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Images courtesy of O’Donnell Media Group

Jack-of-all-trades Kurt Deimer hits the music scene with the new single “Doom” and the film scene with new movies Hellbilly Hollow and Scared to Death starring Kurt Deimer and the veteran scream queen herself, Lin Shaye. 

In this interview, Deimer lays down the details on his wild ride from early adulthood rock music antics to family man to businessman to actor and circling back to musician once again, all the while working with horror movie greats and picking up hair metal royalty, Brian Wheat of Tesla, into his management ranks.

Spreading a story of not giving up on your dreams, doing what you put your mind to, and working hard for what you want equals success, Kurt weaves us his story of success while also chiming in on the road to his endeavors on becoming a successful actor, director, and musician.

So, if you like good old-fashioned rock and roll and horror movies, this one’s for you!

Let’s get straight into it with your new single, “Doom,” which’s been out for over a month now; how has the reception been so far?

It’s been it’s been very good so far. My radio team’s working hard, and we’ve been added to several stations nationwide. We closed every set with Buckcherry and Skid Row with the song; people love it and ask where they can hear it.

They’re calling their local stations requesting it. “Doom” is also featured in my movie Hellbilly Hollow and will also be featured on my debut double album. So its reception has been very positive, and more to come!

So, you’ve finished the tour with Buckcherry and Skid Row; what’s next?

We just did our last show in Deadwood, South Dakota, with Skid Row, and now they’re on break, and then a few more shows with Buckcherry, and then we head out with Mushroomhead starting October 6. We’re gonna do all of October with Mushroomhead and show the trailer for Hellbilly Hollow and do our set there.

When do you expect Hellbilly Hollow to come out? Is there any information you can share with us about the film?

That’s a good question [laughs]. The team I hired to shop it around is doing their thing, and we’re just waiting on the right offer for the right way to bring it to the public. The other thing holding it up is I’ve got another movie I just shot in March that’ll probably come out even sooner to theaters.

It’s called Scared to Death that I starred in with Lin Shaye and Bill Moseley. We want that to come out first because everyone knows Lin Shaye and Bill Moseley, so it’ll introduce me, and then we’ll put Hellbilly Hollow out on the heels of that.

What was it like working with Lin Shaye, and how do you feel having her in it will impact the film?

She’s amazing, a real sweet lady who taught me a lot. She gave me an amazing opportunity to showcase who I am and what I can do, and we ended up with a great, great movie that I think is going to be big all over the world and in theaters, especially with throwing a little Bill Moseley in there, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Do you expect Scared to Death to be a franchise like Hellbilly Hollow?

Yep, both will be franchises, and they should be launched to the world within the next 12 months. I’m extremely stoked because they’re killer movies, but Scared to Death I don’t own 100% of them, but I am a big part of it and will get my name out there. I also wrote the theme song for Scared to Death, which shares its name and won’t be released until the movie is.

Your song “Doom” covers addiction, which can be a horror story in itself; how would you say the song coincides with Hellbilly Hollow?

I wanted the song for the movie to be fitting for a horror movie and correlated to the explosive ending, but I also write all of my lyrics to help other people think and get things out of my brain that I’ve learned in my life and all that I’ve done to build become who I am today.

To me, “Doom” is fitting for a horror movie because it’s full of doom. Addiction is doom, and your life can become doomed if you get addicted to heroin, crack, methamphetamines, or any drug. Doom in reality vs. in a movie may not be the same, so I tried to tie them together subtly with the song.

Whether or not they know it, people with addiction can badly affect those around them…

Exactly, how many times have we all had a relative or friend who maybe tried some heroin and has turned into a nasty, dooming situation for the family and friends and that person themselves? It spills over into everybody’s lives because you care about that drug so much. It’s a dreadful situation. That’s precisely what I’m trying to portray there.

What was your transition from playing in a band at a young age to being a businessman and back to music and film?

I stopped playing music when I was 20. I went to the University of Cincinnati, and I was playing in a van around town. I have three boys and got married young, and I had to get my shit together. I was a heavy partier back then, and I didn’t have my act together, but I ended up graduating college and getting a master’s degree later.

Is that when you started your company?

I started my own oil company in ’99 and built it from zero to what it is today from a room above my garage. I’ve got a plant in Pennsylvania where we make all our own oil, and I have a distribution company that ships my oil brand, Starfire, worldwide.

Images courtesy of O’Donnell Media Group/Credit: Linda Carlson Photography

So, how did you get into film?

How I got into film: it was 2017, and I was going to do a cameo for my oil company that was featured in a movie called Trading Paint with John Travolta and Shania Twain. I was waiting for my spot, and they offered me a speaking role. So, next thing you know, I’m shooting a scene with John Travolta and Shania Twain.

What was the turning point for you?

I got into John Carpenter’s 2018 Halloween with Jamie Lee Curtis and have a speaking role in that and getting killed by Michael Myers. That’s where I decided to start my movie franchise, Hellbilly Hollow. Finally, a gentleman named Ben Trexel in Alabama took me in at the beginning of 2019. He officially got me back into music, and right after COVID hit, Chris Lord-Alge discovered my demo, and now here I am.

Where does your relationship with horror begin?

I’ve been a fan of horror my whole life. Horror, comedy, and action are my three favorite genres because of the experience with Halloween and being in that iconic sequel to the original, and experiencing that is what led me in that direction.

I already had an idea for Hellbilly Hollow, and when people saw that out in LA, that led me to play a character called Grog in Scared to Death as a lead role. It’s been a natural evolution going from one thing to another. I’m writing a comedy-western movie that will be badass that Bill Moseley and I are working on.

What was it like on the set for Halloween? That must’ve been a hell of an experience.

My scene was a one-day shoot at a gas station in South Carolina, I think, and it was all roped off and everything. James Jude Courtney [Michael Myers] was there with me. I had a prosthetic on my face because I’m the guy with the teeth busted out of my mouth lying on the counter.

I’d walk around with the prosthetic and a blanket over me all day so the public wouldn’t see it. James and I hung out in the gas station when we weren’t shooting, and we just talked about our families. I was drinking through a straw and trying to get some Coke into my mouth so I had something to drink.

That sounds pretty uncomfortable!

It was! I lay in that position on the counter for about four hours, and then they were going to put a dummy in the body bag. And I told them to put me on the gurney and roll me out since they already did all that to my face. David Gordon Green was so excited, and it felt natural to me; I even did my own stunts in Scared to Death.

Back to your music, how did you end up working with Brian Wheat of Tesla?

We did some shows with Tesla last year, and Brian approached me and said, “Man, I dig your music and style. It’s a lot like my side project, Soul Motor. I exchanged some songs. I went back to L.A., and I still had my other management, and I just felt like I was in a rut.

I was barely getting on anything, and I knew I had way more to give and offer. I talked to Brian, and he wanted to bring me on and give me a chance. I needed that push from a guy with my back because the music business can be pretty sneaky. 

How would you say the sound of your music has developed over the years?

I was always a big fan of bands like AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Boston, and The Cars. I love all kinds of music, and I was determined; I’ve got my unique voice and sound. I don’t want to be cookie-cutter; I don’t want somebody to try to make me somebody I’m not.

We have our sound that when we play with, whether it be with Buckcherry, Tesla, Skid Row, whoever, people come up and say, “Oh my God, we’ve never heard that kind of sound before. You guys are so different.” and that’s what I want.

What are some of your favorite horror movies or franchises?

One of my favorite horror movies is The Devil’s Rejects. I love Bill Moseley, and we become good friends now. I never thought I’d be friends with a horror movie icon, but he inspired me. What he did in that movie encourages the craziness I portrayed in my character and Billy Harlow in Hellbilly Hollow.

And I loved Nightmare on Elm Street, the scariest by far, the original Amityville Horror when I was young, and, of course, the Halloween franchise. The original Exorcist was fucked up, too [laughs].

Does Hellbilly Hollow include homages to both?

Hellbilly Hollow will be a mix between The Devil’s Rejects and a Terrifier. My brother and I, Tickles, are just crazy ass motherfuckers with really twisted kills, and the movie will have the back story on how we got so fucked up.

Hellbilly Hollow will be taking place in a haunted attraction, right?

Hellbilly Hollow is an actual haunted house attraction that I opened up in Alabama, so we had the whole set to film in. Kevin and I lived in trailers on the grounds for a month, shooting the film.

Dig this? Check out the full archives of A.M. Radio, by Anthony Montalbano, here: https://vinylwritermusic.wordpress.com/a-m-radio-archives/