Any Way You Want It»»GN'R {Book One} *EDITING*

Danny

July 15th 1988
Boston

We pulled into the back parking lot of the large theater. It was an two hours until showtime.

"C'mon guys! We were supposed to be here for a soundcheck three hours ago!" Paul yelled as we emerged from the bus. Groupies and some fans were walking towards us, making us run to the door quickly.

"Well I'm sorry! She wouldn't leave the bus!" Andy defended. I laughed loudly as I remembered the events from earlier in the day.

"Yeah. Andy here, had to give up a pair of his undergarments for her to leave." Ryan smirked, teasing Andy to the core. Paul rolled his eyes and buzzed the door for the bodyguard on the other side to let us in.

"Wait! Wait! Ashes of Angst! I'm a reporter for Rolling Stone!" A small voice from the top of the ramp squeaked out. I stopped and turned around.

It was a girl, who seemed to be only sixteen. She had blonde hair that was straight. She had on a pair of blue jeans and a Quiet Riot t-shirt.

"Can I interview you guys?" She asked out of breath. I stood there, not really knowing how to answer.

"Evan, Andy, Ryan, Kylie, I'm a big fan of your band. I think the song O Death is a big move for a rock band like you. And Kylie, I think your vocals on the song Follow Me Down are absolutely killer!" She continued. I looked behind me and saw everyone else was intrigued by this rock write. "Way to go." She muttered to herself. She seemed so embarrassed that she turned around and began to walk up to the top of the ramp.

"Wait! C'mon kid!" I yelled back. She turned back around with an excited smile. She ran back down and we opened the door.

"She's not on your list!" The bodyguard yelled. He was holding a clipboard of names, and began pointing furiously at it.

"Yeah? Well she's on a list of people who do belong." Ryan muttered as he pushed passed the bodyguard.

"So, kid, what's your name?" I asked. I pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"I'm Danielle, but people call me Danny." She shyly answered. I shook her hand and we walked together to the dressing room.

"So, from what I've read in Creem magazine, you took a bus to Los Angeles in 1985, then met Roslyn Cavender a month later. After seeing Evan and Andy in a band together, you got them to leave that band, then formed Ashes of Angst in 1986?" She pulled out a notepad and a pen as she spoke. I sat down at the vanity and nodded.

"Okay. So how does it feel to be on a headlining tour?" She smiled.

"It's definitely different. I've toured before, but it was never this exhausting. But, so far I'm absolutely loving it." I popped open a bottle of whiskey and sipped from it.

"What do you prefer? Recording in the studio? Or touring?"

"I think touring is better. I mean, recording is all fine and dandy, but when you're touring, you get to be the real you. You get to see the fans, their faces."

"There's been some controversy lately, about your song Hit Me Like a Man. Could you tell how you thought up the lyrics or what's the meaning?" My eyes widened and I choked on the whiskey a little.

"Well, Roslyn wrote the song last year. I guess people can interpret it however they want. The line is 'Hit me like a man, and love me like a woman.' I guess people go straight to the worst possibility there is. They may think it's all about abuse or something. But there's a balance of pain and pleasure." I answered as truthfully as I could.

"Of course you're known for your song Boys Wanna Be Her. But when you released the album, the song O Death is really different from a lot of songs from rock bands. How did something like that come about?"

"I grew up listening to records that was passed down from my grandma. She passed down this old record by Dock Boggs. It was him singing O Death and playing the banjo. So what I did, I stayed up all night, thinking of a way to make it my own. And that's how it all happened." I smiled. Paul barged in and clapped his hands.

"Okay. I just talked to the stagehands and security. Doors don't open until 6. You have time to do a quick soundcheck if you do it right now." He urged. Ryan strapped on his guitar and stood up.

"I say we do it then." He said as he exited the dressing room. Andy and Evan followed.

"You wanna watch?" I asked Danny. Her eyes lit up.

"Don't I need a pass?" Her eyes darted down to her jacket, making sure she didn't have a pass. I turned around and saw a pile of them on the table.

"Ah, found one." I grabbed one on a lanyard and handed it to her. She happily slipped it around her neck and sat up.

*****
"Stand over there." I yelled over the audience to Danny. She skipped over to the side of the stage, with the roadies and techs.

By then, Evan's heavy bass began, along with the drum beat. Ryan strummed the guitar with a heavy sound, but melodic at the same time.

"Hey, hey, hey.
When you look, you see right through me.
Cut the rope and fell to my knees.
Born and broken every single time.
Always keep me under finger.
That's the spot where you run to me.
Might see some type of pleasure in my mind.

Yeah, here comes the water.
It comes to wash away the sins of you and I.
This time you'll see.

Hey, hey, he-." Nothing came out of Evan's mouth. I just heard a microphone malfunction and static electricity. Ryan and Andy ceased from playing when Evan fell to the floor.

"Evan's been electrocuted!" I yelled out as I ran over to him, helping him up. I threw his arm over my shoulders and carried him off stage.

"Hey! You have to continue the show! You didn't even do 10 minuets!" The owner of the theater yelled from behind us.

"You almost killed my bassist! We're getting out of here!" Paul yelled.

"Who the hell was in charge of the mics!" Andy growled. He entered the bus and helped Evan off of my shoulder. Danny came running behind us.

"Wait! I'm supposed to tour with you! Rolling Stone said!" She yelled. I looked over my shoulder and grabbed her arm.

"Get on then!" I muttered.