..WARNING! Possible Zombie Outbreak in SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK! We are receiving reports that the zombie invasion will occur on SEPTEMBER 1ST 2007. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
MORE DETAILS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE AS SOON AS THEY ARE CONFIRMED.dont miss CHILDREN IN HEAT along w/
BUZZARD
RICK WHISPERS
DOOMFIST
SKAG ROTTER
SKELETONS IN THE PIANO
PURIFIER
ANDREW HESSENGER
at the ZOMBIEWALK afterparty show!
starts at 8pm and is just 6 bux!FROM THE ALBANY TIMES UNION...
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=61138
3Zombies have dead line to turn Saratoga into a familiar haunt
As the crew of zombies lurch down a path in Troy's Forest Park Cemetery, one ghoul is in danger of losing his innards out a gaping hole in his stomach. Another is suffering from a heavily bleeding head wound. A young female zombie is clutching a rusty meat cleaver.
They moan and gurgle and the long-haired fellow with the runaway intestines screams out for braaaiiiins. They might be dead, but they sure seem to be having fun, reveling in all their gory glory.
This midday romp through the overgrown, famously haunted burial ground is just a dry run for what will happen next month, when scores of zombies will descend on downtown Saratoga Springs.
You might be thinking that the gangs of zombies have been in Saratoga since mid-July, disguised as tourists. Well, that may be true. But the creatures coming on Saturday, Sept. 1, will be decidedly, uh, deader.
The Saratoga Zombie Walk is the brainchild of Joe Keyser, bassist of the popular Troy-based band Skinless. (Needless to say, they play death metal.)
Zombies have walked the streets in several major metropolitan areas throughout the world in the past few years. But they're just starting to find their way to smaller cities like Saratoga Springs. September's faux-bloody event will be the first one in the Capital Region.
"If you come, expect to be mauled by zombies and have your flesh eaten," said Keyser, who clearly needs some marketing advice.
Keyser learned about zombie walks while touring with Skinless. When he asked his girlfriend, Summer Phillips, what she wanted for her 30th birthday, the lifelong horror fan asked him to throw a zombie walk for her.
"If at least 50 people show up dressed as zombies, it's going to rule," said Phillips, who showed up for a photo shoot as a hauntingly convincing zombie Catholic-school-girl-gone-bad in the Forest Park cemetery.
Party on
The plan is for all the zombies to meet at 5 p.m. at Backstreet Billiards on Putnam Street. They will then walk around downtown, visiting a number of businesses and lurching off toward the cemetery. They plan to end up back at Backstreet Billiards, where there will be a blood-soaked afterparty.
"Any kind of zombie is welcome. All states of decomposition are encouraged," said Keyser, 30. "... I want to see prom-queen zombies and Santa Claus zombies."
He plans to dress as a thrash metal zombie, which, given his long history playing the low end in metal and hard-core bands, is not too far from reality.
"Every town has the myth about the guy who jumped off the balcony at the Slayer concert in 1989 and died," he said. "I'm going to be that guy."
Staring at fears
This is a golden age for fans of zombies, a horror genre that's enjoyed a resurgence in the past few years, with films such as "Shaun of the Dead" and "28 Days Later" and Max Brooks' best-selling novel "World War Z."
Local independent horror filmmaker Bruce Hallenbeck said he was not surprised when he learned that zombies were making their way to Saratoga Springs.
"After 9/11, I would have thought people would be a little sick of horror, but they seem to like it more," he said. "It's cathartic. You can stare your fears in the face."
What began small-scale has quickly ratcheted up. A MySpace page Keyser created for the event now has nearly 600 friends. Keyser is guessing that more than 100 zombies will limp their way to Saratoga for the event.
Keyser had considered making the zombie walk a pub walk in which the undead would shamble from bar to bar -- probably getting more shamble-ish with each stop -- but since he expects many underage zombies to show up, he says the group will probably stay away from drinking establishments.
"I don't want to have any problems," he said.
Phillips plans to give out prizes for superlatives such as "most convincing zombie" or "most blood."
"We are looking into putting together a zombie pinup calendar afterward," said Phillips. "People could just get dressed up for the walk and send in their pictures."
The afterparty at Backstreet Billiards will feature seven bands, including Keyser's own Children In Heat, a tribute act devoted to the music of horror-punk icons the Misfits.
Musician Jann Kasey Dorr, who has been a makeup artist for a handful of horror movies, plans to be on hand to help the less-experienced dead look sufficiently cadaverous.
"When I was six, my mother bought me 'Night of the Living Dead' (on video) and she bought me all the monster books," said Dorr, 35. "Today, computers ruin a lot of things. I like it when people do it live. Or dead. We are giving life to the dead. The dead are people, too."
Danielle Furfaro can be reached at 454-5097 or by e-mail at
[email protected].
The Saratoga Zombie Walk
When: Beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1
Where: Meet at Backstreet Billiards, 63 Putnam St., Saratoga Springs
Info: Go to http://www.myspace.com/zombiewalk518
