Who Are You?

~Chapter Eighteen~

Carley set it up so the launch of Eternally Yours by Ingrid would coincide with the start of the tour. Her goal was to sell it at my merch table. We had gotten on a video call with Guy to see which photos they had chosen for the Inked cover and feature. They had chosen the right half-way turned angle with me holding my hair up looking at the camera almost over my shoulder because they felt like the tree lady tattoo and the treble clef band tattoos would have the most wow factor for the cover because they were so original. With Guy's permission and stamp, he gave me one of the photos not used for printing to sell at my merch table.

I also created a design for two T-shirts. I drew a circus tent with an elephant beside it with the lyrics just playin our part in this neon circus. The shirts were black, and the images were neon. The other shirt was a lighthouse with the lyrics, and I found love where it wasn't supposed to be. They also created stickers that had Eternally Yours Love, Ingrid on it. They told me I was responsible for finding someone to sell my merch for me. I texted Kat and asked her if she knew of anyone that would come do that for me.

Kat had someone on her staff that she could send on a tour with me who could also be my assistant. When Helen showed up, I got so excited! I instructed Helen to look at Bad Omens, Like Moths to Flames and Sleep Token's merch and bump my stuff down a little lower then theirs. It's my merch and I can sell it however I want. I'm an independent artist. Helen and I decided to bump my stuff down five dollars cheaper than everyone else's. Five dollars makes a huge difference. My stickers were only $3. We made the T-shirts were $20 to $25. The photos and posters were $8 to $15. The most expensive thing on my table was the perfume. Eternally Yours by Ingrid ranged from $30 to $50 because we had different ounce bottles.

They asked me if I wanted a road manager, and I laughed in their faces. That's my job, I replied. They asked me if I wanted to do my own VIP. I told them I would do a dual VIP with Bad Omens but that was it. I wasn't going to do a solo one. They could do an add-on of $50 extra to the Bad Omens VIP and that money comes straight to me for a VIP for me. Jolly and the boys were witnessing how hard-nosed I can be when it came to business. I wasn't going to let anyone run over me.

I was the opening act, and I had nothing but a piano. I had no time to get a band together. That pissed me off so bad that Joakim and Noah made some phone calls for me. They found a guitarist, bassist and drummer that could come at the last minute and learn very quickly. I was so grateful for these three musicians. I absolutely loved that my bassist was a female! Her name was Cherry and she was adorable. My guitarist's name was Luke and my drummer was Evan. They told me I could do five songs. I talked to Noah and Jolly to get their opinion on which ones I should do.

After that discussion, I decided to do Neon Circus, Creep, I Found Love Where It Wasn't Supposed to Be, The Edge of Glory and City Lights. I was doing a broken down, acoustic version of Creep. With my aesthetic being neon, I chose to wear white underneath the lights. I asked Evan, Luke and Cherry to wear white as well. They were able to get me a baby grand piano on the stage. Playing the piano was going to be a surprise for everyone.

My sound tech guy, March, (yes, that's his name), had me all ready with my teal ear piece, battery pack, and microphone. I was feeling antsy, but that was normal for me. For our first show, my VIP's had sold out. I was shocked. So, it was a dual VIP session with me and the boys. It was quite a fun time. I recognized many of the faces right in the front. Cherry was right behind me.

"You got this, Ingrid. It's going to be great."

"Thanks Cherry."

The lights went down and they cheered. They all walked out before I did.

"Baby," I heard behind me.

I turned around to see Joakim standing there.

"I'll be right here."