Well, May 21st came and went without a single unusual casualty inflicted by either of the Horsemen. The epicenter of the Apocalypse seemed to be in the heart of New York City in Union Square. The wisest of the wise embraced New York City streets, dripping beer and various narcotics onto the pavement and floorboard of multiple bars. Alarms and sirens commingled with the chorus of singing Amish/Quakers/Shakers/Mormons (whatever affiliation they were) and the warnings of preacher men barking from behind the planted crucifix where people had funny photos taken of themselves. Later, a long-haired man, a blonde double of Jesus Christ from a Western hemisphere painting took to the crucifix and let his hands dangle there for onlookers to gasp at.

Foreboding clouds loomed nearby as the clock ticked closer to 6PM. It was then that I began to wonder, Which time zone is God in? Christians gathered across the street from Whole Foods and sang for Jesus while a nearby prayer station offered services for your soul…just in case. While taking pictures, a sudden creeping feeling came through to my brain and heart. People wearing colorful clothes danced in Union Square behind the Christian singers. Fake Jesus wandered near his cross, the prayer station, the preacher man, the people dressed as zombies lumbering by, and then the clouds, slowly pressing over us. My god, I thought. If the end were near, this is exactly how it would happen.

It was 5:57 pm. I perched myself on the cross, aimed my camera into the crowd to await the Rapture when a sudden chorus began counting down to zero. I realized that the end, if it was really coming, was only a few seconds away. When they reached zero, the crowd erupted into cheers:

New Year’s Eve Part II.

Osama bin Laden is Dead Part II.

The end of the world had run out of time. Perhaps deities above saved the day or perhaps the ramblings of an old man in need of some fast cash just got rich.

Afterwards, I looked for those Christians. The preacher man. Even Jesus but none were to be found. Taken by the light into Heaven? Shamefully retreated to their churches for heap loads of “what’s next?” Maybe…after all, how else is a church going to make 80 million dollars besides spreading false alarms about the end of the world? Back to the drawing board. Maybe next year they’ll bring on bigger dramatics by a hired hand from Universal Studios.

Last night, the Clic Bookstore and Gallery located in the Lower East Side housed a multitude of devoted fans and music lovers alike who all gathered to honor and be in the presence of one of music’s greatest chameleon’s, the world renowned singer/ songwriter and DJ, Moby. It was there that he unveiled and launched his latest album, book and photography exhibit, Destroyed.

Composed of photography by the enigmatic artist himself, Moby introduces fans to the often isolating world of touring, travel and time away from the familiar. His photographs set the tone and scene for his album of the same name, and plays like a soundtrack against the diverse imagery, all the while reflecting on Moby’s talented eye for the aesthetic. Both earnest and thought-provoking, Moby’s latest auditory and visual accomplishment is truly a brilliant collaboration to behold. Destroyed the exhibit, will be up for another month at Clic (255  Centre Street).

“Touring is all contrasts and strangeness, and that’s what I’m trying to convey in these pictures.” ~Moby

[CHECK OUT his innovative microsite where you can listen to the album and look at his pictures...it's right over HERE!]

I’ve never made it a secret. A Place to Bury Strangers is my favorite modern era band, which is evident due to all of the writing and photographs I’ve posted on the Dregs. Why? Because they consistently release great music that I like to call post-apocalyptic rock and roll. It’s not quite shoegazer. It’s not quite post-punk. It’s not quite anything else out there.

The band doesn’t really need an introduction, however if you’re hearing about them for the first time (where have you been???), I attached a link below this interview to a song I reference in the first question called “Girlfriend.”

I included a mistake that I made with one of my questions. I’ve included it here because the answer to my “mistake” is relevant.

We heard a lot of bad news coming from your last Euro tour but besides that, what were the positives? How did people react to some of your new songs (“Girlfriend”)?

Yeah a lot of things happened at the time that were pretty bad but it was ok, we all dealt with it ok and the tour was really rad anyways. I think the tension made some of the shows completely balls out over the top where we didn’t really give a fuck at that point and it was really great to just let loose trash everything every night. The people I talked to loved the new songs but usually you don’t get people talking to you telling you they suck so I dunno, I definitely saw a ton of people going nuts dancing for some of them so maybe? or maybe the lights were just dope.

Dion Lunadon

“Girlfriend” is a more of straight forward rock and roll than most of your past releases. Can we expect more of this from the next album?

The songs we have been writing are all very different from each other and we wrote so many I’m not sure what the overall direction is as of yet but there are some crazy over the top songs and some super mellow cloud songs and lots of other stuff too.  We are heavily experimenting and building a lot of stuff for this record so it is going to be a more of a sound roller-coaster than what we have done in the past.

Do you have a firm release date yet? If so, is there a title of the album that you could divulge?

We don’t have any date set at the moment other than we’d like to get it out this year but if its not ready at that time we’ll just take as long as it takes.

About how many songs have been recorded for it?

We’ve started about 20 or so songs actually recording them but most of them will change into something different before we finish them up. We will be recording a lot more as well.

Jay Weilmeister

Also we’re going to rewrite a lot of the new songs by performing on our tour for SXSW.

Your shows at Glasslands are becoming legend. How do they feel different for you than other performances?

I like Glasslands and I think it is the kind of place where you are right there with other people and not so much on a stage and that is always good. So that’s a bonus, if its early in the morning and in the middle of some town square that’s a big minus going for it but who knows the show could be good or bad besides that, those things just help.

[HERE'S MY BIG OOPS]

Steven! [the manager for A Place to Bury Strangers] I screwed up! Would it be too much trouble to have him re-answer question number 5? I meant Death By Audio. Not Glasslands. I’ll retype it here:

Your shows at Death by Audio are becoming legend.

Death By Audio

How do they feel different for you than other performances?

The shows at death by audio are definitely charged with something special for me. Since that is where i see most of the shows i go to it is a place of pure inspiration and you kind of want to put on the best show anyone has ever seen there. Italso doesn’t hurt all of our equipment is an arms reach away. I remember breaking  two guitars there one show and all i had to do was run into the other room and grab another. I doubt anyone even noticed!

Death By Audio is breaking ground for a lot of bands such as Young Boys and is one of the most genuine institutions for music in NYC. Do you find any similarities to CBGBs in the early ’70s?

I think there’s just a pretty good scene of people having shows in NYC so maybe more like there’s a lot of CBGBs’s around now.

Any plans to play in NYC in the near future?

Not that I know of. Invite us to come and play at your house.

[Note: The offer to come to my apartment and perform still stands, however we can only pay in peanuts and beer.]

02 Girlfriend by Mute UK

Joshua Hoffine gave us a few moments of his time to give us some info about his technique, his beginnings, and inspiration. Hoffine has been published in several publications such as Fangoria and Rue Morgue Magazine and have been talked about around the world for the impact of his photographs and eye-opening visual study into the modern fairy tale. Employing friends and family (including his brave daughters), Joshua Hoffine is horror’s need-to-see mind of photography.

How did you get your start in photography?

I started making photographs shortly after graduating from college.  I discovered a polaroid camera in the back of a closet and began playing with it.  I enrolled in a basic photography class at a local junior college to gain access to equipment and a darkroom.  I eventually interned with commercial photographer Nick Vedros, and later worked at Hallmark Cards.  I left Hallmark to start a wedding photography business out of my home.  I started making Horror photographs in 2003 with the money I was making shooting weddings.

How did you become attracted to horror photography?

I have always loved Horror movies, but my Horror photography project really began with an interest in Fairy tales.  I used to read Fairy tales to my daughters.  I fell in love with the iconography of Fairy tales, and wanted to make a series of photographs based on that type of imagery.  I was going to begin the project with Snow White, and was in the process of making a glass coffin when I began reading Dance Macabre, Stephen King’s non-fiction book about the Horror genre.  In that book, he suggests that Horror films are modern Fairy tales.  That really opened my eyes, and I soon began thinking about my Fairy tale project in a new way.  The result was my Horror photography project.

Babysitter (his daughter, Arinna on right and Hoffine's neice, Thea on left)

Horror films, Fairy tales, Jungian psychology, my own fears and the fears I’ve witnessed in my children.

How much prep work is involved in your shoot?

Preparation takes the longest.  Sometimes weeks are spent location-scouting or building a set, and prop construction can take even longer.

How much time do you typically spend on a project?

4 to 6 weeks on average.

Out of the publications you’ve been published in, which has been the most significant to you?

Rue Morgue Magazine had a big impact on my life.  They did a lot to promote and champion my work.   After giving me a double-size artist spread in the magazine, they interviewed me for their radio show, and brought me to Toronto for their big Festival of Fear convention as a lecturer.  It was awesome!  Right on the heels of that, though, would be Fangoria.  I was thrilled when they published an article about my work – I had a subscription to Fangoria when I was a boy!

7. What can fans expect in the future?

For now I’m remaing focused on my Horror photography project.  I have 4 more images to create before I have enough for a book.  After that?  I want to make a Horror movie, and start a new photography project that I’ve written based on stories from the Bible.

Elizabeth Bathory

8. One of your pictures (“Lady Bathory”) was used as inspiration for a room’s design for haunted house attraction, Nightmare: Vampires in NYC in 2009. How did that relationship begin?

Timothy Haskell is, amongst other things, the creative director for Nightmare Haunted House.  He was a fan of my work, and sent me an email asking me if I would like to create a vampire-themed image that he could then re-create as a room in the Haunted House.  I pitched “Lady Bathory” to him, and he loved the idea.  I was homeless and moving around alot, and went way over schedule – so I’m sure I was frustrating to work with.  But the image was a big hit, and remains my best-selling print.

9. You use your family a lot in your work. Have any of your daughters become genuinely scared in any of your shoots?

No, never.  They were only acting.  For them it’s more like an elaborate game of ‘dress-up’.  Making sure they were never actually frightened was a first priority.

10. What projects are you currently working on?

I’m trying to raise money using Kickstarter to begin work on my next Horror photograph.  The next one is a real doozy.  The core idea is so repugnant that I may never sell a single print of this image.  But if you see it, I doubt you’ll ever forget it!

Joshua Hoffine has a lot of new work up on his site for purchase, which you can check out HERE

By: Alexis Guerra

Photographer, Mariel Clayton, has an eye for the unconventional. Armed with a simple Canon 50D and a twisted sense of humor, Clayton turns unassuming inanimate iconic objects, into thought-provoking works of art. Her style borders on the macabre but beneath it all lies an artist who is truly gifted at her craft.

Questions with Mariel Clayton:

A.G.:   I read you’re a self-taught photographer, what inspired you to pick up the camera and has it always been a passion of yours?

M.C.: When I was 12 years old I went on a school trip to a Rhino park in South Africa, and my friend and I were nearly gored when we got too close! I think it was the exhilaration of that, combined with the thrill of just taking pictures that started everything. I’ve always been more into travel photography though – that was my passion for a long long time, until the dolls came along.

A.G.: You photography is pretty edgy and features every body’s favorite blond bombshell, Barbie! Why dolls and how did you come up with idea to put such a well-known icon in such compromising positions?

M.C.: I started collecting miniatures before I started photographing dolls, I’m surprised it took me that long to put two and two together and take pictures, really. One day I had made a diorama for display, and then twigged onto the idea that I could put barbie in the scene, like a snapshot from a movie – and it went on from there.

I like shooting dolls because I find they’re more expressive than people. Just the smallest gesture speaks volumes. I chose Barbie because she is one of the most iconic children’s toys there is. Everyone can relate to her and what she represents, and everyone has their own interpretation of who she is - so I think it’s a bit more impactful that way. Plus it’s funnier with her.

A.G.: How long does it take to set the scene for your camera shoots?

M.C.: Depending on the complexity of the scene, anything from 5-8 hours – I like to spend time making sure that everything is placed just right and fits into the scene. I think the longest I worked on shots was for my ‘Hystoria’ series – where I tried to make as much by hand as I could, so those took quite a while, approximately 20 hours for each one.

A.G.: Which collection is your favorite and why?

M.C.: I think so for it’s my ‘Hystoria’ series – because those took the most work, and are the most ‘artistic’ of all my shots. As much fun as I have with the ‘torture’ shots, I appreciate the Hystoria ones more, because I generally have more of an artistic vision with them, rather than just a visual gag. Right now I’m working on a series called ‘Lyric’ which are interpretations of song lines ( generally from the Beatles ) which I really think is working.

A.G.:  What has the response been to your work?

M.C.: Generally it’s been very very favorable and positive - most people seem to ‘get’ the joke and understand that it’s meant in jest, and it’s not a real commentary on anything. There will always be detractors, that’s just normal – but for the most part I am learning to ignore them, because it’s usually due to a misinterpretation of the pictures. For the most part – people find them as funny as I do!

A.G.: Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

M.C.: I honestly have no idea – I never look that far ahead. Maybe it’s bad future planning on my part – but life never seems to co-operate with my prognosticating, so I don’t even think 5 months ahead, I play everything as it comes.

To check out more of Mariel’s visionary work click here.

The Oprah of Rew York

Whiskey Dregs photographer and writer, Carlos Detres will be interviewed LIVE about his work on Rew and Who at Otto’s Shrunken Head at 5:45 on 2/16. This killer online video show is about Rew York’s musicians and  artists. He’ll be discussing his rock and roll photography as well as his hauntingly delightful art work or maybe not. Maybe he’ll discuss whatever she brings up.

This is a great show. If you haven’t checked it out yet, go to it! Here is thee link.

Watch the interview LIVE from this link.

Whiskey Dregs photographer and writer, Carlos Detres

San Francisco-based, Weekend released their debut, Sports earlier in November but singles that had begun their rounds through the blogosphere immediately snagged my attention. The cool sound, the rumble of rhythm, and cold, airy vocals on Sports are the kind of drug I prefer doing, late into the wee hours of morning. When I learned that they were playing in New York, I knew that I had to do whatever I could to attend and bring them to our audiences here on the Whiskey Dregs.

The Cake Shop, if you haven’t been, is one of the last bastions of Rock and Roll left on the increasingly SoHo-fied Lower East Side but unfortunately, it comes with the sound system that the LES is also notorious for. Despite this, Weekend performed the best they could under the circumstances, delivering their concept to a stage of a very interested audience.

The band played their two songs that are personal favorites of mine, “Age Class” and “End Times” (the lead singer of Young Prisms joined on vocals for the latter song). These songs, paired with a curious audience, began a thrashing of excitement that reverberated with the congealed pairing of singing and wide eyes. It dawned on me that if this band continued to play these kinds of songs that their work could go even further. Although I appreciated their debut album, I heard the seedlings of some potentially good shit coming from the band.

Weekend’s performance was good but not great, however this could be due the dichotomy of an audience not wholly familiar with the band’s stylings and also the seminal beginnings for a band with a single album. But, like I said, I truly see this band going in a very strong musical direction if they continue the exploration of their sound.