by Fred Topel

Patty Schemel, former drummer for the grunge rock band Hole, is the subject of a new documentary. Hit So Hard: The Life & Near Death Story of Patty Schemel profiles her time with the Courtney Love fronted band, her decline into drug addiction, and her subsequent resurrection.

What makes Hit So Hard more personal than the usual biography of a troubled rocker is that it is founded upon home video of Hole shot behind the scenes on tour. The film began when Schemel wanted to transfer her old Hi-8 video (a high end format from the early ‘90s), and director David Ebersole decided to follow the story in more depth.

Schemel’s story didn’t end with her drug addiction and recovery. She also struggled with coming out to her family, and now she is happily married to her partner, Christina Soletti. After leaving Hole, Schemel spent some time homeless, living on the street. Through her firsthand accounts, and commentary from fellow rock goddesses like Gina Schock and Nina Gordon, Schemel and Ebersole paint a portrait of her struggles, and a side of Hole you never knew. Some of the Hi-8 videos even feature Curt Kobain shortly before his suicide.

The film has played the festival circuit this year. It premiered in Austin at South by Southwest, where I sat with Schemel before the film even screened in competition. On her own, Schemel was a mature, reflective conversationalist, the evidence of her former life, her rock & roll tattoos only being visible when she rolled up her sleeves.

New Directors/New Films reunited Schemel and Love in person, and the film continues to play the country in festivals like Seattle International Film Festival and this month’s Outfest in Los Angeles.

Read our exclusive interview with Patty Schemel on SuicideGirls.com.

Brutz Suicide in Wonder

• INTO: Modification, modeling, photography, cartoons, art, fashion, shopping, dope-music, comics, video games, sex.
• MAKES ME HAPPY: Chocolate, candies, free days, parties, shopping and more!!!
• MAKES ME SAD: Nothing can make me sad but me.
• HOBBIES: Plates, fashion designing, photography, making music, writing.
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Freedom, respect, perfection, shopping, love.
• VICES: Singing in the bathroom.
• I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: Shopping.

Get to know Brutz better over at SuicideGirls.com!

By Nicole Powers

Despite being grounded by a seemingly paradoxical levity, which comes across in the form of wry humor throughout our interview, Peter Murphy, a leading light in the gothic underworld, has remained an enigma for over three decades.

He first came to prominence with the preeminent goth band Bauhaus – their seminal cut “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” being forever imprinted in the minds of those who appreciate the dark side thanks to its inclusion, and Murphy’s mood setting appearance, in Tony Scott’s 1983 cult horror classic The Hunger (which starred Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon).

[..]

Saint Suicide in Kiss The Sky

• INTO: Movies, art, friends, and time to myself.
• NOT INTO: Excess.
• MAKES ME HAPPY: Warm blankets, warm tubs, Swedish fish, and small things like shiny rocks.
• MAKES ME SAD: Award shows, road kill, and animal cruelty.
• HOBBIES: Reading, hiking, being touristy.
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: The dog, the boy, a pillow, toothbrush and slurpees.
• VICES: Clove cigarettes and slurpees.
• I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: Watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 or driving around and listening to music really loud.

Get to know Saint better over at SuicideGirls.com!

by Flux

Every week we ask the ladies and gentlemen of the social web to show us their finest ink in celebration of Tattoo Tuesday; our favorite submission from Twitter and Tumblr each wins a free 3 month membership to SuicideGirls.com.

Check out this week’s winners below:

From Twitter:

@chinochet and his super-cute luchadora/bandita.

From Tumblr:

brain-food and her gorgeous arm piece!

If you haven’t won this week, don’t forget that you can enter each week until you do, so good luck next Tuesday, and happy inking!

A few things to remember:

• You have to be 18 to qualify.
• The tattoo has to be yours…that means permanently etched on your body.
• On Twitter we search for your entries by looking up the hashtag #TattooTuesday, so make sure you include it in your tweet!

Check out the Tattoo Tuesday winners of weeks past!

by Daniel Robert Epstein

After years of interviewing Saw II and Saw III director Darren Lynn Bousman, finally we get to do it for SuicideGirls. I have been a fan of all the Saw films since I saw the first one in preparation for my interview with co-writer/director James Wan. I had no inkling that this gory little horror flick would change the face of American horror and put us into this torture porn cycle that we are still in three years later.

The Saw films have always gotten a lot of shit from the online press but it is hard to argue with a franchise that has grossed nearly $400 million worldwide. Bousman is the director of the two Saw sequels and Saw III is truly the one that ties them all together. With Tobin Bell’’s Jigsaw and Shawnee Smith’’s Amanda now front and center, the audience gets to really feel the precarious mental state of the serial killers and maybe even can sympathize with them. With Jigsaw on his last legs due to cancer, Amanda has taken over the task of testing their captives and pushing them to their limits. I got a chance to talk with Bousman about the new unrated Saw III DVD.

Read our exclusive interview with Darren Lynn Bousman on SuicideGirls.com.

Squeak Suicide (with Bob) in Soular Flares

• INTO: Extreme girliness, stuffed animals, candy, supervillians, actuaries, my pet rats, Star Trek, astronomy, geeks, zombies, pink, X-Box, Japanese street fashion, platform sneakers, analog modules, Korg synths, comic books, making clothes, script writing.
• MAKES ME SAD: Rob Liefeld.
• HOBBIES: Astronomy, collecting comic books, medieval reenactment (SCA), gaming, cosplaying, currency tracking, writing, LARPing, baking, sewing, and more.
• I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: What is this “free time” you speak of?

Get to know Squeak better over at SuicideGirls.com!