Interview: Purple Pam
Tromatic musician who's appeared in Tromeo & Juliet and Citizen Toxie whose first music video was directed by Lloyd Kaufman and featured on countless Troma DVDs!  Be sure to check out her website, purplepam.com!
 
1. How did you first get into music?
In 3rd grade, we did an experiment on “vibration”, involving a small piece of paper taped on to the speaker of a transistor radio. When turned on, the paper would make movement caused by the vibration. Lucky for me it was musical vibration. My teacher Mrs. Crow asked someone to bring in a radio to do the experiment and that’s when I discovered this new, wonderful kind of crazy music! I ran all the way home from school, and  screamed to my mom, like a raped ape, that I wanted a radio like the one I saw in school. My mom had a tall, 5 band radio, CB included, that she played only “elevator music”. That’s  FM, before they played cool music. My mom saw the crazy look in my eyes and let me put her radio in my room. She asked me AM or FM? Hell, I didn’t know. I picked AM. Good choice, at the time. She surfed the stations and told me when to stop. The song, “Horse With No Name” was the song I told her to stop on. That was my first rock song I ever heard. Since then I was locked in my room with that radio, even ignoring the “dinner’s ready” announcement from my mom. She even knew that me wanting to stay by the radio, instead of eating, there was something going on. That’s when I knew I would be involved in music. When FM started having rock stations that played Heart, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Queen, etc., is when I knew I wanted to be a rockstar. Heart’s “Magic Man” was heavy metal with a chick singer! When my mom won a stereo from bingo, I cranked up my Heart record LOUD and realized at the first time I had the power and range. So there you go! Haven’t been right since!
 
2. What was your first introduction to Troma?
Before  VHS and Beta were introduced, my love for “scary” movies were only shown on T.V. By then cable had been around for only a couple of years, and there was a “Z” channel to see hardcore stuff. (You’re gonna have to do your own research on that.) I had not seen actual stabbings, gore, or even nudity on these kinds of films. I’m talking, Vincent Price, Alfred Hitchcock, etc. I answered an ad for retail for what I thought was a record store, but instead, a video store. They had a sole wall dedicated to horror films like Texas Chainsaw, House of Wax, but also, “I Spit On Your Grave”, “Evil Dead”, etc., and “The Toxic Avenger”.  They let us take a machine home and 2 movies at a time. My first two, “Blood Feast” and “2000 Maniacs”. The gore scenes were shown as well as nudity, cursing and sickness. I loved the gore parts and to be able to rewind over and over was fucking unbelievable! My next 2 were, “Toxic Avenger” and “Blood Sucking Freaks”. I saw something special in “Toxie”. There was low budget funniness, gore, etc., but there was also humor and satire that the other films were lacking. I didn’t know until 18 years later when I auditioned for “Citizen Toxie”, that “Blood Sucking Freaks” was a Troma film.
 
3. What was your first experience working with Troma and what was it like?
My first experience with Troma came about one day on the back of the “Village Voice”. They had an add, casting for “extras” for a new Troma movie, also adding that they were the makers of “Toxic Avenger”.  Had they had not put that; I wouldn’t have sent a press pak because I’m not an actress. Looking for East Village-types with colorful hair, tattoos and piercings, I fit the bill! I sent a photo-copied snapshot and my contact info like instructed and got a call one week later to the day. See, I was under the assumption that “Toxie” was the last movie they did and these types of B-cult movies weren’t being made anymore, so being that I was picked for a Troma, blood flick, I was happy as fuck! It wasn’t a Toxie film, but any involvement in a film by the same makers was good enough for me. I never thought that they would make a part four, which is like Troma admits….the REAL sequel. I’m in that one too along with 2 of my songs.

4. How did Lloyd Kaufman end up directing your video for, “Kick In The Head”?
I just asked him. Simple as that. That was probably the hardest part of the whole video. The possibility of him saying no was something I had to take in cosideration and be prepared for which made me realize that if he said yes, I’d better have my shit together and have a plan. I planned a whole year before asking, so I’d be ready.

5. Of all your experiences with Troma, what do you consider to be the best?
If it’s cool with you, I’d rather explain separately, because my answer would be “all of them”.  So many stories to match, but I will give you a taste by saying my music video because I became a film maker by just doing a video from only what I learned from being on a set as an “extra”. I never put the two together, but I was able to produce and write a music video by learning the “teachings of film making” from Troma. Who would’ve thought? …AND my video makes sense and has a story, where a lot of million dollar videos don’t and even suck.
 
6. What are your favorite Troma movies?
“Toxic Avenger”, of course and “Blood Sucking Freaks”. “Blood Sucking Freaks” freaked out my brother and my boyfriend at the time when I discovered these films, because I kept rewinding the torture parts. My brother was into porn so I thought he would at least like the nudity. He gave it back to me, unwounded, halfway thru the film. He said I was sick. I turned my boyfriend and our drummer, to the film, and did the rewinding thing and the drummer and me were laughing our asses off. My boyfriend however, got up, called me “sick” and stormed out. “It’s fake for chrissakes!”, I said. The drummer and I continued to watch and laugh. It surprises me to this day that Lloyd admits that even now, he wished that it hadn’t been released. I still don’t see the big deal. It holds special memories for me. Also, I love, “Tromeo and Juliet”, and “Citizen Toxie”. Not because I was in them but because they have a story with satire..and make sense! Also “Terror Firmer”. It kind of had that “Crying Game” surprise to it.
 
7. What bands/musicians inspire you?
Last 10 years with all these “Back Door Boy” bands and cloned, underaged  blond, stomache showing, aerobic-stripper dance moves with cock gagging vocals that they have to lip sync to because they can’t sing in the first place, still growing strong with no signs of stopping, you need to ask? That’s what gave me the idea to start making music videos to my tunes. I have no chance. Too old and I can actually sing and don’t dance. Sorry, Justin, I lost my head there for a moment. You mean who inspired me in the past? O.K. I can answer that. The obvious from when I grew up: Heart, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, up until “Draw The Line”, Queen, Judas Priest, Motorhead, etc. You get the idea. In the 80’s: Jane’s Addiction, Soundgarden, Mother Love Bone and Alice in Chains. No one else until the year 2000: Disturbed, Slipknot, and Mudvayne. Those 3 are very musical in the way of Slayer and Sepultura. I would take me awhile to explain, so I won’t. Have you noticed that they fell off the face of the “media world”, like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. Hip-Pop has taken over. Commercialism has taken over. Troma did my video with no censorship. Lloyd asked me if he should do a “MTV” version, not because he wanted to censor, but because he believed in me and wanted to make sure I would get played. I told him, “Fuck no and fuck MTV. They would find something wrong no matter what! I want the Troma stamp and anything goes." The proud smile on Lloyd’s face is something I will forever have burned in my memory. The Troma stamp is what I got. Keeping my self real and having Troma represent my music in an independent way, saved me from giving up music all together and blowing my fucking head off!
 
8. Anything else you’d like to mention?
Well since you asked…My future trip in Tromaville I, will be doing two more music videos. One of them is for a song of mine called, “Green Eggs and Pam (Eat Me!)”, and will be directed by Lloyd and the Troma Team. It will have to be after their latest film, “Poultrygeist”. It starts filming this summer and I have a part in it. Besides, I haven’t recorded the song yet. It wall fall together nicely. I’m not worried.