+ end, and I almost wanted to hit a girl for the first time in my life. I should have known better than to answer the call of desperation. +

+ Still, it was a place to start... #Johnny wasn't too bad on the drums, and #SkinnyPete seemed to have a way with experimental sound, +

+ even if his execution...failed miserably. I could see the glimmer of potential, looking at the string bean with a mohawk and +

+ #VanillaIce, who looked more like a Backstreet Boy than a hardcore rocker...not that I'd let them know that. #Johnny stared back +

+ blankly, floundering for something to say. The look that passed between them and the bewildered expression on his face said it all. +

+ They knew they were terrible. #SkinnyPete looked at his feet and let #Johnny speak up, even though he seemed to be the more assertive +

+ one. "Well, uh, we...we haven't really sounded the same since we lost #Luis. We...kinda need a guitar." #SkinnyPete chimed in, "And I'm +

+ no singer." Clearly. He sounded more like a dying cat, wailing out his final words. I was beginning to recognize that look of +

+ wide-eyed desperation, hopefulness. #SkinnyPete ran a hand back through the hair that flopped to one side on his head, idly scratching +

+ his scalp with a look of chagrin, obviously searching for some argument to get me on board. My tone was lined with incredulity as I +

+ posed the question I was afraid to.= Have you guys ever even booked any gigs? =I mean, I was one to talk. I'd only had a...few paying +

+ gigs back in California, but I'd bet anything it was more than these guys. #Johnny gave me that blank, blinking stare again, big fish +

+ lips working to mouth an answer he stammered to provide. "Uh...not...exactly? I mean..."= So you're just a garage band without the +

+ garage. =#SkinnyPete let out a high-pitched, nervous laugh. "Yes?" I took a moment to consider, my expression hardening in a way I'd +

+ probably adopted from rose, a look of constrained disappointment mixed with the barest resigned hope. I drew in a breath and +

+ charged into action, animatedly moving across the room to take a seat on one of the low chairs situated on the floor by their equipment +

+ in the grungy little apartment, probably surrounded by hateful neighbors that seriously invested in earplugs.= Alright, well, we're +

+ gonna have to revamp the sound... We need some new material. No more of that cover shit unless it's an original version. And for God's +

+ sake, we need a new name. #TangerineBullet? What the fuck does that even mean?

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