Light in Extension

Tammy and I arrive at Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky about one hour before the doors open. First thing we notice is a sign on the door forbidding flash photography and recording equipment. This sign also states earplugs will be available at the bar. We start a tab at the bar and take in the tone of the house. We notice that there is a lot of fog lingering in the upstairs rooms from what we assume was an earlier sound check and rehersal. We explore a few more of the crevasses we had missed from our first venture to the old house.

We find cases that hold documentation about the house. It was once a mob house that was home to the inventor of the Tommy Gun.

Once the doors opened we obtained our tickets, and made way to the vendor booth. There I got a neat shirt, but was disappointed because they didn't have the shirt I liked the most in my size. They unfortunately did not have Sunn O)))'s newest album "Monoliths & Dimensions" on vinyl like I hoped they would, either.

After that I stopped off at the bar and obtained a couple of sets of earplugs for us, you know, just in case.

We then went off to find our table for the rest of the evening. We found our table upstairs. It was directly in front of the stage and looked over the floor where the standing crowd would reside for the night. I personally think we had the best seat in the venue.

Eagle Twin took the stage first. They were a simple two piece band with an enormous sound. The set started off with long reverberating guitar chords similar to that of a Sunn O))) studio recording. The drummer (Tyler Smith) proceeded to enter the sonic assault with pounding drums and cymbal crashes a plenty. Next the guitarist/vocalist (Gentry Densley) began his attack with long drawn out growls that blasted through the room. The vocalists long aggressive drawls explained the self proclamation of blues in the description of their sound, as stated on their website. Each lyric seemed to invoke pain from his very soul. The band kept their energy, never loosing steam even with 10 to 15 minute long songs. We did not use our earplugs for this set, though, by the end I was regretting it a little. Through the show I had to hold onto our camera that was on the table as it kept sliding to the edge from the vibration from the sound. Remember, we were up stairs and not even on the main floor. After the band stopped I noticed I was having to speak a little louder to hear my own voice.

Between sets the crew cleaned up Eagle Twin's gear, and replaced it with Sunn O)))'s gear. The only really noticeable change in gear was the removal of the drum kit and a couple guitars that were replaced by a Moog synthesizer. A man also came on stage with what seemed to be a lot of fog juice for fog machines. The guitar tests were loud... I mean very loud. Each single instrument carrying the vibration of the entire Eagle Twin set. Then a few moments of quiet.

The lights then started to dim. A low droning chant started to creep up upon the room. The deep voice started to increase the darker the room became. The machines started to spew out clouds of fog that obscured the stage even further with an occasional hiss that went well with the chanting. This went on for what seemed like 10 to 15 minutes... long enough to totally obscure the stage before the green light came on. Once the light came on we could see a man in a hooded robe with a guitar (Stephen O’Malley). Thankfully we had the foresight to put in our earplugs prior to the first guitar chord. He created a loud roar with his guitar that shook the the very foundation of the house. The initial chords could be felt deep in my chest cavity and echoed through the rest of my body. It was like being hit with giant waves of sound. Even with earplugs the sound was louder than anything achieved during Eagle Twin's set. Leaning back on my chair it felt like a hand held massager at full strength kneading my back. The figure on stage could only be seen in faint, fading glimpses because once his shape would peek out of the fog it would become obstructed again by another obscuring cloud erupting from the fog machine. A few times he could be seen holding his guitar high into the sky like he was channeling power through the sky. After a little while the vocalization returned with another slightly visible, robed figure (Attila Csihar) on stage. The chanting begat growling, which eventually became the most inhuman screaming I have ever witnessed. Much like the guitar it would come in waves. Light deep spoken incantations would turn into vile, unholy curses that would shake the marrow in your very bones. Accompaniment from another guitarist or bassist came sometime during the performance, but I cannot place the exact moment. This other guitarist/bassist (Greg Anderson) and the keyboardist (Stephen Moore) were obscured most in the performance, but the sheer power from their accompanying instruments helped create the most massive wall of sound I ever experienced. During quiet parts of the set the keyboardists low key chiming would come through the hall in tiny echos like shards of broken glass, taunting and tickling the pain left over from the power chords and screams that still reverberated through everyones body. The show went an for at least an hour and a half... maybe even two hours. The band engulfed you in their world. They controlled you during the set, and there was no escaping. The entire set was immersive in a way I have never experienced. Haunted houses that come out around Halloween can only dream of delivering the same spine tingling experiences this band delivers. I had mentioned the inhuman nature of the vocals above briefly, but words really escape the sheer importance of the sentiment. The vocalist growled and screamed like I have never heard man or beast for almost 2 hours. I can not even imagine having the lung or vocal chord capacity of this man. With a few light changes it could be seen the the show was coming to an end. As the long attacks continued to pummel the crowd their hands reached for the sky, some trying to make the (0) logo. The final death screams and power chords slowly faded into silence and darkness. The applause roared from the audience, but a voice came over the loudspeaker barking at the audience, "Go home, you don't need a fucking encore!" The voice was right. We were exhausted and drained. I am sure the band had to be, but it is hard to tell... I am still not sure these robed figures were human. I was thankful to remove my earplugs and not be deaf. I can only define it as a religious experience where I walked away covered in sweat, lungs full of fog and normal sounds swimming in my ears like I had been underwater for hours. Thank you Sunn O)))... it was amazing.

I got to meet Sid Haig last weekend at Scarefest. He was an amazing guy. He was down to earth and very friendly. He had a townhall meeting discussing his views on politics while campaigning for a write in vote.

Day two started out a little better.  We were able to get a few hour of sleep before we explored the convention center.  This round we were able to get a little original art from some of the booths.

The print on far left is from Dark's Art Parlour...
www.darksartparlour.com

All other prints are from Shock Studios...
www.shock-studios.com
www.shockstudios.deviantart.com
www.myspace.com/shockstudios13

Both booths were amazing.  It was really difficult to decide on what to buy from each table.  The people at the booths were all very nice.

We left the convention center to explore the Monroeville Mall at greater detail.  The JCPenny's in the mall still has some of the details from Dawn of the Dead.  Like the escalator...

As well as the elevator where flyboy met his demise...
We had to rush because we found out the line for the screening of Dawn of the Dead was going to start after the mall closed.  We got some food and a few minutes of rest only to return to the mall and get in line for a couple of hours.  The line was large and there were several people dressed up for the event.

I have been thinking about how to approach this for over a week now.  It is very difficult to say the things that need to be said about one of my heroes when they are this negative.  I have seen some very harsh reviewers sugarcoat their reviews out of respect for Argento, but I cannot be so kind.  I also have to give and advance spoiler warning.  I am going to be giving away the end of the movie as well as key developments within in the movie. Unfortunately, I have to do this to illustrate the horror of Mother of Tears, and why I almost left the screening room in tears myself.

The movie starts off with the discovery of an ancient urn/case that is sent to a museum where it is discovered by two interns,Sarah (Asia Argento) and Giselle (Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni).  While Sarah is away for a moment Giselle opens this horrific box.  The box unlocks the return of the Mother of Tears, and all hell breaks loose... well at least the first murder.  I have to say this is a very gory scene.  It was excessive and brutal, which I liked, but Sarah comes back to see the grizzly scene taking place and a monkey begins to chase her. Yep, a monkey.  She finally escapes the monkey chase and goes to the police.  They don't seem to believe here logical story of demons and monkey chases so they dismiss her story and let her go.  Ahhhh, I thought I could do it, but I just can't.  I cannot give a serious review of this movie that parodies itself.  I will just say what is wrong with the movie.

The witches that were supposed to be menacing were very laughable. They were running around trying to spook passers by as though the were on a rampage. When I say they were laughable I mean that literally, the screening audience was laughing. I was excited to see Daria Nicolodi return to an Argento film, but she returns as a horribly animated ghost.  I mean horribly animated. I could do better with iMovie.  This ghost is Sarah's/Asia's mother telling her she has to learn to use her special magical powers to fight the Mother of Tears.  When she goes to the man she is supposed to see to learn how to use her powers he simply shows her a page in a book.  That is it.  No real education... just look at this page.  With her new knowledge she goes to a catacomb that is the haven for these wacky witches.  She is accompanied be a cop who ends up believing her story, but the cop is killed and somehow make a mysterious return unharmed.  Who am I to question?  While in the middle of some eerie ceremony (that will probably cause ultimate world destruction), Asia takes a pole and removes the cloak from the mother of tears in what would be a Benny Hill skit if it would have been given the appropriate music.  This cloak, which was apparently the mother's only true link to her magical powers, came off to reveal... Boobies!  The theater was rolling in laughter at this point. Moments later, though, Sarah and the cop escape to to the surface only to start laughing themselves.  We were all laughing... audience and actors alike.  Then came the best part of the movie, the end credits.  The end song was made by Claudio Simonetti with vocals from Dani Filth from Cradle of Filth.  The song was very enjoyable, which I wish I could say about the rest of the soundtrack.  You could hear aspects of Goblin through the entire film (scored by Simonetti), but it never really exploded like the Suspiria soundtrack.

I really hate to speak this way of my favorite director.  It really pains me.  I didn't like Sleepless much, and I really hated the Card Player.  This movie I found detestable.  I am not even nitpicking the gratuitous nudity and violence toward his daughter that other critics have exploited.  It was just a bad movie that ends up laughing in the audiences face at the end.  In fact I suggest viewing it (if you must) as a comedy... that way you might not be let down so bad.

I was lucky enough to catch a screening of The Redsin Tower at the Horrorhound weekend.  I have only seen one other Toetag film to date (August Underground), but this film makes me want to check the rest of them out. 

The Redsin Tower is the story of a girl, Kim, who has just dumped her boyfriend of many years, Mitch.  Being on the rebound, though still questionably regretting the breakup, she decides to go to "the party of the year" with her friend Becky.  Mitch, not being very happy with the breakup and going quite insane, takes it upon himself to tell the police about the drug use and underage drinking that this legendary party will consist of through a random phone call.  His goal is achieved, and the party is crashed before the girls get an opportunity to attend.  At a pre-party of sorts the girls had been gathering with other friends in anticipation of the event, but when they find out the party is off they have to find someplace else to party.  While at this pre-party gathering Kim runs into Steve, who she has had a crush on for some time, but has been unable to do anything about due to her ex.  Upon discussion they finally decide to go to the Redsin Tower, a local secluded, and possibly haunted attraction. 

The group, which has now grown to 6 (Steve and his friend Carl along with a stoner couple, Emily and Phil), has a run in with Mitch which leads to an embarrassing ass kicking that makes Mitch even further unstable.  While the incident leaves Kim a little troubled they continue on their way to the tower.

Once at the tower, it's origins are revealed through a gory possession scene that sets the tone of gore for the rest of the movie.  There are a series of murders and possessions afterwards that lead up to an unbelievable crescendo of gore.  I cannot in good conscience give away who kills who (or what kills who) because this movie is enjoyable, and I wouldn't want to ruin it for any readers. 

I walked away from this movie very satisfied.  I was expecting a film that lacked content, and was nothing but an excuse for gratuitous gore and nudity.  I was surprised to find myself interested in the characters and storyline early into the movie.  While the story behind the Tower itself was far reaching and a bit over dramatic it didn't hurt the flow of the film badly at all.  Then there's the gore... Absolutely amazing.  There were scenes in the movie that really made me wonder how they did it. The sheer brutality and visible contact in some of the scenes were haunting.  Even if I had not liked the movie I would have been thoroughly impressed with the gore and special effects.  It was really nice, as well, to run into the Director, Fred Vogel, after the screening to shake his hand and tell him how much I enjoyed his film.  It may have been all the starvation and sleep deprivation from the trip, but I though The Redsin Tower was an amazing movie and I can only hope that other horror films can follow in the same direction.

We finally arrived at the convention.  We were weak from hunger and sleep deprivation.   Walking through the entry way to the convention was an overwhelming sensation.  A giant room dedicated to horror... it was like my dreams had come true.  We had entered about an hour after the doors had opened, so there were still a lot of empty booths, and several guests who hadn't arrived.  We had really been in a hurry because on the website for the convention it had listed a screening for Mother of Tears at 5 pm and we had entered at 4 pm.  Once we found a list of events at the convention we found that the screening had been moved to the next day.  That was a huge relief because we would get an opportunity to get a bite to eat before it was too late.

We did a preliminary walk around the floor to examine what was there. There were horror toys, posters, props and movies as far as the eye could see.  There were people dressed up as zombies and other horrible, wonderful things. I was immediately able to achieve one of my goals by purchasing a couple of issues of HorrorHound that I had missed while on store racks. One of which I was able to get signed by Pinhead/Doug Bradley...

A lot of people complained that Mr. Bradley was rude and not very receptive, but I found him to be very nice and polite.  He told us that he was going to be in Clive Barker's film for the Books of Blood.  It was amazing to be in the presence of a horror icon.

Prior to meeting Doug Bradley we came across several tables put together for the Dawn of the Dead cast.  I thought more of the cast and crew would attend considering the screening that was going to be held the following night.  I was still happy, though, to meet the members that I did.

The first person I met from Dawn of the Dead was David Early (pictured above on the far left).  He was a very nice man.  Tammy and I were able to tell him that we really enjoyed his work. We both thought he did a wonderful job of helping to establish a tone early in Dawn of the Dead.  Next we met Mike Christopher a.k.a. the Krishna Zombie (pictured far right).  He was a really wonderful guy.  We were able to get to his booth and talk to him early in the convention before it became very crowded.  We were able to tell him that we enjoyed his part in the movie, as well. He told us that the print we chose to have signed was his favorite, and that he picked that one out himself while his agent had picked the others.  We agreed that it was the best of his selection, and moved on to the rest of the convention. We ran into Tom Savini later in the convention, but he was kind of short with us.  It was still nice to get to meet him.
Prior to meeting Savini we stopped at Bill Moseley's table.  He was probably the friendliest guy we came across at the whole convention.  He was happy to take the time to talk to us, and was happy to pose for a picture with Tammy.
 

After the first round of purchases and signings, and Tammy almost being accidentally run down by John Landis, we decided it was time to end our hunger and check out Monroville Mall.  We stopped by the mall to buy tickets for the screening the following night.  The place that was selling tickets in the mall was probably the most amazing toy store I had ever been to.  It was called Time and Space Toys, and they had a wonderfully diverse selection of toys and comics from all time periods.  Their items were also reasonably priced.  After a very brief tour of the mall we got a little bit of food, went back to our room, and got some rest for the next long day ahead.

We tried to plan for this... we really did. We booked our hotel weeks in advance; requested the required days off; we packed our luggage days in advance based on practical lists; but no amount of preparation could get us ready for the drive. We were really looking forward to the journey. It was going to be the longest trip we had taken by ourselves, and we were determined to enjoy it. One thing got in the way, though, sleep deprivation.

It is really a challenge to travel sometimes being night shift employees. We had the plan of starting the trip at 8 a.m. Friday morning. That way we would get to our room at about check in time at the hotel...3 pm. We had not counted on the fact that there was no way in the world we would be able to get to sleep after work. It had been a consideration, but we thought a full belly and couple of drinks might be enough to knock us out. We were wrong. We end up staying up all night in anticipation for our journey. We get the GPS (kindly donated for the trip by my Mom) and map directions ready then we pack up the car and move out.

Everything seems fine at first, but as we approach Columbus we run into a funeral on the interstate at a merge. Like a good motorist I pull over to let the procession pass, but when it is over I end up being stuck on the side of the road with nobody giving an inch to let me back onto the interstate... hence panic attack!

I finally calm down, but by the time I do we realize the battery life of the GPS was going to expire before we hit Columbus with no way to charge it. We get off on an exit to try to assess how we are going to proceed to our destination. Thankfully, there was a Radio Shack to buy a charger for the GPS. This would not have been a problem if we hadn't already deviated from the printed yahoo map in favor of the directions dictated to us by the GPS.

Well, we hook up the charger and all is well. It seemed to be working and we move onwards. After a little while we begin to notice that we are heading south again. After pulling over to investigate it turns out the GPS had re-routed us home. After re-programming the device a couple more times we finally get back on target. This little detour cost us more time than we could afford, so we kept going without stopping to eat. Man... we were irritable.

One really great thing happened on the trip there, though. As we got deep into Pennsylvania we entered a a tunnel. This tunnel was absolutely amazing, and seemed to go on for miles. After traveling through it for what seemed like 5 minutes or so I could literally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it looked like we were approaching a bridge. As we came into the light from out of the tunnel we suddenly became overwhelmed by the presence of gorgeous skyscrapers all around us. I though we would by-pass down town Pittsburgh all together, but with out warning we were given an amazing spectacle. It was absolutely amazing.

We finally made it to our rooms and were able to rest for a few minutes before we had to get to the convention. Later I will get to day one of the convention, but this is the story of the trip up. Exhausting... it taught us not to rely on a GPS as a primary source for directions, and no matter how far it will set you back on time, get a bite to eat. Lessons learned.

Dawn of the Dead is my favorite movie. It has been for over 15 years. Monroeville Mall, where it was shot, has always been my main pilgrimage destination. This weekend I was able to fulfill my dream by going to the HorrorHound weekend in Monroeville. Not only that, but I got to see the film screened AT the mall. There was an incident, and they were unable to turn out the lights, but the experience was was still really cool. I got to meet some really cool people, and had a lot of fun.

I plan to make several more posts detailing some of the events and items acquired. While the trip there and back was taxing, it was well worth it for all the new lovely experiences.

I made some music a couple of days ago.  I liked some of it....
Here is some of my dark ambient nonsense...

It has been a very nice couple of weeks. I got good news at the bank that could make home ownership possible within the next few months....woohoo. I was able to get a nice shiny new iMac... again, woohoo. I was able to beat Grand Theft Auto 4, and have got almost all of the xbox 360 achievements knocked out for it. I was able to get our landlady to fix our air conditioner... Giant WOOHOO. June has already brought the new season of the Venture Bros. (the first episode was phenomenal!), and will soon bring the season premiere of Weeds! All of these things are great, but the biggest event is yet to come. We are going to the HorrorHound weekend in Monroeville, PA in a couple of weeks. Yep, Monroeville, as in the home of the original Dawn of the Dead. The convention is across the street from the Monroeville Mall, where they shot Dawn of the Dead. On top of that they are screening the original Dawn of the Dead at the mall! This is like the ultimate geekgasm for me. There are going to be members from the cast there including the Krishna zombie. Plus, as if that isn't good enough, there is going to be a screening of the last movie in Argento's Three Mothers trilogy, Mother of Tears. I could not be more excited. On the bad side of things, I have been in a bit of a creative slump. I can only hope that the good things from this month can help inspire and point me in a better direction.