Bad News Travels Fast

A lot had happened in the thirteen months since the release of Avalanche's first record. There had been incredible response to the band from the public and the radio stations, and we had played some outstanding concert dates. Our overall track record as a new band was exceptional. The reality was..we were right on course...even with the setbacks we had experienced. The music business is very tough, and I had never thought we'd come so far...so fast. Annie had never been a part of my original plan, and even though a lot of our best shows were a result of her connection to me, those dates were now  references I could use to further our goals. My brother hadn't been a part of my plan either, and I was no longer blind to the fact that I couldn't rely on him in any way. The one thing I had no idea how to deal with was how to overcome the damage they were in a position to continue to inflict on our reputation, if they chose to...and I had every reason to believe they would choose to...based on what I seen and heard from them. They were both very powerful forces in the music business, and having them as adversaries instead of allies had never been part of my plan. My brother still talked with Annie regularly...sometimes about club business, and sometimes because he was still involved with her roommate. And he had no problem telling people who knew me about what had transpired between Annie and me...and that included Charles, the one person I had hoped to delay telling. I had also wanted him to hear this news from me...not from anyone else. Once Charles knew...he made sure everyone else did too, and within a day or two, I was dealing with a lot of opinions and dissent from people I had bent over backwards for, and who I now felt were judging me on my personal life. But the truth was...this was their business...and they had every right to expect me to follow the same rules regarding girlfriends affecting the band's well-being as they did. I don't think I saw it that way at the time, though, because I had no way to defend what I had done...or to aplogize adequately for the consequences my actions would have on everything we had hoped would happen through Annie's agency. I felt cornered...and defensive. And I think most of all I was angry with myself...because I knew they were right.