Overnight Sensation

By Hal Eisenberg

Fifteen year old Jonah Levine is practically invisible at Applecrest High. His Facebook page is pathetic, his baseball skills are mediocre at best, and his IQ seems to drop 50 points when talking to girls. However, everything changes when his rock band, Hitstreak, becomes the hottest teen sensation in the country.

So why isn’t he jumping for joy?

Well, for starters, that hit on the radio wasn’t really recorded by his band. In fact, six months ago, he and his friends could barely play a note between them. And now they’re about to perform in front of 15,000 screaming fans. What began as a mindless prank had quickly spun out of control, involving his father’s secret past as a 70’s rocker, a high school bully who wants in on the action, and a powerful, ruthless, media mogul who will stop at nothing to claim the band as his own. Will Jonah prevail? Or will he and his band go down in flames and become the biggest farce in pop music history?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hal Eisenberg
• Release date: Jun 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9780985492205

Hal Eisenberg

Hal Eisenberg is a writer with a background in advertising. He lives in the South with his wife, two boys, a Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier named Maddie, and McCartney, an African Grey Parrot who recently celebrated his 30th birthday and talks way too much.Visit Hal on the web at: www.hal-eisenberg.com and on the Overnight Sensation Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/OvernightSensationTheBook

Book preview

EVER WONDER WHAT IT’S LIKE to be a major rock star? You know. The kind of star whose face is all over those fan magazines? Ever wanted to be so popular, you couldn’t go anywhere without the paparazzi flashing cameras and people screaming at the sight of you, begging for an autograph?

Well, I’m living that life. That’s right. Me. Jonah Levine. A high school sophomore, who only a few months back, had about five friends on my Facebook page, played baseball to the best of my below average ability, and couldn’t get girls to notice me if I tried. And boy, did I try. But now, they’re not only checking me out, they’re following me around, and even adults seem to be in awe of my presence.

I should be thrilled about all this, right? I should be basking in my newfound fame. But, oh man, I am so not enjoying this at all. In fact, I’m totally freaking out here!

And Why? you ask.

I’ll tell you.

See, my band Hitstreak and I have been living a lie for over six months, and it’s the mother of all lies. My band. What a joke. Truth is, six months ago, we could barely play a note between us, and now here we are, about to perform in front of thousands of screaming fans who think we’re responsible for one of the biggest, surprise hits of the decade. Which is where my story begins.

Hey, Joman, I don’t feel so good, said my friend Bart.

Get in line, I said, with hands shaking so bad, I could barely grasp my guitar.

Looking over at the other guys, it was obvious the feeling was mutual. In fact, Kyle seemed to be taking on a distinct pale shade of green.

Guys, guys. Think of all those girls out there! All those beautiful, hot, long legged girls, just waiting to see us in the flesh! said Teffy, another member of our band.

Yeah, all fifteen thousand of them, replied Bart.

Gulp.

Well, I say ‘Get ready, girls, ‘cause I’m gonna’ tear it up’!

Great,Teffy, but before you tear it up, you might want to zip it up, I said, pointing to the open gap in his jeans.

Wait, what? he said, looking at me, and then glancing down. Oops, oh right. We don’t want them fainting from the get go.

Okay, I’m definitely going to hurl, said Bart, dashing out of the room, his hand over his mouth.

Come on man, tossing your cookies before a gig is so old school, yelled Teffy.

So how did my friends and I get into this gigantic mess in the first place?

Here’s how…

Six months ago, I was practically invisible at Applecrest High School. My friends were few, unless you included my pathetic Facebook page, where most of my so-called friends I didn’t even know. I batted ninth on my rec baseball team, and as for girls? Forget about it. The only one that paid me any attention was the same one that woke me up every morning, yelling that I was going to be late for school.

Then one Saturday, my eight-year-old brother Stanley made a classic little kid mistake.

Dad, I’m so bored! he said.

Here’s a tip for you: Never ever tell your parents you’re bored, because you’ll end up with a slew of chores that effectively ruins your day, or in my case, the weekend.

Bored? Well, I’ve got a basement that needs cleaning, said Dad.

Terrific. Thank you, Stanley.

After shifting some things around to make it look that we were cleaning, I found an old cardboard box, stuffed to the max.

Wonder what’s in it? asked Stanley.

"Well, since it’s marked Private, I guess we’ll never know," I replied.

But don’t you want to know? he asked, smiling.

Yeah, but not enough to get in trouble with Dad.

But, it’s already opened, sort of, he reasoned, pointing to the dog-eared corners which were ripped off.

He had a point. The tape on the ragged box was yellow and peeling, and looked like it could fall apart any minute. Maybe the time was now. Slipping my hand through the bent flaps, I pulled out a stack of papers that immediately fell to the floor.

Wow, look at this! said Stanley, picking up a black and white photograph that appeared to have yellowed with age. Weird. This guy kind of looks like Dad.

Curious, I grabbed the picture out of his hand. The guy in the middle of a group of long-haired, hippie-looking dudes did resemble my dad. Thinner, with dark shoulder length hair, but it sure looked like him.

Hey, give me that, yelled Stanley, grabbing the photo back.

Shut up, I whispered. You want him to find out?

"Find out what?" asked Dad, magically appearing from out of nowhere.

Busted.

Stanley tried to hide the picture behind his back.

We’re cleaning up the basement like you told us to, said Stanley.

Yeah, we didn’t realize this was your stuff, I said, weakly.

"So, you didn’t see the word, Private in big black letters? What’s that?" he asked, noticing the picture Stanley was hiding poorly.

I don’t know. It looks like a picture of an old rock band, I said.

There’s a guy that looks like you in it, said Stanley.

"That’s because that is me," he confessed, staring at the old photo.

In the picture, he was holding a pair of drumsticks and looking cool, kneeling in front of four other guys with guitars.

"What does Hands Off mean?" Stanley asked, reading the words below the picture.

That was the name of our band, replied Dad.

I don’t think you ever told us about this one, I said.

Maybe later, he said, which usually meant no. So, this is your idea of cleaning the basement?

Most guys I know have normal dads. By that, I mean they do dad things, such as mowing the lawn on Saturdays with their baggy sweat pants drooping, beer guts hanging out, comb-overs flying in the breeze. My dad, on the other hand, although in his early fifties, doesn’t look or act like those guys. He wears his hair kind of long, though it’s turning a bit gray, and he loves rock and roll, even some of the groups I like. And he absolutely hates yard work, a gene I’m proud to have inherited. He drives an old sports car, unlike those overpriced, import, snob jobs some of my friends’ dads drive. But the coolest thing about him is his set of drums that he bangs on from time to time, a hang on from when he used to play in rock bands years ago.

You’re not getting off the hook that easy, I said.

Less talk, more cleaning. And if you do a good job, there might be a trip to Dairy Queen in your future.

That’s all I needed to hear, said Stanley.

Sure would like to hear more about this band, I said.

Get back to work.

I think I also inherited my dad’s lack of patience.

That night as we sat down for dinner, I decided to try to get more info about his mysterious past.

Dad, so tell us about that band, I said, grabbing a piece of fried chicken from the bucket.

Mom! That’s Jonah’s third piece already! cried Stanley.

Surely you have better things to do than to count my chicken pieces?

What band is that? asked Mom.

Let’s change the subject, he mumbled, glaring at me.

Stanley, never being one to take a hint, jumped in.

We found a picture of Dad in a rock band called Hands On, he blurted out.

"Hands Off, moron," I said.

Mom put her fork down and eyed Dad sternly.

Did I just hit a nerve?

I didn’t tell them. I swear. They just found an old picture.

Way to go, stupid, I whispered to Stanley.

You started it.

No, you started it.

Well, you found it.

It was your idea to reach into the box.

Everyone just eat, said Mom, curtly.

You told me to, said Stanley, picking up the fight again.

You are such a freaking liar.

That’s enough! yelled Dad.

And for about the next five minutes, the only sound coming from the table was a symphony of chewing. Suddenly, Mom broke the silence.

Is that really all you told them? she whispered.

Yes, replied Dad. That’s it.

Sorry, I said. I had no idea this was such a sore subject.

Dead silence.

It was just another band I was in a long time ago, he said between mouthfuls.

Okay, great. Mystery solved.

So then, what’s with all the drama? I asked. Did something bad happen?

Yeah, tell us! said Stanley.

I knew I was pushing it, but my curiosity was killing me. Hopefully, Dad wouldn’t.

Well, actually, we had some success, he said.

"Oh, so now you are going to tell them?" Mom asked.

Like, what kind of success? I asked, reaching for another piece of chicken. That’s piece number four for your records, I said to Stanley.

"We recorded some songs and some of them actually charted. As a matter of fact, when our biggest hit, I’m Just Fine charted in ‘seventy-three, I was only a couple of years older than you are now, Jonah. It went to number fourteen and we ended up touring with some of the biggest bands back then, like the Steve Miller Band, The Cars, and Aerosmith."

The tension seemed to go from Dad’s face as I detected a faint smile.

"You mean you were like, famous or something?" asked Stanley.

Oh my gosh! That’s so awesome! I exclaimed.

The expression on Mom’s face, however, said that she didn’t share our opinion.

How come you never told us? asked Stanley.

Well, for a number of reasons that… said Dad, his voice trailing off. Could you please pass the coleslaw, Lyn?

So Jonah, any upcoming school projects you should be working on? Mom asked. You know our agreement this year is to work on projects ahead of time verses the usual last minute trauma and drama.

Are you kidding me? I just found out my dad was a rock star and she wants to talk school projects?

Um, no Mom, I’m all caught up, I lied. "So Dad, this is wild! I mean, a hit record and touring with those bands? You’ve got to tell us more!"

Silence came over the table again as my brother and I waited for Dad’s response.

Dad glanced nervously over at Mom again.

Don’t look at me. You know how I feel about it, she said.

Maybe after dinner.

In that case, may I be excused? asked Stanley, jumping up from his chair.

Finish your beans first, said Mom in an agitated manner.

I won’t tell them if you don’t want me to, Sweetie.

It’s too late now, said Mom, getting up from the table and walking into the kitchen.

I’m not sure exactly what Pandora’s Box we had just opened, but it was clear that whatever it was, it was pretty major.

We’ll talk in a minute, said Dad, going over and whispering something to Mom as my ears strained to hear. Brushing him off, she began to clean up in the kitchen, so he came over and plopped down in his favorite chair.

Okay, Jonah. Here’s the short version. In ‘seventy-one, when I was fifteen years old, some friends and I decided to form a rock band. We hadn’t a clue anything would come of it, we just wanted to play music.

And get girls, I said smiling.

Exactly, he admitted, smiling back. Anyway, the music business was totally different back then than it is today.

How so? I asked.

Well, obviously, there was no Internet, no mp3s, and no CDs. Everything was on vinyl or eight track tape.

What’s vinyl? asked Stanley.

"You know those plastic black discs I have on my office walls for decoration? Those are what they used to record music on, and they were called records", explained Dad.

Weird, said Stanley.

The music industry was going through some major changes, including the birth of FM radio, which was playing the music a lot of people wanted to hear instead of the stuff record companies were trying to force down listeners’ ears on the AM stations. See, in those days, a radio disc jockey could still break a record.

Why would they want to break it? Stanley asked.

Breaking a record meant they could play new stuff, bozo, I said.

Exactly Jonah, and don’t call your brother names.

Stanley made a face at me as Dad continued.

"Today, the radio station’s program director decides what gets played, but only after those tunes have gone through a series of extensive testing. Plus, most of what you hear today is prepackaged and manufactured junk, like on American Idol," he said, shaking his head. If you ask me, spontaneity and creativity have long disappeared in the music business.

But what about the Internet? I asked. There’s a lot of good music coming out on iTunes and YouTube, right?

True, and hopefully that will help genuine talent break through the corporate clutter.

Even though she was putting away the dinner dishes, I sensed Mom was listening.

So how did it feel to be a rock star? I asked him.

I have to admit, it was all very exciting at the time.

Why did you call the band, Hands Off? asked Stanley.

We thought girls would like it, he grinned.

Oh, here we go, said Mom under her breath, but loud enough that we heard it.

How did the band get to make records? I asked.

Well, we’d been playing small gigs, high school dances, a few local night clubs, and things like that. Then one night, after playing this little club, a man came backstage and introduced himself as an A and R guy for a company called Manical Records.

What’s an A and R guy? asked Stanley.

"A and R stands for Artist and Repertoire. The A and R guys are the ones who seek out talent and bring them to the attention of the music labels.

Then they get you to sign your soul away and screw you over, said Mom, turning around. Look, do we have to go down memory lane right now? I’m craving a dip cone from Dairy Queen. Who’s with me?

Count me in! yelled Stanley, running to the door.

And with that suggestion, we piled into our SUV, and the conversation of records and rock stars quickly dissolved into visions of soft ice cream coated in chocolate.

While Stanley and I were waiting for our ice creams, I saw Mom and Dad outside arguing. Then I saw something I’ve never seen before. Mom got right in Dad’s face and shoved him with both hands, turned away, and stormed over to one of the outside tables to sit down by herself. When Stanley and I came out, I wisely chose a table on the opposite side, and Dad walked over to us and sat down. Staring up at the night sky, he seemed unaware of his dip cone melting down his hand.

Dad, I’d really like to hear more about Hands Off, I told him.

That’s not a good idea right now.

"So, is that a No?"

No answer.

What’s Mom so angry about?

It’s a long story, Jonah.

Something bad happened, didn’t it?

I really don’t want to talk about it right now.

I decided not to push him any further, but if this story was half as interesting as it appeared to be, there was no way I was going to let it die.

CHAPTER 2

THE NEXT DAY, AS STANLEY and I were raiding the kitchen pantry for snacks, Dad walked in with a surprising announcement.

I’m thinking about calling up the guys, he said.

The guys? Seriously? So our conversation last night meant nothing to you? asked Mom.

"Who are the guys?" asked Stanley.

I thought it might be fun to get together again.

Really? asked Mom. Out of the clear blue?

"Who are the guys?" asked Stanley again.

I was thinking about it, sweetie, even before the kids dug out that picture. I really miss playing.

You mean you’re getting Hands Off back together? Cool! I said.

You are truly unbelievable, Mom said, folding her arms.

It’d just be for fun and to jam a little, you know?

There was a brief silence before the jousting continued.

Why can’t you just play your drums along with your iPod, like you usually do?

It’s not the same. I miss playing with other musicians.

Awkward silence.

Terrific, she said, noticeably annoyed.

It won’t take up much time. Maybe just on the weekends.

Uh-oh, there was that look in her eyes. That, you just

Reviews for Overnight Sensation

[krista23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

With the summary and the cover it's hard not to mention that this story does have some predictability to it. You know what's going to happen in the end. It's the events leading up to it that counts. There is a lot of time that passes in this story. For the majority of the first half of the book it's dialogue, the going back and forth of "should we" and "what are we doing" The boys take several actions as most young boys do with not much thought to the act. But then the guilt and turmoil of what the consequences will be when their parents find out. When the decisions are made, the plan is in action, the story builds in anticipation. Although our main characters are teen boys. I couldn't help but feel that the story reads more like a memoir. Reminiscing of the best time of their youth and what could have been. Perhaps as a reader I was playing off this idea because technically Jonah's father is vicariously living through him.Perhaps this story is one of "What if's" and fly by the seat of your pants while you can.

[betty2karl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I won this book at Goodreads.com, thought it would be a fun read, I like music. Most of my reading genre is thriller, mystery, cop/detective, I like a real page turner. So, after reading the blurb, I though it would be a cute story, but not as engrossing as what I usually read. Wrong!!This book just gets in your mind and you want to keep reading. The author has great characters, they have a quirky sense of humor and they're fun, you almost feel like you're hanging out with them. Some of their one-liners had me giggling and I can imagine kids saying these things and acting the way the author portrays them.The main character, Jonah, is intrigued with his father's band, who have just started playing together again after a long time. He finds a recording of their song he thinks is great and emails it to a friend to see what he thinks. The friend sends it to a radio station, thinking it's a local station, but it's a syndicated station, all over the states, reaching millions of people. It gets airplay, requests, and it turns into the "overnight sensation", although no one knows who it is, what label it's on, but it's a HIT!This is where the fun starts, and Jonah has to involve his parents and confess what happened. The guys in the band get lots of attention from the girls at school when the secret gets out that their classmates are on the radio. A fan page is started for them and the following just grows seemingly by itself. No more details from me, but join the fun and read it, there's a plot twist at the end that makes it all the more interesting.I finished it in a couple evenings because it just pulls you in and makes you keep turning those pages. I would recommend this to anyone who would like a good, humorous story. It's good to read something outside you're usual favorite genre, I'm glad I got the chance to experience this book.Visit the author's website where he's got the actual song posted - it's a cool song, and it is kinda retro.Betty Karl - Author of Island Fever

[daniela07_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Overnight Sensation was easily a light and funny read that I definitely enjoyed. I burst out laughing about half the time. The characters were awesome and developed quite nicely throughout the book, even the school bully turned out to be rather cool. The plot was super fast, but extremely entertaining. I had fun seeing how the band would face the challenge before them. Half of them sounded like they were having the time of their lives (and they probably were), but poor Jonah was close to cracking.Fifteen year-old, 'in way over his head', (fake) rock star Jonah (Joman) Levine is going to be able to tell his children the story of a lifetime. He's a cool kid. I like him, because he's the most logical one of the band. He's got nice and very realistic characteristics that're fitting for a teenage boy. His friendly personality made him easily likable. But the one thing that got to me was his manner of not standing up to his bullies. Sure, he befriended one, but that's because he became famous. His character development didn't extend over that facing-the-bully line. I got a little annoyed over his 'I'll just nod and take the beating'. No kid! That's totally not the answer.His friends, band-mates, took part in getting this problem started. There're three of them: Kyle, Bart, and Jess (Teffy). All of them were full of witty comebacks and devious plans. I loved how they stood up for each other, it's definitely the sort of friendship that could last a long time, but the trouble they get into is getting shortening that time span.The plot was great. The story isn't so original, but I had an awesome time reading through it. It's fast, funny, and full of 'what will happen next?' moments. But there was a downfall: Not much of a setting. I don't know much of what the characters looked like or what the surroundings looked like. Most of the book was straight dialogue, and sometimes the settings changed so abruptly that I didn't realize it until I ended up confused and I had to go back to see where I got lost. There were also some grammatical and spelling mistakes here and there, but the overall story was greatly fascinating.I had a wonderful time reading Overnight Sensation. It's hilarious and fun to a full extent. I highly recommend it to anyone who would like a light and enjoyable read!