FESTIVUS, For the Rest of Us!

































  




Festivus is your heritage.  It’s part of who you are.  Tired of all the usual Holiday traditions?  Wanna rage all night with your friends instead?  Then, you can head on down to the Radio Room on Dec. 23rd for their FESTIVUS EXTRAVAGANZA hosted by The Black Lodge.  While there may not be a Feats of Strength Competition, there will definitely be an Ugly Holiday Sweater Competition (click HERE for ideas).  Also, if you get drunk enough, you can air your grievances with all of the attendees.

I recently spoke with Black Lodge Curator, Victoria Ferrer, aka DJ iamyourholiness, and this is how she described The Black Lodge: “a mixture of light, sound, eclectic visuals, with both spanking new and vintage elements in all aspects.  Campy 80’s b-horror and disturbing art films create the ambiance that would fulfill any movie nerd’s dreams.”


CM:  So how did The Black Lodge come to be?

VF I’ve been hosting The Black Lodge since April 2011.  What started off as a favor to keep Karma’s doors open ended up being a weekly tradition here in the Upstate.  Though The Black Lodge, as an event, has changed venues over time, the heart of it stays the same.

I’m an avid collector of vintage footage and a huge fan of anything out of the norm — especially if it’s painstakingly inappropriate [evil laughs], so I’m going to incorporate these visuals live alongside the music.  My friend, Mike Gowan, first mentioned that this is something I’d be good at after releasing the video I made for Culture Prophet’s Hate Flavor // iamyourholiness Remix.  From that point on, the idea that was once a tiny bud became a true life manifestation.  So…  I have him to thank for that.  Visual art has always been my biggest passion.  And when it is projected live with great music, it’s euphoria for the senses.


CM:  It seems that you have a clear vision for The Black Lodge.  Care to go into more detail?

VF:  I hope that The Black Lodge will continue to be a place where people can always expect something new and still feel nostalgic at the same time.  Aside from hosting music tributes and 80s Nights on special occasions, I DJ 80’s Post-Punk and Synth-Pop, Underground Industrial, and Indie-Electro to a room where music lovers go.  It’s not likely you will hear this music anywhere else in the Upstate and I wouldn’t be surprised if word gets around outside the surrounding areas about Greenville’s little known secret.  And although a lot of what I play is rare, you can always also count on hearing favorites from The Cure, Depeche Mode, Siouxsie and the Banshees, OMD, Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, and many more artists who structured the Goth subculture.


CM:  Some folks may consider The Black Lodge to be a “Goth Night” of sorts.  What’s your take on this?

VF:  I won’t describe the events as Goth but more as a place of experimentation and expression of a new subculture.  To call it Goth would be limiting.  It is much more than that.  It’s riveting and inspiring to me to look at it and outright refuse it as something which has already been.  I’m looking at the now, and I see something new.  A mixture of generations; a lot of 80’s Goth culture mixed with cheesy early 90’s Pop and having The Wyndish Agency as the godhead, is how I would best describe the feel.  It’s the scene I’m trying to share, my vision of it, anyway.


CM:  But it’s not just that.  There’s more, right?

VF:  I’ve curated spaces in the past including The Black Lodge’s original setting, Karma, where I had the opportunity to show off art by many talented local artists, rotating the works monthly, and even giving the artists opportunity to sell with success.  Themed art shows are a part of The Black Lodge’s core.  Though, in the meanwhile, I’m currently looking for a venue that would better accommodate the Lodge’s artistic endeavors.


CM:  So, what’s next for The Black Lodge?

VF:  Presently, you can find me DJing sporadically at The WPBR Radio-Room.  My next event is FESTIVUS Extravaganza! presented by The Black Lodge as a holiday party, Atheists welcome.  It will be taking place Friday Dec. 23, 2011 / 10PM.  As always, there will be $2.00 Pirate Punch Shots and $2.50 Liquor specials before Midnight.  Grab your tackiest Xmas sweater because there will be an Ugly Christmas Sweater contest that’ll be judged by the audience if more than 10 partiers participate.  There will be a prize for the crowd favorite sponsored by Brain Damage Vintage.  There will be holiday candy and the airing of grievances at the bar, which stays open all night.
So there you have it.  If you’re over all the Holiday BS, want to show off your hideous sweater, or tell everyone how much you hate them, then head over to The Radio Room to celebrate Festivus!


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