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 Burning With Terror
by David Zuzelo
Any film fan can tell you that music plays a primal part in cultivating a cult picture. Try and imagine Argento without Goblin (or Morricone for that matter), Jess Franco without Daniel White or ANY film Stelvio Cipriani has done without those musical beats. Nope, not the same films at all are they? Sadly, the analogue beat has gone the way of the European Cult Cinema for the most part, but not if The Giallos Flame have anything to say about it. Mining the dirty grooves of the late `60’s and `70’s, Ron Graham and several studio drummers have paid homage to the classics and forged new soundtracks for the trash film enthusiast to enjoy...and move forward to work on new films that will benefit from their unique funk.
From crime to horror, to post apocalyptic funk, The Giallos Flame will burn your speakers and bring to mind your favorite Maurizio Merli moments and your treasured zombie horrors. I caught up with them as they prepare a worldwide onslaught, putting the final touches to a second CD release and scoring the new Trent Haaga film, Easter Bunny… Kill! Kill!
GASPetc: While your influences show up in the songs themselves, who do you consider your favorite composers?
Ron Graham: All the obvious ones come up here, Frizzi, the De Angelis brothers and of course Goblin. I love that period of soundtracks from round about 1975 to 1980. Some amazing music was created in those few short years and has never been equaled since in my opinion.
GASPetc: Do you write to a specific genre and think through the pacing and tone of each to build your compositions? You genre-hop and manage to capture the sound pretty well, even without images to accompany them.
RG: I create any new song purely from the drum tracks I am working with. If I have a slow tempo beat then it will probably turn out to be some dark and brooding zombie theme, whereas if it is a faster track, it will probably end up a chase sequence or a murder scene. The drum beat dominates me in my music. I’m a total drum freak which is unfortunate as it is the only instrument that I could never quite pick up.
GASPetc: What type of gear do you use to record with? You have the sound down so well, it would appear these are true instruments and not emulations of them.
RG: I love old raw analog gear. The main instruments being analog synths (Jupiter 4, Juno 106 and a Prophet 600), plus some nice and raw analog delays and spring reverbs, a shitty 4-track, and some cheap old guitars. The only digital thing is the actual mixing down process on the PC. I REALLY want a Prophet 5, oooh yeah!
GASPetc: Does The Giallos Flame perform live?
RG: The record label I am with is really pushing me in the live direction and I have just started pulling a band together. I got a guitarist and a guy on keys that has Hammond organs and stuff. He’s also put me in touch with a drummer, but I haven’t heard him play yet. Although, if there is any good drummers out there who would be up for some stuff, get in touch!
GASPetc: Tell us about your first release on CD, and what future plans you have for spreading The Giallos Flame around?
RG: The first proper Giallos Flame LP was planned for September 2006, but has unfortunately been put back. It’s called The Violent Professionals and features loads of genres of Italian cinema. From the spaghetti western, to classic Goblin-type sound, to laid back funky soundtracks, to Morricone jazz type Giallo styles...it’s a ROMPER!!
GASPetc: You use MySpace very well to provide your fans new content. Does this work for you in spreading the word and does that translate into sales?
RG: Well, I actually haven’t made a penny from the music yet, but soon I’m hoping that it’s all gonna pay off. I’ve been doing this 5 years now and I’m hoping the rewards are gonna come my way soon. But the MySpace thing is cool for hooking up with like-minded people, people like Trent Haaga, who I hooked up with to score Easter BunnyKill! Kill!, and it also gives people who love that genre a chance to check you out.
GASPetc: What are your favorite Eurotrash films?
RG: Ahhh, now were talking. I love all the classics like Dawn Of The Dead and Zombi 2, Argento's early films, post nuke stuff like Bronx Warriors, Atlantis Interceptors, etc. My favourite film is actually Sitting Target with Ollie Reed. I love that `70’s bleak British crime style that was around, things like Get Carter, The Sweeney...that stuff rules!
I pretty much hate modern horror, especially the soundtracks. And all these remakes...oh man don’t even get me started! Nicholas Cage in The Wicker Man??!! Where did it all go so wrong?? Although there’s a bunch of new filmmakers putting out some real raw shit, Murder Set Pieces springs to mind. I was glad to be a part of that for sure.
GASPetc: How many tracks have you recorded so far?
RG: Ohhh, I got LOADS! There’s the Profondo Giallo E.P. which is probably the best known through the release on Killjoy's label. There is a post nuke E.P. called Post Apocalypse Now, there’s the album I did for the Blind Dead comic but sadly that never made it to production, The Violent Professionals L.P., Italia Violenta E.P., the new score for the upcoming US film Desolation which should be wicked when it gets done. I’m always working on stuff. At the moment I’m trying to finance my own label and get some of this properly released, just looking for a decent distribution company.
GASPetc: Where is the best place to keep updated on The Giallos Flame? Do you maintain a website address as well as your MySpace page?
RG: No website at the minute, the MySpace page lets you all know what is going on and has a regular change of songs on there to keep you all happy!!
Keep an eye out for film Easter Bunny… Kill! Kill! with Trent Haaga. I just saw the final version and I love it, not just because it has my first full score, but it’s a well shot, well acted, low budget little video nasty that really stands apart from all the other stuff getting made. Tim Muskatell (The Ghouls) is amazing in it, so keep an eye out for him too. Also be sure to check for the film Desolation. The script is a beauty, taking it back to pure `70's exploitation style, and I can’t wait for that.
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