The Hardest Set (Willow Son #4/Brothers of Rock #19) Read Online Free

you all rebuild yourselves. Through a new deal, old crimes and
demons. It ’ s such a
rockstar thing. ”
    “ Agreed, ” Colby said. “ Ultimately, the fans wanted us
to keep going. So we did. We were lucky enough to land a deal, but we fought
for it. ”
    “ We
fought for control, ” Brantley said.
    “ We
negotiated everything, ” Van
added. “ It wasn ’ t easy. I mean, we could have
just stood behind the glass and played a few chords, right? Add some beats to
it, mix it, send it out. We ’ d
sell a million copies. We didn ’ t
want that. ”
    “ That ’ s so commendable, ” Jackie said. “ So every song has a meaning. ”
    “ Exactly, ” Jett said. “ For the acoustic stuff, Ryker
brought all that to the table. ”
    “ When
you took your hiatus? ” Jackie asked.
    “ I
went on a solo road trip, ” Ryker said. “ That ’ s all it was. I needed a moment.
I dug up some old songs and they worked. ”
    “ The
record company pushed for more reality TV stuff, ” Jett said. “ We fought back.
We ended up agreeing on the acoustic album and a DVD. ”
    “ That
turned out quite well, huh? ” Jackie asked.
    Van felt his leg jumping under the
table. He needed water. He needed a beer. Fuck that, he needed some damn sleep.
    “ Van,
are you okay? ” Jackie
asked. “ You look a little …”
    “ I ’ m good to go, ” Van said. “ You know, we get the same damn
questions. So giving the answers gets a little boring. You want to write
something that matters? Write about the music. Why don ’ t you put in the acoustic stuff and listen to it?
Feel it? Write about what you get from it. That ’ s
why we do what we do here. Not for the money, the fame, the stages. For the
feeling. That ’ s why the
fans show up. They feel the same way. They take something out of it that we
never intended to give. That ’ s
the power of it. ”
    “ Jesus, ” Brantley said. “ Van is hungover and
philosophical. ”
    “ He ’ s right, ” Ryker said. “ Those
songs were important to me. I trusted these four guys with the music. They took
decent songs and made them hits. ”
    “ No, ” Colby said. “ You brought us hits, Ryker. We
just got to play them. ”
    “ So
you guys are like brothers, ” Jackie said. “ Deeply
bonded. ”
    “ We
fight like brothers, ” Jett
said. “ Me and Ryker have
gone a few rounds. ”
    “ So
I ’ ve heard, ” Jackie said. “ Now, talk to me about this
opening band thing. Seems a little commercial, right? ”
    Van laughed. “ I like you, brother. You ’ re honest. Truthfully? It ’ s such bullshit. But  we know
that there ’ s a band out
there waiting to be found. Hell, they ’ re
probably already found. They ’ re
just working and growing. They have a massive following. We ’ ve probably heard them before.
That ’ s who we want on tour
with us. Someone not to just be an opening band. Someone who can steal our
spotlight and steal our audience. Because when that happens and you ’ ve got two mega bands touring
the world, that ’ s when the
music matters most of all. ”
    Van then stood up and patted the
table.
    “ You
out? ” Jackie asked.
    “ I ’ m out, ” Van said. “ Listen
to the music. ”
    Van walked to the poster in the
room. He was larger than life in the poster. He didn ’ t know what show it came from or what song the band
had been playing when the picture was taken.
    “ I ’ ve heard rumors that another
album is coming soon, ” Jackie said. “ Care to
comment? ”
    “ No
comment, ” Jett said and
laughed.
    “ We ’ re always writing, ” Colby said. “ We ’ re
always recording. That ’ s
just what we do as a band. It ’ s
our livelihood. We write music that we hope can connect with our loyal fans.
That ’ s what ’ s kept us going through the good
and the bad. ”
    Van grinned and opened the door,
leaving the room.
    Harry was standing there, typing
away on his cell. He looked up and raised an eyebrow. “ Everything okay? ”
    “ Yeah, ”