October is here and the demons are getting ready to start manifesting. Among the many theme parties happening during this month there is one in Florida that stands out. Bloodlust this Saturday at Goldfinger Club. Every year the iconic Fetish Factory throws Bloodlust, a massive blood ritual that summons the wicked and adventurous souls and encourages them to release the monster in themselves.
As many of you might know, Fetish Factory is one of the largest and most established fetish outfitters in the world and they recently celebrated their 21st anniversary. Besides being well known because their unique selection of fetish fashion and toys they host some of the largest fetish parties in the U.S.
A couple of weeks ago we had a chance to visit the store and chat with Val Vampyre, one of the people behind the Bloodlust concept and the main performer of the party along with goth and post punk band Astari Nite. In this interview Val shares her journey, her obsessions and the key elements that make this party different to everything else that you have ever experienced before.
Your stage name is Val Vampyre. Why did you decide to choose that name?
My obsession with vampires also came from my dreams. I love the whole vampire imagery, how beautiful they are but it’s only an illusion.
And you prefer vampire literature or movies?
Mostly literature, I find the Anne Rice books to be amazing, I’m sure I’m not the only one… I like movies also, I like everything that has to do with monsters. “Shadow of a Vampire” is an awesome movie that I find very interesting as well. And I think vampires and monsters aesthetic influenced our generation a lot. I think that was a big step on how all the alternative style started to come in. The whole goth scene, that I’m sure is not as big as we think it is because we are in this world, but when traveling to Canada, New York, Los Angeles, you see the influences in different stores and events. That’s why we throw these parties, to get all these people to come in and meet all these folks or just turn you into one.
How did you get into performing?
I’ve been dancing and performing since I was a kid, but in the nightlife I started as a go-go dancer because I loved the music, I started at a club called The Morgue, close to Kendall. There I started meeting the people that were in the goth scene and gradually I started meeting people that come to Fetish Factory. One day when I was living in Miami I took a trip to Fort Lauderdale by myself and visited the store. I saw how huge it was and all the amazing designs that they had and I just asked them if they needed any help. I started selling tickets for their parties and I never left. I even met Danny here who is my fiancé.
What was the first show that you did for Fetish Factory?
The first one was a blood show. We were having a vampire party and me and the older entertainment coordinator worked on a photoshoot, I had my fangs on and my blood, super creepy and I got really into it. So we had the idea of doing a blood show and that’s how it started and people ended up loving it. It became a tradition, every second Saturday of October we had our “Vampire’s Den”, that’s how it used to be called and then it got such into a blood lust that we ended calling the party BloodLust so it’s not only vampire oriented but blood in general. Monsters, blood play, always safe.
How do you prepare your shows? And what’s the most important thing that you keep in mind when performing?
Usually when I put together a show I get to do it only once because it’s a specific theme, so those 3 or 4 minutes that you are on stage to do that one show is like you have just one chance and in that chance if you don’t spark the audience all this vision and hard work for nothing. You gotta feel it. I tell my girls, because I coordinate the performances, that you need to suck the crowd’s energy, make it yours, another form of vampire kind of thing. That’s how I see it when I go on stage, I’m gonna suck everybody’s energy and throw it right back at them. And if I see the people thrilled that’s how I know it worked and blood helps a lot with that. Something very important is making connection with the audience. I tell my go-go dancers, “you are eye candy, make me want to look at you, make them feel that you are a goddess, that’s what you are up there for.” Just give it your all.
How do you pick your outfits?
I put things together, usually its rubber, I’m a rubber fanatic. I’ve done full catsuit shows where I’m wearing claws and I ripped my suit apart. Then I have shows that I don’t put a lot on top, unless is an apocalyptic party that we put many different things on. I like to switch around so it really depends. But everything I dress the girls with are pieces from here, from the Fetish Factory store.
This Saturday, October 8th you will be hosting the BloodLust party…
The Bloodlust is really interesting, it started some years ago with another name, The Den of Vampires and then it evolved to a point where it wasn’t just about vampires, it was more about that animal inside of you that desired that lust for blood, bringing out your inner monster and because it’s near halloween is really accepted. You don’t have to dress up as a vampire, you can be a werewolf, a monster, whatever you want.
What can people expect from the party?
For Bloodlust is a little different to the rest of our parties, we get a more goth crowd. We are a fetish party first and then a theme party second. For this one specific is still a fetish party but you will get some other people that will add a different twist, blood nerds, you will have people dressed up as serial killers or bloody nuns, they grab something that they really like and put a blood twist to it. Obviously, our parties are very secure, everybody can have their play time but nobody is going to turn into a bloody monster that is a hazard to everyone around it. We don’t allow any real blood or knifes. We allow a lot of different fetishes but there are 3 or 4 that we don’t allow for safety reasons. It’s all play and all fun. We have some pretty badass DJ’s, we will have Astari Nite, it’s the first time that we have live music in like 6 or 7 years. Astari Nite has a very special energy, they are electric.
And can you tell us a little bit about the blood ritual that you are preparing for this party?
Well it’s not just gonna be me, there are going to be other people involved. Obviously there is going to be blood but I’m really going to try to make it fetish, a fetish themed blood ritual. Before we had slower performances where we ripped Danny apart and drank his blood, or you would see the devil and demons rising from the smoke and you see this bride that gets devoured by the devil.
Interested? Get your tickets here or find more info about Bloodlust on the Facebook event.