I contacted Mr. Cabrera to get in touch with the drummer of one of my favorite surf revival bands the Ghastly Ones and ended up with a geeked out interview with the key sculptor of Hellboy 2. ENJOY!
Email 1
Why is it that surf rock and horror imagery go so well together? Is it just that the Universal Monster craze was happening while surf music was starting to catch major waves?
I think mainly the heavy reverb on the guitar gives it a naturally spooky feel . But Surf music did have its heyday in the early sixties when Universal monster movies of the 30's made a big comeback on TV with late night "Creature Features" shows and Famous Monsters Magazine was at the newsstand. I also think "The Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and The Munsters theme played a big part as well in fusing a surf music vibe with monster stuff.
Email 2
So where did your love of surf music start? Old Ventures albums? Loving the Monster Mash that much? Thinking Man Or Astroman already had the spaceman thing cornered so why not team up with the coroner?
I guess the initial appeal for me was partially the spookiness of it. When I was a kid the local Creature Features program used "Out of Limits" by The Marketts as the theme song for the show. I also remember hearing "Wipe Out" and "Walk Don't Run" on the radio and being naturally draw to it. Later listening to The Cramps sent me on a search for obscure stuff like "Boss" by The Rumblers and so on. When we started The Ghastly Ones in '96 the point was definitely to combine Surf Music and Horror. Other bands had done a spooky sounding surf song here and there starting with The Ventures and The Marketts, and Frankie Stein and The Ghouls was a fake "studio" group in the mid-sixties. But no one had ever done a bonified all spooky surf band at that point. Man or Astroman had the sci-fi thing covered so we stepped in with the spooky surf.
Email 3
From an East Coast stand point, you guys have been quietly doing your own thing and doing it well. If I'm not mistaken you just released a new "Gears n Ghoul Finks" 7 inch single in October of last year and it has already completely sold out.
Whats next? Repress?
Yeah, we stay on the west coast for the most part, but we did a mini tour a while back of NY, NJ,
As far as our 7inch, it sold out pretty fast. We'll probably do a second pressing in different color vinyl but my hope is to have a full album ready before the end of the fall.
Email 4
FX FOR MONSTER MOVIES! TELL ME MORE :) I work in television as well, but in a less creative capacity. I think if you hit up maxwells in nj, where the mummies always play and choice east coast spots you would have a lot of fun. I some how snoozed on the 7" and I totally loozed.
I can hook you up with a 7 inch, no problem. Just email me your address.
I started out doing creature FX when I was 20. I got my start with Oscar winner Rick Baker
who has done everything from American Werewolf in
Email 5
C'mon man, I had to IMDB you for the sake of this interview alone.
And telling me who Rick Baker is, is like telling the mailman postage is 44 cents.
I'm a huge fan of Harryhausen, and non-CGI effects. I actually emailed Harryhausen to take part of this series, and got a response, but he had to decline, but wished me well :)
Hell, when I looked you up on IMDB I texted my friend that you were the key sculptor on Hellboy 2.
I never saw the Wolfman, but I read that Rick Baker took a stance against making the Wolfman's transformation CGI, and for that I have to applaud him.
I'm also a fan of vintage Joe Johnston and his storyboards for Star Wars, his design of Boba Fett and Yoda, if only George Lucas brought him back for the prequel trilogy....
Very cool. You never know. Sometimes I say Rick Baker to someone and they say,"huh?" When to me Rick Baker is God. I'm very fortunate to have had him as my mentor in my early yeras and then to have graduated to being a designer for him.
Email 6
Its funny how many people in bands also work in the film / tv industry, hell if you worked for Stan Winston, you might be in Tool right now
Yeah, Adam worked for Stan and KNB.
Email 7
how tight is the
Dave, our keyboard player was the drummer in The Bomboras and he's been one of my closest friends since '96. I also keep in touch with Jake from the Lords who was also in The Bomboras. He has a vintage music gear store in
Email 8
Wasn't Dave the drummer in the Bomboras though?
I have been asking a lot of peope I talk to about peer to peer file sharing.
Do you think it affects your band? Do you feel that you fans are so close to the band that they wanna shell out when you release something to support your efforts?
Yeah, that's what I said. He was the drummer in The Bomboras but he plays keyboards for us.
File sharing is a cancer. Everyone does it and there's not a darn thing that can be done about it. What people don't realize is lack of sales kills a band. If you like a band and want them to survive, don't make copies of their CD's for your friends. But we all know it's never going to stop.
Email 9
Any solutions to stopping the piracy problem? Should the music industry come after people who download, or the websites that provide material?
Do internet providers need to block this sorta traffic?
What can be done?
That's the million dollar question... I don't have the answer to that. If I did, I'd be a millionaire!
Email 10
Well, as they say in the biz, thats a wrap thanks so much for responding, and good luck with the Ghastly Ones and MIB 3, I hope that is the one where Will Smith and Nicolas Cage finally team up. If you could toss me a promo photo of yourself or the band I'll run it with the interview. THANKS AGAIN!
Cool. Thanks for the interview!
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BTW, be sure to mention www.ghastlyones.com and www.myspace.com/ghastlyones
As far as a photo, feel free to grab any shots from those two sites to feature in the article.
Thanks again!!
