Here Come the Mummies!

Playing at the Plaza Live (October 11th), Angie and I experienced one of the weirdest yet most entertaining bands we've ever seen.  Inserting innuendo-filled lyrics into funk, rock, and Latin music, Here Come the Mummies are one of the most talented bands to ever play.

Like their name suggests, all of the members dress like Boris Karloff.  And even though they're considered the living dead, they have some powerful music chops.  Their sound was rich and powerful and mesmerized the audience with their jazzy instruments including the saxophone, trumpet, keyboard, guitar, and drums.

Not only was the music awesome, but the presentation itself was fantastic.  To enter the stage, they marched through the audience as a drum corps.  After they got into position and started playing their set, they were dancing and acting as a perfect unit.

To add to their antics, the band was visited by guests typical of a campy horror film - A Circus Ringleader and a Gorilla!

I had an awesome time and it was a perfect show for the Halloween season.  Many thanks to my favorite show on FM radio - The Philips Phile of Real Radio 104.1.  If it wasn't for Jim Philips' drive home music of the day, I wouldn't have experienced such a dynamic band!

 

Halloween 2013

So Halloween has come and passed, but it's time to share this year's pumpkin carvings!

I decided to take my pumpkin carving skills to the next level by doing the shading technique.  Usually, I cut all the way through the pumpkin, but this time I wanted to give more depth by peeling away a layer of the skin. I have to give much thanks to http://carvingpumpkins.com/ for the tips and awesome patterns.

I decided to go the classic Halloween route by carving the Universal Monster Couple - The Bride of Frankenstein and her Groom:

Some of The Bride's definition broke off during the carving process.  However, I learned from my mistakes and I'm happy with the results of Frankenstein's Monster.

 

 

Also this year, my brother, sister, and girlfriend kept up with the movie theme by carving Freddy Krueger, Ariel (from the Little Mermaid), and Jack (from the Nightmare before Christmas).

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this year's patterns!  This is one of my favorite Halloween activities (besides watching horror movies) and I've already started planning 2014's designs.