The first stop on Reckless Disregard’s publicity tour was New York, New York. All of the kids were in awe at what they saw as they were driven to their hotel room. “Boys, I’m totally going shopping on one of our visits here”, Jordan laughed.
“While we’re here, I need to pick something up”, Logan commented.
“Oh?” Malachai asked and looked at his cousin. “What might THAT be?”
“A ring.”
“NO!” Jordan said. “Dani finally convinced you to settle down?”
“Yeah”, he nodded. “It helps that she said the two most scary yet magical words in the English Language the night before we left.”
“You’re making Uncle John a grandpa, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. She’s four weeks pregnant from what she says.”
Caleb laughed. “What is it with your kids of Disturbed and making your fathers grandfathers before you’re 21?”
Malachai and Logan shrugged. “It’s not like we plan this shit, Caleb. It just seems to happen”, Malachai said. “Once the fact sunk into my Dad’s head he was elated that he was about to be a grandfather.”
“I just don’t get your rock star kids”, Caleb said with a sigh.
--------------
The first press conference that the band had to do was interesting. The band’s symbol was hanging on a banner behind them as they sat at the table with a microphone in front of each of them. Lauren had introduced them and they were immediately bombarded with questions. “Malachai and Jordan; Jaime Spence for the New York Times. I couldn’t help but notice that you both share a last name with Disturbed front man, David Draiman. Are you related to him in some way?” a red headed women in a blue power suit asked.
Jordan laughed. “If you have to ask that, you’re ignorant as fuck, lady. Of course we are. We’re his kids.”
“I have a follow up. What’s to make us think that you’re not trying to get by on his name?”
“Please”, Malachai said. “We’re doing nothing of the sort. If we were trying to do that, then we’d be a total carbon copy of Disturbed.”
“But three quarters of you are the children of one member of the band or another.”
“Wouldn’t it make sense to you that BECAUSE we’re three quarters the kids of Disturbed that we DON’T want to be in their shadow? Just because my last name is Draiman doesn’t mean that I want to be known because of my father”, Jordan said. “And I can guarantee that Malachai and Logan both feel the same way. Yeah, our music is influenced BY Disturbed because we grew up hearing it. We grew up hearing my father walking around the house humming something or another. We always heard their classics like ‘Down with the Sickness’, and ‘Indestructible’; ‘Want’, ‘Prayer’, ‘Ten Thousand Fists’, and ‘The Animal’. Hell, Malachai can even perfectly mimic Dad’s monkey call from ‘Down with the Sickness’. Can’t you , ‘Chai?”
“Sure can, but I’m not giving these fuckers the privilege.”
She laughed. “My point is this; Yes, our music has elements of Disturbed to it. But you have note that we’re not JUST attributing our sound to our fathers’ band. We’re very much our OWN group musically. David Draiman is as hands off with us as he can possibly be.”
A man in a black suit and a power tie that was green and way too tight around his neck stood. “Kyle Warner, LA Post. My question is how is that possible when you were recently signed to his label, Intoxication Records?”
“Because David didn’t sign us”, Caleb chimed in. “We were signed by Dan Donegan and Mike Wengren. David Draiman is hands off as far as Reckless Disregard is concerned.”
“What about John Moyer of the same band?” shouted another man.
“Stand so that you can be recognized”, Lauren said into a microphone.
The man stood. “Warrick Grant, Dallas Morning News.”
“Well, Mr. Grant. I will assure you that my father has not had a damn thing to do with this band. I moved away from Austin to be in this band. Austin, Texas is my home. I left home to join Reckless Disregard and have only seen my father for the holidays last year since”, Logan responded.
There was more chaos until Lauren pointed at another female reporter. “Cassidy Sherman, Houston Chronicle. Could one of you explain the symbol hanging behind your heads for us? It seems to resemble the ‘Believe’ symbol appears on the cover for the second album of Disturbed by the same name.”
Jordan looked over her shoulder at the massive silken banner behind their heads. “How?” she looked at the woman who had asked the question. Before allowing the woman to clarify, Jordan continued. “The ‘Believe’ symbol is exactly what it looks like; a bunch of religious symbols forged into one. You have the full moon with the crescent moon sitting on top of it for the Wiccans, a Star of David for the Jews, a Cross of the Christians, and a Pentacle for the Pagans. I believe that’s how it breaks down anyway. Now, study that symbol above your heads. It’s the classic ‘Do Not’ symbol that you see everywhere in everyday life with horns on top. The horns actually look like they’re growing from the top of the symbol. The ‘Believe’ symbol was created to promote religious tolerance at a time when the United States needed it. The ‘Devil’s Do Not’ as we’re calling it is NOTHING about tolerance. It’s about nonconformity. It’s about having a ‘reckless disregard’ for the rules and for authority. Plain and simple, we just don’t give a fuck what you bastards think. We’re gonna do what WE do and you can all go to hell.”
“Thank you ladies and gentlemen, that’s all the time we have for now. Reckless Disregard needs to get moving. They have to meet with a video director for the video of their first single”, Lauren said as she ushered the band off stage. “Be sure to pick up the new record, ‘Civil Disobedience’ in two months.”
--------------
The first single was to be “Unholy”, a song about the killer that was cancer and how a person fighting this killer should never give up hope. They sat with a director and argued for three hours over the concept for the video. Jordan finally got in the dumb ass’s face. “Look, buddy, just because we’re new to this game doesn’t mean we don’t’ know how it’s played. You’re trying to change the meaning behind the song by changing the video. Not happening on my watch. This song was written for an American hero named Matthew Cartwright. I will be DAMNED if you’re going to tarnish his memory by trying to put a rose colored light on the song. We’ll be in touch. Come up with something that fits the material and not your ideals of what the material should be, you pompous piece of shit!” And the band walked out of the room on Jordan’s cue.
When they finally got to their hotel, Malachai took a quick shower then booted up his laptop to video chat with his wife and children. As he waited, he flipped through the channels to see what was on. Next thing he heard was the voice of his beautiful wife over the speakers of his computer. “Hey there, handsome!” she said with a smile.
“Hey beautiful. Where are the kids?”
“Sleeping with Grandma right now. Grandma took them upstairs and put them in bed with her to give me a break.”
Malachai smiled. “That’s funny. Mom’s crashed out with the twins.”
“Yeah. She’s using her body and Dad’s pillows as barriers to keep them from rolling off of the bed.”
“Are they rolling over on their own now?”
“Isaiah turns circles, I swear. And he’s trying to get up on his hands and knees to crawl.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Little Miri is too. She has to get a bit of momentum in order to get rolled over on her tummy, but once she’s over she’s so cute.”
Malachai laughed. “God, I wish I could be there to see it. But…”
“I know, honey, you’ve got to make money first. Maybe after you guys finish your first tour, we can look into getting a real house of our own. We’ll stay close by your parents so that they can see the kids often, but we really need a place of our own.”
“I know, sweetie, but why don’t we wait a little while, until we find out what kind of success we’re going to have before we entertain that idea. It may take a little while.”
“I know. I’m happy right where we are for now. The little place out back is just big enough for us.”
“Good thing Dad had it rebuilt for us, huh?”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
The baby monitor sitting next to her on the couch carried the sound one of the babies crying then his mother’s voice. “Hush, Miranda”, she said. The little girl was quiet in an instant.
“Mom’s great with the kids, huh?” Mandy said.
“Yeah, but then again, you’ve got to remember that she has a total of ten of us.”
“Please tell me you don’t want that many.”
“I don’t. I only want maybe four.”
She sighed. “Thanks GOD!”
No comments:
Post a Comment