If you are unsure what you are doing this weekend, rest assured DTC is here to help.

Darren Bousman, director of Saw II, III and IV is releasing his pet project, REPO! The Genetic Opera an audio-visual feast with a fantastic cast, phenomenal soundtrack and best of all, Paris Hilton dressed in the best Lip Service has to offer.

The marketing for this movie is blatantly viral and for good reason.  The movie is written and funded mainly by Darren and his team.  Lionsgate provided minimal funding and distribution assistance, claiming there is no market for such a film.  This means the director had full control over the story, editing and production.  A “Director’s Cut” from the start, this is not something you want to wait for.

Fantastic Cast:

Paul Sorvino, Alexa Vega, Anthony Stewart Head, Bill Moseley, OhGr, Sarah Brightman, Paris Hilton

Massive Soundtrack:

Richard Patrick (Filter), Steven Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), Shawn “Clown” Crahan (Slipknot), Ray Luzier (Army of Anyone), Brian Young (David Lee Roth’s band), Richard Fortus (Guns n’ Roses), Sonny Moore (First to Last), David J and Daniel Ash (Bauhaus/Love and Rockets), Blasko (Ozzy Osborne, White Zombie), Tommy Clefetus (Rob Zombie’s band), Melora Creager (Rasputina) and Poe.

The film opens tonight at the Lagoon Cinema, Uptown Minneapolis and runs through the week, but if opening nights are large enough Lionsgate will step up and fund wider distribution.  You have no excuse good enough to skip this one.

WHERE:
Lagoon Cinema
1320 Lagoon Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 825-6006

WHEN:
Matinees at 2:40 and 5:00
Regular showing 7:30 and 9:55

WHO:
Rated R so 17+

More Information and trailers!

Film Web Site

MySpace

Trailer (available in HD)

Lagoon Cinema

On Friday a magnificent motion picture opens up and we are one of a small number of cities chosen to screen it. REPO! A Genetic Opera is the result of the hard work and dark vision of a great number of respected artists. Allow me the chance to list some of those involved:

Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas, Romeo + Juliet, Nixon, etc.)
Alexa Vega (Spy Kids)
Anthony Stewart Head (Giles - Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects)
OhGr (Skinny Puppy)
Sarah Brightman (Andrew Lloyd Webber’s muse and ex-wife)
Paris Hilton (?!?! [actually works in this though])

There is even a cameo by Joan Jett!

The music includes contributions from Richard Patrick (Filter), Steven Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), Shawn “Clown” Crahan (Slipknot), Ray Luzier (Army of Anyone), Brian Young (David Lee Roth’s band), Richard Fortus (Guns n’ Roses), Sonny Moore (First to Last), David J and Daniel Ash (Bauhaus/Love and Rockets), Blasko (Ozzy Osborne, White Zombie), Tommy Clefetus (Rob Zombie’s band), Melora Creager (Rasputina) and Poe.

Based on that list alone how can you miss this?

The story is set in a not-so-distant future, in which a worldwide epidemic of organ failures has devastated the planet while a biotech company known as GeneCo offers organ transplants for a price. Those who miss their payments to the company are consequently scheduled for repossession of their organs by the “Repo Man.”

This is stunningly ( and gorily) shot by Director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, III and IV) with glorious musical passages marked by superb writing and stunning performances. The Soundtrack is one-of-a-kind amazing. It’s going to be one of the most memorable pictures this year and is without a doubt destined to be a Cult Classic. You can’t miss this.

As fantastic as it looks the piece was shot with a very small budget. The studio (Lionsgate) isn’t willing to put a dime into advertising for the picture believing that a film with this subject matter has no marketable value and will generate a loss. We can prove the studio wrong. Based on the the revenue this movie generates over the weekend the studio may decide to launch a full advertising campaign based on this movie and may even greenlight similar projects. Your dollar spent is your vote. You really shouldn’t miss this movie as it is a great opportunity to tell the studios that we’re tired of the same big budget dreck and are looking for something unique with depth and talent. And the fact that it’s hopelessly dark with a grinding Industrial/Operatic score is a huge plus as well.

Look, even if for some reason you already have something going on this Friday we really need you to spread the word on this picture. I know fuck-all about what it takes to “go viral” but if ever anything called for such action this is it. Ideally we need people turned away at the door, as cruel as that sounds. Showtimes on Friday are 2:40, 5:00, 7:30, 9:55. And before you say, “Hey, I just checked the Lagoon website and it’s playing all week!” A.) That’s tentative and, B.) the studio is primarily paying attention to the unadvertised opening weekend. Even if you can’t make it until Saturday or Sunday it’s cool, we would just like to post some big numbers. The Lagoon is located at 1320 Lagoon Avenue, Minneapolis. (612) 825-6006. Validated parking is available next to the theatre. Metered street parking is also available on nearby neighborhood streets.

See you there.

So you’re looking to liven up your living room? A simple google search relating to “coffins” and “furniture” will bring up everything from coffin coffee tables to coffins converted into home entertainment centers. But if you’re looking for something really hot, check out Coffin Couches. Their sleek and classically styled recycled coffins don’t come cheap (you’re looking at dropping about $3500, plus shipping and handling from Cali) but sure would look fantastic in any room.

Start saving those pennies and you might be able to afford one of these bad boys at some point before you’ll be needing them to convert back into an actual coffin.

You are one lonely voice in a crowd of thousands. Billions, in fact.

Be heard.

DC-based label/collective Radio-Active-Music, which includes on its roster DTC friends Xuberx, is giving away a couple free EP downloads showcasing some of its most recent offerings - including material from Xuberx and the latest project of Steve Archer from Ego Likeness.

Lockout is a sampler giving you an idea of what RAM has to offer, featuring 23Rainydays, Dharmata 101, Turbulent Soundscape, Die With Me Tonight, Gravity Euphonic and, of course, Xuberx. :Skinless: is an EP version of the upcoming December release of Hopeful Machine’s new full-length. Archer offers up something a little different from what Ego Likeness fans are accustomed to and now you can get an idea of the promise this new project brings.

Visit the RAM Site and download these two EPs. Both are worth a listen.

A track of off Pink Floyd’s experimental 1969 album Ummagumma called “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict” featured a percussive mixture of strange sounds resembling furry little beasts having some kind of rhythmic orgy. Earlier this year Justin Brink released an album on Tympanik Audio under his Pneumatic Detach moniker called [ko•mor•bid]. In contrast to Floyd’s approach, Brink presents what comes across as several species of vicious, metallic insects rapidly consuming everything in their path. Featuring a wildly varied array of caustic rhythms and ominous atmospheres the album is another bold step in this artist’s evolution, taking Powernoise and infusing it with hysteric fits of rapidfire Drum N Bass while occasionally bringing the listener up for air with moody ambiance.

While the album stretches over an hour in length and can occasionally get a little samey due to a decided repetition in sounds utilized it’s an impressive offering that is on par with 2006’s [vis•cer•a]. Check out “Down In The Earth,” one of the more atmospheric tracks from the album, then head over to the Tympanik Audio site and order up a copy.

Jaymie Valentine, the woman behind the eclectic and sometimes vintage sounds of Electro Goth outfit Cindergarden, has released her second full length album as a free download. The Clandestine Experiment is a much more mature and involving listen than its predecessor, 2006’s Underground Light Machine and generally sounds more well produced than anything Valentine’s done thus far. The album also features guest performances from Clint Carney of System Syn (Valentine is System Syn’s live keyboardist) and live Cindergarden drummer Nick Liberatore.

While there are some that might skim over this post and forget about it allow me to posit that this is some great work and the artist has made the decision to willingly offer it to the listeners for free. You should head on over to the Cindergarden MySpace, check out a few tracks and download The Clandestine Experiment.

There’s been a lot of backlash recently against the inherent “sameness” of EBM and even Industrial. There’s also been a lot of negative talk about Powernoise being overly repetitive and awash in distortion only to “hide the flaws and lack of creativity in the music.” Now Erica Dunham of Unter Null has issued a statement essentially saying she’s “Moving On” (the name of her upcoming Unter Null release) from the suffocating constraints of Industrial and branching off into more diverse material that is closer to what she recently accomplished with her brilliant Stray release (review).

I’ve decided that with this next Unter Null album, it will be my last foray into ebm/industrial/whatever (you may call it) music.

2009 is going to be the year of massive experimentation, and not letting problems like, oh, not having an orchestra at immediate hand, not having a multi-million dollar studio, not having an actual “band” but being a solo musician, hold things back.

I’ve sorely wanted to get away from this genre and scene for a while now. I support my friends’ bands, and there are a few bands I really really like in the industrial (umbrella term) genre, but it’s not the kind of music I listen to anymore or have for a long time. I don’t go to the clubs, not interested in club culture, and while a close-knit community can have its benefits, I am not enthused by the back-stabbing and horrendous “it’s a small world” of it all.

While Unter Null has been my main project for over 10 years, I’m definitely not quitting it, however my desire it to tread new grounds and explore new sounds and ways of creation.

My latest release with Stray has also noted a change in my desire for evolution and change. With the current production of the next Unter Null album, I’ve been finding it increasingly harder to maintain separation between the two projects because I’ve been finding myself drifting more towards “Stray”-like tracks – heavy on the melody and instrumentation, and less interested in the distorted 4/4 kicks and rahrah vocals.

Being my background is originally in classical music, I feel these days I’m somewhat losing touch with that and while music has always been grounds for catharsis for me, where I am at now is just not cutting it for me.

So, this is meant in no offense to any of my friends, to fellow musicians, or to my awesome fans.
It’s just time to be moving on… to start the sound that has begun

<3

Erica

I’m really curious to hear the new album and even more curious to see in what direction Erica goes from there. She’s a unique personality and a very emotive musician so no matter what she decides to do it will ultimately draw quite a bit of interest. And if there’s a style of music that could really use a swift kick in its complacent ass right now it’s Industrial, particularly EBM. There hasn’t been much in the way of inspirational or innovative material released for some time within this genre and many acts are reverting to more classic styles in an effort to reboot the subgenre.

When the new album drops we’ll, of course, let you know how it plays out. In the meantime, pay a visit to the Unter Null MySpace to hear selected tracks from the forthcoming release.

Sadly, while the rest of us were celebrating Halloween, Descendents founding guitarist Frank Navetta passed away after having fallen ill days earlier. His playing and composition on the band’s 1982 debut, Milo Goes To College had a profound effect of Hardcore Punk and is considered one of the most influential Punk Rock albums.

He left the act in the midst of the recording sessions for their second full-length, 1985’s I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, and became a professional fisherman in Oregon. If you’re somehow unfamiliar with the Descendents check out “Marriage” from Milo Goes To College, a minute and a half of Punk bliss:

Enjoy this leak of a track from the forthcoming Slayer album. It’s called “Psychopathy Red.” What could possibly make any day better?

Hopefully everyone else here at CastleDTC will chime in with their Halloween wishes.