King of the Witches Affiliate Christopher Bouchie Interviews Awesome Aussie VHS Collector Scott Bruce and Enlightens Us to Excellent Analog Anecdotes from Down Under, Amazing Aussie Tapes, and the Secret to the Perfect Selfie!
As an avid follower of the infamous Horror VHS Collectors Unite! Facebook group, I've come to realize that every once in a while there will be a new member that joins and has a surprisingly solid collection and a knowledge about the format that could school some of the people who have established themselves as the go-to-guys when questions about rare tapes arise. Enter Scott Bruce. A tough talking, no bullshit collector who's as proud of his hard as nails mug as he is his overwhelmingly on-point collection of Australian pre and post-cert tapes. Mr. Lunchmeat himself, as intrigued by his mystique as I was, has given me the task of getting to know some of the down and dirty facts about Scott's collection and affinity for selfies. So, here we go...
I just posted some silly pics (selfies) holding various rare tapes and sometimes with a martial arts weapon in hand standing in front of my "VIDEO WALL". These pics and my silly sense of Aussie Humor seemed, for some reason to be very popular?? No, I don't usually get such attention, only on forums after posting VHS pics, but that's about it.
Do you collect anything other than films?
Yes, I collect old vintage toys: Micronauts, Star Wars, Shogun Warriors… that kind of thing and spend the rest of my money on my sports cars, much to the wife's disgust…
Have you ever fought a kangaroo? You look like you could kick some marsupial ass.
No, not even I’m that stupid. Those bloody bastards push themselves in the air with that strong tail then rip your stomach out with their powerful back legs! They can be vicious!
Do you have anything you would like to say?
Well, first up I'd like to really thank all you folk who seem to be very interested in me and my collection! I’ve met some fantastic new mates through that Horror VHS Collectors Group! I still can’t fathom why I am deemed to be so popular??
I plan on sticking around a bit longer so, you all will be seeing my silly pics and posts via Facebook or even elsewhere too? I must admit, I have thought of selling up many times over but then come to my senses again. I guess after collecting for over 22 years it’s in the blood. Here’s to hoping I acquire some of those holy grail tapes not only for myself but for all of you! You have all made this old man happy once again!
Cheers to everyone and take care guys.
Regards,
Scotty
Bouchie and a Photoshopped rendition of a Dad's Bootleg release featuring Scott on the cover. One word: YES.
CB: First and foremost, thank you for taking the time out of your busy life of being a badass to talk tapes with me. SB: No problem chatting to you or any other VHS Collector! It’s my passion and always happy to chat about VHS tapes and collecting them.
Scotty in his glory among his magnificent collection of magenetic magic. THUMBS UP ON THE NIGHTMARE FORREAL!
How long have you been collecting VHS and what got you into it? I have been collecting tapes for roughly 22 years. I started collecting when I was about 19. What got me into it? I think because I watched the original EVIL DEAD when I was about 10 years old! It terrified the living shit out of me yet I wanted more!? After that, I used to just hire such tapes out or watch them at friend’s houses. When I got to about the age of 19, I started collecting them! We used to have numerous Ex-Rental Video Warehouses that were filled with utter gems that just cannot be found anywhere nowadays!
Groovy tapes. Groovy shirt. Groovy dude. LOOK AT THE TAPES! So sick.
Do you collect any other formats aside from VHS? I collect DVDS, too, like the majority of folk and also did start collecting Laserdiscs but only bought a few before my Player broke; then I moved onto DVD and yet continued collecting tapes. I am now looking for another Laserdisc player to start buying Laser Discs again.
Scotty's message to his Laserdisc player when it shit out on him. AGREED!
What would you say is the crown jewel of your collection and what tape is the highest on your want list? My Crown Jewel tape? Well, in terms of Aussie tapes ,either the truly insane ISLAND OF PERVERSION ( on Showcase, the Mastorakas film) or NIGHTMARE ( Video Classics Gold,Scavolini. The highest on my want list, again in terms of Aussie tapes, is like everyone: the impossibly rare JEKYLL AND HYDE PORTFOLIO ( released here on INTERVISION) this thing fetches well over $1000 on eBay.
Scotty's super-rad and rare ISLAND OF PERVERSION tape. Damn, this RULES.
What are your five favorite tapes in your collection? My five fave tapes? That’s a hard one, mate! NIGHTMARE ( Aussie, Video Classics Gold) ISLAND OF PERVERSION (Aussie, Showcase) DEVIL STORY (Greek, CAS Cine Video) NAKED VENGEANCE (U.S.A, Lightning Video) RAPE SQUAD (Aussie, Palace Explosive)
Mr. Bruce with a grip on a most excellent copy of the rare Greydon Clark flick WITHOUT WARNING.
Do you only collect Australian VHS? No, mate,I have tapes from all over the world!!! My fave tapes are from Japan. The prints used are (usually) fantastic quality, uncut, and have the best graphic design on the covers… plus the cassettes used are of fantastic quality. What would you say is the rarest Australian VHS, and do you own it? RAREST Aussie tape? In my own opinion it’s a tape I have only seen once in all my time… hell, it was thought to be a myth and didn't exist until a mate here in West Australia actually found a copy!!!. That tape is TEENAGE PROSTITUTION RACKET on Syme Video.
Scotty Says: Don't touch the tapes, or I'll cut ya! Naw, I made that up... that butterfly is fierce, though, right?
How often do you go out hunting for new tapes? I no longer go out hunting for tapes much at all. It’s near impossible to find any tapes here nowadays. It’s a sad state for video collectors here nowadays. Unless sourcing from EBay or other collectors, I can get hold of nothing! Though, even about 3-4 years ago I was actually still able to find tapes out and about… these days = nothing.
Another sick slab of analog excellence... and another precision-perfect selfie from Scotty. ON POINT.
Are there a lot of people collecting tapes where you live? A lot of folk still collecting herein my state (W.A.)…. there are a handful of us, Australia wide. There are still reasonable numbers buying them as can be witnessed on Aussie EBay auctions and great forums like Pre Cert U.K. That has an Aussie section! Do you have any crazy stories about going out hunting for tapes? Okay, you want a collecting story from me… I was running out of local places to hunt for videos and only getting a good tape here and there. I pondered this problem for a while and came up with an idea! I got the Yellow Pages phone directory and started ringing Video Libraries all over West Australia asking if they still had old tapes for sale. Many laughed at me asking" You mean VHS Tapes!!??" I answered "Yes, I still Collect them!" Anyways, I rang one that was down south (3 - 4 hours drive away) and turns out they had a shop full of them and were slowly selling them off!! I was emailing them want lists of tapes and I couldn't believe it! A lot of what I wanted, they had and I was getting them for like $1.00 each!! They sent me numerous packages over the span of about one and a half years. I kept begging them to let me drive down there and start picking tapes out from their "Back Room" but they kept refusing. One day they gave in and said ok! I jumped in the car and drove all the way there( 3- 4 hours). I get there and it’s a REALLY OLD shop and its big! I see tapes everywhere and start picking out impossibly rare Spaghetti Westerns, really Old Actioners ( Filipino productions),Horror, you name it… I then go out the legendary back room BY DEAR GOD!!!! I am confronted by thousands of impossibly rare tapes, a lot I had never seen before!!!! I am kicking myself I didn't take a camera down there because it was a sight I had never seen, nor will ever see again! I started pilling tapes into boxes and was in there all day! Things like FAREWELL UNCLE TOM, GIVE US TOMORROW, LOVE BUTCHER, CHALLENGE TO WHITE FANG, NO ROOM TO DIE, FIGHTING LIFE, SCHIZO, STRIKE COMMANDO, PETS( on K&C!!!), DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, BLOOD BROTHERS. Just mountains of such tapes! I crammed my Nissan 180SX (240sx in the U.S) full of as many boxes of tapes as would fit. I returned again with my best mate, who I’ve known since I was 5 years old (he also collects tapes) again we filled the car to the roof of boxes of tapes!! So much that my driver’s seat was fully forward and I drove home for hours crammed in that seat like fucking Houdini… for the sake of tapes!
Scotty mimicking the cover to the P.O.W. tape from Dad's Bootlegs. This is just fucking awesome.
I've noticed your recent fame in the Horror VHS Collectors Unite group. Is it surprising to you that everyone is so interested in you or do you get this kind of attention everywhere you go? I don't know what to think of it all?!
A slice of fan art that's been circulating in celebration of Scott and his awesomeness. What a great sport and cool guy.
How do you manage to make the same unimpressed facial expression in every one of your pictures? I have no idea … that's just me??Damn, Scotty is just too groovy, man. His passionate and fun-loving presence on the VHS groups is utterly analog fantastic, and exemplifies the connected collector spirit that the Horror VHS Collectors Unite! online entity was founded on. Mega-magentic ups to Scotty for being such a radical guy and for living the analog dream every day… and sharing with all of us over here in good old US of A! Scotty, we salute you! I’d also like to thank my fellow Videovore and VHS Brother Chris Bouchie for taking the time away from sorting through obscure adult titles and all his other insanely rare slabs o’ analog to shine the spotlight on a fellow collector for all the right reasons. That’s mad groovy, man. Oh, and check out Bouchie’s YouTube channel for radical tape updates and fresh-ass flat brims. He’s got ‘em. Dig it.
Groove and Groove and Brotherhood.
Intro and Interview by Christopher Bouchie
Outro by Josh Schafer