Summary Of Chapter Three
The Band Uses Some Poor Judgement
Here is a taste of Chapter Three, where Oxymoron succumb To the lure of drugs. I am not going into a great deal of detail with this chapter because it will give too much of it away. The band, because of their soaring success, are tempted at various wild parties to join the other stars in Cocaine, the drug of the eighties. Eddie is the first to sample and loves the junk. Calvin tries it once and decides that it is not for him, while Bryan occasionally partakes in both Cocaine and marijuana. Julian only sniffs Cocaine because it allows him to stay up for many hours and quells his appetite.
Taylor becomes addicted to the drug while Lee can take it or leave it. He uses it for recreational purposes only and it brings out not only his witty sense of humour but his vast knowledge of rock songs and singers, dating back to the early Elvis tunes. What he does not realize that, while he thinks he can leave it alone, he finds himself, like Eddie, growing dependant on the stuff, while Julian uses so much of it that it burns a hole on the inside of his nose. When asked by his manager why he got so many nosebleeds all of a sudden, Julian replies that it runs in his family. Most of the band's insiders knew what a wretched childhood he'd had and were not surprised that he wanted something to quell the pain. What they didn't know was that his use of the drug is primarily to eat a lot less. Although he isn't anorexic at this point, he recoils with horror one afternoon when he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. What gazes glassily back at him is a cherubic blimp. His Cocaine use continues and escalates and he and Burton often get together to have a semi-private party. Eddie feels that if Annie finds ouit she will not go ballistic if it keeps him off the booze.
This chapter is more than just about illicit drugs. It involves the four of them sniping and yelling at one another and one day, late in 1986, Julian threatens to leave Oxymoron. Eddie says off-handedly, "Go ahead. Singer/songwriters are a dime a dozen. Bryan says nothing and Calvin, having held in his anger for so long, finally erupts in a scene you won't believe when you read it. But it takes awhile for Calvin's livid words to sink in and when Bryan gets hold of some bad stuff laced with a poisonous substrance, he spends a few days in the hospital, vowing never to use Cocaine again. That leaves Julian, who, on the one hand, loved the way the drug suppresses his appetite but not the serious health hazards, decides to dump his supply down the toilet.
But this is just the beginning. Everywhere they go in their celebrity circles, they are being offered everything from acid to heroin. There is a harrowing part when someone drops a large quantity into Julian's drink and he becomes psychotic. The party guests thought he was making some kind of weird joke but Paul knew better. "Come on, Julian. Let's get the hell out of here before someone kills us".
Later on in this chapter Julian meets a teenage boy, stoned out of his mind and the two of them help each other. This is a band that makes itself very available to their fans, as they were very concerned about the youth of today and the alarming rate of drug use and suicide. Julian feels a stab of guilt that he uses the junk too so he goes through ten days of horrific withdrawl.
Something else very significant occurs in this chapter so I hope you get a chance to read it. Like I said, if I posted anymore of Chapter Three on the Internet, your curiousity would lead you to read it online. Believe me, I would like to do that for you as there is so much to tell about tha band, but I am not allowed to. I hope you all understand.
