Asher's End

By Michael Matthiesen

Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll? More like Contracts, Conspiracies, and a Loss of Control

At 17, Ben, Thomas, and Mitch never thought that a local talent show would lead to anything more than some groupies and a good time. Now, ten years later, Asher’s End is world famous and on track to beat The Beatles record for most #1 hits. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to
see them succeed.

Attacked on all sides by stolen music, threats of a major lawsuit, and a music industry that’s no longer about the music—if it ever was—the childhood trio must also balance their personal demons.

Moments away from record-breaking success, Asher’s End is on the brink of losing it all. Besieged on all sides by cutthroat music execs, nosy paparazzi, and their own internal strife, will Ben, Mitch, and Thomas manage to cut through the noise or fade into obscurity?

Asher’s End is perfect for fans of boy bands like the Jonas Brothers, ’Sync, and the Backstreet Boys!

One-click today and grab your all-access pass to the hottest band around!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Matthiesen
• Release date: Feb 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215360422

Michael Matthiesen

I've been a music lover since birth, but a terrible musician. I started writing fiction after hearing about the breakup of a favorite band.I'm a Washington State Native and earned my Master's in Organizational Behavior and a Bachelors in Business Administration from Warner Pacific University in Portland Oregon and an A.A.S. in Machining from Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington .I'm a born-again believer, and a fan of comedy and drama and most of the time (lol there are times when life is hard.) I have a passion for Life, Love & Music. I've always been interested the bands that make it, that stick together. We all have problems and issues with one another and yet, some people seem to work through it, while others can't or won't. Now throw in creative differences and bands either make it or break it. I wanted to write about one that makes it. Not only that, but their lives become transformed through the process.When not writing, I can hear me talking about my passions & struggles on my podcast. Or I can be found out and about hiking Mt. St. Helen's or The Columbia River Gorge. Oh, and listening to a wide range of music.My two super hero powers, quoting The Office, and messing up song lyrics!

Book preview

CHAPTER

ONE

The Beginning of The End

The Windy City

The Peninsula Chicago, Chicago, Illinois | August 15, 2010, 4 pm

T homas, will you stop with your nonsense? I don’t care about the love of your life. Besides, you don’t have one.

Ben, I do have one… well, sort of. Arabella.

No! Mitch shouted. Stay away from her. Or I’ll…

Don’t hit my face; it’s too beautiful for your fist.

I’m not going to hit that pretty face of yours, as much as I would like to, Mitch said, disappointment coloring his voice.

Thomas was shocked. Were you actually considering it this time?

He knew Mitch all too well and he also knew that look on his face, as he was also, all too familiar with it. Thomas was being an idiot, but—like everything in his life—he was completely oblivious to it all.

Mitch rolled his eyes. Thomas, do you ever think of anything outside of you?

It wasn’t a real question, and he wasn’t expecting much of an answer back. Luckily, Thomas didn’t disappoint.

"Pfft, please… Why should I? People love me, just as I am. And I don’t blame them."

I don’t know if I should laugh or throw up.

"Mitch, is it so wrong that I think I’m God’s gift to the world? Is it even wronger that people love me for it?"

Finally breaking his silence, Ben snapped. "I’m going to slap you both. There is too much at stake here for you two to be screwing around. And Thomas, for your info, there is no such word as wronger. What you should be saying is, is it wrong that people love me for it? How many times…"

Blah blah blah. FYI, no one cares but you, Webster.

Mitch looked at Ben. Why bother correcting him?

Because if they can put a monkey in space, I can teach him to speak.

Thomas couldn’t care less. "We are idolized by millions, and you’re worried about the word wronger. Stop being such a downer."

He had a point.

I’m not a downer, but how we spea—

Blah blah blah. Listen, tight wad, we’re entertainers, okay. People don’t look up to us for grammar.

Mitch looked over at Ben. The idiot has a point.

You’re an antagonist, you know that?

Thomas rolled his eyes at Ben. Dude, it must take a lot of medication to be you.

The both of you are starting to piss me off, Ben said firmly. We aren’t just some fly-by-night boy band. You both know that, right?

Of course, I do, Thomas said proudly.

Mitch shook his head. Ben, if this is another one of your lectures, you’re wasting your time. He doesn’t even know what an antagonist is. He’s all face and no brains.

Ben pointed toward Thomas as he was looking at Mitch. Man, you’re just as bad as he is. I think you both love getting on each other’s nerves.

Deep down, Mitch loves me.

No. I don’t.

Mitch, you know you do. I mean look at me: I’m rich. I’m talented. I’m good looking. I’m the entire package, all rolled into one. The fact that I can sing is just an added bonus.

We all sing, moron, Besides, no one cares about that stuff.

You know, Mitch, money and brains may come and go, but looks are what’re remembered.

Thomas was just talking nonsense, and yet, oddly enough, he kind of believed it.

Mitch shook his head. If those people out there, you know, the ones you claim to love, heard you talk like this, our careers would be over. No one likes vanity.

"You’re wrong. People love vanity. Everyone from radio hosts to television reporters live for it. Why do you think we’re here? There are lots of people who can sing and play music, but where are they…hmm? Do you know where they’re at? Working 9 to 5 because we’ve got the package and they don’t. Now, take a chill pill and think about getting a little chin tuck. You look like you have a little gizzard thing hanging down."

I’m fine the way I am, thank you.

You’re no fun at all. What’s the matter? Having some love issues with the Mrs.?

I don’t have a Mrs. It’s forbidden, remember. And if I did, you’d be the last to know.

All I did was mention Julie and you get all defensive.

That’s enough, Mitch said firmly.

Thomas was all too happy to reply. See. I told you so.

Ben looked around. "Look at you two, bickering like kids. At 8 p.m. tonight, we are playing at Soldier Field for sixty thousand plus fans. None of us want to be up right now; we should be resting. I get that. To make matters worse, it’s supposed to be hot this evening. And to top it all off, it’s going to be filmed.

The enemy here isn’t us, okay. We’re tired, and we still have a few months left before this tour ends. Chill for a bit until we can finally make our way back home. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but Mark wants us all here, so let’s put aside the nonsense.

Ben knew they were all at their breaking point. For all the reasons he outlined. On top of all the stress, they were all still opposed to this particular concert being filmed. They each had their own reasons, but the general consensus was that they hadn’t had enough rest between shows. They didn’t want to look tired.

They were well aware that most of their concerts were filmed in one way or another, but it was a bit different when a network reached out directly. The problem was, it was the seventh show, hosted by the same network. The guys knew something was in the works. What they didn’t know were any of the details.

Actually, they knew the details, but with the tour and all the other meetings, they forgot most of them. One thing was certain: it was going to be filmed despite their objections.

Are we doing another music video? Thomas asked.

No, that was a few months ago, Mitch replied.

I think it has something to do with that biography, Ben said.

I thought we were going to talk about us?

Ben thought for a moment. Mitch, I think that’s a different thing. In all honesty, I can’t keep track.

Well, Thomas said, the only thing that matters is...how we look.

Mitch rolled his eyes. You are all vain and no brain.

We are about to break The Beatles’ record for the most hits, okay. I don’t care about how good looking you think you are, and I don’t care about his lack of brain or your witty comebacks. The only thing that matters is getting the Anniversary Special right. Ben took a deep breath. So, stop this nonsense and stay focused. We have worked 10 years to get this far, and I don’t need you two screwing this up.

Ben meant business, and they both knew it. Mitch and Thomas looked over at each other, just daring for the other to say something, but neither of them did.

Finally, there was peace amongst them, however brief. Ben looked across the table just waiting for Thomas to say something, but he didn’t. Thomas did all he could to avoid eye contact with Ben, even if it meant gazing around the room.

As for Mitch, he just sat there, staring at the conference phone in the middle of the table. He started thinking deeply about his own issues. He was so deep in thought he jumped a little when it rang. Lucky for him, no one noticed, especially Thomas, because that would have started the nonsense all over again. That would have been the tipping point for Ben, and he would have lost his cool. And Ben didn’t need that. He was anxious to get down to business and wasted no time.

Well, if it isn’t our favorite manager? What’s happening, Mark?

You’re under contract, so I better be the only one, Mark snarked back.

He knew they were kidding, of course, but there was no time to waste on shenanigans. There was business to discuss, and he wasted no time diving straight to it.

The studio was calling me, asking what you guys thought.

We gave them our thoughts, and they didn’t care. They don’t care. All that matters to them is how much they can make off of us, Mitch said.

Mitch, come on. We go through this every time. How about the rest of you? Do you guys have any questions?

Of course, we do, Mark. First off, what’s going on tonight? Ben asked.

Mark was reaching his breaking point with the guys. He has told them over and over, but like many times before, he kept to himself.

Listen, there’s talk of a concert marathon airing in November. If that happens, they want to have enough material to complete a 24-hour airing cycle. They need the oral bio to complete the cycle. The sit-down will give you guys the chance to tell it, from your own perspective.

Mark was hoping that it would jog their memories, but it didn’t, and the questions started coming.

Like what type of documentary is this? Mitch asked.

Like I was trying to tell you guys, it’s not really a documentary. They want you guys to talk about yourselves. Things that matter to you. You know, love, life, and music.

They want us to do a sit-down and talk about ourselves? Ben asked. Isn’t that a little premature? I mean, we’re still in our prime.

They’re going to push that single. The only thing that matters right now is breaking that record. If that can be accomplished, you all will have a very lucrative contract with pretty much all your demands met.

That is a long shot, Mitch added. By the time that single releases, this special will be over. They’ll have to find another scheme.

If you were listening... Mark mumbled something sassy under his breath.

He was always having to repeat himself numerous times—he felt like a broken record, when talking with the guys. On the other hand, he was making a lot of money off them, so he brushed it off, most of the time.

with as much money as he was making from them, he often second guessed his decision to manage the trio.

The guys heard him, but they didn't care.

They moved it up toward the end of your tour in November. There’s also talk about doing an all-day special that would air with clips from all seven shows. I figured you guys wouldn’t like that, but I did leave it open.

You know that’s a bad idea, Thomas said.

I thought as much, which is why I suggested doing an end-of-the-tour press conference and maybe some talk shows. It would keep you guys out there and give your fans what they want. The thing is, there is so much hype about breaking this record. Even if you did nothing, the hype itself could propel this release to number one.

Maybe, Mark, but what happens if this thing falls flat on its face? Mitch shook his head. We are going to look like fools.

Which is why I think the conferences and shows could help reel in some of this hype.

And what about market saturation? There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Well, Ben, that is a good question. We are definitely looking into that. But before we get into all that. I think you should be aware there’s been some changes at the top levels at CAB. I don’t know what that means, but I thought you should be aware of it.

Did you ever find out why CAB let Larry go? Ben asked.

No, but I’ll poke around. Time is short. I want you guys to get some rest after this. So, let’s get back to business. Now, about this special they want to run. As I mentioned before, I’ll recap because I’m sure you all forgot. This biography-history segment will be filmed at Radio City Music Hall. I got confirmation on that yesterday.

That’s the good news. The bad news. It has to be done in the morning. Now, you guys have a show that night, but it’s at the end of the tour, so hopefully you’ll have some energy and you won’t sound tired.

Oh, great, Mitch said.

Clearly, he wasn’t happy with the idea, but what could he really do about it?

Nothing.

It was what it was and the guys had learned over the years to accept the schedules they've been given.

I know, Mark sighed.

He really felt bad about it, but his hands were tied. He was at the mercy of what could fit in the schedule, along with the availability of places and crews.

They have a working title: Love, Life, and Music. They would like each of you to discuss the story behind the story. Things that fans don’t really know but want to. The idea that we discussed was having each of you tackle a segment.

Now suppose we do this, and they decide not to do the marathon. What happens to this material? Do we retain ownership? Or does it belong to the network? Mitch asked.

It will probably get leaked, like everything else, Ben snarked.

Yes, true. And that’s the problem, right? All the shows have made their way onto social media and other formats, like YouTube and such. Nothing we can do about that. Still, most fans, if not all, will watch it. We know this, based on the market research. As far as ownership goes, it belongs to the network.

This didn’t go over well with Mitch. Time and time again, he along with the others had fought for sole ownership over what they considered loose material. As far as they were concerned, this qualified.

Pfft… Of course, it does. It always does, Mitch said.

"You guys are listed as producers, so you do have some rights to the material and a say in what’s released. It will also give you guys more pocket money.

It’s not the money that concerns us, Ben said.

What’s the issue?

Ben and Mitch looked over at Thomas.

What. What did I do? Thomas asked.

But he knew exactly what they were talking about. As did Mark.

Oh, I see. Well, we will make sure that he’s fully aware of what he’s to say.

"Hello, you know I’m right here, and we all know you’re talking about me. For your info, I’m not as clueless