Adrian's 2nd AREA 54 audition - left ear = Adrian/right ear = band. Use headphones.

My aim with these is to share as much as I can, and to celebrate the rise and fall of Area 54. Sometimes, when I go to write these, it takes a bit of a sad turn. Having read through this one, it's clear that this is one of those times.

I tried to iron it out and keep it positive, but it started to feel fake.

Everything I say is purely from the heart, good and bad, happy or sad. With that in mind, here we go...

Continuing on from audition song #1

I think that most people would have dismissed Adrian if this was his audition for another band, but I could see that even though he lazily learned the songs, you still get these little glimpses into how talented he was, and I could see past the mess. In hindsight, it probably should have been a red flag that this incredible guitarist didn't bother to learn them inside out for an audition.

After hearing him play along to these songs, we went and rehearsed in my parents' garage, and then welcomed him into the band. We went on rehearsing in that garage for the next year (thanks again mum and dad for all those years of helping the band out, looking after us, letting us rehearse there, feeding us, and everything else). Some may never have
thanked you, but I do on their behalf.

I would then begin working on material by myself every week to bring new ideas to the next rehearsal, and in between, we would start playing a bunch of shows together as the new line-up.

There was still a lingering sense of optimism at this point, as the material I was writing, I felt outshined the previous material, and there was some growing interest from record labels and magazines starting to happen too.

We started getting some fans, and it just really felt like the next level for us.

The Pro's - Adrian was an amazing lead guitar player and songwriter. Had we moved forward together as a team with one shared goal in mind, I have no doubt we would have become an incredibly successful band. We were one of the best bands on the scene.

The Cons - Not having my best mate Jeremy there seemed harder because there was a clash of personalities as time went on with Adrian, and I also had to write mostly on my own, because Adrian wanted to save his music for his solo career.

To this day I will never understand why you'd show me your ideas and then get upset when I want to use them for the band that you're also in.

This was the 2nd red flag, but we continued on anyway.

I think as an adult, I would say to younger me that I should find someone more suited and who shares the same vision, but as always, I took whatever shit came my way in order to make sure the band never had to stop. This is something I would do for the entire span of the band until the wheels literally came off and it could no longer function.

It was a mistake that cost me dearly in the end, and in ways that I think only Laura understands.

In my young mind I thought that as long as I had a full band, just try to put up with whatever you have to deal with, and there's no need to cause waves.

In the future I will share just how far this went, and you'll think 'what a fucking idiot' - and you'd be right!

But that's a collection of stories for another day.

One thing is for sure - I couldn't have done any of it without Laura. She was the band member that truly was there to support me through all the ups and downs, and was defiantly protective of me.

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