The Rhythm of You

Meeting the others

"Riley! Are you ready?" Brent banged on the door to my hotel room. Blu barked until I got out of bed and walked over to the door. I opened it to see Brent standing there with his arms crossed.
"Sorry Brent. Give me five minutes, okay?" I asked. Brent just sighed and walked off towards his car. I quickly fed the pups before heading into the bathroom for a quick shower. After drying off, I put on a Black Sabbath tee shirt and black shorts.
"Ready boys?" I asked, grabbing my bags and the leashes. The three of us headed out to meet up with Brent.

After waking the dogs around the lawn for a few minutes, we joined Brent in the car.
"Good, we won't be late" he said while starting the engine.
"Sorry for sleeping in" I said. Brent just shrugged and we were on our way.

I started to feel nervous as we approached the studio. I never thought I'd actually get to work with a band, especially one that I loved.
"You sure they won't mind the dogs?" I asked as we pulled towards the building.
"Nah, Eric likes dogs. As long as they don't go near the equipment. Might have to keep them in one room" he said as he parked. I thought that sounded fair. I grabbed the leashes once we got out of the car and followed Brent inside.

Brent showed me to a small lounge the dogs could stay in. I let them off their leashes and watched them sniff around before settling down on the couch together.
"Come on, let's go see the others" Brent said, grabbing my arm and pulling me to another room. I saw a couple of new faces as we entered the large recording room.
"Everyone. This is Riley. She's our new drum tech" Brent proudly introduced me. I smiled shyly and waved hello to everyone. A bearded man with dreadlocks came up to shake my hand.
"I look forward to working with you Riley. I'm Barry" he said sweetly. He must be the drummer for Shinedown. I never thought I'd have the pleasure of meeting him in person.
"I-I look forward to working with you as well" I replied nervously. Barry chuckled before sitting back down with the others.

Brent introduced me to Eric and Zach. I'd mostly working with Barry, but Brent thought it was important to meet his other friends as well.
"Would you like to see the drums?" Barry asked.
"I'd love to" I replied. Barry smiled and lead me over to the drum kits. They were all amazing compared to the kit I had at home.
"You know how to assemble everything?" He asked as I walked around, admiring everything.
"Yes sir. I've been working with these since I was a small child" I said with a smile. Barry chuckled and crossed his arms.
"I'd love to see you play one day" he said. I looked away blushing. There's no way I could play for Barry Kerch, he was so much better then I was at playing.

Barry spent some time showing off his equipment, explaining his preferences. Shortly after Eric walked into the room.
"We're heading out for lunch. You two want to come?" He asked.
"Let's go" Barry said as he followed Eric out of the room. I followed close behind, checking on the pups before leaving the building.

Eric, Zach, and Barry all got into Zach's car while I went with Brent in his car. We followed Zach's car to a diner down the street.
"So how are you liking everything so far?" Brent asked.
"Barry seems very nice, and he has some nice equipment. I didn't really get a chance to talk to the others" I said.
"You'll like them" was all he said. It didn't take long to meet up with the others at the diner.

We all walked into the diner together and got a table. I ended up sitting between Brent and Eric with Zach and Barry across from us
"So how long have you been drumming?" Zach asked me as he sat down.
"Probably since I was seven. I used my dad's kit for the longest time before getting my own" I answered.
"And she's pretty good" Brent added. I just rolled my eyes at his compliment and picked up a menu.

The boys talked business for most of lunch. I didn't mind being quiet, it gave me a chance to get a better understanding of what they did behind the scenes. I knew Brent better then anyone in my life, but now I could look forward to getting to know the others. I especially look forward to working closely with Barry.

We all headed back to the studio after lunch. Brent and I took his car again.
"So now how do you feel?" He asked me.
"Everyone seems nice so far" I said smiling. Brent smiled back and used the ride to tell me all about his friends. I love how highly he spoke of everyone. Maybe I did make the right choice coming out here.

We pulled up to the studio right after the others did.
"Hey Riley, can we say hi to your dogs?" Eric asked.
"Sure. They love people" I said. Eric, Brent, and Zach rushed over to the room they were in. Barry stayed behind.
"I'd love to give you a tour of everything" He said sweetly. His voice was so comforting each time he spoke.
"I'd love that" I said. Barry smiled and gestures for me to follow him inside. This was going to be nice