Vampyros Lesbos

With more than 150 films to his credit -- and to the credit of Clifford Brown, James P. Johnson, Dan L. Simon, Frank Hollmann, Lennie Hayden, and other pseudonyms -- it is perhaps impossible for anyone to speak with perfect authority about the phemonenon of Jess Franco. All that could really be said with any certainty is that he has made some terrible films, some crazy films, and a number of unforgettable special films. Indeed, he has made more of the latter variety than some better known directors have made --good, bad, and indifferent -- in their entire careers. On the whole, Franco turns out to be more of artist than hack, more satirist than clown, and more philosopher than philistine. Franco was singularly responsible for wedding the thrills of cinematic sex and horror into a third frisson which could only be described as "horrotica." In Franco's universe, the viewer never encounters joyous sex; there always exists some dark element of guilt or pain or emotional dislocation, and most of the erotic acts he depicts are dramatized in concert with the spectre of death.

The music on the Motel Records release accompanied Franco's early '70s films "Vampyros Lesbos", "Sie Totete In Ekstase" and "Der Teufel Kam Aus Akasawa." Honest, playful and sexy cinema decidedly trival but nevertheless often ambitious and artistic for some, stupid rubbish for others. Listening to this music might give you an idea what Franco's all about. It's the sheer joy of experimenting with different things, which, on some occasions, might come together, on others not, but on the whole, it stands to be a truly unique pieces of culture which tells something of its time and of the people involved. Or as somebody once said so precisely: Bad films, but made by very intelligent people.

The Vampires' Sound Incorporation

Recorded at
Audio Tonstudio, Berlin 1969
Sound Engineer: Jurgen Wentorf
Ariola Studios, Meistersaat Berlin 1969
Sound Engineer: Gunter Topel

Composed and arranged by Manfred Hubler and Siegfried Schwab
Played by The Vampires' Sound Incorporation
with the outstanding collection of these rare and precious instruments:

Drums: Balla Balla, Hick-Hack, Congo, Threeangle
E-Bass: Grumbling Bass-Viol
Sitar: Hash-Fiddle (Duty paid)
Trumpet: Infra-Lur in P-soft minor
Trombone: Battle-Horn of Jericho
Organ: Galaxy's Sound Machine (Type Galilei)
Piano: Yammer Playleg, 1 Catch-as-catch-can if you can
Vocals: Los Capuzinos
Guitars: 12-string G, Electro-Dissonatars, Ultra-Lyre, 1 13-part resurrection-harp
Flute: Mousophon (Harmelin model)

Soledad Miranda

Born July 9, 1943 in Seville, Spain, the daughter of Portuguese parents.

She started her career when only 8 years old as a dancer and singer at the San Fernando Talent Competition. Played her first part in a Jose Marla Elorrieta film called "La Bella Mimi" at 16. She first worked with Franco in 1961 for the film "Mariquita, La Reina del Tabarin".

During the following years, various roles in Spanish and Italian B-movies were offered such as "Sugar Colt" (1966, Franco Giraldi), "The Castillian" (1963, Xavier Seto), and "Fuego" (1963, Julio Coll). She played in 31 films altogether. Other films with Jess Franco include "El Conde Dracula", "Le Cauchemars Naissent la Nuit", and "Sex Charade, Eugenie de Sade."

Soledad Miranda died at the end of 1971 after a car crash near Lisbon.

Brother Cleve's Undead Mary

Wanna wake the undead. Brother Cleve brings you an eternally delicious Bloody Mary to quench the bloodlust of any morning after vampyre!

2 oz white tequila
1 oz white rum
1 pinch garlic salt
3 dashes Peychaud bitters
1 dash wostershire
1 dash white pepper
1/4 tsp ground chile piquin
1/2 oz lime juice (fresh)
2 oz orange juice (fresh)
6 oz tomato juice

Muddle garlic salt, bitters, wostershire, and chile. Add to shaker filled 1/4 w/crushed ice. Add lime and orange juices, and liquors. Shake vigorisly, then pour into double old fashioned glass. Add tomato juice and stir well. Float white pepper on top. Serve with lemon wedge and a straw.

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