The BeGiNnInG of the New Book

One man stood on the stage with one microphone. 

An entire crowd of energized music fans chanted in unison, “Sky’s-Rise!  Sky’s-Rise!” 

The moment the mic was turned on, and the fans heard the humming of the amplifier, the raucous gained momentum until a deafening level of mayhem was reached inside the arena.

They were ready.

The diaphragm of the microphone converted the acoustical energy of the band’s ‘hype man’ into an audio signal.  The sound waves pulsated throughout the crowd and entered each individual fan’s ear drums.  They vibrated a tiny chain of bones that ‘knocked’ on the membrane and allowed the listener to interpret their meaning. 

Quite simply, he wanted them to get louder. 

He knew the noise of the crowd might be the only thing that would get Jared on stage.

The energy inside the stadium was revolving and regenerating around the people in the crowd, some of which were in the midst of living what would later be known as their ‘greatest night alive on Earth’.

One thing was missing. 

The fans weren’t going anywhere, until they saw Jared Blair and the rest of Sky’s Rise walk onto the stage.

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The noise from the crowd echoed through the hallways and into the dressing room.  The volume tormented Jared and Leland, and filled the entirety of their minds. 

There was nothing left to say and no new perspective available to consider anything hopeful.  Therefore, the boys had no choice but to let the disorderly mayhem from the arena consume everything inside of the room. 

The option of running away through the tunnels became more appealing by the second.  

Leland stood over his best friend, who was lying halfway on his side with his hands clasped together between his knees in agony.   He was covered in sweat, and looked as if he had lost 15 pounds in the last week.

Leland decided it was time to speak. The band was due on stage in under four minutes.

“Jared…tonight?  You walking on that stage…It’s only a moment…You can have it if you want.  But, you must remember…its only one moment in time.  One moment…amongst countless moments in the history of time.”

Jared rolled over a bit, interested.

“In this moment, everything that could possibly happen in the universe is happening.  Some people are spending this moment dreaming about becoming a rock star.  Some people are looking back at a very important moment, and wishing they would’ve acted towards owning that moment.”

……

“But, hey, it’s only a moment, right?”

……

“Listen…it’s okay to take on this moment…as alone as you’ll ever be.” 

The speaker finally made eye contact with Jared.  He wanted to display the importance of the message.  But, more importantly, he wanted Jared to see his face, and the fear that was stricken across it.

He wanted Jared to know that he was scared too.  He wanted Jared to know that he was scared…because of Jared.  And, he wanted him to know this was okay. 

…..

“All I know is…it’s time to play.  It’s that simple.  It’s time to go play some fucking music.”

……

Leland turned, and looked in the direction of the exit to the dressing room, the final direction.

“Amongst all the fucking chaos, there’s one thing I know.”  He was pointing now towards the crowd and stage.  “We have to go play music right now.”

Jared looked up.  An old spark from an old self re-ignited deep in his soul.  The self-absorbed animal with the humbled, yet murderous ego immediately returned to the man he was years before.  The spark ignited others, and still others, and more. 

He was lit.

And, it was, “Time to fucking play!” he shouted, arising from the bench as he said it. 

The moment the weight of his body pushed down on his weak and ‘soupy’ legs, he collapsed to the floor.

On the floor with him now, a gentle hand on his back, Leland continued, “It’s okay to take your moment, and temporarily forget about the people you love.  Your moment is going to change your life.  And, who knows if those loved ones will remain on the other side of this moment.”

“You can have your moment, Jared.”

……….

“It’s okay if you never give that moment of that journey to anyone but you and your higher power.  The one that created this moment. 

The one that had faith you’d get out there…and fucking rock it tonight.”

………

Jared moved his mouth but no words made it through.  He was literally stuck. 

………

“Jared!” Leland was yelling now.  “It’s your moment, with all of its everything.  A thousand emotions a day for as many years. 

And, just as many tears.  A broken heart that’s exhausted from giving…and empty from people tearing at the leftovers.”

Leland sat in an awkward position, lowering his head to the level of Jared’s. 

The torment of an empty tank with the longest journey ahead had Jared’s body in shivers.  He had a cold sweat, red eyes and he was completely empty inside without the drugs that typically gave him his edge.

He searched the infinite space of his soul for something, anything, that would get him to take his moment. 

It wasn’t at all how he had envisioned it.  He couldn’t go backwards and change a thing.  But, the past was ripping him apart and he had to address it. 

Leland tried one last battle cry.

“Think now about the very moment that will undoubtedly be there waiting for us the moment this clock strikes 11.  Start to envision the best possible way to keep that moment, the way to get the most out of it.”

“For the sake of tonight, we’re going to name the moment I’m speaking of.  We’ll call it ‘Now’.  So ‘now’ is going to be there waiting for you.  It will be followed by an infinite number of ‘now’s’ that are going to come directly after it.  

Focus on the first ‘now’.  Figure out how you are going to keep it as yours.  It might not be an action.  It might be a mental state.  Whatever it is, make it yours.”  

“The time, the moment, the thought is now.”

Jared stood up, anxiety and remnants of cocaine pulsating a tender heart.  He took a hit from his inhaler and reached in his pocket for whatever drugs he could find. 

There were none and he knew it. 

He realized the crutch they were.  And, along with it, the realization that he truly needed help with his problems came rushing in. 

He had no idea how he was going to meet his own demands for a proper show, giving his fans their money worth one last time as the lead singer of Sky’s Rise. 

He crippled a bit as he tried to stand up, asking Leland, “How the fuck did we get here, Lee-Lee?  How the fuck did we get here?” as he put his arm around his friend and attempted to stand up.

Chapter 1  -  “We were the kings and queens of promise.”   –  Thirty Seconds to Mars  -  ‘Kings and Queens’.

1995

The concert was over.   

Three young friends exited an electrified stadium, sprawling into the parking lot amongst hundreds of other free-spirited, young adults.  The energy from the concert carried its way through the exits and into the streets, separating between car loads and reshaping into colorful, new forms along the way. 

The chatter of spoken memories, and the unmatched feelings of pure, ‘post-concert’ euphoria kept even the traffic alive as the city of Camden, NJ emptied out for the night.

The boys stepped over empty drug bags, balloons and beer bottles as they made their way to the vehicle.  They passed by a kid not much different in age from themselves sitting alone between two trashcans (The old, oil barrel cans with the bottom a mess of beer, slush and vomit). 

The look on the kid’s face was gone.  His ticket hung from his front shirt pocket, un-used.  He never even made it inside. 

Bradley Marsh shrugged his broad and heavy shoulders...