Part 1: OVERVIEW 
~compiled by Blu with contributions by Dave Skott, Mark Splatter, Rick A. Mortis and Thomas Thyssen

Irreconcilable Differences: 
The EBM/Goth Split

Years ago you could go to a goth club and you could hear a variety of music - a mixture of old school stuff, doomy gothic rock, swirly ethereal, industrial the likes of Skinny Puppy, and perhaps some 80's tinged new wave. There were no separate classifications in the patrons - none of this "Goth" vs "Rivethead" thing. We were all just freaks. But nothing stays the same forever does it? Slowly but surely there seemed to be an influx of electronic- based music that came in under the guise of industrial. Apoptygma Berzerk and VNV Nation stick out in my mind and I kind of had a thing for the hard to find-in-the-U.S. Wolfsheim back then. Driven by mellow melodies and heavy handed, pulsing, repetitive dance beats; they were good floor fillers and people found it easy to dance to. These bands grew in popularity - especially among the youngsters with endless stompy energy to expend,  and as they did,  a whole swarm of sound alike bands cropped up and  with the aid of ever increasing technology, it seemed nearly anyone could be a one man or two man "band" with pre-programmed bleeps and whistles. There was a clear cut and paste formula-type thing going on here that unfortunately saw a lot of erosion in the sense of true musicianship. Suddenly it was generally accepted that the majority of these new bands didn't even play any of their music live - but performed on stage to pre-recorded tracks much like today's pop bands do. 

Over the next few years these bands grew and changed even more losing their harder edges and started to lean more and more toward house/trance/techno music - lighter, fluffy, meant for fun (kind of like a modern version of Disco if you ask me). DJs similarly became more technical, more conscious of beat mixing and what BPMs went over well with certain crowds - similar to the technical proficiency you'll find in house/trance DJs.  It's been a virtual take over in some cases - some clubs going so far as to take the word "goth" out of their tag lines and descriptions completely. EBM and synthpop - and what some are now calling Future Pop has come into its own - with it's own crowd and DJs seemingly quite separate from the darker tones of the goth scene. There are a few clubs that manage to mix it up a bit, but more and more I've seen a complete separation developing.  This was not a conscious or deliberate separation in the beginning as much  as it was just two sub-cultures becoming too different to co-exist in one atmosphere anymore. Some one made the comment to me once that "Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' is more goth than VNV Nation these days." This of course left an ever developing void in the goth scene for those people who still yearned for darker, spookier things. To some, this new trend towards techno was tip-toeing too closely to the mainstream for comfort. New bands like Cinema Strange and Antiworld would never be played in these clubs - they'd never have a chance. More and more it seemed these crowds looked upon DJs as human jukeboxes - demanding that this or that be played instead of allowing the DJs to use their skill and instinct to bring them new and varied material. I have known DJs who say their true love IS deathrock or gothrock and yet they are "forced" to play EBM because it's what their crowd demands.  This one-sidedness on the club patrons part continued to alienate those people who missed the variety.  People who were unsatisfied with the new club formats many times just quit going out. But growth and change eventually promotes rebellion and reaction. As EBM went off to bigger and better things expanding its market; the restless dark souls of the underground would not see their subculture go silently into the light. 

RELEASE THE BATS
(photos of Dave, Jeremy, Shane, Jenn & Dave Grave provided by Dave Skott)

Enter Dave & Jenn Skott and a wee night club called Release the Bats. For many, as you'll see in this article, Release the Bats was the anchor that kept Deathrock alive in the U.S. when all the other clubs were forgetting their roots. 

Dave Skott comments, "Release The Bats is a natural backlash to the mainstream Goth scene of today. In 1998, The Que Sera, a bar we frequent in Long Beach California, asked us if we'd like to throw their annual Halloween party. Myself & Jenn Skott, along with Jeremy Meza slammed their brains together over cocktails one evening and thought that an 'old school' Gothik party would be the best! Since, at the time almost all of the so called 'Goth' clubs were spinning techno and that one damn Virgin Prunes song, the media was eating the scene alive and trying to bury it in the same hole as the rave scene, we said 'f*ck this!' and brought the REAL DEAL out of the grave!

RTB was actually only going to happen that one time but we received such GREAT responses from it we asked the Que Sera for another night ... [and] there ya have it! I think its safe to say that we figuratively slapped the entire scene in the face!"

Still running today, stronger than ever, Release the Bats has become THE destination for deathrock bands to play live as well as a reason for many to actually move to California for those seeking refuge and a place to call home.

Dave tells us, "We at RTB have had the honor of hosting such acts as Penis Fly Trap, Antiworld, The Phantom Limbs, Gitane Demone, our own house band Element, Patrick Mata, The Deep Eynde, Audra, Cinema Strange, and on.  I'll be so bold as to say that RTB really is the only event that holds true to the aesthetic of our scene. (At least in Southern California and as far as I've seen anyway...)

At RTB there is no bull sh*t, there are no fangs, and certainly no wallflowers. At this club you come to have a good time or stay home! It's been said to me that 'inside the place it's like 1984 all over again!' Anyone that has been in this scene for more than 10 or 12 years surely remembers what a lot of people call 'the good ol' days'. I like to think, as well the other 200 freaks that gather here, ALL of those good ol' days happen once a month now at a little club in Long Beach called Release The Bats. 

The most recent news is we've branched out and are starting to throw 'one-off' events that are all ages or 18 plus. With these shows we are able to indoctrinate a younger audience that normally wouldn't be able to get into Bats. The next one is on Valentine's Day. Dig up the info here... http://hometown.aol.com/davebats¹"

(See a Release the Bats Photo Gallery in Blue Blood Magazine: 
http://www.blueblood.net/gallery/bats/index.html
http://www.blueblood.com/gallery/bats2/index.htm featuring the boys of Cinema Strange)

CINEMA STRANGE

And what would California's leading deathrock scene be without a leading band? Beginning in 1994, sounding something like a combination of early Sex Gang Children, the Virgin Prunes and Shakespeare on absinthe, Cinema Strange has charmed deathrock fans in the US and in Europe alike and was signed to Trisol records out of Germany (home of Die Form, Mother Destruction, etc) and have just this month released their second CD called The Astonished Eyes of Evening. (Stay tuned next month for a review and possible feature story on Cinema Strange in StarVox). 

They have easily infested black clad hearts every where with the ease and grace of a feral halloween spook cat. Their fan club on Yahoo is incredibly active and has grown tremendously with a global audience. With rave reviews coming in on their new CD (the first batch of CDs have already sold out at Middle Pillar), there's no telling what this year will hold in store for them. 

On their webpage, under Bio, Retch Dempsey writes, 

"So now what? I'll tell you: lock up your fish hooks and hide the matches. Something is slinking to a theatre near you, and it reeks of the strange, it smacks of the manic, it has several more personalities that it was originally allotted, it is the full gray-scale of the sharp-toothed Cinema, screaming along to 20's movie queens and fancy glassy-bones, and it is loved and adored by those who remember the old days, and by those who are just starting to appreciate it.

Come back to the Batcave, and don't forget your bedpan, you may be here for some time. And don't worry, biting your nails to the quick while rocking back and forth singing the refrain from Lindsay's Trachea means that you're loving every nanosecond. -Retch Dempsey, February 99"

(Listen Cinema Strange on mp3: http://www.mp3.com/cinemastrange/
Official Cinema Strange site: http://www.cinemastrange.com/)

DEATHROCK INFECTS THE INTERNET

Another strong force in keeping deathrock alive was the networking opportunities that existed because of the internet. The most forceful among those entities, and one that would affect the scene world wide, was the birth of  Deathrock.com  who describes itself thusly: "deathrock.com contains news and reviews, web pages, and complete info for deathrock, early goth, gothic, post punk, goth punk, horror rock, and gloom and doom music." 

Started by Mark Splatter, Deathrock.com has become the one-stop place for all things deathrock. He has an amazing and ever expanding library of deathrock history. Many times when researching old bands, Mark's site is the only place I can find information and he's done an amazingly thorough job listing bios, photos, discographies and links for such obscure bands like Red Temple Spirits, The Magits, The Naked and the Dead,  Danse Society, Ausgang, Of A Mesh, 13th Chime and Malaria! This accumulation of knowledge hasn't stopped - he's constantly adding new bands and old bands to the site. It's indeed a tremendously valuable resource and Mark should be commended on his drive to record the scene's history. In addition Deathrock.com does CD reviews and concert reviews of new bands never leaving any doubt that this scene is alive and flourishing with new talent. 

Deathrock.com has also started expanding the services it offers as Mark comments, " I'm always adding new archives of bands, discographies, pictures, etc. There are a lot of great new releases appearing that I've been happy to review. As for deathrock.com itself, I have added a message board, a store where you can get some underground releases directly by mail order, and a virtual store where you can pick out some of the best deathrock, goth, and punk releases from one of our partners, CDNOW.com. You can also get an email address @deathrock.com now too. I have plans to add a web hosting service as well. I have started a few email lists for people interested in deathrock in their area. There is Deathrock LA, Deathrock SF (for San Francisco) and Deathrock DE for Germany. There are a number of other lists as well. These seem to be a good way to meet others, find out what events are going on in your area, and just some good online fun. "

Other online sites I've found useful and interesting include Deathrock.net out of Texas and GothicPunk.com (with ties back into the San Fran scene via DJ/artist Rick A. Mortis)

THEY'RE ALIVE! 
OLD BANDS ARE NEW AGAIN

In several ways the internet has been the catalyst for bringing some old bands who might have been lost forever, back to life. People like Greg Fasolino, a musician from deathrock's heyday in NYC, have been putting up music on sites like mp3.com exposing bands like The Naked and the Dead, The Chop Shop, Brain Eaters and Scarecrow to a global audience for the first time. Although none of these particular bands are intact these days; there has been enough growing interest and hype on such places like the deathrock message board, that band members are considering getting back together. Bands who once may have never made it out of their home town now have the opportunity to promote themselves world wide via the internet and reach some very eager new ears. Via the internet, I have myself found a swarm of outstanding bands in Germany alone that I had never heard of before: The Preachers of Neverland, Untoten, Benediction, Sepulcrum Mentis, Irony of Fate, Age of Heaven, The Vision Bleak, Swans of Avon  and the widely popular (as in - where the hell have I been?)  Murder at the Registry.

Similarly, bands who were popular back in the 80's and early 90's have been prompted by ever-growing interest to resume their musical careers with renewed vigor. Bands like The Mission, All About Eve, New Model Army and the Chameleons have all released new CDs this past year. Bands like Funhouse, Corrosion UK, Faces of Sarah , Subrosa and The Sins have pushed gothic music back to its rock roots. All this while fans eagerly wait on the Fields of the Nephilim boys to give us their long awaited new release (we hear its done but Carl isn't quite done playing the perfectionist on the last details of it). Even The Lords of the New Church are embarking on a European Tour this year. The Empire Hideous - a well established NY band with deathrock over tones whose frontman did a short stint as the vocalist for the Misfits back in the mid 90s, has embarked on a huge comeback effort this year after having been on a 4 year hiatus. Now more than ever, the scene seems hungry to dive back into its musical roots. We even have a new fanzine - New Grave Magazine  - a glossy, stylish hard print beauty focusing on deathrock that has been serving up the best in fishnet clad eye candy for 3 issues now. 

"Let all the Children Boogie:" 
New Clubs for the Gloom Generation

So where's all this rebellion, knowledge via the internet and explosion in music gotten us? Well besides a mohawk-clad punk rocker chick and cool music being featured on That 80's Show (winkwink); new clubs are springing up right and left to account for the increasing dissatisfaction with and lack of variety found in the mainstream goth clubs. (mainstream/goth - - paradoxical I know...) In the UK, clubs like Exile, Assimilation and Dark Trix are making a point to include a varied format - some emphasizing goth rock over EBM and others even including the newer genre of goth/metal hybrids. In Germany you have a whole series of events that support the deathrock/goth scene including Pagan Love Songs, BatCave Party and more (see our article on the German Deathrock scene!) and in Holland you have Onderstroom. In the US you have Release the Bats and GhoulSchool (DJ Splatter & Guests, Spinning Dark Alternative, New Wave, Gothic, Punk & Psycho) in Southern California, Funeral Drive in Dallas, Voo Doo A Go Go in NY, plus a whole slew of clubs in San Francisco (not all deathrock but interesting varieties) including: House of Voo Doo, Smoke and Mirrors ("Because Goth is not spelled T-E-C-H-N-O"), Dark Sparkle ("Let all the Children Boogie: The darker side of the 70s and 80s"), Camera Obscura ("If its not in frame, it doesn't exist" - Obscura Music / Hardcore Glamour)and She Said (An American Nighmare - From Johnny Cash to Joy Division: Swamp Music Motor Music Voo Doo).

UK GothRock Clubs
• Exile: http://www.drischmi.dircon.co.uk/exile 
• Assimilation: http://www.drischmi.dircon.co.uk/exile 
• Dark Trix: http://www.darktrix.com/ 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Germany

• BatCave Party: http://www.deathrock.de/batcave 
• Pagan Love Songs (my favorite - they've been doing this for ages!): http://www.nightmarezone.de/ 

 

 
 
 
 
 

US

• Funeral Drive - DALLAS: http://www.deathrock.net/funeraldrive 

(NO cover charge! "What do you think about techno? --We don't.")
• GhoulSchool - HOLLYWOOD- http://www.deathrock.com/ghoulschool 

(DJ Splatter & Guests, Spinning Dark Alternative, New Wave, Gothic, Punk & Psycho. We are sick of going to goth clubs and only being able to hear Trance, Techno, Synthpop, and Repetitive beats. This is not a latex titty fetish club - finally a real refuge for goths and death punks.  In the tradition of The Krypt, LAs most infamous gothic club of the 80s, we bring you the best in alternative, classic, and underground.)
• House of VooDoo - SAN FRANCISCO- http://www.houseofvoodoo.com/ 
• Release the Bats - Long Beach, CA- http://hometown.aol.com/batsdontcry (TO THE BAT PHONE! 949-263-4180 or 323-993-8666) 
• Smoke and Mirrors - San Francisco - http://www.sfgoth.com/clubs/SmokeAndMirrors 

"Because Goth is not spelled T-E-C-H-N-O"
• Voo Doo A Go Go - NY http://www.deathrock.com/voodooagogo 
• Dartk Sparkle: Let all the Children Boogie: The darker side of the 70s and 80s http://www.darksparkle.net/ 
• Camera Obscura- http://www.room29.net/ 

"If its not in frame, it doesnt exist" - Obscura Music / Hardcore Glamour
"We All Wear Black to Match our Eyeliner
And our Hearts Be so Hard
That our Bodies Bruise from the inside."
• SHE SAID...AN AMERICAN NIGHTMARE - http://www.angelfire.com/ca6/first2win/shesaid.html 

From Johnny Cash to Joy Division: Swamp Music Moter Music VooDoo 

2/10/02