Three Broken Lives the Adventure

Noah stared straight at me as he sang, his keyboard ringing loud.

The gig was another winner. The crowd really got into it, during the covers they sang along, and listened thoughtfully to our original material. As the beers went down, the dancing began in earnest.

After the gig, we fought off heaps of admiring fans, sold CD's, and talked to the fans as they brought us drinks and sought photos. Seeing people wearing T-shirts with our faces across them was weird. Ego stoking, but oddly unsettling. By the time the crowd abated, the bar staff were already finishing up. They gave us some beers, asking us if we could have them in our rooms so they could clean up. "Shall we go to my room?" Noah asked.

"Nah, I'm heading out to the bus. See you in the morning."

Saffy made a grab for my arm as I went to walk out. "Can I come with?"

"No, I'm knackered. I need sleep. See you in the morning."

We travelled west across the top of South Island, three gigs in Nelson, another in Motueka. Wow, that was a cool gig. We played at Toad Hall, an old converted church. Its operation, based around self-sustainability, and fresh food, grown mostly in the sites large gardens.

It was an amazing setting, and as had been the way for the whole tour, we had a full house. A lot of that I put down the amount of time Saffy spent on the internet and social media. She had nailed promoting us and how to get the best local coverage.

Day after day, night after night the same scenes played out. Saffy did a stellar job, we had gigs every night. That's hard to achieve for a band with no reputation, nothing in mainstream media. She absolutely blew e away.

Maybe she missed her true calling: band manager...

She was a maestro of social media. Always with her phone, capturing little snippets of me driving with attached comments of "We're on our way, don't miss out, book now.

Clips of Noah in the back of the bus with the synth in his lap as he played something clever.

She always got the sound crew if there was one to shoot some footage for us, if there was no sound crew, she chose a barman or member of the crowd. She was a bloody genius.

All the way down the coast, I watched them go off to their bedrooms, and every morning Saffy claimed there was nothing going on. Noah was worse. He couldn't leave it alone, was it guilt? Fuck knows, all it did was piss me off.

Still with every day ticking by, the tour's end drew closer, and I could get out of this repeating hell.

It seemed, though, that the worse our real life situation got, the more intense our stage performances became, and the reviews just got better. We were killing it.

Saffy never wavered, she sat beside, and every day she tried to open up lines of communication. As much as I hated her, it's impossible to stay mad at somebody, well, for me anyway. Especially when she was being so nice.

So it was as we pulled into Hanmer Springs. Saffron settled into her little seat beside me. As usual, she tried. "How have you been, Isaac? I mean we never talk lately. I hate it."

I nodded, accepting the sentiment. "Yeah, I hate it, too. I miss you. I hate to admit it, but I yearn for your whiny voice in my ear."

"Oh, you'll get whiny, dude." She giggled playfully. "Surely we can still talk. I miss our conversations."

"I miss them, as well. I miss everything about our old life." I didn't want a fight, but the bitter riposte was out before I could stop it. "Pity you killed that."

Her face paled, her tearful pained expression said it all. She stood quickly and rushed to the back of the bus.

Staring in the mirror, I watched as Noah hugged her tightly, his eyes fixed angrily on mine.

The only downside was, the hotelier only had one spare room, which Noah grabbed greedily. Saffy smiled cheekily, and said. "Looks like it's you and me in the bus tonight, dude."

"No worries, Saffy. You can have Noah's bunk." Her smile evaporated in an instant.

The gig was another killer night. We aced it; the crowd of holiday makers swamped the bar. At one point, we even had the stage area full of drunken fans as they sang along with us. It was amazing. Security tried to get them off the stage, but in the end, gave up. It just turned into a huge party.

I thought the publican would be pissed at us, but it was the opposite. He wanted to book us again, so Saffy organised for us to play there again on our return north.

There was an after-gig party at the hotel. As always, I got handed a guitar, me, the eternal jukebox. They kept the drinks flowing, Saffy and Noah sat either side of me, singing along and clapping. We kept the mood high, and the punters loved it. I got sick of playing, eventually, and all the guests and staff vanished. Noah headed for his room, and as I walked out to the bus, Saffy slipped in close and lifted my arm up over her shoulder. "God, I don't know how you remember all those old songs."

"I often wonder myself. It's how I learned, just listening to the radio and playing along..."

In the bus, she sighed. "You're not really going to make me sleep in there are you? God, babes, you know how horny I get after gigs. Shit, I'm climbing the walls here."

"Saffy, I love you, and yes I know how horny you get after gigs. Which is partly why I don't believe you and Noah. You don't seem to understand how gutted I am. You cheated, you lied to me. Jesus, what do I have to do to make you understand?"

She grunted unintelligibly, then snorted. "I never once lied to you, and I never once cheated on you. When are you going to get it through your thick head? It was just a kiss."

"No, it was all the stuff that led up to that kiss. Maybe it's my fault for not saying something, but you guys were already having an affair. Maybe it didn't involve sex, but if nothing else, it was emotional."

"Have it your way, Isaac, I'm not up for a fight tonight. But I'm warning you, I'm fucking horny, dude, and I'm gonna be doing what I've been doing every night lately."

She wasn't lying; the wet sloppy slushy sounds of her masturbation filled my ears for what seemed an eternity.

Another great show. The energy, the impetus, was definitely building. Next stop, Christchurch, where we had seven gigs lined up, all of them different.

There were interviews, a local music shop offered us a spot to busk in their shop to promote the shows. That turned out to be a real winner. We sold twenty odd CD's, and a bunch more T-shirts. We met and talked to a lot of people.

*****

Dunedin raced towards us, and it was the start of three big shows. Our popularity had grown so much, we were contacted by the agent of Martha Williams. She was a true Kiwi legend. About fifteen years older than us, she had god knows how many gold albums. She was a real superstar.

We were booked to open for them at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin. It would be the biggest show we had ever played. We were actually playing a stadium. That in itself scared the shit outta me.

The first event sold out so quickly they had to quickly arrange a second show. We were opening both, and on top of that, we were asked to go back to Christchurch and open her two shows there, as well.

It was a huge moment. Martha was, as I said earlier, a true legend of NZ music. She had even made it in Australia and the USA; that's a big deal for Kiwi artists.

We rocked up to the stadium, not knowing what to expect. There were roadies everywhere. We didn't have to carry a single thing. It was awesome, no back-breaking carrying.

The stage manager talked to us about setup and what we wanted and needed. After a brief discussion, he said, "Let's just do sound check, we'll sort it from there.

I stepped up to the mic, I'd already decided on the song. I started playing quickly, making sure Noah couldn't get going. The song was an old Temptations hit. 'Smiling Faces Sometimes.'

As I started singing, the looks quickly passed back and forth across stage. Noah, being Noah, quickly found the chord progression and filled in with the melody as if he'd been playing it his whole life.

I sang, loudly, letting my voice go full range, which isn't a lot for me. I'm no great singer, but when I do let go, the passion really sets in, and these lyrics meant something.

The opening lines said it all: 'Smiling faces sometimes, Pretend to be your friend

Smiling faces show no traces. Of the evil that lurks within.'

Saffy and Noah were more than a little shocked at my choice, but as I worked into the song, they joined in where it mattered most. Saffy couldn't hide the tears that streamed down her face. She was feeling it. I watched in awe as the sound engineers manipulated the sound desk. The onstage sound was stronger than most front-of-house sounds I had ever heard. Everything was so clear.

By the time we finished, the sound guys were good to go. We worked our way into some of our own numbers. That's when Saffy really got into it, doing impersonations of a cross between Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar, she rocked the vocals. She was in heaven as she twirled and swayed, waved her arms and just went off. Noah and I stared at each other smiling, our connection was so strong when she was like this. We were just her band.

As we finished up, I saw this gorgeous creature glide up on stage. She walked straight up to me and with a strong willowy voice that flowed like melted chocolate, said, "Wow, nice songs, who wrote them?"

"Ahhh, a combination, the last one was one of mine." I said proudly. Martha Williams was a very sex lady, very classy and elegant. She smelled divine, her eyes sparkled, inviting whoever she spoke to into her sanctum.

"I'm Isaac, this is Saffron, and over there is Noah."

"Pleasure to meet you. I have to say, I enjoyed your songs. Alfred may have been right after all. He assured me you are going to be the next big thing in NZ. Now I believe him."

I thought Saffy was going to faint. Ever since we found out about this gig, she had talked about nothing other than whether we would get to meet Martha.

She not only met her, but they shared a hug, we all did.

Walking away, Saffy said, "I'm not washing ever again. God did you smell her."

Noah and I laughed; she was like a teenage fan, star struck.

We stayed on to listen to her sound check. God, she was every bit as good as her records suggested. Her stage presence was huge, she ruled the stage like a conductor.

As we were eating dinner, Martha came and sat with us. She talked about us, our hopes, our dreams, but I noticed her eyes were fixed on me. She used them to flirt with me. I'm not sure Noah or Saffy picked up on it, but there was a connection, wasn't there, or was it just wishful thinking?

After she left, we went out to the bus to get dressed and prepped for the show. This was our chance, and we didn't want to blow it.

The event was being filmed, and I had already asked the film and sound crew if we could get copies of the finished product.

Walking out onto that stage, with twenty thousand people all cheering and clapping. It wasn't for us, but to make us hurry, so the real star could get on stage. Undaunted, we steeled ourselves, and we started strongly. I was determined we were not going to fail here tonight. I sung like never before, and Saffy was with me, her voice soaring with mine, Noah, as always, was on fire, his keys ringing loud and clear. I don't believe I had ever smashed that damn stomp box as hard as I did that night. That booming stomp provided a lot of our power.

The crowd weren't there to see us, but by the third song, they were into us. The mosh pit swayed, arms raised as they sang along with the songs they knew and we were off and running. Being an opening act is difficult, it's only a short set, and choosing the songs was difficult. You need to make the best of what is a very small opportunity.

We threw everything we had at it, we left nothing on stage, the tank was empty. As we came together at the end, the crowd screaming our names, yelling for more.

Yeah, it was job well done.

As we walked off stage, Martha was waiting by the side of the stage. "Now that wasn't very nice," she joked as she flung her arms around my shoulder.

"Good god, you realise I have to go out there now. Shit, you guys are going to be a hard act to follow."

Saffy just about wet her pants when she heard the remarks, and came in for her own hug with Martha. As we went to walk away, Martha said, "Isaac, would you like to come on later in the set and sing a couple of songs with me?"

I just about fell over in shock. "All of us?"

"No sweetie, just you," she said with a breathless casualness.

"Umm, which songs?"

Sensing she had me hooked, she said. "See Brian, the stage manager, I gave him a list of songs. I was sort of hoping you might already know them."

"I'd love to. I'll learn them if I don't. I do know most of your popular ones."

She leaned in and gave me a more than friendly kiss, her tongue doing a preliminary raid, before walking away, calling back over her shoulder, "Talk to Brian."

I quickly found Brian, and he gave me the list, Wow, four songs, luckily, they were all her most popular ones, and yes, I did know them.

As I walked over to Saffy and Noah, Saffy said, "What was that all about?"

Feeling a little uncomfortable about being singled out, I said softly, "She asked me to go on stage with her and sing a couple of songs in her last set."

"Fucking hell, you lucky bastard," Noah gasped enviously.

Saffy looked a little dejected. "She didn't want all of us?"

"No, sorry, just me." It felt wrong, mean, malicious. That's not me, I'm not one of those guys who seek out revenge. I like the high ground where my feet stay warm and dry.

Saffy sucked it in, picked up her dragging bottom lip and came in for a hug. "Well, you deserve it. God I can't believe it, you on stage with Martha Williams."

"I know, blew me away," I mumbled apologetically.

"I'll say, babe, god, we will have to get hundreds of photos."

"I need beer." I mumbled, heading for the chilly bin containing our drinks.

Grabbing my guitar, I raced out to the bus to go over the songs. It didn't take long, they were all classics, and a couple we had covered in our previous band.

I stood beside Brian, waiting nervously, when she finally made the announcement, Brian pushed me on stage. She greeted me with a big kiss, and introduced her next song, giving me a huge endorsement as I plugged into an amp.

It was a ballad, a love song, based around send and return lyrics, she sung three lines to me, and I reciprocated. With our mics close together, we stared into each others eyes, singing back and forth.

Her voice was perfect, like melted dripping chocolate, it oozed sensuality and it made it so easy to sing along. When it came to the lead guitar, her guitar player arrived beside me, and like with the singing, we traded riffs in the same send and return style.

His Strat was cutting, with lots of sweet reverb and a little delay. My acoustic was raw with no effects. I looked out into the sea of screaming fans, and they were so into it, Martha waved us on, and we did another chorus of the solo, turning it into a duel of cutting licks.

The four songs were gone before I really got my breath, and I was being waved off stage. Noah and Saffy waited in the wings, and she jumped into my arms, screaming, "Oh my god, you bloody legend, fucking hell, you were amazing."

Her mouth crashing into mine was a shock. Her kiss was full of all the old passion and desire, her arms so tight around my neck, I struggled to breathe. In that moment, it was like, all the bitterness vaporised. Our eyes met, and she held on tightly. I felt her fear, she was afraid if she let go the moment would disappear.

We watched the rest of her show there from the wings. It was great to watch real professionals in action, as my eyes scanned the band, I picked up little clues, hints and ideas.

After her second encore, she walked off stage, emerging to stand beside us. We all shared hugs and kisses as Saffy gushed on and on about how good Martha's show had been.

We all had to go out to the merch stand and talk to fans, sign stuff and get thousands of photos taken. What a night.

"Would you like to come up to my hotel room for a drink?" Martha asked. Saffy replied with a squealed, "Yes," before the words were out of Martha's mouth.

God, what a room. I had never seen such a plush room. Everything was first class. She got room service to bring up beers and champagne. She talked to Saffy while Noah and I talked technical shit we had picked up watching, trying to figure out how to best use that info.

Martha came over while Saffy was at the loo and started talking to me. She cut Noah out quickly, and he wandered away. When Saffy emerged, they fell into their own conversation. As Martha and I talked, she said quietly. "Interesting arrangement the three of you share."

When she said, arrangement, I thought she was talking music. "We do all our own arrangements, even when we do covers, we try to make them ours."

She laughed at my obvious lack of understanding. "Sweetie, I was talking about, you, Saffron, and Noah. How long have you had your little relationship going?"

Shocked, I spluttered. "What the fuck did she tell you?" I turned to glare at Saffy, and she quickly looked away.

I think Martha was a bit shocked at my angry response. "She mentioned that you three are in some sort of special, magical relationship, that the three of you are more than friends."

"Like hell we are." I blustered in embarrassment. I saw Saffy cringing as she heard my angry response. Staring at Saffy, I snarled, "Why the hell did you say that?"

Saffy looked genuinely scared at my vehemence. She held on tightly to Noah's arm, looking ashamed and embarrassed.

"What the fuck, Saffy, why did you say that?"

Saffy burst into tears and rushed out of the room, with Noah close on her heels, screaming, "Saffy, wait."

Martha looked shocked. "Deary me, that was silly."

I took a huge swallow from my beer not knowing what to say. Martha sighed, and said, "All right, now I'm lost. What just happened?"

There was no hiding from it, so I just unloaded and told her the whole sordid tale.

Martha got us fresh drinks, sucked in a deep breath and said, "Well, that is a shame. When she told me, I wondered whether you might like some company for the evening."

Shocked, I spluttered. "What?"

"Isaac, I like you. Would you be shocked if I asked you to spend the night?"

I was more than shocked, I was dumbfounded. "Me..."

"Yes sweetie, you. I like you, I wouldn't have said anything, but when Saffron, mentioned your arrangement. I thought perhaps you might enjoy a little romance."

I hesitated, yeah, I know, stupid really.

Looking like a stunned mullet, Martha sighed. "I was just asking, Isaac. My bed is awfully big, far too big for me to sleep on alone."

She glanced questioningly at me. "Well, Isaac, would you like a little romance, some one on one time?"

"I'd love to, Martha." She slid easily into my arms, her champagne flute in one hand. "Excellent, I have some very nice Kush that might set the mood." Her lips glided sensuously across mine, her tongue languidly dragging behind."

She giggled mischievously. "Poor Saffron, she looked rather upset."

"Yeah, god knows why she said that shit."

Martha shrugged. "I have seen it before. She was trying to make a statement. She just wasn't expecting to get called out."

"You're probably right. God knows why, she's the star of the band, well, her and Noah anyway."

"Isaac, you are a lovely guy, but you are too humble, you sell yourself short. You're good looking, a wonderful singer, and proved tonight, a very gifted guitar player. I liked you immediately. I pride myself on being a very good judge of character."