Becoming

Look For The Truth

Dave had no sooner arrived home after his time in England with Ade, when he got a call from Rod Smallwood. "I hope I'm not disrupting your summer plans too much," the manager said, "but Maiden's been asked to fill in at Bulldog Bash Festival in Stratford-Upon-Avon on 9 August. It's just a one-off, but we really have to try to get the fans more used to seeing Blaze out front, so Steve and I decided we ought to do it."

"Yeah, okay," Dave said. Something about the date niggled at him, though, then he remembered. That was one of the festivals Bruce would be playing before going on to the US. The one right before the break during which Ade and his family would be coming to Maui for a visit, in fact. "Erm, are you aware of the rest of the festival's lineup?"

"I'm not, actually, as we'd not planned on doing anything this summer since Steve wants to be home for his coming baby's birth," Rod said. "But the baby's due any minute now, so he'll be there for it and still be able to take an overnight for the festival. Why do you ask?"

"Bruce's band is playing Bulldog Bash," Dave said quietly. "I know, because I was just in London with Ade, recording a song for Psycho Motel's new album, and Bruce came by whilst we were in studio to ask Ade to tour with him. Said something about the session guitarist they'd hired for the tour dropped out last minute, and since Ade made some contributions to his latest album, he'd already know half the material on the set list and trusted he'd be able to learn the rest quickly."

"Bugger," Rod said. "Wish I'd thought to ask the lineup before talking to Steve, then, but it's too late to back out now short of an emergency, as we've already signed the contract. Well, no help for it now. I just hope we're not just before or after him in the lineup."

"Yeah," Dave agreed. With so many fans still being less than accepting of Blaze at vocals for Maiden, the last thing they needed was to give a show with Bruce doing his own thing either just before or just after them, where fans could – and would – make direct comparisons. "What's the plan for travels, then? Ade and Nathalie are bringing their brood out to Maui for a visit just after that show, in fact, so if I can just go ahead and travel with him once the festival's done, I'd appreciate it. And I'm sure so would he; I can just stay the night at his place in Montreal before we all fly to Hawaii, and with three kids, he and Nathalie will appreciate an extra adult to ride herd on them."

Rod chuckled at that. "Well, the plan is to meet up the day before to have a quick rehearsal and all, then ride out to the festival in the bus. It's more of a biker rally than a proper music festival and since we're not touring, we should be able to load the necessary gear in that and a van, since we'll not have any large amounts of personal luggage. You and Nicko will have the most, I expect, since you'll be coming over from the States. Anyway, I see no problem in you finding somewhere to stow your bag on the bus, and you make your own way back to the airport from the festival, either with Ade or on your own, however you work it out."

"And I'm used to traveling lightly, so I'll not have a huge suitcase with me," Dave agreed. "Right, then, I'll see you wherever we're meeting up on the 8th, whether that's London or Steve's place in Essex. I trust you'll let me know where, once you've got that part worked out?"

"Yeah," Rod said. "Talk to you soon, Dave."

"Talk to you soon," Dave replied. He hung up the phone and went to find Tamar. "Bit of a plan change," he told her. "That was Rod. Maiden's been asked to fill in at a small festival in the UK on 9 August. Funny thing is, Bruce – which means Ade – is also playing that festival, and it's the last date before he and his family are coming for their visit here. I figure I'll arrange to travel with Ade to Montreal and then back here, helping him and Nathalie with the kids?"

Tamar smiled. "I don't see a problem with that," she agreed. "And I'm sure you'll enjoy the extra day or two you'll have with him, too." She rummaged in her desk and pulled out a planner which had the Smith family's arrival date and time printed on it, including their airline and flight number. "Here, you can book yourself a seat on this flight right now, and if Ade's still home ahead of the tour, you can call and ask him what his travel plans are to get from England to Montreal in time to catch this flight."