Velvet Scar

March 23rd, 1971

On the way to Houston, Texas, things began to heat up. The boys were making headlines in every city, selling out every venue. However, the press were less than pleased, naming Velvet Scar as mediocre talent, for a rebellious, pot smoking culture. The band was less than fazed, but Dick was furious. He needed the press to love them, it would only sell more copies of their album. Dick was at the front of the bus viciously screaming into the phone. 

"No I won't fucking calm down Dale. I said I wanted a good story. A clean story, and you give me fucking this?" Dick slammed the newspaper down on the table in front of him. "Satan Worshippers? Are you fucking kidding me? Fix it Dale, or I swear to bloody fuck you'll end up like Bob Killman." 

Will's latest fight with interviewers left Dick with no other option then to be cutthroat with the press. He released a statement informing the press that Velvet Scar would no longer be doing television appearances or interviews, and would be withholding all singles, inforcing fans and critics to buy the complete album. The record label the boys were signed to, was furious with Dick, but sale skyrocketed, they tripled when he made those alterations. Fans were envious of Velvet Scar's ability to disobey the system. It made them go from an up and coming band to idols, rock gods. With the bands new found A list success they added twenty more dates to the US tour. The record label showered them with a brand new contract of $200, 000. The highest sum any band had ever been signed for at that time. 

The rest of the band and crew were listening intently. When Dick threatened to get Dale fired Ken started to laugh and offer shots all around. He had been intoxicated since they left the last city, and Victor gave Ken the nickname; Henny. He had not been seen without a bottle of Hennessy since. To say the boys were having fun was an understatement. They were thriving in booze, woman, drugs, they were becoming superstars. What once was only done after shows, somehow found its way onto the tour bus. It had only been roughly a month at this time since the tour started, everyone was having a good time, so no-one protested the substance and alcohol abuse. Jane even found herself beginning to drink during the rides. By the late afternoon the whole group were drunk and singing loudly to the tunes on the radio. The girls were also coming in and out by the dozens. Many girls travelling city to city with the band and the crew. Don was the only band member who did not ever part take in the "groupie" scene. He was happily married at home, he knew his job was to play music, not live some fantasy lifestyle. Don would spend his days at the front of the bus practicing his bass, or writing some new lyrics for the album in the making. The other three boys however could not seem to keep their mouths to themselves. Ken became especially wild, if he was not on stage, he was a court of rum, three grams of cocaine and four young ladies in, to satisfy his every move. Charlie on the other hand had one groupie everyone thought he fell for, her name was Candy. She was a seventeen year old girl from a small town outside of Pittsburg. She met Charlie at their very first show, she never left. There were rumours Charlie was going to leave his wife and children for her. But there was an unspoken rule in this business; what happens on the road, stays on the road. 

They went straight from the tour bus to the arena. All intoxicated, Dick pumped them up with cocaine for their performance. It was truly a rock & roll tour. Nothing was small, everything they wanted was grand. The parties, the women, the drugs. It was slowly becoming a lifestyle for everyone. Dick and Brett feed the band with all their wildest pleasures and the band continued to sell out shows, making every single woman in the audience orgasm. 

Jane and Will had sunken into some odd form of friendship. Will seemed to always have different flavors of women around, and Jane pretended not to care. She had a job to do, and falling for a rockstar was not part of the job. Jane was fine, she was having fun as well, her and Charlie developed a close friendship. Charlie would leave his room which was always the designated party room and instead find Jane to talk and laugh with. Charlie confined in Jane about his marriage and how he wished he would have met his wife after he rose to fame. He also gave Jane the support she needed with leaving Will in the past. "He's a broken man who makes good music. He does not want you coming in and fixing him. He doesn't want it, doesn't need it." Charlie gently said to Jane. "He's a rockstar Jane, he needs pain in his life. You're not pain." Jane knew this, Will was a fantasy to her. How silly of her to ever think she could tame a rockstar.