CARPENTER BRUT: EP III & INTERVIEW.
Posted on January 5, 2015 3 Comments
Three years ago I was captivated by an album cover that featured a snow covered building with an upside down crucifix hung on its side and the words ‘Carpenter Brut‘ plastered on the front. The music was synth-based and electronic but darker and more abrasive than anything else happening in the genre. Gone were the neon colors and sunny, palm tree imagery. These sounds were geared for 3:00 a.m. disco parties in the graveyard starring Trash from Return of the Living Dead and all your favorite leather-clad ghouls.
Then in 2013 came the release of EP II, an album that I consider a 100% Grade-A masterpiece. I hadn’t heard music (or any form of art) that blended three of my favorite things in the world together – old horror movies, 1980’s heavy metal, and oozing synthesizers. The behemoth-sized production on the album was noticeably different from his previous material. The synths alone would make Justice and Kavinsky drop to their knees and beg for mercy. There are moments on this album that sound like 1984 George Lynch is wailing away on his ESP guitar in the same room as Fabio Frizzi. Other moments that will have you seeing an oasis of Italian models in leotards sweating it up in a dimly-lit aerobic studio.
So naturally Uncle T was excited when he heard Carpenter Brut was releasing his third opus in January. Excited…but fearful. Was it possible to top what was accomplished on the previous album? And was this truly THE END of it all?
After getting a full preview of the new album, I’m here to report that the answer to the above question is YES – he’s done it again, folks. EP III pushes everything we love about his music to the limit and wraps the trilogy up with a post-apocalyptic, ultra-violent bomb blast to our senses. But these themes of obliteration also create a sense of paranoia for anyone fearing that “the end is nigh” for Carpenter Brut. You can all rest easy because he’s planning for world domination which happens to start right now in 2015. In this exclusive meeting of the minds, Uncle T sat down with Carpenter Brut to discuss his new EP, plans for performing/touring this year with a live band(!), releasing a full-length album and more!
UT: Congratulations on EP III. Was creating a trilogy intentional?
CB: Thanks! Yes it was intentional. I like movie trilogies, their length allows for the creation of interesting worlds. I have tried to apply that to my music. The last song of the latest EP is about invasion while the first song on the first EP is about escape. It comes full circle.
The addition of vocals to your music is an interesting approach. How did this come about and who’s singing?
I wrote ‘Anarchy Road’ having Depeche Mode in mind. I am a big fan of this band, even if I’m not so fond of their latest albums. Depeche Mode just sweats class, and their vocals contribute to it. We actually sent the track to their manager, just for the fun of it. No answers of course. I asked Jim from Tusk/Trumps to add vocals. He has a really cool voice that fits the song perfectly. I will try to add more vocals on the next album, even if it is harder to put in place than working by myself on my keyboards. Instrumental melody is fine for some time but I sometimes feel a bit trapped in order to move on. The addition of vocals can absolutely turn an average track into a bomb so why pass on them?
If you could choose any real or fictional setting for a first-time listener to listen to your music, where would that ideal place be? My choice would be a real-life Castle Grayskull, with barbarian-babes dancing along to your songs…
In the Overlook Hotel’s entrance hall, right by the elevators doors.
If you could re-score any horror, sci-fi or action flick of the past, what would it be?
Tough question. I have to say I have no clue. I think music is so linked to the images of a movie that it is hard to imagine it differently and with another vibe. I cannot imagine Star Wars composed by someone else than John Williams. Maybe I would go for “The Road”. This movie moved me so much that it would be quite a violent experience for me.
The ‘heavy metal’ vibe of your music really stands out. How does one evoke the spirit of heavy metal in electronic music form?
Maybe in the structure of the songs – that good old classic “verse/chorus” – or by including breaks that can be rock or metal oriented. I try, however, not to have a metal sound, even if I use keyboards with some thickness and distortion. I also want to sound heavy and powerful, and it might not be that common in traditional electro music. But I certainly don’t want to play metal music with keyboards.
You’re one of the only current electronic musicians that I could NEVER picture hunched over a lone laptop during a live show. Your music is just so huge and dynamic, so I was happy to see you transitioning to a band. Without revealing too much, what can hungry CB fans expect to see on this tour?
It will be our very first shows with this line-up so we will start by performing the songs the best we can. We have a lot of ideas that will develop in the long run but, because we lack time and means, our goal will simply be that people have a good time, with their heads exploding in a friendly and smooth environment. We will also have a knives stand.
I’m assuming you’ll have percussion on your first live tour. What else? Synthesizers and guitars? The last I heard Kane Roberts was out of work and looking for a guitar gig.
We’ll have drums, keyboards and guitar. It will allow us to bring some overall groove as well as some 80s guitar-hero pieces.
Are you a practicing satanist, and if so, Uncle T would love to wash down a couple quaaludes & some demon blood with you when you visit Los Angeles.
Haha. No I stopped when I was 12.
How important do you feel physical media is? For me, most of the time I like having something to hold and stare at when I’m listening to an album.
I am torn. On one hand I am a lazy dude and I listen to Spotify rather than digging in my records collection to find this or that album. I am even too lazy to sort them by alphabetical order. But on the other hand, if I really like an album, I buy the vinyl because the artist behind deserves to earn the maximum amount of money for the work and because the object is nicer than a CD. Chances are it will never end up on my turntable though. I don’t know how people still take time to listen to music given that now you can listen to music anywhere and all the time. I know some people still enjoy sitting on a couch to listen to a good vinyl. That’s why we release our albums on a physical support but in small amounts because it is always more expensive to make than putting them on iTunes.
Artwork for Carpenter Brut’s “Trilogy” 3xLP, coming this March.
If you could hire only one woman (living or dead) to star as a video vixen in one of your music videos, who would it be?
Monica Bellucci with a chainsaw in each hand.
Do you collect anything weird/interesting besides music? Are the walls of the Carpenter Brut lair adorned with anything strange?
Not really. Like everyone I have McFarlane movie figures. I waited for 25 years before owning He-Man’s Castle Grayskull. “Santa” didn’t seem to know what it was back in the days so I always ended up with cool stuff but never this damn castle. But my walls are more covered with acoustic panel. I had Ghostbusters Legos for Christmas though, I’m very proud of them.
Are you looking forward to seeing anything in particular while traveling to foreign lands on tour?
Not really. The simple idea of travelling thanks to my music is enough to make me happy. I always like to leave France anyway.
Any last words for the Land of TNUC and your fans?
“By the power of Grayskull…”
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Carpenter Brut will release EP III on January 19th. Digital pre-orders are available now at this location. While we wait until March for the “Trilogy” 3xLP vinyl to arrive, digital pre-orders are available here. Keep an eye on his Facebook page for tour dates.
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A TNUC CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.
Posted on December 24, 2014 2 Comments
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Let’s gaze inside the TNUC lair for a closer look at this year’s holiday banquet…
Yes, one of the Boglins demanded that Aunt Bethany’s cat food jello from Christmas Vacation be made on this joyous night.
Happy Holidays to you and yours from Uncle T, Harry, Cousin Itt, Drool (Boglin), Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Flurp (Boglin), Slimer, Rox (Street Shark), Gorzak and Cryptkeeper!
DECEMBER’S DEADBEAT OF THE MONTH: PAULIE.
Posted on December 22, 2014 1 Comment
It’s with great honor and privilege that we declare Paulie of the Rocky movies to be TNUC’s FINAL Deadbeat-of-the-Month.
Since we started this monthly journey into the deep abyss of depravity a year ago, Paulie was always on my mind. He’s the ideal candidate for Deadbeat-of-the-Month because he’s TNUC’s favorite type of deadbeat – guys that are basically good people deep down but the quest to locate that “good-ness” requires you to sift through a number of sleazy, insulting, drunken-slob qualities.
With that out of the way, we can now focus on the top (3) features that allow Paulie to be such a wonderful deadbeat.
#1 – THE BOOZING.
Paulie is a raging alcoholic which is blatantly displayed throughout the entire film franchise with countless scenes of him pounding cheap, bottom of the barrel beer and liquor. Consuming all this alcohol makes Paulie a bitter bastard, taking out his anger and frustration out on his sister Adrian and soon to be brother-in-law Rocky Balboa. In the photo above he’s drinking Schlitz, one of America’s oldest beers. It’s definitely cheap beer but still probably the classiest beverage we see Paulie drinking during all six movies. It’s all downhill from here..
If your definition of bad, cheap beer is Keystone Light you simply aren’t operating on Paulie’s level. His beer choices come from the family of “deadbeat beers” – stuff that tastes like it was brewed in a prison sweat-sock and is normally only sold in 30-packs (alcoholics/power-drinkers only). They don’t sell it in 6-packs because their customer demographic requires a lot more that six beers to get them into blackout, banshee, piss-your-pants glory.
In the above shot at Paulie’s birthday party in Rocky IV, next to his nephew we see a can of Stroh’s, notorious kingpin of the deadbeat beer universe. Before Stroh’s was bought out by Pabst Brewing Company in the early 2000’s, the Detroit-based company also produced Schaefer, Old Milwaukee, Lone Star and many other degenerate brews. If you haven’t seen your family in a while and for some reason plan on really freaking them out this holiday season, show up to their house with a case of Stroh’s and watch their faces drop. Or if you’re dead broke and worried about making rent this month, but know you won’t be able to shake that craving for 17 beers tonight, take Paulie’s advice and pick up the always-affordable Stroh’s.
Chugging beers everyday is one thing, hell, we fully support this sort of activity in the Land of TNUC. But drinking second rate, snake-piss whiskey all day/everyday is an act made only for guys like Paulie. In just about every scene in the original Rocky, he’s seen taking pulls of his bottle of Four Roses (see above). These days Four Roses is a fairly respected, “straight” bourbon…but there was a time when it was basically known as homeless booze. Before 2002 the brand name was used on a blended whiskey, so it was seen as sub-par to other bourbons. This of course happened to be during Paulie’s love affair with the drink as he’s seen taking swigs of his bottle at the meat-packing facility, on the street and just about anywhere he pleases.
One can sympathize with Paulie on the basis that the guy works in a freezer surrounded by raw cattle carcasses all day in dreary Philadelphia. If that alone isn’t a reason to drive him to drink, he also hates his job and wants to work for local mafioso Tony Gazzo. With every attempt Paulie tries to make with Rocky to put in a good word for him with Gazzo, he fails miserably and falls deeper into his bottle of bottom shelf whiskey.
#2 – THE ANGER.
Paulie is without a doubt an angry and negative bastard. His jealous rages toward Rocky and drunken outbursts on Adrian turn violent at times, resulting in him making an ass out of himself and even getting arrested as seen in Rocky III. See below for a refresher.
This is one of my favorite scenes in the entire series because it feels like for a second you’re watching a gritty, NYC grindhouse-horror flick…STARRING PAULIE. The mood and atmosphere as he stumbles through the arcade is downright chilling. If this taste of “Paulie-terror” is something that gets you excited, go watch 1982’s Amityville 2: The Possession starring Burt Young to help suppress your appetite.
This scene in the movie is the arch for our #1 deadbeat. In the first film he’s at an ultimate low – smashing shit with baseball bats, throwing turkey dinners into alleys and screaming at Adrian that she’s a loser. As Rocky gains momentum and starts making a name for himself, Paulie’s life gets better and we see him become relatively tame in the sequel, Rocky II. By the third film Rocky is making all kinds of money and Paulie reaches his breaking point with jealousy, as seen in the clip. This drunken explosion ends up getting him arrested, then Rocky bails him out of jail and they almost get into a fistfight in the parking lot. Rocky eventually sees what’s going on and gives him a job as ringside assistance.
#3 – THE ROBOT.
In Rocky IV, Paulie elevates his inner-deadbeat by turning a once-harmless robotic into an alleged electronic sex slave.
I bet Rocky and Adrian never dreamed when they surprised Paulie with a robot for his birthday that within a few days he’d have the talking machine saying things like “you’re the greatest” and “see ya, sport” in such a seductive voice. You can tell by the nervous look on Adrian’s face that she knows something else is up, but can’t bare to know the details. Watch the clip and wait for 1:19 to witness the robot’s transformation.
As the robot feeds him Stroh’s beer all day, he lounges around in his wifebeater and God-only-knows what down below (if anything). These scenes are meant to be lighthearted and comical, but i’m pretty sure there’s a lot more going on here. Just look at the expression on Apollo Creed’s face after the robot exits the room.
**FUN FACT** – What if I told you that our favorite robot of the 1980’s was actually designed to treat autism in children? It’s true. The “happy birthday Paulie” robot’s name was Sico and it was designed by a company called International Robotics in the mid-eighties to communicate with autistic kids. Back then autism was very under researched and Sylvester Stallone’s son Seargeoh was autistic, which is what eventually brought Sico to the set of Rocky IV. Stallone loved the robot so much that he wrote it some scenes for the movie. There is said to be a few hilarious scenes that were cut featuring Paulie and the robot in some sort of “Odd Couple” style relationship!
[I hope you disciples enjoyed TNUC’s DEADBEAT-OF-THE-MONTH retrospectives this year. We’re calling it quits after thirteen months of writing about these delinquents (December 2013 – December 2014) in hopes of starting a new monthly feature for 2015. Uncle T truly appreciates you sticking around to read or just quickly scan the posts each month! As always, you can revisit the saga of Deadbeats here.]
THE DUET.
Posted on December 17, 2014 Leave a Comment
A man and a woman trading vocals back and forth in a song. It’s called a “duet” and for some reason it feels like a lost art in the musical world. What happened?
All of TNUC’s favorite duets are at least 25 years old and I think a part of that is because so few beauties and beasts have taken a stab at it. It has to be a bold move for singers and musicians. There needs to be chemistry, the vocals need to blend just the right way together and some deep sexual tension never hurts either. You didn’t need to tell that last tip to Fiona and Kip Winger who in 1989 proved in the music video for “Everything You Do (You’re Sexing Me)” that sexual groping and grinding was very encouraged. Also no shortage of leather and hair. Watch that now..
The song itself is OK, but the real highlight for me is the fact that these two came together and busted out a hot and heavy, 100% duet. The video features Kip and Fiona swapping vocals and thrusts for over 4 minutes in one of those abandoned, upscale apartments that were all the rage during this era. Also as mentioned earlier there is tons of hair in this video. Could that be the missing ingredient holding back artists from making duets these days?
As far as the lyrics go, I think “sexing” translates to “teasing”. In a 2009 interview with Kip, he claimed that he never had a sexual relationship with Fiona, but there were rumors of an affair between her and Reb Beach (Winger lead guitarist).
Kip needs no introduction in the Land of TNUC. He not only fronts one of the most overlooked, underappreciated and talented bands from the heyday, but he’s also the innovator of the “heavy metal pirouette”, the infamous spin and kick move that he can’t stop doing in live performances and in Winger music videos. The guy is a twirling, roundhouse-kicking barbarian on stage and anyone who has seen the videos for Seventeen, Madalaine and Hungry knows what I’m talking about.
In an attempt to keep this entry holiday themed, here’s Santa Kip:
FEROCIOUS FORTRESSES [PART 1].
Posted on December 11, 2014 7 Comments
Christmas 1989. The horrendous day in history when Pops TNUC ran out on the little Manimal and forgot to leave a single gift under the tree.
Not just any gift, but the most massive and triumphant of all toys: the action figure PLAYSET, or fortress as we like to call them. Ever since Uncle T laid eyes on one of these sacred and gargantuan structures, he drooled over having one. Even the walls of his bedroom were plastered with pictures ripped out of the Sears’ holiday catalogue of these giant playsets. So when Christmas morning of 1989 came around and hopes were at their highest, ol’ Pops grabbed him by the shirt and said “smoke up little T!” and handed him a carton of cigarettes. Then he took off on his Harley, abandoning the family to join a naked biker cult up in the mountains.
In attempt to look past these dark memories and reflect with some shred of positivity, today we’re showcasing Uncle T’s top 6 most wanted FEROCIOUS FORTRESSES!
#6 SuperNaturals: Tomb of Doom!
Year Released: 1987
Synopsis: This ancient tomb held the mysterious entrance to the world of SuperNaturals. To enter the “Ghostworld”, you laid your figure in the tomb, then inserted the key to make the figure disappear and also reveal a hidden hologram. The Tomb was also a stellar place to keep your SuperNatural Ghostling figures (little cloaked spirits, example here) on guard from from your sister and hamster.
Creature Features: Revolving tomb floor (on wheels for moving), skull flashlight, glow-in-the-dark goblin art.
Classic Commercial: http://youtu.be/bYlvdyBVc_g
#5 Monster Castle!
Year Released: Unknown (believed to be mid-80’s)
Synopsis: Little is known about the Monster Castle except that it was manufactured by a company called “Eco” and it doesn’t have ties to any known toyline. Rumors spread that it was a prototype playset from the Galaxy Warriors toyline because the back of the box featured a few of their figures. But from what I can gather that wasn’t true. The obscurity and simplicity of this fortress is what I really dig. Plus it reminds me of a funhouse/spookhouse that you’d see at a carnival or fair!
Creature Features: Who knows. There could be trapdoors or something in the back. DYING to know if that dangly hand does anything but just flop around.
Classic Commercial: I wish.
#4 Thundercats: Electronic Cat’s Lair!
Year Released: 1986
Synopsis: In the series, this mega fortress was carved out of a natural granite mountain to house the Thundercats and provide an indestructible sanctuary to help them fight off Mumm-Ra and his mutant pals. The toy fortress itself stood 20 inches high, with a pivoting cat’s head sitting on top of a pearly-white playset, ready to destroy. The ‘electronic’ part was for going toe-to-toe with your friend (the enemy) in a battle to score as many direct hits as possible against each other.
Creature Features: Flashing laser lights, piercing sounds, trap doors leading to underground jail to trap enemies, moveable cat paws, pivoting head.
Classic Commercial: http://youtu.be/Iprr-GJSxoI
#3 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Sewer!
Year Released: 1989
Synopsis: Don’t tell our mutated amphibians that Krang’s Technodrome is technically the mightier fortress of the TMNT universe. To them, there’s no place they’d rather spend scarfing pizza, meditating and hearing stories from their rat sensei than the sewer lair. The playset was released during the height of Turtles mania and was an absolute crucial piece for any collector.
Creature Features: It’s double-decker layout featured an upper “street” level (fire hydrant, manhole cover, telephone poles for hanging) and underground level featuring a punching bag, sewer pipes, elevator and periscope (which attached to the hydrant!).
Classic Commercial: http://youtu.be/QO-pb2cohwg
#2 Masters of the Universe: Castle Grayskull!
Year Released: 1982
Synopsis: Call me typical, but there’s no way this wasn’t making this list. The one, the only…the grandaddy and probably most memorable of them all: CASTLE GRAYSKULL. This powerful fortress of mystery and sorcery had more beastly features and details than any kid at the time could possibly imagine. The frontside was beautifully detailed with a mouth-like entrance and jaw bridge which simulated teeth and a tongue. The backside was the interior of the castle which included a series of rooms, a dungeon, throne hall, armory, elevator and “supercomputer”. The playset closed up like a briefcase and was totally durable with help from a cavity which worked as a handle for carrying. Any kid with a handful of He-Man figures and an imagination would be busy for days on end with this iconic toy.
Creature Features: Working jaw bridge that lowered and locked using power sword as a key, ancient throne/secret lever to release trap door, weapons rack, working elevator.
Classic Commercial: http://youtu.be/02YgW1xvclo
#1 Masters of the Universe: Slime Pit!
Year Released: 1985
Synopsis: I’ll admit, I thought I could finish this little countdown with ignoring the Slime Pit just because it’s not a fortress or full-figured playset like the others. But stepping back and realizing truly how incredible this toy is, I had to give in. If you’re discovering it for the 1st time right now, the Slime Pit is Evil Hordak’s torture chamber to turn his victims into gruesome, oozed-over zombies whenever he felt like it. Included in it’s box was a canister of green slime, which I believe started all the slime/ooze/toxic waste/gak rage in the 80’s and early 90’s. So whatever action figure you felt like punishing (or rewarding) would be positioned under the dino skull, then slime would be poured through a secret compartment in the head to dowse the figure. The slime’s consistency had just the right amount of “stick” and “pull” that it could be collected for repeated fun. *I can’t help but imagine how great it would be if this thing was real and lifesize, so I promise that if TNUC ever opens his own traveling carnival, one of the main attractions will be TNUC’s SLIME PIT: an actual “step right up and get SLIMED” pit of destruction.*
Creature Features: Moveable dino skull and SLIME ACTION.
Classic Commercial: http://youtu.be/bHncoxvxRO8
To get as close as possible to the actual experience of this thing, head over to Slime Pit historian Dinosaur Dracula’s website.
Thanks for sticking around to the end of our countdown! What FEROCIOUS FORTRESSES would you hold as essential? Share em’ on here or on our Facebook page.
FORBIDDEN DREAMS.
Posted on December 7, 2014 3 Comments
When certain people from certain generations hear the name Yanni, visions of 90’s moms come to mind. Or it’s visuals of foreign men with huge manes who look like they leaped right off the cover of a Walgreen’s romance novel. The mere thought of this man can also stir up memories of the nature store at mall that sold purple-crystal rocks and rain sticks.
It wasn’t until our friend Kurt Sloan pointed Uncle T in the direction of a track called “Forbidden Dreams” where I began to grasp the power of this Greek beast. Before hearing my first bit of Yanni’s music, just seeing the title “Forbidden Dreams” made the little hairs on my arm stand up. This intrigue lead to me to play the song and then, beyond my control, drift into a phantasmagoric dreamscape. I realized that if this was a reflection of even 1/4 of the man’s musical catalogue, what a foolish peasant I was for not tuning in earlier. It was around this time that Kurt and Uncle T happened to be working on the Deep Mountain Meditation Mix, where the song can be heard during one of the final training regimes in the mix. Let’s revisit:
Yanni – Forbidden Dreams [download]
This allowed me to discover ‘Keys to Imagination’, a record which is currently blowing my mind on a daily basis. The 8 tracks on the album feature little piano at all (if any), which was initially the only instrument I associated Yanni with. Instead, the long-locked stallion gets heavy with synthesizers and other electronic instruments, creating a progressive sound that delivers an extremely dramatic and passionate story from start to finish. The music is just as imaginative and mystical as the artwork suggests.
“Looking Glass” is another stand-out cut from the album. Press play and maybe just stare at the artwork for the duration of the song.
Yanni – Looking Glass [download]
My days of musical ignorance towards New Age music or at least “judging a book by it’s cover” have long since passed. If you love the work of synth scholars like Tangerine Dream and Vangelis, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t give this album a chance. It’s currently the only Yanni music that I’ve heard thus far but it’s definitely my gateway drug to MORE YANNI.
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