Artists Analysing The Evolution of Graffiti 2011

Graffuturism has just posted a really interesting article/interviews with many top 'alternative' graff artists entitled, "A Look at Graffiti’s Evolution and Progression 2011 in the Artists own words. Part 1".. well worth a read!

Bruno Borges

There's a good interview with Brazilian graphic designer & illustrator, Bruno Borges over on PSDTuts....

See lots more of his work HERE

VAULT VLOG: Exclusive Interview with Author Kim Paffenroth

Happy Holidays, Vault dwellers! Been sitting on this one for a little bit, but this is as good a time as any to unleash it upon you (translation: It's the holiday week, and I'm feeling lazy.) Last month at the Hudson Horror Show, I had a unique opportunity to interview religious scholar, novelist, zombie aficionado and fellow League of Tana Tea Drinkers member, Dr. Kim Paffenroth. It was a thrill to speak to a writer whose work I've admired so much, and so I present to you the interview in its entirety. Special thanks to my Terror Team cohort Captain Cruella, for the bang-up camerawork! And please try to ignore that annoying dude out-of-frame loudly ordering lunch on his phone...

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Stacie Ponder

And CitD returns after a month-long hiatus! What better way, I ask, to bring the series back than with the one and only Stacie Ponder, author of a little blog some of you folks may know, by the name of Final Girl? Hmm...anyone?

Anyway, Stacie was kind enough to enter the Vault this week to touch on a ridiculous variety of topics, ranging from the nature of great horror, to why '70s music rocks, to the joys of blog trolls, to why the youth of America is lame, and so much more! So listen in on two crazed individuals going on and on about whatever happens to pop into their heads. It's nothing if not entertaining.

Check it out on the player embedded below, or head over to the Vaultcast page to download it...

Preys UPS Interview

Nice interview on Graffuturism with US-Writer, Preys (UPS)...

EXCLUSIVE! Interview with Former WWE Superstar Amy "LITA" Dumas

Every now and then, the worlds of horror and wrestling collide, and I always jump at the opportunity to make the most of it. This is one of those times.

During my tenure at WWE, I had the pleasure to work with many talented, unique and fun performers, and one of those would most certainly be Amy Dumas, known at the time as Lita. So, when I discovered that Amy had participated in a zombie-themed photo shoot with internationally published photographer Dangerously Dolly for Rebel Ink magazine just in time for Halloween, I had to drop her a line and let her know how impressed I was, and ask if I could show some of these photos off in The Vault of Horror. Not only did Amy agree to that, but she was also gracious enough to chat with me briefly about the shoot, about horror and her time in the squared circle...


Vault of Horror: Tell fans what you have been up to recently...
Amy: For over three years, every Sunday, from nine to ten at night, I’ve had a radio show on 96.1 The Project, in Atlanta. It’s a lot of fun. It’s just me, the engineer and the cleaning crew--so I've been focusing on that. I'm also opening a restaurant called "Java Lords Lucha Lounge," which has a Mexican theme to it. And of course, we have the movie I'm working on with Trish Stratus.

VOH: Are you happy with how the shots came out for the Rebel Ink shoot?
Amy: Yes! They look cool and brain-tastic!

VOH: Are you much of a zombie or horror film fan in general? What are some of your favorites?
Amy: I am. I like quirky B-movies, and I also like classic horror movies in general, too.


VOH: What did you prefer, being a zombie or a zombie killer?
Amy: Wow, difficult to say! Depends on the situation. If it was real-life, then you'd have to be "The Zombie Killer"--dun-dun-dun! And personally, I find the Zombie Killer much more sexy, yum!

VOH: What led to your departure from the ring four years ago?
Amy: Mostly hate. I couldn't stand being called a whore when I was walking the dog, or just being myself in my own time. After I left, I felt that my life had completely restarted. It was hard and scary but hey, it's all worked out.

VOH: And finally... if there were a real zombie apocalypse, do you think it would be a good idea to hide in the basement of the Alamo? [For those playing at home: Amy is a huge Pee-Wee Herman fanatic...]
Amy: Totally...NOT! I'd go out there and kick some ass! Head-first into the action...


For more on what Amy is up to these days, fan her on Facebook at the only real Amy "Lita" Dumas page. Amy will also be appearing at Wizard World in Atlanta during the month of December. And for the rest of the zombie pics, check out the current issue of Rebel Ink!

The Hudson Horror Show Brings Fans 12 Hours of Gruesome Greatness!

It's that convention and film festival time of year in the horror world, and the fun does not stop after Halloween. Because one of the most talked-about festivals will not be happening until the weekend after--Saturday, November 6, to be exact. It's the Hudson Horror Show, and it will be taking place at Silver Cinemas in Poughkeepsie, New York. For a solid 12 hours, splatter freaks will be treated to a veritable cornucopia of gory goodness, including Evil Dead II, The Gates of Hell, Cannibal Ferox, Demons, plus a "viewers' choice" title being voted upon at the festival website as we speak.

The masterminds behind the Hudson Horror Show are Chris Alo and his associate Tad Leger. Alo, a long-time fan who had grown disgruntled with what he had been seeing on the horror festival circuit (namely, DVD projections instead of actual film projections), joined forces with fellow fanatic Leger, who was in a position to acquire certain prints thanks to his employment at distribution company Grindhouse Releasing. That partnership is what brought the Hudson Horror Show to life, and both Chris and Tad were gracious enough to give me some of their time recently to talk more about it...

Vault of Horror: Tell me a little bit about how the Hudson Horror Show got started.

Chris Alo: We’re still in our first year--this is only our second show. Basically, myself and Tad have been long-time horror movie fans, and we had gone to a couple of shows from Exhumed Films in Philly. They're kind of the godfathers of the whole retro horror thing. We were going to all these different festivals, and my girlfriend said, maybe you should try doing your own show. So I talked to Tad, who actually works for Grindhouse Releasing. He does some of the their artwork and design stuff. That was our main connection to start, to do our own show. For our first show, we wanted to incorporate some indie horror, but we didn’t have enough time to do whole films, so basically we did shorts. It was in May, and was a huge success. We were totally blown away, and thought, let’s do it again. That’s where we’re at now.

Tad Leger: I’ve been working as the graphic designer with Grindhouse for about six years now. They're great people. As I was working with them, I started forwarding the list of 35mm prints that they own to other people, because they’re constantly booking prints. I talked to those guys and asked if I can find a place to show movies, could I get some of these prints. They said absolutely, just pay the FedEx and you can have them, otherwise free of charge. So that was a big incentive to get Hudson Horror going, because we already had a connection to get prints.

VOH: I noticed that one of the ways Hudson Horror stands out is the fact that you guys are adamant that only actual 35mm film prints be shown.

Alo: Tad and myself were concerned. We only wanted to show films off 35mm film prints, but once we started to get into this, we started to find out how difficult it is. Finding these prints is not so easy. To me, and to Tad, there’s no point in going to one of these shows and showing a movie off DVD. Everybody has DVD players, surround sound and big-screen TVs now. If it’s not on film, we’re not going to do it.
When I was traveling around, I went to a certain festival that will remain nameless. I flew halfway across the country with my girlfriend to a three-day festival. The promoter told me the films were going to be mostly off 35 mm, and then when I get there, I find out the guy booked the three-day festival, and he didn’t have a single print. Everything was off DVD projections. That’s what really pushed me over the edge to say, I have to do my own thing, because this is horrible.

Leger: Up until the mid 1990s, these titles were really almost impossible to find. You had to pay $35 for a fifth-generation VHS. A lot of people don’t understand a lot of these films were unavailable in brand new, struck-from-original-negative versions. It’s only within the last 10 years that these films have come closer to the surface and become easier to access.
I’d rather see the beat-up 35mm print than a DVD projection, because it’s just not the same. You really get the feeling for how it was when these films wee originally playing in theaters, and also just seeing movies like Demons and Evil Dead II--which are just so much fun--with a crowd, that’s double the entertainment.

VOH: How do you select what gets shown? Is it more about what you want to see, or what you can get a hold of?

Alo: It’s a little bit of both. I know on one hand, Tad and I would both love to show some more obscure films; but at the same time, it’s what we could get our hands on, and also what would people come out to see. We’d love to do something with all Spanish horror, or all giallos, but would enough people come out for that? So it’s a little bit of everything: What we could get our hands on, what we think people will come to see.

Leger: Chris and I do a 50/50 split in terms of how we choose. We look at all the prints that are available, and we try and mix them with films that we really personally love, and films that have more of a draw. Like Evil Dead II, which is a very recognizable name. Chris and I have been horror fans for so long, we've gone down the list and we’re into some pretty obscure titles we’d love to fill the bill with, but nobody will know what the hell these movies are. So we have to just slip them in, here and there.

Alo: That’s why we wanted to show Evil Dead II. We showed the first Evil Dead the first time around, and it was a big hit. So we figured the natural progression would be to show Evil Dead II. Demons is another one that Tad and I really wanted to show, we hoped people would want to see it. Gates of Hell is also pretty popular, maybe more so than Cannibal Ferox. But we think we have a pretty good mix of what we want to see, what we can get our hands on, and what people will want to come out for.

VOH: Are you worried about sustaining interest for 12 hours? Is that an issue at all?

Alo: The last show was just as long, maybe a little bit longer. But this time we didn’t do anything with shorts, just because we figured we did a couple of hours worth of indie stuff last time; so for this show, we're were going to skip it and tie into the whole Halloween thing, and just do all vintage horror films. Some people asked why tickets were $26--but for 12 hours of entertainment, that’s not too bad!
Not surprisingly, for the last show, the most amount of people was for Evil Dead, which was our last film. So most people came and went, and came back again. When Evil Dead came on, I couldn’t believe how many people were in the theater. We were a few seats short of being sold out. For our first show, I was blown away.

VOH: Which film are you most looking forward to showing?

Alo: I think for myself, it would be Demons. I’ve never seen it theatrically and always wanted to. Both Tad and myself are huge heavy metal fans, and Demons has a couple of classic heavy metal songs in there. I’ve been told it’s a pretty nice looking print, and Tad and I both thought it was really cool to show Demons, because it’s the whole horror movie within a horror movie thing. It’s the perfect movie to see in a movie theater.

VOH: It seems like most of the films being shown are Italian horror movies. Was this a conscious decision?

Leger: Yeah, I think that’s just really where our taste in films lies. People like Lucio Fulci were among the greatest horror directors who ever lived, and even though they had much lower budgets to work with, just the imagination that they put into their movies... They just put these set pieces in that had never even occurred to anyone, especially in American film. We really like the Italian stuff, and also a lot of Spanish stuff too. They have this kind of atmosphere that a lot of people in the States didn’t really tap into.

VOH: Are there issues with obtaining quality prints for some of these older films?

Alo: Most of the prints that we deal with are vintage, and they come from various sources. There are distributors out there, you just have to look for them. Knock on wood, everything we’ve screened so far has been in pretty good shape. I’ve seen some pretty rough prints at some of these other festivals, but that kind of comes with the territory.

Leger: The response we’ve gotten has just been way bigger than we thought. We’ve got so many people so excited about every single title. They loved every movie that we had last time, and even if the prints had some washed out points, it didn’t detract.

VOH: What's the most challenging part about making something like this happen?

Leger: We’ve gotten so much support in so much areas. The only thing that’s tough is just literally getting the word out. You can reach so many people on Facebook and through the website, but you really have to go out and go to other film festivals and meet other fans. And a big part is also the conventions. I’ve been to a lot of them like Chiller, and Rock and Shock, and Monster Mania, and that’s where you really meet the people who absolutely live for these movies. Who have watched them probably 50 or so times, but still love them so much they’ll come out for another show to see it on the screen. But that’s probably the most labor-intensive part.

Alo: If people are interested in coming to the show and picking up a ticket, they can save a couple of bucks by buying in advance. Tad and I took the few dollars we made on the first show, and we blew it all on the second show. That’s why we’re doing five 35mm full-length movies for this show. We hope we get another good turnout for show number two, so we can continue to do this in the future.

* * * * * * * * * *

Thanks to Chris and Tad for being generous with their time, and it's my pleasure to help them get the word out for this very worthy festival. I encourage you to come on down--in fact, I will even be there myself, along with my cohort in crime, Captain Cruella. The Captain and myself will be taping a special behind-the-scenes webcast at the event, which we plan to sync up with Miguel Rodriguez' Horrible Imaginings film festival--happening the very same day in San Diego!

Needless to say, if you live near the West Coast, you need to get yourself over to that one. But if you can't make either one, we'll do the best we can to convey the coolness via video. We'll even be talking to acclaimed novelist and zombie fanatic Dr. Kim Paffenroth, who will be on-hand at Hudson Horror as one of the featured author guests. All in all, it should be a most amazing way to spend half a day--so get yourself down there, and come say hi!

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Captain Cruella

The spot: A clandestine, undisclosed location on the New York/Connecticut border. The guest: Captain Cruella, Zombie Queen of the Carnivorous Cadavers. The cuisine: Confidential.

We're here to discuss a fascinating phenomenon in our popular culture: The rise of the zombie. Face it, our undead friends are everywhere, and the movies are just the beginning. They have infiltrated our world, metaphorically speaking. And on Saturday in Saugerties, New York, they will do so literally (well, heh, almost) thanks to Cruella's Village Invasion zombie crawl, which we also touch on (including The Vault of Horror's involvement in the event).

Listen in on all the ghoulish shenanigans on the embedded player below, or head over to the Vaultcast page and download it!



The Village Invasion website
The Captain on Twitter
Press release

VAULTCAST: Talking with Meir Zarchi, Steven Monroe & Sarah Butler of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE!

One of the privileges I've been afforded since launching The Vault of Horror is being able to interact with those individuals directly involved with the films that have affected me over the years. I had just such an experience earlier this week when, after catching the remake of I Spit on Your Grave at a screening in Manhattan, I was afforded the opportunity to speak about it with the film's director, Steven Monroe; the star, Sarah Butler, who plays Jennifer Hill; and of course, the one and only Meir Zarchi himself--both producer of the remake and director of the still-controversial 1978 original.

It's my distinct pleasure to be able to share this with you, and I'm grateful to all participants for pulling no punches and expecting nothing less in return, especially Mr. Zarchi in our discussion of the much-debated issues of misogyny. Also, thanks to Alexis Hoyt and the rest of the fine people at Falco Ink for reaching out and making these interviews possible. You can listen in on the embedded player below, or proceed to the official Vaultcast page for download...

Gein KMag Interview & Guest Mix

A brief chat with American drum & bass duo Gein (aka Adam Darby and Ronny Eremija) leads us through their new release with Dieselboy's Human Imprint, touches on hometown scene politics, introduces their label Bad Chemistry and the whole thing comes together with an exclusive mix packed with new music.

Tell us about The Human Chemistry EP on Human Imprint, how did this release come about?

Adam was living in Atlanta about a year and a half ago, and started collaborating with a good friend, Mayhem. Together they got the tune Ghetto Dope rolling and when Adam moved back to Milwaukee we took it from there. Around the same time, Silent Killer and Breaker sent us a start to the tune 6 Feet, and after a few months of fine tuning both tunes were finished.

Dieselboy caught wind of Ghetto Dope and wanted it for the relaunch of Human Imprint and after hearing 6 Feet decided that they would fit perfectly together for an EP on Human. And seeing as how Human Imprint is one of the biggest drum & bass labels in America, we were happy to work with them on it.





Your tracks are well known for their dancefloor appeal while maintaining a strong dose of darkness, with new subgenre names popping up every other day, what do you call your own stuff?  

Simply put, our music is drum & bass. We really do not like to get involved in all the separation of styles, because the more divisions and subgenres you have, more thought goes into what to name the new subgenres than actually listening to the quality of the music. If you had to actually put a name to our music, drum & bass will suffice just fine because our style is changing every day with every new influence we gain from life's daily complexities.

The blending and evolution of music styles is an ongoing process, and drum & bass has been at the front of the pack in that regard for the past ten years, where do you see it going in the next ten?

Drum & bass, to us, has always been a very fast growing style of music that has progressed considerably in the past ten years. It seems that this style of music fits well with all sorts of influences, so we see the next ten years as being basic limitless. We've seen artists use techno, minimal, dub, reggae, hardcore, hip hop, dubstep, and rock 'n' roll influences over the past ten years, and there have been some amazingly groundbreaking tunes coming out. We believe that the next ten years will be very interesting to listen to, because it could go anywhere.
  
A large chunk of your catalog includes hip-hop / rap vocals, so how do you choose the samples you use, and what other influences do you pull from when working on beats?

Our samples, as a group, come from our individual influences. We all listen to different styles of music on a day to day basis, so when we all get together we draw from each other, expressing where we want a project to go, and work from there.

The name Gein has some pretty dark connotations, how did you choose it, and why does it fit you guys so well?

The name "Gein" comes from a well known serial killer from an area near our hometown, Ed Gein. The name wasn't necessarily chosen to represent death, darkness, etc. but more to represent the complexities and unknown brain patterns involved in such actions, which when transformed into music gives you the power to really explore the direction your music will take, without much outside interference.

We felt the name gave us the ability to basically do whatever we feel is right with our music and not worry so much on what people wanted us to do.

Six years of working together in the studio and playing shows all over is no small feat, have you had any trouble balancing your friendship with the work involved?

Of course. We have been friends for a long time and nerves tend to flare up at moments, but somehow we always tend to work everything out for the best.

What kind of reception do you get playing out in your hometown, and has it always been that way? Where are the best crowds you've seen, and what are your favourite places to play?

When we speak about our hometown, Milwaukee, there are some positive and negative things about it. It's a small city, which helps when you look at things like people knowing what you're doing in the music world, and local support for shows you play at. The past few years though, the scene has become somewhat divided and local support is very hit or miss, which is very disappointing, but at the same time it's okay because we are not confined to our hometown. Gein has toured all over the United States multiple times, and the European tours have all been amazing. Some of the greatest crowds we've seen in the USA have been in LA, Atlanta, and Portland, and Europe as a whole has been pretty amazing, with unbelievable responses in Russia, Portugal, Serbia at the Exit festival and countless others.

Do you have any side-projects or alias stuff we should be watching for?  

We thought about side projects and naming them different things, but we decided to stick with the name Gein for any projects we do together in any style of music. So anything we do musically will be pushed on our Bad Chemistry Recordings imprint or on saintGEIN's Habit Recordings.

Thanks for putting together a mix for us, what can listeners expect?

First and foremost thanks for giving us the opportunity to do this mix. We are proud to represent our new label Bad Chemistry and the music on it, as well as all the artists we support and labels we are on worldwide. We have done this for a few years now with our Skinsuit Sessions mixes that have done quite well for us and, more recently, our Bad Chemistry podcasts have helped us really push our label's sounds. So for this, we fused all ideas together and came up with a mix that showcases upcoming Bad Chemistry releases, great music from our friends and, more importantly, what we believe is music that has staying power.

Words: Ty 'Dubcomm' Metford

Download Gein's guest mix

Tracklisting

1. Cooh and The Panacea - The Large Hadron Collider (Prospect)
2. Forbidden Society - Sad Truth (SPL Remix) (Counterstrike)
3. Demo and Ewun - Tek Jam (Bad Chemistry)
4. Arsenic - Aneurysm (VIP) (Bad Chemistry)
5. Counterstrike, Silent Killer and Breaker - The Visitor (Guerilla)
6. Gein and Counterstrike - Pentagram (Gein VIP) (Human Imprint)
7. Counterstrike and Zardonic - Hardcore Will Never Die (Human Imprint)
8. Demo - O.D. (Gein and Counterstrike Remix) ( Human Imprint)
9. Demo - O.D. (Counterstrike Dubstep Remix) (Human Imprint)
10. SPL and Triage - Valhalla (Hollow Point)
11. Symbl and Bare feat. Messinian - Bad Habits (Sub Human)
12. Two Fingers - That Girl (Spor Remix) (Big Dada Recordings)
13. Gein and Mayhem - Ghetto Dope (Human Imprint)
14. nPHONIX - False Flag (Lost Soul)
15. SPKTRM feat. Dark Cube - F.W.C. (Bad Chemistry)
16. SPKTRM - Anomalous Singularity (Bad Chemistry)
17. Dylan and Kitech - Lights Out (Freak)
18. Dub Elements and Venganza - Dick Brain (Resistance)
19. Telekinesis and Neurotech - Filth (Breed 12 Inches)
20. Thought, Dstruct and Kantyze - Midnight Dogs (Vampire)
21. Gein, Silent Killer and Breaker - Six Feet (Human Imprint)
22. Forbidden Society - The Smasher (Kathrsys Remix) (Freak)
23. Gein and Cooh - Schizm (Bad Chemistry)
24. Gein - Motherfucker (Bad Chemistry)

VIA

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Christine Hadden

I'm thrilled about this week's edition of Conversations in the Dark, because Italian horror is one of my favorite topics to discuss. And if there's anyone whose name is synonymous with Italian horror, it would be Dario Argento. Suspiria is one of my all-time favorite horror films, and Argento's signature style in other movies like Deep Red and Tenebrae have long fascinated me.

So of course, I had to bring in one of my favorite Argento fanatics, Ms. Christine Hadden of Fascination with Fear. Christine is more well-versed in Argento than myself--and so, seeking, as always, to make myself look good by surrounding myself with talented individuals, I invited Christine to join me this week. By listening in on the embedded player below, you can hear us wistfully sing the praises of Italy's ambassador of terror, as well as veer into Hitchcock, Deodato and all points in between.

You can also proceed directly to the official Vaultcast page and download the audio!



Fascination with Fear: http://fascinationwithfear.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/slewfan77
Blood Sprayer: http://www.bloodsprayer.com/author/christine/

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Kristy Jett

For the first time ever, this time around in Conversations in the Dark we spend our allotted minutes focusing on one film and one film only...more or less. It's an exceptional kind of show this week, but one makes exceptions when one is joined by an online horror dynamo the likes of Ms. Kristy Jett, the omnipresent force whose work can be found on sites like The Blood Sprayer, Fangoria.com and Dread Central, and who is one of the guiding lights behind Fright Rags, online horror T-shirt merchant extraordinaire.

See, Kristy happens to be obsessed with the 1991 slasher/William Castle tribute Popcorn, and since she asked so nicely, we spent a solid half hour-plus waxing rhapsodic about that particular motion picture, amongst a few other random things that will pop up whenever you get two consummate blabbermouths together. So listen in as Kristy and I discuss the film itself, as well as Ms. Jett's ambitions to put together a special-edition, 20th anniversary DVD release worthy of it. Listen below, or head to the Vaultcast page and download!



The Blood Sprayer: http://bloodsprayer.com
Fright Rags: http://www.fright-rags.com

Visceral Visionaries: Cruella Moxham

I've got a bit of a break from the norm for you this time out, boils and ghouls. That's because things are anything but normal anytime you're dealing with the inscrutable Cruella Moxham, a.k.a. Captain Cruella of the Carnivorous Cadavers. Rather than just making art, you see, Ms. Moxham lives it, and she was very gracious to recently give me a glimpse into her macabre world.

Juggling a collection of impressive projects at any given time, the main happening that Cruella is currently involved in is a zombie crawl known as the Village Invasion, coming to Saugerties, New York on Saturday, October 16. She discussed the event at length with me, in addition to the many other things with which she has been and is currently involved...

Let’s talk a bit about the zombie walks. The one you’re involved in promoting right now is the Village Invasion in Saugerties. Tell me a little about this. How did you get involved in all of it?
It’s hard to describe, actually. I’ll tell you one thing, I would never have been able to really get it going the way I have without utilizing social media. It helped me organize everything, and make the project a reality.

It’s your project, though, right--from the ground up?
Yes, it’s completely my own. This zombie crawl means a lot to me. Actually, organizing events like this in general is what I live for. It’s something I’ve always done; it’s in my blood. My family has been putting on a fundraiser now for 12 years, raising money for juvenile diabetes through a, “Car Show for a Cause”. We raise a great deal of cash in one day in just a few hours. It draws thousands of people.

So what is it about zombies that made you want to organize this whole event?
Nothing. I’m just good at it and I am very fond of all things related to horror, evil and Halloween. I found at an early age that I was different than other people. The ordinary things that others did were extremely boring to me, so I created my own entertainment. Besides, people are easily led—well; I suppose they like to call it, “willing participation.”

What is it that motivates you?
It’s just a great experience, to be able to pull off something successful like that, especially in my hometown. I consider it a success if 50 people show up, or even five, for that matter. It’s not really about me, it’s about the event and the people who come and enjoy in what I’ve created. What can I say; I’m a very complicated person, Brian. My desire is to create something where people can lose their inhibitions and have fun.

Tell me about some of the other events you’ve been involved with.
I rented an art studio and a gallery for three years in Kingston. I had art exhibits that would change monthly. One month the theme was, “Obsession and Fetishes”. The artwork ranged from the typical fetishes one can imagine just from the title of the show all the way to someone being obsessed with food. I pulled some strings and had some close friend who dabble in S&M come in their domme gear , that really shook up the town. Another memorable theme at the gallery was one where I covered the space in assorted shapes and sizes of mirrors. I called it the, “Reflection of the Flesh”, where YOU were the art. I set up paint stations with assorted non-toxic paints and let people at themselves with a photographer capturing the moments it was fantastic! That’s same day I orchestrated a local salsa band to play on the street, the date was Cinco de Mayo. Dancing painted people everywhere, the energy was amazing! I also have been very involved in the Kingston’s Artist Soapbox Derby and have won every year that I have entered into it.

I understand you also have done a lot of work in movie makeup?
Yes, I worked for a company called Aesthetic Creations. I was an assistant makeup artist, in the special effects department. I met a lot of interesting and talented people; most of them had worked or were working for Universal Studios. I really learned so much. I worked on the tail end of Beloved, creating silicon molds and prosthetics. I also got to do that for Bringing Out the Dead, directed by Martin Scorsese. Who is kind of a pompous jerk, by the way. But I got to do a lot of prosthetics for that movie, for Nic Cage, Marc Anthony and other character actors.
I also worked on Jim Jarmosh’s Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, in which I created prosthetics for faces, a fake forehead, for a character who was going to be shot in the head. It was definitely interesting to come into work for a company everyday where the props from the jail scene in Silence of the Lambs were hanging overhead.

On the other end of the spectrum, you also currently do a lot of work with floral arrangements. How did you get into that?
While I was subletting the gallery and studio space from a florist I would be there late every day either painting or working on the next event for the studio, and helped her out with the shop from time to time. The shop eventually closed, but I never stopped doing that kind of work. It turned out I was really good at it and I enjoyed being surrounded by flowers, who wouldn’t? People started seeking me out, and pretty soon I was doing arrangements for all kinds of events, from weddings to funerals.

So do you have any trouble at all balancing these two worlds, zombies and floral arrangements?
Not at all, I’m always busy. I am more creative in chaos. As I said, I’m a complex person. I’m from two worlds. As a child, I was very confused as to who I was supposed to be. Whenever I was told I couldn’t do something that was like a challenge to me. And it became a challenge to do as much as possible, and to be good at whatever crossed my path.

So what’s the next obstacle to be conquered? What does the future hold for Cruella Moxham?
I’m thinking the world and then maybe the Vault of Horror…yeah, sounds about right.

* * * * * * * * * *

To find out more about the Village Invasion, check out the official event page over at Crawl of the Dead. Also, be sure to connect with Ms. Moxham via Facebook!

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Bryan White

Brace yourselves, Vault dwellers, because it's about to get very geeky up in here. This week we're talking comics--horror comics, to be more specific. And 1970s Marvel horror comics, to be even more specific. Blade, Man-Thing, Werewolf By Night, Ghost Rider, Tomb of Dracula, the whole nine yards.

Joining me is fellow pop-culture obsessed Gen-Xer Bryan White of Cinema Suicide. He and I had begun conversing recently on Twitter about our shared enthusiasm for one of comics' most underrated movements and eras, and now, it's turned into all this. For those of you horror fiends who are also comics nerds, you're in for a treat. If you beat up guys like us in high school, kindly come back next week. We promise to have our lunch money for you then.

Take a listen to the embedded link below--or proceed directly to the Vaultcast page and download it.

Cinema Suicide: http://www.cinema-suicide.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CinemaSuicide

"This Fear You May Know" Exhibition And White Walls Skinner Interview!

Skinner’s solo show “This Fear You May Know” opens on Saturday, August 14th at White Walls from 7 – 11 pm.  If you’d like a sneak peak of Skinner’s work and to learn more about him, check out this exclusive interview!

This Fear You May Know opens on August 14, 2010 and runs through September 4, 2010. Blending variant sources of fantasy art accented with nuances of social commentary, Skinner’s works in this exhibit illustrate his observations of a growing obsession with destruction and conflict, and how fear guides the course of social action.

The artwork in This Fear You May Know will be comprised of 24 medium and large-scale acrylic and airbrushed paintings, sculptural pieces, and custom air-brushed masks. These pieces are based on the artist’s interests in mythology, the occult, cultural myths and folk tales, and modified by his nostalgic approach to comics and magazines.




1. How long do you spend on an average sized painting?
I can spend up to a week on an average size painting…If life goes easy on me for a week straight, I can get a considerable amount of work done…but things happen…design jobs to pay immediate bills, music, rabbits need to get neutered, fixing cars…business and meetings…if that stuff could stop then I would be getting paintings done at an exponential rate…which I have essentially tried to do for this show…

2. Your favorite comic book?
My favorite all time comic book would be the Hulk from growing up…But as a strange and very particular adult of bizarre tastes I would have to say Black Hole by Charles Burns…there are many strange zines out there right now as well!..Super Gods by Warren Ellis is amazing right now and The Walking Dead of course.

3. What does your studio usually look like?
You know right now its been pretty clean…Once I started freaking out about keeping these new paintings safe, I started cleaning it out…I took all my big sculptures and giant heads from previous show/ installations and went to the packing place I send my paintings from and they let me do a giant installation there that is permanent so I wouldn’t have to worry about it…Theres Giant severed heads hanging from the ceiling of this rad shipment center now.

4. Your biggest fear as a child?
As a child my fears were very dream based…and now that I examine them as an adult, they are very clearly psychology 101…my fears were all based on the needs and reactions of adults around me…what they wanted, how I should react and what emotional needs I could supply for them…If they would have just not used me and my sister as bargaining chips in their selfish emotional tug of war I would be chillin’…I cant stand people who have children to fulfill some kind of shallow self appreciating, pseudo cultural tradition of reproducing themselves…get over yourselves, do some personal/emotional development and earn the right to lovingly care for another person…Jesus Christ!

5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A really famous, narcissistic asshole who hates what he has become. Or a total fucking burnout.

6. Despite sex, race, and cultural differences, do you think there is something that connects all humans together?
Oh yeah…emotions…whether they are oppressed, damaged, open or distorted…we all have them and are all trying to be “okay”…The lucky ones have been fostered at an early age to accept their emotions..You cannot get away from them…it is best to learn to live with our feelings in a natural healthy way so we can be all happy and supportive of each other…and not punch each other out and road rage on folks…the problem is, we have unhealthy cultural/social conditioning that tries to mold the way we behave in our roles as feminine and masculine people…we are taught that it is best to act a certain way and then it leads to complete douchery and insensitivity. Magazines, ads, and media are there to reinforce it as well in case you ever forget that there are standards that you will never live up to.

7. Best childhood memory?
Anytime I was allowed to be….running around with other kids just wailing on some kickball or wrecking some water slides…I really really loved it when I could just ride my bike for hours behind my house alone.

8. What does your cosmic mayhem look like?
There is a formless and writhing mass in the center of the universe that is slowly pulling everything towards it…it is all colors shifting and folding unto itself and none you can comprehend…It is hideous, liquid, and horrible. It moves as a fleeting dream never to be waken from…It speaks in your mind with aching whispers and sickening memories that send you into a feverish  illness not unlike dying…There are no rational laws your mind can abide, no emotional parallels your form can distinguish as  a frail mortal body shatters at the absolute inability to understand. This cosmos is not for you and I…we are les than a ripple in the smallest puddle.

9. What does bliss look like for you?
Wrestling with some puppies! Oh…and camping by a river with Kristie and some friends…Go on a hike and take some mushrooms..AND! No deadlines!

10. Favorite thing to eat and drink?

I love vegan Thai food! Indian food! And I started going to this Ethiopian restaurant that rules! Queen of Sheba!!

Check out White Walls for more.

Visceral Visionaries: Krystal Fancey Beck

Our irregular look at artists throughout the universe of horror returns this time around with a gifted illustrator who has truly made the most of her prodigious talents, channeling them into the creation of all manner of chilling chotchkies. Nova Scotia's own Krystal Fancey Beck launched The Zombified in 2006, and uses the website to showcase, promote and merchandise the many kinds of items featuring her unique artwork. These items include anything from T-shirts and posters, to buttons and even comic books.

The Houston transplant was kind enough to speak to The Vault of Horror recently about her many endeavors...

You describe yourself as having been a "serial artist". Explain.
As an artist, I've experimented in a wide variety of artistic mediums--pencil, charcoal, paint (and again, gone through a variety of paint types: acrylic, oil, watercolor, etc.), and of course my main love, ink. Furthermore, I've ventured into photography, website & graphic design, sewing, writing, a bit of sculpture... pretty much everything! Hell, I even dance--though I still haven't got the guts to perform. Basically, if it's creative, I have, or have had, an interest.

What items were the first you created?
For The Zombified? Well, I started working on the Hallowhaus comic before I'd actually planned on doing art as a career, but I think the Halloween scene is the oldest design I have prints of available through The Zombified.

Which are you the most proud of?
I'm proud of myself for not giving up on the comic after a couple of pages! I'm easily distracted, and that thing's a lot of work. That aside, I'm usually most pround of whatever I've most recently completed, though I'm not sure if it's because I'm evolving as an artist, or if it's just because I've had less time to pick out all the flaws.

Why do you feel that drawing in ink is your favorite method?
I'm not sure, I just feel most comfortable with a pen in my hand. I like the contrast, the crispness of the lines. I'm not sure if I like that the permanence of it (you can't exactly erase ink that easily) leaves very little room for mistake or not.

Who are some of your inspirations?
I'm hesitant to use the word 'inspire', but there are artists whose work I adore, and perhaps inspires me to try to become more awesome at 'what it is that I do'. But the inspiration for 'what it is that I do' seems to come from somewhere else. I get most of my ideas when I'm supposed to be asleep, perhaps the secret is in the insomnia. I digress. Artists I admire include Gris Grimly, Chad Savage, Keith Thompson and Ben Templesmith.

How did you get into creating comics? Which artists inspire you as far as that medium?
As a kid I said I wanted to become a comic book artist, even though I didn't really have any ideas for a series or anything. Eventually, I decided that since I'd been saying that for ages, I should probably just go for it. I was never planning on showing it to anyone, it was just to sort of challenge myself and see if I could do it. I wasn't even planning on doing more than one issue.

I'm deeply inspired by anyone else who's doing their own thing, creating their comic from the ground up all by themselves, regardless if the quality or content is actually my 'thing'. As I mentioned, creating a comic is a hell of a lot of work, even if the artwork or story is fairly simple. In terms of my personal favorite comics, I'm particularly in love with Hellboy and, a bit more recently, Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse.

Tell me a little about the genesis of the story for Hallowhaus.
I'm making it up as I go along, honestly. Which is another part of the reason there's a large gap between issues. I have a couple future projects in mind for after I've finished the Hallowhaus series, that might (hopefully) be a bit more planned out, but there's still the chance that I'll just grab a new idea and run with it again.

When and why did you first realize that this was something you could turn into a business?
I was close to finishing the first issue of the comic when I learned of the glories of print-on-demand (yes, I know. But I have complete control of my work and can slack off when I'm not actually feeling inspired). I figured what I'd created wasn't entirely awful, started working on a few separate original designs, and just went for it. It was terrifying, since I had (have) the typical artist modesty (insecurity), but it's also been immensely rewarding.

What are some of the most popular items on your site?
The mirrors seem to be most interesting to people, but it's the prints that sell the best. In terms of my designs, everyone loves the Mummy (which was actually one of the very first designs I did with The Zombified in mind), though at the moment my most 'favorited' one on DeviantArt is one of my newest, 'The Dead Will Dance'.

What does the future hold for The Zombified?
More art, more comics, more awesome conventions like Texas Frightmare Weekend and Comicpalooza. A lot of the more interesting plans are a secret until I actually unveil them.

* * * * * * * * * *
In addition to The Zombified and the aforementioned DeviantArt, Krystal's artwork can be found on MySpace, Flickr and LiveJournal, among other places.