If you haven't been following it, Spookey Ruben's Exclaim! TV web series Dizzy Playground is something you'll definitely need to catch up on. The Ontario-based pop weirdo has employed all kinds of bizarre video techniques to translate the weirdness in his mind to one of the most original web series on the whole wide interweb.
Following his recent vid with guest Ariel Pink, Ruben has revealed that his next episode is called "Spaghetti Cowboy" and will feature none other than über-loved Canadian songstress Leslie Feist.
Speaking with Exclaim!, Ruben shed some light the episode, as well as the collaboration.
"As the title suggests, in this one we take on the spaghetti western genre," Ruben explains. "I play a bounty hunter who gets his super powers from canned spaghetti - kind of how Popeye does from spinach. Leslie plays El Bandido, the 'wanted' bank robber. Originally we had her scripted as another cowboy, but it was her idea to play the villain (with bushy moustache, bullet belt, etc.), which worked out brilliantly."
Much of the episode was shot on location at Docville, a wild west film set in Newcastle, ON. "Steve 'Doc' Holliday, the owner and brainchild of Docville, plays the sheriff in the movie and is probably one of the coolest guys I know," Ruben says. "He's 60-plus years old, lead singer in the hard rock band the Seed and is actually related to the real Doc Holliday."
While the choice of location allowed them some colourful supporting characters, Ruben said it also meant dealing with some unsavoury weather. "The entire shoot was troubled by on and off rain showers," Ruben recalls. "Leslie put it correctly: 'Spooks, why is it that every time we do these music videos, it's always cold and raining?' But she's a real trooper, walking up slippery wooden steps in the cold wind and still laughing all the way."
Besides making videos for Exclaim! TV, Spookey Ruben has been busy with his music career. This month, he will release a new EP called Shackleton on January 12, and plans to perform at Calgary's Sled Island this summer.
The episode is now streaming online. To watch it, simply click here.
Following his recent vid with guest Ariel Pink, Ruben has revealed that his next episode is called "Spaghetti Cowboy" and will feature none other than über-loved Canadian songstress Leslie Feist.
Speaking with Exclaim!, Ruben shed some light the episode, as well as the collaboration.
"As the title suggests, in this one we take on the spaghetti western genre," Ruben explains. "I play a bounty hunter who gets his super powers from canned spaghetti - kind of how Popeye does from spinach. Leslie plays El Bandido, the 'wanted' bank robber. Originally we had her scripted as another cowboy, but it was her idea to play the villain (with bushy moustache, bullet belt, etc.), which worked out brilliantly."
Much of the episode was shot on location at Docville, a wild west film set in Newcastle, ON. "Steve 'Doc' Holliday, the owner and brainchild of Docville, plays the sheriff in the movie and is probably one of the coolest guys I know," Ruben says. "He's 60-plus years old, lead singer in the hard rock band the Seed and is actually related to the real Doc Holliday."
While the choice of location allowed them some colourful supporting characters, Ruben said it also meant dealing with some unsavoury weather. "The entire shoot was troubled by on and off rain showers," Ruben recalls. "Leslie put it correctly: 'Spooks, why is it that every time we do these music videos, it's always cold and raining?' But she's a real trooper, walking up slippery wooden steps in the cold wind and still laughing all the way."
Besides making videos for Exclaim! TV, Spookey Ruben has been busy with his music career. This month, he will release a new EP called Shackleton on January 12, and plans to perform at Calgary's Sled Island this summer.
The episode is now streaming online. To watch it, simply click here.
