We hosted a bonus screening of IT STARTS WITH MURDER to raise money for a DVD release... The attendance was certainly more of a "quality over quantity" affair, which was fine with me. I'd much rather play to a small crowd of devoted friends than a packed room of ambivalent strangers. I'm just a NERVOUS NELLY like that!
(Special shout-outs are due to our pals LYDIA for her generous patronage and JOI for bringing the hype on Yelp! You guys are the bestest!)
Meanwhile:
In true Hollywood style, production has begun on our new movie before the script is even finished! Enjoy this bonus glimpse into THE GALACTIC JUNGLE...
Showing posts with label ego. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ego. Show all posts
Monday, June 7, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Someone threw a party, someone threw a FIT!
For my birthday, I want to gain residence in a world that is a cross between THIS:
And THIS:
Now... who's gonna make that happen for me?
And THIS:
Now... who's gonna make that happen for me?
Friday, February 12, 2010
Spring Fling
Shows! Shows! Shows! The winter is drawing to a end (although you'd never know it by stepping outdoors) and it is finally time for the Spook Lights to step out of hiding. We have new songs to play, a new seven-inch to sell (although I still haven't come up with any artwork for the cover yet), and new shows scheduled for your viewing pleasure.
Our self-imposed hibernation was supposed to last until the end of March. Every year we come back on April Fool's Day and pick some unlucky local bastards to open for us(in this case a new band called THE MOUTH BREATHERS)... But we decided to cut our break short this year when the chance to play with KID CONGO POWERS presented itself to us. What, you think we'd just say "NO" to an opportunity like that?
Kid's newest project, THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS (check out their album DRACULA BOOTS right HERE) are playing at the Jackpot Music Hall on March 13th, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ready to drop trou for ANYONE who would give us a chance to open this gig. Luckily, my integrity was never compromised-- all it took was a couple of quick hone calls to seal the deal.
(It turns out that Kid makes his way to Kansas often-- his drummer is one-half of the brain trust behind THE HARVEYVILLE PROJECT, where the Pink Monkey Birds have recorded BOTH of their albums!)
Honestly, though-- I'm still armpit-deep in the new screenplay, so this movie thing is really first and foremost on my mind. The story is all mapped out for me, I have most of my actors lined up many of the locations scouted. All I need is a decent camera and someone with a knack for constructing miniatures and I'll be well on my way. And when I say "a knack for constructing miniatures," I don't mean DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS figurines... I mean something like THIS:
Our self-imposed hibernation was supposed to last until the end of March. Every year we come back on April Fool's Day and pick some unlucky local bastards to open for us(in this case a new band called THE MOUTH BREATHERS)... But we decided to cut our break short this year when the chance to play with KID CONGO POWERS presented itself to us. What, you think we'd just say "NO" to an opportunity like that?
Kid's newest project, THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS (check out their album DRACULA BOOTS right HERE) are playing at the Jackpot Music Hall on March 13th, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ready to drop trou for ANYONE who would give us a chance to open this gig. Luckily, my integrity was never compromised-- all it took was a couple of quick hone calls to seal the deal.
(It turns out that Kid makes his way to Kansas often-- his drummer is one-half of the brain trust behind THE HARVEYVILLE PROJECT, where the Pink Monkey Birds have recorded BOTH of their albums!)
Honestly, though-- I'm still armpit-deep in the new screenplay, so this movie thing is really first and foremost on my mind. The story is all mapped out for me, I have most of my actors lined up many of the locations scouted. All I need is a decent camera and someone with a knack for constructing miniatures and I'll be well on my way. And when I say "a knack for constructing miniatures," I don't mean DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS figurines... I mean something like THIS:
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Look What The Stork Dropped Off!
A mystery package arrived today! Let's see what's inside...
The record press jerked us around, it took us three years to put together, and the labels look like they were printed on an '85-era dot matrix. But it sounds awesome! And it's so RED!
Ladies and germs, presenting SH001: TEENAGE MANIAC b/w NIGHT OF THE QUEERWOLF! It's been a long time coming.
The record press jerked us around, it took us three years to put together, and the labels look like they were printed on an '85-era dot matrix. But it sounds awesome! And it's so RED!
Ladies and germs, presenting SH001: TEENAGE MANIAC b/w NIGHT OF THE QUEERWOLF! It's been a long time coming.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Season End Recap
Way to end the year with a bang. The Spook Lights are officially on break until the spring (woo-hoo!) so we can focus on more writing and recording (Woo-HOO!) and trying to get these new seven inches out on the market (WOO-HOO!). Our last gig of the year (with THOSE DARLINS-- see them NOW if you haven't had the pleasure!)was a total freak show. Here are a couple of pics from the big night, courtesy of the lovely Mrs. Xoe Cranberry:
Monday, October 26, 2009
Opening Night!
I can't believe I missed an entire week without posting a single update. I feel like the victim of UFO-influenced time loss or something. I'm surprised the universe didn't fold in on itself during my absence. Perhaps it did, and what I'm experiencing now is no longer reality, but the overlap of dimensional sheaves as our existence is wadded together like a ball of paper... What an exciting time to be alive!
Anyhoo, last week was entirely consumed by the movie-- wrapping up the final edit, polishing up the press releases, getting some last-minute handbills cast around town-- which all pad off on opening night, which began with a three hundred-deep line pouring into the theater and ended with a standing ovation from the balcony. Hot stuff! Hot stuff!
EDIT: There's a whole slew of new images from the premiere--including the drunken fiesta that happened afterward-- up to browse HERE.
I tried to get pictures of scenes projected across the BIG SCREEN-- while I was to drunk to capably adjust our camera in the dark, I think the end result is something more interesting:
From what I remember, a good time was had by all (although the theater attendants had a difficult time removing us from the theater in our drunken stupor-- we wanted to stay and watch it all night!), and I can't wait to do it again in another 2-3 years when we've finished the next movie.
Anyhoo, last week was entirely consumed by the movie-- wrapping up the final edit, polishing up the press releases, getting some last-minute handbills cast around town-- which all pad off on opening night, which began with a three hundred-deep line pouring into the theater and ended with a standing ovation from the balcony. Hot stuff! Hot stuff!
EDIT: There's a whole slew of new images from the premiere--including the drunken fiesta that happened afterward-- up to browse HERE.
I tried to get pictures of scenes projected across the BIG SCREEN-- while I was to drunk to capably adjust our camera in the dark, I think the end result is something more interesting:
From what I remember, a good time was had by all (although the theater attendants had a difficult time removing us from the theater in our drunken stupor-- we wanted to stay and watch it all night!), and I can't wait to do it again in another 2-3 years when we've finished the next movie.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
I Predict Ominous Things...
Feeling surprisingly great today, despite the onslaught of grim weather this week. My mood has been aided by TWO THINGS:
1) This sweet FORTUNE TELLER'S TURBAN I bought at the costume shop last weekend:
2) And this FULL PAGE ARTICLE that appeared in the local papers today-- a story about our movie! In the legitimate press!
READ ALL ABOUT IT RIGHT HERE.
This makes us official superstars now, methinks. That limo full of well-oiled Tahitian poolboys should be pulling up to our door any second now...
1) This sweet FORTUNE TELLER'S TURBAN I bought at the costume shop last weekend:
2) And this FULL PAGE ARTICLE that appeared in the local papers today-- a story about our movie! In the legitimate press!
READ ALL ABOUT IT RIGHT HERE.
This makes us official superstars now, methinks. That limo full of well-oiled Tahitian poolboys should be pulling up to our door any second now...
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
It Starts With Murder!
I've never really been a fan of sports. I directly attribute this to being beaten up by jocks through most of my formative years. Watching those same jocks get the academic glad-hand for possessing basic ball-handling abilities didn't help my attitude much, either. It's the classic high school story: musclebound boneheads get all of the privilege, while trod-upon weaklings become angst-ridden delinquents. Get John Hughes on the Ouija Board, please.
Anyhoo, as an adult my attitude hasn't changed much. Many of my former "punk rock" friends have grown into rabid sports buffs-- a side effect of living in one of the most successful college sports towns on the map, I guess. That situation tends to have the opposite effect on me. Whenever Game Day approaches our fair city, I find myself enveloped by a cloudlike misery that hovers over me for most of my waking hours. Everything in town grinds to a halt so that we may cater to this infestation of rage-addicted knuckleheads and their tailgating, half-witted followers. And what do we get in return? A sharp spike in date rapes, bar brawls, and hit-and-run accidents. Fratboys puking in our yards. Sounds like a fair trade to me.
Organized sports seem to encourage a specific kind of passive participation, one that is encouraged on a mass scale. I somehow doubt that the average sports fan would rush out and join an athletic team-- their swollen livers and hardened arteries would probably prohibit this, anyway-- and why should they, when the most active way to support your favorite team involves sitting around a keg with your buddies, stuffing hot wings in your face, and shrieking at a plasma screen TV?
"Now, Mr. Manilow," you may say, "For someone who spends much of their time sitting around and watching movies, you sure seem to sling a lot of mud at the televised sports industry." As true as that may be, there is a key flaw in your reasoning: televised sports encourage most people to sit on their asses. Watching movies encourages me to go out and be creative.
Which brings me to THIS (a point that has absolutely nothing to do with my previous rant):
Our first movie-- three years in the making!-- is going to screen locally at Liberty Hall!
Shot for the low, low price of 500 bucks (700 if you count the price of the camcorder), IT STARTS WITH MURDER is much less than low-budget-- it's ZERO BUDGET. The image and sound quality are a little rough-- we had no money for film or boom mic, so we shot on a handheld DV camera and beefed up the audio in post-- but I really think that's part of the charm. This is an UNDERGROUND movie, after all-- anyone who shows up expecting Michael Bay-style production is going to leave sorely disappointed.
Here's a trailer-- NSFW, by any stretch of the imagination:
Thanks for tuning in. You may now continue with the rest of your day-- enriched, I hope, by what you have just seen here.
Anyhoo, as an adult my attitude hasn't changed much. Many of my former "punk rock" friends have grown into rabid sports buffs-- a side effect of living in one of the most successful college sports towns on the map, I guess. That situation tends to have the opposite effect on me. Whenever Game Day approaches our fair city, I find myself enveloped by a cloudlike misery that hovers over me for most of my waking hours. Everything in town grinds to a halt so that we may cater to this infestation of rage-addicted knuckleheads and their tailgating, half-witted followers. And what do we get in return? A sharp spike in date rapes, bar brawls, and hit-and-run accidents. Fratboys puking in our yards. Sounds like a fair trade to me.
Organized sports seem to encourage a specific kind of passive participation, one that is encouraged on a mass scale. I somehow doubt that the average sports fan would rush out and join an athletic team-- their swollen livers and hardened arteries would probably prohibit this, anyway-- and why should they, when the most active way to support your favorite team involves sitting around a keg with your buddies, stuffing hot wings in your face, and shrieking at a plasma screen TV?
"Now, Mr. Manilow," you may say, "For someone who spends much of their time sitting around and watching movies, you sure seem to sling a lot of mud at the televised sports industry." As true as that may be, there is a key flaw in your reasoning: televised sports encourage most people to sit on their asses. Watching movies encourages me to go out and be creative.
Which brings me to THIS (a point that has absolutely nothing to do with my previous rant):
Our first movie-- three years in the making!-- is going to screen locally at Liberty Hall!
Shot for the low, low price of 500 bucks (700 if you count the price of the camcorder), IT STARTS WITH MURDER is much less than low-budget-- it's ZERO BUDGET. The image and sound quality are a little rough-- we had no money for film or boom mic, so we shot on a handheld DV camera and beefed up the audio in post-- but I really think that's part of the charm. This is an UNDERGROUND movie, after all-- anyone who shows up expecting Michael Bay-style production is going to leave sorely disappointed.
Here's a trailer-- NSFW, by any stretch of the imagination:
Thanks for tuning in. You may now continue with the rest of your day-- enriched, I hope, by what you have just seen here.
 |
| It Starts With Murder! |
Friday, September 11, 2009
Introductions all around.
This is ME:
This is my GIRLFRIEND:
This is OUR BAND:
These are our movies:
This is my DAUGHTER:
These are OUR CATS:
This is MY BIKE:
Welcome to the inside of my brain.
This is my GIRLFRIEND:
This is OUR BAND:
These are our movies:
This is my DAUGHTER:
These are OUR CATS:
This is MY BIKE:
Welcome to the inside of my brain.
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