June, 2009


Eighteen-year-old Andy Biersack had been living with his friend and bandmate, Sandra Alva, ever since moving to the City of Angels six days after his birthday four months ago. He’d had a dream of starting a band, particularly one that stood up for the outcasts of America, ever since he could remember. It was mostly borne from his love of music, particularly bands like KISS, Mötley Crüe, and the Misfits, but also from his own father, Chris, having been in a band in his younger days.

So far, he hadn’t been having much luck. He was literally the only original member of Black Veil Brides left. The others, lead guitarist Johnny Herold, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Nate Shipp, bassist and backing vocalist Phil “Catalyst” Cenedella, and drummer Chris “Craven” Riesenberg, had all left for one reason or another. He’d been lucky to find Sandra, who was willing to step in and be his new drummer, as well as lead guitarist and backing vocalist Chris “Hollywood” Bluser and rhythm guitarist David “Pan” Burton. He hadn’t succeeded in finding another bassist, as of yet, but luckily he was a skilled pianist and bassist in his own right.

Unfortunately, not long after they joined the band, Hollywood and Pan parted ways with them again, leaving him sorely lacking in band members. He’d started putting up ads on Craigslist at Sandra’s insistence, knowing that, aside from meeting random people out on the streets of LA, that was likely to be the only way he’d find what he was looking for.

Being eighteen, he couldn’t get into very many clubs and bars, as they were mostly twenty-one-plus because of alcohol. Since most bands that hadn’t made it big played in those small clubs and bars, he went to the ones he could actually get into, not just to have a good time, but to scout possible members for his own band. Sandra often accompanied him, acting as his girlfriend even though she was a lesbian, he queer as a three-dollar bill, so they could pretend to be in a relationship to fend off unwanted suitors. However, he hadn’t had much luck going that route and figured that ads on the Internet were his best bet at this point; otherwise, he’d have to give up his dream before he achieved it and go back home to Ohio.

“Hey, we got a response to the ad you put up about needing a bassist,” Sandra called. She was in the living room of the small apartment they shared in West Hollywood.

“Really?” he asked, rolling off his bed so he could join her.

“Yeah. Someone by the name of Ashley Purdy, a girl I’m assuming, sent me an email saying that they were a vocalist for a band that recently broke up, Stolen Hearts, but knew how to play bass,” she answered as he sat down beside her.

“Hey, I don’t care if it’s a guy or girl; as long as they know what they’re doing and are good at it, it can’t hurt to let ’em audition,” Andy told her.

“That’s pretty much what I was thinking,” the drummer agreed. “It’d be pretty stupid for a gay guy and a lesbian who are part of a band standing up for America’s outcasts to be prejudiced as to whether their bandmates are male or female.”

“Well, send ’em a response and invite ’em over to audition,” he said.

“All right, if that’s what you want, Andy,” she answered, nodding as her fingers began to fly over the keyboard of her laptop.

Excited beyond all belief, Andy jumped up and danced happily around the coffee table. Maybe he’d finally get to put down his old, crappy bass and just be able to sing his heart out unless a song was written that involved piano. He wouldn’t know for sure until the person auditioned, but it couldn’t possibly hurt to hold out hope, considering what his band had already been through.

Sandra, who was twenty-one, laughed at the younger man as he acted like the child he was at heart, knowing he was glad that someone had finally sent a response. In all honesty, she was glad, too, simply because that took some of the pressure off the young man. He was the main songwriter of the band, mainly because he was the only original member at this point, and he had insanely too much on his scrawny shoulders. Between writing songs, singing, playing bass, and sometimes piano, he had too much on his plate, alongside what the record company put there, and he needed to be given a bit of a break at last.

It wasn’t long before the pair decided to head off to bed, another email from their possible bassist having arrived shortly after she responded. The person was supposed to be coming over at noon the next day to audition for the role, and since it was already eleven, they needed to get some sleep. Andy could be a combination of a grizzly bear and a diva when he hadn’t gotten enough sleep, and Sandra herself could be pretty evil when she was sleep deprived.

After telling each other good night, they locked themselves in their rooms to get ready for bed. Sighing softly but maintaining the smile on his face, Andy stripped down to his boxers and pulled on a pair of Batman pajama pants before throwing his dirty clothes in the hamper. Anyone who knew him knew that he was completely obsessed with the superhero, and that pajama pants weren’t the only thing in his collection of memorabilia. He snuggled into the black sheets that adorned his bed, pulling the comfortor with a huge Batman symbol in its center over him. With a yawn, he reached over to the nightstand and turned off the lamp, engulfing his room in darkness, and fell soundly asleep.

* * *

BANG BANG BANG! “Andy, get your lazy ass up! Ashley’s here!”

Startled from a sound sleep, Andy bolted upright like he’d been having a nightmare and tossed the covers off his legs. Not fully awake and not really caring what their guest thought of his attire, he grabbed a black wife beater to cover up his pale, skinny torso, ran a brush through his hair, and called himself presentable. Unable to stifle a yawn, he opened his door and stepped out, heading straight for the kitchen for a cup of coffee to help him wake up so he could pay attention.

“Don’t mind him and his Batman obsession, Ashley,” Sandra said, barely containing a laugh. “It’ll take him a bit longer to get woken up, I’m afraid.”

“Har dee har har,” he responded sarcastically. “That coming from the girl obsessed with puppies.”

“Don’t worry about it, Sandra,” another voice, which sounded masculine, chuckled. “I’m the same way when I first wake up, and his obsession with Batman is no different than my own with Hello Kitty.”

Curious, Andy cocked a brow as he walked into the living room, his coffee mug cradled in his hands.

“Ah, Sleeping Beauty decides to join us,” his room- and bandmate chuckled. “Andy, this is Ashley. Ashley, this is my room- and bandmate, Andy.”

“Nice to meet you, Andy,” Ashley greeted, smiling warmly as he extended his hand.

His response was a grunt since he was still more asleep than not, but he still accepted his handshake.

“I’m guessing he doesn’t talk much when he first wakes up?” the newcomer, whom he now realized for sure was a man, asked.

“Nah, not usually,” Sandra answered, shaking his head. “Truth be told, neither do I, but I’ve been up a couple hours now.”

“I know the feeling,” he chuckled. “Late nights and early mornings do not mix.”

Andy merely sat there listening to their conversation and nursing his coffee, slowly but surely waking up completely as he did so.

“So tell us a little bit about yourself, Ashley,” the drummer requested curiously.

“Born and raised in a small town in Missouri, I grew up on all kinds of music. Mostly rock ‘n’ roll along the lines of KISS and Mötley Crüe, but there’s still some country that I’ll listen to,” he began. “I started playing guitar when I was around five and moved on to bass in my teens, as well as singing. I moved out here to LA a few years ago with several dreams, the biggest being to be part of a successful band with like-minded people, but I haven’t exactly had any luck.”

“Neither have we,” she agreed, frowning. “How old are you?”

“I turned twenty-five in January,” Ashley chuckled. “I know, I look like a girl and have a bit of a baby face, so it’s hard to tell.”

“I’ll be twenty-two in a couple weeks,” Sandra told him, then jabbed a thumb in Andy’s direction. “This one here would be the baby.”

“He looks about fifteen,” he commented thoughtfully.

“Eighteen,” he corrected, his basement-deep voice making it sound like he was growling.

“You’re even more baby-faced than I am,” the newcomer chuckled.

“Well, let us hear what ya got,” Andy requested, setting his coffee mug on the table in front of him. “That’s what an audition’s for, right?”

“True enough,” he agreed, rising to grab a case that was sitting by the front door.

He brought it back over to the chair he’d been sitting in and laid it in the floor at his feet so he could open it. The younger man was mesmerized by the way his long, raven tresses fell over his shoulders as he leaned over to get the instrument, a Dean bass guitar, out so he could rest it on his leg. Having been unable to bring much with him, he hadn’t been able to bring his bass amp, but that was perfectly fine.

While Ashley was tuning and warming up, he went to his room to grab his spare bass amp out of his closet. He never knew when the one he normally used was going to blow, or when someone else would come along that could use it, so even if he didn’t use it on a daily basis, he always kept it around. He set it on the floor by the other man’s feet and plugged it into the outlet by the chair, nodding when he thanked him as he got the cord now plugged into the jack on his instrument plugged into the amp. After adjusting a couple knobs, one of which was volume, he launched into a song he hadn’t heard in a while.

Andy enjoyed listening to Mötley Crüe, but he had to admit that their 1989 album Dr. Feelgood was his favorite by far, so when he heard the bass riff to the title song, he was pretty impressed. Even he hadn’t managed to play the riff that Nikki Sixx had carved out years ago down as well as this man had, and he was a pretty skilled bassist in his own right. He was impressed already, but it was going to take more than just one of his favorite Mötley songs to get the role.

“Damn, Ashley. That was pretty good,” Sandra said when he stopped playing a few minutes later.

“Thanks,” the older man answered, grinning. “Well, Andy?”

“I…I…” he stuttered, speechless.

“You’ve definitely impressed him with your mad skills,” she said, grinning at her friend and chuckling. “This boy’s got a way with words and is almost never speechless.”

“Glad to see I’ve made an impression,” Ashley chuckled.

“How’d you learn to play Dr. Feelgood like that?” Andy finally managed to ask, still shocked.

“It’s easy. Being in a Mötley Crüe tribute band called Children of the Beast a few years ago, alongside my love of their music, made it easy,” he answered.

“You were in Children of the Beast?” the drummer asked. “I’m friends with their old drummer, Seann Lee.”

“Yep. I was the one that ‘impersonated’ Nikki Sixx, if you will,” he chuckled. “Like I said, being in that band made it pretty easy, but my love of their music and determination to get it right made it even easier.”

“I’ve been trying to learn how to play that bass line for years,” the younger man said, even more impressed. “To this day, I haven’t really had any success.”

“I can show you, if you want,” Ashley offered.

Nodding eagerly, he rose from the couch to go get his own bass from his room, knowing that this was a prime opportunity for him. Not only could he possibly be shown what he was doing wrong, if anything, but he could get to know Ashley better and decide if he should let him be a part of Black Veil Brides. Besides, having someone besides the man that wrote it slow the riff down a bit might help him learn how to play it at last.

After getting his bass out, as well as yet another spare amp that was hidden so far in the back of his closet he’d forgotten about it, Andy returned to the living room and got himself set up. Tuning the old monster in his hands was easy, requiring little effort on his part, and once he was ready, the newcomer had him show him what he already knew. Getting through the intro to the song was the hardest part aside from the chorus, but he managed. The verses were pretty easy, too, but it was the chorus that always got him since the notes and beat made it sound like the instrument was literally singing the lyrics.

When he messed up on the chorus for the third time, Ashley stopped him and played it full-speed for himself again, amazing the younger man with his skill and accuracy. After playing it at tempo, he then slowed it down quite a bit and played it again, that way he could see what he was doing wrong. He then stopped and went through it note-by-note with him, both of them playing together, until he felt like he could take it back up to tempo and try again. It was then that Andy took a deep breath, got his long, thin fingers in the correct positions on the frets and strings, then started playing the chorus riff once again. He put serious concentration and effort into his endeavor and finally got it right.

Sandra clapped proudly when he stopped playing, cheering about his finally getting it right, and he had a proud smile on his face. Ashley wore a proud smile himself, clearly showing that he was proud to not only teach someone something new, but that they’d finally done what they set out to do and was proud of them for achieving their goal. None of them could help the grins that split their faces, and they seemed to hit it off even more as they conversed and got to know each other more over the course of the afternoon.

Notes