July 2009 Archives

On Wednesday night a rather eclectic selection of music enthusiasts gathered to celebrate the release of New Tales To Tell, a Love and Rockets tribute album which features an even more eclectic selection of covers by the likes of Puscifer, War Tapes, The Dandy Warhols and The Flaming Lips. The event was put together by longtime Love and Rockets friend Christopher "The Minister," who compiled and released the album via his new Swing House label.

Shepard Fairey, who created the cover art for the album, spun an '80s themed set as the after-work crowd filtered into the courtyard of Space 15 Twenty. The newly opened Cahuenga Blvd. venue serves as an experiment for owners Urban Outfitters, who hope to create similar retail, gallery and restaurant/bar environments in other city center spaces where their core brand can mix it up with local artists and vendors.

'80s Flashback DJ Richard Blade was master of ceremonies for the evening, introducing local bands Astra Heights, Vex and The Invisible Humans. Man about town, Michael Des Barres, made an appearance, as did the man of the hour, Daniel Ash, who was closely involved in the New Tales To Tell project and is working on a new story of his own -- his first post-L&R-reunion single release.

New Tales To Tell was released digitally on July 28th and will be released physically on August 18. Daniel Ash's single (with Zak Ambrose), a cover of David Essex's "Rock On," is available on The Swing House Sessions Volume I. Click HERE for more details and HERE to view event image gallery.

SuicideGirls helped comics historian Craig Yoe recreate the secret fetish art of Superman artist and co-creator Joe Shuster at back room soirée held at LA's Meltdown Comics last night.

Shuster's erotic illustrations were originally published in 1953 in the under-the-counter comic Nights of Horror. The work violated pornography laws at the time, thus Shuster was unable to lay claim to this work. A spate of murders in New York lead to a crackdown on pornography in the city the following year. The publisher of Nights of Horror was arrested, and the comics were confiscated and destroyed. Thus the adult work of Shuster, which had always been done undercover, was seemingly lost for all time.

Then, about two years ago, Yoe stumbled across a copy of Nights of Horror in a dusty box on an antique book stall. Yoe instantly recognized the DNA of the draftsmanship displayed in the images. Further research into Shuster's hereto unknown illicit work opened the door to a twilight world of showgirls, mobsters, neo-Nazi juvenile delinquents, hate crimes, murders, court cases, and government enquiries held at the highest level.

Yoe has compiled the stories and images he uncovered in a just-released book, Secret Identity. Read more on Yoe's remarkable voyage of discovery in my interview here.

For images from the Meltdown event, click here.

Addiction first took hold of Richard Farrell after a torn knee put an end to hopes of a professional athletics career. That same injury started his relationship with pain medication. One thing led to another, as these things do, and by the time he reached thirty Farrell had succumbed to almost every aspect of the heroin lifestyle.

His journey to redemption is chronicled in his new memoir, What's Left of Us. Farrell was one of the lucky ones; after twenty failed attempts, he slayed his dragon at a run-down, state-funded detox clinic in Massachusetts, and went on to fulfill his potential as an author, journalist, teacher, filmmaker and screenwriter.

Many addicts will not be so fortunate. Clinics such as these are the easy victims of budget cuts. As bankrupt states struggle to pick up the incarceration tab for the collateral damage of the War on Drugs, and our federal government goes deeper into debt to pay for its War on (drug-funded) Terror, Farrell's life experience leads him to pose an important question: Have we forgotten the simple laws of supply and demand? By funding these two never-ending wars are we ineffectually treating the symptoms instead of battling the cause? Wouldn't our money be better spent reducing the demand for drugs?

The state-funded treatment of drug addiction has never been a vote-winning cause (just look at the tap dancing Obama was forced to do recently on the prickly issue of needle exchange programs). Here, in this special guest column, Farrell makes the case for a more enlightened drug (and healthcare) policy and talks of the horrors that will likely transpire if we continue on our current course, which is tantamount to treating cancer with a gold-plated plaster -- ridiculous, ineffectual, expensive and ultimately fatal.

Click HERE to read Farrell's essay, The Two Hour Orgasm, at SuicideGirls.com.

Life hasn't exactly been a vacation for Aimee Allen, who is the organically rebellious product of a guilt-laden Catholic school system. Signed at the tender age of 21 to Elektra Records, her debut album, I'd Start a Revolution If I Could Get Up In the Morning, got caught in the crossfire of a corporate merger and was shelved by the soon-to-be dormant label. Worse, Aimee's voice was effectively silenced for several years when the record company refused to release her from her contract without a substantial -- and unattainable -- buyout in place.

Down but not out, Aimee found new voices for her songs, which were recorded by Kevin Michael, Tila Tequila and Unwritten Law. The latter band scored a Top 5 hit on Billboard's Modern Rock chart with "Save Me," which was co-written by Aimee, Linda Perry and Unwritten Law vocalist Scott Russo. Aimee contributed lyrics to the remainder of the tracks on the band's 2005 album, Here's to the Mourning, and Scott and Aimee became romantically entwined. Their relationship culminated with a record of duets, Sitting In A Tree, but sadly the harmony off CD ended, the album's February 2007 release serving as a tombstone for the death of their relationship.

Inspired by the 2007 documentary Zeitgeist, and the work of Alex Jones, Aimee recorded a track to support politician Ron Paul's 2008 election campaign. It became the Libertarian's theme song after the accompanying video became a monster grassroots hit via YouTube. Aimee was subsequently thrust into the political spotlight, and became the voice of revolution for a generation of new voters. However Aimee soon had a more personal battle to fight, after an assault in the summer of 2008 left her with a broken jaw and serious head injuries.

She retreated to Indiana to nurse her wounds and pick up the pieces of her life. Having been the victim of aggression, a new gentler Aimee emerged. When she was well enough to venture back into the studio, the harder rock sounds of her past recordings were replaced with the warm, soothing sounds her body and soul craved. The resulting album, A Little Happiness, is a sonic haven for those needing to escape the troubles of this world. However, as Aimee explained when she stopped by the SuicideGirls office, not everyone is happy that she's taken a recess from revolution.

Click HERE to read my interview with Aimee at SuicideGirls.com.

"If you were ever to meet a character like Captain Jack, I think the most monogamous woman in the world would probably go for him -- it'd be hard not to. "
Eve Myles (aka Gwen Cooper)

Gwen Cooper traded her ho-hum career as a policewoman to work as a professional alien catcher at Torchwood, an organization which legend has it is "separate from the government, outside the police, and beyond the United Nations." Eve Myles, the Welsh actress who plays Gwen, in turn, has traded her life in very legitimate theater for one in the warped and sexy science fiction universe.

Torchwood is the adult-orientated spin-off from Doctor Who, the world's longest running sci-fi TV series. Created by Doctor Who writer/producer/guru Russell T. Davies, Torchwood debuted in the UK in 2006. Picked up by BBC America in 2007, it has since become one of the station's hottest properties to date.

In part that is due to the on-screen chemistry between Eve's character and that of her charismatic boss Captain Jack Harkness (played by John Barrowman). When the two aren't doing battle to save the planet, they're battling to resist their mutual compulsion to get it on.

At the end of season two Jack and Eve lost two of their colleagues. Season three picks up where two left off, and takes the form of an epic five-part mini series called, Children of Earth.

I called Eve up while she was on a promotional trip in New York to get the inside scoop on Torchwood's other worldly success.

Click HERE to read my interview with Eve which is exclusive to SuicideGirls.