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VINTAGE RADIO WEREWOLF & Other Items Newly Added in Featured Products

24/11/2016

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Vintage Radio Werewolf & Other Items Newly Added in Featured Products on this site!
Get 30% off everything in Featured Products beginning now until Sunday night (Nov. 27) when using this code: blackweekend16.
We've added many original, rare and hard to find items, including ORIGINAL Radio Werewolf Vinyls: The Lightning and the Sun, Bring Me the Head of Geraldo Rivera, Boots/Witchcraft, The Fiery Summons. ORIGINAL CDs: Christopher Lee Sings Devils, Rogues and Other Villains, Love Conquers All, George Montalba Fantasy in Pipe Organ. Radio Werewolf Vintage memorabilia: Original Radio Werewolf Fenris Wolf Patch, Original 1991 Radio Werewolf Poster.  Plus there are only a dozen 2017 ZEENA Calendars remaining. 
DON'T FORGET TO USE THE DISCOUNT CODE * blackweekend16 * WHEN ORDERING in FEATURED PRODUCTS on this site!

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HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: ZEENA on U.S. Radio Show Nightwatch

24/10/2016

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Tune in Tuesday night Oct 25th @10PM CET for a NIGHTWATCH Halloween Special, when Zeena will discuss her current music and writing projects and much more. As always there's sure to be surprises! The show will be a double-feature pairing Zeena alongside actor Richard Sammel, currently known for his role as Thomas Eichhorst in the FX vampire horror drama series 'The Strain.' Tune in live on the Nightwatch homepage at: http://www.zombiebloodbath.com/nightwatch/front.html

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NEW: RADIO WEREWOLF CONCERT PHOTO GALLERY

23/8/2016

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THANKS TO CLAUS LAUFENBURG for these rare and legendary concert stills from Radio Werewolf's early '90s European "End of the World" concert tour . These stills are from concert footage Herr Laufenburg filmed for Video Werewolf music documentary videos. 

STAY TUNED FOR MORE NEWS ON THIS THEME: A massive video-to-digital transfer project is currently underway to save many of Zeena's archived VHS video cassette tapes for posterity. Plans are to re-release the videos that the stills in this gallery are from, as well as many other vintage Radio Werewolf videos  and formerly lost TV and film appearances of Zeena from the 80s and 90s! This will be a laborious, time intensive project. So please have patience. We will keep you posted as new additions to the archives are available. 
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Frances Bean Cobain On Why She Is ‘Fascinated’ With Satanism 

27/7/2016

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By Brett Buchanan for Alternative Nation, Jul 25, 2016 - Frances Bean Cobain recently made a post on Instagram showing the legendary image of Zeena from the Geraldo Rivera 1988 Satanism special. The post explained why Bean-Cobain is ‘fascinated’ with Satanists. She wrote in her answer: “Zeena Schreck LaVey[...] (I’m not a satanist but I find them fucking fascinating).” 

Frances Bean Cobain obviously didn't know that Zeena renounced satanism AND the name LaVey before Frances was even born! If Zeena Schreck is why she's "fascinated with Satanists", hopefully she knows too that Zeena's been a practicing Buddhist for ages - after she ditched her charlatan dad and his plastic devil horns.

In any case, we wish Frances the best and hope she can find peace from a tumultuous family history in the same way that Zeena has. 
Article at: /www.alternativenation.net/frances-bean-cobain-on-why-she-is-fascinated-with-satanism/
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Radio Werewolf Ranked #4 Weirdest Band of All Time

2/7/2016

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CLASSIC ROCK online magazine has listed RADIO WEREWOLF as #4 weirdest band of all time, topping other such notorious groups as Roky Erickson, Father Yod & Yahowha 13, The Monks, and the '60s topless all girl band The Ladybirds!
Classic Rock describes Radio Werewolf as:
Formed during the height of “Satanic Panic” hysteria in mid-80's America, Radio Werewolf was once considered “the most dangerous band in the world”, largely due to the notoriety of their vocalist, Zeena Schreck. 
Read the full article and list here ​http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-06-28/the-25-weirdest-bands-of-all-time
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Noise Receptor: Interview and Review of John Murphy Memorial Tribute

27/6/2016

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Noise Receptor Issue #4 features an amazing in-depth archival interview with John Murphy from 2002 featuring lead photo by Zeena. You can pre-order this issue at the link below.
While you're at the Noise Receptor site, be sure to check out their excellent review of The Epicurean music label's John Murphy memorial compilation "All My Sins Remembered: the Sonic Worlds of John Murphy," a 3CD set featuring, among many contributions from diversified and noteworthy artists, a live track from Zeena's 2015 WGT concert with John.
Cover portrait of John to the CD booklet is by Zeena as well. 

Ordering info for Noise Receptor #4  @ https://noisereceptor.wordpress.com/physicality/noise-receptor-journal-issue-no-4/
Ordering info for The Epicurean's "All My Sins Remembered: the Sonic Worlds of John Murphy" @ http://www.transformed.de/theepicurean.html
Review: https://noisereceptor.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/various-artists-all-my-sins-remembered-the-sonic-worlds-of-john-murphy/

Images below by: Noise Receptor & Andrew King
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Photo: Andrew King
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THIS DAY IN HISTORY - ZEENA & NIKOLAS RECORD RADIO WEREWOLF'S ''THE LIGHTNING & THE SUN'', 20 APRIL 1989

20/4/2016

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A New Music Video by Zeena for the 27th anniversary of RADIO WEREWOLF'S ''THE LIGHTNING & THE SUN'' - originally released 20 APRIL 1989.
Featured Track: 'Against Time'
''The Lightning & The Sun'' & all other Radio Werewolf ambient instrumentals and cover versions now available on ''The Vinyl Solution'' CD @ http://www.zeenaschreck.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

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NEW VIDEO ONLINE NOW: ZEENA'S FULL CONCERT @Kantine am Berghain Berlin.

30/3/2016

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 A big THANKS goes out to Thorium Heavy Industries for lending their amazing videography talents in the filming and editing this remarkable video of Zeena's performance last month at Kantine am Berghain. [Video is at the end of this post.]

Video details:
Zeena Schreck
Performing Sonic Ritual Concert
at Kantine am Berghain Berlin
February 28, 2016

Accompanied by
Cory Vielma

Presented by 
GreyZone Concerts 
as 
Special Guest of
King Dude 

Filmed and Edited by
Thorium Heavy Industries

Playlist:
1. Introduction 0:33 
2. Kali Mantra 8:40 
3. An Untitled Protest (Country Joe and The Fish, Together 1968) 16:00 
4. Sethian Dream Oracle Mantra 22:35
5. Trinity (Radio Werewolf, Songs For The End Of The World 1991) 27:08 
6. Amitabha Mantra 40:28 

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FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY

17/3/2016

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FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY: Zeena's tone poem LUCHORPAN, a Celtic Fairy Tale inspired by the 1/4 Irish in her!
“LUCHORPAN makes audible the faery realm, the elves, kobolds and mischievous “little people” who guard the treasures of pagan European heritage. In this case, they appear in their Gaelic, Irish form.”
-Excerpt from Radio Werewolf Press Release for Love Conquers All, 1991
Composed & performed by Zeena
​Video by: The man with the green gloves
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KPOPSTARZ on Zeena, Valentine's Day & Her Upcoming Mystical Performance [VIDEO] [EXCLUSIVE]

2/2/2016

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KPOPSTARZ reports: "Need a little extra special magic for a romantic Valentine's Day? A new fashion art T-shirt may seem like it is coming out of left field but, coming from a magical icon, it is really only coming from a left hand path.

Zeena Schreck, announced that she will launch the new 'Zeena: High Priestess Of Seth' fashion-art t-shirt at the LA Art Book Fair, which runs from February 11 through 14, 2016.

The launch is being presented by Heinzfeller Nileisist, the same artist who presented "The Zaum of Zeena: A Collection of Interviews, Essays, Quotes and Images" at last year's NY Art Book Fair.

The special T-shirt was esigned by Frank Haines in cooperation with Zeena as a companion piece to The Zaum of Zeena art-zine."
[...]
"Zeena also announced she will be doing a live performance of ritual sound art at Kantine am Berghain Berlin on Feb 28, 2016. Zeena was asked to perform by King Dude and Greyzone Concerts & Promotion.

"Actually this happened on special request from the main act that night, King Dude," said Sabrina Debora Boller of GreyZone Concerts & Promotion told KpopStarz exclusively.

"I think Zeena as a person stands for many things, for spiritual enlightenment as well as for a strong cultural background. We are very honored that she will be performing.
​
Zeena is the Hemet-neter Tepi Seth of the Sethian Liberation Movement. She is possibly the most powerful and renowned magical practitioner alive today. Her tone art is inspired by her experience within the "esoteric, shamanistic and magical traditions of which she's practiced and taught," reads a statement on her website."

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/267959/20160202/zeena-schreck-valentines-day.htm

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ZEENA LIVE PERFORMANCE of Ritual Sound Art @ Kantine am Berghain Berlin - Feb 28, 2016

27/1/2016

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By the kind invitation of King Dude and Greyzone Concerts & Promotion: Zeena will perform sonic ritual soundscapes for the magically and mystically inclined. 

Zeena's tone art is inspired by her experience within the esoteric, shamanistic and magical traditions of which she's practiced and taught. Her soundscapes and chanted incantations unlock inner gateways to the deepest dimensions of spiritual awakening. The positive effects of which are often reported by audience participants as occurring in dreams, synchronicities and other-worldly, supernatural experiences in the hours and days following her performances. As an initiated tantric yogini and magician, all of her creative work, including her sonic performances, graphic artwork and writings, can be understood as catalysts to awakening the pure awareness (Buddha-mind) inherent within all beings.
​
This rare event will be both meditative and stimulating - not to be missed!
Sign up to the FB EVENT PAGE and get your tickets in advance HERE.
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photo by Florian Buettner — at Berlin Grunewaldsee.
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Buy online now: The Zaum of Zeena - Limited 1st edition fine art zine, only 23 left

23/11/2015

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The Zaum of Zeena is now available on this site!
​
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photos by Frank Haines and David Batan
A Collection of Interviews, Essays,
Quotes and Images
by
Zeena Schreck
Edited by Frank Haines
Published by HEINZFELLER NILEISIST
New Review of The Zaum of Zeena 
by Luca Piccolo below in this post.

[La versione in lingua italiana di questa recensione si trova sotto il testo in inglese.]
This fine art zine was presented especially for the 10th annual
NY Art Book Fair 2015, at MOMA/PS1, Sept. 17-20, 2015
From the original Premiere Limited Edition of 50 -
Only 23 copies are left of the original first printing.  
For Order Options with autograph GO TO SHOP PAGE HERE
New Review of The Zaum of Zeena 
by Luca Piccolo:

[La versione in lingua italiana di questa recensione si trova sotto il testo in inglese.]
.
The Zaum of Zeena, published by Frank Haines in 2015, is presented as a "collection of Interview, Essay, Quotes and Images" of the artist Zeena Schreck. Interviews closely analyze the most interesting aspects of the life, the thought and the philosophy that always accompanies Zeena. As is written in the first pages of this volume, "her art, like her music, is best understood as a non-verbal trans-rational branch of her spiritual teaching"; the best way to understand this is to read this text. In fact, Zeena's art is the main issue covered in the first interview presented in this volume, which happens to be my own interview with Zeena originally published in WSF (online art journal).
This is followed by excerpts from the interview with the author Konstantinos that focuses on exploring spirituality and the magical path of this artist. A theme which is then expanded upon in a different way in the wonderful interview with Che Chetty (for the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa), where certain aspects of Tantra are analyzed and investigated. In this series of questions and answers we see two alternating fronts: the accademic vs. the practical knowledge.
The interview by Maxime Lachaud, drops us completely into the musical dimension of the artist, and investigates mainly the work that Zeena made with recordings for Radio Werewolf. Also relevant to her work during Radio Werewolf is an extract from "Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden" by Daniele Siepe, in which the artist explaines the reason for a particular position/asana she takes in a scene from her Video Werewolf film "Germany: The Theory of Ruins" (1992). Both of these interviews make us reflect on the meticulousness that the artist uses for the realization of every single opera. With this in mind, it spontaneously came to me how the composition of this volume was not at all left to chance.
Also included in this collection are two writings by Zeena originally published in the Beatdom Magazine # 11 (referring to "Liberation under the Snow Moon," the story of a salvific mission to free captive wolves from a fur farm) and Vice Magazine ("A Tale of Two Birds and Tantric Meditation ").
All the interviews are linked together through a series of quotes and images, which greatly augment the value of the text and make for a most pleasant and smooth reading experience. Between the lines we also see beauty and clarity: perhaps the two most emotionally engaging effects of this pubblication.
This is a text that gives to the general public the opportunity to open up to the understanding of Zeena Schreck and her art. It is certainly a must read by anyone interested in the spiritual and artistic aspects of Zeena. But also for those who have only a marginal interest in these topics, it is still a treat.

--Luca Piccolo
2015 Naples, Italy

The Zaum of Zeena, editato da Frank Haines nel 2015, si presenta come una “collection of Interview, Essay, Quotes and Images” dell’artista Zeena Schreck. Le interviste analizzano da vicino gli aspetti più interessanti della vita, del pensiero e della filosofia che accompagna Zeena da sempre.
Come appare scritto nelle prime pagine di questo volume “her art, like her music, is best understood as a non-verbal trans-rational branch of her spiritual teaching”; il miglior modo per comprenderlo è leggere questo testo. È infatti l’arte di Zeena la tematica principalmente trattata nella prima intervista, quella di Luca Piccolo.
Seguono poi alcuni estratti dall’intervista con l’autore Konstantinos che fa convergere le proprie domande su questioni che indagano la spiritualità e il percorso magico dell’artista. Tematica che poi verrà sviluppata in un altro modo nella stupenda intervista con Che Chetty (for the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa), dove sono invece analizzati e indagati alcuni aspetti del Tantra, in questa serie di domande e risposte vediamo alternarsi due fronti: quello accademico e quello della conoscenza pratica.
L’intervista di Maxime Lachaud, ci cala completamente nella dimensione musicale dell’artista, e indaga principalmente il lavoro che Zeena ha compiuto con le registrazioni di Radio Werewolf; così come nell’estratto da “Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden” di Daniele Siepe, viene spiegata una posizione/asana che l’artista assume in una scena di “Germania: The theory of Ruins” (1992), from Video Werewolf film. Entrambe le interviste ci fanno riflettere sulla meticolosità che l’artista utilizza per la realizzazione di ogni sua singola Opera. Tenendo presente ciò, sorge spontaneo il pensiero che anche la composizione di questo volume non sia affatto stata affidata al caso.
Sono inoltre inclusi in questa raccolta due scritti della stessa Zeena già pubblicati su Beatdom Magazine # 11 (parliamo di “Liberation under the Snow Moon”, racconto di un’azione salvifica per liberare alcuni lupi) e su Vice Magazine (“A Tale of Two Birds and Tantric Meditation”).
Le citazioni e le immagini che compongono quest’opera fanno da anello di congiunzione tra tutte le interviste, e aumentano notevolmente il valore del testo, oltre a renderlo ancora più piacevole e scorrevole. Tra le pagine vediamo quindi affiancarsi la bellezza e la chiarezza: forse i due elementi emotivamente più coinvolgenti dell’opera.
È questo un testo che dà al grande pubblico la possibilità di aprirsi alla comprensione di Zeena Schreck e della sua Arte. Va indubbiamente letto da chiunque abbia interesse per il percorso spirituale e artistico di Zeena, ma anche, da chi ha solo un interesse marginale per le tematiche trattate.  ​
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John Murphy Retrospective curated by Zeena for Network Awesome

17/10/2015

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TODAY ON NETWORK AWESOME:
A Full Day of Programs in Tribute to John Murphy.

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On Monday, I posted a memorial to my friend and music colleague John Murphy.


As follow up to that memorial, I'm also paying tribute to John's life's work by curating a full day of programs and music clips, reflecting 36 years of John's career. 

As with any artist, I believe his work should speak for itself, without needless commentary.

My gratitude is extended to friends at Network Awesome, and in particular Cory Vielma (who performed with John and me this year at WGT), for featuring this retrospective in their programming.

The stream of programs will remain in the archives at Network Awesome at this link: http://networkawesome.com/2015-10-15​

~Zeena 

PROGRAM GUIDE:

Live Music Show:

SPK - Metal Dance live
John Murphy - My Father of Serpents
Krank / The Grimsel Path "Verdant Hum"
Last Dominion Lost "Towers of Silence"
KnifeLadder: Dervish - Live at Le Zebre de Belleville, Paris 06.10.12
KnifeLadder | Head Of The Serpent
DEATH IN JUNE- Come Before Christ and Murder Love
THE ASSOCIATES - KITES
Die Weisse Rose live at WGT Leipzig 2009 (2)
Recorded at Wave Gotik Treffen Leipzig
Special Guest this Evening : John Murphy on the drums!
Of The Wand And The Moon & John Murphy
NIKOLAS SCHRECK and JOHN MURPHY LIVE - 27. 09. 2014 Tower Transmissions Club Puschkin Dresden
Last Dominion Lost (Shell In The Chamber) on The Network Awesome Show
Zeena Schreck - Ritual Performance WGT 2015
Whitehouse: John Murphy + Konzetrat - Creativisme Clearance.wmv
Featuring John Murphy on percussion.
WHIRLYWIRLD - WINDOW TO THE WORLD (Dogs in Space tribute)
Krang - Quick warp ( 80's Industrial Noise John Murphy )
Last Dominion Lost – Stagma
Whirlybird - Boys of the Badland 
Andrew King with John Murphy: London
Andrew King - A Song for John Murphy (Schmerz) 




Art Film:
​

Beatup - A film about John Murphy in a squat in London 1980 with Nick Cave and Anita Lane. Music by Ollie Olsen. Made by Michael Buckley.


The Network Awesome Show:

John Murphy Taped Live from NK, Berlin.
July 23-27th, 2012
in Episode 7 featuring:
Last Dominion Lost live performance of "Whispers"
http://www.auditionrecords.com/ar072.php

​
Talk Show:

1. KnifeLadder - John Murphy interview from Heathen Harvest

2. John Murphy interview for Melbourne-based Ghost Productions


Documentary

Krautrock The Rebirth of Germany

Krautrock was one of many major influences on John Murphy's music. It is therefore fitting and poetic that John made his final home in Berlin, Germany.


Movie

Dogs in Space

Movie about Melbourne Post Punk scene (with John Murphy cameo credited as Leanne's brother, also seen playing keybord @ timecode 35:30)

This is an interview excerpt with John Murphy and Douglas P. [Death in June] talking about Dogs in Space:

DP:  Following on with that John, when I first visited Melbourne in the mid 1990s, which was probably our first live show with Boyd and yourself as a percussionist, your name and my association with it seemed to arouse a huge amount of curiosity.  What did you do in Australia before leaving for England?
JM:  Slept a lot!  [laughter]  I left on January the 1st, 1980 to go to England, in January 2nd I arrived in London, but I'd been involved since '77 in the local... we'll say the 'alternative music industry' in Melbourne, from mid '77 onwards.   I'd been involved in playing from drums in punk bands through to getting involved in early electronica and stuff with other local musicians and we did reasonably well, but we just thought the grass was greener elsewhere.  We just felt that we could only get so far up and then we hit a brick wall.
DP:  Is that the 10% that you allude to that still continue in music?  You said that 90% of the people you had worked with had fallen by the wayside.  These people like Nick Cave you worked with, and Roland S. Howard, didn't you?
JM:  Well I never actually worked with Nick Cave, but I knew him from '77 onwards, and Roland as well, but basically people like that I'd known from the beginning they'd continued on, but there was a lot of people who just were probably equally as talented in their own way, but just got fed up with literally banging their heads against the wall.  They felt that way and the just fell by the wayside, decided they wanted to go in other areas, but I kept on - I can't say much more than that.  For some reason I was just compelled to keep going, even if I was considered peculiar by a lot of the people back in Melbourne.  I didn't get a lot of appreciation, a lot of people actually were quite antagonistic as times, so at times it was difficult.
DT:  I'd imagine that through your involvement in the music scene, you led into involvement in the film Dogs In Space as well?
JM:  Well, yes, I got involved in that, because I sort of had known the director.  Back in '79 in the punk days, I appeared as an extra in his first ever film.  Then I met him again in '85 or '86 and I heard he was doing this film about the formative years of the late 70's/early 80's in Melbourne, and I heard he roped in this other person I know to do the soundtrack and he was getting all the information wrong, as I remember quite well before I left to go overseas.  So I sort of stuck my foot in the door and demanded to be involved with it, originally just as the musical advisor, but I eventually got to be assistant music director, and I wasn't meaning to be an actor in it.  He basically roped in everyone he could to act as extras, and I just played a few different roles, but he wanted me to play myself as a younger person which I found a bit difficult, and I tore the ligaments on my left knee the second day in the recording studio doing the soundtrack of the thing, so I ended up in the film playing a Hell's Angel on crutches!  [laughter all round]  And I actually was on crutches.. it was an amusing experince!
DT:  I watched it again recently, and I looked out for your name in the credits, and I guess it must have been you listed as "Leanne's brother", as well, and Leanne was Lucio's girlfriend, that fat chick that turned up at the house...
JM:  That was the Hell's Angel character, he was meant to be from the country, with the dorky brother who sort of demands....
DT:  Were you the guy with the beard, were you?
JM:  I was the sort of biker type on the crutches, you know....

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Coming Soon: BRING ME THE HEAD OF F.W. MURNAU

15/7/2015

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Coming Soon: 
ZEENA's sequel to 'Bring Me the Head of Geraldo Rivera' - 
BRING ME THE HEAD OF F.W. MURNAU.
Inspired by this recent news story THE HEAD OF NOSFERATU DIRECTOR F.W. MURNAU STOLEN FROM HIS GRAVE IN BERLIN , Frau Schreck will issue a limited edition vinyl single, musically reflecting the theme and implications of this unusual occurrence. 
 
News of its release will be posted to this blog as well as on Zeena's Facebook page.
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INTERVIEW by the Chiseler: The Devil’s Daughter Remember’s Christopher Lee

2/7/2015

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The Chiseler Online Magazine interviews Zeena about her memories of actor Christopher Lee:

The interdisciplinary avant garde artist spoke exclusively with the Chiseler about the legendary actor.

Zeena “met Christopher Lee as a result of being co-producer for the CD ‘Christopher Lee Sings Devils Rogues and other Villians.’ Specifically, I first met him at the apartment in Los Angeles that Nikolas and I rented for him and his wife Gitte to stay in while we worked on the recording of ‘Christopher Lee Sings Devils Rogues and other Villains.’”

Long before Lee recorded with the symphonic power metal group Rhapsody of Fire, he was involved with “Christopher Lee Sings Devils, Rogues & Other Villains (From Broadway To Bayreuth And Beyond).“

“Nikolas knew of Lee’s love of classical music, opera and Broadway musicals. But at that time, the general public only knew Lee for his vampire roles and had little awareness of his musical talent and appreciation,” Zeena explained.

Lee maintained that his one regrets was his decision not to become an opera singer.

“Nikolas conceived of the idea to spotlight Christopher Lee’s considerable singing talents,” Zeena said. “But he knew that to do that effectively, such a project would need to focus on musical selections one would automatically think of Lee singing, appropriately sinister villainous characters from Opera and musicals.

“Lee was very enthusiastic at the proposal. So it was through helping Nikolas with the planning, production and coordinating of that project that I got to know Christopher. We recorded it at a studio in Crossroads of the World in Los Angeles. A considerable amount of work and expense went into finding suitable, classically trained musicians and a musical director (Dean Shepherd, who was fantastic) who had the right skills and temperament to work well with Lee.”

The friendship endured long after the work was completed.

“We stayed in contact throughout the years following that album,” she said. “We’d see him whenever he was in Berlin for the Berlin Film Festival and the ‘Cinema for Peace’ benefit.”
[...]
“It goes without saying that Christopher was a very colorful person,” Zeena said. “But for me, the most interesting conversations with him revolved around his descriptions of his WWII work as a British Intelligence officer. He talked about parachuting into German enemy Waffen SS camps and, well, he did what the British government trained him to do, which was not pretty.”

“I got the impression he was still rather haunted, even decades later, by some of his experiences during the war. Even though he believed that what he did was for virtuous and just reasons,” she added.

Zeena was present during the meeting of two masters.

“I remember a funny incident when Nikolas and I were having high tea with Lee at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. When we finished, we left the hotel to meet with Ferdy Mayne (Fearless Vampire Killers) who lived nearby. Together with Lee, we bumped into Bela Lugosi, Jr., whom we also knew (the attorney son of Bela Lugosi who’s a dead-ringer for his father),” Zeena said.

“To us, this was just business as usual. But then it dawned on Nikolas and me, that we must have known a lot of vampires, for the odds of that happening! Around the same time, Nikolas and I were also well acquainted with vampire actors Robert Quarry, Maila Nurmi, William Marshall, Barbara Steele and Ingrid Pitt.”
[...]
“He definitely had an interest in magic beyond the roles he played,” Zeena said. “But we need to make a distinction between 'interest’ and 'involvement.’ He had no first-hand involvement in any magical, occult or satanic groups and even declined direct invitations from such groups.

“He liked horror fiction of authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, Algernon Blackwood, etc. But that was purely a literary appreciation. He also had an interest in John Dee, The Golden Dawn and other 19th and early 20th century magical groups,” she explained.

“However, it should be stated that Lee had an interest in a wide variety of eclectic subjects, which had nothing to do with occultism. He was simply very well-read and inquisitive by nature,” she added.

Lee was in the enviable position to be able to satisfy his many curiosities.

“As a result of his years in British intelligence, he’d known figures like Dennis Wheatley, his cousin Ian Fleming, etc., and had heard of their experiences with Aleister Crowley. In fact he was lifelong friends with Dennis Wheatley and agreed with Wheatley’s views on the occult. But their friendship grew out of their mutual intelligence work, not because of occult or magical interests.

Christopher Lee was instrumental in getting Wheatley works to film. Wheatley’s The Forbidden Territory was made into a movie starring Ronald Squire as Sir Charles rather than Duke de Richleau in 1934.

“It was Lee who convinced Hammer films to buy the rights to Wheatley’s books for the films he would star in,” Zeena said. “But it should be clarified that Lee was very dismissive and wary of occultists, black magicians or satanists.”

During Zeena’s involvement in the Lee album, she had the opportunity to ask Lee about the rumor that her father knew Christopher Lee.

“When Nikolas and I got to know Lee, we were able to discuss this rumor with him in detail,” Zeena said. “Both Lee and his wife Gitte refuted the rumor vehemently. Lee explained that, as a result of working on the U.S. TV movie Poor Devil, with Sammy Davis, Jr. (who became a Priest in the Church of Satan), Davis tried to ingratiate Lee into accepting an invitation at the behest of my father, offering Lee a copy of The Satanic Bible, personally inscribed and signed by my father.

“Lee still had the book in his collection and, on one of Nikolas’s visits to London for preparations of the CD, Lee showed Nikolas the book referring to it as a cheap paperback from the '60s witchcraft fads. Lee didn’t take it at all seriously,” Zeena said. “His wife Gitte recalled another time they visited Sammy and his wife Altovise in Los Angeles, when again Sammy tried to serve as middle-man between Dracula and the Black Pope, and again to no avail.

“Lee had no interest. He said Sammy was nuts about my father but Lee saw my father as a 'Johnny-come-lately opportunist and con-man’ within the occult. Lee expressed that he had no intention of ever meeting LaVey. Then, Lee pointedly looked me in the eye and said 'I’m very glad that you had the sense to get out of all of that destructive rubbish, expounding on what he called the ruinous effects of that type of belief system,’” she concluded.

The levelheaded enchantress also got to see the work that went into his actor’s preparation.

“Lee took personal responsibility to research his roles, to learn what he could about the characters and the historical context, in order to bring a more believable performance to each character,” Zeena said. “His interest in devilish and monstrous roles was purely a matter of aesthetics and literary appreciation - but not at all a personal lifestyle.

“I think he considered the villainous roles he played as having allegorical and moral significance. Sort of like morality tales for a new generation. I don’t think he expected to actually inspire people to want to become the characters he played. He was part Italian and had a very strong sense of religious moral ethics. So even though he befriended Wheatley and personally researched the villainous roles he would play, it was really out of a dedication to portray those roles in as real a way as possible, to understand those characters from their own points of view and to make them believable,” she said.

THERE'S MORE - READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

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Christopher Lee letter from 22nd of July [1996] "Dear Nikolas, First & foremost, my thanks to Zeena for her much appreciated letter & the enclosure of the contact sheets [photos for the CD], most of which are very good. It is good to know that dedication, determination and devotion (the three D's) are still appreciated in the downspiralling & diminishing & destructive (thee more D's) rush of our wretched industry; and that there are still artistic & professional people who understand & support that horribly misused word “Talent.” I greatly enjoyed my sessions & we have indeed created musical history, it was great fun, if at times almost beyond me....I still think you should make the high notes in the Credo sound as good as possible. I don't want to make ugly sounds. Vanity of course. You can use any or all of the pictures included, except those marked with a red X. Obviously the “burnt out” ones will need to be graded, if possible. And you can match the facial expressions to the arias concerned. I would like to have some myself! Best to you both from Gitta & me, Christopher"
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