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Lydia Lunch sells out*
04.29.2021
09:46 am
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Photo by Jasmine Hirst
 
*As if.

As reported at Pitchfork and elsewhere, Lydia Lunch is selling the rights to her life’s work. According to a March 25 press release, this would transfer “all intellectual rights and copyright ownership” of “all of her written articles, compositions, the majority of her Master Recordings, books, artworks, photography and more.” This would include 61 published works, nearly 400 compositions, and Lydia’s “ownership interest” in 326 master recordings. The ultimate buyer—obviously a person of wealth and refined taste who would respect the cultural and historical significance of such a body of work—will be able to exploit the material as they see fit.

Valuing transgressive art might have been a difficult thing in the past, but with a few decades of distance, what was once underground and perhaps violated cultural norms—like Fingered for instance—becomes history. (And in this case, it also gets uploaded to PornHub.) And that’s not to say that it’s “safer”—we’re talking about Lydia Lunch, for chrissakes—but that it can be more readily turned into a more mainstream commodity than in the past. 

It will be interesting to see what happens here. I asked Lydia a few questions over email, her answers below, but I think it’s worth mentioning that in the past two years, I personally have purchased seven Lydia Lunch authored, or related items—vintage vinyl pressings of Queen of Siam and 13.13, a newer vinyl version of 13.13, and three books, one by Lydia, the recent “oral history” Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over by Nick Soulsby (which I contributed to) and a book of her interviews with RE/Search’s V. Vale that I just bought. I realize that my spending habits aren’t the same as most people’s, but I’m a good example of someone who has spent, you know, more than $100 on Lydia-related products in the past 24 months.

What made you decide to do this?

Lydia Lunch: I have managed to own everything I’ve done, was able to release as much material as I have in various formats over the years, produce other artists, curate spoken word shows for decades, host workshops for writers, collaborate with so many incredibly creative artists, tour extensively…it would be a great relief if someone would step in and conceive possibilities that can allow me to carry on.

It would be extremely helpful to have support for my podcast The Lydian Spin with Tim Dahl, which has over 90 episodes online available for free.  I consider it an audio museum where we promote other artists, musicians, filmmakers, etc.  It is a mandatory platform not only to give voice to other artists to express their vision, but a vehicle for myself and Tim to try to make sense of the almost unfathomable mess this country is trying to lift itself out of after four years of complete absurdity.

I’m working on a documentary with Jasmine Hirst - Artists-Depression/Anxiety & Rage. We’ve interviewed over 35 artists and a few therapists and will have it finished by fall. An important subject especially now.
 

 
I have an LP finished with Tim Dahl’s psycho-ambient trio GRID, and a slinky jazz-noir LP with the amazing chanteuse and songwriter Sylvia Black. I’m working on a play. RETROVIRUS is waiting for shows to open up. All of this, as usual, self produced amd self financed…even I can only do so much without some financial support especially now for fuck’s sake. HA! Or should I wait for Spotify to cough up half a cent for every song they play?

How do you put a dollar value on your life’s work?

I can’t. But I’m open to proposals. Also after 43 years it begins to feel like a humongous invisible beast of sound and vision hanging over my head, or to quote Lawrence Ferlinghetti a “Coney Island of the Mind”. It would be great if someone stepped in who wanted to run The Cyclone.
 

“My Amerikkka” by Lydia Lunch
 
How would a potential purchaser do the same?

They would have 100 years to figure it out! There must be someone creative enough to find methods that I don’t have the time or energy to pursue, since I continue to create in multiple formats and have no intention of slowing down.
 

“Collateral Damage” by Lydia Lunch
 
What’s the process you envision?

Getting the word out that this material is available, targeting forward-thinking people who understand not only the future possibilities, but have an understanding of history as well. I was lucky to work with Nicholas Martin who recently acquired my archives for the Fales Library at New York University and is establishing a digital museum. But I still own the copyright on over 380 musical compositions, and partial ownership in most of the master recordings, 61 published works, my artwork and photography, etc. It’s all just really too much for me to manage as I continue to create. Selling this to the right party would also allow me to independently continue to produce and collaborate with other artists which is extremely important to me.
 

“Casualty” by Lydia Lunch
 
How does a serious possible buyer contact you?

Through my manager Tom Garretson at tgarretson@lydia-lunch.net

The trailer for Beth B’s documentary ‘Lydia Lunch: The War is Never Over.’

Posted by Richard Metzger
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04.29.2021
09:46 am
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Classic horror films get the vintage comic book treatment by Spanish artist Nache Ramos
04.23.2021
10:31 am
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‘Long live the new flesh!’ A digital design based on David Cronenberg’s 1983 film ‘Videodrome.’
 
Outside of the fact that he is a talented artist with a deep love of classic 60s, 70s, and 80s horror, unfortunately, I do not know, nor was I able to dig much up on self-professed “comic enthusiast, music freak, horror lover, and videogame collector” Nache Ramos. But here’s what I do know. Ramos is based in Alcoli (or Alcoy), Spain where he has been a graphic designer and illustrator for over a decade. His art has been used to decorate snowboards made by Wi-Me Snowboards, and for Australian snowboard company Catalyst. In 2018, he won a Guns ‘N’ Roses contest which asked fans of the band (via Twitter), to create artwork based on their 1987 album Appetite for Destruction. Other than well-deserved accolades for his submission, I’m not sure what Ramos got as a prize, but I suppose gaining exposure to G’N'R’s 6+million Twitter followers is very much a good thing. This was also the same year Ramos moved from using traditional artistic mediums to creating his work digitally. This brings me to Nache’s nostalgic interpretations which infuse the look of old-school comic books with Ramos’ love of science fiction and horror films he grew up with.

Like any horror fan worth their VHS collection, Ramos digs the films of director John Carpenter and has created several digitally designed homages to Carpenter’s films in vintage comic book style. Others include David Cronenberg’s Videodrome (pictured at the top of this post), Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Richard Donner’s bone-chilling 1976 film, The Omen. If this all sounds good to you (and it should), Ramos also accepts commissions via his Instagram. You can also pick up very reasonably-priced prints of Ramos’ super-cool fictional movie posters on his Red Bubble page. I myself picked up Nache’s take on Videodrome. Scroll on to see more of Ramos’ fantastic faux-vintage comics.
 

 

 

 

 
Much more after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Cherrybomb
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04.23.2021
10:31 am
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A History of Violence: The gory artwork of Vince Locke
03.12.2021
06:42 am
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Vince Locke’s artwork for the 2017 Cannibal Corpse album ‘Red Before Black.’ The concept for the image was to capture the victim’s perspective as they are about to die.
 
If you’re a fan of Buffalo, New York death metal band Cannibal Corpse, then you know the artwork of Vince Locke. Kerrang! magazine has called Locke “a man who reinvented the meaning of the word “disgusting.” If the title of this post rings a bell, it should, as one of the many comic book ventures Locke has worked on—including Neil Gaiman’s epic The Sandman—the graphic novel A History of Violence (1997) written by John Wagner. The novel would later be adapted into David Cronenberg’s 2005 film of the same name. Locke’s work in A History of Violence earned him a Haxtur Award (Spain) for Best Long Comic Strip.

Locke’s masterful work with both Cannibal Corpse and with the ultra-violent zombie comic Deadworld is pretty legendary within the interwoven worlds of heavy metal and comic books. The impact of Deadworld was so seismic at the time that, according to Locke, it was in the early stages of development before The Walking Dead turned the world of zombies on its necrotizing ear. A huge fan of the classic horror filmography he cites his favorite Hammer film as the ultra-creepy Masque of Red Death starring Vincent Price. This checks out, as Locke liberally uses the color red in his paintings because there is so much BLOOD. His long collaboration with Cannibal Corpse was initiated by Cannibal Corpse vocalist Chris Barnes, who called Locke up telling him he had a job he “might be interested in.” In 1990, Locke would create the artwork for CC’s record Eaten Back to Life and thus began a goretasticly beautiful relationship which would go on to inspire other artwork within the death metal arena. However, trying to out-gross Locke (long considered an “honorary” member of CC) and his artfully repulsive work is next to impossible. Trust me. In his teens, Locke had some formal art instruction, later studying art for two years in college before he dropped out to pursue comic book illustration. His work with Cannibal Corpse, as noted by Kerrang!, has been censored and even banned around the world.

In 2009 Locke combined Cannibal Corpse and his love of illustration into the graphic novel. Evisceration Plague named after CC’s eleventh record from 2009. The individual stories in the book are based on the songs on Evisceration Plague like “Evidence in the Furnace,” “Shatter their Bones,” something I hope never becomes a thing, “Scalding Hail.” Here’s more from CC’s bassist Alex Webster on how Locke was able to bring the band’s lyrics to “life”:

“Vince Locke has done an incredible job turning our lyrics into blood-soaked and vicious illustrations for the Evisceration Plague comic book. He really has captured visually what we were trying to convey lyrically. His artwork has brought our macabre songs to life in truly explicit fashion…fans of graphic horror will not be disappointed.”

While this kind of artwork might not be for everyone, it is important to bring up the fact that Locke’s work with Cannibal Corpse changed the trajectory of the genre as it relates to how bands use imagery to further connect to their audience. And without a doubt, Locke’s work connected with fans across the world and then some. And though I shouldn’t need to say so, the images you’re about to see are like watching a Lucio Fulci film on PCP. Speaking of the great Italian master of gore, in 2018, Locke was enlisted by the incredible Eibion Press to illustrate a graphic novel adaptation of Fulci’s 1981 film House by the Cemetery. Like the other Fulci titles in Eibon’s catalog, it’s bloody fantastic. Lastly, in April of 2021 Cannibal Corpse will release their fifteenth album, Violence Unimagined with Locke’s artwork gracing the cover. If you haven’t eaten recently, are not easily offended, and feel as though “you’ve seen it all,” click here to see Locke’s latest cannibalistic conjuring for Cannibal Corpse.

If you’re in the Long Beach, California area, you may make an appointment with The Dark Art Emporium to see an exhibit featuring work by Vince Locke, Ryan Bartlett, and Brian Mercer which opens on March 13th.
 

Artwork by Locke for the cover of Deadworld #1 (1986).
 

The original artwork for the cover of Deadworld #7 (1988).
 

Deadworld #9.
 

Deadworld #10.
 
More after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Cherrybomb
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03.12.2021
06:42 am
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DEVO’s Booji Boy, David Bowie, Hunter S. Thompson, Lemmy & Wendy O. Williams as marionettes
01.25.2021
09:09 am
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Lemmy and his trusty Rickenbacker bass and his pal Wendy O. Williams with her chainsaw. These marionettes were made by Canadian artist, Darren Moreash of Darrionettes.
 
If there is one thing I have learned as a contributor to Dangerous Minds for the last seven years is this—you can always count on the members of this collective to bring things to your attention that you perhaps did not know existed. I’ve done this many times myself here, including when I wrote about the fact an anatomically correct GG Allin marionette exists, poop stains, and all dubbing him the “Masturbator of Puppets.” I still get a kick out of that wordplay because I am, as far as you know, a fifteen-year-old boy. Also, my DM colleague, the always intriguing Paul Gallagher posted about these gorgeous marionettes fashioned after rock and roll royalty last summer, and boy, did you all dig that (as you should).

Anyway, as people do, I recently spent too much time scrolling through my social media feeds and looking at old photos of Alice Cooper from the early 70s and BOOM. Suddenly there was a photo of Alice holding an Alice Cooper puppet by its little paddle control that pulls its strings, and the search to find out more began.

This brings us to Canadian artist (and stand-up metal fan, I might add) Darren Moreash—the self-dubbed “Geppeto” of Harrietsfield, Nova Scotia. And Moreash’s efforts have brought him good fortune. Apparently, when he was still dating his soon-to-be wife, he gifted her with an Alice Cooper marionette. In 2012, Cheap Trick used puppets Moreash made in their images for their video “I Want You For Christmas.” Of the countless marionettes Moreash has produced during his lifetime, he has been able to gift them to many of his childhood heroes like Lemmy Kilmister and Stan Lee.

Now, I have to say that my kid went through a phase when he was a little kiddo, during which he became quite enamored with marionettes. And I gotta say, they were a lot of fun to play with once you got the hang of making them move the way you wanted. If I had known about Moreash during that time period, I would absolutely be the proud owner of a David Bowie marionette that I would lie to people about, telling them it’s really for my kid. In the past, Moreash’s marionettes have been auctioned off for charity fetching as much as $500. Anyway, as it’s the photos you came here for so, I’ll stop jawing so you can keep scrolling and see some of Moreash’s marionettes. If you are curious, yes, it does appear that you can get in touch with Moreash and have one of his wooden creations for your very own, such as his latest, a marionette in honor of the Bernie Sanders mitten meme. More info on that, here.
 

Feel the BERN!
 

Booji Boy!
 

Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO wearing his red energy dome.
 

Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman.
 

 

Peter Gabriel.
 
Many more of Moreash’s marionettes after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Cherrybomb
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01.25.2021
09:09 am
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‘Thought Forms: A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation’ and the hidden history of modern art
01.04.2021
04:40 pm
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It is extremely difficult to republish a long out of print book. I know this because I have actually done it myself. First off, a pre-computer era book was typeset by hand, so the text will not often exist as a digital file. This presents the option of either rekeying in an entire book, or else scanning in each page individually. Doing it with some sort of image-to-text OCR program only makes for introducing new problems. It’s a time consuming process and a pain in the ass. Anything beyond text such as illustrations and photographs need to be handled differently.

Which is why this exquisite recreation of the 1901 Theosophist publication Thought Forms: A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation is so noteworthy. This isn’t an example of merely putting out a new version of a book, but the complete recreation of the original object as it was 116 years ago. It’s beautiful. Although long out of print in its original form, and nearly forgotten, Thought Forms can be seen as an influential but overlooked link between esoteric thought and modern art. Certainly there’s been no other book like it, before or since.

The volume explored the ideas of the occult society as they related to art, specifically the notion that certain people—clairvoyants—could sense and see energy and emotions in the auras of human beings. A person of high character would have a “clear” aura, whereas a selfish, insensitive brute’s aura would be cloudy and so on. Theosophist leaders Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater dictated their clairvoyant “thought-forms” to a group of followers who created the beautiful and unusual 58 illustrations seen in the book.

Published by Sacred Bones Books, an imprint associated with the Sacred Bones record label, the principals involved originally set the project up on Kickstarter which was a resounding success:

We learned of Thought Forms a few years ago and it completely took us by surprise. This one book totally challenged the classic art history narrative that had been taught to in school. Not like we fundamentally believed that story, abstraction is found in all cultures—not just in western 20th century painting, but the genesis story of a few male painters “inventing” abstraction does have its truths.

In this narrative of Modernism, Wassily Kandinsky is widely viewed as one of the most important founders of abstraction, and his manifesto “On the Spiritual in Art” is mandatory reading in art school.

What was never mentioned to us in school however, was that Kandinsky was a member of the Theosophical Society, and had acquired a copy of their book Thought Forms a few years before he abandoned conventional ways of painting. Learning that Kandinsky didn’t just come upon these ideas on his own as previously thought, totally changed our understanding of his work. It’s worth mentioning that Piet Mondrian was also deeply influenced by Theosophy and later on, Jackson Pollock was as well.

Last year the Guggenheim held the first US retrospective of Hilma af Klint’s paintings. She was a member of the Theosophical Society and was undoubtedly influenced by the spiritualistic currents of the time. Theosophy was the first occult group to open its doors to women, and it deeply questioned gender roles, many of these ideas are also in Af Klint’s paintings. This show was one of the first times the all-male origin story of abstraction was challenged within the ivory tower. Af Klint, made these paintings before Kandinsky, and she was a woman. Thought Forms came out before Af Klint began her abstract paintings and it is certain that she must have come across this book.

We’re republishing this beautiful, overlooked book, so that it may be widely accessible and no longer omitted from the past. Thought Forms offers a reminder that the history of modernist abstraction and women’s contribution to it is still being written.

Theosophy’s motto seems as appropriate today as it did in 1880, “there is no religion higher than truth.”

The new publication of Thought Forms: A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation was edited by Lucy Lord Campana, with introductory essays from renowned spiritualism expert Mitch Horowitz, art historian Dr. Victoria Ferentinou of the University of Ioannina and Troy Conrad Therrien of the Guggenheim Museum and Columbia University. A few of the book’s illustrations follow.
 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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01.04.2021
04:40 pm
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‘Come and Buy My Toys’: David Bowie Monopoly is here just in time for the holidays
12.18.2020
06:18 am
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A shot of David Bowie on the set of ‘Bing Crosby’s Merrie Old Christmas,’ 1977.
 
Well, it’s about time 2020 actually gave us some good news. Though it’s not actually from Mars (BOO!), a David Bowie Monopoly-themed game does exist, and yes, you can have one.

The Thin White Duke’s version of Monopoly came out earlier this year, first via an exclusive distribution with UK site Booghe. Sometime around the end of the summer, it found its way across the pond and can be easily found on all kinds of U.S. e-commerce sites. Now that you know you can actually have one, here’s the scoop on the gameplay for this Ziggy-centric edition of Monopoly.

First, speaking as a collector of Monopoly board games, one of the things geeks like me look forward to are the game pieces, and wham-bam, thank you ma’am, the ones created for Bowie Monopoly do not disappoint. There is Major Tom, an astronaut helmet, a rolled-up tie for Bowie’s 1993 album Black Tie White Noise, and a replica of the hat Bowie wore as Pierrot in the video for “Ashes to Ashes” and on the cover of Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), designed by Natasha Korniloff. Of course, there is a lightning bolt in honor of Aladdin Sane, a star to signify Bowie’s musical swan song, Black Star, and a skull, which of course, was often a Hamlet-esque Bowie stage prop. SOLD? Right? Not yet because as the saying goes “But wait! There’s MORE!” is in full effect here as Bowie Monopoly bends Monopoly’s classic gameplay just like many other versions of Monopoly have done over time.

In the case of Bowie-Opoly, instead of buying property, the squares on the board represent albums from Bowie’s vast musical catalog. Once you own one of his albums, you can then build stages (instead of houses) and then stadiums (instead of hotels) to increase the “rent” paid when other players land on your square. Other play includes hitting up Bowie on tour and hiring your crew and other musicians to increase your star power and bank account. There are also Sound and Vision cards (like the Chance and Community Chest cards), which bring both good and bad fortune to players drawing from the deck.

It’s hard to conceive there might be a Bowie fan out there who also digs board games that would not want a Bowie-themed Monopoly game. I should know; I am one of those people currently waiting for their very own Bowie-Opoly to arrive. Images of the Queen Bitch of Monopoly games follow.
 

 

 

 

Oh You Pretty Things!’
 

 

David Bowie’s performance of ‘Heroes’ as shown on ‘Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas’ in 1977.

Posted by Cherrybomb
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12.18.2020
06:18 am
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Black Xmas poster sale: Half off classic cult movie posters (for the weirdo on your shopping list)
12.08.2020
07:02 pm
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Baba Yaga’ (Italy/France, 1973) 
 
Every year around this time, Westgate Gallery‘s poster concierge extraordinaire Christian McLaughlin drastically cuts prices for his annual Black Xmas 50% Off Sale.

Anyway, my pal McLaughlin, a novelist and TV/movie writer and producer based in Los Angeles, is the maven of mavens when it comes to this sort of thing. You couldn’t even begin to stock a store like his if you didn’t know exactly what you were looking for in the first place, and if you want a quick (not to mention rather visceral) idea of his level of deep expertise—and what a great eye he’s got—then take a gander at his world-beating selection of Italian giallo posters. Christian is what I call a “sophisticate.”

He’s got a carefully curated cult poster collection on offer that is second to none. His home is a shrine to lurid giallo, 70s XXX and any and every midnight movie classic you can shake a stick at. But why would you want to shake a stick at a bunch of movie posters to begin with? That would be pointless. And stupid.

The Westgate Gallery’s Black Christmas 50% off sale sees every item in stock at—you guessed it—50% off the (already reasonable) normal price. All you have to do is enter the discount code “BlackXmas2020” at checkout and your tab will be magically cut in half.

The selection below is only a very tiny sliver of what’s for sale at Westgategallery.com.
 

Cinderella 2000’ (USA, 1977)
 

Dead Alive’ (New Zealand, 1992)
 

Exhausted’ (USA, 1981)
 

Femmes de Sade’ (USA, 1976)
 

Man Who Fell To Earth’ (USA/UK, 1976)
 
More after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Richard Metzger
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12.08.2020
07:02 pm
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Blood, guts, and guns: The indie film ‘Bad Girls’ will blow your fuse!
11.19.2020
08:51 am
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‘BAD GIRLS’ poster designed by artist Corinne Halbert.
 

South Carolina-based filmmaker Christopher Bickel’s first film, the widely praised The Theta Girl, was released three years ago.  Bickel recently unleashed a trailer for his second film, Bad Girls. The pandemic’s effects changed everything for everyone, but thankfully, with many of his original cast and crew from The Theta Girl, the film is on target to see the light of day in 2021. When the trailer was released, Bickel launched an Indiegogo page to help raise a modest amount of funds to help cover some of the film’s costs, which had a budget of 16K. The response was enthusiastic and, to date, has raised just over $10K. This does not include the cost of distributing Bad Girls, as in Bickel’s own words, they intend to stay true to their “DIY punk rock roots.” Here’s a bit from Bickel’s Indiegogo page that echoes this sentiment and helps give you a little insight as to what you can expect from Bad Girls:

“Citing influences as diverse as Jack Hill, Russ Meyer, Gregg Araki, R. Kern, David Lynch, Monte Hellman, Sam Peckinpah, John Waters, and Robert Downey (Sr.), we have crafted a vision more than just the sum parts of those influences. More than anything, it was probably the get-it-done-cheap lessons of Roger Corman that were the guiding light of this picture. This is a punk rock demo tape of a movie made for people who love punk rock demo tapes and movies.”

If you’re nodding your head because you too love punk rock demo tapes and movies, I get it because I love both of those things too. Also, if Christopher Bickel’s name is familiar to our Dangerous Minds regulars, he spent a few years here as a popular contributor. Since Christopher and I go back a bit, I called him (yes, on the phone) and had a chat about Bad Girls. Who knew it would be so much fun to pick the brains of someone who likes to blow brains up on screen? Well, I did.
 

The bad girls from ‘Bad Girls’ left to right are, Shelby Lois Guinn, Morgan Shaley Renew, and Sanethia Dresch.
 
DM: When an art form is censored, that inevitably creates an underground movement. Your first film, The Theta Girl, utilized a few perceived cinematic “taboos” such as full-frontal nudity and nude scenes with people of all sizes and colors. As the leader of a collective of creative people working to subvert the norm, what did you do in Bad Girls to keep that vibe going?

Christopher Bickel: I don’t think there are any taboos left—everything’s been done. When you’re creating something new, you’re drawing from ideas you’ve seen before. If there is anything about this movie that sets it apart from anything else, it’s a different reconstitution. There are some elements that may shock people, but it’s presented in a unique way.

DM: The response to the PR for Bad Girls has been exciting to watch. Tell me a little about some of the artists you used to create posters and other artifacts for the film, and how some of their bold visuals were incorporated.

Christopher Bickel: We got really lucky with (poster artist) Ethan Hanson, as he was just a guy I knew from Columbia who was making films, and eventually moved to the West Coast to be a graphic artist. His short film The Checkout Line blew me away and it’s where I really fell in love with the acting of Jonathan Benton, who I ended up casting as “Rusty” in Bad Girls. Hanson’s portfolio is jaw-dropping and his work on the Bad Girls art gives me a Michael Mann vibe. After seeing The Theta Girl, we got together, and I offered him some creative advice, and I think contributing his artwork to Bad Girls was his way of saying thanks. It also makes Bad Girls look like “an actual real movie.” I was introduced to Corinne Halbert by Christina Ward of Feral House and I just fell in love with her work instantly. It really captures the anarchic spirit of the film.
 

‘Bad Girls’ poster by artist and filmmaker Ethan Hanson.
 
DM: You and your crew came up with some creative, special effects for Bad Girls. I’m wondering if you might have any behind-the-scenes stories to share about the effects you created for Bad Girls. Kind of like along the lines of when Dan O’Bannon paid bonuses to members of his The Return of the Living Dead crew if they would eat calf brains to help increase the authenticity of the zombie scenes?

Christopher Bickel: Well, I knew I wanted a baby to be “accidentally” blown up with a shotgun in Bad Girls so I was trying to figure out how to actually do that. Then I remembered the scene from David Cronenberg’s 1981 film Scanners when they blew up the first scanners’ head (played by unfortunate Canadian actor Louis Del Grande). They eventually figured that getting that kind of effect would need use of a shotgun. So we did the same thing, and I insisted on doing that stunt myself. There’s a definite danger element in a stunt like that. I set up a barrier and cleared the set and we did it. I believe you need to have those “what did I just see?” moments in a film around every ten minutes.

DM: You took on a lot of responsibility with The Theta Girl beyond directing it, such as the film’s cinematography, some of the sound/music, the arduous process of editing and providing some of the funding for the film. What was the scope of your “job” this time around?

Christopher Bickel
: In a way, I did way more this time. I didn’t write The Theta Girl. But this one I did co-write with Shane Silman. One thing I learned was it is hard to direct and shoot at the same time. You’re either paying attention to the frame or the performance and if you’re too involved with one you’re not paying attention to the other. For Bad Girls, I was running a second camera next to my director of photography, Stephen Nemeth, the entire time so we could capture two different angles. So I ended up in the same boat I was in with The Theta Girl—doing too much. I always try to follow the Roger Corman lesson, which I believe is something like “do whatever you have to do to get things done in the time you have.” So most times that means wearing a lot of different hats.

DM: You had over sixty cast and crew members working on The Theta Girl. Did many of them return to work with you on Bad Girls?

Christopher Bickel: Yeah. At least four actors from Theta Girl returned for this one. I like the idea of having a John Waters “Dreamland” sort of group who come back to work on each project.

DM: Did you actually destroy actor and co-writer of Bad Girls’ Shane Silman—as Danny Lucifer’s—house? I have to know!

Christopher Bickel: The place that played the part of Danny’s house was filmed using three different houses. Two different interiors and one exterior location. We lit a controlled fire that appeared to burn in a house but wasn’t in an actual house. So, technically that’s four locations. We shot the exteriors of the police siege in the front yard of one of our producers, Stephan. His neighbors were… not too happy. I was actually hoping they would call the cops because I needed a shot of some cop cars!

If this all sounds pretty great to you, then you clearly appreciate films with a penchant for bloodshed and roving female gangs out for blood. To learn more about Bad Girls or to help support the film (which will get you some very cool campaign presents, like signed Blu-rays, a t-shirt featuring artist Corinne Halford’s incredible Bad Girls design or more, visit the Bad Girls Indiegogo page. In the meantime, take enjoy some of the stills and promotional images for the film, then turn up your speakers and set up a splash guard while you check out the trailer for Bad Girls!
 

(Above and below) Two vintage-looking ‘Bad Girls’ lobby card done by director Christopher Bickel.
 

 

The festive-sounding fictional punk band Christmas Tits from ‘Bad Girls.’
 

A still from ‘Bad Girls’ featuring director Bickel as a cop. The film also features several classic cars from Gate Keeper Corvette Gasser owned by Rob Tansey and Shauna Morgan Brown. The pair also did the stunt driving in ‘Bad Girls.’
 

Bad Girls SMASH!
 

Actress Sanethia Dresch in action.
 

Actress Morgan Shaley Renew in a still from ‘Bad Girls.’
 

The ‘Bad Girls’ trailer

Posted by Cherrybomb
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11.19.2020
08:51 am
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Penny Rimbaud of Crass imagines the other Rimbaud during the deadliest battle of World War 1
10.08.2020
08:29 am
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Photo credit Maryann Morris  

Far be it for me to say that Penny Rimbaud—novelist, poet, painter and co-founder of the mythical anarcho punk band Crass—missed his calling in life, but whenever I listen to him speak, I’m immediately put in mind of such great actors as Richard Burton, Peter O’Toole and Richard Harris. My word does this fellow have a mellow bellow! And even if performing Shakespeare onstage wasn’t in the cards for this most radical of radicals, what about doing voice-overs for TV ads? He could’ve been rich!

But I don’t think it’s ever been money that motives our Penny, is it? But still… THAT VOICE.

Recently Rimbaud announced his new album Arthur Rimbaud In Verdun, out November 20th via One Little Independent Records, a series of poems set to music about his namesake, Arthur Rimbaud, witnessing the carnage of the battle of Verdun, where over 700,000 casualties were sustained by the French and German armies, with over 300,000 slaughtered and nine villages destroyed.

The work is described as: “a fiction constructed by Penny, out of interest as to the possible outcome, places the French poet Arthur Rimbaud (who died in 1891) at the historic and tragic battle of Verdun in 1916. The idea being that Penny found something to be explored in the possibilities of the young vagabond and his perception of such drastic events. Dark and vivid jazz-infused ambience is punctured by Penny’s spoken word lyricism painting pictures of the chaotic experience of World War 1.”

Rimbaud is joined on the recording by Evan Parker, Louise Elliott, and Ingrid Laubrock, all on tenor sax. You can preview “Part 6” below.

Posted by Richard Metzger
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10.08.2020
08:29 am
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Barrett: The catalogue raisonné of Syd Barrett’s artwork
09.28.2020
12:22 pm
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There’s an interesting publication listed on the Rocket 88 Books website: a book of Syd Barrett’s artwork produced in conjunction with Barrett’s family. It’s the first time that his art—as well as photographs taken by the Pink Floyd founder—has been cataloged in book form. The large format book also contains rare and unseen images of Pink Floyd taken during Barrett’s tenure in the band. Very few of Barrett’s original paintings that were created during his final quarter century are still extant. Syd would spend weeks working on something, he’d photograph the finished piece and then burn it.

According to the publisher, the Barrett book is organized into three sections:

Syd’s life in photographs – from growing up through to working and performing with Pink Floyd and his life as a solo artist.

Unseen and unpublished illustrated letters sent to Libby Gausden-Chisman and Jenny Spires between 1962-1965, as Syd was finding himself as a painter and a musician.

All of Syd’s existing work as a visual artist from 1962 until his death.

The book contains over 250 images. These include:

Over 100 completely unseen images and many more reproduced in fine art quality for the first time.

Over 40 artworks including: paintings, drawings, mosaics, collages, and sculptures.

Over 50 unseen photographs taken by Syd of his artworks, including: images of his “destroyed” works seen here for the first time, studies in preparation for his artworks, images of his work area.

Although it’s not cheap, it’s clearly the definitive volume on Barrett’s artwork and the website indicates that the stock is getting low. (The best Syd biography is Rob Chapman’s A Very Irregular Head: The Life of Syd Barrett. I highly recommend it.) Barrett will also contain commentary by Will Shutes, an expert on Syd’s visual output, and excerpts from diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, plus a listing and dating of all Barrett’s artwork known to have existed.

Some of Syd Barrett’s artwork follows. You can see much more at the book’s official website and at SydBarrett.com.


 

 

 
More after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Richard Metzger
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09.28.2020
12:22 pm
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