An Interview with a "Strange Kid"

As you may have seen before, I have done a piece on "Strange Kids Club" (You can view it here) Since that day I have spoken to and gotten to know the man behind SKC "Rondal Scott". Recently though, I interviewed the man himself to give you guys more of insight into what goes on in the mind of a truly Strange Kid.

Hello Rondal! How are you this fine day?

I must say I feel quite "dapper," though "charming," "smashing," and "incredibly handsome" would also apply. 

Wow! You sound very dressed to impress sir.  Any particular reason or just your usual sharp attire?

Nah- these is my dancing clothes. I always like to dress to impress when I'm doing an interview... even if you can't see me through email.

That is true commitment! Now, as we all know you are the man behind the oh so amazing nostalgia/horror fest that is "Strange Kids Club". But what else is there to this international man of mystery?
Here's the age old statement of, Tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, Tom, I began my existence as a small bit of fetal matter expunged from the womb of a genetically-enhanced sea turtle and later raised by a rat in the sewers of NY... waitaminute... sorry, that's TMNT. Haha, no I'm actually a pretty average human being (born in the 80s, but raised in the 90s) whose fascination with nostalgia pop culture ephemera eventually got the better of him. I've been a Graphic/Web Design for almost 8 years now, though I always wanted to be a comic artist when I was a kid. I still sketch when I can and sometimes my full time job allows me to exercise my illustration needs, but generally when I'm not working I'm too busy maintaining Strange Kids Club or writing for the 2 or 3 other sites I belong to.

On that subject of SKC, aside from the obvious love for all things nostalgia based, what made you want to start up The Club?

Believe it or not, my original intentions for SKC were entirely selfish. When the concept for the site first came to me it was meant as sort of a virtual notebook of all the cool "stuff" I was finding on the internet that reminded me of childhood. After discovering sites like X-Entertainment, Branded in the 80s, and RetroJunk it sort of hit me that there were other people out there with the same interests and it'd be much more fun to share these memories. The only thing that seemed to be missing from those sites, however, was a mascot like Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman or EC Comics' Cryptkeeper that people could stand behind. That's basically how the first concept of Strange Kid came about.

 (Images Provided by Google®)

I think it's a really good route you have taken having Strange Kid there. Where did the design behind him originally come from?

Thanks! Much like the site itself, Strange Kid has kind of evolved as a collaborative effort between myself and a few talented artists with everyone adding new bits to him as time went on. Originally, Strange Kid wasn't even human, he was more of an unidentifiable creature that I created while doodling one day at work. As SKC grew, though, I decided that it deserved something better and illustrated the first "humanoid" form of Strange Kid based on various old photos of geeky and/or nerdy-looking kids from the 50s and 60s.

From there, I commissioned sculptor Adam Parker Smith to create the very first Strange Kid puppet based on his series of puppet-based installations I had seen. My intention was to kick off a Strange Kids Club web series and Adam did an outstanding job, but I soon realized that a full body puppet was way more than I could manage and so the web series idea was shelved. Earlier this year, I aimed at reigniting the idea with puppet designer Philip Hatter creating a new, lightweight puppet for me to use. Philip's version of Strange Kid has been phenomenal to work with and I've been using it as much as possible to promote SKC ever since.

You mentioned there about the web series. As we have seen, Strange Kid has taken shape in the form of the first Anthology and you have a second one on it's way (around halloween time). Along with the web series, is there any other kind of plans for the face Strange Kid?

The web series remains heavy on my mind. It's something that I've always wanted to do, but just haven't been able to acquire the resources to do it right. As you mentioned the SK Anthology is something that we launched earlier this year as a way to collaborate more with all of the awesome artists we interview and discover. It also provides a way for the SK community to add their own voice to the mythology we're creating for Strange Kid which hopefully will keep them invested in the site and foster more growth in the community.

Aside from those two projects, I'm continuing to pursue interests in an animated series of Strange Kid shorts, we've got a t-shirt coming out at the end of this month, and of course there's the Halloween issue of the Anthology planned for October with some especially awesome bonus material.

So Stepping aside from SKC for just now. We all know yourself and I are both big movie fans! (Yourself slightly more so haha) What are some recent films that you are either obsessed with, or have seen that just tickled your fancy, that you could strongly recommend?  

Hmm... let's see. Newer films are a tricky beast since most of them take time to "sink in." As far as theatrical releases, I did go to see both Super 8 and Captain America recently. Super 8 is pretty amazing as it really brought back some of those strange kid memories, but it tested the suspension of disbelief at times. At one point it almost felt like the kids were guest starring in Saving Private Ryan or something. Captain America was a solid film, but it's often the more obscure movies that interest me like Attack the Block, Stake Land, and Absentia. I haven't seen Attack the Block yet, but I'm dying to... literally, I sold both my kidneys for airfare before realizing I kinda needed them.

I'm dying to see Super 8. You also mentioned Captain America which is obviously another Hollywood comic flick. The thing with super 8 that is most appealing is the fact it's an original. Do you think there should be more original films these days? Or is Hollywood doing the right thing by remakes and "reimaginings"?

Without a doubt there should be more original concepts in Hollywood. Nowadays if it's not a remake it's a sequel or prequel... even book adaptations are getting a little old to me. Yeah, it's great to see some new films based on literary merit, but half of the time the film makers only rob the core idea from the book.

At the very least being original, to me,  is less about trying to finding creative ways to tell the same story ad nauseum and more about pushing the boundaries of what's possible both on a technical level as well as narratively. I recently read an article about why Robert Rodriguez decided to use "Aromascope" for the latest Spy Kids flick (granted it's another sequel) and how he's continually pushing what's possible from a technological perspective. Both Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino are two people that everyone in Hollywood should be taking notes from.

(Image provided by Google®)

But as you pointed out there, they also have taken to doing Re-makes and sequels. Just one big vicious circle. Now back on topic (Kind of). You said before you were invested in contributing to other sites as well as SKC. What are the other sites you contribute to? And aside from them, is there any websites/blogs/message boards you just can't go a day without logging onto and checking out?

I also serve as Co-Editor of a site called Fuel Your Illustration alongside a talented illustrator named Nikki Jeske. That site and SKC take up the bulk of my time outside of work, but somehow I manage to be a part time contributor for Bloodsprayer and StartFrag which focus specifically on horror and video games respectively. I never have been one to sit still for very long, haha.

As for sites I like to visit, it's hard to narrow them down because I'm always looking for news or strange new happenings to write about for SKC. I can say that some of the top haunts I go to on a daily basis are Shawn Robare's Branded in the 80s, Dorkly, The Autumn Society, Posterocalypse and Twitch. These aren't the only sites I go to and I wish I could list them all, but they're definitely the top 5.

Something I always like to ask people just to see what they say is "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" But adapted to this however... Where do you see SKC in 5 years time? What would you ideally like to see happen? 

It's funny... every minute I'm not spending writing articles or reviewing films my mind is constantly racing with ideas for how to make SKC bigger and better whether that means a different website design, more newsletters, more features, or finding ways to encourage more member participation. I constantly compare SKC to other sites out there trying to do the same thing, analyzing what they're doing and if it's working or not. If it works, I try to introduce it to SKC in various phases, such as the anthology we launched this year or the Costume Contest we've got running.

I guess the short answer to your question is that in 5 years I'd like SKC to be a viable media publisher that produces and promotes all kinds of creativity including animation, comics, film and so on while still remaining true to it's core philosophy which is celebrating the strange kid in all of us (the nerd, the outsider, the horror fan, etc). Most importantly I want SKC to evolve with its audience and to have people (not just myself) take a larger part in the brand by contributing articles, comments, reviews, videos and comics.

Well sir. I think this is the end of the interview. The only questions I have from here is, Have you had fun? Also how does it feel to be the first interview-ee of uramyx? 

I have honestly had a blast, Tom! It's funny but I've actually learned a few things myself going through this interview. It is truly an honor to be the first (of many) interview-ee of uramyx!! :D

I then passed a simple uramyx template to Rondal... This is what he came back with. Rondal was the best first interview-ee anyone could ask for! I want to personally thank Rondal so much for contributing this and taking part like a champ!!
 

(Click on this image to see the full awesome-ness)