Well, here’s Thad Law (a multi talented man in his own right), here’s what he gotta say…
THAD: Well, my friend, I am doing quite well. We have all our ducks in a row for Nickstock 2024, and are planning to hit the bookings hard, for the two bands, starting February 2025 after NAMM. Thank you for asking!
So ya have two bands to promote today…Who are they and what are they about?
THAD: Yes, the band I have been working with the longest is Breaking the Law, which is a tribute to classic Judas Priest. We have a large catalogue, and I have found some of the best musicians and industry professionals I know, to help me. The lineup changes depending on where in the country we play. The act involves video support, which is synchronized to the music, and gives a full experience of the 80’s Priest nostalgia. Very cool. The newer band, Coloradicals, does punk covers, and we are based in Northern Colorado. This is a home grown bunch of rogues that live near me in Colorado, and we have turned it into a social club, where friends, family, and neighbors can come by the studio, and get rowdy with us.
You playing Nickstock with both bands. Could ya tell us more?
THAD: We are actually all traveling to Nickstock together, and everyone gets along really well. Each band will play a a set on both Friday the 19th, and Saturday the 20th of July. We really enjoy hanging out with all of our friends from Syracuse and such. We are going to have a couple of trailers near the stage at Nickstock, and anyone who goes, can hang with us, and get a free Coor’s beer, plus T-shirts and stickers.
Any gigs lined up after Nickstock?
THAD: Breaking the Law has a couple of other shows in Colorado this July as well, but we are really taking the time to get the 2025 calendar filled, starting with some shows with Nick at the Bow, and Universal Bar and Grille, in NOHO.
Who are your influences?
THAD: My biggest influences are the classic metal bands like Priest, Maiden, Sabbath, Whitesnake, Van Halen to name a few. Anything that is guitar rich, and with higher pitched vocals, as opposed to the lower growls. My parents got to listen to them all the time, as I practiced playing guitar in my bedroom during middle school years. My Coloradicals friends are all Army guys, who grew up on punk bands like Rancid, Bouncing Souls, and Pennywise. The energy and angst of the punks stuff has grown on me, and I had the opportunity to sing and play, which I am grateful for.
What makes you tick?
THAD: I am a complex creature, my friend, and my existence is equally complex. That would be hard to summarize, but probably the biggest common denominator is many layers of perpetual unsettled anxious drive, neurotic rituals, and worry about the future. I am a practicing physician, which definitely lends itself to this type of personality profile. I am very proud of my accomplishments in medicine, and will continue to practice for many years. Working, traveling, and playing with bands is a good way to offset the stress of that life, and it shares the burden of keeping me busy, active, and engaged in something mentally stimulating. The tough part is switching from one to the other quickly, as they draw very different bandwidths of effort.
Recording anything with Coloradicals?
THAD: Not in the true sense. We have our practice studio set up for live video shoots, which we will use for local promotion, and the audio is not too bad.
Who the hell is Mrs. Valdez?
THAD: I was hoping that she would be the booking agent, that I have always dreamed of. I am looking for someone who can help me with next year’s calendar, and who can work with venues in multiple states.
Any last word for our readers?
THAD: Just that I am really looking forward to spending a couple days in Norwich NY for Nickstock, and catching up with those folks that I get to see once a year. If you get the opportunity to come out, please consider it. These are two awesome bands, and it will be a great time. Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled for Breaking the Law and Coloradicals!
Today we are going to do something really interesting. Something you never imagined or wanted to imagine..
Today we are going to study Islam but not in a way. You usually hear about it. We will also not study in any scholarly manner..
We will study it in a mystical manner in a manner which will help you connect to the universe..
We are going to explain a different perception of God here, a perception of God, which is probably a way of seeing the goddamn thing you never encountered. So let’s start..
We usually imagine God as a progenitor of dogma progenitor of oppression And repression we imagine God of religions as a subject of political control. We imagine it as something which limits the modern man limits the modern world..
We imagine it as something, which is absolutely the opposite of freedom, the opposite of liberation and self-expression. However if I tell you that there is a group of Muslims with things much differently and which sees God as a way of expressing themselves, you will probably not believe me and consider main same..
Tonight we are going to talk about that aspect of Islam..
We are going to talk about the Divine names and how to use them, how to experience them and apply them.
In order for the concept of the Divine names to be understood, the concept of God should be understood in this framework.
Within Sufi mysticism God is supreme consciousness. The unity of being the unity of all the religious laws are not legal constants. They are instructions. You are free to break them if you wish. You have absolute freedom to do so breaking. Some of them will have destructive consequences, but you are free to do whatever you wish. It is a form of Islam which is much more paetic and liberating..
Within that context man is free. You are free. You are free to use those Divine names however you wish.
Tonight we are going to study a specific Divine name. Usually utilized for destruction but can also be used for protection and spiritual empowerment. Use it as you wish. I honestly would like you to use this technique I show you in the article only for moral reasons bot you are free as I said.
You will start this ritual by visualizing energy coming into the top of your head and filing your entire energy body with energy visualize energy coming into the top of your head and filling you up with energy energizing you
As you hold this visualization, you should breathe in and breathe out, but focus on breathing really, really slowly. Don’t count the breaths. Simply breathe as slowly as possible. It is recommended to do this in the dark.
After you charge yourself with energy in this manner, you should start chanting Ad Darr
Over and over again as you chant You should focus on energy coming out of your mouth. When you start feeling the energy, you can start directing it By verbally saying what you wish.
Your request could be related to destruction of enemies, protection from harm of you and your loved ones. Or you can request from God to to empower you and open your spiritual senses.
This Divine name means :
God who is bringer of distress.
Ad Darr
It should be used with caution. The requests you asked for will be manifested but they will happen in a distressful manner.
Chants Divine name on a daily basis
For a thousand times a day as instructed until what you requested happens, being disciplined with this simple practice can bring extraordinary results.
Thank you for watching and reading and talk to you soon..
Screaming Soup stars Deadwest, a gas guzzling, ray gun slinging skeleton cowboy, who reviews obscure fright flicks from yesteryear in a condensed format popular among YouTube audiences. A kaleidoscopic cast of original characters rides along with our animated horror host for episodic adventures that bookend quick-witted commentary.
Synopsis:
Screaming Soup is an animated web series that follows the adventures of Deadwest, a horror host who reviews B-movies he thinks horror fans need to know about—and sometimes avoid. Joining him is his sidekick Billy, a lovable goat from hell, his ghostly girlfriend Mandy, and a delightfully dysfunctional gang of parody-style monsters. Currently in his 6th season, with 54 episodes and counting, Deadwest’s antics have ranged from big top bar brawls with evil clowns and quick draws with scarecrows to epic crossover specials with legendary B-movie companies like Full Moon Empire.
Quotes:
“Four stars!” –Joe Bob Briggs, Shudder TV’s The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs
“Fresh!” –Svengoolie, Svengoolie
“Filmmakers should be honored to be reviewed by Screaming Soup!” –Charles Band, Full Moon Empire
“Toxie luvs Screaming Soup!” –Lloyd Kaufman, Troma Entertainment
“A terrific way of reviewing horror. Funny, entertaining, and intelligent.” –Robert Davi, Maniac Cop 2-3
“No one does horror hosting better than Screaming Soup! They created the Citizen Kane of Killer Tomato retrospectives.” – Costa Dillon, Creator of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Awards:
Silver Bolo Award – Awarded by Joe Bob Briggs on Shudder’s The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs (S3E1 2021)
The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards: Best Website – Nominated 2022
The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards: Best Documentary – Screaming Soup! Presents the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Retrospective – Nominated 2023
From series creator Dan Fowler:
Horror hosts were always my favorite part when watching scary movies on TV growing up. These charismatic showmen—and women—gave perspective to the pictures they featured, validated my opinions on questionable filmmaking, and always made me feel like I was part of an exclusive club of fun-seeking cinephiles looking for bizarre entertainment. Nowadays, horror hosts aren’t as prevalent as they once were in the traditional sense, so I felt compelled to apply my love of horror to keeping this artform alive and become a host myself. My goal isn’t just continuing this American tradition, but to aid in its evolution for 21st century audiences as well.
Screaming Soup is essentially the horror host show I always wanted to watch and wished existed. Best described as Space Ghost Coastto Coast meets MonsterVision, it condenses full-length features into highlight reel reviews that are most popular among YouTube audiences, and Deadwest is front and center providing humorous Mystery Science Theater 3000 inspired commentary the whole time. As an artist looking for a unique niche, I decided to break new ground with this being the first fully animated horror host show, allowing Deadwest to review movies of yesteryear while on wild weird adventures influenced by my love for retro video games, Saturday morning cartoons, and indie superhero comics.
We’re here with Screaming Soup! creator Dan Fowler, and here’s what he’s got to say … HOW ARE YOU?
DF: WHOA! Didn’t see you there! Um . . . I’m currently caught between the turbulent fringes of creative cackle fests while grounded by the hair-standing nirvana of superbly made grilled cheese sandwiches.
What was the inspiration for Screaming Soup! (what was the genesis as it were)?
DF: As an artist who grew up on horror flicks, action-packed cartoons and surreal funny books, I always struggled finding the right way to channel my creativity; I wanted to do everything—draw comics, make movies, write novels—I’m interested in all of it. When my love for horror hosts was reignited around 2010, I finally found a vehicle that could satisfy my creative drive and let my imagination run wild. To save our garage from becoming a permanent studio set with me in costume, my wife suggested it be a cartoon series, and that’s when it all came together for history’s first fully animated horror host show.
I decided the host would be based on a dead cowboy costume I threw together for Halloween around that time and just kept building this nutty kitchen sink kind of world around him, adding ghoulish and hopefully laughable characters in a fantastic limbo dimension where anything could happen. What ultimately inspired me to make Screaming Soup! a reality, however, was the rise of late 2000s web influencers, who proved it was easier than ever to get content in front of people and have great potential for success.
How long has it been around?
DF: Screaming Soup! is in its 10th year now, believe it or not! Funny thing is, I thought I’d reach my goal of 100 episodes by now, but the production time behind each episode has gradually gotten more involved as I continue developing my animation skills. While I initially started the show with the intent to produce something quick and simple like Adult Swim’s “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,”I outgrew that approach to animating after the first two seasons and have been steadily improving the show with more kinetic camerawork, dynamic edits, and backgrounds full of scope and depth. It’s crazy to see how far I’ve come between season one and season six, and I’m getting more ambitious with each episode!
How have you not been flagged by YouTube’s censorship addicted algorithm?
DF: . . . a lot of dumb luck so far! I’m sure the fact that I didn’t monetize certain content helped me fly under their decency radar, but that trick is definitely getting tougher the more advanced YouTube’s AI programs become.
Are you doing the convention circuit this year?
DF: As much as I’d like to spread the news far and wide that Screaming Soup! is the world’s #1 animated horror host show, I tend to stick close to homebase. The best place to catch me promoting the show is at Retro Toy Con in Greenville, SC, every November, where I’m a regular guest and emcee. All weekend, toy and cartoon enthusiasts get to hear Deadwest make regular announcements, take pictures with his life-size prop, and see me host the celebrity panel discussions. It’s always a great time!
What makes you guys tick?
DF: Laughter. While I do my best to entertain viewers with some action/adventure punctuated with a little shock and awe each episode, my biggest goal is to be funny every time.
Who, what, where, when, how are your influences?
DF: I like to think one of the things that separates Screaming Soup! from so many of its contemporaries is its outlandish storylines and seasonal story arcs; that is directly influenced by my lifelong love for comics—especially the indie titles! “The Tick,” “Scud: The Disposable Assassin,” “Flaming Carrot,” “Sam and Max: Freelance Police”—all these off-the-wall characters facing the most outrageous situations absolutely influence the brand of misadventures I want my characters to have.
Any future crossovers to look forward to (hint, hint, we wanna collaborate, damn it)?
DF: While I already have scripts completed through episode 100, I’m always open to collabs and cameos so long as they can be organically worked in without upsetting the show’s storylines. Most of my friends and contemporaries in the horror community, as well as a few fans (known as Scream Freaks) have become regular extras in the backgrounds, but sometimes I manage to write in more significant crossovers like when Charles Band allowed me to animate Deadwest going toe to toe with his Full Moon characters for an entire season . . . what an unbelievable experience! Our sixth season has fellow horror host Dr. Wolfula dropping in to help wrangle an out-of-control Frankenstein, and movie buff influencers Joe and Sean from “Movie Dumpster” got to see cartoon versions of themselves watching a couple of their own monstrous creations fight a cage match against some of Deadwest’s gang. These collabs are just born out of the moment, so who knows who’ll pop up next?!
Who the hell is Mrs. Valdez?
DF: She’s the embodiment of that tickle in your elbow nerve that warns of pending judgment.
Any big projects coming up?
DF: Having just completed the be-all, end-all “Screaming Soup! Presents Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Retrospective”(free to watch on YouTube, by the way) featuring over three hours of exclusive interviews with nearly every creator, cast and crew member involved with the franchise from its movies to its short-lived cartoon series, I’ll be shifting my focus to developing more Screaming Soup! merch for fans. Thanks to generous contributions via the Screaming Soup! Patreon page, I recently started selling the Scream Freak Fan Club Kit through ScreamingSoup.com. It’s a sweet little treasure trove of Screaming Soup! stickers, trading cards, coasters, mini-posters, and buttons. Profits from the kits will fund even more merch, helping me produce additional trading cards, Billy dolls, a miniseries of comics, replicas of Deadwest’s laser and my dream goal: a Screaming Soup! toy line!
Any last words for your fans?
DF: Never stop singing in the shower, out of sight/out of mind doesn’t apply to invisible threats, and if you’re looking for a new spin on horror hosting like you’ve never seen, give Deadwest and his gang of rowdy hellions a watch at ScreamingSoup.com, home of the web’s #1 animated horror host show! We truly appreciate our Scream Freaks and are always looking for fellow horror fans to join us.
If you have further questions or want to request an interview, feel free to email me at ScreamingSoup@gmail.com.
Losing someone who was a prominent fixture of our goth scene is never easy, but the loss of Laurence Timothy Johnson aka Tim Sinn really hits home. At only 55 years old, he passed in his sleep at home around March 12th. His roommate Christopher Grey found him, and has been a blessing since to those that loved Tim. We all knew about his struggles with alcohol addiction, but some of us saw his great fight to overcome it all as well. Whatever got him in the end, definitely took him too soon. Regardless, he will live on through his art and photography, as well as in our hearts. He was a native of California, and he hopped around to different schools in and around LA, finally attending Hollywood High School. As most of us remember, he was an artist and photographer for Bar Sinister/Boardners by La Belle in Hollywood for many, many years. Though many photographers have come and gone since his departure, none have lived up to the magic that Tim would expel into the world. The color swirls on his photographs left a fun and pleasant aura that will last a lifetime. I personally met Tim Sinn on my first day living in Hollywood in October 2010. It happened to be my birthday as well. I met him at the local bar Powerhouse back when it was a true dive bar. He would often stop there before heading over to Bar Sinister, among other local watering holes to see his friends. It just so happens that my first day living in Hollywood I ended up with a black eye because I stood up to an Amazon meth-head female that was harassing my male friend. She got really aggressive and threw 1 beer glass and 2 beer bottles at my face and back of my head, I ended up with 3 cuts around my right eye, and she apparently cut up her hand. Since it was my birthday at midnight, I decided to get a towel with ice for my bloody eye and another drink, after I had to sit in the ambulance for 40 min making sure I didn’t have a concussion. Long story short, the next day I had a small birthday gathering at the outdoor backyard of my new apartment. Tim came with a friend (I believe it was Sue Wood), and he brought me a little talking vampire doll. Then he jokingly mocked me for wearing eyeliner even though I had a black eye. He was really kind to me, and not judging of what happened, other than to say I was a badass. He had a sweet charm to him that I instantly made a connection to. We became casual friends for many years after. On Sunday, April 21st, 2024 at Boardners, they held a memorial for Tim. It was a somber gathering with attendance and speech by owner Trisha Labelle, a performance and speech by Human Drama, Tim’s former roommate gave a speech, and Jeffery Damnit, Adriana Vega, plus many more were in attendance. I was unable to make it that day, but I will say this, I know that everyone who knew Tim Sinn has at least one good story to tell about him. While Tim was a staple of the Hollywood night life, he also branched out to other places like the Rainbow Bar And Grill on occasion, where he got to know Mario Maglieri and friends. All in all, Tim Sinn was an empathetic human being who struggled with being overcome by his deep heartfelt emotions in such a desolate and volatile world. It is a tragedy to know that he will not be shining his light on the living from this realm anymore, however, his light definitely will shine on us from the beyond. Even though Tim was not working at Bar Sinister in the months prior to his death, it is still an inevitability to think about him, and to feel his presence when entering that outdoor corridor leading into Bar Sinister. RIP to another great and talented soul, Tim Sinn.
Out of approximately 200 countries on the planet, why does the United State of America have an electoral college system that determines who becomes President, when all other countries use the popular vote? If we used the popular vote system wouldn’t Hiliary Clinton be our current President? Haven’t there been times when the electoral college was abandoned?
Cedric Ross:
This legal question involves our Constitution! A document designed to protect us from our government. Way, way back in the 1700’s our founding forefathers wanted an election system that didn’t turn our President into a dictator. They couldn’t decide on whether Congress should determine on who should be President or the people decide using a popular vote. They reached a compromise, the electoral college!
Every state has elected representatives and two senators. Thus, a large state such as Texas has 36 politicians elected to the house of representatives plus two senators, for a total of 38 electors. A state such as Vermont, with small population with two politicians in the House and two senators for a total of 4 electors. If a candidate wins Florida by the smallest of margins, (See George Bush), that candidate gets all the electors!
A total of 535 electors and three for the district of Columbia leaves a total of 538 electors. A simple majority of 270 electors wins the most powerful job in the world! Awesome, hua?
Without the electoral system Hiliary would be President. Yes! And the world would be a different planet. And this isn’t the first time! There have been other Presidents who didn’t get the popular vote but became President, i.e., John Qunicy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, George W. Bush and Donal Trump; all became President without a popular majority vote.
If the electoral college had never existed, Bob Dole would have become President, and it is likely the USA would have never invaded IRAQ. A very different world, indeed. There have been attempts to abandon the electoral college system. In 1816 there was a movement to ditch the electoral college, but the Southern states blocked it. In 1969 there was such a movement which passed the House but again was blocked by the Southern states. Thus, the electoral college system is with us today. It would take an amendment to the Constitution to make the change.
I hope this explanation gives you some clarity into the system that only exists in the USA. Is it good? Is it bad? That’s for you to decide!
