Talent Feud
By
David Rogers
INT. DRESSING ROOM WITH BAND POSTERS EVERYWHERE--NIGHT Four guys are sitting on stools in a circle. DAVID, a teenager, holds a guitar, AUSTIN, a young adult holds a guitar, MATT, a teenager, holds a bass, and JARED, a young adult, holds two drumsticks. All of the guys are wearing leather jackets with blue jeans and white t-shirts. DAVID has his hair slicked back in a pompadour like a 1950’s greaser. BEGIN OPENING CREDITS DAVID (with a tone of annoyance) C'mon guys! We have to figure out what we're going to play tonight. I think we should play "Wonderwall". AUSTIN We can't. You know you only need one guitar to play that song, right? That means either I'm out of the act, or you sing without a guitar, and you don't sing well enough to just be a front man. Plus, we're wearing leather jackets, man; "Wonderwall" isn't a leather jacket song. DAVID How about "Blitzkrieg Bop"? JARED I don't know how to play it. DAVID Seriously, it's a song by the Ramones, how hard can it be? MATT I don't see why we aren't able to play the song we first thought of AUSTIN It totally makes sense: "Dr. Feelgood" by Motley Crue? The song's about drugs man.
JARED Why did we choose it then? DAVID Never mind that. We just need to figure out a song that we can play. JARED How about "Michigan"? MATT It's not a leather jacket song. It's also pretty much a one man song. AUSTIN Why does that matter? David treats it like a one-man band anyway. DAVID (slightly muffled with anger) Why you son of a-David runs at Austin and tackles him to the ground. While on the ground, the two's fists flail at each other, landing several gut punches. Jared reaches down to break the two up. JARED (shouting) That's enough! We're a band! And yes, I know, all cool bands fight. But you're not supposed to do it before a performance when you don't even know what you're going to play! And plus, it's the school talent show, who cares if it's a leather jacket song? Do you think these people really care if it's a song that calls for leather jackets or not? They're our classmates, let's just go out there and play a song that rocks!
AUSTIN (to David) He's right. DAVID Yes he is. I also have a song that we can play. The girls will probably love it. And as a bonus, it's a leather jacket song. MATT What song? AUSTIN Yeah, what song? A smirk grows on to David's face. CUT TO: BLACK SCREEN Footsteps are heard on a hardwood floor. A talking crowd is also heard. INT. ON STAGE--night FADE IN: David inserts cable into his guitar. David then inserts other end of cable into his amplifier. Matt inserts cable into his bass. Matt inserts other end into his amplifier. Austin inserts cable into his guitar. Austin inserts other end of cable into amplifier. Jared drops into his seat behind his drums with a drumstick in each hand. David steps on his overdrive pedal. Austin steps on his overdrive pedal. Matt steps on his overdrive pedal. David taps his microphone to make sure it works, a boom from speakers throughout the theater prove that indeed it does. Jared stomps on the kick drum followed by a hit on the snare, he repeats this beat at a steady rate. The guitar and bass riff kick in revealing that the song they are covering is "Do I Wanna Know?" by the Arctic Monkeys. FADE TO BLACK: OVER END CREDITS:
DAVID (singing) Have you got color in your cheeks? Ever get that fear that you can't shift the type that sticks around like something in your teeth? Are there some aces up your sleeve? Have you know idea that you're in deep? I dreamt about you nearly every night this week. How many secrets can you keep? Cause there's this tune I found... Music fades as credits end. THE END