HE’S BACK (DEMO).
Posted on October 13, 2017 2 Comments
We get a bunch of Friday the 13th’s throughout the calendar year, but an OCTOBER Friday the 13th? This calls for something big. Something worthy of celebrating America’s favorite blade-wielding maniac, JASON! So break out the machetes, severed heads and piñatas. It’s time to party.
If you’re a regular around these parts or just a fan of horror, chances are you’ve listened to Alice Cooper’s “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)” over 45,000 times. The infamous track from the soundtrack to Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is a crown jewel of the heavy-metal-horror world, for crying out loud.
Ah, but have you heard the DEMO VERSION OF “HE’S BACK”?
It may not top the final movie version, but something about guitarist Kane Robert’s thrusting riffs are really owning it for me right now. I’m having a hard time not doing power slides on my knees through the apartment, while the family fog machine pumps in the background and a Reese’s peanut butter bat dangles from my mouth.
Not a peanut butter bat, but you get the idea…
Eventually Alice or a producer had a change of heart and went with the synthesizer-heavy final mix, which ended up being very successful on radio and MTV. If there’s anything to critique about the hit song, it’s that Alice always sounded a little like Weird Al on some of those vocals. Not as raw and punchy as the demo version!
Did the demo ripper get tossed on a shelf to rot? Not exactly. The main components of the song – sans the lyrics – were used for the song “Trick Bag” from Alice’s 1986 album Constrictor.
In closing, on this blessed OCTOBER Friday the 13th, let’s dedicate this song to Cort from Part VI. It’s probably no surprise that TNUC is a huge supporter of this classic bonehead counselor. The shredded denim, walkman earmuffs, crop top and general “let’s party” attitude earns him maximum respect around Castle TNUC. I’m confident if Cort had lived to see 21, he would’ve been a big fan of TNUC. *Fun Fact* Cort was Jason Voorhees’ 48th victim!
TGIF13TH, disciples. What are your plans tonight? Jason marathon? Boozing it up at the local cemetery? Luring a loved one into an RV in the middle of the woods for some 1 on 1 action? Tell us in the comments section.
COMMERCIAL CREEPS.
Posted on October 10, 2017 Leave a Comment
Nothing oozes more Halloween spirit than a few grainy commercials from the prime-time era of horror. Low budget and campy? You betcha. Heartfelt and sincere? Absofuckinglutely.
Uncle T is real sucker for local costume shop commercials. Watching these ads brings me back to this long-gone shop in Pawtucket, Rhode Island that my parents took me as a pint-sized demon which if memory serves me correctly was called “Morris Novelty”. I still remember the feeling of seeing all these disgusting, intimidating and amazing latex masks hanging on a wooden pitched ceiling in the shop’s upstairs area. Everything expensive and ultra creepy seemed to be displayed in that upper section of the mom and pop store. Plus it was an old mill building with creaky floors and everything covered in dust.
As you reached the summit of the stairs to the third floor, one look up and it was wall-to-wall horror masks. Seeing these grotesque faces in person for the first time was something to behold. I didn’t stop thinking about it for weeks.
Here are some of my other favorite Halloween costume shop commercials lingering around the internet thanks to uploaders like Dinosaur Dracula and other gnarly historians…
Now for something even more obscure. On October 30th, 1980 a local nighty news program decided to have a little fun with a local costume shop for their Halloween evening news “sign off”.
Yes, that’s Jean-Michel Jarre’s classic track ‘Oxygéne’ heard humming in the background. It’s hard to explain the genuinely spooky-nostalgic feeling that’s pumping through my loins as I watch this over and over again! The Halloween season is a bizarre and wonderful thing.
GHOULIE BAGS!
Posted on October 6, 2017 3 Comments
A wise old woman once screamed at me in the night “Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun!” and while yes, she was a babbling baggage lady who ate rats and collected crucifixes in the alley behind TNUC’s penthouse suite, the phrase resonated with me for a long time.
In its purest form the Halloween season should revolve around pumpkins, candy, horror movies and trick or treating. While most of TNUC’s disciples have long overgrown trick or treating, hopefully we can look back with fun memories of walking around the neighborhood on chilly nights, ruffling through damp leaves in our costumes and ringing doorbells. It’s a short but sweet slice of life that we sort of take for granted at the time.
In an effort to bring us back to those innocent but rambunctious times of creeping around in cheap Jason Voorhees masks and your dad’s greasy-old work coveralls, TNUC proudly presents GHOULIE BAGS!™ (Limited quantities on sale now!)
GHOULIE BAGS™ feature special appearances by:
- Castle TNUC postcards
- ‘Serpent Manimal’ stickers
- Vintage Miller Beer zombie fingers
- Vintage McDonalds jack-o’-lantern rings
- Rubber rats
- Rubber bats
- Rubber ghouls
- Candy
- Video Vamp teeth
- Goosebumps stickers
- Illegal narcotics
- special surprises!
*Please note that no two bags contain the same contents! But we promise each and every bag is equally spooky and nasty!*
GO HERE TO GRAB YOUR GHOULIE BAG™ NOW! (extremely limited quantities)
CASTLE TNUC [Chapter 1].
Posted on October 2, 2017 4 Comments
WELLLCOMMMEEEE KIDDIES!
It happened when the clock struck midnight on September 30th, the eve of October. Those frequent detention hall delinquents (Ricky, Linda, Snake and Roxie) were roaming the local carnival at the wee hours of the night, trying their best to hide from the fat security guard who who was too distracted by the leftover fried dough and cold hot dogs he was scarfing down from the day. Once they hopped the bushes behind The Devil’s Tower, it started to all soak in – the carnival shrouded in darkness, the absolute silence and the unnerving stillness. As they dusted their leather and flannels and took one last lungful of the wet, chilly air, Ricky pulled out a Winston from his back pocket, put it up to his lips and flicked the lighter. They belonged to the night.
Suddenly a faint, rhythmic sound was heard in the distance. It was coming from behind the trailers and carny compounds where all the sideshow carnies slept at night. God it reeked back there. As they approached a little closer, it became clear that it was heavy metal music blaring from a crappy PA system. Who could it be? The bearded lady and walrus boy getting it on? A bunch of teenage brats having a drinking party? The latter simply couldn’t be possible since Uncle T and his goons run this boardwalk during these hours of the night.
As the music grew louder, it started to become so dark that it was nearly impossible to see two inches in front of their faces. Everything around them simply blackened…the trees, ground and surroundings. A dizzying effect took over. They were forced to their knees as if they were being pushed down by some ghastly entity in the air.
They looked up and gazed upon a radical airbrushed fortress that was bathed in heavenly glow…
Could this be heaven…or could it be hell?!? Who cares! They all looked at each other and shouted simultaneously “WE WANT IN!” (to be continued…)
STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTER 2!
[Calling all deviants, weirdos, freaks, jocks, dweebs, sluts, ghouls and ghoulettes! Welcome to the 2017 TNUC Halloween season! Inspired by carnival funhouses, pretzel dark rides and seedy county fairs, Castle TNUC is a dreamland for anyone who enjoys rubber monsters, hairy beasts and busty boogeybabes. So step right up and get your tickets to Castle TNUC paradise! Pay to get in…PRAY to get out!]
Huge thanks and appreciation to Cody Kaufman who killed it with this year’s artwork!
SLASHBACK VIDEO!
Posted on September 19, 2017 4 Comments
Who can recall their first glimpse at VHS horror tapes? How about when you actually had to leave your house to rent one?
If you grew up in the golden era of VHS and home video, you probably have nostalgic feelings about the whole thing. Almost every day I hear someone bumming over the reality that video stores are long gone and how charming it was to roam down aisles of videos, checking out the striking artwork.
Well, pretend for a moment that the video rental store downfall never happened.
Now get ready to enter a dream land of video horror splendor…
Welcome to Burbank, California’s SLASHBACK VIDEO, where nothing has changed and 1980’s horror is king! DOUBLE FUCK YES.
Housed inside Bearded Lady’s Mystic Museum in Burbank, Slashback Video is an artwork installation and tribute to mom and pop video stores of yesteryear. The temporary pop-up shop is a collaboration between the museum and Ryan Turek, horror movie lover and Director of Development at Blumhouse Productions.
Above, Uncle T devoting some quality time to work the cash register.
Below, Uncle T locating tapes for local customers with busty-lusty long butts.
To say these people did a phenomenal job is an understatement. Slashback Video doesn’t just look like a horror rental store, it FEELS like one. It’s packed with atmosphere and reeks of golden nostalgia. The poster-plastered walls and racks of videos are detailed and set up just right to achieve that authentic and effortless look that existed during the mom and pop video store era.
…Like it’s understandable that a bunch of horror genre disciples created this magic, but one blink and it could’ve easily been setup by that local greaseball shop owner Norm. (The one with the lazy eye!)
For those living in California, get off the internet immediately and get down to Slashback Video! Nothing compares to experiencing this in person. For people in other parts of the country and world, sit back and let Uncle T be your virtual guide…
Movie maniacs and curious browsers enjoy aisles of videos, wall-to-wall posters, popcorn, soda, candy and those cardboard cutout things.
Yes, they are real VHS tapes borrowed from personal collections of some of the creators.
Even the register slays! On the bottom shelf are 6-packs of Crystal Pepsi and Surge! I’m ready to retire and become a janitor here.
These righteous rulers also included the absolutely mandatory ADULTS ONLY section! I bet there’s a Peter North poster behind that curtain.
A section at the front of the store titled “Artist’s Picks” featured custom artwork by artists (such as my pal Marc of Sadist Art Designs) taking a stab at their favorite box covers. This 3D Critters box art (forgot to grab the artist’s name) was one of my favorites.
SLASHBACK VIDEO!
live @ Bearded Lady’s Mystic Museum
3204 W. Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA 91505
DAYTONA THUNDER.
Posted on September 6, 2017 2 Comments
At the very ass end of summer TNUC always demands a proper send off. Right before things start to get pretty exciting around here (OCTOBER!), we can’t say bon voyage to the balmy months without one final clenched fist in the air, screaming like a horny gorilla chasing lady apes in the jungle.
Uh, what the heck does that mean? It means that last weekend Uncle T had a private screening of the 1990 fast-action blockbuster DAYS OF THUNDER…and man did it do the trick. Talk about a power hour and 47 minutes of motion picture adrenaline! This movie really does have it all. Fast cars, great hair, hot romance, emotions escalating, risky moves, tight denim, neon ballcaps, homoeroticism (though nothing compared to Top Gun), sunburst cinematography, extreme product placements and last but certainly not least…Cole Fucking Trickle.
It’s easy to grasp the reality that Tom Cruise was experiencing probably the biggest mega-stardom of his career right before Days of Thunder came out. This movie followed in the footsteps of Risky Business, Rainman, Cocktail and Top Gun just to name a few. Days of Thunder is sort of like Top Gun’s dumb little brother. Also, this was the summer of 1990 and everything on screen had a certain air of crispiness to achieve that cinematic awe. It might be a big dumb movie about dickhead NASCAR drivers, but man did it look good!
By the time Cole Trickle storms the big race in Daytona, I’m already 13 Zimas deep and my eyes are bulging out of my sockets. This type of hot action just doesn’t grace the big screen these days. When the credits hit, I’m feeling more alive than I’ve felt in a long time, although the credit music is a bit underwhelming during this euphoria. It’s fine and all, but let’s just say it’s a far cry from Point Break’s end credits featuring Ratt’s ‘Nobody Rides for Free’.
But one tune immediately came to mind hence the title and that’s Russ Chimes’ ‘Daytona’. It’s been years since I’ve heard the track and we haven’t posted anything Valerie Collective related in some time, so we’re definitiely due for a revisit.
Blast this into oblivion, feel the engine roar and join Uncle T in bidding a final farewell to summer.
Don’t forget to stay hydrated with a frosty Mello Yello as you sit back in your big boy chair tonight to watch Days of Thunder (currently streaming on Amazon Prime)!
Too fired up and need a piece of the action now? Do an eBay search for “Days of Thunder” promo stuff and vintage merchandise. There’s literally endless hats, shirts, posters, visors and other promotional crap. The marketing on this movie saw no limit and why should it have really?
uncletnuc.com 