The Darling Diaries

Help!

Our manager, James Cooper, walked into my house, carrying the last of the audition tapes and dropped them all on the coffee table that our ('our' being me, Eden, Monet, and Vanity) feet were propped upon. Our mouths dropped open at the sheer number of tapes that we were supposed to watch.

"We're supposed to watch all of them?!" Vanity, the drummer, exclaimed.

"Well, yeah. You guys were the ones who decided that you wanted to pick out your tour mates!" He plopped down in an armchair with an almighty thud and sank the chair a few inches due to his heavy set build.

"Jesus. We're gonna be up all night," I complained.

"Better get some coffee going," Monet, bassist, suggested. When nobody got up,  she sighed and went to the kitchen.

"So, let's get started."

"How long has it been?" Eden, rhythm guitarist, questioned groggily, leaning her head on her olive-toned arm.

"Four hours. These tapes are only two songs each!" I groaned, sticking my legs over the arm of the couch and laying my head on a pillow in Vanity's lap.

"What's the next band called?" Monet inquired, sipping her coffee on the little space that she and Eden had set up on the floor.

James looked at the box that the tape had come in. "Led Zeppelin. Sent by Peter Grant, their manager. New. Had their first tour in Scandinavia not too long ago. Releasing their first album in two months."

"Let's hear 'em," I stated, stifling a yawn.

Eden stuck the video in the player and pressed play. A black and white video came up. It showed a bunch of people milling around, then sitting. After a few seconds, this awesome bluesy riff started. The style of playing was really familiar to me.

"Where have I heard that before?" I mumbled to myself. Suddenly, I shot up and yelled, "Stop the video!" The guys jumped, and Eden paused the video.

"What's wrong?!" Vanity asked worriedly.

"That's Jimmy Page. From The Yardbirds, that's Jimmy Page!" I shouted, pointing my finger at the screen.

"How can you tell? You can't even see his face behind all that hair," Eden commented.

"I recognized his style of playing. I guarantee you that that's him!"

We watched in open-mouthed astonishment as they continued to play one of the most amazing songs I had ever heard. It was called 'Communication Breakdown'. The next song that they played was called 'Dazed and Confused', which was definitely my favorite out of the two.

As soon as they finished playing and the video went off, Monet said, "Live auditions."

"Live auditions."

"So, what did you think about the last band?" I asked the guys.

"I thought they were good," Vanity said.

"You just think they were good, because they were hot," Monet chuckled.

"NEXT!" Eden screamed.

I looked down at my clipboard. It didn't actually have anything important on it; it was just a drawing of a flower that I had been doodling for the last hour or so.