Hope you enjoy and remember - the best place to support the weird, wacky stuff we do is on our Patreon Page!
ABOUT US
We started out making our own brand of weird rock music a la Frank Zappa, Primus and Brave Combo in the clubs of Austin, TX in 2003 but our broad mix of styles, cinematic flare and our mix of rock and classical instruments led to bigger projects and we branched into the arts world becoming known for our silent film soundtracks and holiday shows in particular. Check out Our Story So Far for a summary of our 18-year history.
We still enjoy making original rock music and "ruining" our favorite songs & classical pieces - see 1812 Overture.
We post works-in-progress on our PATREON PAGE at least once a week. Lately we've been ruining Van Halen songs and soon will record our soundtrack for Nosferatu sharing scene by scene.
Join The Throne Room of the Czars for a journey through our history with exclusive videos, music, written stories, photos and more through the magic of email.
SILENT FILM
We've created 10 tastefully modern soundtracks for silent films and performed live with the movies all over the US and Canada. We create custom artwork, incorporate audience participation into our shows and are known for complementing the films well.
HOLIDAYS
Our whimsical re-imagining of The Nutcracker Suite became a holiday tradition when we debuted it in 2004. We'added wacky versions of holiday numbers over the years and played all over our region. In recent years we've become the band at Panoramic Voices' annual Holiday Mixtape.
BLOG
Feb 22 2021
"Dance the Night Away" Van Halen tribute single March 5!
The next single from our forthcoming Van Halen tribute EP is coming March 5. Drummer Chuck Fischer is the star of the show on this one playing drums, a ton of percussion and singing! It's a Caribbean-influenced version of Van…
Jan 26 2021
First Van Halen Tribute Video Debuts Today
Line-up for the video: Skunk Manhattan – vocals, keyboards; Chuck Fischer – drums, vocals; KatieO Radio – flute;
Phil The Violin Guy – violin; Henry Q Vines – bass; Josh Robins - guitar; Marie Vargas - slap; mix by Chico…
STORE
Buying stuff directly from our store is one of the best ways to support the weird, wacky stuff we do! This store is ORGANIZED BY PROJECT. Can't find something? Contact us!
DR. CALIGARI
The movie with our soundtrack is available as a download OR on the Flash Drive of Dr. Caligari with bonus content - pics, sheet music, mp3s, tour pics.
$20.00
Our fourth silent film poster by Leah Lovise. Angular, dreamy with six sets of eyes if you include the spectacles. Screen-Printed!
$25.00
What does "women's" even mean anymore? If you're curvy and like a cropped sleeve, this is the shirt for you. Two-sided design. Just know that these run smaller than the cut once known as "men's."
NOSFERATU
In MAR 2021, we will begin work on recording our soundtrack for Nosferatu. Want to support the effort? Join us on Patreon! Please note: The Nosferatu EP does not sync with any videos. It is simply a collection of highlights from our soundtrack recorded in 2015.
$25.00
Our most popular artwork on a good ol' black t-shirt with the pre-2019 designation of "men's" cut.
$25.00
The Count is always with you. No matter what. But if you wear this shirt, he's with you to an even greater degree.
Yeah. We're leaving that as the description.
$150.00
Josh wore this custom double breasted vest throughout 2016 and 2017 when we were performing with Nosferatu every night. it was cursed in Ft. Collins, CO in May 2017 but don't worry --- Dylan Younger was able to remove the curse in just a few months later and now it's available for sale on our store.
BUNDLES
$45.00
Save 55.56%!
$20.00
Poster, T-shirt, CD + digital download that sync to the Kino DVD, sticker
$45.00
Save 28.89%!
$32.00
Any combination of 3 posters EXCEPT PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (currently out of print). Indicate which 3. Example - "I want 1 Nosferatu and 2 Caligaris."
$35.00
Save 28.57%!
$25.00
Any two posters EXCEPT PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (currently out of print). Indicate in the comments. Example - "I want 2 Caligaris," or "I want 1 Nosferatu and 1 Jekyll."
$5.00
Save 40.0%!
$3.00
Bookmark-size stickers, one of each poster design (Nosferatu, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, Phantom of the Opera, Cabinet of Dr Caligari) plus a Czars bird head logo sticker. Or any combination of the 5, specify if you wish!
CDs
$10.00
Save 60.0%!
$4.00
Our rendition of Tchaikovsky's most bombastic piece! (Fireworks not included.) Also pieces by Ravel, Sousa, and us!
BAND LOGO
$25.00
Save 28.0%!
$18.00
Our logo on a purple shirt across your chest --- the best advertising anyone could ask for. Thank you!
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Not available
This one has a skull on it. A skull! You know you want it. Third in our series of silent film posters by Leah Lovise.
DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE
$25.00
Save 80.0%!
$5.00
This is a red shirt with our Jekyll & Hyde art on it. If you buy it, you can wear it whenever you want and other lifeforms will see it. Do it.
$25.00
Save 80.0%!
$5.00
This shirt is red. If you like red, and you like curvy shirts, this is the one. We only have a few left. Get it.
$45.00
Save 55.56%!
$20.00
Poster, T-shirt, CD + digital download that sync to the Kino DVD, sticker
LIMITED EDITION POSTERS
$30.00
We played music by Austin composers Graham Reynolds and Peter Stopschinski that night. Only 1 left in existence. It was actually used at the venue and has tack holes on it. Archaeological!
$50.00
Only two left. This poster was for a show on our Gods of Convenience tour that was so poorly attended we didn't even play. Even weirder, the venue went to the trouble of having these made and didn't put them up until the day of the show. It's a lovely memento of a not so amazing summer night in 2005 near Cincinnati, OH.
$25.00
Choose white or "natural". Each one is signed and numbered by the artist. She contacted us only a few weeks before this show offering to make posters for it but we'd already chosen Hans Rickheit's alien face art for this show. That didn't stop her. She made this art and dropped off the posters at Josh's house. We never met her. Only a few left of each color.
$10.00
Only 4 left. These were from our first and last performance at the Athenaeum in Chicago. They held a blood drive which was a GREAT idea. Unfortunately, they also had a dreadfully boring silent film expert speak before we played and he put everyone to sleep. Rock on, Chicago!
$45.00
Only 2 left. We played our score for "The Unknown" as the movie was projected onto a wall in the second most wide-open, cacophonous room we've ever played. Chatter from attendees was louder than us. It was one of our highest paying gigs at the time. We also got a bunch of free dinosaur masks!
$8.00
These are the posters we hung up all over Austin for our very first show at the Alamo Ritz in 2010. It sold out and we did the show again for SxSW film a couple weeks later. 15 left.
$10.00
This was our first holiday show with Panoramic Voices before they'd changed their name from Texas Choral Consort. Just two left on shiny, thick paper.