RIP Kim Fowley

Kim Vincent Fowley

July 21, 1939 - January 15, 2015

Impresario, producer, songwriter, performer, genius, creep. An American original. 

Mike Vraney 1957-2014

Mike Vraney and Lisa Petrucci, photo credit: Lars Erik Holmquist

Shocking news awaited us as we awoke this morning. Mike Vraney, the founder of Something Weird Video, had passed away from lung cancer at the age of 56. An official statement from SWV said, "Mike was a very private person and didn't want anyone, except his closest friends, family and colleagues, to know about his illness. He went through aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatments for over a year, but sadly the cancer spread and cruelly took him from us."

The news hit those of us who have been fans of his life's work for the last three decades like a ton of bricks. You see, his was not merely just another home video company. Founded by Vraney in Seattle in 1990, Something Weird unearthed thousands of films and entire b-movie and exploitation sub-genres from the dustbins of history. Especially back in the early and mid-90s, when information on the kinds of films he championed was not widely disseminated or easily found, the Something Weird Video catalog was a revelation. The films were categorized under headings like "Untamed Video", "Sexy Shockers From the Vault", "Grindhouse Follies", "Spies, Thighs & Private Eyes", "Crime Wave USA", "Sci-Fi Late Night Creature Feature Show", "Wrasslin' She Babes", "Nudist Camp Classics", "Twisted Sex", and the perfectly succinct "Big Bust Loops". I and countless other intrepid cinematic explorers poured over those catalogs, with their eye-catching graphics, tidbits of biographical and historical information, and original ad mats and poster art, like holy grails. We ordered these films through the mail, and some of us were lucky enough to live near adventurous mom and pop video stores that actually carried them. My own local mecca was Scotty Cooper's Video Bazaar in Metuchen, NJ, who always stocked a large collection of SWV titles on VHS, their colorful spines practically jumping off the shelf and into my curious hands, enticing me to take them home and dive into a world that had been lost to time, or may have existed only in the mind of a single, twisted auteur who died penniless and unknown, but whose life's labor was finally being presented to a (comparatively) wide audience.

He brought the films of people like David F. Friedman, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Andy Milligan, Doris Wishman, and Harry Novak to public attention and helped spread the gospel of the "forty thieves", a loosely-affiliated cabal of roadshow impresarios whose traveling exploitation shows in the early decades of cinema played fast and loose with local vice ordinances as they zig-zagged back and forth across the countryside. And he didn't merely do it on a subterranean, cult level. In the early 2000's, he pulled off something that we all would have thought impossible just a few years earlier (and which would have been impossible only a few years later), when he made a distribution deal with Image Entertainment which led to the then ubiquitous Borders Books chain to stock Something Weird Video DVDs in their big box stores nation-wide. Suddenly, middle Americans looking for the latest Adam Sandler or Sandra Bullock movie might accidentally come across The Monster of Camp Sunshine, Color Me Blood Red, or Satan in High Heels. He also got the films exposure on mainstream television, first with a series on the USA Network in the mid-90s, Reel Wild Cinema (hosted by Sandra Bernhardt), and more recently with the Something Weird On Demand channel available through Comcast cable. Today, we take it for granted that these kinds of movies are part of our collective kitschy Americana, but Vraney blazed a trail, without a map, not knowing how it was going to end up. His was a mission fueled by personal passion, and without his work, we'd all be living in a less interesting world.

Mike is survived by his wife, Lisa Petrucci, and two children, Mark and Danielle. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, his friends, and everyone else who will miss him.

Now lets take a look at some of the familiar images that we may never have even known about if not for Mike Vraney via the famous classic opening bumper that kicked off every Something Weird Video release.

Gary Garcia 1948-2011

The media coverage of Gary Garcia's death on November 17th was understandably  focused on his status as half of Buckner & Garcia (I'm not going to embed "Pac-Man Fever" here, but if you simply must hear it, you can see them perform it on American Bandstand here). Here in Ichiban-land, though, we mourn him as the leader of Akron, Ohio's Outlaws. You can hear them perform "The Scavenger" here, courtesy of Bob the Sponge. Side note: the still-living Jerry Buckner was apparently a member of the Rogues, who made a couple of records backing up Harvey Russell, the "Singing Cop".  Here's the first one-- a fine Isley Brothers cover.

Photo swiped from Buckeye Beat

  While they met in Akron as students at Perkins Jr High School, Mr. B and Mr. G plied their trade in Atlanta from the mid-'70s on, and that's where they created their most important contribution to American culture. Any Southerner-- or anyone who's ever gotten hungry on the interstate in the South, for that matter-- is familiar with the row of site-specific singles on every Waffle House jukebox. Most of those singles are produced or performed by Buckner and/or Garcia. Here's a label shot of one, courtesy of our own Greg G. 

  So, next time you're eating hash browns by the off-ramp at 2:45 AM, punch up a couple of WH anthems and raise your glass of sweet tea in a toast to Mr. Garcia. Make sure your food's already on the table, though... I've encountered Waffle House employees who aren't all that thrilled to hear "Waffle House Woman" or "844, 739 Ways to Eat a Hamburger" yet again, and they're not willing to say that they won't spit in your food. Fair warning.

KENT MORRILL 1941-2011

The Wailers, 1959. Mr. Morrill is second from the right, on keyboards.

The mighty Kent Morrill, vocalist/keyboardist for the original Wailers departed this mortal coil on Friday, after a four-year struggle with cancer.  His wife reports that he was singing "Louie Louie" in his sleep the previous night, which is about equal portions of comforting and heartbreaking. The Louie Report has the story; the band's official website is here. Condolences to his family and fellow musicians.

More on Eddie Brandt

Here's the L.A. Times obituary.

Eddie Brandt, 1924-2011

    Eddie Brandt was a piano player, writer, and arranger for Spike Jones & His City Slickers for many years, which alone should qualify anyone for a cushy spot in the afterlife. But that's not nearly all! He was head writer (and provided "Incidental Voices") for Beany & Cecil, he wrote for Hanna-Barbera in the '60s on Frankenstein, Jr. and The Cattanooga Cats, among others, and he even had an uncredited role as a piano player in Paul Frees' classic The Beatniks! I didn't have a lot of luck tracking down any good photos of the man (here's a so-so one of him in the '70s with Johnny Bond and Bob Nolan), but you can see him talking about his old boss in this clip:





   He also ran what sounds like a pretty amazing video store in North Hollywood, still being run by his wife and son. I would suggest checking it out if you find yourself in the vicinity.

   The Hollywood Reporter has the story. Note that they cite his age as 89; I'm going with the birthdate cited by the IMDB, which isn't always wise. Caveat emptor.

BONUS LINK: here's Mark Evanier to say a bit more about Mr. Brandt.

Goodbye, Alex

Alex Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010)

Things Go Better with Coke #1.mp3