Stop stalling, make a name for yourself.

Boy you better put that pen to paper and charm your way out.

If you talk you better walk you better back your shit up

With more than good hooks while you’re under the gun

It’s time for us to take a chance

It’s time for us…

*****************************************************************************

“Dude, are you recording us?” Spencer asked while pointing his drumstick at me. I froze.

“Yeah…” I said hesitantly.

“Why?” He copied my tone. I turned off my camera and gave him a look and he held his hands up in surrender. “Just asking, jeez…”

“Like I told Bren, I have my reasons.”

“Alright… but if I mess up, it’s because of that camera! I don’t do good under pressure,” Spencer told the guys.

“Wimp,” Jon muttered and Spencer glared at him.

“We’ll run through a set,” Ryan announced. “Start with ‘Time to Dance’, onto ‘Nails for Breakfast, Tacks For Snacks’ then lastly ‘Camisado’. Sound good?”

They started playing their set so I turned my camera back on. The guys were great today. It looked like they all were getting use to each other and they started playing more in sync with one another.

Can’t take the kid from the fight

Take the fight from the kid

Just sit back, just sit back

Sit back, sit back, relax, relapse

Sit back, sit back bababada

You can take the kid out of the fight

I was shooting them from all different angles. Trying to get their best shots and moments. I chanced a look a Bree and saw her staring intensely at Ryan. Her eyes were slightly glazed over and I smirked. I was there too, Bree. Only it wasn’t with Ryan…

The I.V. and your hospital bed

This was no accident

This was a therapeutic chain of events

They finished ‘Camisado’ and shared smiles. When they finished packing away their equipment, we all sat down in the living room to eat some lunch. “We should think of a name,” Brendon said around a mouthful of food.

“How’s about… Kick Ass?” Jon suggested and everyone busted into laughter. Jon started laughing too but then he stopped and stared at us. “What?” That only caused more laughing and Bree and I had to hold onto each other because of the force of our laughter.

When everyone finally calmed down the boys started suggesting names and words they could throw in there. It took a while and it was nice to watch Brendon and Ryan getting so involved in something. 

“This is impossible!” Ryan groaned. “We’re never going to decide on a name.”

“Why don’t we just take a break and come back to it?” Brendon said. “You know, get inspired.”

“And how do we do that?”

“I don’t know,” He paused and then his face lit up like he just figured out the answer to all their problems. “When I want to get inspired I take a drive… what do you guys do?”

“I listen to music,” Spencer chimed in.

“I usually need to experience something to get inspired,” Ryan contributed.

“What about you, Izzy?” Brendon asked me; my eyes widened. “How do you get inspired?”

“I…” What did I do? “Well, this is going to sound weird but, I usually watch the people around me. Their reactions, words, anything really and I paint them.”

Then we all looked a Jon. Waiting for his addition to getting inspired. His stared at us with a blank look for a while. Ryan clapped his hands in front of his face. “Dude!”

“Oh. Sorry,” He apologized. “What do I do to get inspired?” He paused and started stroking his chin. I had to smile a little at his dramatic antics. “I walk backwards.”

We all stayed silent and stared at him like he had grown another head. Ryan let out an airy chuckle while caused the rest of us to start silently laughing. That didn’t last long though because the silent laughter turned into uncontrollable guffaws.

“You… walk… backwards?” Ryan finally gasped through his convulsions.

“Yeah,” He said seriously and the look on his face finally sobered the rest of us up. “Look, the idea is to look at life in a new perspective. We’re so use to doing something the normal way and never another. We limit ourselves. When I want to get inspired I do something wildly different than what I would normally do. Or something wildly different than anyone would do. Inspiration comes easily to those who take a chance to see it.”

We stared at him shocked. I had never heard Jon talk so seriously before.

“Jon,” Spencer gasped. “You just said something that made sense.”

“I guess I did,” Jon laughed. “Well don’t expect that again anytime soon. While inspiration comes easy, making sense is something I lack.”

That broke us from our trance and we smiled at him.

Ryan looked at Bree then and asked her, “What do you do?”

“Well, I usually carry a camera around with me and take pictures of anything that fascinates me. I’m constantly looking for the perfect picture, you know? The thing about it is that when you actually start looking, like Jon said, you can see so much more. All of the boring things suddenly become exciting and the ugly become beautiful. It’s like looking at the world with rose colored glasses.”

Suddenly it struck me. “Why don’t we all go do the things that we do to get inspired and see what we come up with?” I looked at my watch. 12:30. “Meet back here at 2 o’clock.”

*----~----*

It was 1:45 and I was still uninspired. I didn’t know what the guys liked much less what they wanted to be known as. I glanced around the park and saw couples, children, families, picnics, kite flying, you know, every day stuff. I finally gave up and started walking back to Brendon’s house.

On my way back, I started thinking about the band. I started humming to ‘Camisado’ and thought about the words from some of the songs.

That’s when I realized something

The only real way to figure out their band name was for the four of them to do something together. The songs were things Brendon and Ryan came up with. If it was just the two of them there’s no doubt they would have already came up with a name. I looked at my watch again for the time. 1:55.

Just enough time

*----~----*

“What’d everyone come up with?” Brendon asked. We all stayed silent. “No luck? Yeah me too,”

“I can’t believe we can’t just figure out a name!” Ryan huffed. That’s when I decided to voice my thoughts.

“Maybe the four of you need to do something together. If you all experience something together maybe the idea will strike you guys faster,” I suggested.

“Might as well give it a try.” Jon said. “Let’s start walking backwards!”

Brendon, Ryan and Spencer shook their heads ‘no’. “Sorry, but I’m not doing that,” Spencer said firmly.

“Well then what do you suggest we do?” Jon grumbled.

“Well, what kinds of things do you guys like?” Spencer asked.

“Music.” They all said together.

“That was slightly creepy.” Bree whispered into my ear and I snorted.

“What kind of music?”

“I like the Beatles,” Brendon admitted.

“Me too.”

“Me three.”

“So we all like the Beatles?” Spencer clarified. “Why don’t we listen to some of their songs and see if any lyrics or song titles spark something?”

“We can try,” Ryan agreed.

They went through a series of songs and collaborated ideas. They were mixing up words and combining titles. But nothing was really fitting. Bree and I were starting to get a little tired but I was set on staying here to help them if they needed it. So, in turn, Bree ended up staying too.

“Might as well catch up on some sleep,” Bree yawned before promptly falling asleep. I rolled my eyes but left her alone. I looked at the boys who were sprawled out on the living room floor staring up at the ceiling with blank eyes.

Then Ryan started humming.

I didn’t know what it was but it sounded so familiar. “Hey Ry, what are you humming?” I asked.

“Panic by Name Taken.”

“Oh, I like that song,” Brendon said. Spencer and Jon nodded too.

“I was trying to figure out the lyrics…” Jon said.

“Yeah,” Spencer started humming. “It’s like… So now you hear what took you years to listen for. But still I can’t make out the words.”

“It’s the message that makes you miserable but still…” Brendon started to sing along. “Oh jeez, what’s next?”

“Something like, Burning alive from the inside. Burning down. Sleep now you’ve fallen out of face,” Ryan sang.

“Right, right.”

Panic at the disco

Sat back and took it slow

Are you nervous? Are you shaking?

Save compliments to praise completion

We don’t have to feel we fit in

We can move back

We can leave them

They sang the song the whole way through and again I was amazed at the perfection of Brendon’s voice.

“I like that one part of the song…” Ryan started. “It’s random. It really had nothing to do with the song yet it’s the most memorable. At least to me.”

“Which part?” Spencer asked.

“Panic at the disco,” He supplied and I saw something shift in the boys.

“I like it too.” Jon said.

“Panic at the disco.” Brendon muttered. “Panic…”

“Panic at the disco!” Ryan yelled and Bree jolted from her sleep nearly falling off of the couch.

“Has a nice ring to it,” Spencer agreed.

“I like it,” Jon said again.

“We should make it more of an eye catcher though,” Ryan said.

“We could add an explanation point after ‘panic’.” Brendon suggested.

Spencer grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down his idea. “Looks cool.”

“So do we all agree on this?” Brendon asked.

“Definitely.”

“Agreed.”

“Of course.”

And that’s when Panic! At the Disco was born…

********************************************

Well we’re just a wet dream for a webzine,

Make us it, make us hip, make us scene

Or shrug us off your shoulders

Don’t approve a single word that we wrote

Just for the record,

The weather today is slightly sarcastic with a good chance of:

A.     Indifference or

B.     Disinterest in what the critics say

____________________________________________________

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