Cemetery Man

Film Review:Cemetery Man

One of my favorites of favorites of zombie films. Cemetery Man can hold it's own in this category. It's an Italian horror film from the early 90s. Saw this film when it hit the local student cinema and was blown away about how dark and funny it was. Francesco Dellamorteis the main character is a lonely graves keeper that runs a cemetery in a very small village/town with the help of his assistant Gnaghi. It's very Italy. Spends his time crossing off the deceased in the phone book and trying to assemble a human skull puzzle in his free time. At night mostly on the 7th day he spends knocking out "returners" as part of his duty before they over run the town. Of course no one believes him. Finds himself having the most amazing love ever on top of a grave with a widow to find this character recurring through out the film. Eventually he has a brilliant idea on how to finish off the "returners" not the best ideas. Gnaghi is an amazing part of the film, glad this character was in it. The camera work in the film is great with it's old vintage look. I found the soundtrack to be memorable also fitting. Kinda like Grounds Hog Day meets George Romero in Italy. It's a roller coaster of Film I must say. Also Martin Scorsese called Cemetery Man (Dellamorte Dellamore) one of the best Italian films of the 1990s.

Film Review Nadja

Review:Nadja

Hal Hartley meets David Lynch in this stylish vampire film. The film is from the mid 90s and shot in black & white. Saw this in the cinema when it first came out and was one of the first films that got me into the art house/indie films over the blockbuster types. The sound track is notable for having Portishead, My Bloody Valentine and more which gives it that creepy yet dream like feel. Peter Fonda and Martin Donovan star in the film. Nadja is such an overlooked vampire film and should be watched for style not for action. It's in the vain of The Hunger starring David Bowie for vampire flicks in an Art House sense. A very wintery film. I just wrote wintery.

Film Review Dead Man

Review:Dead Man

Dead Man is considered the ultimate post modern western by some. Some consider it just weird and others say it's simply art. Directed by Jim Jarmusch in the Acid Western style. This film has an all star cast including Robert Mitchell for his final role in a film, Johnny Depp, Gibby Haines, Iggy Pop, Crispen Glover and the list just keeps going on and on. An amazing score by Neil Young to give the added quirk and mystery. The cinematography is so clean and well done. Gives you the feel of a time warp back to the old west in California. The film is about a young man named William Blake making his way for a position as a clerk in some busted town. A simply nice person that starts running into odd situations from the beginning and finds himself on the run. The poet William Blake is made reference through out the film. This not just another art house film, the film has style and something to watch on one of those rainy days to have deep thoughts of something. I highly recommend this film for the movie goer and simply for the casting.

Introducing Rapid Ric

Introducing:Rapid Ric

Met Rapid Ric through the years and have nothing but repect for what he does. He's all over the place and putting things on the map for sure. He's currently touring with Chamillionaire as his DJ. He's been putting out these amazing mixtapes for a while. We decided to check up and see how he puts his magic to his tapes.

When did you start to work on your first mixtape and what's the
history behind it?

In High school around 10 years ago, i did a bunch of mixes at home or
at clubs that we use to spin at in Mexico... We didn't have a radio
station in my hometown that would play anything besides regional
spanish or country.. Kids at school just wanted club, street, or any
music that our parents didn't listen to.

How many mixtapes have you made since then?

If u include all the Hip-Hop series or the Whut It Dew series, the Chalie Boy's, and all
the personalized ones i did for other artists, i'd say its around 150
or so...

Which are your favorite mixes that you've compiled?

I like mixes that showcase talent from my state... so i'd say all the
Whut IT Dews, the ones i did for Z-ro, and the Chalie Boy Versatyle
Childs....

Who are some people that you collaborated with in the past?

Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Bun B, Z-ro, and of course Chalie Boy....
people outta Texas, Killer Mike, Mistah Fab, BOB, Huricaine Chris..

Do you see working with any of the past people in future projects?

absolutely, i think that if people have heard of me, they've heard of
the tapes i did in the past... so i almost have to stay involved in
the same circles of artists and friends..

Just want to say I was very impressed with your King of Trill tape!

How long did it take to create that mix?

Took me a couple of weeks... at that time, there wasn't a full conversion of vinyl to mp3 yet, so i
was still finding alot of Bun B verses and UGK features on vinyl. So
i was completing the tape piece by piece every time i found a new
song..

How do you begin working on a concept with your mixtapes?

I try to fill a musical void that i think i can do a good job at... I
just always Liked Texas stuff and so the void was easy for me to do...
Normally i wait till there's a good amount of songs that make up the
bulk of the tape, then i add to it...

Any programs that you prefer to use?

Back in the day i use to use a tascam, then a sony muli-track- then
after that, I used cool edit pro which is now Adobe Audition..... Now
i do all my mixtape work, production, mixing, and engineering on Logic
9, which i highly recommend...

What do you reccommend for people starting to make a mix?

2 things- Make sure you have continuity throughout the whole tape, and
make sure the 1st 15 minutes of your tape is bangin...

Any thoughts on where to promote their mixtapes at?

Nowadays, blogs, friends, facebook, twitter, all these resources that
mom and pop shops in the 90's and early 2000's couldn't deliver.....

What future projects do you have coming up?

I have a mixtape coming that isn't fully titled yet that I'm doing
with Skratch Bastid from Canada... he collected all the original
samples from past UGK and Pimp C songs and we are compiling them in
this crazy multi-genre mix... should be fun... I also did another Z-ro
mixtape for Rap-A-Lot, and of course there's another Chalie Boy
Versatyle Child coming before his album, as well as Whut It Dew 6,
before the Whut It Dew album drops..

What is your favorite film monster?

Did really ask for my favorite film MONSTER??? hmmm, i'd say it's got to be the trolls from Willow, remember those dudes??

Yes I did!

Introducing Blu Jemz

Introducing:Blu Jemz

Heard about Blu Jemz a while ago from friends and have been curious for some time. Did some researching about him, noticed this guy knows his music and been doing what he does for a minute. I give props on his work ethic to keep things innovative and enjoyable. Blu Jemz took some time with us have a sit down via the intrawebs to discuss what he is up to these days. He is currently on tour and just came back from Russia. He'll be playing on 8 October for his Beat Machine tour at the Beauty Bar in Austin Tejas among other spots.


What are you doing right now besides typing and reading?

Sitting in the airport listening to people bash Obama behind me and Gadhafi really lay into the general assembly in front of me on CNN. I forgot my headphones and it's really killing me, i never listened to people at the airport before, what assholes. I would buy some over priced headphones from one of those Sony vending machines right now if I could.

Do you currently have any nights in New York right now and what would some expect to hear when walking in?

Right now I'm only doing one monthly part on a consistent basis. Its called Boys On Film and I do it with my friend Lloyd-Ski. We only play 12"s that were made in the 80s, whether it's new wave, rap, house, pop, whatever you have to have the 12" to play it. Before Serato we had all beome these 12" fiends, like all we wanted was to have the original 12" of the song, cause the mix is usually cooler (not always) and the sound quality is a lot better than LPs.

I read that you have a little bit of a hip hop back round somewhere, what have you done in the past and any plans to move forward with any of it?

Yeah I used to be in a group called SBL. Looking back it was some backpack shit, but at the time I never saw it like that. When we finally got the chance to put out records (2000) rap music had become sucky. Like either you could be a "jiggy" raper who talks about nothing or a "backpacker" who talked about how wack jiggy rappers were. All people cared about was battling or $, cash, hoes. We were weirdo's and our music was always kind of cerebral an there just wasnt any room for that any more so we stopped.

Who are the Hardy Boyz and what future plans do you have with them?

Hardy Boyz started as just me and my two friends going home after a party and making a song. We never thought of it as anything more than that. But than of all the music we played for people those were the songs people were reacting to the most. Than turntable lab wanted to put out some Hardy Boyz so here we are working on an album. I would call it New Wave Italo rap.

What production work are you focusing on right now, any plans for some remixes?

I just did a remix for my boy Amp Live's new song which i'm pretty happy with. I do have other shit i'm working on but remixes take me forever so who knows if they will ever get finished

How was Russia?

Moscow was crazy it's like the richest city in Europe or something. I ended up having breakfast in my hotel the first morning only to figure out later that it cost me $40. It was worth it tho because they had caviar and a harp player. In general Moscow was crazy (clubs stay open till 6am) tho and NOT dangerous at all as most think.

What’s the most cinematic party you’ve played at?

I guess when I used to DJ at this really "hip" club in LA called Teddys. Every actor in LA would come thru, but what made it cinematic was just everyone was dressed so slick. Like if you were to watch an upscale party scene in a movie. It was unreal.

Notice that you are going on Tour for the Beat Machine Tour soon in the states. What are the tour stops, who is on it and what’s the concept behind it?

Well I put together this compilation for Scion of different producers who's beats i always was a fan of. Two of the guys on the comp are my good friends (ge-ology and Waajeed) and to me they're a little slept on for there production. So I got a little sponsorship and decided to take them on tour with me. Basically its gonna be like dance parties that are grounded in the beats and electronic sound. Both of them are some of my favorite DJ's and know how to turn dance floors out.

In your free time from music land what do you enjoy partaking in?

Tennis although I haven't played in a while. I like to pretend like one day my friends and I will make a movie so we talk about that all the time.

What are some movies that you are enjoying from now and the past?

I just saw La Dolce Vita recently and that put me into a Fellini phase, that film is just so cool like you don't even have to put quotation marks around the word "cool." I also really like District 9. I thought any movie that puts aliens in Africa can't lose.

Who or what is your favorite monster?

I wanna say Animal from the Muppets, but that doesn't seem right.

Thoughts on Film: Cliches Part 2

Part Two of my look at Film Cliches



for more videos go to www.ericpowerup.com

Django

Film Review:Django

A 1966 spaghetti western being one of the most violent films of that time. Django is a simple man, living life as a gun runner while dragging his burdens everywhere he goes in a coffin that conceals a machine gun. He rescues a lovely lady named Maria during the beginning sequence also kills over 70 people in the film. He finds vengeance for the murder of his wife and will forever be alone. The soundtrack is amazing and gives the film much power in a vengeful manner. Wish more current soundtracks were more up to par from that time. The film earned a reputation of being one of the most violent films ever made up to that point. One of my favorite westerns that I found inspiring.

Inglorious Basterds

Film Review:Inglorious Basterds

This is my favorite film from 2009 and made my top 20 favorite films. So amazing I saw it in the theaters 2 times and might see it again. The film takes place in Nazi occupied France with a band of American Jewish soldiers led by Lt. Aldo on a hunt for Nazis. Another important character in the film is Shosanna Dreyfus played by the lovely Melanie Laurent. Christopher Waltz plays the Jew Hunter Nazi and should receive much applause at the film festivals.The film is told in stories from the beginning to the end with much violence and twists of dark humor that flood the film. Vengeance is the theme and it's known through out the film. It was very well written and the characters are on point. Very impressed with Quentin for finally making a good movie. Honestly I just want to tell to go see this, I really don't want to give out too much info about the film.

District 9

Film Review:District 9

"We just want to go home."

Where to begin with District 9. Just been in anticipation seeing this film since the previews a while ago. The setting is in South Africa near Johannesburg in the current. Basically some Aliens ran out of gas, took a pit stop in South Africa and are trying to get back home while going through some hardships. The special effects are stunning throughout the film. The is a strong racist undertone in the film with the humans view of the aliens. Segregation of them into these favela style housing then attempts to relocate them farther away from human contact in some white garbage bag made tent compound. Another observation is when the Warlords consume the aliens for meals so they can gain their special powers in their eyes. This is true right now in Africa with Albinos being dragged out of their huts to find themselves being grounded to dust also eaten alive by witch doctors. That's something that's really frightening. I even cried during the film at points. I support the aliens trying to go home. On a lighter note there are plenty of times that made me laugh in a quirky sort of way. The film did go a little too fast for character development and could have had a better ending but I see this possibly turning into a sequel in a good way. Overall I liked the movie very much and plan to add this to my home collection.

The Unborn

Review:The Unborn

I went into watching this film with a more negative idea of another demon baby flick. Actually I was proven wrong. The film deals with Jewish mythology of an evil lost soul trying to regain entrance to the relm of the living. It's has a Hitchock type feel to it with the built up suspense. The cinematography was on point and gave the film its feel of a cold blooded horror movie. Odette Yustman plays Casey whom is being tormented by odd dreams with Gary Oldman playing Rabbi Sendak. Odette Yustmans has a very promising future after this role and Cloverfield or I just simply have a crush on her at the moment. Sorry I can't lie. I was spell bounded by The Unborn. There is no happy ending in this film sorry to burst your balloon.

Introducing: Dylan Roadie

Introducing:Dylan Roadie Interview

Had the pleasure to have quick sit down with Dylan Roadie. Dylan is always on the move on something big.

Tell us a little about yourself and how did you get your start in the business.

Shortly after my first high school band, PUD, started up. I started putting on shows. By the end of high school i was putting out records, driving bands around the NW and playing in several bands a year, when I had the time.

In my early 20s i was working at Sub Pop records and one of their bands, The Black Halos, needed a roadie. I gave Sub Pop a two day notice, called my brother Gabe in to take over my job, and headed out on the road. That was 1999... Haven't really looked back.

What are some your more enjoyable tours that you have been on?

I really loved touring Australia on the Big Day Out tour with Peaches. I was working for Samantha Maloney, who was playing drums for Peaches. We hung out with Tool and Crystal Method, a lot. 11 shows in three weeks... it ruled. After the last show of the tour, Tool hosted a Super Bowl party at the hotel. It was great.

Most interesting situations you’ve been in within the past year?

I have had several interesting situations this year. Two that stick out: 1) Going golfing in Austin with Spyder (Pat Benatars husband and Guitar player). That was a great day. I played like crap and enjoyed every minute of it.

2) My older brother's wedding this past September. I went up a few days before and helped work on his house. The wedding was in the back yard. Family and Home are super important, especially when you tour a lot. My brother has been on the road for a few years more then I. So it was cool to see him get something so important.

What’s playing in your I-pod these days?

Sleepercar, Jim Ward's (Sparta/ATDI) new band. Its a great record of Texas rock.

Mariachi El Bronx. This is my favorite record of this year. I have listened to it every morning since July 16th.

Book of Black Earth has been blasting my iPod when i get ready to go out at night. They are my dudes from Seattle. They play brutal Black Metal. It is completely unforgiving and raw. Every record is a winner.

You have a little crush on Tejano trumpets I hear, how long has this been going on?

Yeah, I have always liked latin music. Especially, the boarder music and just about any polka from mexico. So when i moved to LA two years ago i started listening to all the great Spanish language stations. And then my best friend Zane told me our friend Jorma's band, The Bronx, were doing a Mariachi record. I was so stoked when Jorma gave me an advance copy. That shit has hardly left my ears this year. I can't say enough about this record. it was exicuted so well. go get it!

What are some of your current projects that you have on your plate?

Well besides my regular gigs with The Donnas and The Chelsea Girls, I am working on launching a new lifestyle/art brand. It is called AVKult. It is based on the idea of pushing visual artists in the way that bands are. With t-shirts, blog reviews and live interactive shows. The first part is to launch the fashion line with a series of t-shirts designed by three artists, myself; Nicole Forte; and Stan Doll IV.

Tell us about the clothing line that you have coming out?

Like I said, i have a few artists that I am working with. The first series is based on touring. The planned soft launch of the shirts, will be this winter. Hopefully the shirts will start hitting the boutiques Spring 2010.

What is your favorite film monster?

I don't know... I guess Joker. Both Jack Nicholson's and Heath Ledger's. Both were appropriately creepy, vulgar and charming. Scary shit.

Introducing: The Hex Dispensers

Introducing:Alex Cuervo of the Hex Dispensers

I remember listening to them practicing from my porch and been on a mission to find out who is this band that simply rocks out. I heard some of the songs in a friends car and found out who the Hex Dispensers were. An amazing band that plays amazing shows. One of my favorite bands currently and had the pleasure to share a few words with Alex from the band. They have a new album out called Winchester Mystery House.

How long has the Hex Dispensers been together and who are the members?

We had our first rehearsal on 06.06.06 (true!). The original lineup was Alyse (drums), Tom (guitar) and myself (guitar and vocals). Dave joined on bass about a year later.

Was the Europe Tour enjoyable and any thoughts about future touring? Where did the Hex Dispensers travel to?

Europe was fantastic! We were there for a month and played about 27 different cities in Germany (mostly), the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, and Denmark. Dave and Tom had been to Europe before, but Alyse and I had never been. It's a really cool and different way to travel - you see parts of it that tourists don't - which is pretty great. It would have been nice to see a little more touristy stuff like the Colosseum in Rome, but there's just no time. We did make it to the Tower of Pisa, the Vespa Museum, the Eiffel Tower, the Catacombs of Paris (whoa!), and the H.R. Giger Museum in Switzerland though. Plus the food was generally awesome so was the beer! We're hoping to go back again in the spring of 2010.

I really enjoy the cover art for your albums, has a cool theme, who does it?

Thanks! I did both LP covers, but Dave does a bunch of the designing too (he helped me nail down the composition on the Winchester cover). We're both artsy fartsy types.

How long did it take to finish Winchester Mystery House?

Well we recorded it all in a weekend at our friend Mark's house in Ft. Worth.

Did you have a concept behind the album from the get go or it just came together as songs came?

The album was named after we'd recorded everything. We'd made numerous unsuccessful attempts to write a song about Winchester Mystery House, so in the end we just used it as the album title. None of the songs on the album are actually about the house.

Which songs are you the most enjoyable to play from the past two albums?

The ones that are easiest to play are the most fun live. We're kind of burned out on a lot of the first record because we've been playing those songs for over 3 years now. We still like them, but it's nice to have a slightly bigger batch of songs to pick and choose from.

I noticed the Devo cover on the album, any other bands from back in the day that you find amazing or an influence?

We only listen to Devo, the Wipers, the Ramones and the Misfits. Occasionally the Marked Men and the Oblivians. I'm joking - there really are too many to mention.

What are some current local & non bands that you find enjoyable?

Locally, I'm enjoying the Young, Bottle Service, and the Cassingles a lot. Harlem and Woven Bones are good too. There's a lot of good bands in Austin - those are just the first ones that come to mind. As far as non-local goes, I've been listening to a lot of Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Davilla 666, Explosions in the Sky, and the Horrors (UK) lately.

How is it working with Alien Snatch records?

It's been great!

What are some of your favorite film and do you find them as an influence on your music with the Hex Dispensers?

The list is incredibly long. Off the top of my head I'd say the Shining, Delicatessen, the Nightmare Before Christmas, Fireworks (Hana-Bi), The Big Lebowski, Spider Baby, Blue Velvet, Frankenstein (the original), The City of Lost Children, Rushmore, Oldboy, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Kung Fu Hustle, Evil Dead 2, Let the Right One In. This summer, I really enjoyed District 9, Inglourious Basterds, and Drag Me To Hell. And yeah - a lot of the subject matter I write about is heavily influenced by science fiction, horror and fantasy stuff. I'm a perpetual 12 year old.

What’s your favorite film monster?

Boris Karloff as Frankenstein - without a doubt.

Thoughts on Film: Cliches

A look at film cliches!