RIP Billy

We were contacted by Guitar Wolf’s agent this morning with the news that Billy aka BASS WOLF has passed away.

From the WildZero LJ:

Seiji’s Response
This is never easy. Please excuse me if I start making no sense. Hideaki Sekiguchi, AKA Billy, has left this world this morning, due to a heart attack at the age of 38. Billy was a brother, one of the wolf pack. He rocked harder than anybody in the room, and I would feed off that energy. He was a great friend, and I can’t really do him justice when I’m like this. He was too young to go, he still had some rock let in him. Lately Billy was acting a little odd, he said nothing was wrong. That’s just like him too, the hardass. God damn it. Some of you may have had the chance to meet Billy, you know how awesome he really was. I just can’t believe it, he was there from the beginning. I know Billy’s up in heaven rocking out, keeping all those mother fuckers up at night. I bet he’ll start a band with Joey Ramone and Elvis. He would love that.

Sorry guys, but all shows are now cancelled. I hope you understand. Please don’t flood us with letters/e-mail asking us when we will continue. I just don’t know what I’m gonna do now. It was always me and Billy. He would want me to keep rocking, and I just might. Anyway, I’ve got lots of stuff to do, and think about. I love you Billy, god speed you.

Seiji, Guitar Wolf

As you know, we had the honor of meeting Billy a few weeks ago when the band were here in L.A. and we received their blessing to create a GUITAR WOLF animated series… It’s hard to think or know about the future of this project right now. Being Guitar Wolf fans, this is just really really sad news.

Link: Guitar Wolf @ myspace.com

To the Batcave

Many of our friends had told us about the Bronson Caves… and yesterday being a beautiful warm Easter Sunday, we vespa-ed up to Griffith Park to seek it out. These caves get used A LOT in movies and by indie filmmakers…(see KR’s profile pic) and when we arrived, sure enough, there was a shoot going on - 

…”caveman” screams and flings bone.

Another one of those things that makes living in L.A./Hollywood so cool.

Other stuff…

Aaron Simpson interviews  Jorge (ML character designer) on Cold Hard Flash …

AS: You work closely with your wife, Sandra, who is an amazing artist in her own right. What’s the secret to a good working chemistry?
JG: Tequila, respect and patience for each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We learned a lot from Lili Chin & Eddie Mort, the amazing and talented couple behind ‘Mucha Lucha.’ …

Gracias, Jorge! All the best to you and Sandra.

I’m going to show-off for a bit. I met Jaime Hernandez about a week ago and he signed my copy of Locas! (As he explained, El Soplamoco is sort of like a ‘knuckle sandwich’)

More Fan Art

“Mucha Smooches” by nintendo maximus

Whoa! There’s a Yahoo group dedicated to “Rikochet-Buena Girl Love”!!! (thanks, nintendo maximus) And on the TV Tome Forum, there is much much more, for example, THIS and THIS and THIS  with postings like this one -

“Ummm… I don’t know… I doubt BG is ever going to be rebel that would mean she’s not going to stand up for everything that is buena! I know i’m a Rik/BG fan but…. I also doubt the Flea is ever going to be with BG, because he is not what Buena Girl wants, trust me, I can see and feel! “

Hmmm… This stuff opens up interesting possibilities for what happens next…

 AWW…..

(fan art by an Unknown Person)

“this one is a pic of Rikochet and Buena Girl (Mucha Lucha) and I think they make a cute couple because… they have a crush one another! It’s OBVIOUS! Ah… and… I hope you like…” – From this webpage.

WE LIKE!!!  Interestingly, Eddie and I have been receiving lots of emails from fans who want to know if there’s something going on between Rikochet and Buena Girl… or if they will “hook up” one day. Aaah… that’s sooo cute.

Who says ¡Mucha Lucha! is all BOYS-ACTION? Girls seem to love the “Doomien” episode where Rikochet and Buena tagteam as the BuenaChet All Stars…

As for whether there is a romantic relationship between Rikochet and Buena Girl, well, we’d like to leave that up to your imagination.

We know it’s been a while since the last post. Been busy doing Guitar Wolf designs (see previous entry), and also the deadline for the iam8bit show is fast approaching. One cool thing - Eddie and I were recently introduced to netflix.com by Kevin & Debbie and I’m amazed by the range of movie titles they have available. Movies on the queue:

• End of the Century: The Ramones
• Six-String Samurai
• Creature Double Feature 
• El Santo y La Tigresa

And it’s been about time we joined ASIFA. Have to go to THIS!

“…a program of the coolest animated television commercials from the golden age of TV. We will be screening rare 16mm prints and will include a selection of Ford spots created by Playhouse Pictures (above), including some of the earliest animation of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang. “

The Power of Rock and Roll!!!
… Love Has No Boundaries!!

Eddie recieved a message from Guitar Wolf’s Road Manager about meeting up with the band, but unfortunately it came a little too late. Maybe tomorrow, before they head out to Pomona. No matter. Because, from where I was sitting, I could take in 100% of that Guitar Wolf magic. (or to quote Jim: “the performance art”) I so wished I had a sketchpad with me. They were so full of life!

It’s fascinating to watch the guys move: Seiji/Guitar Wolf and his signature spread-eagled stance, guitar joined to the hip. The quick jumps, the jitters, the energy. Billy/Bass Wolf thrusts and twists his chest forward, flinging his head back and forth with that signature scowl; paces the stage, back and forth. Toru/Drum Wolf (the cute one) and combs his hair during the breaks. Just like in the movie.

One thing I love about Guitar Wolf is the way he interacts with his fans. He works his way into the messy crowd, letting them all maul him while he keeps on playing. He is unphased by the mayhem; revels in it. When one of the fans grabbed onto his arm and wouldn’t let go, inciting the assistants to get on stage to try pull him free (for what seemed like forever) Guitar Wolf surprisingly, drags the girl up on stage with him, hands her his guitar and lets her have her 5 minutes of fame prancing and jumping around on stage with him… even giving her a quick guitar-playing lesson!

Apart from the occasional bursts of  Lock an Loll! Baby Baby! the music was pure NOISE, bearing little resemblance to what you hear on the CDs. When Sky Star Jet came on, everyone went ballistic.

We all bought cool tshirts and got the latest CD – Loverock. Upon leaving the Knitting Factory, our ears felt like they were stuffed with cottonwool. I would’ve liked to have met the band personally and have them autograph something… but on second thoughts, it was already tons of fun to have been there as part of the audience, taking in the sights and sounds and absorbing the essence…

Totally inspired now, and we’re gonna get sketching! We have some cool reference footage and snapshots on camera. 

*UPDATE – March 16th.

We met with the band this afternoon!!! We had our picture taken…

They loved our designs and added their autographs… 

…and apparently there’s going to be a Wild Zero Part 2! (time-travel and samurai zombies!)

Rough Designs…

Rey Extremo

They are BAD. They are Los Extremos!
(Pictured here – 7 of a million)

© 2005 Fwak! Animation

Here you go!  El Gallinero by Ramirez! The catchy entrance music of SoCal’s favorite chicken-themed luchadores, Los Gallineros!

Raymondo’s Dance-O-Rama presents the Peanuts! (Link: Webjay stream) - who are best known for the Mothra theme song

And a flyer we picked up at El Carmen Tuesday night -

On the back: “It’s a Celebration of Erik Estrada’s Birthday! Complete with a LOOK-ALIKE CONTEST, COCKTAIL SPECIALS, and FREE CHiPs & SALSA!”
Wednesday, March 16th 7pm @ El Carmen
P.S. Erik Estrada was the charismatic voice of El Custodio in ML’s “Our Founder” episode; and Count Bob (Vampire Leader) in “The Magnificent Three” episode.

And on the night before this, Guitar Wolf at the Knitting Factory!

Lili: I’m back from New York on the flight from hell. I was seated next to a man who coughed, sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve the entire flight (ick). I hope I don’t get sick.

In NYC, I had the pleasure of staying with friends in SoHo - Andrew (whom I’m encouraging to set up his own website. See some of his paintings here), Shirley, and the very adorable Ben. On Saturday night Shirley and I attended John‘s and Bee‘s lavish wedding in midtown Manhattan – which was the main purpose of this trip. I still feel very honored to be invited. John is the CEO of our blog host - xanga.com - and I would post photos from the happiest day of his life, but I think he prefers to remain visually anonymous

No snow this weekend, but lots of grimy slush on the streets and sidewalks…

On Sunday I strolled through the Chelsea Flea Markets. As expected, the Russian/Soviet propoganda guy was no longer there. (sorry Keith, no hat.) I did, however come across a very kitsch Bugs Bunny talking alarm clock which I couldn’t afford.

(“Wake up, Doc. Wake up! Wake up!”) – $85

I picked up a cool, original edition of  M. Sasek‘s – “This is Texas” (awesome landscape reference) and a Plastic Man comic for Eddie – a gift for driving me to and from Long Beach airport.

Governer’s Palace & Juarez street car – by Sasek

Back in L.A. there are goodies in the mail! Angie Pontani has sent me a copy of the Pontani Sisters’ “Go-Go Robics II” DVD – can’t wait to see this! And from Thorsten Hasenkamm an image of his latest painting “The Lucha Libre Bar” -

THE LUCHA LIBRE BAR ©Thorsten Hasenkamm

Speaking of lucha-inspired artwork, what do you know, my upstairs neighbor Wes Massey, paints masked wrestlers! The painting below is of Mil Mascaras, one in a series of Frida Kahlo-esque portraits. My favorite by Wes is “The Birth of El Hijo Del Santo” which is very trippy and perhaps NSFW, so check it out HERE.

MIL MASCARAS © Wes Massey

More…

Keith has published the From Parts Unknown Mexi-Lucha DVD movie guide - A fantastic online A-Z list that’s constantly evolving. (will be adding this later to our Lucha Links page)

Science Special Search Party! – an ongoing series of fun photos with Glico-man kubricks. (via Flickr)

Drawn! - “is a multi-author blog devoted to illustration, art, cartooning and drawing. Its purpose is to inspire creativity by sharing links and resources.” - by RobotJohnny.

Something!

While Lili is in NYC for a couple of days, she asked me to “Blog something” while she was away.  So I’m sharing two of my crate-digging finds from the Pasadena Record market.

Now I’m not sure why the photographer thought giving Cugi a PIPE would make the picture groovier, but it does once and for all prove that The Twist was the dance of choice for swingin’ adults.

Also found this…

Quite possibly the greatest dance track ever put to vinyl.  It also meant that I spent Sunday arvo dancing around my apartment pretending to be a crazy SoCal, rooster-themed luchador.  No I’m not joking.

And yes Amid, I hear you about that Krypto theme song.  Ouch!

And is Collateral the greatest LA driving movie ever?  Made me wanna go and cruise downtown at 3am.  Not sure how an LA Taxi Driver could time his journeys to the minute though.  Guess he was just that damn good…

*updated

The Return of El Malefico (ML DVD movie) is airing on Cartoon Network!!! Friday, March 4th at 8pm. Written by Mike Ryan & Ben Townsend; Directed by Ron Hughart.

Here’s a great article on Lucha Libre - Who Are Those Masked Men? by Kevin Sullivan (Washington Post).

More Links

 New Lucha Movie with Mil Mascaras! (via Keith’s blog)

When we found this Mucha Lucha Kit online, Eddie’s response was: “Because, y’know…whenever I think of Lucha Libre, it makes me want to go FISHING”.

Blind Dialogue - on character lipsynch animation.

Is HiFructose the new Juxtapoz? Described as a “Toysploitation Mag for the Under the Counter Culture”, it looks like something that I would buy. There’s a preview of contents HERE (PDF format).

Query Letters I Love – “..honest to god query letters I’ve received in Hollywood. Updated frequently.”

Something for your kitchen knives…

Fontleech.com - a free font blog

Techy tips: Wists.com for visual bookmarks; & How to Use your Gmail Account as a personal file server (Win XP). Email us if you want a gmail invite. We have plenty.

Peynet

“Il Giro Del Mondo Degli Innamorati Di Peynet” (“Around the World with the Lovers by Peynet”) is a book we picked up at Wacko last year; published by Petit Glam. After some googling, it turns out that these images are from a 1974 animated film with soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. Has anyone seen this film?

Link: Raymond Peynet original artwork. I think we prefer the look and feel of the ‘animated’ style in this book. Still very cheesy but slightly more hip.

Currently listening to: 555CD555 (various artists)