Every guy's gotta have a dream.
For Dakota Steele, he had a dream that he simply never had the chance to even attempt to realize.
It was something that had simply remained on the backburner for most of his adult life, even though he'd always had the capability of realizing it. Whether it was cocaine or whiskey or women or kids, there was always something that he had to support which kept him way too busy to give this long hidden dream a second thought.
His stint on Radio RhyDin had allowed him to come as close to his dream as he'd ever known, and when that came to an end, he was all the more motivated to finally put everything he had into this dream.
The simple fact was, music was in Dakota Steele's blood. It ran in his family's blood, going back many years. It was well known throughout Kota's circle of friends that he was a pretty good guitar player, and not a half bad singer either. He moved Jade (and many others) to tears at their wedding when he sang his vows to her. He had developed a close friendship with Rhy'Din's original rock star herself, Chase Rosewinds. His twin sister, Aiyana, was also a musician. Her musical ability ran a bit deeper than Kota's, as she played quite a few more instruments. She played guitar, piano...even a a bit of drums. She had a pretty good voice as well.
Earlier this year, when Jade left on her mission, Kota had a LOT of time on his hands. He even attempted to find her at one point, but didn't realize at the time that it was an impossible task. He ended up returning home a couple of weeks later. There was little for him to do but live his life and bond with Claira.
Problem was.....when Claira went to bed at night, Kota became a restless soul.
Dakota Steele was living proof that idle hands truly are the devil's playground. If given a chance to become restless or bored, he was going to find SOMETHING to do to occupy his time. This was a man who still fought the demons of his old addictions. That was simply a cross that he would have to bear for the rest of his life. There was never absolute victory over drugs. You simply lived life one day at a time, and chalked up each clean day as a small victory.
But fortunately, this time around, Kota had someone in his life who continued serving as his motivation to stay clean....two people, actually. A goddess of a vampire named Jade, and her beautiful daughter named Claira.
One particular night, Kota took Claira to Rhyannon and Dean's place to spend the night, and he headed for his sister's place, with his guitar in tow.
She hadn't played in a few years, but they spent most of the night jamming, playing and singing some of their favorite stuff from back home.
They didn't sound half bad when they sang together. Actually, they harmonized quite well together. Funny enough, as the night progressed, Dakota got deeper into a bottle of whiskey, and the more he drank, the more he seemed to find his voice as a singer. He'd long had a bluesy raspiness about his voice, and whiskey seemed to help fine tune it to a quality that he didn't even know he possessed.
As Kota continued to wait for Jade to return home, he began spending more time with his sister, working to perfect this sound that seemed to work for them...very much a fusion of Mississippi delta blues, southern rock, and country. As had become his routine, he'd stop every so often to take down another shot of whiskey, seemingly improving his voice.
Finally, one particular night, Kota stopped the jam session to ask Aiyana a rather simple question.
"Why the hell don't we actually do somethin' with this...? Let's find a few folks and start us a band.."
Natchez was born that night.
Aiyana was quick to suggest that Dakota (or Shikoba, as she continued to call him) HAD to be the lead singer. He was hesitant, but she insisted that his voice had a sound that was unlike anything else out there right now. She eventually decided on alternating between keyboards and guitar, and agreed to occasionally take a turn behind the mic.
They would need a lead guitarist, a bass player, and a drummer...who all shared the same musical vision that they did.
The word went out quickly over the next few days, and the Steeles must have listened to hundreds of musicians...many talented, some not so much, and a few that simply stood above the crowd.
For Dakota Steele, he had a dream that he simply never had the chance to even attempt to realize.
It was something that had simply remained on the backburner for most of his adult life, even though he'd always had the capability of realizing it. Whether it was cocaine or whiskey or women or kids, there was always something that he had to support which kept him way too busy to give this long hidden dream a second thought.
His stint on Radio RhyDin had allowed him to come as close to his dream as he'd ever known, and when that came to an end, he was all the more motivated to finally put everything he had into this dream.
The simple fact was, music was in Dakota Steele's blood. It ran in his family's blood, going back many years. It was well known throughout Kota's circle of friends that he was a pretty good guitar player, and not a half bad singer either. He moved Jade (and many others) to tears at their wedding when he sang his vows to her. He had developed a close friendship with Rhy'Din's original rock star herself, Chase Rosewinds. His twin sister, Aiyana, was also a musician. Her musical ability ran a bit deeper than Kota's, as she played quite a few more instruments. She played guitar, piano...even a a bit of drums. She had a pretty good voice as well.
Earlier this year, when Jade left on her mission, Kota had a LOT of time on his hands. He even attempted to find her at one point, but didn't realize at the time that it was an impossible task. He ended up returning home a couple of weeks later. There was little for him to do but live his life and bond with Claira.
Problem was.....when Claira went to bed at night, Kota became a restless soul.
Dakota Steele was living proof that idle hands truly are the devil's playground. If given a chance to become restless or bored, he was going to find SOMETHING to do to occupy his time. This was a man who still fought the demons of his old addictions. That was simply a cross that he would have to bear for the rest of his life. There was never absolute victory over drugs. You simply lived life one day at a time, and chalked up each clean day as a small victory.
But fortunately, this time around, Kota had someone in his life who continued serving as his motivation to stay clean....two people, actually. A goddess of a vampire named Jade, and her beautiful daughter named Claira.
One particular night, Kota took Claira to Rhyannon and Dean's place to spend the night, and he headed for his sister's place, with his guitar in tow.
She hadn't played in a few years, but they spent most of the night jamming, playing and singing some of their favorite stuff from back home.
They didn't sound half bad when they sang together. Actually, they harmonized quite well together. Funny enough, as the night progressed, Dakota got deeper into a bottle of whiskey, and the more he drank, the more he seemed to find his voice as a singer. He'd long had a bluesy raspiness about his voice, and whiskey seemed to help fine tune it to a quality that he didn't even know he possessed.
As Kota continued to wait for Jade to return home, he began spending more time with his sister, working to perfect this sound that seemed to work for them...very much a fusion of Mississippi delta blues, southern rock, and country. As had become his routine, he'd stop every so often to take down another shot of whiskey, seemingly improving his voice.
Finally, one particular night, Kota stopped the jam session to ask Aiyana a rather simple question.
"Why the hell don't we actually do somethin' with this...? Let's find a few folks and start us a band.."
Natchez was born that night.
Aiyana was quick to suggest that Dakota (or Shikoba, as she continued to call him) HAD to be the lead singer. He was hesitant, but she insisted that his voice had a sound that was unlike anything else out there right now. She eventually decided on alternating between keyboards and guitar, and agreed to occasionally take a turn behind the mic.
They would need a lead guitarist, a bass player, and a drummer...who all shared the same musical vision that they did.
The word went out quickly over the next few days, and the Steeles must have listened to hundreds of musicians...many talented, some not so much, and a few that simply stood above the crowd.