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Center Stage
CENTER STAGE
By Jeff Carpenter
Drake Calhoun sits on a couch in the backstage dressing room. He absent-mindedly strums through a chord progression on his old acoustic guitar. It’s the verse of a song he had written when he was seventeen; one of his first and still one of his favorites. Drake chuckles to himself as he is reminded of the “inspiration” to this particular song. April… He hasn’t thought of her in a long time. Thinking of her still hurts a little, but he has learned over the years it is best not to dwell on might-have-beens.
Andy McGuire sits down next to Drake on the leather couch. “Will you please quit playing the same thing over and over again?” he asks. Andy is the lead singer of Drake’s band, Xodiac. Andy has never picked up a guitar in his life, but is undeniably the talent of the band.
“Why? That’s what got us here, isn’t it?” Drake replies with the cynicism he was undoubtedly born with and has refined to a sharp edge in his 28 years. Xodiac’s hit single “Keep Me Down” has been making the rounds on pop and hard rock stations around the country for five months now, and hasn’t shown any signs of losing its popularity. “Keep Me Down” is one of the main reasons Xodiac has climbed its way from the 300 capacity holes-in-the-wall to the grand venues of a band with a major recording contract in the span of a year.
“Maybe so, but I don’t think we’ll be doomed to Survivor’s fate,” Andy returns.
“Dear God, I hope not!” Every time Drake thinks of the Starbucks commercial featuring the “Eye of the Tiger” group it sends a chill up his spine.
Tyler Bergen, Xodiac’s (fourth) drummer, stares at himself in the mirror, making sure his mohawk is perfect. He knows he is lucky to have won the gig after the previous drummer quit just before Xodiac were signed to get married. He also knows his band mates respect him and the skill that won him the job.
“Ty, it’s fine,” Andy tells him, knowing it won’t do any good.
“Just shave it off,” Drake advises, trying to get Tyler riled up.
It works. Tyler lets out an indignant squawk, “I can’t do that, it’s my trademark!”
Drake and Andy nearly fall off the couch they’re laughing so hard. Drake is close to tears. Andy’s face is a shade of fuschia.
“Don’t piss him off; we don’t want him screwing up the set,” Nick Pratt, Xodiac’s bassist and cofounder, is taking in the scene from the door. At 32, he’s the oldest member and, therefore, the one who ruins all the fun. “Five minutes to show time,” he tells them after the laughter dies down.
The band goes over the set list one last time before heading toward the stage. The rhythmic chant, “Xodi-ac… Xodi-ac… Xodi-ac…” can be heard faintly as they make their way down the corridor.
Tyler sits down behind his Pearl drum set. Drake straps on his Gibson Les Paul. Nick does the same with his Rickenbacker bass. Andy takes his place behind the microphone.
“Are you folks ready for a good time?” Andy asks the audience. The crowd responds with a deafening roar that fills the hearts of the band. They all know that as of this moment, they have made it. They can say they have accomplished something meaningful in their lives. They have taken their place, center stage.
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