1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 138



Only Noblemtl

138. LA Metal (4)

London Smog is completely captivated by Jake’s morning jogs. He’s adjusting to LA by going to clubs on the Sunset Strip with Traveler.

Van Halen began writing songs in earnest with Andrew joining, and Garage Brew began creating new designs for the launch of their effects unit and entering full-scale production.

Stella & EGO were well-received at Kings Club, and began performing regularly as headliners there for a while.

Hyunsang and Jungseop went on a trip to South America to study musical instruments.

I have to go to Bethel’s studio construction site and I have some business in Manhattan. I’m also planning to take a short trip to get some ideas for the new album. Traveling always gives me inspiration for my songs.

Up until now, traveling with someone was nice, but this time I really wanted to have some time alone.

“James, I’ll go with you!”

“me too!”

It was Annie and Angela.

“You guys like surfing, right? Have some fun surfing. This time, I’ll go alone.”

I really wanted to go alone.

“I’m not going anywhere new. I have business in New York. You guys should go on a trip somewhere else.”

“I’m going to teach Angela how to ride a horse.”

“There are many places around here where you can ride horses.”

“You don’t want to go with us?”

Angela asked with a kind expression on her face.

“No, that can’t be. It’s just that it’s a long way and I’m worried you guys might have a hard time. This time, I’m not going to take a plane, I’m going by car.”

“Great! I got my driver’s license. Annie said I should try long-distance driving, so I’m going to try it this time.”

Yeah, I guess I’m not meant to travel alone.

“Okay, then we’ll be leaving tomorrow morning, so get ready.”

Phew.

* * *

The car was Annie’s Mustang. The back seat was a little cramped for me, but I also wanted to try driving a convertible like I’d seen in movies.

This time, they chose the southern route. Before leaving LA and getting on Interstate 10, Annie handed the steering wheel over to Angela. Annie unfolded a map in the passenger seat and gave her directions.

We got out of the car at places with nice views along the way, took pictures, and ate sandwiches. The two women chatted nonstop. I guess I got used to it now, so I didn’t think it was as noisy as I thought, and instead, I enjoyed the view from the back seat.

“Yay! This is exciting!”

The two women shouted and cheered as they passed through the vast deserts of Arizona and New Mexico under a cloudless, blue sky.

I also felt like my heart was being pounded. This is what it’s like to ride a convertible.

“Annie, I feel like I’m dreaming these days. I’ve lived in a Wisconsin church my whole life, but I’ve also been to Hawaii, to England, and traveled with my best friends in an open-top car like this.”

“Let’s live happily ever after, making music and traveling together like this, hahaha!”

No, what is he talking about?

“Inma, us. We too will meet someone someday and start a family, right?”

“I will never meet a man.”

Annie had no interest in things like dating and marriage that other girls her age were interested in, perhaps because she hated the parents who gave birth to her and abandoned her.

“I originally wanted to become a nun, so······.”

They both looked back at me, who was sitting in the back seat, at the same time.

“Are you going to meet a girl later?”

“We’ll meet someday. Well, someday······. Hey, hey, Angela, look up ahead!”

Angela frantically returned to driving.

“Hehe, James probably won’t meet a girl?”

“Inma, how did you know that!”

“That’s my feeling.”

Oh my, crazy girl······.

Oh, suddenly, inspiration for a song came to me.

Angela, who was receiving training as a nun in a cathedral while suppressing her personality, falls for the persuasion of her same-sex friend Annie, who has been living a rough life true to her personality, and goes on a deviant trip.

However, this content could be religiously problematic, so it wouldn’t be strange to change Angela into a daughter of a strict upper-class family, and leave Annie as is.

A song like a road movie.

The important thing is the message you want to convey to the youth. I thought it would be a good song if the theme of the song was the message that deviance is not the only answer. A scene from the music video even came to mind.

I took out my notebook from the back seat and scribbled down ideas as they came to me.

* * *

We stayed in Texas for a day and went to Florida to see Uncle Max. It was great to see him in a warm place with his son and grandson.

I stayed in Florida for two days, taking pictures and eating delicious food. It was a little humid compared to California, but it was like paradise. I could see why successful businessmen retire here and spend the rest of their lives there.

We got back in the car and arrived in front of a building in Manhattan, New York.

“I have something to do here, so you show me around Angela Manhattan.”

“Where is this?”

“Woodstock Business.”

“Ah, so that’s where it was. Okay, I got it.”

“Then let’s meet at the cafe on the first floor later.”

“Okay. Angela, let’s go see the Statue of Liberty, hehe.”

“Wow, I’ve only seen that in books!”

So for a moment I was free.

Woodstock Ventures Inc.

dripping.

– Come in.

“Hello, how have you all been?”

“Welcome, James Choi!”

Three of my colleagues stood up and greeted me warmly.

“But I don’t see Michael Lang?”

A few days ago, John Roberts contacted the company and asked to come see me. I told him I would go to New York to clear my head.

As we sat down they congratulated us on the success of our album, our tour and the recent buzz we had in the UK.

And after a while, they started to vent their grievances about Michael. It was like everything that had been building up exploded. It seemed like they had no intention of being with Michael any longer.

“But he’s really resourceful. He said he recently got John Scherr on board and that we should get back together and throw the biggest festival on the planet.”

Is this also because I changed history? Michael Lang only had one successful Woodstock, and it wasn’t until 1994 that he held the 25th Woodstock. How could he move so quickly?

Besides, John Sher was the head of Metropolis Entertainment, and Michael Lang’s connections were also great.

“I think I was really inspired by James’s Pilton Festival this time.”

“Michael Lang came to the Pilton Festival?”

“He’s a rascal. He goes everywhere. Wherever there’s a show or musicians, he goes and hangs out with them. That’s the secret to Michael’s street dancing.”

If Woodstock Enterprises and John Scherer met, it wasn’t impossible to plan the biggest festival on Earth.

“Is that why you wanted to see me?”

“Oh, that’s right. I know John Sher is great. But Michael’s method is too dangerous. He tends to be obsessed with the topic and profits that gather the most people. In fact, at the last Woodstock, Michael went straight ahead without considering the consequences, and we suffered huge losses.”

He gave a detailed account of the original planning of the Woodstock festival, the events in Wallkill, and how it came to be in Bethel.

“Of course, thanks to James, it ended as a peace festival without any major incidents, and we have almost recovered the investment. If I were to do it again, I would never do it. At the time, I had no choice but to do it because I felt bad about the money I invested. But this time, Michael is thinking of just choosing a large site and attracting a lot of people.”

“When and where will it be held? I’m curious too.”

“It’s still in the planning stage. I think it will probably happen next year. We were a little swayed by the word John Scher, but we put Michael’s proposal on hold for now. Then we contacted James.”

Three meaningful gazes turned toward me.

“I, I’m just a guitarist······.”

“Actually, we just visited Max Yasger’s farm in Bethel.”

* * *

“Wow, this is the farm where Woodstock was held! It’s so pretty!”

As she passed the entrance to the farm and the vast meadows opened up, Angela exclaimed in admiration.

WHEEK!

Annie whistled, one hand on the steering wheel.

“Swan!”

A pure white horse ran from afar.

“Wow, is that a swan? It’s really pretty!”

But behind the swan, other horses were running together.

“Huh, what are they?”

Annie slowed down the car to avoid hitting the horses, and the horses followed her to the house where the troupe members were staying.

Captain Devon and his men were sorting out milk crates.

“Come on in. But there’s someone I haven’t seen before.”

Annie introduced Angela to the members. The members welcomed Angela warmly.

“Mr. Devon, what do these words mean?”

“I think the wild horses around here started gathering one by one because there was a horse here. Annie’s horse must have been bored alone, but I thought she could be a friend, so I left her alone and now they’ve gathered like this. That’s why I’m building a stable over there.”

Devon said that the first wild horses he saw were suffering from ticks, so he started spraying them with medicine and giving them baths.

“I’m sorry, I should have told the company in advance.”

“No, Devon. There’s a lot of land here anyway, and it would be nice if the swans had friends. The horses have actually given you more work to do.”

“I don’t think of it as work. Since they came, the members and the kids have been happy, haha.”

Then Annie pointed to a place.

“Hey, hey, why is that black horse lying down? He must be sick. Devon, what should I do······.”

“Hahaha, Annie, it’s the opposite. They’re not sick, they’re just taking a nap right now.”

“Huh? You say horses sleep lying down? Don’t horses sleep standing up?”

“That’s because they sleep while being alert to their surroundings, and horses also sleep like that when they think they are safe.”

“Wow, that’s so amazing.”

Devon even gave names to the horses and introduced them to us one by one.

While Annie and Angela were getting acquainted with the horses, I went to the studio construction site, where Jack Tyver was working hard with his crew.

“Hello, sir.”

“Oh my, who is this? It’s been a long time, hehe. As you can see, I’ve rebuilt the inner walls with bricks to make them stronger. I’m paying special attention to waterproofing because expensive instruments will be coming in. I don’t know about anything else, but I think no technician can match my waterproofing skills, hehe.”

The exterior of the building looked old and worn, but the interior was being remodeled by Uncle Jack to be clean and sturdy. It was exactly the style I was looking for.

On one side of the spacious interior, there were piles of sound-absorbing panels and sound-proofing materials. They were ordered exactly as Mr. Kingsley Ward had written down. I checked to make sure the materials had been delivered properly.

“Excuse me…are you…James Choi…?”

A young man approached her. He had long, curly black hair and a high nose. He was slim and lean, and had a towel around his neck.

“Yes, that’s right. Since you know me, I guess you do music.”

“Oh my gosh! I thought they looked alike, but it’s really James! I was shocked when I saw Sparkling Ripple’s stage at Woodstock Festival here last year. I’ve been a fan ever since. I stayed here until the end on the last day to pick up trash, haha.”

“Oh, I see. We were able to come this far because of them. Thank you very much.”

“I’m still unknown, but I play guitar in a band. We don’t have any money right now, so we’re all splitting up and making money. It’s an honor to meet you like this. My name is Joe Perry.”

If it’s Joe Perry······!