article about Peter Steele in The Atlantic

I was pleasantly surprised to have found an article reflecting on Peter Steele in The Atlantic today.

Peter Steele interview: more humor about life and more humor about death

more humor, this interview with Peter Steele

R.I.P. Goth/Metal hero Peter Steele

It is always devastating to hear of someone dying too young and now even more tragic that the world has lost Peter Steele. His morbid sense of humor is the side of Peter's voice that I hear despite my sadness of his death. The first time I saw him in Type O Negative was at The Channel in Boston, about 1989 or so. The big finale involved a chainsaw and he had a thick gauge chain for his bass strap. There was no other frontman that could match his baritone vocals, his lyrical genius, his Cro-Magnon physical traits, and who could also possess the sensitivity and love for women. I finally met him before their show at the Berkeley Square in 1994 when I was asked to interview him. I asked him when his birthday was and first he said January 4, 1462, and then corrected it to 1962. I found that he spoke very self-depracatingly about himself and his music, which I found to be completely hysterical. I played into it; kept a straight face throughout which seemed to be even funnier to the band when they watched the interview later. His tough front could have him be mistakable as an angry thug, but really deep down he was well-read, very intelligent, and wise. He is way too young to go and he had a lot left to offer the world. He is very sadly missed by his fans, including myself. I often felt that Peter Steele, and Type O Negative as a whole, was misunderstood and sometimes seen as sending a bad message to the youthful fans. It was the bands' honest feelings being expressed of what people felt; it was their right to write about it; express it without censoring themselves. You didn't have to agree with their lyrics to like their music. If anyone brought their controversial lyrics to light, it only made more publicity for them. Peter explains in one interview: "Well, we were kinda singled out for all the wrong reasons. I’ve got a big mouth and am politically incorrect and I’m very proud of it. Just the word politically correct irritates me because I don’t want to be told by anyone or any entity like the media what I should believe or what is right or what is wrong, y’know. My opinions are not based upon hearsay, my opinions are based upon life experience and so when we were accused of being fascists and communists and Satanists it kind of did us a huge favor because it generated so much press and it increased record sales." There are posts on the 'Net like this one that describes what it is like to be around him. I rarely met fans of Type O Negative on the west coast and then they increased abundantly with the release of the album Bloody Kisses. One of the ways I met a fan, whom soon became my friend, was by spotting him wearing a Type O Negative shirt while I was visiting New Orleans. I did not hesitate to approach him to ask if he had been to one of their shows; he had seen them in Lafayette, Louisiana, and loved it. This friend is Allen Jaeger, an infamous poster artist for hundreds of shows and his work helps promote shows in the New Orleans area. Jaeger later met the band on their way through New Orleans made show posters in 1996 and in 2000. Allen is one of the first Type O Negative fans I met who "got" what they were about and didn't question it. If you are also a fan, feel free to comment about Peter Steele's death below this post.

Review of the Addams Family Musical; theatrical performance from March 18, 2010, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC

Nathan Lane, is a perfect Gomez with a Spanish accent, suited in pinstripes or smoking jackets and ascots; an infectious laugh; his recalling of ancestral names all sounding like dishes found on a Mexican restaurant menu. His charming, charismatic grins, were most often paired with Bebe Neuwirth's (Morticia) mischievous purr. Neuwirth's solo "Just Around the Corner" takes a moment to tease us by pausing midsong, "Get it? Coroner..." as if to see if we're at all listening to the lyrics. She does the number with a wardrobe conversion that gives her thigh-high, black shiny boots. Neuwirth's Morticia, like Lane, brings to life (and death) our favorite goth parent. The comedy of Carolee Carmello (Alice Beineke) reminded me of Carol Burnett. She's the mom of Wednesday's love interest and her energetic stage stunts are very much a tribute to Burnett's slapstick. Her husband Mal is played by Terrence Mann and Mal runs into a little trouble in the dungeon with Bernice while trying to bond with Gomez Addams. His song "In the Arms" is cabaret-like and he has a nice duet with Carolee Carmello. Jackie Hoffman is Grandmama and she is a scene stealer. Hoffman was told to improvise a line each night. Her twisted jokes include singing the lyrics to Buffalo Springfield's "Stop, Hey What's That Sound" and, with Pugsley, who doesn't understand her old references, she commands him to stop texting and read a book! She has a part in "Let's Not Talk About Anything Else But Love" as does Fester, Puck-ishly played by Kevin Chamberlain. Early in the 1st act, he daringly breaks the fourth wall with a lyric asking how the audience is doing in the mezzanine. Chamberlain's twisted Fester falls in love with the moon and is literally floating high above the stage. Fester's story livens up the second act of the show. Zachary James plays Lurch, who is a character of few words, more grunts and some phrases of jibberish, and he has many memorable scenes, great timing with the deadpan humor. His jokes are primarily physical. Observing him slowly shuffling to the door like an octogenarian, just drives poor Wednesday mad (or madder) awaiting the arrival of her boyfriend and his parents at the house for the first time. I get that the trick with the story is to play on the juxtapositions between the preppy boyfriend Lucas Beineke played by Wesley Taylor and the dour Wednesday. The concept is of having their odd romance throws off kilter the rest of the Addams, apparent in the moments where the parents are singing, "Where did we go wrong?". The other side is playing Morticia and Gomez against each other and her concern that she's old. It never was a subject in the cartoons nor in the TV and movies. Their conflict may not have been true to the Addams characters, but the players were still fascinating to watch as they worked it out. "Pulled" is a solo sung by Krysta Rodriguez (Wednesday) while torturing Adam Riegeler's Pugsley, rather polished and predictably upbeat in typical musical theatre fashion. Here is where one imagines the fans of Christina Ricci's Wednesday Addams would not appreciate the choice for Wednesday to sing with such fervor. "Crazier Than You" is a slightly better song Rodriguez performs with Taylor. Riegler's song, "What If" is a little sweetly sentimental number about longing to be tortured by his sister, hoping it won't cease, and allows him to interact one on one with Hoffman's Grandmama. The contrasting connotations of the youngest and the oldest is a little contrived, but funny nonetheless. Closing the show with "Move Towards the Darkness" embraces the bleakness that the Addams cherish and the song is beautifully sung by Zachary James with the rest of the cast joining him. Fans of the Charles Addams cartoons may see a few references in the Addams Family Musical, set in New York City, which is a location often celebrated in Addams's cartoons for it was a hometown he loved. For example, the bed Pugsley sleeps in is carved in the image in the bed used in one of the cartoons. The family dined on one side of a long table on stage in one of the scenes. It was clear that the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation had a lot of influence on the show. There are references to Thing, the amputated hand, from the TV shows and movies. Cousin It is seen at least once, but unfortunately not a guest at the dinner table. Fester can light up the lightbulbs inserted into his mouth; both from the TV show and movies. Like in the cartoons, creatures live in nooks and crannies of the house. Bernice is a giant squid living under the stairs in a dungeon area of the mansion. I didn't think that the Venus Flytrap plant had much to do with the story. Pugsley cradles a pet fire-breathing dragon. The puppetry is cute, but a bit corny and, unfortunately, fails to capture the deadpan humor we have seen in Charles Addams's drawings. It was my choice to view the exhibit of Charles Addams's New York at the Museum of the City of New York within days of attending the musical at Lunt-Fontanne theatre near Times Square. It was apparent from the show that these original characters created by Charles Addams were an adored family and the performances were a tribute to their creator. Preview the original cast recording album and you'll here how the songs range from upbeat show tunes to ballads. edited for link updates on 11/08/2020

Video: Late Show with David Letterman > cast of The Addams Family Musical performs

From Broadway World, video of cast of The Addams Family Musical performing the first number, "When You're an Addams"

Charles Addams's New York through June 8, 2010 at Museum of the City of New York

I uploaded photos in a private set on Flickr from the Charles Addams's New York exhibit, currently on display at the museum through June 8, 2010 at Museum of the City of New York. It's a wonderful exhibit that presents a great array of preliminary drawings, unpublished works, memorabilia, and many prints from private collections. One room separately is dedicated to The Addams Family items viewable under glass. It is worth taking the time to see the exhibit and visiting the gift shop to find the books and cards of Charles Addams's cartoons.

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The photos include some of the slide presentation of unpublished pages during a book signing event at the museum. The director of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation, Kevin Miserocchi, presented his new book The Addams Family: An Evilution. It's the only book you'll find that explains the origin of each character from The Addams Family. The book is published on very high quality paper with color images; loaded with excellently weird Addams Family panels.

Soon I will post my review of The Addams Family Musical. You can find merchandise from the musical online as well. Watch the performance from cast members this Tuesday, April 6 on Late Show with David Letterman.