Chapter 33 Paradise Rock
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Paradise Rock
“Paradise Rock FM! It’s Anna Banana in the house!
And that was ‘Infected’ by Nightstalker!
Just one more day, folks! One day to the concert at the Whisky.
We’re ready! You’re ready! Let’s hope Nightstalker is ready!
After recent events, we’re all looking forward to tomorrow with bated breath. I can’t wait! What about you, Clint?”
“Well, I can’t wait either. I just found out this morning that I’ve been banned from the Whisky. I can’t even blame them, but it still hurts.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Clint. So, what happens to your ticket?”
“It goes into the pot, of course.”
“Did you hear that? It goes into the pot! There are not just three, but four tickets to win! Yay! Two pairs! How do you like that? I’m so excited! Clint, I don’t want to torture you, but I’d say you probably know best what we can expect tomorrow. What do you think? Are the guys ready?”
“As you mentioned, the events surrounding the band have escalated over the past few days, if not weeks. Normally, they’d say even bad publicity is good publicity.
But what Nightstalker has been dealing with lately …
I wouldn’t want to trade places with them.
Maybe in such difficult times, it’s beneficial to lay low because you want the focus to be on the music, not on personal issues. It’s tough how our world works today.”
“It has been pretty quiet on the Nightstalker channels lately. José Martinez and Andrej Novak have been the ones keeping the outside world updated with insights. It would be nice if they started doing that again tomorrow.”
“Yeah, everything seems to be at a standstill with Nightstalker. You don’t even get updates from management about the current state of things.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re freaking out themselves.
TMZ had pictures of Eliot Parker, aka Leaf, arguing with a woman on the street yesterday.
An older man had to step in. Parker appeared completely out of it, which of course fuels rumors that he has relapsed. ”
“I hope not! And what about Tristan James?”
“He was also spotted. With José Martinez. At a Thai restaurant. Everything seems fine there.”
“Let’s take a closer look at Nightstalker’s fourth member, drummer José Martinez. Tell us more about him.”
“José Martinez is known as the band’s good soul.
With two artists like Tristan James and Eliot Parker, each a bit eccentric in their own ways, having Martinez in the group is invaluable.
He’s a calm, thoughtful guy, focused and fiercely loyal to his bandmates.
Martinez and Parker have been friends since childhood and moved to L.A. together.”
“You said Parker is from San Francisco.”
“That’s right. And if the stories are true, Parker and Martinez even grew up on the same street. As far as I know, they went to the same school too. But José Martinez is twenty-eight, so he’s a year older than Parker.”
“Where is Martinez originally from?”
“His parents are from Venezuela. His father worked for an oil company. When José was eight or nine, they moved to the U.S. José has a younger brother, Ignazio, who studies art history here in Los Angeles.”
“And what did Martinez do before Nightstalker? It’s always interesting to hear what jobs stars had before they made it big.”
“Martinez once told me in an interview that he worked in construction. He mentioned he always knew he was going to make it in music, so he never bothered to attend a university.”
“Well, let’s hope José Martinez, the guiding force, keeps the band on track and ensures they all make it to the stage on time tomorrow.”
“I hope so too. And whoever wins my ticket, I wish you lots of fun at the concert.”
“The contest ends today! And we’ll be drawing the winner right after the next song! So stay tuned. But first, another song by Nightstalker. Here’s ‘Gather the Souls.’”