June 11th, 2013
Voltaire's OH MY GOTH! Comic Books Being Developed for the Big Screen!
After performing worldwide onstage, directing commercially, and following the film festival circuit with his stop-motion animated films, Voltaire will now direct a film based on his own comic work. The feature version of OH MY GOTH! will have that strange brand of dark comedy and music that he has been performing at Goth clubs and sci-fi and horror conventions across the land for years now.
“It was time to finally unite my storytelling, my music, my twisted humor, and filmmaking sensibilities all into one project,” says Voltaire. “It has all the things I love: monsters, rock and roll, comedy, and sex mashed into a giant ball of awesome.”
Producer Keryn Thompson is very excited about the content: “There's loud music. There's scantily clad girls. There's Satan,” she says.
Producer, James Morgart says that he joined the project because “Voltaire’s material stretches across so many genres that he sort of encompasses every bastardized sub-genre to be associated with the Gothic tradition since Walpole's Castle of Otranto. His plans for this film are to give his fans all of their favorite aspects of his work: music, animation, and subversively witty humor.”
Bring it on! Oh My Goth! the film is currently in pre-production and will shoot in the New York City metro area.
Synopsis:
When the reanimated skeletons of Necronus, a cemetery planet across the dark expanse of space, decide they need Earth paved into a landing strip, they send possibly the worst of their agents to undertake the task. Arrogant, pompous, and not the brightest laser in the arsenal, Heironymous Poshe takes on human form and travels to Earth aboard his Black Spire, a spaceship that could easily pass for a giant black cathedral. However, Poshe has plans of his own--namely, to avoid a desk job on the Necrid home world and live a life of leisure in a fixed orbit above Earth. For centuries Poshe (along with his robot slave and an imprisoned midget) has avoided his prime directive. Instead he has spent his time abducting Earth women, celebrities, and bands for a non-stop nightly party above the Black Spire.
But Poshe’s days of carefree hot babe abduction are coming to an end. Tired of Poshe’s lack of results, Lord Krom Wrath, supreme ruler of the Necrus, launches a full-scale invasion of Earth. Poshe bands with the only people on Earth who understand his cause (a group of Goth kids, a cadre of Ninja priests, and a small army of Hasidic rabbis--ironically, all of them people who wear all black!) to repel the oncoming armada of Necrid ships. The final space battle is the “Jews in Space” Mel Brooks promised us and never delivered!
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May 16th, 2013
PONIES OF DOOM HAVE ARRIVED!
The ponies of doom have arrived and they are being packed and shipped right now! So, if you pre-ordered one, rest assured it's on its way to you soon. Several hundred have already shipped and more than likely, all orders will be shipped within 3-4 business days. Thanks for your support, thanks for your pre-orders and thanks for making the Pony of Doom such a raging success!
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May 11th, 2013
Upcoming Shows!
Voltaire is back in the States after a victorious UK tour that saw him playing in Whitby, Windsor, Leeds, Manchester, Portsmouth, London as well as outside of the UK in Dublin, Ireland! Now it's on to more shows Stateside!
May 18th- Steampunk World's Faire- Piscataway, New Jersey
May 25th- Up in the Aether- Detroit, MI
June 2nd- NYC Zombie Crawl- Brooklyn, NY
June 8th- Fangtasia lll- New Orleans
June 9th- The Church- Dallas, TX
June 10th- The Crack Fox- St. Louis, MO
June 28th- Con Temporal- Raleigh, NC
July 4th- 20013: A Space Oddity- Springfield, VA
...and more to be announced.
All of the details for each show can be found in the CALENDAR section.
For news on his appearance (or lack there of) at Dragoncon this year, read THIS.
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April 22nd, 2013
Early Praise for Voltaire's novel "Call of the Jersey Devil!"
It doesn't come out until May 28th, but the experts are already chiming in on the new book. One quote came in this week from one of Voltaire's biggest writing heroes!
Caroline Thompson says...
"Aurelio Voltaire continues his reign among the pantheon of Goth gods. CALL OF THE JERSEY DEVIL is sly and sweet, nasty and naive, sulphurous and charming, witty, wooly, crackling with evil and stunning in its sincerity. What a read! Long live Voltaire!" - Caroline Thompson (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, The Addams Family)
Read more about the book right here:
http://voltaire.net/call_of_the_jersey_devil
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April 10th, 2013
Voltaire Starts a Soundcloud Page!
...and apparently is uploading tracks from his upcoming Raised by Bats album! You can hear those demos here: https://soundcloud.com/aureliovoltaire
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March 31st, 2013
Happy Sleezter Everyone!
To celebrate, here is a two-page spread from the old DEADY The Evil Teddy graphic novel! Sleezter goes out looking for love and winds up with egg on his face. Click to enlarge and enjoy!
And while we're at it, here's a little Easter treat from last year, Voltaire's song, Bunnypocalypse! On the Lair of Voltaire.
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March 20th, 2013
Raised by Bats!
Recording has begun on Voltaire's 11th full length studio CD! It's called Raised by Bats and the self professed Goth says it is his first album of Goth and Deathrock music (with a healthy dose of New Romantic and New Wave influences). One of the songs, "Captains All" is an homage to Voltaire's hero, Adam Ant. A small clip of the demo track can be heard right here!
Click the link to play:
RBB_DEMO_CaptainsAllEXCERPT.mov
There is no release date set for the album as of yet, but summer is being eyed as a possible release. Stay tuned!
Other tracks include:
Raised by Bats
Oh My Goth! (based on Voltaire's comic book series of the same name)
The Masquerade ( a song Voltaire wrote in 1984 when he was 17-years old!)
The Conqueror Worm (Edgar Allan Poe's poem set to music)
The Devil and Mr. Jones ( a song about the incredible Mr. Doug Jones!)
Never (heavily referenced in Voltaire's upcoming Jersey Devil novel)
Wake Up ( a track Voltaire wrote in 1991)
and more....
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March 18th, 2013
Voltaire Video Nooseletter!
New album, New Books! More toys that you can shake a stick at! Upcoming UK tour! Oh, just watch the video! It's too much to type out. ; )
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February 22nd, 2013
Major Update Coming Soon but in the meanwhile...
Voltaire served in jury duty on a trial that lasted over two months. Hurray for fulfilling his civic duty, but it did keep him away from performing for quite some time. Time to catch up!
Shows coming up in: Philadelphia, Boise, Denver then off to the UK for shows in Whitby, Leeds, Windsor, London as well as a show in Dublin, Ireland. All shows can be found in the calendar section.
Stay tuned for news including:
Call of the Jersey Devil pre-orders and release!
Candy Claws book and plush in pre-production!
Raised by Bats album update!
New Deady plush in the works!
Pony of Doom plush toy in the works!
More Lair of Voltaire videos coming soon!
and more!
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November 13th, 2012
"Call of the Jersey Devil" now on Goodreads.com
"Five suburban mall rats and a washed up Goth singer, find themselves stranded in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey where they discover two horrifying truths: The Jersey Devil, hell-spawn of folklore and legend, is real; and New Jersey (as many already suspected) is the gateway to Hell!
With the help of one lone witch, this small group must face off against their deepest fears and the most unholy monsters in a battle where their very souls, the world they live in, and any chance of returning to Hot Topic in one piece is at stake!
The first novel by musician and horror media personality, Aurelio Voltaire, Call of the Jersey Devil is a hilarious and terrifying homage to 80s horror and genre films. Like a mad doctor, Voltaire has Frankensteined together elements of Evil Dead, The Breakfast Club, Poltergeist, and This is Spinal Tap to create a creature feature that will have you laughing out loud when you're not glancing nervously over your shoulder."
Release date: May 28th on Spence City
PLEASE ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS.COM LIST OF BOOKS TO READ! http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16138644-call-of-the-jersey-devil
November 11th, 2012
"Call of the Jersey Devil" book cover revealed!
Today, Voltaire reads from his upcoming novel "Call of the Jersey Devil" at Athocon in Portsmouth, NH where the book cover is being revealed. If you can't make it, don't fret because this gorgeous cover by Michael Komarck is being released simultaneously on-line. In fact, you can see it right here right now!
Aurelio Voltaire's "Call of the Jersey Devil" comes out on May 28th on Spence City books.
October 9th, 2012
October Nooseletter now LIVE!
*BiTrektual Pre-orders Have Shipped!
*Call of the Jersey Devil picked up for publication!
*New items in the webstore!
*Odokuro short film sweeps the festivals!
*Odokuro Indie Go Go update!
*Upcoming Voltaire shows!
After a grueling summer, desperately trying to get "BiTrektual" finished in time for Dragoncon, finishing up his Jersey Devil novel and surviving a mini-flood in the Lair, Voltaire is back! And what better way to be caught up on Voltaire news than by the man himself. The latest spooky state of the union address can be seen at The Lair of Voltaire on Youtube, conveniently embedded for you right here!
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July, 2012
BiTrektual Pre-Orders are Now OPEN!
Get yourself a digital copy of the album, a physical, signed and personalized CD or even a private Voltaire show in your own home! There is something for everyone and every price point! Pre-order BiTrektual right here:
http://voltaire.net/bitrektual_pre_orders/
July 18th, 2012
A Eureka Moment
Voltaire posted on his Facebook page:
"Just had an incredible EUREKA! moment writing the guitar intro for BiTrektual in the studio! Everyone is cracking up!" Apparently, he was trying to come up with a melody for the guitarist, Frank Morin, to play at the intro of BiTrektual and suddenly, inspiration struck. See if you can recognize what inspired this little ditty:
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July Friday the 13th, 2012!
It's Friday the 13th! Time to kill monsters!
Well, it's that time again, Friday the 13th! And you know what that means! It's time for another 4 hour, monster bashing, song filled quest on AdventureQuest Worlds lead by Voltaire and his evil teddy bear, Deady. In this installment (the last of 2012!) Voltaire and Artix wrap up the three-story arch by taking you for the first time into The Neverworld, a dark world that lurks in the shadows of Deady's universe (those of you who read the Deady graphic novels already know to avoid this place!). It's going to be a creature killing blood bath, so tune in tonight at 7pm EST at www.aq.com . It's free to create an account and join the mayhem!
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July 11th, 2012
BiTrektual Preview!
Recording is in full swing on BiTrektual, Voltaire's album of Star Wars and Star Trek parody songs! Drums have been recorded by Dresden Doll, Brian Vigione and Maxim Moston (who played on Riding a Black Unicorn) has just laid down some amazing violin tracks. Today, Voltaire gives you a glimpse into the process by posting this preview from the album comprised of clips of most of the songs from the album. They are all rough, unmixed demos with temporary guide vocals, but it will give you an idea of how things are shaping up on BiTrektual! Enjoy!
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July 7th, 2012
Voltaire Offers a First Listen to the Title Track of BiTrektual!
It's just a short excerpt and it's only Voltaire singing (this song is a duet), but it's the first time anyone's heard anything at all of the mysterious title track outside of drummer Brian Viglione, co-producer, George Grant and Voltaire's wife!
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July 5th, 2012
THE DEATH-BUNNYPOCOLYPSE HAS ARRIVED!
Click image to Enlarge
Hey! Remember the Bunnypocolypse from last April??? Well, it's NOT over yet! A new wave of vinyl bunnies are invading Voltaire.net and this time they are DEATH Bunnies! AND they GLOW IN THE DARK! They have arrived just in time for the July, Friday the 13th event at Adventure Quest Worlds(www.aq.com ) and YES, these figures come with a code to unlock a special Death Bunny pet in the game!
Get yours NOW in the Voltaire.net STORE
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July 5th, 2012
BiTrektual Album Back Cover Unveiled!
More art continues to roll in for Voltaire's upcoming album of Star Trek and Star Wars parody songs! You can't be "BiTrektual" without a little variety so in this next image Voltaire (apparently from Vulcan) gets busy with a Sith Twi'lek! Once again, the praise goes to the amazing Shamine King for her incredible illustrations!
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July 3rd, 2012
BiTrektual Album Cover Unveiled!
At long last Voltaire has revealed the cover of his upcoming album, "BiTrektual" (a collection of his Star Trek and Star Wars parody songs) and it's a stunner! The glorious image was illustrated by a very talented, young lady based in Singapore, named Shamine King. King, who goes by Canadian Rainwater on Deviantart.com, created a piece of Voltaire fan art based on his song "This Ship's Going Down" a few years ago. The image caught Voltaire's eye and with King's permission, he used it as the art for a poster announcing a show of his in Seattle a couple of years ago. Voltaire has been an admirer of King's work ever since. He says, "Her deviant art page is full of wonderfully sexy Star Wars drawings so I knew right off she was the perfect choice to draw the BiTrektual album cover." King is presently creating more artwork for the CD digipak. "Just wait until you see the next painting... it's astoundingly sexy!"
Shamine King's work can be seen here: http://canadian-rainwater.deviantart.com/
The logo was created by Plasma Pool, winners of the BiTrektual Logo Contest ( http://www.voltaire.net/bitrektual_logo_contest/ ), a collecting comprised of Susana Cerda and Victor Torres. Congratulations on a job well done!
Voltaire is presently recording BiTrektual in New York city at Planet Grey studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn with long time co-producer, George Grant. Dresden Dolls drummer, Brian Viglione also returned to join Voltaire on this album. He contributed amazing tracks rhythm tracks last week and now Voltaire will focus on fleshing out the album with violin, tuba, bass and other instruments.
The current track list reads as follows:
1) BiTrektual
2) The Trouble with Tribbles
3) The Sexy Data Tango
4) The USS Make Sh*t Up
5) “Poopin’ on the Enterprise” (monologue)
6) Worf's Revenge
7) “Yoda” (monologue)
8) Cantina
9) “Damn you, George Lucas” (monologue)
10) Docking Bay 94
11) Expendable
12) It's Bigger on the Inside (a Doctor Who song)
13) Screw the Okampa
(subject to change)
Preorders for the album will begin next week.
More info and a behind-the-scenes look at Viglione and Voltaire in the studio can be seen at the Lair of Voltaire here:
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June 9th, 2012
The BiTrektual Logo Contest!
Voltaire is now in the studio working on his new album "BiTrektual", a collection of his Star Trek and Star Wars parody songs. An artist has been hired to illustrate the extremely racy cover art (let's just say most of the songs are about having sex with Star Wars or Star Trek characters and the title track is... well... about BOTH!). The artist (whose name will be kept secret for the time being) is a fan who has contributed Voltaire fan art in the past. Voltaire felt that in keeping with that spirit, he'd have a logo contest to find just the right logo for this album. So... graphic designers start your engines!!!
Rules:
1) Create a logo that reads "BiTrektual". It should bring to mind Star Trek and Star Wars right away.
2) Email your entry to voltaire@voltaire.net. Do NOT send attachments!!! You must only include a link to where your entry can be seen online.
3) We will post all entries here: http://voltaire.net/bitrektual_logo_contest/
4) In a week or two, Voltaire will pick a winner!
5) The winner will receive $100, credit on the album, a free copy of the album and some goodies from the Voltaire store!
(The winning entry will become property of Mars Needs Music (BMI) and winner will need to sign a release to that effect)
Good luck!
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April, 2012
Voltaire Releases First Instrumental/Karaoke Album!
Aurelio Voltaire (formerly just "Voltaire") has been releasing albums since 1998. One of the key features of his music has always been the epic and expertly crafted instrumentals. A cadre of acoustic instruments ( including violins, cellos, drums, horns, banjo, etc... ) played by incredibly talented musicians populate every one of his songs. Now for the first time, Aurelio Voltaire offers this amazing instrumental version of his latest album "Riding a Black Unicorn...". He has remixed and released a collection of these songs, removing the vocals and rebalancing the instruments to create versions that allow the instrumentals to take center stage. Though Voltaire is often labeled "Goth" primarily due to the dark humor in his songs, most will find the instrumentals span the gamut from gypsy to cabaret to New Orleans hot jazz to acoustic rock, Americana, classical, baroque and even acoustic heavy metal!
Professional filmmakers and students alike will find these songs to be a great source of background music. As a filmmaker himself, Aurelio Voltaire has an extremely liberal policy regarding the usage of his music in student films and indie projects. In short, he generally approves most requests to use his music for no more than the 99 cents it costs to download the track! Aurelio Voltaire is also a writer and he says, "I like to have music playing when I write, but if there are lyrics it distracts me. I'm hoping that writers will find this instrumental music stimulating and inspiring to write to."
Also included on this album are Karaoke versions of the songs. "Basically, the Karaoke versions are the instrumental tracks with the backing vocals left in," says Voltaire. "I get daily requests for Karaoke versions of my songs from people who want to perform them at the school talent show or at an audition or at a party, so I'm really delighted to finally be able to provide that!"
Whether you are a filmmaker, writer, throwing a Voltaire Karaoke party at your house or just someone looking for well crafted, original music to enjoy, you will love this first release in a series of Voltaire's albums released as instrumentals!
You can download a copy now at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/aureliovoltaire2
There are 17 tracks on this album for .99 cents each but if you buy the whole album ($9.99) you save nearly seven dollars! It's like buying the instrumental tracks and getting the karaoke tracks for FREE!
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April 21, 2012
Second Surprise of the day....
NEW VLOG AT THE LAIR OF VOLTAIRE!
The vlogs just keep on rolling in at The Lair of Voltaire! After much trouble and delays fixing some audio problems, at long last, Part 2 of Voltaire's interview with Gopal Metro (Brighter Fires/ Bella Morte founding member) is finally LIVE! And that's not all because the Lair has really become a treasure trove of Voltaire gems! There are 3 world premiere songs, 2 Ask Voltaire videos, 3 full albums free for the streaming (Riding a Black Unicorn, Hate Lives in a Small Town and To the Bottom of the Sea) and so much more! So, if you're lonely and have nothing to do, go spend a day at the Lair of Voltaire!
Watch these videos and more here:
http://www.youtube.com/VoltaireMusicPage
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April 21, 2012
VOLTAIRE PUTS ON HIS MONSTER PANTS!
Last week, Voltaire was interviewed on director, James Felix McKenney's "The Monster Pants are On" internet radio show and by all accounts, they maxed out all of Cult Radio's servers! Today they try to recreate the magic in part two as McKenney probes Voltaire (hm...) about his animation career, music, Star Trek and all things geeky!
Red more about the show here:
http://www.monsterpants.net/radio.html
Tune in TODAY at 3pm EST here:
http://www.cultradioagogo.com/
STAY TUNED! Two more surprises coming before the end of the day!
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April,12, 2012
THE BUNNYPOCALYPSE IS UPON US!
It's Friday the 13th again and that can only mean one thing... Voltaire and his evil teddy bear friend, Deady will be invading the popular on-line role-playing game, AdventureQuest Worlds (http://www.aq.com/ )! And this time, it's going to be a BUNNYPOCALYPSE! Deady's comic book nemesis, Sleezter Bunny is trying to take over the world of Lore and only you (disguised as a bunny) can stop him! Of course Voltaire and Deady will be there to help you. Voltaire will sing an AQ version of his world premiere song "Bunnypocalypse" (you can hear the original version here:(http://www.youtube.com/voltaireMusicPage ) and songs from his upcoming "Riding a Black Unicorn Instrumental and Karaoke album" will be featured. So go to http://www.aq.com/ , create a character and join the melee!
It wouldn't be a Friday the 13th event without an exciting, new, vinyl toy release, now would it?
Voltaire continues his "Deady and Fiends" mini-Qee series with Toy2R by unleashing a wave of evil bunnies. Of course his evil teddy bear, Deady is in the mix, this time disguised as a rabbit. Along for the ride is Deady's comic book nemesis Sleezter Bunny as well as Black/White and Silver variants of both. Rounding out the series is a Voltaire exclusive figure called "Sleezter Deady" available ONLY at Voltaire's webstore: http://voltaire.net/store/
As usual, all of the vinyl figures come with a code to unlock exclusive, digital pets in the game!
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That's right! If you have a connection to the internet (and if you are reading this, we are guessing you do!) Voltaire will be interviewed on the fabulous "The Monster Pants Are On" radio show on Saturday, 14th of April at 3pm EST. Voltaire talks with host James Felix McKenney about animation, vinyl toys, music, Star Trek and all of the wonderful geeky things we love!
Read more about the show here: http://www.monsterpants.net/radio.html
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March 3, 2012
THE JERSEY DEVIL CALLS ... and more!!!
Voltaire has returned from his Australian/New Zealand tour and he's back on the old workaholic treadmill (you know, the one with the built-in coffee IV and the rotating knives for motivation). As usual, there are a dozen or so irons on the fire but on the forefront is the "Call of the Jersey Devil" novel Voltaire is writing. This is a novelization of his screenplay of the same name.
That screenplay took home top honors at the New York City Horror Film Festival as well as at the Rocky Mountain Horror Film Festival. Says Voltaire, "a screenplay is a blueprint for another product, in this case a film. It's not the product itself. If a film is never made, it's as if the screenplay never existed. I think this is a really rich and funny and entertaining story that deserves to be heard so while I'm shopping the screenplay, I thought it'd be a great idea to write it as a novel. That way, people can enjoy the story whether a film is made or not."
In the story, a washed-up Goth singer and a group of mall rats find themselves stranded in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey where they discover two things: that the Jersey Devil is real! and secondly that the gateway to Hell is situated directly below New Jersey (which most of us already suspected). Voltaire expects to have the novelization finished this year and then it's off to find a publisher. No release date is set as of yet.
OTHER CURRENT PROJECTS:
Riding a Black Unicorn- Instrumental/Karaoke album (digital release only) Spring 2012
Hate Lives in a Small Town- Instrumental/Karaoke album (digital release only) Spring/Summer 2012
Cave Canem- original Voltaire demo circa 1995 (digital release only) Spring/Summer 2012
Deady Bunny, Sleezter Bunny, Death Bunny and Sleezter Deady vinyl toys by Toy2R- April 2012
AdventureQuest Worlds on-line event "Bunnypocolypse" - Friday the 13th, April 2012
BiTrekual- album of Star Trek and Star Wars parody songs- (CD release) Late Summer 2012
Odokuro (short film) begins its official film festival run- Fall 2012
Chi-chian Graphic Novel -collected edition (presently being colored) release date: TBA
Lair of Voltaire vlogs: http://www.youtube.com/voltairemusicPage Release: Ongoing
Upcoming shows: See calendar! http://www.voltaire.net/calendar
Shows coming up in Monterrey- Mexico, Piscataway- New Jersey, Birmingham - Alabama, Boise -Idaho and Columbus - Ohio
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January 31st, 2011
VOLTAIRE GOES DOWN! ...ahem....UNDER!
Voltaire goes to the land down under this February 3rd for a short tour of Australia and New Zealand. He will be performing in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne- Australia as well as Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland- New Zealand.
For advanced tickets and more information please visit : http://www.rivettingpromotions.com/
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January, Friday the 13th, 2011
It's Friday the 13th!!!
...and that can only mean one thing.... well, two things if you count the whole "unlucky" thing, and that is that Voltaire will appear on the mega-popular, massive multi-user on-line role-playing game, AdventureQuest Worlds! (wow, that sentence had more words than the title of Voltaire's most recent album!).
Just like on every Friday the 13th in the past few years, Voltaire and his evil teddy bear character DEADY, will appear in animated form in the game to lead players on a multi-hour quest. As usual, Voltaire will also play some of his fabulous songs. In keeping with the theme of his latest album, this quest will involve black unicorns and mechanical girls and all sorts of other strange monsters that one might find down by the river. And as usual, there will be all sorts of exclusive in-game items that the players will have a chance to add to their inventory. The game begins LIVE at 7pm EST, so strap on your armor, mount your black unicorn and prepare to ride!
FROM THE ADVENTUREQUEST SITE:
Friday the 13th Part 1
Voltaire returns to help you save the day!
This weekend, fan-favorite and musical guest Voltaire will return when a GIANT MECHANICAL ROBOT terrorizes the countryside with rocket-lazers and deathray cannons! Sounds like the perfect way to spend part 1 of AQW's 2012 Friday the 13th triple-extravaganza! And you can bet Voltaire will be drinking from a chalice filled with the laughter of small children while he does!
AdventureQuest Worlds can be played here: http://www.aq.com/
BATTLE ON!
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December 31st, 2011
Happy New Year from Deady and Voltaire! We hope all of your dreams come true in 2012! (except for Deady's... he dreams of enslaving you all!)
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December 29th, 2011
Mystery Voltaire Theater 3000?
...Well, not quite.
Well, as threatened, the Vlogging has begun. That's "vlogging" as in "video blogging" not 'FLOGGING' as we're sure some of you read in a pinch of wishful thinking. In short, Voltaire has started an official channel for his music on Youtube. It's called The Lair of Voltaire and already, you can hear two full albums there, "To the Bottom of the Sea" and the latest one, "Riding a Black Unicorn..." (etc, etc). But to REALLY spice things up, Voltaire has created a Playlist for To The Bottom of the Sea that includes an intro by him and his co-host Orville Deadendbacher. There is also some commentary in the middle and a lengthy "Song Meanings and Origins" at the end where Voltaire goes through the creation of each song on the album! It's sort of like Mystery Science Theater 3000 but, uh... less annoying. Tune in at The Lair of Voltaire! Click on the link in the upper right hand corner for To the Bottom of the Sea PLAYLIST to begin.
Oh, and while there... PLEASE SUBSCRIBE! There will be many more videos and you won't want to miss them!
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November 23rd, 2011
It's VLOGGING time at The Lair of Voltaire!
Back from his US tour and UK dates, Voltaire has no other shows in 2011. So that means he can rest right? HELL NO! He's setting his sights on using this downtime to VLOG at The Lair of Voltaire, a new Youtube channel Voltaire has set up at http://www.youtube.com/VoltaireMusicPage.
"So many people were putting my songs up on Youtube, illegally, that I felt it was time I do something about it. I felt it was time to establish an official home for my music there and while I was at it, I figured, why not create other content?" Word on the street is that once the Lair of Voltaire is up and running, Voltaire will not only upload more of his albums, he'll also create an "Ask Voltaire" video vlog to take over for the written one here on this site. "I'm very verbose, so when someone asks me a question, it takes a very long time to type it out. By creating a video vlog I can answer the questions more quickly". He also plans to feature tutorials on how to play his songs.
The Lair is not up and running just yet. "Before I can really begin, I really need to make the space I'm shooting in operational. Right now it looks like a hurricane hit a flea market." But rumor has it the vlogs will begin before the end of the year. In the meantime, Voltaire has posted two vlogs from Whitby, England where he was performing at The Whitby Gothic Weekend.
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November 1st, 2011
Voltaire Invades the UK..... again.
Last summer saw Voltaire perform in several English cities including Bristol, London, York and Dublin (that last one is not in England you stupid Americans! It's in Ireland!!! Yeah, yeah, we know you already knew that!)
Voltaire returns to England on November 5th for a show at Whitby Gothic Weekend, a huge Goth festival in the seaside town where Bram Stoker wrote Dracula. A few days later on the 8th, Voltaire performs his first ever show in Scotland in Glasgow. Upon his return Voltaire headlines Projektfest in Cambridge, Mass on November 12th. Details for all of these shows can be found here:
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October, 28th 2011
Voltaire is back from his US tour...
but it's not over by a long shot!
Upcoming shows include: 10/28 Anne Rice's Vampire Ball in New Orleans, 11/5 Whitby Gothic Weekend in Whitby England, 11/8 in Glasgow and 11/12 PRojektfest in Boston!~ See the Calendar page for details.
The new ablum, RIDING A BLACK UNICORN (etc etc) is now available at CDbaby.com and iTunes!
You can hear samples from all of the songs here: http://www.voltaire.net/riding_a_black_unicorn
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Voltaire on US tour!
Voltaire is presently on a US tour with dark cabaret bands Hellblinki and This Way to the Egress in tow:
Voltaire's Black Unicorn Cabaret: A Villainous Vaudeville of Bawdy Burlesque, Music, Mischief and Mayhem- With Voltaire, This Way to the Egress, The Hellblinki Sextet and girls! girls! girls! Three of the finest Dark Cabaret bands are joined by local burlesque performers for a night not to be missed nor n'er to be forgotten!
Reviewers have called the tour "Tom Waits in Hell" and that's a pretty accurate description.
September 21st New Haven, CT @ Rudy’s
September 22nd Manchester, NH @ Milly’s Tavern
September 23rd Portland, ME @ Asylum
September 24th Providence RI @ Club Remi's
September 25th Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt
September 26th Pittsburgh, PA @ The Rex Theater
September 27th Richmond, VA @ Fallout
September 28th Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone
September 29th Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
September 30th Savannah, GA @ Yong’s
October 1st Jacksonville, FL @ FACTORY (At the Pit)
October 3rd Austin, TX @ Elysium
October 6th Scottsdale, AZ @ Martini Ranch
October 7th San Diego, CA @ Queen Bee’s Art & Cultural Center
October 8th Los Angeles, CA @ Bar Sinister
October 9th San Francisco, CA @ Stud Bar
October 11th Portland, OR @ Fez Ballroom
October 12th Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
October 14th Salt Lake City, UT @ Area 51
October 16th St. Louis, MO @ Crack Fox
October 17th Nashville, TN @ The Rutledge
October 18th Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont Club (CANCELLED)
October 20th Columbus, OH @ The Shrunken Head
October 21st Milwaukee, WI @ Club Anything
October 22nd Flint, MI @ The Masonic Temple of Flint
October 23rd Philadelphia, PA @ Starlight Ballroom
See CALENDAR for details!
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August 14th, 2011
It's coming!!!!
Hear excerpts from the album here: http://www.voltaire.net/riding_a_black_unicorn
Pre-order a copy here: http://www.voltaire.net/store
July 31st, 2011
Gary Numan narrates Voltaire's latest Chimerascope film
In keeping with the tradition of having narrations by singers in his Chimerascope Series films, Voltaire's latest film, "Odokuro" features the inimitable voice of legendary rocker, Gary Numan. Numan's brand of dark futuristic, dystopian coolness is the perfect match for the film which is a little Gothic piece about hauntings with a Twilight Zone kind of sci-fi twist. Says Voltaire. "It's really something of a dream come true! Like so many millions of artists, I was heavily influenced by Gary's work. The cassette for his album "Repicas" was always with me when I was a teenager, running away from home and entering the imposing brave new world that was New York City. This is music that saved my life. There is a scene in the film where that same "Replicas" cassette from my childhood is prominently featured! It's in the film because it meant so much to me, I never dreamed at the time the man himself would be voicing the film!".
See the film on August, 5th 2011 at Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, Canada.
It will do the festival circuit for a year after that before it hits the web.
About the film series:
Before turning his attention to music, Voltaire's first love was stop-motion animation. He animated and directed some of the early MTV and Sci Fi Channel station IDs back in the 80s and 90s. These days he makes short films that pick up where those old station IDs left off. The "Chimerascope" series, a term coined by Voltaire to describe his short films "because they are like brief views into other worlds full of strange monsters" has swept the film festival circuit in the last few years garnering critical acclaim and roughly 20 awards between them. Four films have been released so far. Says, Voltaire, "They are short, weird as hell, animated in stop-motion animation and narrated by singers". So far the narrators have included Deborah Harry of Blondie, Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs, Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance and Danny Elfman. The film featuring Mr. Elfman's voice played at 60 festivals in 2010 and won 12 awards in so many months.
Voltaire is poised to release the 5th film in the Chimerascope series. It's called "Odokuro" and it premieres at the Fantasia Film Festival on August 5th, 2011.
Want to see a sneak peek of Odokuro? Watch this animated opener Voltaire made for his friends at Glass Eye Pix. It's for their horror radio dramas "Tales From Beyond the Pale" and it uses footage from Odokuro! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYAqSA91rPo&feature=player_embedded
Gary Numan's Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/GaryNumanOfficial?sk=wall
Gary Numan's official site: http://www.numan.co.uk/
The previous 4 Chimerascope films can be seen here: http://www.voltaire.net/chimerascope_films
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July 18, 2011
Hannah Thiem records violin on Voltaire's New Album
Hannah Thiem of the bands Copal and Nyxss joins the already staggering roster of talent on Voltaire's new album! Thiem has provided the violins for the title track "Riding A Black Unicorn...(etc etc)". Word from the studio is that her part has "gorgeous celtic leanings" and "makes you feel like you're riding a black unicorn down a the side of an erupting volcano and straight into Mordor!". There are only a couple of more days of recording in the studio and then the album gets mixed, mastered and released! Pre-orders for the album begin in the next 24 hours.
You can hear a sneak peek of the title track by clicking right HERE!
Hannah Thiem's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/hannah.thiem
Copal website: http://www.copalmusic.com/
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July 13, 2011
Franz Nicolay records accordions on Voltaire's New Album
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Will the madness just not stop???? First Dresden Doll, Brian Viglione lays down a mighty foundation by performing all of the drums on Voltaire's next album, then Melora Creager of Rasputina lends her talents, playing cellos on the record, Bauhaus Bassist David J. played bass and the Red Hook Ramblers came and blew everyone away with their horn parts for "The Dirtiest Song that Ain't". Well, now, accordion virtuoso, Franz Nicolay has just left the studio in stunned awe with the parts he's recorded for the songs "Cathouse Tragedy", "The Straight Razor Cabaret", "Don't Go By the River" and "When The Circus Came to Town." Franz is a multi-instrumentalist, mustachioed man-about-town who's been a member of The Hold Steady, World/Inferno Friendship Society and the gypsy-klezmer outfit, Guignol. He's also the founder of the Anti-Social Music collective. Fans of Voltaire's will remember Franz from his exquisite accordion work on the 2008 album, "To the Bottom of the Sea".
Franz Nicolay's website: http://www.franznicolay.com/
Franz Nicolay's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/franznicolay
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July 12, 2011
The Red Hook Ramblers Record Horns For Voltaire's New Album
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The amazing line-up for Voltaire's next album (see previous news stories) continues to grow. Burlesque darlings, The Red Hook Ramblers, a New Orleans-style, hot jazz band from Redhook-Brooklyn, New York have just laid down horns for one of the stand-out songs (and a live show favorite) "The Dirtiest Song That Ain't". You can hear a little excerpt from that song right here on Voltaire.net!
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July 1st, 2011
Legendary Bauhaus Bassist Joins Voltaire on new album
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: An already amazing line-up of talent for Voltaire's next album (Riding a Black Unicorn...) just got even more spectacular with the addition of bass player David J. A founding member of the seminal Goth group, Bauhaus and a fantastic solo artist in his own right, David J. has lent his talents to the album now in production. David is joined by drummer, Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls and cellist, Melora Creager of Rasputina. Can anyone say "super group"?
Click here to visit David J's Facebook page
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June 29th, 2011
Daarken paints Riding a Black Unicorn...cover
Looking for album cover art that was no less epic than the name of the record ("Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children") Voltaire turned to one of the most talented artists in the fantasy genre. If you've ever played World of Warcraft, Warhammer or Magic the Gathering, it's a good possibility that you've run into the work of Daarken, a master of his craft and fan favorite in the fantasy world. Well, his artwork for the album has just come in and it is nothing less than stunning! It immediately brings to mind Meatloaf's classic "Bat out of Hell" album cover and in no subtle way deftly illustrates the name of Voltaire's record. You can see more of Daarken's work here:
You can see details of the paining right here in the Photo Gallery.
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June 22nd, 2011
Melora Creager of Rasputina to Play Cellos on Voltaire's Next Album
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The line-up for the highly anticipated "Riding a Black Unicorn..." CD continues to astound and delight. Brian Viglione of Dresden Dolls fame has just finished recording a fantastic piece of drumming on all songs. And now that his work is done, the cellos on the album will be recorded by none other than Melora Creager of Rasputina!
http://www.facebook.com/OfficialRasputina
photo by kingdanlawl
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May 28th, 2011
VOLTAIRE APPEARS ON "ODDITIES" on SCIENCE CHANNEL
Voltaire appears in an episode of Oddities, a show on Discovery's Science Channel about a strange little shop in New York City's East Village. In the episode, the Oddities crew search for an item Voltaire needs for a photo shoot. The episode, which is called "Piece of Mind" aires for the first time on May 28th and then will continue to air in reruns. A schedule of showtimes can be found here:
http://science.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=48.15725.131351.40618.1&start=0
A clip from the episode can be seen right here in the "On Camera" section!
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May 25th, 2011
Riding A Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children!
If you haven't already heard, that is the name of Voltaire's next album and he's recording it RIGHT NOW! The album got its name when a young man named Alex posted on Voltaire's Facebook page that "Voltaire's music is the audio equivalent of Riding A Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children!" Voltaire saw that and said, "That's it! That's the name of the new album!"
The track list as of now looks like this:
1) Riding a Black Unicorn...
2) The Mechanical Girl
3) Straight Razor Cabaret
4) The Dirtiest Song that Ain't
5) Cathouse Tragedy
6) Don't Go By The River
7) Innocent
8) Oh Lord, Wake the Dead!
9) When The Circus Came To Town
You can download a little excerpt of Don't Go By the River right here:
DontGoByTheRiver_DemoExcerpt.m4v
Voltaire is shooting for a September 1st release.
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May, Friday the 13th!
TONIGHT on AdventureQuest Worlds ( www.aq.com ) at 7pm EST, Voltaire and Deady make their usual Friday the 13th appearance in what is sure to be the greatest live adventure yet! It's Steampunk cowboys vs. Aliens from Deady's homeworld of Necronus fighting to the death over the Vorutanian Key Blade (you might have seen a much smaller version of this key-shaped weapon hanging from Voltaire's neck in the form of a pendant). Well, now you'll finally come to know what this mighty weapon is actually for! And before the end, Deady might even reveal his true form for the first time in the game!
And... if that weren't enough, for the first time ever, DEADY SPEAKS! That's right, after years of silence and word bubbles, Deady will speak in-game. Voltaire and Artix are just bloody thrilled to announce that voicing Deady will be Michael Sinterniklaas (best known to many as the voice of Dean Venture of Cartoon Network's Venture Brothers and the voice of Leonardo on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
History will be made tonight as YOU the player fights Steampunk cowboys and Necrid skeletons while Voltaire sings songs from his country album and Deady.... well, tries to take over the world, probably. That's how he rolls. It all begins tonight at 7pm EST at www.aq.com
...and there will likely be a live Q and A beforehand with Voltaire so tune in early. See you there!
Battle on!
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MAY 9th 2011,
DEADY FINDS A VOICE!
Deady, that evil teddy bear creation of Voltaire's, first appeared in his first graphic novel in 2004. Since then he has appeared in various books and games and has been made into a dozen or so toys, but only now will we get to hear what he sounds like!
Voltaire and Artix Entertainment are extremely happy to announce that Deady has found a voice! Playing Deady in the upcoming AdventureQuest Worlds Friday the 13th event is voice actor, Michael Sinterniklaas, best known to some as the voice of Dean Venture from Adult Swim’s The Venture Brothers as well as the voice of Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series. Michael's lengthy resume of roles can be seen on his IMDB page HERE. The hallowed event takes place on Friday, May the 13th at www.aq.com.
This will be the fourth time, Voltaire and Deady (in animated form of course) lead players on a live quest in the popular on-line role playing game. As usual, during the adventure, Voltaire will play some of his songs while Deady causes trouble and maybe saves the day.
You can learn more about DEADY here under BOOKS or on his own website:
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APRIL 14th, 2011,
"DemiUrge Emesis", Voltaire's most recent short film from the 'Chimerascope' series (narrated by Danny Elfman) wins BEST ANIMATION at the Famous Monsters of Filmland Imagi-Movies Film Festival!
http://www.famousmonstersoffilmland.com/recap-imagi-movies-film-festival/
This is the film's 11th award in 12 months and 60th film festival screening in as much time!
You can see DemiUrge Emesis here right here on Voltaire.net! : http://www.voltaire.net/films
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APRIL 12th, 2011
BIG changes to the TOY sections! Dozens of photos added!
LOOK UNDER TOYS!
A new Chi-chian wepisode added every Tuesday at 8pm under FILMS!
LOOK UNDER FILMS!
Many more shows booked including Dallas, Orlando, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Saskatoon, Boise, Philly, York England!
CLICK ON CALENDAR!
Icon- Sci Fi Convention show this weekend in Stonybrook, NY! (Sat. April 16th)
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Big changes to the Chi-chian section! Take a look:
http://www.voltaire.net.hostbaby.com/chi_chian
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March 8th, 2011
Voltaire's next shows:
APRIL 3rd 2011: The Anachronism at Webster Hall in NYC. A Steampunk return to Candyland!
APRIL 16th 2011: Icon SF Convention in Stonybrook, NY
AND THEN A SHORT CANADIAN TOUR!
APRIL 20th, Vancouver
APRIL 22nd, Saskatoon
APRIL 23rd: Montreal,
APRIL 24th, Toronto
Go to the CALENDAR section for details.
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March, 2nd, 2011
Back from the Rasputina tour, Voltaire now embarks on a voyage to Wild West Con in the mountains of Tucson, AZ on Friday, March 4th.
The next day, Voltaire performs at the Crack Fox in St. Louis.
More info here:
http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/artist_shows/933689
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Voltaire goes on tour with Rasputina from February 17th until the 26th
For tour dates please visit: www.reverbnation.com/voltairenyc
In the future, all Voltaire tour dates will be listed on this site.
