Rob Zombie in Concert

I traveled with my 12 yr old son Luke last night to Louisville and saw Rob Zombie in concert. Man, what a FANTASTIC show - easily one of the top ten shows I've ever seen (and I've seen a LOT of concerts in my time, believe me)!

Before the show there was a soundtrack of horror music and clips from Universal horror films - definitely set the mood.

There were two bands opening - Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures and the Necromantics. Captain Clegg were featured in the Rob Zombie film Halloween 2 (which I still haven't seen yet - I need to watch that soon) and they were terrific. They have a steel guitar player in the band and a cool country vibe with a rockabilly sensibility to them. Their singer has a great voice and is very charismatic. They definitely wave that horror flag high and I love their costumes - kind of a groovy undertaker look. Good stuff, and a great live show. You should catch them if you get a chance. 

AND they even came out to the merchandise table afterwards and met their fans, signing autographs and cds and shaking lots and lots of hands. I saw this fat toothless woman come up and have them sign her belly - talk about a horror show - hahaha!

Necromantics were next and they were really good, too. They brought their Psychobilly horror set to the crowd there and really rocked the place. They're playing in Nashville in a week along with Blitzkid and Hillbilly Casino (a KICK-ASS Nashville-based band) and I am planning on catching them again there. They're a 3-piece band with a female drummer - she rocks! 

 Rob Zombie finally hit the stage and man, it was amazing. An absolute barrage of light, video, and sound that was almost overwhelming. Rob had a giant screen behind the stage that played clips from horror movies, animation and more throughout the entire show. There were two more led screens onstage that played different video clips and animation, again from horror movies. I saw everything from Universal monsters to Nosferatu, Witchcraft Through the Ages to El Superbeasto. Amazing. Rob is a real monster kid, let me tell ya.

 The music was so tight it was ridiculuous and the band sounded great. Rob was in top form, dancing and running around stage. He even came out into the audience with a giant flashlight he shined in the crowd, and he stopped and stood on the seats right in front of me and gave me a high five, nodded at my son and headed on around the stadium, working the crowd while his guitarist absolutely shredded the guitar with a smoking solo.

 It was, again, a great show. Rob is touring in support of an upcoming cd, "Hellbilly Deluxe 2" that is coming out in Feburary. If he tours again, make plans NOW to go see him. You won't regreat it!

Dr. Gangrene Interview with Forrey Ackerman - Rivercon 2000

The recent passing of sci-fi icon Forrey Ackerman got me thinking about the time I met him. It was at Rivercon, in Louisville, KY back in 2000. This was actually the final Rivercon convention, and Forrey was the guest of honor. I had always wanted to meet Forrey, so I wrote him ahead of time and introduced myself, and asked if he'd mind spending some time with me doing an interview. He agreed, and Saturday morning at the show my wife and I met Forrey in the lobby and we had breakfast together at the hotel restaurant.

Before I go any further I have to mention that I had only been doing my show for a couple of years at this point, and was still pretty green around the gills. I got so excited about the interview and meeting Forrey that I actually drove all the way to Louisville before I discovered that I had left my camera at home! I was sick to my stomach - the main reason I decided to come to this show was to meet Forrey, and I really, really wanted to get an interview with him.

Well, I asked around Friday evening at the show and managed to find someone who graciously loaned me the use of his camera. So after we ate breakfast I found a quiet room in the hotel and the four of us, (Forrey, myself, my wife and the cameraman), all stepped inside to do the interview.
The cameraman (whose name I don't remember - but if you happen to read this blog please write me and remind me your name - I am very grateful) had a tripod as well as a camera, which was a good thing, since as soon as Forrey started talking he sat enthralled and didn't work the camera one bit - not a single zoom in the shoot, cut, camera movement, nothing. But you know what? I didn't care, I was just glad to get the interview.

It is amazing how much healthier he looked a mere 8 years ago. He really went downhill fast once he got sick. At 84 he was still spry enough to flirt with my wife and speak Esperanto to her when I left the table to head back to the breakfast bar. Forrey did two interviews with me that morning, and I just sort of let him talk and tell some of his favorite stories. He was still full of puns and Forrey-isms, and you just get the feeling that some of these stories were ones he had told a thousand times before.

But I thought you guys might like to hear them once more time, so I dug out this interview and posted it on youtube. Here it is below ...

New article in Mondo Cult Magazine

Just got the word from Mondo Cult Magazine editor Jessie Lilley that the latest issue of her magazine is on the stands and features an article with your gruely! It is mainly about the Wonderfest live show we hosted last year featuring the film "The Tingler," but features a little behind the scenes info on the Doc as well. The article turned out terror-ific and I want to encourage all of you to go pick up a copy of Mondo Cult at a bookstore near you - for a list of stores that carry it in your area go to http://www.mondocult.com/ - for those in the Nashville area I'll save you some time - it is carried at Books-a-Million!

Huge thanks to everyone who helped pull off a successful show in Louisville last year - Nurse Moan-eek, Bob Burns, John Goodwin, Frank Dietz, The Exotic Ones, J. Sorrels, Eathen Allen, Genny Shannon, and all the Wonderfest Crew (and anyone else I may have forgotten in a mad scientific haze). Here's looking forward to another great show in 2008!