Billy Tackett's DEAD WHITE & BLUE: Horror Rot & Roll Show

What a weekend! First off we headed down to the Fountain Square T-shirt Fest where I had planned on displaying but wasn't. That is another story and I'll be posting about that incident later in the week.

Afterwards we had our final gallery showing at the Southgate House. And once again it was a successful night. The entire show was awesome and the staff was fantastic. I want to thank everyone for a wonderful event and we can't wait to show there again!

On Saturday we did a little mini-horror con and concert. Tri-state Paranormal, Hell In A Handbasket, Kemper and Impaler all had booths set up. Kemper, Pagan Holiday 13 and Impaler supplied the entertainment.

Hell In A Handbasket were there promoting the Black Devil Doll Cincinnati premiere at which I will be set up along with some other horror themed artists and bands. We watched the trailer and I gotta say I am truly lookin' forward to this flick!

Kemper is a dark and gloomy band with an early Danzig influence. He has some great creepy stuff. I didn't get to chat with him as much as I would have liked to but I'm sure our paths will cross again soon enough.

Pagan Holiday 13 are an 80's glam rock throwback with a heavy dose of monsters, zombie strippers and blood! These are some great guys that really have fun with their horror. And c'mon, they have a song called Dead White and Blue so they can't be that bad!

Here's a little history: Being a teenager in the 80s I admittedly was a metal-head. W.A.S.P., Megadeth, Mercyful Fate, anything that wasn't glam! And the more shocking the better. Impaler, who has been around since '84 or so, was one of those. They got a boost in publicity when Tipper Gore put them on her PMRC "hit-list". And like a lot of bands from that era I kind of lost track of them. But lo-and-behold they're undead and well, putting out albums every couple of years or so. And from watching the show they are as brutal, bloody and disgusting as ever!

When I first met Bill Lindsey, the lead singer, I really didn't recognize him. It had been years since Impaler had last been on my radar. And plus he is such a nice guy that it took me several minutes to make the connection. We discussed how some people in the horror biz are waay to serious and need to lighten up. Horror should be fun. The horror kids from the 60s have it right: Scare the shit outta people and have a blast doin' it!

We had a great time hanging out with these guys. But I'm having this weird Twilight Zone thing going on in my head because of the fact that people that I have been a fan of for 20 years or so are now asking for my autograph! That's a little much to wrap my head around but being accepted by my horror idols and role models is great for a feller's ego!

Getting to hang out with these local horror fans has shown me that the genre ain't dead here. We're going to do our part to make sure there are more horror themed events in the Northern KY and Greater Cincinnati area. And with folks like Hell In A Handbasket, Pagan Holiday 13 and some other monster enthusiasts that seem to have risen from out of nowhere lately I can assure you that things are going to get a lot creepier here in the mid-west!