MARGARET | eddie roundtree

prelude.

STELLA STONE (rhythm guitar/background singer): (mutters) I can't believe I'm doing this... (clear throat) So, uh, what should I start with then? Just anything?

INTERVIEWER: Anything that you think would be significant for this interview. It's all up to you.

STELLA: (chuckles softly) Well, then I'd have to start with December 18th, 1972.

INTERVIEWER: That's the date you mentioned in your song, "Margaret."

STELLA: (smiles a bit) It is. I remember that night so clearly like it happened yesterday because it was one of the best days of my life...before everything came crashing down in the years to follow.

EDDIE ROUNDTREE (bass guitar): Yeah, I remember that night even though I was probably drunk (grins nostalgically). Things would probably be a lot different if it never happened.

✯✯✯

Margaret Stone sat on a rooftop of the building she would be performing at in Brooklyn, New York City, smoking a cigarette. She needed some time alone before performing with her band, wanting to practice with herself so she would be perfect.

She had dreamed of becoming a singer ever since she first learned what music was. But it was hard when everyone else seemed to have the same dream.

Even though her parents were kind people, they felt as if she was in over her head. They wanted her to succeed in life and they just didn't think music was the way to go if she wanted to support herself and a family down the road.

But Margaret didn't care. She wanted to be a star.

"Well, my boyfriend's in a band / He plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed / I've got feathers in my hair / I get down to Beat poetry," she sang to herself as her legs dangled off the building, swaying back and forth. She had written the song herself once she had started to develop a serious relationship with her boyfriend a few months ago.

She then heard the door to the rooftop open behind her and she looked over her shoulder, thinking that it would be her boyfriend, Jeffrey, but it wasn't. It was some random guy she hadn't seen before. He also appeared to be drunk since he'd been holding a beer in his hand.

"I might be in trouble. Should I jump off this building now or do it on the double?" He questioned her randomly in a joking manner, gesturing the beer towards her before taking a sip.

She tilted her to the side in confusion before she got up from where she was sitting, smoothing down her white shirt. "I think you've got me confused for somebody else," she told him, smiling a bit since she was entertained.

He shook his head. "Nah, sorry. I-I just got into a little argument with my bandmate and I need to, like, say something about it so I don't go back down and punch him," he rambled, throwing his hands up which made some of the beer spill onto the ground.

She let out a soft laugh. "Bandmate? You're in a band?"

"Yeah. The Dunne Brothers," he answered in a slight mocking tone.

"Oh, yeah, I remember seeing your name on the list. I'm actually performing in a bit with my band, Void," she stated before throwing down her cigarette on the roof and stomping on it to let it out.

The man nodded, seeming to be interested. "Nice. I'm Eddie."

"Dunne?" She guessed, seeing as though his band was called the Dunne Brothers.

Eddie let out an ironic laugh. "Yeah, you'd think, right? No, it's actually Eddie Roundtree."

"Wait, so you're in a band called the Dunne Brothers but you aren't a Dunne brother?" She asked and he nodded with pursed lips. She let out another laugh. "I see why you got into a fight with your band member then, assuming he's one of the Dunne brothers," she joked.