Chapter 15
It was 11:30 a.m. as the bus pulled up to the hotel in Minneapolis. Robby hollered for Gennie to get up. She’d fallen asleep so soundly after her early morning conversation she didn’t even realize everyone else had gotten up and dressed hours ago. As she stumbled to get on shorts and a t-shirt, the bus came to a halt. She heard the luggage compartment door creak open, as bags were drug out from below.
“Gennie, c’mon, we gotta get goin!” Robby called, following up with his gregarious laughter. “Your camera crew is waiting for you!” he chuckled when he saw the cameraman position himself by the door.
Gennie groaned through gritted teeth as she hopped toward the couch trying to get her shoes tied. “Just a second…I’m comin’, I’m comin’.” The three of them waited for her to make her entrance and were standing at the front of the bus before they walked out the door; impatient looks on the faces of all three. Gennie shrugged as she finally got her shoe tied. “Sorry. Let’s go.”
The guys stepped out into the bright Minnesota sunshine followed by Gennie. Their first whole day on camera had begun. John went to the desk and checked them into their rooms, handing Gennie her keycard on his way to the elevator. They went up to their rooms, showered, dressed and made their way to the first of several stops on their list.
They started at a restaurant in the Mall of America for a luncheon with the winners of a radio contest. Gennie was surprised that the term luncheon actually had nothing to do with food, not for them anyway. They arrived around one and entered a room filled with excited fans who had just finished eating. The guys played some songs and talked with the audience for close to an hour, signing autographs, and taking pictures. They seemed to be having a good time. These kinds of situations were pretty laid back and pleasant. The girls rarely cried or screamed like they did so often at the shows and they got to ask questions (written down in advance, of course) and have a sort of casual chit chat. It all seemed a little rehearsed, but that’s probably why it wasn’t complete chaos. Dave the tour manager rushed them to wrap up the event a few minutes ahead of schedule, which everyone hated, and he hurried them out and on to the next occasion.
The minivan they were being escorted around in next stopped at a record store for another hour of autographs and pictures. “Y’know why do they call this place a record store? I’ll bet there isn’t a record on the premises!” Robby inquired in a voice reminiscent of a grumpy old man.
“Back in my day…” John joined him, “we knew what a record store was, dagnabbit!”
“Young whippersnappers!” Mike tossed in.
Gennie got a fit of giggles, which was becoming more and more common the longer she knew these guys. They took seats at a table in the back as the crowd ooh’d and ahh’d over them until nearly 4 o’clock when they hopped back in the van…on to round three.
By now, Gennie and the guys were all starving. She managed to persuade Dave and their driver to swing by Davanni’s to pick up pizzas. They were the best! She savored every bite of her delicious white pizza with pepperoni. It wasn’t, in retrospect, the best choice to eat in the van, but they didn’t regret a single bite. At a little after five, a few minutes late thanks to Gen and her pizza, they came to a local radio station for another on air shift. They chatted with the DJ, spoke to callers, gave away tickets to tomorrow nights show, and played a few songs live. The Goos worked the afternoon drive until six fifteen. Gennie was very relieved that they didn’t make her do any talking. She was rather enjoying her day as a casual observer. She got to sit back and watch them work their music and their fans; it was an interaction that she found fascinating. She was even getting used to being followed by a cameraman who so far, had been Jack. He stayed pretty inconspicuous most of the time. His camera, thankfully, was pretty small and didn’t have an enormous MTV decal on it to attract attention. She did like he’d asked and had ignored him most of the time, which in all honesty, was not difficult since he really was watching the guys, not her.
The next item on the agenda was a stop at a local TV station. They taped a quick interview with them for the morning news and were out of there in half an hour. At seven, a dinner break had been worked in for them. She wondered why there hadn’t been one earlier! The van was on its way back to the hotel where their evening would, at last, be their own.
“Dude,” John turned to Jack who was sitting in the very back of the van with the camera in his lap. “We’re goin’ out tonight. Do you gotta go with us?” he asked. He was curious as to how far the commitment went.
“Yeah, man, I gotta go,” Jack replied, a slight smirk on his face. “I’ll stay outta your hair though.”
“Well, I just thought that maybe…since she’s got the tiny camera and all…” he tried expertly to get out of dragging along a camera guy.
“Sorry, dude,” he said apologetically tossing up his hands.
“I’m not sayin’ you’re not welcome to come along. I’m just sayin’ that your camera kinda isn’t. It wouldn’t be too cool, y’know.”
Jack laughed at the thought. He’d filmed plenty of rock stars in his time at MTV and these guys weren’t that cool, in his opinion. Not to get him wrong, they were nice guys, and their music was ok, but they weren’t what he’d call cool. “And you’re all about cool, right?”
John rolled his eyes and took on a slightly irritated smile. “No.” He knew lots of people hated his music; this guy must be one of them. “But I would like to have a good time with out MTV crashing the party.”
Gennie watched the interaction taking place. She felt partly guilty, partly annoyed. It was because of her that the camera crew was there, but she did want to have fun without them. “Can I suggest a compromise?” she asked Jack. He looked agreeable. “How about you film us for, say, an hour. Then I can use the little camera, ok?”
Jack pondered this option. “That’s not what the deal said. I go where you go. Period.”
This only served to irritate her. She was well aware of the deal she’d made with the contract she’d signed. When she’d signed it, she didn’t realize that she would actually become friends with these guys and that they’d want her to go places with them. Now things had changed. She looked at Robby, Mike and John who each wore impatient expressions on their faces. They were looking for her to get them out of this. “Jack, please. Don’t embarrass me.”
“Sorry, Gennie, but I’ve got my orders,” he shook his head. He felt bad for her because he could see that they had all become friends. He certainly hadn’t expected that.
“Aren’t there places that you can’t go? Y’know, places that won’t let you film?” She thought she had an idea.
He looked at her suspiciously from the corner of his eye. “Yeah…”
“I bet this place won’t let you in.” She tried to convey the message with a wink. John, Robby and Mike nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, man. I think I heard that somewhere….no cameras in the club.” Robby said, playing along. He looked to John and Mike for affirmation.
“Sorry, man. You’ll have to keep it outside,” John said with a giant grin.
“Ok, Ok, I get it. Fine. You guys let me tape you on the way there, and then we’ll be sure you get it on the little camera, alright? I wanted to do some stuff on my own tonight anyway.” Jack smiled with his surrender. He really didn’t want to be a pain in anyone’s ass.
“Thanks Jack,” Mike said. “We really owe you one. You’ve got plenty of time to do this stuff later. You won’t have a lack of opportunity. We make fools of ourselves frequently.”
“No problem. And you,” he pointed to Gennie, “keep your mouth shut about this to Tony. I don’t want him to have my ass.” He shook his finger in her direction. “I’m gonna tell him that I already checked it out.” Gennie flashed him a huge thank you smile as the van pulled up in front of the hotel.
“Meet you back here in an hour and a half, Ok?” Robby said as they walked through the lobby. It was his friend who owned the club, so he became the main organizer of the affair. Gennie got in the elevator with the guys and Jack headed to the hotel bar for a drink. This time she and the band were staying on the same floor. She entered her room and looked through her bag. What would she wear?