Brian Brushwood

well played, sir! you're correct! (at least with regards to my show)

"slam" (from hold your color) is at the beginning of menace, "salt in the wounds" (from immersion) is at the beginning of malice.

The Benny Benassi you heard would be one of my favorite mashups we're playing before the shows: And yes, both shows start with some Pendulum in them, (different songs, too!) -Brian

not related to HHN except for the fact that I suspect most of you will be as into this as I am... (also, I wouldn't know where else to post this for you) Fan-made intro for AMC's upcoming "Walking Dead" series Looks. amazing. Wish it was the official intro.

Absolutely. The intro videos were collaborations with my buddies over at Film Riot. You can even learn how to do the fire demon effect for yourself right here: we cut down a special version of the "pitch meeting" skit for the intro of menace, but I'll make that available as well.

LOL... totally busted. I'm glad you dug the intro video stuff. My goal was for the "show" to start the moment you walked in the door with the pre-show and intro videos. Don't know if you noticed, but we mix up some of the mash-ups before each of the shows, too (this one's my current favorite: Kanye Mahna.mp3).

Hades: 0 Psychoscarepy: 0 LT: 0 Hallow'd Past: 0 Zombiegeddon:0 The Orfanage: 0 Havoc: 0 Catacombs: 0 B&T: 1 Menace:3 Malice:5 ... *sigh*.

we had some major surprises during both the first menace and malice shows, but the audiences were fantastic. Having an audience there really changes some logistics, but makes for SUCH better energy. It's really awesome to watch the whole team come together... it's like we all develop this ESP for the exact moment for the next sound, music, and light cues, all reacting to the crowd and volunteers.

that's a good question. Make sure to let me know how it looks/feels from your perspective after the shows!

OMG, it's unreal how well the both Menace and Malice fit in this venue. doing the shows at BJ makes me really see all the challenges we had at Animal Actors... BJ theater is more intimate (there's not a bad seat in the house), the sound system is better, the lighting is incredible, and we're able to use the entire stage... very excited.

That's a tough call-- if you had asked me a month ago, I might have suggested Menace since I already know so much of that show plays well to the HHN crowd. But after the last few nights of rehearsals, I'm happy to report that I really like Malice as well. They're very different shows, and without knowing what kind of stuff you're into, I don't know that I could pick a recommendation for you. :-/ Busted. This is why I had to at least respond honestly :-)

I suspect there will be a lot of folks like you who come back on different days. (I'd imagine it'd be tough to tie up 2 hours of your one night at HHN with just one show). Make sure to say "hi" after the show and tell me what you think!

absolutely. couldn't agree more. From the posted images of the map, it looks like it only lists "menace and malice" as a location, but the signage at the venue clearly states which shows are menace, and which are malice. As for knowing that there are two shows, I think we've done a really good job of designing the show such that everyone knows that there are two totally different experiences. While the one-day crowd may have a hard time catching both shows, it's really the frequent fear crowd that I'm hoping will definitely make both shows. I'm surprised at how different both of them are thematically. Each really has a different feel and character, and I'll be *really* interested to see which one is the more popular (both with the hardcores, and with the one-day crowd). My ideal situation is that it's like "album 1" vs. "album 2" arguments about the Beatles white album... ...but I'll be happy as long as it's not a "Jonas Brothers vs. Justin Bieber" style argument about who sucks more. -Brian

guys-- just wanted to report in and let you know that we just had our first full-on rehearsal for the "Malice" show. I. AM. SO. STOKED. Menace includes a lot of elements that were in the 2008 show, so I knew that one was pretty safe (but still: don't forget there's new routines in that show as well), but before tonight, Malice was a pretty big question mark for me. We made some pretty major design changes that I wasn't sure how they would play out... but now that we've done it, I'm totally excited. I'm sorry (?) to say that this is turning out to be the kind of thing where people are really going to *need* to come to both shows to get the full experience. My question to you is: is that crazy talk? I know most people come to HHN for the houses, but is there any chance folks will carve out enough time for Menace AND Malice? -Brian

(actually, I rent quite a few cars, and I'm always impressed with the Kias. )

YES! both Menace and Malice will run every single night.The plan is that you should be able to watch one, then immediately come back and watch the other.

Hey guys-- last week we did a livestream with Patrick Braillard (you can watch it at menaceandmalice.com). One of the first things I'm going to do when we get situated in Orlando is setup a remote studio location and do some more HHN livestreams, which has me asking.... What would YOU like to see in a show all about HHN? Obviously, Universal won't let us pull out any spoilers but I was thinking about stuff like: an epic faceoff, where viewers vote for the best HHN of the past a "fantasy" HHN livestream, where callers share what they'd like to see in future HHNs a "real" ghost story livestream, where we all share the scariest (non HHN-related) experience we've ever had. what do you guys suggest? Brian

Oh, hey-- that's a good point. If you haven't seen it before, here's the kind of stuff I do:

Glad you dig it. Anyone who entertains for a living has the best job in the entire world, and I figure we owe it all to fans like you guys. (So maybe I go a little overboard in trying to connect with them... maybe I'm like the Kevin Smith of Magic).

Oh, yeah-- the officer was totally trying not to smirk.

Dude, no lie: I was REALLY hoping RB3 would be out in time for this year's run. The new "pro mode" allows you to play REAL guitar in the game! unfortunately, it's not out until Nov... ...but who knows: I may bring the RB2 setup anyway. That was a LOT of fun: you know what's funny? Guys like you are EXACTLY why I suggested having 2 different shows this year. When people told me they had seen the show 3-4 times last time, I thought "what a bummer! I've got so much other show I'd love them to see!" ... so now you'll get to compare and contrast the two shows :-)

hells. yeah. can. not. wait.

Dude, I'm stoked you're giving the show a second chance, but (forgive me here), I gotta correct you on this one: in 2007, I made a few special appearances at HHN, sharing the "freak show" stage with the super-talented Kevin James and Stevie Starr... But in 2008, 3 of the 5 routines were totally different (...we only did Mr. H and EVP again because the vast majority of people coming hadn't seen me in the previous year). If your main priority is seeing all-new stuff, then definitely check out the "Malice" show this year. It will be 100%, absolutely different from the show in 2008. If you have a good time, come on back for "Menace", which will STILL have some brand-new routines you've never seen before. Either way, stop by and tell me what you thought of the show afterward. You guys are the life-blood of HHN, and I always want to know what you think. -Brian stop by and say "hi" afterward! I'm actually trying to think of some cool ways to reward the hardcore forum posters out there... like maybe hiding a stash of free t-shirts and DVD's somewhere in the park, and tweeting out clues where they might be found... ...would you guys be interested in that kind of thing?