Mondo Roundup: The Respectable Edition (Aka We Miss You, Dave Brockie)

With the arts, “respectability” always seems to be tied to having a huge hateful aversion to the pleasure-center of our brain. This entails anything that makes you giggle, chortle, moan or even shriek out of fright. If you feel these emotions and all of their fun based kin, then it is NOT art. Which you know what? Is total, foaming-at-its-fetid-mouth-bullshit. It's this kind of elitism that I rally against, especially since it denies so many really good and even brilliant artists the respect and examination they deserve.

Now this rant is nothing new from me, but with the recent passing of GWAR front man and founder, Dave Brockie, it feels more important than ever. Especially after seeing someone online act like they couldn't or shouldn't mourn because basically GWAR didn't make “serious” art. Which is really sad. First of all, Brockie died way too young at age 50 and was, by all accounts, an incredibly sweet, funny and smart guy. I never knew him personally but always was impressed with him in interviews, loved GWAR in general and even made sure to note his badass turn as a sleazy cook in the independent film “Hackjob” when I had to review it a few years ago. (Seriously, while the film itself had some issues, Brockie singing an R-rated version of the Kiss disco-mutated song, “I Was Made for Loving You” is heart warming.)

Whenever things can turn weird and dark in your real life, sometimes it is bands like GWAR that help you get through it. We all love Leonard Cohen but you gotta have the light hearted yin to the melancholy yang. Laughing, rocking out and getting in touch with your inner Beavis can be tremendously healing. It's also important to keep in mind that no one in that band was or is dumb and provided the crude and Grand Guignol with a cheeky sense of knowing. The world is a little less bright without Dave Brockie in it, but the man has left behind a legacy of one of the most colorful bands to have emerged out of the punk/metal scene that, despite what some may have you think, actually did make some really good music.

The beauty of this world is that there is plenty of room for every stripe of creative expression. Remember kids, Marcel Duchamp once said that you can point at anything and call it art. And if it was good enough for a genius like Duchamp, then it should be good enough for all.

In others news, keep an eye out for upcoming articles, both here and abroad, covering artists ranging from Alejandro Jodorowsky to Actually Huizenga to Duke Mitchell and many, many more.

In the meantime, feel free to indulge in some of my recent article and podcast madness. Enjoy!

The Projection Booth Episode 158: SMOKER (Guest hostess duties with the always great Mike White & Rob Mary. Guests include David Christopher, Sharon Mitchell, Susie Bright, Ron Jeremy.)

The Cotolo Chronicles: Generating Godzilla Episode (Frank Cotolo & I discuss all things bright and Kaiju.)

 How To Get Girls Through Hypnotism: The Story of Gleaming Spires (Dangerous Minds)

Modern Day Puck: A Bobby Astyr Double Feature (Paracinema "Notes from the Backroom")

Red, White & Blue Sleaze: Al Goldstein's Infamous "Midnight Blue" (Dangerous Minds)

© 2014 Heather Drain

Weekly Mondo Round-Up: The Angst Edition

The nature of transgressive cinema has shifted over the years, ranging from the early days of adult cinema to the underground post-punk film scene in the 1980's. Over the past decade, the term has been switched over more to the horror genre, often dealing with an assortment of titles that have been filed under the “torture porn” moniker. (A term itself that has some issues, since the images that come to my mind involve either leather, chains and greased up car batteries or sitting through the IQ-hating “Debbie Does Dallas.”)

With films like “Hostel” and more recently, “A Serbian Film,” being hotly contested, the whole matter has pushed fans and writers alike to ask, “How far can too far go?” My question, though, is what will be the new definition of “transgressive cinema?” In this day and age of, to quote a pretty good Jane's Addiction album title, nothing's shocking, what new frontiers of transgression are there to pursue?

The only path to really pursue at this juncture is, in my opinion, is to be pure DIY. Trying to ape someone else or worse, one up them, is a losing game. Aping puts you at the risk of looking like a pale imitator and one-upping is impossible in this age of war and POW video footage all over the net. So the only truly shocking option is to just do your own thing. After all, while original ideas might be hard to come by, original approach is always possible. Creative transgression is ready for a new landscape, one that will not be defined by certain acts, but instead a harder to pinpoint approach and atmosphere. Of course, it is all a wait and see sort of affair.

Speaking of wait and see, there is an upcoming Kickstarter coming up for “German Angst,” an anthology film featuring work by famed cult director Jorg Buttgereit (“Nekromanatic,” “Schramm,” “Captain Berlin”), Andreas Mitchell (“Tears of Kali”) and Michal Kosakowski (“Zero Killed.”) The trio of shorts will involve stories ranging from mind altering drugs, sex clubs and neo Nazis. The biggest news out of all this is that “German Angst” will be the first new material from Buttgereit after several years out of the filmmaking game. The project sounds highly promising, with their Kickstarter page going live in the next few days, so keep on the lookout. 

October is a great month for newness, since the latest print issue of Paracinema is out and it has been well worth the wait. There are some terrific articles featured, including pieces on everything from the aforementioned “A Serbian Film” to “Penitentiary III” to the later years of action heroes and even racial politics in post-Reagan teacher features. There's enough wit, humor and film smarts to make even the most jaded fringe-cineaste smile. On top of all that, it also has my own article on Stephen Sayadian's “Nightdreams” and “Dr. Caligari,” so if you're a juice dog then you know you gotta giddy-up on that action.

If creatures like vampires are more your thing, then you can get into the Halloween mood and listen to me speaking (aka ranting and rambling) with the great Frank Cotolo on his podcast The Cotolo Chronicles. This past Thursday we talked about the king vampire himself, Dracula and his many incarnations. Listen and thrill and put on your favorite plastic black cape and enjoy!

There will be more things to keep you entertained in the near future, say stay tuned cats and kittens!

You can also find me on Twitter, Tumblr & Pinterest. 

Weekly Mondo Round-Up: The Non Stop Whitman's Sampler Mix

The past week has been a veritable carousel of getting assorted article and film writing related activities done and out there. In short, it's been ideal. The biggest, by far, was getting to participate in the the tuber-fantastic William Castle Blogathon, hosted by the fine ladies at both GoreGirl's Dungeon and The Last Drive In. The assortment of different writers and Castle related goodies has been any genre film lover's dream. I would highly recommend checking out all of the entries, especially if you are a fan of the man. Getting to craft both a tribute, as well as delve into his pink-cheeked spy film, “13Frightened Girls!”, was a ton of fun. The man & legend that is William Castle has left a thumbprint on the world of cinema that will never be duplicated and this blogathon gives you plenty of examples why.

 

More on the not so quiet on the film front, my contribution to the “Underrated Dramas” feature on the fine site, Rupert Pupkin Speaks, went live this week. It was a great challenge, especially since the word “drama” has always made me a little itchy. Everything I love usually does not fit cleanly into any box, especially one as mainstream-respected as “drama.” But doing this list made me think outside of my own box, which is always a healthy thing. So I hope everyone enjoys it and immediately runs out to check out all the titles listed.

Earlier in the week, I appeared on my friend Frank Cotolo's podcast, “Cotolo Chronicles.” Last time around we discussed the living dead and this time around we discussed the living end of character actors. I didn't get to mention all of my favorites and while I think we got hit with the dreaded brain lapse that comes with the territory of live radio, as a whole it was fun. Plus, I got to plug my holy trinity of character actors: Joe Spinell, Rip Torn & Timothy Carey. Start building your altars now, if you haven't already.

One actor I did not get to mention that I desperately wanted to was Anthony James. He maybe a classic example of “Hey! It's that guy.” but once you see his mug, you will never forget him. Such an amazing face with the talent and presence to back it up. The lanky frame, sharp cheek bones, black-as-a-ravens-wing eyes and thin,wide smile—these are all just a few of the awesome things about Anthony James. My favorite James appearances include his turn as the lead villain in the Jay North-Angel Tompkins exploiter, “The Teacher,” the creepy chauffeur in “Burnt Offerings” and, of course, his fabulously sleazy agent in the music video for Poison's “Fallen Angel.” My only beef with that is the girl doesn't realize how good she's got it...nice clothes, great hair and the presence of a real, albeit highly oily man. Some girls...pffft. 

You can also find me on Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr & Google+. Enjoy!

Weekly Mondo Round-Up: Who the F*$k is Madison?!? Edition

I had a dream last night that was fairly incredible. Well the first half was typical, scary yet kind of boring brain vomit, but the second half involved visiting Henry Miller's watery grave/tribute. (Truth-Henry Miller is not buried in a woodsy lake in the Pacific Northwest.) Said site had an attached gift shop/convenience store that had a separate area for arts and crafts (!) As the tour guide was showing me this section and picking up some of the stone work that a lot of people used to make jewelry, I look up and making this incredible plexiglass/amber piece was Joey Ramone (awesome). Joey pointed out that he was decidedly not making any jewelery but just enjoyed creating little bits of art for the texture. After creating some watercolor paintings on my own, I went into their stock room for something and ran into Bruce Springsteen. Upon meeting the man, the first thing out of my mouth was, “Oh my god, you once met Lester Bangs? What was he like?” After that, I woke up but the chances of me actually saying that to “the boss” in real life are fairly good. (Unlike the odds of me actually meeting Springsteen.) 

                                                          Originally found on Cretin Family.

Speaking of Lester, I've been thinking of the man a lot lately. Granted, that is not entirely unusual since I have been a huge fan for years. Bangs is the type of writer that constantly makes me evaluate my own work. He was able to bring both a hyper-real intelligence, no bullshit quality to his work and yet, never losing any of his warmth or verve. The latter is something a lot of folks don't seem to touch upon with Lester but for someone to write the way he did, they have to truly care. The world of critical writing can be littered with some A-1 wankery, which usually stems from some white-bread type who is stroking his/her own ego. We all have ego but when it comes to creating anything, the work itself should always and eternally be number one and I think with Lester, it was always was. It's a huge crime that he is no longer in this realm. And a total aside, while Lester is by and large known as a music writer, his write-up of Ray Dennis Steckler's "Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies" is hilarious and worth looking up.) 

In a music frame of mind, I would be remiss not to mention the passing of Alan Myers, one of the pioneers who got scalped and drummer for Devo for over ten years. Part of the “classic era,” Myers was unlike any other drummer. He provided the spine for some of Devo's greatest songs. This year has already been rough, after losing Harry Reems, Andy Copp (miss you), Nagisa Oshima, Jess Franco, Ebert, Annette Funicello, Richard Matheson and too many to mention. I hate doing these things to be honest. It always feels like too many people have gone and trying to write the perfect thing to honor a whole lifetime of work feels impossible. It kind of is impossible but to quote a friend of mine, these things are always harder for the living. The best thing anyone can do is to kick extra ass for those who can't.

This past Thursday, I was interviewed once again on my friend Frank Cotolo's internet radio show, The Cotolo Chronicles, discussing zombies. It's funny, since I have been feeling burned out on the subject for quite awhile. But when Frank invited me, I took it as a challenge and ended up getting some different perspectives on the whole thing during my research. There's more to it than just brain eating Romero-styled revenants and Haitian voodoo. Anyways, it was fun and available to listen for anyone who missed the live show. 

Last but certainly not least, please check out my latest for Dangerous Minds. Riding the lost-sexploitation film train from “Sexcula,” this time I explore Vinegar Syndrome's superb release, “The Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis.” Their work on restoring and releasing this trio of films, including “The Ecstasies of Women,” “Linda & Abilene” and “Black Love,” is nothing short of stunning. As a huge H.G. Lewis fan and a film preservationist at heart, it feels great to have these previously lost films not only available, but also released with a lot of love and attention. 

You can also find me on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Google+.

Updates? We don't need no stinking updates!

But alas, you're getting them anyways!


Hope you're having a good or at least a non-depressing Holiday season and keeping warm out there. If you've been wondering what I have been up to between the Mike White interview (Seriously, buy his book y'all. It is worth it.) and now, here are a few links that will fill in the gap. Enjoy and stay tuned!

In addition to my steady work with the great film review site Cultcuts, I also was interviewed for the second time around by the one and only Frank Cotolo for his internet radio show, the Cotolo Chronicles. In addition to being a radio personality extraordinaire, he's also a fab interviewer and fine writer to boot. If you're curious, you can access a link to the show here.  

I've also started contributing to the relatively new but already going strong site, Cinema Head Cheese. Check out both sites for some fun and fine film writing a go-go. (Plus they are great guys too.)

The biggest news is that I have recently joined the staff at Video Watchdog. This is a huge pleasure for me, especially since VW was one of the big film magazines that helped open my eyes to the colorful world of cult and foreign films back in my early teens.

I've made my debut with issue #160, which is fresh from the printers and uber-lovely. In addition to my two BYTES of Troma's BIGFOOT and Media Blaster's LEMON GROVE KIDS MEET THE MONSTERS, there are some terrific articles about Friday the 13th, including the underrated series with Robey, an interview with June Lockheart and a ton of great reviews.

I also got to contribute to the Best DVDs of 2010 list on the Video Watchblog as well. All of the contributions are really good and a near-painful reminder that I need to find a bag of money asap!

There are other projects cooking, but more on those when the time comes. Thank you everyone for reading and keep fighting the good fight and support great, fringe culture.

We Want the Airwaves!

If you enjoy fringe cinema or great talk radio, please feel free to tune in to the net radio show "Cotolo Chronicles" on Thursday, July 1st at 9pm Eastern time. Yours truly will be interviewed by legendary radio personality and author Frank Cotolo about all things weird, wonderful and cinematic. Just clink on the link above for more information. You can either listen live or listen to the archived version if you miss it. Either way hope you enjoy it!