One Step Above Guest List

606

"Months went by, and I went to shows almost every night. Not all of them were my bands, which was nice because sometimes I got to enjoy the shows instead of working at them. We became quite a community. You would see the same people almost every night. Reps from the different labels would get each other into clubs and leave space in the windows of retail stores for their displays promoting tours or album releases. I finally felt like I fit in. I got to hang out with bands at shows, and the other label reps and this was my job! There's nothing like standing on stage and seeing the crowd sing along to your band's songs. Being a part of a creative community was my lifeblood.

I miss the industry sometimes, but honestly, the feeling of being a part of it never leaves you. Even when you've been out of it for as long as I have, It leaves an imprint on your soul. You were a part of something many people don't get to experience. It's not the same as when you're someone who merely attends shows or concerts, or knows about the history of a band from reading their Wikipedia. It's because you took part in making that history. Of course, there are a lot of things that happened that were more entertaining than historical.

Eventually, summer rolled around, and it was festival season. Warped Tour and Ozzfest were the largest tours that season and I had bands on both. As I looked at the lineup on the first day of the east coast leg of Warped Tour, I saw that Ruby Riot was going to be on the headlining stage, not that it was a surprise. Their current album was still at the top of the charts, and it didn't look like it had plans to move any time soon. This also meant I would be seeing Dillion."

Melvin smiled a little at the memory, and her eyes seemed to glisten at the thought. Sadie distracted her and asked her about her experience being on the road. "It must have been crazy with all those bands on one tour."

"It could be." Melvin laughed. But it was a lot of fun too. The day I arrived at Foxboro Stadium, the place was a madhouse. I walked to the merch area to see what was going on with "The Best" and found their merch table abandoned. It's a good thing the other booths kept an eye on their stuff, although I doubt anyone would steal it. Everyone watched out for each other. I stepped behind the table in case anyone came by to purchase anything when Nick, the drummer, found me and looked confused. I told him I found the booth unmanned, and he rolled his eyes. He was traveling with his girlfriend that summer, and she was responsible for merch. According to the merch girl at The Fine Devine booth, his girlfriend thought it was more exciting to visit the Ruby Riot table as Dillion was there signing t-shirts. Selfies hadn't taken off at that time. It was all about the signature. Nick told me he was going to grab her, but I told him to stay in the booth and that I would find her and ask her to return to their booth. I had to go and see Dillon to get it over with."

"I thought you would want to see Dillion," Sadie asked.

"I wanted to see Dillon, but I wasn't sure he wanted to see me or would remember me. I wasn't as confident about myself back then as I am now. I made my way over to Ruby Riot's booth. It wasn't difficult to find, surrounded by a crowd. I stood about 10 feet back, trying to find Nick's girlfriend. The crowd parted slightly, and I saw her standing beside Dillon behind the table. She leaned on him as he signed shirts for fans. I wasn't as jealous as I was angry at her for flirting with Dillion when her boyfriend, a friend, had been abandoned. I couldn't stand people like that. They were the ones who earned their "Tulsa" all access pass."

Sadie looked at her confused by the term.

Melvin laughed. "Spell Tulsa backward."

Sadie paused for a moment and then laughed out loud. "Classic," she said.

 Melvin continued. "They got their hooks into a musician and then worked their way up to the next best thing. Usually, bands knew who these girls were and avoided them. Sometimes they knew and didn't care. Or, they didn't know but found out.