What if I were to tell you there’s a beautiful and talented Russian musician with legs that go on for days and a Bettie Page-meets-Vampirella horror-burlesque fashion sense? Too good to be true, you say? Well, I’ve got news for you: she’s the real deal, and a newly minted inductee into the Starfire Lounge VIP club.
Svetlana “Zombierella” Nagaeva plays bass and sings for Messer Chups, out of St. Petersburg. Their musical style is influenced by surf rock, rockabilly, and the guitar stylings of Link Wray, among others. They also incorporate traditional Russian music into their sound and draw inspiration from classic horror and exploitation movies. That B-movie aesthetic is obvious in Zombierella’s exquisite punk-rock pinup girl style, reminiscent of Bettie Page and the Cramps’ Poison Ivy Rorschach. From fishnets to thigh highs, cherry red lipstick to Bettie bangs, Svetlana rocks the look. She’s a serious horror fan too, talking in interviews about being inspired by classic horror, cult films, and directors like Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci.
Halloween season feels like the best time to highlight this relatively obscure cult musician with the horror-inspired stage name, whose band often projects horror movies onstage during their sets. Selfishly, I wish Messers Cups was based in the States, so maybe I could see them play now and then. They’re very much a “me” band, thanks to their combining of so many elements I love: horror movies, and he surf rock sound, and, thanks to Zombierella, the pinup aesthetic.
Talented, beautiful, and a horror aficionado, Zombierella might sound too good to be true. Whether she was created in a lab by a mad scientist or not, I can’t say, but she’s as real as the rumbling bass riffs she produces for Messer Chups. Here’s some more photographic evidence, in case you’re still in disbelief. Might as well also head over to Spotify and check out some of her bass slinging in Messers Chups. The perfect musical accompaniment for scrolling through Svetlana “Zombierella” Nagaeva photos this spooky season.
The Starfire Lounge 
How fabulous to have another facet to your fandom. I can understand why Svetlana and Messur Chups appeal to you, her resemblance to Bettie Page is uncanny.
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Absolutely, my pfriend. And she’s got that leggy bassist thing going on, like Poison Ivy Rorschach from The Cramps. It’s as if someone crawled inside my head, stole my fantastical wants and desires, and created this magical creature just for me!
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