Frank "The Ripper" Taylor's Story

"Okay, so after we play Dark Matter Of Abysmal Spawning, I think we should play that new track." Frank yawns, scribbling down the set list in blue marker on a lined piece of paper. The band was given their first ever two hour and a half long set list, and they knew that they had to step it up. They had been used to playing only hour long sets.
"Do you think its ready to be played?" Matt questioned. He sat across the wooden table which Frank and the drummer, Axel, sat at. "We just wrote it last night. We don't even have a demo for it."
"Yeah, but I want the fans to hear something new tonight. What better way to do that then to play a new song?" Frank's attention drifted, his eyes peering out of the window beside him.
"Frank, we have almost three hours to play. We can play tracks off the new album, and still have time to play songs off Box O' Snakes."
"Matt, he isn't even listening anymore." Axel sighed. "Why Box O' Snakes anyway?"
"We never play anything from it. All we play is the intro from track one as we get on the stage, that's about it." Matt's guitar rested on his lap, his long brown hair touching the face of the guitar. It was a beautiful Les Paul, he used it at every show. "So what do you think about that idea?" He asked. He reached on to the table and grabbed a black hat that had the logo of the band Exumed written on it. He put it on backwards on his head, and started playing the main riff to the track Poisoned Rats.
"I'm all for it, man. Just gotta run it past Jake and make sure Frank heard it."
"Alright boys." The voice of the bus driver, Scruffy Jones, called. "We have just entered San Diego. "

The bus pulled up behind the small local bar, it was a bit smaller than Blackout was used to playing. Frank looked out his window and smiled. He pulled his jacket off the back of the bench he was sitting at and pulled it on.

"Nothing better than getting to the venue early, huh?" He smiled to his band mates.
"The only problem is, the opening bands are locals, and not from the rest of the tour. I enjoy playing with our friends." Axel sighed, taking the last sip of the beer he had opened while on the road.
"Just be happy we made it this far, dude " Frank scratched his bearded chin. "I could cancel the show and send us back home if you want."
"Just unload the shit, would you?" Matt called as he rolled a rack of six guitars down the ramp at the back of the bus. Frank and Axel walked over to the ramp where there were carts with amplifiers stacked on top of them. Frank pulled one of the carts down the ramp and into the backstage area of the bar. He could hear how bumbling and busy it was even hours before the show. After all the gear and instruments were unloaded Frank walked around to the front of the bar and walked in the front door. The first thing he noticed was the large Blackout poster on the door. He smiled to himself and walked over to the bar. It seems that nobody had noticed him just yet. He sat down at the bar and ran his hands through his hair.
"I'll take a pitcher of beer, please. Something crisp, and tangy. Also, do you happen to sell chicken sandwhiches here? I've been to a lot of different bars, and they have sold multiple different foods and drinks."

"Everybody is here." The sound and light guy told Matt back stage. "So the bill looks like this: The Covenant plays first, then Brave New World, followed by Pull Pushers Paradise, then Hellfire Rage, then Folklore, and then you guys finish up the night."
"So the other sets gotta be what, fifteen, twenty minutes?" Matt looked around backstage, it was filled with musicians and stage crews.
"The first three bands get fifteen minutes, the rest up until you guys get thirty. You guys get two and a half hours."
"Fuck, eh? The party will go until sunrise." Matt laughed. "Well, I'm gonna go get me a beer."
Frank smiled as the girl behind the bar told him about the whole V.I.P. deal, waiting until she caught on. He reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a pair of fingerless biker gloves and his wallet. He pulled out a twenty and stuffed it in the tip jar and pulled on his gloves. "Don't worry about it," he smiled to her as soon as she realized who she was talking to. "We all fuck up." He sipped his beer and listened to her rave on about how great the sandwhich is. "I shall take your word for it."
As he began to eat the lovely sandwhich, with chicken grilled to perfection, he watched as another woman who worked at the bar had a freak out over him.
"Get comfy, Frankie." Matt sighed as he sat down at the bar. "We will be here for quite a bit." Matt rubbed his clean shaven chin and looked at the woman behind the bar. "Can I get two beers please?" He then looked at Frank. "You want a beer? Make that three beers please."
Frank laughed as he took the finishing bite of his Sandwhich. "Relax, man. Enjoy your time here, it's not every day we get to watch small town bands open for is in California.Take your time, visit the merch booths, buy some thing. Just enjoy yourself man."
"Why do you think I'm ordering myself some beer? I enjoy the music, it's the same music we play. Well, that's a lie. Pill Pushers Paradise and Folklore aren't. Pill Pushers are punk, and Folklore is folk metal." Matt groaned, hitting his head off the oak wood bar.
"If you don't complain, it'll go by faster." Frank shook his head laughing as he looked up at the stage, where Axel was helping the first band to set up their drum set. Frank listened, hearing the sound of Pantera lightly playing over the P.A. system. "This is where I love to be, man. At a bar, at least thirty minutes before show time. It's beautiful."
"While Folklore are playing, we are all warming up." Matt cracked his knuckles. "Dont want you to get up there for almost three hours and completely fuck up your voice. We need those vocal cords of yours to still work after nearly three hours"