While in LA, Sebastiano Serafini and I had the opportunity to be models for Lip Service! We put on fangs and growled for a Steampunk Vampire photoshoot in a private dungeon.

The Lip Service shoot was for Vampyrotic, a magazine to “celebrate our dark sanguinary desires in gorgeously captured photos and video.” We crept into the downtown domination space, Servitu, with our mastermind photographer Mich.

It was impossible to narrow down our clothing choices for the shoot, so we ended up taking several sacks with us (including borrowed top hats and stomper boots). Mich fitted us with vampire teeth, which you first soak in warm water, then press to your canines until they firm up and stay in place.

Servitu Studios was a funhouse of torture equipment, including restraints, medical examination chairs, rusty cages, and a “vacuum bed” that vacuum-packs a person into latex. (Sebastiano: “Should we try?”)

A lamb mask, a pole with a perilous “object” attached… By now, my young “virgin victim” truly has been corrupted!

We settled on the dark aristocratic chair by the window and filled our wine glasses with blood. Our outfits are mostly coordinated from Lip Service’s Step in Time Steampunk collection.

Do you like this look on Sebastiano? I think he looks like a dashing Victorian airship captain.

We had the whole studio to ourselves — and used the opportunity to play.

Despite all my rage, I’m still just a Steampunk Pirate in a cage.

We changed into Nocturnal Rendezvous and Circuit City cyber garments, and climbed to the rooftop. Dusk was falling and the sky was radioactive blue. Perfect for a Power Rangers pose.

Thank you to Mich, Mickey, Bryn, Maria and everyone at Lip Service for having us as models! You can see us featured on the website here. Seba and I also toured the dark fashion company’s headquarters; these photos are coming right up on my blog.

Steampunk Vampires, brass and blood… what do you think of our styling?

PS: Naomi and I have a big new pirate mission in Japan with one of our favorite bands (you’ll know their name!). So much travel and adventure ahead this year… I’m fortunate to be able to work with my friends, and with artists I admire — and have all of you along for the ride!

Want to bring your band, film crew, fashion line or any project to Japan? Need someone to guide, consult, translate? Hire a pirate! (There’s more about our services on the La Carmina & The Pirates website.)

Japanese Word of the Day: Otobai = Motorcycle (Autobike!)
Song of the Day: Informatik – The World Belongs To Us