Interview: Adolfo Dorta (Days of the Dead)
This week FDTC writer Adam Holtzapfel had a chance to interview Days of the Dead co-founder Adolfo Dorta about the upcoming Louisville show and beyond.
Adam Holtzapfel - With your first show in Louisville coming up, what can fans expect compared to the other four cities Days of the Dead has taken over?
Adolfo Dorta - I think for the most part, we tend to follow the same formula we do in every city with a few tweaks here and there. Until it breaks, why fix it, right? Louisville does have the distinction of having the DOTD Tattoo Expo to go along with all of the great horror celebrities, films, panels, events, and after parties our fans have come to know and love. The Tattoo Expo will feature over 24 artists from roughly 18 shops from across the country slinging ink daily, and is sponsored by Ink Therapy Tattoo and Kingpin Tattoo Supply. Scott Medjesky and Chris Taylor have been doing a bang up job with that and it's sure to add a great new dynamic to a show that already embraces the counter cultures of horror, heavy metal, and tattoos.
AH - With this being the first city other than LA to have the Tattoo Expo are there plans to bring it to other cities or is it kind of based on space and state laws?
AD - Unfortunately, given the way the local laws work in our other cities, the Tattoo Expo is something that will likely be limited to just Louisville and Los Angeles in the immediate future. Atlanta would most likely be the next city to get it, but we still have at least a year's worth of red tape to cut through before that's a reality.
AH - With the Chaostume Contest hosted by Larry Lutze and the Make Up/FX Competition hosted by Chris Blair, as well as the Jabb Pictures 48 Hour Film Fest being huge successes, how do you build on those?
AD - I really just let those guys do what they do. I'm a pretty big believer in finding the right person for the job and letting them just run with it, and I think they've done a great job of putting out a good product that not only keeps fans coming back, but has them telling other fans to come next time. I tried having my hands in the film festival for our first two shows and it was a disaster. I turned it over to Hoover - who's one of the best names in the indie film world when it comes to networking - and it's been crushing harder with every show. I get together with Larry and Chris individually after every show and listen to what they thought worked well, what didnt work so well, and what they want to try out the next time around, and pretty much just give my blessing to go out and kill it. They've never let me down.
AH - You had done Culture Shock in Indianapolis in 2015, are there plans to kind of integrate those types of guests into future DOTD shows?
AD - Culture Shock was a really fun show and went really well for us, but I think in terms of growing our brand, we decided it would make more sense in every regard to keep it simple and just roll with everything being lumped under the DAYS OF THE DEAD banner. Since Culture Shock, we've been integrating other aspects of things that we enjoy into our guest list in the form of having a few more wrestling guests, a couple of Star Wars guests here and there, and just all around adding more variety to our rosters. We've been very pleased to see the fans respond positively to us having a bit more variety in who we book and are definitely excited to do more of it in the future. At the end of the day, DAYS OF THE DEAD will always be a horror heavy show first, but just as we are all into lots of different things and have lots of different interests, so are our fans. Sometimes dabbing into other areas of what we love keep it fresh for everyone.
AH - Brian Posehn had stopped by the Indianapolis show in June, what was it like seeing him geek out as a fan at the show?
AD - It was really cool to see Brian show up even if I was so busy that I didn't get a chance to meet him. It's always fun to see other people whose work you get great enjoyment out of appreciate what you do as well. I hope that he liked it enough to consider being a guest at one of our shows in the future. We'd love to have him.
AH - What can the DOTD faithful expect going into 2017 after the Chicago show wraps up?
AD - I guess more growth and more fun from this crazy circus we call DAYS OF THE DEAD. We're always cooking up so many ideas, but don't always have the right timing to unleash every single one so the development and evolution comes organically. I've always thought that the best aspect of our shows is the community that comes together to celebrate all aspects of this culture they love. It's also interesting that what I think is the best aspect of our show is the one thing that we can't control or plan for. That said, the fans never let us down so I'm curious to see where our supporters take us.
AH - With your Punk & Destroy show kind of taking a backseat, what bands are you currently listening to while planning world domination?
AD - Whores. (out of Atlanta) is a band I listen to almost daily despite them not having put out anything new recently. They're just so damn good. They have a new record coming out soon which is easily my most anticipated album in a long time. Aside from that, the new Descendents record is pretty ace and I've been enjoying that, as well as the new Bouncing Souls record which is a good return to form for them over their last two efforts. Depending on my mood, you'll catch me jamming everything from Ufomammut to Bad Brains when planning DOTD stuff. World domination deserves a wide spectrum of music.
AH - Last but not least, what’s your top 5 movies of all time?
AD - Oof. That's a tough one. How about I just shoot out the first 5 that come to mind when thinking of "all time best" movies:
1) Star Wars
1) Star Wars
2) The Thing
3) Jaws
4) Alien
5) Night of the Living Dead
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