The Hush Society Presents... by Izzy Matias (best desktop ebook reader .txt) 📕

upload it online right after. The Hush Society has their own YouTube page anyway, so we could link it up with them."

"That’s brilliant." Eric claps. "Or create our own channel. I can help with the marketing plan."

"I don’t know… that would make it so raw," I say, doubting. Live recordings show everything: the flaws, mistakes, background noises...

"That's the point, though," Eric says. "No autotune. It’s music, unedited. Honest. Raw."

"No room for error," I say, turning pale.

"Look, we can see how it goes tonight," Benji says. "Let’s polish the heck out of this song and see if your little idea can see the light."

"We already have a couple originals we can play tonight," Eric adds. "The songs we've been working on since Beverley."

"It would be a perfect way to launch our website," Benji exclaims.

"We have a website?" I ask.

Wow. This lad’s been thinking way ahead.

#

There’s a whole volunteer crew—comprised of Lily’s mates—who showed up mid-morning to help arrange the place into what it is now. White lights hang in all corners of the room. Our beds—the couches—have been pushed back to make room for mats, colourful pieces of cloth, and pillows of all shapes and sizes. The windows are open, so the summer breeze though quite chilly surrounds the loft. There’s loads of equipment too: cords, amplifiers, and speakers throughout the room. Lily even rented a high-quality sound system that has Eric drooling and spitting out technical jargon to the sound engineer (also hired).

There are three performances tonight: Amber Skye opening the floor, The Fortunate Only, and then James Watson. I haven’t heard of him or his music yet, so I can’t wait to discover his sound.

Amber has been MIA since the last time we saw her at the beach. It’s 7:25 and the e-mail invites said the show starts at 7:30. There’s barely twenty people in the crowd, not counting Lily’s mates. I shouldn’t expect much, but comparing it to Tokyo Drift and The Verve’s turnout, the attendance is low.

I jump as my mobile vibrates in my pocket.

Jeez.

This is why I leave technology at home, but whilst on tour, I’ve no choice but to keep it on me the whole time.

I slide the Blackberry out of my pocket. I’ve got well wishes and good-luck messages from Judy, Nate, Dan, Ella, Mum, and Tamara.

I open Tamara’s first.

Good luck, little bro! xx Hope everything goes smashingly well. How’s the turnout?

I reply: Less than 20 in the crowd, but I shouldn’t expect a sold-out show, ey?

Tamara: You’ll be selling out the O2 one day ;)

"I apologise, Cassie. Everything’s flipped," Lily says. I put my mobile away and look at her. She looks like she’s about to cry. "The turnout’s so low. All the glitches this afternoon…"

"Don’t worry about it," I say and pat her back. Maybe the stress of planning this was the cause of her attack last night.

"You can’t expect your first show to be smooth sailing," Cassie says. "None of the shows ever are. And that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be perfect." She flashes me a grateful smile.

"There’s no room for fun in perfection," I say. "It’s the mess, the chaos where you find extraordinary things."

I turn my attention back at the crowd—there are different shades of emotions throughout the room: excited, jittery, but mostly anticipation. They don’t know what to expect—heck, they don’t even know who is performing. That is the beauty of these secret shows. Let the curiosity lure them in and hopefully they discover musical acts they love.

There are almost thirty in attendance by now. I glance at the vinyl clock that reads quarter to eight. Lily waits for more people to arrive, but I want to tell her that it’s best we get on with it. We’re already late.

"Where is Amber?" I ask, my voice higher than normal. It doesn’t seem like her to be the type to chicken out on us.

"She’s in Lily’s room, trying to banish all her pre-show jitters," Cassie replies.

"I’m right here." Amber emerges from behind me and I jump. She laughs loud and most of our audience glances at us. "Don’t worry, Cameron," she says before slinking towards the makeshift stage and then winks at me.

"What was that about?" Cassie raises her brow.

"Jealous?" I laugh, nudging her with my elbow.

Cassie gives me this "bugger-off" look but follows it up with a wry smile.

"You’ll see," I say mysteriously.

"Ahem, good evening everyone. My name is—err—Lily Baker. Sorry we’re a little behind on schedule… Erm. Welcome to Brighton’s first ever Hush Society gig. That’s episode one for us, but the thirty-fifth show in the grand scheme of things!" Lily tugs at her hair while saying her little speech.

We hoot and cheer for her. She gives her best to make this as smooth as can be. In her own way, she tries to be brave. She steps out of her comfort zone—she’s a wallflower after all—but she here she is standing in front of a crowd, putting herself out there all because of her love for music.

For this community.

For this cause.

Every day, I’m surrounded with people who fight their own battles. Try to be brave and overcome their demons.

Ever since I had stepped into the world of The Hush Society, I realized I've been carrying around the weight of fear and rejection—not to mention self-inflicted comparison with every musician I meet. It’s been holding me back, but tonight I won't let it.

"Our first performer is from Manchester. She’s a musical masterpiece and shining star. She let music be her guiding light. Please welcome Amber Skye." Lily smiles, seeming more comfortable with the attention now that the attention is on Amber.

Amber takes the centre stage and sits on a high stool. The single spotlight emphasises the stage’s solemn mood.

"How’s everyone doing?" Amber taps her guitar. "So glad you came out to the first ever Brighton T.H.S. EP! Ya’ll are awesome for supporting local. Here’s an original called ‘Flames.’"

She strums her ukulele, creating a happy pop beat. Her tunes are perfect for the summer.

When