Google and Facebook searches didn't turn up anything useful, but Buster wasn't surprised. For a journalist, there are plenty of other channels to dig up info—it just takes time and effort, not something you can slap into a search engine and call it a day.
Buster thought it over and decided to check YouTube. If that came up empty, he'd hit up his contacts in the underground music scene to see what they knew. If Bruno could stumble across King for a Day, Buster figured he could too—
It'd just be a bit of a hassle.
"…I think Julio said… they're from… Los Angeles?" Buster wasn't totally sure, but the underground music world often splits by region. East Coast insiders might not know what's up on the West Coast, and indie bands that break out big are rare.
Muttering to himself, he hit enter, and YouTube spat out a flood of videos, startling him. "What the heck?"
So many results—yet Google found nothing?
Truth is, if Buster had scrolled a few more pages on Google, he'd have spotted the YouTube links. The first few pages were clogged with results for Kings of Leon—
That indie band debuted in 1999, shot to fame early, and by 2006 was touring with rock legends like Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam. Their industry cred is leagues beyond a small fry like King for a Day.
Still, Buster managed to track them down on YouTube.
"Huh?"
After watching a couple of videos on the band's account, Buster felt a flicker of recognition. At first, he chalked it up to seeing them at the venue earlier, but on second thought, that wasn't it. He'd seen them before.
What was it?
That nagging sense of familiarity he couldn't quite place was driving him nuts. It only fueled his determination. He opened his YouTube history, scrolling slowly, then paused, backtracked, and found a video he'd watched that morning.
As a new media journalist, skimming social platforms daily is part of the gig. That morning, while gathering material and checking trending news, he'd stumbled across a video sparking some buzz:
"A performance that stops the world."
Who'd have guessed it was King for a Day!
When he saw it earlier, Buster had noted the lead singer's voice—distinctive, with a unique texture. But he didn't dwell on it. The world's full of geniuses, and talent doesn't guarantee success. History's littered with painters who died broke and unknown, only to be celebrated posthumously.
In today's market, talent's just a bonus. Commercial appeal is what matters most.
So, Buster had closed the video without a second thought. Yet, within a single day, here he was crossing paths with the band again.
A faint smile crept onto his face. "Coincidence? Or a setup? If it's the latter, their manager's got some serious game." His mind drifted to Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber's manager—that guy's a pro at this kind of hype.
Now curious, ideas swirled in Buster's head. His right hand guided the mouse back to the band's page, clicking another video. Sitting in the parking lot, he dove in, hooked.
Wyatt pulled out of the lot, glancing at Buster's car with a mental question mark. He didn't stop, though, driving off while drafting his piece on Bruno Mars' tour finale—and that Mariah Carey story too.
Over here, Buster and Wyatt were each plotting their next moves. Over there, King for a Day's rehearsal was finally finding its groove.
Concert stage rehearsals are no joke—downright brutal, even. For a band like King for a Day with zero experience, everything's brand new. They're starting from scratch, asking basic, sometimes dumb questions, and every step feels like slogging through mud.
Compared to the 40-hour crunch to rehearse "Born This Way" before, that was nothing. This is a whole different beast, throwing fresh challenges at the band.
Luckily, the past few months of two-to-three daily street gigs have transformed them inside and out. Ronan's growth is explosive, but the rest of the band's progress is just as obvious. Stage rehearsal struggles are still pro-level work—they can handle it, staying cool, finding solutions, and tweaking fast to hit the mark.
After a rocky first day getting the basics down, the next 72 hours were a blur of relentless, round-the-clock rehearsal. From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., they drilled every angle nonstop.
Late at night, back at the hotel, there's no time to crash. They still have to debrief and review. Inexperience means they've got to double or triple their effort to cover the gaps and dodge any fatal slip-ups onstage.
Heated debates and endless practice stretch into the early hours. To keep their energy and focus, they force themselves to stop, collapse into bed, and shut their eyes for a few measly hours before jumping back into it.
Sleep deprivation and nonstop high-intensity work put Ronan's voice to the test—
Constant vocal use can easily throw off his condition, a make-or-break factor for performance quality. He's got to rehearse smart—protect his throat, stay hydrated, and watch his diet to keep his voice steady.
It's not easy, but it's not impossible either. Years of touring and recent street gigs have taught them plenty. Ronan's learning to take care of his voice on the fly.
(End of Chapter)