12/31/08 - Well another year winds down. The snow is finally melting in Seattle and my facial swelling is going down. Seems appropriate. At Christmas dinner I was chewing on a piece of our Traditional Christmas Salmon Dinner when my tooth popped and started aching. Had a hard time getting to sleep as the pain increased through the evening. The next day I had to pick up my Niece at Sea-Tac Airport and my face was on fire! I took some left over high powered prescription Tylenol from a previous tooth ache- which got me through the day. By Sunday I knew I had to see a dentist, but being a small business owner my wife and I have no dental benefits. I ended up going to a clinic which netted me a prescription of antibiotics. As I was watching the Clint Eastwood Marathon on AMC a big infection blister on my gums popped and I ran to the bathroom spitting out gobs of infectious puss in the sink. Lovely. Didn’t get too much work done this last week. Finished and uploaded The Invisible Surfers CD artwork and did a little to the Special Features Disc for version two of Hot Rod Girls Save The World. Lets see what happens next year...

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12/23/08 - More snow yesterday. Our cars are trapped behind a three foot snow bank created by recent passes of the Snow Plows. So my wife and I went on foot to Safeway last night to buy the kids their stocking stuffers and rent a few movies. We rented the new Death Race- an excellent film, but it should have been called Twisted Metal Armageddon Prison. It had nothing in common with the original Death Race 2000 plot wise, other than the main characters pseudonyms of Frankenstein and Machine Lots of cars with guns action and even a cameo Mopar Billboard sign. Looks like Ford and Chrysler sponsored the film. I also started work on my new D.A. Sebasstian & The Inner demons CD. This one is a Punk, Blues and Surf mix that should be out sometime next year. I intend on using some of the tracks for my next film that we hopefully shoot next summer.

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12/21/08 - Another night of snow in North Seattle- around seven solid inches of the white stuff. These two pics were taken from just outside my Recording Studio. Also got some time in on the new KsK music video for Killing Machine featuring vocalist Super Amanda. This song is featured prominently in Hot Rod Girls Save The World and the music video will be on the Special Features Disc of the Second Edition version of the film.


12/20/08 - The Invisible Surfers CD cover art with the lovely Melinda Miles on it is finished. Photo by the ever talented David Hickey who also shot the Wild Ride! CD covers. The music is a blistering mix of surf, rock, punk and a little metal. Very original stuff. "Till That Day" comes out March 2009 on Go-Kustom Rekords.

12/19/08 - Another heavy dumping of snow in Seattle. Nothing like other parts of the U.S., but Seattle doesn't have the infrastructure to scrape and salt the roadways and all major roads get heavy travel- so three inches of snow quickly turns to pure black ice. When I was living in Maryland, the winters were much more snow laden and I don't ever remember this kind of ice on the roads. Plus Seattle has massive hills so even 4x4's occasionally slide sideways and backwards into oncoming traffic. Fun.
Heard some dire predictions by Gerald Celente on Coast To Coast AM last night. America in a total Depression bigger than the last one, with a possible American Revolution and the break-up of the U.S. into smaller nation states. Everything he said makes complete sense and I guess only time will tell. Hmmm...the North West America (N.W.A.) Kinda like it. Oregon, Idaho, Washington, then maybe B.C. could break out of Canada and join. Celente's reasoning for America to break apart would be a total melt down of our central government from lack of money to pay the bills. Thus people seek help in State Governments and Coalitions. Do the States really need the Federal Government? Who would get the Nukes? Like when the Soviet Union broke apart, Russia and Ukraine got the bulk of the nuclear weapons. Interesting scenario.


12/18/08 - Let it snow! Another wave of snow hit North Seattle. This one is now on top of the ice from the last snow fall. Most people got a snow day. We took the dogs for a long walk and hung out.

12/14/08 -The Hot Rod Girls Save The World DVD just posted to Amazon.com and last night Seattle just got a little dumping of snow. We were sliding all over the icy roads on the way to picking up our Christmas Tree from Ye Olde Home Depot. Also watched a cool flick last night called Six String Samurai. Starts slow, but ends nice. This film would be a good double feature with Hot Rod girls Save The World.

12/13/08 - America The Complacent
Help me!!! Help me!!!, Cried the greedy fat cats on Wall Street. And so the misguided American Taxpayers gave (not willingly) the banks and predatory lenders who had wrecked the worlds economy- big BIG money so they could have a good Christmas bonus after all. But that was not enough.
Help me!!! Help me!!! Cried the mismanaged American Car Companies. But this time the Senate & Congress were a little less willing. They had seen the money they had given to the financial institutions had been spent on vacations and bonus packages. But then the lame duck American President gave the Auto Makers the money anyway.
Have you ever given money to a street person- damn well knowing that they were gonna spend every last dime on booze or drugs? Are you really helping that person? By the same means are we we really helping the economy? Not at all. We are only prolonging the inevitable collapse. We are in deep shite. We all know it- but want things to stay the same. Like keeping the cable on when you can't put food on the table. Like making retro cars when you can't think of anything new to build (don't get me wrong- I like the new Challenger and Mustang but much more is needed to make a viable car business). Like building SUV's and creating marketing campaigns to make people think they need one. Why? Because the mark up is greater, the profit is bigger for the Automaker. The larger the car, the more money there is to be made. It also becomes a safety issue. When one third of the cars on the highway are Trucks or SUV's that can crush a small car on impact, we all want one just to protect our family. Personally I feel safer driving our giant GMC 15 Passenger van than our Dodge Caravan. Especially when I'm in our Dodge and a fat chick with cell phone and latte in hand driving her Suburban or Escalade cuts us off laughingly at 70MPH! So everyone gets the SUV, everyone pays for the extra gas and when the credit crunch comes and the gas prices sour to $5.00 a gallon (because of quick fortunes made in oil futures trading) people can't buy the SUV or make the payments on the one they already have. Stumble. The American car companies can't make an affordable, gas miserly well built little car. Ohh well. Capitalism is still what we claim as our birth right. So now the hung over Big Three saunter over (in Corporate Jets no less) to Uncle Sam's house to ask for a quick handout- "Just to tide me over for a few months Unc...then I'll be good. Trust me man, just trust me."

In 2005 our bought used 1987 Dodge Caravan (not the one we have now) was ready to go. Our mechanic had just fixed the water pump and said it was time for a new ride. Being a Mopar guy and wanting to test drive a new Dodge Magnum, the family headed over to our local Dodge Dealer to look- not to buy, just to look at a few cars. The seduction began the moment we touched the Dealership Parking Lot Pavement. After driving a fully loaded Magnum AWD SXT with the big six we knew we wanted one, but were shocked by the sticker price. $38,000! This wasn't even the high performance R/T. No DVD player, no nav system. We started to walk. Then we got handed over to the closer. "Just take it home for the night...leave your Caravan here. We will cut you a deal. How about a Lease?" After trying to leave twice, but still heavily under the Magnum's hypnosis (they are excellent cars) we signed onto a lease agreement. We went this route as the Dealership Financial Guy told us that if we ever needed to return the car under the lease we would only have to pay a "small fee" and all would be good. We quietly examined the paperwork and all looked as he said. Some predators are very good at exploiting their preys weaknesses. Fast forward two years. When our small school business started to have a downturn, we just couldn't afford the Magnums $680.00 a month in lease payments. As much as we loved the car we had to returned it. Chrysler Financial quickly informed us that we had to pay $11,000 to do so! I scoured the paperwork and could not find any mention of "paying the complete vehicle cost upon return." This was the last nail in our personal bankruptcies coffin lid. Thank you local Dodge Dealership! Thank you Ma Mopar! That's what I get for brand loyalty and buying American!

Footnote: That particular Dealership lost it's Dodge franchise when Chrysler consolidated it various brands. Now it's a used car lot! Hallelujah! Chrysler Financial is in deep shite and had to stop doing their signature predatory lease deals. Karma can kill!

I say let the all lyin' bastards die! We need new blood, new car companies, new politics, new political parties (at least three more real contenders) and a new American attitude. Turn off the cable and buy some friggin' food for your family! For God's sake! Sacrifice- American was built on it. Go back to your communities. Pull your money out of the big corporations and put it into small, local banks and businesses. That is the only way we can survive this mess completely generated by high level, closed door greed and corruption. I think the only real out of the Auto Mess is to encourage the UAW to buy the big three, fire management and move forward. But that won't ever happen. Otherwise GM needs to file bankruptcy, Chrysler needs to partner with Nissan or Volkswagen and Ford...who knows, their complete financial situation seems to be a secret.

I know guys who build their own cars using parts from junk yards and Schucks. They are called Beaters and Rat Rods, they run decent and get their owners to work everyday. I know guys who make their own gas- out of old french fry grease and yard waste. Baby steps. Walk before you run. Back to the basics. You don't deserve that big house anyway, not when your neighbor is starving just two doors down bro. If you wait too long and let him suffer too long, he will get a gun and then take your house away from you. It is the American Way.

12/12/08 - Sold out of the first run of the Hot Rod Girls Save The World DVD in one week! More are coming in. Also finalized the KsK Soundtrack for Hot Rod Girls Save The World. We should have them in and ready to ship by middle of next month.

12/11/08 - First review for the Hot Rod Girls Save The World DVD. Also R.I.P. Miss Betty Page. You were the Goddess of the Pin-Up World Thank You Daniel Strohl! See below.

12/06/08 - Orders for the Hot Rod Girls Save The World DVD are rolling in! We haven't started any promotion yet, so that could be a good sign. Also my tooth is hurting, one of my molars cracked a chunk off and now it's throbbing on occassion. We lost our dental plan several years ago when I quit my day job to help my wife full time. Small business need affordable dental plans. Are you listening Mr. Obama?

11/30/08 - Workinmg on the KsK Soundtrack album for Hot Rod Girls Save The World.

11/24/08 - I sent off four Screener DVD packages to Film Festivals for our new film Hot Rod Girls Save The World. One to SIFF (Seattle International Film festival), AIFF (Ashland International Film Festival), The Backseat Film Festival (Philly) and SXSW Film Festival. Ordered some more posters for a store display I am setting up for the film and printed out cards for DVD counter top display stands (the nuts and bolts of owning a film company). I also screened several great short films for my own Hot Rod Monsters Film Festival I'm putting on in Seattle July 2009. They were In The Event Of A Zombie Attack, Rock Zombies, The Cleaner and The Blind Date Of Coffin Joe. I also finished an article I'm doing for CK Deluxe about making Hot Rod Movies on the cheap.

11/23/08 - Just sent off Hot Rod Girls Save The World to Seattle International Film festival and SXSW Film Fesitivals. Its now official- I am a film maker with a completed film.

11/22/08 - Buy American or Die GM Die! So our American Automakers are in deep deep shite. And now they want us American Taxpayers to loan them $25,000 billion to what- keep them afloat for another six months? A year? GM is burning through one billion a month and can't seem to figure out how to sell a car anymore. Boo fucking hoo. They even were talking about buying Chrysler to get at their cash. Now- I love American cars, especially Chrysler products and seriously would not want even my most loathed auto brand, Chevrolet, to die. I love the competition between the big three, I love hating Chevy!
I DO BUY AMERICAN.
Recently we leased a 2005 Dodge Magnum and had it for several years. It was a wicked ride- turned heads all the time. Little hip hopsters and old folk would come up top me saying, "Cool ride!" or "What kind of car is that?" During the Seattle ice storms the AWD never failed and we drove that bad boy on two inch thick solid road ice for twenty miles to take a student to her stranded Mom. The big six got decent gas milage and I could actually haul smaller Home Depot purchases in the wagons back. But with payments of $700 a month, we had to give it back, when our Art School business took a big downturn. Of course the Dodge dealer had lied to us about returning the car and paying a small fee to do so. In the end Dodge wanted $10,000 to return the car! After we had put thousands down and made a total of $19,000 in payments. Ouch! However- I would still buy a Dodge (especially a new Challenger), but most people would rather have a Nissan, Toyota or Honda. And for good reason. American made automobiles are inferior. I hate to say that...but it is the truth. There was a time when American engineering, style and manufacture was the envy of the entire world. Now we are the laughing stock. Big bloated car companies that beg for cash at every recession. Pathetic. Granted business credit is tight right now, but that's what rainy day and slush funds are for. The problem is the American Corporation. Management of these company's are more concerned with stockholders and their bottom line than with the actual products they make. By worrying too much about Wall Street instead of making the best and right product, they have shot themselves in the foot- actually both feet.
LET THE AUTO UNIONS OWN THEM
I heard a very interesting proposal on Coast To Coast AM last week when an economic guru (name?) suggested that the UAW buy GM. Toss the Management and let the people make the cars and the decisions. How fucking cool is that! I think it could work. Apparently the UAW has enough in pension fund capital to make the purchase. I really don't think the workers are overpaid as some Management types suggest. I think that good product and pride in that product make a successful foundation for any company. We schooled the Japanese on this fact after the big WWII. Now we should attend a few of their company product/pride classes.
IS THIS THE END OF AMERICAN AUTOMOBILES?
No. Even if the big three die it is not the end. Remember Tucker? Packard? Hudson? Studebaker? Car companies come and go. Out of the current big threes corporate ashes- new life will emerge. Small companies making cutting edge autos. That could be the American way once again. Hennessy, Saleen and other small cottage and aftermarket auto performance car manufacturers could rekindle the business by making complete high performance green and fuel efficient vehicles. Hmmm...maybe I'll jump in. How about the new 2014 Sebasstian GT33?

11/20/08 - The Hot Rod Girls Save The World DVD just went on presale! The pressing plant said I should have them in hand by December 2nd. To buy one klick here.

11/18/08 - What a night! Thanks so much to everybody who came out last Saturday ( 11/15/08) to 911 Media Arts Center for our first private screening of Hot Rod Girls Save The World! Sorry to all the people who couldn't get tickets. I really didn't anticipate selling out the 75 seat theater in a week and a half! After nearly five years of work- it was an incredible feeling to see a room packed with people cheering, laughing and clapping to my little hot rod film. One of the best nights of my life! Judging by all the comments and e-mails I've received since the showing, and given the cross section of viewers who were there- I think we have an indie-hit on our hands! I won't count the chickens just yet, but it was a very good sign.
    I am hard at work right now authoring the Hot Rod Girls Save The World DVD. It takes 18 hours for my computer systems to compress and encode the movie files each time. If it's a bad burn then I have to do it all again. I am really trying to get it out for potential Christmas purchasers. It will be up on Amazon in several formats, sometime next month for $19.99. This is the first edition and will have no special features on the disc. You will be able to buy or download the movie as purchase or rental. Hot Rod Girls Save The World will be available both on the films website www.hotrodgirlssavetheworld.com and on Amazon.com. Look for it on Netflix sometime next year and at select rental store in the greater Seattle, Los Angeles and New York areas very early next year.
I am also working on a VLV screening and a "How To Make A Hot Rod Film" article for Car Kulture Deluxe.
Thanks again people!

11/06/08 - Why is Rockabilly & Psychobilly the music of choice for Kustom Kulture crowd? Seriously I am not an such an avid Rockabilly fan (so what- right?). I do love Johnny Cash, Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Patsy Cline, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison from the early days. Cramps and Reverend Horton Heat from the not so early days. Being a bassist- I really dig upright bass and I can appreciate the revival of the instrument, but I also use drum machines and computers to make my music (not always) and prefer Double Bass in Be-Bop Jazz most of all. My band Kill Switch...Klick was thrown into the "Industrial" genre bins back in the 1990's and pioneers from that genre like Public Image Ltd., Killing Joke and Ministry are some of my all time favorites, I mean "Jesus Built My Hot Rod" from Ministry has got to be one of the all time best drivin' song ever written! Al Jourgensen produced a fair amount of Reverend Horton Heat's music- so I guess there is a connection between Psychobilly and Industrial. I also understand that Hot Rods and Rockabilly got a cultural foothold in the1950's so that is their link culturally. But what about Blues and Be-Bop? Rat Fink seemed more Beatnik (or Beat for you purists) than Rocker. Where is all the Cool Jazz and Be-Bop? I would really dig going to a Kustom Car Show and hearing a Be-Bop Trio or hard edged Cool Jazz Combo for a change. I am hearing more Surf bands at events- which is definitely cool. I've got nothing against any Rockabilly or Psychobilly bands Mad Sin, Tiger Army, Wanda Jackson, The Roy Kay Trio, etc. rock harcore- this is more an open question. I guess as the scene morphs into something else the styles will change and open up. I think what I have a problem with is the "Packaged Deal." You know, "Hey everybody- I got a new car (Rat Rod I bought on eBay), a new haircut (I saw in a magazine), a new girlfriend (I found on Craigslist) and bought all these new CD's! I am now a scenester!" What the f'n crap is that? The difference would be the guy who discovers Eddie Cochran, cuts his hair cause he likes the way Eddie looks, finds his girlfriend on an Eddie Cochran Tribute Website, etc. That's the discovery, not the "Packaged Deal." And then again what about X, Misfits and Social Distortion? That's more where I come from, but that's Punk. You can't go wrong with Hardcore, but it would be hella hard for Chicas to mosh in their Poodle Skirts.
PROJECTS - Took delivery on a Fretless Squire (budget Fender line) Modified Jazz Bass today. Got it through American Musical Supply who has an excellent payment option, where you can use you debit or credit card to get equipment in 1/3rd installment payments. For example, I got my bass, that costs around $300 with shipping, for $100 down and then two more monthly payments of $100. You can't beat that with a stick! The bass has excellent build quality and is my first full scale electric fretless, so it's going to be challenge to get the fingering perfected. I wanted a more earthy bottom end for the Hot Rod Girls Save The World soundtrack.
HOT ROD GIRLS SAVE THE WORLD - Re-cut a key scene using a variation from the intro theme of the movie. The HRGSTW theme has various components. The main keyboard line that bounces from Eb to Bb, two different guitar hooks and a blues based rhythm guitar line. The guitar hooks will appear at various scene change points to remind the audience of the theme. The new variation is based on the main rhythm guitar line with an added minimal percussion back beat.

11/05/08- So I started a new blog on Blogger.com and will post it on several other sites. The blog is http://gokustom.blogspot.com It will be a duplicate of this page. Now I just have to figure out the workflow and format.

11/04/08- People Lemme Tell Ya!
Well this year was an easy one (at least election counting wise) and I actually picked a winner this time around. I have been cursed ( I knew I shouldn't have cut that damn gypsy lady off in the grocery store all those many years ago) since I first started voting back in the 80's- I'm 44 now. My track record is Dukakis, Perot, Perot, Nader, Kerry and now Obama. The curse is broken! Unless that lawyer cat (name?) I heard two nights ago on Coast To Coast AM wins his court case. Seems he thinks Obama does is not a naturalized citizen, does not have a birth certificate and is not eligible to be president. He has taken this to the Supreme Court. Check this www.clevelandleader.com/node/6524 I hope not. At least the f'n Republicans lost big time in many many races. I told my kids become anything but a Republican when you grow up. I'll visit you in jail for any crimes you commit, but won't give you the time of day if you become one of "them." In Seattle we have this jackass talk show host on KVI (I listen to KVI because of Coast To Coast AM- I can't stand Fox News owned radio stations) named Kirby Wilbur www.kvi.com/onair/kirby He was so sad on the radio. That made me smile. This guy is so "off" on everything he says- it was refreshing to hear him in that state. Realistically though we are in deep shite thanks to all the greedy fat fk's at/on/in/around the Wallstreet. Now what. Yes we can. Wait and see?

11/01/08- Revamping a few musical tracks for Hot Rod girls Save The World. Converting Final Cut pro files into Quicktime so I can edit the sound in Cubase.

10/31/08- Happy Halloween People! Hot Rod Girls Save The World it is in it's first completed form- finally!

10/16/08- Where did October go?!? Listening to Nick Drake this morning as I'm looking at the CNN online news pages. Sad sad sad. What happened to our country? We've turned into a bunch of selfish greedy little free market bitches. Upsidedown economic pyramid...my impoverished head hurts. More work last night on the Hot Rod Girls Save The World audio. The scenes I am working on now are live scenes without ADR. These are difficult because you want to keep the "room tones" but still be able to understand all the dialog. E.Q. and noise gates, back ground replacement.

10/11/08- My latest creation for the Hot Rod Girls Save The World sequel - Memories Of The Planet Earth.

10/09/08- I'm setting up a Film Festival for next year. Looking at venues right now and have narrowed it down to two.

10/04/08- Power went out in the studio. Took my basic system home to set up a draft proposition for a possible premier for Hot Rod Girls Save The World. Still working on the audio for the film. Revamped the intro song for the film to a slower tempo. After repeated views I started to feel; that the guitars were distracting from the opening sequence. About Wallstreet and the fuckheads running (destroying) our economy- everyday I feel more and more that Karl Marx was right.

09/27/08- More audio work on the film. Most of the ADR that has been recorded in the studio (not on location) has been exported and mastered. Some still needs some attention. The audio is taking a bit longer than anticipated. Not so much because of the work involved, but because of the day job and outside forces (overflowing toilets- four in our facility, taxes, etc.). I was also able to finish the first version of the Official Hot Rod Girls Save The World Movie Poster. I had talked with several outstanding artists to do the poster, but without much money on my part it just wasn't feasible. So I did it myself. After much internal debate, I decided to go with the "Ghost Rod" I had initially used for the promotional DVD's. I did change the title font and added the faint outline of eyes of Shawn Shelton's "The Stranger" character to the Hot Rod interior. I think this first version will be effective. I also made sure that the original is at the correct 27 x 41 standard movie one sheet print size. The version that is available on Cafe Press is a reduced 23 X 35 size (their biggest poster available). SIDE NOTE: THE ECONOMY. This is fucked up!!! I do not agree with bailing out these greedy mismanaged institutions. AIG got in trouble for co-signing on risky debt to bolster the creds of certain financial coporations to get money they eventually couldn't pay. Polls show 80 percent of Americans don't want to bail these bastards out. So why are they (congress et al.)?!?! Because they are all in bed together. This has got to stop. I woul drather storm a full blown depression than keep blowing wind into these ass wipes golden parachutes. Let them burn!!!

09/21/08- Finished the new ambient KsK CD called Nominal. Now I know what your thinking- why are you making CD's when you should be working on the audio portion of Hot Rod Girls Save The World? Honestly the music contained on Nominal is actually test ambiences for HRGSTW. Some of the sound textures will make it into the film. When I write these "pieces" I make them extended so I can find accidental sonic moments (thank you John Cage) that work for different scenes. As I was looking at the length of the piece I thought I could throw this on a CD. So I did. I also finished a quick article for CK Deluxe of the Rat Bastards Car Club Infestation at the Triple X Root Beer Drive-in a few weeks ago in Issaquah. I also completed multiple ADR Dialog Scenes for HRGSTW. Once the Actors ADR is mastered and compressed, I will move onto the "live dialog" which should be a task. So off topic- we are going to pay One Trillion Dollars (I heard that this morning on NPR- thats the total bailout of all the recent failing financial institutions) to bail out financial institutions that made big mistakes loaning money to other firms and individuals who can not pay it back? And the IRS is harpin' on me because I still owe a few thousand bucks for my 2005 return? This upside down pyramid has got to crumble. Capitalism...yeah.

09/19/08- As I was laying tracks for ambient audio for Hot Rod Girls Save The World I realized I had enough audio to make another KsK CD. This One will be another ambient one with a working title of "Nominal." Should be out by end of the year. Sterile, Ugly .Noises and now Nominal are all by products of the movie. Also rented the new Speed Racer for the kids last night. Wha' Happened? This film wasn't really about the cars. Alot of eye candy, but this one was not made by a car guy. You can tell. Mach 6? What the f'n crap is that? Speed loved the Mach 5, it was his daily driver and his race car. This movie treats it like he didn't care about the car other than it being a cgi prop in this film. In the cartoon he always got upset if the Mach 5 took a hit. It was his (and his fathers) dream machine. My review- The new Speed Racer is eye candy for the kids- but not true to it's original Anime-Gearhead mentality.

09/016/08- Financial meltdowns and I rented "Wild Guitar." The best "worst movie" I have ever seen. A must see.

09/05/08- Still pluggin' away at the Hot Rod Girls Save The World audio. Combined huge sections of alike tracks and now I am getting the dialog compressed and eq'ed. The backgrounds still need work.

09/01/08- Moved the studio to a new location. Smaller area but better acoustics. Also connected all my old MIDI keyboards to lay down extra Soundtrack instrumentation for Hot Rod Girls Save The World. Sent the film off to my first Festival with incomplete audio. Also found some issues with iTunes listings of KsK - It & All. Seems some of the song files are listed correctly, the time is correct, but the files have no audio content. This was a complicated CD because of the seven discs. CD Baby has it listed as one Box Set and one download. iTunes needed seven separate CD's and downloads. More chances for errors through the data transfer process. I think we will have it fixed in a few weeks.

08/17/08- The family and I sat back to do a film review of Hot Rod Girls Save The World. Pretty damn good, but I think it slows down too much in the middle, so I am reorganizing the time lines. Essentially the film has three separate stories. One is Vanessa Trojan the stories narrator, the second is Buhgabaa the Alien Boy and the third is Detective Lloyd the "almost hero." All three converge at the the end to a really excellent climax- however Buhgabaa's timeline gets bunched up in spots so I am working on scene sequence to make the film smoother. The audio is much better than I thought. Minimal work there.

08/15/08- A really good review for Killing Machine in Ol' Skool Rodz #30.

08/14/08- Ever stick your foot in your mouth and then as your trying to pull it out you stick the other one in there too? I should start a club. The guys with two feet stuck in their mouth club. Danger Will Robinson Danger! Pull your feet out of your mouth Will Robinson Danger! I love Robbie The Robot. Back to reality- setting audio levels, consolidating audio effects and making slight changes to Hot Rod Girls Save The World in the timeline of Final Cut Pro. The film clocks in at 2 hours15 minutes right now with opening and end credits. I may cut a few scenes out or down to get it at the 2 hour mark. I send out HRGSTW to several Film Festivals next Monday. They said they will preview the film on DVD with the audio unpolished. So it begins. I am also looking at Video Projector to tour the film to colleges, clubs and small venues. With all the bands in the film- setting up band/film nights should be easy..

08/13/08- HOT ROD GIRLS SAVE THE WORLD - FINAL CUT!!!
Last night at 11:31 PM PACIFIC I completed the final edits to my indie-film Hot Rod Girls Save The World. I have put 100 % of my heart, soul and finances into this project for the last five years- including nearly every evening and weekend, a second mortgage on my house and anxiety medication for when I hear them there voices (Oh yeah baby!). I have had massive support from friends, family and sometimes total strangers. I never dreamed it would take this long to finish...but here it is- over two hours worth of Campy Dialog, Cat Fights, Hot Rods, Aliens and Zombies!
We will start sending out to Film Festivals (over 250 of ‘em) next month after all the audio is sweetened and music polished. This film will not be on DVD until mid-late 2009 as we want to make a full festival run and tour of the film. First screenings are tentatively set for Seattle, WA Philadelphia, PA and Olympia, WA.

I just want to say thanks for all your support and see you at the f’n movies!

D.A. Sebasstian

P.S. Extra special shout outs to Jones Soda, The Rat Bastards, Chrysler/Mopar Performance and CK Deluxe Magazine! .

08/09/08- Sent Ugly.Noises off to the pressing plant. Man this has been a productive year for me- recording wise. Ugly.Noises, Sterile, Hemi Charger, House Party, Wild Ride! and the It & All collection..

08/08/08- Spent the last two days creating a complete DVD Burn back-up of my second 500 Gig hard drive. Had to change out discs every 15 minutes with a total of 91 DVD discs! Slept by the computer. Summer Olympics started today. Also using my second computer I finished up the new KsK album Ugly.Noises. The cover art is a picture I took at a local park of some kind of dead animal. The crows had picked it clean. Looks like a rat or small possum..

08/05/08- Down to one scene to edit to complete the final cut of HRGSTW! After that comes audio sweetening and then cutting the film down to a less than two hour festival version..

07/27/08- Assembled another huge block of HRGSTW . Now the light is quite bright at the end of the tunnel. The Intergalactic Space Pod sequence (pics above) was labor intensive with multiple animated layers and green screen issues. I recommend DV Matte Pro for anyone doing green screen work in Digital Video. It is amazing. .

07/24/08- Jimmi Davies (Detective Lloyd) came over to the studio to do some ADR for HRGSTW. That's it. All the ADR is complete for this film. .

07/06/08- Finished another block of editing for HRGSTW. Now I only have 8 scenes left to cut!!! What am I going to do with the finished film. Also got a new pre-release disc from The Invisible Surfers...such a great fucking surf band! Also got a nasty cold, snotty, sore throat, the works..

07/03/08- one of my sy studio walls..

06/30/08- Shaved my head. Nice in the Seattle heat. Hair is kinda a vanity thing...so say the Buddhist Monks (not the band- the religious practitioners).. .

06/21/08- Rented The Source from Block Buster Online- a film about The Beats and Beat Generation. Very well made. i'm on a Jack Kerouac trip again. Above is a case I built for some of my Model and Die-Cast Cars. The walls of my recording studio and bedroom are covered with 1/64th scale Hot Wheels, Johnny Lightning and Matchbox cars as well. Is this a treatable disease? Also caught the end of Repo Man on Starz Channel this morning. They have the same kinda Biohazard Guys in that film that I have in Hot Rod Girls Save The World. I must have inadvertently borrowed the idea- as I saw Repo Man right when it came out in the 1980's. Still I didn't remember the Biohazard Guys until I saw it again today. HRGSTW is definitely the same kind of Dark Comedy that Repo Man is- maybe if you mixed Clerks with Repo Man and a little Dawn Of The Dead you'd come up with a recipe for the attitude Hot Rod Girls Save The World. I don't know...I'm just talkin' out my ass. I need to get back to the editing..

06/20/08- A 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T I turned into a convertible and again the Funny Car Charger. The Cornet tires and rims are from a stock car. .

06/19/08- My latest creation. I kit bashed a 1967 stock Dodge Charger model kit with a Plymouth Duster Funny Car Kit (Cop Out) to make a '67 Dodge Charger Funny Car. The hardest part was cutting the blower opening in the windshield. I broke three windshields in the process. Building model car kits is one way I blow off steam from sitting at my computer editing Hot Rod Girls Save The World all day. If I had the money and shop space- I'd be build 1/1 scale cars not 1/25th scale. .

06/17/08- Strange but almost everyday when I look at the clock in the late afternoon it's 4:26...what does it mean? Have I trained myself to look at the clock at that particular time? Do I have a Vintage Era Hemi in my future? It's odd..

06/16/08- More scenes and blocks of editing finished for HRGSTW. We currently look good for a September screening of the film in Seattle..

06/06/08- June and the weather feels like March. Rain and more rain. Good weather to drink coffee and work on your computer. Shipped off The Best Of Go-Kustom TV Volume Five & Six today. This is the third DVD in a series featuring various interviews and footage from various pin-up models, car show attendees, music festivals and more. I have also been kickin' out the scenes for Hot Rod Girls Save The World. When the three scene block is edited by this upcoming weekend- I will have the first 50 minutes of the film are rough cut and assembled! The last 12 Scenes are also assembled and in series as well and a big middle portion. It exciting seeing this thing finally come together..

06/01/08- If I was gonna build a Rat Rod it'd be a 1933 Dodge Pick-Up with a 392 Hemi - Hilborn Stacks, White Wall Slicks, Old American Wheels, natural rust and orange stripes, chopped, slammed...maybe next year after we finish the '66 Charger Gasser . .

05/26/08- Three day weekend doing 2006 business and personal taxes (yea we're that far behind) and audio recording and mixing. Finished a cool little track called House Party for a scene in Hot Rod Girls Save The World. It will also be the title track of a new D.A Sebasstian & The Inner Demons E.P. called- what else House Party which should be out in a month. As soon as I finished the tracks I sent it off to the pressing plant. Rent "He Was A Quiet Man." Christian Slaters greatest performance of all time. Love the smack talking goldfish too. CGI with an attitude. Also a good rental is the Russian made "Daywatch" and "Nightwatch" films. P.S. Thats my '67 Dodge Monaco on the CD Cover..

05/22/08- Completed a series of Scenes for HRGSTW, including the Dahmer Gang fight sequence. This one was difficult because it had to sync to an extended version of my tune Hemi Charger. Punches on the beats, that kind of thing. Onward to the next Scene!.

05/10/08- Laying in some ADR that Lindsay Calkins did a week ago. Also started shopping for Seattle area venues for our September 2008 screening of Hot Rod Girls Save The World. I can't believe this film is almost done!.

05/10/08- Completed Scene 57- crazy Rat Rod driving scene with the Affected Jason character. Sections of HRGSTW vaguely remind me of a budget version of A Clockwork Orange. Influences are hard to shake I guess..

05/06/08- Scene 56 is now complete. This one has been in the "to do" pile for ages. 56-61 is a very cool- but labor intensive section of the film where Buhgabaa telepathically examines a dead body to find out it belongs to Jason, who has become affected by the destrukto-ray and kills his boss to steal a rat rod. Whew! Because it is a type of flashback- I did the scene with a colorized effect to distinguish it from the day to day Black & White sections of the film..

05/05/08- I've got seventeen years of sobriety today! So that means I am 44 (years old)-16(years old before I started drinking) = 11 years drunk or 1/4 of my life..

05/04/08- Lindsay Calkins came over to the studio to finish all her ADR for HRGSTW. She is the lead and now has completed all her dialog replacement! .

05/01/08- It's Mayday Comrades!.

04/21/08- Scene 9 for HRGSTW is all completed except ADR. Two weeks of rendering- yikes! .

04/18/08- Dee Dee our cat. I found this on a tail end of a clip I was editing. Ain't she purdy? It also snowed today..in April! Along with the snow we got a mix of hail and frozen rain. Giant tree branches all around the neighborhood (including several in our yard) collapsed into the street and driveway. When the snow sticks and then frozen rain lays on top the weight can bee too much for the tree and crash! .

04/17/08- Soooo- got the Hemi Charger E.P. Shipped off to the pressing plant, as well as Discs 1 and 2 of the KsK - It & All Box Set (man...that ones gonna be expensive for 7 CD's per Box Set!). The It & All cases are cool. I ordered them from US Plastic and look like a DVD case with page leaves that hold the discs like plastic book pages. Scene 9 from HRGSTW is almost finished. These animated scenes take forever in rendering time. You make one adjustment and then have to let the computer render all night. If the change looks wrong- you have to do it all over again!.

04/13/08- Multi-tasking again. As I am rendering a heavily animated Scene 9 of HRGSTW, I finished up the covers (with Super Amanda's blessings) for the Hemi Charger E.P. due out in two months. I wanted something dramatic (like the song) with my 1/25th scale Hemi Charger Gasser model in the background and a still of Super Amanda from the "Killing Machine" video shoot we did a few weeks back, in the foreground. This E.P. features three vocal versions of Hemi Charger as well as two completely instrumental versions. Two earlier mixes of Hemi Charger will also appear on Disc 6 of the KsK box set "It & All" due out by summer 2008..

04/04/08- Finsihed the modified version of Scene 8 for HRGSTW. Also check out another of my Ramcharger truck illustations. P.S. Battlestar Galactica starts a new and final season tonight! the best show on TV in my opinion. I wish Lucas would have had this kind of character interplay on his second trilogy set! .

04/01/08- More of the '67 Ramcharger. As I am waiting for computer #1 to render movie files (Scene 8 has mucho animation) I swing around and doodle on computer #2. That's where the Ramcharger Trucks came from. So I am not wasting time playing in Photoshop when I should be editing my movie. I am doing both. I am also able to work on music for the film while the movie files are rendering. I had to get two Macs going for that reason..

03/30/08- What if Dodge had made a direct competitor to the Chevrolet El Camino and Ford Ranchero? Here's my first rendering of what it might look like. I did this in a few minutes in Photoshop. Maybe they would have called it a Ramcharger (a name later used on Dodge's early SUV's). I should build a real one..

03/29/08- Completed Scene 26 of HRGSTW and both solos for both preliminary versions Hemi Charger. Work work work work....

03/23/08- Happy Easter Peoples! The Mrs. and I filmed at Slims Last Chance in Georgetown last night. The Pin-Up Angels put on a Burlesque, Pin-Up Contest and rock show with Mercury Four (excellent Seattle surf band) and Billy Dwayne & The Creepers (local rockabilly faves) performing sets. The place was packed! I also finsihed rough arrangements and mixes of the tunes Hemi Charger (new KsK) and House Party (new D.A. Sebasstian & Inner Demons). Busy as always....

03/17/08- Had an extremely productive weekend with You Tube starlet Super Amanda. We flew her out to do vocal work on Hemi Charger (with KsK), House Party (with D.A. Sebasstian & The Inner Demons) and Listless (with KsK) as well as an interview spot for Go-Kustom TV (interviewed by Miss Piper), a pick-up scene for Hot Rod Girls Save The World (with pin-up vixen Hot Rod Heidi) and a music video for the song she recently sang- Killing Machine (also a tie-in for HRGSTW). She's an incredibly talented, friendly and vivacious lady! She has also graciously agreed to begin working for Go-Kustom Rekords as A&R Representative. Super Amanda Rocks!!!.

03/10/08- Vetala Hawkins finsihed the cover for the next surf compilation called Go-Kustom Goes Surfin'. Miss Piper is on the cover.

03/09/08- We did a multi-part interview with Hot Rod Heidi and Co. for her multiple-endeavors. She is an active Pin-Up Angel (supporting the troops with care packages), owns a Vintage Clothing Store and with her husband owns Sunken Ship Tattoo in Everett. Look for these interviews on the our You Tube Pages and on the Best Of Go-Kustom TV 5 & 6..

03/05/08- Ironing out the intro sequence for Hot Rod Girls Save The World. This is a tough one because I am trying to have a cohesive backstory running against the opening credits. Also the disc recovery service says they have retrieved all my missing files. Seasonal allergies kicked in as well. Argggghhhh. I'm trying acupuncture this year along with over the counter meds and tons of Vitamin C. .

03/02/08- had fun promoting Hot Rod Girls at the Seattle Roadster Show. We gave out hundreds of Promo Postcards, CD's and Buttons. Had an excellent response to the little console TV (we found the day before sitting by the roadside- score!) running various scenes from the movie- that we had set up with the Rat Bastards Hot Rods display. Thanks Tony and The Rat Bastards!.

03/01/08- R.I.P. Jack Bradley- AKA "The Maverick Man.".

02/27/08- What a crazy assed few weeks! I can either look at this month of February as a month of very hard life lessons or just as the month the shit hit the fan. First off I'm trying to coordinate a new Editor (H.Jeff Vaughn III- who is doing a great job BTW) to get Melinda Miles new Interview done and up on You Tube, whilst I continue to Edit Hot Rod Girls Save The World, finish contracts and cover art for the new Wild Ride! Hot Rod Surf Compilation, oversee the production of the new KsK CD - Sterile, keep promoting the KsK / Super Amanda E.P. Killing Machine with mail outs, train a new A&R gal and finish getting promo items ready for an upcoming car show. Whew! So all this is going on and then my wife has to send clients from her business to collections. This is something we both talk long and hard about- but seeing as they legally owe us the money and are refusing to pay, we decide to go with sending them in. It is no easy decision. Both of us have been on the receiving end of many collection agencies and don't want to do this to others, but if we don't they will not pay and this hurts her business drastically. This sets in motion dozens of angry meetings (from the client side) and nasty phone (from the client side- one gal says she is going to “box us up.”) calls etc. Police lawyers and stress. This is an added stress we both really don't want or need right now, however we stand our ground. This eventually works out. Most pay before going to the collections agency. Next comes the hard drive debacle. I have multiple back ups of all my files including DVD burns of core files. A few weeks ago, I decide to do a new drive back-up of files- I don't know why I just thought I should. This makes three copies of most files. I go to Staples and ask for a 500 gig Firewire External Drive. I get home and see the gal handed me a 500 gig USB2 Drive. I could have taken it back, but decided it wasn't worth the gas. I mean how slow could a USB drive be? Like Molasses on a cold day! I proceeded to back up all second tier files and all was good. The day after the back-up my main 1T drive takes a dump. What luck! Nothing is lost. My primary back-up drive is in good order. Just to be on the safe side- I order two new 500 gig Firewire Drives from Mac Mall to have doubles (and in some cases triples) of everything. Monday morning, the 25th, I power up my back-up drive to work on some editing. It is dead! Shite! Four hours later my new drives come UPS, but it is four hours too late! I panic. Two drives in 1.5 weeks! Lightning striking in the same place twice- you betcha! I had done a complete DVD burn of all the files last year and then updates last summer, but that was six months ago. After two days of loading the new drives, it turns out I am only missing a hand full of newer Audio files, and the only reason I didn't make a triplicate copy of them, was because of how damn slow the USB drive was! A comedy of errors. I am currently waiting to see if I can recover the data or get the drives repaired. Two dead drives with the one file folder I need on it- or three months of lost work including key ADR work! Moral of the story. Triplicate everything and make multiple DVD cross burn copies of all files if you can! Toast 7 & 8 work great for Mac users just for this purpose..

02/12/08- Updated the Wild Ride! Compilation cover..

02/10/08- Finished scenes 63, 65 & 67..

02/03/08- Lindsay "Piper" Calkins came to the studio (now officially Die-Cast Studio) to do some ADR on multiple scenes for Hot Rod Girls Save The World. Also put together a quick ambient CD of reworked tracks I originally created for HRGSTW. These are different than the actual soundtrack, more extended and less arranged. The new disc is called KsK - Sterile. Five tracks over 70 minutes long! Packaging is minimal with no panel card insert and a blank tray card. Small text on the disc itself. I am going back to calling Kill Switch...Klick, "KsK" like we did back in 1996. Our label at the time urged us to keep the full name on the CD Covers to avoid confusion, however most of our friends and peers referred to the band as KsK..

01/30/08\- Burning new trailers of Hot Rod Girls Save The World to send to several Festivals that solicited us. Seems the word is out about the movie. Now I just have to finish the damn thing!.

01/29/08\- More editing of Scene 73..

01/25/08- Working on Scene 73. Almost done, but the last bit is like a mini-music video. Multiple edits that have to sync to the music track. I think music videos are harder (most times) to cut than standard indie-film fare. Mostly due to the compactness of the edits and the music as the timeline aspect. The scene looks brilliant though. Lindsay Calkins gave an excellent performance as a frustrated woman reporter who finally snaps. She did an incredible job on this film. She was so dry, nonchalant and simply perfect as Vanessa Trojan I couldn't have asked for a better lead for Hot Rod Girls Save The World..

01/22/08- Finished the covers for two new Go-Kustom Rekords Compilations Wild Ride! (a Hot Rod Surf Compilation) and Pent-Up Boxed-In (a Rockabilly & Psychobilly Compilation). These are two of the four CD's Go-Kustom is releasing in '08. The other two are the KsK boxed set It & All (see below) and Go-Kustom Goes Surfin' (which is almost ready to go) but needs a cover. Love that surf music!.

01/20/08- New Go-Kustom Films intern Jeff Vaughn came over to work on a Melinda Miles interview for Go-Kustom TV. Learnin' and cuttin' he got most of the basic interview done in one day!.

01/19/08- Mike DItmore came over to the studio (now officially called Die-Cast Studios because of my massive Hot Wheels collection on the walls) to lay down some drum and cymbal tracks for the KsK Klassiks "Listless" & "Big Dub." Both these songs were in the very early set list of Kill Switch...Klick, but never made it to an officially recorded album. A few bootleg videos exist of the songs, as well as some demo tapes that former Virgin Records Publishing mogul Russell Ziecker paid for, but that's about it. I found the old sequencer tracks on a VHS tape (that's how we used to perform the songs- instead of dragging our keyboards on stage for the backing tracks, I would dump them to Hi-Fi Stereo VHS tape and run the tapes with video sync'ed images as well). Anyway I re-recorded the tracks into Cubase and Mike laid down the new percussion. I still have to do vocals and will have Super Amanda do some guest work on both next month when she comes to Seattle to do the video for Killing Machine. These songs will be on It & All (see below) out later this year..

01/18/08- Finally finished Scene 75 for HRGSTW..

01/16/08- Still pluggin' away at Scene 75. I had alot of issues with continuity between takes. I think I made it work though. .

01/15/08- Lap Dancer Mentality- I recently pulled the Go-Girls pages from this website for several reasons. One was I was getting inundated with queries from young ladies wanting me to make them into a pin-up starlets, many of whom had no experience and only amateur pictures with no inclination to pay a real photographer to take some decent ones. The other reason has to do with a realization of a growing Lap Dancer Mentality among many young (and not so young) women. What gave me this realization was during a routine coffee stop a few weeks back. I was driving a different way one morning and pulled into a little parking lot drive thru coffee hut. This coffee stand was under new ownership and I hadn't been to it for years. As I pulled to the window I was shocked to see a very pretty stripper type girl in only short shorts and pasties! My first thought was, "this can't be legal- can it." The guy side of my brain was instantly arouse (she was very pretty with very large store bought boobies), but the paternal side was like- "What the fuck, what if an unsuspecting family pulled in here. Now don't get me wrong, I think the human body is incredible and there are too many laws about nudity (especially on beaches) that don't always make sense. I also feel our American children are taught (through current media) that nudity is wrong and killing someone is OK (bass ackwards or what?) . Anyway as I bought my coffee and drove off I noticed how the barista's smile seemed forced and how she seemed vaguely uncomfortable. She would thrust her chest out talk loudly and then kinda sink into a more subdued tone. Like an actress who couldn't remember all her lines. Strange Maybe it was because it was hella cold outside and even with a heater blowing up her panties, she still had gooseflesh on her arms. Maybe she just didn't feel comfortable standing in a coffee hut being ogled by two lanes of guys in pick-up trucks. Was it a publicity stunt. I don't know. I hope she got shit loads of tips though. But what really bothered me was the exploitative factor of the situation. That Lap Dancer Mentality. Be nice to the guys, show some flesh, get the cash and get away. SO it was these thoughts rolling around in my head that led me pulling the Go-Girls pages. I will eventually put the Go-Girls links back up and we will have some scantily clad (but tasteful) gals on CD covers (I'm sure). I just want to make sure we keep on track as a Film and Rekord company, and leave the full on titillation to Playboy..

01/11/08- Took a two day break from the film editing so I could lay the ground work for the KsK Box Set entitled "It And All." Six CD's- including all the major Kill Switch...Klick recordings, plus the KCMU Live Room Sessions of 1994 and never before released oddball tracks. Should be out in a few months.

01/05/08- Put the finishing touches on two Chargers models I have building in the evenings at home using basic Charger kit bashed with various other model kits. One is a flying Charger the other is a Charger done Monster Truck style. What can I say...I like '66-'67 Chargers.

01/02/08- Besides my Mopar fanaticism (not spurned by the recent Barrett-Jackson Mopar desirability factor- my first car was a 1970 Dodge Challenger back in 1981), I also dig other underdog makes like AMC (technically now Mopar) , Mercury and Pontiac. All had great '60's racing programs and some awesome cars and drivers. Above is a '65 Mercury Comet Cyclone. I am also a sucker for the 1960's styling trend of stacked headlights (Fury, Galaxie, GTO, Marlin).

01/01/08- Happy New Years Day. This is also (God Willing) the year my first indie-feature film Hot Rod Girls Save The World hits the big screen.

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