Steampunk, Gothic, Dark Cabaret, Dark Alternative Jazz, Industrial, Synthpop, Punk, Deathrock and eclectic music in general.
Some Joker dubbed in their voice over Billy Idol, making up their own literal translation of what was, of course, one of my favorite childhood videos.
Of course, I am LMAO…
Via LaughingSquid. More such videos linked from there.
The Pickled Brothers includes my good friend Travis – sideshow freak extraordinaire.
Travis has been on Jay Leno in recent weeks for his world record-breaking bug-related feats, and has performed his acts at shows and conventions all over the country. Erik, the other Pickled brother, broke the world record for upside-down juggling last year. Both are fantastic people worthy of winning this years reward.
I might also mention that Travis is the type of friend who would drive 45 minutes or more to lend a circular saw.
Please, if you would, vote for him through the link below (No guarantees on him lending you his saw).
You can scroll past all other categories if cramped for time (you needn’t fill them all out).
Scroll down to: OUT AND ABOUT: Best comedy troupe
http://www.bestofcincinnati.com
One vote per Ip, they are logging IP addresses.
I am home, and finally able to sit down and listen to my copy of Ego-Likeness‘ “West”.
West is a limited edition CD, the second of their Compass set, signed and numbered, and absolutely well-beyond-worth the $10 spent.
Though most of the tracks on this CD are remixes from other CDs, or entirely unique alternate versions by the band, “Sirens and Satellites” is completely new, and well-worth the purchase in its own. It is a moving and energetic masterpiece with perfect dynamic separation, making for a moving and energizing torrent of perfectly placed highs and lows washing over and incredibly contagious and rhythmic musical dreamscape.
“I Live on What’s Left” is a haunting anthem, pensive, gloomy, beautiful, relaxing and atmospheric – reminiscent of Liz Frazier or perhaps Jane Sisberry in style and feel – moving and downbeat, the perfect prelude to the tracks to come:
The Hypofixx Remix of “Burn Witch Burn” is a pulse-pounding and melodic dance track, and addictive beyond description. I do hope to see it once again top request lists at US clubs this year, and maybe ten years later in Ohio.
“The Egg of the Mother”, originally Recorded in 2002, is as promised drastically different from the original version (“Save your Serpent”), and utterly fantastic. I could not say which of the two I love more, but I can say that hearing this version made me more than pleased to have the EP. “The Egg of the Mother” is a hypnotic, dreamy, building musical wave, its ebb and flow leading perfectly into “Severine”, a wonderfully depressive and powerful remix by Hopeful Machines – a side project of Ego Likeness’ brilliant and artistic composer and co-author, Steven Archer.
Signed and Numbered, at only $10+$2 S&H, with only 300 available – I would certainly recommend putting the purchase of this CD at the top of your list for this week, if not this very minute.
Watch the video for Sirens and Satellites (performed at DragonCon 2008):
(Or see it at full size and format here)
Magenta, the real Magenta, not that pop whatthef^ckever, just finished their new album and put new songs up – just minutes ago.
You may remember them from some of the better gothic collections – not those samplers where everyone sounded like Black Tape for a Blue Girl, not those samplers from the mall store with the fat pants, but actual gothic music compilations such as The Black Bible and Unquiet Grave Vol.1.
They are an amazing band with a beyond fantastic sound. You really, really should give them a listen:
You may have experienced them at Whitby Gothic Weekend. In which case: go do one. If however you live on this side of the ocean, and hadn’t the means or the time to travel to such a fantastic event – or even if you were able to go, In the Nursery has a fantastic offer running right now.
In the Nursery’s Triple Offer (3 ITN CDs for just £14.99) covers 12 of their titles, not including their newest title “The Passion of Joan of Arc”, but pretty much all the others. This should certainly get you up to date and ready to enjoy their latest release.
Here are some brief details about things to come, and a even a handful of things that were.
Artworks as Prints, Old and New:
Old: I have found some art I thought forever lost. I have also remastered some older works to print more boldly and brightly, and have taken to refining some of my older digital works. Some of these are things I’ve previously sold open edition prints of – about one to ten total for each of these, making those older versions incredibly unique – though their existence undocumented except for here in this entry and previous posts about them. For the newer remastered versions, I plan on making some limited editions out of them – on fine art paper, with signatures, and certificates.
Books:
In September, I am slated to share pages with Bethalynne Bajema, Brom (wow!), and other fantastic “gothic artists” who are not Brom (wow!), in an art compilation book. When published, I will have links to that book from this site. I am unsure what details I can disclose at this point, but cannot wait to talk about it.
My comic book, “Some Ghouls Wander by Mistake” is currently in the pre-press stages, and on its way to print. Release date is mid to late September, just in time for Halloween. I have worked on and dropped this project many times over the past years, beginning anew each and every time I picked it back up… meaning I have been talking about it forever, ad nauseum. Be relieved, very relieved, that I will soon be talking about its release in present and past-tense.
My spooky, crazy weird children’s book, which will probably plant a lot of bad ideas, and therefore should not be read by, to, or around children – that will be out by the end of 2008. At which time family-oriented groups will protest outside of somewhere, in celebration of this great work. Previews will be here when I go to press.
Also, I am working out the details on illustrations for two novels: one horror and one fantasy, which will likely be done under the same general agreement.
In October, Bethalynne will be gracing the pages in another wonderful art compilation by Goth Magazine, it is a Steampunk Compilation featuring over 100 amazing artists from this genre.
“Goth Magazine is producing a full-color oversized bound book of steampunk fashion, gadgetry and artwork. Featuring the costuming of Enigma Fashions, Heavy Red Clothing, and editorials by Derek Caballero, actor Crispin Glover and more than 100 more artists, this will be the largest collection of steampunk imagery in one book…”
“…It will be available via GOTH Magazine, Barnes and Boble, Walden Books, Borders Books and retailers worldwide.”
I am not quite sure yet whether I will be on time to catch this boat, but go Beth!
Music:
Bethalynne Bajema and I will be jointly creating a new piece of artwork for another great Steam Punk icon, their name to be disclosed at a later date. All I can say is that I am thrilled to be working on this new piece, and will be doubly thrilled to see it released in a few months. Available here will be fine art prints and limited editions (95 giclees on canvas, 195 metallics, and 395 giclees on art paper) . “Branded versions” (versions with the band’s logo) will likely be available as poster prints, Cds, t-shirts, desktop graphics, screen savers and/or other things through the band’s site come October.
Pictographs:
Long, long ago, my coming was told in a rather non-flattering series of images crudely carved into stone with poorly engineered tools. The perpetrator, being human, is by now surely dead, and it serves him right.
Movies:
“Quench” by Zack Parker, is soon to be released everywhere on DVD October 28th, 2008 by Vanguard Cinema.
My artwork makes a good number of cameos in this piece, as many of my paintings make a personal appearance set design and props in this renowned, dark spooky, Modern Gothic Tragedy. If you are interested in pre-ordering a DVD, you can do so at Amazon for only $17.99
“Diary of the Dead“ – I watched it last week, I didn’t like it, for many reasons. I disliked it so much, that I erased from my mind that I had even seen or rented it – and now I owe late fees, which I should bill to George Romero accompanied by a request for a refund on my $3.99 rental fee, and a bill for the time I spent hoping it would get better.
WikiPedia!
I am not on Wikipedia. In order to do so, I would probably have to do something incredibly important for humanity – like hitting myself in the balls on camera, being obese on camera, getting killed by a squirrel, stapling things to my butt, or begging the public to leave some famous celebrity alone. I will likely be doing all of the above soon, and in that order.
Stay Tuned!
The Spookshow’s “PsychoSexual Chapter I”, released in 2005 by Wolverine Records, was the first of what will soon be three chapters in their Psychosexual series, with the third being released in May of 2008.
I was lucky enough to download the entire CD (with permission from Miss Behave) during my not-short-enough Punk-rock bartending and Goth club Promoting and DJing stints in Cincinnati, and this CD instantly became one of my favorite finds of the year.
With fast, fun, and darkly humorous horror-punk hymns such as “a Bloody Knife on Your Bloody Body” and “I sold your Soul to the Devil”, amusive anthems such as “Ghoul’s Night”, and freaky fifties-styled gothabilly tunes such as “Tonight’s the Night”, Psychosexual Chapter I is perfect for even the bloodiest of bloody sock hops.
The melodically morbid murder ballad “I Can Kill You in a Heartbeat”, sweet enough to give most any corpse cavities, rounds it all out, making this album is definitely my pick for the coming Halloween Season.
Every Once in a while, I am very glad to have found something new on the internet. This is definitely one of those times.
I love it when a new band actually impresses me, and am pleasantly surprised to find myself in love with another synth-based project.
I could not compare Empty too much to any of my other favorites in this genre, and perhaps that is what I love so much about their sound, but I can tell you that they sound refreshingly unlike any of a million Covenant, Wolfsheim, Apoptygma Berzerk, or VNV Nation soundalikes.
