AC: Welcome to the second installment of FOOL’S (inter)VIEWS, and thanks to everyone for making our kickoff segment with Molly Celaschi such a success (scroll down the blog if you missed it). Today, we get up close and personal with… Mikey Diablo from A Verbal Bloodletting. Greetings, sir! http://www.myspace.com/averbalbloodletting MD: Hello, Doc. AC: Gotta ask, what brought you to MySpace? And how do we know each other? MD: I think the original idea for [going to] MySpace was as a "testing ground for the show." I've always thought I had something to say. So A Verbal Bloodletting was created to express my views on horror films. I met you shortly after posting on the IMDB horror board. We know each other from there. MD: The original idea came when I realized this was a relatively cheap way to get my ideas out into the world. I proposed the idea to Chris Krypt at my bachelor party. I definitely have wanted to partake in some sort of performance – I tend to look at personalities on TV or radio with the "What do they have that I don't?" attitude. I mean, for example, what makes a guy like Stern so special? I'm fairly willing to say exactly what I'm thinking, I'm articulate, and I'm interesting, right? So, as the old saying goes, if you can't get in the game, make the game come to you. Besides, from what I can tell, there are many worse podcasting shows out there then ours. AC: Who came up with that cool ass name? MD: My wife and I. All of the names were part of a huge brainstorm list. AC: What’s your normal daily routine like? MD: As a second shift worker, I wake up around 10am, play with my 2-year-old daughter. Pick up my other kids from school about 2pm, then kiss the wife at 5 and go to work. Movie time is hard sometimes, but I squeeze ‘em in. MD: I'm the dock auditor at a produce company. I track the orders as they're picked and then inspect them. It's quasi-management, quasi-customer service. AC: What was the first movie (doesn’t have to be a horror flick) that first made a big impression on you? MD: The first movie I remember seeing in the theaters was Return of the Jedi. I vaguely remember ET – the guys in HAZMAT suits getting him. Children of the Corn and the Nightmare on Elm Street Movies were my real introduction into horror. I've always been into fear. It's probably been in the last few years I became a "hardcore" fan. MD: I love fear, and for the most part I hate general culture. If there is one big appeal to horror movies and the subculture, it's how unpretentious the people usually are. I'm sure you can relate to that. Actors for example on any level are chock full of pretension. Even the snottiest elitist turns into a id when you pop in, say, Return of the Living Dead. AC: I’ll pretend to ignore that sweeping generalization about pretentious actors. How many movies do you usually see a week? MD: On average 3 to 5. If I see to many I tend to forget them each way to easily. I can't do the 10+ some do. MD: I can't, my memory isn't that good. AC: All right, we’re officially starting up the “Help Mikey buy a pen and pad of paper” fund so that you can keep track of your movie viewing. This stuff’s important. Someday you’re going to be old like the rest of us and you’ll think back and go, “Hmmm, what was that movie about?” Trust me on this. MD: Let's go with Death Ride, Pan's Labyrinth, Lust of a Sexual Deviant (something like that), I Spit on Your Corpse/I Piss on Your Grave, Flavia the Heretic, Castle Freak, The Last Horror Movie (I cheated using my Netflix rental history). The last stand out was Castle Freak. Also ISOYC is definitely a must for fans of over the top shock exploitation, very sick stuff. AC: Yeah, I think I mentioned on your blog (or was it mine?) that Castle Freak is often considered one of the few “good” Full Moon movies. Not my favorite Stuart Gordon pic, but it’s plenty twisted and gory. Plus you can’t go too far wrong with Jeffrey Combs in the lead. Getting back to the podcast, why did you feel the desire and/or need to start up A Verbal Bloodletting? MD: I like to hear myself talk. I think anyone who does message boards or anything like that is somewhat masturbatory. So I expanded my ego into this hobby. Hopefully people laugh, think, and then go buy copies of the movies we recommend. MD: I think to some degree everyone who wants to be on stage in an exhibitionist. I also think the idea of masturbation goes far beyond actual jerk and spoo. Masturbation is an exercise in self-fulfillment through the act of one’s own self. You see it in movies all the time, the adult movie store scene from MSP [Murder-Set-Pieces] is a prime example. Ponder that! AC: I’d rather not ponder anything about MSP, thank you very much. Still trying to get the stench out of my DVD player. Tell us the last goal you achieved, and a couple that are on your “short list.” MD: Well we have the averbalbloodletting.com domain bought, so we're going to launch that very soon. I think my next goal is simply seeing our "stock" rise. Who knows, I have a lot of possibilities in my head, goals are another matter. I'm not looking for disappointment. On the other hand, we realized our first goal when we received our first screener; next is someone at a con knowing us just for being broadcasters. MD: The team is Timmy Edge, Chris Crypt, The Devil's Mistress, and myself. TDM does most of the web work, and in truth is probably the sickest of all. The rest of us are on-air personas, with Chris being involved when possible. I love the guy, but we butt heads due to style conflict, which is great for the show. Problem is that he has a tough schedule to broadcast around. One of the reasons for doing the sister show was that our format doesn't lend itself to having guests so to speak. So in an effort to have more content, I started doing the interviews. It helps us have more stuff out there, because recording the show on a consistent basis is difficult due to distance and schedule conflict. Timmy and I live about 40 minutes apart or so. AC: What else have you done for the horror genre lately? MD: I financially supported Monster Mania a couple weeks back. MD: Yeah, some Fool thought I was worthy of the project. I guess I just don't see things like that as something for the Horror genre. To me it's more along the lines of spreading good movies to more people. AC: Tell us your favorite close encounter story with a horror celebrity. MD: I think getting Tony Todd to laugh at my jokes at Horrorfind was pretty cool. I'd also say if you get the chance, visit Michael Berryman. Great guy who will perform and interact with you on an unparalleled level. MD: Freddy because he was one of the first things to scare me. And I've never stopped being blown away by [Tom] Savini's work. Without Savini, Maniac and The Prowler are not anything special. I think, and maybe I'm wrong, but Tom's effects also dictate how a movie is shot. I like that a lot. Some people talk about the "70s look," but I'll take the early 80s look any day. The more I think about it, Candyman gets criminally overlooked on these lists. Tony Todd is an Actor, with a capital letter. MD: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Night of the Living Dead 90, possibly Maniac or Texas Chain Saw Massacre ’74. AC: You would recommend the NOTLD remake before the original? I think in some circles that could be considered heresy. MD: We're talking a newbie fan here and honestly, a lot of people write off b/w films on principle alone. Unlike teaching a kid to swim, you can't throw people directly into the deep end. Besides, fact of the matter is that it's a great film on its own. I also find the “purity” arguments to be silly. I mean the snottiest horror fans are usually Italian horror buffs, and most of those movies were whored out titlewise for profit only. Purity arguments in horror are usually silly, though Neil Labute should be shot for what he did to The Wicker Man. AC: Wow, you might want to check the bushes for lurking Argento and Fulci fans on the way home tonight. I haven’t yet worked up the stomach to see the WM remake, but I’ll probably get around to it at some point – properly medicated, of course. Thank you so much for spending time with us, my man! Hope you’ll stop back by throughout the week to answer any further comments or questions that anyone else might have. MD: Anything to get people interested in quality film…and us. Thanks for having me! |