Monsters From The Basement

Audio interview with Nivek Ogre posted!!!

Nivek Ogre started the band Skinny Puppy almost 30 years ago and they are still playing music today.  He has also appeared in the films Repo: A Genetic Opera, 2001 Manics: Field Of Screams and the upcoming The Devil’s Carnival.  He was a member of The Bat Pack that took care of Forest J Ackerman during the final years of his life. Nivek was a guest at the recent Days Of The Dead Convention in Atlanta and I talked with him on Sunday morning.  I wanted this interview to go on for hours because he was so interesting to talk to.  I hope you enjoy this Monsters From The Basement interview with Nivek Ogre!!

Click here to listen to my interview with Nivek Ogre

Update for the Full Moon Tattoo And Horror Fest Nashville Tn.

Nashville Tn, April 6 – 8, 2012

Nashville Convention Center

Presented by Lone Wolf Body Art

Full Moon Tattoo And Horror Convention Webiste

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Days Of The Dead Atlanta – Review and Recap

This past weekend we attended the second Days Of The Dead Convention in Atlanta.  My girlfriend Christi and her two daughters and nephew piled into the car early Friday morning for the drive to Atlanta to take part in this awesome event.

Atlanta is a huge city but thanks to our trusty GPS we got to the hotel with no trouble at all!!

The Wyndham hotel was located in the Peachtree City area of Atlanta and was a very nice hotel with lots of room for the convention.

When we arrived at the hotel we ran into Circus Envy who was with Amelia Kincaid.  She remembered me from an interview we had done in Kentucky in 2011.  We also ran into Nivek Ogre from the band Skinny Puppy and the film Repo.  This gave Christi’s daughter Erin a thrill because she is a huge fan of his.

After checking into the hotel and getting settled down it was time for the convention to start. We went down stairs to pick up our passes and let the fun begin.

We had planned out what stars we wanted to see first and what autographs we wanted to get.

The Walking Dead

I have been lucky enough to interview several of the zombie cast members of The Walking Dead over the past two years and from that we have became friends with a lot of them.  I am always happy to see any of them at a show and they are always very friendly to us.  There were several of them at the Days Of The Dead show.

All of the people that I have met from The Walking Dead have been super nice and I consider each and everyone of them friends.  If you have a chance to meet any of them you will have a wonderful experience.  I always enjoy The Walking Dead TV show.  You can tell from talking to these men and women that a lot of care and love goes into shooting each and every episode that airs.  I have not heard a single negative remark from any of them about their experience on the show.

We spotted zombie Sonya Thompson giving Gary Busey a back rub.

Charles Casey from the Walking Dead was also at the convention.

The Other Celebrities

The main headlining guest for Altanta’s Days Of The Dead was Gary Busey.  He seemed to be in a great mood at the show on Friday night and was cutting up a lot.

One person that I was looking forward to meeting at the show for the first time was Dey Young who co-starred with PJ Soles in “Rock And Roll High School.  She was such and nice lady.  I found out that she is also a sculptor and has a website where you can get her stuff.

Dey Youngs website 

PJ Soles is always a delight as well.  I gave her one of our Monsters From The Basement t-shirts and she wore it on Sunday.

Nick Princlpe who was in the films “Laird To Rest Parts 1 and 2″ was on hand to meet his fans.

 Brian Steele, who was in “Hell Boy Parts 1 and 2″, ‘Predators”, “Underworld” among other films was a crowd favorite.

Another very popular guest was Derek Mears.  Derek has appeared in many movies including the “Friday The 13th” remake, “The Hills Have Eyes” and “Predators” along with Brian Steele.

When I first saw Tyler Mane as Michael Myers in Rob Zombie’s Halloween I wondered just how big this guy really was.  His character was so huge.  After getting to stand next to him I discovered that he didn’t have to wear and thing to make him look bigger in the film.  What you see on the screen is all Tyler!!!

If you know me and my tastes in movies you know that I am a huge fan of “Return Of The Living Dead”.  It is always great to get to see some of the stars of this film.  For the Atlanta show Days Of The Dead had as a returning guest Linnea Quigley.  She is always very nice as well.

Another film that I enjoy that Linnea appeared in was “Night Of The Demons” along with Amelia Kinkade.  As I mentioned before we saw her in the lobby when we first got to the hotel.  She remembered me from our interview in 2010 at the Kentucky Scarefest.

Horror Icon Bill Mosley was also a guest at Days Of The Dead.  He is the complete opposite of Otis, the character he plays in “House Of 1000 Copses” and “The Devil’s Rejects”.  He posed for pictures with our whole group.

 After the weekend was over, I asked Christi who her favorite person she met over the weekend was and she said Nivek Ogre from Skinny Puppy and “Repo”.  He spent a lot of time talking with us and paid special attention to Erin who is a really big fan of his.  We came down to the lobby on Saturday night to find Erin, Diane and Dakota standing in a group with him talking.  I don’t think Erin will ever forget his kindness and attention he gave her.

Another guy that I was really looking forward to meeting for the first time was Laurence Harvey from “The Human Centipede Part 2″.  I thought that Mr Harvey played his character in the film to a tee.  He really gave the movie a creepy feeling.

Some of my favorite movies were well repersented at Days Of The Dead.  Barbra Crampton from “The Reanimator” was on hand as well.  She is still just as pretty as she was in the film.

 I had a “Night Of The Living Dead” poster that was signed by George Romero that I had been wanting to get signed by other people involved with the film.  I got two more signatures on it when John Russo and George Kosana signed it at Days Of The Dead.

Taffe O’Connell was another guest that I was looking forward to meeting for the first time at Days.  She was a very sweet woman.

Sean Whalen from “People Under The Stairs” and Rob Zombie’s “Halloween 2″ was at Days Of The Dead.  We are friends on Face Book and it was nice to meet him in person.

 Dakota enjoyed meeting Alex Vincent from “Child’s Play” and Ari Lehman from the first “Friday The 13th”

One of the top grossing films from 2010 was “Paranormal Activity 3″ and one of the stars of that movie Micha Sloat was another of the guests at Days Of The Dead

Christi and I both got pictures with him

Local Atlanta horror personality Circus Envy was on hand as the events MC.  Christi and I have met him several times and he is a great guy to know.  I interviewed him in Nashville last year and he has to be one of the scariest clowns ever!!!

Along with Circus Envy was Jerry Dewayne Lester.  Jerry dresses up as Vincent Price at conventions

And here he is as Bill from True Blood

One of our favorite guests from the Gatlinburg Horror Weekend was Mark Patton from “Nightmare On Elm St 2″ and “Come Back To The Five And Dime Jimmy Dean….”  He is always a joy to talk with.

Elvira impersonitor Patterson Lundquist from “The Search For The Next Elvira”

As with all conventions it is hard to get around to meet everyone.  Also on hand at Days Of The Dead in Atlanta were Sid Haig, Roddy Piper, Ellisa Dowling, Jeff Burr, Charles Casey, The Haunted Hotties and Chip Coffey.

Monsters Among Us

One of my favorite things to do at any horror convention is to find a nice place to sit in the hotel lobby and just watch the costumes some of the fans come dressed as.  At Days Of The Dead Atlanta they had a room dedicated to the fans who take this to the next level.  These guys work really hard to get their costumes just like they were in the movies.  Monsters Among Us featured The Nightmare Man, Princess Diva Of The Dead, Jeff Wickedbeard and Angela, and Larry Lutze.  These guys and several other take the term “cos-play” very seriously.  Check out some of these awesome costumes.

I have been friends with The Nightmare man for a couple years now.  His main character is Freddy Kruger, but he also dresses as Dexter, Hannibal Lecter.  Him and his fiance Princess Diva Of The Dead show up at most of the shows in the Indy and Ohio area.  Check out some pictures of these two.

I have seen Larry Lutze at several conventions dressed in his Werewolf costume.  He also does a pretty cool Predator as well.

 Jeff Wickedbeard has the look of Jason down pat. Him and his girlfriend Angela really knocked me out with their Monsters Among Us costumes.

The Scream Queen Panel

It is hard at any good size horror convention to squeeze all that you want to do at the show.  One panel that I really enjoyed was the Scream Queen Panel at the first Days Of The Dead last year.  When I saw that they were doing it again in Atlanta I told Christi that we needed to go see it this time.  A full room of fans watched as Barbara Crampton, Amelia Kinkade, PJ Soles, Linnea Quigley and Mark Patton answered questions about their films and careers.

If you attended the panel you know how much fun it was.  I really love hearing the stories that the stars of some of my favorite films have to tell about the making of those movies.

Here is a video of the Scream Queen Panel from the guys at With0ut Your Head Radio.  If you go to the 18 minute mark you can hear PJ Soles talk about me and Christi meeting for the first time in her line at the Gatlinburg Horror Weekend.

The Vendors

When you attend a horror you are offered an excellent oppertunity to see all kinds of different vendors selling everything from action figures to posters to masks and just about everything in between.  Here are some pictures of some of the cool stuff that was for sale at the show.

This was just a small sample of what you could get!!

Interviews

My favorite part about running this website is getting to interview some of the celebrities that are guests at the conventions.  Days Of The Dead offered me another opperunity to do that. Check out who you will be hearing soon here on Monsters From The Basement!!

I also talked with Laurence Harvey and Princess Diva Of The Dead.  Thanks to all the celebrities that took some time out of their Sunday morning to chat with me.

The Fans

Like I mentioned before I love to see the fans show up to conventions in costumes.  It makes for great people watching.  Look at some of the creatures that were roaming the halls until the early morning light all through out the weekend.

A Few Last Words About Days Of The Dead Atlanta

As you can see, Days Of The Dead Atlanta was a huge success.  We had a great time the entire weekend.  I can always measure how much fun I had at a horror convention by how tired I am on Monday.  Well I can honestly say that we were all totally exhusted.  I would like to say a huge thank you to Adolfo Dorta for putting on a first class show and all that he did for us at Monsters From The Basement.  I know that we will be attending more Days Of The Dead shows.  Another thank you goes out to the celebrity guests who talked to us and took time to do interviews for the website.  Thanks to all the fans that attended the show and helped to make it a success!  And last but not least a big thank you to Christi for helping with pictures and helping me keep with everything. You are the best babe!!

It was also great seeing so many of our friends at the show.  Jason and Jennifer, Bill and Barbara, Kevin, Jabb Pictures, Linnea, PJ, Bill, J Larose, Savana and her mom, Melissa, Erin, Ben and Stacey, Rodney, Frank, Jeff and Angela, Chris and Mara and all the other friends of Monsters From The Basement!!!

We really didn’t find out for sure why the fire alarm went off in the hotel at 2am Saturday morning but we could have done without that!!

Hope to see you at the next Days Of The Dead Horror Convention!!!

Review of Thomas Berdinski’s Noirmageddon – A Mark Anvil Thriller

The man who gave us “The Italian Zombie Movie” and “The Giant Rubber Monster Movie” is back with “Noirmageddon – A Mark Anvil Thriller”.

Click here to read my review of this film

Blood On The Beach in Virginia Beach, VA April 20-22, 2012

Another first time convention is taking place in Virginia Beach, VA this April 20 – 22 at the Holiday Inn Virginia Beach.  A very impressive guest line up so far.  Make your plans now to attend this show.  It promises to be an awesome show!!! Check out the guest list below.

 

 

The guys from Muscle Wolf Productions

Click here to go to the Blood On The Beach Website 

Meet Heather Dorff, the Babe From The Basement for March 2012

Heather Dorff is this months Babe From The Basement.  Heather is an actress and model from Chicago.  She has appeared in several film including Mothers Blood and Evil Lies Within.  She was awarded a best actress award by the Chicago Film Fest for her role in the latter.  Head over to her Babe From The Basement page and check out her pictures. You will be glad you did.

Click here to view Heather’s photos! 

Former Monkee Davy Jones Dead Of A Heart Attack!!!

I know this isn’t horror related but I felt the need to post this as The Monkees were one of my all time favorite groups!!

 

(Reuters) – Davy Jones, former lead singer of the 1960s made-for-television pop band The Monkees, died on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack in Florida, according to his longtime publicist. He was 66.

Jones’ death was confirmed by Christine Weekes, administrative manager for the medical examiner’s office in Fort Pierce, Florida, near the Martin Memorial Hospital South where the performer had been taken.

His publicist, Helen Kensick, said Jones died of a heart attack in Indiantown, Florida, but she had no further details.

Jones, born in Manchester, England, became the principal teen idol of the rock quartet featured on the NBC comedy series “The Monkees,” which was inspired in part by the Beatles film “A Hard Day’s Night” and ran for two seasons from the fall of 1966 to August of 1968.

Although not allowed to play their own instruments on their early records, Jones and his three cohorts — Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork — had several hits that sold millions of copies, including “Last Train to Clarksville” and “I’m a Believer.”

Jones got his start as a young actor, at the age of 11, on the British soap opera “Coronation Street” before landing a role as the Artful Dodger in a West End production of “Oliver!” He went on to originate that role for the Broadway production and earned a Tony nomination.

But Jones gained stardom after answering a casting call for a new TV series being created about the zany misadventures of four Beatles-like rock musicians called the Monkees. Two members of the group, Nesmith and Tork, were actual musicians with performing and recording experience, while Jones and Dolenz were primarily actors who more or less dabbled in music.

Although disparaged by critics as the “Pre-Fab Four” for the manufactured way in which the band came together, the group proved to be adept performers who were eventually given control over their own recordings.

The TV series, introduced by its catchy theme, “Hey, Hey, We’re the Monkees,” debuted as an immediate ratings hit weeks after the group’s first single, “Last Train to Clarksville,” had topped the pop charts.

The group collaborated early on with some of the major songwriters and session musicians of the day, including Neil Diamond, Carole King, Glen Campbell and Hal Blaine.

The self-titled first LP topped the album charts that October, and the popularity of the group generated a wave of merchandising, including toys, games and lunchboxes. But their first and only feature film, “Head,” was a box-office flop.

After their fifth album, the group began to splinter, releasing two more albums as a trio without Tork and one last LP as a duo following Nesmith’s exit in 1969.

(Additional reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy and Christine Kearney; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Greg McCune)

Audio interview with Savana Wehunt from The Walking Dead posted

Savana Wehunt is a twenty year old actress from Georgia.  She originally wanted to be a vet but after being in several children’s theater productions she was bit by the acting bug.  This past year she was featured in The Walking Dead web series and TV series as well.  As a walker she appeared in two of this seasons most talked about episodes….the attack on Otis at the high school and appearance of Sophie before she was shot.  I ran into Savana at Con Nooga a couple of weeks ago and asked if I could interview her for Monsters From The Basement.  She is bound to go far in the acting world. Listen as I chat with Savana Wehunt!!

Click here to listen to my interview with Savana Wehunt 

Check out my interviews with Robert Logue and Bob Slendorn from Logue’s Black Raven Emporium & Cult Fiction Underground in Nashville, Tn

I met Robert Logue and Robert Slendorn by attending some of the major horror conventions in the Tennessee and Kentucky area.  In December of 2011 Robert Logue opened up Logue’s Black Raven Emporium in East Nashville, a store that carries vintage clothing, horror t shirts, books on just about every subject you can think of, DVDs and a wide variety of horror merchandise.  One cool thing about the store is that in March they are going to open up the downstairs area which has been transfered into Cult Fiction Underground, a small movie theater that will show rare horror and exploitation films.  I went to Nashville last week and talked to Robert and Bob about what is going to be going on at the store when everything gets into full swing.  I am looking forward to seeing some cool films there.  If you live in the Nashville area or if you are planning a trip to Nashville be sure to check out the store at the corner of Trinity Lane and Gallatin Road in East Nashville.  I hope you enjoy my interviews with Robert and Bob.

Click here to listen to my interviews with Robert & Bob 

Here are a few pictures of what Robert and Bob have to offer at Logue’s Black Raven Emporium and Cult Fiction Underground!!

 

Pictures From The Cult Fiction Underground

The bar area

 

I am jealous of this poster!!!

 Be sure to check out Logue’s Raven Emporium and The Cult Fiction Underground in East Nashville at the corner of Trinity Lane and Gallatin Road!!!

Check out my audio interviews with Madison Lintz and Rodney Hall from The Walking Dead

Madison Lintz and Rodney Hall were guests at the Murfreesboro Anime And Comic Show several weeks ago.  I was lucky enough to get to sit down and talk with both of them about the show and what they have planned for the future.  Check out these two great interviews.

Click here to listen to Madison’s interview

Click here to listen to Rodney’s interview