Dead Head talks DEATH STUFF with Bonita Nichols!
Bonita and Mika are the comedy geniuses behind Death Stuff Podcast, a new podcast talking all things death, dying and all the joy that comes with it. They touch on true crime, torture, unsolved mysteries, the occult, aliens.....
Well, let's just say nothing is off-limits and you are really going to question your taste levels when you find yourself laughing at lines such as “Namastay away from my bumhole” while talking torture and horrible gore and guts.
Today we are talking to one part of the Dynamic Duo, Bonita, who by day is a genius visual effects producer working on things like Detective Pikachu, Steve McQueen’s Small Axe and Harlots. She is also an artist and general overachiever. Bonita is representative of the very ethos of Dead Head’s “Define Yourself” Motto and when she’s not achieving massive successes and amusing us all to death you’ll find her in our favourite Metal Dive Bars like the Crobar and supporting live music at various gigs around London.
Bonita, tell us about how the Death Stuff Podcast came about. What made you decide that this was something the world needed to hear?
First of all wow, what an intro. Thank you so much! Wanna be my official hype man? [sure - we're DEAD good at that. . geddit.. eh.. - *groan* - Dead Ed]
Honestly, I don’t know that the world should really be subjected to the ramblings of two self-professed idiots, we are utterly ridiculous.
I didn’t really expect anyone to listen to it, but during lockdown I found myself listening to even more podcasts than usual, and thought “Hey.. I can do that”, it seemed fun.
Plus I am what I call a “project person”. I have new ideas every day and always want to try my hand at everything. It just so happens this is one of many things I’ve tried that has worked out.
I used to have a music show on Total Rock and another on Wandsworth Radio, I actually got kicked off Wandsworth radio for swearing and burping too much.
We would have pizza parties in the studio whilst on-air and the studio was located above a charity shop which you’d have to walk through to get to. We discovered they had possibly every single copy ever printed, of 50 Shades of Grey and thought it would be a really great idea to read snippets on-air with absolutely no context.
I don’t think the very vanilla, family, local, radio station could handle us.
You and Mika have been best friends for years. How do you think your friendship has added to the comedy factor in the podcast?
I’ve not really thought about it to be honest. We joke on the show about how amazing and hilarious we are, but usually, I’m very self-deprecating and don’t take myself very seriously at all.
Maybe that’s why people like our dynamic. We are just two friends chatting shit at each other and really enjoying ourselves. It’s been a welcome distraction during the lockdown. We have become even closer as friends and I think we would still do it even if no one listened.
So go one then – tell us more about your obsession with all things dark, dead and macabre. When did it start and how has it lead you here?
I’ve actually been thinking about this recently and think I managed to pinpoint the exact moments it began.
When I was younger I came across a book, it was totally black apart from the red font on the front that read “ THE BOOK OF DEATH” with a skull illustration underneath.
It was full of photos from the trenches after the war. The corpses of all those poor soldiers, the photos were really bad quality, but I hid in the bathroom staring at the images, dissecting everything I could make out.
My mum was absolutely furious it had been left in the house for me to find, but it was probably my first encounter with death and I was fascinated.
I still have the book somewhere.
Another very early memory of death was when I was growing up, I often went to a friends house to play. There was a hole in her garden that we soon discovered was home to a fox and its newborn cubs.
We would sit at the window of her bedroom on the fourth-floor watching and waiting.
One day we looked out to see that a cub had died in the entrance of the hole. Over the weeks we would watch it decay, until eventually, it was bone in the dirt, like an excavated skeleton.
I think I was so fascinated because death was a taboo subject that no one wanted to discuss with kids. So when I saw it I was intrigued. It felt like a glimpse into the adult world that was being kept from me.
2020 has been a complete clusterfuck for many but how has it been for you and what are you looking forward to/dreading once it is over?
Honestly, it’s been fairly awful. But I don’t want to complain because I know so many others have truly suffered through this and my experience is nothing in comparison. I’ve had it pretty good really.
My mental health was really bad at the start. I think because there was no light at the end of the tunnel, but I’ve kept busy drawing and working.
I’m just looking forward to seeing my friends really. [you and me both - Dead Ed.]
I’d also love a chance for one more night at Crobar, but looking forward to the future and what Richard [Crobar owner] will put together.
You’ve already talked about torture on the podcast. I don’t think I was supposed to laugh as hard as I did at such utterly depraved acts but you and Mika managed to discuss the acts without being disrespectful to the victims. Can you tell us what you have planned for the next few episodes?
We are actually recording later on tonight. Mika is going to be hosting this episode so I don’t really know what he’s got planned!
We do have a fun Christmas special episode in the works though. You’ll have to wait and see!
In the future, I’d really like to talk seriously about things that interest me such as the occult, specifically Chaos Magick and Quantum Theory.
As with most of the people we interact with, we’ve got to know each other through a shared love of music. What’s been your go-to album/artist during 2020?
I don’t think I can limit my answer to one album or person.
My favourite releases during this period were Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters.
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V & VI
But in general, I’ve been listening to a lot of
The Cure, Molchat Doma, Killing Joke, Lingua Ignota, The Skints, Type O Negative, Public Memory, Grimes, Grave Lines, oh, and Buena Vista Social Club.
Who are you looking forward to seeing live once we’re allowed to go to gigs again?
At this point, I’m just desperate to go out and socialise. I’d love to see any live music. Within reason. [so no Vengaboys? - Dead Ed]
My last gig before Lockdown was Madonna. I’m such a Madonna Stan, I paid way too much to go and see her, but ended up with the best seat in the house, sat next to Sporty Spice, Mel C!
I’m glad my last live music experience was so amazing, I’ve been daydreaming about it a lot for the last 9 months.
Finally, tell us what it means to you to “define yourself”
I think defining yourself is just being yourself, being true to who you are and evolving as you grow older.
Ridding yourself of ego, which is fucking difficult, and learning not to worry or care about what anyone else thinks of you.
Don’t let fear hold you back, try new things, don’t be afraid to fail.
You can check out Death Stuff on all good podcast channels. Episodes 1 and 2 are already live and episode 3 is coming soon!