SLUG: When did
the word "glamour" enter your vocabulary?
BUDGIE: I think it was stamped on my forehead at
birth... Really, truly- I have no idea...
SLUG: Were you
different from other kiddies growing up?
BUDGIE: No question about that! As a little
kid I practically lived in this full-on Batman suit-
grey spandex, yellow utility belt, black rubber boots
and all. I was always doing really tripped out
things to my bedroom and I think most of the other kids
thought I was pretty strange. I didn't have very
many friends at school, either...
SLUG: Who were your
early role models?
BUDGIE: Wow- I had a bunch. Out of all of
them I'd have to say that
Nina
Hagen, Stiv Bators and Tony James came out on top...
Sigue Sigue Sputnik changed my life forever and I
can still listen to the Lords of the New Church or the
Dead Boys without it ever getting old or boring...
SLUG: Favorite movie
growing up?
BUDGIE: "Flash Gordon!" Don't ask me why,
but I have and will always love that flick... The
costumes were great and Ming rules all...
SLUG: What kind of
music did you listen to growing up?
BUDGIE: I went through so many musical
stages growing up- it's really quite amazing when I look
back on it all... I was ultimately introduced to music
through KCGL, so the majority would've been your classic
'80s New Wave and Punk Rock, but I also really got into
Industrial, Acid House, New Beat, Gothic, and Classic
Rock. I used to go to the old Cosmic Aeroplane and
look through their albums- I've always been very
visually stimulated- so I'd pick out the album with the
most outrageous looking freak on the cover and that's
usually what ended up on my turntable at home... That's
how I discovered a lot of bands... To this day I'm still
a sucker for the "whole package."
SLUG: Favorite
television show?
BUDGIE: It's actually kind of strange that I
ended up in Hollywood 'cuz I'm so clueless when it comes
to movies and television. As a kid I used to dig
"H.R. Puff'n'Stuff" and I was really quite fascinated
with "Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes" on MTV... "Melrose
Place" was always fun for me- (it) made me feel like my
personal dramas were rather minimal by comparison, but
that's about it.
SLUG: If you could have chosen to grow up
ANYWHERE in the world, where would you have been besides
Utah?
BUDGIE: There's something about growing up in all
of that repression that I think pushes certain people to
their outer most limits- I don't regret being raised in
Salt Lake City 'cuz I don't think I'd be who I am today
had I not grown up there... But that's not to say that
I'll be running back anytime soon...
SLUG: When did you
decide to show the world the high road to "glamour &
fashion"?
BUDGIE: It never was my intention to show anybody
anything- it's just sort of worked out that way.
When I moved back to Salt Lake City- after failing
miserably living in Atlanta- I was so bored I couldn't
stand it! I had to design a life for myself and
I've always been into clothing, so that's when I decided
to open up Galaxina. It all took off from there...
SLUG: Your thoughts
on the beehive state?
BUDGIE: It's a nice place to visit with a ton of
great people, but you couldn't pay me to live there
again. SLUG:
I know the name "Galaxina" came partially from a Nina
Hagen song, but what about the 1980 sci-fi flick of the
same name starring the late Dorothy Stratten? Ever
seen it? Did this influence you?
BUDGIE: I had no idea there was a film named "Galaxina"
until after I had already opened the shop. I stole
the name outright from Nina Hagen's "Cosma Shiva" on the
"Nunsexmonkrock" album. I love that album.
SLUG: How old were
you when you decided to go into business for yourself?
And how long did it take (from idea to reality) to set
up the Galaxina empire?
BUDGIE: Both my father and grandfather were
hard-core businessmen... Even when I was little I was
always workin' the lemonade stand taking all the
neighbor kids for every cent they had. I opened
Galaxina two months following my 21st birthday. It
was my first "official" business endeavor. It took
roughly 9 months of planning and 3 months of remodeling.
I don't think I've ever been quite so motivated in my
entire life. At least not up until now...
SLUG: When did you
create Hollywood Monsters?
BUDGIE: After I closed up shop and moved to
Hollywood. I was working at BOY London and getting
really frustrated with life in general. I missed
having the shop and I wanted to open up another one
here, but I had already burned through all my cash and I
wasn't so sure I was ready to deal with the whole retail
grind again. I decided to put my computer skills
to use and try and do something online. I had been
drawing the logo since I was a little kid in church and
I knew it'd be perfect so I converted it to a graphic
format. I came up with the name after working
through a million others and I was getting really
excited, then everything fell apart. After three
jobs, a stalker, a move to a new apartment, a nasty car
accident, a really rotten relationship, two surgeries, a
helluvalotta doctors, lawyers and insurance companies
[author's note: I feel your pain]- 2 YEARS LATER- I
finally managed to get it up online.
SLUG: What was your
original goal with the website? And has this
changed?
BUDGIE: I initially just wanted to do the fashion
thing, but as I got more involved in it, I thought it'd
be cool to put up some club listings with some links.
I've always thought that fashion, rock and clubs all
kinda went hand in hand. I kept putting up more
and more listings and it sort of snow-balled from
there... Now I see it more like a community than just my
own thing and I'm trying to continue building on that
concept: shameless self-promotion for the masses...
SLUG: What are the
best clubs in LA?
BUDGIE: There are so many great clubs in LA:
Bar
Sinister, Makeup, Pretty Ugly Club, the list goes on
and on... If I had to pick out a couple of my favorites,
they'd have to be
Dragstrip 66 and Scream. Paul V. and Mr. Dan (aka
Ms. Gina Lotriman) have created something really special
with Dragstrip- 7 years later, it's STILL packed.
I once read in an article about the old Scream club that
Dayle Gloria had "the best ears in the rock business"-
she still does... I've seen some AMAZING shows there...
SLUG: How have you
kept the website so minty fresh?
BUDGIE: Lots of sleep deprivation and late-night
tweaking on the computer.
SLUG: Do the
clubs/promoters contact you? How does that work?
BUDGIE: Initially, I contacted everybody myself.
It's a very hard sell in LA. If people have no point of
reference to you, they're generally not interested and
they don't hesitate in acting like it, either.
Some of the club promoters have been nicer than others,
but as time goes on I find more and more people
contacting me, and I'm amazed at the support I've
received from most of them- particularly Paul V. (Dragstrip
66), Dayle Gloria (Scream), Taime Downe (Pretty Ugly
Club/Newlydeads), Tricia La Belle (Bar Sinister), and
Reverend Dan (Jetset/Music for Nimrods-KXLU). It's
taken a lot of effort to get everybody involved and
that's ultimately what I want.
SLUG: What is the
future of Hollywood Monsters?
BUDGIE: Being on the internet, it's anybody's
guess, but I'd like to eventually take it to a national
level. I'll be starting up with that in the near
future. I also really want to expand the catalog
with lots of new goodies. Ultimately, I want it to
take on a life of it's own.
SLUG: Celebrity
sightings? Your LA experience...
BUDGIE: Good God, the celebrities run rampant
like cockroaches in this town. Half the time I
don't even realize I've seen or met one until later.
I did have a pretty silly encounter with Tori Spelling
at Rage: I accidentally bumped right smack into her and
I just busted up laughing- I couldn't help myself.
I don't think she was too impressed.
SLUG: Obviously the
club scene is cooler in LA, but what are your favorite
clubs in Salt Lake?
BUDGIE: The Palladium and London Underground will
always go down in my heart as the best that ever were...
I had so many great and wonderful experiences at those
two clubs... I don't think most club promoters in SLC
really get it these days- it's a synergy between
environment, music, and your clientele- and it's rare
that you actually get that in a club in Salt Lake.
They always feel kinda like bad hotel bars...
SLUG: What music
influences you today?
BUDGIE: Most of the music I listened to as a kid
is the same music I'm influenced by today. I've
been fairly bored with the mainstream music industry,
but more recently I've been exposed to a bunch of local
LA bands that are really great:
Newlydeads,
Bubble, Motorcycle Boy,
Superfiends,
Texas Terri & the Stiff Ones, Broken- there's a ton
of 'em. It's a wonderful feeling to have that
sense of discovery again. The music industry has
become so packaged and force-fed over the years, so it's
a nice change for me...
SLUG: Favorite zines?
BUGDIE: Currently,
Coyote Shivers'
new "H.O.R.N.Y. (Hollywood's Only Rock and Nightlife
Yellow) Pages." It totally rocks and it's got
Hollywood Monsters plastered all over it...
SLUG: Trends? What
are they? Do you believe in them? (We all know you set
them)
BUDGIE: I think trends are great! If there
weren't trends- I'd be out of business! Throw in a
little of your own individuality and you can set the
town on fire...
SLUG: Worst experience in LA?
BUDGIE: Way too many to count... The last 2 years
have been the best and worst years of my life.
It's a complete love/hate relationship living here in
L.A.... SLUG:
Favorite cocktail?
BUDGIE: I sure do miss walkin' around with one of
those quart-size Long Island Iced Teas in Salt Lake...
The Long Islands here are a little too potent for my
tastes, and about 1/3 the size... I've succumbed
to rum 'n' coke...
SLUG: Favorite accessory?
BUDGIE: I bought myself the Millenium Swatch for
X-mas... It's completely covered in silver glitter and
it's even filled with glitter... Not very functional,
but it sure looks great...
SLUG: Boxers or
briefs?
BUDGIE: Neither! I wear the slinkiest
little g-strings and things- leopard printed, glittery,
whatever... If yer not feelin' glamorous in yer pants,
how could you possibly project that to the rest of the
world? SLUG:
Paper or plastic?
BUDGIE: As plastic as you want us to be...
SLUG: Anything else
you'd like to add?
BUDGIE: As a matter of fact, I've been hearing
there's all kinds of whacked-out rumors floatin' around
the Salt Slums, and I'd just like to take this
opportunity to say: they're ALL TRUE! Every single
last one of them... One other thing- Hollywood Monsters
loves you... We really do...
You are:
Home >
Press > Hollywood
Monsters |
