Free Ace's Fall by Erika van Eck Page B

disintegrated any
reluctance I had. She wasn’t a pest about it, but we partied
together often and whenever substances got into your system, your
barriers wavered.
    Soon after we started
sleeping together, the band started gaining interest from numerous
record labels. By the end of summer, we had a gig lined up
at The Troubadour, which was one of L.A.’s hottest music venues.
The show was an annual event they did for up-and-comers. Rumor had
it that there were going to be some of the best labels in
attendance.
    The night finally came and
the place was packed. Even Grams and Nate were in attendance to
cheer me on. It was the first time in a long time that I felt some
semblance of happiness. A fog of hopelessness had always surrounded
my life. Every choice
I made was to try to clear the
fog.
    I’d finally found it; music was my
out.
    Our first song started a
little rough , but the rest of the set went smoothly. We seemed
to feed off each other’s energy along with the crowd. By the time
our last song finished, the crowd was roaring in
acceptance.
    Nothing could have taken the smile off
my face that night. That was the purest form of high, and I’d be
chasing it for years to come.
    Soon after we finished our
set, but before we weaved our way through the crowd, we were
approached by a representative from RockOn record label.
    “ Great set! I just wanted
to introduce myself. I’m Bill from RockOn records. We’re looking
for a fresh new sound, and you guys are it! I’d love to arrange a
meeting so that the rest of the execs can hear you. Here’s my card;
give me a call to set up the date and time. Don’t forget to bring
your most recent demo.”
    He offered his sweaty palm
and shook each of our hands. I wiped mine off the second he let go.
My excitement was at an all-time high, but I’d definitely
reevaluate the creepiness level of this guy at a later date. He was
dressed professionally, but there was just
something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn’t that I
thought he was someone else. He just seemed… off.
    After Bill had left , we went out to celebrate. I gave Nate and Grams a hug and
told them about Bill approaching us. They were ecstatic. Things
were finally looking up.
     
    ***
     
    We ended up signing with
RockOn records. They recommended a few changes just to sharpen
our sound, but they promised it wouldn’t be anything major.
They appointed Bill as our manager, and he already had us lined up
to record our debut album.
    It was so surreal. Everything about
that first year felt like a dream.
    The only complaint I had about
recording was they did more than tweak the
sound like they promised. They also changed my lyrics around and
even added some of their own. They said they wanted it to “flow”
better. I thought the flow was perfect, but I wasn’t in a position
to argue. I had the record deal of a lifetime, and I wasn’t
about to throw a bitch fit about a few added sentences.
    We started touring shortly
after we finished recording the album. We were the openers for a
somewhat well-known band. With each city we visited, the crowd
grew more and more. By the end of the tour, we had signed on
to perform with a festival tour that was taking place the
following summer.

 
    s tage t wo :
     
    Regular Use
     
     
    o nce the tour started, my substance use
increased. I couldn’t differentiate Mondays from Fridays. It all
felt like a nonstop party.
    We were excited to be away from home.
And being a part of a tour that our idols were headlining was a
dream come true. When people passed us something, whether it was a
joint or a line, we indulged.
    I say “we” because in
the beginning it was all of us. No one was trying to be better than
the other; we were a bunch of ignorant kids just out of high
school. The biggest mistakes happened to those who were excited and
ignorant. That was a recipe for disaster because you were willing
to dive into depths unknown . You had no idea what you were
getting into