Welcome to the nightmare
Rock and Shock festival draws some famously ghoulish guests
The founders of the Rock and Shock festival say they would have been dreaming to think about Malcolm McDowell, John Landis, and Corbin Bernsen taking part in the action when this movies-and-music venture began six years ago. But now Rock and Shock is welcoming those high-profile guests to the nightmare.
Gina Migliozzi and Kevin Barbare are the ghoulish minds behind Rock and Shock. The two horror-film fans and hard-rock aficionados - she manages the Palladium music hall in Worcester; he has worked at WAAF-FM (107.3) for 20 years - decided to build an event around what they saw as overlapping audiences. Migliozzi and Barbare figured that if they liked heavy music and gory films, other people probably did too.
“It took a while, but the concept caught on,’’ Migliozzi said.
The shock sets up at the DCU Center in Worcester. Stars of popular horror franchises such as Rob Zombie’s movies, the “Friday the 13th’’ flicks, and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre’’ hold court in convention rooms. Dozens of theme-appropriate vendors attend. There are movie screenings plus Q&A sessions and panel discussions with actors, authors, and other spook specialists.
The rock is at the Palladium. Acts with a distinct streak of shock in their music play at multi-band marathon concerts. RevCo headlines today, Type O Negative and the Misfits are the big draws tomorrow, and Insane Clown Posse (which tries to book its tours to coincide with this event) tops the bill Sunday.
When the festival first started, there were distinct rock crowds and shock crowds, Migliozzi said. “Now the majority buy combo tickets,’’ she said. “And the bands love being part of the convention. A lot of them come hang out at the convention at the DCU.’’
Rock and Shock remains unique among horror shows because of its strong music component and two-site set-up, Barbare said. Because of that, the event has become a tradition among fans - which, he said, helped lure McDowell, Landis, and Bernsen.
McDowell’s iconic performance as Alex DeLarge in the 1971 Stanley Kubrick adaptation of “A Clockwork Orange’’ forever secured the veteran actor’s place among fans of the macabre and bizarre. Though his career spans a variety of roles, he said the shocking ones “find me.’’ McDowell appears in both of Rob Zombie’s “Halloween’’ remakes.
McDowell is not especially drawn to the horror genre, nor does he make a habit of appearing at conventions, doing two or three shows per year. He does, however, consider himself a product of rock ’n’ roll culture, which made Rock and Shock an intriguing invitation.
“In London in the 1960s I was a part of the rock ’n’ roll culture,’’ said McDowell, who will conduct a Q&A session tomorrow at 6 p.m. “I was friends with a lot of musicians, and always felt a part of that scene, and I think I was making movies that were akin to rock ’n’ roll.’’ (His roles in “if. . .’’ and “Caligula’’ certainly provide evidence.)
Just as a rock attitude shaped some of McDowell’s shock-inducing performances, horror film inspired many rock bands.
“Part of it’s aggression; part of it’s fiction. The two combine well. Just look at the Republican Party,’’ cracked Al Jourgensen, the longtime leader of Ministry who is now at the helm of 13th Planet Records. A slew of bands from the label he started appear on the soundtrack to the 2008 horror flick “Wicked Lake,’’ and Jourgensen said he’d like to do more soundtrack work for horror projects.
Alongside the dread and despair he proffered with Ministry, Jourgensen in 1985 helped found Revolting Cocks, or RevCo, which likewise played a dark and twisted brand of industrial rock. A few years back he revived the RevCo brand and has since passed the torch to a group of younger musicians, who will unfurl new material at Rock and Shock.
Another key to Rock and Shock’s success is its focus on horror versus broader pop culture. This year there is a tribute to Lucio Fulci, the late Italian director known as “the Godfather of Gore.’’ Actors from his films will sit on a panel discussion of Fulci’s work at 2 p.m. tomorrow, and his film “The Beyond’’ will be shown Sunday at 3 p.m.
Horror authors Jack Ketchum and Joe Knetter will speak tomorrow, and artist Paul Romano, whose epic-invoking designs grace the covers of Mastodon’s albums, will be there.
Director John Landis has a Q&A session tomorrow, where the conversation will likely turn to “An American Werewolf in London.’’ That film successfully bridged horror and comedy. Hmmm, is there another festival idea in there?
