Asphyxium Zine: Interview with performer SKY CLAUDETTE SOTO by Dave Wolff

Interview with SKY CLAUDETTE SOTO

Since I interviewed you for Autoeroticasphyxium issue #16, Eros Fyre has performed extensively in and out of New York.
We do so many shows all over the place these days, but our spring and summer shows of 2014 were pretty fantastic overall. We did quite a few memorable fire performances for music videos; while Rap music is not our thing it was still an experience to perform in R.A The Rugged Man's music video. The song is called Definition Of A Rap Flow. We did a fire performance for another rap artist, JCEXtinct. These guys were different than your typical rap artists. They do suspension which is a nice change. We got called in to do a fire performance for Henley E-Cigs at a country estate on a hot summer afternoon. After being filmed for the commercial we jumped into the pool and champagne got poured; that was a nice ending to a day of being filmed. We performed at a street fair in Brooklyn in the summer of 2014. We ended our summer doing a hot fire performance at a senior home; you heard that right. Hey they were all young once and they enjoyed our performance quite a bit. We worked for Poyzen TV and I was in a film short named The Milk Of Aku as the Victimized Geisha. I am in a new book by photographer Michael Enoches called Captured In The Light: Sky & Katie Volume 6. I was in the April 2014 issue of X-Pressions magazine. Topping it off in 2015 is the new music video that I am in for the new band The Bots, directed by Norman Reedus from the hit TV show The Walking Dead. The song is called Blinded and can be found all over the web. Me and Vlad have a whole new slew of spring and summer season fire shows coming up in 2015. Two new low budget indie films that we are both in will be coming out soon. One is called The Fappening by director Sean Weathers (Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Films makes a brief appearance), the other is called Beneath The Surface. My new film short I directed, edited and created with me and Vlad will be out later in 2015.

For a time you were appearing with Sybelle Silverphoenix. I’ve seen some videos of her dancing with you. How many times have you performed together?
We had Sybelle perform with us on numerous occasions. She performed with us at Webster Hall for the last Virgin Sacrifice performance. We did a few rooftop events, a biker event and the Dances Of Vice party to name a few. Right now it is just me and Vlad as a duo which is still pretty fantastic.

Are R.A The Rugged Man and JCEXtinct local artists? When did you come into contact with them and what made you decide to work with them? What feedback have their videos received?
R.A The Rugged Man and JCEXtinct are both local rap artists. We came into contact with R.A The Rugged Man through a booking site. The people that work with him saw our profile and liked our fire performances so they immediately booked us to perform in Definition Of A Rap Flow. The video was filmed in a local studio out in Brooklyn, New York. We met JCEXtinct through Facebook. We friended him and he wrote us the next day saying he was putting together a music video and would like to have us perform for him. We came out a few days later to his tattoo shop and filmed next door for Renegade.

How did you and the company behind Henley E-Cigs hook up? Was this a promotional date or a special event?
We emailed each other back and forth, they liked what we did so they booked us for the afternoon. They had planned a special event filming for the commercial for everyone that was a part of it.

Talk about the street fair where you performed in mid-2014. Who hosted it, in what section of Brooklyn was it held and how often is it scheduled?
The street fair was for a private organization. It was held in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. We did a fire show for the same organization the year before last summer’s street fair in Williamsburg. The fairs are quite enjoyable and it's just interesting going around to different areas to perform.

How much have you and Vlad worked for Poyzen TV altogether?
All last summer I was booked on a regular basis for a studio. There we met the people from Poyzen TV for a one time video shoot. I believe Poyzen is strictly internet based and they do have a Youtube channel.

Describe the video you worked on with Poyzen TV. Can it be viewed on their Youtube channel as well as their site?
The video was filmed summer 2014 at a studio in Brooklyn. Me and Vlad arrived in the afternoon and were greeted at the door by the body paint artist that had painted me for the video shoot. The photographers took pics during the body painting and once I was totally painted the video shoot started with me balancing on Vlad's back and led into our fire performance.

Who was the body painter who worked on you prior to the video shoot? Was this a local artist or someone who has worked for Poyzen TV for some time?
The body painter was a local body paint artist. I only worked with him during the filming for Poyzen TV. I cannot tell you much except he was pretty good to work with that time.

What sort of work were you doing for publication in Michael Enoches’ book Captured In The Light? Had you collaborated with him previously?
I model for Michael Enoches on occasion. I met him at a convention years ago. This would be the third book I am in by him. The fourth, the recently brand new coffee table book I was just photographed for, is coming out soon. I model for a lot of different photographers. As in our fire shows people that book us are always new clients and sometimes repeat clients.

Did you meet Enoches at a tattoo convention, or a horror/sci fi convention? Does Eros Fyre make many convention appearances?
I met Michael Enoches at a horror/sci fi convention years ago and did my very first modeling shoot with him sometime back in 2012. Me and Vlad did the Chiller Theatre Convention two or three times. We don't do a lot of conventions due to being booked for our fire shows, but I am sure we will sign again.

Is there anything you can reveal about this fourth book of Enoches’ to be released?
The newest book I am in is titled in my name, Sky Claudette Soto, A Photographic Journey has just been released and can also be purchased on Amazon.

Who photographed you for X-Pressions magazine and what was the nature of the shoot?
Tom Mac of Royal Flush Photography photographed me for that particular shoot. Basically I found a great combination of pieces that worked for my outfit which were fashionable. I did my own makeup and hair as I usually do for most of my shoots. I had submitted pics directly to the magazine; they chose the one they liked most and sent me back a positive e-mail saying they wanted to publish it in their magazine. They followed up by sending out a modeling release and photographers’ release a few days later.

Describe the making of the Blinded promotional video you worked on with the Bots and Norman Reedus. In what location was it filmed and what was working with the band like?
Blinded was filmed at The Box in New York City. I have worked with other bands before so you get pretty used to it after a while. They were pretty down to earth. It was actually a last minute video shoot; I got a text inquiring if I was available for the next day from someone who met me when me and Vlad worked with a photographer for The Heidi Klum Fire show that we did years ago at the Marquee in NYC. We got another text from Norman confirming and I showed up the next day.

Describe the making of The Milk Of Aku and explain how you got a part in this film short. Did you know the producers beforehand or did you meet them prior to filming?
I actually met the directors through a friend of ours through word of mouth. They came into where he worked and asked if he knew of anyone that could portray a Geisha Character. He told them about me and gave me their contact info. I e-mailed them, met up with them for a script reading and got the part. For our next meet up we went to a little Japanese boutique shop in the city so I could try on the actual Geisha costume, an authentic old Geisha kimono robe along with the wig, socks and shoes. We had rehearsal at the apartment where the short was filmed. The day of the shoot I arrived at 10 am. The Milk Of Aku was filmed in one day. I got immediately into my outfit for the film for my first scenes and they dressed me in the kimono robe. It had a ton of layers which most Geisha's would have normally worn back in the old days. They added the Geisha makeup to my face. We were done by 10 pm. It aired at The Frederick P. Rose Auditorium in New York City on April 22, 2014. You can find The Milk Of Aku on IMDB and other sites for internet viewing. Here is a write up from IMDB: “The Milk Of Aku glorifies the home-invasion subgenre, isolating the moment of intrusion in a swift and twisted narrative. The film indulges in ritualistic sadism while retaining a distinct and stately aesthetic sensibility. The Milk Of Aku is a film of antitheses; beauty and perversity, evil and good, dream and reality, yin and yang. It is a breath of fresh air in what seems to be the stuffiest age this genre has ever seen. Written by Anonymous”

What is the storyline of The Milk Of Aku, and how does it show the duality the anonymous reviewer referred to when reviewing it on IMDB?
The Milk Of Aku was based on a home invasion. I ask who is at the door and get no response until I open it. I speak getting no response at that point. The character played by Melanie Gaydos is holding a knife to me; I think at that point anyone would feel violated and scared as my character in the film was indeed. Opening the door to someone standing there with a knife in hand. As she dresses me later as a Geisha along with applying the Geisha makeup the film does go on to becoming sadistically twisted, It was definitely great being a part of this film. It was the first time that we had ever worked together on screen. We got along quite well together; that is what made the film work so well.

Eros Fyre collaborated on a video with Frank Garcia (Arte Mortifica) who contributed a song or two. Which of your videos does his work appear on and how did this collaboration come about?
His music appeared on my film short Indoctrination Of Fire. I was looking for music and his music seemed to work quite well for the opening chase scene. I created, directed and edited the short and me and Vlad are in it with our Rottweiler and two deceased cats. We have a new kitten by the way that is exactly the same breed and color as the one in Indoctrination Of Fire. The short is basically about a ritual gone mad on both ends. I get chased into an old house with my Rottweiler. Vlad's character tries everything in his power to control me through occult magick but I start fighting back with my powers and get him in the end to back off, it is very ritualistic and dark.

Your poems were published in Cerebral Agony zine when it was in print in 2014. How long have you been writing?
I have been writing poems for more than twenty years. I believe I was born rhapsodizing. My interest came from a pen, a piece of paper and my own visual thoughts, journeys and experiences. Being so visual and poetic, my film shorts grew from within me and I came to create a series of my own film shorts such as Indoctrination Of Fire and Woods Of Fire 2 that I directed and edited and that both me and Vlad are in. Our almost five year old beautifully wicked rottweiler Prometheus and our Oriental shorthair cats passed away recently which was sad. It took some time but we now welcome our new almost one year old red point Oriental male kitten, Ra Augustus. He is quite the beauty and will be making his appearance in my newest film short.

In what ways did you notice your writing style developing since you began writing poems?It developed through my spiritual nature, experiences and visual eye. Overall it is a part of me; my writing developed as I did. I am a poetic and spiritual soul.

Does your visual eye so to speak resonate with certain environments? Are there any locations near you with particular inspiration for you when it comes to modeling, shooting videos or writing poems?
I love organic places such as mountains, lakes and beaches. Natural, peaceful balanced places to write, film and model. A lot of the modeling pics of me have been taken at places that me and Vlad lived throughout the years. I have decorated each of our homes; we don't get interior designers (laughs). We do it ourselves and most of the decorating is by me. Once in a while I will go to a studio or location spots of my choosing; they have been really nice natural places. I don’t use Photoshop but real backgrounds. I have always preferred real backgrounds. It is more fun to find places to model at or shoot video. At some of our old homes I would sit outside on the trees and write poetry. Sometimes I will just write while I am taking a hot bath with a glass of wine; it all depends. It is good to have the right kind of environment to create and meditate.

Of the poems you have written, what are some of your personal favorites and why?

I am always writing, but thinking off the top of my head, Elk is one of them. It was actually written years ago. I was sitting in our old rose colored hot tub when we lived back in New York City. I was sipping red wine staring at a large poster print of myself in my antler headdress when I was writing Elk so it was the very image of me that spawned that piece. There are way too many to choose from. Holy Basil is one… leaf oil is very medicinal and calming; great for meditation. I had some right before going out and the effects were quite stunning. I sat under a large tree by a small creek watching small toads scurrying around rocks in the early evening with their little muscular bodies. It is totally organic for meditating and doing meditative yoga Picking up on so much energy just from that tree and the earth itself, I wrote Holy Basil after we got back from our outing.

You have many photo shoots available for viewing on your Facebook profile. Describe the most recent shorts you have done?
I am always doing photo shoots. The most recent I did was with Michael Enoches for Sky Claudette Soto, A Photographic Journey. My most recent film short will be coming out in the spring or summer of 2015. Now you can check out Woods Of Fire 2 and Indoctrination of Fire at my YouTube channel; also our fire performances and film shorts as well as clips from syndications that we have appeared on.

-Dave Wolff

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Interview with performer SKY CLAUDETTE SOTO by Dave Wolff

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