H13: Rich Jones – Ginger Wildheart/The Loyalties
Written by Gaz E
Tuesday, 30 October 2012 03:33
He might not be in the worst of moods after just completing a European with Slash as part of Ginger Wildheart’s band, but Rich Jones summons up all his worst memories to get in a black enough place to answer the 13 questions in the penultimate episode of Uber Rock’s 13 Days Of Halloween franchise, perhaps summed up by his choice of music video…..
1.) What are your most vivid childhood memories of Halloween?
My first ‘proper’ Halloween as a kid was when I had just moved to Canada from the UK. It was my first experience with Trick Or Treating and, needless to say, I was pretty excited. I was at the age where I was just getting into music and the first album I had ever bought was Adam & The Ants ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier’. So I thought it’d be pretty awesome to go out dressed as the dandy highwayman himself for my inaugural Trick Or Treat experience. My mum made me the jacket, I had the white stripe on my nose, the whole deal. I looked AWESOME. What I didn’t realise though, was that literally NO ONE in Canada (or America, or most places outside of England) had ever heard of Adam Ant at this point in his career. So I started banging on doors all done up and was met with shrugs, confusion or people asking if I was a PIRATE. A PIRATE! Needless to say this wasn’t the experience I was hoping it’d be. The next year I went out as a zombie and it took days to get the crap off my face and out of my hair. Winner.
2.) Why do you think that the worlds of horror and metal/punk have always been so closely linked?
They just naturally go hand in hand. If you’ve got good taste in music then you’ll have good taste in films 😉
3.) Has there been a horror remake yet that has bettered the original movie?
Honestly, I’ve given some of these remakes a chance but I really don’t see why they need to fuck with Friday The 13th, Halloween (STOP IT, Rob Zombie), Texas Chainsaw etc. I enjoyed some of the Japanese remakes like The Ring and The Grudge but they never managed to match the creepiness of the originals. John Carpenter’s version of The Thing was pretty damn good though.
4.) What’s the greatest ever horror movie kill?
I quite like the machete through the head when Jason gets killed in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Call me a traditionalist. It’s also probably Corey Feldman’s greatest onscreen moment.
5.) Who is the baddest ever horror movie villain…and why?
I’m a fan of Michael Myers. I like the fact that he was just a horrible bastard and that there wasn’t really any kind of supernatural BS involved with him. Plus, knowing that his mask was a William Shatner mask painted white somehow made him even creepier!
6.) Who is the greatest ever Scream Queen?
I’m gonna go with Asia Argento. Her dad is a horror legend and she’s hot to boot.
7.) Name your Top 5 favourite horror movies of all time…and tell us why!!
Aw man, this is SO hard! In no particular order…
The Omen: The scene with the nanny hanging herself is particularly creepy and the decapitation scene is a classic.
Martyrs: Just WRONG, on every level. Psychologically nasty and visually disgusting. Winner!
The Changeling (1980): This movie scared the shit out of me when I was a kid.
Suspiria: My introduction to Italian horror and just a generally gruesome film.
Halloween: Gotta have a slasher classic in there.
8.) What underrated horror movie would you recommend to our readers just in case they have never seen it?
I love Dellamorte Dellamore (AKA Cemetery Man). It’s an insane Italian horror film starring Rupert Everett as the caretaker of a cemetery where the dead rise from their graves every night. It’s insanely over the top, totally trashy fun!
9.) What is your guilty pleasure, the trashy horror flick that you hold dear but everyone else runs away from?
I quite like John Carpenter’s In The Mouth Of Madness. The dialogue is cheesy as hell and the acting is wooden but I love the trashy HP Lovecraft vibes and the ending is hilarious. I’m not sure I could recommend it per se but I find myself coming back to it occasionally for some weird reason.
10.) What is the greatest ever horror movie poster?
I love the trashy ’50s classics and some of the Hammer ones are absolutely brilliant but I’m gonna go with ’80s slasher style here and pick Maniac. I got really into horror movies (and slasher films in particular) as a teenager and this captures the essence of that genre really well.
11.) Have you ever had a ghostly supernatural experience?
I’m haunted by the memories of some Loyalties gigs but that’s about it I’m afraid.
12.) What ‘star’ of the music world would you like to see slaughtered in gory horror movie style?
Chris Brown immediately comes to mind. I can’t actually thing of a single redeeming feature about that guy. Can’t sing, can’t write, can’t be a decent human being, arrogant douchebag. He’d be the first to go in a slasher film.
13.) What are your plans for Halloween this year?
I’m gonna go see the Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster in London. Kind of a perfect Halloween gig, the creepy bastards!
[Photo kudos to Trudi Knight: www.bandsonstage.co.uk]