Goodbye Rue Morgue Radio

It is with much sadness that I bid farewell to the one and only Rue Morgue Radio. It's true. The final RMR is online now. After years of providing the best horror podcast on the scarewaves the plug has been pulled on the podcast, in what was, as you may have guessed, mostly a financial decision. I really hate it, as I believe the podcast was largely responsible for the success of the magazine over the last few years. It was a great tool and a way for them to make themselves bigger and better than the competition, to attract a whole new wave of fans by spotlighting bands and playing their music - and most of all it was a great way to keep the listeners up to speed on the latest in the world of horror. Everything about it was top notch - from the commentary of liisa, the reviews of the Caustic Critics Feedback and Lance, the updates from Shannon, and the music from Tomb Dragomir, the host who spent countless hours putting the podcast together.

The thing I REALLY liked most about RMR was that it was different from the multitude of podcasts out there - it wasn't just a couple of guys sitting around talking. They put effort into it. It had variety, and was truly professionally produced. The interviews with folks in the profession that most of us would never have access to were top notch, and I loved most of all the rock and roll vibe of the podcast.  I also want to reiterate something that Feedback mentioned in this final podcast - RUE MORGUE RADIO was the originators of horror radio - not perennial Rondo Award Second Runners Up Deadpit, no matter how many times they claim it. Long live Rue Morgue, and I wish the best to all the staff.

Interview with Tomb Dragomir

Greetings Fright Fans,

This week we have a special guest from north of the border, a man who is best known for his duties as a very scary host. No I’m not talking about Alex Trebek, I’m talking about that ghost host with the most, the voice of Rue Morgue Radio, Tomb Dragomir.

Tomb, welcome to the lab. Glad you made your way to my secret hidden lair here.

Thanks Dr. G, it's pretty dark, I think I stepped on a Test-Tube...(crunch)

Tell me about your background as a young ghoul. Where did you grow up and were you always a horror fan or did you come into it later in life?

I grew up in out the country a few hours east of Toronto, and yeah I spent a lot of time in the dark basement watching old horror flicks and listening to weird radio shows like Dr. Demento or anything on TV I could get with our crappy radial antenna from Buffalo, sttuff like Tales from the Darkside and Elviria's Movie Macabre. I can't remember a time when I wasn't obsessed with the weird and scary side of life. When I was really little I always fascinated with the Bermuda Triangle, wondering what happened to all those people and imaging all the ghastly possibilities surrounding their disappearance.

So tell me about creating an episode of Rue Morgue Radio. What is the creative process, and how much input do each of the contributors have?

The finished show is an amalgamation of all the weirdos who make it. Feedback, Liisa and Shannon have full control over their segments and I use that inspiration to create the actual show around it into a crazy stream of consciousness of clips, quips and terrror tunes. There is nothing like this out there!

RMR is a weekly show – how long does each episode take to edit together?

Just from my end, it takes about 18-20 hours a week to edit everything together. I've managed to shave a few hours off production time over the years with technology upgrades but it's still a mighty long haul stitching this really big show together each week, but I think it's worth it and one of the reasons we stand out above the crowd.

The podcast has a real sense of humor that runs throughout. I’m guessing it’s important to you to have fun with such dark material?

Yeah, I think that's just me. I'm a bit of a goofball. I think if I tried to play it off all cool and serious it wouldn't work. It would come off sounding too fake I think.

My favorite thing about Rue Morgue Radio as opposed to other podcasts is the music. You guys rock! You really have your finger on the pulse of horror rock, current and past, and play a variety of genres, from soundtracks and scores to metal and everything in between.

Damn right.

I know all the staff of Rue Morgue has their own personal preference of music. Lisa obviously leans more toward goth and industrial music. I kind of gather you’re a Cramps guy – true?

True, Lux Interior was a true rock n roll madman, showman. Wild animal.

What are a few of your other favorite bands?

We all know about the Rob Zombies and the Marilyn Mansons but here's a few other RM Radio approved bands you might not know about but probably should:

Midnight Syndicate, Psychocharger, Dead Vampires, The Creepshow, The Residents, The Ghastly Ones, Deadbolt, Squid Lid, The Creeping Cruds, Ghoultown, The Forbidden Dimension, Zombina and the Skeletones, The Independents...The list goes on forever...

Rue Morgue Radio developed as an offshoot of Rue Morgue Magazine. How much did the Editor-in-Chief change from Jovanka to Dave Alexander affect the radio side of things?

The Radio is run independently from the Magazine. In fact, we're starting to meet fans out there who don't even know about the mag, which is weird, but cool. That said, Dave's been great and we're even working together to create some awesome fake trailers for the show and develop some new areas of content.

I love the banter between you and Shannon. It seems the two of you have a good chemistry and get along well. Are you friends outside of the show and hang out, or is it more of a co-worker relationship?

Actually, Shannon is probably my best friend that I never get to see. At risk of breaking the illusion, Shannon lives and works in Edmonton on-air at one of those EZ Rock stations and we pre-tape her weekly segment... Seriously though, she's awesome and we have a lot of fun with it.

If I had any criticism of RMR it’s that it sometimes seems too short! I’d especially like Feedback and Lance to have more time for their movie reviews. I’m guessing there is a conscious effort to keep it concise with a snappy format and leave fans wanting more, as opposed to having rambling program with no direction, right?

While I do always wanna leave 'em wanting more, there's also a lot of music to fit into to such a short time, but never fear all you Caustic Critics fans out there we're working on bringing you some new content that will expand the RM Radio sphere. I can't say much more right now, but stay tuned...!

The new horror music compilation Hymns from the House of Horror is terrific and a great way to spotlight some of the music featured on RMR. Can we look forward to more editions of Hymns?

Hell Yeah! The next one's gonna blow your mind's mind!

In closing where would you like to see Rue Morgue Radio go in the future? Any directions you’d like to see it expand or other areas you’d like to explore?

I'm already working on some new RM Radio related projects that I hope to introduce soon and begin to introduce visual elements into the mix in some off-shoot projects. I can't really say much more right now...cuz I just cut out my own tongue! *SLICE!* Blah ha ha ha... *drip, drip* oowy....sssNurse???

Well thanks again for spending some time with me here on Shackle Island. New episodes of Rue Morgue Radio come out every Friday. You can download them at: www.ruemorgueradio.com and they have an archive of tons of old shows. Go there and download to your black heart’s content, and tell em’ Dr. Gangrene sent ya!

Thanks Dr. G! Tell all your fiends to follow me on Twitter @Tombdragomir. Adios!

Newspaper article

I somehow missed getting a physical copy of this paper when it came out. However a co-worker brought surprised me today - She was unaware of my show until after seeing the article in the paper, so she saved it and brought it in for me. "Dr. Gangrene celebrates Halloween year round" - indeed! What was funny was when I called to pay my car insurance this week the secretary there answered and said, "Hey, I saw your picture in the paper this week." So this article is getting some mileage! I had a co-worker snap a pic of me with the article...That's my mp3 player hanging around my neck - I've been listening to the Halloween episode of Rue Morgue Radio. GREAT podcast!!