Title: This is Bullshit (37/?)
Authors: howido_fics & youbrat
Pairing: Brendon/Ryan
Rating: PG
Summary: In Pete's opinion.
Disclaimer: *sigh*
Author’s Note: This is a co-write. howido_fics is Brendon, youbrat is Ryan. Ryan's pov is in blue and Bren's is normal black.




Author's Note: We are aware this is a short chapter, but wanted to update. More this weekend, we promise. Sorry if this is not perfect not like most of the chapters are edited perfectly but medication does not make for a great proofreader.



Steve did the last strum of his guitar as we finished up the small set we had played for Pete. I placed the mic back on the stand and sighed. it wasn't the best we had done. My voice was shaky, the bass was a little off, and Spencer's drums were a tad to loud, but all in all, for being a band partly out of high school, and still in, I thought we did well.

Shrugging, I walked over to Ryan and pulled him up into a kiss as the other guys were packing up their instruments. No one had really broken the silence yet as we all anticipated what Pete had to say. It's not that this would make or break our 'career', I mean, we still had a 'Battle of the Bands' gig on Saturday which the top prize was $2500, so we had ways to getting our name out there. Oh, and that reminds me, I forgot to tell Ryan about that, and see if he could possibly come down and root us on.

I pulled back from the kiss and ran the back of my fingers along Ryan's cheek, "Now," I whispered to him, "If only I got that after every time we performed, I wouldn't be so upset when we sucked," I smiled at him, "So, how bad did we do?"

I chuckled softly and leaned in to kiss Brendon again, letting the kiss linger before I pulled back and smiled. Shrugging a little, I leaned my body against his a little. "Well...there was a little bit of it off, and you sounded nervous sometimes, but it wasn't bad. Just, not your best performance ever."

I shrugged a little again and looked around at the other guys before finally looking at Pete. He hadn't said anything yet, and it appeared as though he was trying to find the right words. I'd never thought of him as someone who really thought before he spoke, but, I guess in aspects of life like hearing a new band and possibly signing them he actually did. After all, he had made the comment before that he had really liked them when he heard their cd.

Pete rubbed at his face before he stood up and looked at the guys. He licked his lips and thought for another moment. "Okay you guys." He smiled and shrugged. "Before I say anything at all, I want to hear what you guys have to say about your set. Tell me what you thought of it, what you thought was good and what you thought wasn't." He grinned and rubbed his hands together. "I want to hear your thoughts before I say anything, so, have at it. Hit me with your thoughts and ideas on your performance."

Looking at Ryan, I smiled and winked at him before removing my hands and to stand hip to hip with him, my hand now resting around his waist. I coughed a little as I looked from guy to guy, we all had the same face. I could tell that we all knew we each sucked in our own part, and we too weren't sure what to say. Being the singer, though, I stepped up first, "Well, I think we we could have done better. We were off on parts, and I personally didn't sound to swell."

Kyle agreed, "Yea, we definitely could have used some practice before we did it. It sounds much different when we are not in front of screaming people, I think we were all off."

Spencer stood back, nodding and agreeing, as Steve spoke up, "We have done better, and we have done worse, really, I think we did a 'ok' job. There were parts where we shined and parts that we do need to work on, but like Kyle said, it does sound different when we are not on stage. Either way, all in all, I think we could have spent more time preparing instead of just winging it, and yea," he looked at me, "You sound like you were yodeling at parts," he laughed.

"What? You don't like my country side? I mean, I digging into my inner Dolly Parton!" I laughed back.

"You grow her boobs, and you can sound like her! Deal?" James laughed, "This was what? Your fifth time playing with us with our own stuff, it's gonna be crappy," he looked over at Pete, "We need practice, these songs are still young to us, but overall, we did better than I thought we would, just not the best we could do."

Looking over at Alex, we both smiled. At least they weren't trying to blow off the whole thing, act like nothing was wrong or anything like that. It had to make the both of us proud, proud that they were being responsible and all adult like. I smiled to myself and leaned a little more into Brendon, resting my head against him as I listened to them talk.

Pete nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay, well, at least you all agree that it wasn't a stellar performance. That's a good thing. You're all pretty much on the same page, that is important." He looked between the guys, his eyes rather slipping over me and Alex, just giving us quick smiles before returning his attention to the rest of the guys.

"So...do you guys feel you're ready for the big time? Do you feel you'd be ready to sign to a label and start working, or are you content with being a garage band with local gigs for the time being. I want to know all of your views on yourselves as a band before I go ahead and give you my thoughts and opinions. Because honestly, if you all agree that you don't want to get signed for a while, then I can just give you constructive criticism and let you guys go from there, however, if you're looking to get signed, there's a whole different level of constructive criticism that I would need to give to you."

We all stared at Pete as I subconsciously lingered my hands up Ryan's shirt. This time though, Spencer spoke up first, "I'll speak for the band in saying that we aren't ready to be signed. We are a young band, who now, use this music to get away from shit, like family, friends and school. This is our escape. I believe we all would one day like to do something more with this and be signed or tour outside of just Las Vegas."

He looked at all of us, seeing us agree, he continued, "In reality, James and Kyle are still in high-school, and each time we play our crowd grows about a fourth in size just from word of mouth. And, that demo you listened to, that was recorded after school and on the weekends, so, it was basically just stuff that we had put together. We had amazing help and guidance on it," he smiled at Ryan and Alex, "And it was the best we would do at a time, but for us to want to be signed at the moment, I personally don't think we are ready, I think what we need more now, like we suggested when Ryan and Alex left for the internship is guidance and advice from people who know what they are talking about, so basically we don't have to worry about the technicalities so much as familiarizing ourselves with our instruments and the lyrics and music."

Letting out a breath then gave a quick smile to Pete before looking at us again. James grinned and pointed to him, "Yea, what he said!" and we all laughed, nodding.

I watched Pete for his reactions and facial expressions from what Spence had to say. He really didn't give much of anything away. He watched. He listened. He nodded. That was pretty much it. He impressed me with how professional he could be after seeing him be anything but in the last week.

"Alright, well, then I won't sit here and think specifically of what you would need to do to be signed to my label or FBR and think more globally of what you need to do, in general, to better yourselves as a band and, in the future, get signed." He walked over and looked outside for a few moments before checking his watch and looking back at all of us.

"You were right. That wasn't the best performance. I can't say for sure that you can do better because I haven't seen it. I've heard what I did on the demo, but, generally speaking, music cut in a studio has more opportunity to be refined, even with limited means, than music played live."

I could tell that he was choosing his words carefully. I knew he didn't want to offend all the guys, but at the same time, he had definitely heard something he liked when he listened to the demo. I was hoping that he still heard it when hearing them live.

"Brendon, don't be too eager. Your voice was shaky and you seemed nervous. Take a few moments, relax, and then throw yourself into it. If you've never taken vocal lessons, it might be something you want to look into to improve your vocal strength, endurance and range. Your voice has good tone, but, having a little training would benefit you, and therefore would also benefit the band."

I stuck my lower lip out and thought about what he had said, "Yea, no, I have never taken any music lessons, and nerves, not so much, but I will look into it as a class at college or something..." I started to say as Spencer stepped up. I raised his hand at me as he silenced me.

"I wasn't saying that we weren't interested at all in getting signed, or hearing your input. I was just saying that we had no clue that you were coming here to hear us, and yea, when we found out last night, we should have practiced instead of stayed up past three in the morning. We all are serious about this band and were serious about the demo that we made, but looking back at the demo, I for one know we would do better, as well as play better for you."

I looked at him, willing him to not make an ass or fool of himself like he tended to do at time, wow, kind of like his best friend.. "We have skills, and we have what it takes, but right now, we need to take it one step at a time. Like, our battle of the bands gig we have next week, we were chosen from about 30 bands who compete yearly to get out of Vegas, as somewhat of a wild card, and as much as we are glad you came here to listen to us, we have other things that we need to focus on more now than just being signed."

I bit my lip as I watched Spencer, then glanced at the other guys who were doing the same thing, just staring at him in awe. We knew better than to step on Spencer's toes. We knew he was the founder of this band and knew what he was talking about most of the time. So, we all just kind of stood there and tried not to blink, breath or make a sound. Not that I totally agreed with him, but I didn't want this band to come between our friendship.

Pete shook his head. "I wasn't going on the impression that you weren't interested in ever getting signed, do not think that I was. But, there is a difference between if you were serious about wanting to be signed right now or later. If you don't want to get signed right now you have a larger window of opportunity for improvement. Once you get signed, you create your label debut, you won't have time for improvement in that time. You'll be in the studio all hours, working yourselves to the bone. Once you're done with the album you'll be touring. If you're on my label, it means you'll be touring your asses off, because getting you on shows and having you tour and gain fan base is the biggest and most important aspect. Yes, you'll have time for practice, but no time for improvement."

I bit my lip and leaned over, kissing Brendon's cheek before sitting down again into Alex's lap. All of what Pete was saying was pretty much true, at least from all that I knew of the music business. I could tell he wasn't trying to offend Spencer, but give him an idea of what they were getting themselves into. It was great that they had a good fan base in the local area, but b before they could really tour, they needed to create a wider fan base. What he was saying was aimed at the guys, not me, although I knew I needed to listen too.

He crossed his arms across his chest again. "Before you're ready to be signed you need to create more of a fan base. Sure, you've got a good local one, thats great for you guys. But you need a national one. You need to give a label a reason to sign you beyond simply talent and sound. The internet is the biggest way to get your sound and your music out to people across the world. Start putting your songs online. Create a myspace account for the band and put up a couple of your songs, go out and pimp yourselves online. Get people to take notice of you. Also, in the process of all of that, you should take steps to improve yourselves. Vocal lessons for Brendon, perhaps instrument lessons for the rest of you. Spencer, you're good on the drums, but you need to learn when to back off a little on sound and let the listener hear the rest of the band."

He shrugged a little and shoved his hands into his pocket. "You played for me, I'm just giving you my opinion as I heard it. If you don't want my opinion, and if you don't want my suggestions, then disregard what I've said and continue on whatever path you chose. Just don't expect to have Decaydance or Fueled By Ramen come after your band once you put yourself out there to be signed. That may mean nothing to you, I don't know. As I've told you, I'm just giving you constructive criticism. Take it or leave it."

We all looked back at Spencer, I wasn't a fan of fights or misinterpretations or whatnot, I actually disliked them very much. So, I knew I had to do something, "Look," my eyes traveled between Spencer and Pete, "Pete, we are very grateful that you came, as well as listened to our demo. You must have liked something in it or else you would not have flown out here by yourself to listen to us. We respect what you have to say, as well as what Ryan and Alex have to say, and we are willing to take all of the help and advice we can get. Right now, with the band just getting it's final, working members, we have a lot of growing and adjusting to do. Of course we can all talk and dream and wish that life were easy where we could play for you one day, and the next get signed, but we have to face the truth..."

James interrupted me, "No, Pete is right, everything he said, it is right, there is no need to have an argument or a disagreement over it," he turned to Pete, "We respect your criticism, the good and the bad, and we will try our best follow your advice. Spencer and I were designing a Myspace page just the other day, so we will get it going, and friend you or what not. And yes, as big as our fanbase it, we know we need more. But, Spencer was right about the Battle of the Bands thing, we could take $2500 if we practice enough between here and then, and use that money to get better equipment and lessons to improve what you are suggesting. I think we all know we could use help to get better."

Steve, Kyle and I nodded in agreement, "That is true," Kyle smiled, "So, thank you Pete for listening to us and telling us the truth, although we knew most of it, it is good to hear it from someone experienced to bring us back down to the ground again

Pete nodded and then looked at Spencer. I took that moment to stand up and step in. "Well, Pete didn't just come out to hear you guys, he had another reason to come out too, but thats besides the point." I looked at Spencer and put my hand on his arm. "Just take the constructive criticism Spence and use it to improve what you can. He heard something he liked on the demo. He obviously wanted to hear more, and since he didn't turn around and walk out when he heard you, he obviously still does."

I looked back at Pete for verification. He nodded so I turned back to the guys, especially Spencer, and continued. "He isn't trying to insult you guys at all, and, if I can read him after being around him for a week...he's giving you this information, this constructive criticism because he is interested in you guys as a band to potentially sign. Obviously I'm not saying that he's getting ready to, I don't know what he's really thinking and I honestly don't think its a good idea for him to stand here and tell you 'if you improve, I'll come back and hear you, if I think you've improved I'll sign you' or anything to the point of telling you he's going to sign you. But I think he's got to be thinking about it to seriously give you suggestions and constructive criticism."

I licked my lips, not sure how the guys were taking what I was saying or the fact that I was pretty much 'siding' with Pete. "He knows what he's talking about. I can't imagine he'd want to help you guys get better only to have another label sign you when you could be on his label. I think, as your manager, you should take what he said and put it into practice as soon as you can. As far as the Battle of the Bands, which, I don't think I knew about, I think thats great, and I think, if you win, I definitely would suggest that you take that money and put it toward the improvement of the band. I think we can all use improvement throughout our lives, and if we want to get the band signed, working to improve is something we should all look into doing and throwing ourselves into it too."

Spencer managed to give Ryan the first smile he had since this morning. I knew something was up with him, he usually didn't go off on people like that. And he, out of all of us, was the one who could take the most criticism. It was strange, and something I would have to discuss at a later time with him. Sighing, he crossed his arms over his chest, "Yea, I know, Pete is right..."

Steve gave Spencer a weird look then looked at me mouthing, 'What's up his ass?' I couldn't help but laugh lightly as I shook my head, "Ok, so we know we need work, we know we need to practice to win the Battle of the Bands to get the money to improve ourselves. And that is all very important. But, right now, I have less than a day left with my boyfriend, it is hotter than hell in this garage, and there is a perfectly wonderful pool in the backyard that is screaming my name!"

I reached out and smacked Kyle on the chest as we both grinned and pulled our shirts over our heads and started working on our shorts, making our way towards the door at the back of the garage. I turned slightly to see James following us, "You guys coming or not, it's almost two so that gives us three hours before Pete has a flight," I nodded to him as my shorts fell to my feet, "Which we can give you a ride to, so that gives us at least forty-five minutes to an hour before we have to head back for you to pack," I bent down and stepped out of my pants, picking them up and setting my clothes on a shelf before walking out and racing to the pool.

I watched the guys walk out. Alex stood up and came to my side, wrapping his arm around my waist. I sighed and relaxed against him a little. I didn't understand why that had turned so tense. I was actually rather surprised Alex didn't jump in on it with me, usually he liked such arguments. Although, for him, it probably turned him on to just sit back and watch.

Pete looked over at us and grinned. "You two are adorable, you know that? I'm glad you're back to normal. Those few days where you weren't speaking to each other was hard to watch. You're so good together, you make a really good team too. Its nice to see you back to how you should be."

I smiled softly and snuggled in against Alex a little, giving him a hug. "I was a bit off-kilter with things going on in my life, but, I think we've straightened them out for now. So yeah, we're back to normal." Alex chuckled and pulled me in closer to him.

"Damn straight we are."

Pete grinned and nodded. "I hope they weren't all too offended by what I had to say. It was the truth though. They have work to do, but, I think they're promising as long as they keep working toward it and working toward getting better. I think they could definitely pull it off."