Undercrypt

I’ve reached the point where I’ve got several things planned for 2009, but nothing is firm yet, and there are events which haven’t been announced so I can’t talk about them.  As a result, my year currently looks a little bit like this:

• There’s editing happening.
• I’ll be writing more music.  About stuff.
• The Undercrypt podcast will make its first appearance before, say, the end of February.
• I might be performing at CONvergence with Invocatio.  Or I might not.
• I’ll be performing at a thing on a day in June, with people.
• Something will get recorded.
• Maybe I’ll be providing music for a Halloween show.  Could happen.
• There’s this amazingly cool thing planned for November in which I may very well appear.

The only thing I’m absolutely sure about right now is that it’s going to be a busy and exciting year, and I’m quite looking forward to it all.

What makes a situation terrifying?

The distinctions between horror and terror have been explored, particularly in the realm of gothic literature, but I’d like to suggest a simple definition:

A situation is terrifying when (a) it provokes a fight-or-flight response, and (b) neither fight nor flight is possible.

I like this definition because it covers not only the gothic terror of unknown impending doom, but also the melodramatic strapping of people to logs in sawmills (which would seem a lot more terrifying and a lot less cliché in the first person).  It’s a useful framework for building a scene.  It also strikes me as a decent starting point for developing musical themes.

…was a tale of classmates, young love, and the importance of avoiding direct sunlight.

I’m referring, of course, to Let the Right One In, a Swedish film that strolls gracefully through the shadows between romance and horror and everyday life.  The story is both heartwarming and chilling, moments of tenderness offset by dripping blood.  This is what really good horror looks like, and it is well worth making a special effort to see.

If you’re in the Twin Cities and missed it at the Lagoon, it’s starting Friday 1/9 at the Riverview.

The WordPress theme I’m using started out as thirteen by Becca Wei before I customized it.  If the site looks good, thank Becca for putting together a lovely theme with solid CSS.   If the site looks bad, blame me for being a musician and not a graphic designer.

Unfortunately, the source site seems to have disappeared, so I can’t link to it in the footer for proper credit.

I’ve got a new look for the site (now powered by WordPress) and a whole lot of plans for 2009 – let’s get this show on the road!

Things that will be showing up in the near future include…

• Local events of interest.
• Updates on Invocatio, my dark romantic music group.
• A podcast of songs, samples, and other oddities.
• A few surprises.  What fun would it be without surprises?

Here’s to the start of a great year!