Monday, April 22, 2013

A MUSICAL INTERLUDE

 photo PaulCastBrickRed_zpsa3031eda.jpg

Now here's an oddity... a NEW music video for a 25 year old song.

But not just any song... a song I actually WROTE and RECORDED.  It was released as a 12-inch single.  For the yung'ins out there, there used to be big, black, shiny plastic things called "records" - a 12-inch one usually held an entire album's (or "LP" - "long players") worth of songs, sometimes as much as 15 of 'em; occasionally, it only held 2-3 songs which was considered a "12-inch single" or 4-6 songs, generally considered an "EP" ("extended play").

I wrote the song under my birth name, Paul Castiglia but recorded it under the stage name, Paul Cast.  It was called Cuttin' Loose.

DISCLAIMER: I was in college at the time I wrote it, so it's filled with idealism and angst as you'd expect.  And typical 1980s cheesiness, of course!

My good friend El Kaye (who is also responsible for stoking my love of Wheeler & Woolsey movies) graciously offered her video editing talents to conceive a classic style music video for the track composed of public domain footage and some old photos of me taken for the photo shoot of the single's sleeve (the cardboard covering with which consumers kept the record when not in use, which doubled as informative packaging and protection for the disc).

Most of the public domain clips in the video come from classroom "scare" films of the 1950s, newsreels, instructional films and the like.  There is also a brief animated bit from a promo film from a car dealer, some scenes from a TV show called The Buccaneer and a quick piece from Bela Lugosi's Shadows of Chinatown movie serial.  Most of all, you'll witness sublime clips from the cautionary tale, Boy with a Knife (including some featuring Chuck Connors).

No horror clips to speak of (unless you count the jack-o-lantern) and mostly unintentional comedy, but what the heck - some of you out there may consider the whole experience a "horror-comedy!"

Without further ado, here's the music video for Cuttin' Loose - ENJOY (or NOT)!

Friday, April 19, 2013

MEET ME THIS SATURDAY AND HELP OUT A GREAT CAUSE!


SuperheroesForHospiceflyinglogo

Attention all comic book fans: this coming Saturday, April 20th it's time for another SUPERHEROES FOR HOSPICE Charity Comic Book Sale.  I'll be one of the guests in attendance and I'll have copies of much of my work through the years with me, including my ARCHIE'S WEIRD MYSTERIES and VINCENT PRICE books.  As always, there will also be (long) boxes and boxes of comics for sale from all decades as well as other great comics creators on hand to autograph comics, do sketches and sell original art.  Proceeds benefit Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center.

The event takes place from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.  at the Barnabas Health Corporate Office, located at 95 Old Short Hills Road in West Orange (directly across the street from Saint Barnabas Medical Center).  Admission is free. For more information or to make a comic book donation to Superheroes for Hospice, please contact Spiro Ballas at sballas@barnabashealth.org or 973-322-4866.  You can also read more specifics about this Saturday's event when you click here.

Now here’s a clip from the audio/video podcast, “Fever Keeps It Real” – the fine folks who run the show, Paul and Linda Wein dropped by one of our previous “Superheroes for Hospice<” events and interviewed me about Archie’s Weird Mysteries and the charity starting at 3:46 – enjoy!


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

JOIN ME FOR BEDLAM AT THE BIJOU THIS THURSDAY NIGHT!

 photo MadMonsterPartyNightmareBeforeChristmas_zps15f10674.jpg

Hey gang, just a quick reminder - this Thursday, April 18th (which is tomorrow as I type this but may not be as you're reading it) I'm back in Bridgeport, Connecticut for another BEDLAM AT THE BIJOU double-feature screening. Yes, Brian Solomon has graciously invited me back as his special guest for an inspired double-feature of the classic Rankin-Bass monster bash MAD MONSTER PARTY and a film it helped inspire, TIM BURTON’S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. We’ll talk about the films, give out cool goodies, do trivia and whatnot. I’ll also have ARCHIE’S WEIRD MYSTERIES and VINCENT PRICE books available for sale there (I’ll sign them, too).

 photo bijoulights-440x330_zpsd080e1a8.jpg

The fun takes place on Thursday, April 18th starting at 7PM. The theater is located at 275 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport, Connecticut and you can phone them at (203) 332-3228 or email info@thebijoutheatre.com for more information. You can also visit the site for this screening by clicking here.

Now enjoy the trailer for THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

Monday, April 15, 2013

NEXT STOPS: BRIDGEPORT, CT AND WEST ORANGE, NJ!

 photo MadMonsterPartyNightmareBeforeChristmas_zps15f10674.jpg

Hello again, folks! I want to thank those who stopped on by to see me at the Asbury Park Comic Con a few weeks ago. My spring tour of the Tri-State Area continues this week with not one but two stops! First, this Thursday, April 18th I’ll be back in Bridgeport, Connecticut for another BEDLAM AT THE BIJOU double-feature screening. Yes, Brian Solomon has graciously invited me back as his special guest for an inspired double-feature of the classic Rankin-Bass monster bash MAD MONSTER PARTY and a film it helped inspire, TIM BURTON’S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. We’ll talk about the films, give out cool goodies, do trivia and whatnot. I’ll also have ARCHIE’S WEIRD MYSTERIES and VINCENT PRICE books available for sale there (I’ll sign them, too).

The fun takes place on Thursday, April 18th starting at 7PM. The theater is located at 275 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport, Connecticut and you can phone them at (203) 332-3228 or email info@thebijoutheatre.com for more information. You can also visit the site for this screening by clicking here.

 photo bijoulights-440x330_zpsd080e1a8.jpg

This coming Saturday I’ll be back in my home state of New Jersey for another SUPERHEROES FOR HOSPICE Charity Comic Book Sale. This will be another full-service show where I’ll have the works with me. As always, there will also be (long) boxes and boxes of comics for sale from all decades as well as other great comics creators on hand to autograph comics, do sketches and sell original art. Proceeds benefit Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center.

The event takes place from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 20th at the Barnabas Health Corporate Office, located at 95 Old Short Hills Road in West Orange (directly across the street from Saint Barnabas Medical Center). Admission is free. For more information or to make a comic book donation to Superheroes for Hospice, please contact Spiro Ballas at sballas@barnabashealth.org or 973-322-4866. You can also read more specifics about this Saturday's event when you click here.

SuperheroesForHospiceflyinglogo

Now here’s the trailer for Mad Monster Party – ENJOY!