"It's starting!"
Persephone had forgetting how much of a TV Addict her sister Melanie was since leaving home for University several years ago. Growing up most of their quarrels had been over who got the remote and who could decide on what to watch as the came home from school together. Melanie was partial to whatever the Cartoon Network was showing, while Persephone, as she entered her brooding teenage years, grew more enamoured with the latest music videos that popped up MTV.
But this afternoon, as Melanie straddled herself in front of the television to watch a live musical interview conducted out of MTV's European Headquarters in London, Persephone had suddenly wished that perhaps she should've bought a subscription to Cartoon Network from Sky TV.
The musical guests were 10 Black Pomegranates, a Nu-Metal Rock group with Classical Myth influences, and the interviewee was the lead singer, who, like the rest of his band mates, had modelled himself after a solemn figure from the Greek Underworld.
Melanie was perpetually glued to the screen and as steady crowd of fangirls trickled into the studio's audience. Persephone felt she was perhaps just a tad little too obsessed with this Rock Band. On the cusp of adulthood, and yet she still seemed prone to acting like a giddy schoolgirl in the height of Beatlemania, while wearing a 10 Black Pomegranates t-shirt of course.
Persephone Graves herself often dressed in the dark leather and black skinny jeans from the subcultures she had submerged herself into once she had left for College several years ago. She was also blonde, buxomness and British, and at 24 years old was finally stumbling through her first few years of adult life in a crummy Cornish apartment.
She had, of course, been named after the Greek Goddess Persephone, but this was a curious choice because as far as she knew there was no Greek heritage within the Graves family, nor did her parents have any deep knowledge of the Greek Myths from which the name had sprung.
Her younger sister Melanie too had been named after a Greek Goddess, Melinoë, but the world around her seemed content to refer to her as Melanie, a more socially acceptable name than the maidenly Persephone.
With that schism came the dreadful early childhood memories of others pointing out how much their names seemed to almost rhyme with each other, and that perhaps their parents should dress them up in matching outfits while they were at it.
Melanie was of a much more diminutive size, with long red hair that reached the ground wherever she walked. Persephone was curt, Melanie sweet. Persephone lacked academic rigour, Melanie had excelled in academics. There was more to either sister than just that, but they diverged in their interests and personalities to such an extent that both sisters seemed perplexed that they were even able to live with each other as of now.
Persephone could have easily cast her aside into the mean streets of Newquay, but knew she would be so desperately in the wrong to do that to her own sister.
Her parents had paid a small fortune for her to go and study classical music at University College London, which had not been helped at all by the steep tuition fees introduced by Blair's Labour government, and the only thing she had to show after several years of recording and compositions was a pitiful, but fulfilling, job as a children's Lyre player.
She always felt a pang of guilt when she had considered telling them "get stuffed", who they asked of to allow Melanie to stay with her for the duration of her course at Cornwall College. In fact, it would've been considerably rude of her considering she had been the favourite child who hadn't quite measured up to her parent's expectations. Scribbling out lyre music for children was quite the step down from the solid, middle class accounting life she had hatched from.
Nor did she expect Melanie's major of Surf Science would suddenly turn the fortunes of the Graves family around. The hollow words of an arts degree seemed to have lingered in her mind considerably since finishing it. Of course, she could have always applied for a graduate program in STEM, but that was SO BORING!
Her pen tapped the notebook in frustration: trying to get her students to play classical lyre music was like trying to get them to eat vegetables while they dreamed of feasting on warm chocolate. She had also submitted a few original compositions to World Lyre Magazine, and with it a small bursary had come back along with her letters of acceptance, but other than that her professional lyre career was in a limbo the size of the Styx.
The drums rolled, and between scribbling out new lyre compositions, Persephone watched Melanie become enamoured with the members of 10 Black Pomegranates as they rolled into the studio, especially the long haired Thanatos.
She coasted her eye over the rock band, and there was little in the way of desire for her. Thanatos was long haired, yes, but it was a greasy silver, and the results of a terrible dye job which who had never gotten a look anywhere else in the world except for the fashion of Nu-Metal.
Charon, the solemn drummer who stood in the back, seemed content to mope about in the shadows while his band mates took in much of the limelight. If the stories she had heard about were true, well, it must suck to watch the more handsome members of your band get the credit for songs you wrote.
Then there was the lead singer, the tall and slender Hades, who was sheathed in black and adorned with all sorts of colourful golden jewellery. His dark hair was a frizzy mess, to say nothing of his chest hair which was exposed from a low cut white shirt that seemed to drive his fangirls delirious with excitement. They SO wanted to be cuddled by that chest hair, and besmirched with all sorts of musings on life, love and death. Such an experience would only make Persephone rattled and disturbed and on the verge of an early death, for she shuddered to even be in the presence of someone with chest hair.
He was already musing on his old muses now, they were deep and dark, as he explained to the host, just like the contours of his. Persephone found such comments so droll. How could someone, who LARPed as a mythical god for his rock band, have found himself on TV with such mind numbing and lack-of-originality revelations?
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"So, you gave it all up?" The host, a bespectacled Scotsman asked. He was of course referring to Hades past as a baritone singer in the distant world of opera.
"Yes." Hades flicked his hands in acceptance. He was far away from the stiffening demands of the opera house now, but he still brought the mannerisms with him.
"And then you started up a new band called 10 Black Pomegranates, and then you hit the jackpot!"
Of course, 10BP had not always been without artistic merit, nor was it usually a trio like tonight. Long before Melanie had heard of them, Persephone had come across them when it was announced that her favourite Lyre player was joining a new Nu-Metal inspired by classical myth. Orpheus was his stage name, and with his addition he brought both his lyre and the credence the band needed when it came time to look for a publishing studio.
He was a wonderful Lyre player, and Persephone wondered how many of her newest students had started up because him and 10BP. She had noticed a range in enquiries from parents who lamented their children suddenly wanted to ditch their violins and guitars for Lyres!
She had also once been Orpheus biggest fangirl, but unlike Melanie and her diehard infatuation with Thanatos, had been sensible enough to keep it to herself.
But if the rumours were true, it seemed like it would remain a trio for the foreseeable future.
"Orpheus has strung up his lyre at last?" The host was feeling more content to tread further into the controversial topics that had plagued 10BP these past several months.
"He has," Hades answered, "I knew his time was up ever since him and Eurydice were making goo-goo faces at another on the stirs every time after a performance."
"And you're on the lookout for a new lyre player?"
"Yes, we're on the hunt for one."
"And tonight, one lucky viewer can enter and win a competition to join 10 Black Pomegranates?"
"That is true, yes," Hades began with the rehearsed lines, "And with Lyre experience please."
Persephone's ears prickled in response at such a brazen proposal. To be suddenly pushed into the spotlight like that? No, that was definitely not like her. Nonetheless, she kept herself attuned to the sounds of the terms and conditions that the host read out. Melanie's eyes were incredibly glued to the screen, like a lawyer trying to understand the complexities that governed a contract.
"You must enter," Melanie squealed, "You're perfect for it!"
"No, good heavens no Melanie." Persephone answered with a thudding response.
"But you must!" Melanie exclaimed, "This is your big break, you like 10 Black Pomegranates!"
"I liked Orpheus," Persephone countered, "Not that god awful rock band that he spent far too many hours in."
Melanie was disheartened to see her favourite band reduced to a slight like that, but settled down once the Douglas finished off with the tedious paperwork he was forced by law to say
"For you chance to win, please answer the following Question: Which of these was the Hit single by the band CRAZY town?"
"Beeswax!" Melanie shouted into the air.
"It's Butterfly, Melanie." Persephone grunted. She knew, of course, because despite the image she presented of a being a woman part of the Gothic and Punk subcultures, the Band Crazy Town, with it's Rock-Rap fusion of lyrics, was a guilty pleasure of hers. If her friends were to know of that, well…..
"See? This is proof you should enter!"
Persephone began to consider it more seriously now. What did she have to lose, other than a few pounds from an exorbitantly expensive entry fee? Another year spent in perpetual funk, trying to get children to learn Lyre versions of the Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Otherside and Drive by Incubus? The prize was good too, an all expensive paid to California, with Accommodation for a year along with a stipend for performing with 10BP and helping them produce another album of theirs.
What did she have to lose really?
"Mhmm, alright," Persephone finally relented, but you have keep your lips shut for the rest of tonight.” She wasn’t going to take any chances and she might as well cover her tracks now that she had the upper hand. Besides, with all these crazy fans that 10BP had in tow, what were the chances she would win anyway? If it meant Melanie would stay quiet so she could spend a few hours sketching more lyre compositions while watching gameshow re-runs on Challenge TV.
The house phone her Landlord had given her was old and dirty, more akin to something that would have survived a Blitz from WW2, but it would do in a moment like this. Once she finished answering and paying the 5 pound entry fee (!) the commercial break was over, and soon Hades and Douglas were talking all about music again, and how 10BP drew up inspiration in such a crowded and noisy world they lived in.
Up and down the Yorkshire Moors he had run, Hades had admitted, in search of that elusive artistic spark that had quickly disappeared out his grasp as much as it once been the only consistency in his life.
“You sound like Heathcliffe from Wuthering Heights.” Douglas remarked.
“Well, I do look like the dark brooding hero type, don’t I?”
There was considerable Ooohs and Ahhhs from the crowd, but Persephone once again found herself shaking her head at such juvenile comments. Though, at the same time, she could sympathise, as there were parts of songwriting that she struggled with too, especially when one didn’t have that artistic spark.
Things didn’t help in the times that they lived in, with the constant babble of technology that seemed to run deep in the lives of just about everyone. Twas easy to be distracted and your attention dragged away from whatever artistic pursuit you wanted to pursue with all your heart.
In the year of 2004, the world had morphed into a technological bubble form which there was no escape, unless you unplugged and ran through the Yorkshire Moors in search of some elusive artistic idea.
“I think its time we picked a winner now, isn’t it?” Douglas said.
“It is actually, hopefully it isn’t someone who suffers from stage fright.” Hades mused.
I’ve never suffered from Stage Fright, Persephone angrily thought.
There was the familiar jingle that preceded the sweepstake, and soon Douglas called out for a winner as Vodafone, proud sponsor of the Douglas McTennant show, connected a viewer to the line.
Persephone hitched her breath the moment she heard her crummy old WW2 phone, which could’ve been used as a ballistic considering how heavy it was, echo through the sitting room. She reached for it with breaths that were so shallow she might’ve been deep underwater, while Melanie pulled up right beside her to coach her on what to say and how to say it.
Everything that transpired for the next several minutes was just a blur of of a strange dream that Persephone felt she’d been transported into. Douglas told her she had won the Ultimate Prize, and that, yes, Persephone admitted, she was trained in the Classical Arts of the Lyre, with an impressive pedigree that stretched back all the way to her single digit years when she first got her Lyre as a Christmas present from her parents. Hades prodded a bit on how good she felt she was, and Persephone answered that she’d been published in World Lyre Magazine.
“Are you a big fan of us?” Hades asked, his southern American drawl crawling through the receiver, “This must be a dream come true.”
“In my own way.” Persephone replied, which was all that she could muster up considering how starstruck she was.
“Well, congratulations Persephone Graves,” Douglas said, “Our team will be in contact with you by tomorrow morning.”
The line was cut, and the crummy Cornish apartment went dead silent, save for 10BP’s performance of Hecate’s Hierophant, which was dedicated to the newest member of the band who originated from Cornwall.