Archive for July, 2010

Kynt and Vyksin (and their Lippy gear!) at Comic Con 2010

BRAINS FOR DINNER, BRAINS FOR LUNCH, BRAINS FOR BREAKFAST, BRAINS FOR BRUNCH …

Nos: You can tell you really love something when it goes through a fit of popularity, vomits out a bunch of half assed movies, and you still, STILL want more. This is how I feel about zombie movies. I have no idea why horror trends to the point of ad nauseum…. but it does. Vampires are all the rage now but not all that long ago, zombies ruled both the big and small screen.  This was a mixed blessing that brought both trash and strokes of brilliance to the genre.  Whether you enjoy the new, rapid moving zombies or prefer the classic, slow moving kind … if you have mad love for the sleek Hollywood interpretations or stay loyal to the Italian screen, zombies have an undeniable appeal to them. I think it’s because they’re the most believable out of all the monsters. Something deep down inside of you always knows that you could wake up in the zombie apocalypse any day now. Well that’s how my mind drifts anyway…

Chad Cherry and I have decided to give our lists for the top picks for zombie movies. Romero has been left off our lists because most of his films are a given. We’ll talk more about him towards the end …

Chad: For the most, part Zombies are depicted as mindless, decaying corpses who love eating human flesh. For the record, they like brains in particular. But you should already know this fashion fiends. (To me this sounds like the normal everyday person I see on the streets, just replace the lust of cranium noodle for greed.)

The “Zombie” likeness has been shoved down our throats so much recently, I feel as if the undead are no longer scary. In ’09 Zombies and Vampires became king. But only the candy-coated Disney-esque almost-lovable ones which are safe enough for church and family time in front of the idiot box ( That’s t.v… I still like you idiot box ) …

Fuck that! I’m gonna show you the real deal ugly Zombie movies which will scar you and the kids, the shit Hollywood wants to flush down the toilet!

It’s time to realize these atrocities are neither cute nor funny, and they are not ‘for cryin’ in the night’ sexy. Unless they’re eating your flesh in Lip Service clothing, that is!

READY TO GET BLOODY ON THIS ONE BITCHES?

In the beginning…..

Author, and one of my favorite un-p.c.horror gurus, H.P. Lovecraft wrote of such monsters in novelettes which explored undead themes back in the 1920′s and into the 30′s. Some of his stories portrayed Frankenstein-inspired creeps which helped define the modern concept of the Zombie. (“In the Vault” might have the first recorded character bitten by one.)

W.B. Seabrook’s book “The Magic Island” exposed western culture to the concept of voodoo cults in Haiti resurrecting stiffs in 1929. It’s the book that introduced the word “Zombi” in to U.S. speech. Well alright!!! Enough of those silly things with words and such in ‘em … What are they called again … Reading hankies? Oh! Books! That’s right … You all want MOVIES!

(You will regret this.)

I’ve hit up some of my favorite obvious “Zombie” flicks in previous articles, so I’ll be touchin’ on some which need to be in the spotlight … But honestly … They should be left in the shadows.

Chad’s picks!

WHITE ZOMBIE

1932. Directed by Victor Halperin and starring Bela Lugosi (If you don’t know who Bela is chloroform yourself.), White Zombie is regarded as the first real zombie film ever. It has a voodoo theme three years prior to Seabrook’s book. This is where the blood ball get’s rollin’ and the walking dead start to become movie stars.

EROTIC NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD

1980 by Joe D’Amato. Fucking Italian! Horror, exploitation, eroticism, rip off artist and voyeurism. Porno Zombie Rape! Euuuwww… Good luck finding this one. (While yer lookin’ check for “Porno Holocaust” and the ‘nunsploitation’ “Images in a Covent”) X trash. The music is ridiculously awesome.

ZOMBIE NIGHTMARE

1986 by Jack Braveman. A complete ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000″ flick. (All of these fuckers are.) But the soundtrack: Motorhead, Virgin Steele, Girl School, and one from the ‘glam- metal’ era by Pantera. Jon Miki Thor did the incidental music and plays the Zombie (reasons to not see this). To make up for that, it’s Tia Carrere’s feature film debut. Before she started “Crucial Tawnt” and met Wayne. Ugh.

Mutual Nos & Chad Favorites!

ZOMBI II (A.K.A. ZOMBIE)

1979 by Lucio Fulci.
Nos: This will always be my favorite zombie film and it’s the standard I set all other zombie films by. Unfair? Perhaps … but when it’s the King of all zombie movies, you have to show some respect. One of the more amazing things about this film is the flesh eaters look like they’ve been rotting. Have you seen the poster art? Fucking disgusting and I adore it. There’s even an epic zombie v.s. shark scene and whole lot of creepy Voodoo. Very much worth your time.

Chad: The flick that put Fulci on the map. Conservative British Parliament scorned this puppy. A Zombie actually fights a real tiger shark underwater. Top that shit. Banned in several countries. Another “Video Nasties”. Likey.

BRAINDEAD (A.K.A. DEAD ALIVE)

1992 by Peter Jackson.
Nos: Pre LORD OF THE RINGS crap-fest Peter Jackson is pretty damn cool. This movie is gross and fun to spring on unsuspecting people at a party. A Sumatran monkey/rat gets the party started by taking a bite out of an old woman, who turns into a zombie. Our hero must fight to protect his new found love and his home town.

Chad: All I have to say is that there’s like a 10 minute lawnmower Zombie splatter, and I mean splatter, scene that will never be topped. Fuckin’ knarly! This one will gross out the most liberal horror fan. A true “Splatstick” Hahaha!!!! SHUT UP!

THE BEYOND

1981 by Lucio Fulci.
Nos: Another classic Fulci that takes place in the great state of Louisiana. While this really is more of a ghost story, there are still some incredible zombies populating this film. GRINDHOUSE releasing put out a great DVD of this which I highly recommend you find.

Chad: I’m a sucker for Italians. What can I say? Praise this one for oneiric incoherence. Dreamy and deadly. Love this!

& 

Nos’ Picks!

THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW

By Wes Craven.
Not only is this an amazing zombie film, it’s also my favorite by Mr. Craven. This story takes a very realistic approach to zombies and explores the ties to Haiti where the legend comes from.  This is one of the few films which creeps me out every time I watch it.  Bill Pullman (CASPER) plays an anthropologist in search of a drug used in black magic, which he hope to bring back to the states for profit. What awaits him in Haiti is something truly terrifying.

DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE (A.K.A.CEMETERY MAN)

By Michele Soavi
Rupert Everett stars as Francesco Dellamorte, a cemetery keeper who is placed with the task of killing the zombies the rise from the burial ground. A truly beautiful film! I really wish Everett did more horror, he looks dreamy covered in gore…

28 DAYS LATER

By Danny Boyle
Some people make a negative fuss over this movie but honestly I really love it. 28 DAYS is a whole new look at a zombie apocalypse. I like the virus approach to newer zombie films anyway and feel this movie really nailed it. Not in the least bit traditional and alarmingly accurate to how humans would handle such a thing. And while I do prefer my zombies to move at a slower pace, I got to admit that if they moved like they do in this film, we all would be fucked.  If for some reason you missed this a few years ago, check it out!

Chad: There’s a lot of 80s stuff going on there, but I could go on and on and on and … on with Zombie movies that you all love more than Justin Beiber’s swoopy head, (Sorry J.B., I know you are an easy target, I can do better.) but I’m gonna stop this madness right now and give it all up to the master of disaster on this subject. He will be the first to deny this fact but the GodZombieFather of it all is …

George A. Romero

Nos: You could really write volumes on this man’s work alone. While I’m not personally a fan of all “DEAD” movies, most have a special place in my heart. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was one of the first ten horror films I saw and I think I still watch it at least three times a year.  For being made in 1968, this movie has a real 1950’s b-movie feel to it. Take that and combine it with brilliant writing and infuse social commentary and you’ve got yourself the perfect zombie movie, my friend! Romero’s formula for zombies evolves with every new entry. He stays true to the original root but is never afraid to expand and take risks with the world he has created. This man is truly fucking brilliant.

Chad:
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD -1968

THE CRAZIES (still a zombie movie) -1971

DAWN OF THE DEAD -1978

DAY OF THE DEAD -1985

LAND OF THE DEAD -2005

DIARY OF THE DEAD-2008

SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD – 2010

Cheers to you Mr. Romero.

Now, I don’t even wanna think about getting C.C. brain juice on my Lip Service jeans. Cerebral cortex is so messy and can leave such awful stains. I realize the cingulate gyrus and the temporal lobe are some of the tastiest parts, and you really gotta dig deep to get at em’, but come on! … Very hard to get out of the material. So you “Zombies” out there… (I see some of you right now) Back off. Cuz I WILL make ya watch some of these movies that are made about you. And you don’t want that now do you.. Ya rotten bastards….

Well that’s that. I bid you all a good evening and remember one thing about Zombies kiddies …“SHOOT ‘EM MAN!!! … SHOOT ‘EM IN THE HEAD”!!!!

(All views in this article do not reflect on Lip Service … Lip Service does not promote the eradication of the living dead unless they have terrible sense in fashion )

From out of the coffin and into your heart.
-Rock-n-Roll Astro Vampire Zombie TLV Motherf**ker from Hell… (Huh?)
-Chad Cherry XXX
Come see the sexy scary sounds of The Last Vegas… If you dare…You can not hide.. I am everywhere. Mwwuahahaha!!!!
thelastvegas.com

Nos: Well I’ve been on the road most of this summer! My website (Goddessofgorenos.com) has been met with great enthusiasm and I am truly grateful for all the support I’ve been given.  Film project wise, RATLINE is looking better and better each day … I can’t wait to show it off to the world! Till then you can a clip of it up on FEARNET.com

Xo

Nos

Another week of surviving my own life! My calendar is now my most valuable tool! Lets see…..

Highlights from last the week before last, after my visit from Sin, I had the pleasure of welcoming Amelia Arsenic from Angelspit to the LS warehouse along with her friends form Sugerpill cosmetics! They stopped by on their way to D-land and I gave them a tour of Lippy land, including a stop by our 3rd and most recent warehouse space across the parking lot where we have been shooting our catalogs lately so they got a behind the scenes look at our Holiday shoot in progress! Unfortunately they were pressed for time or we would have gotten Amelia behind the camera for some style shots and, believe it or not, they didn’t even have time to shop for goodies, although she vowed to come back in a month when she returns and spend more time! Of course, we snapped a couple of quick photos in the Lippy bargain basement. They tried to drag me with them to Anaheim but my day would not allow it, as there is always too much work to be done and not enough time.

The Lords of Acid show was a blast, Thrill Kill Cult was great also, and the weekend went by too fast as always! Last week I put together the new Service mens wear catalog for our new season”Riot Life” coming this fall. We also sent our favorite famous modeling/promotion team Kynt and Vyxsin off to Comicon in San Diego armed with Lippy promotional goodies, as well as a 20% discount flier for the week of Comicon!! I’ll have a full report on that next week!

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I paid a visit to one of my favorite accounts, Ipso Facto in Fullerton. A great Gothic store in business for 20 years, Teri still delivers the best in alternative fashion and stocks a great selection of LS at her store year ’round. She went through our Holiday line making her choices and we chatted about the state of the economy and the fashion world for a bit and I was on my way.

I cut my week short by 1 day, as I was headed out to Wichita Kansas on Friday for the Midwest Rock Fest with Jetboy. We played on the main stage Saturday for the last night of the 3 day festival with Black n Blue, Kix, Winger, Drowning Pool, and Twisted Sister, among others. The temperature was 106 when we took the stage at 2:30 pm and it was one of the most physically challenging gigs of my career, I almost blacked out several times from the heat. By 5:30 the weather turned worse and thunder showers rolled by, shutting down the music a couple of times only to start up again when it stopped. Kix lost out, with their set being canceled due to rain, and Twisted Sister, being the headliner with the night coming to an end, had no choice but to play through and hope to not get electrocuted!! All in all, a fun weekend tiring as it was.

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I was up at 5am on Sunday and on a plane back to LA, which kinda sucked since I had not slept at all, but I really didn’t want to spend any more time in Kansas (no offense) and wanted some time to relax on Sunday before starting the new week!

This weekend my Psychobilly band, Cold Blue Rebels, will make our debut in San Diego at the So Cal Hellbilly fest and Car show (see Flier). This should be a fun day, with 10 great bands and an oldie car show. I’m going to see Aerosmith and Cheap Trick on Thursday night and heading to SD after for some LS sales and a little party time with my lady.

If anyone knows about good shit goin’ on hit me up on myspace or facebook and give me the details, I’m not too familiar with the scene these days in San Diego.

That’s all kids!

Have a great week and remember

Fashion+Music=LIFE!!!!

Mickey Finn

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If you’ve missed seeing Jetboy tear it up, here are a few photos by Mich at Plastic Hassle to put you front and center

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Party Boogers from Sean Burns and the Bone Deth crew, what’s shakin lip servers..

This tour is entitled “Bone Deth Gypsy Tour” … not your regular pack of weirdos, more so a handicapped van full of dirty bike slingers trying to compact as much riding as possible in seven days around New England during the most microwaveable week of the summer. The team consisted of myself, Shajn Ferbert Raines, Kevin Botsch, Karter, Chris Crawford, Brian Histand, Taffy, Dean Burrito, and the photographer Jeff Allen. The trip was slime based. You can’t tell in any of the photos because we don’t want to give away the Dig Magazine article, but we brought containers and buckets of Nickelodeon-style gack to slime babes and bums along the way. The hot stink of riding BMX in the New England humidity, combined with a van full of melting slime is not the slightest bit easy on breathing. We spent a lot of time in New England so, fortunately, there wasn’t much driving involved.

We started in Stamford, CT. Not a whole lot of good living is happening in this city, a dead zone of memo pad business parks and Motts Applesauce headquarters. Although, for BMX, the dead zone is good for getting things done and firing out cocoa bango stunts. Brian killed it with a full speed leap over a laundromat building.

We ventured up to Springfield, MA, which is another Dead Bite city of slow brained beings. It was, by far, the hottest day of the trip, feeling like microwaveable diapers had landed on the van. This city had the slowest feel, but another provider for rad spots and bust-free places to ride. We spent the night in a spider-infested basement, all waking up to multiple bumpies and scratchies on our skin. Curse those damn flesh eaters!

The following day we rode Holyoke, MA, which felt like a zombie town. Everyone there had to be on some type of hallucinogen – in my mind at least. Almost every person stared us down like they’d been on a deserted island for months and we were bacon sizzling on a frying pan. Licking their lips, sniffing the air, and heavily panting as they walked towards us.

After we left the bacon zombie town, we rushed straight out to Boston to meet some friends and get some more filming done for the tour video. It was weird being on a tour yet being at home, but made for best ’cause we got some sweet slime footage for the intro. Initially we were supposed to be going to designated spots, like a few skateparks and trails, to meet up with other teams and do demos and crap, but we kind of ignored that and just slimed some babes.

Although we did make it to the last stop of the tour at the skatepark in New Haven, CT. All the other teams we met up with looked like they’d just trekked out of the amazon river for 2 months, and we just looked regular, except for the fact our van stunk of slime buckets. The tour DVD will be available in a month or so, keep up on bone deth (www.bonedethbmx.com) for updates.

Thanks to Lip Service for the sweet jeans, keep on keepin’ on and stay solid gold, 2 million dollars.
- sean burns

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The original Goths weren’t the members of Joy Division (haha) but the Visigoths and Ostrogoths – the East German tribes who invaded and ultimately decimated the Roman Empire. Today, Deutschland remains a Gothic hotspot, albeit in the black-lipstick-wearing, subcultural sense.

Which dark fashion trends are currently taking over Germany? Let’s probe my friends Holger and Jen, who worked on the recently-released Schillerndes Dunkel, a lush reference book on dark culture. (Except for the book cover, all photos below are by Holger of Seventh Sin Photography.)

LA CARMINA: Can you describe the Goth fashion scene in Germany today? What looks, brands, accessories are popular?

HOLGER: The “Goth Fashion Scene” here in Germany is very much dominated by brands like Aderlass and the XtraX collections, which predominantly serve the younger Goths. But there is also an increasing number of people who are getting tired of that “off the rack” look. At the last Wave Gotik Treffen we saw an increasing number of a) smaller brands vending their own original designs and b) self made outfits . It seems Steampunk is making a strong showing, and any sort of Victorian and historical costumes are coming back into style at the festivals.

JEN: Lip Service is also popular here – especially the Blacklist line – but harder to find and up to twice as expensive as it is in the States.

LA CARMINA: Germany is known as a center for Goth culture, and home to several famous dark music festivals. Why do you think the culture flourishes here in particular?

HOLGER: M’era Luna, Amphi and many other festivals are highly commercial and just serve the Goth Pop-culture. Wave Gotik Treffen is still different: with no sponsors and no profit, it still tries to maintain the “Treffen” (meeting) character by featuring unknown artists. There are also a growing array of independent events around the Treffen, such as the Victorian Picnic, the Spiegelpalast Program and the Blaue Stunde.

JEN: Germany definitely has a stronger and larger Goth scene than the US. Germany is simply a smaller country with a higher concentration of cities, so it’s easier for organizers to draw people in to events and get exposure for alt sub-cultures. Scenes which originated in other countries such as Goth, Punk or Techno seem to be taken more seriously here in Germany. People treat them as more of a lifestyle which makes these trends last longer.

Another factor in the popularity of Goth could also be the modern history of Europe. From WWII through the Cold War, the reunification of Germany, the break up of the Soviet Union and the birth of the EU, Europeans have more recent experience with vast political/socio-economic changes than the average North American. Many people who came of age during or after the nineties seem to share a certain cynicism and lack of identification with new world order. So music that refers back to a supposed mythical and heroic past is understandably appealing, similar to the way that Post-Punk songs about a doomed future and inevitable hopelessness appealed to the those who came of age in the eighties during the Cold War.

LA CARMINA: How have you seen the fashion evolve in Germany over the years?

HOLGER: Many trends in Germany are growing and mixing. Beside the uniform and military styles, which are getting away from Army Shop and moving to fashion brands such as Uniforme Design, there is definitely a big influence coming from Visual Kei and Lolitas, although those two groups are not really part of the scene in Germany yet. Cybergoth is still a big trend, although now as it is fully commercial, most of them look alike.

JEN: When I first came over to Germany about 5 years ago, I guess that was at the end of the Batcave revival: fantastic makeup and Mohawks and iros, a drawer full of ripped stockings on each limb, and minimally a kilogram of safety pins holding the whole outfit together.

The military look remains strong, everything from fatigues to outfits in the style of SS uniforms, of course without the actual Nazi symbols because it is forbidden by law to wear those here. My German friend said that, in his opinion, dressing up like a zombified SS officer is one of the darkest, most provocative things you can do around here and that’s why people are attracted to it. That said, the zombie-Nazi look has become less popular in the last two years.

There’s been an influence of Japanese Lolita but with a European flair: Ero-Loli is more popular than Classic, Sweet or Gothic Lolita, maybe partly due to the fact that most European girls have a very different body type than the average Japanese girl. Some pay attention to every last detail creating an outfit straight out of Gothic Lolita Bible, while others incorporate one or two elements of Lolita style into their own look.

Steampunk is definitely a rising trend here.  Last year at the Wave Gotik Treffen we saw a handful of people wearing gorgeous hand-crafted steampunk-influenced outfits. This year, there were a lot more as well as at least three vendors offering exclusively steampunk clothing and accessories at the WGT market.

LA CARMINA: Where can you see the most fashionable German Goths? Can you recommend some events, websites, or club nights?

HOLGER: Wave Gotik Treffen, the Blaue Stunde or events by Viona-Art. She organizes a Victorian picnic at WGT in Leipzig, and romantic dance nights a few times a year in Belgium.

JEN: I would add anything organized by Peter Matzke, and for people who are more into the Cyber side, the Schlagstrom parties in Berlin. Most big cities in Germany have an online calendar with alternative events at http://www.schwarzes-leipzig.info

LA CARMINA: Tell me about the Schillerndes Dunkel book project. How did you become involved? What do you hope to achieve? (Cover photo by Silent View; model is Madame de Solitude.)

JEN: Schillerndes Dunkel (which could be roughly translated as Shimmering Darkness) is probably the largest full illustrated reference book on the dark scene. The book is broken down in five sections: Early History, Genres and Sub-genres of Dark Music and Culture, Developments in the Scene Since 1990, Fashion, Aesthetics, and Lifestyle and finally Themes and Discourses. Our contributing writers include: international artists such as Genesis Breyer-P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic Youth), John Murphy (SPK, Knifeladder) and Klive Humberstone (In The Nursery), journalists, academics, DJs and event organizers, as well as scene members themselves. The text includes not only people’s personal remembrances and stories but also serious discussions about the different genres of music and culture, as well as various sociological, political, media and economic aspects of the scene. Additionally, there are over 800 illustrations, many of which are being published for the first time ever: photos, album covers, paintings, flyers and event posters even some Zines and pamphlets from the pre-Internet era.

HOLGER: My involvement was three-fold. I wrote my “Into the scene in 1978″ part, a short article about Japan (which was dropped due to space limitations) and participated with a couple of stage shoots of bands mentioned in the book. I also contributed two galleries of art, fashion, and club photos from Germany and Japan, and am supporting marketing and networking activities.

JEN: Our friend Alexander Nym is the editor of Schillerndes Dunkel. I volunteered to help Alex research the book and scan the massive amount of analog photos that had been contributed for the project. As we sat around the office over the next few weeks keeping typical Goth hours (i.e. in the office mid-day and working into the night) and probably making the rest of the Ploettner Verlag crew crazy with our selection of music, we started talking about various aspects of the scene in Germany and in the States: where it all started, where it’s going, the differences and similarities. A few of those conversations evolved into the article that I wrote for the book about commercialization and consumerism in the dark scene.

Now I’m working for Ploettner Verlag, the publisher, in  maintaining the website, coordinating bookings, and traveling to festivals and concerts around Europe with the rest of the team to promote the book.  We’re hoping to get started in the next few months on translating the book into English and even thinking about a second volume to include all of the wonderful artwork, photography and articles that we ran out of room for in this book.

So far the book has been very well received. Alex and some of the other authors have been touring Germany giving readings and leading discussions about some of the issues raised within Schillerndes Dunkel.  We love to hear from our readers online as well. You can find a discussion board on our Facebook Fanpage where you can interact with the authors and other readers.  The point of this book was not only to document this decades old movement, but also to provide a starting point for conversations and further discourse.

Many thanks to Jen and Holger for the interview! If you’d like to see more German Gothic, check out Seventh Sin Photography and the Schillerndes Dunkel book. And you can always find me, your vampiric tour guide, on my blog: www.lacarmina.com/blog

† Dark Wishes †
LA CARMINA

The summer sun was glaring down oppressively, pushing its blinding rays onto my face and neck. Despite its irritating nature, the light felt warm and invigorating against my pale skin. I was picnicking at the gate of the garden, encircled by colorful foliage, and although the surroundings were indescribably beautiful, I was still feeling a bit empty. There was one taste which could not be sated by the delights of this enclosure, and it was that of a delicious, sugary, donut. Oh, how I yearned for the smell and texture of that circular bit of dough; the vivid colors and sprinkles beckoning my senses to indulge. In fact, I believe I could just die for donuts.

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But alas, there was not a bakery for miles! I was hopelessly out of luck.

However, at that moment a very strange thing occurred. From far across the lawn a giant ant was marching towards my position. Typically, I think that giant insects would incite panic within ones heart, as they are generally hideous and repulsive creatures. Oddly though, this ant had an adorable face and appeared almost plush in the gentle curves of his abdomen. Another thing to note about ants is they are very often the culprit of stealing food at a picnic. The large ant closing in on me was again in opposition to this stereotype, as it was actually bringing things to my picnic. How delightful this creature was!

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“Thank you ant, you are very generous” I said, as it drew near. I leaned down and kissed its ovoid head. The odd courier had brought a male on its back, assumedly to attend me at my lunch. The male was dressed in a fancy vest & pants, with strange, pointy hair which was not a staple of the men from this village. I giggled at his cute and unusual fashion sense. He was clearly from a foreign land and would make a fascinating lunch partner. “Would you like to join me for tea?” I asked politely. It seemed that he would. To my utmost surprise, the stranger and his cohort had brought chic donuts, in several of my favorite flavors, to nom on for desert as well. And so, that would be our afternoon; drinking tea, speaking of beautiful things, and dining on the delectable and elusive donut.

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “I live in Bird Scrotum, New Mexico and the closest goth/industrial club to me is 300 miles away”, or “I don’t go out and dress up because all the clubs play Rob Zombie and cater to barely legal little douchebags. It’s like a fucking mallgoth convention. I’m not paying $10 to go to a mallgoth convention”, or “Our local night closed because, as much as people like to bitch for hours on end on the Internet that their town has nothing to offer, they don’t support the night when actually starts up”. Yeah, sadly that’s the reality for many of us, including myself. I relocated to upstate New York from the NJ/NYC area in 2005 and upon first stepping foot in an Ithaca, ahem…nightclub, I saw some SCARY shit. It was like crashing a game of Dungeons & Dragons, played at a Renn Faire by a bunch of furries. Occupying the same space as these individuals felt wrong on 10 different levels. “Is this really the same scene I’m in?” I’d often ask myself. I like industrial, so why is there NONE at a seemingly industrial club. Is it necessary to play back to back Nine Inch Nails songs? Are people REALLY requesting trance and Cradle of Filth? Yeah, we were all at a “goth” club, but I felt little to no kinship with people who thought that the Three Wolf Moon shirt was cool (and NOT IN AN IRONIC WAY) and took part in things like Live Action Roleplaying. It felt TOO MUCH like crashing a party thrown by sexless nerds, doomed to dwell in their Mother’s basement forever. A sea of 30+ year old virgins.

I make no apologies for publicly admitting that I didn’t belong there.

The “scene” was in poor shape then and it’s even worse now, so I found myself traveling A LOT, just to go to a decent club. Some of us don’t have that option.

If the belle has no ball to go to, she must create one. Remember when you were a kid and you made due with the simplest of things for the sake of entertaining yourself? Tea parties thrown for Barbies and legions of stuffed animals, climbing trees, and/or building blanket forts.

When was the last time you’ve been to a picnic? No, not the corporate kind where your immediate supervisor gets obliterated and starts unloading his marital issues in your lap. And you’re forced into way too much awkward forced interaction with your coworkers. The kind of picnic I speak of involves peeling yourself off the couch, off the social networking sites (where you’re probably busy posting about how bored you are and how you wish that there was something to do in your immediate area) and into the party clothes. No use in letting your Sunday’s best become a moth buffet if you can help it. Buckle the boots, pile on the ruffles and pin on the falls; you’re getting out of the house. Oh and, kindly inform your other half that ‘tis the time for a break from his all weekend long Left4Dead zombie slaughtering extravaganza. The living dead will still need killing when you come back, but for now they’ll have to wait.

Pack a basket with fresh fruit, decadent desserts (you can always bemoan the circumference of your waist at a later date, but for now SPLURGE) and just to keep things CLASSY, some good old cheap champagne in a brown paper bag. Head for the local park or historical cemetery. Nom, explore, take goofy pictures (for Facebook, naturally) and talk about how lame everyone at the local goth dive is. Drink in your own fabulousness while sippin’ the discount bubbly. It’ll be the fancy first date you never had. Note: Most relationships of people I’m acquainted with began by mutual consumption of well drinks and/or PBR, and were cemented by drunkenly going home together.

The technicality of not having an actual man in your life still shouldn’t stop you from dressing like you’re trying to impress one. Grab a fashionable friend (Meagan always being my #1 choice) and seize the day in style. After all there is no law which forces all ladies that lunch to dress like dull country club crones.

Or take the chance and ask an ant to bring you a mate. It obviously worked for me.

Picnic Perfect

You can always bank on 1940’s inspired styles to be quintessentially feminine and flattering. Alas, since historical accuracy is never de rigeur here at Lethal Style, I favor shirts like the Lady is a Tramp II One for My Baby Stretch Poplin Cap Sleeve Top in the red/black colorway. It captures the lady like essence of the period, while maintaining a modern, gothy feel with its PVC red and black pinstripe trim.

A formal ensemble lacking a corset is not unlike a stripper without her 8” trademark lucite heels. Or a “Virgin Daquiri”. I guess the idea is there, but something just feels off. So lace up and sit straight! I chose a red satin underbust accented with black polka dots. It makes me think of tasty gourmet pastries. The kind you take a picture of before you chow down, because hey, you just spent fucking $7 on a tiny tart. So you might as well immortalize it for posterity.

P.S. Cleavage!

But what’s this, Vanity Kills? Is that a pinstripe top paired with a polka dot corset? Isn’t pattern mixing considered to be a hallmark of poor taste? Didn’t your Mother teach you any better?

Aight, so first and foremost, my Mama didn’t raise no fool (Well, that’s not completely true, since I AM a fool for baked goods and clothing beyond my budget). Secondly, obsolete fashion rules are obsolete. If the color palette matches(in this case both the pinstripe trim on my solid black top and the color scheme of my underbust corset is red and black), then mixed patterns will work like a charm. Alas if you attempted this with a rainbow neon leopard halter top paired with a zebra corset, both busy patterns would complete for attention, resulting in the kind of catastrophe that lands peoples’ candid shots in those “What Not To Wear” sections in the back of magazines.

Also: just because hipsters do it, it doesn’t make it a good idea. Keep that in mind and you’ll always come out a winner.

Black and red skull cameo brooch is the spookier-than-thou alternative to the traditional portrait of a lady. Note: Pinning a brooch against your throat adds an instant touch of refinement to even the most basic looking, office dress code approved, Plain Jane, refrigerator white collared shirt.

Floor length black PVC Victorian bustle skirt celebrates turn-of-the century high society opulence, while eschewing the notions of prudence, modesty and various other forms of joykilling that is generally synonymous with that particular bygone era. I mean, yeah, the damn thing covers your ankles, but would surely garner disapproving looks from church-y folks who think that it’s a woman’s job to shield the male population from their own impure thoughts and other proper hemline aficionados. Indeed, the hemline might say “holy”, but the fabric says “harlot”. The perfect balance, say I.

Proud owner of a Duchess de Sade II Victorian Mourning Skirt in the black colorway? This would be a prime opportunity to parade around in it, darling. It just fits with the whole idea of lazing about in a park, sprawled out on a picnic blanket in your pseudo-Victorian fetish glory, while cute boys shove glazed rings of fried dough into your waiting mouth.

Sadly, “dressing up” means wearing your LEAST faded (and therefore “best”) Wumpscut T-shirt to a lot of the boys. And so, dear, male readers, I challenge you to do better. No, I don’t mean copying Gary Oldman’s look in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Most men I know would rather be shot in the face at close range than dress like Count von Froufrou. My boyfriend calls his dressy look “old world gentleman”. I call it “old world gentleman LITE” or “old-world-gentleman-whose-entire-outfit-can-easily be-assembled-from-various-mall-stores”. Think vests, classic short sleeved button downs made out of breathable materials and pants you can get away with wearing inside a religious institution. Personalize with one or two carefully chosen accessories such as copper and bronze steampunk inspired pocket watch or a few subtle skull* or gear pins. Don’t ruin your “good clothes” with tawdry, cheap-looking spiked collars and a million black rubber bracelets (Not that you should own those anyway, if you’re reading this)

*When I say skull, I mean something tasteful. Think anatomical Victorian, not a scowling skeletal visage bearing vampire fangs, blazing red jewelstone encrusted eyes and a jester hat. A good way to measure if a potential new trinket falls into the “tasteful” category is asking yourself if an Insane Clown Posse fan would be likely to enjoy this piece. If the answer is a resounding “No”, then you’re in the clear, my friend.

All tressed up and nowhere to go

There’s no such thing as half assing at Lethal Style! ‘Cause you can’t just pull out all the stops and not getcha hurr did.

I have written detailed descriptions of the exact method of installing hair falls here and here.

Note: Tired of covering up your roots with goggles and bandanas when rockin’ falls? (You should be)

While I remain largely indifferent to mainstream pop icons such as the notorious Lady Gaga ( most of the time) I must say that these hair bows she popularized are a fucking godsend. They’ll hide that troublesome inch or two of root growth like nobody’s business. Please DO buy one that matches your own hair color as closely as possible.

Gilty Pleasure

(I have managed to avoid obvious clichés about “going for the gold”. I figured you guys would appreciate that)

General Prep Work

You will need:

Moisturizer, Primer, Concealer, Matte liquid Foundation, Foundation Brush, Translucent Powder, Powder brush, Eyeshadow primer

1. Wash your face with a cleanser formulated especially for your skin type. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry with a soft cloth. Prep your skin with moisturizer before applying concealer in order to ensure a smoother, flake-free application.
2. Before proceeding any further, allow your skin to properly absorb the moisturizer. This should take about 10 minutes.
3. Since foundation worn alone often has a nasty habit of settling in the fine lines around your mouth, near your eyes, and on your forehead, I highly recommend using a primer after you’ve moisturized your face. Utilizing a small amount of primer helps to fill in unflattering expression lines, pores, and scars, thus allowing foundation to actually do its job!
4. Nix blemishes and skin discoloration by gently patting concealer over the trouble area. Follow by blending with your ring finger.
5. Apply a matte liquid foundation that best matches your skin tone to your face and neck with a foundation brush (A full dome shaped brush works beautifully). Start by applying small dots in the center of your face and then moving outward.
6. Set everything in place by finishing off with a thin coat of translucent powder. Use a full, round shaped powder brush for optimal results.
7. Prep your lids with eyeshadow primer to neutralize the colour of your lids, which in turn makes for brighter more vibrant shadow. It also prevents said shadow from creasing.

Vanity Kills’ Quick–n-Easy Golden Gaze

Eyes

You will need:

Rounded edge brush, golden pigment, eyeliner brush, matte white eyshadow, small eyeshadow brush, liquid black eyeliner, black mascara

1. Apply a high shimmer golden pigment with a dampened rounded edge brush across your entire eyelid from lashline to slightly past your crease. Tap your brush against your lid gently -DO NOT SWIPE- as you apply the product, for greater color payoff.
2. To score ultra electrifying lower lids, moisten an eyeliner brush slightly. Dab a tiny amount of golden pigment onto your brush, tapping off any excess color. Hold down your lower eyelid. Starting at the outer corner of your eye, sweep the brush along your lower lashline working your way inward.
3. Highlight your browbone by placing a hint of matte white eyeshadow directly under your eyebrows with the help of a small eyeshadow brush.
4. Starting at the inner corner of your eye, rim both your upper and lower lashline with liquid black eyeliner. For maximum application control, try an eyeliner pen.
5. Finish off the look by applying two thin coats of volumizing black mascara to your top lashes. Follow up with one coat to your lower lashes.

Cheeks

You will need:

Matte bronzer, petal pink blush, highlighter, blush brush

1. Swipe some matte pressed bronzer onto your blush brush .Starting mid-cheek, going towards your ear, apply the bronzer into the hollows of your cheeks using short, up-and-down vertical strokes. Darker shades will give the illusion of the hollows of your cheeks receding, thus giving your cheekbones a more chiseled look.
2. Using the same technique, add petal pink blush to the apples of your cheeks, which will cause them to protrude. Use translucent powder to blend between the two colors in order to avoid obvious lines.
3. For added glow, blend a small amount of highlighter into the tops of your cheekbones.

Lips

Nearly nude lips perfectly compliment this bold eye look.

You will need:

Medium nude brown lipliner, nude pink lipstick

1. Use a medium nude brown lip to fill in your lips starting at the center of your natural lip line and moving toward the outer corners. Filling in your entire lip area will not only make an excellent base for color, but will also prevent fading, feathering and general migration of your lip products.
2. Follow up with nude pink lipstick. Beginning in the center of your upper lip, gently press the tube into the flesh of your lip and then proceed to roll it over the entire top lip area, working toward the edges. Repeat the process on your bottom lip.

Credits:

Photography:Eye of Ra

Model(s):Vanity Kills
Dan Barrett
Stefan the Ant

Location: Northwest Washington DC

<3

Vanity Kills

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Welcome to the Lip Service Holiday 2010 photoshoot! Here is a little behind-the-scenes action…

PREPARING FOR THE SHOOT

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First, we need to find models who fit the look we want. We search for models everywhere! When a model comes in, we take their photo and decide whose look fits our needs the best for the specific groups we are shooting.

We also need to find both a hair stylist and makeup artist who understand our concepts and are good at what they do. Hair and makeup is an important aspect of styling a photoshoot, it can make or break the look we are going for. We try to plan which garments will be shot in order of hair and makeup, too, shooting hair and makeup at its minimum first, so we can build onto it later. If a style requires really crazy and bright makeup, it’s harder to take off than put on over a more minimal look.

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The photographer is also one of the main ingredients of a good photoshoot. They need to understand the lighting, know what garment details to include, and make sure we get quality and creative shots of the models.

We start planning the looks using a whole wall of shoes and accessories – from bracelets, earrings and necklaces, to hairpieces, wigs, hosiery, and props like toy guns, handcuffs, feather dusters and just about anything you can think of. We actually make a lot of our own custom props and accessories by using fabric or trims from the group.

THE PHOTOSHOOT

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The day of the photo shoot, the models come in and begin getting their hair and makeup done right away. We try to set it up so one model can shoot while others are getting ready. This way, everything runs a lot smoother. We have to dress the models and make sure all the garments are getting shot.

Styling is important in order to portray the style of the group well. Not only that, it helps suggest which garments to wear together or hair and makeup to go with the overall look.

It’s a model’s job to make the garment look good. Hair and makeup need to be touched up all the time during a shoot. It’s the job of the hair stylist and makeup artist to make sure the models are photo-ready! Models also need to be aware of how their face and body looks, the lighting, and the details and features of a garment, all while expressing the personality of a garment.

AFTER THE SHOOT

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After the shoot is completed, of course, we need to put everything away, from garments to accessories and props. Then, when the pictures come back from the photographer, we choose 5 pictures for each garment to appear on the website, showing the overall look and feel of the group as well as the garment and any details. Once selected, the pictures then need to be edited; if we use the pictures for a catalog or an ad, sometimes they need to be cleaned and cut in order to fit in a specified space. Then, the pictures are ready to be inserted into the season’s catalog as well as any other promotional items like postcards or calendars or advertisements.

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

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With our 25th year of Lip Service happening in 2010, plus more and more of our hot, new 25 Years Summer stylegroup coming in every day, we thought it would be a good time to give you some badass new silver-themed daggers to dress up all your stuff. This week, we have a dagger against a brushed silver backdrop for your laptop skin, iPhone background, and Crackberry or mobile device.

Laptop Skins

[laptop skins are: L - R 17" | 15" | 14" | 13" | 12" | 10" Select the size you want from the gallery, then click the full size option and right click to "Save As"]

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iPhone Background Wallpapers

[iPhone background wallpapers are full-size - Select the orientation you want from the images above, then right click to "Save As"]

Blackberry + Mobile Devices

[click the right size, then select the "full-size" option to right click and "save as" - sizes are L - R (in pixels) 480x360 | 480x320 | 360x480 | 320x240 | 240x320 | 240x260 | 240x160]

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Hello, hello, hello, my minions. I hope everyone’s entrance into the summer months has been a relatively pleasant one.  I, for one, am experiencing my annual recognition of my love and appreciation for central air conditioning.  I don’t know who invented it, but I’d buy him a beer.

This month I want to address an issue that comes up for every tattoo artist. A question that (amongst others) we get asked all too frequently: how does someone become a tattoo artist?
The answer, my children, is both simple and complicated, but I’m going to do my best to lay it out for you; at the same time, I’ll show you some embarrassing photos from my early career.

First of all, it’s important to know there is a right way and a wrong way to go about tattooing.  Although the right way is still practiced, the wrong way is more widespread than any of us would like it to be.  Keep in mind that this is only my opinion, but then again, I’m always right.

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The wrong way (despite it’s being so commonplace) is that of “self-taught” tattooists.  I could go on and on about the lack of ethics, respect, and legality of this, but I can pretty much sum it up this way: If tattooing was something people could simply “teach themselves,” everyone, including your mother, would be a tattoo artist.

It is the belief of this humble artist, the best way to ensure a promising career as a tattooist is to pursue a traditional apprenticeship.  One of the last true apprenticeships, since morticians can just go to mortuary school now.  I think the only other apprenticeships left are those of SORCERERS! bad joke.  I apologize.  Back to the point.

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The traditional apprenticeship dates back as far as the electric tattoo machine and probably further.  It consists of, duh, an apprentice and a mentor, a student and teacher, as it were.  Think of it as The Beatles being apprentices and Bob Dylan being their mentor in the art of smoking weed.  Student and Teacher.

Now, all apprenticeships are different, all with their own details and dynamics.  Sometimes the mentor is more of a friend, other times more of a “father” figure (in a non-creepy way). It’s usually somewhere between the two.  Traditionally, an apprenticeship boils down to one thing: DO WHAT YOU’RE TOLD.  Given that everyone’s experience is unique, “what one is told” changes from situation to situation.  But in all successful cases, the apprentice adheres to this simple rule.  Clean the shop, scrub the toilets, buy smokes, answer the phone, talk to walk-ins,

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schedule appointments, order lunch, clean equipment, set up the artists’ work stations, and, afterward, ask what else you can do.  It’s no fun.  It’s not supposed to be.  It’s not immediately rewarding.  Believe me, it’s not supposed to be.  It’s supposed to test your drive and dedication, to see if you’re worth teaching.  During my own apprenticeship, I was working 70 hours a week completely unpaid. And yes, it was the most miserable AND educational 14 months of my life.

An apprenticeship is supposed to suck.  If you enjoyed yours, you might not have served a real one.  Sure, between the hours of being the shop slave, you will study your mentors’ tattooing and even work on artwork of your own, but this learning experience should and will be countered with endless demands for seemingly useless tasks.  I’ve even known tattoo artists to send their apprentices over to unrelated local business to perform chores when there was nothing to be done at the tattoo shop.  Embarrassment and ridicule … these are the apprentice’s daily mistresses.

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Why, you may be asking, would one go through this?  I mean, after all, your cousin knows a guy who’s self taught, been doing it 20 years.  Well, I’ve seen people who’ve done if for longer and STILL don’t have a grasp on things I learned when I was still sweeping the floor.  Just because someone’s tattooing doesn’t mean they’re doing it correctly.  Here’s a hint:  if a tattoo artist personally refers to their equipment as “guns” or “professional,” then stay away.  A real professional doesn’t need to tell you his tools are such. It’s the same as a plumber advertising they use “real wrenches.”

In the end, every artist is different, as is every tattoo.  However, most good artists out there today paid their dues and ate shit for as long as it took to get where they are.  I’m proud to include myself as one of them, but there is nothing more insulting than an amateur asshole who drew a couple of pictures, ordered some 3rd-rate tools off of ebay, and decided to give himself the same job title.  It’s frustrating because it lumps us together with people who do nothing but ruin peoples’ skin, and making our job harder when we have to cover up their mistakes.

I apologize for the serious nature of this entry, kids, but its something other artists and myself take very seriously, indeed.  It’s the seriousness that keeps us dedicated to our craft and should motivate you to seek out a true artist for your tattoo, not “some guy” working in a garage.

Okay.  I’m done ranting.  Time for a drink.

Until next time, kiddies…

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Hey party people!

Mickey Finn here for the rock n roll update for the last couple of weeks! I can’t believe it’s already July. I began the month with a bang playing a guest set with the Cold Blue Rebels at the Key Club on July 2nd for the annual memorial show for one of Hollywood’s greatest drummers and fallen soldier, my friend Traci Michaels -RIP- of the Peppermint Creeps. Truly a beautiful human being, he left his mark on Hollywood and is dearly missed by all who had the lucky chance to encounter him. We had a blast in the old school bus turned into a dressing room behind the Key Club, partied the night away with the gang, and took some great photos in that thing!!!

The 4th had me making my annual trek to the beach with my moonlight loving friends and band mates! We raised some eyebrows, to say the least, and got a friendly caution from the beach cops on quads about smoking our Hookah on the beach! Apparently there is no smoking allowed! The overcrowded, mildly disgusting beach out at the Santa Monica pier left me missing my years spent cruising in Hawaii, but it was still a good time even despite the lack of fireworks!

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This week I got a visit at work form my friend Sin Quirin who plays guitar for Ministry/Revco and is starting out on tour this week with The Lords of Acid!! He hung out for a couple of hours, enjoyed an LS-sponsored shopping spree, took some fun photos and we talked tales of tours and glorious rock n roll parties from years gone by to recent raging!!! Love that guy and can’t wait to see him tear up the stage this Friday @ Club Nokia.

Also this week I will get a visit from Angelspit’s Amelia X!!! In town for a few days, she will come down to Lippy Land to shop, hang out, and take some photos. I met her on the KMFDM tour and she was one of the nicest girls ever! Sometimes even I can’t believe how great my job is!! What can ya say, 25 years strong and LS is still deliverin’ the goods!! It never ceases to amaze me how many cool ass people are Lippy lovers!!

Well, gotta go. Hope to see ya out this Friday @ Nokia for Lords of Acid with Thrill Kill Cult and maybe after at Miss Kitty’s. Gotta get it while ya can kids, we only go around once!!

Until Next Time
Fashion+Music=Life
Mickey Finn

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