Dakota's first few days on the air had gone rather smoothly. No death threats so far, nor were there any threats to bomb the radio station. That's about all he could ask for. Getting up at 4:30 in the morning was still pretty rough, but he was slowly adjusting.

Today, he had his very first guest lined up. He'd asked none other than Chase Rosewinds, the former lead singer of Night Rose, to join him on "Solid Steele in the Mornings".

The clock on the wall read 7:27 AM. She was scheduled to be on at 7:30. He wore a black New Orleans Saints hat backwards, a black Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt, jeans, and boots. An ashtray sat upon his desk, along with hundreds upon hundreds of CD's. Dakota had just crushed yet another cigarette as he waited for the current song, "Hells Bells" by AC/DC, to come to an end. His guest had just seated herself in a chair on the other side of his desk, and her mic was adjusted to fit her. While the song was playing, he handed her a pair of headphones, offering a smile to go along with them.

"I sure do 'preciate you comin' on with me. I'm just gonna make conversation, and I'm liable to say damn near anything, so don't take offense to whatever I might ask."

Letting out a laugh as he continued to speak. "I'm probably gonna ask you somethin' to start off with that my girlfriend will kick my a** for when I get off the air."

Sitting back in that spinny office chair, she placed the headset on and adjusted it to sit on her head just right. It's been years since she's had a radio interview. Yet, she remembered the ropes as easily as her acrobatic influences would boast. Her mane was a mixture of dreadlocks, rainbow braids, and woven strands of hair with a feather dangling in random places. Rosy red cowboy hat was set on the table to the side. One acrobatic leg over the other, fingers criss-crossed and apple sauced together loosely on her lap. As much as she wasn't a morning person, she couldn't restrain one yawn coming out of her mouth. Afterwards, she impishly grinned and shrugged.

"None will be taken, dukes. And as long as it's your a**, and not mine, it's all groovy. Ready when you are."

Chase gave him a wink, quieting down as the behind the scenes moment came to its swift close. She missed this sort of attention. It was nice to be reminded of past accomplishments by others. It was sufficient comfort that she was getting interviewed from someone who was from the same planet. Literally.

He laughed once more as the song faded out. Dakota's on air voice hit the air, and truthfully, it wasn't all that much different from his real voice. Maybe that was part of his on air charm. He was just being himself.

"Welcome back to Solid Steele in the Mornin's with Dakota. As promised, I have with me this mornin' a very special guest. She is Chase Rosewinds, and she was the lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands that we'd ever seen back home, Night Rose. Chase, welcome to Solid Steele."

Chase nodded, rocking gently from side to side in her spinny office chair. "Thanks a mill for inviting me, Steele Man." Nodding softly, she was perfectly calm. With the Gypsy, it was nearly impossible for her to get nervous. Especially when revolving around any sort of entertainment business. She was excited, but mostly enjoying the reminding feeling of being remembered. It was like an old dog remembering tricks it learned well. And the treats it earned while in its prime. "Glad to be here."

Now, it was time to see how easily she gets thrown off when hit with a question she may not have been expecting! "For those of you who have never heard of this woman, let me tell you, she was a rock goddess. At one point in their history, Night Rose ruled the world. With all that in mind, the one question on everybody's minds is, what kind and what color panties does a rock goddess like Chase Rosewinds have on this mornin'?"

Totally grinning at her now as he quickly lit up another smoke. "When it comes to breakin' the ice, I'll be damned if I ain't the best! And yes, Jade will completely bury my a** when I get home today. Love you, baby!" Sitting back in his chair with a big ol' grin across his face as he stuck his cigarette between his lips.

Thanks to Chase's remnants of fatigue, she took the nerve wrecking question in a laugh. A hand flew to her forehead as if suffering a headache. But pearly white smile showed that she was restraining from laughter. Had she had a cup of coffee like Travis had poured for her, she may have even fallen out of her office chair. Instead, she spun to one side for a prolonged amount of time, shaking her head slowly. But then, she gained a look of prowess. Determination, if one could call it that. The Gypsy sat back in her chair, creating a pantomime of peeking underneath her ripped jeans. Pulling the waistband of her jeans up two inches, she let it go for it to thwap her skin in its tight demeanors. She even rose her brows and opened her mouth as she looked down. Bursting into laughter afterwards, she took a 180. And she sat up, cleared her throat, and acted like the judge delivering the verdict of a man's life hanging in the balance. Grin killed the seriousness, but the audiences wouldn't know that.

"This morning, Steeley, I happen to be wearing a black thong, if you simply *must* know. I always had a theory that Indians were the raunchiest...I knew all along!" She broke into laughter after all that, even slapping her thigh once as she did so.

"Darlin', I'm not raunchy. I'm just askin' what every other red blooded man simply doesn't have the b***s to ask. Can I say 'b***s' on the air? Hell, I guess I just did. A black thong? Well, that's all well and good, but I'm determined to give my listeners nothin' but the absolute truth. Now, unless I have visual proof of what you're claimin' here, there jus' ain't no way in hell that I'm gonna be able to verify to my listeners that you're speakin' the truth."

He gave her a total thumbs up over how cool she was being. This chat was going to go even smoother than he thought. They'd get serious here in a minute, but it was still time to have some fun. Fun equals ratings!

"Well, aren't you a noble piece of metal? Noble *and* raunchy, I see." Chase shook her head slowly, rolling her eyes. Now she definitely felt like the old days. To her lack of Luck at the moment, if Lucky himself was with her, there'd be loads of equipment flying and a screaming Kiltsman going banshee on the Indian. "I haven't pulled my pants down for a radio show in some time. I can't say I'm not bashful about it."

She laughed, but seemed to be grinning wide. Brows furrowed, and she bit her bottom lip. "Since I may get my own bells murdered when I come home, I'd like to give a shout out to Travis. I love you, Drummer Boy." And sure enough, she stood up. Belt was unfastened, and button undone. Turning around, she lowered her pants to show the black string-thin band about her hips. It continued to dip. And lightning fast, she showed the thong's mechanism in a glimpse-length view. Pulling her pants back up, she plopped herself onto the chair. Sitting back, she quickly fastened her pants and fell into a pose as if it never happened. Complete with an innocent smile and a glance at the ceiling in a diagonal angle. Thumbs were hooked to her belt, and she even added a harmless whistling of a tune that some listeners may find familiar.

Stretching his neck to get the best view possible, he gave a VERY impressed nod and even let out a whistle of his own. "Folks, I'm here to tell y'all right now that this rock goddess is indeed wearin' the utter hell out of that black thong. I can indeed verify that she's speakin' the truth. The woman is a rock star, she wears thongs, AND she's obviously never told a lie in her life. What more could a man ask for? Well, let's move onto another topic. Tell my listeners 'bout you, and Night Rose. You guys were arguably the greatest band in the world, and y'all went your separate ways. If you can give the abridged version, go for it. Then again, what the hell, tell us the whole story. I got nearly two hours to kill."

(to be continued momentarily...)

(continuing the interview with Chase)

"If some stupid or liberal mom were to let their precious ones within 5 feet of me, I'd say to learn. Learn as much as they can. Because it's when you're exploring that you figure it out. When you're discovering the world around you, you discover yourself. And you find your passions. Your assets. Your faults. And when they find their passion? They'll find themselves."

She paused, moving in her chair to give her voice the musical edge to add a meaning bravado to her words. "I'd say to never let go of your dreams. To follow them. If you want it badly enough, you'll get it. But, the game is to want it the most. And when you're good at something? Never do it for free. Unless that's your thing." A quick recovery had her laugh. And that impish grin eased up the seriousness of her words.

"Ain't nothin' better that I could say to wrap this up than what you all just heard right there. But before I let her get outta here....Chase, I've been playin' and singin' for years myself. You wanna do me the honor of duettin' with me, right here in studio? I got a couple of acoustics against that wall. Wanna rock for a minute before you go..?" And indeed, there were two black acoustic guitars just a couple feet from the desk where they sat opposite of each other.

Chase had a surprised look on her face. "Duetting? In a studio? With Steele? You may as well have given me a shot of my poison. I can never say no to Rock." Devil horns were thrown up, and she stood up. "I haven't jammed with a Native Am in sometime." There was that slang of hers. That slang that was her own language in itself. She tried to restrain, but it would spill over when excited or when she wasn't keeping close enough tabs on it. "Are we improving? Or did you have a song in mind?"

He grinned big time as he handed her one of the two guitars, VERY pleased that she said yes. He knew he had thrown her a curveball with that one, but just like a true artist, she was totally game for it!!! Settling his guitar in his lap, he thought about it for a second or two. "Wanna do 'Broken' by Seether and Amy Lee...? That's one of my favorites."

She took the guitar. Shoulder strap over the head like a shirt in the morning routine. And she sat down, cradling the carrier of life. This was her IV when in critical condition. This talisman that brought hope to millions. It carried dollar stains, riverbeds of tears, and oceans of blood. She didn't need a pick. Her fingers were calloused enough with beautiful abuse. Looking towards the Native American across from her, she grinned. "Nice choice, Cowpolk. They opened for a concert of ours way back. Great band." Offhandedly spoken, as she nodded.

Placing the strap over his shoulder, he took a few moments to collect himself. He'd just somehow talked himself into doing a live duet with Chase Rosewinds, right here for however many people were listening to hear. This was either going to be a total disaster, or an absolute highlight for him. Much like her, his fingers carried the callouses of playing guitar for many years. He began to play the slow intro to the song, and that raspy, soulful voice of his began to sing into the mic.

"I wanted you to know that
I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away...
I keep your photograph and
I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain

Cause im broken when im lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

You gone away, you don't feel me here, anymore"

Chase had been right there, strumming along with him, and it was her turn to take over the song. She closed her eyes and let her stunning vocals do the work.

"The worst is over now
And we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn
And no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain

Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away"

As nerve wracking as this had to be for him, they sang the rest together as a duet.

"Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away...

Cause I'm Broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone...
You gone away, you don't feel me here anymore"

The song came to a close, and Dakota let a couple seconds of silence pass by to compose himself and catch his breath.

"Damn.....it just don't get no better n' that right there, folks...." And he was actually quite proud of himself. He kept up with her almost perfectly, although there was no way he could outsing her, and he didn't even try. He just felt honored to be able to share a few lyrics with her on the choruses.

"I just sang a duet with Chase everlovin' Rosewinds. There ain't nothin' more I can say to add to that. Chase, thank you so much for spendin' a lil time in the studio this mornin'. You ARE a rock goddess, an' I'm tellin' ev'ryone out that there to go check her out at Eclipse. No matter what she's doin' that night, you're guaran-damn-tee'd to have an unforgettable time. Anything she's involved in is bound to be entertainin'. Thanks again, Chase...you're the best."

The lent Guitar was set down as the metal man was working his magic on the airwaves. Frequencies were wondrous things to influence people with. Grinning, she nodded through his closing words. And at his direct shout outs to her, she gave humble bows of her head. Inked hand came to her chest, lowering with more bows to join the gesture.

And at Steele's unasked advertising of the venue she mentioned, she nodded, pointed triumphantly to him while nodding smoothly. "Straight up, ladies and non-ladies. Come to Eclipse. Look me up!" Said to the mic. And looking to the Indian, she gave her two-fingered salute. "Not at all. Thanks for having me so early in the morning. It's been groovy jamming with you, too. You got soul, Cowpolk. Keep rockin', dude."

"Y'all heard it, folks. I AM the Soul Man of Radio RhyDin. And lemme send Chase out with a classic from Night Rose. Here is.....'Smoke and Mirrors'. Take a listen to the band themselves. I'll be back in just a few. This is Solid Steele in the Mornin' with Dakota on 102.5, and 102.7 in the West End.."