Thursday, August 6, 2015

Who Will Toss My "Salad Days" ?


Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)
coming to DVD on September 18th, streaming now on Vimeo

The critically acclaimed documentary chronicling the rise of punk rock in Washington, DC 

Check out an exclusive clip at IndieWire and the trailer below

It's about punk, a whole decade of it, now you get why I posted this...

Scott Crawford and Jim Saah's Salad Days: A Decade of Punk In Washington, DC (1980-90) has been selling out screenings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, and more. The documentary film that examines the early DIY punk scene in the Nation's Capital. It was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi, and others released their own records and booked their own shows-without major record label constraints or mainstream media scrutiny. 

Contextually, it was a cultural watershed that predated the alternative music explosion of the 1990s (and the industry's subsequent implosion). Thirty years later, DC's original DIY punk spirit serves as a reminder of the hopefulness of youth, the power of community and the strength of conviction.

Director/writer Scott Crawford is a music journalist, musician, and graphic designer. As a teenager in the DC suburbs, he started a fanzine called Metrozine that documented much of what was happening in the DC hardcore punk scene in the 1980s. 

"The DC punk music scene that I grew up with in the 1980s has always been a big part of who I am," says Scott. "I interviewed a lot of these bands for the first time over 30 years ago while doing a fanzine. Approaching them all again decades later offered a type of perspective and reflection that I wanted to capture in a film."

Crawford was also quoted in both Dance of Days and Banned in DC - the two most definitive books on the early DC punk scene. In 2001, he launched Harp Magazine and served as its Editor-in-Chief for over seven years. Crawford also launched the online music portal Blurt in 2009.

Serving as Director of Photography, Saah is a native of Washington, DC who has worked professionally in photography and video for over 25 years. He has shot for a variety of publications and websites ranging from the Washington Post to Rolling Stone. He's also an experienced videographer whose credits range from union organizing films to music documentaries. Recent films he has worked on include movies about the bands Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, and Eddie Vedder.

On a side note, OBEY and Shepard Fairey were heavily influenced by the DC hardcore scene. Shepard has used numerous DC hardcore legends such as Ian Mackaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi, Henry Rollins of State of Alert and Black Flag, and Bad Brains in his artwork. When hearing that Crawford and Saah were planning a West Coast release of their film, OBEY wanted to get involved. They created this T-shirt which is on sale now (along with other cool Salad Days merchandise)HERE.

Quick Facts:
Salad Days reached its Kickstarter goal in 6 days.
* Features never-before-seen photographs and performance footage of dozens of DC punk bands.
* Interviews with Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, John Stabb, Thurston Moore, Dave Grohl, and others
* Original score by guitarist Michael Hampton (SOA, Faith, Embrace, One Last Wish)


DVD Pre-Order:  http://bit.ly/1T3e709

Blu-ray Pre-order:  http://bit.ly/1INahXL 

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Kiss Me Kate

Wedded Bliss:
Kate Pierson & Monica Coleman
"The Love Shack is a little old place where, We can get together" - Love ShackB-52's

Congratulations go out today to Kate Pierson of the B-52's on getting married to her longtime girlfriend Monica Coleman over the weekend in Hawaii! They have been together since 2003.

The B-52's are one of my favorite groups. I remember attending the CD release party for Cosmic Thing at the now defunct club Probe in Los Angeles, CA.

It was an exciting evening and the crowd was treated to a live performance by the group who arrived to the party in style on a Cadillac Convertible.

Pierson addressed accepting herself to Spin in it's February 2015 issue:

"All our friends — so many friends are gay or lesbian and transgender. We’re just in that world. We all went through the devastating time of the AIDS crisis and I think that galvanized us to be more activists — AIDS activists. I think through that struggle we’ve tried to do a lot of benefits and stuff. I think the meaning of ‘gay' became more solidified," she told the mag. "One of the things the B-52s wanted to accomplish was for people to embrace their difference and encourage people to be who they are and accept themselves."

Feel the love with the B-52's at: 

https://www.facebook.com/theb52s

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Alexander Skarsgard is a Drag

Just One Of The Girls
l-r Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgard &
Director: Marielle Heller
Alexander Skarsgard who played the vampire most likely to do bad things to you, Eric Northman on HBO's True Blood recently appeared on the red carpet in drag of all things for the premiere of his movie: The Diary of a Teenage Girl.

Was he shooting an audition video for RuPaul's Drag Race? Showing support for one of his co-stars, drag performer Peaches Christ? No one knows for sure, but talk about attention getting!

The Diary of a Teenage Girl,  is based on Phoebe Gloeckner's graphic novel set in 1976, SkarsgĂ„rd plays Monroe, a 35-year-old man who is dating Chloe (Kristen Wiig) and later begins an affair with her 15-year-old daughter Minnie ( Bel Powley).

This may explain the choice of outfit, being as the subject matter will most likely stir up controversy, so why not add a little more fuel to the fire?

You go Skarsgard!

Read a teenage girl's diary at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3172532/?ref_=hm_otw_t7

Monday, August 3, 2015

Pulling The Rabbit

Watch Me Pull A Moby Out Of My Hat
You know that ancient old trick that magicians do, pulling a rabbit out of a hat?

Well I bet none of those rabbits has ever been an orange one.

Artist/Musician Moby attended the Playboy Mansion's A Midsummer Night's Dream party dressed as a giant orange bunny. Holy shades of Harvey!

While I am not sure of the significance of this, but I do know that I love Moby's music.

Happy Moby Monday!

Check out more of Moby's tricks at: http://www.moby.com/

Sunday, August 2, 2015

He's Just An Edgar Allan Poe Boy


What do Edgar Allan Poe & Black Cats have in common? 


Edgar Allan Poe's Black Cats: Two Adaptations by Sergio Martino & Lucio Fulci

Edgar Allan Poe's celebrated story The Black Cat has provided the inspiration for numerous films over the years. But few adaptations are as stylish as those offered up by the twin Italian titans of terror, Sergio Martino and Lucio Fulci.

In Martino's classic giallo Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, teacher Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli, A Bay of Blood) finds himself under suspicion for murder when one of his students - and mistress - is found brutally murdered. As more bodies start to pile up, the arrival of Oliviero's attractive niece (Edwige Fenech, Five Dolls for an August Moon, All the Colours of the Dark) brings with it complications of its own. 

In The Black Cat, from that "other" Godfather of Gore, Lucio Fulci (Zombie), Scotland Yard Inspector Gorley (David Warbeck, The Beyond) find himself summoned to a sleepy English village to investigate the recent murder of a young couple. With no obvious signs of entry at the murder scene, Gorley is forced to start considering the possibility that his suspect may not be human... 

Finally together on Blu-ray and in stunning new 2K restorations from the original camera negatives, fans can enjoy the double-dose of terror that is Edgar Allan Poe's Black Cats - Italian-style!

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
-Brand new 2K restorations of the films from the original camera negatives
-High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
-Original Italian and English soundtracks in mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
-Newly translated subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
-Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
-Brand new interview with director Sergio Martino
-Dolls of Flesh and Blood: The Gialli of Sergio Martino - a visual essay by Michael Mackenzie exploring -Sergio Martino's unique contributions to the giallo genre
-Stephen Thrower, author of Beyond Terror - The Films of Lucio Fulci, on The Black Cat
-Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
-Limited Edition 80-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the films, Poe's original story and more, illustrated with archive stills and posters
-Much more to be announced!

RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 13th

Pre-order at Amazon: http://amzn.to/1RMWmH0 

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Things Luke Perry Says: "It's Just Not Relevant"

Luke Perry
I'm Not Watching!
So there is an a Beverly Hills 90210 tell all being made by Lifetime. So what does the former star of the show, Luke Perry who played "bad boy" Dylan McKay have to say about this?


"I don't even watch my own actual self on TV. Why would I watch this? No, I don't see it happening," 

You go Mr. Perry! Beside I liked your appearance on OZ when you went full monty best.

Woof!

Luke on IMDBhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000580/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Friday, July 31, 2015

Tales From The Darkside: Andrew De Leon

I'm Here to Suck Your...
Andrew De Leon

Former America's Got Talent Season 7 Semi-Finalist Andrew De Leon Signs with Standby Records, Releasing 3-Song EP 'Dark Tales' on August 21; Featured on Billboard.com


I'm only happy when it gets dark...
Former American's Got Talent season 7 semi-finalist Andrew De Leon has signed with Standby Records and will release his upcoming 3-song EP "Dark Tales" digitally via iTunes, etc on 8/21. The release will serve as a teaser of what fans can expect from his upcoming LP, which will be released in 2016.
The Kyle., TX based singer-songwriter first caught the attention of the public after his eye-raising audition aired on the NBC juggernaut 2012. Clips of his audition have been viewed more than 42 million times.
Track Listing:
1. Dark Tales
2. Sheets
3. What I've Become
More about Andrew De Leon:
"My name is Andrew, and I'm going to sing." Overnight, Andrew De Leon, a 19-year-old makeup artist and theater student from Kyle, Texas, went from total obscurity to one of the most talked-about acts of the 2012 season of America's Got Talent. Previously, the shy teen in black leather and metal spikes had only sung at home for his own enjoyment. That night in Austin, he stood on stage and wowed the studio audience and judges with a powerful rendition of the soprano aria, "O Mio Babbino Caro".
Since then, clips of his audition have been viewed more than 42 million times on YouTube. "You've got an amazing voice, and YOU are an individual," said judge Sharon Osbourne. "You are great” said judge Howie Mandel, adding, “Marilyn Manson does an aria." An equally strong performance during the "wild card" show and a rapidly growing fan base propelled him into the semi-finals, where he received a standing ovation. Author Ann Rice tweeted: "Andrew De Leon — what a voice. And he did it all on his own, singing in his room."
Since then, Andrew has been hard at work developing his unique musical style, composing, recording, and performing across the U.S. In 2013, he released his first album, "Black Lights", an eclectic mix of pop, soft rock, goth opera, and classical tracks. His voice ranges from the silky tenor of "Counterfeit Lover" to the chilling operatic soprano of "Vampiro".
Andrew performed mostly as a solo act, but after the success of his first album, he has been joined by Hunter Fisher (lead guitar, composer) and John Paul Grasso (guitar), with other musicians coming in as Andrew's signature sound continues to develop. Andrew's first live performance with his band was at the 2014 Austin Vampire Ball, and they have been invited back for 2015. "I bled onstage," said Andrew of the special effects in his 2014 performance, where he demonstrated his horror-movie makeup talents. He hopes to incorporate his love of theater and film making into his future endeavors, adding a visual element to the lyrics he writes and performs.
Andrew's 2015 EP "Dark Tales" demonstrates his evolving style, which blends elements of alternative rock, metal, classical, goth, and symphonic rock. He describes the title track as heavy and dark. Other tracks range from sensual and intimate to deep sadness.
Andrew sums it up with this line from "Dark Tales":
"I warned you from the start it won't be the same,
now that I've let you in this monster can't be tamed."