By Ben L.

Lurking in the shadows of my old neighborhood in Lakewood, Ohio, somewhere between the Irish bars and independent store fronts, stalks a band of such unnatural (perhaps supernatural) origin that many weak and perpetually perplexed intellectual peasants have forsaken them. How dare this band of villains defy expectation and violate the most consecrated commandment of the Horror Punk genre by refusing to simply toe the party line and become a bland Misfits clone? These rakish rogues instead have sidestepped assimilation and pieced together a creature of their own design using body parts exhumed from the graves of their musical ancestors. A lightning bolt of punk burst from the clouds overhead, followed by heavy metal thunder, and soon their monstrous sound was alive and rampaging through even more genre fences, terrifying villagers, and thrilling bloodthirsty fans who rallied behind the degenerate beast. I recently got a chance to speak with Bob Noxious, one of the architects of the demon sound and lead spokesmen for this unholy abomination unto the Lord. In addition to his vocal duties for Horror of 59, this recovering telemarketer has also written for Rock N Roll Purgatory (be sure to check out his movie reviews on this site), The Lakewood Observer, Cracked, and several other publications. He also publishes his own zine, Utter Trash, and has been in many past bands including Pygmy Tyrant, Punch & Judy, Martian John, and the Tumors. He is also rather tall, an Aries, and enjoys volunteering at rehabilitation clinics for retarded dogs disinclined towards butt-sniffing. - Ben All Photos: Sawyer Images and Stephanie Lane.

RRP: How did you guys end up on Shark Attack Records? Whatever happened to Sonic Swirl? Bob Noxious: Basically we ended up on Shark Attack because we're friends with Lacey, the woman who runs the label. The band that was originally going to be the first release from Shark Attack broke up. Lacey needed a CD to release and we needed a label, so why not? I do also want to mention that the album is co-released with My Mind's Eye Records who helped out a great deal as well. As for Sonic Swirl, you know as well as anyone how hard it can be for a small label to keep things going these days. I don't know if they're throwing in the towel completely, but they just weren't able to release our album. I think they only did one or two releases total in 2007. RRP: What do you think the role of a small label is these days with digital distro, illegal downloads, and a much smaller infrastructure for independent distribution? Bob Noxious: As much as I hate to say it, I think releasing albums as actual physical products is becoming less and less important. You're really just catering to a small collector's market and a handful of people who still like getting the whole package with the art and everything. It's going to get to the point where even a "hit" album is only selling maybe a couple hundred thousand physical copies compared to millions of digital downloads. I actually think really small labels like Shark Attack, where there aren't a whole bunch of people on the payroll and it's not anyone's major source of income, can hang in there better than some of the mid level labels. RRP: When we were young every podunk town seemed to have a small record store, but now they have almost completely dried up. Lakewood's My Mind's Eye is actually one of the best respected indy record stores in the U.S. (among those who still care about such things), yet even they've had quite a struggle. What do you think will be lost (or already has been lost) when there are no more local record shops? Bob Noxious: There's a sort of community that gets created around a good independent record store. You go into a store like My Mind's Eye and maybe there's something cool playing on the stereo that you've never heard before. So you go talk to Charles and he tells you what that is, and then maybe recommends a couple other things. Maybe some other guy is hanging around the counter and throws in his two cents. You can have a real conversation about music, and in the process make some cool discoveries. You're not going to get that at Amazon.com or even a big chain store. That's the main thing that's going to be lost when the small stores are all gone. RRP: I know you always get the Misfits comparisons, but you do incorporate a broader array of influences into your sound. In what directions do think "The Golden Age of Sin" has evolved from your previous album, "Screams from the Cellar," as far as songwriting and overall sound? Bob Noxious: Probably one of the most obvious changes is we have lead guitar on this album. The arrangements are a little more complex, and the average length of the songs has increased a little. We actually crack the 3 minute mark on a couple of tunes. My favorite review of the album so far, even though they hated us, was in Maximum Rock N Roll. Their reviewer almost got where we were coming from. He described our album as being like the soundtrack to an eighties punksploitation movie that equates punk and heavy metal. Trust me, we know the difference between punk and metal. We just happen to like both, so why not incorporate the things we like from each style? We also throw in some rockabilly and garage rock, and I know a lot of eighties new wave and pop music influenced the way I write hooks. But I know we're always going to get the Misfits comparisons. We write about horror and other "dark" subjects and I actually sing instead of screaming or growling, so it's just easy for people to say, "oh, they're like the Misfits". There's no doubt songs like "Die My Way" and "All For the Gore" are in that vein, but those kind of songs are in the minority on the new album. The Misfits would never have written songs like "The Devil in Miss Jones" or "Triple Feature Horror Show". In the end I don't really care how people describe us. I just don't want anyone to buy our album expecting 'Walk Among Us' because I think they'll be disappointed if that's what they're looking for. RRP: What is the current line-up, and why the changes? Bob Noxious: Currently it's me on lead vocals, Tommy Horror and Tommy Roulette on guitars, Brent Bastard on drums, and Jimmie Dale Killmore on bass. As for why the changes, the first part of it was like playing musical chairs. Right after 'Screams' came out in October of 2005 Tommy switched from bass to guitar, Deke switched from drums to bass, and we brought in Brent to play drums. We just needed someone on guitar who could play leads. We considered getting a new bass player, but Deke knew Brent so it was easier to bring him in on drums and move Deke to bass. M. Balmer was supposed to stay in the band, but for various reasons I'm not going to get into that didn't work out. Anyway the end result was that no one in the band except me was still doing the same thing they had done on the first album. So really, you could almost say it was a whole new band. Anyway, we were stable for about 2 years. We played a lot of shows and recorded our second album, 'The Golden Age of Sin'. Then Deke decided to move to Florida, and since we didn't want to turn into the White Stripes we figured we probably should replace him. And just for the hell of it we decided to add a second guitar player, too. Deke actually hand picked Jimbo to replace him, and he also recommended Tommy #2 to us, so even when he's gone he's still trying to run things. RRP: How did you get acclaimed tattoo artist Mitch O’Connell to do the cover art for your latest CD? Bob Noxious: I didn't even know who Mitch was when he first contacted me. I used to do a webzine called Utter Trash, and I had interviewed a local horror host called The Ghoul for my site. Mitch was a Ghoul fan and he emailed me a jpeg of some flash art he had done of The Ghoul. We sent a couple messages back and forth, and in one of them he included a flier he had done for some movie festival. It had exactly the look I imagined for our album cover. I asked if he would do the art and he said yes. I kind of gave him a general idea of what I wanted on the cover, and he gave us an amazing piece of artwork that exceeded all expectations. RRP: With "The Golden Age of Sin" you sing the praises of a bygone era of sexploitation films, pin-ups and burlesque shows. What holds the allure for you, and how do you feel sensuality was handled better then than now? What are some of your favorites (sexploitation films, actresses and pin-ups)? Is there anything being done today that maintains the same qualities and spirit with good results? Bob Noxious: Well, the first thing I like about the era is that when you watched those kind of movies back then, they felt dirtier. Even without much nudity and with no hardcore sex, those movies just have this vibe of something forbidden. There was a social stigma attached to going to see this kind of entertainment. It required a certain amount of risk. To me, there's something almost romantic about that, even though I'm sure the reality of it was anything but. Aside from the dirtiness, it also has more of a sense of fun. The modern adult film business seems very assembly line these days, with very little room for real film making. Even the few guys who still try to make actual features with storylines are hampered because the current crop of adult stars make the ones from the seventies and early eighties look like Oscar material. Don't get me wrong, I love modern smut when it's done well. I just can't think of anything that rises above the level of stroke material that's come out since the movies Michael Ninn, Andrew Blake, and Gregory Dark were making in the nineties. My favorite sexploitation/exploitation filmmakers from the sixties and seventies are probably Russ Meyer, H.G. Lewis, Jess Franco, Jean Rollin, Jack Hill, Radley Metzger, and Mario Bava. As far as particular pin-ups and stars, I hate to be obvious but Bettie Page and Jayne Mansfield are two personal favorites. Soledad Miranda I think is one of the most beautiful actresses to ever work in any kind of film, and she has as tragic a story as Jayne or Marilyn. She really deserves to be better known. Tura Satana... Mamie Van Doren... Laura Gemser... Pam Grier... I could go on. RRP: I know some of your songs are based on local legends and ghost stories. Can you talk about some of your favorite haunted spots or other places with lurid histories in NE Ohio? Bob Noxious: Probably my favorite is the "Melonheads". I also like the stories about "Helltown" aka Peninsula/Boston Township. And of course Franklin Castle has some great stories associated with it, at least some of which (like the Nazis using it as HQ in the thirties) are verifiable. Helltown was very close to where I grew up, and I've gone hiking in the parks out there numerous times. Never once did anything remotely scary happen. Sorry. But the stories are that there is a cult of devil worshipers out there. There's also various spots that are supposed to have hauntings. There's also a couple of cryptozoological critters supposedly in the area - the "Peninsula Python" and a Wendigo. It's like a dumping ground for urban legends there. Another big favorite is actually more southern Ohio/Virginia, and that's Mothman. They made a really shitty movie out of the stories about this critter, which is a winged humanoid with red eyes shaped like your stereotypical space alien's eyes. I highly recommend people read John Keel's book 'The Mothman Prophecies' for a more interesting, if not necessarily more truthful, account. RRP: Do you think there is an inkling of truth the the Melonheads story... like there actually were children who suffered from hydrocephaly at an institution in Chardon, but maybe they didn't become feral cannibals at the behest of a mad doctor? Bob Noxious: No. RRP: Bob, I know your wife does the Dead Ohio website and that you've both sought to encounter ghosts in many places throughout the region. What were some of the creepier places you've gone, and did you experience anything paranormal? Have any of you in the band had an actual encounter? Bob Noxious: Honestly, and I hate to disappoint anyone, but I really don't believe in the paranormal or supernatural or whatever you want to call it at all. I try to keep an open mind that maybe, just maybe ghosts or melonheads or Mothman might be real, but I've seen absolutely nothing to support their existence. I just like the stories. It would be cool if they were true, but they probably aren't. RRP: Do you think the fascination with the paranormal is in some ways similar to religion in that it seeks affirmation of some sort of afterlife? Bob Noxious: Absolutely. They try to cloak that in a veil of science, but just about any real scientist will tell you that it's really pseudoscience. I'm not trying to change anyone's beliefs, but a lot of those beliefs are based on bad information. Thanks to shows like Ghost Hunters and various paranormal programs on channels like Discover, a lot of people think there is scientific evidence for ghosts. There just isn't. You aren't going to get a good science education by watching TV programs intended primarily for entertainment. You need to do some research and read some books, and not just books that confirm what you want to believe. You need to know how to distinguish good science from bad, and sadly our schools don't do a very good job of that. See, you've got me off on a socio political rant now. Are you happy? RRP: What were some of your first experiences with horror films that actually scared you, and have any movies since then come close to giving you the same chilling effect? Bob Noxious: I basically grew up identifying with the monsters. I was rooting for Godzilla and The Wolfman and The Creature. Eventually I moved on to more graphic stuff, but I just always was aware that "it's only a movie". 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' definitely had some moments that got me the first time I saw it, though. One of my favorite horror movies scenes is still the one where Leatherface pops out, knocks out one of the teenage victims, and then slams that metal door shut. But in general horror movies are more interesting to me than scary. I love monsters. I love special effects. I love the way horror films can often say something about society in their subtext and get away with it where a more straight forward film couldn't. And at the same time, horror movies are some of the worst movies I've seen, and I don't mean that in a "so bad it's good" way. For every horror movie I love, I've probably watched 10 that I hated. And yet I will still go see a horror movie before anything else. You figure it out. RRP: When was the last time you've been truly afraid in real life, and do you think part of the attraction of horror genre is getting some level of that same primal response, but safely and vicariously? Or do you think eventually comedy and camp takes precedence over shock and fear? Bob Noxious: My life isn't all that exciting. My fears are all things like I can't reach my wife on her cell phone and she's supposed to be home but she isn't and I get freaked out about it. Maybe I'm driving in the lovely Cleveland winter we have and I hit the breaks and go into a skid. Wish I had something cool to tell you, but I just don't. I do think a lot of horror movies are going for that primal response, and even though I don't necessarily get "scared" by those movies, the best of them still work on some kind of emotional level for me. More "disturbing" than "scary" I guess. I also think there's a place for the campy stuff, but there's a downside to that. I think a lot of people have been conditioned by the campy stuff to think horror movies are all "cheesy", and when I go to a theater to see a movie like 'Hostel' that is grim and brutal and serious, nothing pisses me off more than some jerkoff laughing. I really think there are a lot of people today who view movies only as roller coaster ride entertainment, and when confronted with something other than that they just don't know how to react appropriately. RRP: I know a few of your songs were used in the movie, Horror Convention Massacre. How did this come about, and do you plan any future collaborations with Old School Sinema? Bob Noxious: That's another one that came about through Utter Trash. I interviewed Joe when he did his first movie, a non horror comedy called 'Guys'. We kept in touch, and when he got ready to do THCM he asked me if I wanted to be in it. I wound up not acting in the movie, but he did use some of our music. He also used some of our songs in the sequel, 'The Horror Convention Massacre 2'. And now I'm working on a screenplay for a rock & roll themed horror movie Joe wants to shoot. We'll see what happens with that. RRP: Have you thought of doing your own DVD with videos and skits presented by a Ghoulardi type character, or anything like that? Bob Noxious: That would be cool, but probably not anytime soon. We do have a few live shows that we might put together on some kind of DVD-R, but to do a real professionally pressed DVD, I'm just not sure it's worth it RRP: When I listen to a lot of your songs what really pops out at me personally is old school metal influence which, as a child of the 80's, I love. What were some of the shows you saw as a kid that really stood out for you? Bob Noxious: The big one was Iron Maiden on the 'Powerslave' tour. You simply could not top that, and every concert I've seen since has paled in comparison. I mean come on, you had a fifty foot tall mummy busting out from a pyramid. Plus the band just kicked ass. They were in their prime. They just finally released the concert film from that tour on DVD, and I highly recommend people pick that up. But aside from that, there were so many shows I saw as a teenager that just blew me away. Suicidal Tendencies at this place called the Bohemia (I think) on the 'Join the Army' tour... the whole crowd was just a giant slam pit. Anthrax and Metal Church co-headlining at The Phantasy Theater... Dio on the 'Sacred Heart' tour... The Butthole Surfers with their full on sensory assault of strobes, VD films, and fucked up music... King Diamond on his first solo tour with Megadeth opening, and it was like a 500 person capacity club... Janes Addiction when 'Nothing's Shocking' had just come out at that same small club... The Mentors with Saint Vitus at some dive bar that used to be a hotel... I saw so many concerts back then, and at the time I totally lived for live music. Punk, metal, alternative. I didn't care. It was all cool to me. Now it's hard to get my ass out the door to see something 10 minutes away. Are the shows less exciting, or am I just getting old? Don't answer that.

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