Thrillville's Beatnik Bash @ The Vortex Room: Like, dig

Written By Will Viharo
On Thursday, June 3, 8PM, we're hosting our first gig at The Vortex Room in San Francisco: THRILLVILLE'S BEATNIK BASH, featuring two of my favorite flicks, both prime examples of cinematic "Beat" pop culture: Roger Corman's ever-popular sculptor-turned-serial-killer satire A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959), starring Dick Miller, and Albert Zugmith's incredibly sleazy cult classic THE BEAT GENERATION (1959), another serial killer thriller with a bongo-beatin' backdrop, co-starring Steve Cochran, Dick Contino, Ray Stanton, Fay Spain, Louis Armstrong, Ray Anthony, Jackie Coogan Irish "Sheena" McCalla, Vampira, & Jim Mitchum (hope I didn't leave anyone out there.) Both films are presented in rare 16mm prints from the Vortex Room's voodoo vaults. The Vortex Room houses the same  funky, fabulous film archives previously stored at The Werepad, where we did a few gigs back in the day, before it sadly closed up shop, but the Vortex, curated by  former Werepadian/live-in curator/programmer/hep cat Scott Moffett, is a very cool, crazy, cozy duplication, feeling very much like a Warholian underground club in Greenwich Village circa 1968, with psychedelic space age decor and a full cocktail bar. Also on the bill: live "Beat" music & poetry by Smooth Toad. Dig.


THRILLVILLE'S BEATNIK BASH
Thursday, June 3, 8PM, $10
The Vortex Room
1082 Howard St., San Francisco
Will Viharo

WILL "THE THRILL" VIHARO is a freelance writer and the author of several "gonzo pulp" novels including "A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge," "Freaks That Carry Your Luggage up to the Room," "Chumpy Walnut," "Lavender Blonde," "Down a Dark Alley," and the “Vic Valentine, Private Eye” series, the first of which, "Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me," has been optioned for a film by Christian Slater, reissued in 2013 by Gutter Books, which also published the new Vic Valentine novel "Hard-boiled Heart" in December, 2015.

Two science fiction novels, "It Came from Hangar 18" and "The Space Needler's Intergalactic Bar Guide," were written in collaboration with Scott Fulks, who added real science to Will's pulp.

Will's own imprint, Thrillville Press, has issued a three volume anthology series featuring all of his standalone novels called "The Thrillville Pulp Fiction Collection," along with another omnibus called "The Vic Valentine Classic Case Files," which include four novels from the 1990s, "Fate Is My Pimp," "Romance Takes a Rain Check," "I Lost My Heart in Hollywood," and "Diary of a Dick," plus a recent short story, "Brain Mistrust."

More recently published books include the Vic Valentine "Mental Case Files" trilogy comprised of "Vic Valentine: International Man of Misery," "Vic Valentine: Lounge Lizard For Hire," and "Vic Valentine: Space Cadet"; the original story collection "Vic Valentine, Private Eye: 14 Vignettes"; the erotic horror noir novella "Things I Do When I'm Awake"; and a collection of erotic horror noir stories, "VIHORROR! Cocktales of Sex and Death."

Additionally Will has had stories included in a variety of anthologies including "Fast Women and Neon Lights: Eighties-Inspired Neon Noir"; "Mixed Up!"; "Long Distance Drunks: A Tribute to Charles Bukowski"; "Deadlines: A Tribute to William Wallace"; "Dark Yonder: Tales and Tabs"; "Knucklehead Noir" and "Weird Winter Wonderland" (both Coffin Hop Press); and "Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror."

Viharo's unique brand of "gonzo pulp fiction" combines elements of eroticism, noir, fantasy, and horror. For many years he has also been a professional film programmer/impresario and live music booker. He now lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and cats

https://www.thrillville.net
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