Punk Vacation: An Unofficial Vinegar Syndrome Podcast

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 25, Eli comes back to help break down September announcements and we geek out over the new Pinku line from VS. Celeste brings us home with another 15 minutes of you where they catch us up to being current for the year.I titled the episode this way because of the conversation we had around the crazy titles that exist within the pinku subgenre.First episode of Season 2 was fun with Eli and his opinions and knowledge are a great addition as always.Eli can be found on most socials @eliolsberg and you can follow him to make sure you see his next porno night screening around LA or catch his standup second Tuesday of every month at the Pleasure Chest.Celeste de la Cabra can be found:https://www.patreon.com/CelestedelaCabra

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 24, Celeste de la Cabra and I reflect back on the crazy first year of Punk Vacation!We do go over August announcements as well, and we end the episode with Celeste doing a great job during the next installment of 15 Minutes With You.I want to say thank you to every guest, co-host, and champion of fringe creativity that has come along and supported the Punk Vacation journey this year. I am constantly humbled by the folks who say yes and how enthusiastic everyone has been to join.I still hope to be able to squeeze in a HK focused episode this month, but it's possible it slips to early September. Either way, looking forward to a fun Season 2 of Punk Vacation!Celeste de la Cabra can be found:https://www.patreon.com/CelestedelaCabraAlso, if you have a few extra bucks to spare there is a gofundme for Celeste for her Gender-Affirming Surgery Recovery:https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-celestes-genderaffirming-surgery-recovery-fund

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 23 we welcome back Sam Panico who can now say he is a contributor to a VS release! In addition to his look into 5 Dead on the Crimson Canvas, Sam is a frequent collaborator with Visual Vengeance, has his own podcast bandsaboutmovies and co-hosts a YT show called Drive-In Asylum.You'll hear this in the episode, but Sam has a deep knowledge of exploitation and low-budget cinema and a great sense of humor. I'm honored to have him on as a repeat guest now!We end the episode by welcoming Celeste back from a well-earned break. She has a lot to cover and catches us up on the Mélusine releases through April.I'm very much looking forward to August! In addition to the regular coverage, we should be able to take a deeper dive into the Hong Kong side of VS. See y'all soon!Sam Panico can be found:www.bandsaboutmovies.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@GroovyDoomCeleste de la Cabra can be found:https://www.patreon.com/CelestedelaCabraAlso, if you have a few extra bucks to spare there is a gofundme for Celeste for her Gender-Affirming Surgery Recovery:https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-celestes-genderaffirming-surgery-recovery-fund

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 22 we are joined by a fantastic group of panelists to attempt a roundtable discussion and figure out what Vinegar Syndrome is in 2025.I did my best to find a diverse set of interests and backgrounds for the show, but this is very much meant as an open discussion and I would love to hear from anyone!The structure of the episode basically breaks down into three parts:First hour (roughly) is a VS lovefest and we all share our favorite titles and there are probably 50 movie recommendations from the panel.Second portion we attempt to define what VS was, is today, and how OCN fits in.Finally, we sandwich this orgy of hot takes with a round of final thoughts. Not to add spoilers, but we end up discussion why we love this label with warts and all.Panelists include:Robert and Matt from Grindhouse Chic. Robert has been a subscriber since their first year of offering, and generally a fan since the beginning. Matt is an oldhead collector who has recently discovered VS and is in the middle of peak deep-dive.https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/grindhouse-chic/id1776304564Jaden Christopher, returning from Episode 5. He has started a new podcast as well, Podgoblins, and I was excited to bring him on with his infectious energy for the large studio titles.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjhVE4SwMeMRounding out is third time co-host Eli Olsberg. Eli is an accomplished comedian but also hosts a softcore night once a month at the Pussycat Theater in Los Angeles and is about to start a hardcore night with Bat P*ssy and Gums as a double bill.https://www.instagram.com/p/DKxdTKaBh5L/July I'm still figuring out! They have that subscriber week deal and then Celeste and I need to catch up on dozens of movies between VS and Melusine. It will be a busy month!Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 21 we look at the OCN announcements in June for partner month. Pearl Chan, one of the co-founders of Kani Releasing, was a surprise guest and joined to help me gush about the wonderful work Kani is doing as I highlighted their label. To close us out Ryan and Jeremy rejoin for Merch Mates. It's a packed 97 minutes!I have a movie crush on Ariel and Pearl from Kani, I love the work they're doing very much. As I was recording on the 1st I had an idea to reach out to see if they could join last minute, and Pearl could which was great! So the episode is split into me talking about the label and then an interview.Mid June we have something a little different. I am going to try and have a proper panel discussion with a mix of old-time VS heads as well as some new recruits that love the studio titles. We'll see if we can crack the identity of VS in 2025.Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!https://www.kani-releasing.com/

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 20 we get to chat with the unofficial Vinegar Syndrome rep from Finland, Ville Lähde.Wille is the best, his YouTube channel @videotalkvideospace is a cornucopia of physical media discussion and unboxing, with a focus on VS and the wilder side of cinema. The dude has over 3,000 VHS tapes and is an encyclopedia of genre and exploitation cinema.He brings passion to each discussion, and is always very honest about what he likes and doesn't like. We cover the H2BF announcements as well as the April releases.Coming up next is June, the partner month. I am working on finalizing a different partner label to help with the announcements around the 1st as well as a label focus mid month.Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!https://videospace.fi/https://www.youtube.com/@VideoTalkVideospace

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 19 I am joined by Special Features Producer extraordinaire, Claudia Pretelin!Claudia is a fascinating person. She is an international art curator, has worked with some very innovative contemporary artists such as Gary Baseman, and approaches disc production through the lens of wanting to know everything about the movie she just watched.I really enjoyed this interview, and I'm proud to share with everyone that gets to hear from one of the most recent impressive people VS has brought onto their team.I am trying hard to secure 2 more episodes in May including the biggest VS fan in the Nordics and an encyclopedia of exploitation. I hope to have these two up in special episodes around the Halfway to Black Friday sale.Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!https://instrumentsofmemory.com/tag/claudia-pretelin/

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 18 I am joined by Oscar Becher, Archivist and Vault Manager at Vinegar Syndrome. We discuss around half of the May announcements that are part of the halfway to black friday flash pre-order, discuss why these were all ambitious projects for different reasons, and get to hear Oscar's passion for his first official producer credit.Ross Snyder from Saturn's Core comes on next and gives us some insight into what drives him and why he is so excited to release You Are Alone on his label.15 Minutes With You is back for the third episode in a row as Celeste gets us almost current with the Mélusine titles from 2025.Coming up next, I am trying hard to secure 3 more episodes in May including the biggest VS fan in the Nordics, an encyclopedia of exploitation, and a VS employee who would be doing her first interview since she joined full time.Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 17, Eli is back! to cover March releases with me and more Melusine titles with Celeste. We are lucky to get an extended session with Celeste that catches us up all the way to last months Melusine titles.And not to bury the lede, but I am thrilled to also be able to sit down with Ryan Kruger, an extremely prolific music video and shorts director internationally who has recently been given the opportunity to dip into features. We discuss Fried Barry as well as his VSP release of the Street Trash reimagining. He was humble and came across as just another film geek, I really loved the discussion. Thank you Ryan!Coming up in May we have an OCN partner discussion with one of the worlds leading SOV authorities and mid month we are close to finalizing time with one of the VS team members that has not given an interview as part of the VS family.Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 16 I am joined by Kurtis Spieler, restoration specialist at Vinegar Syndrome. We discuss the April titles, Vinegar Syndrome's 500th release, and get a glimpse into how many hours are put into an excellent restoration.Celeste de la Cabra is also back to discuss the hardcore titles in her recurring segment. If timing works out we'll be lucky enough to have her twice this month so fingers crossed.Coming up next I hope we're able to secure time with a gooey, splooshy director that helmed one of the recent controversial VSP releases.Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 15 I am joined by Ewan Cant, the Associate Director of content, acquisition, and licensing at Vinegar Syndrome. We discuss the underrated February releases and spend a good amount of time talking about Ewan's love for unique slashers.Before working at VS, Ewan worked at Arrow in a similar role. He is the producer behind iconic releases throughout his whole career, and at VS recently has put out Iced, Blood Tracks, Ghost Dance, and Mother's Day.Coming up next we see the return of our very first guest, the manager of media and special features at Vinegar Syndrome.Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 14 we cover the announcements from March 1st along with one of the absolute legends of critical thinking and special feature work around Italian cinema, Eugenio Ercolani.Eugenio has established himself within Vinegar Syndrome as an Italian expert and produces the special features for entire releases on several of their recent films. He has four movies that he has helped produce in March so it was perfect timing to have him on to help me go through all of the new releases.In the episode we cover a wide range of topics from Fernando di Leo to Federico Fellini to the interrelationship between genre and arthouse cinema in Italy. It's a history lesson, a dive into the culture of Italy around the time these movies were produced, and amazing insights from someone who not only studies Italian cinema but lived it and has been around it his entire life.Mid month we will review the February releases with another one of the key producers from Vinegar Syndrome. It will be a first time guest on Punk Vacation and it is also one of the world leading experts on slashers. Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 13 we mix it up a little bit and bring the hardcore titles front and center in a 90-minute segment with co-host Celeste de la Cabra and adult film expert, writer, and curator Eli Olsberg. We (but mostly they) cover the porn titles from November and December as well as a handy starter guide to dipping your toes into the Vinegar Syndrome adult film waters.From there Eli and I cover most of the January releases in depth, and spend longer than we should gushing about what a pleasant surprise Deranged was. It's really good.The first half of the year is already shaping up nicely with some Vinegar Syndrome employees who are coming on in April and May and some special feature experts lining up in between.Thank you to anyone who listens to even five minutes of this. It means a lot and please don't be shy to tell me if there's something more / less / different you want to see.

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 12 we cover the announcements from February 1st. The episode covers two lifetime TV directors that made a memorable splash with their feature films. It also covers an absolute stone cold genre legend who is getting one of his two cannibal films out. Between Cannibal! the Musical and the one this month it is cannibal season at VS.Outside of the main line we see two Cinematographe releases that are both female directed and written movies about navigating sexual awakenings. And a Jodorowsky-lite director from Mexico getting a stunning release of one of his classic films.Not to be outdone, the OCN releases this month are stellar. Abel Ferrara, Tsai Ming-liang, Tai Kato, Radu Jude, on and on with movies that would sell out at any arthouse theater.Ryan and Jeremy are back with a quick hitting merch mates segment, and convincing Holly is back in rotation this month.Looking forward to getting guests back in the booth on the 15th where we will have a Valentine's special. Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.In Episode 11 we meet Sam. That's the only name you need. Like Emanuelle or Madonna, Sam is a force in entertainment and most recently the genre film community. He's toured as a musician, done a good amount of voiceover work, has interviewed some amazing filmmakers in his own work, has been on a growing number of commentaries, has a podcast and a videocast, and is a like-minded personality so I knew I needed to get him on the kickoff 2025. Most of his work is centered through his branding of bandsaboutmovies. I'll link below.Sam's energy for Vinegar Syndrome is infectious. He loves underseen or underappreciated movies and is a firm believer that every completed movie is a miracle. We talk about the Black Friday releases for VS Mainline and every Sublabel including the April Fools Day surprise.It's a longer episode, but if you listen to Sam you'll understand why. We wrestle with the why behind the appeal of Vinegar Syndrome, where they are headed as a company, and what draws us to movies in the first place.Starting on Feb 1 we'll get back to the usual schedule and mid February I hope to have a special porn-themed Valentine's Day episode with a guest I'm very excited about. Thank you for those who continue to listen and please let me know how I can make this better!https://bandsaboutmovies.com/

We did it y'all. 10 episodes in and we're still growing solidly with each one. Thank you to everyone who has listened to any of the episodes, and please seek me out if you've listened to all of them so I can thank you personally.We wouldn't look this good without the amazing art of Adam Danbury (https://www.adamdanbury.com/film). We wouldn't sound this good without the regular segments from Celeste de la Cabra discussing the hardcore titles and Ryan and Jeremy wading through the merch jungle. And a special shoutout to Holly who inspired the convincing Holly segment.For the final episode of 2024 I thought we would mix it up a little bit and throw a whole ass interview in the middle. I was toying with the idea, but when schedules worked out to record with the Richard Baylor I knew it was meant to be. His interview starts right around the 1 hour mark if that's what you came to hear.But even before all of that I am very excited that David, or Professor Gascan, was able to join for what I hope is an annual segment. The man watches over 1,000 movies a year and has had an active blog since 2010. His knowledge of movies from every genre shines in this conversation, I'm excited for people to get to here it.Taking us home was a longer segment where I actually get to sit down with Celeste and talk about the hardcore titles as well as some of the origin of her getting involved in the podcast to begin with.I'll include some links below, but honestly just a huge thank you to anyone who has spent any time with Punk Vacation. 2025 will continue to have some exciting names from the VS team, some historians, critics, and hopefully some more filmmakers. Cheers!David's Bloghttps://myworldoffilm.blogspot.com/David's Top 100https://myworldoffilm.blogspot.com/2023/07/its-come-to-this.htmlDavid's Letterboxdhttps://letterboxd.com/wpqx/Buy Richard's moviehttps://vinegarsyndrome.com/collections/saturns-core/products/our-world-is-drowning-and-going-to-hell-the-underground-films-of-richard-baylorCeleste's main YouTube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@celestedelacabraCeleste's Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/CelestedelaCabra

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.Episode 9 introduces Punk Vacation to one of the leading writers of esoteric and outre cinema, Heather Drain.We get to know Heather's and, in addition to so many titles she has worked on at Vinegar Syndrome, we get to speak about her amazing opportunity to collaborate with Umbrella on the recent Caligula mega-boxset. Heather's passion for all movies shines through, and I hope she continues to get lots of work at Vinegar Syndrome going forward.In addition to Heather we have a pop-in from Erica Shultz who has two releases she's featured on this month and then end with a pirate themed Merch Mates. Thanks all who have listened so far, and welcome to anyone who's joining for the first time!Links for Heather:https://linktree.com/mondoheather

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.Episode 8 introduces Punk Vacation to another great content creator and rabid fan, Sam Dunkley. He watches, discusses, and produces reviews on filmbloggersam and Let's Watch Two, and imports way more VS to the UK then he ever intended. We're also lucky enough to have Celeste back to discuss the most elaborate and artistic adult films ever made.We dance around the possible sensitivities of a Native American slasher, become a tenant in Polanski's vision of immigrants in Paris, decompose into one of the most egregious of taboos, feel forgotten as we unwrap a Mystere, flirt with Obsession, and learn not to take candy from a stranger. The Archive line has two titles this month, Weird Science in Montreal and a possessed beeper in a remote vacation villa. After all of this goodness we come to my favorite release of the month. William Castle's ode to puppetry, mimes, and the dark side of the performing arts.Links for Sam:Youtube for filmbloggersam- https://www.youtube.com/filmbloggersamEverything else:https://www.letswatchtwo.com/

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.Episode 7 brought back another important member of the Vinegar Syndrome staff. Oscar Becher is the vault manager and archivist and has been on the VS team for about 3 1/2 years.In addition to going over the November announcements, we talk about the different ways Oscar gets involved in releases, who convinced him to sing for the Cannibal! promo, and get some idea of the size of the actual archive that started Vinegar Syndrome.

Finding the joy in unfettered creativity. A podcast dedicated to bringing awareness and context to movies of any budget, from anywhere, and during any time.Episode 6 was a great conversation with two humble giants of film history. Armando and Joey joined from Trash Mex Podcast. They are amazing ambassadors of Mexican cinema who spend a lot of time booking screenings and writing and promoting the movies they love.We introduce Armando and Joey, review the VS films from Mexico, and cover the September releases from the mainline as well as VSA, VSL, and Distribpix.One thing different, and I hope fun, that we tried was to come up with a double feature of each of the VS releases. The theme of the double feature is a movie from Mexico with a similar theme or plot. For easy reference, here are the double features that were chosen:Howling II- Colmillos, el hombro lobo by Rene Cardona III (1993)Cruel Brittania- Hector Shayne (Multiple movies and TV shows)- Mujeres de media noche (1990)- La muerte del chacal (1984)Eye for an Eye- Navajeros (1980)- Pistoleros Famosos (1981)- El Fiscal de hierra (1989)Blonde on a Bum Trip- Los desvergonzados (1962)I also have to thank Celeste de la Cabra who is now officially embedded as a segment host that pays homage to The Smiths while covering the hardcore titles from VS when they have more.The community is growing! Thank you all listening, following on IG, and to everyone who has reached out to say hi online.