THE DEVIL’S TOUR: ACTS OF GOD
Posted by terrance | Filed under The Devil's Carnival, The Devil's Tour
“I’m not in the business of murdering innocent children, that’s God’s jurisdiction. I deal only with the guilty, Guilty John.” ~Lucifer
When I wrote these lines, I didn’t think of them as especially provocative, yet at virtually every screening of my new film, The Devil’s Carnival, they get a huge response from the audience. Sometimes this response is in the form of laughter. Oftentimes applause, followed by a collective “ouuuhhhh”, as if the filmmakers and I just threw egg on God’s stain-resistant, celestial face.
When creating art, you never know what audiences are going to take to. For example: I never would have predicted “Zydrate Anatomy” as the “single” from my first musical film, REPO! The Genetic Opera. No, I would’ve banked on “Infected” or “Come Up and Try My New Parts” as fan-favored frontrunners. The moral of the story: like pedophiles at daycare, my judgment clearly can’t be trusted.
Don’t get me wrong; one of the most beautiful attributes of films like REPO! and The Devil’s Carnival is that audiences are compelled to participate… and they participate in ways us writers never saw coming. So when penning futuristic goth operas or dark musicals set in hell, I try and remember to keep my tongue planted firmly against my cheek; like the God of The Devil’s Carnival, I don’t want to end up with mud on my mug for taking my work too seriously. That said, admitting this does little to temper my surprise or giddiness when audiences echo “a little glass vial” with GraveRobber or howl at Lucifer (a role I horn up for in TDC) for ribbing his creator.
Since I began sharing The Devil’s Carnival with audiences, Interviewers and fans have routinely asked me how I feel about the fact that religious folk may have their pious sensibilities offended by my new work, particularly lines like the ones that started this blog. As an atheist, this seems such a non-issue that I never know how to respond. For me, it’s way easier to buy into a hellish amusement park where singing carnies invoke the fables of Aesop than it is to grant credence to most religious stories… but even if you belong to a camp that accepts the concept of an omnipotent creator, it seems rather uncontroversial that this being would be responsible for the death and mutilation of countless creatures, including innocent children. If I were Lucifer, I’d be quick to point this fact out, especially to those trying to pass blame my way.
Director Darren Lynn Bousman and I found out the hard way that having the word “Devil” in our film’s title made us untakable by most sponsors, especially when seeking assistance for “The Devil’s Tour”, a thirty-four city promotional adventure across North America. Companies don’t want to align themselves with anything that Middle America might view as unChristian. This knowledge, combined with dining at restaurants across the country that can only be described as grotesquely ‘merican, made me not only never want to change our film’s title, but possibly run off and join the Taliban.
On tour, we premiered one-night only event screenings of part one of The Devil’s Carnival, a series that the creators and I conceived of as a cross between Tales From The Crypt and the anti-fucking GLEE. Episode One focuses primarily on hell whereas future episodes pull back the curtain on heaven. We traveled via tour van so during long stretches on the road—like the thirteen-and-a-half-hour trek from the Tower Theatre in Salt Lake City to Seattle’s Admiral Theatre—Darren and I brainstormed about the series, especially heaven’s role. Inspiration came from likely and unlikely sources alike, including the veritable insect Holocaust that splatted daily against the windshield of our tour van.
Following TDC’s screenings in Philly at the Painted Pride Art Center on April 27th, my touring companions and I made a stop at The Mütter Museum, a gallery of historical medical oddities on display in the heart of the city. The exhibit featured photographs, life casts and preserved remains of amputations, congenital deformities, and a myriad of physical and mental diseases and disorders. Like our carnival, the Mütter experience was both divine and profane.
“Nature is nowhere accustomed more openly to display her secret mysteries than in cases where she shows traces of her workings apart from the beaten path.” ~William Harvey, M.D.
This quote from a Seventeenth Century physician struck me upon entering the museum. If, according to popular opinion, Nature is the work of a benevolent god, then what “mysterious” purpose could she have when forming the mangled, unsustainable skeletons of newborns that decorated the museum’s show room floor? What “secrets” could be gleaned from lifecasts on display of infants thrust into the world sporting tumors twice the size of their skulls? Fodder for The Devil’s Carnival was all around me. Yes, my fairest wheels were turning.
Showing up nightly to packed screenings of a film with “Devil” in the title, including sold-out screenings on Easter Sunday and Mother’s Day, also inspired me. I’m goddamn proud to be a creator of projects like REPO! And The Devil’s Carnival that have given homes to so many midnight movie sinners, including yours truly. Thank you all for making the tour such a heavenly experience!
Join me at Big Wow! ComicFest This Weekend!
Posted by terrance | Filed under Appearances, The Molting Comic
May 19th & 20th, I’ll be at the San Jose Convention Center signing issues of my indie comic book series, The Molting…. so if you’re in Northern California this weekend, come hang with me and a bunch of comic book legends like Jim Lee, Bernie Wrightson, Tim Sale, Frank Cho, and Steve Niles. For tix and info, visit: http://www.bigwowcomicfest.com/
THE DEVIL’S TOUR: ARTFULNESS
Posted by terrance | Filed under The Devil's Carnival, The Devil's Tour
The whole world is an art project. A series of creative choices ranging from what color condiments to put on a hamburger to how to aesthetically (and effectively) pack one thousand plus pounds of merchandise into the back of a Sprinter Van for a thirty-three city film tour.
Director Darren Lynn Bousman and I have taken to the road again to premiere our new musical movie event, The Devil’s Carnival… And acting as merch box curators is just one of the many creative challenges we’ve had while managing this traveling sideshow. Packing enough top hats and trews to sustain an adventure across North America is another.
In spite of my frilly artistic leanings, I’m a guy’s guy about most things. Especially packing. I could live—and have lived—out of a backpack. Aesthetic minimalism at its finest. This travel utility and mobility not only increases my survival chances in the event of a zombie apocalypse, but also makes me less of a cargo burden to my van companions. Unfortunately, my fellow carnies did not have the same freight foresight.
Speaking of foresight, conceptualizing an event format for a tour that would need to be entertaining and effective both in intimate settings (like the one hundred thirty-eight seat Tower Theatre in South Hadley on April 28th) to more expansive venues (like Chicago’s seven hundred and eighty seat Music Box Theatre on May 3rd) was mandatory.
To make our nightly presentation consistent, we opted to stamp our projected pre-show backdrop with a clock: a twenty-five minute visual countdown that would commence when our lovely emcee took the stage and end just as The Devil’s Carnival began. On nights without technical difficulties—like a DVD skipping or sticking—the countdown is a gift. On other nights, it’s a curse. It’s the curses, however, that inspire the most creative ingenuity.
Our pre-show consists of local burlesque and sideshow acts from each city, a REPO! The Genetic Opera featurette, and costume contests. One of our creative tasks was to tie these non-TDC pre-show goodies into The Devil’s Carnival, so before the start of “The Devil’s Tour”, Darren and I dreamed up the idea of Lucifer (yours truly) acting as a narrator. This satanic sermon would be delivered by way of a pre-recorded voiceover. Because of the last minuteness of this creative decision, we were relegated to recording my evil oration in the bathroom of our pre-show editor’s apartment. The rushed process resulted in a recording with peeked levels and slight distortion… one of those “happy accidents” that added to the beastly quality of The Dark Lord’s delivery
Lucifer’s arty vocabulary word-of-the-day: wabi-sabi: an aesthetic described as beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”.
One of our biggest creative impediments on the tour has been organizing lines at the end of each screening. We’re excited to meet our fans each night—and they seem excited to meet us—but creating a system where everyone gets a moment (and a photo!) without succumbing to anarchy is no easy feat. Every venue has its challenges, so thank you all who’ve waited in long lines for being patient with us. The Devil’s Carnival and our tour would not be possible without your support, so we want everyone who stands in line to be recognized… but sometimes the chaos of the night cuts our encounters short. Please don’t hold this against us wayward carnies. Like our artwork, we too are works in progress.
Speaking of TDC’s fans: every night I encounter artists in attendance on “The Devil’s Tour”, beautiful souls inspired to create art of their own. These creations come in the form of REPO! and TDC-inspired tattoos, cosplay, and scores of visual artwork. From knitted cockroach caps to Lucifer bracelets and paintings, to private conversations about the creative process, each of you has not only honored, but also inspired me.
Unfortunately, there’s not enough space in a single blog to feature everyone’s artwork, but here are some selects. If you haven’t yet experienced The Devil’s Carnival, I invite you to grab your easels and mime paint and join us on the road. For tickets and info, visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/org/2000958343?s=7379161
THE DEVIL’S TOUR: CARNIE FAMILY
Posted by terrance | Filed under The Devil's Carnival, The Devil's Tour
I’m a fortunate fellow. Most of the creative projects I’ve spearheaded have resulted in long-lasting friendships. The set of REPO! The Genetic Opera, for example, felt as much like a family function as it did a film shoot. Crewmembers strolled the set with smiles on their faces, industrial-opera music filled the air, and everyone seemed excited by, and proud to be, making art together.
This is not always the case, especially in Hollywood where folks regularly show up only for paychecks and schmoozing opportunities… and then vanish when the adventure isn’t personally advantageous. REPO!, on the other hand, was filmed four years ago, in another country, and many of the players still keep in regular contact.
One of my favorite REPO! movie memories was walking into a set restroom and overhearing a burly crewman at a urinal singing “I’m sweeter than sixteen” (lyrics from REPO!’s “Seventeen”). This unlikely workman—replete with beer belly, manly tool belt and ‘stache—was infected by what we were doing and couldn’t help but sing along to Shilo’s girl power ballad.
The set of my new musical film, The Devil’s Carnival, was no less magical. Even though filming conditions were “hellish”—outdoor night shoots in a windy, freezing desert—set solidarity was palpable. Cast and crew banded together to make art and that harmony has endured even though our production wrapped months ago.
Like with REPO!, director Darren Lynn Bousman and I took to the road to premiere The Devil’s Carnival at one-night only event screenings across North America. We’re making this thirty-three-city journey via van where I receive daily inquiries from TDC’s talented cast and crew, hungry for play-by-plays, excited to be a part of this awesome adventure, even if only remotely.
Whilst on set filming another movie, music producer Joseph Bishara sends me regular text messages. Through text volleys, we entertain ourselves with crude, bastardized versions of the lyrics to songs from TDC’s soundtrack. These revamped text tunes usually involve the word poop. It’s juvenile as hell, but it never gets old and helps pass the long hours spent sitting in a van as I travel from city to city.
On a less potty humor induced front, singer/songwriter Emilie Autumn—who plays the beautiful but broken Painted Doll in TDC—corresponds with me regularly from her own tour bus. Neither of us seems able to snooze on moving vehicles, so when everyone else in our respective caravans fall asleep, Emilie and I discuss art and creative goodness.
Much of TDC’s cast has joined us on the tour, roughing it in our cramped (and often smelly) tour van, always in less than desirable conditions, because they want to be part of the artistic escapade. The Scorpion, Marc Senter, trekked with us through Arizona, setting aside his throwing knives to help sort and pack merchandise. The Tamer, M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan, who sells out amphitheatres with his band Slipknot, journeyed with us into small arthouse theatres to help promote our project. Woe-Maiden and internet star Hannah Jinx toured Texas with TDC, converting fans (and yours truly) into live JWOW participants.
The most exciting part of the road tour experiments is that we get to welcome fans into our fellowship, sharing with them the camaraderie of our projects. On nearly every tour stop, I encounter fans who tell me they met their best friend or spouse—or at the very least, have gotten laid!—through the communities that have formed around REPO! and The Devil’s Carnival. It’s wonderful to know that projects I helped create have become homes and carnivals for countless strangers to play in.
This blog, which I’ve posted to for over three years now—often spending more time than I have to update with adventure stories—is in many ways a tribute to all of the wonderful and strange souls I’ve had the pleasure of encountering on my voyages as an artist. Beautiful strangers, thank you for always providing me with writing fodder and friendship.
Tonight is the halfway mark of The Devil’s Carnival Road Tour and I look forward to meeting more of you tonight and in the weeks to come. If you haven’t yet experienced “The Devil’s Tour”, don’t miss your chance to sit at the table with our Carnie family. For tickets and info, visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/org/2000958343?s=7379161
Feel free to share your own tales of friendship from R!TGO and The Devil’s Carnival below.
THE DEVIL’S TOUR: SEND IN THE CLOWNS
Posted by terrance | Filed under The Devil's Carnival, The Devil's Tour
When writing REPO! The Genetic Opera—the black-box-theatre-production-turned-box-office-film-failure-turned-cult-cinema-conquest—I certainly knew that the production’s heavy use of corsets and stockings would speak to certain fashion fraternities. I made the following statement on the subject in an impromptu interview shortly after the film’s release in 2008:
“I believe firmly that there’s an audience for REPO!, and they’re called Goths.”
This declaration has shadowed me, quoted and re-quoted in articles. It’s true, largely, but I regret making it; it’s too narrow a belt to wrap around the community that has embraced our little rock opera that could.
The Goth umbrella doesn’t include, for example, the legion of REPO!’s loyal surgery fetishists, cutups ranging from folks wanting to be examined by hot nurses to those hard for needles and bone saws. I wasn’t privy to this subgenre when I penned REPO!’s “Scalpel Sluts”.
When “researching” surgical scrubs and steel for R!TGO’s costumes and script, I unearthed populations of pervs hot for chicks on crutches and women immobilized from head to toe by body casts… pretty eyes peering through white plaster burkas, joints rigid with orthopedic bandages, completely powerless. Not my thing, but based on the scores of sites dedicated to this appetite, it clearly appeals to a lot of people.
There are no scalpels, splints or defibrillators in my latest musical mission, The Devil’s Carnival, but there are clowns. Lots and lots of clowns… and I’m not just referring to M Shawn “Clown” Crahan of Slipknot, who plays The Tamer, hell’s enforcer, in the film.
Ivan Moody, frontman for the metal band Five Finger Death Punch, plays Hobo Clown, a demented twist on the classic circus archetype. Captain Maggots and Contessa of Emilie Autumn’s “The Bloody Crumpets” and internet star Hannah Jinx form a trio of twisted clown temptresses called Woe-Maidens. Even Lucifer, played by yours truly, sports a painted jester face. In other words, The Devil’s Carnival is just that, and everybody here clowns around.
Like with REPO!, I wasn’t fully cognizant of the issues clowns would raise in people, both dread in those who suffer from coulrophobia (a general terror induced by anyone with oversized shoes and bright red noses) and those with clowny kinks who spring boners for Bozo.
Don’t get me wrong; I knew Pogo the Clown, serial killer John Wayne Gacy’s alter ego, was terrifying and Batman’s Harley Quinn was hot. Really hot. It didn’t occur to me, however, that The Devil’s Carnival would provoke posses of painted clown pretties in the same way that REPO! inspired midnight movie scalpel sluts.
To promote The Devil’s Carnival, director Darren Lynn Bousman and I have taken the film on the road, touring it like a rock concert. We’re about a third of the way through the thirty-three city tour and I’m happy to report that at every stop thus far, folks—especially pretty young women—have shown up rockin’ their clown colors. And Lucifer approves!
If I had a subconscious clown “thing” when writing The Devil’s Carnival, it’s no longer in hiding… so thank you, ladies, for giving me yet another “proclivity”. Whatever your feelings are on clowns and carnivals, I encourage you to grab your clown hats, noses and calliopes and join us at a stop near you on “The Devil’s Tour”. For tickets and information, visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/org/2000958343?s=7379161
So… what are YOUR feelings on clowns? Please share below.
