Patsy Power Part 25

On the flight to San Francisco I sat next to Riordan. “How do you like being an Amazon” she asked. I said that it was a different feeling but I was sure I could get used to it if I had to.

We arrived at the hotel to find that the rest of the ‘Party’ crew had already checked in. Our concerts started on Tuesday and ran until Thursday then the ‘Party’ flew to Long Beach for a weekend performance at the dance festival before a week in Los Angeles for performances on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

I have to say that the Long Beach appearance was originally set as just a Friday but had been altered. The Los Angeles gig had been just the weekend but had been extended with the Friday set. We all got in the bus and checked out the stadium that was to be our stage for three nights. I was running out of descriptive superlatives as this held at least fifteen thousand. I found it hard to believe that we would fill it. We had a good dinner at a long table and had an early night.

Tuesday morning we all relaxed a bit, hit the salon and hotel gym, had a lunch and went to the stadium for the sound check. Pierre had sent an extra pair of big amps and had upgraded our PA so I think we would have the volume, if needed. The sales stands were even bigger than Dallas and we all walked around, often being given items to ‘wear on stage, please’. The new live ‘Amazon’ album and DVD was on the stalls now, having been rushed through. I had a look at the album and saw it was the first night in Nashville and marked as a collector’s edition at a premium price while the DVD was a film of the first Miami show. The stallholder asked if Riordan and I could sign both and he put them away in his own bag with thanks.

We went back to the hotel for dinner and a salon session and were back in the venue well before the start time. I went up to the stage and could see that it was already filling so went back down to the ‘Party’ room to prepare. Once we were on stage we did our ‘new’ playlist, ending with the dance songs, and the crowd, which I could see was about ninety percent full, was really appreciative. I did the quick change and came back on stage with ‘Amazon’ and we put on a polished performance, much to the pleasure of the audience. Once again, both bands did the mass bow and, once again, we had to do ‘High Voltage’. We were actually getting quite good with it by now.

Wednesday and Thursday were repeats and Friday morning the Innocent Girls flew to Long Beach to play a festival on the Saturday and Sunday night. The crowd here was absolutely huge and they stayed both nights until we finished. Jake and the boys were starting to appreciate being stars as they told me that they had all been giving out autographs during the day. On Monday morning the boys flew to Nashville for a break (there was not another festival booked until Milwaukee); the equipment and crew drove to Los Angeles to boost the gear we were already using; and the Innocent Girls flew there in the afternoon, after some interview sessions.

Once again we had the concerts extended. Los Angeles was supposed to be just the Saturday and Sunday but was now Friday to Monday in another fifteen thousand seat stadium. We relaxed at a group dinner on Monday night and had an early night. As we now had both buses there was a choice in how we would spend Tuesday and Wednesday as we could not get access to the stadium until Thursday morning. The stage builders would have to work around the clock to be ready by Friday evening. A vote was taken and all the guys wanted to spend some time at Venice Beach, no doubt to babe watch; all of us girls said we would like to see one of the film studios. We piled in separate buses to visit our choices. Angela had rang one of the studios to ask if we could have a tour and they were very happy to see us, especially if we allowed their publicity folk to record the event.

When we arrived we were shown into a large room where an executive gave us a brief history of the studio and showed us stills and posters from previous hits. Lorraine was quite animated when she saw a poster for Calamity Jane, a film that starred Doris Day. The executive said that she would be happy to know that they were filming a mid-budget modern version for TV and cable release at the present. We were all sat into a fleet of small buggies and driven around various sound stages, along western streets, eastern alleyways and small versions of almost every part of the world.

We were shown where they did animated films with modern electronics and green screens and saw a clip from a new production in both its original and then finished form. It was very good experience. We finally pulled up at a sound stage and the guide told us to be quiet as filming was in progress. We made our way in through a couple of rooms and out to the sound stage where we could see a couple of western style sets and a full size stagecoach standing on a mock track. As we walked in it seemed that an argument was in progress with a chap with a directors’ monocular hanging from his neck shouting at a couple of guys while a bunch of cowboys looked on. “Oh dear” our guide said, “Elaine’s drunk again”

She realised who she was with and quickly said “I mean indisposed”. We asked a nearby hand what the problem was and he explained that they were rehearsing a scene from ‘Calamity Jane’ where the female star is supposed to sit up on top a fence bar and sing while the cowboys were supposed to do their activities around her but the female star, one Elaine Eternity, a no-talent starlet, was not appearing. Our guide said that it looked like Lorraine would not see her picture being made. Lorraine said “Pity, I could do that scene.”

The guide looked at her oddly and called over a staffer and told him that this group of sightseers were from the two bands performing in town and that Lorraine could do the scene as a stand-in if the director wanted to do a single run-through. The staffer said “I know who they are; I’ve got tickets for Saturday night. I’ll go and see if his eminence would deign to have a pop star sing for him.” He went to speak to the director who was, by now, looking exceedingly red and ready to burst. They spoke for a few minutes and the staffer called us over. “Young lady” the director said to Lorraine, “I am told that you can sing for us while the other actors go through their moves. If that is the case it would mean that our morning is not wasted. I will get you the words of ‘Deadwood Stage’”. Lorraine said she didn’t need them as she had the entire film engraved into her brain!

The director looked startled but sat her up on the fence rail and said, “Now, this is done without the music and we are only filming to get an idea of the best angles. The cowboys will come in from stage right and do some activities and then one will ask you why you are there. You reply that you are waiting for the stage and when I give you a sign you start singing. Got that?” Lorraine said she was good so we all stepped back out of shot and the actors took their places. The director called action and they came onto the set laughing and pushing each other around. One was coiling a rope as he walked up to Lorraine and said “Hey, Calamity, what are you doing here?” Lorraine looked at him and said “Why, Homer, I’m waiting for the Deadwood stage”

I heard the director say “Four, three, two, one, go” and Lorraine started with the lines “Oh! the Deadwood Stage is coming on over the hill” while the cowboys moved around doing various things but all looked at her for the chorus line “Whip crack away, whip crack away, whip crack awayyyyy”. I could see that she was in her element and, with her buxom blondeness really looked the part. When they all finished the song with a loud Yippee and stopped the director looked at us, at the staffer and at our guide; called “twenty minute break” and told us all to follow him. The cowboys helped Lorraine down with smiles and a little too much handling and she followed us to a meeting room with a big screen on one wall. He said “make yourselves at home” pointed to a café bar and a jar of biscuits; “I’ll be right back” and left the room. “This is odd” said Julia and Angela told her that she suspected that it was another case of serendipity in the making.

Part 26

We sat and chatted for about five minutes, Lorraine telling us what a thrill it had been to be on a film set playing one of Doris Days famous scenes. The director came in with another, executive looking chap, and said “I am sorry to have not introduced myself before, it was most impolite, but I was a bit overwrought. I am Anton Brandish and, as you realise, I am the director of the revised version of ‘Calamity Jane’ for TV and cable release. This gentleman with me is Hector Vickers the Third who is the Executive Producer of this, and other movies being made on the lot. I have brought him here to look at the scene that this lovely young lady performed a little while ago.”

“As you know, we were using several cameras and while you were waiting, my tech guys have synchronised the takes so that we can see the viewpoint simultaneously on this screen. Are we ready for a little film show?” We all nodded and looked at the screen. Anton said “Roll it” into a small two-way radio and the screen lit up. We were looking at Lorraine on the fence rail waiting for the start of the scene and then we heard the ‘action’ and we watched the scene play out from six different cameras with one focused on Lorraine’s’ head and shoulders. I could hear the music in my head as she sang at I thought she had done well. At the end of the scene all of us girls gave her a bit of applause and I went over and hugged her, saying, “That was just beautiful.” Anton said “I thought so too.” Hector looked at Lorraine and said “Young lady, how would you like to be a star?” She looked him in the eye and replied “If you come along to our concert this weekend you will see that I already am one.”

Anton then explained his dilemma. “We are only in the early part of producing this movie. We are just playing around with scenes and writing an updated script. This version is to be set on a ‘dude ranch’ with more modern clothing but the ranch is to be one with traditional western buildings and interiors, which is why it looks like a real western on the sets, which are stock items here so lowers the cost. Our female starlet, Elaine, is a good looker and passable singer but is, you could say, unreliable. In fact, between us, she is a lush in the making. We are doing other movies at the same time so this is not an urgent need but I would like you, Lorraine, to take over the role and I am sure that Hector, here, can negotiate a suitable contract.”

Angela stepped up and said “I gather that you do not know who you are talking to here. Lorraine is a member of ‘Patsy and the Innocent Party’ and is only here in LA as part of a national tour with ‘Amazon’. You have Riordan, Julia and Nina from that band here with you as well. She is contracted to sing with the band and has also been put on a five year contract for her solo vocal output, so you would have to discuss this with the company I work for if you want her. That is, of course, if she wants to go into acting. She would not be available for another six weeks until the tour ends in New York.”

Lorraine said “I would like to see if this just a one-off success; can I do some other scenes, maybe with just dialogue and no singing? I may be a failure at everything else and I need to know before I commit to anything.” I said that we could not get into the stadium until Thursday so Lorraine could be free tomorrow if they could set something up. Hector and Anton had a quiet chat and then Anton said “We can put together enough people to do a proper screen test tomorrow with a couple of dialogue scenes and a couple of singing ones. If we send a car to your hotel for 9.00am would you like to spend the day here?” She agreed and Angela asked Mary to go with Lorraine to make sure it was all done properly.

On the bus back to the hotel we got Lorraine to sing her song for us again and then she continued with a couple of others from the film. Riordan was sitting beside me and she leaned over and said quietly “Patsy, this may be a good time for you and me to have a little heart to heart chat. Can you come up to my room this evening after dinner and bring Joanne and Minh with you.”

We got back to the hotel and freshened up for dinner. The boys were all a bit sun burnt but in good spirits. After we had eaten I gathered Joanne and Minh and followed Riordan, Julia and Angela to Riordans’ room. Sitting around on chairs and the bed we waited for Riordan to tell us what she was thinking. Instead, she opened up with a question for me. “Patsy, in all honesty, what is your take on where we all are and where we are all going?” That was a big one from so far out of left field it had been invisible.

They all waited as I formulated my reply. “I would have to give this more thought to say with any certainty but I think that the Innocent Party may turn out to be a one-hit wonder with the type of song that is currently in the charts. I know that my writing, with Minh, has tended towards a more rock genre than the pretty pop song; and our writing for her demographic is more pre-teen. We do have to face the fact that Carl, Dan, Boss and Max have all said that they wanted to properly retire at the end of the tour and without Nina, and possibly without Lorraine, we will be left with just the three of us here as Innocent Girls so I really cannot see where we will go into the future. “

“We do have Jake, Keith, Paul and Kevin as a back-up but they have concentrated on the dance music and I really cannot see them being happy playing ‘Mall Song’ so, if we kept going I would see a more rock oriented band with the dance material thrown in. How does that fit?” Angela put her hand up and said “Before you go any further, I can tell you that I had a call from Sarah before dinner to tell me that the owner of the land where the Milwaukee dance concert was booked has been discovered with a big cannabis crop and other drugs so it is almost one hundred percent probable that the Milwaukee festival will be cancelled. This would just leave the New York one a week after the last ‘Amazon’ gig.”

“Well!” said Riordan, “this flows quite well into what I am about to say. The ‘Amazon’ band lost one third of its’ original members early in this tour and it has not affected its’ popularity one iota; in fact, we have grown exponentially with Nina and Patsy in the line-up. I was intending to just ask Patsy tonight if she would stay on as a permanent member but I will now put to you all a different scenario. Our two oldest members, Kurt and VB, have told me that they, also, are finding the pace of things now a bit too much and I don’t think either of them want to continue. My thoughts are that we get Jake and the band in to learn the ‘Amazon’ material that would have to be played at any concert and they would also be able to learn the new material that has yet to be written with the rest of us. “

“I would stop playing guitar seriously; concentrating on singing in duet with Nina when I can and we could bring Joanne and Minh into the band as backing vocal and individual spots. That line-up would end as two lead singers, two backing vocals, two main guitarists, rhythm, drums and keyboard with Patsy, Joanne, Julia and Minh doing some songs as lead to mix up the vocal range. We could add your dance material to the set as I know that Julia and I are keen on it and we could keep your more up-beat hits, such as ‘Wait’ on the playlist until they fade from the charts. We could all then write material to fit the line-up of younger members and the band may well have another ten or fifteen years’ life. What do you all think of that?”

Joanne said “Are you saying that Minh and I would become instant Amazons?” Riordan said that was exactly what she was saying. I said it sounded brilliant but we had to be sure Jake and the band would be happy with it; “But I really can’t see them knocking this back!” Everyone agreed so then Angela suggested that Riordan, me and herself fly to Nashville on Tuesday morning to talk with the band and Sarah to nut out some details and see what contractual changes would need to be made. We all agreed that because of the already legendary status of ‘Amazon’ the name would stay the same but it would be just a line-up change that we would phase in during the tour, if possible, with the full line-up being in place for both venues in New York . And so the world shifted again for us that night.

Marianne G 2020