CHAPTER 17: ALBUM RELEASE

ESH MABUL ALBUM RELEASE

We just know what we're doing here tonight

We're not leaving here without the light

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life

Woo, we just want to be here in the light

Step down the life of pride

Surf out the fearsome tide

Live out my life in style

Here I am, Lord,

Break all my chains inside

Joy for the tears I cried

Now that my flesh has died

Here I am, Lord.

We just know what we're doing here tonight

We're not leaving here without a fight

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life

Woo, we just want to be here in the light

Now that my life has changed

I know my God is great

Be still and know I prayed

Here I am, Lord,

Lift up my highest praise

Jesus, you give me grace

Just wanna see your face

Here I am, Lord.

We just know what we're doing here tonight

We're not leaving here without a fight

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life

Oh, we just want to be here in the light.

Sometimes I feel I've lost my way (sometimes I feel)

Then I just drop down on my knees and pray

Jesus, you turn my night to day

Fireflood, "Tonight"

The day had finally arrived. The event was scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. An opening band was invited to perform, after which Esh Mabul would take the stage. The city had posters of the album release all over the place. The whole band helped with putting up the standees on the university campus. A few of their concerned friends called them to tell them it could rain and to try a small, indoor auditorium instead. The band politely declined.

Jay was up early that morning. Although it was very cold for a Middle Easterner, he had to do his usual vocal exercises and then go help Levan prepare the venue. Jay thought, "I'm going to prepare like it's going to be my best show."

Jay showered and got dressed. Jay wore a dark brown leather jacket with a blue Jack and Jones tee shirt, Flying Machine jeans with a studded leather belt, and brown leather boots. His dreads almost touched his knees. He had bought two satin scarves to tie onto his mic stand. He chose one that was all dark blue and the other purple. The dark blue symbolized the Emperor and the purple symbolized honor.

When the rest of the band arrived at the venue, they were all decked out for the stage and ready. They were surprised when they saw that Kay had cut her hair short and shaved one side of her head. She wore a black dress.

It was 4:00 p.m., and the band members were expecting to see students crowding and walking around, but it was only the crew—the photographer, the stage crew, and the ground crew. Jay and the band looked around. He did a quick count 1, 2, 3... 11... 13... 17... 20. He had even counted the band.

"Gosh, man! Only some twenty people at the show?" Marlen asked.

"The Emperor will bring the crowd," Jay said.

"Even if we have only twenty people," Levan said, "I'll still play the show. You know I don't care. I'd play even if there was nobody."

Jay high-fived Levan.

"Me too. It'll be like old times, when it was just the seven of us in Jay's crib," Marlen said, laughing.

They all laughed as Jay and Levan high-fived Marlen.

Jay got on the big stage and tied his scarves onto the mic stand. Levan had gotten a mic stand with a round base especially for Jay because he knew that Jay needed the stand to look good while performing. Kay and Jay checked their mics and the musicians checked the sound for their instruments one by one. The mixing engineer had carefully done everything to make sure it would sound great. They took an hour to sound check, making sure everything would be perfect for their first album release concert.

At 5:00 p.m., the band was looking at their watches. They couldn't understand why there was still no crowd. The opening band requested to wait until more people arrived before starting their set, so they rescheduled the opening band to start at 6 p.m., and Esh Mabul continued to warm up.

At 6 p.m. there was still no one else on the concert ground.

Jay was shocked, but he knew that as a leader, he needed to motivate his team. "Let's pray, family," Jay said to the band.

Esh Mabul went into an indoor stadium and began to pray.

Fireball and the army of angels moved into the woods that surrounded the university campus. The clouds above were dense and dark. The angels saw that General Temptation had come in the form of a huge bat and many demons were standing all over the woods jeering.

"We won't let you do this album release concert," General Temptation said.

General Temptation had brought in his ally, Spirit Havoc, a demon who specialized in chaos and confusion.

Spirit Havoc said to the angel army, "The wind and the rain are going to destroy your stage, and I'm going to make this ground so slushy that no one, not even Esh Mabul's crew, will be able to stand on it. I'll send the rain to even hit the speakers, amps, the mixer, and the rest of the sound system so that it will not work. They will have to dismantle and cover it up. I'll blow the mic stands down and that stand with those scarves and their meanings which drives me to be more angry, so I'm going to muddy that scarf with rainwater and dirt.

General Temptation came forward. He growled at Fireball and the angels, "I will not let people come here and watch this concert. I will oppose them. I will hold them back with chains of drugs, alcohol, depression, suicide, and false religions. I will even convince the people on their way to see "Esh Mabul" to come to my event instead so that not a single person will come to watch Them. I will steal even your crew. I will make sure this event is going to be a huge loss and put them to shame."

Fireball laughed as he faced the enemy. "The Trinity is my help, and we will rout you out . You will see what happens."

"Then we shall see in thirty minutes," General Temptation said.

The sun went down, and as the sky began to get dark, the opening band walked up to the stage.

Then Pastor Bertie walked in, dressed in a spiffy gray suit. He came with his wife Jenny and his two sons. Jay led them to a few chairs as he looked around. The same twenty people were there, and now it was twenty-four in total.

Esh Mabul watched the college band perform from a distance. Their only audience was the ground crew, Pastor Bertie's family, and Esh Mabul. They performed a few songs. It was getting even darker.

Suddenly, the photographer told them that he wouldn't be able to take any more video footage as he did not have enough space in his memory card.

Levan was sad, but Jay encouraged him to pray and that the Trinity could still make a way. It was their debut concert, and it was essential for them to have a video recording.

Out of nowhere, a white SUV drove onto the concert ground. It was a TV crew from the top TV channel of the city. The reporter walked up to Levan and said to him, "Hey, we saw the poster of your band all over the city, and we thought your band looked really unique. Is it okay if we cover your event to make a video clip of about twenty minutes?"

Levan and Jay were astounded. This had to be the work of the trinity.

"Oh, yeah. Please, go ahead," they said, trying to act as calmly and professionally and not show excitement as much as they could.

Other than the TV crew, there were still just twenty-four people, and the opening band was about to finish their performance. The TV crew used the time to set up the cameras. They had a stationary camera and two moving cameras mounted by the camera operators for the stage coverage.

"This will be the last song," the skinny vocalist of the college band said, "and then we will have Esh Mabul onstage to perform for us."

Jay went backstage. Levan, Marlen, and Zurab strapped on their guitars and bass. They were ready to rock. Nik took the best of his seven pairs of drumsticks, knowing he would break a few for sure. Ana and Kay were still doing touch-ups with their makeup when they were signaled to come backstage. The Esh Mabul family huddled together as they each prayed for the event.

Finally, Jay concluded the prayer. "Oh Emperor, we have seen your hand move in the past. We have experienced your faithfulness. You are good, and you have kept the rain from falling. Though there are just twenty-four people and the TV channel crew, help us to perform for them and bless us as we rock the stage for you with the songs you taught us to sing."

The angels moved into position. Up above the stage, there was a violent battle, but none of the people could sense anything, except for everyone in Esh Mabul—they began to experience a great peace that was beyond understanding.

The emcee walked up to the stage. She said a few words about Esh Mabul and then called them onstage to perform.

Jay climbed the few steps from the back to the stage. There was silence. "Yeah, I've got to get used to this," he thought. "What will claps from twenty-four people sound like? Like a few drops of rain but who cares ."

Levan looked like a warrior with his guitar, ready to slay the dragon. He looked at Jay and smiled. Jay smiled back as he showed him the thumbs-up to start. Marlen was ready, with his leather jacket shimmering in the light. It looked like his guitar couldn't wait to start. Ana was on the right end of the stage with her hair tied in a ponytail, huge earrings hanging down, her fingers poised and ready to tickle the ivories. She stood behind the keyboard with her eyes closed, meditating on the Emperor. Zurab was locked, loaded, and ready to roll. He wore his cap low, covering his eyes for his usual nu metal look, but he was also clad in a black leather jacket.

Nik lifted his drumsticks up and gave the four-beat count, and the band began their powerful, four-minute intro. The whole place became electric. There was a huge portal about to open from Blue primus, but it had to wait because the Emperor was waiting for Jay and Kay to step in. Just as the intro was about to finish, Jay stepped in from the right, and Kay stepped in from the left. Kay's hair covered one side of her face like an emo punk rocker as she strolled in her stilettos. Jay walked in with his dreads touching his knees and his brown boots stomping on the cables. He walked to the dressed-up mic stand.

There was still silence from the ground.

Suddenly, they began the powerful intro of "Seventh Ballad," from Levan's guitar leads tore a hole in the portal above the dark clouds. It was worship to the Trinity, and the demons were choked by the aroma in the spirit realm. The band joined in, and Jay began to sing. In between his singing, he would pick up the mic stand and wield it like a sword. The colorful scarves of blue and purple flowed in perfect synchronization to the music so beautifully and so exquisitely. The presence of the Trinity began to fill the concert grounds as a multitude of angels descended with swords.

Fireball quickly descended and lay face down on the stage, his sword in hand, in pure worship to the Trinity while a huge force field held back the enemy hordes.

As soon as the song ended, the band still in pure bliss, Jay was startled as he heard clapping and screaming. He thought, "Wait a minute. Am I hearing a crowd?" He couldn't see anything in front of the stage because the stage lights were blinding his eyes. The next moment, the lights on the stage dimmed a bit. What he saw astounded him—a huge crowd had filled up the concert grounds. "So many people, but where did they come from?" Jay wondered. "When did they get there?" He was shell-shocked.

The whole band stared at the crowd. Each one was thunderstruck. They all knew that the others were wondering the same thing: "How did this happen?"

None of the band members had a clue how such a big crowd of people had suddenly appeared. They could now see that there were young people packed to the very back of the concert grounds. The people standing at the front of the audience looked really young, like seventeen-, eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds. From the third row onwards, there were more mature young people who looked like college students. But it was a still a mystery because the band had seen that the student cafeteria had been almost empty right before the concert, except for maybe half a dozen students, and they hadn't seen a single person who wasn't with them around the concert grounds until that moment.

Every member in Esh Mabul knew this was the Trinity's doing indeed.

Fireball and the angel armies were routing the demonic powers.

The next song on the set list, "Rain," started with a thunder and rain effect from Ana's keyboards. Nik hit the toms, and the whole band began to dance around the stage. It was a peppy number.

Kay was having a lot of fun onstage, coming from a background of classical music but now singing classic rock.

Zurab was also enjoying the switch to playing classic rock. He still had his nu metal vibe in the way he performed, but playing classic rock was growing on him, too, so he did his best to suppress the serious look and was having fun jumping onstage.

Marlen concentrated on his chords. He was making sure his guitar sounded perfect, but his pose showed how deadly a weapon he could be against the enemy.

Ana whipped her hair around as she played the synth, harmonizing her vocals with the other singers effortlessly.

The TV crew was running all around the stage, shooting their video.

The people in the crowd had different reactions because it was the first time most of them were hearing Esh Mabul. They would do crazy things only as much as the band did. Gradually, the crowd got the hang of it and began to sing with the band and dance. By the time the song ended, they were enjoying every bit of it and began to cheer.

The next song was "Esh Mabul," and as it started, more people started to pour in. During the song, the stage lights were dimmed several times, so Jay was able to see the big crowd better.

He was used to taking a cordless mic and running all over the stage and doing stage dives, but he had to control himself. "This is classic rock, man. I can't be doing what I do in rap rock," he thought. He picked up the mic stand and wielded it around as he sang. The scarves wrapped around him at times but at other times flowed like a flag.

As Jay sang, Marlen backed him on vocals. The song was very catchy, especially the chorus, and the crowd began to sing along. They were loving the song. It ended with loud cheering from the crowd.

Jay introduced the next song, which was "Letting Go." The band members all knew the story behind the song, and it was one of Kay's favorites, so her performance showed how much she enjoyed the song. Jay and Kay took turns singing verses, as they did on all their songs. They were a dynamic duo onstage and helped each other with backing vocals. Marlen, Levan, and Ana helped by harmonizing their backing vocals, as they were all good singers. Even though Nik was a crazy drummer, he, too, had a mic pulled up to his mouth to hit some backing vocals. The vocals were high, and it took every effort from the core of the lead singers to hit all the notes. It was so much easier for Jay to rap, but now he really had to rely on the Trinity who gave him the ability. The band was sounding awesome together.

Jay was crazy onstage. He was everywhere. He learned how to use the mic stand while moving around, doing his unique moves. It was so different from what he was used to doing with Route No. 7. He couldn't go to the crowd below because the cables were attached to the mic on the stand, but that didn't stop him from having fun.

After they played the beautiful song "Home," Pastor Bertie came onstage. He cut a ribbon with scissors to release the new album. By then, the crowd had built up to even more people.

Pastor Bertie shared a hopeful message, and many put their trust in the Trinity as he continued speaking. After a few minutes, Pastor Bertie called the band onstage,

Jay embraced the pastor, and then the band began its hit single, "Tonight." They got the whole crowd jumping and dancing. Esh Mabul rocked the people's socks off. By the time the show ended, the people were asking for more songs, so the band gave an encore.

After the encore, it was time to meet and greet the fans. There had been bouncers to guard the stage during the performance, but now the band told them to let the fans come. Dozens of young people rushed onto the stage to meet the band and take photos with them. The response was phenomenal, and the CDs were selling well. The band took at least two hours to leave the venue because of all the fans coming up to them.

As the band was finally leaving, they saw a group of students walking toward the dorms, so they guessed that they were students at the university. However, the majority of people left the campus, so the band guessed that they must have been from other colleges. They would never know for sure.

They met up at Levan's café for dinner and had a long night of laughs and thanking the trinity for the unbelievable miracle that had just happened. Their album played in the background as chicken wings, pasta, and chop suey were all on the table with cold lemonade and iced tea for drinks. The band was hungry and began to feast. They were all happy and content.

Jay said, "What started with just our band in my crib is now spreading its wings and will one day go all over the world."

"Yeah, man," Levan said. "We believed, and it happened."

* * *

At the venue, the stage crew loaded all the musical instruments. Then they took the stage apart, loaded everything and left that night.

But in the unseen realm, there was a messy aftermath. The demon hordes who were destroyed by the angels were crawling all over the surrounding woods, wounded beyond recognition. The angel armies of the Emperor had routed the forces of hell led by General Temptation and Spirit Havoc. Esh Mabul was the Emperor's band and it was his will for them to succeed. There was no stopping what the Emperor had intended—no rain, no financial block, no competing events, no demons—nothing could hinder the sovereign will of the Emperor.

Both General Temptation and Spirit Havoc were beaten to a pulp, and many other demons were thrown into the portal by the angels. Spirit Havoc had fallen from the sky and was wedged between tree branches. He was grievously wounded. Suddenly a portal to hell opened.

General Temptation recognized him and asked as he groaned in pain, "What in the world happened to you? Why is there a gaping wound on your head?"

Spirit Havoc pointed to his head, and unable to speak properly, yelled out, "Trinity made me hole..." and he was sucked into the portal.

General Temptation immediately escaped to the Wilderness Realm.

Down in hell, Lucifer hit his hands on the armrests of his throne. "Not again!" he yelled as he saw bodies of demons strewn all over the hallways.

Spirit Havoc, who was beaten beyond recognition, dragged himself to stand a few feet from Lucifer. He looked at Lucifer and said, "There was no chink in their armor."

Lucifer let out a desperate shriek and dropped his head in grief.

THANKSGIVING

The next morning, the band members slept in. The boys met up at a café for a cold coffee in the afternoon and then went to hang out in the city. When it was close to evening, they headed to Ana's house. Ana was hosting a dinner for the band to celebrate the album release and to give thanks for all the good things that God had done for them.

Jay, Levan, Marlen, Kay, Ana, Nik, and Zurab sat around the table and feasted. They had a great time reminiscing about the time gone by, how they had become a band, and how after many trials and hurdles, they had released their debut album. And now they had extra publicity for free—the TV crew had told the band that fifteen to twenty minutes of their concert was going to be broadcast on TV in three weeks, and the whole region was going to see it.

As the Fireflood album played in the background, they reminisced, starting with the jams at Jay's house with Marlen's blue guitar and broken strings. They remembered the jokes they had cracked and how they would make their own versions of cover songs. Everyone had something to say about the years that had gone by, the great breakthroughs they had, and the very long journey that "Esh Mabul"was about to embark on.

When the band had finished eating dinner and dessert had just been served, Levan pushed his plate forward and motioned to everyone to listen. When he had everyone's attention, he said, "Esh Mabul" to me is not just a band but it has been a family that pursues the mission and vision that was given to Jay and me and later transmitted to the family. It's only by guidance of the Almighty that this band has become what it is today.

"Jay, I love hanging out with you and sharing about how to touch hearts through music. You are funny. Man, I am inspired by your time invested into this project and how you have stood up for our band and worked hard to bring this album to this level. There are not enough words to thank you, brother. I am challenged by your life. Glad to go to war with you by my side.

"Marlen—if I have to talk about this fellow; it will be like reading an entire book! You're such a humorous fellow. I gel so well with you. I make music in seconds when you are around. You're talented with amazing vocals and have been a tremendous contributor, adding flavor to the music."

Everybody cheered for Marlen.

"Kay, I was in awe when I heard you sing for the first time. You are also kind and friendly. What I really like the most about you is your humility and willingness to stick with us, even when things were challenging for you. I still remember the first time I walked into your house, and your dog pounced on me. He was showing me affection, but I was scared to death and still am. Thanks for being kind enough to not laugh at me as you were ripping him off of me."

Everyone had a laugh, and then Levan continued. "Ana, you're like a sister to me. You are a poised lady, but you still act like a tomboy, and you're tough and daring. You're also so very talented. I like your dedication, and your commitment to excellence inspires me."

Ana smiled in appreciation as Kay patted her on the back.

"Nik, I've always seen your determination, and I'm so blessed to be able to talk, hang out, and play together regularly like we do now. I break out in laughter even when I'm by myself, thinking about some of your jokes. You are humble with lots of talent, and your knowledge of music has been an asset to this album."

"Zurab is a sweet and fun guy to have with us and so passionate about music. You have a lot of talent and humility."

"Love you guys to bits," Levan said as he stood up, bowed, smiled, and sat down.

Marlen was the next to speak. He fidgeted with his contact lens, and after many blinks, he said, "It was a joyride for me since the day Esh Mabul was founded. Firstly, I would like to thank my Father above for his guidance and help through the years and making this band come out successfully!

"Secondly, all you guys are my crew, starting with Jay and Levan, who started Esh Mabul and pushed all of us to make real good music. Thanks to Levan, with his smooth fingers on the fretboard, and Jay, our high-pitched singer.

"Thanks to Ana and Kay, our ladies, for their contributions in many aspects relating to melodies and harmonies with their skills and experience in music.

"Zurab is a jolly fellow with a great heart and is a dedicated musician.

"Nik, thank you for your amazing friendship, and of course, your great contribution to the band.

"I cannot forget the fun and laughter, composing music on rainy days with you all, drinking tea with Jay, dreaming as we sat outside Beirut Café. I had my doubts and fears, but they were overcome by prayers and the love I have received from all of you. We will make music and make melodies for our Maker always."

They patted Marlen on the back as the logs burned in the fireplace.

Then Ana spoke up. "I wanna thank you all—Levan, Jay, Kay, Marlen, Zurab, and Nik. You guys have been an amazing bunch! From the time of composition of the songs, Levan and Marlen with your awesome guitar work, Jay fitting in the lyrics and vocals so perfectly with the music, accompanied by Kay's melodious vocals. Nik and Zurab are such helpful, sweet, hardworking, and fun guys to be with. I'm looking forward to greater days and years ahead. This is just the beginning, guys!"

Everyone clapped for Ana.

Kay smiled as she quickly wiped her mouth with her napkin and then spoke. "Thanks to Jay for writing the songs, and to Marlen, Levan, Zurab, Ana, and Nik for making such beautiful music and for working so consistently. I'm looking forward to spending more time with all you calm and sweet people and making more music together. All of you have my love. And a few of you have my very special nicknames.You know all of these baboons," she said, laughing.

The band laughed while looking and pointing at each other as they remembered the names, especially because she would call Marlen "Barbie" for some reason.

Nik stood up. He was the tallest among them all. "Now that all can see me..."

Everyone laughed and cheered for Nik.

He said, "To start with, Jay, my brother, thank you for pushing all of us.You are the guy with the vision. Levan, the way you manage the personalities of the band and manage the flow of the music makes it easy for all of us to connect. Marlen, you have a great heart. Ana, you have a great personality, and you speak with your fingers on the keys. Kay, you and I have a soul music connection, and I have seen that you are very hardworking and a key part of the backbone in the band's music. Zurab and I connected the day we met. He is cool, calm, and funny—always pulling Marlen's leg—and a great support. I love the way he loves the almighty." Nik sat down to help himself to dessert.

Jay was next. He looked at everyone, smiled, and then he started. "Esh Mabul was an inspiration from the begining. Then meeting this young rocker, Levan, and his willingness to form a band with me and go guns for the vision is awesome. Levan, you are so full of energy. You can set the house and everyone in it on fire! Your integrity has been an example, and man, I can never forget the hardworking jams at my crib. Your crazy riffs and catchy licks you play keep ringing in my ears in loops. I often play air guitar watching you play! You would just take the guitar and start playing it and draw words and lyrics out of me. Remember the first song we wrote, 'Tonight,' when we had the power cut, and all the people in church were loving it, and we were not even a band as yet? It was an honor to play at your wedding as Esh Mabul, dear brother.

"Marlen, my man, you never fail to make me laugh, and you always will be the cowboy country singer in our family. I just love our friendship, your faithfulness, hard work, and your love for rock 'n' roll! I love your contagious song compositions, our long conversations, and your brilliant production ideas on this album. I'd say I wanna live this life a hundred times over to enjoy more of this and your friendship, dear brother!

"Ana lady, you have been such an inspiration to me. The way we would break out into impromptu jams—those were the days! Your amazing talent brings out such flavor in these songs and your compositions, not to forget the amazing tea you would make for us all.

"Kay, the moment I heard you sing, my jaw dropped. At the time, I never would have thought that you would end up in this band. I never would have imagined that God's keeping you in Dubai and letting you join the band would have such a huge impact. Can we forget the countless hours of practice, songwriting, and all the fun times? It is awesome to grow as musicians and friends at the same time. All of us felt you were a right fit from the day you joined us, and you proved it. You are family.

"Zurab, I can never forget the fun we had when we first jammed together. We were just friends, and I never even thought that we would be in this band together. Then you left for Georgia and everything changed, but I guess our long-distance relationship worked out. Your humor and wit keep us going, and you're the huggable bear in our band."

The band laughed, and then Jay continued, "Nik, you are the man with tons of patience. I always saw a willing heart and humility in you. Thank you for your hard work and being such a support to us. Love you, bro."

Zurab made his entry by cracking a joke and making everyone laugh, as usual. "So, everyone, I'll start by standing in support of Jay." Then he suddenly got up, stood behind Jay and held up a few of his dreads.

The band laughed away while Marlen said, "Shh! I'm trying to listen." His serious expression just made everyone laugh again.

"Maybe he's more interested in knowing what compliments Zurab had to say about him," Levan said, making the others laugh even more.

Finally, Zurab began. "Jay is a straightforward guy whom I love to share my time with. His passion in singing is obvious. We share a nu metal vibe too. I love the fact that he carries himself as a leader of the pack with his ability to impart the vision among us. I feel I can share my problems with him, and he gives an ear to me. I just love laughing a lot with him in almost every conversation.

"Levan, though he is younger, he has a fatherly maturity. I'm comfortable hanging around him and talking things out. He has some amazing advice, and his opinion does matter. His talent and skill in songwriting is way beyond.

"Marlen is such a funny guy. His taste in modern music and melody sets us in our foundation. I cannot stop laughing whenever he twitches his eyes to set his contact lens in.

"Nik has always been around to help in anything we need. I like his attention to detail, and he's a good listener.

"Kay is the perfectionist. She would do any task assigned to her. She wouldn't go anywhere without her Pandora's box of makeup—at least that's what I like to call it. I love her amazing voice."

Kay smiled and rolled her eyes while the others laughed.

"Ana, —the way you walk is so tomboyish. And that keyboard of yours probably weighs more than you. Love your music. You love teasing us all."

To get back at Zurab for his comments, Kay and Ana teased him back until he was red in the face and hid under the table while the boys just laughed out loud.