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Chapter Thirty One
" i have a life now "
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. . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆
Trent Interview with Tallulah Fitzpatrick
Trent: Thank you for joining me today, Ms. Fitzpatrick.
Tallulah: Oh, please call me Tallulah.
Trent: Alright, Tallulah, can you explain to me how you first found your love of music?
Tallulah: I thought this article was for my position at Richmond, is it not?
Trent: Well, the article is about you, your connections with Richmond, as well as your place in the music industry. The Independent thinks your story might be interesting to our readers.
Tallulah: Aren't you more of a sportswriter?
Trent: I like to think of myself as more of a 'writer' writer actually.
Tallulah: I guess that makes sense.
[ Trent and Tallulah share a brief pause as Tallulah and Trent takes a sip of their drinks ]
Trent: So, when did you first find your love of music?
Tallulah: When I was about ten, my parents got me a guitar for Christmas. My father used to play, so he gave me a couple of lessons. He would make me sit on the back porch of our old home and practice. He always said, 'you must have a good view when you first begin to play, that way you don't want to walk away from the guitar.'
Trent (chuckles): So, if your father taught you, how did you become a co-founder of the band Djo, previously Sex Bob-Oma?
Tallulah: Wow, you've done your research. How did you know the band was called that?
Trent: Every good reporter has their ways of research.
Tallulah (chuckles): I suppose you're right. Well, I first met Joe, the other co-founder, in a foster home after my parents passed. We became friends after we figured out we both shared that love of music together. We both didn't have anything really going for us job-wise, so we both said screw it, and started a band.
Trent: Djo?
Tallulah: Yes, though you are correct the band name started as Sex Bob-Oma but later changed to Djo.
Trent: How did the band come up with that name?
Tallulah: Which one?
Trent: Let's say both.
Tallulah: Well, Sex Bob-Oma is from a movie we both liked as teenagers. I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but then we got really worried that the movie owners would come after us for legal issues, so we changed it to Djo. I don't really know why we went with Djo; Joe came up with it, so you would have to ask him about it.
Trent: Why did you end up leaving Djo?
Tallulah: I was a pretty dumb kid; I dropped out of school to be in a band. No one wants to be the same person that they were at fifteen.
[ Tallulah pauses, reflecting. There was an air of thoughtfulness as Tallulah figured out how she was going to phrase her next words. ]
Tallulah (cont.): No one knows what they want to be when they grow up. When I was seventeen, I thought wanted to be a photographer.
Trent: Thought?
[ Tallulah looks down at her hands, uncomfortable with the admission she had just made. Her internal conflict decending the two into silence before Tallulah broke it. ]
Tallulah: I think everyone goes through stages in their life.
[ Trent and Tallulah share another pause as the words she spoke hung in the air. Both thinking of the ways those words had effected them prevoiusly in their lives. She was right. ]
Tallulah (cont.): And I've been looking back at that stage more and more in recent weeks.
Trent: Do you ever think you might go back to that point in your life in the future?
Tallulah: No one knows what's going to happen in the future, but no, I don't think I will ever go back to playing for Djo.
Trent: And why is that, if you don't mind me asking?
Tallulah: Not at all, Mr. Crimm, that is why I'm here.
[ Tallulah sighs taking a sip of her drink as an excuse for her silence and allowing herself to take a moment to figure out her words. ]
Tallulah: I'm a different person now than when I was in Djo. Don't get me wrong, I love everyone in that band; Joe still is one of my very best friends who made it possible for me to go on and do such great things. He has and still gives me amazing opportunities, and I will forever be grateful for what he has done for me.
Trent: But?
Tallulah: But I have a life now. I have a wonderful job, a home here in London, an amazing group of people that I love and adore, and I've matured now. I think going back to the past to go forward isn't really going forward.
Trent: So, what you're saying is if you were to go back into your music career, you would go solo?
Tallulah: Music career is a bold word. So is solo. There's lots of things that would need to happen for me to go back into music. Agents would need to be called, plans changed, jobs quit, stars would have to align... But yes, if I were to go back to music, I would do it solo.
Trent: Just the other day, you did a solo opening for Djo, did you not?
Tallulah: That is true, yes.
Trent: With that event and the popularity you gained amongst the crowd, do you think that possibly those stars could align?
Tallulah: I don't think I gained that much in popularity, so no, I don't see the stars aligning anytime soon.
Trent: So the stars aligning, that's all that's keeping you from performing, writing, and making music?
Tallulah: Well, that's not all—
[ Tallulah is cut off by Trent, his reporter side getting the best of his and talking harshly over the girl. ]
Trent: So what is keeping you from going solo?
Tallulah: I don't know what's keeping you from writing your own book?
[ Silence took over the pair at the statment Tallulah had made. Perhaps she was right. ]
Tallulah: As I said before, I have a life here. People I care about and who care about me. I don't have the intention of leaving Richmond when I don't even have the proper steps taken to go about leaving.
Trent: So if you were to have the proper steps taken, you would leave?
Tallulah: I don't know, why don't you leave the Independent and start writing your own stories, Mr. Crimm?
Trent: I suppose you're right.
[ Another laps of silence before Trent broke it. ]
Trent (Cont.): But, and can I be frank with you, my dear?
Tallulah: I expect nothing less.
Trent: Do you honestly like your job with Richmond right now?
[ Both Trent and Tallulah took sips of their drinks, almost at the point of needing a refill now. ]
Tallulah: Richmond is special. It's not just a job where I take photos; it's the wonderful people I work with, the places I've been because of the team, the experiences I've had with them are ones I'd never give up even if it meant I could go solo. Photography is a passion I've had since being with Djo.
Trent: So you're saying that if you were offered a spot both pursuing your spot with Richmond, taking beautiful photographs with them, and achieving your dream of going solo, you wouldn't take it?
Tallulah: Of course, I would. I would take it in a heartbeat, but life doesn't work that way. You need to focus on both your wants and needs. I want to have a career in music; it would be a dream. I need to stay in Richmond because I have built a life here. But even if you achieve those dreams that you want, they won't last forever. Nothing ever lasts forever.
[ There is a pause as Trent moves; the interview is over, the stiffness in the air between the two signifies it. ]
Trent: I suppose you're right, Ms. Fitzpatrick. Thank you for your time here today.
Tallulah: Anytime, Mr. Crimm.