Musical spectacles that mix rock ’n’ roll with stage blood and other accoutrements aren’t the exclusive territory of Alice Cooper and Kiss.
Not by a long shot. In fact, there’s a big believer in over-the-top rock right here in our midst.
Zon: Son of Thor is the latest creation of Reverend Donnie Black, a try-anything performer. He’ll hire a limousine to take him to a show and has various costumes in which he often appears. He even rented the L.A. club Whisky a Go Go, on his own dime, simply so he could say he played there.
The show sometimes supersedes his true gifts. Black (real name: Loran Werrun) is a respected metal drummer and a huge booster of the live music scene in general.
A former member of Conviction, Malevolence, Purge, Rollie Fingers, Punish and Zappnin Black, he is always on the lookout for gigs to play or promote. His latest invention gives him the opportunity to do both.
Zon is a product of Black’s imagination. Written as a continuation of ’80s “rock warrior” Thor, the storyline has Zon furthering the family legacy.
The original Thor (Vancouver native Jon Mikl Thor) made inroads during the ’80s, so Black has found a receptive audience for Thor 2.0. Black has been in talks with promoters who want him and his cavalcade of metal maniacs to tour overseas. It was supposed to happen in 2010, but a volcanic eruption in Iceland cancelled all flights.
Meantime, he has resumed the Zon storyline (including the death of his brother, Loki) as told through his concerts. Black is on stage with his band, the Metal Avengers, on Friday at V-Lounge, which becomes the Viking Lounge for the purpose of the event. Be warned, there will be blood.
I have seen Zon: Son of Thor in the flesh. But for the uninitiated, what can they expect on Friday?
Steel bars will be bent. Heads will be lopped off. Blood will be splattered. It’s like Kiss meets Hulk Hogan meets GWAR.
Alfred Hitchcock used chocolate syrup in Psycho, Stanley Kubrick used corn syrup in The Shining. What are you using for fake blood?
Does a magician share his trade secrets? A lot of care goes into making Loki’s brains. That’s a two-day preparation. If you’re wondering why it’s so sticky, I’ll say two words: maple syrup.
You wear spikes, leather, a studded codpiece, a fur cloak and platform boots that put you in range of seven-feet tall. It can’t be easy lugging that stuff around for two hours.
Nobody said it was easy, man. It takes a lot out of you. I feel it for a few days afterward. It’s the closest I’ve come to playing football.
You always have a slogan or a theme to your events. What is the meaning behind this particular one?
I always have to come up with a title. After we did Valhallaween, I feel like I set the bar pretty high. I made some posters for this one and started putting them up when I thought, ‘No, no, no. I need a title.’ So it became New Years Revolution.
Forgive me for asking, but what is the point of all of this?
The key to the show is waking the rock warrior in everybody. There is a sleeping giant in there. We have singalongs and warrior chants to prove your worth, and at the very end, if the crowd wants to graduate, I have printed certificates for those who passed the rock-warrior course.
Have you ever considered going back to regular band life, sans makeup?
I played some shows recently in a “normal band,” and it was fun and all, but it was visually unstimulating. We try with Son of Thor to bring back a theatrical element.
Zon: Son of Thor and Wyrmwood play at 9 p.m. Friday at V-Lounge (3366 Douglas St.). Tickets free in advance at Asylum Tattoo, Lyle’s Place and Ditch Records. $8 at the door.