Chapter 18

As they were getting things set up, Gina and Maisie arrived, followed, a few minutes later, by the G-Force, who had been driven there by Jim’s father. They had their guitars, and the drummer had brought his own cymbals. G-Force set up and Jim reset one of the Yamahas to suit his style. Willow was interested in hearing how much the band had moved on.

They played a song from the blues show, while Xavier moved sliders on the mixer, and motioned Frank and Dave to make subtle changes in microphone placement. Willow stood next to him with her headphones plugged in, hearing how the slight changes improved the sound.

When the band had finished that song, Xavier asked them how they wanted to work things, considering that the real recording would be tomorrow. Geoff looked at Willow.

“OK if we do some new stuff?”

“Certainly, you’re here to do whatever makes you happy, and allows you to put together a set for tomorrow morning.”

Xavier turned to her.

“Is it all right to record everything?”

“How much will this unit save?”

“About thirty hours’ worth.”

“Then record everything and fine tune as you go. Remember the settings for each band to save time tomorrow. I’ll stay out of your way, it’s your call with the bands, you’re running the show as far as recording goes. It might pay to make a note of any track that stands out, in case it gets fluffed in the morning.”

“Got you, Willow. Thank you for this opportunity and for having faith in us.”

He called out to the band and then to Frank.

“Geoff, after Frank uses the clapper, you’re free to go. Just let me know when you’re stopping, or else I end up with minutes of nothing. Frank, clapper time.”

Dave had one of the cameras ready, nodded to Frank who snapped the clapper board shut and walked out of shot. Willow noted that they had bought good cameras that recorded to memory cards. The band started to play some material that Willow had never heard before, she thought that it may be their own stuff, and she liked it.

As G-Force was playing, members of Summer Rose and the Hikers arrived, taking seats in the back of the room, alongside Willow, who was determined not to poke her nose into the session developing in front of her. Racheal came in with Rick and Jacob, sitting each side of her. Jacob gave her a hug and a kiss. They spoke softly, so not to be picked up by the microphones.

“How are you, Racheal?”

“Good, Willow, good. You got my invitation?”

“We did, we’re going into the city on the weekend to get all three of us outfitted.”

“Dad’s taking Jacob in on Saturday, he’s never had a proper suit before.”

“I’m sure that he will look like a million dollars.”

“He’d better. He’ll be standing beside Rick during the wedding.”

“Who do you have beside you?”

“I was hoping that you’d fill that space. After all, I do blame you for the rush.”

“How on earth did I bring your marriage on?”

“You remember overdubbing the hit song? Well, the week after it went viral, the band had a little celebration. Rick and I got a bit drunk, checked into the Britannia and went at it like rabbits. Up until then we had taken precautions, but that night of bliss had consequences. I don’t regret it for a moment, but it did torpedo the chance of a church wedding.”

“You could always have a second wedding in the church, if you want to.”

“Maybe later. Anyway, I’ll have an apricot dress, so you can have something similar. Knee length for a civic ceremony, and then I don’t have to change for the reception. We’re spending the night in the hotel again.”

“I’ll be happy to stand beside you, Racheal. That will make you due in the middle of October, then. It would be nice to have a christening in St. Marys.”

They all sat and listened as the G-Force played some of the old blues, some sixties pop and quite a few new songs. When they indicated that they had finished, Xavier and the others took a break while the bands changed over. He came over to Willow.

“Never in a million years did I think that I’d be recording a band with a world-wide viral hit.”

“It will be interesting to see what they do with that song, now that they have an organist.”

He went back to his mixing and Geoff came over to Willow.

“Zara couldn’t make it this morning. Would it be possible to let her do a few songs at the end?”

“Perfectly all right, Geoff. I liked your new stuff, and you mixed up the material nicely.”

“That’s from watching you play for hours, while keeping it interesting. The rest of us realised that if we do more than half an hour of what we like, the audience would be drowning us out with their snoring.”

Willow was watching the tech boys as the two cameramen took the memory cards out of the cameras, put them in plastic bags and wrote on the bag. She went over and had a look. Frank looked up from his writing.

“You’ve allowed us to do something new. We’re capturing a complete set and saving it separately. We have enough cards for ten sessions. That will allow us to work more easily with the post-production. Will we be allowed to stay a little later, and you will be able to see how that’s done.”

“We have all day, Frank. Tomorrow, I have to stay because I have my choir group coming in later.”

When Rick and the Hikers were ready to go, the crowd moved to the back of the room, joining Bruce, who had arrived. They stayed quiet as the clapper went down and the session started. They kicked off with the hit single, with Willow now hearing it as it would be performed on stage, then went on with another ten new songs, finishing with another from the video. As they played, Willow was watching how Frank and Dave were working, with Dave keeping his camera on the whole band, or sections of the band, while Frank moved around, concentrating on individuals, and taking close-ups of the guitarist’s hands as they played.

When the Hikers had finished, they all took a break and had the light lunch that Malcolm had prepared. In the quiet hubbub of eating, Willow and Gina sat together.

“I showed Mum that house on my computer and asked her if we could think about it. She phoned the agent and we looked at it yesterday, then went to her bank. They looked at my two statements, rang Peter to verify that he would release money, looked at the paid-up title, and offered us a short-term mortgage on the spot. Peter transferred a hundred thousand from my account and we went back to the agent to make an offer.”

“That was quick. Did they accept?”

“We offered them four hundred thousand, with immediate payment, and they agreed. It seems that they’re due to fly to Canada next week and asked us if we’d take the furnishings for ten thousand, which we were happy to. Everything in the old house only sits where it has been for fifty years or more, so wouldn’t be any good in the new place. We move in during the first week of term. I’ll be leaving one house in the morning and going home to another in the afternoon.”

Jacob leaned over from the other side of Willow.

“My folks may be looking for somewhere in the village. Can they come and look at where you are now?”

Gina spoke to Maisie, who wrote he number on a piece of paper, which Gina gave to Jacob.

“Here you are, Jacob. Get your folks to ring Mum and arrange a visit.”

She put her hand on Willow’s arm.

“Now, friend, have you decided what you want to do with your money?”

“I have my accountant looking at commercial property. Jacob and I will be going halves in buying something. It may be somewhere that we can convert to a recording studio, or else it may just be an investment. With our share of it, we will have an easy time getting banks to fund us with a property portfolio, maybe we can buy an existing studio, or even build one from scratch in a few years. If you and Brent are a couple, you will be able to start something like that once you have the house paid for.”

Gina smiled and went to sit next to Brent on a table with the rest of the band. Jacob smiled.

“That girl is great! She follows good advice. What are we buying?”

“Don’t know yet. The accountant is looking around for a starter for us. The one I saw has tenants, but he may come up with somewhere else. He’s also going to create a company with me and my parents as co-directors. He’s the guy your family see, so it might pay you to do the same. Kids like us can’t sign agreements for property, but we can do it with adults who are part of the company.”

“Now that’s good thinking, my love. I’m going to talk to Rach and Rick about that. My folks are too old-world to understand that sort of thing.”

He got up and went to sit next to Racheal. His seat was taken by Bruce.

“Good set-up you have here, Willow. I’ve spoken to Geoff while the others were playing and will talk to Rick and his guys while you’re up there. I have taken some pictures on my phone. Just today will give me at least three articles. I had a look in the church before I came in and took pictures of the plaques on the walls to give me some background for the society wedding. I’ll tell you, in advance, that one article will be about the four-times great niece of the third baroness, playing the organ for the daughter of the sixth baron. It’s too good to pass up.”

“I’ll forgive you, Bruce. I doubt that it will increase the number of people wanting selfies, though.”

“If nothing else, those wanting selfies may be from a higher strata. I can see you getting invitations to some classy shows. Now, you were obviously in the middle of some planning with your friends. Anything I should know?’

“Just that Gina and her mother are buying a newer house in the village, and that Jacob’s sister may be taking over the running of the farm, with Jacob’s parents likely to look at Gina’s old home to retire to. Nothing the world needs to know about, Bruce, Mister Reporter.”

“You, my girl, would make one hell of a member of parliament or diplomat. Your organising skills are too good to remain behind a keyboard and singing.”

“That may be so, but I just saw Zara come in, so we had better get this show back on the road, catch you later.”

She got up and went over to Zara, standing there with a lady who must be her mother.

“Zara, welcome to our little band session. Geoff told me that you were coming, how long have you got?”

“Less than an hour, I had to force Mum into bringing me, and we do have somewhere to go later.”

Willow took Zara to where Geoff was sitting.

“Zara doesn’t have long, so you’d better get the G-men back on stage and let her have her set. I’ll get everyone else on the move.”

She went to the tech guys and told them that G-Force will be starting soon, with Zara out front, so would go on before Summer Rose. They started getting ready as the band were setting up. She went back to Zara’s mother.

“I’ve got things going so that Zara can sing her songs, and then you’ll be able to leave. I suggest that you come over and sit with us. Malcolm can get you a drink if you want.”

“It looks like you’re the leader here. I expected one of the older ones to be in charge.”

“No, ma-am, my club, my rules.”

“Your club?”

Well, I’m a member and my Dad’s on the board. I paid for these two days so, I guess, the room is mine in that time. Will Zara be able to come back tomorrow for the actual recording session?”

“No, we have other arrangements.”

“OK. Now sit and enjoy.”

She went over to the tech crew.

“This may be the only chance we have to get Zara recorded. Make it as good as you can. You can talk to Geoff later about slipping the songs into their set if he wants.”

They nodded, and Willow went back to sit down next to Zara’s mother.

“Have you heard Zara with the band?”

“No. I was thinking that it was just a bit of fun. What you’re doing here is more than fun, though, isn’t it?’

“It’s us trying to get some new material recorded. Those other guys are Rick Sacks and the Hikers, and they have made close to two million pounds with their viral video and downloads. You may have seen me and my quartet at the school dinner dance. We are in the national top ten and will be trying out a new album when this session is over. It’s not just fun, but a serious step in our musical careers. Geoff and his friends may have only played in small local events, but the DVD that they’ll have after this will let them get as serious as the rest of us. Let’s listen to what Zara can do.”

Frank snapped the clapper shut and the talk died as the G-Force started the intro to the first of six songs with Zara out front. She was good, which Willow already knew from her school choir involvement. She was also an entertainer, once the fear of singing to an audience left her. The six songs were good enough to get some applause after a moment’s silence. Her mother laid her hand on Willow’s arm.

“I had no idea that she was so good. Will you be able to help her, and the band, if she wants to take it further?”

“Any way I can. Before you rush off, I see Bruce Miller, from the Observer, coming our way. I’ll leave you with him, it’s time I was up there.”

She, and Gina, gave Zara a hug as they passed. Geoff had a big grin on his face. They all went up on stage and Brent re-arranged his drums, while Gina and Willow reset the Yamaha’s.

“We’ll do ‘Journey’ first, OK?”

Jacob grinned.

“Can’t wait to hear this, love. Herb has bought himself a sustain unit that can be used at low power. It should make this sound really like top ten material.”

They waited while the tech guys made themselves ready. Willow looked over and saw Zara talking to Bruce while her mother was on her phone. Frank got ready with the clapper and the talk died. Once that snap occurred, Willow waited a few seconds and then started the intro to the first track of the new album. As they played, Herb’s new sound was different, but made the song sound more heartfelt. As they worked through the album tracks, she saw Zara and her mother clutching each other, tissues to their eyes. Racheal was being held by Rick and Maisie was sitting on her own, tears running down her face.

Zara and her mother were still there when they finished the set and went for a break. She hugged Willow.

“That was just beautiful. It tugged at my heart. If you play it live, you’ll have to have packs of tissues on every seat.”

“More like a concession selling tissue boxes.”

They had a comfort break and a drink before going back on stage. While the tech guys were getting ready and the band was making sure they were in tune, Willow spoke into her microphone.

“What we’re about to play is something we worked on, back before that double blue concert last year. This is the first time in public, so don’t expect us to sound like the last session. This is the Other Side of Summer Rose.”

After the clapper sounded, they got into the first track of Kansas, seeing some shock on several faces, including Malcolm, behind the bar. The band now sounded better, with Jacob and his effects box and Herb with his sustain. Willow had listened to the original album, and could imagine them on a big stage, in front of thousands, with a huge bank of big amps behind them. ‘Dust in the Wind’ was an oasis in the stadium rock, with Jacob’s guitar and singing making it his own, the others singing back-up in harmony. Then they were into the final few tracks, finishing on a power chord.

There was a few seconds of silence, and then the other two bands stood up, stamped their feet and whoo-whoo’ed. Summer Rose had a group hug and then went down off the stage to get more hugs all round.

Rick gave her a hug.

“Now, that was different! Where has the rock band been hiding all this time?”

“Behind the curtain, Rick, waiting to pounce. Like that new material of yours. If you don’t mind me saying, it made most of your old album sound insipid.”

“I don’t mind a bit. It wasn’t as good as we could do. We have had the time, and the money, to realise the things that we had held back by the need to be working instead of playing. We’ve been in our lock-up rehearsal room for weeks. We have more that we can round a show out with. All we need is somewhere to play.”

“Go and see Peter with the video and audio that we’ll give you. If it’s used, just list the audio and visual guys and give them a percentage. They leave school soon, and need all the help they get for their future.”

“I’ll do that. Where can we say it was recorded.”

“Just list it as recorded on site, by WR Holdings. This isn’t a proper studio, just a room rented to us.”

“Can we pay something towards the cost?”

“You already have by being here.”

They all confirmed that they would be back in the morning, including Zara, now with a mother who had realised that what her daughter was doing was important to her. Most of the others left, leaving Willow and Gina, Maisie, Jacob, Rick and Racheal, Bruce and the tech boys. They all pulled seats around Xavier. He pulled two of the bags with the memory cards and slipped the cards into adaptors that fitted into USB slots in his laptop.

“This is where we do something that took a lot of time for the school concerts. If you have a look at the screen, you’ll see that it’s split into three parts. One is the audio, and the others are the two cameras. It’s easier with a big monitor to look at, but this will show you how it works.”

He moved a bar on the audio until there was a big soundwave.

“That’s the clapper. I’ll synchronise Dave’s card with that.”

He advanced the vision until the shot showed the clapper just closing.

“Now, we start those two together. I’m using the set with Zara as it’s the shortest. Frank’s camera doesn’t need to be in sync, so I’ll just advance it to match the others, once he starts filming.”

They heard the sound coming from the speaker, with the vision matching it. Frank’s vision only showed the floor until he focussed on Zara. Xavier stopped the three screens and advanced Franks vision until Zara’s face and body exactly matched the wider view.

“The biggest thing with this system is that we can now play all three streams together. When I see something that Frank filmed, I can click on his stream and it replaces the other in the master, until I go back to Dave’s camera. This allows us to end up with a final product with multiple views without laborious cut and paste, in real time. When we’ve seen the set, I can cut an audio, or a video disc immediately.”

They watched as he swapped screens. When the track finished, he saved it to his hard drive as ‘Zara track one fin.’ He then called up the file and played them the track back on full screen. It looked as good as anything they had seen on TV music shows. Rick was agog.

“Xavier, if we choose one of our tracks as a single, you can separate that out and give us a track which we can put on the website, and an album, complete that we can sell as a download?”

“If you want, the resolution is good enough to send to someone to make DVDs. All you need, after that, is to add an intro and credits, cover art and a load of disc cases. It’s what we do with the school concerts, and nobody has complained about the quality of them. What this gives us is the chance to produce a final product in a tenth of the time that we’ve spent before.”

“What happens tomorrow?”

“We will do each band as a separate session, with Willow taking two sessions. Hopefully, you’ll all be a tight as you’ve been today. Then, we leave the microphones, cameras, and cables with Willow, as they’re her property. I’ll take this unit home and work on all the sessions there, with my big monitor. I should have an audio CD, and a showable DVD, for you by the weekend. I’ll also supply a memory stick with the digital version of the album, and another with the single. That should give you enough to stream. Then I give Willow this unit, she already has the software and enough other kit in her bag to work with it.”

“Look, if you do that for us, the Hikers will pay you a thousand on delivery. What about you, Willow?”

“Because we have two sessions, I’m prepared to pay the boys two thousand, as long as they supply whatever Geoff wants free of charge. When you stream, Rick, make sure you list the tech crew that made the video.”

“We certainly will. It took us a week to make the video of our album, and that was only a single view. This will knock that one for six.”

“Just make sure you charge the right amount. No more pound-a-pop, we’ve charged a fiver per disc, so the double is ten pounds.”

“How many have you sold?”

“At last count, about seventy thousand.”

“Wow! That’s almost as much as we’ve earned in several weeks. We undersold ourselves.”

Bruce put a hand on his arm.

“You didn’t undersell, Rick. What you put out was, as you’ve come to realise, a little less than perfect. I would think that ninety percent of the album buyers did so because of one very good song. It didn’t matter if the others didn’t do much for them, a pound to have the single would have been money well spent. With what I heard today, every song is worth a pound. I wouldn’t be putting more than one as free view.”

“I hear you, Bruce. I’ll have to talk to the others about this. I think that Willow has been right, we need a good manager working for us.”

“With Peter, you’ll also get Marcus Waddington to promote you. You can ask to do local area shows until the album takes off. By that time, who knows where you’ll be asked to play. Just give yourselves time and peace to write more songs like the ones you played today.”

“All right. Who did your cover art, Willow?”

“My Mum. She’s a graphic artist. If you want her to work on your album, talk to her at your reception with an idea of what you want it to look like. You don’t want it streamed until you finish your honeymoon.”

Jacob and Willow hugged and kissed, then Racheal and Rick left with him in tow. Gina and Maisie left, after both giving Willow a hug. She went up on stage to turn off all the equipment as Xavier put the recording unit and his laptop in bags to take with him.

“Frank’s father should be picking us up. Willow. We’ll go outside and wait for him. It’s been a very exciting day.”

She gave each of them hugs, and they left. Bruce had a wry smile.

“I’ll be waiting in my car when you get here in the morning. What I’ve seen has been brilliant. I can’t see how much better you all can get, after today.”

“There’ll be an audience, Bruce. A national teen magazine, with their sister adult magazine possible. Then there’s the TV people. All of them were here Saturday night and saw Summer Rose as an eleven-piece dance band, so that would be enough to get their juices going. Who knows who they’ll be bringing along. An audience always make a band work harder to please. It may not be a lot, but we will know that we’ve lifted.”

“All right, I’ll see you in the morning.”

After he had left, she went to the bar and asked Malcolm for a lemonade. When he put it in front of her, he leaned on the bar and looked her in the eyes.

“Willow Rose. I knew you were amazing, but today as shown you in a different light. You held that lot together and they all worked hard. I have to tell you that I will book G-Force for the dinner dance if that girl sings with them”

Marianne Gregory © 2025