother's Best Friend Ch. 09

My favorite wall was the dark gray wall. Mostly because I had a ton of Aunt Lacey's photos of bands we both loved that she had taken with her analogue SLR in the late 80s and 90s. I found really ornate, baroque style picture frames on Etsy or eBay or garage sales and I snatched them up. Then I brought them home and Dad and I would sand them all down and spray paint them all silver or black and frame up Auntie's photos as they justly deserved. All these righteous goth and industrial bands. Mostly done in B and W. Really excellent work. It was Aunt Lacey's bread and butter, after all. She was an incredible photographer. She worked for Rolling Stone right up til the end.

I had visited Aunt Lacey every other month. But I was way too young to remember. Only 2 when she passed away. Cancer. Brain cancer. Pat remembers her. He was 6 and a half when she left us.

Dad came here from L.A. and looked after her for her last 8 months. He held her in his arms as she passed.

And then she left us this house, and a sizable nest egg. Dad was able to go to school to become a mechanical engineer. He chose to be a machinist as his profession. And Mom was able to stay home with us and raise us. Thank you, Aunt Lacey!

Dad hung up all Lacey's pictures of 80s hair metal and 90s alternative bands throughout the hallways of our house. Especially the hall from the foyer leading down to Mom and Dad's room. Those walls had a TON of Auntie's best work. Mostly in color.

My favorite wall may have been the dark gray one. But my favorite space in my whole house is my tiny reading nook past my huge window. You wouldn't even realize it's there, as my 2 armoires almost encompass the length of my left-hand wall, obscuring the very thin door that was the entrance.

Inside the one-sided vaulted ceiling room is a kick ass sound system that Dad helped me put together. We'd scour every garage sale, pawn shop and second hand store, researching, for hours, about what speakers are best, what amp. Analogue or digital? Compressors? What brand? Rack mounted EQ or stationary table-top? HOURS of research. It took 2 years, but we did it. We put together a small sound system that would destroy most clubs. Just on sound purity alone. And we did it so cheap! People would be floored if I told them the crazy deals we got on stuff. People just don't know what they have sometimes, or don't care. Just like Jess said. And "diggers" like my Dad and I would reap the rewards. Dad loved music. It was his passion too. And he had all Aunt Lacey's 80s hair metal and alternative vinyl records downstairs. Most of them signed, autographed directly to her.

My little rectangular nook had a small couch with comfy cushions at one end to the right. Enough for 4 or 5 five people to sit cuddled up. And on the other end was Aunt Lacey's turntable setup. It's direct drive, not fucking belt driven. The Real McCoy: Technics 1200 MK2's. They're both black, a matching set, and I love them. The mixer is the one thing Dad and I spent big money on. Allen and Heath Xone:96. 4 channels. I've only ever used 2.

All along both sides of the walls of my small reading nook are records. 100's and 100's and, well, 1000s of records. Aunt Lacey's collection on one side and my own on the other. Not as substantial as Auntie. She'd had a long time to collect. She was in her mid 30s when she passed. And all the bands that she had photographed and interviewed over the years sent her everything they made. And stuff they never officially released. Obscure stuff, that no one would have had access to, unless they were someone like my Aunt.

Industrial, goth, and new wave were her favorites, but there were probably 1800 electronic music records from the same late 80s and 90s era. Aunt Lacey's whole life was music. I'd say eat, sleep and breathe, but my Aunt seemed to rarely sleep. Flying here, flying there, interviewing and photographing this or that band for Rolling Stone as her official job and then after her assignment was complete she'd hit the local bars, nightclubs, and warehouses looking for that next underground thing. As long as it was "DARK, DEEP AND HARD" as Lacey said in her journals countless times, she was into it. She even went to raves and electronic music festivals and described them as "transcendent".

Jess glances over her shoulder at me in front of one of my big matching armoires. I nod, and she opens the giant, ornately carved doors and lets out a low whistle. Kel comes over beside her sister and makes a similar noise.

"Girl, you really like black, you weren't kidding!" Jess exclaims, looking at the sea of black clothes, punctuated from time to time with a rich sapphire taffeta here, a blood-red velvet there, chains, buckles and so much lace!

"Have you seen her in anything else?" Kel laughs.

Jess shakes her head and pulls out a burgundy and black velvet dress in a medieval style and holds it up to herself. Frowning.

"Dammit. You're too small, Feline!"

I shake my head and plunk myself down on my bed, watching my two friends marvel over my crazy, black clothing collection. Then I decide to open up and show them my pride and joy, well, besides my car.

I have no idea if they'll like any of the music in there. Maybe my own synthwave collection would pique their interest? Only Shawn, Pat, Mom and Dad had spent any time in that room with me. I really wanted Jess and Kelly to see it. It's just so fun in there!

"Can I show you guys something?" I ask, as Kelly hangs up a skirt that will totally fit her. I make a mental note to give it to her next time I see her. I have 100 skirts.

"Sure." Kelly nods. Her sister is more apprehensive.

"What are you gonna show us Feline? Where the bodies are?" Jess giggles. It's become a running joke now to tease each other about being too goth or too valley girl.

"Oh Em Gee guizzz. Is it like, something dark and spookaay?" I do my best California girl stereotype at Jess, Paris Hilton style, and take her hand, grasping Kelly's in the other.

"Cmon." I urge and we walk over past my wardrobes. Jess gasps.

"Aw! What a cute little door!"

"It's my secret hidey hole." I tell her, teasing.

I open the door and usher them both inside ahead of me. I hear moans and gasps as I come in last behind Kelly.

"Well?" I stand in the middle of the small room, and Jess immediately bounces over onto the couch and starts to look at the walls of records. Mom and I had hung Aunt Lacey's smaller, color photos of goth, new wave and industrial bands as well as some of her best photos of DJ's, raves and warehouse parties, candid photos of the interesting people she had met in her life. We placed them in between dozens and dozens of hanging record racks that could hold 100 pieces each of black fucking crack. We had also framed a bunch of Auntie's Rolling Stone and underground music articles we printed out from the internet. I love my little music room! It was my favorite space on earth. My true happy place!

"Shit." Jess breathes, looking around. "This. Is. Crazy."

Kel isn't sure what to think.

"What is all this?" Kelly asks, waving to the waves and waves of vinyl hanging in artful, wrought iron racks on the wall.

"Well, it's a record collection, Kel." I smile. "Uhm...It's my record collection. My Aunties and mine. Together. See, mine are all on this side." I wave to the farthest wall, just barely half full of records. Lots of empty racks still yet to fill.

Kelly starts to read out the labels and groups from a rack of my mighty Industrial collection. She shakes her head.

"I don't recognize any of this." Kel turns to me then, "Play us something." and she sits next to her sister.

"If you want a soda, they are all under you. Little fridge. Reach in and under. YUP! That's it." I say as Jess finds the bar fridge door and pops it open, pulling out an ice-cold drink for herself and for Kelly. Cherry Coke.

I am perusing my collection. Considering. What to play? I could try introing 2 newbs to synthwave and hopefully have them dig it. But what act? What track? O well, shit, GUNSHIP. The Art3mis & Parzival track!

Duh, Cat. as Pat would say.

I turn on my system and pop the lids of those shimmery turntables and take my ortophone needle cartridges out of their Pelican case and screw them on the ends of the tonearms and unclip the tonearm lock at the same time as turning the machine on and setting it to 45 RPM. I adjust the volume and bass on my rack mounted EQ where I know it'll blow their socks off but won't hurt their ears. Then I drop the needle on the record and GUNSHIP starts to play.

About two and a half minutes into the track is a really climactic moment and I feel brave enough to turn around and Jess has tears in her eyes.

"Uh, Jess, Are you ok?" I ask, about to turn the volume down. She leaps up, comes over to me, grabs my hand and turns it the other way. Way up.

She doesn't say anything, she just kinda sways to the beat in the middle of my room.

Kel and I stand there and watch as her younger sister grooves to my record. When it ends, Jess is emotional.

"Feline, what was that?!" she pulls on my arm. "That was some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard!"

"Uh. GUNSHIP. Ummm. Synthwave. Kinda old in current year." I'm stammering. But it's not nearly as bad as it used to be when I get flustered.

"MORE!" Jess says, real passionate like.

"Ok." I nod. "OK!" I smile. "You guys wanna go on a ride?" I ask.

Jess is texting Chad downstairs, Kel is doing the same for Ben.

"I'm so ready to go on a ride! Can our guys come up here?" Jess begs. "O Please! I want Chad to hold me as you play that song."

I laugh. "I can do better than that one, Jess. I mean, it's a great track, don't get me wrong. Sure. I think I can fit probably 4 more people in here. Comfortably. Anyone else is gonna have to take up a bean bag chair outside this door." I turn around and start digging through my collection.

I decide to stay with GUNSHIP. I mean, stick with what works, right? Plus, they are just a really solid intro into synthwave. Even my Mom likes GUNSHIP, and she's a die hard 90s alternative girl. Die hard. She and Dad share that love together. It's how they met, after all. Lollapalooza. 1996. Spartan Stadium, San Jose, California. Soundgarden was on stage. A year and a bit later, Pat was born. Right after that they were married, and then I came along 4 years after the wedding.

I take my GUNSHIP Tech Noir single out of it's sleeve and place it on the turntable, and then put the other record back in its rack.

This track is really personal to me. It's the first synthwave track I ever heard back in 2014, and it's probably still my most favorite out of the entire genre encompassing what is colloquially called 'synth'. I love it so much. God, I'd KILL to see these guys live!

I place the needle on the record and hold the vinyl still as the platter spins under the slip mat, waiting for the guys. Chad and Ben come into my room, and Jess pokes her head out the side of my wardrobe and motions to them. My brother and the girl he's been seeing the past couple of weeks, Angie, come into my nook next. Now no one can move, but it's cozy and cute seeing the three couples on my comfy couch. Angie was totally smitten with my brother. And unfortunately, I knew that it was just a summer fling for him. He's going to break her heart at the end of August. I sigh, but brush that thought away and turn and let go of the record immediately where the track starts.

It starts off with a slow synth in the background and John Freakin' Carpenter narrating. YES, That John Carpenter! Halloween, The Thing, They Live! GUNSHIP got him to do the intro to their Tech Noir track! This little synthwave group got the legend, John Carpenter, to intro their song. Amazing.

I hear several cans being cracked. Pat and the guys brought up beers.

No one says anything as the beat kicks in with a high hat. Then the rim shot starts, and you know something is gonna happen as the melody escalates into a beautiful crescendo.

Charlie Simpson's incredible voice starts:

"Feel the breeze. I feel alive. Will you come, away with me?"

And then Lou Hayter comes in with the backup vocals:

"You'll be my focus. Could this be? Could this be the hard way?"

And then together:

"Before you save me. Just wait your turn. Look at me now. Steady as we burn. It was all for love. Just move yourself. Drop it back down. Push it out in front."

I sigh. I love this track so dang much!

"Keep your heart out on the road." Charlie Simpson's voice is almost ethereal in this. "Will you come to Tech Noir with me?"

"You'll be my focus. Could this be? Could this be the hard way?" Lou Hayter. She needs to do more synthwave vocals!

The track floats on and on, and I turn, smiling ear to ear, to the group swaying to the beat on my couch.

My friends like my music!

The track ends and everyone is smiling.

Jess is elated. I think I may have just gotten someone hooked on synthwave! God, soon she'll need a job so she can spend entire paychecks on records! Not that I would ever personally do that. Nope. Nuh Uh. I smile to myself and remember the time Dad gave me hell for being so irresponsible with my money when the UPS guy delivered an 80 pound box of vinyl I ordered off Discogs.

Pat passes me a beer and I choose another record. And then another. And another. By the seventh record I have Jess and Chad pressed together slow dancing in the small space in the middle of my room as Ben and Kel make out in one corner of my couch and Pat and Angie are snuggling in the other. Synth wave is sexy. What can I say?

I'm yawning, looking at the time on my phone. 9:30. I should really shower and do my skin care and go to bed. Shawn will have his run at 4:00am, and then he'll have a shower and pack the rest of Kylling and be here at 5:30. Heck, he's probably already packed the car up. What am I saying? He said he made a bed in the back for me! Because of my distaste for mornings so much. My boyfriend is the biggest sweetheart ever!

Pat makes the announcement. And I'm glad he does.

"Bed time for Cat's and Pat's." Pat laughs, stretching, then yawning. "Big day tomorrow, guys! You ready to caravan it on outta here?"

"Hell yes brother!" Ben pounds Pat's fist and Chad joins in. Even the girls get in on the fist pounds.

"This is gonna be epic." Jess grins.

"Cat. Feline, thank you for the introduction into synth save." Ben smiles.

"It's synthwave." I whisper, and then I feel brave, and I hug Ben. I'm going to be going on a psychedelic journey with him as our tour guide. Tomorrow! I hear hugs are a requirement for that kind of thing.

"Whoa! Haha. Hey girl." Ben wraps his arms around me and rests his cheek on my head. Ben's about 5'11" and my head fits under his chin. It feels weird hugging a guy so much shorter than my brother and Shawn. Ben is rock solid though, lemmee tell ya! Carved from granite. All of them.

"Thanks Benny. For taking us on a fun journey." I tell him. Releasing him.

"We haven't even taken anything yet." Ben is laughing. "You're a sweet girl, Cat. Shawn's a lucky guy."

I turn completely red. Kelly laughs and adds, "Shawn IS a lucky guy. You're a really nice person, Feline. And you have all these cool hobbies. Cars, computers, music. Dang, you're cool."

"You n Shawn are, like, a power couple. The adorable goth nerd with a music collection to put most DJ's out of work and the gymnastics Olympian who's going to be a fuckin doctor some day....yup. Power couple." Jess says, nodding, and so is Angie.

"GUYS!!!" I'm dying and bury my face in my hands. "STAHP!" I exhale.

Pat just laughs. "Just take the fuckin' compliments, Feline! Geez!"

I look up at Kelly and Jesse and then to Ben and Chad and my brother and his girl. They all stare at me, anticipating what I'll say.

"Thanks." I mutter quietly and try desperately not to stare at the ground. I will my hands to stop fidgeting, and I wrap them around my back and hold them there, like Shawn said to do. It actually works! I've tried this out a few times now, and I'm able to stop myself from being an awkward mess.

"You guys are so great." I manage to squeak out. "You make me feel so good about myself..." then I trail off.

Jess hugs me first. Then Kelly.

"We can't wait to trip with you." Jess' grin is filled to the brim with naughty.

"Hell yea, fungus sisters. For life. I'll tell Lisa tonight." Kelly giggles. And I hug them both.

I get Ben, Chad and Pat hugs on the way out and then Angie steps up to me.

"I know we don't know each other real well Feline but..." she trails off. Angie is shy, like I am. "I'd like to!" And then she throws her arms around me and kisses my cheek and is gone.

I take a moment to smile, alone in my music room. Then I meticulously tidy up the place. Everything put away nice and secure. Neat and tidy. Everything turned off. Then I leave and shut the door.

I showered, washed my hair and then put it into six long plaits as I lay in bed. I did most of my skin care in bed too. I was that tired.

Mom and Dad knock on my door and then come in.

I'm just fluffing my pillow, getting ready to crash before my big day. It's ten after ten and I am sleepy.

"MOM! DAD! To what do I owe this pleasure?" I ask, snug in my matching pj set. Little black cats all over it.

Mom comes and sits on my bed, and Dad stands and leans against one of my bed posts.

"We just want to come tell you to have a wonderful time, Feline Bear. And also that we're so happy you have some nice girlfriends in your life." Dad says, nodding at me.

"Aw. Dad. Thanks." I say.

Mom kisses my cheek. "Love you. Have a wonderful time! Wear your sunscreen!"

"I promise!" I tell Mom and hug her tight.

Dad comes and hugs me and after, and they leave, shutting my door.

'Mom and Dad are amazing.' I think to myself as I wait for sleep to claim me.

~to be continued~