Westside (2018) s01e08 Episode Script
Episode 8
I feel like I'm gonna puke.
How much time do we have? Twenty.
You excited about it? Nervous? Kinda nervous.
I'm literally gonna go out there and just completely start over.
And, I mean, obviously, not having you there is gonna suck.
We're in a long-distance relationship.
We're going through a lot and being away from each other has put a lot of stress on us.
We have this presentation coming up.
Fuck, dude, I'm gonna throw up.
I was wondering if you would want to come out for it.
I'll try and get off work for it.
Okay, Lexi.
Get it together.
So, what do we do Just All the hair on my legs is growing back.
And I just shaved them this morning.
My heart's beating, my heart's like, du-du-du And I can't slow it down.
- Fifteen minutes.
- Thank you.
Fifteen.
I love my family.
And I hope they know how much I love them, and I hope they know that I'm still trying to continue to do my music for them.
I think this is the first time I'm not worried about singing.
- Just about the monologue? - Yes.
You guys know my monologue enough, right? - That, like, you guys can just chime in.
- Yes.
Cool.
Like, what? Cam somebody do that with me? I'm going to remember everything.
I'm going to sing well.
I'm going to move people.
And I'm not gonna forget anything.
Five minutes.
Five minutes, guys.
My entire life is art versus commerce, and the fun and the blood and the sweat and tears goes into the art, but now in order for people to see it, I need to focus on the commerce.
Thank you so much for having me.
I was really excited to hear there was someone that was actually - interested in investing in the show.
- Yeah.
I would love to hear more about what's going on.
I want to hear about 1 Oak, I want to know how long it is, I want to know what you guys are thinking of doing.
How you're planning on raising money, - what you're going to do with it.
- I prepared a deck.
Oh, great.
To kind of show you.
We knew we wanted to create something where there was once nothing, we knew we wanted to share stories, we knew we wanted to create the seed of something much bigger, but the ultimate goal has always been combining nightlife and theater.
- Phase one - Okay.
was the inception and development.
Phase two is everything that we actually need for mounting the physical show.
Phase three, our actual rehearsals.
- And phase four - What was the price on that one? - So that's $197,000.
- Okay.
Phase four, the final phase, is 16 weeks of residency running the show at 1 Oak.
I know 1.
6 is a lot of money, um, but, you know, I'd love to know if it's something that you'd be interested in, or if you have other friends who would also see potential - in an investment like this.
- Well, I definitely - There's definitely a handful of us.
- Yeah? I'd need to look at the numbers a little bit more clearly, kind of understand some of it and how it works and how the 41% bases on projections.
If you can send me all of that stuff, that would be great.
- I want to show it to a couple people.
- Yeah.
And I would love to be able to see the presentation.
Hello.
Hey! We are so honored that you are with us tonight for this show.
Now, tonight is not by any means a finished product.
It is part of the process.
And it kind of feels like the end of the beginning.
It's been a real honor to watch them grow and evolve and bring their stories to life in this way.
I hope that you enjoy it.
Without further ado, it is my pleasure to thank you for being with us, spending your night with these eight exceptional people as they get naked.
I had two suitcases packed to the brim.
I had tears in my eyes, thinking, "Wow, I can't believe I'm about to move away from my little town.
" I was so comfortable.
I had a tiny but really cozy roof over my head and a man who adores me.
Everything you'd need, right? Thank y'all so much.
Jeez Louise, cheddar cheese.
Okay.
Thirteen was a great year for me because graduation was coming.
But my mother received a phone call from the principal.
And the principal told my mother "I just want to let you know that your daughter will not be graduating on stage.
" And just like any parent, my mother was pissed.
So day of graduation, my mom told me, "Come on, let's go.
We're going to go for a ride.
" And we actually drove to my junior high.
And we parked right in front where I could see all of my friends and all of their family dressed nice with their cap and gowns that I should have been wearing, and immediately my heart broke into pieces.
I failed my mother.
And the only thing that I could tell my mom was, "I'm so sorry.
I'll never do this again, I promise.
I'm going to do better.
" And she said "Okay, I believe you.
" So I guess, she trusted me, but as I started getting older, I kept breaking that promise.
Not on purpose, but I did.
Here's my story.
"Dear Mama, today I crossed out my 42nd day in this crazy place counting the days to finally hug my best friend.
And that's you, Mama.
You're the only reason I try to survive in this world.
So, please don't worry about me.
I miss you, Mama.
And your damn cooking, too.
Please don't forget to write me back.
Sincerely, your little brat, Tiffany Atlas Savala.
Booking number 436-7370.
You might remember me from a little show called American Idol.
At least I hope that you do.
All my life, all I ever heard was the word "no.
" You know, it took me five times before I made it onto that show.
And in one moment, it was over.
"America has voted and, Pia, you are gone.
" I was supposed to be legendary.
Well, I guess I underestimated just how hard that was actually going to be.
Yeah, I did.
I did.
I need the line.
I became a professional dream chaser.
That's why I became a professional dream chaser.
And I got really, really good at pretending like everything was okay.
Like I'm actually doing right now.
I'm so insecure.
And a lot of people mistook that and call me the ice queen.
That's what they painted me as on the show, but I'm the furthest thing from that.
So I'm done getting in my own way.
I'm done standing on the sidelines watching other people shine.
I'm sick of seeing my reflection in the glass as I watch the window of opportunity starting to close.
I believe in dreams.
I believe in dreams again.
Your glasses started steaming for a second.
Oh, that's hilarious.
That's like a good Oh, this is such a good metaphor - for what I'm experiencing right now.
- Really.
Artistically, the fog of the past seven weeks clearing.
How are you feeling? - So good.
- Yeah? How are you feeling? I'm really, really proud of how everyone pulled together.
You know, I always go to, "What's next?" And then I kept thinking "How is this show going to work at 1 Oak?" I think that going forward, it may be a misstep to fit our square peg in the round hole.
Having this first audience and seeing how the truth set them free.
I am very much on the same page, of what we've fallen into and what has been birthed and given to us is something so special that I don't want to ruin it.
You know? And then, so then, the other part of my brain is thinking then, "What do we do at 1 Oak?" We bring in the right people who understand how to bring this to life with integrity and with technical precision.
I'm so grateful for everything Keith has done for us for this first stage of work-shopping the show.
I mean, he was instrumental in bringing out our truths and our stories.
He was our therapist, our friend, our mentor, and our musical director.
He helped us get where we needed to be.
So, how do you feel about last night? I feel I thought it was going to be so much easier for me to open up and just tell my story.
For some reason, I feel more comfortable playing another character than standing on an X and standing in front of a bunch of people and telling my own story.
Because you still have your walls up.
- It's a protective barrier.
- But why? You have to be okay with not everybody loving you.
I looked down and it felt like it was an eternity.
It felt like it was an eternity.
I couldn't find the line.
All I saw was clouds in my head.
Not every performance is going to be great.
- It's not.
- But when you have a whole bunch of people and then we have investors there for somebody else's fucking dream, and then you fuck up, - it's like you're letting everybody - Did you pee onstage? Like, what did You missed a line.
You're allowed to be human, Pia.
Because when you get in your head like that, you're robotic and you're not human, and people can't relate to you.
That's why what happened happened last night.
It threw me I've never messed up like that in front of people before.
So, but use that.
It's about bringing your insecurities to the forefront and using that as a strength, and stop looking at it like it's a weakness.
For so long, I have strived for such perfection that's really unattainable.
I think you learn the most when you're in those uncomfortable moments.
It's okay to stumble and then come back stronger.
- Did you like the show? - Yeah, it was awesome.
It's literally therapy in music is what it was.
You know, like, that's your own therapy, but for somebody else to listen to it, relate to it, and that's their therapy, too, you know? Not only helping other people, it helps you guys, which is neat.
I'm proud of you, babe.
- Thank you.
- Getting out of your comfort zone.
- I'm proud of me, too.
- Nice.
- Yeah.
Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- I'm glad that you got to come out here.
- Me, too.
I feel like I don't know, dude.
I was in such a weird place for a little bit.
- Right when I got out here.
- No, I know.
It's a lot, man.
- You know.
- A lot to handle.
You and I talked so much about how we weren't going to let this, like, put too much pressure on our relationship - and it just ended up happening.
- It put a shitload of pressure on it.
- I know.
- It happens.
And, like, I'm sorry that I was standoffish It's not your fault, man.
You got a lot going on.
I didn't want to question things, I didn't want to be like, "Should I just do this on my own?" But I think you needed that, though.
- You know? - Yeah.
'Cause you've never been on your own, you never had to do things on your own.
I didn't know how much I missed you until you came here.
Like, I'm in a weird spot.
I love this city.
I love the friends that I've made out of here.
But we just can't do this distance thing anymore.
- No, I know.
- Like You and I have discussed you moving here.
- Right.
- Multiple times.
Do you feel like you could see yourself living here? Sean Patrick Murray, everybody.
Hey, Sean, do you remember that one time you called a meeting for everyone - and they don't know why? - Yeah, I think it's about It is actually really crazy seeing everyone sitting here right now.
The last time we were all together was when we were at the Odyssey.
The investors that were there responded very favorably, so I definitely think that the Odyssey was a success.
You fucking wrote killer songs.
That in itself, to me, is the greatest success I could ever ask for, because we found each other, and we were like, "We're going to put up this show.
" And what I did not expect was a family.
And the time we've shared and what we've experienced together, no one will ever, ever be able to take away.
- That was really good.
- Oh, my God, I so agree, I love you! - That being said - Now we're in a meeting.
- "We're gonna replace all of you.
" - No.
So The other day I met with 1 Oak.
Thank you so much - for letting me come to your space.
- Absolutely.
There's something about the 1 Oak brand that exudes sexiness and fame and fortune.
When we put up the presentation at the Odyssey, we secured a few investors, um, which, basically, is giving us enough money to put up a pop-up trial run of this show.
I'm going to be honest with you, Ronnie, we got a lot of content.
I want to do something with you guys so badly, I want to make it work.
I always say the proof is in the pudding, you know what I mean? I know the kind of clientele, I've been very familiar of what you represent.
There's an opportunity to kind of popify and make more modern songs that would fit into that space.
I think if a performance decides to pop itself up in our club, I think it's important that they're able to move the crowd, dance, stand on tables.
We don't want to alienate anyone who wants to come and have a certain experience.
I basically, from you guys, want the go-ahead of "run with it.
" On top of coming with an amazing concept and, you know, a potentially long-term relationship project, I think it's good to, like, make sure that all the bases are covered.
I'm going to try to be in LA in a couple of weeks, and if you can put together preview and show me what the programming looks like, and we can take it from there.
- It's really about how you deliver it.
- Cool.
It's all packaging.
We need a show that is sexy, that people will dance to.
Songs like Madonna's "Like a Virgin.
" Right? Britney Spears and Rihanna's "S&M.
" Um That's the world that they sell.
So what you're saying is we're doing a show of covers? Without saying anything else first, I want to know your initial thoughts based on that.
Lexi, go.
Okay, so, like, I just have a couple of things to say, like, entering another show where I'm singing cover songs worries me because that's been my life, and I worry about what it says for all of us.
I agree.
That was exactly what I was going to say.
Does it take away from us as artists and our originality and what we're really trying to go for? I don't give a fuck about being commercial.
- Yes, Caitlin? - My opinion is much more cut and dry, that this is not a fucking big deal.
I need a job.
I am poor, I need to work, and if I can get a constant paycheck, I don't I know fucking covers, I'll do that, because that's not my whole life.
It's just a show.
The thing is, Cait, it might not strike a chord with you, but with certain people, me being one of them, I am trying to step up.
I am trying to grow as a person.
When you hear the word "covers," it puts you back at that spot, on that stage, with no one listening, trying to grow and trying to be somebody, and you always wonder in the back your head, "How am I supposed to be somebody if I'm always being somebody else?" - Yeah.
- You know what I mean? I'm not handing over this vision.
I can't do that.
I'm not a fucking puppet.
I mean, you guys are my family.
We started this together.
And so us figuring this out as a team, as a unit, as an ensemble, is what matters most to me.
- Well, thank you for that.
- Yeah.
I hear you on the covers thing.
I think that if we have a balance as this new, original show at 1 Oak.
But the reality is if we want to nail this, have to have something fucking ready to kill and slay in two weeks.
Let's do it.
I mean, if we have If we could put our own art into it and just be freaking creative on our own and - We can and we will.
- Yeah.
- I'm down.
- We're gonna.
Wow, man.
Talk about, like, an impressive room, - when you walk in.
- Thank you, man.
It still trips me out.
Joy came to the Odyssey, and Joy was one of the people that called me afterwards and said she knew someone else that could really help bring this show to the next level, and his name was Phil Lawrence, which is you.
I think I've heard of that guy.
- Okay.
- Which is why - I'm so glad she made the introduction.
- Yeah.
You know, when I was younger and coming up, I was a theater kid.
You know? I was - You did theater, too? - Absolutely.
My background is in that.
You know, and I always had thought if I reach a certain level of success and I can go back and do some of those things that made me so passionate early on, I want to do that.
I've been working all my life for something like this and we came up with these songs.
Like, it's a very raw and topical and I think - Yeah.
- I owe it to the cast and ourselves to not change that, but I also have a commitment to 1 Oak.
How do I keep its authenticity and still make money from it so that the world can see it? Being very frank, that's hopefully where you come in.
I think it's smart to go the 1 Oak route.
I'm organizing just, like, a very simple, rough preview with these executives at 1 Oak.
When is this showcase? In like two weeks.
- Two weeks?! - Yeah.
Let me tell you something.
It took us The song "24 Karat Magic" probably took us about a year to make.
- Did it really? - It genuinely did.
- One song? - One song.
And you know what happened? We had And that was it.
But that was so good - That you knew.
- We knew.
We were like, "We got to figure out how to put a song around that," - and that took a better part of a year.
- Wow.
So, to do something magical in a two-week span of time - I'm not looking for a finished product.
- Right.
If there's someone that can take songs and "theater" and make it and not in a bad word, "commercial success," - it's Phil Lawrence.
- Man, that that means a lot.
- It's work.
- Yeah.
And if I were to kind of, you know, listen to what you have and engaged if, personally, don't take any offense, - if I think there's anything there.
- Yeah.
Because we don't have time.
Especially in your position.
You need to either figure this out or come up with another solution.
Being very real, like, if you're like, "It's gonna be too much work, I say we scrap this," then that's what we need to do.
I may have a song.
To kind of speed of process up a little bit, there's a song that me and a couple of friends of mine wrote.
It's called "Love in Action.
" So why don't you send me what you have, let me kind of dig in, listen to them and see - what I can bring to the songs.
- Yeah.
I know it's a process.
If I'm going to put my name on it, I want to make it - Absolutely.
- on the level.
- Yeah.
- So get it to me, ASAP.
Okay.
It's taken some trial and error trying to get this show off the ground.
But with Phil's help, I think we can really lock down 1 Oak without having to do covers or losing the authenticity of what we created in the first place.
We're going to rework a couple songs from the Naked Workshops and collaborate with Phil on the original song he had on the shelf.
The clock is definitely ticking, but if we can pull this off, we'll finally have a home for our show.
You guys.
- Phil Lawrence in the house! - What's up, y'all! Can a brother slide real quick? I mean, since I'm in the mix, let me slide a little bit.
It's so nice to meet y'all! - Hi, I'm Taz.
I have candy on my hand! - It's okay, keep that candy.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, Taz.
- My name's Caitlin.
- Caitlin, nice to meet you.
Wow, everyone's so different and unique and individual artists.
I love it.
I was so inspired by you guys, because I saw myself, and I still see myself in you guys, because we're all the same.
We all came to this city and this town like, "All right, God, let's go.
" I'm here to help.
I'm here to, if you want some advice, maybe show you a little bit of some of the things that I've learned, and it can apply to what you're doing now.
All right, so then let's let's start.
I think maybe we go one person Somebody else comes in.
Ain't enough, you gotta be ready to I kinda like you just doing it straight.
- Let me do it again.
- Let's clean up their rhythm a bit.
Try to get those quarter notes.
Because you're doing it in falsetto, you'll have to over-enunciate it a little bit.
I'm pretty nervous.
Don't pee on yourself.
Oh, fuck.
They hear me.
- You want to do the whole song again? - Yeah.
Let's do it.
So one more time, top down, and then we'll get the guys in.
So, like, how do we kind of merge the worlds together to create something maybe fresh and unique? Ninety-two percent there.
We gon' get to 100.
Obviously, tomorrow is the big day.
We're going to be presenting in front of the 1 Oak executives.
So I'm going to start off.
I'm going to say, "Hey, everyone.
Thank you so much for coming.
This has been an incredible journey.
" Who's next after It's just the chorus, right? We should naturally let them glide forward, and we should always come back and just be playing with someone, but, you know Yeah, and it stays down.
Five, six, seven, eight.
And, boom, this is right.
Hey.
This is left.
Hey.
This is forward.
Hey.
This is right, hey.
 This is forward You feed your artistry with the data that you're putting into your body, and into your mind and soul.
And then your artistry feeds you.
I'm not afraid of not succeeding anymore, because I feel in a lot of ways that I am a success.
I get to do what I love and I persisted against all odds to make that happen.
But I'm scared that I'll lose everything that I've worked for.
I know that for alcoholics, there's always a danger that you're going to relapse when you start feeling like you got this.
But I don't know.
I really hope I don't.
Guys, come back here.
Pia, James, Caitlin.
Come here, real quick.
This is it.
We fucking did it.
I feel like I took a really big step forward in this whole process.
I've changed a lot.
I can't wait.
Oh, my God.
I cannot wait to see our apartment! It's crazy how three months' worth of distance could almost ruin a six-year relationship.
It's kind of cool to go off on your own path and figure out who you are without everybody that's been surrounding you your whole life.
I'm happy we're here.
- I love you.
- Love you, too.
- I'm happy you're here with me.
It feels - You, too.
way more right being here and having you here.
I mean, when I first started, I really hoped that I would be able to write a song and I did.
It's not that hard, I just have to try.
I've never known exactly what I wanted to do, because I do want success and I know that I just want it on my own terms.
I just really don't know what that is yet.
I don't have any money.
I want to marry you when I have money, to have a weekend party with our friends, and that's all that I I thought for sure that we were going to have like a Goldie Hawn-Kurt Russell type of deal.
- What, we're just like life partners? - I'm joking.
Oh, cool.
We're inside of 1 Oak right now.
We should really fucking proud of ourselves.
You only live once.
You've been sober, right? That's why I wanted to talk to you, because, like, when I'm stressed out, I drink so I can just not care anymore.
If you have a chance to do something, you do it.
Don't run away from it.
- You think that you might be an alcoholic? - I know I am.
You don't want to live with regret.
Stop caring what everyone else thinks.
Love yourself, respect yourself.
We're all growing and we're all learning and no one's perfect.
Being vulnerable and being an artist go hand-in-hand.
Do you feel like a different person now? Totally.
What's the biggest difference? My whole mindset.
Being that open about stuff you've been through and why you are the way you are gives you a good sense of yourself.
You have to trust your own growth and understand that it's never going to be comfortable.
I see her just evolve both as a person, as a performer, and it's just, like, insane.
- Oh - We've had an incredible journey, and it's been rocky at times, but I've never seen us come together more than we have in the past two days to pull this shit off.
I'm not the same person I was when I first started this process.
I'm not chained by my past.
I'm honored to be who I am, because I know where I'm going.
We're going up, baby.
Tonight, Phil Lawrence is in the house.
We're going to make him proud.
Tonight, Joy is in the house, our investor.
We're going to have executives from 1 Oak.
I just want to make sure that no matter what, we leave here today knowing that we had fun.
I love you all.
I feel like I did learn a lot for myself.
I've needed to learn that it was okay to mess up.
You just have to fight your insecurities and battle through.
One, two, three.
And that's exactly what we all did.
Together and individually.
We've created this incredible lifelong bond on this beautiful journey.
Good.
Ronnie, so good to see you.
Jeff.
Good to see you guys.
I first wanted to say thank you so much for allowing us into your space.
Tonight is the next phase of showing you what we've been working on.
So without further ado, enjoy the show.
Yeah! - Great job.
- That's it! So, I don't know, at this point, I don't know if you guys have any comments, questions.
I want to say something.
A few things, actually.
First, I think I'm biased because my husband worked with you guys and did this, so that was phenomenal.
I think each of you guys have something special, um, but together as an ensemble becomes this magic.
And I'm just so proud and, like, honored to be a part of it, and I'm really hard to please, and I have to say that I was really impressed.
- Thank you.
- So, yeah.
And your stories are universal, and then watching you guys together as a family is so empowering that it makes people want to open up so they can experience this.
- Yeah.
- Thank you so much.
So, Ronnie, what do you think? Do you think that this is something that you could see living in the 1 Oak world? You guys are in great company.
We've had Prince in here, Axl Rose and Van Halen, Mos Def, and, you know, so many incredible artists came through these doors.
But I just felt this room more than I've ever felt it before.
You know, listen, we're not just a nightclub, we are an experience.
And our doors open four nights a week between 10:00 and 2:00.
You can use your imagination for the before 10:00, before the doors open officially to the crowd, and do something that's really transitional.
Well, let me just come on up here.
And just kick it with y'all for a second.
When you tell your story, you put music in it, and it transcends everything else, which is what drew me initially to this project.
And then now as I've gotten to know everyone, and everyone is so uniquely gifted in their own way.
It's exciting.
I've been in the industry for a long time.
I've been a part of a lot of hits, a lot of awesome things, but to be a part of this, you know, and my wife touched on that, you know, it's exciting and it's inspiring.
My wife and I have been having a separate conversation, and it's so exciting and so inspiring for us Baby, you want to come up real quick? - Oh, God.
- Let's go, girl! That we have been so moved by this entire process, that we want to invest as well.
Oh, shit! Yeah! - Thank you so much, man.
- Of course, man.
So, I have to ask and I hate to put you on the spot, but are you in? Two hundred per cent.
Guys Group hugs.
I'm so proud of you guys.
Thank you.
How much time do we have? Twenty.
You excited about it? Nervous? Kinda nervous.
I'm literally gonna go out there and just completely start over.
And, I mean, obviously, not having you there is gonna suck.
We're in a long-distance relationship.
We're going through a lot and being away from each other has put a lot of stress on us.
We have this presentation coming up.
Fuck, dude, I'm gonna throw up.
I was wondering if you would want to come out for it.
I'll try and get off work for it.
Okay, Lexi.
Get it together.
So, what do we do Just All the hair on my legs is growing back.
And I just shaved them this morning.
My heart's beating, my heart's like, du-du-du And I can't slow it down.
- Fifteen minutes.
- Thank you.
Fifteen.
I love my family.
And I hope they know how much I love them, and I hope they know that I'm still trying to continue to do my music for them.
I think this is the first time I'm not worried about singing.
- Just about the monologue? - Yes.
You guys know my monologue enough, right? - That, like, you guys can just chime in.
- Yes.
Cool.
Like, what? Cam somebody do that with me? I'm going to remember everything.
I'm going to sing well.
I'm going to move people.
And I'm not gonna forget anything.
Five minutes.
Five minutes, guys.
My entire life is art versus commerce, and the fun and the blood and the sweat and tears goes into the art, but now in order for people to see it, I need to focus on the commerce.
Thank you so much for having me.
I was really excited to hear there was someone that was actually - interested in investing in the show.
- Yeah.
I would love to hear more about what's going on.
I want to hear about 1 Oak, I want to know how long it is, I want to know what you guys are thinking of doing.
How you're planning on raising money, - what you're going to do with it.
- I prepared a deck.
Oh, great.
To kind of show you.
We knew we wanted to create something where there was once nothing, we knew we wanted to share stories, we knew we wanted to create the seed of something much bigger, but the ultimate goal has always been combining nightlife and theater.
- Phase one - Okay.
was the inception and development.
Phase two is everything that we actually need for mounting the physical show.
Phase three, our actual rehearsals.
- And phase four - What was the price on that one? - So that's $197,000.
- Okay.
Phase four, the final phase, is 16 weeks of residency running the show at 1 Oak.
I know 1.
6 is a lot of money, um, but, you know, I'd love to know if it's something that you'd be interested in, or if you have other friends who would also see potential - in an investment like this.
- Well, I definitely - There's definitely a handful of us.
- Yeah? I'd need to look at the numbers a little bit more clearly, kind of understand some of it and how it works and how the 41% bases on projections.
If you can send me all of that stuff, that would be great.
- I want to show it to a couple people.
- Yeah.
And I would love to be able to see the presentation.
Hello.
Hey! We are so honored that you are with us tonight for this show.
Now, tonight is not by any means a finished product.
It is part of the process.
And it kind of feels like the end of the beginning.
It's been a real honor to watch them grow and evolve and bring their stories to life in this way.
I hope that you enjoy it.
Without further ado, it is my pleasure to thank you for being with us, spending your night with these eight exceptional people as they get naked.
I had two suitcases packed to the brim.
I had tears in my eyes, thinking, "Wow, I can't believe I'm about to move away from my little town.
" I was so comfortable.
I had a tiny but really cozy roof over my head and a man who adores me.
Everything you'd need, right? Thank y'all so much.
Jeez Louise, cheddar cheese.
Okay.
Thirteen was a great year for me because graduation was coming.
But my mother received a phone call from the principal.
And the principal told my mother "I just want to let you know that your daughter will not be graduating on stage.
" And just like any parent, my mother was pissed.
So day of graduation, my mom told me, "Come on, let's go.
We're going to go for a ride.
" And we actually drove to my junior high.
And we parked right in front where I could see all of my friends and all of their family dressed nice with their cap and gowns that I should have been wearing, and immediately my heart broke into pieces.
I failed my mother.
And the only thing that I could tell my mom was, "I'm so sorry.
I'll never do this again, I promise.
I'm going to do better.
" And she said "Okay, I believe you.
" So I guess, she trusted me, but as I started getting older, I kept breaking that promise.
Not on purpose, but I did.
Here's my story.
"Dear Mama, today I crossed out my 42nd day in this crazy place counting the days to finally hug my best friend.
And that's you, Mama.
You're the only reason I try to survive in this world.
So, please don't worry about me.
I miss you, Mama.
And your damn cooking, too.
Please don't forget to write me back.
Sincerely, your little brat, Tiffany Atlas Savala.
Booking number 436-7370.
You might remember me from a little show called American Idol.
At least I hope that you do.
All my life, all I ever heard was the word "no.
" You know, it took me five times before I made it onto that show.
And in one moment, it was over.
"America has voted and, Pia, you are gone.
" I was supposed to be legendary.
Well, I guess I underestimated just how hard that was actually going to be.
Yeah, I did.
I did.
I need the line.
I became a professional dream chaser.
That's why I became a professional dream chaser.
And I got really, really good at pretending like everything was okay.
Like I'm actually doing right now.
I'm so insecure.
And a lot of people mistook that and call me the ice queen.
That's what they painted me as on the show, but I'm the furthest thing from that.
So I'm done getting in my own way.
I'm done standing on the sidelines watching other people shine.
I'm sick of seeing my reflection in the glass as I watch the window of opportunity starting to close.
I believe in dreams.
I believe in dreams again.
Your glasses started steaming for a second.
Oh, that's hilarious.
That's like a good Oh, this is such a good metaphor - for what I'm experiencing right now.
- Really.
Artistically, the fog of the past seven weeks clearing.
How are you feeling? - So good.
- Yeah? How are you feeling? I'm really, really proud of how everyone pulled together.
You know, I always go to, "What's next?" And then I kept thinking "How is this show going to work at 1 Oak?" I think that going forward, it may be a misstep to fit our square peg in the round hole.
Having this first audience and seeing how the truth set them free.
I am very much on the same page, of what we've fallen into and what has been birthed and given to us is something so special that I don't want to ruin it.
You know? And then, so then, the other part of my brain is thinking then, "What do we do at 1 Oak?" We bring in the right people who understand how to bring this to life with integrity and with technical precision.
I'm so grateful for everything Keith has done for us for this first stage of work-shopping the show.
I mean, he was instrumental in bringing out our truths and our stories.
He was our therapist, our friend, our mentor, and our musical director.
He helped us get where we needed to be.
So, how do you feel about last night? I feel I thought it was going to be so much easier for me to open up and just tell my story.
For some reason, I feel more comfortable playing another character than standing on an X and standing in front of a bunch of people and telling my own story.
Because you still have your walls up.
- It's a protective barrier.
- But why? You have to be okay with not everybody loving you.
I looked down and it felt like it was an eternity.
It felt like it was an eternity.
I couldn't find the line.
All I saw was clouds in my head.
Not every performance is going to be great.
- It's not.
- But when you have a whole bunch of people and then we have investors there for somebody else's fucking dream, and then you fuck up, - it's like you're letting everybody - Did you pee onstage? Like, what did You missed a line.
You're allowed to be human, Pia.
Because when you get in your head like that, you're robotic and you're not human, and people can't relate to you.
That's why what happened happened last night.
It threw me I've never messed up like that in front of people before.
So, but use that.
It's about bringing your insecurities to the forefront and using that as a strength, and stop looking at it like it's a weakness.
For so long, I have strived for such perfection that's really unattainable.
I think you learn the most when you're in those uncomfortable moments.
It's okay to stumble and then come back stronger.
- Did you like the show? - Yeah, it was awesome.
It's literally therapy in music is what it was.
You know, like, that's your own therapy, but for somebody else to listen to it, relate to it, and that's their therapy, too, you know? Not only helping other people, it helps you guys, which is neat.
I'm proud of you, babe.
- Thank you.
- Getting out of your comfort zone.
- I'm proud of me, too.
- Nice.
- Yeah.
Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- I'm glad that you got to come out here.
- Me, too.
I feel like I don't know, dude.
I was in such a weird place for a little bit.
- Right when I got out here.
- No, I know.
It's a lot, man.
- You know.
- A lot to handle.
You and I talked so much about how we weren't going to let this, like, put too much pressure on our relationship - and it just ended up happening.
- It put a shitload of pressure on it.
- I know.
- It happens.
And, like, I'm sorry that I was standoffish It's not your fault, man.
You got a lot going on.
I didn't want to question things, I didn't want to be like, "Should I just do this on my own?" But I think you needed that, though.
- You know? - Yeah.
'Cause you've never been on your own, you never had to do things on your own.
I didn't know how much I missed you until you came here.
Like, I'm in a weird spot.
I love this city.
I love the friends that I've made out of here.
But we just can't do this distance thing anymore.
- No, I know.
- Like You and I have discussed you moving here.
- Right.
- Multiple times.
Do you feel like you could see yourself living here? Sean Patrick Murray, everybody.
Hey, Sean, do you remember that one time you called a meeting for everyone - and they don't know why? - Yeah, I think it's about It is actually really crazy seeing everyone sitting here right now.
The last time we were all together was when we were at the Odyssey.
The investors that were there responded very favorably, so I definitely think that the Odyssey was a success.
You fucking wrote killer songs.
That in itself, to me, is the greatest success I could ever ask for, because we found each other, and we were like, "We're going to put up this show.
" And what I did not expect was a family.
And the time we've shared and what we've experienced together, no one will ever, ever be able to take away.
- That was really good.
- Oh, my God, I so agree, I love you! - That being said - Now we're in a meeting.
- "We're gonna replace all of you.
" - No.
So The other day I met with 1 Oak.
Thank you so much - for letting me come to your space.
- Absolutely.
There's something about the 1 Oak brand that exudes sexiness and fame and fortune.
When we put up the presentation at the Odyssey, we secured a few investors, um, which, basically, is giving us enough money to put up a pop-up trial run of this show.
I'm going to be honest with you, Ronnie, we got a lot of content.
I want to do something with you guys so badly, I want to make it work.
I always say the proof is in the pudding, you know what I mean? I know the kind of clientele, I've been very familiar of what you represent.
There's an opportunity to kind of popify and make more modern songs that would fit into that space.
I think if a performance decides to pop itself up in our club, I think it's important that they're able to move the crowd, dance, stand on tables.
We don't want to alienate anyone who wants to come and have a certain experience.
I basically, from you guys, want the go-ahead of "run with it.
" On top of coming with an amazing concept and, you know, a potentially long-term relationship project, I think it's good to, like, make sure that all the bases are covered.
I'm going to try to be in LA in a couple of weeks, and if you can put together preview and show me what the programming looks like, and we can take it from there.
- It's really about how you deliver it.
- Cool.
It's all packaging.
We need a show that is sexy, that people will dance to.
Songs like Madonna's "Like a Virgin.
" Right? Britney Spears and Rihanna's "S&M.
" Um That's the world that they sell.
So what you're saying is we're doing a show of covers? Without saying anything else first, I want to know your initial thoughts based on that.
Lexi, go.
Okay, so, like, I just have a couple of things to say, like, entering another show where I'm singing cover songs worries me because that's been my life, and I worry about what it says for all of us.
I agree.
That was exactly what I was going to say.
Does it take away from us as artists and our originality and what we're really trying to go for? I don't give a fuck about being commercial.
- Yes, Caitlin? - My opinion is much more cut and dry, that this is not a fucking big deal.
I need a job.
I am poor, I need to work, and if I can get a constant paycheck, I don't I know fucking covers, I'll do that, because that's not my whole life.
It's just a show.
The thing is, Cait, it might not strike a chord with you, but with certain people, me being one of them, I am trying to step up.
I am trying to grow as a person.
When you hear the word "covers," it puts you back at that spot, on that stage, with no one listening, trying to grow and trying to be somebody, and you always wonder in the back your head, "How am I supposed to be somebody if I'm always being somebody else?" - Yeah.
- You know what I mean? I'm not handing over this vision.
I can't do that.
I'm not a fucking puppet.
I mean, you guys are my family.
We started this together.
And so us figuring this out as a team, as a unit, as an ensemble, is what matters most to me.
- Well, thank you for that.
- Yeah.
I hear you on the covers thing.
I think that if we have a balance as this new, original show at 1 Oak.
But the reality is if we want to nail this, have to have something fucking ready to kill and slay in two weeks.
Let's do it.
I mean, if we have If we could put our own art into it and just be freaking creative on our own and - We can and we will.
- Yeah.
- I'm down.
- We're gonna.
Wow, man.
Talk about, like, an impressive room, - when you walk in.
- Thank you, man.
It still trips me out.
Joy came to the Odyssey, and Joy was one of the people that called me afterwards and said she knew someone else that could really help bring this show to the next level, and his name was Phil Lawrence, which is you.
I think I've heard of that guy.
- Okay.
- Which is why - I'm so glad she made the introduction.
- Yeah.
You know, when I was younger and coming up, I was a theater kid.
You know? I was - You did theater, too? - Absolutely.
My background is in that.
You know, and I always had thought if I reach a certain level of success and I can go back and do some of those things that made me so passionate early on, I want to do that.
I've been working all my life for something like this and we came up with these songs.
Like, it's a very raw and topical and I think - Yeah.
- I owe it to the cast and ourselves to not change that, but I also have a commitment to 1 Oak.
How do I keep its authenticity and still make money from it so that the world can see it? Being very frank, that's hopefully where you come in.
I think it's smart to go the 1 Oak route.
I'm organizing just, like, a very simple, rough preview with these executives at 1 Oak.
When is this showcase? In like two weeks.
- Two weeks?! - Yeah.
Let me tell you something.
It took us The song "24 Karat Magic" probably took us about a year to make.
- Did it really? - It genuinely did.
- One song? - One song.
And you know what happened? We had And that was it.
But that was so good - That you knew.
- We knew.
We were like, "We got to figure out how to put a song around that," - and that took a better part of a year.
- Wow.
So, to do something magical in a two-week span of time - I'm not looking for a finished product.
- Right.
If there's someone that can take songs and "theater" and make it and not in a bad word, "commercial success," - it's Phil Lawrence.
- Man, that that means a lot.
- It's work.
- Yeah.
And if I were to kind of, you know, listen to what you have and engaged if, personally, don't take any offense, - if I think there's anything there.
- Yeah.
Because we don't have time.
Especially in your position.
You need to either figure this out or come up with another solution.
Being very real, like, if you're like, "It's gonna be too much work, I say we scrap this," then that's what we need to do.
I may have a song.
To kind of speed of process up a little bit, there's a song that me and a couple of friends of mine wrote.
It's called "Love in Action.
" So why don't you send me what you have, let me kind of dig in, listen to them and see - what I can bring to the songs.
- Yeah.
I know it's a process.
If I'm going to put my name on it, I want to make it - Absolutely.
- on the level.
- Yeah.
- So get it to me, ASAP.
Okay.
It's taken some trial and error trying to get this show off the ground.
But with Phil's help, I think we can really lock down 1 Oak without having to do covers or losing the authenticity of what we created in the first place.
We're going to rework a couple songs from the Naked Workshops and collaborate with Phil on the original song he had on the shelf.
The clock is definitely ticking, but if we can pull this off, we'll finally have a home for our show.
You guys.
- Phil Lawrence in the house! - What's up, y'all! Can a brother slide real quick? I mean, since I'm in the mix, let me slide a little bit.
It's so nice to meet y'all! - Hi, I'm Taz.
I have candy on my hand! - It's okay, keep that candy.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, Taz.
- My name's Caitlin.
- Caitlin, nice to meet you.
Wow, everyone's so different and unique and individual artists.
I love it.
I was so inspired by you guys, because I saw myself, and I still see myself in you guys, because we're all the same.
We all came to this city and this town like, "All right, God, let's go.
" I'm here to help.
I'm here to, if you want some advice, maybe show you a little bit of some of the things that I've learned, and it can apply to what you're doing now.
All right, so then let's let's start.
I think maybe we go one person Somebody else comes in.
Ain't enough, you gotta be ready to I kinda like you just doing it straight.
- Let me do it again.
- Let's clean up their rhythm a bit.
Try to get those quarter notes.
Because you're doing it in falsetto, you'll have to over-enunciate it a little bit.
I'm pretty nervous.
Don't pee on yourself.
Oh, fuck.
They hear me.
- You want to do the whole song again? - Yeah.
Let's do it.
So one more time, top down, and then we'll get the guys in.
So, like, how do we kind of merge the worlds together to create something maybe fresh and unique? Ninety-two percent there.
We gon' get to 100.
Obviously, tomorrow is the big day.
We're going to be presenting in front of the 1 Oak executives.
So I'm going to start off.
I'm going to say, "Hey, everyone.
Thank you so much for coming.
This has been an incredible journey.
" Who's next after It's just the chorus, right? We should naturally let them glide forward, and we should always come back and just be playing with someone, but, you know Yeah, and it stays down.
Five, six, seven, eight.
And, boom, this is right.
Hey.
This is left.
Hey.
This is forward.
Hey.
This is right, hey.
 This is forward You feed your artistry with the data that you're putting into your body, and into your mind and soul.
And then your artistry feeds you.
I'm not afraid of not succeeding anymore, because I feel in a lot of ways that I am a success.
I get to do what I love and I persisted against all odds to make that happen.
But I'm scared that I'll lose everything that I've worked for.
I know that for alcoholics, there's always a danger that you're going to relapse when you start feeling like you got this.
But I don't know.
I really hope I don't.
Guys, come back here.
Pia, James, Caitlin.
Come here, real quick.
This is it.
We fucking did it.
I feel like I took a really big step forward in this whole process.
I've changed a lot.
I can't wait.
Oh, my God.
I cannot wait to see our apartment! It's crazy how three months' worth of distance could almost ruin a six-year relationship.
It's kind of cool to go off on your own path and figure out who you are without everybody that's been surrounding you your whole life.
I'm happy we're here.
- I love you.
- Love you, too.
- I'm happy you're here with me.
It feels - You, too.
way more right being here and having you here.
I mean, when I first started, I really hoped that I would be able to write a song and I did.
It's not that hard, I just have to try.
I've never known exactly what I wanted to do, because I do want success and I know that I just want it on my own terms.
I just really don't know what that is yet.
I don't have any money.
I want to marry you when I have money, to have a weekend party with our friends, and that's all that I I thought for sure that we were going to have like a Goldie Hawn-Kurt Russell type of deal.
- What, we're just like life partners? - I'm joking.
Oh, cool.
We're inside of 1 Oak right now.
We should really fucking proud of ourselves.
You only live once.
You've been sober, right? That's why I wanted to talk to you, because, like, when I'm stressed out, I drink so I can just not care anymore.
If you have a chance to do something, you do it.
Don't run away from it.
- You think that you might be an alcoholic? - I know I am.
You don't want to live with regret.
Stop caring what everyone else thinks.
Love yourself, respect yourself.
We're all growing and we're all learning and no one's perfect.
Being vulnerable and being an artist go hand-in-hand.
Do you feel like a different person now? Totally.
What's the biggest difference? My whole mindset.
Being that open about stuff you've been through and why you are the way you are gives you a good sense of yourself.
You have to trust your own growth and understand that it's never going to be comfortable.
I see her just evolve both as a person, as a performer, and it's just, like, insane.
- Oh - We've had an incredible journey, and it's been rocky at times, but I've never seen us come together more than we have in the past two days to pull this shit off.
I'm not the same person I was when I first started this process.
I'm not chained by my past.
I'm honored to be who I am, because I know where I'm going.
We're going up, baby.
Tonight, Phil Lawrence is in the house.
We're going to make him proud.
Tonight, Joy is in the house, our investor.
We're going to have executives from 1 Oak.
I just want to make sure that no matter what, we leave here today knowing that we had fun.
I love you all.
I feel like I did learn a lot for myself.
I've needed to learn that it was okay to mess up.
You just have to fight your insecurities and battle through.
One, two, three.
And that's exactly what we all did.
Together and individually.
We've created this incredible lifelong bond on this beautiful journey.
Good.
Ronnie, so good to see you.
Jeff.
Good to see you guys.
I first wanted to say thank you so much for allowing us into your space.
Tonight is the next phase of showing you what we've been working on.
So without further ado, enjoy the show.
Yeah! - Great job.
- That's it! So, I don't know, at this point, I don't know if you guys have any comments, questions.
I want to say something.
A few things, actually.
First, I think I'm biased because my husband worked with you guys and did this, so that was phenomenal.
I think each of you guys have something special, um, but together as an ensemble becomes this magic.
And I'm just so proud and, like, honored to be a part of it, and I'm really hard to please, and I have to say that I was really impressed.
- Thank you.
- So, yeah.
And your stories are universal, and then watching you guys together as a family is so empowering that it makes people want to open up so they can experience this.
- Yeah.
- Thank you so much.
So, Ronnie, what do you think? Do you think that this is something that you could see living in the 1 Oak world? You guys are in great company.
We've had Prince in here, Axl Rose and Van Halen, Mos Def, and, you know, so many incredible artists came through these doors.
But I just felt this room more than I've ever felt it before.
You know, listen, we're not just a nightclub, we are an experience.
And our doors open four nights a week between 10:00 and 2:00.
You can use your imagination for the before 10:00, before the doors open officially to the crowd, and do something that's really transitional.
Well, let me just come on up here.
And just kick it with y'all for a second.
When you tell your story, you put music in it, and it transcends everything else, which is what drew me initially to this project.
And then now as I've gotten to know everyone, and everyone is so uniquely gifted in their own way.
It's exciting.
I've been in the industry for a long time.
I've been a part of a lot of hits, a lot of awesome things, but to be a part of this, you know, and my wife touched on that, you know, it's exciting and it's inspiring.
My wife and I have been having a separate conversation, and it's so exciting and so inspiring for us Baby, you want to come up real quick? - Oh, God.
- Let's go, girl! That we have been so moved by this entire process, that we want to invest as well.
Oh, shit! Yeah! - Thank you so much, man.
- Of course, man.
So, I have to ask and I hate to put you on the spot, but are you in? Two hundred per cent.
Guys Group hugs.
I'm so proud of you guys.
Thank you.