A Crazy Fun October
That’s me with some Real Life Superheroes at a Heroes in the Night promotional appearance at Common Good Books in Saint Paul.
Wow, what a month! I’ve really been burning the candle at both ends.
October 1 was the official release date of my book, Heroes in the Night: Inside the Real Life Superhero Movement. It was a really proud day for me– I did it! I got a book out, you can find it at a lot of bookstores. It’s also available online here: http://www.ipgbook.com/heroes-in-the-night-products-9781613747759.php?page_id=21
To promote the book, I did four bookstore appearances. I was at Quimby’s Bookstore in Chicago on 10/05. My big hometown appearance was 10/11 here at Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee. A lot of family and friends were there and we had a fun after party at Stonefly Brewery.
I appeared at Westfield Comics in Madison on 10/19 and Common Good Books in Saint Paul, MN on 10/20. All cool stuff. I was joined by people featured in my book at all stops, so I big thanks to Wraith, Citizen Prime, the Watchman, Geist, Razorhawk, Misery White, and Blue for joining me at Q and A sessions. It was really great to get out, see old friends, and meet new ones, too.
I haven’t seen exact figures, but the publisher tells me the book is doing good. I’ll be continuing to promote it with media appearances through the holidays (and beyond.) Next place I’ll be is here in town for Milwaukee Zine Fest Nov. 9 (website: http://milwaukeezinefest.org/2013/index.php) I’ll have copies of the book and a little zine of wacky poetry I did titled Palookaville.
I’ve also been working hard on my (as yet untitled) second book, which is about people who study the paranormal. I took a hectic trip east to do field work for the book, travelling to West Virginia, Kentucky, Maine, and Florida over a ten day stretch. I’ve been writing about some of this for Onmilwaukee.com. You can read about my Kentucky adventure here: http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/authors/onmilwaukeecomstaffwriters/milwghoststorybobbymackey.html
Last thing I wanted to mention is an article I wrote for Third Coast Daily about Arkham House, a little known but important Wisconsin publishing house. They published the first works by H.P. Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury, among others. I worked on it on and off for a long time, and it was well timed to appear just before my favorite holiday, Halloween.
Here’s the article: http://thirdcoastdaily.com/2013/10/the-horror-of-sauk-city-arkham-houses-weird-fiction-legacy/
Below is a picture included in the article of Arkham House founder and prolific Wisconsin writer August Derleth. Happy Halloween!
August Derleth
Krulos, Carless
Up until this year, I was pretty much okay with not having a car. In fact, I have never gotten my driver’s license, never owned a car.
Has this occasionally been a pain in the ass? Oh, sure. But you know what hasn’t been a pain in the ass? Parking tickets, permits, oil changes, flat tires, timing belts, Google maps, worrying about drivers who are texting instead of driving, talking geckos, and paying out the wazoo to Greedbag American Syndicate.
People always say, “oh but you can’t get around, Tea Krulos. You can’t go nowhere.”
Well, I’ve done okay. I’ve been to a fair few corners of the world– Coober Pedy, Panajachel, Drumnadrochit, Derry, Roswell, San Francisco, Saskatoon, Brooklyn, Tijuana, Beaver Dam, Denver, I could go on and on. This summer I went to Vermont and am hitting the road again later this month.
But here’s the problem– this year things have been different. I lost out on a job opportunity due to lack of car and have felt the restrictions of transportation trying to get to smaller cities.
Is it time for me to start driving? Siiiiiiigh. I guess so.
SPACE COLLECTOR s/t
From the August 2013 Riverwest Currents
The Space Collector sound—imagine this, a heavy metal pterodactyl flapping its wings and shrieking violently, then lazily sailing along on a current of power chords. They stomp like a tyrannosaurus, sting like a velociraptor. Is this prehistoric metaphoric ooze—“From Fin to Foot” too much? Okay then, lets move it into space.
Interlude: DUN DUN DUN DUN! Dundadundaladalada dun—DUN DUN DUN DUN!
In the dystopian future, the world is a junk heap. Hope is lost, but that interlude you just heard was the “Flight of the Space Collector.” It’s a lost space cruiser collecting cosmic debris with the most bumpin’ boombox in the galaxy. The captains of this ship are Ed Osburg (bass/ vocals), Chris Valenti (guitar/ vocals), Miles Harbury (guitar/vocals), and Patrick Haga (drums/vocals.) They’ll lead you through a self titled album of controlled chaos, math metal tracks like “Gnomeland Security/ Pretension Bracket,” “Nothing Survives in a Vacuum,” and “Grandma Ash.”
Some of the songs are for headbangers, others are for philosophers.
My favorite tracks include the previously mentioned heavy stoner sludge “From Fin to Foot,” and the instrumental roller coaster “Flight of the Space Collector,” but the whole album is great and works well in its entirety in addition to individual tracks.
One more thing about this album—volume must be cranked to 11.
–Tea Krulos
HEROES IN THE NIGHT MIDWEST TOUR!
Thursday, August 8: CHICAGO, Il–Wizard World Comic Con
5PM, Room 42: “Meet the Real Life Superheroes!” panel
Tea Krulos discusses Heroes in the Night and hosts a panel of Real Life Superheroes: The Watchman and Blackbird of Milwaukee, Electron from La Crosse, Geist from Rochester, MN, and Moon and Crimson Catalyst of Chicago.
Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/events/170287153155711/
Tuesday, October 1: The INTERNET–Goodreads.com
“Ask Tea Krulos” discussion group
On the premiere date of Heroes in the Night, Tea Krulos will be checking in with Goodreads throughout the day to answer questions about the book. You can join the discussion here: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/110221-ask-tea-krulos
Saturday, October 5: CHICAGO, Il– Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave.
7PM, In-store appearance. Slideshow, excerpt, Q and A, special surprise guests!
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/533283696721389/
Friday, October 11: MILWAUKEE, WI– Boswell Book Co. & after party at Stonefly Brewery
This is the Heroes in the Night Universal Launch Party!
7PM, In-store appearance at Boswell Book Company, 2559 N. Downer St. Slideshow, excerpt, Q and A, special surprise guests!
9PM, after party at Stonefly Brewery, 735 E. Center St. Musical performance by Nineteen Thirteen, silent auction to benefit charity, super villain drink specials, and a superhero costume contest. Must be an original superhero creation. Honorary judges include fashion designer Miranda Levy (Project Runway), photographer Lacy Landre, and comic book artist David Beyer, Jr.
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/579074678797325/
Saturday, October 12: TBA
Saturday, October 19: MADISON, WI– Westfield Comics, West side store, 7475 Mineral Point Road
6PM, In-store appearance, slideshow, excerpt, Q and A, surprise guest(s)!
Facebook event page:https://www.facebook.com/events/525578554164634/
Sunday, October 20: SAINT PAUL, MN– Common Good Books, 38 S. Snelling Ave.
4PM, In-store appearance, slideshow, excerpt, Q and A, surprise guests!
Facebook event page:https://www.facebook.com/events/467455183351314/
Thing of Beauty
When I moved back to Milwaukee in May, I had something on the back of my mind– I wanted a typewriter. I thought I could use it for some sort of ritual where once a week I would bust it out, pour a stiff drink, set some atmosphere with some tunes and work on beatnik poetry or whatnot.
Maaaan, I thought, that would be sweet.
You can imagine my surprise and delight at the inner workings of the universe when I was walking around Riverwest (my neighborhood) about two days after being back. I happened to perchance upon a black plastic case sitting by the curb with a note taped to it– “FREE! Not sure if it works.” I opened it up and it was a solid looking Olympia typewriter.
And it did work– it just needed a new ribbon. I found a typewriter ribbon online for a few bucks and that, my friends, is that.
If you’re walking down my block Sunday evenings and hear what sounds like sporadic machine gun fire, that’s just me doing my Lawrence Ferlinghetti impersonation.
Heroes in the Night Blog Back Up and Running
My book Heroes in the Night will be out in October. Meanwhile I’ve relaunched the book’s blog, which you can find here: http://www.heroesinthenight.blogspot.com
It’ll feature a weekly Hero Profile every Thursday and various news and updates about the book.
The advance reading copy of the book.
Victor DeLorenzo’s Genre Journey
From the June 2013 Riverwest Currents
Victor DeLorenzo, s/t album
Bachelor Farmer Recordings
By Tea Krulos
The unique sound of the Violent Femmes, dubbed “folk punk,” can be attributed to all three of the founding members—the bleating, angst filled vocals of Gordon Gano, the thumping walk of Brian Ritchie’s bass, and the eclectic approach to percussion by Victor DeLorenzo.
The Violent Femmes’ first album, 1983’s self titled debut, differed greatly from many of its contemporaries. It was a time of sounds heavily relying on droning synthesizers, but one of the Femmes most famous melodies, “Gone Daddy Gone,” features the Femmes plinking away a catchy barrage from a less puffy- haired instrument– the xylophone.
Other bands from the 1983 yearbook were super-sizing their drumsets, adding dozens of drums and flotillas of cymbals and sometimes giant gongs that looked like something from a set of a kung-fu movie. Meanwhile, DeLorenzo’s set up for one of the Femmes’ biggest hits, “Blister in the Sun,” was refreshingly simple– a snare drum and a pair of steel brushes.
These choices ended up serving the Femmes extremely well. While many of the bands of 1983 are like flies trapped in amber, the Femmes’ debut, now 30 years old, has a timeless sound that still sounds fresh today. The band has reunited after a hiatus of over 5 years to play a handful of shows like Coachella and Summerfest. They’re as young as ever.
During the periods between Femmes gigs, DeLorenzo has kept himself busy with a variety of musical projects that have expanded in direction far beyond the Femmes. While the other Femmes members have moved on to other parts of the world, DeLorenzo still lives on the east side. He plays a mix of chamber rock and jazz improv with a trio named Nineteen Thirteen, who play regular gigs at the Jazz Estate, and lays down the blues with a group named Lorenzo Menzerschmidt.
All of this has led to DeLorenzo’s first solo album, 15 tracks of musical explorations, an unpredictable mix of the best kind. Recorded sporadically over nine years, it has a touch of everything DeLorenzo has immersed himself in—jazz, experimental, pop, blues, and Femmes style punk- folk. The album was recorded with DeLorenzo’s children and other guests adding their musical talents to the mix. DeLorenzo’s fellow Violent Femmes member, Gordon Gano, takes over for vocals on “Dr. Um,” a fun, trippy song that shows off a love of wordplay.
Other stand out tracks include an excellent cover of the Zombies “I Remember When I Loved Her,” the punk flavored “Gonna Wanna,” the catchy layer of drums and vocals on “Bow,” and “Auction Man (yer on the air),” which sounds like something from a Frank Zappa session.
Guest vocalist Kim Manning joins in on a sunshine filled cover of the Violent Femmes’ “Good Feeling,” which originally appeared on the Femmes’ debut album, bringing this story full circle.
The amazing feat of this mixture of styles is that it sounds innovative instead of muddy, which is a testament of DeLorenzo’s creativity as a drummer and a songwriter. Highly recommended for fans of the Violent Femmes or anyone seeking something unique and catchy to add to their playlist.
The album is available at CD Baby here: cdbaby.com/cd/victordelorenzo
Poem from Palookaville
“Palookaville,” an old man once told me,
“is really the stupidest place
You can tell when someone has stepped off the bus from Palookaville
by the stupid look all over their face”
He said, “those damn stupid Palookas, they’re as stupid as a box of limes,
and you can read about them in the world’s stupidest newspaper,
the stupid Palookaville Times.”
My Interview with S.T. Joshi
S.T. Joshi
Last week the folks at Innsmouth Free Press posted an interview I did with S. T. Joshi, the foremost authority on author H. P. Lovecraft and an expert on “weird fiction” and horror in general.
The interview was part of a larger amount of research I conducted for a lengthy article I’m still tinkering with on Wisconsin publisher Arkham House. Meanwhile, I’m glad that this interview was published in its entirety. I love the site’s name!
“Tea Krulos, Innsmouth Free Press. What does your administration plan to do on the growing Cthulhu issue?”
You can read the interview here: http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com/blog/?p=21360
My first book, Heroes in the Night, is available for pre-order. More info here: https://teakrulos.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/heroes-in-the-night-cover-revealed/
World War II Love Letter
The Arcadia Opera House
The Arcadia Opera House is a beautiful building and the Opera stage and ticket booths are still in order, but it’s rooms are now packed with ten decades of various artifacts. The building, not surprisingly, is considered haunted and a favorite investigation spot for local ghost hunters. A group named the Peace River Ghost Tracker has recorded what they claim are spooky sounding ghost whispers.
I found a neatly wrapped bundle of letters. It was labelled- “Cliff and Fran- WW II Love Letters- $40.” I asked the store owner about the bundle.
“Oh, they’re great,” he said. “They’re all from 1945, one half of the correspondence, just the letters from Cliff, just gushing his heart out to Fran.” He added that there were 34 letters spanning 1945 in the stack. I thought it was interesting and we left.
I couldn’t stop thinking of the letters and that night I had a dream I was reading them and was amazed by the contents. I went back and bought them. Since then, every few days I transcribe one of the letters while I drink my morning coffee. I found out more about the letters: they were written by Cliff, stationed somewhere off the West Coast, to Fran, back home in Portland, Maine.
A gear had turned in my head that a book collecting these letters might be possible. Although something along those lines could happen, there are two challenges:
1. There are already LOTS of books collecting WWII correspondence and love letters in particular out there. I found at least two dozen on Amazon. I’m not sure if that is a good sign or a bad one.
2. Good old Cliff isn’t the most eloquent writer, and a very repetitive one, as he himself admits in a letter. The “Passed by Naval Censor” stamp on each envelope insures that Cliff goes into no detail about his location or mission and so the letters mostly consist of him telling Fran how much he loves her and can’t wait to marry her a dozen different ways.
Still, I think there might be something here– perhaps these would be part of a bigger collection of writing from WWII or the basis of a fiction story line… it’s hard to tell why you’re drawn to something and what the forest might look like from the trees. Until I figure it out, I’ll keep transcribing with the morning coffee.
Anyway, the following is a letter I transcribed today. I left the spelling/ punctuation as is in the letter. The only explanation I’ll add to is a joke about a laundry business– in a previous letter, Cliff is complaining about having to do his own laundry, which Fran is obviously giving him some grief over.
Sunday, 3 June, 1945
Dearest Fran,
Well Darling, I guess this will be the last letter you’ll receive for quite some time. I’ll be thinking and loving you just the same Sweet and writing every nite. I received one from you today Darling. I loved every word in it honey.
It’s been a dull Sunday Darling. I’ve missed you terribly. I never thought it would be this bad. I love you Darling very much and hope you’ll marry me when I come back. I live for that day honey and the day we’re together again.
What do you mean don’t I ever work. Darling you would be surprised. After we’re married you won’t have to work Sweet. I’ll take care of that end. You just be at home waiting for me. I agree hon that the only solution to your stopping work is to get married and I hereby suggest myself as the lucky fellow. I’ll be glad when you will be able to give me the final answer. You know how much I love you. I know you want that day to come as quick as I do.
You are right Darling when you say I love to hear you say that you love me. It really makes me feel nice. It’s nice knowing you think it will be wonderful being married to me Darling. Honest Hon, I love you so very much it’s torture being away from you.
What do you mean you wonder what the reason is for saving my money now. As if you wouldn’t guess sweet.
Okay Darling—if I can’t find a job in Portland we’ll keep out of N.H. and VT. I hope I can find one in Portland Sweet for you. I’d love to live there Darling. But then anywhere would be heaven with you Darling.
That was pretty clever about the laundry business after the war. I must congratulate you Darling and remind me about it the next time we’re together. I’ll get even with a certain somebody. You’re lucky I’m not there right now. I’d tickle you until you cried. Honest, Darling, I do love you with all my heart and you are wonderful Darling.
You really have the time of our last kiss don’t you. Do you keep a diary Hon? Not me. I’d love to kiss you good-bye tonite like I did then.
I’ll be closing for tonite Darling but I’ll be writing every nite just the same. Take care of yourself Hon and keep loving me. I miss you Sweet very much. I love you Darling with all my heart- always.
All my love- all my life
Yours forever Hon,
“Cliff”
P.S. Say hello to everyone for me. Everyone’s fine at home. Don’t forget the good-nite kisses Darling. I’ll be looking at the moon everynite and thinking of you Sweet wishing we were together.
P.P.S. from Tea– my first book, Heroes in the Night, is now available for pre-order. You can also add it on Goodreads. More info in post previous to this one.
teakrulos.com 