by Alex Dueben
“The themes and narrative…are timeless.”
– American McGee
American McGee started his career in games working on projects like Doom, Quake, and their sequels. However, most of us first learned his name in 2000 when Electronic Arts released American McGee’s Alice. The video game took Lewis Carroll’s character away from the genteel, neutered Walt Disney version and took it in a darker, bloodier direction. Since then, McGee has moved to China and started a company Spicy Horse which has developed games like Grimm. Now he’s returned to the world of Alice with one of the year’s most anticipated new games, Alice: Madness Returns.
He spoke with SuicideGirls via e-mail about the new game, the accompanying art book (published by Dark Horse Comics), the future of gaming, and how living and working in China has affected his way of thinking.
Read our exclusive interview with American McGee on SuicideGirls.com.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
“Music is now a soundtrack to some other activity.”
– Maynard Keenan
Once youve made it to the height of your chosen field, what do you do next? Well according to Tool and A Perfect Circle singer Maynard Keenan, what satisfies him at this point is crushing grapes in his backyard. If that sounds like fun to you CBT fans then youre missing the point. Keenan has figured it out, hes taken his love for wine and started his own label and vineyard and is taking some heavy risks with his next music project Puscifier.
Read our exclusive interview with Maynard Keenan on SuicideGirls.com.
by Keith Daniels
“It’s kind of juvenile and innocent. Like a kindergarten orgy.”
– Cole Alexander
Black Lips are a four-piece from Atlanta, Georgia who play a psych-garage style they call ‘flower-punk.’ Heretofore as well known for their unpredictable live shows as their self-produced records, the Lips have seemingly been aiming for more artistic respect since their breakout, 2007’s Good Bad Not Evil. And not without justification. That record and its followup, 2009’s 200 Million Thousand, showed that they were as serious about their craft as they were about good times.
With their new record, Arabia Mountain, the Black Lips’ connoisseur’s ear for the best bits of rock history and hard-won chops have found an unlikely but sympathetic enabler in super-producer Mark Ronson. Ronson, famous for his work with artists like Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams, might have seemed a risky choice, but he’s left the Lips’ scruffy lo-fi charm intact while bringing a wider palate of sound and honing their songs to razor sharpness.
SuicideGirls spoke recently with the band’s singer/guitarist Cole Alexander about the new record, heavy metal, and economics.
Read our exclusive interview with Cole Alexander from Black Lips on SuicideGirls.com.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
“I’m allergic to a certain level of contrivance.”
– Larry Charles
When the Borat movie was released last year you couldnt even count the number of publicity appearances that Sacha Baron Cohen made in character. Those appearances, along with creating a hysterical and powerful movie, turned Borat into a monstrous hit and a cultural phenomenon that crossed all lines of gender, race and politics.
Much of the attention for the film was given, and rightly so, went to Cohen, but for most movies the director is always an essential element. Borat‘s director is Larry Charles, previously best known for his writer/producer work on Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage. Charles also directed another mop topped Jew named Bob Dylan in Masked and Anonymous. I got a chance to talk with Charles about creating the movie, the politics behind the scenes and how he got those people to say such outrageous things.
Read our exclusive interview with Larry Charles on SuicideGirls.com.
by Keith Daniels
“Dungeon Siege is kind of a no-drama game.”
– Nathaniel Chapman
Obsidian Entertainment’s Dungeon Siege 3 is a polished and highly addictive button-mashing action-RPG that succeeds in creating a story-oriented co-op fantasy dungeon crawler for mainstream console audiences in the tradition of Secret of Mana or Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. Though the Dungeon Siege franchise was originally developed by Gas Powered Games, Obsidian is known for taking on sequel projects from other developers, most notably the sequels to BioWare’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Bethesda’s Fallout 3.
SuicideGirls spoke recently to Dungeon Siege 3’s Lead Designer, Nathaniel Chapman, also a veteran of Neverwinter Nights 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, about where this sequel fits in with its predecessors, his design philosophy, and how Diablo is Diablo.
Read our exclusive interview with Nathaniel Chapman on SuicideGirls.com.
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by Alex Dueben
“I’m doing everything I’ve always wanted to do.”
– Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins is a legend among people who read and study comics. She’s a cartoonist who was active in the San Francisco underground in the ’70s and ’80s where she contributed to many publications including the East Village Other, It Ain’t Me Babe and Wimmen’s Comix. In recent decades she’s worked more as a writer on books including Go, Girl! and Chicagoland Detective Agency, in addition to working on Wonder Woman, Xena and The Spirit.
Robbins’ other claim to fame is that she is one of the great comics historians. In books like A Century of Women Cartoonists and From Girls to Grrrlz she writes not just thoughtfully and passionately about many cartoonists whose work has faded from consciousness, but she also reshapes our perception of comics past. In the book The Brinkley Girls, which she edited, the work of the artist Nell Brinkley was brought together, showing her incredible drafting skill and demonstrating why she was one of the most popular and important illustrators and cartoonists of her time.
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by Daniel Robert Epstein
“I have to put the brakes on in my mind.”
– Perry Farrell
Since Perry Farrell broke into the music scene in the early ’80s few people have had such an impact on modern music. In fact, his co-creation, Lollapalooza changed the face of American music festivals forever. But it is really the impact of bands like Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros which has cemented Farrell into the world’s musical consciousness. His new collaboration, Satellite Party, is set to expand that world view.
Satellite Party unites Farrell with cohorts such as producer/guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and collaborators like Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fergie, Thievery Corporation and even a spoken word appearance by the still dead Jim Morrison. I got a chance to talk with Farrell about this exciting new work on the phone while he was in Hong Kong.
Read our exclusive interview with Perry Farrell on SuicideGirls.com.
