"Hey ladies, are you ready for the show?" Bob hollered across the room.
"We're ready, Bobby," Heather answered with a slight chuckle, "aren't we always ready to go?"
"Yeah, but we haven't done this in a while. I was just checkin'," he chided her with a big grin.
"Just go pee your pants," laughed Maryanne.
-----
The band retired from touring a little over twenty years ago, and except for Janell, they'd each had two children, all of which were now between eighteen and twenty-one. One of them, Samantha, was nearly twenty-two. So tonight was going to be the culmination of a dream they had carried for all of those years.
As usual, the kids were "along for the ride," but this was going to be primarily their show. The "Girls" would kick it off, and the kids would join as things progressed. The second set would be the kids, with set three being all of them together. It would be interesting to hear the encore because the "Girls" had only ever played it one way.
Each of the children had mastered their instruments before they were twelve. Though the "Girls" couldn't believe it, their kids were all better musicians than they were. Well, truth be told, they could believe it because they'd watched all of them grow up with instruments in their hands, and students will usually surpass their teachers.
The "Girls" were always the best of the best, and now they had family competition, but they loved it. Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?
They weren't pulling one of those "Old Rock and Roll Bands," making a comeback. Bob and Bill had dragged them into the plan kicking and scratching, but once the girls got into it again, they were pigs in shit. These women loved to play in front of an audience, but they had been mainly doing studio work for twenty years, coming out three or four times a year to do a one-off benefit show for charity. Lately, it was for their foundation and special charity that Michelle had set up.
Each of them had done at least one solo album, but Maryanne's had been the best seller. None of the others had anything but good to say about the record and admitted that Annie's was better than theirs was.
All of their solo albums were excellent works, each highlighting the skills of the musician. However, as a group, they put out a new album every twelve or eighteen months, sometimes less. These days, their albums mainly contained their own compositions or songs written by a couple of friends they'd met along the long and winding road over twenty years before. The new works were always met with exceptionally high acclaim, which pleased everyone to no end and spurred them to do even better the next album.
They'd made their name playing other people's music. Well, it was other people's music, but it was played, except for the vocals, exactly as you would have heard it on a studio recording. It's what made the "Girls" so unique, so special, but now they were playing "roll your own" a majority of the time.
Maryanne and Janell were the lyricists in the gang. At first, it was a struggle, but since their friends had shown them how they wrote their material, the "Girls" were putting out a lot of quality new music. Annie and Jan became veritable lyric machines, putting out prolific amounts of new poetry for Heather and Michelle to write music.
There was always uncontested collaboration on everything they did. It wasn't like Hey and Chelly didn't ever write lyrics, or Annie and Jan never wrote music. It was like everything else they did, each had her natural abilities, and all were complimentary in this band.
For their solos, each had happily accepted work from the others, and bickering or ego issues didn't happen. The four of them were a team, and though Bob protested loudly at times, they made him participate. He had always said that they didn't need him, but the "Girls" would have none of it. He was the reason the band existed at all, so not needing him was only in his mind. He always said that Maryanne was a much better bassist than he was, but she had too many other talents to lock her into the bass guitar.
Doing work in the studio left things open for Maryanne to play the bass and all the other instruments she did so well. Maryanne was an incredible talent, and she could eventually play any instrument you put in front of her. She proved that to everyone when she learned to play, then mastered the Armenian flute called a doudouk. Very few musicians in the world have mastered the doudouk. Many play, few master.
When her daughter Kylie and Michelle's son, Billy, showed the same abilities, Maryanne nurtured their talents gently but constantly. As a result, they were now just as versatile as she is, and Kylie plays the Armenian flute even better than her mother does, though she would deny it.
Above the studio's doorway, a well-aged sign announced that you were entering, "The Girls Playground." The studio was indeed their playground, and amazing things always came out of that building.
Bob has always said, "Whether the four of you play together, write together, or just record together, it's always magical."
Maryanne was so very talented, she had done one album on which she played all of the instruments and had done all the vocals. It was done using the magic of multiple channel recordings and long practiced over-dub mixing techniques.
Michelle and Janell had co-produced that album except for three unique tracks. As frustrating as it was to work with Michelle in the studio most of the time, Annie had begged Chelly to help her with those three tracks. Her ear was so fine that if there were anything that was not spot on, she'd catch it, and Maryanne would go back into the playroom and re-record it.
Maryanne did some producing, but very little. She enjoyed playing the music far more than producing, mixing, or engineering. It just wasn't her thing.
The natural talent in production, mixing, and engineering was with Chelly and Janell. However, it was difficult to get any recording done on their work because both always seemed to have full schedules of bands in the lower studios needing production work.
Jilly, Bill, and the others were in awe most of the time when they heard Chelly's work. It was the epitome of perfection because she refused to release anything that wasn't perfect. Of course, over time, she would learn to accept things that nobody else on the planet would hear, but perfection was her trademark.
Bill has always said that Chelly's ear is far too good for producing. She drove the musicians crazy with fills because she would hear the minutest discrepancy, which most producers would either not hear or just let slide knowing that nobody was ever going to hear them.
Chelly might drive them crazy during the recording sessions, but nobody ever seriously complained too loudly. The final product was as perfect as possible, and everyone who worked with her seemed to come back for more. Michelle's production schedule was crazy most of the time, but she loved it.
Janell produced more like Bill and Jilly. Jan had the advantage of being a musician, so she was able to speak their language. Trying to explain to a musician what was needed, or wanted, could be a considerable challenge for Bill and Jilly much of the time. Neither was a musician, so they had to describe things in more general terms. Now and then, they'd ask one of the "Girls" to come down to the studio and translate for them, but it all worked out.
When Janell produced, things that nobody would ever hear were accepted. Usually, nobody would hear anything amiss in the final mix, except Sara or Chelly, who eventually learned to let some things slide. All of the women had production schedules that most would have considered crazy.
They also had practice scheduled and writing sessions so that the "Girls" could keep with their release schedules. There were never any complaints, beg-offs, or cross words about all the work that needed to be done. Everyone was busy, and everyone had their specialty to deal with. There was always a fun time being had at The Ranch, especially in the Playground.
-----
They just received the five-minute knock and, as they had always done in the past, gathered for a group hug, Bob saying, "Let's go out there and have some fun."
This time, however, there were twelve of them. When they left the dressing room to take the stage, it was laughter and grabass, just as it had always been. The younger crowd was amazed at their elder's antics, but the behavior was observed in detail.
Bill was set up in the booth, and the group came out to a black stage as they had first done over twenty-seven years before. Everything was ready, so when the single small spot illuminated Bob, it was déjà vu all over again.
"Good evening," Bob said into the microphone set in front of him. "Thanks for coming to the show."
After the applause and clamor had died down, he continued, "Quite honestly, we never thought this night would ever happen, but we have some incredible incentive to perform for you this evening, and you'll see it in the second set.
"In case anyone needs any reminders, I want to let you know who's here tonight...
"In her usual spot and still beating the hell out of any drum that gets in her way, please welcome, Janell Miller."
Janell pounded the kick a couple of times and waved her stick at the crowd the way she had done for every show they'd ever done. She had a huge grin on her face, and yes, she was still wearing that goofy getup that she always wore when she played.
Huge tie-dyed tank top with a hot pink sports bra underneath and a huge pair of basketball shorts that hung well below her knees. It was all topped off with the usual tie-dyed, terry cloth headband, which she changed regularly. It may look silly, but she was comfortable.
She was also wearing a pair of those goofy looking glasses they had all worn the first night they performed. Where she'd managed to find them, he didn't know.
It was a pair of those spiral looking glasses advertised in comic books as x-ray glasses. The picture usually had a woman's body silhouette, which probably sold most of the glasses ever purchased.
Heather had told them that to get over their stage fright at the first performance, one of her professors had said, "imagine the whole audience naked. "For that first show, the "Girls" used those goofy glasses to make the audience naked
Bob thought to himself, "Oh shit, I'll bet they've all got those damned glasses on."
As usual, the "Girls" didn't disappoint him, each having sneaked a pair of glasses on stage with them. He began to laugh aloud but had to stifle to continue with the introductions.
Well, he had told them to have fun.
Shaking his head with a big grin, he continued, "Next to Jan, where she has always been whipping up on the keyboards, please welcome once again, Michelle Tejano."
Again, there was rousing applause from the crowd. As always, Chelly gave the crowd a small wave and a beaming smile, but tonight it was behind those damned glasses.
Bob continued, "Next to Michelle, still the most talented of any on this stage for now, please welcome, Maryanne Ellis."
Maryanne waved and smiled as well as she could with the reeds for the doudouk in her mouth. She took off the glasses and put them in her back pocket, the same way she had done twenty-seven years before. She had a doudouk to play, and it was difficult enough to play without laughing at herself.
"Last but not least, and still one of the finest guitar players ever to play the instrument, please welcome once again, Heather McArthur."
The crowd gave rousing applause but had quieted down to the usual dull roar that usually started one of their shows. Most everyone knew what was coming.
Before anyone started, which caught Bob a little off guard, Heather stepped to her microphone and said, "Bobby, for over six years, you always introduced the four of us and always left yourself out.
"We plan to fix that right now," she laughed. "Folks, still playing the bass guitar and keeping the rest of us on track, please welcome the incomparable, Bob Donahue."
Bob turned to take a quick bow, and Heather stepped back because things were about to get moving.
With a big grin, Bob turned and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, it gives me great pleasure to tell you, 'These Girls Can Play'."
Chelly's keyboards were already working on the beginning. At the same time, Maryanne stepped up to her microphone and began to play their signature opening numbers, Peter Gabriel's The Feeling Begins, followed directly by, Troubled, two tunes from the "Passion" album. Thus, the "Girls" began their demonstration that none of the talents they possessed had diminished in any way.
One more time, they opened this show the same way as they had done so many times, so long ago.
Yeah, Bob was fifty-one now, and the girls were all in their mid 40's, but they played as if they'd never been away. It was pretty evident to the crowd, this band was having a great time working in front of a live audience again.
They played for nearly an hour instead of their usual forty-minute set. At the end of the last number, they waved and left the stage for their usual short break between sets. They had always done their shows the same way, while other bands didn't. The "Girls" always gave the crowd nearly, if not more than, three hours of high-energy music while most others did maybe ninety minutes, some two hours.
While the crowd relaxed for a short time, waiting for the next set to begin, there was a little unusual activity on the darkened stage. Things were being adjusted and some extra instruments being set out near the ones the girls had put in stands.
As was usual, the stage was black for them to retake the stage to start the next set. The movement would lead everyone to believe they were coming back, so when the single spot came on, highlighting Bob again, it seemed to be a little strange ... Hadn't he already done the introductions?
He smiled widely and told the audience, "We promised you a surprise tonight, and though we suspect many of you have already figured out what it is, I'm here to spring it on you officially. But, first, I need to do some additional introductions, so I'll start with my usual routine."
There was some laughter and some quiet rumbling as some people wondered what the heck was going on.
Bob wondered if he would be greeted by the same bunch of goofy glasses that the girls had worn. Of course, he wouldn't be the least bit surprised, so if any of them were wearing a pair, he'd take it in stride.
"Playing the drums for this set," a spotlight immediately lit up the drum throne, revealing someone similar but different perched upon it, "Please give it up for, Samantha Miller."
Sam gave the same thumps on the kick drum and waved a stick in a familiar fashion. She was wearing the same goofy outfit that her mother wore for every show the "Girls" ever did. It was hilarious to see them together dressed for a performance.
With her powder blue eyes, long, straight surfer girl hair, and a smile that lit up a room, Sam could have been a clone of her mother. That young wahine look was every man's dream.
Bob looked back and, with relief, noted there were no goofy glasses on Sam's face.
Part of the crowd didn't quite know what to think. However, they gave Sam very enthusiastic applause. She sat high on the throne, duplicating her mother's smile. Sam was ready.
"To Sam's left, playing the pile of keyboards and synthesizers, please welcome Rebecca McArthur."
There was more raucous applause for the new keyboard player.
The crowd was getting behind whatever was going on, and many had already figured out what it was. A host of others hadn't put it together yet but figured if the "Girls" were involved, it was going to be good.
"To Becca's left, hiding in that far corner playing all those things that nobody else does, please welcome, Kylie Ellis and Billy Tejano."
The whole crowd had finally figured out what was going on. Now that the cat was out of the bag, they were getting very loud with their applause for the kids.
Bob continued, "Practically stepping all over me here in the corner, trying to hide, the same as I always do, playing bass guitar, please welcome, Timothy Ellis."
Again, there was raucous applause for the new members of the band.
"And as usual, last but not least, playing the lead guitars, please welcome, Renee McArthur and Maria Tejano."
More loud applause and Bob stepped back a little and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen ... It gives me incredibly great pleasure to present to you," at which time Samantha began to click her drumsticks, "These Kids Can Play."
Except for the vocals, which weren't quite as polished as their elders yet, the seven played their hearts out and had the crowd rockin' and rollin'. Anyone who was a true "Girls" fan would tell you that the kids were better at their instruments than their oldies. Though younger, the seven did their vocals almost as well as their parents and, depending on the track, better. That pitch perfect harmony was almost there.
It would be difficult to beat their parent's vocals because the five of them were absolutely tone perfect in their harmony. There was promise displayed on the stage during that second set, but everyone could tell that the kids still had some developing to do.
When they had played for nearly an hour and a half, they stopped and announced that it was break time. They promised that they'd be back after a few minutes of rest.
Buzzing would be the best way to describe the crowd's reactions during that particular break. It was pretty evident they were appreciative of the history being made by tonight's show. Some were at the "Girls" very first performance in San Francisco some twenty-seven years prior and were there with their own adult children. The "Girl's" kids were excellent musicians on their own, and the crowd was happy to be part of this piece of rock and roll history.
-----
Of course, the kids had been playing since they were old enough to pick up the instruments. Jan had Sam playing a baby set of toy drums at two, and at eighteen, she was probably as good as her mother ever was. Jan will be the first to proudly tell you of her daughter's skills with the sticks. Now, at near twenty-two, there was no doubt that Samantha Miller was at the top of the list.
When Renee and Maria begin playing lead parts to each other, just like their mother's, it's magical. When Hey joins them, it's a little beyond insane. The crowd didn't know it yet, but they were just about to see some raving insanity.
Maryanne's kids, Tim and Kylie, were as talented as she was. Bob has always said that Annie is a much better bassist than he ever was. Her son, Tim, could play better than both of them.
Chelly had taken Heather's daughter Rebecca under her tutelage at an early age when she was playing a little toy piano Hey had bought for her. It was always a great day when both Becca and Chelly put their talents together. Becca became a master of the Moog, which Chelly had learned, but not like the other synths. Rebecca could make "that Moog thingie" stand up and dance. Along with Kylie, she also played the Mellotron at a master's level using an Mk5 Mellotron modified by Mike Pinder of Moody Blues fame. Instead of tapes, all of the sounds were in digital samplers, eliminating any of the tape looping or rewinding problems usually experienced in the Mellotron. Using the instrument, Rebecca or Kylie could make it sound like an entire symphony orchestra.
Then there was Kylie and Billy. Kylie had her mother's talent for being able to play damn near anything you put in front of her. She had the doudouk down in about four hours. Remembering her struggles, Maryanne couldn't believe that Kylie essentially just picked it up and played the very challenging instrument in a few hours.
Along with Kylie was Chelly's son Bill. He was every bit as talented as Kylie and Maryanne. Like his aunt Maryanne, he was an excellent concert violinist, and he could kick the keyboards as well as Maryanne ever did. However, he brought a different dimension to the "Jack of all Trades" spot. His work with the flute would make Ian Anderson stand up and take notice, but his true calling was the reed instruments. The sax and clarinet danced in his hands, and so did the delicate strings.
Maria joined Kylie and Billy on occasion when Bill played something other than keyboards in the repertoire. Maria was a very accomplished keyboard artist as well as a lead guitarist.
She would move to keyboards, freeing up Kylie and Billy to play some of the other instruments in their toy box. Renee let go on her guitar when Maria and Rebecca kicked up the keyboards a notch. In this way, the kids were much more versatile than their oldies.
In Bob's mind, when the kids were together, the seven of them performed the same kind of magic as their parent's still do. Except for Tim and Kylie, they were all his kids, and Bob was one very proud papa.
Tim and Kylie were Maryanne and Bill's offspring. Each had inherited the incredible skills their mother possessed, but unlike their mother, both would eventually become very accomplished producers as well.
Another impressive thing about the kids was that all of them were excellent producers. For example, Kylie and Renee had the same kind of fussy ears as Chelly.
It was maddening to many musicians because, like Chelly, they heard things that nobody else would ever notice. Being musicians, however, provided them the advantage of being able to explain to another musician precisely what they wanted and, if necessary, play an example. Especially Kylie, because like her mother, she could play anything you put in her hands.
It may be maddening, but nobody complained, and most returned for more abuse. The two of them took a lot of pressure off Chelly's schedule. Most bands still wanted to work with Chelly, but when they heard Kylie or Renee's work, they were just as happy to have either young lady do the mix and production.
-----
The stage went dark again, and it looked like half the city of San Francisco was walking across the boards. The audience heard the traditional clicking of drumsticks, and when the first note was played, the lights flashed on. The stage was now filled with all twelve musicians playing in perfect synch. It was quite possible they had played together at least once before.
The real shocker for the crowd was Janell and Samantha. As I've said before, Sam was a clone of her mother. Sam also had that killer smile, long blonde surfer girl hair, and gorgeous blue eyes. Both dressed in the same goofy clothes, the same tie-dyed terry headbands, and when playing, matched each other's beats exactly. When they did complementary numbers, it was amazing the way they kept their timing in perfect synch.
It was the kid's debut show, and it was in the same hall their parents had worked doing their first show. They played the same style of music that the "Girls" played so many years ago. They also played a lot of the music the "Girls" had written and recorded over the years. It was an incredible show, and hearing the entire troupe play for an hour at the end of the night was a real treat.
When it came time for the encore, it was the same as it had always been in the past. It would be interesting to hear how they did the finale, Daylight Again/Find the Cost of Freedom.
All twelve musicians picked up acoustic guitars and stood at the front of the stage, each finger picking the lead-in, Chelly strumming the rhythm chords like she always had. Each had their own interpretation, but all were complementary and perfectly synchronized. When the music stopped, they did what the "Girls" had done for every show they ever played.
A cappella, in near perfect harmony, they sang the short version this night...
"Find the cost of freedom,
Buried in the ground...
Mother Earth will swallow you,
Lay your body down."
The show was over.
All twelve, holding hands, took their bows and left the stage to a standing ovation. This crowd knew they'd just seen something extraordinary. The ticket stubs they had in their pockets would be treasured souvenirs for the rest of their lives.
-----
In the dressing room, the seven kids were so high they were floating around the room. The "Girls," Bob, and Bill, just sat watching with amusement and big smiles. They had the adrenalin flowing too, but they knew how to channel and control. The six of them had been down this road many times and had closets full of t-shirts to show for it.
"That was so hot," said a beaming Samantha. "How many kids get to play music on the stage with their famous parents?"
"We're not famous, Sam," Janell told her daughter softly.
"What do you mean you're not famous?" Rebecca shot over while undoing one of her shoes. "You guys have done more than forty albums. Everyone knows you, you all can still play, and you proved that tonight. You're famous."
The girls were never comfortable with that kind of recognition. They also understood that the kids were into all those feelings for now. They were just starting and didn't have the perspective that they were as good as they were. Yet.
The "Girls" hadn't either, despite Bob constantly telling them.
Bob looked at them all and said softly, "I think you have a little different view of fame than we do guys. We've been down the road, yes. We've done a lot of records, yes, but we retired twenty years ago. You will learn that this business is, 'What have you done for me lately?'
"Other than our studio work and a few benefit shows now and again, we haven't done shit in twenty years."
The kids were looking at him like he was crazy, but he continued, "Did you notice the ages of the people that were in the hall tonight?"
Looking around, he saw they were all nodding their heads.
"Pretty mixed, wasn't it?"
Again, they were all nodding their heads, but now he had their attention.
"You noticed there were a lot of people our age, correct?" he chuckled.
Then with a laugh, "You know ... old people."
Again, nods. This time it was with smiles all around the room. Bob even had the girl's attention now. Where the hell was he going with all of this?
"They were here with their kids and some grandkids, weren't they?"
Bob was beginning to see the light bulbs go on...
"This was a nostalgia trip for half the audience. They were sharing some of their youth with their children, just like we were doing. So you guys performing was just an added bonus because I'm sure most of them were expecting to see just us.
"You just began the task of bringing a whole new generation of fans into the music. In this hall tonight, it was you who were famous, not us."
Each of them got a look of surprise on their faces, the older ones, a little less so than the younger ones. Finally, the older kids were beginning to get the picture.
"So we're building a following?" asked Sam.
"It sure looked like it to me," Bob said, smiling.
The girls were grinning because it was a typical Bob. The whole idea he was trying to get across is not to let things go to your head. Instead, go out and enjoy yourself. If you do that, the audience will appreciate you too.
He'd kept the girls on an even keel the same way for all of the years they had been on tour, and he knew the same things would work for the kids.
-----
Bob had ten years of experience the "Girls" didn't have when the whole thing started, and he was already wise to the music industry. The whole thing had burned him out by the time he was 25, and now at 51, he was even more convinced that the entire industry was still full of shysters, scumbags, pimps, and thieves.
He would save his kids the same way he'd saved the "Girls" ... He and Bill would keep a short leash on the business dealings and keep a skeptical eye on everything else.
It had worked well over twenty-six years ago when things started, so there was no reason for it not to work now. The industry hadn't changed all that much. The most significant change was distribution, but that was in Bill's ballpark. Electronic distribution was revolutionizing the whole industry. Indies were everywhere, and realistically, that was a very good thing.
It forced musicians and their producers to put out a good product for a change. Unfortunately, the powers that be were fighting the new vision tooth and nail because they didn't see the writing on the wall.
The RIAA and the major studios continually put out that anyone who was doing digital downloading was doing something illegal. Some were, but as the industry matured over time, it became less prevalent, and it ended up policing itself. It noted that the illegal contingent, the original Napster and the like, were giving the legitimate distributors a bad name, so it helped the legal beagles to weed them out.
Now people could buy their music one tune at a time, so they didn't need to buy a whole album full of shitty music to get the one or two good tracks. The majors were scrambling to keep up, and upstart studios like "The Girls Playground, Music Inc." began to take much of the production business. They offered musicians a fair deal instead of the rip-offs they had been used to.
-----
Of course, their lives had changed over the years, and some of it was not a particularly happy time.
It's how real life is.
Chelly and Maggie had taken a little over a year off to spend the time with their mother. Unfortunately, Judy had contracted a highly aggressive form of breast cancer and had died a little over five years ago.
Judy made the infamous tape that Bob heard that led him to form the band. I guess you could say that Judy was an essential cog in the wheel and her loss affected everyone in the band. She had accepted her fate and enjoyed what time she had to the fullest, but it was not easy watching the inevitable deterioration then finally her passing.
The entire family took a few trips to Maui to visit her grave and reaffirm their dedication to the foundation they had set up for breast cancer research. Unlike some of the existing foundations, like Komen, the girls made sure that 100% of all donations went for research. As a result, there were no administrative costs billed to the foundation.
They didn't spend millions suing other charities over words. Everyone except the drug industry was looking for a cure. There was too much profit in the chemo drugs Big Pharma was providing at an exorbitantly obscene price. Is that where the donors wanted their money to go? No, they wanted their dollars to go for cancer research, not pissed away on legal fees or huge salaries and bonuses for fund executives.
Chelly went through her grieving, but having been close to Heather when she was in a similar situation, put it in the perspective of celebrating Judy's life rather than focusing on her passing. It was the same kind of thing Heather had been forced to learn so many years before.
Heather had attached herself to Chelly during her time of grieving, the same as Chelly had done for her. However, the lessons were learned, and Chelly didn't dwell on the loss but accepted it and moved on quickly. Unlike Heather, she'd had a year to prepare for the eventuality. The foundation was immediate, and each member had thrown in $10M of their own cash to seed the effort.
Janell had immediately put a pink ribbon on her kick drums with the phrase "Find the Cure - Now" around it. One such group had sued another charity for using the word "cure" in their advertising, but Jan did it anyway.
She said, "Let the bastards sue me. Fuck them. They think they have an exclusive right to the word 'cure'. Bullshit! They can kiss my ass."
Jan could still be a bit militant even at her advancing age of 39.
Not surprisingly, the other charity filed a lawsuit, but when the lawyers eventually got together to have a frank discussion, they backed down. Taking on the "Girls" would not have benefited their organization. In other words, it would have cost them more money and credibility than they were willing to pay.
In so many words, Jan accused them of being in cahoots with the drug companies in NOT finding a cure. There was too much money to be made for everyone by maintaining the status quo. When they denied the accusation, Jan went off on them. Essentially, she called them a big fraud and dared them to prove otherwise. As usual, Janell had her ducks in a row.
"Look, we have solved more complex problems with a whole lot fewer resources. How many millions have you collected that didn't go to the research but went to lawyers, salaries, executive bonuses, and petty advertising? How much donated money are you pissing away talking to me?
"We sent a fucking man to the moon for much less than has been collected for breast cancer research. Do you want to explain to your donors how only a dime of their dollar actually goes toward research? I think it would be an interesting conversation."
She was intimating that instead of the published numbers, it would bring out their actual figures for all to see, and all things considered, it was thought that discretion was the better part of valor. Jan may be an extremely mellow person, but you don't want to piss her off ... especially when she's in the right and you're in the wrong.
"These Girls Can Play" still had that kind of reputation. They would just tell it like it is, lay out the facts, and let the public decide.
They had done two albums exclusively dedicated to Judy, and 100% of all monies made from the sales went to the "Judy Tejano Breast Cancer Foundation". The record company gladly ate all of the administrative expenses.
The bill for foundation administration services was one dollar annually.
-----
Other life changing events? Each of the girls had children now. A big inside joke was that Janell was the first to get pregnant, and she was the sexy lezzy in the group. The other three weren't far behind with their firstborn.
Jan was the only one of the girls that didn't have more than one child. The others had stopped at two each, and Maryanne's two were the only ones that weren't Bob's. However, the tight relationship between Bob and his two, Heather and Chelly, had never wavered, and Jan joined on occasion, just as she had for the past twenty-six years.
So Jan's daughter, Samantha, was twenty-one and the oldest of the kids. The other three girls had their first kids, six to fifteen months later, give or take a few.
Maryanne and Bill's first, Timothy, was born about ten and a half months after Sam, followed closely by Chelly's first, Maria, and Heather's first, Rebecca.
The second round wasn't far behind when Billy was born to Chelly, Renee to Heather, and Kylie to Maryanne. Their fathers, uncles, and grandparents doted continuously on all seven. It was difficult, at times, not to turn them into spoiled brats, but that action wasn't going to be tolerated. Grandparents had to be kept in line.
When Tom, Deanna, Tara, Lisa, and Marie moved to the large plot next door, it was a great opportunity to home school the entire neighborhood. It even included the two from down the hill. Everyone participated, and each had a particular interest, which did nothing but enhance all of the kid's learning experiences.
Music was one of the children's lessons, but it was only the "Girls'" seven and the two from down the hill that excelled. Tom's brood played very well, but none had any interest in doing the band thing, as they called it. Nevertheless, campfires were always fun at the Ranch, with everyone playing acoustic guitars and singing.
By the time the younger kids were ten, they were all very accomplished musicians. They were always trying to keep up with the elder four, who never hesitated to help them when needed. Every one of the kids could play the guitar, but each settled on a specialty, much like their mothers. In the end, they hadn't overtly chosen their instruments. Instead, the instruments had chosen them.
Some of this has been alluded to, but there can't be enough said about the children's talents, so here's a little more detail into their skills.
Michelle's son and Maryanne's daughter picked up Maryanne's talent to play pretty much anything placed in front of them. It was fun to watch them work because there were no ego issues with either of them or with any of the kids, for that matter. They always supported each other and patiently helped when one had a problem with something, whether music, schooling, or life.
Janell bought Samantha a little kids drum set and put sticks in her hand shortly after she was two. By six, she played mom's set very proficiently, though she did have trouble reaching some of the kit. Even though she couldn't reach the pedals, she had all the significant drums down cold.
By twelve, she was able to reach everything. It was funny to watch her play because not only was she a tall, gangly clone of her mother, but she started wearing the same goofy getup that Jan had worn over her entire career.
Heather had taken Chelly's daughter Maria under her wing at about six when she began to show some talent with a guitar. A few years later, Maria was very proficient, and by that time, Heather had added one of her daughters, Renee, to the mix.
Maria also mastered the keyboards, which being Chelly's daughter, wasn't all that surprising. She just enjoyed the guitar more. Maria helped fill out the sound when needed.
Bob and Maryanne worked with Timothy on the bass guitar because he seemed to have a natural feel for the instrument.
Given time and practice, just about anyone can learn to play the 6-string guitar, but if you're not born to play the bass, you will never do it well. Bob always said, "Bass players are born, not developed. Bass comes from the heart and soul, not the brain."
Timothy was a better bassist than Bob or Maryanne, and Bob still says that Maryanne was better than he ever was. Tim was able to do things that were seemingly impossible. For example, it took him about two hours to learn Gary Wright's Dream Weaver. His fingers could move so fast, they almost disappeared. Annie was one proud mama.
Bob never did learn to play all of the double notes that Maryanne had mastered by the time she was 16. Gary Wright didn't use a bass guitar ... all the bass lines were done on a keyboard. Well, for Dream Weaver, everything was synth except the drums.
Heather's other daughter, Rebecca, began hanging around with her Auntie Michelle from a very young age. Chelly bought her a small children's piano when she was about three, and by six, Becca was able to play Chopin, Beethoven, or any of the familiar classics. She could also play most of the things the girls did. Her only limitation seemed to be the size of her hands and being able to reach the keys.
By twelve, she had learned all of the synthesizers and excelled on the Moog, as Aunt Chelly had never done. Chelly was digital, and the Moog was an analog synthesizer, and for some reason, she could play it, but just couldn't master the instrument. Becca sure did. Becca also worked with the Mellotron and Theremin. She made some of the more eerie sounds with that instrument than the band had ever done before. With Becca playing the Theremin, the kids added Good Vibrations to the Beach Boys medley they performed.
Speaking of the classics, Kylie, Becca, and Billy spent time playing classical violin and cello. Each of the kids was exposed to and played some classical music.
Maryanne was the one pushing them towards the classics, saying it hadn't hurt her abilities any. The consensus in the family was that it made them better musicians over the long run.
All of them could read music, which is something that, with the exception of Maryanne and Chelly, the moms all struggled with until they met Sara and Samantha. The twins wrote all of their music in scores and showed the "Girls" the easy way to read music. There'll be more on that as time goes on.
Becca and Billy were the only ones that continued to do classical regularly, but the others would participate in the classical jams at The Ranch. Being into reed instruments, Bill played the Oboe or the Bassoon during some of their classical jams.
All seven had taken voice coaching as well. Their mothers had perfect pitch harmony with Bob, and as a group, the kids wanted to do the same. The younger kids still had some issues because of changing voices, especially Billy, but they all did exceptionally well at harmony. By the first show, those voice change issues had worked themselves out for the most part. At this point, it was only practice, practice, practice.
"These Girls Can Play" had a unique sound because the "Girls" were so accomplished at vocals. Having full operatic range, Janell did many of the solo female vocals, as did Chelly and Maryanne. Chelly was in the Mama Cass category, while Maryanne did Stevie Nicks to perfection. When Annie did Stevie, if you close your eyes, it would be impossible to tell who was doing the vocals. Heather had the Michelle Phillips voice style covered and when they all sang harmony, there was nobody better. Add Bob to the mix and their sound was exceptionally unique.
Bob and Maryanne always did a number of duets with the others harmonizing background. Bob had an incredible range for a guy and constantly added to the girl's perfect harmony. He was also an excellent mimic, duplicating many original tracks with the proper original voice. In addition, they made a few older tracks that were not done originally in any harmony until the "Girls" did them. One of those numbers had taken nearly a year to master, but it became the most requested live piece they ever performed.
It had been a very long road, but all had weathered it very well, and now their children were beginning a journey of their own to carry the torch forward.
With very mixed feelings, the girls agreed to come back to help kick off the kid's first tour. It was nearly the same as the girl's first tour but had two shows added in Las Vegas instead of the return to San Francisco.
After this first tour, "These Kids Can Play", would be on their own, but what a kick off. The youngsters had decided to keep the name to maintain the connection to their parents.
-----
Sitting with everyone in the dressing room, drinking mass quantities of water, the five original band members looked at each other with huge smiles. They'd never expected to tour again, but this had been a kick in the ass.
They were used to packing up and doing a live performance because they had done dozens of charity shows since they had formally retired. For the past five years, they had been doing at least four a year for Chelly's breast cancer foundation. All ticket sales went to the foundation.
Because of who they are and the causes involved, even the venues were usually donated. They didn't even need a promoter. They just sent out emails, appropriate notices on social media and notified all the local radio outlets that it was happening. Every show still sold out the first day tickets went on sale, the same as when the "Girls" toured regularly.
In addition, the same as when the girls were touring, Bill took control of the business end for the kids, lining up the venues, shows, and personnel. Eventually, Bill, Michelle, and Janell took turns producing the shows. Since the girls were participating in the kid's first tour, Bill did all the production work. Jilly stayed behind to work any contract production requirements and, along with Terri, held down the fort. If there was production overflow, it went to the neighbors who were always available when Jilly was available.
It had been difficult keeping the kids reigned in for as long as they had. They all remembered how daunting it was for them at eighteen to twenty and knew the kids would find it no less baffling even though they had performed in some of the charity shows.
They successfully held them back until Samantha was almost twenty-two and the youngest, Kylie, was eighteen. It was very much the same age range as their mothers had been when they started. Samantha, like Hey, being the eldest, had taken the leadership role, and being the drummer, she had the part of controlling the tempo on stage.
Four or five conversations were going on in the room, all about the show they had just finished. The kids were so high on the adrenalin it made the elders laugh, remembering their first show.
Sam said something to Jan, causing her to just about roll on the floor she was laughing so hard. It got everyone's attention.
"You don't know the half of it, sweetie," Jan said to her daughter. "At least you have the advantage of being around music people all of your life. You've watched and performed with us at our benefit shows, so at least you had an idea of what you were up against. When we went for our first show, it was like being knocked upside of the head."
Samantha stopped laughing and began to listen to her mom talk. Everyone else was listening too.
"Bob was the only one of us that had any experience. Thank god he was there because, without his calming demeanor, I don't think any of us would have ever had the balls to go out on the stage.
"We were ready. Oh, shit, we were more than ready to play the music, but this was in front of 25,000 people like you guys did tonight."
Then she began to laugh again, remembering something from that night so long ago.
Looking at Heather, Jan asked, "Do you remember the first time we wore those goofy glasses, Hey?"
All the elders began to laugh heartily again. For the kids, it was just another parental mystery.
Heather laughed, "It was a kick for the first show, and it did have its intended purpose of getting us all to loosen up a little. I think I still have the original pair in one of my cases. The ones we had tonight were a little different but just as stupid."
"Are you kidding?" asked Maryanne. "I tossed mine years ago. But, it was a kick for the first show, and it did serve its intended purpose."
"That and your fashion statement, Jan," Chelly laughed.
While Heather began digging through her guitar cases, not remembering the one in which she'd stashed the glasses, Jan continued with her story, "We had always been so serious about the music, when we practiced it was play the track, nothing else. So we over analyzed everything we did.
"We thought it was fun, but we didn't start to have fun until Bob got us to The Ranch. We worked on it a lot just before we went on tour. We finally started to have some fun after he pointed out we were too damned serious. We were sitting in 'The Girls Playground' and he just made us get loose," she said with a big grin.
"But don't take that the wrong way. Bob was dead serious about the music," Jan continued. "He was just as serious as we were, but he knew how to be serious and still fuck around enough to make it kick ass fun."
Bob laughed, "Yeah, you guys didn't know how to have fun at all during practice. Once the music started, there was nothing else. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being serious about your music, but shit, have some fun while you're doing it.
"It had always been in someone's garage and so serious there was no stage presence at all."
"Shit, honey, we'd never been on stage before. So how could we have any stage presence?" asked Michelle. "You taught us how to have fun and be entertainers, not just musicians."
"You kids already have that presence," Bob noted. "Think about doing what you do, without smiling, kidding around, or talking about anything but the notes and music you are playing. It's the way your mothers practiced; everything was focused on the music.
"We laugh about it now, but it's not completely bad," said Bob, "because that focus allowed them to become the great musicians they are. Nobody played that old music exactly like you would hear it on a record. Not even the originators could do that. It's incredibly difficult and takes incredible talent."
The children looked at their parents, who were all nodding to them.
"Ha," shouted Heather. "Found 'em."
Popping back into the crowd, Hey was wearing those original goofy glasses they had all worn that first show.
To everyone's laughter, Heather said, "I had a public speaking professor in college told me that to get over stage fright in front of a crowd, just think of the whole audience as being naked."
Everyone was still laughing while Heather continued, "These goofy specs were advertised in comic books as X-Ray glasses and always showed the silhouette of a girl in a transparent dress. I don't have any idea what the silly spiral is all about."
Bob laughed, "I couldn't believe all of you. Not only wore them in the dressing room before the show, but when I started doing those first intros, you were all still wearing them. And then you pulled the same shit tonight."
"They made the audience naked, Bobby," said Heather in a mock pout.
Bob looked around the room, saying, "I'm glad you kids had the good sense to leave them behind.
"Maryanne was the only one with the good sense to take them off as soon as her name was mentioned," said Bob.
"I had to take them off," Maryanne said with a grin. "There's no way I'd have been able to play the opening with those things on. The damned doudouk was hard enough without trying to play it while laughing."
Rebecca asked, "You guys always opened with, The Feeling Begins, didn't you?"
"Yeah," said Maryanne, "it was a perfect opening, and we added Troubled after a few shows because it just kind of segued out of 'Feeling'. Jan's drums are awesome."
Billy asked, "Did you always finish with Daylight Again/Find the Cost of Freedom? You seemed pretty adamant that we were going to do that."
Heather looked at him seriously, "Yes, we did, Billy. When you start doing your tours, you guys do what you want for an encore. We just did that track. We almost always did it like we all did it tonight. Acoustic guitars and then sang it a cappella. Sometimes we did the long version, especially after we met Sara and Samantha."
"It's a cool song, Aunt Heather. So why did you guys decide to do that particular song every show?"
Hey looked at him with a wry smile, "What do the words say, Billy? Have you ever heard our version and then the version that Crosby Stills and Nash did? We only rarely did the whole song until Sara and Sam came into our lives. They got us to appreciate the whole tune and not just the chorus we had been doing regularly. Many times they did the intro part as a duet, then we'd all join in for the chorus part."
He nodded, and Heather continued, "Steven Stills wrote it in 1970, during the time of the Vietnam war. Guys that came back from that war were spit on, shit on, called names, and just about any other kind of vile indignity that one human could lay on another. It's sickening when you think about it."
"Really?" asked Kylie and Renee together. "Why would people do that?"
"It wasn't a popular war, sweetie. Most Americans felt that there was no reason for us to be there. I suppose history has proven they were right, but at the time, the people were, and to a certain extent, still are, blaming the war on the warriors.
"You can NEVER do that, ever. They were doing their jobs, their duty, in service to this country, as best they were allowed."
"Wow," came out of all the kids. They were listening to Heather intently.
"Veterans of any conflict should be seen as heroes and given the utmost respect. Those men and women signed a blank check, payable to the government, for the amount of 'up to and including their lives'. Our freedom hasn't been free, guys. It has been very, very costly. We, the people, should NEVER forget that, and unfortunately, it was very sadly forgotten with the Vietnam vets.
"We did that song, and we only did the chorus line a lot of the time, as a tribute to every veteran of every war this country has ever participated in, Billy. It is because of them that we have the freedoms we still have left, and we should never lose sight of that," Heather finished in tears.
"It wasn't right what we did to them," she tearfully continued. "Every veteran, whether in war or not, knows the cost of our freedom, sweetie, because every one of them has, in some way, paid that cost."
Bob put his arm around Heather, but the kids noticed all of the elders were in tears over what Heather had said.
Vietnam was ancient history to them, and the treatment of the veterans is not something taught in classes because everyone wants to forget about it.
It should never be forgotten. The kids had heard of it previously in their classes, but now they had a new perspective on the whole thing, and it would carry over.
Jan lightened up things by continuing her story of the first show.
"After our opening, Heather came on and told everyone how we were all scared shitless. Everyone got a good laugh from it, but it was true.
"I'm sure you guys had a case of nerves before you went on, but once the music started, it was, just play," she said to nodding heads.
"Bob had done ten years on the road before our first show, and he told us that even though he'd done hundreds of them, he felt like he was going to pee his pants before they went out on stage."
"That's the way I felt," said Kylie, blushing.
Around the room, a couple of the others were nodding, confirming that it was a common occurrence.
"I'm glad momma was the one playing the doudouk tonight, or I'd have probably peed my pants," she said with a chuckle.
"You play it better than I do, sweetie," said Maryanne softly.
"When the first show started," Janell continued, "we were all crazy nervous. Once we started to play, we forgot the audience was even there. Well, we didn't forget, you just don't think about it anymore. All that's left is the music, and you have played it a million times, so you're on autopilot.
"My roadies, Jerry and Ginny, always made sure I had plenty to drink every show. I sweat like a pig when I play," Jan laughed.
"I do too, momma," said Samantha. "I'm glad you showed me how to be comfortable. People can laugh if they want, but I'm comfortable."
"It's the only way to play, honey," Jan laughed. "Make sure your roadies keep you in water, Gatorade, or whatever you drink to keep hydrated. It looks like you inherited my sweat genes."
Sam nodded and laughed, "We'll need to have IV bottles when we do our solos."
"It's not that bad, "Jan laughed, "you just need to stay in shape, and you already have good exercise habits.
"You've seen set five of the final concert," Jan said. "That was over twenty minutes."
"That was an amazing performance, Jan. I think that still goes as an epic drum solo," said Bob. "I mean, you did Bushy, Peart, and Baker all in one."
Smiling shyly, Jan said, "Yeah, I even heard from Neil and Ron telling me what a great show that was. I'm totally flattered. Like, Neil is the best."
Bob chuckled, "Don't sell yourself short, sweetie. You're as good as or better than anybody that has ever thrashed the skins."
"Sam's better than me," Jan said seriously.
"Am not," Samantha jumped right in.
"Oh yes, you are, baby. You do things with those sticks and drums that I can't even imagine," said Jan. "I don't know how you do some of the things you do, and I watch you nearly every day.
"You don't know how good you are," she told her daughter.
Samantha was blushing, but everyone in the room knew that what Jan was saying was the absolute truth. There were some times it sounded like Sam had four arms going. She was incredibly fast.
"I couldn't believe it when we got to the first break at the end of set one," Jan continued. "It seemed like we'd just started, but on Billy's teleprompter was the word 'Break' followed by 'Good Job'."
Bill chuckled, "I knew that the way you were playing that if I didn't put up 'Break', you wouldn't stop. There is no way you five wouldn't do a good job. Bob kept telling you that you were the best of the best. You just had to convince yourselves."
"The first time we did Daylight Again/Find the Cost of Freedom, I thought I was going to cry," Jan admitted. "Hey, told us what it was all about, and we all agreed. Every one of us knew some Vietnam vets even though they were older than we were, and for the most part, they were all pretty fucked up. They'd left the war, but the war hadn't left them, and it haunted them badly. Then when they got home, they were shit on.
"Just a simple, 'thank you' ..." she said, shaking her head.
Changing things up for a moment, Jan continued with the conversation.
"Chelly and me had been working on learning the guitar so we could do the instrument swap medley, and Chell was having a bitch of a time," Janell said, looking at Michelle.
They all remembered her stress level at thinking she'd let everyone down because it was taking so long. Heather defused the whole thing by letting Chelly know that the keyboards she was so good at gave her the same kind of trouble that the guitar was giving to her.
"Yeah, you guys all said just keep at it, and sooner or later, I'd get it," Michelle said quietly. "It sure seems like it took forever."
"You did fine, Chelly," Bob said with a smile.
"You are now an outstanding guitar player," then looking at Jan, "you too, Ms. Janell. You both excelled."
Then it was back to the finish. "When we did that number at the end, it was always so emotional," Jan continued her remembrance.
All of them nodded their heads but smiled.
"Do you remember those fucking reporters?" asked Heather. "I wanted to throttle all of them. What a bunch of thoughtless assholes."
"They got what they deserved," said Jan with a grin.
Heather said, "I think we made our point."
The kids were all looking at them with questioning looks, wondering what they were talking about.
"When we walked off the stage that night, I remember being so high I was floating," Jan commented to nods all around the room. The kids knew that feeling from the show they'd just finished.
"I had to make sure there was plenty of champagne on ice at the hotel, or none of you would have gotten any sleep, and we had another show to do the next night," laughed Bob.
"So that's how you did it?" laughed Heather. "You plied us with alcohol?"
Everyone laughed because they knew at the time they were all too young to drink, though Heather had been only a few months away from her twenty-first birthday.
"Yeah, we had to do it all over again the next night, but it was completely different," Jan admitted.
"Yeah, they put those fucking cameras in our faces the second show," said Maryanne. "I thought that one guy was going to push the doudouk down my throat. He was so damned close trying to get a close-up."
"Are you going to put fucking cameras in our faces tomorrow night, daddy?" asked Renee. "I mean, I know we're all over eighteen, but is that something we want to see?"
Everyone in the room broke with laughter at her question. Renee was one of those that was pretty proper and didn't use adult language all that much.
"I don't know. Bill, did we get a camera crew for tomorrow's show?" laughed Bob.
"No, but I'm sure we could scare something up if we need to," Bill said, trying to stifle a smile.
Maryanne smacked him on the arm, telling him, "You just let them play their music, asshole. We'll worry about videos later."
"Hey, it worked for all of you," Bill defended, "and look at the extra money those videos made you - especially "It's all over but the Shouting". Once it was out in DVD format, the sky was the limit."
"Shit, Bill," said Heather, "by that time, we didn't need any more money."
All of them nodded their heads, laughing.
"But it was a fun six-year run," Bob said softly. "We did it our way, and when we were finished, we were finished. Well, at least until now.
"We have to make sure you kids don't get trapped by the music shysters and keep your tours short like you're moms did."
"You and Bill did that, Bobby," said Jan, "give credit where credit is due."
Then looking at all the kids, she said, "Enjoy every minute, you guys. It will be over before you know it. We loved performing for an audience, and I, for one, sure got that old rush again tonight, but I don't think any of us missed it when we stopped. We just started doing all of our work in the studio.
"But I have to tell you, tonight was a thrill. I never thought we'd do any kind of tour like this again, but now we're doing it with our kids."
"It doesn't get any better than that," noted Bob.