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    Chapter 67 – Against All Odds

    “I don’t give a shit what you have to do, Spanky. I’m not bookin’ the guys there anymore…No………Well, maybe if you fix your electrical problems, my lead singer won’t get electrocuted every time he touches his mic stand…Forget it, Spanky, your club is dangerous and I won’t book anymore of my acts with you guys until you pass inspection. I gotta go…No I will not! Good-bye, Spanky!”

    He aggressively tapped the button to end the call and shook his head, running a frustrated hand through his brown hair. Bette didn’t realize she had been staring at him until he looked up at her and did a double take when he caught her eye.

    She felt a little self-conscious when his eyes briefly scanned over her body before he returned his attention to the cell phone in his hand.

    “Problems with Spanky?” She asked with a smile. She had a feeling that the young man standing in front of her may very well be a booking agent.

    A nervous laugh escaped the young man’s lips as he nodded and smiled back at her. “You could say that.”

    “Never trust a man named after a Little Rascal.” Bette quipped, earning her another laugh from the well-dressed, side-burn sporting young man.

    “No shit.” He said as he glanced over at her again.

    “I’m Bette.” She introduced herself, extending her hand to him. “Bette Porter.”

    “James…Preston.” He said with a firm handshake.

    “Nice to meet you, James Preston.”

    “Nice to meet you as well, Bette Porter.”

    “You on the clock or what?” The brunette was fishing for information.

    “Oh. I’m uh, just the band’s booking agent. I get ‘em gigs and stuff.”

    “Hmm.” Bette noticed that James was kind of fidgety. She found it endearing. “What agency are you with?”

    “My own. Um, JP Talent Providers.”

    “Do you have a business card?”

    James gave her a weird look and then fished his wallet out of his back pocket and handed her a card. “You, uh, own a venue or something?” he asked.

    Bette answered vaguely as she read the card. “Or something.” The quality of the business card was very professional and the emblem in the middle of the card was raised to the touch of her thumb. She looked back up at him and flashed him her award-winning smile. “Would you like to have lunch tomorrow?”

    Comments

    1. Oooh, Mr. Collins. One of my musical heros. This guy could play the drums! Just listen to the drum part Tina gets into after “.. is against the odds and that’s what I’ve got to face…”. So great!
      That song was always on my set list whenever I sat behind my air drums ;-) And it got me through one or two heartaches as well.
      You picked the perfect songs to match Tinas mood and state of mind! Good choice with the Bangles.
      As sad as the situation is for T + B, Tina probably would not have given such a compelling performance if it wasn’t for their fight.

      Enter James. Another character of the show that I always liked. He’s like Bette’s sidekick.

      As for the locations that don’t exist anymore: with your story you kind of save them from being forgotten :-)

      • One of the greatest drummers, all right. His most impressive drum set is for the song “In the Air Tonight.” Literally doesn’t even come into the song until more than three and a half minutes in. It’s the greatest 2 minutes of a song that he’s ever composed. A musical masterpiece, for sure. Oh jeez, I must be showing my age. lol

        I happy you liked my song selection. Always wanted James to find happiness. Even knowing how tantrum-prone Bette was, he was always super loyal.

        And I like your perspective on keeping these old joints alive that have since vanished. But alas, I am only one person who remembers for now.

        Thanks for reading as always.

        • It was a brilliant decision to keep James on the show and have him follow Bette to the CU. He got more confident then and more relaxed with Bette’s tantrums.
          You gave him a last name :-) Or was is mentioned in the show?

          In the air tonight.. Absolutely! Very dramatic drum sequence that never gets old. I wish he’d still play the drums on this year’s tour but I don’t think so. Maybe he’ll play In The Air himself at least. If you enjoy his playing you might like Collins drum duet with Chester Thompson from the “The Way We Walk” live CD vol. 2. 5:40 of drum greatness :-)

    2. Bibi28 is right : beautiful songs indeed – thank you so much for sharing, that’s great !

      My poor B&T, suffering both in their corners… Hopefully Tina will be able to hear her girl singing this one for her very soon :
      (well, here I tried to add the link but it wasn’t accepted so… just say it was a certain JB singing ‘One Girl in a Million’)

      ;-)

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