Friday 26 October 2012

#FridayFlash - Queens of Twilight

The inhabitants of Karloff Falls gathered at the single bar on Main Street for the annual Halloween Battle of the Bands contest. Some of the townsfolk wore homemade T-shirts to support their friends or neighbours. Others wore disinterested expressions, there solely due to the lack of anything else to do.

MC Marie Festre adjusted her Morticia Addams wig and wiggled onto the stage.

"Good evening, Karloff Falls!"

The crowd yelled a greeting in reply.

"Are you ready for the Battle of the Bands?"

Another shouted affirmation. Marie smiled.

"Well give it up for the Queens of Twilight!"

Isolated pockets of applause were scattered among the silent crowd. Four women shuffled onstage, greeted by stony faces. They looked at each other with dead eyes and shrugged. The tallest woman headed for the microphone, and wrapped bony fingers around the stand. Her skin bloomed pale green under the stage lights.

"What's up, Karloff Falls?!"

Silence. The singer shot a glance to the guitarist to her right. The guitarist gestured to the crowd. The singer bit her lip and turned back to the audience.

"I'm Elsa, and this is Glenda, Lyra and Rita," said the singer, pointing to the bassist, guitarist and drummer.

Several fans whooped in the crowd. A man near the front mimed a dramatic yawn. Elsa narrowed her eyes and leaned in towards the mike.
"People keep complaining that music is too manufactured these days. Well, our manager scoured the length and breadth of the state to put us together!"

Elsa's pronouncement provoked squeals and cheers from the band's few rabid fans in the crowd. Bored chatter began among the rest of the audience. Lyra picked at the ugly seam that ran up her arm from her wrist to her collarbone. Glenda tightened the bolts in her neck before adjusting the strap of her bass.

"So we say yes, a lot of music is manufactured, but they don't get more manufactured than us!"
Elsa punched the air to more scattered cheers. Rita and Lyra leaned in to squeal into Elsa's microphone and the band launched into their first number, Little Lightning Bolt.

Their manager waited in the wings, smiling as the band's raucous blend of punk and 50s rock n roll won over the more skeptical patrons in the crowd. He twiddled the ring on his little finger, caressing the Frankenstein family crest set in gold.

The Queens of Twilight finished their first song to screams for more. Their manager smiled. Great-great-great-grandfather would be so proud.

18 comments:

Carrie Clevenger said...

Heehee, clever! Love the photo too. :D

Helen A. Howell said...

A monster creation - Great great grandfather would indeed be proud. Tee-hee

Anonymous said...

You had me at Karloff Falls. What a fun idea, manufactured indeed!

Tony Noland said...

"Karloff Falls"... Icy, you are a gem.

Larry Kollar said...

The perfect October #FridayFlash has been written, and it's this. The rest of us can go suck our thumbs for the rest of the month, heehee.

Icy Sedgwick said...

Carrie - I made it myself! :D

Helen - I'd hope so!

Aaron - I go a little literal sometimes...

Tony - I do try.

Larry - Aw thank you!

Anonymous said...

That photo is awesome! I love the twist on Frankenstein's monster(s?). A much better use of his time. :)

Anonymous said...

Ha, this is great! Very funny twist on that legend, and looks like the Frankensteins have quite improved their methods over the years!

Cat Russell said...

"They don't get more manufactured than us!"

Ye gods, you gotta love a pun! :D

Virginia Moffatt said...

Ha ha. Loved the play on manufactured. Thought at first they were ghosts, but that end was so satisfying.

Emilia Quill said...

Love the photo :)
I imagined the manager grave robbing while muttering "I've already got the vocal cords, next the lungs..." love it when stories make my mind fly.

Katherine Hajer said...

Great-great-great-grandfather would be horrified, given what he did to his own creations, but with the current state of the music industry, I think their manager is onto something. They're already using cyborgs, after all...

Love the tone on this one -- you usually strike it exactly right, but still.

Alan W. Davidson said...

"...the Frankenstein family crest set in gold."

Now that was a nice touch, Icy. I'm sure they were a killer act.

Icy Sedgwick said...

Danni - I did the picture at work :)

Izzi - I aim to please!

Cathy - I do love my wordplay :)

Virginia - I wonder how well they'd do on Britain's Got Talent...

Emilia - Glad you liked it!

Katherine - Thought I'd be a bit silly this week.

Alan - I'd pay good money to see them!

Steve Green said...

Oh yeah, monsters and music, a great blend.

Hey Icy, perhaps they'd consider doing a double spot with The Zomband?

http://greenstephenj.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/zomband.html

Cindy Vaskova said...

Ha! Unexpected and brilliant ending! Clever story Icy, I like how you brought Frankenstein's heritage into 2012! And in the music industry!

Stephen said...

Hi there Icy -- great story. Loved the backwoods band, small-venue feel of it, and the way you put the story across. Kept me wondering what the shtick was until the end, and having them be a literally manufactured band was a great idea. Happy, belated, Halloween :)

St.

Tim VanSant Writes said...

Excellent spin on the monster/music theme.

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