Zombie Live!

So this past Friday night (May 11, 2012) I got the chance to see Rob Zombie at PNC Bank Arts Center. To say he put on a great show would be an understatement! This is second time I saw Zombie live and he did not disappoint! Lacuna Coil was there to open and Megedeth was also on the bill. A good night was had…

Lacuna Coil – Somehow I didn’t know they were opening so this was a pleasant surprise! I’m a fan but not too familiar with their entire discography. It was cool seeing them live and they’re full of great energy. The highlight of their performance was seeing Cristina Scabbia come off the stage and sit in a seat with the audience while performing a song. Very cool!

Megadeth – I’ll be honest, I’m not much of a fan. I was there to see Zombie but I still thought it would be cool to see Dave Mustaine live. The show was pretty straightforward. No crazy theatrics like Zombie, just the band, basic lighting and some high energy music. If you watch this band live you could easily mistake the moment for the 80′s. It’s like nothing has changed. I guess that’s a good thing if you’re a fan. I enjoyed the show and give credit to Mustaine for sticking to what he does best…

Rob Zombie – I waited all night and when he finally came on it was breathtaking! The show was at 110% from the moment they started to the very last song. They played all of the hits – Living Dead Girl, More Human Than Human, Scum of the Earth, Dragula, and Thunder Kiss ’65 just to name a few! Each song featured several big screen monitors playing the usual Zombie-esque videos, lots of pyrotechnics, and over-sized monsters running around the stage.

The seats we had were 11 rows from the stage. There’s no pit are at PNC so that’s pretty damn close! You could smell the pyro and feel the heat from some of the flames. The show is mesmerizing and you cant look away. The band is bursting with energy and Rob was eager to get the crowd involved. I actually don’t think he was happy with the response from the crowd when he tried to get everyone pumped up. But that didn’t stop him from giving it his all.

Another treat was seeing the premiere of the trailer for Zombie’s new film The Lords of Salem [Watch the trailer now (and see the live performance of Dragula from the following night!)] In addition to the music, I’m a big fan of his movies. I refer to his movies and gritty style for inspiration in much of my haunt work. This new movie looks like it’ll be another in my DVD collection soon!

If you ever have the chance to see Zombie live I highly suggest you go. It’s a concert experience unlike anything else I’ve seen! Great show Rob! I can’t wait for the next one!

Rob Zombie at PNC

Photos of Lacuna Coil, Megadeth, and Rob Zombie!!!

35 Photos

Here’s a quick rundown of highlights! Corresponding photos for each item are in the photo gallery at the bottom of this post.

• Opening Ceremony: Co-owner Michael Bruner got married moments before they opened the doors. There’s nothing like zombies at your wedding
• Classes: I had the privilege of participating in Allen Hopps’ class “Turning Your Actors Into A Team.” Allen who runs Stiltbeast Studios has been an inspiration of mine for a while now and I use many of his techniques in my haunt work. I was admittedly a bit of a gushing fan but he was still nice enough to take a photo with me. So cool! [Visit Stiltbeast Studios]
• Haunted Handyman: This is the type of merchandise I wish they had more of. Pete makes all of this stuff on his own and they’re all unique air powered props. I know his items went over well in 2011 and it was good to see him return in 2012. [Visit Haunted Handyman]
• Creepy Collection: These guys are known for their gory clowns and zombies and this year they did not disappoint! Unfortunately the air system was down so I couldn’t take a video of their animatronics but they still looked great without even being turned on! [Visit Creepy Collection Props]
• Indoor Haunts: The Psycho Trail setup two mini haunts on the showroom floor. The first was “The Infected” which is a zombie themed wasteland. The layout was something new to me and it definitely inspired me to make some changes to my haunt this year! The second haunt was “Big Top Mayhem” which is a 3D Clown maze. I didn’t get to experience this one with live actors but I could appreciate the potential!
• Specter Studios: This was one of my favorite booth from the show. I formed a great relationship with the owner Mark back in 2011 at this same show. I ended up using his zombie and clown costumes in my 2011 haunt and they were big hits! Although I wasn’t at the show for long, I’m happy I got to meet with him face to face again. I’m definitely looking forward to working more with the Specter Studios team in the future! [Visit Specter Studios]
• All Scare: I first met the team from All Scare at the 2011 show and I was happy to see them return. The booth was larger this time and they had even more animatronics. I love the concept of the universal frame. [Visit All Scare]
• ScAir Structures: I’ve heard so much about ScAir Structures but I had never had the chance to see one in person – until now! The material was a lot stronger than I expected and I could see actually using this in the future. I wish they had posted a rep from the company so I could ask questions and get to know them. It was basically just an empty setup that you could walk through and examine… [Visit ScAir Structures]

Here are the photos from the show. Enjoy!

National Haunters Convention 2012

Take a look at a few of the shots I took while browsing the showroom floor!
19 Photos

Oblivion FX's Part 6 Glove

It wasn’t too long ago that I was sitting back and enjoying the latest A Nightmare On Elm Street  documentary, appropriately titled Never Sleep Again. Mixed in with all of the great interviews and behind the scenes is a short 18 minute featurette called “For The Love Of The Glove.” It briefly covers the history of Freddy’s infamous glove and then touches on the people building replica gloves. I sat back in complete awe of how many people are out there completely in love with, well, the glove!

It was at this point that I broke out my collection of gloves and admired them for the amazing pieces of art work they are. The DVD featurette was great but there was just one little problem… it left me wanting more. Much more. So I made the decision to take it upon myself and create a website that will unofficially continue the featurette.

Fast forward a few weeks and I’m writing website code while surrounded by gloves from various builders. The glove building community really took to my idea and I really appreciate their support. I also received a large collection of gloves from a buddy of mine and I’ll be featuring them all on the site. The intention is to make this a one-stop spot for everything you could ever want to know about the glove. Part of the site will include a listing of all known builders and information on how you can order yourself a replica glove. I have other exclusives I cant mention just yet, but it’s going to be a glove enthusiast dream come true – pun definitely intended!

I realize this post would have been more appropriate if the website was done and ready, but I felt like posting it now. So here we are! The site has a small teaser animation and is worth checking out (I would like to think so since I created it!) It’ll be fully functional soon and I’ll be posting here so you won’t miss out! Sleep tight kiddies…

For The Love Of The Glove
http://www.fortheloveoftheglove.com

I also highly recommend the Never Sleep Again documentary I mentioned earlier. It’s a must-have DVD for any Nightmare fan.

Never Sleep Again
http://www.elmstreetlegacy.com

Some movies I’ll admit can benefit from a good remake, but Evil Dead is not one of them. I’m really curious to see how they capture the low budget and cheesy (but awesome) style of the original. Don’t even get me started on finding someone to fill Bruce Campbell’s shoes. That’s almost as bad as replacing Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger – oh wait, they already did that!

Let’s hope this idea gets canned…

For years I’ve been searching for a product that would help me decrease the size of my DVD collection without sacrificing any of the packaging materials. I found several products but there was always a major downside that deterred me from using them. Eventually I stumbled on the DiscSox sleeves distributed by MM Design. I was pretty sure they were too good to be true. I reached out to them and they kindly sent me a sample. Within seconds of inspecting the sleeve I was sold! I placed a large order and converted my entire collection. They offer a similar sleeve for CDs as well and I’ll be converting those next…

Here you’ll find a few photos that document the process of transferring from a standard case to a DiscSox sleeve. After the photos is a short video where I demonstrate the same process for a Standard DVD, a Warner Bros cardboard DVD, and a 2 disc DVD.

01. Standard case next to the DiscSox sleeve

02. Opening the Standard case and DiscSox sleeve

03. Flip the Standard case over

04. Remove the cover from the Standard case

05. Insert cover in DiscSox sleeve

06. Flip over the DiscSox sleeve

07. Transfer any inserts from the Standard case to the DiscSox sleeve

08. Transfer the DVD from the Standard case to the DiscSox sleeve

09. Completed transfer from the Standard case to the DiscSox sleeve

Video of the transfer process

If you’re interested in buying this product you find them on the official site: www.mmdesign.com/

The sleeves in my video are the “DiscSox® DVD Pro Sleeves”

IMPORTANT NOTES:
- I made this review and video because I love this product.
- I do not work for MM Design.
- I was not asked or paid to do this by MM Design.
- I am not an affiliate and will not profit from this in any way.

I simply wanted to share the usage instructions with anyone that may be debating whether or not this is the product they need. When I first saw these sleeves, I wasn’t sure if it was the exact solution I had been looking for. The pictures on their site are great, but I think this video helps to really showcase the product.

2008 Haunt - Torture Room

In 2008 I did something big… I setup a haunted house… A big haunted house… A 2,000 square foot haunted house to be exact… And it was good… Real good…

Of all my past productions, it’s the one that gets the most questions and comments. It’s the most photographed and documented project to date. People are impressed when I tell them I planned, designed, setup and executed everything for this haunt on my own – all after my 9-5 job. Don’t even get me started on the process of taking it all down!

I have and will continue to talk a lot about this haunt and the good times I had managing it. The countless guests that were frightened to enter are a testament to the hard work that went into it.

So in the spirit of the upcoming Halloween season, I bring you a list of stats for the project. I’ve had these stashed away since wrapping up production and I think it’s about time they see the light of day. Some item are funny, some are serious, but all are true…

2008 Haunted House Stats

• Number of hooks used: Dozens
• Number of pins used: Hundreds
• Number of staples used: Thousands
• Feet of blackout craft paper: Maybe I should count the paper cuts instead…
• Number of black shower curtains from the dollar store: They know me by name…
• Cost of creating this haunt: Hahahahahaha
• Number of times I electrocuted myself: Twice (yes, really)
• Number of times I fell off a ladder: Three… but no broken bones
• Number of times I worked so late I started seeing things: Twice
• Number of times I accidentally killed the lights and got freaked out and ran to safety in the nearby kitchen: Twice
• Number of times I stapled myself: Three (It hurts worse than being electrocuted)
• Number of hours I slept before opening day: One (5-6am.) I was up until 5am doing finishing touches
• Number of live actors: It varied each showing but roughly seven
• Number of children that cried: Zero. (Unlike 2007′s haunt, I didn’t allow children this year)

And that’s the 2008 Haunted House Stats List. I can only imagine what this year will bring…

Stay tuned everyone…

I’m assuming this all stems from a single image I used from the movie Zombie Strippers and I mentioned a review would be coming soon (it’s still coming soon by the way). But seriously, is that all it took? What are these people in search of strippers doing when they finally get to this site?! The abandonment rate is low. Hmmm. Perhaps I should add a Zombie Babe of the Day?? Nah (I need to stop thinking out loud…)

Well, this post is for all the people looking for zombie eye candy. But don’t get used to it – this is a family friendly page! Tomorrows post – How to make fake blood that tastes good