Chapter 691: Club TRIC - California Life

Monday, March 13th, Afternoon

The movie moved on, and she didn't know most of the story. In sum, she didn't consider much of the past as anything that mattered. It would be nice to know, and in the future, she could show it to her son, so he could better understand his father and the legacy he leaves behind.

Miléna Venczel sat to the side; most people ignored her. She suspected some didn't know who she was and didn't care. Haley and Nathan were polite, talked to her briefly, and asked about Krisztofer. Lucan also coldly greeted her, still calling her Estella, her old stage name when she was an exotic dancer. Finally, Felicia came over, greeted her, and thanked her for coming. Miléna looked at the screen and sighed. Lucan was on the screen, and he looked at the camera.

"LA was different from North Carolina, being one of the new things in the city. We were new in town and sort of a hot new thing. We became well known after a few shows on the strip," Lucan said.

Doctor Candace "Candi" Scott, MD, FAAP, appeared on the screen. The beauty of Hermosa Beach was her backdrop. Candi looks comfortable in the setting. Miléna had heard of this enigma, one of Brian Scott's cousins, but rarely seen. This cousin played heavily in the mythology of Mental Lapse and Brian Scott. Maybe this Candi Scott would be necessary for Krisztofer to know.

"I was in medical school, so there was so little time, but Gabi occasionally had Lennon with her. Other times Brian would put me on the guest list for his local shows," Candi said.

Images on the screen changed to show several Mental Lapse's club dates across greater Los Angeles. Many had Brian in his baggy jersey with the number thirteen on it. Miléna remembered being at several of those shows Brian had brought her as a guest.

Paislee Sloan reappeared on the screen; she tilted her head. "While still the toast of the local scene and doing national and international tours, things started to change. It started when Lucan Adenauer left the band. He, Kat, and Brian were the three that came over from High-Performance Heart-Attack. In the band's lore, they were the big three. The Road of Excess was the last of the great albums, and not surprisingly, it was that last that had input from Lucan and material Kat gave them," Paislee said.

The screen changed to another man sitting on a park bench. "It was one hell of a ride. We had a wild band leader, and when it came to women and sex, he had no limit," he said, "I'm Dell Parker; I was the bassist for Mental Lapse. For excess, there was no better when we were working on The Black Count, we were having a bad day, and nothing was working. Two G's were put on the table, and we were told to go to a, uhm, club and find inspiration."

Lucan appeared on the screen. "That's part of why I quit; I couldn't keep up. It's also when I started to learn about Brian and Gabi's arrangement. During those trips to the club for inspiration, Brian met and started with a staff member called Estella," Lucan said.

More images of Brian and Mental Lapse appeared on the screen. This included several photographs of Brian at various exotic dance clubs with different employees; all the women's faces were blurred out.

"It was LA, we played on the Sunset Strip Clubs, it was a tradition, I was just doing what Poison and Motley Crue did before us," Brian Scott said, with a caption stating it was recorded five years ago.

Dell returned to the screen. "Brian was living the rock and roll lifestyle. It was fun, crazy, but by the time we went into the studio for the fourth album, it was starting to tell on the quality," Dell said.

Paislee appeared on the screen. "Yes, there were rumors of burnout from lifestyle and excessive living. Brian having a harem was not a big deal in the music of LA. When they entered the studio, they brought in older session drummer Fulton Noel to replace Lucan and fill in drummer Mihailo Cook. Their fourth album, Dreams and Nightmares, turned out to be a nightmare to record," she said.

Dell was on the screen, "We were never great at being efficient in the studio. When it came to the fourth album, we chose that name because it summed it up, both a dream and a nightmare," he said.

Rachel appeared on the screen. "I went out to visit Gabi and see my grandkids; it was just Lennon and Lacy then. Things didn't seem to be going well for Brian. I don't know what it was, but Gabi wasn't happy, and she just found out she was pregnant with Darren, so not all was happy in LA," Rachel said.

The screen changed to show home-life images of Brian and Gabi. Usually, one held a child, either the blond Lennon or the redhead Lacy. There were sometimes other people in the picture; sometimes they were band members, other times they were fandom people.

Miléna appeared on the screen. "Brian tried to be a father to my son. Life kept him busy, but I saw he was falling apart," she said.

Candi appeared on the screen. "It was about this time Brian moved his family out to Culver City. He seemed to pull away from the LA scene slowly; Lennon was getting ready for school. When Dreams and Nightmares didn't do so well, they deferred buying," she said.

Dell returned to the screen. "After the failure of Dreams and Nightmares, we returned and couldn't look at each other. It was decided we needed to take time apart and recharge. Fulton went on tour with another band, and I went on a journey of self-discovery," he said.

Miléna returned to the screen. "Brian would visit me and our son right after the band went on a break. He seemed different, lost, and wasn't sure what he wanted to do. We talked, and then he left," she said.

Paislee appeared on the screen. "Brian seemed lost on tour supporting Dreams and Nightmares. When the band returned to LA, they took a hiatus, leaving Brian lost. I soon heard he was doing solo acoustic stuff and that he'd been releasing some recordings on several streaming services," she said.

Rachel appeared on the screen next. "Brian was always a low-time dad, but he just disappeared during the hiatus. I tried to get Gabi to come back East with the kids, but she insisted on staying in California with Brian," Rachel said, "Probably her biggest mistake."

Candi appeared on the screen. "When Brian first came to town with Mental Lapse, they were everywhere. His solo stuff, not so much," she said.

The screen filled with images of Brian playing small acoustic shows, many in coffee shops. Miléna looked at the screen and shook her head. The thought did she even know Brian filtered through her mind.