Austin Underground Film

9:00 pm - doors open
9:30 pm - CAVEDWELLER (Austin psychadelia)
10:00 pm - The STRIP CULT musical rock show
11:00 pm - HACIENDA (psych-pop from Boerne, TX)

“Director Mike Z aims to rock your world.”
-Austin Chronicle

“For all its flower power sentiments, the psychedelic ’60s had their dark side, just as LSD offers the 50/50 promise of oneness with the universe or a soul-shattering bad trip. Fully embracing the brown acid, rock opera The Strip Cult plants its go-go boots firmly in the era’s seedy side, telling the Manson-inspired story of a wannabe ingénue corrupted by a drug-crazed serial killer. Ablaze with fuzz-laden grooves and liquid light, The Strip Cult is like a Kenneth Anger film come to life: Lost souls shake, rattle, and roll toward a violent end, exposing the dangerous nihilism behind “free love.” An opening set from Cavedweller causes the kundalini creeps with stark psych-blues, while Hacienda’s layered pop harmonies provide a smooth comedown.”
-The Onion

Sex! Murder! Rock ‘n’ Roll!

Coming to the Hideout in Austin on May 11th, 2008

Explore the darkest corners of your soul in…

THE STRIP CULT

A seedy den of iniquity and debauchery lurking in the shadows of the Hollywood sign, a Babylon of unrivaled DEPRAVITY where ruthless men ply aspiring young starlets with narcotics and rock music to ensnare the youth of today in a sinister web of violation and desecration previously unknown! Watch as THE STRIP CULT exposes the dark underbelly of Tinseltown! WITNESS nubile teens as they are transformed into sex-starved love kittens and exploited into selling their bodies, their virginity, even their SOULS, right before your eyes! SEE FOR YOURSELF how lewd go-go dancing leads to mind control, nymphomania, acid-fueled sprees of free love and rivers of gore, RIVERS OF GORE! And just when all seems lost, that’s when things really go helter-skelter…

Experience the world’s first Manson musical – a new rock opera that tells the tale of life on the fringe of ’60s stardom and the wages of sin inside a go-go joint. Meet a plucky young runaway with dreams of Hollywood and stars in her eyes, and the LSD-crazed serial killer who teaches her how to love, all set to catchy, danceable tunes full of hook-heavy grooves ranging from garage surf-psych to grinding Link Wray fuzz tone to uplifting Gospel-inspired anthems of hope. And of course, Girls, Girls, Girls!

Brought to you by Composer/Writer/Director MIKE Z, legendary underground hoax artist, internet provocateur, and independent filmmaker whose video work has been mistaken for real by the federal government - www.crowdedtheater.com

With the AUFF’s own ANDY GATELY on lead guitar, engaging in acts of Fender Stratocaster terrorism!

The band backs up a selection of Austin’s very own brightest new talents, from dancers to Broadway veterans to ex-Ringling Bros clowns to former beauty pageant contestants, all brought together under a circus tent of subversion by twisted ringmaster Mike Z with a shared passion for go-go dancing, trippy light shows, catchy pop songs and lurid tales of unparalleled debasement!

THE STRIP CULT will soon be entertaining at bars and nightclub venues all over Austin, but don’t miss the debut show SUNDAY, May 11th, @ the Hideout Theater – 617 Congress Ave. There are TWO SHOWS, one at 7pm & another at 9pm. FREE for members of the press (MUST RSVP to andygately@gmail.com to be added to guest list), Regular Admission is only $10

Check out THE STRIP CULT online for a taste of the coolest music cuts and the sweetest eye candy:

TheStripCult.com

MySpace.com/TheStripCult

(Reprinted from Short End Magazine)

Bullfighting.

The word itself is enough to illicit a cringe of distaste in the average person, and outrage from your typical liberal-minded Westerner. Yet, for thousands of Spaniards, seeing a ritual killing is just good, old-fashioned popcorn fun. You could drop a few euro on the latest Sunday matinee, or, for even less, you could go see a raging bull or even a human being gored to death, live, and for real.

“Maria, the kids want to go to that new Van Damme flick where he kick boxes his evil twin.”

“Honey, we’re supposed to be saving money this month, you promised me I could get that veg-o-matic I’ve had my eye on, remember? Just take the kids to the bullfight, I’ve got coupons, and tonight it’s a triple-slaying.”

Maybe the Spanish just know the value of a buck.

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(Reprinted from Short End Magazine)

Finally, the world gets an answer to the question, “What can David Schwimmer do from the director’s chair?” The question is, who was asking?

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(Reprinted from Short End Magazine)

During a radio interview, the DJ asks two of the musicians behind Gorillaz what they think about people comparing them and their live multimedia stage show to Pink Floyd.

“With all due respect to Pink Floyd,” cracks Damon Albarn, “We’ve got tunes.”

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Andy Gately interviews DONNIE DARKO and SOUTHLAND TALES director Richard Kelly in Austin [reprinted from Directed By Magazine]

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The man who invented the zombie film with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD talks about the rules for killing the undead, his thoughts on the treatment of female characters in horror, and the inaccuracies of 28 DAYS LATER in a lively Austin Q&A following an advance screening of his superb new DIARY OF THE DEAD.

Austin rock outfit The Little Gentlemen, who played AUFF ‘06, have some down ‘n’ dirty videos chopped together by two of the three minds behind Austin Underground Film.

Scope more here:

“Cry For Me, Darling”

“Million Cars”

“Best Guy Ever”

In addition to partnering with film festival specialists B-Side, the AUFF is collaborating with Kinemastik to bring the best of Austin Underground Film to the island of Malta in the Mediterranean in July. More to come soon. In related news, if you happened to wander into the stand-up comedy venue the Velveeta Room at the Old Pecan Street Festival in Austin, you were treated to a special mini-edition of AUFF highlights from the last two years. Thanks for coming out! The AUFF is also currently working with the Campus Movie Fest to bring the best work from U.S. colleges to Austin. Info to follow.

Austin’s 3rd Fantastic Fest offered hungry audiences a buffet of exotic cinematic treats from around the globe. From September 20-27, badge holders and the general public were treated to an expanded lineup that included some non-genre films while still delivering the signature horror and sci-fi staples the fest has become justifiably lauded for.

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