Harley Poe Halloween Shows 2015

Harley Poe at the Brass Rail in Fort Wayne, IN

 Wowwy wow wow, it's been almost a year since I've written on this blog. Are people still doing blogs? Here are some awesome pics from a Harley Poe Halloween show at the Brass Rail in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a few years back. These shots were taken by Ryan and Erica Freeman. They do such wonderful work. Check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/Erica-Freeman-Photography-476322915386/timeline/ These photos represent the magical times I've had sharing the stage with great musicians, playing in the little horror band I started just as my first band Calibretto 13 was calling it quits. Calibretto only lasted I think four or five years, where as I created Harley Poe back in 2001. It's been going for a long time.

Thanks for singing along you guys!

 Life is crazy. Things sneak up on you. Changes sneak up on you. Nothing lasts forever. Sometimes you're just forced to deal with changes you don't want, and other times you happily accept those changes. Changes are happening in my life. I'm trying to stop some of them from happening. I'm trying to deal with them. I'm also ready and willing to accept a few of these changes that I've seen coming for awhile. One being the indefinite hiatus of my dark child Harley Poe.

Wes Plantenga making the guitars sound good.

 I'm not sure if I could ever truly lay to rest something that is already dead and has been such a strong voice in my life, but I'm at least going to give this demon some time off. I need to save what's most important in my life. I need to try a different direction. I need to break free from a mind set that has enveloped me and my family. I want to shoot for other goals and try my hand at things I never imagined I would. I know my band mates aren't excited about this decision, but it's very clear to me.

Multi-talented Gregg manfredi on keys, melodica, and vocals before he moved to bass guitar.

 This doesn't mean I won't be writing or releasing music anymore. As a matter of fact I will be releasing a Harley Poe album called Fallen down digitally through CDbaby this October (more on that later) as the band plays our last 3 shows of the year. It's very fitting that we end it on October 30th. Afterwards I'll be releasing our extra merchandise through my online store joewhiteford.storenvy.com So stay tuned if you can't make it to Indiana this October to buy a Harley Poe shirt or CD. There might be some merch left when the party's over. For those close by or willing to travel, here are our final shows of the year:
http://www.punkrocknight.com/event/horror-punk-night-calabrese-harley-poe-the-jasons/
https://www.facebook.com/scarevania
http://www.worldeventer.com/event/friday-night-frights-presents-harley-poe-black-dali-and-werewolf-with-a-shotgun,949314071797470

Percussionist Cristian Riquelme with his unique drumming style all his own.

Come see us and celebrate Halloween with the band that revels in this time of year. I have no idea what the future holds for Harley Poe. Maybe it will die forever next month. Maybe the nasty little demon will just go on vacation. Maybe he'll take over someone else's head for awhile. Or just maybe he'll go through some changes as well. Regardless, I need a break. I have other stories to write; other songs to sing; a different view in which to see life. Stay tuned.

Kevin Phillips behind me, back when he played bass guitar for HP.

Where have you been?

Wow. I haven't posted on here since last spring. I apologize for not sharing through the ol' blog, but I doubt anyone is really tore up about my absence. I joined the world of Instagram last Christmas and have mostly been hanging out there. I don't mean to neglect my blog, but it's just so damn easier to take a pic with my phone and write a small caption to share what I've been up to, rather than sit in front of my laptop cutting and pasting and attempting to write something clever. I swear I've been writing this post for a half hour now. If you're interested in seeing my latest custom figures and art pieces, or if you're just wanting to know what Harley Poe is doing, check it out in pictures here: instagram.com/joe_whiteford Maybe I'll get back to all of this later.

As always, thank you so much for your interest and support.

Rotten Rexx

Here are some pics of James Groman's Rotten Rexx figure I just finished painting for a friend.

More Customs

Here are some recent figures I've painted:

And here is a custom Pugnacious by original designer Bill MacKay. This little guy originally sculpted by George Gaspar has gotten an awesome make-over resembling the alien from John Carpenter's The Thing. I'm envious of the job Bill did with this fella. Awesome work! I absolutely love this guy. Thanks Bill!

Grizzle Variant

Here is the other version of my Grizzle figure I'll be selling in my shop soon. I'll have available six of each figure. Stay tuned.

Head-Man and the Masters of the Cranium: Grizzle

This is Grizzle. He is a member of the Evil Head group. He is also one of three or four (possibly five) non articulated resin figures I'll be releasing in my spare time. I'm not one to bootleg or use parts that were sculpted by other artists, but this series is an exception due to the title I've chosen for these guys. This guy is a parody of the He-Man series I used to watch as a child, but he's also a love letter to the He-Man figures and to many other toys and movies that influenced me as a child, so I wanted to use parts from the actual toys.  Imagine a Mad Scientist throwing together a creation made from the parts of Madballs or Weird Balls, He-Man action figures, and happy trolls, all while watching California Raisin commercials and an unhealthy amount of zombie movies and other horror films such as John Carpenter's The Thing, Gremlins, and films like Don Dohler's The Alien Factor.  This should give you an idea as to where I'm coming from.

Grizzle was sculpted (with the exception of the Grizzlor parts), molded, cast, and painted by me and will be in my store for $75 and he'll come with some 2-D artwork by yours truly. Thanks for taking the time to look.

Anticristo 666

Here is Frank Mysterio's Anticristo 666 I painted, sculpted by Chauskoskis. I love this design. I love this figure. As always, thanks for looking.