The life and times of a anti-lifestyle lifestyle blog: A friend of the devil is a friend of mine.

Initially I was terrified of the Swedish metal band Ghost.

I was raised Catholic, thus instilled with the fear of the power of the higher power. I once opened the doors to St. Patrick's in Bisbee and when I saw the empty deathly quite church and life sized "Like a Prayer" statues, I said "oh hell no" and closed the door. San Xavier is even more terrifying, but I always said my dream wedding would be there at night with candles

I digress...but on the same note I was raised with the 1980s Satanic scare and heavy metal. Lots and lots of heavy metal. Shout at the Devil, 666 Number of the Beast. Upside down crosses and backwards messages. I think what really gets me with all of this is that, I'm really freaked out by masks.

My first experience with Ghost was in the summer of 2012. I was working nights at the time, and it was after midnight. I was watching this video:

The wind began to howl and I became totally up in arms. Probably slept with the lights on if I went to bed. The next day I tried to watch it again and once again the wind kicked up. My friend Dustin had to have me listen to the music disembodied from the imagery to see how corny it was.

Still totally scared of Papa, I was convinced I'd awaken to his procession coming down my hall and standing over me while I slept.

Mildly accurate media shot of how I expected things to go down.

So much so I had this dream:

(Ok, I worked at a venue for 3 years in a little something called "artist relations". That pretty much means I baby sat guests. Set up dressing rooms and the green room according to their rider, drove famous people around. Was hired out as a "runner" for big named acts and all in all was awesome. Hung out with the roadies, realized I loved bus drivers because they had the most gossip, and ran around on an empty stage after midnight.)

So in my dream the singer, whom I now refer to as Toby and I had met and worked together when he was unmasked. I don't know if I told him I was scared of their act or what, but in the dream I was in the green room and he came in dressed as Papa, ready to take the stage. He tried to console me and tell me he's still ________. The same guy I had laughs with earlier while I bought things for him or drove him somewhere or whatever it is we did. But I was having none of it Tobias Forge. We ended up outside the green room by the bathrooms my back against the off white brick wall and him still trying to sooth me all the while wearing a satanic pope get up, plastic mask and colored contacts. When he got close to me I super human dream jump kicked and kicked him in the chest causing him to grunt and topple back. I then ran all the way thought the back back stage maize and to the side doors on the other side of the stage's wing. When I pushed them open to great relief it was night and the area often littered with roadies and union stage hands out on their smoke break was empty. No yellow shirted meat head security guards trying to impress me with shows they'd worked, nothing, it was empty. The lot where the buses pull in was empty as well. Just me and the asphalt, the yellow glow of the street lamps and an empty parking lot.

Now Tobias is a petite man, and people who have met them say his mask is rubber (I'd guess latex) and he can't close his mouth all the way.(Sorta like Kristen Stewart) He's nothing to be scared of, it's more corny than scary. I'm coming around on the matter. What I find interesting is after finding this forum and being linked to this article, one of the posts says that Toby is both the nameless ghoul and the old man in this video:

While I have also read that the old man is an actor whom Toby's mask is molded after. But some say it's just him in a very expensive mask, and with a nose like his it's hard to hide. I say it isn't him just because the bald headed man seems a lot taller.(On further review I think it is Toby, his hands are so soft and smooth that has to be a much younger man, but the ghoul has the same hands... oh my...) He is also in this video:

Which is the censored version. I can't seem to find an uncensored clip of the end.(Does it exist? Only in Europe?) But I do like what this Ghoul ( Also Toby? Always Toby?) said about how once you show you're cock what else is there to see? To me that says why do you care what our/his face looks like you've seen his junk.

Since the Papaganda videos are produced and thought to be done by actors, and some people say no no it's all Toby. In Sweden they speak American English. So is this Toby too? Because the first time I heard a nameless ghoul interview I too thought he spoke like an American.

I now think that even though they played Cochella ( bleh) and that pretty much means they sold out, that the whole idea is pretty bad ass. The fact that Dave Grohl has worn the cloak and played drums for them and that anyone famous could sub in without much notice. I also like that there will be multiple reincarnations of Papa. Does the hint that the next one will be younger mean that Toby will get to look more like himself?

They came here last Spring/Summer and played the tiny Rialto Theater. I have friends who got magnificent shots of them live, and I'm sad I didn't go.

I'm going to end this with some images of note: