Category Archives: Neon

Robert Stark talks to Director Jared Shumate about his film Last Night Out

1980's, 80's music, acting, aesthetics, Blue Velvet, Cinema, comedy, Culture, David Lynch, Film, Film Noire, horror, horror films, J.G. Michael, Jared Shumate, Last Night Out, Music, Neon, New Retro Wave, North Carolina, Stranger Things, Synthwave, Theatre, Twin Peaks, Wes Craven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host J.G. Michael talk to filmmaker Jared C. Shumate about his upcoming horror comedy film Last Night Out which is set to be released on Halloween and will be  available to view online. Check out the Facebook page for Last Night Out, the Official Trailer, and the poster which is available on the Facebook page.

Topics:

Intro: Jerry Galeries’s In For A Long Night which is used for the film and trailer
The basic plot
The horror genre
Dark Comedy with some slapstick thrown in
Jared’s influences ranging from Wes Craven’s Scream to Scooby-doo to David Lynch
The 80’s theme, the New Retrowave genre, and how the music influenced the film
The filming location in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the abandoned lingerie factory, and the surreal atmosphere of forest and ghost towns in North Carolina
The special effects
The actors and characters including a group of teens and two drifters
The plan for a feature length version which might introduce a supernatural element
Jared’s short thriller, The Ramifications
Jared’s Film Noire set in 1946, The Picture Room
Jared’s screenplay, “Otto” which is based on the true story of the outlaw Otto Wood

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark talks to Robert Brenner about HBO’s The Deuce and 1970’s Time Square

1970's, aesthetics, Architecture, Cities, Culture, Historic Preservation, History, Neon, New York, Pornography, Prostitution, Robert Brenner, San Francisco, Sexuality, Taxi Driver, The Deuce, The Porn Industry, Time Square, Urbanism, Vice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Robert Brenner. Robert Brenner runs the Remnants of Gritty Times Square Tour hosted by Untapped Cities and has his own tour company Pig Feet Walking Tours.  Check out Robert Stark’s first and second interview with Robert Brenner about bout his Time Square Tours.

Topics:

HBO’s “The Deuce” Resurrects Gritty Times Square
NYC Film Locations for The Deuce about Gritty 1970’s Time Square on HBO
Robert Brenner’s upcoming tour on October 22nd which will incorporate locations from HBO’s “The Deuce”
How the locations for the show have been re-created from scratch in Washington Heights
42nd Street which was once known as “The Deuce” and was a hub for adult venues
Remaining adult venues on 8th Avenue including Show World and The Playpen
Theatres retrofitted into Broadway venues including the The Victory, The Empire, The Lyric, and The New Amsterdam
The Condor and Big Al’s being retrofitted from adult venues in San Francisco
Defunct theatres including The Pussycat Cinema, The World Theatre, The Rialto, and The Apollo
Adult Films Beyond the Green Door and Deep Throat
The history of Broadway

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Musician Jody Coombes of Star Noir

1980's, 80's music, Absolute Valentine, aesthetics, Art, Asia, Asian Culture, automation, Basic Income, Blade Runner, California, Cinema, Cities, Comic Books, Culture, Cyberpunk, Depeche Mode, Dystopia, England, Film, Film Noire, Florian Renner, FM-84, Futurism, History, Hong Kong, horror, horror films, Industrial Music, J.G. Michael, Japan, Japanese Culture, Jody Coombes, John Carpenter, Las Vegas, Leisure Suit Larry, London, Music, Neon, New Retro Wave, Perturbator, Photography, Psychology, Retro Futurism, Sam Kevorkian, Science Fiction, Star Noir, Stranger Things, Synthwave, The Summoner, Transhumanism, Travel, Vaporwave, Video Games, Wilderness, William Gibson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, Sam Kevorkian, and J.G. Michael talk to Illustrator, Photographer, Video Game Designer, and Musician Jody Coombes. Check out his music under the label Star Noir on Facebook and bandcamp, and his photography and illustrations on Flickr.

Topic:

Working on video games including Call of Duty and Need for Speed
Cyberpunk games such as Shadowrun and Beneath a Steel Sky
The New Retro Wave and Darkwave genres
The  Cyberpunk genre
How To Make Synthwave Retrowave with Timecop 1983 in FL Studio
The visual component in making Synth music
Jody’s first EP Psycho City
Jody’s first-ever gig in London at the Retro Future Fest
Jody’s illustrations and 80’s Retro-Futurist aesthetics
80’s Action and Horror films
80’s Video Game Arcades; London Trocadero
The new series Stranger Things and the film Drive
Jody’s photography of locations including the UK, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Nova Scotia
Sinofuturism
“Design is not art….. Design is an exercise in psychology”
Robert Stark’s Paintings which fuse Retro Futurist genres
Transhumanism, Automation, and the Basic Income
The Pilot project “Lost Future” about a man who lost his future
Upcoming projects and performances

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




San Francisco Bay Area Trip Photo Album

aesthetics, Architecture, Art Deco, Cities, Culture, FM-84, John C. Portman Jr, Lafayette CA, Mount Diablo, Neon, New Retro Wave, Oakland, Orinda CA, Photography, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, Travel, Urbanism, Walnut Creek CA, Wilderness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Album includes:

Mount Diablo
Walnut Creek
Lafayette
Orinda
The Caldecott Tunnel
Oakland
The Bay Bridge
The Downtown Skyline
Alamo Square
Lombard Street
Coit Tower
Fort Mason
The Palace of Fine Arts
Nob Hill
The Fairmont Hotel
North Beach
Fisherman’s Wharf & Ghirardelli Square
The Mission District
The FM-84 Concert at the DNA Lounge
The John C. Portman designed Embarcadero Center
The under construction Transbay Transit Terminal
Union Square
The SF Chronicle Building
The Tenderloin

Check out Robert Stark’s podcast and album from his last is trip to the San Francisco Bay Area
Check out Robert Stark’s Artwork




Continue reading San Francisco Bay Area Trip Photo Album →

Robert Stark interviews Musician Andy Diamond of Diamond Field

 Angelo Badalamenti, 1950's, 1980's, 80's music, aesthetics, Andy Diamond, animation, Art, Cinema, Culture, David Lynch, Diamond Field, Film, Kyle MacLachlan, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Music, Neon, New Retro Wave, New Zealand, Pilleater, Rat Rios, Synthwave, Twin Peaks, Vaporwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to musician Andy Diamond of Diamond Field. Check out his work on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Topics:

Intro: Diamond Field & Rat Rios ‘Closer’ by Luca Discs
The New Retro Wave Genre and Andy’s description of his music as “21st Century ’80s Music”
How Andy started making music in the 80’s and younger artist inspired by the 80’s sound
Collaborations with vocalist including Rat Rios and Nina Yasmineh
The maxi single ‘Closer’ for the Upcoming Album “Closer”
The music video Diamond Field feat. Nina Yasmineh ‘Neon Summer’ filmed in Santa Monica, CA
Andy’s animations and illustrations for Retro Promenad’s Twin Peaks Tribute(Vol I), Vol II, and Vol III
Andy’s songs for the Twin Peaks Tribute including Diamond Field and the Black Lodge Girls ‘Burning Blood’ and ‘The Nightingale’ 
The Soundtrack of the original Twin Peaks and music in the new series including the CHROMATICS
Twin Peaks invented vaporwave
The animated neon in Andy’s illustrations for the series, inspiration from 1950’s signs, and how the neon aesthetic became popular with New Retro Wave
Andy’s Kyle MacLachland story
The Rise of the Synths | A documentary of Synthwave  and the film The Summoner
Outro: Diamond Field + Rat Rios ‘The Nightingale’ (Twin Peaks Cover)

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Italian Musician and Artist Dino Olivieri

1980's, 1990's, 80's music, 90's music, aesthetics, Akira, Anime, Art, Art Nouveau, Asia, Asian Culture, Blade Runner, Comic Books, Culture, Cyberpunk, Daft Punk, Dino Olivieri, Europe, Film, Florian Renner, Futurism, Ghost in a Shell, Italo Disco, Italy, Japan, Japanese Culture, Leisure Suit Larry, Literature, Music, Neon, New Retro Wave, Photography, Pilleater, Retro Futurism, Science Fiction, Stanley Kubrick, Synthwave, Transhumanism, Vaporwave, Video Games, Wilderness

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater spoke to Musician, Artist, and Web Designer Dino Olivieri from Turin, Italy.

Dino Olivieri has been known for producing some of the most technologically advanced websites. Her creativity is always on display when she’s at work, proving to her clients that she is the very best. These days, she tends to outsource this work and sends it over to an SEO Company Chester. But her music is at the very heart of what she does.

His website is Onyrix and you can check out his work on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Vimeo, and Youtube.

Uploading content to these social media platforms is a great way for Olivieri to get his music heard from people all over the world and with just a click of a button. His next step should be to consider uploading his songs to music streaming sites like Spotify, and he may want to have a look at getfans.io/buy-spotify-plays to see how he can get more people to listen to his music. The more people that are aware of his music, the more likely he will be at getting discovered, resulting in his career taking off.

Topics:

Intro: Beyond Human
Early artistic inspirations, figure drawing, and aesthetic interest ranging from Italian Renaissance Art to Anime, Vaporwave, and Cyberpunk
Interest in anime, especially the giant robots created by Go-Nagai and Matsumoto’s work such as Captain Harlock
Italian Design
Dino’s Photography of the Italian Alps on Flickr
Early musical influences; early 80’s New Wave and Italo Disco
Influences from and use of classical music in his work
Japanese Composers Joe Hisaishi, Kenji Kawai, Kento Masuda, and Sakamoto
The new Singularity Album which is for a theatrical show created by Director Raffaele Lamorte
Movie Soundtracks; Vangelis’s Soundtrack for Blade Runner
The Singularity album cover; posters for the films Neon Demon and Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange
Dino’s upcoming album which has influences from Synthwave, Retrowave, and 90’s Dance Music
Dino’s illustrated novel “Di Undici Foglie” and his upcoming novel “Legend of the Starlight”
Dino’s video game Over The Net from 1991; comparisons to Leisure Suit Larry
Outro: Sex Surrogates and Jealousy


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Gustavo Semeria about Argentina

aesthetics, Amren, Architecture, Argentina, Art, Art Deco, Buenos Aires, capitalism, Cities, Class, colonialism, Communism, Crime, Culture, democracy, Economics, education, Gustavo Semeria, Healthcare, History, Human Bio Diversity, Immigration, income inequality, Juan Peron, Latin America, Mass Transit, Middle Class, Multiculturalism, Music, Nationalism, Neon, Oligarchy, Socialism, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Argentine author, businessman, former military officer, lawyer, and Professor of Social Science Gustavo Semeria

Topics:

Gustavo’s Spanish Language book Adiós a la Democracia about the role of Demographics in Democracy
Gustavo’s article for American Renaissance Argentina: A Mirror of Your Future
The early history of Argentina, the Nation’s Golden Age from the late 19th to early 20th Century, and the massive wave of European immigration
Buenos Aires as the Paris of South America and the extravagant architecture of the early 20th Century
The Art Deco Kavanagh building, Galerías Pacífico, and the Neon lit Lavalle Street
The Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company which built the Nation’s vast railway system and Buenos Aires’s Subway
Argentina’s demographic transformation, starting with internal migration from the North and later mass immigration from neighboring countries
The effects of mass immigration on infrastructure, healthcare, education, and crime
The decline of the Argentine Middle Class and growth in gated communities in the suburbs
Cultural changes; the decline in the Tango and Argentine Rock and popularity of foreign culture such as Cumbia
The parallels between Argentina’s situation and that of the United States
The Kirchners’ open immigration policy and concept of Patria Grande
The new president of Argentina Mauricio Macri
Latin America’s fluctuation between socialism and oligarchy
Juan Perón’s Third Way between Capitalism and Communism


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Jack Ravenwood

1980's, 1990's, aesthetics, Anime, Architecture, Art, Asia, Asian Aryanism, Beatniks, capitalism, China, Cinema, Cities, Class, College, conformity, Conservatives, Consumerism, Culture, Cyberpunk, Deconstruction, Donald Trump, Economics, education, Film, Free Trade, Ghost in a Shell, Globalization, History, Hong Kong, Immigration, Jack Kerouac, Jack Ravenwood, Japan, Japanese Culture, Jean Baudrillard, Las Vegas, Literature, Martin Heidegger, Mid-Century Modern, Neoliberalism, Neon, New York, Paradise Theater, Philosophy, Pilleater, Robert Brenner, Ross Perot, Shenzhen, Skyscrapers, SWPL, Thomas Rinaldi, Time Square, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Urbanism, Wisconsin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Jack Ravenwood. He is the author of Paradise Theater, a collection of short stories centered around the theme of the post-industrial American small city. He is also the main writer at Mean Street Cinema, a website dedicated to films from New York City in the 70’s and 80’s, as well as the co-founder of little ape press. He blogs at Foreigner Thoughts

Topics:

The setting of the book Paradise Theater in Jack’s home town West Allis, Wisconsin in the 1980’s and early 90’s
The Paradise Theatre movie house which the book was named for and featured on the cover
The Fairview Motors Sign which is featured on the back of the book; Mid-Century Road Signage
The cultural, political, and economic themes in the book
Allis-Chalmers closing in West Allis and the de-industrialization of the Midwest
Ross Perot’s campaign in 1992 against NAFTA, and Trump campaigning on trade issues
Jack’s Unz Review article Trump, JFK, and the Deep State
National Review Writer: Working-Class Communities ‘Deserve To Die
How the best case scenario for the US would be to carve out a niche in high end manufacturing that caters to China’s growing middle class
Jack’s new home Shenzhen, China which is a manufacturing power house, and new mega city built from scratch
Jack’s Mean Street Cinema site, his interest in Vintage New York City, and Robert Stark’s interviews with Thomas Rinaldi about New York Neon and Robert Brenner about his Time Square Tours
Jack’s observations about Hong Kong Neon and how Hong Kong Is Slowly Dimming Its Neon Glow
Jack’s future plan to document Neon in Hong Kong in either a book or blog
The culture of Hong Kong as a bridge between the east and west and it’s “relative autonomy”
Vertical living and how it is the norm for urban China for all classes
High density living isn’t inherently bad but it is necessary to have a high quality of culture to sustain it
Jack Kerouac’s The Town and the City
Conformity in Asian culture; authentic Asian culture vs. SWPL larping
Chinese Philosophy; the Tao Te Ching
The evolution of Western Philosophy; Deconstruction and selective deconstruction
Jean Baudrillard and the simulation


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews New Retro Wave Artist Absolute Valentine

1980's, 1990's, 80's music, 90's music, Absolute Valentine, aesthetics, Akira, Andy Fox, Anime, Art, Cinema, Culture, Cyberpunk, Daft Punk, David Lynch, Depeche Mode, Film, France, Ghost in a Shell, horror, horror films, Italo Disco, John Carpenter, Kavinsky, Music, Neon, New Retro Wave, Pilleater, Synthwave, The Summoner, Vaporwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to French New Retro Wave Artist Absolute Valentine(Bandcamp Site). He is also a manager for Lazerdiscs Records. Check out his SoundCloud, YouTube, and Facebook Page.

Topics:

Intro Song: Bad News from the Police Heartbreaker album
Music background, learning piano as a kid, playing guitar in a metal band, and early electronic work
Influences ranging from Bach, Kavinsky, and Vangelis; similarities between Synthwave and Classical Music
The New Retro Wave genre
Producing music for Lazerdiscs Records and Drive Radio
The Darkwave genre
The Police Heartbreaker album
The Sunset Love album
The American Nightmare album inspired by Horror Films
The album cover designs, Cyperbunk influence, and the color pallet
Anime, Akira, and Ghost in a Shell
The Film Drive
John Carpenter’s Film Soundtracks
Daft Punk and 90’s French House Music
French 80’s music; Space Disco
The upcoming New Retro Wave horror film The Summoner which Absolute Valentine will do a track for
The Roland TR-7, other Synths, and the process of layering Synths
The importance of the intro and outro in Synth Music
The moniker Absolute Valentine
Upcoming Albums, Tracks, and live performances
Outro: She’s a Dancer from the Sunset Love Album


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Thomas Rinaldi returns to talk about Neon

1960's, 1980's, aesthetics, Architecture, Argentina, Art, Art Deco, Asia, Blade Runner, Buenos Aires, Cities, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, Economics, Futurism, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, New York, Philadelphia, Pilleater, Retro Futurism, Robert Brenner, San Francisco, Thomas Rinaldi, Time Square, Travel, Urbanism, Wildwood New Jersey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to returning guest Thomas Rinaldi. He is the author of New York Neon and blogs at nyneon.blogspot.com

Topics:

Thomas’s Tours of West Village’s Vintage Neon Signs, his Greenwich Village Neon Walking Tour, and how those areas have the highest concentration of surviving Neon in New York City
Thomas’s observation that Neon has declined in both corporate chain dominated, as well as lower income communities
How ironically in the 60’s Neon was synonymous with commercialization(ex. Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence)
The association of Neon with 80’s Retro-Futurism(ex. Retrowave, Club NEON) and the irony that Neon hit rock bottom in the 80’s
The decline of Neon in Time Square, Robert Brenner’s Gritty Old Time Square Tours, and the few remnents including the West 43rd Garage and the McDonalds from the 80’s
Lights Out 2016: Signs We Lost That Year
The Colgate Clock in Jersey City, which has been LED’ed
Clock Towers Signs in New York including the Paramount Theatre, the Consolidated Edison Building, the Met Life Tower, and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower
Soviet Neon Stars at the Kremlin and Neon in Communist Cuba
Williamsburg’s Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment; the outlawing of waterfront signs in New York City
The C & H factory Sign in Crockett, California
Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco as one of the best examples of a renovated former industrial site
Georges Claude, the father of the commercialization of Neon
The popularity of Signs Inside
Fake Neon
Animated Neon Signs, the peak in the 50’s, and San Francisco’s “Coca~Cola” Sign
Bulb Signs which were proliferate in the 1920’s, and Robert’s observation that they were also popular with 90’s era Las Vegas Casinos
Wildwood, New Jersey Neon
Mid Century Road Signage; Route 66
Downtown LA; The LA Museum Of Neon Art
Neon in Buenos Aires, Argentina; The Art Deco Kavanagh building and Estadio Luna Park
Thomas’s observations from Stockholm and Amsterdam
How Neon is declining in both Mega Cities such as New York and London as well as the poorest cities in the developing world
Hong Kong Is Slowly Dimming Its Neon Glow


Click Here to download!
This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!