SIDE A | CHAPTER 4

Larry George

May 25th, 1982

Larry was now a junior. His grades picked up considerably since his freshman year—and it thanks to his guide. A mysterious package arrived in the mail for Larry a few days after that dark July night. Inside the package was an acoustic guitar and a note signed by Dr. Abbot. It recommended that Larry turn his love for music into something productive and worth keeping, which helped convince his father to not immediately trash the instrument.

Kappy later revealed to Larry that he forged the doctor's name in order to get the package in the door. Coincidentally, Larry never saw Dr. Abbot again. As soon as the guitar entered his life he was doing better in school; the therapist was no longer needed. Since there were no further bills that were being mailed to the George household Gilbert had put the idea out of his mind entirely.

I mentioned that Larry's grades picked up, but they weren't at his sister's level, not that high. They'd gone up to a respectable B+ average—a grade his father believed was worth respecting his hobby over. Kappy became his guide in more than one way—teaching Larry the basics of the guitar. He picks it up quite easily, finding a sort of inner peace whenever he held on.

Larry and Steven's junior prom swung around. The two boys elected to go without dates.

"do not worry about going alone, larry. it would only cause you more stress than you need," Kappy told him the night before the big day, and so he didn't worry.

Steven worried, though. He was hesitant in going alone—he'd just broken up with his girlfriend of a year the week before. They'd met after school at one of the co-ed lacrosse meets and hit it off soon after. The stress from the prom of course had gotten to the both of them and a fight ensued.

The two boys were dropped off at the front of the building, the night was warmer than both boys anticipated. Larry's neck itched in his pantsuit. Nervous, Larry stepped inside and the music playing over the speaker caught his attention—it was a ratty song about girls. The brothers split up as they entered the gymnasium—the both of them knew that they didn't have much to talk about among all the people around them. Larry felt disheartened—and he didn't even have Kappy with him to make conversation with.

Larry found his place off to the side of the gym where he met a miscreant who was similarly socially-outcasted named Stanley Ticks. The two boys talked and bonded over their similar dispositions toward school functions and their passion for music. "Sticks" as he'd have Larry call him was a part of a garage band with a few other kids from school who were all lucky enough to not have come to the dance. He invited Larry to come check them out that weekend—to which Larry thought sounded like a great idea. The night ended without a bang or a whimper, but with a friend. Larry found himself at Sticks' trailer after school on Friday and was introduced to the rest of the band: Paul "Paulie" Knox ran the drums, Thomas "Tommy Boy" Bentham on lead guitar, Mary-Anne Wilhelm on lead vocals, and Sticks himself on Bass.

Mary-Anne and Paulie seemed to be a couple—at least heavily hinted by the affectionate looks they'd give one another. Larry also noticed Mary-Anne...she was…everything. He kept staring at her as they showed him their first single, "Send Me Around". He felt their emotions tumbling through his body as they finished the last note. It was unlike anything he had ever heard. They were unrefined, sure, but nothing he had ever listened to had come close to what they had played. He knew he had to be a part of the experience in making music that sounded like that. He was surprised when they took him up on his offer—Sticks had said he was grateful that Larry had asked first—as he didn't quite know how to form the question himself. Larry became the rhythm guitarist of Rosewood and felt companionship for the first time outside of Kappy.

Things took a turn for the worse when he arrived back home that same day. Steven was in the middle of being reamed out by their parents for LSD they found in his backpack. When Larry was off talking to Sticks at the prom Steven was out finding his own hooks—being Laney Delereaux on the volleyball team. The two snuck off and made out and they split her stash.

That day was the turning point for both of the George boys. Larry started hanging out more and more after school at Stick's trailer and his grades improved as he found a way to express his musical passion. Steven on the other hand slipped from the honor roll and started receiving calls home for behavior related incidents. This trend continued throughout the rest of their junior and even into their senior year.

We next see the Larry brothers on their graduation day in 1983. The whole George family was in attendance on the overly-sunny Saturday afternoon. Larry's grades had never been better than his last quarter of his senior year—and his parents didn't know it, but inside his pocket underneath the robes sits the cassette player with Kappy by his side. Also by his side was Mary-Anne also dressed for the occasion—who had definitely led to a disgruntled Paulie who had not just split from Mary-Anne, but also from Rosewood a few months back due to creative differences. They've also since replaced Paulie on drums with one of Sticks' neighbors—Kevin Whaley. In the time since Kappy advised Larry follow his heart and ask Mary-Anne out. The two clicked instantly—they had already been fast friends so it only made sense that once her relationship with Paulie ended that Larry would fill the hole he had left.

Steven had managed to graduate, but his grades were lackluster—only coasting on the fact that he earned a baseball scholarship at NYU the following year. Both George boys were called up and receive their degrees and the both of them pack away their high school memories, eager to move onto the next steps of their lives.

1984

After graduation the George household became nearly empty—all the birds have flown the coop. Heather was living on campus for her senior year at Yale. She was also participating at an externship at a prestigious law office in New Haven. Steven, like her, also lived on campus at NYU and regularly partied where unbeknownst to his parents his drug problem only grew. His group of friends kept pulling him back in and he didn't see anything wrong with having a good time. Larry was the only George child that had not gone off to college.

As soon as he was free from the shackles of public education he followed Kappy's advice to remain free. Whatever good-will Larry had earned in his final year of school with his father had been dashed fully and completely with the announcement that he was going to be traveling around with the band on the road instead of heading to college. Gilbert George was not happy.

Larry was ecstatic. Sticks, Tommy Boy, Larry, Mary-Anne, and Kevin all traveled by RV to perform odd and end gigs that fueled further travel and future gigs. Rosewood became a more known name throughout the capital region and soon enough the band played farther and farther away.

One of these such shows marked the end of the perfectly good times Larry experienced within the band. They were playing a show in the city which brought out applause and the raucous bar sounds. As the group packed up for the night Sticks put forward the idea of evolving their style. Stick's idea of evolution included taking in musical styles from more popular rock groups.

Larry disagreed with this idea as it went against their style of melody and funk—Rosewood was enjoyed so much because of the sound they brought to the table—not because they were exactly like every other musical group out there. Tommy Boy agreed that Larry had a point, but also saw that they weren't getting as many jobs as they really needed to keep touring like they were. Kevin remained neutral on the situation not wanting to get involved. And in a surprising upset to Larry most of all, Mary-Anne sided with Sticks, saying that she felt they were stagnating.

Larry was frustrated with the outcome, but after consulting Kappy on the subject he learned to compromise with the majority and so Rosewood evolved—the band's name even changed to Hardest Times. They continued working through the city and as the months of 1984 passed more small fights about creative integrity sprouted up. Each of them were aware of just how easy it was for bands to break up—and knew if any one of them had taken any of their arguments too far it would have been the wedge to end Rosewood—and Hardest Times—for good. Nobody wanted that end as the times they played was still that cathartic moment each of them sought—that escape from everyday life.

That wedge came on August 23rd of that year. They had a big show—the biggest they'd played in quite some time—for an upscale club who had paid extra for them to play longer than their usual show.

Larry walked in on Sticks and Mary-Anne having sex in their RV. That wasn't all—this was an affair that had been going on the entirety of Rosewood's launch into the city. Just before they started preparing for the show Mary-Anne had approached Sticks alone to tell him that she was pregnant with his child and that made him so crazed with love for her that they'd stripped and made love right in the RV. She didn't know whether it was his or Larry's, but she hoped it was Sticks. Larry didn't know why she didn't break things off with him before sleeping with Sticks—nor did he know if the kid was truly Sticks' either. He didn't stick around to find out, either. He saw them slapping flesh and all it took was her moan and he was out of the RV—out of the band—out of their lives.

He walked the city streets with his headphones on and Kappy by his side. Together they found a spot to squat for the night—a low run hotel called Sabbesquatch. He had some spare cash on him, but it wasn't much to live on—this last show was going to be the start of their big break, but now he could only imagine them breaking live in that dumb club. Part of it made him smile—the thought of them getting up their and embarrassing themselves. They had played without him before Larry joined Rosewood, but they never played without him in Hardest Times. They no longer had to add parts in for him in their old songs—their songs were created with him in mind—and without him they would be thrown off balance.

As luck would have it—someone recognized him in the hotel's lobby as he had booked himself a single—someone that eyed him at one of their previous shows that never forgot a face. His name was Arinn Loway and he was also in a band that played local, named Carroway Hearts. Larry had actually heard of them—although they were what he liked to call a drug band. The kind that started out aiming to be the best—and had a lot of success along the way—but certain substances killed any chance of large success from ever happening. Larry wondered if Hardest Times would follow that route with two of their members now gone. He hoped so. Arinn and Larry talked in the lobby and the talk eventually moved up to Arinn's hotel room out on the second floor. They'd just kicked their own guitarist from the group for smoking too much—they were trying to reclaim their previous fame and he wasn't "jiving with it". He offered the position to Larry on the spot, which shocked him to his core...the chance to play with Carroway Hearts? It was a dream come true! But...he also remembered a promise he made to Heather after Steven's LSD problem after prom.

"I know you want to follow your passion in music—I can see that in you from a mile away," she said. "I'm not ever going to try and stop you from that. I know you're talented and I will always be your biggest fan...I just need you to promise me something."

"What?" Larry asked.

"I'm not dumb, and know that as a band on the road that drugs and alcohol are like bread and butter—I'm not saying that your friends are junkies or that you're a junkie—please just think about us if those things do come up, okay? Promise me you'll stay clean. I know you can't control them if they decide to, but promise me you will."

Larry thought as he looked into his sister's face. "Of course, Heath. I wouldn't want to do anything like that to hurt any of you.. Stevie scared me enough already."

Larry was troubled—he was well enough on staying clean thus far—sure the others in Hardest Times liked to smoke weed when they were on the road, but they knew Larry didn't and never pushed him into trying. These people said they didn't want that image anymore...but could he really trust that old habits were really dead? Could he trust himself? He didn't know, he had to think about it. He had to ask Kappy. And so that was that—he told them he'd have an answer by tomorrow—he just needed the night to think on it.

Arinn agreed and showed him out. Larry thanked him for the offer and then walked the distance back up to his room on the fourth floor and laid down on the bed and plugged Kappy in. He rested on the bed and listened to the words of his guide. He knew what Kappy was going to say—it would be unwise to join a band that had such a historic drug problem, but he didn't know what else he could do at this point. When he unplugged the headphones and stared at the ceiling. He was going to disobey his guide and join the band.