TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE INTERVIEW SERIES 8: TRAWLER creator Glenn McQuaid

Tales co-creator Glenn McQuaid chimes in to discuss his sea monster episode, "Trawler"

Vegas Outsider: To start things off, could you give a brief synopsis of your Tales entry, Trawler?

Glenn McQuaid: Trawler is about three fishermen trawling for whatever life they can find out on a dilapidated ocean. Rumor has it, there are some strange creatures rising up from the depths and fetching decent prices back on land, so our three fishermen become monster hunters of sorts, but very quickly get in over their heads.

VO: Listening to the episode, I was reminded of 70’s maritime horror films like Jaws, Orca, Piranha, and slightly later films like Humanoids From The Deep. Where did you draw your inspiration from when formulating first the idea and then script for Trawler? GM: I love all the films you just mentioned, especially Joe Dante's Piranha, any movie with Paul Bartel AND Barbara Steele gets a gold star from me. When Larry and I came up with the idea for TALES one of the original briefs was to set each tale in a seemingly isolated location, and I love the idea of dragging things up from the depths, whether from grave yards or oceans.

I knew I wanted to set the tale specifically on a trawler after i took a stroll around Howth Harbor in Dublin. There are a lot of creaky old haunted looking Trawlers out in Howth, there is something gothic and ancient looking about them that set my mind thinking. The story went through several shifts before I settled on the idea of a "monster at sea" piece. At one stage it was a ghosts at sea story involving a Coffin Ship and a found whistle in the nets.

VO: According to the website’s notes, the recording of this particular episode was a bit traumatic for you personally. What transpired and overall how would you rate the recording experience in terms of the performances and sound design?

GM: I twisted my back right before production and have since been diagnosed with two herniated discs in my lower back, an old and unnoticed rugby injury come back to haunt me. I wouldn't say production was traumatic because of it, but it was certainly not very comfortable, and a disappointment not to be at full health. I wanted to get into a bit of improv with the actors but never really got the chance to get into the booth with them and have that kind of spontaneity. But there you go, there is always going to be one thing or another getting in the way of things.

All in all, I'm really happy with how Trawler turned out. AJ Bowen and Christopher Denham are terrific as Danny and Cal, they remind me of Ernie and Bert, or Laurel and Hardy, great fun, I'd listen to them until the cows come home, Fessenden's take on Hackett is spot on, I think he's hilarious in it, like a character from Young Frankenstein. My sound designer, Jeff Seeyle put in a lot of work getting the atmospheres just right, he truly captured life at sea, at least in the mind of this daft writer.

VO: We’re coming close to the end of this first season of Tales Beyond. Given your position as co-creator alongside Larry Fessenden, how do you feel this season has shaped up overall and are you guys planning on continuing with further episodes?

GM: I have to say it's been incredibly successful in my eyes. When Lisa, Larry and I started the ball rolling, we (or at least I) had no idea what was really involved in getting ten half-hour radio plays off the ground, so the project has been hugely educational and beneficial for me. I've made some new friends, gotten to work with some jaw-dropping talent and gotten another project off the ground with my pal Larry.I went to Art School and the idea of being constantly busy with various projects is very important to me, being stagnant is the worst possible scenario for any creative and so the TALES project allowed me to develop in ways that waiting around for financing on the next film would not.

VO: One final note, again on the official website you mention that this episode was written listening to the music of Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson and dedicate it to him. As a fellow Throbbing Gristle enthusiast, could you briefly discuss Sleazy’s influence on you and what you have taken away from his example inspirationally?

GM: I consider Sleazy's music, in particular COIL, THRESHOLD HOUSEBOY'S CHOIR and SOISONG to be some of the most innovative and soulful music to create art to. I'm probably more inspired and influenced by music than film, which I suppose is an odd thing to say, but anytime I write, sketch or scheme, there is usually some music on in the background to help me on the journey.

Aside from Sleazy's music, the inspiration comes from his work ethic/process and his seemingly endless supply of ideas. The man kept busy and encouraged others outside of the mainstream to do the same. His collaborative nature is definitely an inspiration, and part of what I found thrilling about TALES is that we could reach out to lots of folks and help them get something off the ground and out to an audience.

To listen to Trawler, go to www.talesfrombeyondthepale.com