Monthly Newsletter #1 January 2017

Hello, horror freaks! If you are reading this, then you are reading the inaugural monthly Robert Essig horror author newsletter. No, I'm not asking for your email address or anything - not yet at least. I'm going to kick off this newsletter here on my blog/website. Down the road, if demand merits, I will offer an email newsletter. You can expect to find info on new and forthcoming releases, a suggested book title that I have recently read, maybe a pic of recent thrift store book finds, and who knows what else. I'm sure it will take a few newsletters to dial in exactly how I want to format the letter. So, here you go. Enjoy!




News

The big January news is that my next novella BROTHERS IN BLOOD is scheduled to be released as an ebook from Grand Mal Press. The release date hasn't been set yet, but the novella is being edited. I will be updating as the publication date grows nearer. I'll say this: BROTHERS IN BLOOD is kind of like HG Lewis's GRUESOME TWOSOME meets Rex Miller's SLOB.



If you would like to know where the title for this novella came from, well, I was struggling to find something catchy. My working title sucked, whatever it was. At the time, I was listening to Anthrax's Persistence of Time album a lot at work. "Blood" is one of my favorite tracks off the album. I was thinking about the story one day and the chorus just seemed to pop. I had my title.



 Cool Read

Last month a I read I WILL ROT WITHOUT YOU by Danger Slater. I had heard an interview with Danger on the Bizzong! podcast, which piqued my interest. On top of that, there has been some buzz about the novel. I really didn't know what to expect since I'm not inclined to read much bizarro, but

the interview and the buzz sold me. I WILL ROT WITHOUT YOU is surreal and intense, and Danger has a way with words that is inspiring. His style is psycho poetic, gripping, and wild. There were moments when the story went so far off the rails of sanity that my interest wavered, but, like certain Richard Laymon novels, I couldn't stop reading no matter how preposterous the plot seemed. If you're into bizarro, this one is a no-brainer. If you like the weird and unusual, give it a shot.



Featured Fiction

In December my story "Hank R. Chief" was published at DarkFuse.com as Horror D'oeuvre #61. This piece of flash fiction is an intimate look at an unusual murderer fixated on a certain aspect of the kill. I mean, what can I say about a five hundred word story without giving it away? If you are a subscriber, follow the link and you can read this story, as well as "Inflatable War", which was published in 2015. If you aren't a subscriber, consider it. DarkFuse provides new fiction weekly. It's well worth the price of admission.


Thrift Store Finds

I'm big on going to thrift stores, primarily looking for books and music. It's kind of an addiction, but I'm no hoarder. I do need a larger book shelf, though. Here are a few pics of some recent finds.

 










Closing Words

So there you have it. You've survived my debut news letter. Feedback is always appreciated. I would like to hear what you think I'm doing right or wrong, what you love or hate about the newsletter. Like I said in the intro, I will be making adjustments in the coming months. This is kind of an experiment, really. I hope you tune in for the February installment. Thanks for perusing!

Book Review: Punk Rock Ghost Story

My review of David Agranoff's PUNK ROCK GHOST STORY is up at SplatterPunkZine.

 Take an entire discography of old school punk and hardcore, a haunted van, add a dash of angry youth, a liberty Mohawk, some drugs and alcohol, and you’ve got yourself a driving force of a novel that pushes the boundaries of the serial killer and ghost story tropes and binds them together with the gritty underground of 80’s punk. What I’m talking about is David Agranoff’s PUNK ROCK GHOST STORY.

Read the rest of the review HERE.

 PUNK ROCK GHOST STORY is available HERE.

Punk as Seen Through the Metal Mind

I'm a fan of music. Though I came up through my formidable years primarily listening to metal, I always liked classic rock, oldies, punk, even some classical and country. And though I listened to cheesy-ass rap wannabes when I was a youngster, that and hip hop are genres I regard about as highly as soft rock, disco, and bluegrass, which is to say I'm not a fan, with extremely rare exception (I'm looking at you Cypress Hill and Public Enemy!).

All roads lead back to heavy metal (and no, I'm not going to break down the 'types' of heavy metal I like with sub-genres like black metal, nu metal (yuck!), death metal, doom metal, sharp metal, rusty metal, etc.). That being said, it is well known that punk rock has been an influence for many a metal bands, because there's a kinship between the two musical styles. It's the distorted guitars, the speed, the angst, the growling vocals, the trashy swagger, the grit, the general disgruntled outlook and alienation. So this got me thinking: what are some of my favorite punk bands/albums? What kind of stuff turns on the metalhead? Well, here it is, in no particular order. These are the top 10 punk albums/bands that made in impact on my metal mind back when I was a disgruntled teenager, all of which I still listen to from time to time. This is the stuff that stuck with me for one reason or another.

1. Operation Ivy - I love everything they ever did, which wasn't nearly enough material. I was given a cassette tape of their anthology album back in Jr. high school. The tape looked like maybe five people owned it before me. I listened to that thing so much I'm surprised the tape didn't snap. Ultimately the tape was left in a friend's car, which was left in a convenience store parking lot in Oakland where the car died.

2. The Misfits - I'm a fan of pretty much all of the Danzig-era Misfits. This one isn't a stretch for the metal kid to get into, being that Glen Danzig later fronted Samhain and then had a career as a solo heavy metal artist. I think it was the Metallica cover of "Last Caress" that initially got me into them. Who can deny horror/punk? Cheesy as all hell, but I still listen to them to this day.

3. The Dead Kennedys - I'm a fan of all their albums with one exception: Bedtime for Democracy. That one has its moments, but it's not nearly as clever and thought-provoking as everything else they produced, most notably Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. I liked this band from the first time I heard them.

4. The Germs, MIA - This is dirty punk. I hated this shit when I first heard it. My buddy Crazy Chris loved this band back in high school. I heard stories about the singer having to have the mic duct taped to his hands, 'cause he was so fucked up he couldn't preform. That might be 'punk', but shit like that doesn't impress me (GG Allen is a great example of shit that makes me want to puke but was so 'punk'). That all being said, the best of their songs are just so damn catchy (sometimes sloppy, more-so than is necessary in my opinion). I actually think they would have been better with a more coherent singer, because the music end is fantastic.

5. The Vandals, Peace Thru Vandalism - These songs are off the wall stupid and funny and idiotic and just plain out fun. I kind of think they were trying to be a goofier version of the Dead Kennedys. The faux country songs were what caught my attention when I first heard these guys. Everything I've ever heard by them outside of these albums are shit. They went doooown hill fast and never looked back.

6. Rancid - Didn't like them at first. I thought they were a weak imitation of Operation Ivy. I had no idea at the time that Lars and Tim had been members of Op Ivy before starting Rancid. I actually didn't learn that for many years after becoming a fan of Rancid. Their albums are too long. Cut the weakest three songs or so and that would be great. The only exception to this rule, for me, is ...And Out Come the Wolves.

7. The Damned - Love this band! I've seen them live three times. Their albums aren't all punk (there was a goth/rock phase in the 80s with Phantasmagoria and Anything), but I'm a fan of pretty much their entire catalogue. Of the punk stuff, their debut is solid, Machine Gun Etequitte is amazing, and Grave Disorder was a great comeback record in the early 2000's.

8. The Clash, Live at Shea Stadium - I like the Clash, but I can take them or leave them. This live concert seals the deal, though. One of my favorite live albums ever. They're tight and they play a good set list for someone like me who isn't a massive fan. They'd opened for the Who, so I imagine that was a pretty good show back in the day.

9. Bad Brains, Banned in DC - I've never even heard anything else this band has done. I was told I would like this album so I gave it a shot and it stuck with me. Some call it the first 'hardcore' album, but I don't even understand what 'hardcore' is. To me it's just loud, aggressive punk rock and the guitars have an incredible tone...and there are a few reggae tunes in the mix. Not sure what to think about that. Kind of like bad comedy relief in a slaughterfest.

10. Fear, live...for the Record - I lied when I said I listen to all of these bands and/or albums. I haven't heard Fear since I owned this CD and my gutterpunk, asshole roommate stole it (or one of his crusty friends) a good fourteen years ago or so. Truth is, any number of people could have stolen it, I suppose, but the crusty folk had a hankering for this band. I like them because they have a very rock 'n' roll aesthetic that, when blended with general disgruntled rebellion, creates something loud and angry and fun to sing along to. I hate living in the city, but I really dig the song "I Love Livin' in the City", even though I haven't heard it in almost fifteen years.

Honorable mentions? Eh, there's a good Circle Jerks album. If you consider the New York Dolls punk, they're pretty damn good. Sex Pistols. Early Suicidal Tendencies (though they're a waaaaay better metal band). I love the Cramps and they're "...one half hillbilly and one half punk..." (and way batter than just about ever band listen above, as far as I'm concerned). I'm certainly missing something, but whatever. There it is. Hope I didn't waste too much of your time.

Robert's Random Musing #3

Am I getting Old or Does Music Really Suck this Bad?

 

I'm 33...I think. Yeah, that sounds about right. I've been a fan of music since I can remember. Started with lame-ass rap and moved onto rock 'n' roll and heavy metal and eventually I opened my mind enough to realize that there's no shame in liking any kind of music in the spectrum. If it sounds good, listen to it. Damn the haters straight to Hell. As I've grown older and am now married and the father of a five-year-old I've realized just how awful modern music has become. I'm mostly talking about popular music. You know, the shit you hear on the radio, the junk playing in the background of so many television commercials, and namely the god-awful noise I heard on the Dick Clark Waiting for the Ball to Drop Extravaganza Whatsitcalled playing on my TV in the background during my mellow New Year's Eve.

 

I'm not going to name names, but my wife and I would give each other a look every time some photocopy "artist" lip synced a song. There was a boy band that kept coming back like herpes and it made me itch just listening to their put-on. Made me reminisce of a truly talented group called the Beatles, a group that could possibly be considered the first boy band phenomenon, who consequently became tired of the screaming crowds and the fact that they couldn't hear their instruments and eventually stopped playing live. Early Beatles music is golden, but they didn't stop there. It just got better and better. These modern day synthesized and over produced boy bands play what they're told, wear what they're told, and make me want to jam a screwdriver in my ear. They're not going to get any better. When you suck that bad, you have no chance. Maybe one of the guys'll have a brother who will become a decent movie star.

 

And then there's the pop "singer"s. Or is it hip hop? I'm not sure. They have a bunch of goons dancing on the stage to draw attention away from the fact that they're quite obviously lip syncing a song that has been done over and over and over again. The beats are all the same, only the lyrics have changed, and in some cases they've only been rearranged. Pathetic, no talent hacks.

 

Elton John played. They only showed one song, but I think he played more. What a shame. That would have been something worth watching. He actually sings. And there were a few others who actually stretched their vocal chords. I applaud those musicians. To dance around like a marionette and pretend you're singing your wretched song has got to be an act one is subjected to in a specialized ring of Hell even Dante hadn't written about.

 

How they call it Dick Clark's New Year Rockin' Eve, I cannot understand.

 

It really doesn't matter though. My son likes to listen to a lot of music that I feel is complete garbage, but I don't give him a hard time. He's five. I don't even remember liking music at that age. Besides, when I was young I listened to MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice, LL Cool J and Digital Underground. I can't account for dumbed down tastes. Been there, done that. I just hope my boy begins to understand what good music is, and if, to him, good music is the tripe that is popular when he's a teenager ('cause you know it's going to be far worse than what's out there now), well, I'll do my best not to complain. But I know I will. And I know I will instill in him all of the music that I have been listening to for the past twenty years, and maybe he will be able to appreciate that there used to be good music...once upon a time ago.

 

Keep on rockin' in the greed world!

 

Elvis has left the building.

 



Rediscovering Music in the 21st Century

I've always been a fan of the sonic pleasure of music. I was turned onto music by the sounds of the rock 'n' roll and oldies I heard growing up. As a youngster following the cues of my misguided peers I was swept up in time-lost fads like Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer. I find it hard to believe that I liked that tripe, but kids will be kids. Put a shiny enough wrapper on the so-called rapper and you got kids dancing like little fools to the beat of something that wouldn't, couldn't last. That's okay. In the long run, that awful music planted the seed that would begin to sprout at the moment I heard bands like Metallica and Guns 'N' Roses, and eventually the seedling would thrive.

I was a music fiend in the 90s with a penchant toward heavy metal, but I didn't shy away from twangy country, blues, bubblegum 60s pop, industrial, classical and whatever else I could get my hands on. Music was fun and being a guitar player caused me to open my mind and travel down avenues I would have scoffed at otherwise.

In time, though, my tastes for modern music dwindled. The bands I'd grown to love began putting out terrible records and the fresh crop of rock and metal bands sounded like they were playing guitars with broken strings and crooning to the contents of an outhouse. I guess that's a nice way of saying it sounded like shit.

I dropped out of the rat race for decent new music. In the early 2000s I regressed, searching for the roots of the music I so loved, and I found it squarely in the 50s and 60s. It's all there. In many ways you could call those two eras the very blueprints for all good music that has come since. All you have to do is listen close enough. Consider "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. If you close your eyes and listen to the guitar riffs, you can hear some of the very seeds of what would eventually, through harder rockin' bands in the 60s and 70s, become metal. It's all there. I listened for several years wondering how the hell people found the tolerance for the crap that was being foisted upon us at the time.

Now I'm completely removed from modern music. I can hardly listen to the radio without a gag reflex. I found something in artists like Amy Winehouse and Muse, Mastodon and The Black Keys, but there is a realization culminating in my mind that perhaps I'm just getting old enough to bitch about how awful modern music is. Maybe. I mean, there have always been fads that were less than appealing (I figure every generation has its "disco" that, for the most part, is better left in the dustbin of history).

After I burned out on the oldies I went back to my own roots (no, not Vanilla Ice, those were seeds). I delved into metal music and I haven't looked back. I decided to try out some newer bands and newer albums from bands I used to love. Two albums I have been enamored with are SUPER COLLIDER by Megadeth and INFLIKTED  by Cavalera Conspiracy.

The Megadeth album is infectious. It harkens back to CRYPTIC WRITINGS and COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION. I stopped listening to new Megadeth music after the steaming pile that was RISK. After all these years I am excited to hear good music from a band that I had admired so much in my teenage years.

As for Cavalera Conspiracy's INFLIKTED, this is the album Sepultura should have produced in the wake of CHAOS AD, which so happens to be one of my favorite heavy metal albums ever. It's good to hear the result of Max and Igor Cavalera burying the hatchet. I've been listening to this one at least once every day for almost two weeks now. They have a second album that has been calling to me and they are in production of a third. I hope they're as good as INFLIKTED.

There are always good tunes to be found, even if I have to tap old resources. I have a lot to choose from.

Cheers!