Bonus story-time again. Velette is back as the centerpiece of this one. If you enjoyed "The Voxe: A Girl And Her Music" and wanted more of our fictitious rock star heroine, then you're in luck; this is its sequelâagain, written in first-person, from the P.O.V. of Velette, "the Voxe" herself. And this new Voxe narrative's dedicated to one very special, very lovely lebbi lady whom I've nicknamed "Debbers," who actually helped inspire it. She's been with me, giving me comments and support on stories since early August '14. Speaking of which, as you know, Readers, your feedback's always welcomed, valued and appreciated.
*****
"GOOD EVENING!!...DUDES AND CHICKS! LADIES AND GENTS! GALS AND PALS!..."
"SO!...LEMME ASK YA SOMETHIN':
HOW
THE
HELL
YA DOIN' TONIGHT,
HUH?!
..."
"LEMME ASK YA SOMETHIN'
ELSE
...
ARE
YOU
READY
TO
ROCK?!!
..."
Another night on the road, another two explosive hours on stage. The crowd's deafening roar was still spinning around my dizzy little head as I finished the encore, low-fived the front row, blew the audience a kiss, waved goodbye and slipped backstage. Once I got behind the curtain, safely shielded from view, I staggered in the general direction of my dressing room. I was so drained this late in the tour, by the time I finally finished the shows, I had just enough energy left to let Lisa-Anne get me into the dressing room, pat me down with a hot towel and soak my feet. There is a short modicum of time for her to revive meâif, that is, she lets me know we're doing meet-and-greets with the fans. However, at this point...after two insane hours literally rocking my Voxers' worlds, should Lisa-Anne inform me we
won't
be able to meet-greet, I'll feel disappointed, but also unpressured.
Please don't get me wrong. My disciples, the Voxers, are
my
world, along with the music itself. They're my life, my best friends. And doing a meet-greet is right up there with belting my way into their hearts. I'm inclined to say that it thrills me as much as it does them...but taking into account the screaming, the tears, the immense 'x's and 'o's...somehow, my enthusiasm doesn't quite hold a candle.
Here's the thing, though: the first two-hour Voxe-travaganza kicking off a new tour is exhilarating. A second is even wilder. A third is all but life-changing. Anything from
fifty
...to upwards of a hundred, night after night, back to back to back...is taxing. Especially for the nucleus, the Voxe herself, the eye of the hurricane, the forefront in the spotlight. Even the pre-show meditation, the stretching exercises, the massages, the physical and emotional nutrition, can only do so much eventually. And if anything has to suffer, it
won't
be the show. The fans deserve nothing less than the almighty dream they spent their hard-earned money to make come true. Similarly, the post-show meet-and-greets can neither be compromised. I realize this when I remind myself that the evening is not finished, and that as pumped as the Voxers are before and during the show, actually meeting me in person after takes them to a whole new level.
The meet-greets spark up some excitement in me as well, because the two-hour show is identical each night. And while every song is delivered with the utmost enthusiasm as has been since the day I wrote it, as an artist and entertainer, you and your band inevitably grow desensitized to the set. The songs themselves lose no magic, nor does the feeling of orchestrating the whole evening. But the performance, while intoxicating, is also repetitive. The songs are my babies, and I can't help but wish we could trot out more different ones here and again. We alternate the set slightly, swapping out one or two songs for another from show to show, but even so. Returning to the meet-greets, what these mean for me is getting to meet new people every night. Which is very refreshing after playing them the same twenty-some-odd songs I just played for another crowd in a different city.
The only challenge in the post-show fan-spree is the obligation of keeping myself going. As I say, doing all these repetitive shows is both magical and draining. And while I'm often just wrecked after a show (needing the hot towel, the water, the support from my own personal rock Lisa-Anne, my manager/agent/girlfriend), my die-hard, hardcore Voxers on the other side of that door are more jazzed than ever. They cannot
believe
they have been granted this opportunity to see me in person, to ask for my autograph, to hug me, to tell me what I mean to them. It really is what it's all about. Nothing in the world compares to that, for me or for them. All of which is why I'm compelled to keep it up and hold out the stamina until the last person has disappeared. It's my duty and privilege to give my disciples a heavenly night they aren't soon to forget, and the meet-and-greet is an equally important part. I can't and won't allow them to get the idea that their beloved rock star is too tired or wiped out to just hang out with them for a few minutes, or that doing so is some kind of supplemental choreâbecause I'm not, and it isn't. Disillusioning a fan is not in my job description.
Luckily, with all this in mind, I have Lisa-Anne.
Lisa-Anne
...
Lucy
...
Brockton
. The assortment of letters in her name alone makes my heart feel euphoric. Hell, I'm even turned on by the hyphen. Rolling it off the tongue makes my mouth water, makes me ache for her touch and affection. This is all part of just how very much I adore, admire and look up to her. The finest partner, most proficient manager, most devoted girlfriend, most passionate lover, best
ever
fluffer...as the old Gershwin standard puts it, who could ask for anything more?
Yes, by the wayâI said "fluffer." She fluffs me. That's right, my friends, they're not just for the adult film biz. The cute little term "fluffer," in case you're unaware, is not someone who preps your pillow for sleepy-time. It's essentiallyâin my caseâa professional boink girl, who goes on tour with you, joins you in the dressing room prior to show time, and, shall we say...takes care of you, to both settle your nervesâafter briefly driving you wildâand put you in a good mood. A happy, positive frame of mind, to sweep aside all the debris and allow you to focus on your task at hand: hitting that stage and taking five thousand fans to heaven for a night.
Some performers tote along their fluffers to provide this one service, and one service only. Mine, as stated, is ever so much more. Lisa-Anne does it all and then some. I owe my love to my Voxers, but the success of my career to her. She schmoozes the record executives, engineers my releases, negotiates my contracts, steadies me when I get dizzy from it all, fluffs the fucking hell from me before my show, keeps my energy going for the meet-greets afterwards, gets me back to my hotel room, puts me to bed, tucks me in, and can somehow
still
find the cocoa. Diana Prince my ass; Lisa-Anne Brockton is Wonder Woman.
I don't know how she makes it so easy for me. I could not do half what she does to begin with, let alone maintaining a sexuoromantic relationship on top of it. I do know it helps that she's aware what I like in bed (and in the dressing room). She gets me to the venues extra early to accommodate both of my pre-show centering exercises: the meditation time, and the fluffing. The first time she brought the in-the-buff duff 'n' muffin fluffin' to my attention was the evening of a show in Detroit, MI. I was anxious to do this, to say the least. We were already sexually active, but I was used to fucking her behind the locked doors of a nice safe hotel room. Though harsh on myself, it was not inaccurate to say that I was
such
a pussy. I don't even know how long it took me to get my clothes off.
I
do
recall what she did to me, though. She went into her duffel and fished out a pillow and a generous-sized fluffy towel, to drape across the floor for what I could only presume was this purpose. I laid on my back, still clothed, as she began.