XXXIII. DR. STARRR
Charlie did not even realize his audience had grown. The band practice ended. It was five in the morning. The entire band, plus stand-in guitarist Neil Hochheiser, LaRissa Holloway, Shynuh, and now manager Berg Rabinowitz, pulled up chairs and sat in a circle surrounding Charlie, glued to every word from Estrella’s lips.
In three hours the “Estrella Ship,” Charlie’s $500 million custom AirBus 380, was scheduled to transport the band to its final concert in Northern California, which would be broadcast to an estimated one billion viewers worldwide and filmed by renown director Michael Cuesta for a movie.
Estrella’s eyes were closed, arms over his head, laying back on the ratty couch, spewing his life story. No one – not even Shynuh or Q. Zeller – had ever heard all the
