Written for OLWG# 304
Benny, Luis, Jim, and Alicia attended various middle schools in Lancaster. They became friends and band mates when they wound up at Antelope Valley High School together. Benny played keyboards, Luis played the bass, Jim played rhythm on a six string, and Alicia. Well Alicia was a drummer; wasn’t she?
They called their band Compulsive Dynamite and they began to gain a following and a reputation. They played story music. That’s what Jim named it. The songs they wrote were about ordinary things. Things they did, or saw, every day. Sometimes they would embellish the song with the true story of what inspired it.
They got permission from Mr Pruitt, who owned River Street Grocers, to practice on the loading dock three times a week, at the market. Pretty soon they were getting gigs at school dances, cotillions, quinceañeras, birthday parties and the like. It was early spring of their their Junior year at AV High when Benny sent out a group text. He had gotten a call from some dude, named Artie, in LA who managed an indie band, Prosthetic. He asked Benny if Compulsive Dynamite played cover tunes, exclusively or if they wrote their own stuff.
“It depends on the gig.” Benny had told him. “We do both. School dances usually want cover tunes but we prefer to do our own stuff whenever possible.” He explained what they called ‘story music’ and sang some samples over the phone.
Artie seemed interested and asked if they would send a tape. Prosthetic was getting ready for a small tour and needed an opening act. It would be a short tour, for only four weeks in June. They planned on playing small venues between Bakersfield, Fresno, and San Luis Obispo. He had heard good things about Compulsive Dynamite, but needed to hear their sound.
This weeks prompts were:
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- Bakersfield, Fresno, SLO
- drunk on self-pity
- a desire to be lonesome
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tnkerr-Writing Prompts and Practice 