Unforeseen Events – Part IV

The party continued well into the evening. There were more than thirty guests in attendance. Held at the Bel Air home of Hans and Johanna Austerman they were celebrating their daughter Barbara’s graduation from UCLA. Out on the spacious patio Ethan played the drums in the jazz quartet, which was the evening’s entertainment. His brother Mark led the group at the piano, with Christopher Cole playing string bass and Lenny Katz on the cello. Ethan was their back up as Mark’s main drummer, Tony Kahn, was out of town that weekend.

Around 9PM the group took a break and Mr. Austerman suggested they help themselves at the buffet table by the swimming pool. Ethan wasn’t hungry but he walked over to the buffet to have a look at the spread. Standing alone he was approached by a young lady.

“Hello,” she said.

“Oh hi,” said Ethan.

“I’ve been enjoying your music this evening.”

“Thanks. Do you like jazz?”

“I do, especially progressive jazz. My name’s Katherine Asher, but people call me Kate.”

“I’m Ethan… Wells. How do you do?” Ethan extended his hand and the two shook hands.

“Wow,” she said, “that’s a firm grip. Do you get that from playing the drums?”

“Not really. I’m also a gymnast. That strengthens your hands.”

“Drumming, gymnastics… what do you do in your spare time?”

Ethan was flustered. He was shy with girls. Between endless practicing, regular weeknight rehearsals and constant weekend performances, he hadn’t developed much in the way of a social life. 

“I don’t have a lot of spare time,” he said.

“Well that’s no fun,” she said. “What are you doing next Saturday?”

He thought for a moment. “Actually nothing.”

“My sorority is having a beach party at Paradise Cove. Would you like to be my guest?”

“Sure.” He blurted it out, feeling awkward in the moment. 

“Do you have a pen?” she said.

“Ah… no. I don’t.”

“Don’t go anywhere.”

“Okay.” 

Kate moved quickly into the house and returned with pen in hand. She grabbed a napkin from the buffet table and quickly scribbled on it.

“Here,” she said. “My phone number. Call me during the week and we’ll make a plan.” 

Across the patio Ethan’s brother caught his eye, signaling him to come back to play another set. 

“Well this is great,” he said. “Now I have to get back and do some more drumming.”

“Rat-a-tat-tat,” she said. “Nice meeting you.”

The evening ended and Ethan was packing up his drums when Mark came over to him.

“Who was the good looking girl?”

“What?”

“The young lady you were talking to at the break.”

“Oh yes. Her name is Kate. I never met her before.”

“Are you going to see her again?”

“She invited me to a beach party. Next weekend.”

“Why you sly fox.”

“C’mon Mark, gimme a break.”

Mark was the ladies man in the family. Tall, good looking and affable he always had a girlfriend, and there’d been a few. 

Ethan enjoyed occasional jobs with his brother. He was also the main drummer in a rock group called The Steve DuBois Band, which was made up of five players. Steve was the lead singer and played rhythm guitar. Chet Houston played bass, Art Parnell was on lead guitar and Ned Wolff played the saxophone. 

At age 17, Ethan was driving now and had his own car, a ’51 Ford “Woody” station wagon. With a little help from his folks he bought the car to haul his drums around. Over the previous two years he had been a backup drummer with three other rock bands. Steve’s band was the first to fully embrace his talent. As his skill and artistry grew, he was also learning about the music business. However he was just beginning to learn about romance.

In the days that followed his encounter with Kate, Ethan could think of little else. He tried to imagine what the beach party might be like. What would Kate be wearing? Would they take a long walk on the beach? Did he stand a chance? Did she have a boyfriend? His agony ended on Tuesday evening with a phone call from Steve DuBois.

“Hello Ethan?”

“Hi Steve.”

“I’ve got great news.”

“About?’

“We have a gig Saturday night.”

“Saturday?”

“I got us a slot on the “Rocket to Stardom” show on Channel 13.

“Television.”

“Yah! We’ll play live on TV in a contest with a bunch of other bands.”

“Oh… I guess that’s good. I mean, TV?”

“We’ll have to rehearse every night for the rest of the week.”

Ethan knew he couldn’t say no to Steve. The band came first. That was the pledge he made when he joined them the previous winter.

“Can we rehearse at your place?” said Steve.

“Sure. But we’ll have to quit by 9PM. House rule.”

“No problem, buddy. We’ll see you at 6PM tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Relief mixed with disappointment when Ethan called Kate to tell her of his situation. She was understanding and wished him luck at the show. She asked him to call her again, that maybe they could go to a movie sometime. He said he’d like that.

The Band arrived at the television studio late on Saturday afternoon. Members of other bands were standing around their cars in the gravel parking lot. It turned out there was no room inside the building for any of them to wait for their turn to perform. A production assistant came outside and handed out copies of the evening’s schedule. Steve’s Band would be fifth in the order of ten. 

The sun had set before the show got underway. Some of the musicians were getting acquainted in the parking lot. As darkness descended the area was lit by one flood light high on a pole. 

When a maroon sedan pulled into the lot everyone turned to see who it might be. The lone driver got out of the car and walked toward the assembled musicians. To everyone’s surprise it was Johnny Cash. 

“Hello boys,” said Johnny. 

At age 29, with hits like “Folsom Prison Blues” and “I Walk the Line”, Cash needed no introduction. It was a time in his life when he was going from town to town, playing one night shows. In his cowboy boots he stood six foot five.  All the young musicians gathered around him as he began to engage them in conversation. Ethan held back from the crowd, preferring to be an observer rather than a participant. He could see that Cash was completely at ease, speaking warmly with all the young admirers. In the dim light it all looked like a scene in a movie.

When it was their turn to go on, Steve and the band performed their newest song, “You Gotta Have a Car”. 

to be continued….