This new track is called “Moonlight”. It’s about a werewolf, but instead of just the fur, fangs and blood everyone sees, I wanted to explore how the lycan, like so many perceived monsters, is really just a tragic figure. In this case, a slave to the moon, who wants what he can’t have, to lead a normal life with his love, without fear of turning into a fearsome beast, tied to the wax and wane of the lunar night.

Post a comment and let me know what you think!

Moonlight

Up all night
Been howlin’ at the moon
It’s alright
We’ll be together soon
Back to bed
My darling dear
When first light breaks
I promise that I’ll be right here

So go back to sleep
Perchance to dream
Forget this nightmare
Forget you saw anything
Meanwhile, I must abide
A creature of the night
This curse upon me
Lycanthropy, a slave to moonlight

Left alone
Waiting for the dawn
My love is home
Awaiting my return
Daylight breaks
The beast is gone
My dear is safe
‘Til the next full moon

This first video is from over the summer. Me and Michelle found this HUGE centipede in our backyard while doing a bit of yard work… What the hell is it with my house and large, horror film-esque insects… oh. Anyway, my buddy tells me it’s a common house centipede, but while it may have been hanging out at my house, it sure as fuck was anything but common…

Luckily a storm blew through that night and the creature was nowhere to be seen the next day, so I breathed a sigh of relief, until I left my house today, and ran into this guy:

I mean, my name is Roach, but I’m gonna be honest, I’m sort of a pussy when it comes to real insects, and while huge latex spiders are great, the real thing, not so much, espeically at this size. I’m told it’s an orb weaver that’s grown a little larger than normal… WTF, is there some sort of toxic substance in the basement that’s producing mutant insects? Terrible!

Otis Mask: Before

Here’s a quick and easy way to breathe new life into your haunted house or dark ride on the cheap, and give your mask-wearing props a whole new level of realism.

Most masks lack eyes, and when they do have them they are obviously fake, forcing away the viewers suspension of disbelief. A very simple way to solve this is to give your mask prop more realistic eyes. In this short tutorial I’ll show you how to achieve this simple effect that really gives you a bang for your buck.

For this how-to I’m using a pretty sweet Otis mask from House of 1000 Corpses that I picked up a few years ago. It’s fairly realistic already and will really show what I’m talking about.

Materials Required

Materials Required: Hot Glue Gun + Glue Sticks, Fake Eyes and Screws

• Styrofoam Head Available at beauty supply stores. I’ve also had good luck at thrift stores like Savers. You can also buy a dozen in bulk on Amazon with a pretty decent discount (About $3.33 each)
• Fake Half Eyes I usually buy these in bulk on eBay
• Screws Whatever you have lying around will be fine
• Hot Glue Gun + Sticks Crazy or gorilla glue also work, but hot glue is easiest to work with

The Process

Once you’ve gathered up your materials you simply shoot a little hot glue into the inside of the half eye, place the screw head into it, and then shoot some more glue over it, sealing the head of the screw in. In the past I have also used super glue, but hot glue is plenty strong enough for our purposes, sets much faster and is generally just easier to work with.

Drying Eyes

I also didn’t specify any specific type of screws, because as long as they have a flat head they’ll work fine. I usually just grab whatever is lying around.

Once the eyes have been glued let them sit for a few minutes to harden. I let them sit about 5 minutes or so, but I’m really impatient, so you may want to wait a bit longer just to make sure the glue is solid.

Styrofoam Head with Eyes

Once the glue has dried, take your eyes and screw them into the Styrofoam head. Leave them out about an inch or so, and pull the mask over the head. You may have to use a bit of trial and error to get the eyes to sit at the correct location, so if they don’t look right adjust where they are screwed into the head, and how deeply they are embedded.

The Result

Otis Mask: After

From the before and after pictures you can really see what I mean when I say it adds a level of depth and realism to your creations.

I’d love to see how you utilize this tip with your own props, so drop me a comment and link me to your work!

• Halloween Specialty Stores
• Craft Stores
• Thrift Stores
• Party Stores
• Big Box Retailers

Halloween Specialty Stores

Halloween Extreme

Legacy Place, Dedham
680 Legacy Place, Dedham MA
Website

Decent costume selection, not too many props and decorations. Prices vary from great bargains to outrageously expensive.

Spirit Halloween

Cambridgeside Galleria, Cambridge
100 Cambridgeside Place, Cambridge MA 02141
Phone: 617-494-1839 · Website

Medford
282 Mystic Ave, Medford MA 02155
Phone: 781-396-1536 · Website

Saugus
331 Broadway, Saugus MA 01906
Phone: 781-233-2735 · Website

Redstone Shopping Center, Stoneham
99 Main St, Stoneham MA 02180
Phone: 781-438-3537 · Website

Woburn
406 Washington St, Woburn MA 01801
Phone: 781-935-1872 · Website

Norwood
570 Boston Providence Turnpike, Norwood MA 02062
Phone: 781-762-2807 · Website

Sherwood Plaza East, Natick
1290 Worcester St, Natick MA 01760
Phone: 508-651-8265 · Website

Liberty Tree Mall, Danvers
100 Independence Way, Danvers MA 01923
Phone: 978-774-6826 · Website

Hanover Mall, Hanover
1775 Washington St, Hanover MA 02339
Phone: 781-826-3486 · Website

Patriots Place, Foxborough
Patriot Place, Foxborough MA 02035
Phone: 508-543-0393 · Website

Shops at the Pond, Marlborough
739 Donald J Lynch Blvd, Marlborough MA 01752
Website

Mansfield
280 School St, Mansfield MA 02048
Website

North Attleboro
Emerald Square Mall, 999 South Washington St, North Attleboro MA 02760
Phone: 508-695-4186 · Website

By far the best Halloween specialty chain in the area. Highly recommended!

Spooky Town

Pool & Patio Specialists
375 Providence Hwy, Rte 1 South , Westwood MA 02090
Phone: 781-29-1222 · Website

Pretty good selection of costume, ok selection of props.

Craft Stores

AC Moore

Somerville
145 Middlesex Ave, Somerville MA
Phone: 617-628-5957 · Website

Dedham
346 Providence Highway, Dedham MA
Phone: 781-461-2484 · Website

Woburn
2 Elm Street, Woburn MA
Phone: 781-938-8391 · Website

A few nice trinkets, hopefully their Halloween section improves over the next week or so.

Jo-Ann Fabrics

West Roxbury
1580 Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway, West Roxbury MA
Phone: 617-325-9554 · Website

Burlington
43 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington MA
Phone: 781-272-9727 · Website

Natick
244 Worcester St, Natick MA
Phone: 508-655-1390 · Website

Fantastic selection of decor and knick-knacks. Prices are a little steep, so wait till there’s a sale or you have a coupon.

Thrift Stores

Goodwill

Boston
1010 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA 02119
Phone: 617-445-1010 · Website

Jamaica Plain
678 Centre St, Jamaica Plain MA 02130
Phone: 617-522-1415 · Website

678 Centre St Store

South Boston
470 W Broadway, South Boston MA 02127
Phone: 617-307-6367 · Website

Brighton
965 Commonwealth Ave, Brighton MA 02127
Phone: 617-254-0112 · Website

Great selection of second-hand costumes. Very reasonable

Savers

West Roxbury
1230 Vfw Pkwy, West Roxbury MA
Phone: 617-323-8231 · Website

Danvers
139 Endicott St # 20, Danvers MA
Phone: 978-777-8631 · Website

Small selection of costumes and props, although you can find a few gems.

Party Stores

iParty

Brighton
1660 Soldiers Field Rd # 1, Brighton MA
Phone: 617-783-4880 · Website

Medford
3850 Mystic Valley Pkwy # S105, Medford MA
Phone: 781-306-1400 · Website

Quincy
100 Granite St, Quincy MA
Phone: 617-471-1119 · Website

Dedham
270 Bridge St # 301, Dedham MA
Phone: 781-329-3952 · Website

Saugus
880 Broadway # 1, Saugus MA
Phone: 781-233-4433 · Website

Burlington
34 Cambridge St # 17, Burlington MA
Phone: 781-229-7555 · Website

Natick
321 Worcester St, Natick MA
Phone: 508-650-8811 · Website

South Weymouth
35 Pleasant Street #3105, South Weymouth MA
Phone: 781-682-9600 · Website

Avon
1 Harrison Blvd # 2, Avon MA
Phone: 508-583-1666 · Website

Peabody
300 Andover St, Peabody MA
Phone: 978-532-0050 · Website

Ok selection, a little pricey. Not the best year iParty has had in recent memory.

Big Box Retailers

Target

Dorchester
7 Allstate Road, Dorchester MA
Phone: 617-602-1921 · Website

Somerville
180 Somerville Ave, Somerville MA
Phone: 617-776-4036 · Website

Watertown
550 Arsenal St, Watertown MA
Phone: 617-924-5987 · Website

Everett
1 Mystic View Road, Everett MA
Phone: 617-420-0000 · Website

Revere
36 Furlong Drive, Revere MA
Phone: 781-922-6030 · Website

Nice selection of reasonably priced props, decor and costumes. One of the best in years!

Halloween Extreme

So the first place we went to was Halloween Extreme, located where the old Borders store used to be at Legacy Place. I first became familiar with this chain last year, where they had a great selection of both costumes and props.

Unfortunately, while their costume selection was decent, the prop selection this year left much to be desired. Also, as I found last year, this particular store has the strange distinction of some items being great bargains, while others are insanely overpriced. I contemplated getting a vacuformed skull and rubber brain while I was there, but ultimately left empty handed.

Spooky Town

Next up was Spooky Town in Westwood MA. Known officially as Pool & Patio Specialists, this place transforms into a Halloween haven every year around this time. Certainly a step up from Halloween Extreme (at least so far), there was a good selection of costumes, and a few larger props, which always makes me happy. I saw some sweet severed heads and a huge zombie ground breaker, but they were a bit pricey. I did get an awesome deal on two all black jumpsuits (Only $14.99 each, a bargain) that I will be utilizing in my yard display this year. I picked up some other knicknacks as well, including a couple foam gravestones and a zombie hand, all of which will be used in my yard haunt.

Spirit Halloween

After Spooky Town we headed further on down the Boston-Providence Turnpike to my old standby, Spirit Halloween in Norwood MA. Spirit is by far my favorite dedicated seasonal Halloween shop, and with good reason. While they tend to be a little pricey (as all stores of this type are) they have a great selection, and gems a plenty can be found in between all of the typical consumer junk, so I highly recommend this place to all Halloween enthusiasts. If you don’t have a location near you they have an even more extensive selection on their website at www.SpiritHalloween.com.

With all of this high praise you would think I’m on their payroll, but alas I am just a fan of the franchise (as of the moment, Spirit personnel, feel free to get in touch to discuss a sponsorship deal), and they happen to be damn good at what they do, so I will give praise where praise is due. Anyhow, I didn’t actually pick up anything because I’m intending to go back tomorrow to get 25% off for their Facebook only Columbus Day sale.

AC Moore

After Spirit we backtracked to A.C. Moore so my wife could pick up some crafting supplies for the sweet snake wreath she’s making. They were still setting up their main Halloween display, so sadly there wasn’t too much to be found. I did end up getting some sweet 28″ stone columns that were on sale, and I plan on spraying a stone-texture grey to put some of my gargoyles on.

Jo-Ann Fabrics

Once we left A.C. Moore we were famished, but after a quick stop at Taco Bell (Nothing spooky there), we headed over to Jo-Ann Fabric. For a fabric/craft store they have some pretty sweet Halloween items. Most of the sticker prices are shockingly high, but a 60% discount on pretty much everything coupled with a 20% Columbus Day weekend coupon meant we walked out with a couple bagfuls of stuff for only $40. Some of the highlights were some sweet LED bat lights, twin metal spider web candle holders (over a foot tall each) and some nice metal spooky tree centerpieces.

Savers

On the way back into Boston we stopped at Savers. This thrift shop has an ok costume selection, and a few cool props. We got a couple pictures that transform from 18th-century portraits to horror imagery, right up our alley, as well as some clothes to dress up the mannequins we’ll be using in our yard haunt. I was disappointed that there were no foam heads for displaying masks, as they had a ton last year (and of course I cleared them out).

Goodwill

After dropping the wife off at home, I continued on the thrift store circuit and found myself at the Goodwill store in Boston, down the street from my house. It was the first time I’d been in there and I was duly impressed. They have a great selection of second hand costumes, perfect for my needs in having to dress both a zombie apocalypse and the military response.

iParty

After Goodwill I headed down the street to the iParty at South Bay Center. Last year this was one of the iParty dedicated Halloween pop-up shops but they have since turned it into a full-fledged iParty location. Sadly this means the selection is a fraction of what it was before, and I didn’t see anything that impressed me too much. I will probably end up back there at some point to get some random knickknacks like a couple body bags and a walking hand prop, but overall I feel it is a bit overpriced, and best left to November 1st to get some good deals on the clearance merchandise.

Target

My final stop of the day was Target, also at South Bay. I’m very pleased to say that they have one of the finest selections they have in years, and while I didn’t get anything this time, I made a mental list a mile long of things to get when I go back, including some sweet stone gargoyles.

Well, that’s it for now, hopefully you found my reviews of these places helpful. I’ll be sure to post updates here and o The Greater Boston Halloween Store Listas I continue on my search for all kinds of Awesome Stuff™ Also, feel free to leave comments about your favorite haunts to shop for the season!

Gallery

Decided to do a video demoing a couple different lines I’ve been playing with for a few months since most people don’t even realize I can play the upright. Enjoy!

Full costume, fully decorated stage (utilizing my personal prop collection, of course) the show was a huge hit!

We even had a sampler, with both White Zombie samples as well as some of our own creation, culled from various horror films.

We based our set on a pared down version of the classic ’95/96 touring set. I hope we did them justice.

Set List

• Super Charger Heaven
• Black Sunshine
• Welcome to Planet Motherfucker
• Psychoholic Slag
• I, Zombie
• More Human Than Human
• Thunder Kiss ’65

Apparently Absolut Vodka is making special vodka blends, with one city a year (I guess LA and New Orleans were chosen previously). This year it would appear Boston is the city of choice, and being the townie that I am, I decided immediately that I should invent some drinks with a Boston theme. After all, my wife may be the cook in the family, but I strive to be the mixologist, or maybe just the drunk, but I digress.

Now Absolute Boston is pretty interesting. It’s a vodka infused with Black Tea and Elderflower, which has a taste similar to blue or blackberries. Now, being Boston themed I understand exactly why they’d choose black tea, but elderflower? Strange. Either way, after a little bit of experimentation and feedback from Dan and Doug, my panel of tasters, I came up with my masterpiece:

Boston Tea Party

1.5 – 2 shots Absolut Boston
Unsweetened Iced Tea
Splash of Simple Syrup

Serve in a pint glass, garnish with Lemon

Let me tell you, this is a fantastic drink on a hot summer day. It was a little difficult to conceive of something that would go well with the elderflower, but I think we did it in spades. Of course, this was after trying it out with iced tea and lemonade, which wasn’t so great, but like Julia Child says, the joy of cooking drinking is that you can get plastered doing it… Is that it?

But I digress, once I had come up with my masterpiece everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. Dan suggested that there should be a drink with Absolut Boston and Kahlua, so we tried one with equal parts Kahlua, Absolut Boston and Cola. It was pretty good, but wasn’t quite what we were looking for. After some deliberation, we came up with something that works, substituting Bailey’s Irish Creme for the Kahlua, and viola, our second masterpiece. A great name is required for a great drink, so we present to you:

The Muddy Charles

1 Part Absolut Boston
1 Part Bailey’s Irish Creme
1 Part Cola

Serve in a rocks glass over ice

The drink has the texture we were looking for, but was slightly light in color in comparison to the Charles, but you can’t win ‘em all. I threw out the idea that a swirl of chocolate syrup on top might be the way to go, but I leave that to your discretion, dear reader.

We were feeling pretty good by this time, but I felt that to cap off the afternoon we must achieve the trifecta, not to mention that Doug had continually been saying that there needed to be a drink called The Red Line.

After some deliberation, I took it upon myself to try to nail it down, and while some feel it is still unrefined, I believe that I have a winner:

The Red Line

1 Shot Absolut Boston
Splash of Grenedine

Serve in a Shot Glass with a Maraschino Cherry at the bottom

It was pretty smooth, with a slight bite at the end, which is fitting given it’s namesake. Unfortunately I was the only one to try this drink, so I don’t know what other people’s feelings on it are, but if you try it, please let me know your thoughts!

While we were inventing these drinks, Christine took a Boston Tea Party for her manager to try, and he enjoyed it alot. So much, in fact, that Absolut Boston is going to be the Drink Special of the Month at the Summer Shack in Cambridge, so if you find yourself in the area, get down there and have a Boston Tea Party!

Also, if anyone from Absolut is reading this, I’d love to be the recipient of a case of Absolut Boston.

Feel free to use my drink recipes as you will!

Club Hell Flyer

Having been in the Boston music scene for the better part of 15 years, I’ve seen more than my fair share of concert flyers. Few things can take my breath away like a crisp, well designed flyer that not only promotes an event, but is a work of art in it’s own right. Truly, artists like Frank Kozik, Jermaine Rogers and James Rheem Davis exhibit artistry that should have (and have) been included in some of the most prestigious galleries in the world! With that being said, it pains my heart to say that about 95% of the flyers I have seen in my life SUCK.

Bad Flyers

Believe me when I tell you I’ve seen it all, from flyers with just block text, to ones scribbled out on notebook paper and colored in with crayon. Do you really think so little of your band that you can’t take the time to make a decent flyer? You would think that with the advent of computers becoming a household item, and the ready availability of graphic design programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator (Or Free Software alternatives The Gimp and Inkscape, if you don’t have the money to plunk down) that even the lowliest basement shows would have a passable flyer associated with them. This has not been the case, and in fact, quite the opposite has happened. If one were to be interested in the fundamentals of design, all they need do is look at the electronic flyers posted all over the comments section of myspace and understand that the exact opposite is pretty much in the ballpark of good design.

A well designed concert poster should have a certain fluidity of design: There is a limited amount of real estate to work with, and alot of information to get across: Day, time, venue (including the complete address), price, age limit and other bands playing… Whew! On top of that, there it should all be tied together with a complementary color scheme, and there should be enough space left over for an eye catching graphic. Now, I know that most of you aren’t graphic designers, but still, it’s not difficult to come up with something sharp looking, and even if you feel it’s a bit bland, remember that sometimes less is more, and simplicity is beautiful.

Midway Cafe Flyer

To sum up today’s lesson, please take more than 5 minutes to create a half decent flyer. Ask the bands on the bill for high resolution copies of their logos, or search them out on the web (Who doesn’t have a MySpace these days, at the very least?). If you truly believe you aren’t capable of creating something that isn’t completely hideous, do yourself a favor and find someone who can. Everyone knows someone who is an artist, or at the very least adept at using simple computer graphics applications. Worst case scenario hire someone to do it for you; trust me, it will be to your benefit in the end.

Speaking of which, now seems like a good time for some shameless self-promotion (stick with what you know, right people?):

Charlie's Kitchen Flyer

If you would like a flyer designed I offer graphic design services for a flat rate of $50 for a full color (or B&W, your choice) 8.5×11 or 11×17 show flyer, delivered within 2 weeks of payment (or 1 week for an extra $25) in Web Ready JPEG and Print Ready PDF formats. I can also refer you to a high quality printer with a fast 24-48 hour turnaround, if necessary.

Get in touch with me through this site, or on the contact page and we can discuss your project. $50 for a high quality flyer is cheaper than you’ll find pretty much anywhere, and if it’s advertising a $10 show and the flyer attracts 5 additional people, then you’ve made a wise investment.

CD Release Show Flyer

Either way, let’s raise the bar for what concert flyers should look like! As always, leave me any comments, positive or negative, and let me know what you think about these articles. Also, if you would like further information and examples of exemplary flyer design, check out this Smashing Magazine article, or any of these resources:

• GigPosters.com
  • The most definitive collection I’ve ever found!

• 125 Concert Posters (Pt 1 | Pt 2)
  • Collection of exemplary designs

• Design Inspiration: Concert Posters
  • A few examples, plus TONS of other links!

• COLOURlovers
  • Great for color pallet inspiration

One final word: Once you have a great looking flyer, USE IT! Plaster it everywhere, both in the real world and online. A promotional flyer is absolutely worthless if noone sees it. Trust me, if you can’t be bothered to even post a flyer at the venue you’re promoting a show for, you should probably be flipping burgers instead.