Blue Moon 11.0

by Donna Lamb

Lyrics by Erin Halfelven

.

Andie Moore laughed. Her nearly purple lips opened wide and her pearly teeth showed when she laughed. "Oh, God! It was someone's driveway?" She laughed again. The deep, black leather chairs in the Hamlet Restaurant Bar made a wonderful background for her royal blue dress, her big kelly green beads, her blue-blue eyes and her fuchsia hair.

Richard nodded, laughing, too. "Yeah, I've been stopping there for years to watch the water and never noticed that the pavement went right over the edge of the cliff -- cause it isn't a cliff, it's just a really steep driveway down to a garage you can't see at all unless you're right up on the edge. So the owner honked at us and Jo made a noise like a Pomeranian pup that's been squeezed."

Jo tried to laugh, and most people would have thought she had succeeded. Richard gave her a curious look but she smiled back at him.

Andie laughed again, running fingers through her punkishly short hair. Her long, painted nails matched her hair and each had a gold decal in shapes from a charm bracelet centered on it.

She wears false eyelashes, noted Jo. She's got to be at least thirty, or thirty-five. "Ho, ho," Jo said aloud. Why do I care?

Andie carefully wiped her eyes. "That's so rich. Tom said you guys were good people but he didn't warn me you were funny." She winked at Jo. "This guy is a keeper, huh?"

Jo pretended to think about it."Well, he's p-pretty -- good at drums," she conceded which set Andie off again.

"You guys have known each other a long time, I can tell," said Andie, still smiling. "That can be good if you're going to perform together but it can be poison, too. Guess, you'll have to find out which." She picked up her wine cooler and took a big sip. "But if you aren't hungry yet, why don't we go see some people make music?"

Richard looked at Jo. "Okay," she said.

* * *

In another bar, they listened to the smoky tones of a saxophone played by a light-skinned black man with graying hair and freckles. He wore a shiny black suit with a slightly old fashioned look and a red bow-tie. The horn sang of pain and desertion and through it all, a bit of hope peeked through.

"His name is Ay-Ron, spelled a-r-o-n, Jones, but most people call him Lemon-Eater," Andie communicated in a whispered shout.

Jo suppressed a bark of laughter and traded a grin with Richard. The horn player's expression did look like he'd been eating lemons.

Jones stepped back and a man who looked like a caricature of a hippie burnout case stepped forward with an electric guitar. Unlike Aron, he had no expression that could be seen, though a fu-manchu moustache gave him a slighlty sinister look. A tie-dyed bandanna held his long scraggly hair back from his forehead. He wore a Grateful Dead t-shirt and a pair of urban camouflage cargo sorts with bony shins visible. His fingers flew, a driving intricate beat played on just a guitar with a dancing melody flawlessly threaded through it. Standing behind him, a thin woman with a round face backed his beat on a battered bass guitar.

Richard leaned over and shouted into Andie's ear. "Should we know this guy?"

Andie nodded. "They're Paul and Kylie Benny, session musicians that are pretty well known in some places. He's usually called 'Bugs'."

"Bugs B-benny?" said Jo.

"What?" shouted Andie.

"Never m-mind," shouted Jo.

"That's right," Andie shouted, grinning. "Bugs Benny."

The small band moved to another tune, Kylie changing to a rhythm guitar and Jones taking up the bass.

Andie pointed at the back and side of the little stage. "They've got your instruments, you wanna sit in?"

Richard shook his head. "I haven't played regular in months, I'll embarrass myself."

But Jo had already started for the stage.

* * *

"I'm Jo," she said as she climbed the steps on the stage.

The black man, Aron, or Lemon-eater, smiled shyly. Paul, or Bugs, nodded. Kylie mimed saying hello and pointed at her ears. She moved closer to Jo and asked in a voice loud enough to be heard. "Are you our new drummer?"

"Uh, no, I'm keyboards," said Jo. She could play the drums, she knew but she wanted Richard up on stage, too. And if she had to admit it, she wanted him away from Andie Moore. With the lights of the stage in her eyes, she couldn't see them but she peered in his general direction and motioned for Richard to join her.

Kylie waved at the keyboard set-up and Jo moved that way. She realized there was a fourth person on the tiny stage, a large man bending over a sound board behind a black net scrim. He pointed at the keyboard and made a switching motion with his hand. Dressed all in black, behind the screen, Jo realized that the audience couldn't see him. She nodded and flipped the switches on the keyboard set up, a Yamaha with two sets of keys and numerous rockers. Nice rig, she thought, but not as good as mine.

She brought the keys into the music of the band with care, following the guitar lead into a version of Desperado. Bugs came in with the lyrics as soon as Jo had established the melody line and brought it back to the top. His scratchy tenor sounded rough but true and he eased back on the intricacy of his picking while he sang. Jo picked up the missing drums with synth and worried about what Andie and Richard were doing. Kylie looked at her and grinned.

In the audience, Andie whisper-shouted to Richard, "You should be up there, they need drums."

Richard watched Jo in amazement, she looked like a pro. "I'm just an amateur drummer, Andie."

"You've played in front of an audience before?"

"Well, yeah."

"So how's this different?"

"Those guys are good. Bugs is crazy-good."

Andie nodded, "That's the real reason they call him Bugs. And Lemon Jones is the sweetest bass player, horn man you'll find this side of Kansas City who doesn't have a million dollar contract."

Richard nodded, he believed it. Jones looked as if he were eating lemons, even while playing the bass, but he was good.

"Their drummer just went to jail," Andie added. "And their keyboard man decided to try to pass the bar again."

Richard looked to see if she were kidding. She looked serious.

"Richard," she said, "your girlfriend needs you, don't be a Dick."

Smiling as he remembered Jo using that very same phrase, Richard started for the stage. The band had finished with the Eagles and seemed to be ready to take a break. The stage lights dimmed and the sound faded; applause broke out in the audience but not everyone had been paying attention.

Richard felt relieved, maybe he could escape without having to perform. But probably not. I'm only doing this for you, Jo, he thought. His hands weren't actually shaking, it only felt as if they were.

"Bout time," said Jo, looking happy to see him. "Guys, this is Richard, this great drummer I found under a rock. Well, he's not a very great drummer but it wasn't a b-big ol' rock, anyway. He'll do."

Richard laughed, showing his dimples. Kylie giggled and Aron smiled. Bugs's lips quirked up a bit. Richard took his seat behind the drums and began playing with the snare with the brush, ticking the back beats on the rim.

The man behind the screen announced into a hidden mike, "Ten minutes, folks. Be sure to get your drinking hand validated at the bar. We'll save your seats, so don't worry about that." A few people laughed.

Jo looked at him, "Andie told us everyone else's name, I'm Jo Thierry and this is Richard Alexander. Are you with the band or the bar?"

"Arnie Roberts, humble roadie, always ignored until the yelling starts," he said emerging from behind the screen to offer his hand to Richard and then to Jo. A big man, though not in Gmunro's unique class, he had a pleasant announcer's baritone, soft hands, and a deprecating smile.

"Great!" Jo bubbled. "So we've got a whole b-band now. What do we call ourselves?"

"Pizen," said Lemon-eater.

"Odds Against," mumbled Bugs.

"Survivors," said Kylie. "I thought we picked Survivors?"

Arnie pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. "I'm still partial to Yellow Brick Toad, myself."

* * *

After some discussion, they settled on a song selection for their second set. They planned nothing too strenuous while they worked into working together. First up, Lemon played bass and sang "Soul Man," with Kylie picking up a trumpet from the floor and Jo fattening the horn sound with synth. Richard's drums got better as he forgot his nervousness about playing with real professionals in front of a paying audience. Bugs played lead and he and Richard did backing vocals for Lemon who danced with his bass guitar like he'd invented the idea.

Next, Jo sang a well-known country ballad in the high, sweet soprano she'd used before. Bugs nodded and Lemon smiled. Kylie joined in on the chorus, a light but pleasant second soprano supporting Jo's sound. Richard made a few errors but never lost the beat. Jo was almost as easy to drum for as Lemon, both had the knack of perfect time and cued the drum changes with movements the audience never noticed.

The band found the groove when Bugs sang an old Dylan tune, his scratchy tenor well-suited to the job. Kylie and Bugs swapped the lead back and forth as Bugs sang; for the last verse, they passed it to Jo's electric piano. Richard surprised himself with how well he did on the drums, earning a smile from Jo and a nod from Bugs himself. That guy is a crazy guitar god and he thinks I'm okay on drums, thought Richard. Cool!

With Lemon and Kylie on their horns, Richard sang 'Ring of Fire" in his lowest comfortable key. He felt good and Jo went nuts on the keys, taking the lead away from Bugs then stopping play during the choruses to clap her hands and spin around before coming back in. She had her stops set for honky-tonk piano and the five of them jazzed the hell out of the June Carter tune. The crowd loved it. Jo grinned like a lunatic and winked at Richard.

The planned set had two guitar solos for Bugs to show his chops and the first one was next. Richard relaxed, happier than he had any right to be and drenched with sweat. Arnie had a baby spot on Bugs with the rest of them in semi-darkness; the guitarist would get his break next. Richard didn't recognize the tune, a bluesy, slow rocker with intricate fingerwork around some melancholy chords. Kylie had called it "Why Not?" He saw Jo miming to Kylie, "Did Bugs write this?" The other woman nodded, pointing at Bugs then herself, "We did."

Jo looked over at Richard and mouthed a "W-wow!" Richard grinned, showing his dimples. What kind of luck was it to find such a talented band that needed keyboards and drums just now? Jo has Heaven's own luck, he thought. He considered. Or Hell's, he decided.

But Jo mimed something else. "What?" he shrugged back at her. "Lonesome Shoes," she mouthed. Then she pulled Lemon and Kylie behind Arnie's screen for a one minute conference before Richard had got his head around the idea that she intended for them to do his song. With professionals. In front of a paying audience. That hadn't been in the set they'd talked about.

And I thought I was sweating before, Richard said to himself. He wiped his hands on his pants, afraid that if he had to drum right away the sticks would fly across the stage like arcane missiles in an Asian martial arts flick. Ninja drummer. Wish I knew how to disappear.

* * *

Ted the Clarence enjoyed few things more than good blues guitar. He even smiled at Sophie, sitting across from him. The two supernaturals shared a booth near the back of the bar, sipping Gentleman Jack; neat for her, on the rocks with a lime twist for him.

Sophie wanted to feel annoyed at Ted, This is my music, she wanted to tell him. She'd never admit it to anyone but herself but Bugs Benny was one of the ones that had got away. Come to think of it, so was Lemon-Eater Jones. And Kylie. And Arnie Roberts was an old soul, recycled again and again, slipping through her clutches with ease, every time.

Should have had a whiskey sour, she thought. I don't believe in bad omens. I'm a bad omen, myself. I don't need to believe because I know. And I know why. She smiled at Ted, gritting her teeth.

Ted smiled and smiled, keeping time with the music by tapping his fingers against the back of his other hand.

* * *

Richard played with the drums, stalling for everyone else to find their places after Bugs's solo. Lemon looked thoughtfully over at Richard. Jo lead the audience in applause while Bugs bowed out to go back stage, to piss and drink cool water. He looked like he seemed always to look, a burned-out hippie needing a place to sleep, but Richard saw the deep sweat stains under his arms and the tremble in his knees. How old is God? he wondered.

Kylie took up a guitar and Lemon his sax. Jo attacked the keys with a too-fast version of the melody line from "Lonesome Shoes", playing six beats to Richard's four. I can't sing to that, he thought. I never even thought of playing it like that.

Jo broke tempo, falling back to four-four time. Kylie came in with the rhythm and a little bit of picking and Lemon took the lead, playing the melody line like he'd invented it. Jo harmonized, changing her stops to sound like a mandolin and a baritone sax. She looked at Richard.

Here goes, thought Richard. Then just before his cue came around he mentally added, Jo, I love you.

* * *

An instrumental verse for Lemon to stunt on got added to "Lonesome Shoes" between Richard's first part and Jo's. The crowd clapped when the song ended and they seemed to mean it. Richard glowed with confused pride and Jo beamed at him.

Bugs entered, snatched up his axe and did a reprise of the melody, picking the hell out of the tune in 4/4 while Lemon simultaneously blew a whole 'nother version in a syncopated time. Richard kept up a simple snare brush on the backbeat, not daring to venture into that maelstrom. They finished that section with Jo coming in, playing her arrangement uptempo in a different key, the minor intervals converted to major, stops set to piano and something like the Man in the Moon's fiddle.

It sounds like heartbreak turned to joy, thought Richard. He came in on the last six measures, a drum crescendo like he'd never played before ending with a crashing silence as the wail of Lemon's horn and the trill of the eerie fiddle faded together.

The whole bar came to their feet, clapping."You're all crazy," said Richard, aloud. No one heard him but Lemon and Jo were grinning in his direction and Arnie leaned out of the booth to give them all a thumbs-up.

Jo and Kylie sang John Denver's "Country Roads" next to cool the crowd down. Then Lemon sang Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle" followed by Bugs's doing a simple and very mellow "Ramblin' Man", the old Hank Williams tune with Bugs singing in his scratchy growl and Lemon backing on bass.

Jo's turn. They'd talked about this in the break and planned on her doing something by Elton John, lots of nice keying, maybe even Elton's version of "Pinball Wizard" by the Who. But Jo seemed to playing something else. Richard and the rest of the band recognized it as Bugs and Kylie's "Why Not", just as Jo began to sing.

I know why the mockingbird sings
Because of you
Because of you.

I know why the moon is blue
Because of you
Because of you.

I know who plays with my heartstrings
It must be you
It must be you.

And paints my world in a different hue
It must be you
It must be you.

Why did my life seem to turn around,
Why can't I sing about anything but you?
Who lifted me up when I was down?
And why, oh why must the moon be blue?

The whole band played an instrumental verse, Bugs leading while Jo made her keyboard sob. Richard's mouth kept dropping open but he stayed on the beat, a simple rhythm with stick on snare and middle tom and brush on the ride.

Bugs cued Jo and Richard caught the uptempo as her piano came back in. Crossing over, he used the brush on the snare and the stick to kiss the hihat. Jo sang:

I know why love leaves tearstains
Because of you
Because of you.

I know why the moon is blue
Because of you
Because of you.

I know what happiness brings
From loving you
From loving you.

What I know, I know, I know is true
From loving you
From loving you.

Oh, pick me up and turn me around
I can't believe I ever looked down
Or thought I knew why the moon is blue
When I've got your love and loving you.
And loving you.

Richard followed Bugs out on the final coda then Jo sang a capella:

I know why the moon is blue
Because of you
Because of you.

The crowd stayed silent for a measure then the clapping started. Richard noticed that Bugs and Lemon were clapping too. When did she write that? It's beautiful, thought Richard. So why do I feel guilty?

The crowd didn't make a sound for a long moment, then the clapping started and got very loud before fading into a buzz as the stage lights dimmed. Arnie's voice came from the makeshift soundbooth, only loud enough for the band to hear. "We've got to get out of here, Westside Storey is coming."

"What?" said Jo. "They can't do a m-musical on this tiny stage!"

Someone in the crowd called out. "Hey, don't leave. Do that last one again!"

"Encore!" someone else called.

Aron Jones began putting his instruments away, smiling as he did so. He didn't look like he ate lemons except when playing his horn.

"Westside Storey is Jamie Storey's band, we were just warming up the crowd for them from six thirty to eight," explained Kylie. "We've got our own gig starting at nine in Hollywood." She worked at packing away her guitar and trumpet in their cases, too. "Leave the keys and traps, they belong to Storey." Bugs simply slung his axe across his back.

The crowd had not gotten quiet.

"We want more of the girl singer," said someone.

"That's you," said Richard to Jo, smiling.

"Sing 'I know why,' again, girlie!" someone shouted.

Someone else took up the call. "I know why! I know why!" Several more voices joined in.

"Jo?" Arnie's voice came out of the booth. "Bugs?" He sounded a little scared. They all looked out at the crowd and got a little frightened. A lot of people looked happy but some of them were getting very loud.

"I know why! I know why!"

Richard settled back behind the drums again. "Over here, Jo. Not at the keys -- when you finish, we're getting out of here quick!" He pushed his voice mike up for her to use. "Bugs, Lemon, Kylie, get your stuff off the stage, to your van or whatever. Arnie?"

"I know why! I know why!"

"Yeah!" said Arnie. Then over the announcement system, "Just quiet down folks and Melody Jo will sing." The shouting began to die away.

Bugs looked stubborn. "It's my tune, Charlie," he said to Richard. Jo smirked but shook her head.

"You got to get Kylie away, only one of us needs to stay with Jo and that's me," said Richard.

"She don't stay, just me, and my ax," said Bugs.

"I know why! I know why!" The crowd seemed to get louder while the band bickered.

Kylie grabbed a handful of Bugs's arm hair and yanked.

"Jay-Zuss! yelped the old hippie, stopping the motion he'd begun to unslung his guitar. "Woman!" He tried to turn to face her but she'd also grabbed his belt from behind.

Richard winced but Jo giggled as Kylie pushed Bugs off stage, "You don't want me to snatch you bald, old man!" she warned.

Lemon-Eater staggered off behind them, carrying his guitar and saxophone cases, with Kylie's trumpet case tucked under an arm. "Git when the gittin' is good," he said to Richard. "Don't dawdle, McDonald."

Jo eyed Richard behind the safety of the trap set. "I'm going to remember that m-move," she said, smiling. "Charlie McDonald." She grinned.

Richard showed his dimples. He began a snare beat, tick-sha-sha-tang! on the hi-hat. Four enormous bouncers moved between the low stage and the crowd, saying politely, "Please sit down. Please sit down." They didn't touch anyone but they loomed over people a lot.

"Thirty seconds," said Arnie on the announcer. "If it's not quiet in thirty seconds we're leaving. Now get quiet out there." The crowd began to go back to their seats, the ones who had seats, when the people in front sat down as urged by the bouncers. The shouting died away.

"Oh, good, she's going to sing," a woman in the crowd said. Several people shushed her.

They're waiting for me. For my song. Jo smiled at the crowd.

Some people clapped. The bouncers glared and loomed. A guitar riff, unmistakably Bugs, came from the speakers then died away. Jo and Richard looked around but Arnie signaled that it had been tape not live. "Ladies and gentlemen, Melody Jo and 'I know why!'" announced Arnie.

Jo took the mike and walked to center stage as the lights came up. The crowd clapped then stopped when Arnie rippled the spots across them.

Richard beat an intro. Bugs's guitar came from the speakers again.

Jo sang:

I know why the honeybee stings
Because of you
Because of you.

I know why the sky is blue
Because of you
Because of you.

I know what loneliness brings
From loving you
From loving you.

I know why the moon is blue,
From loving you
From loving you.

Why can't I turn my life around?
Why can't I sing about anyone but you?
Why did you lift me up to cast me down?
And why, oh why must the moon be blue?

Arnie faded out the guitar and Richard played only the ride with a soft brush and the snare on the backbeat. Jo sang with nothing but rhythm for backing. Her face glowed in the spot, her eyes as green as emeralds.

I know why my heart can sing
Because of you
Because of you.

I know why the moon is blue
Because of you
Because of you.

I know what happiness brings
By loving you
By loving you.

What I know, I hope, I know is true
By loving you
By loving you.

You picked me up and turned me around!
Was I afraid I'd always be down?
Or thought I knew why the moon is blue
When I've got your love ... and loving you.
And loving you.

Richard stopped drumming and came around the trapset to put his arms around her. Jo sang.

I know why the moon is blue
From loving you

From ...

Loving ...

You!

She turned in his arms and put her face up. They kissed, just as Arnie crashed the stage lights, leaving only the peanut lights and the exit lamps. Richard picked Jo up bodily and sprinted out the side of the stage. Jo squeaked. Arnie dawdled only long enough to pop two tapes out of the sound deck and made his way out fairly quickly for such a bulky guy.

"Good luck!" he called to the bouncers.

They couldn't hear him over the noise of the crowd, clapping.

In the back hall, near the kitchens, he met a tall blond with a David Crosby 'stache and mutton chops, coming in. "Crowd's warmed up, may be a teensy bit over-heated, Jamie," he said in warning. Then he squeezed past and out the door.

Bugs had the van waiting, wide door open. He climbed in. He could hear the sound of the crowd still. "I Know Why! I Know Why!" they were shouting.

Richard and Jo wheeled up in a red Mustang. "Where we going?" asked Richard.

Arnie climbed into the van, "Hollywood!" he shouted. Bugs revved the engine. "Wrangler Jill's!"

"Where?" Richard yelled.

Arnie waved. "Follow us!" He shut the door of the van. Bugs popped the clutch and the ten-year-old vehicle lurched onto the street, Richard and Jo following.

Richard turned to Jo, smiling, remembering the Kiss. "I guess we follow them. But why did you sing different words the second time?"

Jo touched her lips, remembering. She smiled. "I forgot what I sang the f-first time."

Richard glanced at her, startled. "You were making it up as you went along?"

"Uh huh," said Jo. "It seemed like a good idea." She considered."It w-worked, didn't it?"

Richard shook his head, still smiling. The Mustang followed the old van toward the rendezvous in Hollywood.