The other bands took off, and we stared at our schedules while Dan talked to Steve for a minute. I could already tell that being on Dan’s team would be a very different experience from Angel’s. Dan was friendly but direct and acted like a real person instead of a diva rock star. He also smelled like pot and had long hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed in a month, but hey, no one was perfect.

“He seems a lot more involved than Angel,” Kyle said.

“Let’s hope so,” Jared said. “Either way, the mentors don’t have a say anymore in who stays. From now on, viewers vote for whoever they like the most.”

“So we just need to appeal to all of America somehow,” I said with a sigh. “Piece of cake.”

“All right, let’s head into the studio,” Dan said, waving us over. We followed him into a soundproofed room where our equipment was already waiting for us, like magic. “This will be your room for the rest of the time you’re on the show, so go ahead and get settled in.”

“Thanks for rescuing us,” Jared said. “We really appreciate being given a second chance.”

“Hey, I wanted you on my team from the start.” Dan grabbed a stool to sit on. “Besides, I heard you got in a fight with Angel, and I’m a fan of anyone with the balls to stand up to her.”

“Maddie threw coffee on her, too,” Kyle said.

I scowled at him. “I didn’t throw it. She bumped into me.”

“Yeah?” Dan asked. “I need to hear this story.”

Kyle told him all about it while we got set up, and Dan laughed along with us. “Damn, I knew she was neglecting her team, but I had no idea how bad it had gotten.” He shook his head. “Well, you’re on Team Dan now, so forget all that. Today we’ll pick your song for the next episode, but mostly I want to talk about who you want to be as a band and how you can be better at that, both on stage and off.”

For the next few minutes, we all brainstormed a song for that week’s theme of “Sick of It All.” Ultimately, we decided on “Uprising” by Muse, since it would give viewers a good idea of our sound and the kind of band we wanted to be. Even better, I already knew how to play it.