While working at the Landmark Theatre in 1930, a stagehand named Oscar accidentally electrocuted himself, and died. His significant other, a young actress named Clarissa, rushed to help him from the balcony. She accidentally tripped and fell off the balcony, leaving both members of the young couple dead.

Since then, the Landmark Theatre has undergone multiple renovations and has seen the evolution of music and theater play out on its stages. However, one thing remains constant: The theater’s reputation of being “haunted.”

This cryptic mystique makes the Landmark Theatre a fitting location for Halloween-themed events such as the Rock and Roll Freak Show, which is happening Oct. 23.

The show, which draws its influence from popular television show “American Horror Story,” is being produced as a collaboration between local bands such as Pale Green Stars and Hobo Graffiti and the Landmark Theatre’s events manager, Danielle Bianco.

This year’s show will be the first, although the same show was scheduled to take place last year but was canceled due to a licensing issue.

The show will start with costume-wearing musicians serenading the audience with headbanging rock and rock-blues fusion at 8 p.m. The doors for the theater will open at 7 p.m. for holders of a separate admission ticket to participate in a “ghost hunt.” There will also be other themed attractions for attendees to take advantage of throughout the night.

Pale Green Stars — a local rock band — will be hosting the show. They are responsible for putting together the lineup of bands. Bands that will perform Friday include Hobo Graffiti, Amerikan Primitive, Spring Street Family Band and The Stacy White Suite.

“This is primarily based upon local, original rock bands that are from Syracuse, and these are some friends of ours and also some new bands that we want to see a little bit more of and sort of raise them up a little bit and help them out,” said Pale Green Stars drummer and booking/promotions manager Jeff Tripoli.

In selecting bands to perform with them, Pale Green Stars decided to expose the audience to local acts that they wouldn’t normally get a chance to see.

“Syracuse right now is coming up really well. There’s a lot of new venues and a lot of great bands and they’re all getting a chance to be themselves and that’s what I want to showcase, the great people that play music and that offer their talents, keeping the music alive,” Tripoli said.

Bianco said there will be a costume contest with prizes for winners. Audience members who don’t wear costumes will still have the opportunity to compete after getting made up by one of the show’s makeup artists. There will also be themed vendors, psychics and palm readers.

Tripoli believes that the room that the show is being held in will also enhance the experience for the audience.

“It won’t be on the main stage, but it will be upstairs. It’s a really, really nice room and it’s got really interesting, elaborate architecture and the building is really old. We get to play in the large hall upstairs, which is going to be an awesome setting,” Tripoli said.

Jeff Moleski, the drummer for Amerikan Primitave and the owner of Syracuse’s MoleTrax recording studio, spoke about what kind of impression he hopes to make.

“I want the crowd to walk away saying ‘Oh my god, we just saw a great f*cking band,’” Moleski said.

Published on October 21, 2015 at 11:05 pm

Contact: slgozins@syr.edu