Ch. 5

“Okay Jon. How do you come up with some of the songs?” Trina asked.
“Some come from watching other people. Some come from my own him I could be going through at the time.” He said.
The two of them sat on the side of the stage. Trina couldn’t help but to look out at all the empty seats. In a few hours each and every seat would be filled with tens of thousands of people. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like for him and the guys. Jon noticed how she watched the view.
“It’s amazing isn’t it?” He asked her.
”How do you do this every night? Doesn’t seeing all these people staring back at you freak you out?” Trina asked.
“The best way we can. And no they don’t freak me out. All we can do is try to put on the best show we can. I do imagine myself in their shoes. I remember going to shows and being just as excited to hear Elton John or Elvis Costello play just like all of them are excited to hear me perform. I really try to interact with them as much as possible.”
Trina smiled. “That’s cool.”
“I used to think that was great when I’d see Southside Johnny or Bruce Springsteen give a fan a high-five or dance with a girl onstage. Make memories not only for yourself but for those fans too. Keep them coming back. “
”Gotcha.” She said.
“You staying for the show?” he asked her.
“Definitely.” She said.
“You’ll see what I’m talking about then. We have so much out there. Their excitement wants me and the guys to give them the best show possible.”
“Applause junkie?” Trina asked.
Jon nodded. “No. Not really. It’s more of seeing their reactions after hearing a song you’ve really worked hard on. Good or bad it’s a reaction. shit, if I got none, I’d be worried. “
”Writers love their feedback.” Trina said.
“They do. I love to tell stories. Just like you’re doing. That’s why I do what I do. It’s fun for me. “ Jon said.
“Do you ever see yourself not doing this? Let’s look into a crystal ball… 10 years from now.” She asked him.
”10 years? shit Trina. I can barely think of what I’m going to do tomorrow let alone ten years from now. The only thing that I can see is myself writing and recording. I’ll do that forever. Too many good stories out there to tell.” He told her.
“I agree with you on that one.” Trina said.
“You know the other day I was watching some guy in the park sitting on a bench feeding pigeons and thought. ‘ I wondered what he did today to bring him down to the park and feed the birds. Did he have a family? What does he do for a living? Does he have kids?’ So I wound up watching him for most of the afternoon and I swear he had this look of contentment on his face just by feeding these pigeons so I had to ask him. What made him sit here half of the day while everyone is doing their thing and just feed birds? And he said it was what made him happy. Since he didn’t have a family of his own. He loved to look after things. Animals, other people’s children, etc. “
“Caring for others.” She said.
“Yep. Gives him a purpose.” Jon said. “We all have that in us I guess. Something that drives us to go on when we don’t want to. Today for me, it’s the old man in the park; tomorrow it could be something else. “
“Well I hope I’m one of your purposes to go on.” Said Dorothea sitting next to them on the side of the stage. Jon smiled. “Sure babe.” Jon replied. “Trina Logan. Dorothea Hurley.”
“Nice to meet you.” Dorothea said extending her hand out to Trina.
“You too.” Trina said. Dorothea glanced at Trina’s notebook.
“So, you’re interviewing Jonny?” asked Dorothea.
“Yes I am.” Trina said.
“Pretty deep for an interview. Are you sure this is what people want to know about him?” asked Dorothea.
“Sure. It beats talking about the way he looks all the time.” Trina said.
“Jonny’s a good looking guy. But you have to remember you’re average readers are teenage girls. All they’re going to care about is what Jon looks like and what he likes to do when he’s not playing.” Dorothea said smugly.
“Selling his audience short aren’t you?” Trina asked.
“Trust me dear. I’ve been through these interviews before. As good as the reporters are, their editors windup doing a hatchet job because what they find is that no one cares about how these guys write a song. I’m sure you do and I do as well, but a 13-year old doesn’t want to hear it. “ Dorothea said.
“How do you know what my editors like and don’t like? Are you an editor? Or a reporter?” Trina asked.
Jon sat silent. He was interested in how all of this was going to play out. He wondered if Trina would tell off Dorothea or if Dorothea would win like she usually does with these types of things.
“No Trina. Obviously I’m not, but I’ve been around this game long enough to know what sells and what doesn’t and I really think-“
“And I really think you need to let me do my job as a reporter and let me finish this interview the way I want to.” Trina interrupted.
Dorothea snickered. “Okay fine. Oh and by the way Jon thanks for sticking up for me.”
Suddenly Jon’s blue eyes flared. “Is your name Heather Ross? Maybe the reason why I decided to do this interview is because of the questions Trina is asking me. Why don’t you go and mind your business. “ Jon said.
“What do you mean for me to mind my business? We’re a team; best friends remember?” Dorothea said.
“You’re out of line here. You need to let Trina finish so that I can get ready for the show.” Jon said.
Dorothea stomped off. Trina looked over at him. Jon rolled his eyes. “What was that?” Trina asked.
“Dot being Dot. I’m sorry Trina. She’s means well. But sometimes, she confuses being protective into becoming a controlling witch. “ Jon told her.
“If that’s being protective, I can only imagine what her being controlling is like.” Trina told him. Jon laughed.
“She really does mean well. Where were we?” Jon asked.
“If you can believe this, my last question was what do you like to when you’re not performing?’
Jon concentrated on the question. He was totally confused. “I have no idea. I’ve been doing this for a few years now and its such a habit that I have no idea.” He told her.
“No?” she asked.
“Nope. I’m always writing something. It’s like I have to. If I don’t, then what do I do?” he said.
“What do you like to do? Do you like cars? Books?” Trina asked.
“I used to build cars with my friend Obie O’Brien who’s now our engineer. But I haven’t done that in years. Books? It’s hard for me to read during a tour. I love to read, but what happens is that I get so caught up into the story that I forget about another luxury I love doing called sleeping.”
Trina laughed as she wrote down the quote. She closed her book. “Thanks Frank. Oh I mean Jon. “ she joked.
“Touché. Good interview. “ Jon said.
”Let’s see I’ve already talked to Richie and the other guys. Now you. Guess I’ll just watch the show and then get quotes from all of you on how you think it went if that’s okay?”
“Oh definitely. Philly’s such a fun town that I know. It’ll be a good show.” Said Jon.
Trina got up. She extended her hand. “Thanks again.” She told him.
Jon didn’t want the interview to end. It was refreshing for once that no one brought up his looks or what he wore for a change. She really seemed to care about what he thought and how he viewed things Guess they weren’t so different from each other.
“Anytime.” Jon told her. Trina noticed a brief sadness in his eyes. She held his hand for a moment. “Hey you okay? “ she asked.
Jon smiled weakly. He gently pulled her to him. Trina hoped that he didn’t hear how hard her heart was beating.
“Thanks for seeing me for me. “ he said as he bent down and gave her a peck on the cheek and walked out. Trina’s eyes followed Jon as he walked off stage. She had never seen him perform and was looking forward to it. There were clearly two personalities after hearing him just now. So which one would everyone see?