Month: August 2014 (Page 3 of 5)

Dr. Sketchy’s will return on Sunday, August 17, after a month’s hiatus. The theme this month is The Fifth Element, and the models are Luna L’Enfant and Mudd Flapp. I understand that we will meet a new model, portraying Korbin Dallas. The Fifth Element is the near-classic sci-fi film by Luc Besson that owes more than a little to the work of the late great comic book artist, Moebius. It is one of the most visually interesting movies made in the last thirty years, and as such is fertile ground for the Dr. Sketchy’s crew.

Be sure to come out to Uncork and Create, on Quarrier Street, across from the Quarrier Diner  Sunday at 6 PM for a cool sci-fi drawing session courtesy of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School. Admission is ten bucks and tickets can be pre-ordered or paid at the door.

Tonight and Saturday at 7 PM you have a chance to see Terry Gilliam’s brilliant masterpiece, Brazil, at the Electric Sky Theater at The Clay Center. This is part of the terrific Science Fiction Film series that has brought us Metropolis and Forbidden Planet already.

Admission is only six dollars, and tickets will be available at the Clay Center box office. If you haven’t seen this film, you must. If you have, go see it again. It’s such a rich experience that it bears repeated viewings.

When a bureaucrat in a retro-future world attempts to correct an administrative error, he becomes an enemy of the state in director Terry Gilliam’s Orwellian vision of the future. Starring Robert De Niro, Jonathan Pryce and Kim Griest, this science fiction fantasy is a double Oscar nominee and multiple award winner for its original screenplay, stunning visuals, acting and directing.

The PopCult Bookshelf

We are postponing our regularly-scheduled graphic novel reviews today so that we may bring you three cool Kickstarter Comics Campaigns (and finish reading the books we’d planned to review).

First up we have a book campaign that’s already met its funding goal, and only has a few days left, but I had to mention that Steve Ditko is ready to unleash a new MR.A story on the world. Ditko, of course, is the creator of Spider-man and a host of other cool characters like Hawk and Dove, The Creeper, The Question and many, many others. Continue reading

The Empty Glass continues its new tradition of bringing top touring acts in on Thursday nights and having them perform with NO COVER! Tomorrow evening sees The Stonecutters swoop in from Louisville with none other than RFC faves, HarraH opening and debuting a new line-up.  Soundergeist will also be on the bill. It will be a loud, fun night of music and the Radio Free Charleston crew will be on hand to record a special number for episode 200!  The show starts at 9:30 PM, so it won’t be one of those late-nights that so many folks use as an excuse not to catch live music in Charleston.

The following passage describes The Stonecutters. It’s either from the Bible or their website: “A dire, last minute, prophetic warning to a society hellbent on destroying everything it touches. Comprised of genuine 502 metal scene veterans, battle tested, past present and future. Amazing artwork from the jaded one himself, Dave Pollard. Any true Metal enthusiast will dig this, radio listnin’ woozleys need not apply. Punishing, brutal, beautiful, soothing, and primal music for these uncertain and turbulant times. Play at very high volume, preferably in a residential area. You’re not worthy.”

Rachel couch and Sheila Jarrett

This week The RFC MINI SHOW offers up a preview of The Legend of Sleeping Beauty, a musical version of the classic fairy tale that is fun for the whole family. You can catch this cute musical at the Alban Arts and Conference Center starting Friday, August 15. The performance dates are: August 15-16, 22-23 at 8 PM and August 17, 24 at 2 PM. Tickets are available online at albanartscenter.com/ or by calling (304) 721-8896. Adult admission is $15, while Seniors and Children (under 12) is $10.

We recorded a preview performance of this show at The Charleston Town Center weekend before last, and the group did a great job in what is a tough venue. We bring you two songs: “Bright and Shining” sung by Sheila Jarrett as Evelyn and Rachel Couch as Elise and “M-A-L-I-C-I-A” sung by Sara Golden as Malicia and Alondra Johnson, Ben Valleau, Claire Atkinson, Jaxzen Allen, Bethany Cole, Rowe Tapley and Bodie Allen as mice.

Sara Golden as Malicia with her “mice”

When the new princess is born, the court is excited that this is the child who will save them all from the evil force that threatens to vanquish the kingdom. The king asks his three favorite aunts to be godmothers to his daughter, Elise. A fourth aunt, Malicia, who has harassed the king’s family for years, shows up uninvited at the christening, causing a scene which ends with deadly curses. To protect the child, the three kindly godmothers take Elise to live in a secluded forest cottage until after her 16th birthday when the curse will expire. It is then that the princess and her protectors leave the safety of the forest and proceed to the king’s castle, but it’s a day too early to avoid the curse! The crazed and powerful Malicia arrives at the castle, making demands and threats, knowing that the time is right for fulfillment of the curse. Prince Michael, who is in love with Elise, also arrives at the castle, where his newfound love has fallen victim to Malicia’s curse and is sleeping in an isolated tower. In his search for Elise, Michael confronts Malicia, overcomes her curses, and finds his dear Elise. Michael awakens Elise, proclaims his love, and together they triumph over the curse and fulfill the legend.

I’ve mentioned the Amazing Heroes action figure Kickstarter campaign a couple of times here in PopCult because of their inclusion of Captain Action in the line, but this week we’re going to take a closer look at the entire project.

Fresh Monkey Fiction has come up with a very cool idea–creating 1980’s style action figure of some of the classic, now-public-domain superheroes from the 1940s.  With less than two weeks left in the campaign, they are more than half-way to their goal.

The Amazing Heroes figures are 4.5″ action figures, made in the style of the mid-1980s Marvel Secret Wars line by Mattel. Although this sort of figure is not as popular among customizers as MEGO, 12″ figures or 3 3/4″ figures, there has been some impressive work done in this scale by some very talented customizers. Continue reading

This week’s art is a rough digital pastel of Penny Maple, taken from last year’s Halloween Edition of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School. The reason we are revisiting The Possession of Penny Maple this week is two-fold. First, Dr. Sketchy’s will return on Sunday, August 17, after a month’s hiatus. The theme this month is The Fifth Element, and the models are Luna L’Enfant and Pepper Fandango. Our second reason is that I will be doing an actual real-world pastel of Penny Maple in her possessed state for the Arteries art show, presented by ShockaCon, which will take place on September 4 at Mike Winland Studios 5306 MacCorkle Ave S.E. in Kanawha City.

So be sure to come out to Dr. Sketchy’s Sunday at 6 PM for a cool sci-fi drawing session, then keep reading PopCult for more details on the Arteries show as it draws closer. And click the image to see it bigger.

This week we turn our video eye toward the best science fiction show with a really moronic premise ever…Gerry and Silvia Anderson’s Space: 1999. The premise of Space: 1999 involves the folks on Moonbase Alpha (Remember that base we had on the Moon just fifteen years ago?).  The Earth had been storing its nuclear waste on the dark side of the Moon, where it blowed up…real good.   The force of the explosion sends the Moon right out of orbit, launching it into space like a giant spaceship, with Moonbase Alpha going along for the ride.  

Ignoring the likelihood that such a cataclysm would not only kill everyone on the Moon, but also pretty much end life on Earth as we know it, the series was a lot a fun with sharp writing and a first-rate cast that included later OSCAR winner Martin Landau. Continue reading

Episode 31 of Radio Free Charleston, “GI Joe Shirt,” is now fully remastered. Originally from late November, 2007, this episode, hosted from the La Belle Theater, features music from Raymond Wallace and Doctor Senator, plus animation from Frank Panucci and news about then upcoming events in South Charleston, which are now many years in the past. .

This episode of Radio Free Charleston is loaded with promos for upcoming events that, of course, already happened. You’ll see host, Rudy Panucci, give heartfelt plugs for The No Pants Players annual Christmas Show and IWA East Coast’s double-show, where they ran a high-flyer’s tournament and the first Masters of Pain show on the same day. This show also includes a promo clip for the “Best of Radio Free Charleston Night” at the LaBelle and a brief appearence of Kitty Killton before she was Kitty Killton. We never did get around to doing “Mad Man Pondo’s Celebrity Run-in” though.

Our musical acts were Raymond Wallace, recorded in the lobby at LiveMix Studio, and Doctor Senator, recorded at The Sound Factory. Those two venues, sadly, are no longer with us. You can read the original production notes for this show HERE.

The PopCulteer
August 8, 2014

This week the PopCulteer will look at one show that’s coming up August 16. I’m putting word of this in a week earlier than normal so that you can make plans to be there now. After that, we’ll look at stuff to do this weekend.

Jimmy Beasley Benefit Show

The big show next weekend is the Jimmy Beasley Benefit Show, Saturday night at The Blue Parrot. As most of you know, last April Jimmy Beasley, a former Marine and a well-liked bouncer who worked for bars in the Capitol Street area, was brutally shot while escorting some women to their cars.

He was doing his job, and wasn’t even involved in the earlier altercation with the two alleged mindlessly-violent thugs who tried to kill him. They shot him twelve times, including twice in the head. Jimmy is lucky to be alive, but he has a long road to recovery ahead of him. This has been devestating for Jimmy and his family, and it’s had a chilling effect on the downtown club scene. The Cellar, where Jimmy was working on the night of the shooting, has shut down. People just started returning to the downtown area recently, largely because of Live on the Levee, but folks are still wary.

Jimmy is out of the hospital, which is almost miraculous given the extent of his injuries. Reportedly, he’s even on his feet again occasionally, with the aid of a walker. However, he and his family still need financial help. His house is being remodeled to make it wheelchair-accesible, and there are medical bills upon medical bills. Two months in the hospital is not a cheap stay.

Saturday, August 16, The Blue Parrot will play host to an evening of entertainment to help Jimmy and the Beasley family get back on their feet. There is a suggested donation of five dollars at the door. Decent people will give more. The entertainment will be well worth it, regardless. Continue reading