Quick Interviews with the First 66

Paul Tam: graphic designer who is constantly looking to perfect his work thru simplicity which moves the hell out of people despite the language and culture barrier. Also looking for a job come April. Currently in Japan on a sabatical- head is filled with hiragana and soon to be katagana. Hence that is why he his on a children’s horse ride.

We asked Paul which are stronger: american monsters or japanese monsters?

“Well , I would have to say that japanese monsters are stronger because I was only exposed to godzillagrowing up. I remember those saturday or sunday afternoon godzilla movies on either channel 5 or channel 11(WPIX), and from what i remember most fondly is the movie with the somewhat serious godzilla taking on the smog monster. That was an all-out battle. Or was it the silly and human-like godzilla teaming up with jet jaguar? I can’t remember but i do remember thinking WOW- this is pretty cool, and the Sesame Street Monsters don’t count since they teach you. Shout out to Cookie Monster!”

Paul has been an invaluable asset to the Astromonger campaign with  his work with the graphics for the fliers, premium sheets, buttons..the list goes on forever..as well as our thanks to him.

Opening Night

The night for the Astromonger Monster Challenge opened with a wonderful turn out. The space was packed with a positive vibe, so many laughs , so many smiles. The band Locas in Love started the night with a great performance, their music so charming so lovable.

Quick Interviews with the First 66

Having a strong history in fashion photography , two qualities Douglas dimonda find crucial to art is composition & presentation. Always striving to “see” things well balanced , he incorporates these ideas into everything he does.

He has an impressive sci-fi resume including being the creative director for the Team Smile projects back in the late 90′s early 2000s.

He gets scared easily( an adorable quality) and loves getting scared ( two qualities that feed off each other). So when we assigned him a creepy campfire creature he said the story gave him “Goosies”(goose-bumps).

Quick Interviews with the First 66

RedHood

1989, Rob Benevides entered the professional world of film making as a special effects make up artists. In this field , it takes a special mind that is part artist, part technician & part magician to transform actors into monsters, create creatures that donot exist in the real world. He is most definitely qualified to deal with the subject of monsters.

His methodology consists of digital capture, digital imagining & digital compositing. A true jack of all trades one only needs to see his work to become lost in his fantasies.

Quick Interviews of the First 66

Hailing from both the inner and outer reaches of the Crab Nebula, Michael is an unraveling ball of yarn prone to hyperbolic gesticulation. A professional escape artists by fate, when he isn’t buckling the swash, he bides his spare time recapturing his lost looks, bon-vivanting, rapscallioning, and crawling out from under rocks with a mostly heavy emphasis on out from under rock crawling. An obscenely and classically handsome gentleman with a disarming and easy going demeanor, Michael projects the unmitigated and full spectrum of his Out Of This World charm and grace upon that first gaze across that crowded room.

His decades old tomfoolery remains effortless.

His soothsaying is legendary.

A rare breed, he remains one of the very few remaining men capable of living up to the legend in his own mind. His erratic eccentricities and musings will make you believe. Because his mojo is easy to digest, he will make himself available for your child’s upcoming Bar or Bat Mitzvah, day or night. An easy  fellow with a partially clean record, Michael makes you feel easy. Easy like Sunday morning.

You are cordially invited to come and ride!

Motion sickness is highly probable.

, T

Quick Interviews with the First 66

Angel Tan is the artist/designer behind Plush Play. Born in Manila, raised in Brooklyn her varied experiences leads her to love travel, food, animation & cute things. She is currently working on a collection of needle felted animals & creatures. We know her as one of the most generous souls in the city.
We asked Angel if she could order a monster in a restaurant , what would tempt her appetite? She said, “Kraken Sashimi”. Good answer, now we’re hungry.

Everyone Needs Love

It’s happening, this time for real. You may have heard it for a long time now but the store unlike any other, Love Saves The Day is closing. This is the last week you can shop in this East Village Landmark. After working in the Showroom(setting up for the Astromonger show) I stopped in to say hello & to find something of a momento(did I spell that right?) It was busy inside but not crowded. The reason is because their stock is beginning it’s moving out phase, so there is now so much room to move around there. Martin, one of the staples of the store( you will not find a more courteous & hard working manager), greeted me warmly as he took down a large shelving unit. He greeted everyone there with the same warmth & familiarity. I browsed around the store, but this time soaking in as much as I could with my eyes knowing soon I would never get to appreciate the displays the same way again. After an hour, I decided on a few items. A Sunshine MUSCLE figure, three old hologram pieces & a great find a loose Prime Evil figure from the Ghost Busters.
Please , make time this week to say goodbye to this amazing place.

Quick Interviews with the First 66

David Healey. His artistic consciousness is one of the sharpest we’ve ever come across. His complex designs in hybrid-sculpting are executed with precision & dexterity.
He’s always had a connection with strange creatures & monsters, military & technology. His desk at work, studio & home have at least a couple or more toy figures of ‘tree-like” creatures.

Quick Interviews with the First 66

Rob Keith is the singer & principal song writer of the Baskervilles, a NYC underground pop combo specializing in original lost new wave hits & shadowy NY storybook tales. Before forming his band in 1993, Rob was a sci-fi toy dealer specializing in rare sci-fi plastic. Rob’s favorite & one of his earliest memories of a monster is Medusa from Clash Of The Titans. His mother liked to do Medusa impressions,but Rob would run away instead of turning to stone.

Quick Interviews with the First 66

Nicole Eckstrom grew up in Sydney, Australia & moved to NYC in 2001. She loves to travel,sew & draw. She is currently working on a collection of pillows inspired by Japanese street fashion & 60′s designers including Rudi Gernreich & Barbara Hulanicki. (blinkonmynose.etsy.com)Nicole loves spending time w/ her husband Rob & English bulldog Coleslaw.
Her first memory of a monster story is Sesame Street’s The Monster at the end of this Book’. It was way too cute to be scary.

blinkonmynose