Halloween 2009 I attended Vaudezilla’s Monster Burlesque Academy. This was the first Vaudezilla production that I attended and it was an amazing show. After the show I got the opportunity to interview Red Hot Annie, the president and one of the performers for Vaudezilla. If you’ve never been to a burlesque show you should do yourself a favor and attend a Vaudezilla show, they’re beyond entertaining. For more information and a full calendar of events visit www.Vaudezilla.com and www.RedHotAnnie.com.

1. First off tell us who you are and what you do?

I’m Red Hot Annie and I’m a burlesque dancer. I’m a big part of the Chicago burlesque scene, but I also perform nationally, and I’ve even been to Vancouver!

2. How did you come about being a burlesque performer, was it something you always wanted to do?

I didn’t know it was called burlesque, but it’s certainly something I’ve always had an interest in. I remember always being drawn to pictures of super feminine ladies when I was younger – ladies in the circus or showgirls, even. I never really saw myself as a burlesque dancer until a couple years ago, though. I’ve been watching Chicago burlesque shows since 2002-2003, maybe, and I was just a fan for a long time. It wasn’t until the end of 2007 that I started actually dipping my toe in the pool. Now, I can’t imagine *not* doing it!

3. What can people expect from one of your shows?

People can expect to have a good time. We put together each and every one of our shows with the audience in mind, from the free swag bags to the jokes that our audience will *really* laugh at, we like to make sure we’re putting a show together that puts our audience first. Even though we consider burlesque an art, we shy away from anything that makes it seem pretentious or “above” the audience in any way. You can also expect a lot of glitter, glamour, and wonky fun.

4. How do you come up with the themes for your shows?

The themes come up in a variety of ways. Usually, Dick Dijon and myself are just chillin’ and talking about something totally unrelated and we’ll throw out an idea just to make the other person laugh. Sometimes it sticks. Sometimes it’s a good start for a show – for example, the Vaudezilla Monster Burlesque Academy actually started as the Vampire Academy of Arts & Polytechnics. Not exactly a practical concept, but it gave us the jumping off point. Recently, Wham Bam Pam has also been coming up with some brilliant ideas, and she’ll be producing some new and exciting themes next year with Vaudezilla.

5. Tell us about Vaudezilla.

Vaudezilla is a team of performers who specialize in burlesque.

6. You teach as well as perform correct? Tell us about that, how can someone become your student?

I sure do. I teach for Demaira Dance Company. Ladies are welcome to become students by emailing me or just showing up for the class! Details regarding my burlesque classes can always be found HERE.

7. Is burlesque your whole career/life or do you do other things as well?

I’m an artist by profession and burlesque is definitely a large part of my career – I perform an average of three times a week! I’m also a professional hair/makeup artist.

8. Who/what are some of your influences?

There are a lot of really great burlesque dancers in Chicago, but my greatest influences in performance are old vaudeville performers like Charlie Chaplin and Lucy. And the girls in my troupe are the ones I have the most contact with inside the Chicago burlesque scene, so they are often influential.

9. Where do all your costumes and props come from?

Costumes/props come from all over the place, actually! I have a custom costume from www.Limebarb.com (which is run by our very own professional costumer Bonny Babs), but I also have a lot of old vintage pieces and even some modern stuff that’s been re-worked specifically to be part of a burlesque costume. There’s a lot sitting at the kitchen table, leaning over a bra and gluing rhinestones one-at-a-time. I’ve only got a couple props, and one of them is a life-size hot dog cart that my father-in-law made for me.

10. Do you have any advice for girls with interest in becoming a burlesque performer?

Of course. If you are interested in becoming a burlesque performer, one of the most important things you can do is find a mentor who will support you. Find someone who wants you to succeed, and will push you as much as you want/need to be pushed – and the rest will be a piece of cake.

11. Are there any special events you’d like to tell us about?

Yes! Vaudezilla is proud to be one of the co-producers for the Windy City Burlesque Fest – we’ll be featuring performers from all over the United States (and maybe even the world). It’s going to be in April 2010. We’re also planning on remounting Big Lebowski Burlesque in 2010, as well as some new vaudeville shows in Skokie (a Chicago suburb), along with our regular weekly Thursday show at Blue Bayou, BROADZILLA! once a month at Exit, and a variety of other shows that are still in pre-production. 2010 is going to be a very busy year, indeed! You can find out about our shows HERE.

12. How can people contact you for more information on booking and classes?

Email is my favorite – annie@redhotannie.com

13. Is there anything else you’d like to tell the fans out there reading this?

I love you guys. Thanks for making this so much fun!

Be sure to check out the official Vaudezilla website for up to date information and events. Also visit www.Redhotannie.com.

-Interview by Shaun May

When we found out that we got an interview with Mr Robert Feldman, we felt like a kid on Christmas morning. If you don’t know who Dr. Shroud is please read this interview and go watch the series over at www.DrShroud.com! You’ll be doing yourself a favor. Note this interview was done in 2008 so hopefully we can get a short updated interview with Robert to add to this because Dr. Shroud is still as badass as he was 2 years ago!

We’d like to thank Robert for doing this. He truly has a gift, and we are grateful for this opportunity to share a bit of insight into his creepy world.

1. For those out there that don’t know who you are can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do?

My name is Rob Feldman and I am a content creator, animator and all round evil guy. I produce animated (mostly horror) cartoons for mobile devices and web. My one property, “Dr. Shroud”, has garnered a pretty sizeable fan base on the web over the past 6+ years. My newer properties “The Hyrde”, “Cyko KO” and others are in development for mobile as well.

2. Tell us about Dr. Shroud. Where did the idea come from?

I kind of sketched him out one day as a fun thing to do—I was always a comic fan but had lost touch with them over the years. I sat down one day and fleshed him out in yellow and green, adding some background and stories. I had never seen a married superhero with kids, so I added the daughter element to add some sort of conflict that draws him back in. The vampire theme came a bit later, combining my love for horror.

3. Without giving away too many secrets can you give us a little bit on the revamped Dr. Shroud?

Sure. Since the content for mobile is shorter, you’ll see an episode that starts and ends in less than 2 minutes. I know that sounds short, but the challenge is to create episodes that work as stand alones and as a whole. As for the storylines, it takes place about a year after the very liberal city of Necropolis attempts to cure the vampire population through a fumigation. All the vampires have been mutated including the brand new white Dr. Shroud. There are a bunch of new odd looking characters that you’ll see as Dr. Shroud journeys through the city looking for Wendy and uncovering even more about his twisted past. I’m excited to employ smoother animation and solid writing.

4. Tell us about your new project “The Hyrde”.

The Hyrde is a new animated series I’m working on for mobile. It’s sort of like Frankenstein meets the Matrix with a sort of Lord of the Rings technology. It’s about three reanimated corpses (Inspector Spectre, Ghoul Gal and Zombor) who are charged by the Illuminati to protect an ancient box and destroy the evil it released. I use NJ folklore as the backdrop for the episodes using things all the way from the Jersey Devil to the Pig Lady. The box can be equated to Pandora’s box, but it goes even beyond her in terms of its age. I live in NJ, so it’s a lot of fun to explore what’s around me—Weird NJ is a huge help!

5. Who and what are some of your influences?

I grew up on old Marvel Comics—Stan Lee, Kirby, Ditko, John Buscema, John Byrne. I also watched too much TV, (more than) any kid really should—mostly live action shows like the Shazam/Isis hour, anything Sid and Marty Krofft. I liked comics, but my real love was live action—The Incredible Hulk, Batman, Wonder Woman (ROWR!) the short lived Spider-man series. Of course, I’m totally into horror and always was. I don’t read comics as much, but I prefer the newer indie stuff—I can’t believe some of the mainstream comics they print actually remain in print. Nowadays, I watch a lot of horror, B-movie Roger Corman type stuff, some Japanese flicks and always the older 60′s and 70′s horror. Some of that stuff is completely whack. Yes, I used “whack”.

6. Your animations are now available for mobile devices, tell us about this and does this mean no more web episodes?

I had gotten a lotta lip over the mobile thing. I think the web audience saw it as abandonment, but I think they need to see the bigger picture. Mobile is really the next tv when you think about it. The carriers are like the networks who control all the content—they’ll ALWAYS find a way to make money either through ads, pay per click or whatever. Right now it’s SO NEW that I’m not sure they even know what to do with mobile video, but I do know that: 1) it is not going away and 2) money is to be made. I think the most important thing to know is that mobile is NOT the Internet—with mobile, there is a revenue scheme attached to the distribution. With the web, they had no idea how to make money—they found that out much later.

I chose to go the mobile route because it affords an opportunity to make money so that I can exploit my stuff everywhere else. The web is great to establish a fan base, but it’s hard to make money here. It’s also the way to rebuild the brand since we (the mobile content company and me) are in first—no one else is really making EXCLUSIVE mobile content. Sure, they have TV clips and movie clips, but to actually make episodes FOR mobile means doing something unique—I’m all about that. I was there way back after the dotcom crash and I hope I’m there again—this time a little bit earlier in the game.

As for Dr. Shroud being again on the web, the simple answer is YES—I am working that all out now to find a home for them and they will most likely be cross pollinated with the web, comics and other stuff. This is the year for all of that to come. And yes, you’ll be using your mobile as much as you use the internet now, just give it some time. You probably thought the same thing as email way back when—-and you see now how necessary it is.

7. Tell us about your new studio EarWorm Media?

EarWorm is a new media studio that specializes in creating animated content for mobile, web and TV.

There’s a bunch of stuff going on and I am getting my feet wet with all the business stuff—-I really am not a businessman in the true sense and find that component the most boring, though the most essential. The focus of the studio is in getting my properties out there for mobile as well as everywhere else. We also do service work of all kinds: animation, content repurposing for mobile, web design, etc.

8. The original Dr. Shroud is available on DVD, where can fans get a copy of the DVD and do you see your current and future projects going that route as well? (As of the reposting of this, the DVDs are not available at the retailers listed below but a simple internet search might find you a copy.)

They can get the DVD through Amazon, Best Buy, Target and a few others, all online. Or drop me a line with 15 bucks and I can send you one of mine with some stickers. Yes, I foresee a DVD or other tangible format with all of my properties at some point. Maybe the DVD will have morphed into something else by then?

I’d really love to have a designer Dr. Shroud flash drive with the content on there, that would be cool. Maybe an action figure with playable content, who knows.

9. Growing up were you always interested in art and animation?

Yes. I liked comics and cartoons, but again, always liked the horror and live action stuff. I found myself creating new characters a lot. I always wanted something to call my own. A lot of my ideas really sucked (some would argue that they still do!), but it was always more fun to create than to actually do the drawing.

10. Any advice for the aspiring artists out there? What are some of the biggest obstacles you’ve faced in getting to where you are today?

Yes—-to steal advice from Rodney Dangerfield in “Back to School”, live at home for as long as you can and have your parents pay for everything. Work your ass off getting some good stuff together, talk to some pros, ignore their advice (most get off by telling you that you stink) and then ultimately get the balls to make something and put it out there yourself. Don’t rely on someone to buy your idea because you think it’s awesome. If you think it’s great, put some money behind it (after all, you DO live with your folks!) and then put it out there. In this day and age “the deal” is up to you—there is no reason you should wait to produce something. If it’s good, it’ll fly. If not, you just lost some cash (big whoop), but did something you enjoy. Try it again until you find something you’re good at. A lot of times “the perfect deal” means it will sit there collecting dust. Start a buzz and let it roll—people would rather acquire your content than to pay you to produce it. Above all, you have to have fun and love it—when people see that, it’s infectious. I had done that with comics and had a great time—the comics were awful, but so much fun to produce and sell.

11. Seeing as we deal with horror and comics as well, what are some of your favorite horror movies and comic books/characters?

Horror movies: Halloween, Carrie, Amityville Horror, Silence of the Lambs, Session 9, Suicide Club (horror?—great movie), Lost Boys, Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, Blair Witch Project (I have a funny
story with that one), Last Man on Earth, too many too mention. Ever see Motel Hell? Man, gold!

Comic Book Characters: Batman, Hellboy. I always wanted to like the Hulk, but wanted to see a “Dark Hulk”—he’s a Frankenstein sort of creature, but it never went down that path, would like to see that.

Beyond that, I like a lot of characters, but again, don’t read them that much or at all.

12. Any upcoming projects or events you would like to tell us about?

Well, it’s likely that I’ll be producing a bunch of episodes of Dr. Shroud, The Hyrde and Cyko KO (new one) soon for release at year’s end. Right now I am working out the financial parts of that. Following will be a comic book of sorts as well as some other pitches I’m working on for a couple of start ups. The great thing about EarWorm is that I get to do this stuff every day! So, you’ll be seeing a lot more of me in the next year or two to come—stay tuned to your mobile devices and web!

-Interview By Shaun May

I had the honor of sitting down with Bobby from Calabrese at one of their Chicago shows for an interview back in 2008. Calabrese is an amazing horror rock band from Arizona. You can check Calabrese out for yourself at www.CalabreseRock.com and www.Myspace.com/Calabrese and see that they are the world’s greatest horror rock band!

1. Can you give us a brief history of Calabrese and how you guys got started?

I’m not sure what year it was, maybe 2001 or 2002 we were all in separate bands at the time and one random day Jimmy said to us “Hey you want to start a band and write music we want to hear and just do the kind of image that we like?” We all grew up on the same kind of music it was just kind of like a natural thing. With that we said alright. We already had the instruments. We just started writing some tunes and that was that, we just did it.

2. You guys are based in Arizona but you’re originally from Illinois. What made you guys go to Arizona and how different is the scene out there compared to out here?

Nothing too dramatic but when we were younger our parents moved out there so we went with them. Me and Davey, the drummer, we were pretty young at the time and Jim was a little older than us so I don’t remember too much of the scene back then, I know Jim was into whatever was going on at the time. We went out to Phoenix and found out it was very hot and deserty and that’s where we were so we just decided to do it there.

3. What are some of your guys’ influences, musical and non musical?

Musical first, a lot of bands like the evil sounding bands. The trifecta, Misfits, Samhain, Danzig, that kind of stuff. I like a lot of surf stuff like Man Or Astro Man, Type O Negative, Black Sabbath, early rock and roll like The Stooges. Non musical I guess just comic books and reading, like weird novels. Jimmy and I are really into like grade Z, gross novels about weird gross stuff and it’s just a weird mindfuck when you’re reading it and it gives you all these weird ideas. So that’s how we do it.

4. That’s actually one of my other questions. Since we deal with comics as well as music what are some of your favorite comics or characters?

Well I can’t speak for the other guys but growing up I never really got into the superheroes and stuff, I was always more into the indy stuff. Over time I finally realized it was more fun and realized it could have it’s cool side. I like the horror comics like Tales From The Crypt, that kind of stuff. The staples like Iron Man and Spider Man are always fun. It’s just tough to catch up cuz God damnit comics are expensive. We get them here and there or if we got a friend with a bunch of comics we’ll steal them and read them.

5. What’s your creative process like when you guys write songs?

It’s pretty easy in a way because all we do is we get a riff that we’re working on, bring it to the table and let the other dudes listen to it, try to jam it out and see if it sounds good and if it does then it goes on to round two and try to get a chorus going. Usually it starts with the chorus, like a melody and then we build it off there, more like a cool little riff, nothing like “Hey guys I got a whole new song, here we go let’s do it” it takes months for songs to come. We try to make each song really great so we try to play them out here and there and if nobody claps at the end of the song we’re like “Uh I think we’ll have to skip that one or change it” or sometimes we ask our friends “What sucks about that song?” So then we try to change it or tweak it until it’s the greatest it can get and then come out with a whole list of songs for a new album.

6. Your artwork is just fuckin’ amazing. Does the same artist do all your artwork and do you say what goes in or do you just give someone an idea and let them run with it?

Growing up we always liked the bands that had really crazy artwork for their albums and posters and t-shirts. We were really inspired by the band Electric Frankenstein, they have all this weird stuff, they even put out books specifically of all the artwork they’ve had and we’ve always loved that kind of weird style. The same with White Zombie before it became Rob Zombie, just like all the weird artwork. So if we find out about an artist and just hit them up on the internet or something and ask them if they want to do something. Right now we’ve got a bunch of artists and we just give them an idea like we want a skull with a snake coming out of it’s eyeball or something and they’ll come up with something probably ten times better and they’ll be like here you go. We like to get as many different artists as possible, it’s cool to have a giant library of artwork instead of just like one image.

7. You guys recently did a video for Voices Of The Dead with Brian Pulido, how did you come about working with him and what was that like?

It started when we played a comic book shop in Phoenix called Atomic Comics and he was there doing a giveaway or something and he saw us play and thought we were really good and he wanted to do something with us and gave us his card. From there we kept in contact and one day he said he wanted to do a video for us so we signed on to it and it was cool. We had a video done before so we were like it’s going to be good. When we showed up it was a legitimate thing, we had extras and all this crazyness. We were like “should we come into the editing thing and edit it with you?” He said “Nope, I got it all under control.” So when he premiered it and showed it to us we were like “Oh my God this looks phenomenal, I can’t believe it, we were so good!” He really helped us with that, I think it’s on Youtube now with up to like a million plays so that’s cool. He really made us a great video and I think we’re going to do another one with him soon. He’s a really good guy and he’s into all the same junk we’re into.

8. You guys have toured with some amazing bands, who were some of your favorites and who would you like to tour with in the future?

We like playing with our friends’ bands out in Arizona, they’re called Hour Of The Wolf and Zombeast, they’re really good friends of ours and they just happen to have really good music so we like playing with them and keeping that cool Arizona thing going on. We didn’t really tour with Tiger Army but we opened up for them in Phoenix and that was really great. I’d like to tour with the Ramones but they’re dead. Still living I would say AFI. AFI would be cool, I think we have the same kind of sound but we’re a little bit different so we wouldn’t be stealing their sound.

9. If you could sum up the band into one song what song would it be?

Oh jeez, I would say Voices Of The Dead. I don’t know why but it sounds good.

Me: A lot of people either love or hate that question. It’s got more love than hate so I leave it in there.

The only reason I think that is we made the video out of it and it’s a slight promo for it. No, I have no idea, I think it’s one of our best songs that we wrote and when people hear it they’re always like “Oh man that song’s great” and we’re like “really?” We were kind of afraid about it at first.

10. Any upcoming projects or events you’d like to tell people about?

Nothing too crazy but hopefully by early next year we’ll have a new album with like 12 or 13 songs. It should be cool, hopefully it’s a lot better than the last one because you always have to get better and if it sucks then…we’re sorry.

11. Anything else you’d like to tell the people out there reading this?

If you’re an artist hit us up, we’re always looking for new artists to get our image out there with their own kind of style. If you’re a movie producer or making independant films it’d be cool to do something with you or make a soundtrack for you or a song. If you got a podcast we’ll do something with you.

Me: What about the fans reading this?

We thank you, without you guys we’d be pretty much nothing, so it’s all about you. Thank you for coming to shows, thank you for supporting us, we appreciate it.

-Interview by Shaun May

I got the privilege to sit down and ask Blitzkid some questions back in early 2009. Blitzkid is a horrorpunk band from Bluefield VA. You can check them out at www.Blitzkid.com and www.Myspace.com/Blitzkid.

“Blitzkid is at the forefront of horror rock’s bloodsoaked future. Other bands may claim to be the best or the greatest or whatever else, we’ll settle with just kicking your ass with something real. Step right up.” -Blitzkid

1. Can you give us a brief history of Blitzkid and how you guys started?

GOOLSBY: Initially: Boredom. A lack of any music networking in our hometown and surrounding areas. Wanting to curse really loud into microphones. Something me and my friends could skate to. Upon Latter: Realization of the importance of music as a vehicle of communication and universal understanding of the world and yourself and your place in it.

TB: Blitzkid began in the early part of 1997.

2. What are some of you influences?

GOOLSBY: Buddy Holly. He proved that you didn’t have to have someone else write, arrange, and dictate the direction of your music and that you could do it with minimal players. A true pioneer that does get his due, but more so in a " he died tragically" kind of way, with not enough attention paid to his contributions to the recording world and musicians all over from henceforth on. Lon Chaney. He acted and emoted from his body. words were not the vehicle that projected him into iconography. It was his body’s interpretation of emotion and its display and characterization that made him so special. That has greatly influenced me in the way I perform.

The Clash. The only band that matters. I laugh when bands say they are the greatest this or that. this band is the only band that can get away with saying it and not seem like assholes. They could put their money and fists where your mouth is and I’m picking up what they’re putting down.

THE BODY by Stephen King… waking up to one world, one view, one small perspective with seemingly infinite longevity and the sun setting on you as a completely changed person. One that can never see anything but what was left behind and that which was never realized until it was lost. isn’t that the tragedy behind us all?

TB: Gools and I have very diverse musical tastes, so our influences vary greatly from one another’s and at the same time they meet in the middle too. For me personally, I derive great inspiration from The Ramones, Face To Face, ignite, Strung Out, Bad Religion, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Only Living Witness, King’z Z, Exodus and many many more.

3. Do you consider yourselves part of the horror punk scene, what is it about the scene that you guys like?

GOOLSBY: I consider us a part of the anti rock conspiracy that plagues this country. we don’t primp ourselves to be the most scary individuals we can be for mere show. We know what were doing and we know what were talking about, and horror just happens to be one of those things that we’re well on the mark with, and the fact that this mark exceeds just mere film and more so the universal psyche behind it, what we do, when we do it is not contrived and I think people see that, and appreciate it, and know what’s up. I don’t think of any of it as a scene. We never tried to jump into a scene or gain attention. I see it as my life that has somehow for once found a connection with some sort of community. That’s one thing I like about it.

TB: I do consider us an integral part at this point. For me, the attraction is you can be creepy, and have dark imagery but still maintain some sort of metaphorical content within your lyrics and your songs that will speak way louder than just cut and paste lyrics about your favorite horror movies. We always like to say we write our own campfire tales, or that we try to blend horrific images within real life experiences within our songs. To me, sometimes there is nothing scarier than what real life throws at you.

4. What’s your creative process like and how do you write your songs?

GOOLSBY: If they don’t write themselves within minutes then they go on a shelf until the gestalt in which is trying to free them can reveal itself better in time and a more defined, refined song can come from it. I never rush. I know song writing is natural for me and it will show itself to me in due course. Most of which that you have heard in your ears via the conduit of Blitzkid has come in with the tide and at moments when a creative process or the efforts to write aren’t even going on. Washing the van, flipping eggs, inspiration strikes in the strangest of times.

TB: Most of the time, Gools will have a skeletal idea for a song and vice versa, and we’ll show them to one another and work them out that way. Other times, we have completed ideas and go from there. The main thing that we always consider in our songwriting is to never force anything and just let it happen naturally. If it sounds like a risk, we’ll still do it. That’s the only way we have evolved over the years because we aren’t afraid to do that.

5. Do you guys write all your own music and lyrics?

GOOLSBY: YES.

TB: Absolutely

6. You did “Cannibal Flesh Riot” with Gris Grimly, can you tell us a little bit about that and how cool is it to have the title track for the film?

GOOLSBY: Well, as for having a title track it was never expressed to us that we would have a title track. That was more so my doing unwittingly. I had been approached by Gris (who’s artwork is also featured on one of our t shirts) about contributing a song for his project. Naturally, we agreed to it. I had begun writing the riff right before we left for a tour of Europe. I was initially calling the song something else. The lyrics all led up to a chorus centering on the plot number of the grave that the one fellow was buried in. Late in the game and on the plane ride across the deep blue, the hook that is now the song you hear came to me and I liked it better. Only now it flowed better to the words "cannibal flesh riot". We got to Germany, rehearsed a bit of it at our friends THE OTHER’s rehearsal room outside of Koln, played it all tour long until we refined it. We got home, went in and recorded it in a manner of 4 hours.

TB: Gools covered the song’s inception pretty well. It was a very free thing and it just kind of wrote itself. That was one of the most stress free experiences I’ve ever had in the studio. It’s awesome that we are a part of the film too. Gris is a great guy. It’s funny, but while I’m doing this, I’m actually wearing the shirt from the DVD cover. haha

7. You guys have toured with some amazing bands, who are some of your favorite bands you’ve toured with?

GOOLSBY: All of our label mates on FIEND FORCE RECORDS. THE OTHER, THE CRIMSON GHOSTS, THE BLOODSUCKING ZOMBIES FROM OUTER SPACE, THE SPOOK, REZUREX, the list goes on.

Here in the states, THE EPIDEMIC, THE CRYPTKEEPER FIVE, THE AUTOMATONS, again, the list goes on.

TB: The Cryptkeeper Five, The Rosedales, The Damned, Leftover Crack, The Epidemic, The Other, The Rezurex and the Crimson Ghosts.

8. Who would you like to tour with in the future?

GOOLSBY: Bad Religion. Id like to tour longer with Leftover Crack. We hit it off with those guys stellar. The Damned again, Pyogenesis, Danzig.

TB: Bad Religion, Ignite and Alkaline Trio.

9. What’s a day off from touring like for you guys, what do you like to do to relax?

GOOLSBY: Here’s one of em now. I’m catching up on mail and interviews, etc. I like to run, work out, develop pending songs. The trick is NOT to take it TOO easy on days off. If you let yourself completely relax, you lose the roll you have to stay on. That’s why I have to keep my body active by working out, etc. Thanks, Doyle for teaching this young padawan. Haha.

TB: I work out, I watch pro wrestling, I read lots of magazines. That’s pretty much it.

10. Argyle, you have a tattoo sketchbook available, could you tell us a little bit about it?

GOOLSBY: I went to college. I have a BA in Art and also a BA in History. After my formal education I used it to become a substitute teacher (something of which I still from time to time engage) since full time education wasn’t a field I could go into if I were to be a touring musician I wanted to become and have in all rights actualized. I’m the Greg Graffin of Horrorrock hahaha. Anyway, after college I went into tattooing because I thought I could have a more flexible schedule around the band that was at this point only getting off the ground and needed LOTS of ample time dedicated to it.

I apprenticed at the best tattoo shop in VA for over a year before I realized I would have to make a decision as to what I wanted to do with my time. Tattoo or pursue music. I was given a friendly ultimatum by my benefactors and trainers. I chose music and here I am 7 years later. However tattooing has always been at my heart and I will somehow find my way back to it. This past summer I spent a lot of time with friends who worked for the same company at a different location in WV. In that time, at the suggestion of one of the artists there, I created the sketchbook I now have for sale. He had recently made one, was willing to work with me to put it together and distribute it, etc. and I’m seeing a lot of my pieces finding their way upon flesh lately.

11. Seeing as we deal quite a bit with horror, what are some of your guys’ favorite horror movies?

GOOLSBY: Nosferatu. Vampyr.

TB: Dead Alive, Halloween 1 and 2, Evil Dead trilogy, Dracula, Frankenstein, Last House On the Left

12. If you could sum the band up into one of your songs, what song would it be?

GOOLSBY: They’re all a piece of the monster.

TB: It wouldn’t be doable in any one song. All roads, notes, broken strings, bloody faces, guitar riffs, exiting drummers, and people singing along have lead us here.

13. Any upcoming projects or events that you’d like to tell us about?

GOOLSBY: We’re touring Europe this August and playing for 60,000 (give or take) at the M’era Luna fest. We’re doing a tour of Texas with Cancerslug in June. We’ve a album full of re recorded old Blitzkid tunes coming out. A split with Cryptkeeper Five as well. A new DVD. A Robot Monster records reissue of our first recording entitled REVISITED. Many things…many things.

TB: Here again, I’d just be repeating what Gools just told ya, but we’re very excited about them all.

14. Anything else you want to say to the fans out there reading this?

GOOLSBY: Be yourself. Unfortunately at face value you might look like someone else, but the Emperor hasn’t any clothes.

TB: Thanks for being down with us and showing us as much love, support and encouragement as you have these past 11 years. LONG LIVE THE HORROR!!!!!!!!!!

-Interview by Shaun May