Introducing The Witch’s Door

New book, New York & Barcelona

Greetings from Barcelona!

Even though it was only a week, it feels like the last edition of Message from the Underworld came out a million years ago. I don’t know if that’s because I’ve been so busy or because I’m so jetlagged that I never really know what time it is, much less the day of the week.

I’m currently in a laundromat waiting to dry my clothes so I’m going to jump around a bit, but let me start with the big news first…

I co-wrote a book with Ryan Matthew Cohn and Regina Marie Rossi called The Witch’s Door: Oddities & Tales from the Esoteric to the Extreme that will be published by Chronicle Prism on October 1, 2024.

Ryan and Regina are the curators of the Oddities Flea Market, a traveling art market that originated in Brooklyn on the heels of the show Oddities, which Ryan starred in for five seasons. Over the years Ryan and Regina have amassed an incredible collection of artifacts and antiques that range from the morbid to the bizarre. The book is about their collection, how they came by some of the more notable objects, and the strange and curious people they met along the way. It’s a mix of memoir, travelogue, and hidden history.

You’ll learn all about exploded skulls, shrunken heads, wax moulages, creepy antiques, Victorian taxidermy, memento mori, haunted dolls, and much, much more. To get a sense of what I’m talking about, check out Ryan’s Instagram, which is like a virtual Wunderkammer.

I had a blast working on this project and Ryan and Regina were a dream to work with. We started about a year-and-a-half ago. I visited their home in Connecticut a few times, did tons of research, and we spent dozens of hours on the phone. The bulk of the book was written one chapter at a time last spring, summer, and fall. Ryan and Regina are kind, generous, and genuinely fascinating people who are total pros at what they do—as is the team at Chronicle Prism. This is going to be a gorgeous book.

I’ll have more details to share as publication approaches, but you definitely want to get your pre-orders in because Ryan and Regina are giving away five virtual tours of their unique collection.

New York, Part 2

Last week’s trip to New York was so jam-packed that I didn’t even mention two of the highlights. On Tuesday night I went with Nuvia and my cousin Noreen to MoMa PS1 in Queens for a preview of Melissa Cody’s solo exhibition “Webbed Skies.”

As faithful readers know, I’m a huge fan of Melissa’s work and had the opportunity to visit the fourth generation Navajo weaver at her studio in Long Beach last year and published the interview in Razorcake. This was a totally different experience. Seeing so much of Melissa’s work in three large galleries at PS1 was a dream come true. Melissa is such a uniquely talented artist that she owns very little of her own work. She’s sold virtually every piece she’s created since she started weaving. So to see such a wide range of old and new work felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity.

For instance, one of my favorite pieces is called “Cliff Dweller,” which until last week I’d only seen photographs of.¹ In this piece Melissa takes a series of brightly colored rhomboids—a shape that is the foundation of many traditional Navajo designs—and arranges them in an asymmetrical design to suggest moving through a canyon where the multi-colored layers or ancient stone reveal themselves. Seeing it in person, I saw colors in the piece that I didn’t realize were present. A two-dimensional image can never fully convey the totality of a textile. Melissa’s pieces move in a way that is hard to describe in a way that doesn’t sound completely deranged, but looking at the piece summons a very specific experience I had hiking in Teec Nos Pos.

Cliff Dweller

Melissa Cody is my favorite artist—period—and the highlight of the night was being able to celebrate her work alongside her mother, father, husband, and two children. It was a big moment, but I believe there are bigger things in store for Melissa.

The next night I went with Nuvia to Broadway to see Hell’s Kitchen, a musical inspired by the songs and lyrics of Alicia Keys. Nuvia has been a big fan of Alicia Keys since her first album in 2001. I can only name a handful of songs (no AK T-shirts for me) but I enjoy her music. Her songs are crafted in a way where her immense talent is obvious, which made Hell’s Kitchen a surprisingly emotional experience for us.

The story was inspired by events in the artist’s life but isn’t autobiographical. It’s about a young woman named Ali who wants to break out of her shell but is held in check by her overprotective mother who is overcompensating for her daughter’s absent father. With the help of a stern but loving piano teacher, Ali learns to channel her emotions into her art.

It’s the type of portrait of a young artist that, despite being somewhat predictable, never gets old. When paired with Alicia Keys’s songs performed by a live band and a half-dozen Broadway veterans, the emotional impact was immense. It was my second Broadway show and Nuvia’s first so it all felt exciting and new.

I’m not going to lie, our enjoyment of the shows at PS1 and Shubert’s Theater was enhanced by the proximity of great delis: Court Square Diner in Long Island City and Junior’s on Broadway are both worth a visit. Life is better which cheesecake and pickle. If you know, you know.

Barcelona, Part I

We had an easy flight across the Atlantic on Thursday, arrived in Barcelona early Friday morning, and at noon on Saturday we did an event at La Conxita Libros in Sants. The space was beautiful, the event was well-attended by a mix of educators and punks—appropriate for Bad Religion—and I signed a bunch of books. I just don’t remember much of it and I’m willing to bet Nuvia remembers even less.

I think we underestimated the effects of jet lag, which I’m still wrestling with. (I started writing this on Tuesday evening San Diego time; unfortunately it’s the middle of the night in Barcelona.)

After the event we wandered down the street and had an amazing lunch after which we decided to walk back to where we were staying, which probably wasn’t the smartest decision. It wasn’t far but the walk was almost all uphill and halfway through our trek to Sarria we felt like zombies. We woke up in a room with no windows with no clue where or when we were in the world.

Variations of Papas Bravas

The funniest story that came out of the event took place a few days later. We met with the writer Josh Denslow and his wife and her brother at a bar, but we got there early and had some trouble explaining to the waiter that, yes, there were two of us, but we were waiting on three more people. I don’t want to say the waiter was rude, but let’s put it this way: Nuvia wasn’t a fan.

Josh brought some books to the bar for me to sign (he also presented me with a copy of his new novel Super Normal, which you should check out). The waiter saw the cover of Do What You Want and declared that Bad Religion is his favorite band. He was completely chill the rest of the night, and by “chill” I mean total fanboy. He even changed the music to the acoustic version of “Sorrow,” which I thought was hilarious. Nuvia, however, wasn’t as amused.

Yesterday we met with Ben Ehrenreich for lunch and Siel Ju and her partner for dinner so the last few days have felt like a reunion of LA writers who’ve never met. I’m now halfway through my trip and will share the rest of the details next week when I’m in… checks notes… Poland!

I know I said I’ve been busy but it only gets more hectic from here. Thanks for reading and thank you for those who recently upgraded to a paid subscription. Your support means a great deal to me—now more than ever. Gracias!

If you’re new to Message from the Underworld and you enjoyed this newsletter, you might also like my latest novel Make It Stop, or the paperback edition of Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall of SST Records, or my book with Bad Religion, or my book with Keith Morris. Message from the Underworld comes out every Wednesday and is always available for free, but paid subscribers also get Orca Alert! on most Sundays. It’s a weekly round-up of links about art, science, and killer whales.

1. Actually, that’s not true. I just realized that when I looked at the photos from my first visit with her at No Water Mesa that she was working on “Cliff Dweller” during my visit!