[Gets up, moves to the stereo cabinet, opens door. Pulls out album. Comes back. Flips album to show cover of Night Lies. Sepia. The band walking down a deserted road, their backs to the camera, McCade the closest, Josh Hardy the farthest. Flips cover, sepia of band closeup, head and shoulders, all in a line, leaning on each other one way or another, except Hardy who’s standing removed.]

That went gold, eventually went platinum and beyond.

But in the beginning, we sold twice that many posters of that cover, sister.

[Laughs loud and hard]

Preacher had a great ass.

[Returns album and resumes his seat. Sits back.]

[Quietly] But yeah, fuck yeah, we outplayed them.

[Grins]

Practice.

[Off tape]

There’s been a good deal of speculation that “Dirtbag” was about Nick Pileggi and what he did to your sister but no one in the band has confirmed or denied that.

It’s all in the name, sister.

[Stares steadily]

It’s all in the name.

[Off tape]

It’s known that Lyla comes back to the band around this time. Is that correct?

[Nods]

Chicago.

We’re on tour, opening for Bobby and the guys. Before the tour launched, they’d released “Give Then Take,” there’s a lot of push behind it, it hits the charts. Gets up to number eleven.

They follow that up with “The Back of You,” that hits seven.

And we are, [draws out] fuckin’ hell.

We are on fire.

Preacher walks onstage every night and he’s a man with a goddamned mission to make every girl cream her panties and every guy contemplate suicide because they aren’t as cool as him.

I mean, I don’t know if this was a conscious thought, but this is what he did.

I knew he could command a stage but there’s a big difference between a bar or a club and an arena, you know? You gotta have some serious shit to command that kinda space, you know?

I was right, way back when, when I saw him walk into my garage, the way that big man moved, looked, held a guitar.

I was right.

And he was right.

It is not vain to say it.

Preacher was right.

I was a rock star.

That was why he put me in the middle. He never said it, but that’s why.

Him to my left.

Tim to my right.

Lead is usually in the middle.

Preacher never moved from his spot except to come to the middle and sing with me in my mic. But that was rare.

That was also why every song he wrote was all about the bassline.

Even before I started writing with him, Preach was all about the bassline. There was nothing ever simple about a Roadmasters’ bassline. It was always complex.

He gave that to me because he knew I could do it.

He gave that to me because he knew it’d make me shine.