H13 : Jeff Arndt – Mommy Sez No
Written by Gaz E
Wednesday, 20 October 2010 06:00
It was a good day at ÜRHQ when ‘Hotwaterburnbaby’ by Minneapolis monsters Mommy Sez No oozed into our mailbox for review. If the classic cover art hadn’t already grabbed us, then the fourteen examples of trashy garage horror punk that had taken residence on the shiny disc certainly did. For a fan of that musical genre and a full-on horror geek, songs like ‘Cannibal Girl’, ‘Mongo Chupa’ and ‘Zombie Bukkake’ – and guest appearances from Ari ‘Jason Voorhees’ Lehman and John ‘Voice of the Cryptkeeper’ Kassir – re-animated my rock ‘n’ roll soul in a manner more in keeping with an injection from Herbert West.
Frontman Jeff Arndt was one of the first people who I contacted when the idea for Über Röck’s 13 Days Of Halloween burrowed its way into my brain…..and his response certainly didn’t disappoint. As well as helping me secure one of next week’s cool H13 interviews, he also provided several copies of the ‘Hotwaterburnbaby’ album to give away as competition prizes and gave us access to an uncensored music video from the band that Youtube deemed too offensive to be included on their site! All of that can be found below, most important of all, Jeff’s entry into the 13 Days Of Halloween………
What are your most vivid childhood memories of Halloween?
The monster under my bed biting my leg and leaving a scar, both physically and mentally, and no, that’s not a veiled reference to anything. I really did have a monster that lived under my bed. It was on Halloween when it first introduced itself to me. Now it doesn’t live under the bed so much anymore, but still visits from time to time. We had dinner the other night and it’s doing pretty well for itself. It’s skin’s a little greener than I remember…..
On a serious note, I remember when people actually had fun at Halloween, and people went out of their way to decorate the house and dress up like monsters, or cartoons, or superheroes and the streets were filled with people. Now it seems like everybody got chicken sh
it and it’s in shopping malls that everybody takes the kids for trick or treat. When I was little, it wasn’t only fun running around in the streets with a bunch of other people in masks and looking like monsters, it was a bit scary too, and lately at Halloween, it seems to have lost that. I remember the monsters, the freaks, the ghosts, the rotten eggs, the dead things…..
Why do you think that the worlds of horror and metal/punk have always been so closely linked?
It’s funny you asked this, because as Hollywood’s horror movies have become slabs of homogenized drivel so has metal/punk. Currently both in horror and metal/punk a lot of it looks the same, sounds the same, only the names are changed. I personally think they’ve been linked so closely because metal was originally looked at as scary and used the images of horror to help add to that spookiness. Punk did the same thing. And if they wrote songs about sunshine and happiness then it wouldn’t really be all that scary (or maybe it would be, haha).
What are your thoughts on the state of horror movies at the present time? With all the remakes and rehashes there doesn’t seem to be much original thought going on at present…..
I got into independent horror movies because of that a long time ago. Hollywood seems to have given up on originality and just seems to rename movies and change actors, though every once in a while somebody comes through with a great idea. My main thoughts on the state of horror movies is go to the independent filmmakers, they put all they have and more into the movies they’re making and while some of the independents may be slow, have some bad writing or acting, and some cheesy or stupid special effects, they aren’t doing something by the numbers, which it seems a lot of horror movies have become.
Has there been a horror remake yet that has bettered the original movie?
That’s a hard question. If they remade it exactly as the original, they have many more options available for effects, sound, etc so there could be some that better the original, but it seems like they always try to change it and that doesn’t always work. I do think if you’re going to re-do something you should add your own touches and make it your own, with the trick being not to ruin the original idea.
Off the top of my head I will say I thought they did a pretty good job with the remake of Dawn Of The Dead
John Carpenter’s Halloween or Rob Zombie’s Halloween?
I liked John Carpenter’s Halloween, it seemed a bit scarier. Though Rob Zombie’s version was ok, I liked the original better.
Fast zombies or slow zombies?
If they were after me, I’d have to go with slow zombies. I can’t run very fast so I’d be one dead new zombie pretty quickly.
What’s the greatest ever horror movie kill?
The eye gouge scene in Fulci’s ZOMBIE, in fact, any of the ’80’s Italian horror movies really pushed the limit in movie kills, and that has always been up at the top of my list.
Who is the baddest ever horror movie villain…and why?
Jason Vorhees, and the reason is that was who appealed to me the most after the first two movies were released. I always thought Jason was cooler than Michael Myers, and Freddy Krueger didn’t seem as dangerous because you could always wake up. Leatherface ranks up towards the top, but it was never just Leatherface as the villian, so for me Jason Vorhees wins on all counts.
Who is the greatest ever Scream Queen?
That’s a tie : Either Debbie Rochon or Linnea Quigley.
Name your Top 5 favourite horror movies of all time…and tell us why!!
FRIDAY THE 13TH the original – When I saw this movie originally in the theaters, it was really cool and had some great stuff in it, but then (spoiler alert) when Jason made his appearance at the end when he jumps up out of the water, it scared the living crap out of me and it was what really got me into loving horror movies.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD – simply put, I really liked the zombies in this; the graveyard dancing scenes, and the comedy aspect that was inherent through the movie. And the first three in the Return Of The Living Dead saga all turned out pretty good, and who can forget “BRAINS!!!!!!!!”
DAWN OF THE DEAD the original – so far this is still my favorite out of the Romero zombie flicks, though the characters from Day Of The Dead (see Bub) I liked a little better. Dawn Of The Dead still has it, and it’s no wonder I’ve never been a big fan of going to shopping malls.
TRICK r’ TREAT – simply for the message about everyone seemingly forgetting what Halloween was about, and Halloween sending a wicked little messenger. How can you not love a movie where someone gets killed with a jagged lollipop?
THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (the original Tobe Hooper one) – I tried, but couldn’t leave Leatherface and crew out of this. Something about this movie always messed me up, and it still gets in my head anytime I’m on a road trip. That’s why it’s in the top five, because you know a movie has done its job if it leaves a lasting impression, and the first time and the second and third times I saw this, it had that effect on me.
What underrated horror movie would you recommend to our readers just in case they have never seen it?
TERROR OVERLOAD by NFTS Productions, some of the songs on our ‘Hotwaterburnbaby’ cd were featured in the movie. It’s got Ari Lehman in it, and you’ll be able to see Mongo Chupa. And also check out INCEST DEATH SQUAD 2 – or IDS2 – which was just released on Sept 17th.
What ‘star’ of the music world would you like to see slaughtered in gory horror movie style? How and why?
Are we talking for real, or just in a horror movie scene? Horror movie scene? – Hmmm, let’s see….. How about Justin Bieber getting his head smashed between two big bricks, as his limbs amputate from the fishing line he’s been tied up with. Why? When I first heard about Justin Bieber it seemed like, oh well, another little pop star, and then everybody talked about him as if he was some kind of phenomena, and then I heard him. YUCK!!!!!!!
What are your plans for Halloween this year?
Mommy Sez No is doing a Halloween show on Oct 29th and Oct 30th, and then on October 31st I believe we’re doing an all ages Halloween show and after that I’m watching the original Halloween, Trick R Treat, and a zombie movie or two.
Watch the video deemed too offensive for Youtube! Use the password – klownboy – but don’t tell anyone 😉
Taking The Fun (outta the clown) by Mommy Sez No from Jeff Arndt on Vimeo.
Win a copy of ‘Hotwaterburnbaby’ by Mommy Sez No!!!!!
Jeff was kind enough to give us four copies of the album to give away to horror punk loving Über Röckers! All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning a copy is this : send an email to [email protected] (with the heading ‘Halloween’) telling us your favourite horror movie – the four best films win a copy of the album! All entries in to us by, yep you guessed it, midnight on October 31st. Usual terms and conditions apply. Good luck!!!