A great deal of things have happened since the last update. Firstly the Snohtbaen Son video was released in April, and it came out superb.
Filmed over the course of three months between January and March this year, the idea was to have a more artistic approach to otherwise simple images. Very experimental but the results were certainly worth it.
I had to spam just about everybody on my friends list to watch it. This included other bands, former University peers, etc. Because of that its landed me a much lager responsibility.
This Sunday I’m set to record Cascades' music video. This will a very large undertaking because of the setting. They've hired a big fucking theatre stage. As you can imagine this includes a shitload of lights, massive monitors, fog machines and a projector screen. Although we may not utilise the later two options, we should have something pretty spectacular to look at this Sunday.
Expect production shoots, maybe some “behind the scenes” crap, who knows... I’ll be grateful to get this all done right. Here's a still from an earlier test shot..
After that, there will be another set of collaborations with Snohtbaen Son and No Second Chance. All of this outside an otherwise dull job with plenty of internet access.
Since I'm in a posting mood today, let me share with you this gift.
The band situation is looking promising at the moment. Since Winter's confirmed disbandment in January, I have stuck with Lewis Berl and what he writes. This is a man who sees ridiculiously bad stuff in his life as a politically incorrect joke, and yet still finds time to put that to recordings and laugh about it.
If you haven’t heard Lew’s material I suggest you give it a listen.
The pages may not look serious but the music most definitely is. Considering the triple guitar melodies we’re looking to fit it with three guitarists, as well as searching for an appropriate drummer too.
The process is long but I’ve been siding with Lewis for almost a year now and even now he is full of surprises with his music. By next year we hope to get this stuff live.
Give this man your son now!
It is also worth mentioning this material has gained the attention (and approval) of the Annotations of an Autopsy drummer.
Saturday, 11 September 2010
So it's been months since my last update and things have been up and down. On the plus side I've working as a supplier for Computer Exchange. That involves handeling a shitload of Iphones and games consoles. Luckily I'm not a techno-philiac, otherwise i'd be creaming myself and making 'specilal selections' to take into a dark corner with me.
On the negative side, my body feels like crap. I do suffer anxieties and panic attacks. It's like I'm constantly dueling with my mind for control over my body. I try to convince myself i'm ok, but my body releases adrenaline to protect itself. Feelings of choking and hypertesion take over. There are worse things in the world, but this matters to me.
Lets look at the year so far. 2010 is a downer for any fan of metal. The recent departures of Dio, Steel and Paul Gray have hit from all sides. News of Nergal (Behemoth frontman) diagnosed with Lukemia is also saddening. And lets not forget the disbandment of both Isis and Despised Icon(both personal favorites of mine.) Very shitty indeed.
On the plus side, there have been some excellent gigs in my area alone. Have to thank Tom Brewerton for being with me for all of those. Last month, Ihsahn was in town for a one-off show. The Emperor frontman's solo material has been leaps beyond the standard prog boundaries. It was a gig Tom and I could not miss. And it was good.
And just the other week Cephalic Carnage were back in town, bringing with them my personal favourite Tasmanians Psycroptic. Those were awesome gigs, and it looks like there will be plenty more good ones in the London area before the year is done.
To any of good readers out there, what I lack in offeriing you free downloads I give you this:
I still can't believe you're gone, but not forgotten.
This dude was an inspiration to many (including myself). Loved his music and his sense of humour within the music. No artist can come away with the signature he had created and left with us. Not many people can claim to be the principle songwriter for a platinum selling band. And not many people can be responsible for putting a small-time label into the spotlight for that sucessful reason of selling platinum. Peter was the exception, but it didn't stop there. There were the outragious publicity stunts that worked in his favour. These include the highly searched shoots with Playgirl magazine. These led to appearences on the Jerry Springer show and Rikki Lake that bore his unashamed youthful nature and dominance over the female crowd.
I was lucky enough to see him perform more than two years ago as part of his old act Carnivore. It began with the band coming onstage to the Jaws theme music only to dissapear again after playing one note. After a brutal yet stupidly funny set Pete ended the show by having topless women come on stage and throw wet tampons at the audience. Tom, Ian, Niraj and myself couldn't help but laugh and throw the tampons back!
Sarcasm, black humour and words of extreme violence is my kind of entertainment and that was what Peter was at his very best.
Zombies: most of us think of the re-animated corpses of humans out to devour living flesh. They have featured mostly in film thanks in no small part to directors such as George A. Romero and Lucio Fulci. However the zombies have transcended into other mediums such as graphic novels, video games and fiction book remarkably well.
The real reason that the zombie genre is acomplished is because of the connotations, social comentaries, and characterics that befall the human "survivor" characters. When made right, the survivors in the zombie media become isolated from the world and have to choose between social upheaval or barbarianism.
I have constructed a list of what I have found to be the best selection of zombie media over the past few decades.
Night of the Living Dead (1969) George A. Romero's debut feature film introduced audiences to the idea of the dead returning to life to eat the flesh of the living. Even by today's standards this has still got moments of shock and gore. The main meat of the film, which is seen as a social commentary at the time, is the black protagonist. The film eventually becomes a power struggle in the fortification of a country house to repel the zombie attack. It was a budget movie, but it was also a huge sucess across theatres and drive-ins across the United States. There have been re-releases, remakes, and unofficial sequels to the movie. My advice is to find the original, untampered movie for the best and unspoiled experience.
The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974) Also known as "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" in the States. This is an often overlooked little gem of a film. This takes the template Romero had made a few years ealier, and sets it in the English countryside. Add in colour, better established characters and cinematography, and of course more zombies. It features standoffs in a church and a hospital and features the plod being devoured. The film takes a stab at counter culture conflicts with the widley regarded facist police force. So in the case of TLDAMM, pairing a hippie couple with a bent cop in a fight for survival is gonna have interesting consciquences. The English setting and characters only add to the film's charm. And the gore is top-notch too.
Dawn of the Dead (1979) Romero returned to making what he did best. Many consider this the archetype zombie movie. With the US fighting a losing battle against the zombie epidemic, two cops, an anchorwoman and a helicopter pilot decide to escape the madness. They take refuge in a mega-mall. As soon as they clear out the remaining zombies in the mall, it all becomes an unusual paradise that slowly rots them. Its consumer capitalism given an ugly makeover. Right until a gang of bikers invades their newly establised palice. Featuring some of the best scenes in any zombie flick: from helicopter decapitations, domesticating a security office, freeloading mall stores, and a hare-krisna zombie. And its worth noting the soundtrack gets over-used in future zombie parodys.
Resident Evil (1996) Also known as Biohazard in its native Japan. At the time, Capcom were better known for their 2D beat-em-up franchise Street Fighter. Then along came Resident Evil, a game that coined the phrase survival-horror. Featuring a 3D setting and lush artistic direction, Resident Evil pitted members of an elite police force investigating grisly murders. It eventually leeds them to a mansion that becomes a death trap. Littered with zombies, mutant animals, and an even worse conspiracy. The second game of this franchise my personal favorite as the epidemic that preceded the first game takes to the streets, creating all kinds of horror for the player. You soon find that zombies are the least of your troubles! Its a shame the films suck!
The original Japanese comercial for Resident Evil 2...directed by none other than Romero :)
The Zombie Survival Guide (2003) Taking the conventions of the various zombie mediums that had been established earlier, this book serves as a reference guide for a mock scenario of a zombie out break. It covers specific weapons, locations to hold up and fortify, where to and where not to go, etc. It also comes with basic but humerious diagrams included in the book. The author Max Brooks is clearly a fan of the genre. His other contributions include World War Z: a journalistic set of interviews with survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Remember: machetes don't need reoading!
The Walking Dead (2003-present) As graphic novels go, this is pretty much the standard for zombies. Comic writer Robert Kirkman is no stranger to zombies thanks to his take on the MARVEL universe with MARVEL Zombies. Set after the events of a zombie outbreak, ex-cop Rick Grimes sets out to find his wife and child only to find things have turned much more grislier than he imagined. The Walking Dead is everything you'd expect it to be and much more, depicting desperate human beings in a survialist situation.
28 Days Later (2003) Director Danny Boyle is noted for many interesting things with his films. Whether it was shedding light on Mumbai life in Slumdog Millionare or creating a cult film status with Trainspoting. One thing he can be credited for is perhaps re-inventing the zombie genre with 28 Days Later. Not nesescarily a zombie film, the themes of survivalism remain whilst the stakes are raised much higher. The victims of a simian blood disease become fast-running feral humans, infecting all of England. Filmed mostly with digital cameras, its sets the gritty fast paced horror featured in the film. Future films such as Zack Synde's Dawn of the Dead remake use this similar approach to 'modernise' the zombie flick. Its because of 28 Days Later that zombies are no longer stuck to just lumbering towards their prey.
Left 4 Dead (2008) Proving that the zombie apocalypse is still fertile ground for gaming, Left 4 Dead is considered the ideal co-operative experience. This is where up to four players work together to fend off zombie hordes with whatever weapons they can find. Teamwork is essential in this game as you will be fighting hundreds of zombies swarimg at you at once. And then there are the 'special infected' that take more of a beating. Developed by Valve, creators of the Half Life and Counter Strike games, Left 4 Dead has give more leeway to the posibilities of horror gaming. Surprisingly this has been the game I play alot with even the most timid casual gamers. Its reputation has definitly given it a good about of curiousity at the very least. Left 4 Dead 2 is the most recent release, and it adds that all important element to the game: CHAINSAWS!!!
Anyone wanting to find the sweetspots of the zombie medium, I would recommend these as good starting points. You wont be dissapointed.
I finally completed Mass Effect 2. It took a good 30 hours of my life but they were worth it.
I found it very clever how it intergrated my Mass Effect 1 save data and shaped my experience playing this game. Adds plenty of replay value (even for the first game.)
Now all I have to do is play it again as a badass.
Oh and dont listen to all those parential warnings about in-game sex. I wouldn't even call it softcore.
A simple man with complicated dreams. Also known as John Maguire, Horse, Yank and a few others. Mostly a nice guy with some quirks. Out for fun and creativity. Do not bullsh*t with me or there will be problems!! I heart Emma Hanson, music and zombies!
