Our name packed bars and clubs in seven, eight states.

All this we earned not with radio play, but on the road.

Fuck, the guy could argue about anything.

Preach didn’t find any pussy that night.

He was in our room when I was in it.

And I honest to God didn’t have anything on my mind but what a pain in the ass Josh was.

So, I was bitchin’ about that and Preacher was looking at me like I had a screw loose.

I think I said, “You’re Henley, I’m Frey and he’s fuckin’ Felder, man.”

He comes up to me and grabs me by both sides of my neck and he bends over, you know, to get eye to eye to me, and what came next, I’ll never forget it.

He says, “We’re not Henley and Frey. We’re not anything but Simms and McCade. We’re the band, brother.”

He squeezes me real hard and shakes me and repeats it.

“We’re the fuckin’ band.”

[Clears throat]

You know, I love Tim and I love Dave and I love DuShawn.

But Preach was right.

Flat-out right.

No one can really argue it.

And I’ll call it before he even jammed with us, when I was standing in that truck bed and he was standing beside it.

It didn’t matter what it was called, that’s what he was saying to me.

It was him and me.

We were the band.

Preacher called Lyla again the first gig we played in Washington DC.

DC was a big town, and after that, Tom had us booked at places in NYC.

I mean, it was happening.

Tom had a reputation.

We had a reputation.

Professional, packed house, rock that house.

We had girls that followed us gig to gig, if they could.

Some guys too.

Tom made a phone call and they’d heard of us, of him, and they found us a slot.

The buzz, man, damn.

Getting closer to it.

Closer and closer.

Fuck, it was sweet.

I know Preach wanted to share that with Lyla.

And now, Tom had some chick in Cleveland who would answer calls at night if she was home but didn’t mind taking messages off an answering machine and giving them to Tommy when he called in, which he did, every night.

So, we had a kinda secretary.

[Laughs]

We were big time.

[Laughs more]

[Shakes head]

[Stops laughing]

So, [clears throat] Preach had a number to give her to call when he left a message.

He gave her that number.

She didn’t call.

[Off tape]

It was just Lyla being Lyla that won you all over at one breakfast?

[Nods]

Partly.

But remember, Preach and me shared a room.

There’d be nights he wasn’t drowned in Jack and buried in pussy.

We’d talk.

And he told you what it was about her?

Yeah.

He told me.

[Lengthy pause]