Brian Alan Ellis's Blog, page 19
October 4, 2015
September 27, 2015
September 22, 2015
Lost in Thought | Lost in Thought: Issue 7
Got a piece in the new Lost in Thought. Poetic art damage. Lots of great talent: Nancy Bauer-King, Ciahnan Quinn, Peter Schwartz, Elizabeth Huwiler, Neil McCarthy, Heather Fowler, Mike Joyce, Nancy Stohlman, Juliet Escoria, and Stefanie Lipsey. Pick one up so you’ll have something cool to talk about when you invite someone over and they see it on your coffee table and then start rummaging through it out of bored desperation, their mouths agape with wonder.
September 20, 2015
Blotterature: merging the art of fancy talk with blue collar sensibilities.
“There is a grittiness
in [Ellis’s] work and some nice poetic moments [but his] wit and weirdness
shine through… There is definitely a Kerouac quality [as Bud Smith] crafts each
piece in the same manner as if he were sitting on your porch drinking a beer
telling about his day. No added fluff or emotion, just what it is. [Smith’s] attitude
is refreshing and leaves you wanting a larger glimpse into that life—that
lifestyle. On an evening after a hard day’s work, when you are looking for a
laugh, or some entertainment, not enough energy to dissect Homer or Joyce, then
[Tables Without Chairs #1] is the
book to pick up and read.”—Julie Demoff-Larson, Blotterature
September 15, 2015
Something Good, Something Bad, Something Dirty: Stories by Brian Alan Ellis
A review:
“[This book] is pretty close to noir with the loser characters committing some depraved and humiliating deeds. Then there’s some stories that are lighthearted and goofy much like the cartoons you watch when you were a kid, but an adult version of it… The best one was when I was eating breakfast, a piece of plain bread and coffee, and there was a short story about a drunk guy and a prostitute and instead of doing anything sexual, the main character pulls out her bloody tampon and flings it against a wall. I actually gagged while eating. It was that bad. But it was fun reading, something I need once in awhile.”
Rating: 5/5
Gag-inducing slice-of-life Bizarro, but fun!
September 9, 2015
Hobart :: Grimestore Cowboy
Ripped one over at Hobart.
September 5, 2015
August 30, 2015
MOVIES THAT MATTER: Bud Smith & Brian Alan Ellis (Enclave)
For this week’s Movies that Matter we have a wonderful duo, Bud Smith and Brian Alan Ellis. If you haven’t heard of them, you should probably get to a fucking library.
PART ONE
MOVIES DISCUSSED: Silver Bullet, Lucas, My Cousin Vinny, Ghostbusters
BUD SMITH: My favorite movie when I was a little kid was Silver Bullet because I liked the werewolf stuff. My brother loved that movie too because he wanted to have me break both his legs so our parents would buy him an electric wheelchair.
BRIAN ALAN ELLIS: I don’t think I’ve watched Silver Bullet all the way through. I think I got it confused with that other Corey Haim movie, Lucas. Like, I thought the Lucas character got paralyzed in the football game at the end and the story picked up where he was now in a wheelchair and was suddenly being chased by werewolves.
SMITH: Lucas 2: Silver Bullet is great and does have werewolves, and then Lucas 3: Rudy is a beautiful closer because Lucas overcomes his handicap (and the werewolves) and plans for that Notre Dame one-down. I also loved My Cousin Vinny, like a lot.
ELLIS: I like the part in My Cousin Vinny when Joe Pesci shoots the busboy and everybody’s all. “Why’d you do that, you crazy motherfucker?” and Pesci is all whatever about it, so they kill him and dump his body in some cornfield. Pretty heavy. By the way, I never saw My Cousin Vinny.
SMITH: My Cousin Vinny is this movie with Marissa Tomei in it and some courtroom stuff that is moot. Marisa Tomei in that movie was why I stayed living on the east coast. My plan as a little kid had been to relocate to Jupiter. Marissa Tomei kept me here.
ELLIS: My favorite movie as a kid was Ghostbusters. My mom sewed me a Ghostbusters jumpsuit for Halloween, and I wore it to school the whole year. It was badass.
SMITH: What character?
ELLIS: I don’t think I was a particular character. Just some fat kid who decided to be a ghostbuster.
SMITH: Oh, like if they hired a fat kid and had him shoot atomic laser beam rays. To fight the undead. That’s a bad plan for them. I got the ectoplasm for Christmas and it was purple and I smeared it on all the walls of my room.
ELLIS: That shit was fire. Also, I just remembered, this other kid dressed like a ghostbuster that Halloween and I was jealous ’cause he had like an actual toy proton pack and my shit was just cardboard and tinfoil.
SMITH: The real proton pack kids are going to hell first. That’s my only Christian sentiment. Spoiled little rich real proton pack bitches.
PART TWO
MOVIES DISCUSSED: The Crow, The Wedding Singer, A Clockwork Orange, Toy Story 4, Irreversible, Requiem for a Dream
BRIAN ALAN ELLIS: Do you remember the first movie you ever took a date to?
BUD SMITH: I took a date to The Crow. She said it was pretty weird and dark but then she said that her mom and dad had their first date at A Clockwork Orange and that they were making out until the rape scene. You never know with movies. Like even Toy Story 4 could be viciously harrowing.
ELLIS: That’s like taking a date to see Irreversible, or Requiem for a Dream. Brutal. The Crow had a nice moral center, at least. I saw The Wedding Singer with my first girlfriend. She loved it. She was like a goth/riot grrl-type and was way into the ’80s. She loved Billy Idol, and Bauhaus. I listened to Rancid so the movie obviously wasn’t punk enough for me at the time, but I’ve grown to appreciate it.
SMITH: How do you feel about Rancid now, though? I dated a girl early on who loved SKA. That was a tough one.
ELLIS: I was totally into SKA. Actually, the first time I made out with a girl was at, like, a Toasters show. I think I even wore a tie. It was pretty bad.
SMITH: What was the appeal? The plaid pants? The horns? The Doc Martins?
ELLIS: I liked the energy of the music. I still listen to all that stuff. I still love all the 2-Tone-era stuff. Rude Boi!
SMITH: I like the idea of you in a tie. Sounds very respectable.
PART THREE
MOVIE DISCUSSED: Die Hard
BRIAN ALAN ELLIS: What movie have you seen more than any other movie (it could even be a movie you hated that was on TV constantly)?
BUD SMITH: Die Hard comes to mind. Probably it’s Die Hard. Like, right now I’m in an airport and kind of want it to be overrun by German terrorists so I can jump barefoot into glass.
ELLIS: That’s where all the “jumping barefoot into glass” started. Seminal film.
SMITH: “Give me the codes to the detonators, McLean!” I just yell that all the time. Everywhere.
ELLIS: And people just nod knowingly.
SMITH: Today, at the grocery store, to the cashier, “GIVE ME THE CODES TO THE DETONATORS!” except, instead of detonators, I asked if she could swipe her store card so I could save cash on my bananas.
PART FOUR
MOVIES DISCUSSED: Dude, Where’s My Car?; Cool as Ice; Raising Arizona; The Big Lebowski
ELLIS: What do you think is the most underrated movie?
SMITH: Dude, Where’s My Car? For real.
ELLIS: I saw that at the dollar theater. I can’t remember if they ever found the car.
SMITH: They didn’t. It was set up for a trilogy. Aliens showed up with giant boobs. That was a plot point. And there were these two muscle men from Germany. That was a plot point. Ashton Kutcher made sexy clay sculptures with Demi Moore late at night while the Righteous Brothers crooned. That was a plot point. Stiffler smoked weed with a badass dog that wanted blueberry pancakes and spoke English.
ELLIS: I think the Vanilla Ice movie, Cool as Ice. should get a Criterion release. It’s up there with Godard. It’s mega surreal. When Vanilla tells the girl to “drop the zero and get with this hero,” he’s really telling us, the audience, not to settle for less than what we deserve in life, even if what we deserve is a white, towheaded rapper on a neon yellow motorcycle. Big questions.
SMITH: I also thought that Raising Arizona was underrated. No one talks about it anymore. It’s all Big Lebowski.
ELLIS: I think Raising Arizona was so underrated for so long that it eventually became overrated. I’m pretty sure that happens. Dunno. Seems legit.
PART FIVE
MOVIES DISCUSSED: The Lord of the Rings, Police Academy, Cocoon
BRIAN ALAN ELLIS: What’s your favorite movie franchise?
BUD SMITH: Lord of the Rings. I like the elf lady from the Aerosmith videos. That’s the only reason. Nah, I’m kidding. I also like the wizard magic crap. I want wizard magic even if I have to dress in shit-stinking robes and carry a big annoying stick all across faux Europe.
ELLIS: I’ve never seen Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter. I’m like a cinematic pariah. Police Academy is probably my favorite franchise. Each Police Academy movie was like a different Ramones album. You pretty much knew what you were getting and it was always satisfying.
SMITH: That’s noble. Police Academy is beautiful. I love Steve Guttenberg. Except in Cocoon because I hate old people. A whole movie about aliens and Florida and old people? I go see all the blockbusters. I see them in 3D. And I buy $70-worth of popcorn, candy and Coca Cola. To help the economy.
ELLIS: I just watch bootleg DVR movies my 56 year-old neighbor lets me borrow. Lots of Jason Statham.
SMITH: Oh wow. Like jumping in slow motion to dodge bullets. That guy can’t stomp on glass though. He’s too bald.
ELLIS: Yeah, lots of that. Nuns with guns. He lets me borrow a lot of straight-to-streaming Duck Dynasty-like shoot-em-ups where the soundtrack is like Black Keys knockoff swamp boogie.
SMITH: Love how Black Keys put millions of bass players everywhere out of work. Just guitar. Just singing. Just drums. No plaid pants. No horns. No suspenders.
ELLIS: The bass players just steal the drummers and start 2-piece stoner rock bands. It’s a tradeoff.
SMITH: No SKA. Just swamp boogie.
ELLIS: Swamp Boogie Nights. Let’s pitch that. Next time we’re in Hollywood.
SMITH: Electric Swamp Boogaloo 2: Breakin’ Glass: Barefoot. I’m bracing myself for the avalanche of cash.
This summer, catch BRIAN ALAN ELLIS and BUD SMITH starring in Tables without Chairs #1, a new book from House of Vlad Productions!
Originally published by Troy James Weaver at Enclave.
August 26, 2015
Turn the Page with Kayla Greenwell: Focus on Alexandra Naughton & Bud Smith
Tonight I will be dropping by the Turn the Page with Kayla Greenwell, a literary podcast party, not only to sabotage Bud Smith but to answer questions about our latest human interest project, Tables Without Chairs. Coincidentally, I’ll also being singing Metallica’s cover version of Bob Seeger’s “Turn the Page.” Alexandra Naughton will be there, too. All the psychic terror in one place, holy shit!
August 18, 2015
TABLES WITHOUT CHAIRS #1 Now Available!
Tables Without Chairs #1 (House of Vlad Productions) is out today in paperback! It features literature by Brian Alan Ellis and Bud Smith, plus illustrations by Waylon Thornton!
This is the true story…of two writers [BUD SMITH and BRIAN ALAN ELLIS]… picked to fill up their own sections of the same book…sometimes having to solicit work from friends [WAYLON THORNTON]…so they can all party together…and have their work published…to find out what happens…when art and literature stop being polite…and start getting real…
“[Tables Without Chairs #1 is] wilder than any animal at any itinerant circus in the world… and in terms of lexical acrobatics, a real high-wire act. Sit back and enjoy the show.”
—Ryan Ridge, author of American Homes
“[Ellis] and [Smith] are both great and uniquely themselves. Together they are even more hilarious and reckless than they’ve ever been. Reckless in a good way. Like two dudes flipping cop cars after a basketball game. This book is a riot.”
—Troy James Weaver, author of Witchita Stories and Visions
“Tables Without Chairs #1 is a platform for what [Ellis and Smith] do so well - revel in characters who are scraping by, and like them, living both inside and outside the established literary world. It’s also a reminder that there are a wealth of authors out there, writing, creating and telling stories, who are not waiting around to be found, but are certainly ripe for discovery.”
—Ben Tanzer, The Blog Will Change Your Life
WATCH THE OFFICIAL BOOK TRAILER edited/directed by Andrew Seward and featuring music by Room Full of Strangers!
CHECK OUT AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Bud Smith & Brian Alan Ellis at The Tavern Lantern!
ADD TABLES WITHOUT CHAIRS #1 ON GOODREADS!
BUY A COPY ON AMAZON!
