The Christmas Tree is an integral part of the holiday season so it only makes sense to bring chainsaws into it too, right?
First up is a tune by one of my absolutely favorite bands, Zombina and the Skeletones. It's titled, appropriately enough, Chainsaw for Christmas.
The Texas Chainsaw Mistletoe answers the question on everyone's mind: What happens when you put Leatherface into holiday classic films?
This Santa with a chainsaw prank may be a bit mean spirited but then I remember all the Christmas stuff getting put out before Halloween and it makes me smile.
Be sure to visit all the Creepmas blogs by clicking below.
A few little things to celebrate the 103rd anniversary of Vincent Price's birth today.
The entire Vincent Price/Halloween episode of the Muppet Show. Possibly the greatest ever episode because it has both Price and Uncle Deadly in it.
Below is Price as Dr. Anton Phibes as seen in The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Dr Phibes Rises Again. This is one of his favorite roles of mine. There may not have been a Saw movie without him! The creator of Phibes has released a trilogy of books based on, and expanding, the movies. He also released a novella last year about Phibes' assistant Vulnavia.
Before I dive into this week's League post, I have to give a shout out to the man behind the curtain for hooking me up with some cool stuff. He recently raided a neighborhood sale and posted his haul, some of which he put up for sale. Here's what I got.
The Creature figures will be in good company with their bretheren on my Creature shelf. And not only did he send the groovy Creature figures I asked for, but he also tossed in a Creature Madballs-style sticker, some Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages and a couple of Marx Disney figures. So, thank you Brian and on with the show...
In honor of one of TV's baddest bad-asses returning this week, the topic is:
You don't know Jack (Bauer, Sparrow, Skellington, Burton, Tripper, Kirby, Nicholson, Black… there are quite a few to choose from.)
Despite the amount of Jacks in modern pop culture, I decided to set the WABAC machine to the Victorian era and talk a bit about Spring-heeled Jack. He's an urban legend that started in the 1830's in Great Britain and had reported sitings into the early 1900's.
"Spring-heeled Jack was described by people who claimed to have seen him
as having a terrifying and frightful appearance, with diabolical
physiognomy, clawed hands, and eyes that "resembled red balls of fire".
One report claimed that, beneath a black cloak, he wore a helmet and a
tight-fitting white garment like an oilskin. Many stories also mention a "Devil-like" aspect. Others said he was tall and thin, with the appearance of a gentleman.
Several reports mention that he could breathe out blue and white flames
and that he wore sharp metallic claws at his fingertips. At least two
people claimed that he was able to speak comprehensible English."
The above image is my favorite rendition of Spring-heeled Jack and I think it would make an awesome Halloween costume! Aside from the fact that he wasn't such a nice guy, he's sort of like a supernatural Victorian Batman.
The entity know as Jack reportedly accosted women, assaulted men, and made his escapes leaping over houses and walls 10' high. He became quite infamous and took up a place in the popular culture of the time. Some Punch and Judy puppet shows renamed their Devil to Spring-heeled Jack and he was also featured in several penny dreadful magazines.
A penny dreadful advertisement
Some of the Victorian police reports indicate they found foot prints in the mud that looked like his boots had some kind of device attached to their bottoms. Here's a more modern interpretation of Spring-heeled Jack.
One of my favourite bands from across the pond, Zombina and the Skeletones, wrote a song about ol' Jack that incorporates a lot his descriptive elements.
And he's got a Living Dead Doll coming out soon (bottom center)
Here's what other League members are Jacked into Monster Cafe steals a fork from a very famous Jack
A couple of Jacks make Underscoopfire's list of 24 Unisurable Characters GI Jigsaw sez the check's in the mail!
Write a stream of conscious post listing the things you love and hold dear.
The length of this post vs how long it actually takes me to write it will probably be way out of proportion as I try to self-edit and keep myself from going on and on and on...
My parents and wife! They've been amazing as long as I've known them.
You, yes you there reading this! I had no idea how starting a silly little blog would change the way I interact with the internet and introduce me to so many great people.
Comments! I can see how many page hits a post gets but seeing comments gives me a little more validation that someone's interested in what I'm writing.
Star Wars! (even some parts of the prequels) Being able to escape to another place I know so well whether through movies, TV, games, music or other audio things...
Music! Oh my god, there is sooo much music I love. Stuff that's been with me forever and takes me back (Pac-Man Fever album), stuff that I listen to when I'm down (Trans-Formers soundtrack got me through some tough times), stuff that I blast when I'm pissed at the world (Calabrese, Zombina and the Skeletones and tons of other punk & metal) and stuff I put on to zone out to (anything relating to Tron).
Tron! If you've been reading for a bit, you know how much I love this franchise.
Halloween! The movies are ok but I'm talking about the holiday and the fall season. Bringing out the Salem Creep every year and scaring the pants off people. Having Trick or Treaters come to the door, especially when they're Star Wars or something else pop culture related.
Photography! There are few things I enjoy more than going to a cemetery alone, wandering the stones and taking pictures. I do like taking photos of other things too, as you might have seen. But, gravestones don't move around and try to be funny in pictures...usually.
Movies! Oh so many to list but I have a spot in my heart for the horror/scifi of the 50s, 60s and 70s. In particular if it features Vincent Price or something being a lot bigger /smaller than it naturally should be, I'm there!
Cartoons and Saturday mornings! Adventure Time, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, the Aquabats Super Show. Being able to revisit stuff I haven't seen in ages like Battle of the Planets (and the original Gatchaman), Thundarr the Barbarian, StarBlazers and StarCade.
Games of all kinds: board, card and video! As far as we've come tech-wise I still love the hell out of old school arcade and vintage games, especially my Atari 2600 favorite: Yar's Revenge.
And I'm going to wrap with toys! I always feared as a kid that I'd get too old for toys. Glad I was wrong! LEGO minifigs, action figures, capsule toys from vending machines, Halloween themed Playmobil figures.
Since the last issue of Dexverse came out in May, let me give new visitors the scoop: It's just me talking about and showing off characters I created for MMOs. I found out last week that the sun had set for its last time over Paragon City in City of Heroes at the end of November.
While I haven't played it in a long time, I did play for the first couple years it was around. I played with real life friends. I adventured with a supergroup/guild that was mainly European based (the only time I've ever used voice chat in online gaming). I met lots of other people from around the world . It was a good time.
I wanted to give my own send off to the original superhero MMO, so here's some quick shots of a few more of the characters I created to inhabit that world.
That's Nova Force. Go figure, the name Nova was already taken! She's kinda 90s' in her design. Her powers included gravity manipulation which is why her costume has all those funky lines on it. Her origin (finding part of a meteor that gives her powers) was inspired/stolen from the Zombina and the Skeletones song, Meteorite.
Meet Jacko Lantern, the living pumpkin born from a chemical accident in a pumpkin patch! His body is supposed to be made up from dirt and plants and his head is a pumpkin. He's a Bruiser/tank that wields a giant stone hammer and can light himself on fire.
Now on to a couple of bad guys created for City of Villains.
Necrobella is a bit like Poison Ivy.
She can control plants but can also raise the dead to fight for her.
Finally, we have Psychotron. I created him as the archenemy to Captain Blaze. His is a classic comic origin. He used to be one of the good guys working with Blaze but something went wrong on a mission destroying most of his body. His brain was put into a Terminator-like skeleton and now he's out for vengeance! He's got a multi-function laser rifle and an army of robots to back him up.
Here's Psychotron in the DC Universe game...
This will probably be the last issue of Dexverse unless I get roped into another MMO or decide to post more embarrassing superhero art from grade school.
Wow, I woke up this morning and there is so much cool stuff I want to share with you guys before getting to my proper Halloween post!
First, local band Darling Pet Munkee has a new 7 track EP titled You Better Believe It! I posted about them before but if you're not familiar with them, they do songs based on those classic comic book mail order ads. Here's the video of the first single from the new album, "Hypno-Coin." You can pay what you want for the new album online.
Horror rock band Calabrese (that rocked me recently) has released a video for their song "Dead Don't Rise" from their newest album Dayglo Necros.
Finally, another of my favorite bands, Zombina and the Skeletones have also released a new EP called That Doll Just Tried to Kill Me. If you don't know them, they're sorta rock n pop wrapped in a surfpunk soft shell. If you buy from their download page (as opposed to say, iTunes) you get a bonus track.
They've also posted band member Doc Horror's Halloween sound collage.
You can get that for FREE!
Well, the big day is finally here!
Our local weather is predicting no rain so I'm a happy spook!
You may want to go grab a snack and get comfy before proceeding...
If you're looking for new Halloween music to go with your weekend activities, you came to the right place! No matter who you are or your taste in music, at least one of these should appeal to you. They're listed in no particular order of favoritism but instead I'll start with the "lighter" sounds and move onto heavier ones.
Kristen Lawrence
I'd be ok with calling Kristen the Musical Mistress of Halloween. She coined the term Halloween Carols to describe her songs, and really, why has it taken this long for anyone to do that? Her music is inspired as much by Bach as Danny Elfman/Oingo Boingo. Her vocals can be ethereal, lending an extra spooky touch to her haunting music.
If Kristin is the Mistress of Halloween Music, thenDr Gasp is the Imp King.I've been seeing the Doctor usually twice a year as part of my Halloween regimen. In addition to his October show, he also performs around May for a Springalloween show (photos). It's very similar to his Halloween show, just in the Spring! His folksy acoustic style, vocal range and quirky lyrics make him a must for any Halloween fiend. If you only get one album, you'll want Halloween Special.
Rock out with your Cthuluhu out! This band's songs frequently include references to the Cthulhu Mythos...if the entire song is not outright dedicated to it. Their song "Shhh...." was featured as DLC in Rock Band. I "discovered" them when they opened for They Might Be Giants at GenCon one year. Official Site
Zombina and the Skeletones
ZATS is a band I could gush about constantly. They are one of my favorite bands on the planet! They're just as much punk rock as they are doo-wop and surf. And they somehow manage to fit infectious pop in there too. Their songs frequently have B-movie inspired lyrics and are a lot of fun. One of their best songs is "The New Orleans Incident" which tells how the band is stalked and killed off one by one. As each death happens, that band member drops out of the song. That is genius, right there, folks! Their concept album, Death Valley High, is an amazing showcase of just how diverse they are.
This is the video for the newest single, Teenage Caveman Beat Gargantua.
I think it gives you a good idea of what they're about.
Ghoultown
If you never thought you needed more western influenced music in your ears, this is the band to change your mind. But they're more "drifter waiting in the dirty alley behind the saloon looking for a fight" than cowboy. The first, and probably only, band to be called "Cowpunk" they are a blend of horrorpunk and psychobilly with heavy spaghetti western influences.
Self described as "The Misfits meets Ramones meets The Damned." These guys are also high on my favorite band list. When performing, they are fierce, hammering their instruments (especially drummer Davey) and belting out horror laced lyrics and frequent "whoooaaa"s. Off stage, they're guys that you want to hang out with and total geeks (in a good way). I got to hang out with them a bit after their recent Providence, RI show (gig photos)
These Finnish heavy metal shock rock monsters draw a lot of inspiration from Kiss. They even refuse to be photographed without their makeup. They have done unmasked interviews, but the band is always shot from behind so their faces are obscured. They may look fierce but their songs are generally in the horror B-movie vein.
