Monsterpaloozin' my mind: The Ghoul Goes Western Electric, pt. 3

Greetings loyal S&Pers!

Tonight, I have finally put together video of my Raybot, his entire (though brief at only a few minutes or so) routine.

Very proud.

I don't think I have to add anything textually to this, beyond my joy at him working without a hitch the entire weekend, and how very much I love, and appreciate the help of, my Monsterpaloyees --  Henner, Miranda and my V.

I loved making him. I loved displaying him.

And I loved, and always will love, Ray Bradbury.

Live forever.

Onward...

DDSP!

Monsterpaloozin' my mind: The Ghoul Goes Western Electric, pt. 2

Oh, my dear, beleaguered, patient S&Pbrains, I have finally found a moment to pop in and give a few nods to the people and the moments which made this past weekend's Monsterpalooza so fun.

First, let me introduce you to the Raybot, the Body Electric, ol' Botbury himself, my animatronic Ray Bradbury...

In his element, his workdesk loaded with toys, books, robots, dinosaurs, more books, skulls and pumpkins.

He would have loved this ol' pub, I think.

He worked, and worked well, all weekend long. People took pictures, stood awed, a lot actually shed tears for the remembrance of their love of this giant of fantasy and inspiration. I will post video of him when I get home (we're still traveling back from the convention). Quite the display.

Now, ol' Edward Van Bone, a returning champion from last year, didn't fare as well.

Oh, he looked sensationally sick and decrepit, thanks to the hard work of Henchman Henner, my niece Mad Miranda and my wife, the Lovely V. 

And for all of Friday night, he worked beautifully.

But Saturday morning, as he was warming up, he stopped talking. I found the minor problem right away, and fixed it... but not before somehow stepping on the notebook computer controlling him and his audio, and causing the hard drive to stop working entirely. No replacement was at hand, and even had one been, a complete installation and reprogramming would have been too prohibitively long a process. So, we just lit and posed him to beckon folks inside. Worked like a charm, actually.

He'll be back. 

Onward...

This is the fun, fanatical, sexy shaper of stoneware and prestidigitator of pumpkiny pottery, the delightful Shelley from one of the S&P's greatest friend-blogs, Shellhawk's Nest. Here she is with Raybot and the famous -- so famous I am breathless at having the honor of posting it here at this humble little pub -- Chris Aype!

Great to see you again, Shell and Ape!

My friend and make-up artist extraordinaire Casey Wong built a stunning full scale Phantom of the Opera piece, with Erik, Christine, and a beautiful old organ built from scratch (more pics later). It's always so good to see him and his ever-impressive monster creations. And "hi" to Mama Rhonda! Mahalo!

Of course, no Monsterpalooza is complete without a visit with one of my best bloggin' buddies and uniquely visionary artist Bob Lizarraga. His work just stuns me. I am happy and proud to say I own some of his works, a few gifts from a very cool Bob himself. Never get enough time, sir. 

Here's my nephew, my Godson, Young Will (you remember him, don't you?) with my friend, artist, puppeteer and producer Bill Diamond, discussing the finer points of inking in shades. Two peas, these guys, though three-thousand miles and a generation apart. Love it.

More motley monstergeekery in the form of some pretty outstanding and wonderful folks. From L to R, the actor, teacher and event moderator Perry Shields; mask maker, artist/designer Kim Reynolds; sketch artist and movie producer/director Frank Deitz; and long-time genre writer and opiner David Schow.

And finally, for the moment, my brother-in-Monsterdom, actor Daniel Roebuck, with my wife, the Lovely V.

There is much more to show you, and I will have it after our return to the Skull & Pumpkin this weekend.

For now, sleep is calling. So are the truckers outside -- cheap motels, I gotta tell you.

Until again, 

DDSP!

The Ghoul Goes Western Electric, pt. 1

Hello long-suffering S&Pbrains!

Monsterpalooza is rapidly approaching, and my ill-timed but very needed stretch of emotional learning and grieving has not stopped me from working on this year's submission to the Museum.

Oh, ol' Edward Van Bone will be back -- he made a real splash last year and I think he ought to head up the Museum every year -- but I've been working on a new figure.

Oh, I know I'd mentioned perhaps having Ray Bradbury and Uncle Forry having a long-awaited discussion now that they're both in the realm of Prince Sirki, but that was simply not to be. Not enough time or resources.

Sometimes life is just like that. No one's going to be injured. I'll take it.

But I still wanted to tribute Papa Ray, so pondering his Walt Whitman-inspired 'I Sing The Body Electric', the idea of a Raybot, of Bradbury's own Body Electric, came to me in a sparking, zapping, giggling dream.

Here he is so far...

He needed those steel blue eyes to be lit, and his neck (along with the rest of his Body Electric, which I'll be working on today) is comprised, I am happy to say, of old radio parts. There's something very apt about that, to me. Vintage radio. I'll take it.

More to come, but I had to update today.

I hope you are all enjoying your first day of Spring. Out here, the S&P is awaiting a big winter storm.

Apparently the weather guys didn't get the memo.

Onward!

DDSnowyPrecipitation!

The Hallowe'en Tree, pt.6

Good day to you, loyal S&P-brains!

I imagine you are all quite full of Hallowe'en and are ready for a brief stretch of holiday-free weeks before the end of the year madness overtakes us all.

I certainly could use it.

But I did want to show off some of our fantastic fright night scenes from last week.

It was a beautiful night, the weather was perfectly Hallowe'en. Not too cold, not too warm, no rain, slight breeze, cloudy skies with a nearly full moon. Just beautiful.

First to enjoy the weather and the night's festivities, our animatronic graveyard group.

Capt. Lantern, Ficketts, Nevermore the Raven, and

the Lean Bros. & Ghoul swing quartet.

Some tombstone detail. We sure lost some greats this past year.

Our kid-friendly Boo Corner, showing Mad Monster Party (along

with The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Legend of Sleepy

Hollow, It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, and other

Hallowe'en specials all night long).

But the real attraction for just about everyone who visited that night had to be our amazing

Hallowe'en Tree.

It really turned out to be something special...

Almost 100 pumpkins, carved and sent from family and friends all over the country, to honor the passing of Ray Bradbury, and celebrate our love for All Hallow's Eve.

Just stunning.

At the base of the Tree was our longtime 'host' of the haunt, the Great Pumpkin.

And just around the tree trunk from him stood the brooding, ancient and wickedly wise ol' being, Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud.

I'd like to think ol' Ray would've loved it.

Just above and beyond our Tree, in a dormer window, floated one of many wandering revenants...

... and in the same window, not long after, could be found our little black kitty, Hallowe'en herself, watching our goofy goings-on in the yard below.

Yes, she's wearing a little orange/black jester's collar.

No, she's not summoning Satan.

As far as I know.

The next day, I had to get a good sunshine shot of our Hallowe'en Tree.

Just beautiful.

Hallowe'en 2012 is in the history books, and I had a fabulous week.

I hope each of you enjoyed your Hallowe'en.

Still cleaning up...

DDSP!

Tick, tick, tick...

Two days.

Eek.

 "Oh God... give me time!"

Actually, I'm having a ball. The set up, the anticipation, the anxiety and giggling and enjoying...

As Ray Bradbury wrote in his October 1975 essay in Reader's Digest, Tricks! Treats! Gangway!:

Amen.

And as for tradition, I'm living up to that too...

It's magic time.

I sure hope every one of you is enjoying their Hallowe'en week.

Two days.

Eek!

DDSProgress...

Work, work work...

Hello dear S&Pers!

I KNOW I've been notably absent this month, and I have no excuses but that Life is what it is.

I beg your forgiveness and appeal to your Autumn-Lovin' Hearts for understanding.

I will say, though, that I have been working on Hallowe'en 2012. Of course I have -- I just haven't been posting about it as I usually do.

Perhaps it's because there's not much new to post about; we are waiting on more pumpkins to arrive, and when we get the Hallowe'en Tree going, I will post all about it.

But for now, I have been bringing our animatronic figures back to life, brushing from their shoulders the dust of a year of storage, rewiring, powering, and programming.

Until The Big Night, they shall live in my bedroom...

They will soon be joined by the Great Pumpkin, who will have some new dialogue this year.

And of course, Mr. Moundshroud needs his suit and cape.

More later.

I hope you are all enjoying your October.

It's magic.

DDSProgress!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 13

Welcome, S&Pers, welcome!

Sorry for the dearth of posts from Monsterpalooza but I'm fairly certain I've been sleepwalking through much of the last 36 hours or so.

I am also fairly certain my legs have lost their bones. Wobbliness is next to Godliness, right?

So, after spending one more night with the life-saving duo of Henchman Henner and Mischievous Miranda that rapidly became a Post 'Palooza Pizza Party (so, so good!), I am convalescing at my folks' place, drinking plenty of fluids and trying to organize my photos of the monstery weekend.

I'm not sure where to start, but this might be about right:

Here's a bit of ol' Eddie Van B. as he looked Sunday morning. His replacement jaw servo worked like a champ, and his left hand, while still bereft of the graceful life it once had, has a bit of wrist movement again thanks to a coffee stirrer and gaff tape.

I... LOVE... gaff tape, by the way. Thought you'd want to know that.

I also love the friends I really only get to see one weekend out of the year. Monsterpalooza, for many of us who've attended from the beginning, is a spooky family reunion of Hallowe'en Monster Kids who still love the things that go bump in the night.

I am so happy I got to once again enjoy the company of so many fine people...

 Cindy and Perry Shields (and their daughter Kimmy) are hands down some of the

finest people I've ever known. They are all real theatre people -- acting, singing, writing, playing, the whole

shebang. All of 'em. And one couldn't ask for more sincere and loving friends. Such a pleasure

to know you guys.

Two of the finest artists I've the pleasure to know (and both awesome people): 

Kerry Gammell (L) and Bob Lizarraga.

My monster brother, actor Daniel Roebuck (L) and The Mask Doctor, artist Kelly Mann, whose 

thoughts on life and art are a rare treasure.

What do you say about pure kindness and good humor? You say

my friend, comics publisher and writer Sam Park.

A fine person and fun friend, with whom I didn't get nearly as much hang time

as I'd wished -- artist John Ulakovic. Dinner and drinks next time, on me.

Two more brilliant monster makers with whom I'd have liked to spend more time:

Casey Wong (L) and Darren Roberts. Some of the coolest, nicest guys in the

Monsterverse.

'Elder' Robert "Bobbo" Taylor -- yes, his awesomeness has earned him all

those names (Bobbo from Uncle Forry himself)! He's an historian, 

collector and dear, funny gentleman all in one.

Ron and Margaret Borst of Hollywood Movie Posters (seated at the organ); artist and puppeteer Bill Diamond (L) and make up/figural artist Cortlandt Hull, all pose for me in the Witch's Dungeon room.

Such kind, generous and welcoming people, all.

 L to R: Ron Chaney; his daughter Jaclynn; the sweet, beautiful and very awesome 

Grace (daughter of Daniel) Roebuck; Ron's daughter Jennifer; and actor/producer Chuck Williams.

The Chaneys are just plain fun people, warm and welcoming and I look

forward to seeing them every year. Chuck on the other hand... is really a

wonderful guy and very funny. A real bud!

Neither last nor least, the two without whom I cannot succeed at Monsterpalooza

(and apparently for whom I cannot ever take an unblurry picture!), Henchman Henner

and Mischievous Miranda. They did so much for me, and for Edward Van Bone, even while 

having to take care of their own daily ups and downs... 

well, I simply can't thank them enough. Pretty much ever.

As I wrote previously, Monsterpalooza is a family reunion for me, first and foremost. I cherish my fleeting moments with each of these people and many others, like Eliot Brodsky and his family who put this whole mad thing together every year, and artists like Brian Johnston, Jesse Gee, Don Lanning, Daniel Horne, Mike Hill, and so many others. 

I can have bad moments, I can gripe about servos and shipping and overpacked showrooms... but these friends, these Autumn People, are really why I keep doing this. I can be working on a raven's eyebrows and think Bob Lizarraga's going to like his style, or tousle the hair on Edward Van Bone thinking that Sam Park's going to giggle at how wacky it looks.

I love making monsters for any reason, you all know that.

But I labor much longer over my Monsterpalooza pieces because I enjoy their creations and camaraderie so much that I want them to enjoy themselves when they see my works.

And I honestly love each of them.

Pics of some cool, cool, monstery goodness to come. 

For now, a little more sleep.

DDSP!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 11 the 13th pt. 3

... and then, because I have the best henchfolk ever, and because I was smart enough to bring spare servos, we had him back up and running mostly right the rest of the night.

Tomorrow morning means early rising, just a bit, to get in there and really fix it all up for the long Saturday show.

Pictures and fun soon, I promise. It's been a long, wonderfully wacky day and night for this ol' Monster-Lovin' Kid.

Time to sleep, but no snoring anymore --



DDS-CPAP!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 11 the 13th pt. 2

... and then his jaw servo stopped moving.

Onto repair.

Wow. The 13th.

DDSPaininthe...

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. Eleven the Thirteenth!

Yep.

Early morning. Early... early morning.

But entirely worth it.

Lookit what happened...

Go to KTLA's site to view the other video segments from this morning's shoot. Thank you Allie McKay! Much love to you.

And I am very glad we got the sign and the 'old' microphone put together last night -- this morning they really completed the look...

Another "I'm so glad" -- our little Edward Van Bone gets to do his thing right alongside the stunning masterpieces exhibited by the amazing multimedia artist, Daniel R. Horne!

It's truly an honor to be displaying right here, beckoning guests first to such artistic wonder as Daniel's. 

I am a lucky man.

Much more to come, I'm sure... but right now I think I need a na---*

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

(dumdumshrekpeeps!)

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 10

What a difference a day makes.

A blurry, over-exposed difference, but so needed.

Henchman Henner and Mischievous Miranda went above and beyond -- loading, driving, unloading, building, driving -- and even with some bumps in the road, they not only got things settled, they remained calm and positive, keeping me calm and positive.

OH, the value of that.

Edward Van Bone took to the stage this afternoon, thanks to them.

We also realized that ol' Eddie needed a few more props. First, a little signage, as I do every year:

Secondly, a microphone.

An old, springy, dirty microphone.

By tomorrow morning (yet another marvelous Allie McKay/KTLA-TV5 shoot from Monsterpalooza -- more on that tomorrow!), we needed a microphone on that little stage.

So what do you do?

Go shopping for cheap parts...

... grab a few wires, springs and some sink parts, a few screws, a drill...

... some wood doweling, a mic base, some cable, and a bit of spray enamel...

... and voila'! An old, springy, dirty old microphone!

All for about $12.

More to come, of course. Morning comes very early tomorrow. 

I must be ready for my close-up.

DUMDUMSHREKCREEPS!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 9

He's here.

I'm here.

Henchman Henner and Mischievous Miranda have built this unreal stage/backdrop for him.

Clamshell footlights -- dimmable! -- and everything.

But UPS kind of messed him up, and I can't prove it. I can only spend tonight trying to desperately make it look 'passably' as cool as it did before I shipped it.

I had to repaint his chin and a few places on his nose and brow.

His poor left hand is kind of mangled.

I have spent way, way, WAY more time trying to repair his hand and figure out why his body is leaning backwards more than it did in my dungeon than I care to admit.

I can only say I am quite done with thinking it will be as good as I wanted it to be. Bye-bye, ol' concept.

But I am certain it will be good enough.

I am always okay with good enough. Okay -- but not satisfied.

Oh well. They can't all be Nevermore.

Onto tomorrow.


DUMBDUMBSHIPBOX!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 8

Hello, hello one and all.

Things have been remarkably busy for your humble pubkeep lately, and will only continue to be busy for some time to come.

There are much worse problems to have, no doubt. I'd rather be busy than broke and bored any day (or long, long night).

One of the funnest busy-things I've been trying (trying!) to get finished is Mr. Edward Van Bone, of course.

I have finally been able to make some shoes and pants for him, so he's not just some floating half-thing on the stage.

I had originally made some shoe forms out of Model Magic -- I posted briefly about them here -- but when I left them out on my front porch to dry, they simply disappeared! I don't know if one of the neighborhood dogs or cats thought they were some sort of food or toy, or if they just walked off by themselves, but they were nowhere in sight.

So...

Grab some insulating foam, razor blades, thin foam sheeting, gold wire and black paint and just make them:

I know, Skinny McSkinnyton. It's perfectly cartooned and crazy. 

So... I think I may actually be -- dare I say it? 

No, not just yet. I will say I am very, very close to being finished.

Whew!

O'ZOM-beeee!