The story so far: You should go read the earlier parts. There are 32k words in those prior parts. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. It's only been five years since Part 3 was released. This is a very brief summary:
Kevin McNichols singer/guitarist/keyboardist of the punk/progressive rock band Ravenous Libido stepped into a Venn machine and came out as Ravenna for the express purpose of seeing if a female vocalist would help the band’s fortune. After losing their lead guitarist over the band being booked as Ravenna’s Libido, the name stuck and they started appearing as the opening act at arena shows. Along the way, their record label pushed to get Ravenna to go solo as she was getting attention from other parts of the recording industry. Funny thing though, she fell in love with a photographer, Derek Richards, who was actually Debra Richards. Debra uses the Derek persona to avoid misogyny in their profession. They got married and, oops, Ravenna got pregnant, putting a wrench in the plans to push her as a solo act. When we last saw them, the band members were trying to fire the producer of their second album, who was actively trying to turn it into a Ravenna solo album. As they discussed this, Ravenna’s water broke.
The camera flashed as the baby pushed her hand into the cake. Everyone the baby knew was standing all around her cheering and talking. She gibbered something and ended her verbalization with a squeal of delight as she squished the cake between her fingers. Momma and Dadda were holding one another a safe distance away. Not-Momma was helping her find the best parts of the cake to squish.
“Oo, look at this bit of cake,” Ravenna’s sister, Sara said.
“Sara, she’s going to get all messy,” Grandma Ellen said.
“That’s the point of a first birthday party, Mom.”
“You’re doing fine, Sara,” said Grandma Camilla, Debra’s mother.
“I don’t know why Mom is so uptight,” Sara said.
A few feet away the doting parents took advantage of a rare moment where they weren’t the baby’s focus to focus on one another and kiss. “One year down,” Ravenna said.
“A lifetime to go,” Derek said, setting his camera down.
“I can’t believe it’s been a year since the hospital,” Grandma Ellen said.
*****
A year and a day ago.
“Did they ever talk to you about names, Sara?” said Mrs. McNichols, the soon-to-be Grandma Ellen.
“No, Ma. I tried to talk to Ravenna about it but she always said she was too distracted to think about it,” her daughter Sara said. They sat next to one another in the waiting area outside the obstetrics department of the hospital.
“Mary would be a good name,” Ellen said. “We almost named you Mary. Isn't that right Frank?”
The grandfather to be was standing a few paces away. He grunted as he read his newspaper.
“You’ve told me that hundreds of times, Mom.”
“I know. I’m just nervous.”
“Well, at least we haven't missed the big event yet,” Sara said.
Looking at her phone, her mother said, “Well, it's only been 15 hours since you received the call from Steph. We probably have plenty of time to go. That's why we didn't rush to the hospital with them.”
“Not something I'm looking forward to,” Sara said.
“I'm sure Ravenna can't wait to give birth. After nine months twenty plus hours of labor goes by so fast.”
“Not fast enough,” Dad said.
After getting dinner at the hospital's cafe, not much had changed for the three in the waiting room until an orderly arrived close to eleven at night. “Baby Richards family?” He said.
“That's us,” Sara said jumping up.
“I can take two of you to see the mother and child.”
“Figures,” Dad said. “Go. I'll wait here.”
In the room, the curtain was drawn around the bed. Opposite the bed, was a chair from which they could hear a man talking in a high pitch.
“Who's that?” Derek cooed. “Who's at the door? Can you see who it is? It's your Aunt Sara and your Grandma Ellen. They're here to see you. Yes, they are.” He was holding the swaddled baby in one arm as he spoke.
Sara peeked behind the curtain and saw Ravenna sleeping.
“May I?” Ellen said.
Derek stood up and handed the baby to its grandmother.
“What's your name?” Ellen cooed as she sat down.
“They didn't say?” Derek said. “Meet Riley Anne Richards. Born November 11 at 9:55 PM.” He also checked on Ravenna sleeping in the bed.
“Riley is a wonderful name,” Sara said. “When did you guys pick it?”
“An hour ago,” Derek laughed. “We’d been undecided even after her birth. When the nurse asked, Ravenna just said the name.”
A nurse entered and said, “It's probably time to feed her. Is Mrs. McNichols awake?”
“Who's here?” Ravenna croaked, her face half buried in a pillow. She moved the extra pillow off her face.
“Did we wake you?”
“No, no, I was just listening to you guys talk.”
“It's feeding time, Mrs. McNichol.”
“Okay.” Ravenna sat up in bed and Ellen brought the baby over. The nurse helped arrange the baby though Riley needed no assistance and started suckling on her own.
“I'll be back shortly,” the nurse said. She made a note on the chart and left.
“This feels so weird,” Ravenna said.
“It looks beautiful,” Ellen said.
“Yes, though I'm afraid to think what I look like.”
“You're beautiful, too,” Derek said with a kiss to her forehead.
“You're biased.”
*****
A day and a half later, Ravenna was sitting in a wheelchair, holding Riley in her hospital room. “Do you have everything packed?”
“I know how to pack a bag, Rav,” Derek said.
“I know. I just can't wait to get home.”
“I know that, too.”
The nurse entered quickly, an orderly follower her in. “Okay, here's your last prescription. Your paperwork is all in order. All set to leave. Bye bye, little Riley. Bill, here, will take you to the front door.”
“All set?” Bill asked. Bill was a tall man in his fifties with a noticeable limp.
“Let's get going,” Ravenna said.
When they reached the elevator, Bill said, “I hope you don't mind my saying but my daughter loves your music.”
“What's her name?”
“Trish. She will die when I tell her I met you.”
“No pictures, please,” Derek said.
“No, no, of course not. No one wants their picture taken at the hospital,” Bill said. “I do have a CD though that I hope you'll sign once we have you in your car and before your husband hands the baby back to you.”
“They bought the CD? I'm told no one buys them.”
“Well, the CD is mine. I enjoy your music too.” Bill said with a laugh. “But, I know my Trish will end up with the signed booklet.”
As they got off the elevator, a security officer was walking toward them. “It's a real mess out there ma'am.” He said.
Ravenna said, “Derek, take Riley.”
“Okay,” he said as he was handed the baby.
“I'll sign your CD now, Bill. I suspect getting me into my car will not be as leisurely as my doctor would like.”
“You don't have to. We'll get you in your car safely.”
“I want to.” She held her hand out and Bill handed her the CD case and a marker. “To Trish and Bill, Love Ravenna,” she wrote on it before handing it back.
“The valet has your car waiting for you and we have a space cleared around it for you to get in,” the officer said.
“Thanks,” Derek said. “I'll keep Riley so you can get into the car without having to pause to hand her over.”
“Good thinking.”
Ravenna and Derek did not respond to any insipid questions shouted at them by the paparazzi as they quickly got into the car and drove away.
“How did the press find out you were leaving today?” Derek said as he drove a circuitous route home.
“I wish I knew,” Ravenna said.
*****
Neither Derek nor Ravenna would be able to tell anyone much about the first month at home with little Riley. Sara and Ellen took turns making meals and staying the night to help out. Other than playing with and feeding Riley, Ravenna did not have to do anything around the apartment. Derek worked only a few photography gigs during the month, wanting to spend as much time with his family as he could.
Steph and Scott visited once during that first month just for a few hours.
“How are the sessions going?” Ravenna said.
“They aren’t. Sara canceled them.”
“She did?”
“Thankfully, she did,” Scott said. “I think Naveed would be dead if he tried to ignore me one more time.”
“She told the label this was a perfect time for us to take a vacation and they agreed,” Steph said.
“Frankly, I think we should start the whole thing over. I can’t stand any of the recordings Naveed has butchered.”
“Scott.”
“I’m serious,” he said. “I heard him doing an edit and I swear the drums were not played by me. When I asked him about it, he tried to gaslight me about it. I know what my drumming sounds like.”
“Okay, settle down. I’ll have Sara tell the label we need to break with Naveed,” Ravenna said. “They might not listen to her. But, if they try to contact me directly, I will give them an earful. They aren’t supposed to call me the first two months after Riley’s birth.”
“Have Sara tell them they should call Steph for confirmation,” Derek said.
“Oh, that would be awesome,” Steph said.
*****
Not a day after two months had passed, halfway into January, the phone rang. Ravenna let it go to voicemail as she was in the middle of her daily workout. After toweling off, she called the label back. “Hi Betty. It’s Ravenna. I’m returning John’s call.”
“I’ll put you right through. He can’t wait to talk to you.”
The head of A&R at her label said, “How are you doing, Ravenna?”
“I was doing a workout when you called. I’ve heard rumors that Naveed is still tinkering with our tracks. Sara asked you to fire him.”
“It’s a little late to fire him.”
“No, it isn’t. We hate everything he’s done. When I’m ready, we will come in with the touring band and re-record everything basically live.”
“That is not possible.”
“I don’t see why. Naveed got his producer credit on our third single. How is that single doing, by the way?”
“It’s been at number one for three weeks.”
“Yeah, that’s because he didn’t fuck it up.”
“You can’t say that about a producer of Naveed’s caliber.”
“And yet I did. He’s great for bubblegum pop records. That isn’t us. Did you see the socials after the holidays? Everyone hated my appearance on that stupid Holiday show. They said it wasn’t the Ravenna people have come to expect. Whatever direction you think I should go in is the wrong direction. I will stick with my gut and stay with the band that got me into the limelight.”
John sighed. “You might be right. The next time you’re here we should talk face-to-face. When will you be able to deliver a master to me?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know where my energy levels will be at when we return to the studio. We’re planning to rent a space to do some rehearsals. I’ll call you in a couple weeks with a better idea of when we’ll be done.”
“Okay. We need the masters as early in May as possible.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Good day, John.”
“You, too.”
Ravenna ended the call and did a little victory dance.
She called Steph and Scott and gave them the news. Steph said he would contact the techs, the road musicians, and the sound crew to determine their availability. Scott said he would look into finding a rehearsal space large enough. Ravenna said she would clear a few hours tomorrow so the three of them could go over the demos once again and determine how they wanted them to sound.
“Have you been playing?” Steph asked her.
“I have a few surprises for you.”
When they met the next day, they listened to the original demos that Steph and Ravenna had made while on tour the prior summer. As one of the songs was playing, Steph started humming a countermelody. Scott stopped the playback. “No, Steph, we aren’t using anything Naveed added.”
“Not even that bit? It was rather cool.”
“I plan to rewrite all my beats for these songs. We aren’t letting Naveed claim a dime of royalties from our stuff.”
“That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?” Ravenna said.
“Yes. It is. He was a dick. I’m not giving him royalties for the rest of his life to our songs. It’s bad enough he got a producer credit on Good Times Gone. That was the only song he didn’t screw up.”
“I pointed that out to John when I arranged for us to lose Naveed.”
“For which, we will always be grateful,” Scott said.
Changing the subject, Steph said, “Did you venn your pregnancy weight off?”
“No, I’ve been working out the last month to get ready for studio time.”
“You could have cheated,” Scott said.
“I didn’t want to disrupt the flow of milk so I did it the old fashioned way,” she said. “I also figured I could use the boost to my stamina for long days in the recording studio.”
“I should start working out, I guess,” Steph said.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Scott said. “But only because I assumed Karl would say something if you let yourself go.”
“He would.”
*****
A month later, rehearsals started on a rented sound stage with most of the touring band intact. They had to replace Kate, their keyboardist and occasional acoustic guitarist with a man named Michael who was strictly a keyboardist. The band rehearsed all eleven songs they had written so far for the album. Steph and Ravenna had six more songs that they also arranged and rehearsed for the first time.
On the first day, over an hour was spent acquainting the band with Riley and going over the song list.
While playing one of the songs the second time, Ravenna said to Scott, “What the heck are you playing?”
“I don’t know. Naveed really butchered the drum parts for this song and I have no idea what to do with it now.”
“You can play the part he suggested.”
“Rather die first.”
“Don’t be a diva.”
Steph laughed. “That’s what we’ve been telling you, Rav.”
“And I heard you,” she said. “Now, you get to be on the receiving end of it, Scott.”
“Fine.”
After about three weeks they had all the songs down, including the singles from the first album, and thoughts of touring were discussed and shot down. The tour would wait until summer.
The band booked studio time for a month, which would leave a few weeks for mixing before the deadline in May. Their first day in the studio started with a meeting with John about the album.
Ravenna sat down on a sofa away from John’s desk. Steph and Scott sat in nearby chairs. John sat on the other sofa.
“I have good news,” John said as they settled in. “Naveed is no longer producing your record. Other than Good Times Gone, he won’t have a credit on the album.”
“Hallelujah,” Scott said.
“We decided not to hire any producer. If you want to hire one, be my guest.”
“We going with written, arranged, and produced by Ravanna’s Libido instead of a producer credit.”
“Then we’re on the same page.”
“Evan Tyler will be your engineer. He’s our top guy.”
“He should be great. He worked with us on a few sessions before.”
“Great. You’ve only booked a month so I hope you can get it done in a month.”
“That is the plan.”
“Any thoughts on artwork or even a name for the album?”
“We figured that would be part of the mixing process. We need to know what the album is about first. Right now we have too many songs and need to pare them down.”
“That’s better than being short a song or two,” John said. “Okay. I don’t want to waste any more of your time.”
“Before I leave, you had said you wanted to speak to me about something,” Ravenna said.
“You want us to leave?” Scott said.
“Yes, this has nothing to do with the band,” John said.
“Okay,” Steph said. Steph and Scott shook hands with John and left.
“You remembered I wanted to talk to you?”
“Yes, and something else,” she said.
“Oh, what?”
“Betty’s daughter Iona, if that’s actually her name.”
“The restaurant?”
“Yes. Don’t do that again.”
“It was ill-advised. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
“Good. Now, do you still have something to say?”
“I do. Hear me out. You’ve been resistant to anything involving going solo.”
“Adamantly.”
“Well, you got what you wanted with your band. That’s all written in stone. No producer unless you want one. Full contractual promotion from us. You decide how the songs are arranged, which songs are the singles, etc. Nothing will change that.”
“Okay,” she said suspiciously.
“I just want you to think about it. I don’t need or want an answer right now. You’d get the same arrangement for a solo album. Deliver masters in November or February and we release a solo album and promote it separately from the band. Same arrangement for production, arrangement, recording, etc.”
“I don’t want a solo album. It’s too soon.”
“Nonsense. Dilation came out nearly two years ago. You’re a great attraction on your own and have been for a year. You must have ideas for songs that you dismiss because they don’t fit into the image of your band. Maybe they fit the image of you.” He paused before finishing with, “You don’t have to decide anything right now. Think about it. Maybe get yourself a computer with a digital audio workstation and play around with it. You’ll be too busy with the baby and touring this summer to get much done initially. That’s why I’m saying November or February. The solo album might be released three years after Dilation came out. You really have been around that long. I’m just letting you know it’s on the table if you want it.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said cautiously.
“That’s all I can ask for.” He stood up and offered her a hand to help her up. She took it and stood. “Now, get down into the studio and get some songs finished with your band.”
*****
“I don’t like the feel,” Scott said.
“The feel?”
“I don’t know how else to describe it. It isn’t live enough.”
“The whole recording was live and one take. There aren’t any obvious flaws. How isn’t it live enough?” Evan, the engineer said.
“I agree. Something’s missing,” Steph said.
“The audience,” Terrance said. Terrance was the band’s touring lead and rhythm guitarist.
“What audience?”
“Exactly. The missing feel is the missing audience.” Terrance said. “We may be live in the studio. But, nothing captures the feel of having people right there in front of you whom you want to please. There’s an old album that was recorded live in a nightclub, all new material. They asked the audience not to applaud until they were sure the song was over.”
“Could we do that?” Ravanna said.
“If we had a manager,” Steph said. “Maybe I can get us a booking. Evan, would you be able to arrange recording equipment for such a thing?”
“I could easily swing that. I do live gigs occasionally. You’ll probably want to book three or four nights: take the best recordings from each set.”
“If we did this, there’d be no editing, no splicing. Just live performances,” Scott said.
“You think Mr. McMurtry will allow it?” Evan said.
“He won’t know,” Steph said.
Somehow, they managed to book three nights in a four hundred seat venue for the following week, The Garden Theater. The venue didn’t have a large stage. This was done on purpose, to keep the band close together. There wouldn’t be any video monitors behind the band, no lighting effects beyond a couple spot lights, no smoke machines. Scott was adamant there would be no MIDI cues and no click tracks.
Sara dug up an old mailing list and requested the people on it to tell no one that Ravenna’s Libido would be playing these gigs. It was described as an intimate evening with Ravenna’s Libido. Cost of the tickets was close to the cover charge at a dive bar.
The first night they were backstage. Everyone was nervous. There were a several empty seats and no opening act. Scott and Steph walked out on stage together. Scott wore his usual attire: shorts, basketball shoes, no top. Steph wore subdued clothing. Normally, they’d wear a mix of men’s and women’s clothing in garish colors. They were wearing all dark clothes. It was hard to tell at a distance if they wore shorts or a skirt. There were some hoots and hollers as they entered.
Ravenna walked out a moment later to louder applause. She was not wearing her normal stage attire either. She wore only eye liner for makeup. Her clothes were black and white. She had low heeled shoes on. She was wearing her guitar and she was already plugged in.
She sat on a stool near a microphone. “Good evening.”
The audience applauded and made noise. She waited.
“Tonight, we are recording our second album. I have no idea what it will be called. You won’t be able to buy until the end of summer. Sorry.
“We’d like to ask you to try not to shout out during the songs and hold any applause until the last chords of the songs have rung out to silence. Also, please don’t take any pictures or videos and post them. And if you must take a pic, no flashes. We want the songs to sound live but not have the crowd noise of a live recording.
“Besides, you don’t know these songs, so you should really listen to them, right?”
“That’s right, Ravenna!!” Someone shouted.
She laughed. “Get that out of your system now.”
More individual shouts were made including several I love yous directed at her and one directed at Scott. She turned and gave him a thumbs up. Scott had his hand bridged across his eyes as he pantomimed seeking out his admirer in the relative darkness.
“Okay. Let’s settle down. We’re going to play a couple songs just the three of us before we invite the rest of our stage band on. At the end of the night, if you’ve all been good, we’ll play songs you’ve heard before.”
The crowd erupted again.
“Thanks. Now, if you’ll settle down.”
As the last of the crowd noise ended, she began playing a fingerpicking rhythm on the acoustic guitar. Steph joined her on bass as she started singing. A light steady pulse was subtly added by Scott. Halfway through the song, Steph added some string swells on the keyboard setup near them. The song ended with the strings sound fading.
The audience respected their wishes and applauded only after they couldn’t heard the strings fade out.
“Well done,” Ravenna said as she put down her acoustic and her guitar tech handed her an electric guitar. “Let’s up the tempo. Scott?”
He clicked his sticks together four times and they ripped into a rocking song. Steph sang the first verse and chorus. Ravenna sang the second verse and chorus. A ripping guitar solo followed and they sang the final chorus as a duet. A shorter solo ended the song. The audience clapped along starting as soon as Steph started singing and through to the end.
“Okay. I guess I should have been more specific about not clapping during the songs,” Ravenna said.
“I liked the clapping,” Scott said into one of his cymbal microphones.
As they spoke, Terrance and Regina entered the stage.
“I’m not complaining. I’m just explaining that going forward, less clapping. That last song was called Ten Hanged and after messing around with it in the studio for several months, we decided it needed just the three of us playing on it. For most of the rest of the songs. We have these friends of ours to round out the sound.
“That’s Terrance Abner on my left. He’s going to play most of the guitar parts tonight. He’s been with us the longest of all the stage band.
“Behind him is Regina Boroughs. She’ll be lending her beautiful voice to make mine sound fuller. She also plays those weird percussion things she has setup all around her.”
“They aren’t weird,” Regina said into a mic.
“Some of them are. Since I’m introducing folks, and to give you a chance to do some shouting, who’s this on bass to my right?”
Many of the audience members shouted “Steph”. There were a few Stephanies as well.
“No, no. Not Stephanie. Just Steph. Steph Meyers to be precise. And who’s that behind me on the kit?
“Yep, Scott Kowolsky. I heard a few people shout out Kowolsky. Some people still read the CD sleeves. Is Michael back there yet? I didn’t see him come out.” The spot light moved to the keyboard setup to the right of the drum kit. “There he is. Michael Jeter Cole will be playing with us from now on. Our former keyboardist is touring with another band at the moment. And Gary Taliffino is also on backing vocals and stuff you blow through.” He waved a flute at the audience.
“What about you?” Someone shouted.
“What about me?”
“Where’s your daughter?” Someone else shouted.
“I hope she’s at home giving my husband no trouble. What’s my last name?”
“McNichols!”
“Very good. I am Ravenna McNichols. We are Ravenna’s Libido. And this next song is another one none of you have heard: Fair Warning.”
A few more songs went by. A technical issue Terrance was experiencing required Ravenna to fill the time with more banter. “I have to say, I’m enjoying this intimate setting. Big arenas are fun. But this makes me want to just chat. Terrance first played with us at the Bunker Bash three years ago.”
There were several individual hoots.
“Were you at the Bunker Bash we performed at?” There were a good number of responses.
Steph chimed in, “Are any of you the person who ran over Scott’s drums outside the Lonesome Mule Bar? Anyone?”
“Don’t remind me,” Scott said. “Megan isn’t here.”
“I’d continue that but I see a thumbs up from Terrance and his tech. Settle down everyone. This is Journey to Eden.”
Scott rapidly clicked his sticks four times and the song began with a rapid high hat roll under Ravenna playing a rapid run of notes. As she played, Terrance stepped over to her and stood back to back with her. Without her usual six inch heels he was more than a head taller than her. After a couple bars Terrance joined her playing an octave lower in unison. Steph joined at the same time with a counter melody in the low end. The two guitarists leaned against one another as their instruments wailed in a duet that lasted nearly two minutes before Ravenna started singing. The crowd was better at staying quiet at this point in the set but they could be seen bouncing up and down in place.
The set went well. There were a couple mistakes that would have to be fixed by getting those songs right the following night.
“That’s the last new song. Stand up and sing along.”
Terrance played the opening to Dilation and the crowd went wild.
*****
Backstage, Steph was talking to a woman Ravenna recognized. The woman had no idea she’d met Ravenna already. Ravenna walked right up to them. “Who’s this Steph?”
He winked at her. “One of your biggest fans. Stacie, right?”
“Yes, yes, I love dancing to your songs. Your voice is so beautiful.”
“Oh, you’re a dancer. Steph, is this the wonder woman Kevin was telling me about from his bachelor party?”
“He told you about me?”
“He did. He said you were very authentic. Are you still dancing to my songs?”
“I am. I can’t believe you know about me.”
“Do you want me to sign something?”
“Yes, yes, I have a CD. You too Steph.”
“Certainly,” they said.
Ravenna signed her book after asking how to spell her name, “To Stacie, my favorite imitator, Ravenna”
When Steph handed her the CD back to her, she squealed. “OMG! Thank you, Ravenna. Thank you.”
“I have to go. Nice meeting you, Stacie,” Ravenna said.
“I love you.” One of the band’s security guys gently escorted Stacie out of the back stage area.
Scott was giving Monica Jones a hug. She was the person who originally signed the band to Liberty Records. As Ravenna and Steph greeted her, hugs all around happened. “What brings you here?”
“I’m on your mailing list. I bought a ticket,” Monica said. “Fabulous set. Is that Evan Tyler over there?”
“Yeah, he’s doing the engineering.”
“You’re paying him out of pocket for these shows, right?”
“No,” Steph said.
“Are you still looking for a manager?”
“Yes, yes, they are,” Sara said, walking up and giving Monica a hug.
“I’m available.”
“Fire me,” Sara said.
“I’m available and I’m going to save you a big headache if you hire me right now.”
“Evan,” Ravenna called out. “Come here as soon as you can.”
“On my way.”
“I have no problems with this,” Rav said. “Did you quit your job at Liberty?”
“I will as soon as you say I’m hired.”
“We all like Monica,” Scott said. “I say hire.”
“Hire,” Steph said.
“Welcome to the Ravenna’s Libido family, Monica,” Ravenna said and extended her hand. They shook hands and then hugged.
“What’s up?” Evan said.
Monica stepped between him and Ravenna. “What’s you normal rate for working these three evenings when you’re off the books?”
“Seven hundred fifty dollars each night. Plus expenses.”
Monica pulled out a check book and wrote a check. “You’re working off book these three nights and you will give me all the recording data at the end of each night, keeping none of it and…”
“And making sure none of it ends up at the office,” he said, finishing her sentence.
“Correct.”
“I was going to suggest this to Sara but I never had a chance.” He looked at the check. “That’s more than I asked for. I need to have you sign my normal waiver though. Let me go get a blank. I’m guessing you’ll be managing the band from now on.”
“Correct again.”
“I’ll be right back with the paperwork and the recordings.”
“What was that?” Steph said.
“When you turn in the masters for this album, they will be the fully mixed stereo recordings and nothing else.”
“Doesn’t the studio own the tracks.”
“Only if you record in their studios. I signed you to the label. I know what’s in the contract.”
“How mad in John going to be when we tell him who our manager is?”
“Not as mad as you might think. His boss might be furious though. Don’t tell John until you finish Wednesday’s gig. Now, we have to talk about our contract.”
“Can that wait until morning?” Ravenna said. “Riley will need a feeding soon and while there’s milk in the fridge, I prefer that she lighten the load directly.”
“The girls are still a bit big, aren’t they?”
“All for a good cause.”
“Before you leave,” Scott said. “I had a thought about the album.”
“What?”
“We leave the banter between Rav and the crowd in the album.”
Steph just nodded. “That really made the night.”
“It did,” Scott said. “Rav, you were fucking amazing with the crowd. In fact, if we can have the album be in the same order as the set list, that would be amazing.”
“They’re right. You were on fire,” Monica said.
“I have a feeling they won’t let me just talk for five minutes introducing the band,” Ravenna said.
“They won’t have a choice thanks to your new manager,” Sara said. “I’ll send you all the exit surveys once they’re all collected.”
“Exit surveys?”
Sara handed Monica an index card sized comment card. “Fill that out before you leave. And by the way, I quit.”
“You can’t quit until you sign the paperwork Evan is bringing back. Quit tomorrow.”
“Fine.”
*****
Contractual details between Monica and the band were worked out the next day with the band’s lawyer and accountant.
The second night was a bit more rowdy than the first. People were turned away at the door if they weren’t on the mailing list. Still, a few less faithful fans managed to get in.
There was a little bit more noise in the songs recorded the second night. But, the recordings were still usable.
The third night was a disaster. Journalists were in the audience. Ravenna had to stop a couple of the songs because of flash photography. She stood up in the middle of the song and stormed to the edge of the stage. “I want that person removed. I said no flashes. You took at least six pictures all with flashes. What’s wrong with you?”
The person tried to escape but several people nearby made sure security got a hold of him. Someone shouted. “I deleted his photos.”
“Hey, no violence. We don’t do violence. And I hope you mean you only deleted the photos from tonight.”
*****
The band was crowded around Ravenna’s office desk as she used the digital audio workstation to create the running order for the album. Most of the songs from the first night were used to make up the majority of the album. Some of the crowd interaction was retained as well. A run of four songs from the second night were used to replace two mistakes in two of the four songs from the first night. The run of songs was used to keep the banter clean.
As they listened to the entire album through for the fourth time, something that happened the first night played.
“That might have been the best part,” Steph said. “People shouted out Scott’s last name. I can’t wait to rub that in the label’s face.”
“What do we name the album?” Scott said. “Live at the Garden Theater is accurate, but kind of boring.”
Ravenna was sitting on the far side of the room feeding Riley. “Mailing List. I can’t believe Sara had that old mailing list to find the audience.”
“Sounds good. Derek, did you take any pics?”
“Of course, I did. Her grandparents babysat during the three nights.” He said, standing in the doorway. “Is she done?”
“Almost.”
“When she is, I’ll take her to her room.”
A week later, the stereo recording was sent to a mix engineer and returned the finished mixes two days later.
Mailing List was delivered to John McMurtry on a Wednesday morning, a month ahead of schedule. They had an appointment with him scheduled for that afternoon.
They arrived together and met Monica there. After handshakes were exchanged, John said, “Monica, I didn’t realize I’d be seeing you again so soon after you quit. Then Betty tells me you were representing Ravenna’s Libido. Is that why we only received the stereo recordings of the new album?”
“That is all they needed to deliver, as you are well aware.”
“Yes. Well played. I just wish the band had figured out how to do the recordings on their own before we wasted all the money on the previous sessions.”
“I’m formally requesting that the prior work on this album be sent to archives and not be touched without the band’s permission.”
“Of course you are. Tell Betty on the way out so you have a paper trail.” He turned to the band, “Guys, Ravenna, the album sounds amazing. I’ve written down two of the song titles that I think should be the singles. I’m curious what you think.”
“First, we’d like to do a reissue of Good Times Gone with a live version of Dilation as the B-side,” Scott said.
“I am so sorry you guys hated Naveed.”
“We didn’t hate him personally. We hated his agenda,” Steph said.
“I was at your second show,” John said. “I assume the live Dilation would be from that show or one of the other nights.”
“That show,” Steph said. “That night’s crowd erupted bigger than the first night when we started playing the songs they knew. We had Wu Yin do the mix engineering. That song was included as part of hiring him.”
“Second, we like Ten Hanged and Roll It Over as singles,” Ravenna said. “We still have five candidate songs recorded for use as B-sides.”
“Roll It Over is on my list,” John said. “As is Poorer For It.”
“That could be a third single,” Scott said.
“You need to let go of Ten Hanged, Scott,” Steph said. “Or make it a third single. Poorer For It is the better choice.”
“Okay.”
“I’m not sure releasing two songs back to back with the word ‘It’ in the title is wise,” Monica said.
“True. We can go with your two first and if the album has legs, use Poorer as the third single.”
“Great,” Ravenna said. “Any other comments?”
“I’m only going to ask once and I’m sure you’ll tell me no. But, can we lose the talk with the crowd?”
“No,” they said in unison.
John laughed. “I had to ask. We have this album slated for release in July right as your tour starts. I’d like to have the masters for Roll It Over and the B-sides as soon as possible. We’ll release that a couple weeks before the album. We will need album art no later than six weeks from now.”
“When are we filming the video for the single?”
“Since you’ve decided to go rogue on all the little things the label can ding you for, I’m assuming you will hire your own director and crew for the video.”
“I did warn them of that,” Monica said.
“We’re basically done. Betty probably booked you for a couple hours. Usually that time is spent discussing the album run order. You gave me a continuous file of sound sixty-two minutes long. That’s the album. You’ll be touring in July.”
“Yes,” Scott said. “We would start now since we’ve already got all the new songs down. But, it wouldn’t be a good idea for Ravenna to be traveling with a four month old.”
“I doubt an eight month old will be any better. But, it’s certainly better for her immune system.”
“Is she here?” John said.
“Yes. Call Betty and see if Derek can bring her in.”
*****
“I think he’s trying to get you to do the solo album,” Derek said. He was stretched on the floor. Riley lay on the floor on her back swatting at some stuffed toys hanging above her. “If you let the February deadline pass I suspect he won’t be as easy to handle.”
“You think?” Ravenna said. She was laying on the opposite side of Riley. Riley’s legs were kicking.
“I’m fairly certain. I also think you’ll make the solo album. I’ve heard music coming from the office that isn’t stuff Steph and Scott played on.”
“I am working on it. I won’t get serious about it until the Summer tour is over. Don’t tell the band.”
“I’m on your side in all things, Rav.”
“Kaah-gooo.”
“I appreciate your input as well, Riley.”
Riley looked in her mother’s direction and seemed to be trying to roll onto her side.
“Give her a small nudge.” Ravenna said.
As soon as Derek put his hand on her, she slipped back onto her back.
“It is too soon.”
“Only by a couple weeks.”
“Only by a couple weeks if she progresses early.”
“True.”
“What time is it?”
“Nearly boob o’clock.”
“I can see that. She looks like she ready to cry for food,” Ravenna said as she stood up. “I’ll go sit in the chair. Bring her over in a minute.”
“Is that mommy? Is she getting ready to feed Riley?”
“Gahh”
“She is. She is getting ready.”
Derek scooped Riley up and bounced a bit as he continued the baby talk. “Who’s that? Is that Mommy? Is she ready to feed you? She is.” He handed Riley to Ravenna and knelt down next to the chair. “Have I told how glad I am to be Derek at the moment?”
“Yes. And then you’ll tell me you want to be Debra sitting where I am a minute from now.”
“I will.”
*****
In the two months before the Summer tour started, the band rehearsed their set lists, filmed music videos for the first two singles, did a few promotional appearances, and wrote a couple new songs.
Monica made it clear to the networks and news outlets that when they invited Ravenna’s Libido in for a promotional appearance, that meant the host had to have questions for Steph and Scott. For radio promotions, they insisted on playing a couple songs in the studio.
The tour was a frantic mess at first. Even with added days off, Ravenna always felt rushed because she wanted to spend as much time with Riley as she could. Derek spent more time with the tour than he originally expected in order to keep Ravenna from being run ragged.
The week the album was released was the worst. Ravenna canceled a personal appearance at the last minute. It was the only appearance that was her alone. Monica told her it wouldn’t be a problem.
A few days later, Ravenna recorded a message on her Facegram apologizing to the fans for missing the event and saying she had to choose between the fans and her daughter. And her daughter won. This caused some flack among the self-righteous. But, her fans were supportive.
When the tour ended in October, the band went their separate ways with no plans to get together until Riley’s first birthday in early November. Monica sat with Ravenna, Debra, and Riley as they flew back home. Mid-flight, Debra was holding a sleeping Riley when Monica leaned over to Ravenna. “I hate to bring this up. I’m sure I’m going to get a call from John in the next week asking about the special project he’s hoping you’ll agree to.”
“You really think he’ll ask that soon?”
“I’m amazed he hasn’t been blasting my phone the last few weeks. I’m glad he didn’t. I didn’t want any hint about it during the tour. You haven’t even mentioned it to Steph and Scott, have you?”
“No. Once I tell them, it’ll be the elephant in the room every time we’re together.”
“Then just say no.”
“Really?”
“I’m not your manager. I’m the band’s manager. I’m suggesting you say no as your manager. As your friend, I doubt you could say no. You already know what’s best for the band. Have you done anything for such an album?”
“I have five mostly complete demos and four more early in the demo stage. They aren’t songs I would bring to a Libido rehearsal. I’m thinking about finishing an album’s worth of material and then asking them as a friend what they would do.”
“That sounds like a good approach. Will you have it done by the end of the year?”
“Probably.”
“I will do my best to hold off John before the end of the year.”
“That would be great.”
“Now, tell me. I’ve heard Riley took her first steps in the hotel last night.”
“She did and she walked to me. Three steps. Debra took some video, look.”
*****
“I can’t believe it’s been a year since the hospital,” Grandma Ellen said.
“It was too bad we didn’t make it to the hospital that night,” Grandma Camilla said.
“You were there the next day.” Sara said.
“It’s not like we missed Riley’s high school graduation being there on day two, Camilla,” Grandpa Murray said. “We have to get going soon. Let’s help clean up.”
Sara and the grandmothers were cleaning the kitchen. Derek and the grandfathers were taking folding chairs out to Ravenna’s big truck so they could be returned to Grandpa Frank’s garage.
Ravenna sat in the chair in Riley’s room. She had just calmed down the extremely overstimulated one year old. Sara found her asleep as she went in to tell her she was leaving. She left her alone and told Derek she was asleep.
The apartment was quiet. Derek went to Riley’s room and managed to move her into her crib. It was only then that he woke up Ravenna to get her to come to bed.
Ravenna was up early the next day and spent time in her office working on tracks for the solo album she still wasn’t sure she wanted to make. If she was serious about it, she would have to hire a drummer. She couldn’t ask Scott to do it. It wouldn’t be a solo recording if she did. Maybe he would know some drummers who would be right for the sound she wanted. It was too soon for that though. She eventually called her mother.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Why wouldn’t everything be okay?”
“We were there only yesterday. You don’t call that often.”
“I’ll call more often.”
“No, it’s fine. I still have Sara I can ask if her boyfriend is ready to propose.”
“How did she manage to get him to have other plans yesterday?”
“She knows she has to keep him at arms length of you.
“You’re father’s here. I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Hi Dad.”
“Good morning, Dear,” he said. “What’s up this early in the morning?”
“Is there room in the garage for a drum set?”
“A small one. You guys lose your rehearsal space?”
“No, this would be for me. Drum kits and sleeping one year olds don’t really mix well.”
“I’m still not sure why you need a drum kit,” Mom said. “Doesn’t Scott have a kit?”
“It’s about the solo album Liberty wants me to record.”
“Oh. I had thought you’d already said no.”
“You think I should say no?”
“I think you should figure out what you want. I know you aren’t blind to how making a solo recording would affect Steph and Scott.”
“I think Steph would be supportive as long as it didn’t impact Libido.”
“And Scott?” Dad said.
“I think he’d want to be supportive and fail.”
“You sound like you plan to go through with it anyway,” Dad said.
“I do?”
“Why do you need a drum set in my garage?” Mom said. “Can you even play it?”
“I use to do some drumming back in the day.”
“As Kevin. Ravenna isn’t as physical as Kevin.”
“I had thought about recording the drums as Kevin.”
“Didn’t you mention you want to sing some of the songs as Kevin?” Mom said.
“I have three songs I intend to sing as Kevin.”
“Have you thought about spinning this album as one for Ravenna and Kevin instead of being a solo project?” Dad said.
“Ravenna, are you there?” Mom said after a moment.
“Mom, give Dad a big kiss. He’s a genius.”
“Finally, recognition in my time,” he said. “What are you doing?”
“I need to give you a kiss,” Mom said.
“Wait until we hang up. Maybe we’ll go upstairs first.”
“Okay,” Mom said in a manner Ravenna didn’t really want to hear.
“I’m going to hang up now. Thanks,” Ravenna said.
“Bye, honey.”
A moment later, Sara was about to enter the kitchen when she found her parents in an embrace, Dad’s hand on his wife’s ass. Sara turned around and found somewhere else to be.
*****
Thanksgiving dinner was celebrated at Kevin’s parents house. It was the first holiday Kevin and Debra spent together since Valentine’s day two years before. Sara introduced them to Joe Cirelli, a guy she’d been dating for several months.
“I finally get to meet your brother, Kevin?” Joe said as he shook Kevin’s hand.
“I finally get to meet you, too. Where’ve you been hiding Joe, Sara?”
“It’s not my fault you spend a lot of time traveling,” she said. “Now, leave me be, I have a niece to play with.” Sara got down on the floor with Debra and Grandma as Riley toddled between them.
“She’s already one?” Joe said.
“Yeah, it’s too bad you couldn’t make it to the birthday party.”
“That is entirely Sara’s fault. She didn’t tell me about it until after I had something else to do that day.”
“She’s usually very good with organizing things.”
“I heard she was your wedding planner. Was that two years ago?”
“In February, it will be.”
“Oh, honeymoon baby?”
“Yes. Or thereabout.”
“Can we duck into a private space for a moment?” Joe whispered.
“Okay, let’s go up to my old bedroom.”
He noticed his father observing them leaving. He answered his father’s raised eyebrow with a shrug.
“Wow, cool band photos,” Joe said as they entered. Joe sat at the desk as Kevin sat on the bed.
“What’s up?”
Joe reached into a pocket and pulled out a jewelry case. He opened it revealing a ring with a princess cut diamond.
“I’m already married and I hardly know you.”
Joe laughed and it helped him relax. “She said you weren’t as funny as your father.”
“Dad has a drier kind of humor. Does she know?”
“Not at all.”
“I suspect she won’t kill you about the big rock. She probably would have preferred something smaller with even smaller stones around it.”
“Really?”
“Don’t worry about it. She’s been talking mine and Debra’s ear off about you for the last few months. Any ring will be fine.”
“Oh, god. That’s a relief. What’s she been saying?”
“Never you mind. You aren’t planning to hit her with that here are you?”
“No, no. She’d kill me.”
“Deader than dead. When are you going to propose?”
“We’re going to dinner tomorrow night. I hope she doesn’t know.”
“Well good luck with that. I’m sure you’re sick of advice. Just try not to be nervous. Unless you’re normally nervous around Sara, in which case, why are you proposing? The more nervous you are, the more likely she’ll know something’s up.”
“How did you deal with that?”
“I had an elaborate plan that was hatched nine hours before I proposed and that actually worked. It also involved a venn machine. I don’t recommend that.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t do anything with one of those machines. Sara is too much of an expert for me to do anything with one without her.”
“She was involved in my plan.”
*****
The day after Thanksgiving, Debra answered the door and invited Scott and Steph into the apartment. After a pair of hugs, she pointed to the sofa and they sat down.
“It’s good to see you, Deb. Where’s Ravenna?”
“You’re a little early. Before you get to your band talk, I want you to promise to keep an open mind.”
“I always try to do that,” Steph said.
“They’re better at it than I am but I feel the same way,” Scott said.
Kevin walked in the living room from the hallway that led to the bedrooms. He gave the men a handshake and hug greeting before kissing his wife.
“I’ll leave you three to it,” she said.
“Wasn’t expecting to see Kevin for while,” Scott said.
“I wasn’t planning to be Kevin yet. But… Let me do this in the right order.”
“Do what?” Steph said.
“Try not to react until I finish.”
“Debra just told us that. I’m nervous,” Steph said.
“I’m merely curious, my old friend,” Scott said.
“At the beginning of the year, when we renegotiated the album contract and John conceded every condition we put forward….”
“We should have asked for more,” Steph said.
Kevin gave them the stink eye. “He asked Ravenna to stay behind to tell me something.”
“He offered Ravenna a solo album, obviously. And you turned him down,” Scott said.
“He asked me to think about a solo album with all the same concessions as our album had. I didn’t say yes or no.”
“You aren’t going to make a solo album, are you?” Steph said.
“Technically no. Kind of yes.”
“What does that even mean?” Scott said.
“I want to play you a song. Tell me what you think.” He paired his phone with the surround sound system in the living room. Music played. The song style was 1970s rock and roll. Nothing like the more punk progressive music of Ravenna’s Libido. Ravenna sang the opening chorus. Steph and Scott seemed surprised when they heard Kevin’s voice singing in the chorus and then take over lead for the next verse.
Scott was going to say something but Steph cut him off as they listened to the track to the end. The song played on. It was about needing to be true to oneself. It ended by fading as the chorus repeated.
Steph was nodding as it ended. They looked at Scott to see his reaction.
“That’s a different direction,” Scott said.
“No, it isn’t. Kevin’s been there before,” Steph said.
“What do you mean?” Kevin said.
“The guitar solo. You played that solo or one very similar to it to Stig like seven years ago and he told you it was ‘All right if you want to sound like a Dad Rock band.’”
“Ouch,” Scott said.
“You remember that?” Kevin said.
“Then he gave Kevin a bunch of old classic prog CDs: Yes, Rush, Floyd, Crimson. And I thought you never looked back. He did the same to me when I joined his band before you.”
“I did let it go completely through my teens. I’ve been listening to stuff like that lately.”
“Ravenna’s Libido can’t do that,” Scott said.
“That’s not a Ravenna’s Libido song, Scott. More importantly, it’s not meant to be,” Steph said with a smile. “You’re making a Kevin McNichols and Ravenna McNichols album.” Steph said Kevin’s name with extra emphasis.
“Exactly. I need this. I’ve just spent nearly two years as Ravenna because of Riley. Of course, I would spend twenty years as Ravenna for Riley no questions asked if I had to. I’ve been Kevin about ten days now and everything still feels off.
“It took two days before Riley accepted me as one of her safe people. Debra stole the keys to my truck to stop me from running back to the Venn machine twice the first day I was Kevin again. How could my baby not know me? Sure, the answer was obvious: she didn’t know me. It still hurts a bit.
“This isn’t just a Riley thing though. I need to know who I am and what better way to find out than to make an album with my two halves. The first night in bed with Debra, she laughed and reminded me I wasn’t the smaller half of our couple at the moment.
“I’m going to tell Liberty Records I’m making a Ravenna solo album. In reality, I’ll be making a Me album, an album of self-discovery.”
“That’s beautiful,” Steph said.
“Thank you, Steph. I had a feeling you would understand.”
They both looked expectantly at Scott.
“I’ll find you a real drummer. Whatever you were doing isn’t good enough,” Scott said. “Just save some amazing lyrics for our next album.”
“We won’t start our next album till next summer most likely. This album will be out by mid-Spring, I think.”
“Do you need to do this, Steph?” Scott said.
“No, I’ve looked like this even longer than Kevin has been gone. I’m still Venned from when we had to get visas to tour Canada the first time. I think that was before Derek proposed to Ravenna.”
“It was.”
“Diane helped me reset it for another three years, four or five months ago. I put an appointment on my calendar for when I need to refresh the changes. I don’t think I’d enjoy Karl’s company as Steve. Diane would be no problem.”
“I’m glad you guys understand. I just want to be perfectly sure. Do you have any issues with me making the so-called Ravenna solo album for Liberty Records?”
“No, man. I wouldn’t stand in your way,” Scott said. “I can’t wait to hear it for the first time when it’s done.”
“I actually have one small concern,” Steph said. “And it’s for Derek and Riley. You’ll have to promote your album during down time on our schedule. You’ll end up doing gigs, talk shows, etc. for two bands back-to-back. That could run you ragged. You’ve always tried to overachieve, Kevin. Will you be able to handle it? For your own sake? For Derek or Debra? For Riley?”
“Debra said the same thing, though she didn’t mention herself. I wanted to invite you two over a week ago. I’ve spent the last week thinking about that very issue in addition to doing the Kevin parts of the demo making process.
“I decided it was more important to express myself now than to worry about future me’s problems. All sorts of things can go wrong even if I don’t make the album. And, frankly, Kevin of twelve years ago would kill me if he found out he’d had the chance to make a record all by himself and said no. He’d only be surprised he had to be a woman to get the opportunity.”
“I can identify with not expecting to need tits to perform live in arenas,” Steph said. He stood up and pulled Kevin to his feet to hug him.
Scott joined them in a group hug.
“Thanks, guys. This means the world to me.”
They broke the hug. None of them had a dry eye.
“That was beautiful, guys,” Debra said from the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
Scott waved her over and gave her a hug. “Make sure he gets enough sleep or he’ll disappear into that music room slash office forever.”
“That’s nothing to worry about. Riley will keep both of them alert to their surroundings,” she said.
“Kevin, I have to say, I kinda miss my best friend being taller than me,” Steph said, patting him on the shoulder.
“You could always be shorter than Ravenna.”
“It’d be cool if you two were only four feet tall and I was like eight feet tall,” Scott said.
“I thought you didn’t venn.”
“Mandy and Candi convinced me to try something so they didn’t have to be Randi all the time.”
“Do I want to know?” Debra said.
“Probably not,” Scott said.
Later that night, Kevin was in bed when his phone vibrated. He was laughing when Debra came out of the bathroom.
“What?”
“Scott explained what his girlfriends convinced him to do.”
“It’s funny?”
“How he explained was funny. He sent me a dicks pic.”
“Did you say dicks? Plural?”
“He has two of them.” He turned the phone toward her. “They’re rather long I suppose to be able to reach two women at once.”
“He couldn’t possible play drums with those things in his pants.”
*****
Kevin was in the rehearsal space with Harley Ranconi, the third drummer Scott introduced him to. He was the drummer Kevin preferred. Kevin was playing bass or guitar. He would also sing along but sometimes instead of singing he would give instructions. He also hired Evan Tyler to engineer the recordings as he really didn’t know anything about recording real drums.
Harley was a joy to work with and was happy when he was told there’d be no click track. They managed to lay down thirteen backing tracks in a week. Harley was a bit disappointed he never got to meet Ravenna. Kevin promised he would sometime before the album was released.
After that, Kevin recorded all his vocals before going back to being Ravenna. With the help of Sara, they managed to restore her with her mother’s milk intact. The trick was Sara had made the smallest change to Ravenna before Kevin ended the venn. When Kevin was venned into Ravenna, they used the history function to pick the most recent venn, in which she was still lactating.
Riley seemed happy to be off the bottled mother’s milk Ravenna had spent weeks saving up so she could be Kevin for three weeks.
On the day Ravenna returned, Debra brought Kevin to a photo studio and took a bunch of pictures of him. Later that same day, Derek brought Ravenna to the same studio for more pictures.
As Christmas approached, Ravenna played all the guitar and keyboard parts on the tracks. She called in Gary, from the stage band, to play some flute and saxophone parts. She had played them on keyboard on the demos. She wanted the real deal for the recording.
Derek had insisted Gary bring his wife. He had gotten to know Abigail while the band had toured over the summer. He and Abigail were members of the spouses club that followed the touring band. They stayed for dinner after the recording session.
Once all the recording was done, Ravenna made a rough mix of the entire album and played it for Derek. Derek had worked hard not to listen to the songs before that moment. With Riley asleep, they sat in the living room as the songs played on the sound system.
He had a few suggestions about the run order a few of which Ravenna implemented. “I don’t know how you did it. But it’s very you. Both of you.”
“Really? Can you tell that from listening or from me telling you that’s why I made it?”
“I’m pretty sure I could tell. You’ll have to play it for someone who doesn’t know the ‘plan’.”
“I don’t think such a person who knows Kevin exists.”
“That’s why I tried not to hear the songs as you made them.”
The Christmas day present exchange was held at Ravenna’s parents house. Sara was there without Joe and Ravenna noticed she was wearing a ring. She hadn’t told anyone Joe had proposed. During lunch, Ravenna said, “Where’d you get the ring?”
“Joe proposed last night.” She showed the ring to Ravenna and Derek.
“And you didn’t call me?”
“I know you knew.”
“And I’ve been wondering what happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“Joe told me he was proposing on the Friday after Thanksgiving.”
“Oh. I think he chickened out twice before finally doing it right last night.”
“You knew?”
“Of course, I knew. Joe is the worst at surprises. He even left the ring box here Thanksgiving day.”
“Oh, that poor guy,” Derek said.
“She had to have me give it back to him,” Ellen said. “I told him Sara never saw it.”
“Is he coming here today?”
“Later. I need to ask you something,” Sara said.
“You want to tell him about me.”
“Yes. What do you think?”
“It’s fine. We can’t hide it from him forever.”
“There is one other problem.”
“What?”
“He loves you.”
“Cool, he’ll be like Greg,” Derek said.
“Just what I need. Two Gregs,” Ravenna said. “Do we need to stick around so he doesn’t believe you’re pulling his leg when you tell him ‘my brother is you favorite female singer?’”
“That would help. But, if Riley needs to leave, don’t stick around.”
“You should also tell your Aunt Sophie,” Grandma said. “She’ll be here in an hour.”
“I can’t wait to see her. She’s met Ravenna before.”
“Oh, I forgot that.”
“What?” Sara said.
“At Debra’s bridal shower, Anne introduced Ravenna to Aunt Sophia. And I may have asked her about punching a horse.”
“Oh, god, why am I only hearing about this now?”
“Mom knew.”
“Your aunt dragged me into the bathroom, not because of the horse thing. She wanted to know why Anne knew her name. I had no idea what to tell her. You told Anne who we were, I assume. Did she know about the horse joke?”
“Yes, I told her before she introduced me.”
“Has Sophia met Joe?”
“Yes, you can’t get him to ask about the horse.”
“I can if he doesn’t know about the joke.”
After getting Riley to ‘help’ clean up the wrapping paper, Joe arrived. He recognized Ravenna immediately. Ravenna got off the floor and rushed over to Joe to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I hear you’re a big fan.”
“Oh god, why are you here? Why is she here? Is this my Christmas present?”
“I wish I’d though of that,” Sara said. “Joe, come here. I need to tell you something.”
Ravenna scooped up Riley and had short one-sided chat with her while Sara spoke with Joe.
“Your brother?”
“Hi, Joe. We met a month ago. I was taller at the time. You met my daughter.”
“This isn’t a prank is it?”
“’Fraid not.”
“Did Kevin just kiss me?”
“Ravenna kissed you. Take the win. Tell your friends. Just don’t tell them Ravenna is a stage persona for Kevin.”
“Oh, oh, no, of course not. Oh, god, this must be an important secret you’ve just told me.”
“Yes. I do have a Christmas present for you. In a couple days, Sara will be coming to my home to listen to some music. You’re invited as well.”
“Will I meet Scott and Steph?”
“You will.”
“This is the best Christmas ever.”
“You finished your solo album?” Sara said.
“I’m giving it to Liberty the first Monday of the new year.”
“Congratulations, Sis. And Bro.”
*****
In addition to her parents and Sara and Joe, Ravenna invited Steph, Diane and Karl, Scott and whatever form his girlfriends occupied, Monica, and Harvey to the listening party.
After everyone was introduced to one another, drinks were made, chips were dipped, hors d’oeuvres served. Harvey made sure everyone knew he was meeting Ravenna for the first time.
“You went with Harley?” Scott said, sitting between Mandy and Candi, his arms around their waists.
“Harley was amazing. There are a few other surprises.”
“It was my pleasure. Kevin is a great musician.”
With everyone seated around the living room, Ravenna spoke. “I don’t need to say much. This is a secret solo project. Don’t tell anyone you’ve heard it until the album is announced by the record label. I believe I’m going to call it All of Me. This is the album cover Derek took the pictures for.” She handed around a photo of Ravenna’s face with a neutral expression. In her hair were smaller images of both herself and Kevin. “All of the music is written and performed by me or Kevin, except a few flute and saxophone parts I had Gary perform. All the drums were performed by Mr. Ranconi sitting there near Scott.”
When the album ended, Ravenna entered the room with Riley who was fussing and not happy to find a lot of people in her living room. Derek took Riley back into her room as Ravenna looked around the room.
Her father got up and kissed her on the forehead before giving her a big hug. “It was wonderful, Honey.” There was a round of applause from the rest of them and they let Ravenna sit down before bombarding her with questions.
“Was that MC Dog?” Joe said.
“It was. I pulled the same nonsense he did. I sent him just the drum track to a different song on the left channel and a bass drone with entry cues on the right channel. He has no idea what it will sound like. He sent me tracks with my lyrics verbatim in three different styles and a fourth version where he switched up the lyrics in places. Damned if I didn’t use the fourth one. It was so much better than what I wrote.
“I already told him about it. He sent me back a letter on his letterhead saying he didn’t want a writing credit. Phil is one of the great ones.”
“Make sure you send me a copy of that letter,” Monica said.
“Of course.”
“Where’d you get an orchestra?” Sara said.
“A string ensemble from Bucharest. The arranger was a man named Stejan Kovolic. He will get an arranged by credit.”
“I’m confused,” Mandy said. “Who was the guy singing?”
“Scott told you she’s a guy named Kevin,” Candi said.
“She venned to sing as a guy?”
“No, he venned to sing as Ravenna.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What did you think, Scott? Steph?” Monica said.
“It was very Kevin,” Steph said. “There was a blues track, a ska track, several pop numbers, a few rockers, a metal track, a folky tune, but that instrumental. It was amazing. How did you make it sound so tight and play all the parts by yourself?”
“I played bass and Harley played the drums live on Moments In Flight. That was the last track we recorded together.”
“We had found our pocket by then,” Harley said.
“I was going to ask that,” Scott said. “How are you going to perform it?”
“Haven’t thought about it. I assume you mean the Kevin parts. I suspect I’m going to be auditioning singers if I tour the album. Likewise, there are songs where there are fifteen different parts that aren’t just punch-ins. There are four acoustic guitars on The Mad Hatter along with the orchestra. And there’s Riley’s Nap which is just me and a single guitar.”
“That sounds like one you probably wrote while on tour,” Sara said.
“The last Dilation tour. I would play the chords for that one with the guitar against my stomach before she was born.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Diane said.
“She woke up just now when that one played in here. It almost sounded like she was humming along.”
“Were there bubbles noises on that song?”
“Yes. On the last verse only,” Ravenna said. “Riley would usually kick in certain spots of the melody. The bubbles were approximately where she would do it.”
Derek entered and said, “Scott come with me. Pizza’s here.”
“Right on time,” Ravenna said. “Okay, my part of the gathering is over. Let’s eat and talk about anything but the music business.”
Although she had just said it was over, she did set the album playing again at a lower volume.