...I am certifiable... and I am a fan of Cinema Strange. Not that one needs to be nuts to appreciate these fellows, it's simply complementary. You know, like nudity and tap dancing... never mind...
I began my number-one fan/biographer status two years ago, and the time has come once again for an update. The boys have been busy in the last twelve months, and I can hardly understand why they ask me, a lowly, yet adoring freelance lunatic to document their misadventures... but then, it's probably because I'm distanced enough to be properly impressed by their every move, their every recording, their every scrap of merchandise... but let me elaborate.
First off, and this should please any original fans who witnessed their first line-up, the Strange hath acquired a guitarist, and his name is Michael. What this implies is fifty percent more madness on stage, not to mention that this lad happens to be a damned impressive musician in his own right. This new threesome has been performing at familiar haunts such as the Showcase Theatre, in Corona, CA, with acts such as Gitane Demone, Switchblade Symphony, Galaxy Chamber, and Trance To The Sun, as well as exploring new territory, such as club Chain Reaction in Anaheim, with Human Drama. Not to mention that they have organized their own shows at the Raven Theatre in North Hollywood. Perhaps most impressively, they have twice been the featured players at the world-famous "Coven 13" club in Hollywood, once at club "Vampiricus" in Long Beach, once at club "Sacrilege" in Long Beach, and they were the shining stars at the grand opening of the new club, "Release the Bats", also in Long Beach. It has been a maelstrom of Cinema Strange-ness down there in southern California, and from my far-off vantage point, the shock-wave of disturbed and fleeing air particles has been an indication that dementia praecox sells tickets, and these boys will survive... albeit in their own little on-stage world of headless dollies and torn stockings.
They have a few things to sell nowadays. Their six-song E.P. Acrobat Amaranth Automaton flies off the shelves all too quickly, and whenever I ask for a new copy, they say they're out. But that's okay. I... can wait. They have a new sticker design; something to usurp the current-reigning secret logo decal. (The new one actually says "Cinema Strange" on it!) And you can get a T-shirt, if you're lucky. But probably the best is the new seven-inch, which features "Mediterranean Widow". I've been waiting two years for a nice bit of vinyl to add to my collection, and what's more, seven-inch number two is nearing completion. They're definitely not doing anything to dispel the rumor that they're actually Abbo, Dave Roberts, and Billy Duffy, trying to bring back the old sounds, the old looks, the old everything in this day and age of boring moody-rock and Andrew Eldrich clones in billowy poet shirts!
They've also made their way onto a David Bowie tribute album, covering "Time". This one was released by Cleopatra records and their song features the original guitarist, Colin O'Donnell performing Mick Ronson's bit, with Michael playing keyboards.
So now what? I'll tell you: lock up your fish hooks and hide the matches. Something is slinking to a theater near you, and it reeks of the strange, it smacks of the manic, it has several more personalities than it was originally allotted, it is the full gray-scale of the sharp-toothed Cinema, screaming along to 20s movie queens and fancy glassy-bones, and it is loved and adored by those who remember the old days, and by those who are just starting to appreciate it...
... Come back to the Batcave, and don't forget your bedpan... you may be here for some time. And don't worry, biting your nails to the quick while rocking back and forth singing the refrain from "Lindsay's Trachea" means that you're loving every nonosecond.
-Retch Dempsey, February, '99