Practice Gig

We'd been practicing for a couple of months, the band had worked out the arrangements on most of The Doors' songs. They sounded perfect, but not too perfect, they just left in any mistakes, not that they were playing sloppy, it's just those random elements gave it the needed spontaneity. It was a delicate balance. I decided we were ready to find a gig. First of all to see how the act would go over, and secondly the boys were getting anxious and starting to make noises about all the rehearsal being a pointless exercise, and that it was taking them away from their own music, and lastly some money in their pockets would go a long way towards relieving all those feelings. One afternoon I skipped rehearsal and went to 'The Place' and talked to Reggie. When I got back to the house the boys were rehearsing a song I didn't recognize. I looked around the room and realized it had become and looked like a place where four guys lived.
"We gotta get this place cleaned up." I yelled. They stopped playing and looked at me, trying to figure out if I was serious or not. In the time we'd been practicing we had developed a good working camaraderie. Not quite friendship, but bordering on it.
"Hey man," Johnny said, “when do you want to learn more about the music?”
“I don’t want to know too much about the music it might lose it’s magic for me, I don’t ask you to do any of the singing, do I? But I have some good news.”
“Like what?”
"I got us a gig!" I yelled.
"We got a gig!" They all said, excitedly, jumping towards me, wanting to hear all the details.
"Where?" Johnny asked.
"At The Place."
"How'd you do that?"
"I'm friends with Reggie." I said.
"You're friends with...Reggie? You said..." Johnny started, then blew out a breath in frustration. He didn't seem as excited as he had been the moment before. "Well, thanks for saying something to Reggie about us the day we auditioned."
"It's his business which bands he hires."
"But he booked your cover band idea without even listening to us?!"
"Well, he did want to hear the band," I said, "but when I mentioned that he'd heard you guys before, and I told him who you guys were. I guess your performance impressed him enough, it clinched the deal for him."
“But he hired the cover band sight unseen…” Ian said.
"If you thought we were good enough for your cover band idea, and you seem to have some influence with him, you could have mentioned something to him that first day."
"No, I couldn't have," I said, "what makes you think my opinion would have changed his mind?"
"If you believed in our music you could've said something, it might have said something to him."
"Well, I thought you guys would be excited that I got us a gig."
"We are." Brian said, "maybe just in shock."
"So, what're you guys rehearsing?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
"We're rehearsing our stuff."
"Oh, you guys are rehearsing your songs?"
"Yeah, dude, we've been rehearsing every day after you left."
"Oh, well,..."
"Do you mind?" Johnny said, "this is for the band only."
"Well, rehearsal is over, ...uh..." I stammered, "I guess...I, OK." I went back to the kitchen, opened a beer and listened to them work up their songs.

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Chapt 15: Trial Run