Chapter 3

Alphaville Records

Tina was updating her iCal program to schedule the different local shows she would be attending for the next few weeks. She had been looking through the latest LA periodicals including L.A. Magazine, L.A. Weekly, and various other publications searching for little known bands playing upcoming gigs.

Hearing a soft knock on her office door, she called out for the visitor to come in without looking up from her computer.

“Hey, Tina.” The two young Latino men greeted as they walked into her office.

“Oscar, Esai. How’s my street team doing?” she asked them.

“We’re doing pretty good,” Oscar reported.

Both of them set down a stack of flyers each on the edge of Tina’s desk.

“These are the new flyers we were able to pick up around town.” Esai explained. “We’re thinkin’ about heading out to Venice to see if we can grab some more.”

Running her hand over her forehead and through her straightened blonde coif, Tina exhaled a short breath before reaching out to flip through the stack.  “Great guys, I appreciate it. Heard about any new talent I should be keeping my ears open for?”

“Same old wannabes.” Oscar said, shrugging his shoulders. “But hey, word on the street is Kit Porter is going back on tour soon.”

“Kit Porter, as in Soul Note Records, Kit Porter?” Tina asked.

Oscar chuckled. “Yep, the one and only.”

“Wow, that’s surprising. Soul Note dropped her back in ’93 when she went into rehab for the third time. Do we know if she’s signed with any other label since then?” she asked with lifted brows.

“I don’t think so, Tina. From what we’ve been hearing she’s got a whole new band of younger members and she’s trying to reinvent her sound.” Esai said as he surfed the web on his iPhone.

“Hmm. What about a manager?”

“Not sure.”

“Agent?”

“Don’t know. We’ll keep you posted if we find anything out though.”

“Please do guys. If she’s finally off the sauce and serious about her music again, she could be a huge star in the Alphaville universe. Veterans like her are great investments for labels like ours. Collaborations with younger, fresher artists are recipes for hit singles and music video marketing,” Tina was smiling, more thinking out loud than talking to either of her assistants.