P R A Y E R S T O A B R O K E N S T O N E
Vol. 2 Issue 1
17 Dec 1992
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From the Editor's Den...
Well, things are looking up. This issue came together far faster than
any of the others, and from my point of view is the best so far. It was pretty
painless and I didn't have to fret over filling out 20 pages. Thanx must go
to Steve for effort well beyond the call of duty. My getting the Strange
Boutique interview is entirely his fault. :-) I would also just like to
note that I didn't give them a rave review simply because they sent me free
stuff. :-) They're a really good band and they would have gotten a rave review
anyway.:-)
My dearest friend Spiggy must also be thanked. She provided me with the
Andrew Eldritch interview, and the one that will appear next issue and I
finally get to talk to her on a regular basis again and this makes me very
happy.
I obviously found a new name that I'm quite happy with, no thanx to youse
guys, however. Thhmmmpht! :->
One other thing I feel I should note is that, generally speaking, I write
most of this late at night when I'm at my most cynical and sarcastic. I'm not
entirely sure how much of this comes across reading my sterling prose, but I
thought I should tell you as a sort of consumer warning. :->
Other notes, the paper version of this is sadly on hold for now. Monetary
considerations must outweigh what _I_ want for now. Issues 1-3 will likely
come out concurrently, but I am determined they _will_ get published.
I must also put in the usual plea for reviews and such. Other voices are
the only thing that are going to ensure that this 'zine keeps going and
doesn't turn into _Corey's Little Place to Spout His Opinions(tm). :-)
That's about it really. Keeps the comments coming, tell your friends
and send me your demo tapes.
I must also breath an electronic sigh of relief, George Bush is on his
way out and all is well in the universe again. Ok, not really, but it might
be and that's good enough for me. To everyone that voted, no matter _who_
you voted for, well done. To everybody else, you have no right to bitch if
you don't participate in the democratic process, and that's it to _that_.
I stole the cover from my friend joel cus this was late and it was all
I had to use for a cover. So, sorry joel fer using it without permission and
if _you've_ got any neat ascii goth art, send it to me so I won't have to
borrow stuff at the last minute. :-)
Corey
Prayers to a Broken Stone
Vol. II, Issue I
Publisher: Morpheus Laughs Productions
Chief Blabber-Mouth: Corey W. Nelson
Contributing Writers: S. Pereira, Anastasia, MikeK, everything else by me.
______________________________________________________________________________
Copyright Notice: This zine is copyright 1992 by Corey W Nelson for the
contributors, except for the bits that I've shamelessly stolen. Those
bits are of course still copyright by their original creators. This zine
may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without express written
permission from me. Permission is given in advance for a printout for
yourself. Just because you get something for free via the net doesn't
mean it's public domain and you can do anything you want with it.
Interview with Andrew Eldritch, just after the WEA signing
July 1984
_____________________________________________________________________________
INT: Why has it taken so long for you to actually, well it's not good or bad,
the reason you finally hooked up with a major for distribution. Why did
you hold out for such a long time? Cus you've been playing since 1980,
1981, basically. And you're from Leeds, and maybe you could explain about
Leeds also and that scene out there.
AE: Well, there isn't a scene. That's one reason we live there. Apart from
the fact that we like it and that's really the sort of place we belong.
We certainly don't belong in london. it didn't really make it any harder
coming from leeds, not necessarily. I think certain people in london
don't understand when a band wants to stay 200 miles away. In canada, 200
miles isn't a long way. But here there's a big difference between living
in london if you're a band and living in anywhere else.
INT: What's the difference?
AE: Well, the difference is if you live in a provincial town which is this
month's thing you become instantly famous. If you live in leeds it takes
you a long time. (laughs) The reason it's taken us so long to get hooked
up with WEA is because we were doing well enough on our own not to let
anybody distribute our records except in the way we wanted to. And for
the amount of money that we felt was necessary in order for us to
continue doing our job in the way that we want to do it
INT: You mentioned in your press release about being independent, but still
retaining a sense of professionalism and not really sort of being
considered an amateur, even though a lot of people usually regard an
independent group as sort of like an amateur outfit in a sense. Who's
distributing your records, Merciful Release, prior to WEA?
AE: In England, the Cartel and then in Canada they were just exported. We
distributed records through the Cartel from a base in York, were the
people are very good, but it must be said that there are parts of the
Cartel which are pretty weak. It's very hard to be a professional
independent band when you have to deal with a lot of very amateur people,
pressing plants, printers, particularly. One of the very sad things about
independents here in england was that for a lot of people it was an
excuse for sheer amateurism. We realized without having to think much
about it that the way that we wanted to develop was unlikely to make us
instantly famous. And given that you've got to be sure to do your job
properly. The harder the music is, the more perverse it is that you want
to make, the more you gotta accept the consequences. The consequences
are you get famous very slowly. That's ok, cus it means by the time you
are famous, you're very good at what you do and hopefully we're just
about there. We'd like to think so.
INT: Can you talk about heavy metal music, what are your feelings about it?
I've read in past interviews that you don't take it too... uhm well you
don't make fun of it really, I mean its' not as silly as...maybe it's a
misunderstood sort of...
AE: It is grossly misunderstood, the term heavy metal has been grossly
adulterated in the last ten years or so. We have an irreverent love of
it. It is irreverent, but it's very loving.
INT: In what way?
AE: It's very important to us. It's very easy to take the piss out of heavy
metal, and we do a great deal, we take the piss out of everything. But
you can't get up night after night or use as a vehicle for what you have
to do, a sort of music that you'd don't love in a very basic and simple
way at the same time as you recognize the ridiculousness of it. That's
the great thing about it. Heavy metal is the extreme of music which you
can take anyway you like, preferably every way at the same time.
INT: Just sort of curious if it was a conscious attempt to not hire or
include a drummer, a real drummer, within your line-up.
AE: Not really, we've never felt the need for one...
INT: Why? I'm curious...
AE: We have now have a very sophisticated machine and all the excuses we,
well not excuses, all the reasons we had in the past for saying "yeah,
well drum machines are good, the one we've got maybe doesn't do all the
things we'd like it to do...", have now evaporated because we now have
the machine we want. We now have a state-of-the-art drum computer. So
we'll see, I think the result on the album tour should obviate the need
for any further questions anybody has about "do we need a drummer". It's
just the same as people might have said if we were, like a 50s band, "why
the hell don't you have a saxophone?" Why should we have a saxophone? Why
should we have a drummer? It's....
INT: ...totally irrelevant really, for you...
AE: It is. It is. We don't deliberately have a drum machine as opposed to a
drummer. We recognize the need for percussion, but if we had a drummer
we'd only want him to do what the drum machine does anyway and the drum
machine does it an damn sight more reliably.
INT: Yeah, and in a sense maybe it started off as far as when you were first
getting the band together, maybe you were working at home and you were
working with one anyways and you found that it was a lot easier to work
with a drum computer, a rhythm machine or whatever...
AE: That's certainly true. There was only three of us and none of us was a
drummer and the personal chemistry of the band's always prevented an
extra person joining, especially a drummers, who is a breed monstrous
and moronic generally. Also in Leeds it would have been very hard to get
a band off the ground at all if we'd had a to rehearse with a drum kit.
You can rehearse at any volume you like with a drum machine and it might
not be as much fun as playing really loud, but at least you can get to do
it. Even now, the band rehearses in the cellar of one of the members.
And we wouldn't be able to do that if we had a drum kit. So there are
practical advantages, but I then I guess they might have been the
original reason for having a drum machine, but the practical advantages
certainly now outweighed by the fact that we're very happy with the drum
machine at the moment and we certainly don't see the need for a drummer.
It does everything a drummer would do. In fact, funny enough, we're
gonna do a radio session tomorrow and for the first time when I was
programming some of the drums for it yesterday, I programmed them in in
real time, not necessarily on the beat, so there's a little looseness
there, so maybe they'll be a little less clinical than they've been
before. I mean I actually think we benefit from having the clinicalness
of the drum machines we've had before, which would always play on the
beat and absolutely reliably. The new one, you can introduce that little
bit of leeway if you want, and we'll see how that sounds. It might be
interesting. But the new one we can do almost anything with it we want.
People say at gigs, "Well, uh, you can't be spontaneous with a drum
machine". With this one we can, ok, we can walk up to it and make it do
anything we want. We don't actually get to sit behind a kit and bang
things, but we can stand there and hit it's knobs and it makes the same
noises. The average home computer in this country, the basic basic one,
costs around 50 quid. This drum machine costs 2000 pounds. It's a very
sophisticated computer. It'll do well nigh anything.
INT: Well, what is it actually?
AE: It's an Oberheim.
INT: It's an Oberheim DMX. Or, DMX, yeah...
AE: Yeah, it's a DMX.
INT: Right, they're very nice sounding...
AE: Yeah, well apart from that, you can put any noise it in you please. If
you send your noises to Los Angeles, they'll send you a chip back and you
just slot it in.
INT: You mentioned that you went to tour the states during August of, during
the summer of 1983. How did an independent band get it together to get
out there? To get out to North America from all the way from Leeds?
AE: Firstly we have a few very good friends with a little bit of clout over
there. That means that we have someone putting our records out who's very
good at hitting the right people. So although we don't sell any
noticeable number of records in the states, well you can't if you're an
independent anyway, we're reasonably well-known here and there. So we do
ok, but's it's a consequence of having a few friends.
INT: Yeah, I think I heard last year you were staying in New York for a while,
I'm not to sure, cus I got confused after a while cus I knew that you
were playing some shows around certain parts of the States, but I didn't
know if you were British or American, it was very confusing because it
was like, uh, well I knew you were British, but a lot of people have said
you were living over there for a period of time.
AE: Most of that was just a one in then out.
INT: Oh, really...I see, ok, I was just wondering about that...
AE: But we did spend a lot of time there last year and the beginning of this
year. It's a good place.
INT: Did you enjoy it?
AE: Yeah, a great deal.
INT: I mean what part did you like the best?
AE: The night time. Plus there's been one most noticeable thing about America
after [something] the place, is that it's 24 hrs. And for people like us
that's pretty useful. It's disgusting the way most towns in this country
shut at ten o'clock in the evening.
INT: 11 o'clock, yeah. 10 o'clock I guess in some parts.
AE: Earlier, I mean this place is like Peterbrooks, never get up at all.
(laughs) I mean there are plenty of dead towns. There are plenty of dead
towns in America to, but the American metropolis is a wonderful thing.
We even like the people.
INT: What's so wonderful about America though?
AE: Apart from the fact that it's open late?
INT: No, you said it's a wonderful metropolis. And I'm just wondering what you
mean by that.
AE: Mostly cus it's open late. But America's a great place, it's just that,
there's nothing which is America strange to because we're bombarded with
American culture here all the time anyway. First time we went, everybody
was winding us up beforehand with. "oh, you'll either love it or you'll
hate it. No it's a really extreme place". No, it's just a logical
extension of England. England's like an American colony.
INT: You think so?
AE: Yeah.
INT: I would have thought it was the other way around.
AE: Well, I guess it used to be, but I wouldn't say it was now.
INT: Oh, you mean, the British are trying to sort of, with a lot of the
hamburger stores opening up downtown in London, and all over.
AE: Television and films, all the things that make people behave in the way
they do.
INT: Do you think this could be said of your musical influences taste to a
certain extent about being American influenced, I mean a lot of your
press releases they mention stuff about the Stooges and Velvet
Underground, various things like that. And I'm just wondering if those
kind of comparisons are, those remarks kind of get on your nerves after
a while. It's an excuse for people to categorize the Sisters of Mercy
very easily.
AE: Well, given that people have to do that, we don't mind so much if they
mention people we like. But those comparisons are no more valid than
all the comparisons to old English rock bands. We just have the
perspective to realize that those bands were American influenced as well.
INT: What were some of the real surprises of the past few years when you've
been recording some of the tunes that have been real surprising for you
that you've never really envisaged going to the studio and having it turn
out like the way it did.
AE: By the time we actually began to experiment even in the slightest in the
studio. When we had time to experiment even a little bit, we'd already
had a chance to record at home with a cassette system. So it wasn't just
a question of doing something in rehearsal, and if it works in
rehearsal with everybody playing together, then you try it in the studio.
We'd also tried stuff which was not live based.
INT: And Afterhours is really quite good. 94 degrees and 2 o'clock in the
morning? Or something? Sounds like it's in the middle of a city or
something, very very hot, very...
AE: 44th street. Yeah. But I shifted it a few blocks down so I wouldn't
actually get pinned down to the actual occurrence which lead to that
being written.
INT: That was in the New York Hotel was it?
AE: Yeah. You can tell can't you. I mean there's so much amphetamine. To me
that song is pure amphetamine. It's the most amphetamine sort of, song
I ever, it works in a completely different time scale to everything else.
It's not the sort of all-out gonzo amphetamine song. Although we got a
couple of those, but it's sort of one of those tingle tingle tingle, "was
that a minute or was that an hour?" songs. There's a a lot of cars hiss
by my window in it as well. Which is a very L.A. song and the thing
which prompted the writing of Afterhours is very similar to something
in L.A. which might have prompted the same song. So it's like L.A. and
New York rolled into one.
INT: What's the presentation like live with the Sisters of Mercy when they're
playing at the concert.
AE: We got into smoke recently. They gave us smoke last time we played in New
York and we really got off on it. So we use a lot of smoke these days.
And we had a lighting engineer on the last tour who really knew how to
light the stage with smoke and we had a great time wandering around in
this fog. It was very effective, it was very very stupid, and very silly,
but at the same time it really affected you like smoke is supposed to
affect you in that sort of bozo gut-wrenching heavy metal way.
INT: I know I have to get going, she's telling me to get running. There's just
one thing I want to know, there's another quote here I took from your
press release. "The Sisters writhe in the legends of Altamont..." well
they meant Altamont as in Altamont Speedway the Rolling Stones, when they
played early seventies San Francisco, Altamont Speedway right?
AE: One of the reasons Gimme Shelter is so important. We changed the words
around in Gimme Shelter. The original was about how love's just a kiss
away and war is just a shot away. We turned it around. Altamont's very
important. If there's a part of history where rock music stopped for a
second and we began. If there's a point were the seeds of what we do were
sown, it's probably Altamont, cus it encapsulated everything wonderful at
the time. The good things and the bad things, and a lot of both. It's
when the trip turned sour and it's when the best music was.
INT: It was slightly dangerous at that time. Really, for a few minutes there.
AE: For one guy especially. But it encapsulates so much, Altamont.
INT: I'm wondering just before we wrap up. Body and Soul is a very important
song to you, because I just wanted to talk about the other songs on the
ep too that are a lot different than that one.
AE: Body and Soul is an important phenomenon more than an important song.
Anybody that understands that will under it and anybody who doesn't won't
have much, I won't explain what that means.
INT: Was the name [Sisters of Mercy] just inconsequential, did you just wanted
anything or for those people that are really concerned about the name
actually, how that came about for those one's that are curious.
AE: Laughing Lenny Cohen. Yeah, it does mean something. Cohen used it to mean
prostitution. And we always felt the overlap between nuns, I mean there
is actually an order of nuns called the Sisters of Mercy, and all the
catholic, with a small 'c', dogma that that implies. And at the same time
the prostitution which Cohen brought in was a very simple metaphor for a
rock 'n' roll band.
INT: What you like to end up with playing for everybody at the station here as
we wrap up the show. What song would sort of kiss-off this interview very
nicely.
AE: Problem is that at any given time, everybody's got, like, they're
all-time favorite song of the week. And I guess we've all got a different
one this week.
INT: Well what's you're favorite song of this week?
AE: No, I get my favorite song played a lot more, it's definitely someone
else's turn. I got a two hour show on Belgian radio last week so I've
definitely had my share.
INT: Ok, who are we going to ask here....
[interview degenerates into "you choose, no you choose". Eventually Gary, I
believe, chooses When the Levee Breaks from Led Zeppelin IV. Which Andrew says
would have been his choice as well, go figure :-)
A SHORT CONVERSATION WITH STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Strange Boutique are a really cool band from Washington DC. Due this
lovely thing called Internet( I love computers!), I managed to get an
interview with them. This is the first time I've had to come up with my own
questions, so it's bit rough. Interviewing isn't nearly as easy as it might
seem. Hopefully I'll get better at it as time goes by. :-) Anyway, enough of
_my_ rambling. Steve answered all the questions, except were noted. See also
the reviews of their CD and new single in the reviews section.
______________________________________________________________________________
PBS: First things first, who's who and what do they play?
STEVE: Monica does all the vocals; Fred provides countless hours of amusing
anecdotes and cheap entertainment while traveling .. and he plays
guitar; Rand does all of the drumming/percussion; and Steve provides
the low-end rumble and steers the van.
PBS: Who writes the songs? Lyrically speaking, I was really impressed with
the album. The lyrics work so well with the music and have a poetic
sense not seen much these day.
STEVE: Lyrically, Monica has complete control ... until it comes time to
name the songs ...... I think everyone in the band has faith in
Monica's lyric writing; so much, say, that most of the time we don't
even question them. Plus, we can't understand a thing she says. I
think we were all quite taken when we actually got a chance to read
the lyrics when "the Loved One" came out.
PBS: Who do you count as influences on the lyric writing? T.S. Eliot being
an obvious answer.
MONICA: I'm a frustrated writer. I feel the need to write all the time, but
I can't express myself well in prose -- I read quite a bit, and I'm
influenced by writers like Nabokov, Garcia Marquez, T.S. Eliot
....rich poetic language. I always feel a need to tell a story, so I
try to pack my lyrics with as much narration and meaning as the songs
can hold.
PBS: How about musically? What are some of your favorite bands?
STEVE: We listen to a lot of different things in the van when we travel
.....I think the things that always find the way into the tape deck
are Killing Joke, the Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, the
Psychedelic Furs, Lush, Smashing Pumpkins and a lot of older punk
stuff like the Damned, Buzzcocks and Magazine.
PBS: Does being called Goth bother you? Speaking from my personal bias'
here, Andrew Eldritch always gets rather rude when the 'G' word is
brought up. How do you classify your music?
STEVE: This is a very touchy question. We often feel trapped by the "Gothic"
tag ...... I guess it bothers me because I like a lot of Gothic stuff
and I just don't hear us fitting in to that genre. I consider
Bauhaus, early Sisters, early Cult, the Nephilim, Christian Death
Gothic and I don't think we sound anything like those bands. The mood
that those bands created influenced us but we have taken those
moods/feelings and gone our own way. The worst part of this is that
a lot of people write us off without ever hearing us because they
think we are "Gothic". The people that do this are usually the ones
that have no idea of what Gothic music is or ever was. I think we
appeal to people who are into Goth because our music creates an
atmosphere which is moody and dark. Of course every artist would hope
to not be asked to classify their work but if I had to I would say
that we play throbbing pop.
PBS: Now that it's been out for a while and you've got a new single. How
do you feel about 'the Loved One'? For and indie release, it _sounds_
really good. Are you pleased with it and do you feel it's a good
representation of the band as a whole?
STEVE: I think "the Loved One" is very representative of what we were doing
and how we were feeling when we recorded those songs. When we started
recording those songs we wanted to take advantage of the studio and
make sure that we were not putting out a "demo-quality" CD. We have
been accused of over-producing, but I stand by everything on the CD.
I think there are a lot of great songs there and they are still part
of our live set. Is it a good representation of the band ? I would say
so. When we were recording "the Loved One" we were at a stage where
we hadn't played out of town a lot and were only playing live once
every other month or so. After the CD came out we played out a lot
more and became a much better live band. Consequently, when we went
to record again it was natural for us to come across more like our
live sound...which is heavier and louder than the production on "the
Loved One" would lead someone to believe.
PBS: How did the band come together? Were any of you in bands previously?
Are all of you from the DC area?
STEVE: Monica and Danny (our original drummer) started Strange Boutique with
the hope of doing something other than hardcore (both were a part of
the early harDCore days). They swiped Fred from another harDCore group
called Beefeater and set out on a search for a bass player. Although
we are twins Monica and I were not really close so I guess I wasn't
the obvious choice ..... but as it turns out my band was breaking up
right as they're search was starting. One quick jam session/audition
and there we were. Eight songs and a month and a half later we were
doing our first show.
PBS: What does the future hold? Any chance of a tour, say, anywhere near
me? :-)
STEVE: Right now we are working on another full-length CD ...which should
be out in early '93. All the material is written and some of it is
already recorded. We are trying to play as much as possible just to
get these songs down tight. As far as a tour close to you ..... I
would love to ..... does that mean it will happen .......who knows ???
______________________________________________________________________________
A Strange Boutique Discography
April 89 Easter Island 12" EP
August 90 A Happy Death/Floorboards 7"
August 91 The Loved One CD/Cass
April 92 In A Heaven/Heroes 7"
write to them at:
Bedazzled Records
P.O. Box 39195
Washington DC 20016
CONVERSATION WITH INFAMOUS MENAGERIE
by MikeK, Exciting Rock Journalist
[ed. note: Since this interview, Infamous Menagerie have sadly broken up. Most
of you won't notice, but I miss'em. This interview originally appeared in
Throwrug #3, a Bellingham zine that's really cute, as is it's creator.
You can get it by sending $.50 and a stamp to:
Throwrug
4089
Bellingham, WA 98226
It mostly covers local stuff and Bellingham has a really good scene(tm)
if you're into garagey/grungy music. Issue one has the Meek, Skin Yard,
Hammerbox and Capping Day. Issue two has Wicker Biscuit, Monks of Doom and
Common Language(which I'm also going to swipe). There, that a good enough plug
Karl?!? :->
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa and Erin live in a converted warehouse, located in a desolate part
of Seattle. This air of urban decay could be viewed as a metaphor for their
music. With it's oil drums and hammer percussion and an apparent focus on
rhythm over melody, it would be easy to label the band industrial. Easy, but
not complete. This is not your average all-girl psychindustrial gloom band.
I interviewed Infamous Menagerie at Erin and Lisa's home. Present besides
myself(MikeK) were Tori(percussion and bass), Lisa(bass and vocals), and Erin
(guitar and vocals).
MikeK: How did you get together to form IM? How long ago was that?
Lisa: Four or five years ago?
Erin: Oh, more than that. Since 1984; six and a half, almost seven years ago.
L: Erin and I were in Georgia, and we were trying to be in another band. They
wanted somebody they got along with to play bass. Of course, I didn't
know how to play the bass. It was just like, "We got along with you,
here, buy a bass, be in this band." And Erin had been playing guitar
before that. And it didn't work out, of course, 'cus I couldn't play the
bass. "So this is really great, we really like you, so how do we tell you
you that this isn't going to work, you don't know how to play."
Tori: At least they said they liked you.
E: So as a result we had this huge bass amplifier and a new bass and a
keyboard, which we've since gotten rid of, so we decided to form a band.
So we did.
L: Well, I think we kind of knew that that's what was going to happen, you
know, like the whole time I was going through this struggle of finding
a bass, Erin and I just kept kind of joking around about, "Oh well, when
this doesn't work out we'll just form our own band." Both of us had
always wanted to be in a band so..
E: It just took some kind of outside force to...
L: Back then we had a normal drummer...
T: ..as opposed to an abnormal Tori...
L: ..and so that's the way it worked for a while.
E: We went through millions of drummer.
L: Yeah, we did. And they were all deranged.
T: All drummers are deranged.
MK(speaking to Tori): When did you join?
T: Join? it would be about two years, in the end of the month. (This interview
occurred in early May) I met Lisa and Erin a coupla years ago, when we
lived in the same house. I didn't know them before then, but...we
became friends and then Lisa left the band.
E: Lisa Orth (founder of Big Flaming Ego Records)
T: Lisa Orth. They invited me to come over and see if I could keep a beat and
make noise on big metal stuff, 'cus they had a show coming up.
E: And she can't, but we kept here anyway.
L: Well, actually, that was the same thing that the other band had said to me.
I kept saying to Tori, "Hmm, well, we get along with you, so you can't
hit on things, we get along with you, it will work out ok."
T: But I can hit on things...
MK: Can you tell me how you recorded Irkutsk?
E: How we recorded Irkutsk? Well, we bought a 4-track and we thought, "Well,
we better use it."
L: It's the second thing we recorded, the first thing was...
E: ...even worse.
L: We got this 4-track and so we started, "oh wow, we have a 4-track and this
will be easy and it will certainly sound just fine." The first coupla
things we did was when Lisa was still in the band...and we did that first
thing and it sounded terrible, and then we did Irkutsk and it sounded so
much better that we actually thought it sounded good.
E: It's not too bad for a 4-track project, but you know it's one of those
cassette underground sort of releases.
L: No, most people think it's an 8-track release and then they try to tell us
what's wrong with it. Irkutsk was kind of fun. We actually, at that
point, thought we would record everything that we'd ever written...
E: After we had collected six songs, we thought, "well hey, let's put it out."
L: Yeah, and it was just kind of a fluke that those were the six songs on
that were on there...well, I guess it's kind of weird though, 'cus songs
kind of become, at least for us...we do something and there seems to be a
large gap between the time we write something...and until it becomes
whatever it is that it's supposed to be. Immediate Impound Zone was
especially that way, it's like we did it and I think it took about six or
seven months of constantly doing it out before it worked the way it
should. Toast is another one like that. We recorded it and it sounded
fine on the recording, but it's only now, I think, that's it's actually
working. The first couple of times, I mean, we've had it for now almost a
year, but for a long time, even though it sounded fine on the recording,
even though we knew what it was supposed to sound like, it just didn't.
E: Doing something in the studio and doing it live are two completely
different things. I mean it's not just the overdubs, it's the entire,
...well, probably because we have to sing and play at the same time.
L: But that's only part of it though. I really do think that it takes a while
until we get to the point where it sounds the way we meant it to.
MK: What does "Immediate Impound Zone" mean?
L: We have the belief overall that all of our songs...like the whole idea
that the songs somehow convey a feeling. But it's kinda weird, like
sometimes Erin and I will talk about it, "Well, this is this to you, and
this is something entirely different to me," and it's kinda weird, 'cus
like we'll both...like the words don't necessarily mean anything.
E: Not Necessarily...that doesn't mean they're devoid of meaning, but that
they don't have a specific meaning necessarily.
L: What I'm trying to say is that the words are a starting point, not an
ending point.
E: That they don't necessarily mean anything specific, but they mean different
things to different people, and that each member of the band in each song
finds something different themselves. So you've got three meanings right
there. And that might change from day to day.
L: Sorta vague on purpose. None of us want to write anything that makes you
really pin down and say, " Oh, this is about this woman who was riding a
horse, in a meadow, and the sun was setting..."
E: "You see, it was a metaphor for this..."
T: "...struggle against his environment in the Republic of Ireland..."
L: When we were doing "Squalid Zoo of Vices", I thought it was really neat
because Erin and I were both doing these vocals and we're screaming at
each other and it's obvious from the noise that we're both making. I
mean, there's definitely interaction between the vocal lines, but what
we're saying has nothing to do with each other. Erin was talking about a
dying fly, and I think I was singing nursery rhymes. But on one level, I
mean, the song was about trying to communicate, and having nobody
understand what you're saying. Because that was exactly what Erin and I
were doing, we're both singing entirely different things..
E: Past each other..
L: But, Erin, the song was about something entirely different.
E: It was about the death of a fly from multiple points of view. What can I
say?
L: But I think, though, that when people listened to it, that without putting
lyrics to it that said as much, it was really obvious that the song was
about communication, or lack of communication. Like, it seemed really
obvious, to me at least, that the dialogue was in there, the whole thing
went on, like there were two people there that were not communicating
with each other.
MK: So what the question you'd most like to answer?
E: Would you like me to give you a million dollars? Yes!
L: Oh, no, that's a boring one.
E: I _would_ like someone to ask me that.
L: Would you?
E: Yeah!
L: Would you like him to give you a million dollars?
E: Oh yes!
T: Would you ask me if I would like to rule my own country?
MK: Would you like to rule your own country?
T: Yes, yes, yes I would.
L: I guess I'd like to say that we definitely have a sense of humor, but
everyone used to say to us, "but you listen to all this post-punk music
and..."
E: "God, you must really be depressed!"
L: Yeah, and well, we are, but we have a sense of humor, 'cus this is life and
if you don't laugh about it, what can you do? But then on the other hand,
what we do, we do take seriously. But not to seriously.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Infamous Menagerie Discography
Infernal Monastaries (demo)
Irkutsk (tape) Big Flaming Ego BFE02
Toast b/w Spit 7" Big Flaming Ego BFE06
Night of the Subaru on "Eye of the Needle" comp CD, Vagrant Records VR2828
Immediate Impound Zone(rerecording) on "Kill Rock Stars" comp, K records
Where to write to get stuff:
Big Flaming Ego Vagrant Records K Records
PO BOX 718 6536 29th Avenue NE PO BOX 7154
Seattle , WA 98111 Seattle, WA 98115 Olympia, WA 98507
BOOK REVIEWS
the Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit
by Storm Constantine
Tor Fantasy ISBN 0-812-50555-7
A Goth book from a Goth author. Ok, that was flippant, but it _is_ true.
Storm Constantine is a Goth and she writes novels like a Goth would,
naturally. This novel is the beginning of a trilogy called, "the Books of
Wraeththu;" the other two being "the Bewitchments of Love and Hate" and "the
Fulfillments of Fate and Desire." The trilogy takes place on an Earth of the
future. A new race has emerged to replace humanity, the Wraeththu. The
Wraeththu are hermaphrodites, embodying both male and female in the same body.
They have a Caste system, wherein the Hara (as the Wraeththu are also called
within their society; an individual would be a Har) progress through the three
levels of society (each with three levels within it) as they progress
spiritually via training and ritual.
Wraeththu are extremely long-lived, their bodies regulate things like
digestion to such an extant that it is impossible for a Wraeththu to become
overweight and intoxicants can be experienced without side-affects. They are
also immune to most poisons.
As things start out, Wraeththu are incepted (created) in a ritual
involving the introduction of Wraeththu blood from a High Caste Har into the
body of the chosen human. All Wraeththu begin as males; no one has ever tried
incepting a female, (although it is intimated in Book One that at some point
it's going to be tried.) After inception, the new Har's body begins to
change. Female sexual organs form and the entire system of the body alters.
Sex, called Aruna, is a total mind/body experience and all Wraeththu need
it periodically to stay sane and healthy. Fertilization can only be
accomplished when done on purpose, so there are no unwanted children in
Wraeththu society and it is an uncommon occurrence even to have children.
The story begins in a town at the outskirts of civilization, a place
where the Wraeththu are still mostly gossip from the larger cities. Wild
stories about them run rampant, with no way to separate fact from invention.
Into town comes riding Cal, a Wraeththu, though this is unknown to them. He
stays a short while, captivating the townsfolk with his tales of North,
particularly young Pellaz, who alone suspects Cal of being Wraeththu. When
the time comes for Cal to leave, Pellaz joins him, knowing for once in his
life exactly what he wants: to be Wraeththu.
The book follows Cal and Pellaz through their journey - to Saltrock,
where Pellaz is incepted into the Wraeththu, and beyond, as Pellaz rushes to
meet his destiny. It follows as Pellaz begins to come to grips with his new
body, and everything it entails: new abilities, new senses, and new ways of
doing things.
For a first novel, this a quite impressive work. Storm Constantine has
an excellent grip on language and how to tell a story that is complex, yet
highly readable. This the first fantasy book I've read in a _long_ time that
hasn't struck me a being, well, to be flat honest, boring. A highly
recommended read.
COMICS REVIEWS
Bram Stoker's DRACULA
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Mike Mignola
Issue 1, 2 [of 4]
Topps Comics
$2.95, $3.50 in Canada
I won't mention my problems with the deviations from the novel, since
that is the movie's fault, not the comic's. This review will be solely based
on the comic as a stand alone item.
Visually, this is feast for the eyes. Mike Mignola is an incredible
artist, when he gets a project suited to his strengths and style. I absolutely
hated his work for Cosmic Odyssey, simply because his style was inappropriate
for a fairly straight-forward superhero story. With this however, it suits
the story's atmosphere excellently. Less is quite frequently more, a stark
background that forces you to _feel_ the mood of the individual panel in
a way that a cluttered background would not. Nods must also go to Mark
Chiarello for an outstanding job coloring the story.
Writing movie adaptations has always been a thankless job. There is
simply no way you can convey all of a two hour movie in four issue series.
Roy Thomas has done a fairly good job of getting all the important bits
without losing anything. It's not the whole movie obviously, but it is a
coherent story on it's own, which is the best you can hope for in an
adaptation. It also makes you want to see the movie, so I'd say it succeeds
quite well.
The back four pages contain inside info on the movie, previous Dracula
films and Francis Ford Coppola. The stills are _great_. The issue itself
comes in a collector-scum polybag with four cards from the movie set. Not
that great an incentive I say. Buy one and open the sucker up. It's not worth
buying one to read and one to keep sealed, but it _is_ worth buying. Issue two
also comes with four more cards and an insert poster, that you've have to
_very_ carefully remove to put up. Again, not that much of an incentive to my
eyes.
MUSIC REVIEWS
_____________________________________________________________________________
Ratings Guide:
***** absolute classic, essential listening
**** extremely good, buy at the first opportunity
*** a good, but not great record, buy if you have the xtra $$$
** not actually bad, but give it a listen first
* if you really want it, tape it off somebody silly enough to buy it.
- don't even bother
_____________________________________________________________________________
Buzzfish
Menthol b/w Hangs on a Chain/Smalley
Bedazzled BDZ07 limited edition of 1000
Rating: ***1/2
Buzzfish are a band from Tallahassee, Florida of all places. I can't for
the life of me identify who they vaguely remind me of, so screw the pat
comparisons for this one. :-> Husker Du if they came from Florida maybe? Close
enough. To throw in all the buzzwords I can, they play a grungy-machestery-
4adish kind of pop music. What the hell they're doing in Florida, I don't
know, but Florida is the richer for it. I quite like this single. Not quite
great, a very good single nevertheless. With a little more experience behind
them I'd say it's major label ho! for this band.
I'd suggest you buy this right quick too. Mine is 740/1000 and you owe it
to yourself to get one before they're all gone. Write to the address in the
Strange Boutique interview. They've also got an eight-song cassette out called
"gritty kitty', which you can get by writing to them at:
Buzzfish
1842 Devra Dr.
Tallahassee, FL 32303
and be sure to tell them you read this review to so they'll send me more stuff
I can tell you about. :-)
______________________________________________________________________________
Faith and Disease
Moon Tints of Purple and Pearl ep (tape)
Siren Song
Rating: ****
Track List:
Ebb and Tide/Glass-Glow World/Crown of Sorrow/Tuesday's Creation
I suppose I'd best start getting my pat categorization and comparison
skills in shape if I wanna be a music journalist. :-) So here's my first try,
10,000 Maniacs go Goth.
Okay, _that_ out of the way. Faith and Disease are a new band from
Seattle, WA, consisting of Joaquin Taveres(keyboards), Steven Knouse(guitar),
Rick Allen(drums), Eric Cooley(bass), Mary(backing vocals), and Dara
Rosenwasser(vocals/lyrics). The 10,000 Maniacs comparison is actually _fairly_
close to the mark, if somewhat sarcastic. They share many characteristics,
mainly in the vocal department, but really have gone their own way with it.
Ebb and Tide is, put simply, an excellent song and the highlight of
their live set. It builds slowly into an ethereal(gotta use that word in here
somewhere and that seemed like a good place :->), soundscape that carries you
away on Dara's voice. A song where you can just close your eyes and drift
away into someplace a little bit better than where you are.
Glass-Glow World is an acoustic song that drifts away, wafting into it's
own little world. Mary's voice providing the perfect counter-point to Dara's,
turning the song into something of exquisite beauty.
Crown of Sorrow is a slow, majestic piece of music. Somber, yet beautiful
with it's gentle keyboard line and subdued guitar.
Tuesday's Creation builds from a quiet start until it suddenly grabs your
attention and refuses to let go. Vaguely reminiscent of Mesh&Lace era Modern
English, it's a pop song in it's own little way.
The inter-play of Dara and Mary's voices is what makes this tape for me.
They just sound _so_ good together. Not to belittle the rest of the band,
however. They are all solid musicians that provide the background that makes
Dara and Mary sound so great.
My only real quibble with this tape is that it was recorded digitally,
and, as we all know, digital sound brings out every little flaw in the
performance. Dara has an excellent voice, she does, however, occasionally
have trouble holding the same note. Not that she ever sounds bad or anything,
but it is _really_ noticeable on the long, held out notes. They're a young
band though and I'm sure that they more they play, the better she'll get and
will someday, if there is justice in the universe, be a popular as I think
they should be.
[A note, having seen them play again last night, I can safely say that I was
right when I wrote that and Dara has gotten _much_ better. The new single
should be bloody great and I'll review it next time.]
contact address:
faith and disease
1219 South 120th
Seattle, WA 98168
______________________________________________________________________________
Shadow Project
"Shadow Project" (CD)
Triple X Records 51087-2
Rating: ***
Track List:
Under Your Wing/the Other Flesh/Death Plays His Role/Penny in a Bucket
Epitaph(Time Will)/Red Handed/Here and There/Working on Beyond/Holy
Hell/Lying Deep/Into the Light/Holy Holy
For those of you that have just returned from self-imposed exile under a
rock or something, Shadow Project is the new band of Rozz Williams, former
Head of State for Christian Death. Forgoing the self-indulgent, pseudo-
industrial wanking of Premature Ejaculations(one of his post-Christian Death
groups) for a return to his roots, Rozz is joined by Eva O and Jill Emery.
Those two were members of the Superheroines, L.A's all-girl Goth band. The end
is result is an amalgamation of it's parts. A bit of Christian Death here, a
bit of Superheroines here, and myriad touches of other things all over the
place. A couple of the more obvious ones being the Doors and the Beatles.
(Strange, but true!).
Under Your Wing begins with this incredible Beatlesesque intro, then
lunges forward straight into familiar Christian Death territory. Which is
somewhat odd actually, since it was written by Eva. The only thing keeping it
from being a perfect album opener is the tempo changes, which I personally
find kinda distracting
Other highlights include Here and There, which is a close to straight
ahead rock that Rozz is likely to come, and Holy Holy. Holy Holy is an
extremely poppy song. A sarcastic pop song and a Bowie cover, my favorite
kind.
Overall, I think it's good first album. A bit spotty in places, but it
holds out the promise of turning into something great and I will be sure to
buy the next one when it comes out, which hopefully be early next year.
Write to Shadow Project at:
Shadow Project
P.O. Box 862062
Los Angeles, CA 90086-2062
_____________________________________________________________________________
Strange Boutique
the Loved One CD BDZ 006
In a Heaven b/w Heroes 7" BDZ 08
Bedazzled Records
Rating: **** [both]
Track List:
Terpsichore/Quicksand Minds/We Treat the Blindness/Remedios the Beauty
A Certain Euphoria/A Happy Death/De Milo/the Flatterer/Drown/Black Sun
I've started this review about six times now and I keep stopping because
I never know what to say. I love this band so much that superlatives elude
me. So if it seems a bit fragmented, that's why.
Strange Boutique are an incredibly cool band out of Washington DC. See
the interview elsewhere in this issue for information on the band. For
another stab at pat comparisons, I'd say sort of Siouxsie & the Banshees meet
Disintegration Cure. Which, of course, simply doesn't do them justice for
going their own way and is likely to get Steve annoyed at me, but if I want to
get taken seriously as a journalist I gotta cultivate the habit, right? :->
(sorry Steve!) They are far more than a sum of their influences and another
band I would greatly like to see make it big.
I normally don't say much about the packaging and recording techniques of
things I review, cus I generally don't think it's that relevant or interesting
to most of you. In this case, however, I must say a few words. The sound
quality of the disc is just amazing. Put the head phones on, sit in a nice
comfy chair, turn out the lights and _enjoy_. It sounds _that_ good. It also
comes with lyrics that are laid out in an incredibly simple, yet elegant font
that I really like( sorry, not a font nerd, so don't ask me which one). The
disc itself is also simple, yet quite nice
Anyway, the review proper. Things kick off with Terpsichore/Quicksand
Minds. I'm not entirely certain that Terpsichore deserved it's own title since
it's just an extended intro to Quicksand Minds, but there's probably a very
good reason that I don't know about so I won't let it bother me and neither
should you. Quicksand Minds is an incredible slice of Goth/pop heaven.
Somewhat simplistically put, but true.
Other singling out Terpsichore/Quicksand minds, I can't really relate the
rest of the album as parts. It's a unit, an _album_, in the sense that it
works best as whole, listened to from start to finish. To throw out an example
that has no relationship to anything, except in conveying the concept I'm
trying to get across here. It's like Floodland or Elizium, taken in bits, you
might think "that's a really good song". When taken as a whole it makes you
go, "what an incomparably excellent album that makes me go all warm inside
when I listen to it". :-) Which is, I suppose, not that helpful, but hopefully
you understand.
I must also praise Monica's lyrics. Lyrics are one of the things that
will always sway my opinions. Music can be really good, but will never achieve
greatness without lyrics of the same caliber. Take the Mission as an example,
Wayne has written some really good tunes in his time that have been turned
into mediocre songs by really lame lyrics. I have no fears this will ever
happen to Strange Boutique. Monica writes poetry, really good poetry, that
works by itself, as well as as lyrics. She has an incredible grasp of imagery
that puts her high on my list of favorite lyricists, a very short list I might
add.
The new single is a good deal less polished, making it rather different
from the songs on _the Loved One_, yet not really that much of a departure
if you liked _the Loved One_. The sound is rawer, a reflection of their live
sound, and the better for it I think. Superlatives elude me yet again. Simply
saying it's another shiny black pearl of a Goth/pop song doesn't seem adequate
praise. It frequently causes me to just close my eyes and _listen_, swept
away by the music, which is right around the highest praise I will give
anything. Something that captures my fickle attention like that is a treasure
to me that goes beyond words.
The b-side is a cover of the Bowie/Eno song, "Heroes", from the Bowie
album of the same name. The first few times I listened to it, I wasn't that
impressed. It has grown on me quite a lot since then. It meets my criteria for
a good cover version. it retains the spirit of the original version, yet the
band puts their own individual stamp on it. Granted, I would have rather had
another new Strange Boutique song, but I'm certainly not going to complain.
In summation, buy this both of these or forever be the poorer for it. And
go see them if you get the chance. Write to the address given at the end of
the interview.
______________________________________________________________________________
Swans (CD)
Love of Life
Young God YG CD5
Rating: *****
Review by S. Pereira
Track List:
(untitled1)/Love of life/the Golden Boy That Was Swallowed by the Sea
(untitled2)/(untitled3)/the Other Side of the World/Her/the Sound of
Freedom/(untitled4)/Amnesia/Identity/(untitled5)/In the Eyes of Nature
She Crys(For Spider)/God Loves America/(untitled6)/No Cure for the
Lonely
Those of you familiar with White Light from the Mouth of Infinity will
recognize the immediate similarity between it and Swans' latest Love of Life.
White Light featured a carrot-wielding bunny in a hazy landscape... Well the
bunnies have exploded but if anything, Love of Life is the gentler of the two
works.
It's taken Swans a while to find a new sound; they've been in a slump of
sorts ever since the despicable Children of God (86 or 87). White Light was
promising, but sunk under its own weight, stretching too few ideas over too
many long songs; but Love of Life fully realizes what White Light strove for.
After thirty seconds of chaotic noise, the title track explodes, carrying
waves of percussion and guitar along with it. An ironic tension is quickly
created between the invigorating music and the pallid sentiments of M. Gira.
Ultimately, though, this is no longer the man who bludgeoned us with 'Trust
Me', or 'Sex God Sex'. The lyrics are carefully, lovingly constructed; while
an earlier Swans line, like "Be strong/Be hard/Resist temptation/Stick your
hand in your eye!" was propelled to Wordsworth-like heights by the dynamic
music and palpable emotion, Love of Life (the album) contains some of the
finest lyrics I've ever heard.
The percussive power of Swans is still evident, but muted, not really
noticed unless one looks for it. The most important elements here are the
acoustic guitar, and Gira's voice. On 'Her', Gira intones a pastoral love
song which cuts to a girl describing her hopes of forming a band...when her
boyfriend gets back from prison. Yeah, the melancholy is still here, but it's
born of courage in the face of futility rather than abject despair. Throughout
the album, seemingly random snippets of conversation tie everything together.
All of the characters introduced appear harmless, but closer inspection
reveals the deep sorrow which walks hand in hand with life (or life as Gira,
and others, see it).
'Amnesia' comes across bright and cheerful, sounding off the impotence of
mankind in today's shallow society. Here the guitars are rhythmic and the
voice carries the song, connecting the lyrics with half-formed words. The
effect is both inspiring and confusing.
'The Sound of Freedom' and 'God Save America', closing sides one and two
respectively, are undoubtedly the album's highlights. Freedom is a relative
term, and here the word is spit out like so much arsenic: "The fire that
burns the city/Is the white light in freedom's eye". Like all great people,
Gira is confused by life, he doesn't know how to reconcile the glorious
heights of love, sex, art, faith, with the depths of arrogance, greed, rape,
murder, war, poverty, crime, loneliness (and love, and sex). If the list
seems skewed to the dismal, well, our day and age lends itself to the dismal.
Gira is also aware of the paradox of mankind's tremendous glory and
insignificance. Answers aren't really required here, just questions, and
ideas.
'God Save America' quietly mirrors the recent LA riots with its opening
lines of "And all across America the poison fires glow/And in the blood of our
procreation annihilation grows". The situation seems inevitable. Our raping
of the New World to satisfy industry and greed forced a reaction. Capitalism
is a great idea but...
There are two important facets to Love of Life. The first is the
evolution of Swans as a musical force. If you at all like acoustic songs, or
pleasant melodies masking vicious attacks, then this is definitely for you.
Love of Life isn't going to toss you into a masochistic circle of self-hatred
and self-pity like the Swans of old; instead it appeals to the intellect as
well as the viscera. Old Swans *had* to consume themselves, we can only count
ourselves lucky that a Phoenix arose from the ashes.
The second important facet is the emergence of Gira as a lyrical force.
Finally he is able to articulate his ideas and feelings both on paper and in
music. Don't expect cartoon nihilism or trite sentimentality; expect the
mature and questioning cry of loneliness that many feel, but few can fully
express.
Okay, okay, but you want to know what the *music's* like. This is my
first review, and it's become apparent why critics search for comparisons, no
matter how tenuous. Well, Love of Life sounds like all the best parts of
White Light cobbled together. If that doesn't help, imagine Leonard Cohen
supported by several drummers, or Ian Curtis without electric guitars:
tortured, confused, but also containing the truly beautiful moments that only
dimensioned music can.
Two more things. Jarboe sings two tracks which generally mess things up.
Her voice is nice, but she sounds positively facile beside Gira, and
interrupts the flow of courage and despair. Also, the CD comes with a
brilliant bonus track, 'No Cure for the Lonely'.
MOVIE REVIEWS
Innocent Blood
Directed by: John Landis
Starring: Anne Parillaud, Robert Loggia, Don Rickles, Anthony LaPaglia
review by Anastasia
Yet another in the dynasty of vampire films to be released this season,
_Innocent Blood_ is an enjoyable addition to the variety of visions of blood
drinkers. The film follows the exploits of a lone vampire, played by the
attractive Anne Parillaud, seen earlier in _La Femme Nikita+. One of the
things that I liked best about the movie was that it didn't waste any time
trying to explain where she came from, how she got to be a vampire, or any of
the other self-validation and pseudo-scientific explanation that so many
vampire stories get bogged down in. Instead, we are presented with the fact
that she exists, and the story goes on from there. As a treat, she decides to
dine Italian, and gets involved with the Mob. The complications come when she
is forced to leave without 'finishing' one of her meals, resulting in the
local mob boss (played by Robert Loggia) rising from the dead in amusing scene
in the morgue. Andy LaPaglia is an undercover cop involved in a mafia sting
operation focused on this very boss - indeed, at the commencement of her hunt,
Parillaud first encounters LaPaglia, and almost chooses him as her first
course, but as he is an innocent, she declines (hence the title). They are
paired several times by circumstance, and end up working together to destroy
the mafia boss. LaPaglia also dissuades Parillaud from her fit of conscience
and her decision to kill herself in remorse for all the difficulties and havoc
that has been caused by the whole incident, and they of course fall in love.
The best scene/product placement award, in fact, goes to the love scene:
they are kissing and caressing, and LaPaglia stops, having qualms about her
vampirism, and says he's not sure he can continue. Parillaud immediately
whips out a box of Ramses condoms and hands them to him. They continue their
lovemaking after the application of latex to him and handcuffs to her (which
she later breaks), thus providing this love scene with all one could desire:
latex, bondage, and tattoos (he has one on his shoulder, prominently
displayed).
Worst special effect goes to an iridescence in the eyes of the vampires
at times of arousal or frenzy. It looked fine during the feeding scenes -
another take on the oft-used glowing red eyes that for once didn't look badly
done - but was out of place in the love scene where her eyes shifted
purple/blue/green with pleasure. Another case where the FX crew fell in love
with an effect and overused it. Much more striking was the juxtaposition of
old vampire and monster movie footage throughout the film at key places:
watch the screen of the guard's tv as the mob boss comes out of the elevator
in the police station/morgue.
In conclusion, for the taxonomists, Parillaud plays a traditional-type
vampire, with some twists (garlic and sun phobic, no problem with
churches/crosses). Recommended as an enjoyable film, worth the admission
price.
List of Upcoming Vampire Movies(shamelessly stolen from Dracula: the Complete
Vampire from the Starlog Movie Magazines series)
Blue Blood: Script by John Frasno, in development for Robert Lawrence Prods.
Another cop becomes vampire story
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Out, onto video early next year.
Burial of the Rats: Script by S.P. Somtow from the Bram Stoker story for Roger
Corman's Concorde Pictures. Filming in Russia
Children of the Night: Out on video. Ancient vampire rises to terrorize the
populace.
Dark Shadows: Rumors continue to abound for a new feature film.
Darkness: Leif Jonker low-budget shocker, in post-production and seeking
distribution.
Forever Knight: Confirmed to run through the 92-93 television season
Grey Night: With Adrian Pasdar of Near dark, due for release next year.
Vampire soldiers during the Civil War
In the Midnight Hour: Indie film by Joel Bender, seeking distribution. Vampire
makes boo boo and bites a cop, who then dedicates her undeath to hunting
him.
Innocent Blood: Directed by John Landis. See review
Interview With the Vampire: Currently being developed for David Geffen, we'll
see, they're on script number 5 now.
Lost Boys II: In development at Warner Bros. Please do not let this happen.
Love at Second Bite: Seeking backing. Everyone set to return for this Sequel.
My Grandpa is a Vampire: Out on video. NZ does Disney, leaving all the cute
bits and leaving out all the charm.
Nightland: In development at Paramount.
99 days: Russell Mulcahy directs for Republic Pictures.
Red Sleep: In development for Warner Bros.
the Reluctant Vampire: Adam Ant as the vampire, seeking distribution.
Subspecies II & III: More Full Moon greatness, filmed in Romania and set for
video release on 1993
Tale of a Vampire: Julian Sands stars, seeking distribution
To Sleep With a Vampire: Remake of Dance of the Damned from Concorde Pictures.
Undying Love: Waiting full release.
Valerie: Seeking distribution.
Vampirella: Jim Wynorski is still working to get backing.