Chapter 690: Club TRIC - Fallout
Monday, March 13th, Afternoon
The initial quiet could kill as the Jareds left the club. A few moments later, the audience used this as an intermission, bio, and drink breaks all around. Kayla Drake stayed in her seat and watched the comings and goings of the assembled others. With a shrug, she turned back to the big screen.
Kayla was here to represent RBR, and Haley was here as a family member. Most of this happened before or as Kayla transitioned from Brooke's to RBR's. A fancy lawyer from New York City flew down to settle it. Kayla always suspected Brooke was involved in getting Conrad, Carmichael, and Dalton involved.
She leaned back and waited for the next shoe to drop. Kayla saw her sister-in-law, Chase, talking with a Club TRIC staff member. Kayla often wondered how Chase functioned; Kayla nearly had half as many kids and never seemed to have the energy Chase had.
Kayla watched Chase's demeanor change, and she returned to her seat. Felicia turned and looked over the seating area towards the door. Felicia straightened up.
"Is everything good?" Felicia asked.
"I needed to get some air," Kat said.
Kayla watched as Felicia nodded, "Take your time," Felicia said.
"Thank you," Kat said.
"You're welcome," Felicia said.
A few more minutes dragged on as people milled about, talking and drinking. Kayla watched as Chase finally stood up in front of the seats.
"We're about to start back up, so please head back towards your seats," Chase said.
Chase returned to her seat. Kayla heard more so than watching the rest of the assembled people return to their seats. Shaking her head, she sat up in her chair; being the shortest of the Burke siblings had its advantages, she could sit anywhere, and no one complained she blocked anyone's line of sight, also having blonde hair versus the standard issue red mane made it easy for her to stand apart.
With a nod, Felicia lifted the remote and pressed play. Slowly, Felicia took her seat and looked up at the screen.
Haley appeared on the screen. "We cut ties with Mental Lapse," she said.
Lucan looked into the camera. "The divorce was messy. Kat was the force that drove the band in the early years. She wanted to be done and parted with us. Plus, the label was fighting with us over the rights to some music," he said.
Kayla saw herself on the screen. "It was fairly simple stuff. They were released, we moved to control our assets, and they sued," Kayla said, "Back then, we were a small operation; I was only about the fifth or sixth permanent employee hired. We had a good lawyer who made the contracts. With what was happening between Brian and Trin, there was a corporate decision to take part of the proceeds from RBRs share of Mental Lapse's sales and give them to Trin to support her, and Brian's son," Kayla said.
The screen changed to show pictures of the original RBR offices in Club TRIC. Kayla looked over her shoulder to where the door to the old office was located. Kayla returned to the screen to see more images of the old RBR office. Kayla smiled when she saw Haley's and Peyton's desks pushed together to face each other. In the background, Kayla saw herself at her little desk on the phone.
"The label RBR was small, only having a handful of acts, but they let Mental Lapse go. But they rebounded when a big local band Gothic Serpent signed with them. Within weeks of Mental Lapse being let go, Kat Hartmann joins a small college band called Nordwind. So, for RBR, Mental Lapse became a footnote, except for the lawsuit," Felicia said in a voice-over.
An older man dressed in an impeccable suit appeared on the screen. He adjusted his jacket and looked at the camera. "I am David Conrad, Esq; I represented RBR in the lawsuit by Brian Scott. My law firm, Conrad, Carmichael, and Dalton was called in by one of the investors of RBR," he said.
"What did you think about this lawsuit?" Felicia asked.
"On its merits, it was nothing. The contract was airtight, and we just argued it on those merits. What made this case interesting was the two principles of RBR were the aunt and mother of the lead complainant," David said.
"What was your impression of Brian Scott?" Felicia asked.
"He was an entitled brat who tried to cut off the mother of one of his children. I took pleasure in seeing him lose his lawsuit," David said.
The screen changed to show several images of Nordwind on tour. That was followed by pictures of Los Angeles and Mental Lapse playing the famous Sunset Strip.
A blonde woman with curly blonde hair appeared on the screen. "I'm Paislee Sloan, a music journalist; I was new to the business when Mental Lapse landed on the Sunset Strip. Being a freelancer at the time, I caught one of the shows. I wrote an article about them and got it published. That article started the buzz that lit the fire that would be Mental Lapse's second act," Paislee said.
Images on the screen changed to show Mental Lapse playing to ever-growing crowds, including a famous Hollywood Bowl show. Paislee returned to the screen. "Brian was driven to prove himself, and Mental Lapse benefited. Their second album was okay, but the California energy seemed to feed him. Brian was what his reputation said he was, wild and enjoyed the ladies. He fitted into LA like a hand in a glove," Paislee said.
Lucan appeared on the screen. "I didn't take to California, and unchecked by RBR and Kat, Brian was quickly spiraling out of control. We got a new bass player, Dell Parker, so I had to learn everything over again with him, and we started our second album, but more and more, I felt that I was being edged out of the band. I only left after we finished the second album's cycle because I felt like I was just collecting a paycheck by then," Lucan said.
Paislee reappeared on the screen. "I will say one thing, through Brian's chaotic nature, the non-familial oversight, the tension in the band, and the new California setting was poured into their studio creativity. While most people say Mental Lapse only had one good album, the first two albums in California. The Black Count and The Road of Excess were on par with Mental Lapse's self-titled debut album. Estella is a great song," Paislee said.
Kayla nodded and looked at the screen. She sighed, leaned back, and waited for the rest of the story.