Jul 22, 2025

The Prince Of Darkness


Ozzy Osbourne
1948 - 2025
One of the legends of heavy metal, and of rock music in general, passed away from Parkinson's Disease today just seventeen days after his farewell performance in Birmingham.  He was 76 years old.
Standing at the crossroads, world spinning round and round
Know which way I'm going, you can't bring me down
Don't you try to teach me no original sin
I don't need your pity for the shape I'm in

I don't want to change the world
I don't want the world to change me

Tell me I'm a sinner, I've got news for you
I spoke to god this morning and he don't like you
You're telling all the people the original sin
He says, he knows you better than you'll ever know him

I don't want to change the world
I don't want the world to change me

You know it ain't easy
You know it ain't fair
So don't try to please me
Because I really don't care

Don't tell me stories 'cause yesterday's glories
Have gone away, so far away
I've heard it said there's a light up ahead
Lord I hope and pray, I'm here to stay

Tell me I'm a sinner, I've got news for you
I spoke to god this morning and he don't like you
Don't you try to teach me no original sin
I don't need your pity for the shape I'm in

I don't want to change the world
I don't want the world to change me

Jul 19, 2025

Welcome To Tromaville



Show banner designed by Andrew Kern
Show poster designed by Marco Mazzoni

Friday night was the first night of Troma Thon 2025.  It's been a few years since I've last been to a Troma event at the Mahoning.  I respect Troma for their independent spirit and their fierce defense of freedom of speech in the arts, and I'm a fan of The Toxic Avenger, Tromeo & Juliet, Class Of Nuke 'Em High, and Sgt. Kabukiman, but the sense of humor in the other Troma films that I've seen doesn't land with me the way that it does with many others.  It's typically a pretty busy weekend at the drive-in, so I offered to come down and help out on the lot crew.
 

There was a stage set up with live music and about a dozen different vendors set up outside the concession building, and a demo set up for Retroware's Toxic Crusaders game, which is set to be released on Switch, Playstation, Xbox, and Steam in the very near future.
 

There was also a very cool photo op on the stage outside of the concession building that I helped set up on the last day of VHS Fest with JT, Steve, Wes, Donovan, and Alex.  The astroturf was a hell of a lot heavier than I thought it was going to be.  If Alex wasn't there, I think the rest of us would still be trying to roll that damn thing out!


This is what the photo op stage looked like when it was finished.  The woman standing to the right of The Toxic Avenger (JT) is Pat Swinney Kaufman.  She is the executive director of the New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture and Television Development and the deputy commissioner of Empire State Development (and Lloyd's wife).  She was lovingly referred to by everyone on the lot as "The Commish".  To the right of her is lot crew manager Dave Wert, who is a hell of a nice man and who busts his ass making sure things on the lot run smoothly, and next to him is director and Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman.

I meant to get a photo on the stage, but time got away from me.  Lloyd, Pat, and JT stayed until well past midnight to meet fans, sign autographs, and even participate in full skits that were videotaped by some of the Troma fans in attendance.  I still ended up taking a nice photo with Lloyd Kaufman, and it's a memory that I'll never forget.


I was hanging out by the concession building during intermission talking with Mark and Nancy when JT came over to me and asked if I had room in my car.  I figured that he probably wanted help with moving some props or something like that, but instead he asked if I could drive Lloyd and Pat Kaufman back to their hotel.  I've lived in the area for most of my life and I'm familiar with the hotel that they were staying at, and... I got to hang out with the dude who created and directed The Toxic Avenger!

I was a little nervous at first so I kept pointing out restaurants as we passed them to let them know a few places in the area that had good food.  I hope they had a chance to stop at The Beacon.  It's one of the last vintage diners in the area, and they make some pretty darn good eats!


Lloyd and Pat were both incredibly kind.  I was debating in my mind throughout the drive of whether or not I should ask if I could take a picture or if that would be annoying to a guy who had a very long day and needed to get some shut eye to get ready for another long day on Saturday.  When we got to his hotel, I sort of said "to hell with it" and asked him if it would be alright, and he could not have possibly been more gracious.


He also gave me this awesome first issue of the new Toxic Avenger comic (with a trading card) as a present for bringing them back to the hotel, which was incredibly nice of him.  I'm proud to add this to my comic collection, and I'll always remember that it was given to me by the man who created Toxie.


I didn't get a photo of the title cards, but I did get to watch most of Surf Nazis Must Die from the front gate, and Rabid Grannies from my car after I got back from dropping Lloyd and Pat off at their hotel.  I had seen both of them before.  I saw Surf Nazis for the first time when I rented it on VHS from Hollywood Video when I was a teenager, and Rabid Grannies was one of the first movies that I ever saw at the Mahoning when it was screened at VHS Fest 5 in 2021.  I missed Rise Of The Super Tromettes, which was the second movie of the night, so I'll have to circle back and catch it at home.

I would have gone back tonight for the second night of Troma Thon 2025, but I have tickets for a marathon of Dario Argento films at The Gap, which I'll write about later.  I'll definitely make it back to Troma Thon 2026 though.  Maybe I'll get that photo printed and ask Lloyd if he wouldn't mind signing it.

Jul 16, 2025

I Am Thinking Of Your Voice


Tom's Diner remix
D.N.A. featuring Suzanne Vega (1990)
A remix track of one of the most fascinating songs of the 1980's was released 35 years ago today.


The diner in the song where Suzanne Vega has her morning coffee is Tom's Restaurant on the corner of Broadway and West 112th Street in New York City.  This is a location that will be instantly familiar to Seinfeld fans as it was the filming location for all of the exterior shots at Monk's Cafe in the series.

Years before Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer turned this establishment into their regular meeting place, a 22 year old Suzanne Vega found herself at the restaurant on the morning of November 18th, 1981 imagining life from the point of view of her friend Brian Rose.  He's a photographer who once told the singer that he saw his life through a pane of glass and that made him feel like he was able to witness many things without ever being involved in them.  She was inspired to put pen to paper and write how Brian would perceive the moment that she found herself in at the restaurant at that moment.

New York Post  (November 18, 1981)

The song's lyrics have led to fans being able to pinpoint the date when Suzanne wrote down her observations that would become Tom's Diner.  About two thirds of the way through the song, she sings 
I open up the paper
There's a story of an actor
Who had died while he was drinking
It was no one I had heard of
And I'm turning to the horoscope
And looking for the funnies
When I'm feeling someone watching me
And so I raise my head
In the years since, Suzanne has confirmed that the actor in question was William Holden.  The man who in 1953 won the Academy Award for Best Actor had been drinking in his apartment when he slipped on a throw rug and fell into the sharp corner of a nightstand that was next to his bed.  The corner reports state that he passed away on November 12th, but his body wasn't discovered until the 16'th, and the New York Post cover story wouldn't be published until November 18th.

New York Post  (November 18, 1981)

The line in the song where Suzanne mentions that she turned to the horoscope while looking for the funnies was the key in fans narrowing down the paper that she was reading.  At the time, there were only two newspapers in the city which had a weekday comics section, and the New York Post was the one out of those which had the story of William Holden's death on the cover.


Suzanne finished writing and recording the song as an a capella track the following year.  It was first released in the January 1984 edition of Fast Folk Musical Magazine, which was a combination of a print magazine with a vinyl record album that was published monthly.  It would receive a much wider release three years later when it was included on her second studio album, Solitude Standing, which was released on April 1st, 1987.
Suzanne Vega (1987)
I am sitting in the morning
At the diner on the corner
I am waiting at the counter
For the man to pour the coffee
And he fills it only halfway
And before I even argue
He is looking out the window
At somebody coming in

"It is always nice to see you"
Says the man behind the counter
To the woman who has come in
She is shaking her umbrella
And I look the other way
As they are kissing their hellos
And I'm pretending not to see them
And instead I pour the milk

I open up the paper
There's a story of an actor
Who had died while he was drinking
It was no one I had heard of
And I'm turning to the horoscope
And looking for the funnies
When I'm feeling someone watching me
And so I raise my head

There's a woman on the outside
Looking inside, does she see me?
No, she does not really see me
'Cause she sees her own reflection
And I'm trying not to notice
That she's hitching up her skirt
And while she's straightening her stockings
Her hair has gotten wet

Oh, this rain, it will continue
Through the morning as I'm listening
To the bells of the cathedral
I am thinking of your voice
And of the midnight picnic once upon a time
Before the rain began...
And I finish up my coffee
And it's time to catch the train


The original Tom's Diner wasn't released as a single in the United States and it didn't chart very high in Europe, but it received a second life in 1990 when Nick Batt and Neal Slateford remixed Suzanne's vocals with a dance beat taken from the 1989 song Keep On Movin' by Soul II Soul.  Under the name DNA, the duo released their remix without the permission of the artist, her record label, or the publisher of the song, but Suzanne liked the interpretation and a deal was struck for it to be released by A&M Records.  It would go on to become an unexpected hit, reaching #1 in Austria, Germany, Greece, and Switzerland and peaking at #2 on the UK Singles Chart and #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100.  The remix was also one of the few songs to reach the Top 10 in both Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks and Hot R&B Singles charts.

D.N.A. featuring Suzanne Vega
I am sitting in the morning
At the diner on the corner
I am waiting at the counter
For the man to pour the coffee
And he fills it only halfway
And before I even argue
He is looking out the window
At somebody coming in

"It is always nice to see you"
Says the man behind the counter
To the woman who has come in
She is shaking her umbrella
And I look the other way
As they are kissing their hellos
And I'm pretending not to see them
And instead I pour the milk

I open up the paper
There's a story of an actor
Who had died while he was drinking
It was no one I had heard of
And I'm turning to the horoscope
And looking for the funnies
When I'm feeling someone watching me
And so I raise my head

There's a woman on the outside
Looking inside, does she see me?
No, she does not really see me
'Cause she sees her own reflection
And I'm trying not to notice
That she's hitching up her skirt
And while she's straightening her stockings
Her hair has gotten wet

Oh, this rain, it will continue
Through the morning as I'm listening
To the bells of the cathedral
I am thinking of your voice
 
photo credit: Richard Perry (New York Times)

In 2008, Suzanne Vega wrote an incredible essay about Tom's Diner that was published in The New York Times that I highly recommend.  Click here to read it.

Jul 13, 2025

VHS Fest 9 Rewind



Show banner designed by Andrew Kern
Show Poster designed by Hayden Hall

The ninth annual VHS Fest at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater was an event that I'll never forget.  It was three nights of horror flicks from the days when we'd bring home a pile of tapes from a video rental shop with only the box art and the description on the back to let us know what we were getting ourselves into.  The event was hosted by Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher of the Found Footage Festival, with special guests Charles Pinion (director of Twisted Issues) and Frank Henenlotter (director of Basket Case, Brain Damage, and Frankenhooker) in attendance to meet fans, sign autographs, and take pictures.
 

Wes and Sara made a massive VHS tape that was introduced on the lot a few weeks back.  It has a whiteboard label and customizable stickers and skins that make it work for any event, but it is absolutely perfect for VHS Fest.  They also decorated the lot around the giant tape with a Mahoningbuster Video theme.
 

Speaking of Wes, VHS Fest 9 was our debut on the Mahoning Lot Crew.  It was hot as hell, especially on Friday, but we made a great team and it was a lot of fun.  There were more tickets sold to this event than any other for the 2025 season and fitting every car on the lot was a challenge, but I think we did pretty well considering that it was the first time for both of us.

Everyone on the regular Mahoning staff was incredibly kind and gracious, especially Virgil, Mark, Dave, and Sandy, the latter of whom gave Wes and I nice gift bags with a VHS Fest 9 t-shirt.


We also helped JT set up the photo op stage for Troma Thon, which is next weekend.  The hardest part of this was rolling out the astroturf, cutting it to size, and putting it in place.  My first clue of how difficult this was going to be was the fact that the roll of turf was delivered by a forklift that was being towed by a truck.  My next clue was the fact that the man who delivered it got the hell out of dodge before we could ask for his help.  It was heavy as hell and loaded with dirt from whichever field it was taken from, and it took five of us to roll it out.  Thankfully for the rest of us, one of those five was Alex (center of photo).  Let's just say that if I do the Camp Blood tug-of-war again this year, I want that dude on our team.


The other part of setting up the Troma Thon photo op was hanging up the backdrop.  This meant climbing on the roof of the concession building to take down the tarp and slide the top of the backdrop into place.  The view is very cool!  I'd love to watch a movie from up here one of these nights.


Dave told me the story of how this slice of pizza ended up in a tree by the front gate.  I don't remember all of the details, but I do know that someone accidentally dropped a slice that landed face down in the dirt, and someone else decided to toss it into the bushes for the birds to eat, and it got hung up here.  I wonder how many people pulling into the lot noticed it.
 

I got to meet directors Charles Pinion (center) and Frank Henenlotter (right) a few times throughout the weekend, both of whom were incredibly cool.


Frank Henenlotter signed the cover of my Basket Case VHS tape.
 

Charles Pinion and David Peck, who did the special effects for Twisted Issues and appeared in the film as "bad guy #4" signed the VHS copy of the film that I bought at VHS Fest.


As always, the lot is loaded with vendors for VHS Fest.  I didn't get as much time to check out all of the tables as I did last year, but I still came home with quite a few awesome finds.  I'm still a bit jealous of Virgil for the Airheads poster that he scored!


My holy grail for the weekend was an original release VHS of the 1981 slasher My Bloody ValentineGeorge Mihalka, who directed the film, will be in attendance later this year for Camp Blood, and I'd love to have him sign it to add to my collection.  I found it and paid more than I wanted to for it, but I'm very glad to have it.  The other highlight pickups of the weekend was a VHS copy of Gate II, which I was introduced to at the first AGFA Triple Ripper, and The Corpse Grinders, which I saw for the first time at Schlock-O-Rama VIII.  Carl gave me that tape as a gift for helping him set up and break down his vendor table.  I tried to pay him for it, but he wouldn't take it.  He's a good dude.


I also picked up a tape called The Torment Of Ashley Williams from Transcendence Tapes Unlimited.  This is a fan edit of The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army Of Darkness which has been cut together to make a single 3 hour film.


Last, but not least, I picked up Volume 9 and 10 of The Found Footage Festival on DVD to complete the set that I started last year.
 


  



 



I'll write more about each of the movies from VHS Fest 9 later.  I'm a little burned out at the moment.
 

And with this weekend in the books, we are officially halfway through the 2025 season at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater.  Onto the second half of the season!