#Danny just became a full time parent to a huge group of people

[artemismoorea03]

DP x DC: Kings' Tasks

Danny was the King to the Ghost Zone but it came with a few... rules.

Rule 1: His human side had to be at least 18 years old.

Rule 2: He had to be in 'training' to help him learn how to properly lead the Ghost Zone and protect them in the case of an emergency.

and Rule 3: He had to do tasks for each of the Ancient Ghosts within the Ghost Zone. Most of the tasks were easy and he didn't even know they were happening.

For Clockwork he helped take down Dan.

For Pandora he helped get her box back.

For Frostbite he retrieved the Infi-Map

Now his next task was to help 'Lady Gotham'. A ghost as powerful as the others, but ten times bigger than any of the other Ancient Ghosts within the Ghost Zone.

Who would have thought that Lady Gotham's task would be helping keep her "Noble Knights" from getting themselves killed fighting crime in the most dangerous city in their corner of the Infinite Realms.

[ververa]

Bruised hearts

@misssmephisto thank you for help with the title <3

Tammy x fem!reader

You're the youngest member of the Ocean's family. It didn't really give you a better choice of your life path than being a criminal like all the rest. Well, of course you could be like other people in their early twenties. That's what your grandparents, as it was them who brought you up mostly wanted for you. Go to the university, study the medicine or any other subject that wouldn't be connected with crime. Your grandmother kept on saying that she'd always wanted you to be a doctor. To have a normal, non criminal life, but you were too stubborn. You wanted to show them, especially your father, what you're capable of. Though it didn't exactly go smoothly. The plan you had failed miserably and you ended up in jail just as your aunt did.

There wasn't a way to escape that fix. Even the group of lawyers, that your grandparents had hired, wasn't able to help you avoid the troubles. 

"I'm too young to go to jail" you used to laugh, but the court didn't care about your age. You're 19 and sentenced to 5 years in prison. There was no point in fighting. Actually you're hurt too much to even think about it. Your friends, partners in crime set you up. It wasn't that you didn't do that. You did rob the bank, but you didn't do it alone. However, all evidences were against you and so the jail became your new place of stay.

You didn't have an easy time there. Everyone knew who you're and they didn't like you at all. 

At the beginning you're a mix of cynicism and confidence. The fact that you couldn't keep your mouth shut didn't spare you from getting into a few fights, in which they beat the brains out of you. Also being young and pretty had a huge impact on their actions. 

Luckily for you the court agreed to conditionally release you after 2 years. Mainly because of the poor state of your health. The reason didn't really matter. For you the most important thing was the freedom. You're going to be free again, on certain conditions of course, but everything was better than that hell. 

Your parents were death, grandparents were done. They didn't believe the rehabilitation could work in your case and didn't even want to try it, so they sent you to your aunt. 

Well actually they'd sent your aunt to pick you up. She didn't have a choice and was basically forced to take you, which made everything worse for you. You hated being a burden, but there you were. Standing outside the building and waiting for her. You're dressed in a black pair of jeans and a pink hoodie. Normally you'd never wear something that's not black, but well that was what your lawyer had brought you from your grandparents' house to wear. It was of course your grandmother's idea to buy you that pink shit, but did you have a choice? So, you put it on. You were well aware that you looked nothing, but ridiculous in that pink clothing and with your black eye, but lip and tattoos on your hands that were still visible despite the long sleeves your hoodie had. You could feel the guards looking at you, but luckily your aunt arrived and finally you're able to hide in the car. 

There she was - Deborah Ocean in person.

"You decided to change your style or something?" she joked looking at you "Also what happened to your face?"

"Well, that shit is what grandma has sent me" you pointed to the hoodie "And my face… let's say that people in jail don't like me"

"Okay. I get it. Well, when we get home I'll give you something, so you can take off that piece of shit… and we'll take care of your face too"

You smiled. It's been a long time since you had seen each other, but your bond was so strong that no time could empoverish it. Debbie was your godmother and since your biological mother died she was far more. She was the only real mother figure you had ever had. And being close to her alone made you feel a bit more safe and calm. Though you still couldn't forget about your negative experiences from prison. 

"You look like a shit" Lou stated as soon as you entered

"It's nice to see you too"

"Oooh, come here" she pulled you into a hug

"Ow!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"Well, I had my ribs broken, but it's a long and boring story"

Lou looked at Debbie, but said nothing.

"Anyway" began your aunt "We're going to stay here for now. I'll show you your room. Lou, could you give Y/N something else to wear?"

"Sure" she nodded

"We're going to meet with the rest today. So you'll meet the whole squad" Debbie said leading you to your room

"Cool"

"And we'll need to lay down some rules"

After Lou gave you some normal clothes you decided to go to your old place and get yourself your own stuff. It took you more than you expected, so when you finally came back it was already the evening. You entered the warehouse and slowly closed the door not realising that the place was full of people. You turned back ready to head out to your room and you froze. You stood there dumbfounded with your mouth full of gum, (which you couldn't help and needed to buy, simply because you had forgotten how it tastes) and the group of 7 women, from who you knew only 2, was looking at you.

"Who the fuck are you?" asked the one with dreadlocks

"Guys" Debbie started coming towards you "This is my niece. Y/N" 

"Niece? You mean… she's Danny's daughter?"

"Yes, exactly" Lou answered moving to stand next to you "Y/N, meet our squad. Nine Ball, Amita, Constance, Rose and Tammy"

"Hi…" you said

"Okay. It's time to establish rules. Y/N is now living here, though she's not allowed to be around the heist or any other things like that. You hear me?" she looked at you

"Yes, boss" you nodded 

"Why? I mean is that an overprotective mothers' thing or what?" asked Constance

"Not really" said Lou

"She just got out of jail and we don't want her to go back there, right?"

"Yeah" you chimed in

"So, you're allowed to help here, but you can't leave and you know… just don't break the law and try to be invisible"

You did as you're told. You acted as if you weren't there, though it turned out to be harder than you assumed at first. They let you help, of course, but not in the way you'd want to. They treated you more like a servant who was doing all the donkey work. They were hungry? You're there to buy and bring the food. They needed a transport? You're there to drive them anywhere. It got to the point that you're taking care of Nine Ball's sister and taking Amita's mother to the doctor, because Debbie needed them at that time. The only one who wasn't using you seemed to be Tammy. She was always so kind and you found it strange. You're so used to being treated badly by everyone that you simply didn't know how to act around her. It was hard to explain, but even though you're done and frustrated with all the rest, when she appeared you're just happy. You're so genuinely happy that you couldn't stop smiling, which probably made you look like an idiot. 

It was one evening, when both Nine Ball and Tammy were staying at your place for the night. You're supposed to share your room with Nine Ball. It was fun, but only at the beginning. After some time you're done. As you got out of prison you wanted space. You craved privacy and peace more than anything, so you left the room and went out to the balcony. You're enjoying the night and your own company, when she appeared from nowhere. 

"You'll catch a cold" you turned back and saw Tammy

She was dressed in a white T-shirt, black jogging pants and a long grey cardigan sweater. Her blonde curls were falling on her shoulders and she looked even more adorable than usually.

"What are you doing here? It's late you know"

"I can't sleep" you smiled weakly "I just you know… don't like sharing room with anyone I guess"

"Why? I mean… well when I was younger I really liked spending nights at my friend's. You know we had pyjama parties" she smiled at the reminiscence

You didn't say anything. It was hard to talk about jail, so you preferred not to talk at all.

"Nice tattoos by the way" she said 

Only then did you realise you're there only in a T-shirt and shorts that were exposing your ink-covered hands and legs.

"Thanks" you said shyly

"Does each one of them has a special meaning?"

"Probably…" you shrugged

"Okay. You're part of a "don't ask, don't tell" culture. I get it"

"No. I mean yes. I mean not exactly…" you started rambling

"It's okay. I'm fine with it. We don't need to talk if you don't want to"

"No. I mean I want to just I… I'm not like me since I got out. I'm still trying to get used to being free, but it's hard when all I'm doing all the time is being a kind of servant"

"You're not a servant! Well, I was going to ask you if you'd like to help me with... you know the fence's things" she laughed "I thought that since you cannot really be around heists maybe you'd like that"

"I would love that" you said happily

"So, have you ever worked with any fence before or… am I your first?" Tammy asked arching her eyebrow playfully

"Oh, well, yeah… I guess I did. Though you're the best of them all"

" You're sweet" she smiled and wanted to say something more, but her phone called "I'm sorry, it's my son"

"It's okay"

Tammy smiled apologetically and pick up the phone. Listening to her talking with the kid made your heart melt. She was so kind and caring. She was perfect and just by listening you could say she was a great mother. 

"We want to tell you something" Lou said that evening when you're all gathered in the living room of the warehouse

"Yeah?" Constance began

"What's up guys?" Tammy asked

"So…" Lou continued

"We're together" Debbie finished for her 

"We know that already" Amita said

"You do?" Lou looked at us

"Told you, you're a little family with your dear daughter Y/N" Nine Ball affirmed

"Ooo guys, but I was always curious" Constance began

"Curious about?" Debbie asked 

"Who's the top?"

You almost choked with the juice you're drinking.

"Are you okay?" Tammy asked

You only nodded not being able to speak. 

"I am" both Debbie and Lou said at the same time

"I don't want to listen to it" you said standing up and making your way to the balcony

You stood there for a while alone, before Tammy joined you. 

"You alright?" 

"Yeah. Just listening about my aunt's sexual life is not my thing"

Tammy laughed

"I see"

"By the way" you began "Your kids are really lucky to have such a mother like you. I mean you're for sure a great mother. You're so kind, caring and patient"

"Thank you. But I think I'm nothing special. I mean I'm like all the other mothers. Yours is the same probably"

"Actually no. My mother died when I was a kid"

"Oh my god. I'm really sorry. I didn't know" 

"It's okay"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"How it happened that you ended up in jail?"

"Well it just probably that I'm attracting all the possible problems and I tend to trust wrong people… and you know it kind of scares me. I don't want to go back to prison, but knowing me…"

"Not this time, sweetheart. I'll keep an eye on you and nothing bad will happen"

There were only 4 days to the heist when the babysitter, who were taking care of Tammy's children got sick. 

"Deb, I can't stay. I need to go and take care of my children" Tammy said collecting her things 

"You cannot work not being here" Ocean stated

"I know that. I'm really sorry, but I have to go"

"Tammy, we need you here. I need you here"

"My children need me too. I'm the mother. In responsible for two living human beings, who are too little to stay in their own"

"Y/N will go" Debbie said as you entered the room

"Will go where?" you asked confused

"You'll go to Tammy's house and stay with her kids for a few days"

The word 'kids' hit you harder than anything. You had never been responsible for any other breathing creature other than yourself and the thought of not only one, but two little kids scared the shit out of you. The three of you stood there in an awkward silence for a few minutes. They're both looking at you with anticipation. Debbie's look was nagging. She didn't hear a 'no' too often, so for her it was rather obvious that you must agree. It was different with Tammy. She didn't want to push you into anything, definitely not into staying with her children, who she knew can be bratty at times. She was looking at you and you could say she's worried and stressed. How could you say no to those beautiful, brown eyes? How could you say no to the woman that you absolutely adored?

"Okay. I will" you agreed

"You will?" Tammy exclaimed

"I will" you repeated

"I don't know how to thank you"  Tammy said when you're on the way to their school

"You're welcome TamTam" you said and realised that you actually used the nickname "Oh shit. Sorry. I…"

"No no. It's okay. You can call me 'TamTam'. I like it" she smiled 

You reciprocated the action and nodded.

"Aren't you afraid of  you know… leaving your kids with me?" 

"No" she answered "No" she looked at you "Why would I?" she asked frowning

"I was in jail…"

"So what?"

"Usually normal people…"

"Sunshine, I'm the fence. I'm definitely not a normal person" she laughed "Look, we all make mistakes sometimes, but it's normal. We're only humans after all"

"But…"

"I'm more worried about you than them. I know they'll be safe with you" she said placing her hand on top of yours

"I'll be fine" you smiled looking at her hand. 

"I hope so" she said lightly squeezing your hand

The kids ran to their mother as soon as they saw her. 

"Hi guys" Tammy greeted them

"Your back!" a girl exclaimed

"We've missed you" a boy said shyly 

"Oooh, I missed you too" she hugged them

"Mommy! Mommy! Bella invited me to her birthday. Can I go?" the girl asked excitedly

"I think you can…"

"Ooo I won the competition for the best drawing"

"That's great sweetie"

"If May can go to Bella, can I go to Matt?"

"Sure buddy"

You watched Tammy listening to her kids rambling, before she finally managed to cut them off.

"Hey! Hey guys! We'll talk about it all later. I want you to meet someone" she turned back to look at you "Mabel, Max this is Y/N"

And in one second all their attention was on you.

"Hi" you said

"Hello, I'm Mabel" the girl smiled sweetly, just like her mother always did

"It's nice to meet you" you smiled back "And it's nice to meet you too" you moved towards the boy, who seemed to be shy "I'm Y/N" you offered him your hand

"I'm Max"

"That's a cool name"

"Thanks" 

"Listen, I need to go back to the town for a few more days and Y/N is going to stay with you"

The kids nodded. 

"Let's go back home, okay?"

"Can I sit in the front seat?" asked Mabel

Tammy looked at you questioningly

"Sure" you said 

"Thank you" Mabel said happily 

"You're welcome"

You sat at the back seat with Max, who got really interested by your tattoos. So you started telling him various stories about each of them. You got so absorbed that at first you didn't notice Tammy looking at the two of you in the rear-view mirror. But when you did, oh man, that huge grin on her face. Your eyes met in the mirror and the only thing you could do was smile shyly, as you could feel how your cheeks turned pink. 

"When will you come back?" Max asked

"Soon. Mommy will be back as soon as possible" Tammy hugged the boy and kissed the top of his head "Come here" she addressed Mable "Be a good girl and help Y/N take care of your brother, okay?"

The girl nodded and then took her brother home leaving the two of you alone. 

"Y/N, I don't know how to thank you"

"There's no need to thank me"

"I promise I'll make it up to you. If anything happens call me. I'll be calling everyday. They can be bratty, so if anything don't go easy on them"

"Don't worry. I'll handle everything"

"I know you will"

"Okay. You should go back, it's getting late and we don't want you to drive at night, do we?"

"Of course not" she smiled

Tammy came closer and hugged you. She wanted to kiss your cheek, but at the same time you wanted to say something more. And that's when it happened. Her lips were on yours. 

"Oh fuck, TamTam, I'm so sorry" you immediately stepped back terrified of what had happened

"First don't curse. Second, it's okay. It wasn't your fault. Well actually it was nobody's fault. I don't know if we can even talk about any fault. Never mind, have a good night sweetheart. I'll call you when I'm back at Lou's"

You only nodded not trusting your voice. You waited until she drove away and then entered the house. You touched your lips remembering the gentle touch of her lips. You wanted to memorise it, knowing that it was the first and probably the last time when you were that close. 

Tammy's kids were simply adorable. And you couldn't help, but like them more and more with each day. 

They're siblings, but they're completely different. Mabel - was older. She's 7 and definitely was more outgoing than her brother. She was a little chatterbox and it was impossible for anyone to outtalk her. Of course you're the exception to this. It was only thanks to the fact that you knew a few different languages and your ability to talk in them amazed the girl to the point when she was just silent and wanted to listen to you instead of talking. 

Max was completely different. He's 2 years younger than Mabel. And if you hadn't knew better you'd say he's just shy, but with all the experience that you had after being in prison you knew almost at once that he was bullied. You tried to talk with him about it and wanted to find a way to help him, but he closed up feeling too insecure. 

"Mabel, do you know who's bullying your brother?" you asked the girl one evening

"I'm not sure, but I think it's the PE teacher. You know Max doesn't really like to play any sports… and the man is just rude"

"Did he talk about it with your parents?"

"He tried and told our dad, but he told him to stop blubbing. You know, our dad sometimes get really nervous…"

It took you some time to finally got to the boy. He told you everything about the teacher, who kept on poking fun at him, because he was smaller than other boys and didn't like playing with the rest. When you found out that Max got a suspension, because of that arsehole you seethed with anger. 

You didn't really think it over. The next day you just called your friends - two muscular men - and went to school. You didn't need to try to hard, as the two men accompanying you were enough to scared the shit out of the guy. You just put things straight. 

You knew it helped when you picked the kids up later that day. Max was talking all the way back home, not giving his sister a chance to cut him off. He was so excited and happy. 

"You're so much better than our dad" Mabel said when you're sitting in the living room "You took care of Max. You never yell and you're not rude towards mommy..." she counted as you're getting ready to brush her long hair

You didn't know what to say. Luckily for you Max rescued you - stating excitedly that Tammy's calling. She was doing it every evening. It was a kind of habit - her checking on children and partially on you too. You're usually brushing Mabel's honey hair and just listening to them talking. But that time it's different. Instead of calling on the phone Tammy used Skype, so Max put his laptop on the coffee table right in front of you and Mabel. 

They're telling her about their days, how it's at school and so on. But you stayed silent. You're still thinking about what Mabel told you and were definitely too focused on the girl's hair to even notice that Max climbed onto the sofa and hugged you from behind. You're already used to. He was doing it basically every evening, though Tammy hadn't called on Skype before. For her it was the first time to see the three of you like that - you on the sofa with Mabel sitting on the floor, between your legs, so that you could have a better access to her hair and Max - almost completely leaning against your back, with his tiny hands embracing you in a hug. That was absolutely incredible for Tammy, because her son hugged nobody, but her. When you're finally done with Mabel's hair you looked up only to see Tammy starring at you with something that you hadn't seen in her eyes before. 

"It's time to sleep" she stated still looking at you

"Noooo" "We don't want to" the kids started complaining

"Hey, guys no. Your mom is right. It's late and tomorrow you both have school. It's time for bed" you said

 They exchanged a knowing look and went for a hug. You hugged them both and soon they disappeared in their rooms.

"What?" you asked seeing Tammy's surprised face

"Nothing. Just you… I don't know how you did that, but my kids adore you"

"That's my charm" you joked

"I have no doubts it's that" she smiled

 You blushed and you're sure that your heart skipped a beat.

"You should get some sleep too, TamTam"

"Yeah, probably. Well, my charming lady, I'll come to see you tomorrow"

Tammy couldn't remember the last time she left her children for that long. She missed them and that was something normal, but missing you? She was confused because of the feelings she couldn't identify with anything she had felt before. 

The evening of the Gala finally arrived. Everything was ready. They were ready. 

Tammy was on her position, completely focused on her task until she saw you. Her eyes widened as she noticed you dressed in a black suit. You smiled at her and for those few seconds nothing around her matter. 

"Ask her out already" Nine Ball whispered passing next to her

"It's about the time" she heard Lou's voice

"I don't know what you're talking about" she said readjusting a headset in her ear

"Are you kidding me? Are you seriously that oblivious to it TamTam? Can't you see it?"

"Geez Lou! See what?"

"The way her face lights up every time she sees you"

"Ladies, can you postpone this talk?" Debbie spoke up "Also, we need to talk TamTam"

"Deborah Ocean, stop it, right now. Don't stress Tammy out"

"I'm only saying that if she's into my niece, we need to talk about it"

"Can we maybe focus and stick to the plan?" Tammy asked

"Don't think you can go without it, TamTam. That's not how things work"

You didn't really participate in the heist. You're there only for a few minutes, as you helped Lou get in the building. You let them work and waited till they're done. You wanted to pick Tammy up. She didn't ask you to, but you just felt like that. And just because you could you did it. Sitting in the car you got a bit impatient, but when you finally saw her again you came to the conclusion that the sight was worth it. She looked gorgeous in that long, black dress. Even more beautiful than usual, which you thought was impossible.

Tammy spotted you immediately. She was approaching you and your eyes were glued to her figure. 

"You look…" you didn't have a chance to finish, because she cut you off with a kiss

For a few seconds you didn't know what was happening. You needed a moment to process things, but when you finally did you happily kissed her back.

"Will you stay with me?" she asked

You weren't able to speak, so you only nodded and she smiled again.

"I want all of you tonight" Tammy said gently pushing you on her bed

You let her take off your jacket and watched as she was stripping off the dress. You felt great. Amazing actually, until she reached and wanted to take off your shirt. That's when you freaked out.

"Wait. No. I can't…"

"What?" she asked confused

"I…"

"Did I pressure you? It's too fast? I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to…"

"No" you cut her off "No. I promise, you didn't pressure. It's just… do you remember our talk when you said I'm a part of a "don't ask, don't talk" culture?"

"Yes" she nodded

"It's not I didn't want to tell you. I wanted to, because I trust you and you… you're always so nice and caring. And you make me feel safe, but it's hard. I don't want you to change your opinion about me…"

"Sweetheart, I could never" she leaned in and kissed your forehead "Look, we don't have to do anything now. You can tell me about it whenever you're ready and want to. Okay?"

"I want to tell you now"

"Okay"

And you did. You opened up and welcomed her to the darkest side of your mind. You told her about everything that other inmates had done to you. How they're harassing you under the showers. How the guards made you strip for them and how they're touching you. You told her about each time you were trying to fight back and got beaten. You confided in her completely. 

Tammy barely managed to stop her tears from falling. 

"Honey, I'm so sorry that it all happened. But you're safe now. I'll never hurt you. I'll never disrespect you… if you let me I'll always love you"

Instead of responding you slowly took off your shirt. 

"You sure?"

"Yes" you whispered

"If you change your mind just tell me and I'll stop"

You nodded and Tammy kissed you deeply. 

You let her explore every part of your body. She made sure you're comfortable with being completely exposed to her and looking at you with awe start saying how perfect and beautiful you're. To prove her point Tammy made sure to kiss every inch of your body. She showed you what real love feels like and that was truly amazing. She smiled fondly seeing that you're about to pass out from exhaustion. And so she pulled you close to herself and let you sleep almost completely on top of her. Falling asleep to the steady beat of her heart felt incredible. And you're pretty sure that she was everything you may ever wanted in your life. 

But it was too perfect. It couldn't last forever, could it?

The problems started in the morning. A sudden noise woke you up. You opened your eyes only to see the empty bed. You groaned slowly getting up. You were too sleepy to look for your clothes, so you put on one of Tammy's lovely sweaters. As you're moving towards the door you heard Tammy's voice. She's arguing with someone

"What are you doing here?" she asked

"I'm living here. That's my fucking house!" you heard a male voice and realised it's her ex husband that she was arguing with

"No it's not. It's not your house any more"

"It is!!!"

"Shut up. You'll wake up the kids"

"I want to wake them up. It's time to play with daddy"

"Ow god. You're drunk"

"I'm not drunk!"

"I told you to stop yelling"

"Don't tell me what to do. This is my house! You hear me bitch?"

"Watch your language jerk" you said standing beside Tammy 

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Here we go again" you rolled your eyes

The man looked at you then at Tammy. 

"You slut!" he yelled "You cheated on me!"

"What? Are you insane?! You're not my husband any more"

"You think you can leave me just like that?" he moved in Tammy's direction and she instinctively took a step back

He looked as if he wanted to hit her and that's when you acted. You stepped between them and pushed him back. 

"Get out of here" you said

He looked at you, but didn't move. 

"Do you need me to spell it for you or what?"

"You think you're something special for her? That she loves you? You're nobody! You're her toy. A slut like her…" he didn't finish, because something inside you snapped and you punched him

"Y/N!" Tammy screamed

"You bitch! You broke my nose!" he yelled

You didn't think about the consequences your act may have. How could you foresee that he would go to the police?

In your situation it meant only one - coming back to prison. 

Two police officers came and took you when Tammy was at Lou's. They immediately handcuffed you and then made you put on an orange prison uniform. 

"You happy to come back? They're missing you" one of the guards said before locking you in cell

You said nothing. You weren't able to speak, as you're slowly cracking from inside. The thought of coming back to that hell was paralyzing you. You sat down on the floor and curled into a ball. All bad memories were back and you couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. You could already feel the pain that was going to come again. But the thought of that wasn't the worst. The worst was your second guessing what happened between you and Tammy the previous night. She wasn't really talking to you since you hit her ex husband and it made you feel insecure. You're on the verge of tearing up, when suddenly someone opened your cell. 

"Get up! You're leaving"

You shook your head. You didn't want to go. You didn't want to go back to that hell. As the guard was approaching you the tears began to flow. You closed your eyes for a mere second trying to compose yourself and then suddenly he uncuffed you. You looked at your free hands and then at the guard. 

"You're free" he stated

 Was it a joke? You didn't know what was going on, but followed the man to the exit. 

There she was. Tammy in all her glory. She was waiting for you and as soon as she saw you she moved towards you. When she embraced you in a tight hug you couldn't hold it back any more. All the stress and fear of the possibility of going back to prison made you broke down. 

"Shhhh. Hush baby" Tammy soothed "Hush. Everything is alright"

"I-I thought…I'll never see you again. I t-thought they'll take me back to that he'll" you sobbed

"Oh honey, did you really think I'd let them do that? I promised you to keep an eye on you, didn't I?"

You chuckled at the memory

"Yes" you nodded

"Also, I hope you know that when I asked if you'll stay I didn't mean only one night" she smiled and kissed you

[stella-monstrum]

Rob Zombie; "Why it's time to step outside the confinements of his own box."

For close to four decades,

 Rob Zombie has brought nonstop psychedelic grooves and a rockstar presence while gracing his own music and the silver screen with gut-churning, drug-tripping visuals. He not only commands quite the presence in films (whether his own successes or others’), but also makes appearances within many other horror soundtracks. There’s no denying that Zombie is a bloodied savant who has stayed incredibly consistent. 

[ᴿᵒᵇ ᶻᵒᵐᵇᶦᵉ. ⁽ˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ: ᴳᵒᵒᵍˡᵉ ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉˢ⁾]

(Written by Stella, edited by Jacob J.)

(Side note; tumblr’s photo formatting is a pain)

Let’s take a dive into his music before getting into his film library. From 1985-1997, White Zombie released six albums (between studio and compilations). La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One didn’t break into the Billboard 200 chart until a year after its 1992 release. Shortly thereafter, it became the hot and groovy bong success of the band, going on to sell two million copies. Astro Creep 2000, their final and fourth studio release, was their first and only album to chart within the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 in 1995. Up to this day in 2020, “White Zombie” has been featured in 47 TV, film, and video game soundtracks, from Beavis & Butthead to Pen15 to Bride Of Chucky (which includes a personal favorite moment of mine), amongst many others.

After the disbandment and separation, Zombie continued on his solo journey. He has gone on to release six studio albums, with a seventh on the way in March 2021, titled The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy. A multitude of hits—eight to be exact—sat within the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 records. 

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Zombie’s extensive film career is a “Super Beast” on its own. 

He has been very vocal about gaining inspiration from 1920s-1980s horror culture. In many interviews, he’s cited Stan Lee, Bella Lugosi, Alice Cooper, and Steven Speilberg as being responsible for molding the brain that we know today. 

Some of his influences include:

George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) 

The Shining (1980)

Zombie’s upbringing in the carnival industry alongside his family is another key influence.

[[I’ll only be focusing on Zombie’s live-action films here.]]

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In 2000, Rob made his directorial and (very memorable) screen debut with House Of 1000 Corpses. 

It took three years to be released because of quarrels with major production companies regarding the film’s majorly aggressive themes of torture, blood, violence, sex—not to mention his arrogance with MGM, fighting to get rights back from Universal. Eventually, Lionsgate bit the bullet, albeit with the major stipulation of having Rob edit it down much further so House could pass with a “tame” R rating. 

[[House of 1000 Corpses: Rainn Wilson as taxidermy merman (Source: Tumblr—and if you’re brave, you can view the scene here.)]]

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In 2005 and 2019, the franchise’s next two installments—Devil’s Rejects and 3 From Hell—were released. The franchise is heavily influenced by the shocking, sickening, and unforgettable ’70s classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It follows a family of psychotic, sadistic, and bloodthirsty (if I’m being honest) necrophiliacs. They kidnap, kill, torture and brutalize anyone who gets in their way. At the end of Devil’s Rejects, they somehow manage to survive a police shootout, escape prison, and waltz on into Mexico (as seen in the franchise finale 3 from Hell).

Look, it’s all complicated.

Main Characters from the franchise:

Captain Spaulding—Sid Haig

Baby Firefly—Sheri Moon Zombie

Otis B. Driftwood—Bill Moseley 

Momma Firefly—Karen Black (recast as Leslie Easterbrook after Karen’s passing)

(Other notable appearances throughout: Chris Hardwick, Rainn Wilson, Danny Trejo, Dee Wallace, Ken Foree, and Diamond Dallas Page.)

⁽“ʰᵒᵘˢᵉˢ ᵗʳⁱˡᵒᵍʸ”, ᵈᵛᵈ ˢᵉᵗ﹔ ˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ﹔ ᵗᵃʳᵍᵉᵗ.ᶜᵒᵐ⁾

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The notorious/controversial Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978) remakes from 2007 and 2009.

(ᵃ ᵛⁱᵉʷ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵒˣ ᵃʳᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʰᵉ ʰᵃˡˡᵒʷᵉᵉⁿ ʳᵉᵐᵃᵏᵉˢ ⁽ˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ﹕ ᵃᵐᵃᶻᵒⁿ⁾)

Look, this is a remake that you either adore or hate with a burning passion. If you’re a horror fanatic, you know what’s up with the original.

I personally adore Zombie’s take. The fact alone that he gave us an entire background story as to why Michael became the psychotic slasher that we’ve come to know and love. Plus, with an increased suspense and gore factor? Worked incredibly well and did justice (in my opinion).

The film made me feel bad for Michael, with moments of child Myers in therapy, particularly his love for making masks to pass the time while he was locked up and the touching family moments between him and his mother Deborah (Sheri Moon).

ᵈᵉᵇᵒʳᵃʰ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵐⁱᶜʰᵃᵉˡ ᵐᵉʸᵉʳˢ ⁱⁿ ʲᵃⁱˡ ᵗʰᵉʳᵃᵖʸ. ⁽ˢᶜʳᵉᵉⁿᶜᵃᵖ, ʰᵃˡˡᵒʷᵉᵉⁿ. ˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ﹕ ᵍᵒᵒᵍˡᵉ⁾

[Michael’s cell in the 2007 Halloween remake. (Source: Google)]

Add in the supporting cast of Michael McDowell (Loomis), Brad Douriff (Sheriff Leigh), Scout Taylor-Compton (Laurie Strode), etc., and I honestly think that it came together very well as a remake.

The films rated relatively low, but they did gross higher than the budgets that they originally had to film on. Again, I’m not going to give much attention to the higher-ups of critical perception—it all comes down to personal taste.

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“Lords of Salem” (2013) 

[[Promotional art for Lords of Salem. (Souce: Google Images)]]

A film that’s centered within Salem, Massachusetts, 

this film—you guessed it—tackles witches, occultism, possession, Satan, and all the usual topics. Heidi (Sherri Moon) is a radio DJ who gets sent a mysterious record that’s labeled as being from “The Lords.” From then on out, shit gets a little dicey and admittedly, very disjointed. You can’t fault the cast here, and I loved the visuals that they were going for. However, with set schedule conflicts and multiple rewrites, which led to essentially running out of time to film? As a whole, what looked great on paper just couldn’t be done justice.

My FAVORITE sequence within the film (SPOILERS): 

I can forgive the disjointedness solely because of how mind-boggling and brilliant the film’s history and proper visuals were. Also, we got to see Dee Wallace, Judy Geeson, and Patricia Quinn as creepy and badass witches who moonlight as Heidi’s landlords. Also Meg Foster who leads their coven? Can we talk about what a femme-fueled power cast that is?!

[[Left to right: Patricia Quinn as Megan, Dee Wallace as Sonny, and Judy Geeson as Lacy Doyle. (Screencap, Lords of Salem. Source: Google) ]]

[[Meg Foster as coven leader Margaret Morgan. (Screencap, Lords of Salem. Source; google)]]

Like I said prior, the film gets a little wild. If you’re...well, buzzed prior to watching, it may make a little more sense. 

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“31” (2016)

[[Film poster for 31 (Source: Google)]]

[Synopsis from IMDB; “Five carnival workers are kidnapped and held hostage in an abandoned, hellish compound where they are forced to participate in a violent game, the goal of which is to survive twelve hours against a gang of sadistic clowns.”]

Here, we clearly see that Zombie is invoking his childhood growing up within carnivals. In a 2013 interview with LA Weekly, Zombie divulged more about it:

“When we were kids, my parents would [work at the carnivals], and me and my brother would get dragged along to these things all the time and have to work.”

He went further on to say;

 “Yeah, and it's not the nicest world. As a kid, you get exposed to the crazier underworld of the carnival. Me and my brother, when we were very little, we'd be inside the haunted house playing all day. So, already, what people are paying money to be scared [of], we're just playing in because it's fun. We saw the inner workings behind the machines.”

(”31″ trailer, source; Youtube)

Once again in this film, Zombie brings a powerhouse cast:

Jeff Daniel Phillips as Roscoe Pepper

Meg Foster as Venus Virgo

Malcom McDowell as Father Murder

Judy Geeson as Sister Dragon

Richard Brake as Doom Head

You can view the entire cast at IMDB here.

Set in 1976, Zombie stays true to his nods. Again, depending on taste, this is a huge hit or a wild miss with mindless homicidal violence, campiness, and climbs across the monkey bar of standards that we’re used to seeing from him.

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So at this point, you’re probably wondering why I think that it’s time for Rob Zombie to step out of the confinements of his own box...

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It’s no secret that Zombie sticks to only a small group of tropes: 

Slashers, families or groups of homicidals that lack remorse, the occult, etc. There’s no shame in sticking to what you know. Hell, Zombie has seemingly cracked the code over the past two decades that he’s been in the film industry that so many directors still don’t seem to get.

IMO, despite whatever you personally feel about the films mentioned above- I feel like we’re living a freaky groundhog day repeat within Zombie’s filmography. 

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Now, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Look, I’m not saying that Zombie has to change anything. However, I would love to see him tackle some other nuances that we’ve already seen from him in small doses.

- Children: We haven’t seen Zombie exactly take on what horror films depict kids as. Sure, he made a breakout and impeccable choice with young Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) back in 2007. I personally would adore to see a reimagined (NOT remade) Children of the Corn on acid, one we all know Zombie can tackle and turn every existing view on its head.

- Witchcraft, The Occult, Satan, Voodoo:  Zombie genuinely had a phenomenal concept (on paper) for 2012’s Lords of Salem. It was unfortunate that they ran out of resources and ran into unfortunate circumstances on set while filming. 

The film wasn’t a total tank, though, given how inspiring and insane all the visuals were throughout the 1 hr, 41min film. I am absolutely positive that, given a full-force opportunity, Rob could rectify the mess that was out of his control. We completely saw that he provided visuals that left quite the impression, and he could take those taboo subjects by the goat horns.

- Animals (not the human form): It’s no secret that Rob and his wife Sherri are ethical vegetarians. It would be so tongue and cheek to see them take on such topics as animals getting their revenge, or even vegetarians torturing carnivores. This twist on the formula would make for an interesting viewing.

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2.) In regard to time periods, 

Zombie stays within—and pays homage to—the 1970s and 1980s quite a bit. Obviously, those are the eras that Zombie personally loves the most when it comes to filmmaking. However, it would be very interesting to see him take on current day settings. 

Zombie has such a unique viewpoint. Given changing climates in politics, human decline/growth, the economy, etc., he would do work that could easily put Ryan Murphy to shame.

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3.) He could also do with some different casting every now and then.

Let me preface this by saying that I adore every repeat casting choice that Zombie has made for his films. 

Of course chemistry is a huge thing, and sticking to his friends is a very smart choice. However, he also has the potential to make new stars, boosting the power of those that may be under the radar. He can support those new stars with cameos from classic actors that we haven’t seen in awhile. I can’t begin to even fictionally cast those who fit the bill, but I do believe that with the “Zombie Touch,” he can bring so much more fresh air to the usual casting.

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There’s no doubting what Rob Zombie is clearly very good at. Despite mixed reviews from the horror world and critics, it’s time that his fans open their eyes to new possibilities. Of course, there are die-hards, but digging your feet in further doesn’t allow the growth of horror and its ever evolving themes.

[[ʳᵒᵇ ᶻᵒᵐᵇⁱᵉ, ˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ﹔ ᵍᵒᵒᵍˡᵉ ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉˢ]]

This theory has been on my mind for a very long time—since 3 from Hell came out. I’m sure, in his usual fashion, we won’t be seeing any new films from Rob anytime soon (what with his new album set to release in March 2021, not to mention the toll that the pandemic has had on Hollywood.)

Still, it never hurts to challenge the set standards and ways.

[itsaidanblack]

◦ × ♛ — intro.

⌠ JACK MULHERN, 23, MALE, HE/HIM ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, AIDAN BLACK! according to their records, they’re a THIRD year, specializing in KNIFE FIGHTING SKILLS, SWORD TRAINING, PRECISION SHOOTING, FIREARMS & SWAT TRAINING; and they DID go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of (a sarcastic smile, the glint of silver rings, a cloud of cigarette smoke, graffiti on concrete, a flash of crimson). when it’s the (scorpio)’s birthday on 10/28/1998, they always request MOZZARELLA STICKS from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation. ⌿ lily, 19, she/her, gmt ⍀   

@gallagherintro​

♛ CONNECTIONS PAGE ♛ PINTEREST ♛ ABOUT ♛ STATS ♛ BIOGRAPHY ♛ INTRO ♛

      hello hello! i’m back with another child, everyone welcome my british bastard boy aidan. he’s a legacy kid who grew up filthy rich but hates his family and his upbringing, and is just lil bit of a criminal, really! 

[ c h a r a c t e r ; ]

&. basics

full name: Aidan Dean Black

nicknames: Dan, Danny

age: 22

orientation: bisexual

relationship status: single

date of birth: october 28th, 1998

hometown: windsor, england

gender: cismale

language(s) spoken: English, French, German

accent: standard british

&. personality

mbti: ISTP

temperament: phlegmatic/choleric

star sign: scorpio

element: water

enneagram type: type 4, the individualist

five positive traits: perceptive, intuitive, determined, independent, resourceful

five negative traits: destructive, pessimistic, blunt, aggressive, temperamental

likes: adrenaline rushes, spray-painting graffiti, hot drinks, going out in the middle of the night, the smell of gasoline, the night sky, knives, london, skateboarding.

dislikes: formal events, his parents, the color yellow, mushrooms, prejudiced people, heavy perfume

bad habits: smoking, doing drugs, drinking

hobbies: graffiti, skateboarding, drinking, getting high, sketching

fears: never amounting to anything, enclosed spaces, heights, needles

[ s t o r y ; ]

background:

aidan grew up in a filthy rich family of spies/assassins as the youngest of six children

his siblings are all very skilled in their respective areas of espionage, and their parents were ruthless and cold towards them to ensure they focused on their training

aidan’s great grandfather was the chief of intelligence at mi5 in the 1950s, so his family has a name and an image already set for them - prim, proper, and excelling in their own unique field of espionage

aidan grew up feeling inadequate - he wasn’t as good as any of his siblings, and his parents were merciless when it came to reminding him of the fact

his siblings weren’t much help either, trained to be the best, they only made his inadequacy more obvious the older they all got

his childhood was filled with training, fancy dinners, being forced to smile and meet friends of the family even if he was bruised and battered from training earlier

aidan began to become insolent, not showing up for training or deliberately failing his homeschooling to piss off his family

his parents were outraged and decided enough was enough, sending him away to a boarding school in america when he was 12

aidan, sick of feeling like he’d never amount to anything, decided to lean into his role as the black sheep of the family

he started to use what he’d been taught against the school, sneaking out at night, graffitiing the walls, stealing things from stores all around london

he actually loved his boarding school when he first began -- enjoying being away from his family, not compared to his siblings, and studying normal subjects instead of things like ‘which artery to sever for the swiftest death’

he amassed a small group of friends, impressing them with his training and ability to break into anything, win fights against the older students, and lockpick

he was able to avoid punishment for a while, and expulsion wasn’t an option when his parents were huge benefactors of the school

so the school adapted, became more vicious in their punishments

started refusing him meals, locking him in cupboards to keep him from sneaking out

and when he started picking the locks of the cupboards, they installed heavy duty padlocks against the doors

this is where he developed his claustrophobia, from being stuck in the closet sometimes even overnight in the pitch black

these punishments eventually wore him down enough that he stopped misbehaving so intensely at the school

and when his parents gave him the ultimatum -- attend a prep school for spies, or stay at the school, he agreed to finally behave and follow his parent’s path for him

despite his misbehaviour, aidan is still very good at what he does - call it genetics, but every member of their family excels at being spies or assassins

when he graduated his prep school with top marks, despite his past bad behaviour, his parents sent him to blackthorne to continue his studies, hoping that by the time he completes college he’ll be good enough to show off, like the rest of his siblings

during his time at prep school, he began to realize that he is bisexual, and fell in love with another legacy boy

their parents, though, were both intensely disapproving of both their sexualities and the relationship itself, and broke them up right before blackthorne

aidan now has a complex about love, and more specifically, the fact that he is incapable and unworthy of actual love

his first year at blackthorne went fine, and aidan actually enjoyed began to enjoy his studies, but he never stopped misbehaving, bitter from his childhood and his parents’ tampering of his relationship

( and also possibly just for the simple joy of constantly having reports sent home about his bad behaviour )

now:

don’t get me wrong - aidan is very good at what he does. 

he’s quite the talented marksman and sharpshooter, and given a knife in a fight, he’ll most likely win 

even without his legacy name he would have gotten a place at gallagher

he’s a bit of a bastard, at times, and a sullen one, too -- but he doesn’t mean anyone harm

he simply likes to always be honest and says things that are probably best left unsaid

he still sneaks out at night, often, to just be alone and roam around unsupervised, a remnant of both his childhood under constant surveillance, and his time at boarding school where nights were often spent locked in a cupboard

nasty smoking habit developed while at blackthorne, as well as his habit of getting drunk and/or high whenever possible in order to let loose

( he has a very unhealthy relationship with his emotions )

he loves to graffiti, and does so often, as an outlet for his creative drive and desire to vandalize things

but, all in all, he does really like it at gallagher, and doesn’t necessarily want to get kicked out, so he makes sure he’s subtle and not too destructive

he sometimes writes with his five older siblings, although most of them are as bad as his parents - he’s the closest to oscar, his second oldest brother, and kitty, his older sister 

he wears a lot of blacks and grays, and basically dresses like an e-boy, but he may or may not stab you if you bring that up

he likes to sketch, but if you tell anyone that he’ll kill you, having had it drilled into him at a young age that art is useless and for people without real talent

he carries a gray butterfly knife around with him everywhere, as it was a gift from his eldest sister for his success at prep school

[ W A N T E D   C O N N E C T I O N S ; ]

not-so-friendly ― while aidan is a very charming asshole, he is still sometimes the worst, and i can see a few people he pissed off or insulted or something

partners in crime ― aidan’s a little vagabond, and loves to graffiti stuff and sneak into places he’s not meant to be, and i want some people to get into deep shit with him

family friends ― the black family is quite high-profile, what with his parents running an empire and all of his older siblings being talented spies/assassins themselves, so i can imagine there’s a lot of people at gallagher that he recognizes

blackthorne friends ― aidan went to blackthorne for a year before gallagher, so i want some people who did the transfer with him.

friends ― he may act like an asshole, but he’s a nice asshole

family ― there’s probably a few people related to him roaming around, so if you want a cousin or something let me know!   

please hit me up to plot ! 

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND September 20, 2019  - VILLAINS, BLOODLINE, DOWNTON ABBEY, AD ASTRA, RAMBO: LAST BLOOD

It’s hard to believe that September is almost over, and we’re just sailing through the September festival season with the New York Film Festival starting (for real) next week.  There are three wide releases, but I will only have seen one of them before writing this, so instead, I’ll talk about a couple genre movies opening Friday, both of which played at Lincoln Center’s “Scary Movies XII” last month.

I remember writing quite extensively about VILLAINS (Alter/Gunpowder and Sky) when I was over at the Tracking Board, mainly about the casting of Bill Skarsgard from It, Maika Monroe from It Follows, as well as Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick. It’s the new movie from Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, who directed the horror sequel The Stakelander and have written a pretty amazing comedy-thriller twist on the home invasion movie. Skarsgard and Monroe play a young couple who hide out in a seemingly abandoned house after robbing a store. They soon learn that not only is it not abandoned, but there is a young girl chained in the basement. The owners of the home, played by Kyra Sedgwick and Jeffrey Donovan, then return and things go sideways for the young couple as they find that maybe their petty crimes make them the good guys in this scenario.  Villains is getting a fairly hearty release into roughly 100 theaters across the country, so check your listings to see if/where it will be playing near you. (It mainly seems to be playing in Regal theaters across the country.)

Another interesting genre film opening Friday is Henry Jacobson’s psychological thriller BLOODLINE (Momentum Pictures), starring Seann William Scott as Evan, a high school social worker with a secret – he’s also a serial killer who tries to help his patients by ridding them of their issues. Evan is also experiencing a new baby with his wife, which might keep him from his killing habits, except that his mother (Dale Dickey) has shown up to help them, and she was the one who taught him his ways. This is a really dark and gory film that I quite enjoyed in a similar way as some of my favorite serial killer thrillers, from Hitchcock’s Psychoto Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer and others. It honestly can’t be a better time for this with all the true crime television we’re getting, and I was pretty blown away by Scott’s performance in this. Bloodlineisplaying at the IFC Center for Friday and Saturday late night screenings and probably will be available On Demand as well.

You can read my interview with Seann William Scott and the directors of VILLAINS over at The Beat, the latter posting Friday.

The one wide release I have seen this weekend is Focus Features’ DOWNTOWN ABBEY, a continuation of the PBS series with an absolutely amazing British cast that includes Dame Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton and so many more that I won’t name all of them. I feel that I’m not the best person to properly review the movie since I haven’t seen a second of the series, but I generally liked what I saw and might give it a look if I can find a good streaming source on which to binge it. I actually liked the movie enough to recommend it without having any previous knowledge of the series.

Probably my biggest disappointment of this week is that I didn’t have a chance to see James Gray’s AD ASTRA (20thCentury Fox), starring Brad Pitt, before Thursday night, because I wasn’t able to get to the press screening. It’s been one of my more anticipated movies of the year, mainly because I generally love outer space movies, but I also have been interested in seeing what Gray and Pitt do with the material, especially with such a great supporting cast.

Another movie that I only got to see just before this column posts is Sylvester Stallone’s RAMBO: LAST BLOOD (Lionsgate), which I reviewed over at The Beat. I had very few expectations for the movie, as I’ve never been a huge Rambo fan. I’m not sure why, but I guess I just never got into the Rah! Rah! USA! Stuff that permeated the United States in the ‘80s, and I was more into music than movies at the time. Reading my review, it’s obvious that Stallone’s latest attempt to revive a franchise didn’t do much for me.

You can read what I think of the above’s box office prospects over at The Beat, as well.

LIMITED RELEASES

I’m not quite sure why there are so many limited releases this weekend –I count almost 30 (!!!!) over on Rotten Tomatoes– but I’ll see what I can get to this week since I’m already a little behind. If you missed, Rob Zombie’s 3 FROM HELL on Monday and Tuesday night and more importantly, missed my scathing review of it over at The Beat, well, then you’ve missed it since this column is posting after it played its last night before its blu-ray release next month. Sorry!

A fantastic documentary opening at the Metrograph this week is Jacqueline Olive’s directorial debut ALWAYS IN SEASON (Multitude Films), a stirring film about the history of lynching, circling around the death of 17-year-old Lennon Lacy from Bladenboro, North Carolina, which is ruled as a suicide but his mother Claudia is convince that her son was lynched. Olive’s powerful film provides a background for how lynching became so prevalent in the early part of the 20thCentury, including an eerie annual reenactment by the town of Monroe, Georgia that wants to make sure that the county’s atrocities aren’t forgiven or forgotten.  Narrated by Danny Glover, Olive’s directorial debut is powerful and moving and a film that must not be missed – maybe it’s no surprise that it won a Special Jury prize at Sundance Film Festival for “Moral Urgency” earlier this year. I was pretty shaken up when I saw it at this year’s Oxford Film Festival.

The Metrograph is also screening two National Geographic shorts, Alexander A. Mora’s The Night Crawlers and Orlando von Einsiedel’sLost and Found, over the next week. The Night Crawlers looks at a group of Filipino journalists known as the “Manila Nightcrawlers” who seek to expose the truth about President Duterte’s war on drugs and the number of people who lost their lives over it. Lost and Foundi s a new doc short from the director of the Netflix doc The White Helmets which looks at the Myanmar’s ethnic violence against the Rohingya people through the eyes of a man in a refugee camp seeking to reunite children with parents.

Japanese animation house Studio TRIGGER’s first feature film PROMARE (GKIDS) will get a limited release on Friday, following Fathom Events showings on Tuesday (already passed) and Thursday (tonight). It will then be opening in New York at the Metrograph and AMC Empire on Friday for a one-week run. It’s an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller set in a world thirty years after a race of flame-wielding mutant beings called the Burnish set half the world on fire an the battle between the anti-Burnish Burning Rescue and Lio Fotia, leader of the aggressive new “Mad Burnish” mutants.

Paolo Sorrentino, director of the Oscar-winning The Great Beauty and its follow-up Youth, returns with LORO (Sundance Selects), about a young hustler named Sergio (Riccardo Scamarcio) managing an escort service who sets his sights on the egotistical billionaire Italian ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (Tony Servillo) who is trying to bribe his way back into power. It will open at the IFC Center Friday.

A couple other docs opening this weekend, the first two opening at New York’s Film Forum…

Now playing is Hassan Fazili’s Midnight Traveler (Oscilloscope) about how the filmmaker received death threats from the Taliban in 2015 for running Kabul, Afghanistan’s Art Café, a progressive meeting place, so he, his wife and two young daughters must travel 3,500 miles over 3 years across four countries to get to Hungary, a journey documented via mobile phone cameras. It will open in L.A. on October 4.

Then on Friday, there’s Matt Tyrnauer’s new film WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? (Sony Pictures Classics) looks at the lawyer and power broker who was part of Joe McCarthy’s anti-Communist activities and who was pivotal in molding a young Queens developer named Donald Trump. I wanted to like this movie more because Roy Cohn is such an interesting human being in such a despicable way, but this doc really didn’t do much for me.

Opening in New York (Cinema Village) and L.A. (Laemmle Glendale) is DIEGO MARADONA (HBO Sports), the new doc from Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna), which will show on HBO on October 1. If you don’t know international football (or soccer), the Argentine Maradona is one of the most famous footballers of all time, a bit of a legend since signing to Naples in 1984 for a record-setting fee. I haven’t watched this yet but hope to soon.

Opening at New York’s IFC Center Friday is Max Powers’ Don’t Be Nice (Juno Films), focusing on the Bowery Slam Poetry Team as they head to the national championships, and there will be QnAs almost every night in its week-long run, and then it will open in L.A. on September 27.

Completely unrelated but also at the IFC Center is a full-week run of National Theatre Live: Fleabag, screening a pre-recorded performance of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman show that inspired her hit Emmy-nominated show from the Soho Playhousein London’s West End. Heck, I might try to get to one of these since it won’t be on television or any other format for at least a year.

After opening for “one night only” on Tuesday, Louie (The Cove) Psihoyos’ new movie The Game Changers will get a release on New York this Friday and L.A. the 27th. Exec. produced by James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan, it explores the rise of plant-based eating in professional sports along with Special Forces trainer James Wilks and features segments on Schwarzenegger, Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton, tennis player Novak Djokovic and NBA star Chris Paul.

Demi Moore, Ed Helms, Karan Soni (from the “Deadpool” movies) and Jessica Williams star in the horror-comedy Corporate Animals (Screen Media), the new comedy from Patrick Brice (Creep, The Overnight) about a corporate team-building adventure that turns to cannibalism when an office group find themselves trapped in a cave system. The movie has a great cast but the strange concept and weak screenplay really keeps the movie from delivering.

Other movies out this weekend include James Franco’s Zeroville (MyCinema), co-starring Megan Fox and Seth Rogen; Nicolas Cage’s new movie Running with the Devil (Quiver DIstribution), a drug thriller co-starring Laurence Fishburne, Barry Pepper, Leslie Bibb and more; and the award-winning Chinese drama Send Me to the Clouds (Cheng Cheng Films), opening in L.A., NY, Toronto and Vancouver.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Maybe the movie I’m most excited for this week is Zak Galifianakis’ BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE (Netflix), which I’m sure is going to be silly, maybe even stupid, but I’m still amused by his style of humor. I also haven’t seen the new Netflix doc Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates, and I also no absolutely nothing about the movie other than what’s in the title.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

On Tuesday, the Metrograph began a series called “Bleecker Street: The First Five Years” running through Thursday withsingle screenings of Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, Sebastian Lelio’s Disobediance and Brett Haley’s I’ll See You in My Dreams with talent doing QnAs. On the weekend, the theater has special screenings of the dance film The Red Shoes   (1948) on Saturday with an introduction by Jillian McManemin – I honestly have no idea who that is. On Saturday, the Academy is back with its monthly series, this month showing Milos Forman’s 1979 musical Hair with actor Treat Williams and Annie Golden in person. On Sunday, there’s a similarly special screening of Martin Scorsese’s 1990 crime classic Goodfellas with producer Irwin Winkler and screenwriter Nick Pileggi -- $35 tickets, a little pricey for me. You also have just two more days (today and tomorrow) to see Satoshi Kon’s Millennium Actress on the big screen.

This weekend’s Welcome To Metrograph: Redux offering is Jean Vigo’s 1934 film L’Atalante,  Late Nites at Metrograph is showing Fantastic Planet(again) and the Japanese horror film Hausu (1977). This weekend’s Playtime: Family Matinees is Alfonso Cuaron’s fantasy A Little Princess (1995)

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

The Alamo is also celebrating “Arthouse Theater Day” on Wednesday with Robert Downey Sr.’s Putney Swope. They’re also doing a “Rambo Marathon” on Sunday to tie-in with Stallone’s latest Rambo movie -- $35 for all five Rambo movies. Now THAT is a great deal, and there are a few tickets left. On Saturday afternoon, the Alamo is showing Almodovar’s 2000 classic All About My Mother to celebrate the Spanish filmmaker before the release of his newest film Pain and Glory.  Monday’s “Out of Tune” is Lars von Trier’s 2000 film Dancer in the Dark, starring Bjork. Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is the amazing Vera Farmiga thriller Orphan from 2009, and the Alamo is also playing Almodovar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown from 1988. Next week’s “Weird Wednesday” is 1995’s Tank Girl, starring Lori Petty.

AERO  (LA):

Wednesday is (or rather, was) a screening of the 1969 film Putney Swope as part of Art House Theater Day 2019, Thursday is a screening of the 1984 adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s 2010: The Year We Made Contact. In honor of Downton Abbey (I guess?), the Aero is beginning a series called “Upstairs, Downstairs,” beginning Friday with a 70mm print of 1993’s The Remains of the Day, starring Anthony Hopkins an Emma Thompson, then Saturday is a double feature of Hitchcock’s Rebecca  (1940) and Carol Reed’s The Fallen Idol  (1948), and then on Sunday is a double feature of Ruggles of Red Cap (1935) and By Candlelight  (1933), as well as a separate free member screening of Downton Abbey with some of the cast in person.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Robert Altman’s classic 1975 film Nashville will screen as a new 4k restoration for the next week with screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury appearing on Saturday night. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is Howard Hawk’s 1940 movie His Girl Friday, starring Cary Grant.  Joseph Losey’s Holocaust drama Mr. Klein ends on Thursday.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

The Quad is back with another great series called “Laws of Desire: The Films of Antonio Banderas” beginning Wednesday, showing so many films starring the Spanish actor who is likely to get nominated for his first Oscar for Almodovar’s Pain and Glory.  It will even show Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming The Laundromat, which premieres on Netflix next week. Instead of going through all 13 of the movies, click on the link above and get ready to be Banderasized!

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is Tony Scott’s vampire flick The Hunger (1983), chosen by “Todd,” Waverly Midnights: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is the anime classic Akira, chosen by “Katie,” and Late Night Favorites: Summer 2019 is Satoshi Kon’s Paprika(again?)

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

This weekend begins a “See It Big! Ghost Stories” series with the Japanese horror Ugetsu from 1953, then Saturday is The Phantom Carriage (1921) – this is with live piano accompaniment! --The Ghost and Mrs. Muir(1947), and then Sunday they’re screening Olivier Assayas’ more recent Personal Shopper (2006) with Kristen Stewart.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Although Lincoln Center is preparing for next week’s New York Film Festival, this weekend it’s holding special screenings of two Gershwin films, Otto Preminger’s 1959 musical Porgy and Bess on Thursday (with panel) and then Vincente Minelli’s An American in Paris on Friday.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

“The Purpose and Passion: the Cinema of John Singleton” ends on Friday, but there are screenings of his 2000 Shaft movie, starring Samuel L. Jackson, and another screening of Boyz n the Hood before then.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Thursday night is a screening of David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai  (1957), but the rest of the weekend is the “Guadalajara Film Festival.”

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Friday night’s midnight offering is John Waters’ 2004 movie A Dirty Shame, starring Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville and Selma Blair.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

The New Bev continues its “time out” at the bottom of this section as long as Tarantino uses his repertory theater to show Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, and currently it’s booked through the end of September. Since this week’s column is late, you already missed the 1952 film The Narrow Marginas the Weds. matinee, the New Bev will also show the Hanna/Barbera animated feature Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear (1964) as this weekend’s “Kiddee Matinee.” Tarantino’s Jackie Brown is the Saturday night midnight movie, and then on Monday, the theater will show David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive  (2000) in two matinees (the 2pm is already sold out).

A quieter week with only one wide release, the Universal/DreamWorks animation fantasy-adventure Abominable.

[danandthereader]

Dan is supposed to be away touring on your birthday but surprises you by showing up at your party?

A/N: The first thing this reminded me of was a much happier version of the Taylor Swift song The Moment I Knew, to be honest with you. But I’m also a lowkey huge Swiftie of many years, and I’ve had her Spotify playlist on repeat for the past few days. Thank you so much for the prompt, lovely ! I’m happy to fill it, because I think it’s absolutely adorable, and I’m really really happy with how it turned out. I hope you enjoy the fill; heart you ! ♡

PLEASANT SURPRISE

It wasn’t intentional, your birthday celebration ending up on the same day as one of the band’s tour dates. You liked to joke with Dan about how it wasn’t your fault you were born that day, you were right on time, and if anything he should be blaming your parents. It always made the two of you laugh despite what it actually entailed.The two of you had talked about it, the possibility of him missing it, in the weeks leading up to the official public announcement of the tour. Despite insisting, again and again, that you were going to be all right, that him missing it wasn’t that big of a deal, the regret and guilt never truly left his system, never was fully wiped clean off his features, even after the conversation was over.

When the tour dates were announced, his fans went wild. It was all over all of your social media feeds, everyone’s excitement, and you actually shared in it as well. Ninja Sex Party going on tour always meant some amazing live performances, and those wonderful words he told the audience every night, the words that made you fall in love with him in the first place. Love everyone, and forgive everyone, especially yourself.The first day of it came around quicker than you had liked, but Dan was more distraught about leaving you than you were about him. It made you laugh, hugging him goodbye at the airport, as their tour started on the east coast instead of the west. He promised he would call every other night, and he was going to FaceTime you for your birthday. He wanted to see everyone, see you blow out the candles and wear a goofy paper party hat. Even though he wasn’t going to be there physically, he wanted to still see you smile.He kept to his promise - every other night was a phone call, often with interludes by Brian or one of the members of Tupperware Remix Party. They all shared a bus together, and Dan tended to be very open with his relationship around them, so it was easy for it to feel like you were just another good friend. However, not once did it ever feel like a bad thing; it felt nice to be included so easily and fully. The I love yous at the end of each call always reminded you of who you were to him, even when he wasn’t there. You were his, and he was yours, distance be dammed.Though it was a sweet sentiment - love could conquer anything, even hundreds of miles and thousands of adoring fans - you never did get a hundred percent used to being alone at home. As the days wore on and you spent a lot of your nights in a too big bed with the white noise machine you hadn’t used since you were a kid on full blast, you begun to ache for him more and more. Phone calls stopped being enough after about a week and a half, and there was weird disconnect with FaceTime despite seeing him in real-time.

When the day of your birthday came around, you awoke to the pale sunlight streaming through your blinds and a ringing cell phone. Reaching over with half-closed eyes, you blindly swiped at the screen until it stopped and brought it to your ear. “Hello?” Who was calling you at this hour? “Good morning, birthday girl!” It was Dan’s voice, and you rolled over, smiling sleepily. “What time even is it?” you muttered, not bothering to open your eyes. He sounded way too cheery to not be on the other side of the continent. “Time for your birthday!” Turning your head once more, you blinked slowly to look at the bedside clock, which read a quarter past nine. At least it wasn’t noon, you supposed. “The party’s not ‘till, like, seven, Danny,” you told him with a laugh. “But you’ve got a whole day of celebrating to do! C’mon, sleepyhead, up you go.” It was like he was there with you, you could imagine him jostling you awake with the most excited look on his face. “All right, I’m up, I’m up.” No you weren’t, but you could pretend, at least for a few more minutes.In truth, your boyfriend was right about you having a busy day. It was mostly pre-planned things, appointments your mother set up for you to make before your birthday tonight. Cosmetic things - get your hair trimmed, your nails and toes done, and just enough money for a pretty pair of shoes - were all all on the list for today, all leading up to the party that somehow everyone you knew got invited to. It was probably thanks to your brother - salt of the earth, with his crazy-good party-planning skills - who pulled some sort of post-frat sorcery to put it all together.“Well, now that I’m up, I should probably get started on my day…” That earned you an exaggerated whine. “That means you have to hang up,” he told you, voice pitched and faux-upset. “I can’t lay in bed forever, remember? It’s my birthday?” That and he knew just as well as you did your mother’s displeasure over missing appointments. “All right, yeah, you’re right.” A pause. “I should get going too. We’re on the road again, and I’m being waved at by Brian to get off the phone.” He chuckled. “Go get ‘em, birthday girl! Have an amazing day, okay?” It was almost gross, how sweet he was. “All right, sunshine. I’ll talk to you later.” After exchanging the definitive I love yous, you hung up, and off you went.

Your day went by quickly, a blur of places and faces and all kinds of kind words. With your hair trimmed, nails and toes done, and an outfit picked out, you headed over to your parents house. It was an actual house, as opposed to your shared apartment, and had much more space to mingle and meander. Plus, it was your parents, they had sort of insisted.A small group of people were all ready there when you arrived. A chorus of Happy birthdays rang out as you entered, your father dragging you in by the hand. It was sweet, to say the least; you hadn’t had an actual birthday party since you were in your teens. And they had done a great job at preparing the food and decorating, you had to admit. It was all the stereotypical things - streamers and balloons, the holographic letters spelling out Happy Birthday! hanging above the banister, confetti sprinkled on the table and what smelled like a cake baking in the oven. You knew part of it was your brother - who was wearing a party hat and talking with his plus-one for the evening - but your parents loved you; you knew they had a hand in it as well.As more and more people arrived, the party became more lively, music playing in the room and voices rising just above it. You were seemingly at the center of it all, cup in hand and talking to everyone that approached you. Many hugs were exchanged, but every one of them, after they left, never lingered. They weren’t the hug you seemed to be looking for, a hug you knew you weren’t going to get for another month or so. No one had asked about Dan - not many knew about him, only your immediate family, and they all ready knew of the situation - but it was still heavy on your shoulders, the thought of not being able to find him in the crowd, not going home with him that night.“Hey.” The voice made you look over, and there was your little brother. He was still wearing the party hat, but was alone, just the two of you in the small gathering for just a few moments. “You okay?” Your eyebrows furrowed, as if to ask, Why wouldn’t I be? “You look a little lost, t’ be honest.” Did you? Was it really that obvious, how alone you were suddenly feeling? “No, I’m okay. Just - I don’t know. Miss Dan, I guess,” you replied with a small shrug, a bit at a loss for what to say. “Ah. It’ll be okay. We’ll FaceTime him a little later, when we do the cake and stuff. He’ll be here in spirit.” He was trying, you knew that, and it made you smile a bit as he walked away.

The night had no intention of winding down until well into the midnight hour, because the cake didn’t come out until around ten. Everyone gathered around to take photos, videos, and, of course, sing to you. Sitting in the chair like you were nine years old again, you let the room sing the classic birthday song to you while you grinned in both embarrassment and affection. When you blew out the candles, everyone cheered.As your father brought out the paper plates and cutting knife, your mother hushed the crowd. “All right, everyone, now I know we said gifts weren’t required,” she began as all eyes landed on her and you stood. “But we coordinated a little something for our birthday girl this evening.” The crowd laughed and oooed, you chuckling along naturally. Honestly, you weren’t all that good with surprises, but it couldn’t have been that big, you didn’t see anything in the livingroom when you walked in.As if on cue, there was a firm knock at the door. Everyone was quiet as your mother - beaming with excitement - disappeared to answer it. A few looked back to you; you could only shrug in response to their quizzical looks.What came back with your mother was a surprise, but the best one you could get on your birthday.“Danny!”No one knew about your boyfriend, but they all did now. There was a lull of confusion as you scrambled from the table to get to him, then they understood when you collided, and the cheering and laughing began. “Hey there, lovely!” he greeted as he wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you up, making you squeal in delight. “Babe I -” You didn’t want to pull away, didn’t want to let go, because you were afraid if you did, he’d disappear, or be someone else entirely. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.” His voice had dropped to a murmur as he pulled away, gently taking your face in his hands and kissing you sweetly.

[ohsuperpup]

www.deathbymetalstl.com 

Interview With Noah Robertson, Drummer Of Motograter!!!

1. How long have you been playing drums?

I have been playing drums for about 20 years now. I started in 6th grade band and stayed in the school music program all the way through High School, where I joined the drumline. It was also during High School that I started my first metal band with some friends. We used to lie about our age so we could play shows at the local clubs and bars! (laughs) After High School, I studied Music Education in College for 3 years and marched in the college drumline as well. I was really distracted from my schoolwork though, performing shows and playing in different bands all the time. I ended up meeting an awesome group of musicians at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. We eventually dropped out of Music School together and moved to Dallas, looking for more musical opportunities. Eventually, a few of us relocated the band to Hollywood, California. I packed my drums and my clothes in my car and drove to Hollywood by myself... it was a trip. I lived in a rehearsal room, slept on an air mattress, bathed with a bucket of water and a towel, and cooked food on a George Foreman grill! (laughs) My car broke down the very first day I was there so I had to take the bus everywhere, which was awful! I went out there first because I was able to transfer my job. At the time I was working at Guitar Center in Dallas, so I ended up transferring to the Guitar Center on Sunset Strip in Hollywood; the guitar player and bass player moved out there about a month later. A little while later, the band went on hiatus and I began searching for a new project. I answered a Craig's List ad for a new band forming and ended up moving back to Dallas, Texas to start The Browning. The rest is history!

2. Who has greatly influenced you to initially play, and do you think it has integrated into your sound?

I really appreciate these questions, because this is a story I have been wanting to tell for quite some time. I have always loved music, even from an early age. I grew up listening to everything and being influenced by a lot of different styles of music. Around the time I was in middle school I discovered bands like Ugly Kid Joe, Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Megadeth and instantly fell in love with heavy metal. Around High School my love for the genre grew even more. I come from a small, middle-of-nowhere town called Lampasas and there weren't many people at my school that listened to heavy music. The few of us that did, we found each other somehow and became friends. A few of us worked for this sound company called Donner Musik that setup sound systems for private events and weddings and such. One night we setup sound for this band called Un Loco out of Austin, Texas. It blew my mind. It was one of the first metal shows I ever saw and it was the first time I ever got autograph's from a band. That was right around the time I was realizing I wanted to play in a band. You see, up until that point I had only played in the school concert band and the school marching band. My best friend growing up, Brandon Beck, who lived down the street from me, he was a bass player and a singer and he had a band going with some guys. Their drummer ended up quitting and I seized the opportunity. I bought his drum set from him for like $300 dollars. It was this rundown CB-700 kit with a silver wrap. It was completely scratched and dinged up, missing parts, duct taped cymbal stands, broken cymbals. (laughs) I had to mow lawns, wash cars, and do chores around the house to pay it off. I remember walking to his house and paying his mom like 50 bucks a week or something. (laughs) I remember the first song I ever learned on the drum set was "For Whom The Bell Tolls" by Metallica, because we covered it in the band. It was during this time I began discovering bands like Testament, In Flames, Machine Head, and Pantera. I found Pantera's album 'Vulgar Display of Power' on cassette at a local record store, in a bargain bin, for like fifty cents and it didn't leave my stereo for a very long time. I think growing up being exposed to so many different types of music and playing in orchestras and marching in drumline, I just had this intense love for melody and groove. Pantera quickly became my favorite band. In 1998, my buddy Brandon and I borrowed my parents car and drove a few hours to Dallas, Texas to see Pantera perform with Soulfly and Morbid Angel. That concert changed my life forever. It was at that moment that I realized what I wanted to do with my life. I had never been to a big concert like that, and it really had a profound affect on me. It was just these 4 normal looking guys on stage and the crowd went completely out-of-their-minds, insane for them and it was all because of this massive, powerful sound they were creating with their instruments. At the end of the concert Soulfly came out with Pantera and they did this huge, crazy tribal drum jam. My brain exploded. Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul became my idols and I even got a Pantera tattoo on my leg as soon as I turned 18! (laughs) I graduated high school in 2001 and it was right at that time that the "nu metal" explosion was happening. I used to walk up and down the aisles of the local record shop and I would pick albums that had cool artwork. I remember buying the Slipknot, Mushroomhead, and Mudvayne albums just because the front cover appealed to me. The look and sound of those bands immediately grabbed me. Especially Slipknot, Mushroomhead, Sepultura, Soulfly, and Ill Nino because I was a drummer and was in drumline and those bands had awesome auxiliary percussion featured in their songs. These bands were the perfect mix of everything that I loved. Melody and groove with an aggressive edge. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world! (laughs) In 2003, I attended Ozzfest and a band called Motograter took the stage. Something about the dark, tribal groove they emitted and the insane look they had, and the auxiliary drums and crazy Motograter instrument they invented... I became obsessed. I remember buying magazines like Circus and Hit Parader because they had these huge, full color pictures and posters of the band. I used to sit in my room and play along to their songs, trying to emulate Crispy on the drums. It's incredibly surreal to be playing a band that I was such a huge fan of. I remember taking a Motograter poster to a Five Finger Death Punch show in 2006 and having Ivan Moody sign it! (laughs) To get back to your original question, I have definitely taken my musical influences and integrated them into my playing. Without question. My playing is a mixture of every different style, with an emphasis on groove and melody. I love tom toms and have a very tom oriented playing style. I was drawn to the tenor drums in marching drumline because of their "musical" qualities, I tend to be a very melodic drumset player I think. I never want to overplay, I seek to serve the music. To list just a few of my favorite drummers: Vinnie Paul, Igor Cavalera, Josh Freese, Chris "Crispy" Binns, Gavin Harrison, Chris Kontos, Danny Carey, John Tempesta, and about a million other guys. I could name names all day.

3. What was the experience like shifting from a metal band like The Browning, into the industrial style of Motograter?

You know, that is a very interesting question. Both bands are incredibly industrial, by definition, but in very different ways. One of the first things that drew me to the band, The Browning, was the industrial nature of the project. When I first became aware of The Browning, I was living in Hollywood and had just had a project fall apart. I immediately began scouring L.A. and the internet for a new band. I stumbled upon a Craig's List ad that read, "Former As Blood Runs Black Singer Seeks Members For New Project", or something of that nature. It immediately caught my eye because I was aware of ABRB, they were a great band that achieved a decent amount of notoriety in the metal scene. Jonny McBee had been doing this solo project since he was like 16, he called The Browning. Which, by the way... Holy shit, did we ever get so much attention because of the name. What the hell is The Browning? Is it named after the machine gun? Is it named after the famous writer? We would get so many people asking us about the name, especially in interviews. If you go back and watch the interview videos and read the articles, we just started making up random, insane explanations as to what it meant. I'm pretty sure the name came from some weird twist of information... Jonny's school was on Browning street and him and his friend came up with this crazy ghost story or horror movie plot or something... I don't know. Anyways, so Jonny used to program these metal breakdowns on his computer and would throw all these electronic and synth backdrops over it. Then he would scream over it and then Matt Keck would rap over it. When I answered the Craig's List posting, Jonny sent me a link to a Youtube video and I knew I instantly wanted to be in the band. I recognized immediately that this was innovative and unique and I wanted to be a part of it. I always wanted to do something "different" you know? Something special. This was it. Being a metalhead, I was drawn to the aggressiveness and the brutal nature of the music. But it still had this beautiful, intense melody to it. It really grooved too, hard. It was ALL ABOUT groove. I knew it was for me. Up until this point The Browning hadn't actually been a "real band", it was sort of this internet project. Jonny actually had just moved from Missouri to Dallas, Texas to find good musicians to join his band. I answered the call from Hollywood and moved back to Dallas to join the band. Before I did, I talked Brian Cravey, the guitar player from my previous band, Srlsm, that had just pretty much broken up, into joining the band with me. We made a video of us playing along to a demo song from The Browning and sent it to Jonny. He had these other couple guys lined up already, but our video convinced him to go with us. But, yeah, The Browning is definitely a very industrial band, in that it is an "abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music". I have always been drawn to bands that have these elements. It's one of the things that eventually drew me to bands like Nine Inch Nails, and Ministry, and American Head Charge, Marilyn Manson, Dope, Mushroomhead, and Motograter. They all have this aggressive element to them, and have this dark edge to them, and have these interesting sounds and samples happening... yet, they somehow are beautiful too. They all have melody. You know, Motograter wasn't always this super melodic entity. That band started with just the Motograter instrument and the Smur Drums. Two guys experimenting with sounds, then they added more members. In the very early days of Moto the band was very tribal and industrial and dark. The guitars were programmed on the first demos. They had all these crazy samples and industrial sounds and tribal drums... and the grinding, low distortion of the Motograter... and these low, guttural growls and screams. It was raw. It was scary. In a good way. Once they added a human on guitar, a little bit of melody began to creep in, I think. And once they got a singer, in addition to a screamer, they sort of evolved into this melodic force. The band became more accessible in a lot of ways, but they managed to retain their dark/industrial side. I think one of the things Motograter is best known for are the creepy industrial sounds and samples, in addition to the great melodies the music has to offer. You could say that The Browning is very industrial, because of the electronics or whatever, but I think some will argue that, as far as, Industrial is also very much about the mood or tone of the music and lyrics. I mean, industrial music is notoriously about politics, and the occult, and just goes to this dark, dark place. Motograter very much has that industrial tone to it. Very dark, very politically driven on that self-titled album. Very "end of the world" type stuff.

4. Do you have a favorite kit or equipment you tend to lean towards? Oh god, where do I start! (laughs) You know, these questions are very short and concise, but are just busting open cans of worms! (laughs) I am a total drum nerd. I geek out on drum gear, hard. (laughs) I was just at the NAMM Convention and was running around like a kid in a candy store! (laughs) I will start with drums, I suppose. I mentioned that my very first drum set was a run down CB-700 kit. I had a love/hate relationship with that thing... Later, when I got a lot more serious about the drums, my mom helped me get a Tama Rockstar kit. I was in love with Tama Drums because a lot of the drummers I was into were playing them. Vinnie Paul played Tama back in the day and it made me want to play them. I used to have pages of Tama catalogs hung up on my wall in High School. Not naked chicks, but drums. (laughs) I got that Tama Rockstar kit and I just fell in love with it. And it didn't hurt that I wanted so badly to be a Rockstar! (laughs) I have been playing Tama Drums for my entire drumming career. I love Tama more than I can describe. After the Tama Rockstar, I got a Tama Starclassic Performer, which was the best sounding, most beautiful set I had ever heard or seen. Currently I am playing on a Tama Superstar that I have been using for years and years. All the tours I did in The Browning and have done in Motograter were done on this kit, unless of course it was a festival or festival style tour. In which case, I would literally cover the logo of the drums with tape! Now that's loyalty! (laughs) This drum set has been through a lot. I desperately need and want to retire it and get a new set of drums. Hopefully, I can very soon. When I was at NAMM last weekend, I finally met the Tama Artist Relations guy, Aaron, face to face; whom I have been bugging for years. The company was nice enough to offer any of their products to me at artist pricing. I am very grateful for that! I have been using Tama Iron Cobra Double Pedals my entire drumming career as well, and I even recently started using the new Tama Speed Cobra Double Pedals, which are remarkable. Dream Cymbals is a company I have been with for a very long time, since their early days as a fledgling cymbal company. I was one of their first artists. I found out about them in a product review in a drum magazine. They looked and sounded very interesting and I wanted to try them out. From day one, those guys have been amazing to me. I ordered a few cymbals and instantly fell in love with their products. The cymbals are beautiful, hand crafted masterpieces and they are the most resilient cymbals I have ever played. It took me 6 years to break my 16 inch Energy Series Crash! (laughs) I have an interesting story about Dream... I was especially taken with the high-pitched bell sound that was on the first Motograter record. "Ding!" I was always searching for that sound and how I could re-create it. Years later, I built a relationship with this awesome company, Dream Cymbals. I talked to the President of the company and described to him the bell sound I was trying to achieve. While he was at the factory in China, they put together some prototypes for me and sent them to me to try out. They were perfect! Dream Cymbals now sells them in a few different sizes, they are called Jing Cymbals. Now I play that cymbal in this very band, it's very surreal! (laughs) Seriously, the guys at Dream Cymbals have been outstanding. They have always helped me when I needed them. When I toured Europe, they provided me with a full set of gorgeous Dream Cymbals to use on the tour. They have put my ugly face in places like Drum Magazine and Modern Drummer. (laughs) They are just superb. I mentioned before I attended the NAMM show this past weekend, this big music convention where all the major music manufacturers show off their latest and greatest. I attended the show as a Dream Cymbals artist, and it was amazing to see the Dream guys again and try out all the different cymbals; the last time was at the NAMM Show in 2010. Afterwards, I was invited to a Dream Cymbals after party, where a bunch of Dream Cymbals staff and Dream Cymbals artists had dinner and drinks. It was magical! I love Dream Cymbals and I don't think I could play anything else at this point. Another company I am extremely fond of is Xcel Drumsticks. The owner Torry is one of the coolest guys ever and he makes truly amazing drumsticks. They have this awesome patented feature they call the "Secondary Striker". It's really great, you should see it! It gives the cymbals, especially the bells a brighter response and helps reduce wear and tear on the drumstick. These sticks last forever. Before playing Xcel Drumsticks, I broke drumsticks all the time, constantly. I can literally get through an entire tour with just a few sets of sticks now. It's amazing. Torry has been great over the years, and he always provides me with what I need, when I need it. I even got a chance to visit the Xcel Drumstick factory recently on a Motograter tour and it was a very cool experience seeing how the drumsticks are made. He made a couple sticks for me, right then and there, it was awesome! I posted a video of my visit on the interwebs, check it out. The last company I will mention is MEE Audio. A great company. I have been with them for years and they keep getting bigger and better. When I was in The Browning I was desperately searching for a set of In-Ear Monitors that would stay in my ears! I do these crazy hair spins while I'm playing and all the different sets I tried would come out and get tangled up in my hair, it was a nightmare. Finally, I tried the M6 Pro's and they worked like a charm. Not only do they sound great, but they are very comfortable and most importantly they stay put. The guys at MEE are incredibly generous and have always been super accommodating. I finally got to meet those guys at NAMM as well, and they are solid dudes.

5. What motivated you to start up Swimming With Sharks Records? Will you give us some insight on your business and some of the experiences enjoyed over the years?

Well, the first obvious thing is Sharks! (laughs) I have always been obsessed with Sharks, I even have a bunch of Shark tattoos, and it's my stage name too. I always told myself that I would help others and give back as much as possible, whenever I could. I have always held up to that, whenever and wherever I could. It all started my third year of music school, in 2004. I hosted a two hour, live College radio show on KTRL - The Planet. I called it Swimming with Sharks. I produced the entire thing on my own, it was an epic learning experience. I quickly realized that in this small, country town I was the only person broadcasting rock and heavy metal of any sort. I started playing local bands and my friends bands and even played my own bands on the show. I remember putting together my first concerts and getting the local music store to donate a guitar and the local tattoo shop to donate some gift cards and I would advertise the shows on my radio program. Around that same time, I was reading Marilyn Manson's book "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell". In the book he talks about being a music journalist at first and he used the opportunity to write about his own band. It made me think. I used to always email companies and promoters and record labels and nobody ever responded or paid attention. It was a losing battle... I created a company and called it Swimming with Sharks Entertainment. I began promoting bands and booking shows under the name. I began approaching the same companies and booking agents as a representative from this Entertainment Company. Finally they started to respond and take notice. I wasn't just the drummer, trying to get us a show. It was no longer, "Hey guys, it's me the drummer for this band... we are really good." It was now, "Hello, this is Noah from Swimming with Sharks Entertainment. I would like to discuss a very promising act..." Soon I was able to book us all kinds of shows and get us a lot more opportunities. I just kept building my resume and booking us more shows. Over the years, in the bands I have been in, I really don't like to take a back seat. I want to dive in and get involved and really learn the music industry inside and out. I have taken on a million different roles, and have kind of become this jack of all trades. In doing so I have learned a little bit of everything... from web design to graphic design to tour managing to booking to video editor, the list goes on. I wanted to do everything and learn everything. Navigating through the treacherous waters of the music industry has been an eye opening experience. Being on the front lines and trudging through the twisted wasteland that is the music business has been grueling. I have seen the ugly underbelly of the beast. What's that quote from Hunter S. Thompson? He says a bunch of really horrible stuff about the music industry and then he says, "... and there's a negative side too." Or something like that. I know what to do and what not to do, you know? Because I've been there. There are horrible, horrible people out there who are only invested in themselves and they will crush you and leave you in the dirt. I wanted to use all my experiences and knowledge to help bands get to the next step in their careers. I wanted to give back to the music community however I could. When I started signing record deals and negotiating contracts and releasing music and learning about laws and copyrights and loopholes... Well, I learned a lot. I realized I could do everything these companies were doing, granted on a much smaller scale of course, but still I could do it. I had high hopes that I could someday build something great, a community of talented artists and musicians that deserved to be heard. What gave me hope was guys I looked up to like Markus Staiger the founder of Nuclear Blast and Digby Pearson the founder of Earache Records or Brian Slagel who founded Metal Blade. These guys started from nothing, in their apartments and garages. I realized that a label was just that... a name. I started researching and spending hours coming up with this plan and I just went for it. I built a website, and typed up some legal documents, and found some bands and signed them to worldwide digital distribution deals and put out there music, wrote their press releases, everything. One of the cool things we do is we print up a non-exclusive agreement, so that if a bigger opportunity arises for the band, they are not bound to us. We also let the artist retain all of the creative control. We also take as little of a percentage as we can, while still having incentive to want to work for the bands. Although it's been challenging, it's been a lot of fun and we have worked with some truly talented musicians and artists. I could go on and on about this. One of the coolest experiences for me, has been to see it grow from nothing into something I can be proud of. The other day I was searching the internet researching some record labels for my own band, and I came across a list of U.S. Record Labels on Wikipedia and sure enough there was Swimming With Sharks Records. It was just a small, but proud moment. Little things like that, make it all worth while. Seeing our ads in magazines and having fans give us positive feedback on the music we put out, it's very rewarding at times. Also, I have always been a huge fan and collector of metal compilations, in my early metal head days I would go around to different record shops trying to find the latest metal compilations from all the different metal labels so I could discover new bands. I always loved the concept of a good metal compilation. So when I started my own label I put a lot of emphasis on the samplers and compilations. I would print thousands of copies of these things and I would take them on tour with me and pass them out at my shows. It was the perfect opportunity to spread the music around the country. Some of my proudest moments has been playing huge festivals, overseas, to tens of thousand of people and just throwing handfuls of these samplers into the crowd! (laughs) I did that all over Europe and Mexico. It's been awesome. Right now we are really pushing this band from Australia called Eye of the Enemy. They are insanely talented and I feel like this band is really going to be huge someday. They are hardworking and extremely brilliant at what they do. They create this epic, melodic metal for fans of Lamb of God, Pantera, Soilwork, Fear Factory, Killswitch Engage, etc. They currently have two full length albums, or masterpieces I should say, and are working on a third. My dream is to bring them to the states. That would be glorious! I really wish more people knew about them. I am certain they will, in time.

6. What bands or music are you currently listening to?

Great question, I have a funny story about this! (laughs) I write for metal blogs and magazines and such from time to time. I was on tour with Fear Factory and I interviewed Dino Cazares for Hails and Horns Magazine. One of the questions I asked him was this very question, "What have you been listening to lately?" He laughs and says, "Actually, all I've been listening to lately is The Browning, I love it." I just laughed, and blew it off, and said, "No seriously though, I'd really like to know." He gets a serious look on his face and says, "No, seriously bro, I've been jamming your album nonstop." We were on their tour bus and his wife was standing right there and she goes, "No, trust me, he is always listening to The Browning", as she rolls her eyes. Dino, then proceeds to raise his phone, showing me his copy of the 'Burn This World' album. I think my brain melted just a little bit in that moment. It was incredibly surreal. I couldn't believe it. Anyways, back to your question, I think a lot of musicians would try and pick stuff that makes them sound cool, so I'm just going to be completely 100 percent honest here. First of all, I'm a music teacher and I teach private lessons a lot. So, day to day, I end up listening to and playing quite a bit of pop music and classic rock songs. The cool thing is I have the opportunity to influence some of these young minds and introduce them to awesome music. For instance, if a kid comes in, and this happens a lot, and wants to learn a Taylor Swift or Justin Beiber or a Katy Perry song, I will say, "Okay, great we can do that song, but after that can I show you a really awesome band called, Black Sabbath? It's a trade off! (laughs) Honestly, me and the guys in Motograter are quite literally in the middle of recording a new album. So, I've been listening to new Motograter songs take shape over the last few months. Very recently our producer, Ahrue Luster, flew from Colorado to California for about a week and we all sat in a room going over all these songs with a fine-tooth comb. Rehearsing and changing and fixing songs for hours and hours and hours for days on end. Right now we are tracking the album. So, I have been listening to these songs non-stop. Trying to digest what we have created and are creating. I've been listening to the old Moto record too, for inspiration. When I'm just hanging out listening to music... Lately, I have been listening to a lot of Nothingface. I've been jamming the new Sevendust album, which is killer. Eye of the Enemy of course and new Hellbent music. My fiance Audrey and I, we love us some Katatonia and I listen to them often. If you haven't heard of them they are a Swedish band that is very dark and gloomy, yet melodic and beautiful. Love them. We listened to the new Puscifer album the other day. I've been listening to The Bloodline, Ill Nino, and Un Loco quite a bit, because we just toured with both those bands recently. Great bands. I listen to Flaw a lot. Just listened to the new Megadeth and it's killer! I went back and listened to a bunch of Sepultura and Soulfly records recently. Oh, I ran into Max at NAMM! It was unreal! I have been listening to American Head Charge a lot lately, in anticipation of their new album that is about to drop on Napalm Records. I can't wait! It's kind of like when the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, was about to drop and I went back and watched all the old movies to get me in that zone. (laughs) Our producer, Ahrue, is a Star Wars nerd like me. On the way back from picking him up from the airport, we talked about Star Wars quite a bit and we now have this inside joke about the new Moto record... "The Moto Awakens". We all have this goal that we want to achieve with this new record, just like Disney recently achieved with the newest installment of films. We want to give all the old-school fans all of the elements they love and what makes Motograter, Motograter... but we also want it to be modern and accessible to everyone. This new album will have the classic Moto sound that everyone loves, but will have a modern edge to it. I think a lot of people are really going to enjoy this one. We have been working day and night, pouring our blood, sweat, and tears in to this album and it's going to show. We can't wait to unleash this new material. THE MOTO AWAKENS!!!  

Interview By Tim McFarland