Diva Nashvegas

Chapter One ; "Aubrey James is the holy grail of celebrity interviews. Whoever gets her to sit first wins." ;--Beth Rose, Inside NashVegas ;On a warm June night, I stand stage left among a swirl of activity--the stage crew, band members, and music artists coming and going--waiting to go on. Closing my eyes to rehearse my entrance, I have an odd sense of suspension, for a moment unable to determine time or place. ; Ladies and gentlemen, Aubrey James . . . Run out smiling. Grab the mike. Wave and greet the fans. Hear the opening bars of "Borrowed Time." ; Done it a thousand times. All over the world. Before queens and rednecks. Tonight is no different. ; Except I'm utterly exhausted. ; You're the CMA Fest's closing performer, Aubrey. Don't let the fans down. Don't do it. ; Opening my eyes, I expect--I hope--the fans' excitement will jump-start my adrenaline, washing away the cloak of weariness. ; It always has. ; But tonight, the electric excitement charging the Titans Coliseum fails to touch me. My thoughts wander, and my heartbeat fires like a worn piston. Tiny beads of sweat prickle under my arms and across my forehead. I try to focus on the opening number again. ; Walk out . . . Drummer counts down "Borrowed Time," bass comes in, then the electric. On the downbeat, I sing. Engage the crowd. Find the sweet spot. ; Six months on the road with my all-girl band. ; Hear the smooth call of the steel guitar, the whine of the fiddle, the exquisite, elegant harmony of my background singers. Can do this . . . By pure grit and grind. Come on, Aubrey. ; Tonight's performance also ends my eleventh tour--sponsored by a hip new bottled-water company, FRESH!. A brilliant partnership orchestrated by my business manager. Music, I've had to learn, is as much about business as it is art. ; Rolling Stone magazine put me and the band on the cover of their January edition with the headline "Aubrey James Gets Fresh!" ; The swirl of activity around me increases. Roadies and techs finalizing the stage before we go on. CMA Fest cameras moving in. The show is being taped for television. ; Are there half as many people in the coliseum as there are back here? ; My drummer hurries past with her cymbals and snare. "I'm late." ; "You have time," I say, watching her step up to the drum stage. From the corner of my eyes, I spot my manager, Zach Roberts, observing me with an inquisitive expression, his arms crossed over his lean chest. "What?" ; "You're sweating, and don't tell me it's the Nashville heat. You have dark, puffy eyes, a frog voice, and you're pale." ; "What's your point?" ; "You're sick." ; "I'm going on, Zach." Six months on tour, a hundred cities, can't end with a sore throat, fever, and puffy eyes. Besides, the fans deserve their final CMA Fest performance. ; Zach rubs his forehead, doubt shadowing his brown eyes. "You look like a bag of bones, Aubrey. Did you lose weight on the tour?" ; "Haven't you heard? It's all the rage. The Tour Diet. I'm writing a book about it this summer." I pat his cheek. "I'm fine. Trust me." ; The stage manager passes by, flashing his palm. "Five minutes, Miss James." ; Five minutes . Where's the familiar rush of preshow adrenaline?Hauck, Rachel is the author of 'Diva Nashvegas ', published 2007 under ISBN 9781595541918 and ISBN 1595541918.