Month: October 2013 (Page 3 of 5)

We will post a complete sechedule for HallowEast 5 in Popcult on Tuesday, but until then, check out this cool commercial, which is airing on Suddenlink now.

Also, get ready for RFC 191, coming tomorrow, it’s the first part of our two-part Halloween 2013 extravaganza, recorded at Shocka-Con just last month. You’ll be treated to music and interviews from The Renfields, HarraH, Danny Hicks, Eamon Hardiman, The Big Bad, Jermey Ambler, the McGees and more.  That’s tomorrow. For now, watch this spot over and over.

This is a remastered version of Radio Free Charleston episode 29, “Pirate Outfit,” our Halloween 2007 show.

This classic RFC features appropriately scary music from legendary Charleston band Big Money (featuring Michael Lipton) and local rapper Lil Guy from South Park Enterprise. Plus, we have scenes from the Radio Free Charleston 2007 Halloween party at the late, lamented Capitol Roasters Cafe, where we hijacked a Whistlepunk show.

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We have a jam-packed weekend to tell you about. The pre-Halloween festivities are kicking off Friday with Night of the Living Dead at Kanawha Players Theater (you can also catch it Saturday night and Sunday Afternoon), and CharCon is underway, but there’s more!

Hack3rCon^4

Hack3rCon^4 is happening this weekend. The “Eye Of The Storm” for Charleston’s Computer Security experts will open for registration Friday morning, This convention will feature speakers, seminars and Hackerspace so that ideas can be exchanged freely and help people figure out how to safely navigate the world of networks, computers and the web.

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The PopCulteer
October 18, 2013

This week the PopCulteer gets to welcome back a Charleston Institution, bring you yet another truncated look at ArtWalk and alert you to some great new music. Let’s dive in, shall we?

The Quarrier Diner has reopened, and this time they got it right. Back in March, the owner, Anna Pollitt, announced that she was closing the Diner after trying to make a go of it as an upscale Bistro restaurant. She and her husband had done an amazing job restoring this historic Art Deco landmark, but the location didn’t quite jibe with the potential customer base. The downstairs bar, Timothy’s, stayed open and has been doing quite well.

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Halloween has grown a bit this year. Because of the way the holiday falls, and the fact that some folks are getting a jump on it by taking over a weekend early for festivities, we have what amounts to a fifteen-day Halloween season. it’s like the reference in the RFC 2009 Halloween special to “Hallowaunakah!”

Kicking things off this weekend is the Kanawha Players production of “Night of the Living Dead” live, on stage, in black and white. Check out this trailer I made earlier this week…

That’s the audio from the original movie trailer, married to footage I shot of a dress rehearsal Monday night.  I wrote about KP’s production in our Sunday Evening Video post, but here’s a reminder about the meaty details: Show dates are October 18, 19, 25, 26 at 8PM, with a matinee on october 20 at 2 PM. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students. You can order early here, or call KP at (304) 343-7529.

See Penny Maple get possessed Sunday at Uncork and Create

On Sunday at 6 PM, you can join Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School for The Possession of Penny Maple. See the headmistress of The Wayward Girls School of Burlesque descend into the clutches of demonic servitude as the night progresses, with make up courtesy of Chris Woodall. Elle Xombeah will also be on hand. This is the Halloween edition of Dr. Sketchy’s, and it’s always a blast.

This all happens at Uncork and Create, across from The Quarrier Diner, at 6 PM Sunday. Artists and photographers are welcome. It’s BYOB and 21 and up only. Admission is ten bucks at the door, or eight in advance.

Charcon happens this weekend too. It’s a gamer convention, which is like a comic book convention, only without comic books. Cosplayers and people who play games are going to be all over the Charleston Civic Center and probably the Charleston Town Center, too, which should make things interesting. Details are at the Charcon website.

HackerCon is happening at the same time, but we’ll tell you more about that on Friday. Keep checking PopCult for more Halloween Stuff To Do over the next two weeks.

The PopCult Bookshelf

This week the PopCult Bookshelf listens to another fine Audiocomics production based on a Moonstone Publishing novella, “Battle For L.A.” Pulp heroes The Black Bat, Domino Lady, Secret Agent X, and The Phantom Detective, and classic comic character Airboy team up to fight UFOs over Los Angeles during the waning days of World War II.

The illustrated novella by CJ Henderson and Mark Sparacio tells what really happened during true-life incident, where US anti-aircraft shore artillery opened fire on an unidentified object in the skies above Los Angeles. Over the course of the next three hours, “swarms of planes” were reported as roaming the skies above the city of angels, though in the end the only actual damage was the result of traffic accidents, friendly fire from the attack, and in some cases, heart attacks caused by stress.

“Battle For L.A.” tells us how a group of “Mystery Men” formed an allegience to combat a manace from another world. A “creature of the night,” The Black Bat enlists the aid of dapper crime-fighter, The Phantom Detective to investigate a strange case on behalf of the Army. The discovery of a strange metal cannister held by Japanese agents starts them on an amazing adventure.

Along the way, the duo team up with The Domino Lady and Airboy to combat what seems to be an unholy alliance between Emperor Hirohito and beings that are somewhere between Cthulu and the Martians from “The War of the Worlds.”

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Wanda Petunia and friend

In this week’s Toybox we’re going to look at a crowdsourcing project that aims to produce a plush toy right here in West Virginia. DubVee is a Mountain-State-based crowd sourcing site, along the lines of Kickstarter or IndieGoGo, and it’s the home of a campaign to produce Wanda Petunia dolls.

Wanda Petunia is the creation of Amy Williams, and is the star of a children’s book. Wanda is a pig who searches for love and learns life lessons along the way.

Williams hopes to start the Wanda Petunia Sewing Collectives to buy materials, sewing machines, and to pay the seamstresses a fair wage to produce Wanda Petunia dolls. She will also teach them how to sew and work with the seamstresses to build confidence and support their creativity.

There’s one week to go, and Williams is well along the way. If you want to support a homegrown toy project and helpt local seamstresses, check out the Wanda Petunia Sewing Collective at Dub Vee.

This week’s RFC MINI SHOW stars West Virginia’s favorite Transylvanian punk group, The Renfields. This special three song mini-show was recorded at Shocka-Con last month and serves as a preview for the Radio Free Charleston Halloween specials, also shot at Shocka-Con, which will run for the next two weeks in this space.

In addition to sporting more songs from The Renfields, the Radio Free Charleston Halloween specials will also include music from The Big Bad, HarraH, Foz Rotten, The Nanker Phelge and The McGees. There will also be dancing from The Wayward Girls School of Burlesque and in a huge departure for Radio Free Charleston, interviews with some of the Shocka-Con guests.

That’s all in Radio Free Charleston starting next week but this week, enjoy The Renfields in the RFC MINI SHOW performing “The Last Man on Earth,” “Machete A Go-Go” and “Burning Revenge.”

This week’s artisitic self-indulgence is a digital painting over a thirty-year-old photograph of the limbs of a tree. Oh, sure, right now the trees are beautiful, what with their fancy color changes and all, and they’ll look great for the next few weeks, but after those brighly-hued leaves fall to the ground, all that’ll be left is twigs and branches.

And those can be beautiful too, in their own way.  Click to enlarge.

Our featured video tonight is George Romero’s classic 1968 horror film, “Night of the Living Dead.” Our reason for bringing this to you is two-fold. First, there will be a very exciting live production of this movie presented by Kanawha Players opening Friday, October 18. Second, the new season of “The Walking Dead” premieres tonight, so this might help put you in the mood.

Using make up and stage magic, the KP production of “Night of the Living Dead” will be performed in Black and White (except for the blood!). Show times are 8 PM on October 18, 19, 25 and 26 and 2 PM on October 20. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students. We’ll tell you more about this production Wednesday, when PopCult brings you a detailed guide to Halloween. For now, watch the movie to get ready for the zombie outbreak.