Echo Immortalis magazine - Vol. 1 Is. 1, Fall 2005 by ECHO IMMORTALIS MUSIC MAGAZINE

Fashion

Literati

music

Nightlife

Photography

reviews

Echo Immortalis Midwest Gothic and Industrial Culture www.echoimmortalis.com

Volume 1 Issue 1 | Fall 2005-Winter 2006 $5.99

Electric Touch

Dark Mannequin Designs shoots edgy photographs, pg. 3

PLUS:

Kidtee Hello Photography da re

FEATURES

03 behind the LENS d a re to

da re

di ffe re nt

H K

Fall - Winter ’05 ’06 www.echoimmortalis.com

www.geocities.com/kidteehello www.kidteehello.deviantart.com/gallery

Electric Touch: Dark

be d fi fe re n td a r et o

Mannequin Designs

shoots edgy photographs

38 miRRor

An actor’s journey from Iraq and back home again Model: Acid Pop Tart

glam, goth & more!

s gn

Dark Mannequin www.darkmannequin.com

44 15 minutes

i s e D

Kidtee Hello Photography

DEPARTMENTS 13 reQUIEM Razed in Black

16 17 18 20 23

Sweden’s Sexy Death Braille Korp.

The Azoic Hungry Lucy Thanatos

blood to INK Original poetry 26 undead and LOVING IT

Midwest goth events, club

profiles, and scene reviews

on the SHELF

DVD and VHS reviews

Model: CiN

spin me ’ROUND Album reviews 52 epiTAPH www.modelmayhem.com Member ID: 2172 kevin@darkmannequin.com

34 c Dark Mannequin Designs

J-rock!: D’espairsRay plays

Midwest Sugoicon

Cover Models: Aria (see pg. 11) and Isis 18 (see pg. 4) | Photo by Kevin Foureman | This page (left column): Kaos (see pg. 8), photo by Kevin Foureman; Christoph (see pg. 48), photo by Kidtee Hello; Photo courtesy of The Azoic; Photo courtesy of Hungry Lucy; (middle column) Cincinnati, Ohio by Chuck Greenwell; Photo (Europe) courtesy of D’espairsRay; (right column, legs) Isadora of Ohio by Kevin Foureman

Dear Readers,

Contributor Bios

Sincerely,

Echo Immortalis Editor, Publisher, and Designer

Photographer of Hungry Lucy, pg. 20 www.apocalypsefilms.net Solo Filmmaker: This computer wiz and CiN | Photo by Kevin Foureman

You are holding the first issue of Echo Immortalis magazine, a glimpse into the lives of those in the Midwest gothic/industrial scenes and beyond. Why “Echo Immortalis?” Goth, or whatever label you choose to place on the subculture, rings out eternally across nations. Goth is not just a genre of music, a style of fashion, or an excuse for a wild nightlife; it encompasses a way of thinking and a way of life that bleeds to our core. We are those who may embrace the light, yet acknowledge the darkness. We come from all backgrounds, genders, races, and ethnicities. We are artists, musicians, writers, designers, philosophers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, soldiers, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, and sons — you name it — and above all, we are independent dreamers. Aesthetics and self-expression remain paramount to our existence. Long after you and I are gone, our beliefs will live on. Although they may change forms, our fundamental values are an “immortal echo” reflecting each of our lives. This publication is not only the fruits of my yearlong graduate journalism project, it is also a personal dream of mine. I take great pride in this magazine and am seeking others, including artists, photographers, models, writers, and unique members of the subculture who also want to support the growth of the Midwest gothic/industrial scene. Those of you who wish to contribute to future issues of Echo Immortalis, either through original work, advertising, or donations should contact echomag@hotmail.com. I hope you thoroughly enjoy this debut issue. Keep this publication, share it with friends, and let it help breathe new life into our beloved subcultural lifestyles.

Sergio “Apocalypse” Auler of Ohio

CiN of Ohio

Author of “J-rock!,” pg. 52 www.myspace.com/cin07 Spin Shocker: CiN, a Dayton-based DJ,

behind the LENS

velvet cape crafter also creates humorous short films about zombies and the ultimate battle between Star Wars and Star Trek fans. He can also be found starring as a female talk-show host in his own films.

Electric

David Garcia “† Juras Avis †” of New Jersey and Pennsylvania Photographer on pg. 31 www.fotolog.net/azazel Light Work: This lighting, sound

Touch

technician, videographer, and photographer admires artists Ansel Adams, Kyle Cassidy, Yoshitaka Amano, and Chad Michael Ward.

Charles Greenwell of Kentucky

first got into the scene at age 14. A part of Dead Candy Productions, he often DJ-ed at The Foundry. “I’ve also DJ-ed down at the Noctuary in Honolulu, Hawaii,” he says. “I’m mostly inspired by visual kei.”

Echo Immortalis Staff

Editor, Publisher, and Designer: Leslie Benson Additional contributing photographers and artists: Kevin Foureman of Dark Manne-

quin Designs, Kidtee Hello Photography, Chuck Greenwell, David Denny of Studio D Photography, Kai Schindler, Christoph, Deathy Venetti, Chris Andeer, Jeremy B., Matt Schweitzer, Dennis Surrarrer of Creative Concepts, Mike Wyant, and FlutterBy Studios. Correspondence: For subscription information, advertising, distribution, to submit CDs or other merchandise for review, to report club or other gothic/industrialrelated event news, to inquire about freelancing, modeling, or taking photos for the magazine, or for any other purpose, contact the Editor at echomag@hotmail. com or visit www.echoimmortalis.com. Please remember, anything you send will not be returned. We appreciate feedback from readers in the form of letters to the editor via e-mail or post. Send letters,

Photographer on pg. 31 Family Man: Aside from spotting camera-

worthy sites nearly everywhere he goes, his daughter is one of his greatest inspirations. Hey, Scotty: You’ll know him when you see him. He’s the guy in the utili-kilt. news, or press kits to Echo Immortalis c/o Leslie Benson, P.O. Box 3198, Muncie IN 47307.

Publishing Information

Dark Mannequin Designs founder Kevin Foureman snaps edgy fetish and gothic-themed photographs...

Disclaimer:

Echo Immortalis magazine is published by Echo Immortalis Publishing. All contents are copyright Leslie Benson December 2005. All rights reserved. Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained herein. Echo Immortalis, Leslie Benson, and the magazine’s subsidiaries, affiliates, advertisers, or agents shall not be responsible for errors, misprints, omissions, or any misinformation printed herein. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the express written permission of Echo Immortalis Publishing. Echo Immortalis Publishing assumes no responsibility for opinions of writers or advertisers contained herein; and does not necessarily endorse the advertised products. Printed in the USA by Ball State Printing Services.

by LESLIE BENSON

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Models :L Lygia, a eft to right - Is nd Sara is 18 an | Photo d Aria, s by Ke vin Fou Isadora, reman

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Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

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Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

On Kevin

Dope Show: “I have been

inspired by Marilyn Manson since I was about 13 years old,” she says. “Yes, I was once a spooky kid.”

Farmer’s Daughter: “I grew

up on a farm, and I used to ride horses. That has been one of my favorite things to do. I (also) love to draw and paint apocalyptic scenes of female nudes.”

Natural Beauty: “I used to

think that I needed to dye my hair black to fit in, but now I am proud to be a natural red head.”

Mind’s Eye: “Mostly I like to read philosophy, spirituality, and psychology books, especially books that discuss how our emotional fields relate to our health,” he says.

Sci-Fi Fanatic: Foureman

loves Star Wars, The Matrix series, and the Lord of the Rings films. “I like movies that have a spiritual quality to them,” he says.

Model: Isis 18 | Photos by Kevin Foureman

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Model: Isis 18 | Photo by Kevin Foureman

Veteran Goth: “I am

from the old 1470’s West crowd in Dayton before it closed its doors (in 2004),” Foureman says. “(Dancing) helps to release pent up energy and tensions that build up during the regular work week.”

What He Listens To:

The Crüxshadows, Rob Zombie, Covenant, Claire Voyant, Dead Can Dance, and Lords of Acid, among others. “I like to shoot and paint to this music, as it seems to get my creative juices flowing while I work,” he says.

Photo by Kidtee Hello

wanted to be a fashion designer,” Foureman says. “I played with it earlier in my life. I think I have a knack for it.” Some of his fashion influences include singer Cher, Star Trek (“I still have a thing for green women!” he says), and contemporary photographers like Chas Ray Krider, Steve Diet Goedde, and Eric Kroll. “I love the goth/Lolita and J-rock fashions from Japan, (as well as) military uniforms throughout history, Victorian and Edwardian fashions, Gibson Girls, flappers, and (No Doubt’s) Gwen Stefani.”

http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/isis_eighteen/

behind the LENS

Design Fever: “I always

Isis 18 of Ohio

For more information: www.darkmannequin.com www.modelmayhem.com Member #2172 kevin@darkmannequin.com

Kevin Foureman began his craft by drawing and painting portraits.

o call him a renaissance man would be an understatement. With nearly a lifetime of painting and drawing, 20 years of martial arts instruction, 18 years of plumbsmithing, and five years of creative self-promotion under his belt, Kevin Foureman of Dark Mannequin Designs in Arcanum, Ohio, has learned to bend reality to an artistic eye. Stopping martial arts training to focus on his art has allowed Foureman to hone his photographic skills over the past four years, creating a vivid collection of snapshots documenting various aspects of Midwestern gothic and fetish lifestyles. Drawn to the camera for its quick precision, Foureman finds the interaction with models from real time to the permanence of film creatively fulfilling. While not as time-consuming as painting an image, the perfect photograph still takes hours to craft. From the moment he sets up a shoot to the minute he’s done fine-tuning a picture using Adobe Photoshop, he is engaged in an artistic process. “I am constantly growing and learning,” Foureman says. “I am somewhat of a perfectionist, so I am never quite satisfied even when I create some great pieces. I always want to do better, but I am also able to be happy with what I am creating in the moment when I know I have accomplished some nice artistic or portrait pieces.” Still scrutinizing styles of lighting, he has discovered the tricks to high-quality

digital photography and relies on computer software to pick up the slack. “This combines my photography and painting skills into yet another way to create visuals,” he says. Portraits and more relaxed shoots stem from Foureman’s experience painting and drawing original prints. “I have sold prints of some of my work, and I love what I am able to create in this medium,” he says. “I also have been building resin girl kit figures as of late — an outcrop of building models since I was five years old…. I would love to design garage kits myself, or custom design some dolls.” Dolled up in black lacey attire, Foureman’s wife, Lyn, encouraged him to pursue professional photography when she posed for an early shoot with him in a nearby cemetery. ”I used one of the photos as inspiration to do a large color pencil drawing portrait of her — one of my best likenesses that now hangs in the main room you enter when you come into our house,” Foureman says. However, his first official shoot didn’t take place until his friend Sarah Jensen modeled for him. “We have done many shoots together over the years,” he says. “She allowed me the chance to grow and experiment so much when I was first starting out, and she was the first to allow me to shoot a more fetish variety set of images that opened the door to doing more of those types of images now.” continued on pg. 6

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

behind the LENS

Little Korean Jenn of Ohio “I love doing this. My artistic expression is something that I have always strived for and wanted to do, and now I’m doing it.” - Kevin Foureman, Dark Mannequin Designs

Cover Girl: Jenn’s modeling stems from her

desire to have thoughts captured through imagery, “whether it’s a feeling it derives or an emotion it mimics.”

The Craft: She loves to write, read, dance,

watch movies, explore the outdoors, crochet, and finish craft projects.

Day Dreamer: A self-proclaimed dreamer,

Jenn finds inspiration from her friends, family, her lover, a certain little someone, and from complete strangers.

Fall Fall 2005 2005 –– Winter Winter 2006 2006 || Echo Immortalis

In some instances, his photo shoots have attracted unlikely spectators. Someone driving by an outdoor shoot with model Lygia Travesty, vocalist for Temple of Misery, called the police to investigate the act. “We were doing the schoolgirl look on an abandoned playground,” he says. “They felt we were doing something indecent, which we weren’t. I asked one of the officers who responded if he wanted to see my portfolio, and when he looked at it, he really liked my work.” Although a few other similar incidents have occurred with outdoor shoots, most of Foureman’s shoots have gone smoothly. “I did a shoot at an old building close to where I live on an unused floor that was in a well-worn state,” he says. “That was my first shoot with four women at the same time (models Regina, Natalie, Little Korean Jenn, and Sara). I was able to maintain the flow throughout. It was an all day shoot and tremendous fun!” “Kevin is a brilliant man with an eye for creativity,” says model Little Korean Jenn. “Not only is he a good friend, but he is an amazing photographer and artist.” Foureman is currently looking for models to hire him for portfolio expansion. He is also interested in attracting other clients for creative projects such as fashion catalogs, Web sites, and musicians’ CDs. “Many thanks to my wife and daughter, Hannah, who have to put up with my long hours in front of the computer editing pictures and being gone to do shoots,” Foureman says. “I love doing this. My artistic expression is something that I have always strived for and wanted to do, and now I’m doing it.”

movies include Alice in Wonderland and Labyrinth.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Model: Little Korean Jenn | Photo by Kevin Foureman

Models: Aria and Isis 18 | Photos by Kevin Foureman

oureman has had to overcome numerous obstacles to get Dark Mannequin Designs rolling. The biggest obstacle, due to the nature of his photography, has been gaining subjects’ trust. “Being older than most of the women I shoot with, and shooting some fetish type work, (it) took some time to build a reputation and trust so that there were many who would work with me despite the age difference,” says Foureman. “Being able to set a safe atmosphere for the model is always something I strive for.” A secondary obstacle in the beginning for Foureman was his shyness. “I am now pretty much able to go talk to persons on my own, but it was a challenge,” he says. Other roadblocks include money for equipment and photo prints, as well as time. “I work a full time job and have a family. Plus my artwork expands into other areas as well,” he says. “So it is sometimes tough. One piece suffers at times so that another piece can be taken care of, but I always do my best to stay up with all of it…. Finding time to go to conventions and art shows has been harder than I imagined, but I go to what I can.” He spends the most time, however, on photo shoots with Ohio goth scene members. Many of these members have since become his close friends. Spectacular shoots have included those of local model Regina and well-known alternative model Acid Pop Tart of Columbus, Ohio. “(Acid Pop Tart) and I managed to create the very popular shot of her falling down the stairs as a sort of mannequin or doll,” he says. “I lined up the shot and said ‘GO!’ She posed, I shot, and we got it on one take.”

Through the Looking Glass: Her beloved

behind the LENS

Natalie of Ohio Dramatic Odes: Natalie loves the films The Crow and The Green Mile.

Live in the Moment: Her favorite saying

by Gary Zukav is “You are always being given opportunities to love & be loved / Yet ask yourself how many times in your life / You have squandered these opportunities?”

Music Classics: She listens to Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, and Tool.

Time Piece: She enjoys the dark arts and

Beautiful Nations: Kaos is proud of her multiracial heritage and multicolored hair.

Entrepreneur: She is launching her own clothing line,

Kaos Clothing and Accessories, which will sell designer corsets, collars, cuffs, bondage gear, and purses with leather, vinyl, and spiky themes — featuring bat wings and kitty ears.

Gimme Some Sugar, Baby!: Her film of choice is Army of Darkness.

Photo Chic: Kaos loves to make art infused with human emotion.

Fall2005 2005––Winter Winter2006 2006| |Echo EchoImmortalis Immortalis Fall

Model: Natalie | Photos by Kevin Foureman

Kaos of Ohio (on right)

Models: Sarah and Kaos (on right) | Photo by Kevin Foureman

metaphysical studies.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

behind the LENS

Kalel of Ohio

www.modelmayhem.com Model#: 5006 Camera Shy: This chef found modeling

intimidating at first, but once he grew confident in front of the camera, there was no turning back. “In a way modeling is like an alternate life for me,” he says. At the Southern Gothic Belles 2005 group photo shoot, he was able to do some bondage and body suspension for the artistic imagery.

Regina of Ohio Beloved Books: “Anything written by

Kurt Vonnegut,” she says. “I also like Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote Fight Club.”

Ink Stains: The down-to-earth model

shows a piece of who you are,” she says.

Model: Regina | Photos by Kevin Foureman

Thoughts On Modeling: “I like that it

Model: Kalel | Photo by Kevin Foureman

collects tattoos. “I have two large ones and a medium on my back, a medium sized one on my ankle, one on my left shoulder, and one on my lower right tummy,” she says.

Aria of Georgia (on right) www.EvilFetishBunny.com In Heels: “I’m beginning to think that I’m the only blonde

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Models: Isis 18 and Aria | Photo by Kevin Foureman

goth out there — not to mention my love of extreme high-heeled shoes.”

On the Dance Floor: This fetish model finds inspiration in “the

truth, oh, and also dark, evil, outlandish things…. I love to dance, and causing chaos is always one of my favorites.”

Vinyl Vision: “(There’s) nothing more fun than showing off a new vinyl outfit or a corset,” she says. “I just finished a fetish calendar project (www.fantasyfemmescalendar.com), which was a blast.” Aria usually buys her vinyl and leather gear at Lucky Devil in Atlanta, Georgia.

Worst goth stereotype: “That we can’t be successful in life — totally not true!”

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

behind the LENS

Cutting-Edge

reQUIEM

Razed in Black reflects on growing up in Hawaii and new musical endeavors by LESLIE BENSON

ongwriter, DJ, vocalist, guitarist, synth programmer, and frontman Romell Regulacion brings new meaning to the term “one-man band.” The longtime staple of the fused gothic-trance electronic generation speaks candidly on the current state of Razed in Black and the events that led him on this path.

EI: Let’s start from the beginning. Where did you grow up?

Anomaly of Ohio

Eclectic Lady: In her free time, Anomaly reads comics

and books about the occult and photography. She also walks cemeteries at night, watches independent films, and listens to bands such as KMFDM, Skinny Puppy, Sisters of Mercy, Lords of Acid, Static X, and Massive Attack.

Her Look: She gathers her wardrobe’s best pieces from thrift stores, Lip Service, Hot Topic, and www.trashy.com.

On the Road: This digital artist has been modeling for the past three years and loves traveling, as well networking. Other than Kevin Foureman, she has also worked steadily with Rikk Stearman of Dark Moon Photography.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Model: Anomaly | Photo by Kevin Foureman

www.modelmayhem.com Model #2410 www.myspace.com/dragonbunny

RR: “I was born and raised in Hawaii (Ewa Beach on Oahu). (I went to) high school (and then to the) University of Hawaii. I moved to LA for a couple of years — Beverly Hills, in particular. A short trip to visit family ended up (with) me here now in Florida. Hawaii will always be home for me though. It’s in my blood. It’s in my heart.”

EI: When did the allure of a life dedicated to music first pulsate through your veins? RR: “No event or particular individual helped me to decide really. I was a classically trained pianist starting at the age of five. (I) picked up the guitar in seventh grade. (I got) my first actual synthesizer in ninth grade. I was always into music. From as far as I could remember, there was music blaring in the house. If it wasn’t my parents listening and dancing to disco or my sister singing along to pop songs, it was me pissing everyone off with rock and dark music. Since I was in elementary school I jumped at the chance to

Photo courtesy of Razed in Black

For more information: www.razedinblack.net

perform. (I) did some rock stuff in high school (like) solo electric guitar shit at assemblies. My high school Romell Regulacion has released Razed in Black albums part-time job was and many additional side projects for the past 10 years. at a music store…. I wave, and acts not exposed in the already knew at an mainstream somehow gained a strong early age that music was my thing.” attraction within me. Darker themes EI: What musician first got to you? and deeper emotions in music, fashion, RR: “If there were any persons in art, and poetry felt like home. It was particular that made my eyes pop out, natural that the darker side of music it was Prince (still is) — definitely an would appeal to me. I did the whole ‘garage band’ thing inspiration to move forward. Such in high school and then became more passion and soul. I wanted that. The serious about it when I attended the music of Razed In Black obviously university. I started a dark synth-pop sounds nothing like Prince (nothing outfit called Rime!, which frequented could ever come close to Prince), but it the local college and club scene in was his artistry that inspired me.” Honolulu. Later, with my need to EI: So out of your intense interest express a different side, and as my in musical forms, how was Razed songwriting tendencies became more in Black conceived and then born? aggressive, I started Lost Souls. Within a year I signed to Cleopatra RR: “Let’s see. Going back a little…. Records, changing the name Lost Souls At a younger age, like most people, I to Razed in Black, and here we are. was exposed to the mainstream, what was on the radio, (and) what was on television. Discovering metal, new

continued on pg. 14

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

reQUIEM

Razed I

actually just did a re-release of the first Razed In Black album on Cleopatra Records, Shrieks, Laments, and Anguished Cries. It’s the deluxe edition with new artwork, remastering, and unreleased music from the Lost Souls days — pretty cool stuff if (you’re) interested in where it started. We actually do a couple of songs from that album at our live shows. Updated of course. Peep it out.”

EI: So by “we,” you mean…?

RR: “(Our) live outfit: (me) on vocals, guitars, programming, Ivan Delaforce (drums and triggers), Phil Guerero (guitars, back vocals), Conor Haley (digital effects and light programming), and Danny Laforga (light programming and show antics).”

EI: What obstacles and achievements have come along with the lifestyle of being a performing musician?

RR: “Ah, financial discipline is the biggest obstacle. I know anyone in the entertainment field can empathize easily. Checks don’t come in every two weeks like a ‘normal’ job. Income needs to be spread responsibly. Here in lies the discipline factor. When that nice big check comes in, and that shiny red synth is waving at you through the store window, that’s when your willpower comes in. Of course the coolest thing about life in entertainment is being ‘you.’ I guess you could look at it two ways — a job

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

and your art. I think most of us take the art side of it, perhaps the reason for so many ‘starving artists’ out there. When I write a song, it’s ‘me.’ When someone paints a portrait, it’s a part of that artist. The coolest thing about the lifestyle is sharing your work.”

EI: What do you like about life out on the road? Does that ever pose problems for your personal life?

RR: “The drugs and the sex! Hehe. Kidding. What’s not to enjoy? It’s difficult to do. Most may not realize. Unless you’re a big money major label band with tour buses (and) roadies. It’s tongue-in-cheek hands on. It always amazes us after tour how we pull it off. Every day a different city, opening and closing the club/venue, after-hours hotel party, restless sleep, and an early wake up call to get to the next city. (Then) it cycles all over again. The best part of touring to me (is) the people. We meet so many new faces, new friends — many we’re still in touch with. Everyone so cool. More motivation to return. I’ve become so close to some people, they’ve become my main motivation to return.”

EI: What about these fans? Have they ever done anything obsessive in you honor? RR: “There has definitely been some crazy shit, but some of the stories I know are meant to be private. Here’s something not so crazy and not so new, but I think it’s pretty cool: The <IN>

Discography of Official Major U.S. Releases:

DJ RiB Dark Trance vs. Neo-Goth (2005)

Razed in Black

Shrieks, Laments, and Anguished Cries (debut, 1996; re-release, 2005) Damaged (2003) Oh My Goth (EP, 2001) Sacrificed (1999) Overflow (1997)

Transmutator

The Colony Of Sluts (1997) TakeOver (1997) logo i s tattooed on the back of my neck. I know of a few people who have had the logo tattooed as well. Like I said, not so crazy, but damn cool.”

EI: So what types of experiences influence your songs?

RR: “All the songs are true life experiences. The details like in the song ‘I Worship You’ are real. The emotions in songs like ‘Come Back To Me’ are true. I really use Razed In Black as way to help escape things within. If you follow along with the albums, you might notice a progressing theme throughout, about a lost love relationship. People who know me personally know exactly where it comes from. I’ve actually met people who’ve pinpointed my experiences from digging into my lyrics and understanding. It’s really not that difficult to find, I guess: from Sacrificed — ‘Caught,’ ‘I’ve Suffered Long Enough,’ ‘Never Meant,’… even the ‘sutures’ have a deeper meaning (most don’t realize it). (Off) Damaged — ‘Share This Poison,’ ‘There Goes My Head,’ ‘Am I 2 Blame? The weirdest thing about this whole thing is that I never realized the progressive ‘theme’ until someone pointed it out to me, asking if I meant to write a sequel to Sacrificed.

Black Black t was only then that I even realized that, and that there was even a connection. Thus, Damaged was born.”

EI: Are there any of your songs that stick out to you as a reflection of your deepest self?

RR: “Ah, that’s really hard to say. Each song has personal meaning behind it. Each song has personal memories attached to it. I could get goosebumps easily if I dwell on ‘I’ve Suffered Long Enough,’ as well as ‘Come Back To Me,’ ‘Share This Poison,’ and other songs. Memories are sharp in my mind with songs like ‘I Worship You,’ ‘Cyberium,’ ‘Oh My Goth!,” and others. They all mean something to me. Just reading (and) feeling the lyrics; it’s easy to get the gist. For my personal truth, I’d rather keep it private.”

EI: Why did you decide to fuse various dark musical genres together?

RR: “This fusion isn’t an intentional one. It really just happens. I hear it in my head. I feel it inside. That’s how it comes out. I can say I’m rooted within the gothic and industrial scene. It’s my scene, and I live the life. Musically, however, I mesh in elements of trance, breaks, (and) new wave. Because of the vague state of most of the music in this scene, labeling and categorizing has continually been a more difficult task. You might say ‘goth,’ but will still need to specify what kind. Play Bauhaus side by side with Das Ich. (They’re) still embraced within the gothic genre but (are) worlds apart in sound.

Someone mentioned to me ‘dark alternative.’ Also ‘neo-goth’ — a little better attempt, but still so many out there (are) unaware of this scene. (There’s) lots of cool shit to explore. I’m just happy I have the artistic freedom to write and program at my heart’s content and still be accepted. ‘Our’ scene is more openminded and welcoming than any other — definitely something I’m proud of, and proud to be a part of.”

EI: So what can we expect from you musically in the future?

RR: “I’m working on the new Razed In Black album right now. (It’s) moving along slowly but moving along well. As mentioned, I recently re-released the first album Shrieks, Laments, and Anguished Cries. A lot of the feedback I’m receiving says it’s like rediscovering it again. I honestly felt the same way doing it. I (also) recently completed a non-stop mix I did as DJ RiB. The two-CD set is called Dark Trance vs. Neo-Goth. (It’s) exactly that — the seamless mesh between the two scenes. It’s the style I spin as DJ RiB, so I thought I’d take it to print. (I) actually got some really cool labels behind me as well — Radikal Records, Alfa-Matrix, Water Music Records, Hypnotic, and some producers directly. The crossover appeal is strong, and we all feel it could be a catalyst in a movement in the club scene. Cleopatra pulled out all the stops with the presentation on this one too — a faux-leather bound digipak with Japanese style binding.... (I’m) way too excited!”

reQUIEM

On Romell Buy Him a Drink: “Grey

Goose Vodka,” he says. “Maybe mix it with Red Bull…. Red Bull and Jägermeister; Sam Adams; Killian’s Irish Red; merlot.”

In His CD Player: “Dieselboy,

Ferry Corsten, Pulsedriver, Bauhaus, Mephisto Walz, The Prophetess, Das Ich, X Marks the Pedwalk, Leäther Strip…. This list will probably change tomorrow,” he says. “What I’ve been listening to daily lately… Berlin, Morrissey, (and) Depeche Mode.”

When in Hawaii: “For goths,

‘The Dungeon’ (at the Galaxy Night Club) is the club to go to (monthly) on the weekends and ‘Flesh’ on other nights, (1739 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu, (www.dungeonhawaii.com),” he says. “(Go to) Rock Starz Tattooz & Holy Body Piercing (www.myspace.com/ rockstarztattooz) if you wanna get poked. It’s in the heart of Waikiki and run by Conor, a member of Razed In Black.”

B I R Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Reading Braille

reQUIEM

With an inner-city mentality, Braille Korp. launches industrial hip-hop without fear of experimentation on new album, V.I.B.M. by LESLIE BENSON

Photo courtesy of Sexy Death

Henke Westing, Alex Frejrud, Martin Sundberg, and Ac9 (not pictured) of Sexy Death shock the airwaves.

Our Favorite (Sexy) Death by LESLIE BENSON

haggy, greasy rock star hair falls over the singer’s face. Skin-tight black pleather pants shape his form, proving his band lives up to its name. Playboy Alex Frejrud (vocals, frontman) and his bandmates, Martin Sundberg (guitar), Ac9 (drums), and Henke Westing (bass) of Stockholm, Sweden’s Sexy Death, ooze testosterone. Influenced by Billy Idol, Skinny Puppy, and Ministry, the band thrives on the motto “the future is in the past.” Though it has become a household name to many scene-stealers in Europe, Sexy Death is only beginning to unsheathe itself to North America. “I define my (sound) as a kind of postmortem music,” says Frejrud. “I take the past and abuse it. It’s a therapy for me to be on stage and to entertain. When

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Photo by Kidtee Hello

Swedish band punches holes in the industrial realm For more information: www.sexydeath.com people take things to seriously, it turns into something even worse than religion. Be bizarre, but belong only to yourself.” The songwriter and guitarist found his niche by creating his own studio in 1999, a solo effort that later evolved into the four-piece live project. In 2004, Frejrud released his debut album, The Damiana Error, which he recorded and produced. “It’s based on the script I wrote for a movie about a young girl that is half-vampire and half-android,” Frejrud says. “Each song is a soundtrack to an episode. My lyrics are painted in different colors and in different landscapes. Some are raw; some are romantic; some are evil.” Frejrud remains the staple of Sexy Death, a musical crusader searching for inspiration all over the world.

“The adrenaline kick of being in front of people is something very strange to explain in words, but mostly a live performance is like a computer game,” says Frejrud. “You fight with yourself, you fight with your demons, you tease and taste the eyes of your enemy… in other words, (you) dance, fornicate, and murder all at the same time.” Sexy Death recently released a DVD version of some of the tracks on The Damiana Error, as well as the DVD for One Filthy Error, its new album due out in January 2006. “Our band name paints a lot of interpretations in our fans minds,” Frejrud says. “I have heard the most wicked stories of the most perfect, sexy death. What’s yours?”

Braille knows the terror of the streets firsthand.

For more information: www.braillekorp.com www.myspace.com/braille

hen he was born, doctors injected his body with tubes to battle spinal meningitis and help keep him alive. When he lived in California, he saw his friend get stabbed and had to hold his mortal wound together until an ambulance arrived. He has encountered people from every walk of life from drug addicts and homeless people to college students and artists. Straight from the streets, there is little left that will shock Dayton, Ohio, musician Braille of Braille Korp. Now venturing into acting, modeling, and music production, the leader of artistic collaborative production company D.A.K. Korp., has released V.I.B.M., a new album combining underground industrial and hip-hop music. “I’ve been through a lot in my life. Industrial music is the most honest and clear, like you take the subconscious of human nature and put it into music,” Braille says. “With it, you push the boundaries of your mind and soul. It’s everything. It has no boundaries.” His new album features bone-grinding tracks “Love and War,” “Unstable Ground,” and “The Coming,” among others. Dipping his fingers in several projects at once, Braille is a devoted father and a full-time music collaborator. “I have several projects running right now,” he says. “You’ll have to watch. I work fast, and I cover a lot of territory.” To Braille, music is both a blessing and a curse. “It gives you the ability to open your innards, but then nobody wants to help clean up the mess when you’re done,” he says. “I do what I do because I’m obsessed with creativity…. I prefer to share my mind with those around me. It gets to noisy in here when I am alone.”

And the noise drives him. Dreams and nightmares plague him while he sleeps — an overly alert mind working after hours. “My dreams are everything I’ve been through,” he says. “My music is a spastic convulsion (of my experiences) trying to get out.” As a child, Braille fell asleep to the noise of AM radio static, a sound which, when altered to include eerie voices, flows through his music today. This white noise stems from a childhood of sound recreation. With an older brother who was a self-taught classical pianist, he picked up on the family musical vibe and played a snare drum at age two, later adopting the trumpet in high school. Other instruments found their way by his side throughout the years when he played in Dayton-based band Subspecies, a nine year gig. Seeking the chaotic sounds of his youth, he soon started his solo project, Braille Korp. “I needed more noisy, aggressive, and melancholy sounds to fuel what inside me burned,” he says. But supporting other bands is a driving force for Braille. “I believe we should support our scene as a whole,” he says. “When I was younger there weren’t enough punks, so we all had to stand up and fight for each other, and there was a lot of respect for that.” To him, the world has now rotted into a “Prozac nation.” “(Being) open-minded is not swallowing everything you’re fed,” he says. “The idea is to learn as much as you can and grow from that…. My music is like vision for the blind. I like to tear down lies and show absolute truths, no matter how gory.”

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

The Azoic glows off the heels of its latest album

Photo courtesy of The Azoic

by LESLIE BENSON

Pure

Illumination

Steve Laskarides, Kristy Venrick, and Yana Krassilnikova complete The Azoic.

ith the release of its fourth fulllength CD and sixth official album release, Illuminate (2004, Nilaihah Records; Infacted Recordings), The Azoic settles into a polished rhythmic groove with new keyboardist and programmer Yana Krassilnikova. Based out of Columbus, Ohio, founders Kristy Venrick (vocals, live keyboards) and Steve Laskarides (keyboards, vocals, programming) of Phoenix, Arizona, along with Krassilnikova, come together to create high-energy tracks that stimulate the senses. They open up about their personal lives and express independent views on their art form — whether their songs are deemed “futurepop” or “electronic industrial dance music.” “Illuminate is about seeing clearly or opening your eyes after good and bad experiences,” says Venrick. “It’s about realizing truth and moving forward. This

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

pertains to several aspects of our lives, not just in relationships.” The album stems from nearly a 10-year itch to write music. “I had just moved to Columbus and was looking for an industrial band to sing with,” Venrick says. “(Cyber DJ) Rae (Epps) said his roommate (Steve) also DJ-ed and had a band. I met Steve and Shawn (Lower, one of the original members) at a local club, and then checked out their songs in the basement of Steve’s place. And The Azoic was born. I remember Steve and I having a lot of CDs in common, and that was rare back then. I didn’t know many yelworC and Evils Toy fans in 1996.” That year the trio recorded a selfreleased demo tape, The Divine Suffering, on a 4-track recorder mixed to a DAT. A few months later, Worm Records released the material onto a CD, released in 1997. That year Laskarides relocated to Arizona

for his engineering job, and the band became a long-distance project. Before their sophomore album, Lower quit the group to pursue other projects, and in 2004, after many additional released albums, Krassilnikova joined The Azoic. A classically trained musician, she sidestepped into goth instead. “Meeting Kristy and Steve helped me realize my dream,” she says. However, the band still makes a living by working day jobs in addition to running The Azoic and Nilaihah Records. “It’s hard to socialize as much as I’d like, but it’s a sacrifice you make to achieve your dreams,” says Venrick. “Thankfully, many of my close friends still continue to support my decisions and music. I’ve also had times where I see the need to keep some things in my life more private than others.” Krassilnikova is also adjusting to her new band life.

reQUIEM

For more information: www.theazoic.com www.nilaihah.com

“T

here is very little time left for anything else,” she says. “However, playing for people, and seeing people enjoying (our) music makes me extremely happy. It’s the highest achievement there is in a musician’s life.” Especially appreciative of its fans, The Azoic shares their enthusiasm. “I love the energy in (our) music and how it flows into the fans,” Laskarides says. “In return, we feed off their energy. It is a cycle of energy exchange.” Venrick says she loves the fans for helping keep the band going. “A few fans in (Washington), DC have license plates with ‘Azoic’ on them, some bring (Marshmallow) Peeps to shows, or try to drink us under the table, but no one has gotten a tattoo (of our band name) yet — that we know of,” she says. Sure that the band’s emotional vocals inspire fans, Laskarides says The Azoic’s use of mainly female vocals makes their music unique in the EBM/futurepop realm. Of the songs most beloved by the members of the band, the consensus is over “Illuminate” and “Going Under,” for the meaning behind the songs, their structure, and production. In the near future, fans can expect more Azoic vocal collaborations and shows in the U.S. and Europe. Also be on the lookout for Re:Illimination (the mixes).

EI: When you have spare time, in what activities to you engage?

Kristy: “Listening to electronic music, dancing, watching suspense films, and reading scary books are the things I try to make time for.” Steve: “Playing ‘Halo 2.’” Yana: “I used to draw and paint some disturbing images, but unfortunately they are somewhere in a dark attic, and I have not looked at them for a while.”

EI: What’s your favorite film?

Kristy: “The City of Lost Children by Jean-Pierre Jeunet holds a special place

Photo courtesy of The Azoic

reQUIEM

The Azoic is riding the wave of success from its recent release, Illuminate. in my heart, but I am not sure if it is my favorite movie. I like movies with unique set design and cinematography along with a good story.” Yana: “I love Lord of the Rings.”

EI: What other bands do you support?

Kristy: “All the Nilaihah bands: Blind Faith and Envy, Conetik, Dissonance, Distorted Reality, Endanger, Fiction 8, GASR, Liquid Divine, NamNamBulu, and Null Device, plus Neuroticfish, Seabound, Rotersand, System 22, Covenant, Icon of Coil, and Melotron.”

EI: What’s the worst stereotype you have heard about industrial music fans and their lifestyles?

Kristy: “The whole witch and vampire perception. The Columbine incident, along with several others, have really hurt people’s interpretation of anything even slightly ‘dark.’” Yana: “Gloom and doom, white makeup, and black hair. I personally possess none of these. It’s a stereotype coming from people who never set their foot in the scene.” She also claims to dislike Marilyn Manson because people associate him negatively with goths.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

reQUIEM

On Hungry Lucy

Ghosts in the House

HBO View: Harrison’s

favorite television shows are Six Feet Under and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Hungry Lucy manifests haunting, ethereal songs

On DVD: Hungry Lucy’s

For more information: www.hungrylucy.com War-N Harrison mixes his computer samples via Macintosh Powerbook during a Hungry Lucy show in 2005 at The Highdive in Champaign, Illinois.

Christa Belle, vocalist for Hungry Lucy, sings with an evocative, sultry sound.

vercome by ghostly visions — of family members long gone, of daydreams and urban legends, and of struggles with inner demons, Hamilton, Ohio’s Hungry Lucy bends superstitions and personal experiences into songs. Expressing raw lyrical content and melodies, the duo discusses working on new material and the production process of their most recent release, To Kill a King (2004, Hungry Lucy Music). “The theme of To Kill A King was based on a relationship of three years,” singer Christa Belle says. “The title track is me saying things I wish I had said. I wanted to get rid of (the emotions) and stop carrying (them) around.” Synth musician War-N Harrison notes “Rainfall” as one of the tracks that sticks out to him personally. “The recording of ‘Good Girl’ will stick with me as well. Christa had me in tears as we recorded vocals — so much emotion pouring out! I think

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

my personal favorite song on the album, though, is ‘Softly.’ It has such a dynamic range — from the forlorn opening into the dramatic slide guitar and harpsichord’s entry. I get goose bumps listening to that one.” Goose bumps are a common experience when listening to the mystifying music of Hungry Lucy. Their albums are born from acknowledgment of human frailty, as well as supernatural and spiritual influences. Owing their band name to a story in a book by ghost-hunting enthusiast Hans Holzer that Belle’s mother gave her, she and Harrison formed an ode, “Alfred,” on their debut album, Apparitions (2000, Fishtank Soundworks). “According to the story, ‘The Ghosts of Hungry Lucy,’” Belle says, “(Lucy) and her boyfriend lived during Revolutionary War. She got sick of a fever epidemic and died when he was away at war. She didn’t realize she was dead, and her soul continued to

Photo courtesy of Hungry Lucy

Photo by Sergio Auler

by LESLIE BENSON

wander the house, hungry. Hans and the actress June Havoc, who lived in the house, did a séance to release Lucy to the proper side, but then Alfred’s ghost got trapped in the house. So I wrote ‘Alfred’ — telling him to come to the other side.” From the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Harrison spent his childhood in Sussex, England, moving to Ohio at age 13. “I think I have an appreciation for different cultures as a result of moving to the U.S.,” he says. Belle, on the other hand, grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, and lived there until she was 22 years old. In 1997, the couple met. At the time, Harrison’s label, COP International, had asked his band, Fishtank No. 9, to record a Depeche Mode cover. He asked Belle, then a stranger to vocals, for assistance. She chose to sing “Blue Dress” by Depeche Mode.

arrison played the musical accompaniment, and the song was also released on a compilation by Connected Records, Cover Me Vol. 1 (2000). Belle found that singing attuned to her, and she and Harrison soon began writing together. The first fruit of their labor as Hungry Lucy after “Blue Dress” was the track “Bound in Blood.” After recording a handful of other songs, they uploaded them to MP3.com and produced their first full-length CD, Apparitions, which included their version of “Blue Dress,” along with trip-pop grooves and sensual vocals with unearthly lyrics. Appearing on additional compilations and tribute CDs sparked more fan interest and guided the duo to record more albums, Glo (2003, Hungry Lucy Music), and To Kill a King. Taking hints from other musicians before them, Belle listens to Tori Amos, Björk, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Cure. Harrison also grew up on a variety

“Softly” is featured on Asleep By Dawn magazine and Dancing Ferret Discs’ 2005 Sleepwatching DVD. Other featured artists include Skinny Puppy, Peter Murphy, Lacuna Coil, The Cult, Eisbrecher, and others. Order your copy at www.asleepbydawn.com/ sleepw.htm.

Photo Fascination: Belle loves the intensity of videography and photography. “I came from a moderately large extended family,” Belle says. “I’m just one of the American muts: Irish, Italian, and Native American. I’m currently making a documentary film about my family history.”

Veggie Delight: A vegetarian, of music genres, following artists such as Wendy Carlos, Isao Tomita, Gary Numan, Howard Jones, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Skinny Puppy, and the Severed Heads. Since the band’s formation, Hungry Lucy’s style has changed, though. “I write a vocal melody and lyrics, record it to a click track, and War-N comes in and records to it,” Belle says. “On To Kill A King, we wrote more (music) together. It was a lot of pen, paper, and keyboards to get to the bare bones and then to plump it up.” “We used to be a lot more rigid, with Christa writing lyrics and a vocal melody and me writing music around that,” Harrison adds. “Now it can start with Christa’s lyrics or a melody, chord progression, or sound that one of us will come up with. The old process was more task-oriented, and now we vibe off of each other’s ideas.”

Belle often devours honey mustard tofu with homemade mashed potatoes and steamed carrots. “I’m very domestic these days,” she says. “I like to cook.”

continued on pg. 22

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Photos courtesy of Hungry Lucy

Christa Belle and War-N Harrison of Hungry Lucy made numerous stops on their 2005 tour, including in Ohio and Illinois, among other states.

eyond pen and paper, Hungry Lucy has joined the technology revolution by using Sonar by Cakewalk and a SoundForge program to record, arrange, and mix their music. “Most of the keyboard/percussion parts come from a Korg Triton LE (keyboard) and Access Virus B (synthesizer),” Harrison says. “To Kill a King incorporates more acoustic sounds, mainly in the form of percussion. We also used Steinberg/ Wizoo Virtual Guitarist on several tracks, as well as Zero-G Vocaloid software. It still amazes me what can be done in software these days!” “We do backing off DATs and DVDs, since we run videos in the background of our shows,” Belle says. “Generally, I do about 90 percent of the videos, because I have always loved photography and video stuff. The funniest video was for ‘Good Girl.’ We were in a baby pool in our basement, but we couldn’t get the hot water in the tub, since our hose wouldn’t reach far enough. So we had to carry hot water from upstairs to warm the pool. It was miserable shooting it, but it turned out well.” Although with videos complementing the music, Hungry Lucy’s live shows feature a simpler technological setup. “We run some backing tracks and synthed video off of a Macintosh Powerbook,” Harrison says, “and I split the Triton keyboard into two to three sounds per song and play the remaining parts…. The art of composition and performance are often seen as the same thing I think, but I see them as very different animals.

While it is probably more interesting to see a five-piece band of great performers than it is a two-piece synth/vocal duo, that tells nothing of the sounds they’re making or the creativity that goes into the music.” The composition never stops. After finishing their spring 2005 tour, Belle began learning to create keyboard melodies, and the duo has already written some songs for album four. Sergio “Apocalypse” Auler, Ohio-based photographer and videographer, looks forward to Hungry Lucy’s next project and 2006 tour dates (details are yet to be determined). “They are definitely worth seeing live,” Auler says. “I buy a CD from them at every show I attend just to get them to sign it for me…. It’s hard to pick a favorite song of theirs because I love almost everything they have done. I guess if I had to pick, it would be the song that started them rolling, Christa’s version of ‘Blue Dress.’” Harrison says every song he and Belle write and produce is a “small triumph” for Hungry Lucy. “When we release music into the wild and so many people respond emotionally to the songs that makes me very proud,” he says. “In the bigger picture, Hungry Lucy is coming closer everyday to being able to support us both financially. Neither of us have grand illusions of fame and fortune, just the ability to support ourselves doing what we love…. And we have come this far without creative compromise.”

Back in Black For more information: www.shop.radiofree abattoir.com/osc/index. php?artist_id=45

aving performed his first show in seven years last spring, vocalist and guitarist Pat Ogle of Thanatos takes a moment away from his bandmates, guitarist Greg Lucas, drummer Vince Grech, steel guitarist Tim Larson, and bassist Eric Polcyn, to share what he’s been up to recently.

EI: What other musical projects have you been involved in since you began your time off seven years ago?

PO: “Well I did the IllegalTeenageBikini thing. I had my own very little label for a while, where I released discs by bands like Trance to the Sun, Claire Voyant, Sunday Munich, and MNPLTR, (as well as) a compilation.

EI: What else has been taking up your time?

PO: “I used to work as a publicist in music, but these days I write for a newspaper…. Also, I am a big fan of Martin Amis (and) Harry Crews. I also read a lot of history (and) science, and I like a lot of movies... Det Sjunde Inseglet (The Seventh Seal)… Dolce Vida.”

EI: Take us back in time. What was young Pat Ogle like, especially musically?

PO: “I have always played... learned when I was a kid. No particular person really inspired me to play. That said, just about any time I see a good band it makes me want to play. I have some sort of strange compulsion to create music. I should call an exorcist to get this shit out

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Thanatos prepares for more shows and opens up about recent time off

Photo courtesy of Thanatos

reQUIEM

by LESLIE BENSON

of me before it is too late and my head explodes or something.”

EI: How did you eventually get signed to Projekt’s label?

PO: “Well we had two CDs before we ever played live, so we never were a local band really. We just sort of hung around the underground. I was signed to Projekt, ‘cause I had worked off and on with Sam (Rosenthal, of Black Tape for a Blue Girl) for years on music things. He had a fanzine in the ‘80s I wrote for. I was on some of the early black tape recordings in a very peripheral way.”

EI: What obstacles have you worked through since then?

PO: “The money sucks most of the time.... It is a nasty business, and most people who are involved in the business side are the devil... or they become the devil.”

EI: Speaking of the devil and controversial things, your music has been described as heavily political. What are your current views on the state of the nation, especially the war in Iraq and the current economy?

PO: “Complicated question. Things could be worse. They may get worse. There has been a lot of hand wringing over George W. (Bush), and I voted against the man twice. But he isn’t the end of the world. The situation in Iraq is precarious. How it turns out is going to be decided not next week, month, or year but in the next decade.”

Ogle leads the band Thanatos. EI: Your style has been described as “acoustic goth” and “darkwave.” What is your opinion about that? PO: “Man, we are a little too nongloomy for that! I LOVE goth, but I am not goth! I wear jeans all the time. I am too lazy to dress up much. I usually look like I slept in a dumpster.”

EI: So you don’t consider yourself entirely goth. What about your last album? What was its overall theme?

PO: “It was I Am Not Job (by IllegalTeenageBikini, 2002, Projekt; Precipice) — i.e. I have no patience — the theme is about that place where the personal and cosmic collide.”

EI: Which song on that album took the most effort to write?

PO: “‘Akira Okubu.’ It is about a little boy who died in the U.S. nuclear attacks on Japan as told by his mother in a documentary I saw. It struck me, and I wanted to write a memorial for that child. No child should die over the misguided and violent notions of grown men — emperors, generals, presidents… any of them.”

EI: Do you have any message for your fans? PO: “Feel free to give my e-mail out: patrickogle@yahoo.com. I am thrilled to hear from people. These folks have no idea how much I appreciate that.”

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Echo Immortalis- Subscribe & Save! Magazine for Midwest Gothic and Industrial Culture

blood to INK the blame if you can Scream in silence Shift

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e-mail: Cover price $5.99 | Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of first issue | Product lasts until it is sold out | Questions? E-mail Leslie Benson, editor and publisher, at echomag@hotmail.com or visit www.echoimmortalis.com.

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Model: Kai | Photo by Kevin Foureman

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Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

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Directions: Cut out or photocopy this box, fill it out legibly and completely, and send it in a stamped envelope with your money order (made out to Leslie Benson) to Echo Immortalis, P.O. Box 3198, Muncie IN 47307

Blame- a poem

if you can Pass the guilt to God who knows Tell yourself it isn’t true In your mind, the Shift the blame if you can, dawn willwho come Your war is over, the battle give it to someone understands. Hide your thoughts within yourself. won... Chained Scream in silence if it helps. and bound, no choice you Pass the guilt to God knows only who; relent Blame yourself as your wrist make them believe it wasn’t you. Tell yourself itShift isn’t true.the blame if you can Scream is slit You’ve done it before, you know what to do. in believe silence ifok,you can Pass the guilt to God Make that it’s they’ll believe you anyway. by KAI SCHINDLER who Tell it isn’t true Inofyour Hide yourknows struggle. Hide your yourself fear. Ohio Hide your pathetic childish tears. mind, the dawn will come Your war is over, In your mind, the dawn will come. The darkness subsides the battle won... Chained and bound, no for the rising sun. Your war is over, the battle won. choice you relent Blame only yourself as Life is fair, its challenge fun. But out of the cornersis of your mind, your wrist slit Shift the blame if you can your demons come to claim their prize toScream lock you awayin forsilence your crime. if you can Pass the guilt to Your life is theirs; your visions blind. God who knows Tell yourself it isn’t true In Hopeless and lonely, your energy spent, their best intentions your mind,never themeant; dawn will come Your war is silent no more, you loosen your grip. With razorthe in hand you start to slip. over, battle won... Chained and bound, Chained and bound, no choice you relent. no choice you relent Blame only yourself as Blame only yourself as your wrist is slit. your wrist is slit Shift the blame if you can

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Photographs should include at least one headshot and be styled in the gothic, industrial, fetish, or macabre glamour realms. Send images as 300 dpi .jpg files no smaller than 4”x6” in size. In subject line, write “Submit Photos.” Work is unpaid except for one free copy of your issue, if accepted. Published photo spreads may or may not include feature profiles or interviews.

Misery of Ohio and New York

Outland, Club Masque, The Foundry, and The Vault

High Society: Misery, a model for www.

systemdownclothing.com, draws inspiration from Romell Regulacion of Razed in Black and from actress Fran Drescher. Stay Connected: She recommends shopping online at www.themissionboutique.com, www. lipservice.com, or www.heavyred.com. TV Junkie: Misery watches “Forensic Files” and also frequents the History Channel, Animal Planet, and the Discovery Channel.

Outland, Columbus, Ohio

660 Harrisburg Pike; open every Friday – Saturday 10 p.m. – 3 a.m. and later; 21+ $5, 18 – 20 $7; www.cringe.com/outland/ menu.html A Midwest gothic/industrial club with bigcity attitude, highlights include a whipping post for sadomasochists, a quieter game room, a dance stage, lighting and fog effects, and large screens playing movies. The DJs mix the best of classic goth and EBM flavor

with a new industrial edge. The crowd ranges from romantic Victorian Goths to fetishists to hard rivetheads. Located in the rear of a shopping center, Outland may be difficult to find, but it’s worth checking out — just don’t drive an hour there in an ice storm! Besides an awkwardly placed, medium-sized dance floor that sits in the middle of the walkway to the bars, the club’s energy and eye candy make up for anything it may lack. - Leslie Benson

Photo by Leslie Benson

Club Profiles: Nightlife in Dayton, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana Club Masque, Dayton, Ohio

34 N. Jefferson St.; open seven days a week 7 p.m. - 2:30 a.m. weekdays and until 5 a.m. on weekends; 18 and up; cost: between $2 and $10, depending on the night you go and your age; www.clubmasque.com, (937) 228-CLUB The owners of Diamonds Cabaret spent a considerable amount to renovate the building that once housed Dayton goths’ favorite twofloor, cutting-edge nightclub, 1470 West. The new owners have created a lavish club with multiple plasma screen TVs that surround a bar and dance floor playing ’80’s music videos downstairs (along with ’80’s music).

Masque’s upstairs features a central dance floor, a VIP area, a bar (though serving small, pricey drinks), clean and artistic bathrooms with fresh towels, and a martini-shaped railing for aesthetic appeal around cozy, wall-length black couches. Another redeeming quality is the club’s delicious test-tube shots of fruity liquor served downstairs in strawberry and apple flavors, among others. If you like remixed pop and dance beats, electrify your body at this popular gay and lesbian dance club. Drag shows and special DJ performances are included. - L.B.

Midwest Gothic and Indus trial Events

Misery | Photos by Dennis Surrarrer of Creative Concepts

by LESLIE BENSON

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Exit

ILLINOIS

Champaign-Urbana

Chicago

Bottom Lounge 3206 N. Wilton Ave., 2nd Flr. (773) 975-0505; (773) 278-4684 www.americangothicprod.com; www. bottomlounge.com When: Last Saturday of month; 9 p.m. – 3 a.m. Door: $6 over 21, $8 under 18 - 20 “Nocturna:” DJ Scary Lady Sarah and guests spin goth and industrial. Also, one Saturday per month, the club hosts a hardcore fetish event (www. whiplashchicago.com).

1315 W. North Ave. (773) 395-2700 www.exitchicago.com When: Sunday – Saturday; 9 p.m. – 4 a.m. Door: 21 +; $5 Friday and Saturday Thursday is “Bondage-a-gogo;” Friday is industrial night; Sunday is ’90s alternative with DJ Sergio; and some nights have other special themes.

Neo

2350 N. Clark (down alley) (773) 528-2622 www.neo-chicago.com When: Sunday – Saturday; 10 p.m. – 4 a.m. Doors: 21 +; $5 Thursday - Saturday Different themes: electronic dance music, new wave, industrial, and goth.

The Highdive

51 E Main St. (217) 356-2337 www.wildhunt.org/subversion When: Every Tuesday; 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. Doot: 19 +; $2 “Subversion:” DJs Zozo and guests spin gothic, industrial, and EBM.

Independent Media Center

202 S. Broadway www.stitched-up.org When: First Saturday of month; 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. Door: All ages; $2 “Stitches:” gothic rock dance.

INDIANA

Photo by Leslie Benson

Events and prices are subject to change without notification. Contact the venue to verify details. To submit an event, contact Echo Immortalis magazine at echomag@hotmail. com or send information to Echo Immortalis magazine c/o Leslie Benson, P.O. Box 3198, Muncie IN 47307. For additional information, visit www. echoimmortalis.com. Check out a more extensive event list, including locations of Midwest live action role-playing games in Echo Immortalis volume 1 issue 2, out in summer 2006.

Indianapolis

The Abbey Coffeehouse

825 N. Pennsylvania St. www.indygoth.com When: Second Saturday of month; 7 p.m. Door: All ages, free “Gothic Social Night:” meet Indianapolis goths and such.

Melody Inn

3826 N. Illinois St. (317) 923-4707 www.alyda.com/80sandbeyond.html When: Last Wednesday of month; 9 p.m. – 3 a.m. Door: 21+; $5 “’80s and Beyond:” DJ Alyda and guests spin new wave and synthpop.

The Vault

120 E. Market St. www.indyfetishnight.com www.myspace.com/erosnoir When: First Wednesday of month; 8 p.m. – midnight Door: 21+; free “Eros Noir:” industrial and gothic music with safe play space for fetish enthusiasts.

IOWA

Mt. Vernon

Hilltop Bar & Grill

109 1st St. West (319) 895-0020 When: First and third Sunday of month; 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. Door: 18+; $5 continued on pg. 28

Foundry, Dayton, Ohio

26 Wyandot St.; call for details: (937) 2228550 A large, up-scale nightclub like those you’d find in New York or Los Angeles, this warehouse-turned-dance haven offers tall ceilings and an aesthetic quality to its sophisticated décor (chain-link curtains section off VIP rooms with plush seating; a lounge chair sits on a small stage for shot drinkers who like to show off; a large dance floor and long bathroom corridors give plenty of breathing room; one bar sells all types of drinks; and a DJ booth sits high over the dance floor for music “royalty.”) The club hosts several special concerts and formerly held a goth night and events like the summer 2005 Goth Prom. The Foundry may start a new goth night on Fridays after a long stint without one. Unfortunately, it currently lacks support from clubgoers and some local bands. However, some of the old crowd still parties there. It’s worth seeing people stretched across sexy furniture and showing off in a steel cage beneath fog and lighting effects. - L.B.

undead & LOVING IT Drawings by Chris Andeer

undead & LOVING IT

Chris Andeer of Ohio Happy Little Trees: Chris watched Bob Ross often as a kid and used his beginner’s painting kit. Ross inspired him to delve into art as a serious hobby, which led him to taking community college art classes years later. Ink Observer: Chris works third shift at a printing press and spends his waking moments either pool sharking, playing Texas Hold’em, collecting golf balls, searching for buried treasure with his metal detector, or singing Johnny Cash’s cover of NIN’s “Hurt” at karaoke. Preacher Man: This black and white sketch artist and painter is the youngest son of a preacher. The family stems from Michigan but most recently set up home across the street from their church, with bonified accompanying graveyard. Tattoo Dreams: He once thought of selling his drawings to tattoo parlors for extra cash. One day he hopes to design his own tattoo — a mystical image of Merlin and a dragon, incorporating a religious cross, a crown, and a skull and crossbones.

(continued on pg. 30)

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Girls Just Wanna: The Wicked Talent model

is in the business for pure enjoyment. “I treat this as a ‘professional hobby’ and a way for me to express my deviant ideas in a safe manner,” she says. Inner Child: “I don’t think I ever grew up, which is the main source of my creativity — an unlimited imagination that is just waiting for the right spark or muse to get me going,” she says. Productive Shoot: Lady Atropos will arrange the 2006 Columbus, Ohio, Goth Group Shoot, which she did the previous year. “The 2005 group shoot was popular and drew together a massive talent pool of over 100 attendees,” she says. “It was crazy but a great chance for everyone to finally meet and shake hands.” Sense of Touch: “Latex, pvc, lace, velvet — I can’t get enough, and modeling lets me slink into all new sorts of wardrobes,” she says. Total Gamer: She loves computer games, tabletop role-playing games, and live action role-playing games. She also reads Neil Gaiman, especially The Sandman series and American Gods.

“Aphelion:” DJ Grimm and guests spin gothic, industrial, and techno.

“City Club:” DJs spin new EBM, electronic, industrial, and synthpop.

KENTUCKY

Grand Rapids

Louisville

Main Street Lounge

104 West Main St. (502) 595-6001 www.louisvillegoth.com When: Every Friday; 11 p.m. – 4 a.m. Door: 21+; free Goth/industrial night.

Photo by Flutterby Studios

Sumshee’s

204 S. Preston St. (502) 589-2018 www.louisvillegoth.com When: Every Sunday; 7 p.m. – midnight Door: All ages; $5 “All-ages Goth Night:” DJs The Triad play classic goth and some obscure industrial bands.

MICHIGAN Ann Arbor

Photo courtesy of Lady Atropos

Necto

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

opera and orchestral/symphonic concerts and speaks three languages fluently. “As far as I am concerned, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique (1830) is somewhat gothic,” she says. “My own understanding of the word ‘gothic’ is the idea of elegance that is at the same time mysterious — sort of the European ideal of gothic revival in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.”

516 E. Liberty (734) 994-5835 www.necto.com When: Every Monday; 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. Door: 18+; $2 “Factory:” industrial, gothic, and new romantic.

Detroit

Leland City Club

400 Bagley, inside Ramada Inn (313) 962-2300 www.lelandcityclub.com When: Every Friday and Saturday; 10 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. Door: 18+; $3 before 11 p.m.; $4 after. $4 re-entry.

Ten Bells

1753 Alpine NW (616) 361-9301 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GR-Clash When: Every Tuesday; 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. Door: 18+; $4 “Clash:” live bondage and fetish performances blend with gothic/ synthpop/electroclash dance.

Hamtramck Mephisto’s

2764 Florian St. (313) 875-3627 www.mephistosdetroit.com When: Every Wednesday; 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. Door: 18+; $2 “Absinthe:” two floors of gothic/EBM/ industrial dance and horror movies.

Kalamazoo The Flats

116 Portage St. (269) 388-2196http://phyx.freeshell.net When: Every Sunday; 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. Door: 18+; free “Subculture:” EBM, power electronics, industrial, and neofolk.

Royal Oak Luna

1815 N Main St. (248) 589-3344 www.lunaroyaloak.com When: Tuesday – Saturday; 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. Door: 21+; free before 10 p.m., $3 after Tuesday: DJ Darrin spins alternative,

goth, and industrial; Wednesday: electro industrial with DJ Pleasure Kitten and guests; Thursday: ’80’s Night with DJ Davo; Friday: DJ Chris Rohn spins industrial, Brit pop, and new wave; Saturday: alternative dance with DJ Paul.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis Ground Zero

15 NE 4th St. (612) 378-5115 www.questionable-industries.com/ corrosion/ When: Thursday – Saturday; 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. Door: 21+; $6 “Bondage A Go Go” and “Corrosion:” brings out the rivetheads, freaks, fetishists, and goths.

OHIO Akron

Annabell’s Cocktail Lounge

784 West Market St. (330) 523-1112 When: Every Monday; 10 p.m. Door: 18+ (girls only), 21+; call club for cost “Modulation Mondays:” electro and synthpop.

Bowling Green Sky Bar

MISSOURI

238 N. Main St. (419) 352-9310 www.igunoh.com When: Every Wednesday; 9 p.m. – 2:30 a.m. Door: Free with proper attire 21+, $2 18 - 20 with proper attire “IGUN:” DJs Gothfather, DarksChoir, and guests spin goth, industrial, punk, new wave, synthpop, and EBM.

Club Europe

Uptown

St. Louis

1521 Washington Ave. (314) 421-1521 www.requiemsaint.com When: First Monday of month; 10 p.m. – 3 a.m. Door: 21+; $2 before 10:30 p.m., $5 after “Requiem:” gothic, industrial, synthpop, and darkwave dance night.

162 N. Main St. (419) 352-9310 www.rewiredbg.com When: Every Wednesday; 9 p.m. – 2:15 a.m. Door: 18+; free “Rewired:” The best of EBM, industrial, goth, and new wave.

Magnolia’s

Soupie’s Bar and Grill

13579 South Vandeventer (314) 652-6500 www.stlouisgothic.com When: Every Monday; 10 p.m. – 3 a.m. Door: 21+; free “Revolution:” dark atmosphere. DJs spin classic and new electronic, goth, industrial, and ’80s music.

Model: Deathy Venetti | Photos by Deathy Venetti

www.twisted-ways.com

undead & LOVING IT

Elegant and Willowy: Grace attends

Model: Cathy Steele | Photo by David Denny

Lady Atropos of Ohio

Model: Grace | Photo by David Denny of Studio D Photography

undead & LOVING IT

Grace of Indiana

Deathy Venetti of Ohio Fiery Blood: Her favorite film is Gangs of New

York. “I’m Irish,” she says. “There’s blood and of course, gangs.” How She Stands Out: “Since I had trouble answering this myself, I had my friend Mike answer for me,” she says. “I’m the one making raptor noises and stabbing my claws into people’s backs. I also wear skull makeup and hunt for ghosts. Meanwhile, I break-dance, kill zombies with a fire axe, and gouge out the eyes of people with my camera’s flash.’” Spoken Word: She finds Henry Rollins’ music and literati enticing. Web Wear: She suggests you check out www. gothshop.com. “The Web site design alone deserves a look,” she says. “You can always find something in your style.

Cincinnati

Norwood Plaza Shopping Center (513) 731-8156 When: Every Sunday; 10 p.m. Door: 21+; $2 “Dark Shot:” goth night.

Sudsy Malones 2626 Vine St.

continued on pg. 30

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Maitri of Ohio Bull’s Eye: Maitri enjoys target shooting

Model: DJ Corvus Photo by Kai Schindler

(513) 751-2300 www.sudsys.com When: Every Thursday; 10 p.m. Door: $3 21+; $5 18 - 20 “Church:” EBM, old-school goth, darkwave, trip-hop, psychobilly, and more.

Cleveland

The Phantasy Night Club

11814 Detroit Ave. (216) CAP-SULE When: Fridays and Saturdays, some Sundays; 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. Door: Ladies free before 11 p.m.; 21+ $3; 18 - 20 $5 “The Chamber:” gothic/industrial, drum and bass, and dark ambient music.

Mike Schindler of Ohio

Dayton Model: Mike Schindler | Photo by Kai Schindler

Elbo’s Bar

200 S. Jefferson (937) 461-ELBO www.elbosandchins.com When: Every Tuesday; 10 p.m. Door: 18+; free “’80s Retro Dance Party:” ’80s dance by DJ LouieLouie.

Toledo

Wesley’s

1201 Adams St. (419) 255-3333 When: Every Friday; 9 p.m. – 3 a.m. Door: 18+; $2 “Industry:” EBM, synthpop, gothic, and industrial.

WISCONSIN Madison

Inferno Nightclub

1718 Commercial Ave. (608) 245-9583

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Models: Lil’ Hoo and Maitri | Photo by Mike Wyant

Nation, Velvet Acid Christ, and The Suicide Commandos, among other bands. Spin Master: Corvus has been a DJ in numerous Ohio clubs including The Foundry, 1470’s West, and the Warehouse. In his regiment are the artists Apoptygma Berzerk, Covenant, Zeromancer, and Blutengel. White Wolf and D&D: Other than working as a DJ, Corvus runs role-playing games.

www.clubinferno.com When: Wednesdays (“Halo”) and Saturdays (Chrome”); 10 p.m. Door: 21+; free on Wednesdays, $3 on Saturdays Two-level packed dance floor featuring the latest and classic EBM, electro, synth, and industrial mixes.

Charles Greenwell of Kentucky

Milwaukee

Club Anything

807 S. 5th St. (414) 383-5680 www.clubanything.net When: Sunday – Thursday, Friday – Saturday; 9 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.+ Door: 21+; $3 Wednesday – Friday, $5 Saturday Goth, retro, darkwave, techno, and industrial for the dance floor crowd.

The Vault, Indianapolis, Indiana

undead & LOVING IT David Garcia “† Juras Avis †” of New Jersey and Pennsylvania

Photos by Charles Greenwell

New Taste: Corvus listens to Covenant, VNV

Photo by Mike Wyant

Model: Maitri | Photo by FlutterBy Studios

DJ Corvus of Ohio

and writing dark poetry in her spare time. She also collects guns, knives, and swords. Crime Sleuth: She reads “anything that is about murders or cold case files.” Mortal Words: She loves this phrase — “Be not sad in thought, for one day your thoughts will cease. It does not matter how or why.” (Rozz Williams)

Model: Juras Avis | Photos by Juras Avis

undead & LOVING IT

Charles “Chuck” Greenwell and Jen enjoy time together.

Cincinnati, Ohio, has beautiful churches, city fountains, and an exciting nightlife.

120 E. Market St.; open Thursdays 10 a.m. – 3 a.m.; 21 and up; cost: $3; www.indygoth.com and www. myspace.com/strangedays The Vault is a swank club, yet it’s hard to find if you’re not from the area, especially with all the one-way streets. There is limited parking nearby, but the club is quaint and sophisticated inside, decorated red with paper lanterns above a medium dance floor. Two TVs hang above a circular bar, and large couches and small tables surround it. EBM tops the night, but most music played is rave-induced techno and new industrial tracks. This is a huge improvement to Indianapolis’ Club Fusion, from which the “Strange Days” gothic community moved a few months ago. - L.B.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Shadowbox Tour

Rain of Ohio College Girl: This graduate student buys

Model: Rain | Photo by Matt Schweitzer

hard-to-find goth albums at Magnolia Thunderpussy Records in Columbus, Ohio. Proud Mom: Her daughter thinks her mom is a princess. “Kids don’t judge you by how you dress, but by how you love,” Rain says. Utah Punk: Her film of choice is SLC Punk.

Gothic Hippy Lady of Indiana DIY: This shy girl transforms plain clothing

Gothic Hippy Lady | Photo by Christoph

into creative pieces. “I can make something fit me from almost anywhere,” she says. Of the Earth: She keeps grounded by immersing herself in nature around plants and animals. Wiccan Mind: She reads books on the occult by authors Raymond Buckland and Silver Ravenwolf.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

The Crüxshadows plays Ohio with Ego Likeness and thrills audience by LESLIE BENSON

Rogue and CXS dancers | Photo by Leslie Benson

undead & LOVING IT

The Crüxshadows played Club Fusion in Ohio on the band’s 2005 tour. The Crüxshadows and Ego Likeness Shadowbox Tour 2005 Club Fusion (now closed) Dayton, Ohio October 21, 2005 Virtually unknown to the masses, yet released on almost every recent new goth compilation during the past year, Ego Likeness brings a feminine quality to confessional dance tracks and keyboard-driven ballads. The highlight of the group’s performance, “Water to the Dead,” stirred the crowd. Donna Lynch, the high-heeled blonde vocalist in a form-fitting black skirt and tank top, played on a Kurzweil keyboard and sang angelically while the quiet synth/keyboardist, churned out most of the music, along with the outgoing dredheaded guitarist, Steven Archer, who twirled glowsticks like a rave pro before the show. When The Crüxshadows began its set, the nightclub’s upstairs grew to nearly standing room only as frontman Rogue recited an Edgar Allan Poe poem, introducing a high-energy, choreographed show that lasted more than an hour. He claimed that the band was recently named one of the scene’s top five recording artists, packing out festivals throughout the year. This gig was the band’s only fall Ohio tour date, so Rogue talked to the audience as if everyone were his good friends. He further engaged the crowd by wandering as he usually does at live

shows through the club, nonchalantly jumping onto the bar, dancing a jig with a fellow concert-goer in a white ruffled shirt, and freely singing directly to individuals from his wireless microphone. Fans danced and sang along with the songs, which included “Winter Born,” among others. Never a dull moment, the two gaunt Crüxshadows dancers used flashlights to enhance their act, while the brilliant violinist, keyboardist/programmer, and synth player all put their best musical foot forward. Fans snapped hundreds of photographs during the concert, and the club pulsated with a sense of elation and subcultural oneness. Devoted to his fans, Rogue let a child named Sierra dance with the other girls on stage. Then Ego Likeness joined The Crüxshadows in performing “Cassandra,” and the group finished the night with an encore performance of “Marilyn, My Bitterness.” More than a hundred screaming fans shouted their approval. Thereafter, the band stopped for oneon-one moments, hugs, and more photos with their fans. People purchased Crüxshadows hoodies, thongs, CDs, and the band’s new DVD, Shadowbox (see pg. 33 for review). The brunette Crüxshadows dancer and the guitarist from Ego Likeness joined the rest of the clubgoers on the dance floor for the remainder of the evening.

DVD, Apoptygma Berzerk The Harmonizer DVD, 2004 Metropolis Records Grade: B+

Although somewhat difficult to navigate through, this DVD includes a unique documentary of the popular EBM band’s construction of the recent Harmonizer album, as well as its accompanying tour. The disc begins with Apop’s live performance during The World Harmony Tour at a show in Hamburg, Germany. Of the DVD’s total 110 minutes in length, it features highlights such as live shots of the beloved technoaddict’s dream “Kathy’s Song,” by vocalist Stephan L. Groth, “Suffer in Silence” — a surprisingly feel-good track), and “Until the End of the World,” a perfect ode for a dancecrazed crowd. The latter two songs are also featured as videos, though they could have been written and produced to better suit the stories behind the tunes. Candid clips of the Norway boys include footage of their wild antics during their European tour. The documentary of the making of Harmonizer includes English subtitles and stands alone as the most interesting part of the DVD. It shows the musicians’ transformation from the Welcome to Earth album to a new, positively energized perspective and the recording of Harmonizer at a studio in Texas. “Unicorn” remixes abound on the DVD and bonus CD, including two with videos. Ronan Harris of VNV Nation even appears to introduce Apop in the bonus clips section.

- Leslie Benson

DVD, The Crüxshadows Shadowbox, 2005 Dancing Ferret Discs Grade: A+ Best DVD of 2005

Following The Crüxshadows’ high-powered 2004 Fortress in Flames Tour, this DVD includes numerous bonus features — an interview with the band, a special edition EP with remixes by Skinny Puppy and others, a humorous slide show, four entertaining videos, and footage from their European trek. The EP highlight is “Helen” (No Troy mix, extended version), a song not included often in remixes. The meat of the DVD, though, is a lengthy performance from the band’s Wave Gothik Treffen 2004 show. The live show includes some of the band’s best songs — “Dragonfly,” “Winterborn (This Sacrifice),” “Edge of the World,” “Citadel,” and “Marilyn, My Bitterness.” The DVD is a desirable keepsake of the band.

humiliating strangers and the thrills of murder and extensive drug use. Sniffing a powder called “White Light,” she takes Chrissy and Boon on a ride they won’t soon forget. She immediately tests just how “goth” they are by testing their knowledge of her three golden rules: 1. Embrace the darkness 2. Kill your fears 3. Live for death At this point, you may want to shut off the movie, but wait, there’s more. How many doses of White Light can these people inhale in one night before permanently passing out? From the time they are “kidnapped” into Goth’s skull-and-crossbones themed van until the end of the night (and the end of the film), Chrissy finally proves she’s worthy of being labeled “goth.” The film has some bad acting, but I give props to the videographer, who doesn’t just hold a camera but spins the picture from angles mimicking a drug-induced daze. And in case you’re wondering… no, you’ll never find out who’s driving Goth’s “Scooby Doo” meets House of 1,000 Corpses van.

- L.B.

- L.B. DVD/VHS, Horror Goth, 2005 Brain Damage Films Starring Phoebe Dollar and Jeff Marchelletta Grade: D-

Opening the film with a cliché scene of a young, attractive girl smearing on black eyeliner and lipstick, Goth exaggerates stereotypes of the subculture and makes an attempt to portray the scene as dangerous. As protagonists Chrissy and her boyfriend Boon watch a hardcore band, a slithering devil girl by the name of Goth (she has it tattooed to her chest) enters their lives. The antagonist of the film, Goth is bent on sexually

DVD, Various Artists Goth: The Ultimate Collection, 2004 Music Video Distributors/Eclectic/ Cleopatra Records Grade: B

Fifty-five music videos and 12 bonus tracks make this dualDVD set a great bargain. You’ll find classic goth and industrial videos from the 1980s and ’90s. Highlights from the first disc, “Gothic Industrial Madness,” include: Electric Hellfire

on the SHELF

Club with “Incubus” and “Mr. 44” (a psychedelic promo from around ’93); Die Krupps with “To the Hilt” and “Fatherland” (a touching song and one of the band’s best to date); Spahn Ranch with “Breath & Taxes;” Leæther Strip with “No Rest for the Wicked” (featuring a sexy Betty Page look-alike);” Frontline Assembly with “Plasticity;” Kill, Switch… Klick with “Follow Me” (with a dreary, white-gowned succubus); X Marks the Pedwalk with “Danger;” Rosetta Stone with “The Witch;” Big Electric Cat with the gorgeous tune “Christabel;” and the Eva O Experience with “Angel of Death.” And that’s just the first disc! DVD disc two, “The Goth Box,” showcases bands from the 1996 Cleopatra Records’ four-CD collection of the same name. The brilliant video accompaniment to the CD set features Switchblade Symphony’s “Clown;” The Wake’s “Christine;” Christian Death’s “Romeo’s Distress” (view the late Rozz Williams in all his glory); Nosferatu’s “The Haunting” (an underappreciated band worth more recognition); the eclectic Alien Sex Fiend’s “Ignore the Machine;” Red Lorry Yellow Lorry’s “Spinning Round;” The Prophetess’ “Avalon” (with mystical acoustic guitar chords); Chameleons U.K.’s “In Shreds” (the great musical remains of a tattered life); and Corpus Delecti’s “Absent Friend.” With all this name-dropping, the collection should speak for itself. Though not all of the videos were shot in high quality, buy this DVD set for its novelty value and the glimpse it gives us into our subculture’s past.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

spin me ‘ROUND Albums Your Mother Warned You About by LESLIE BENSON Somewhere between paychecks from minimum wage jobs and hours spent burning borrowed CDs from friends via i-Tunes, we manage to compile a mixed-and-matched stack of albums — our infamous CD collections. Here are 35 reviews of new or used CDs in part one of a current collection — spanning goth, industrial, EBM, darkwave, techno, and other genres along that wave length..

Better left on the shelf

Assemblage 23 Best Album of 2004 Storm, Metropolis Records, 2004 Pulsing at an average of about 135 beatsper-minute, this kinetic flash of EBM gems will keep you on your toes. Though repetitive at times, the music would make the perfect soundtrack for an early morning workout. Standout tracks include “Human,” “Skin,” “Ground,” “Infinite,” and the best track on the album, “Let the Wind Erase Me.” And that’s just the first half of the disc! The positive-minded songs unleash some elements of disco and techno but remains true to the band’s mission — high caliber tunes to move your body. The Azoic Illuminate, Nilaihah Records, 2004 A genuine rush of hot music and vocals, The Azoic has done it again with Illuminate. Churning out albums year after year as if their creativity pours right from a muse’s mouth, Kristy Venrick and Steve Laskarides have compiled a collection

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

of fast, forthright songs mimicking escapism from the overwhelming busyness of daily life. Perfect for new wave clubgoers, the electric vibes on this disc will turn you on and on and on. The Columbus, Ohio-based group releases songs 180 degrees from the growling, industrial bands on the other end of the genre’s spectrum. The album’s near-pop quality offers uplifting tracks of synthesized sounds, also showing the strength of frontwoman Venrick’s vocals. Illuminate showcases some of the best of what’s available in current Midwestern goth music. Top songs include “Let Me Tell You Something,” “Going Under,” “Illuminate,” “Conflict,” and the charming cover of 1980’s pop hit “Obsession” by Animotion. Broadzilla Lady Luck, Diamond Star, 2003 More punk than anything else, these ladies in red vinyl roll with the dice and play musical hardball. Rockin’, crunchy guitar solos are right on target. Rachel May’s vocals are clear and beautifully raw, and drums and bass are fierce. Bang your head; wave your fist. This album kicks! Charlie Drown Pretty Machine Gun, Charlie Drown, 2004 Give a hardcore industrial girl a gun, and you’ve got Charlie Drown. A high-powered, theatrical album produced by KMFDM, the songs on this disc include the rapid fire of female vocals and choppy guitar-driven metal riffs. Sexual innuendos abound, similar to band Snake River Conspiracy. But the best songs this time around are the smoother, less aggressive ones — “Bereft” and “Bonding.” However, this chick definitely has range.

Claire Voyant Best Female Goth Vocals Claire Voyant, Accession, 2000

higher chakra and moves the body rhythmically. Highlights include “Tour De Force,” “One World One Sky,” “Still Life,” the affirmation for living in “Humility,” and the addicting, astronomical celebrity-infused dance tune, “Dead Stars” — worth the entire price of the album. If you liked Covenant’s Northern Lights, add this album to your collection too.

Borrow from a friend for its singles Burn off a friend’s CD or buy used Buy album and put into your i-Tunes or i-Pod rotation Buy album and make copies for friends

Apoptygma Berzerk 7, Metropolis Records, 1996 An earlier, yet delicious EBM album packed with danceable tracks, highlights of 7 include the straightforward single “Non-Stop Violence” and other synthesized songs, some with overdubbed political clips that add intrigue to the musical conglomeration. Whispered, distorted lyrics in “25 Cromwell St.” bring the horrors of suicide to light, while slower songs backed by an organ, featuring a female vocalist, exhibit the other side of Apop — a more satiating, hypnotic sound.

spin me ‘ROUND

One of the most magical feminine goth bands to date, Claire Voyant’s ethereal, gypsy-like songs sound unearthly and magnificent like incense smoke wisping effortlessly throughout a candlelit room. In the vein of The Shroud, this album’s romance and mystery shines, especially on “Her” and “Deep.” Vocalist and lyricist Victoria Lloyd is this reviewer’s favorite female dark wave vocalist by far. The album is best enjoyed playing in the background while you take a hot bubble bath. Covenant Northern Light, Metropolis Records, 2002 The best example of EBM/light industrial dance music from the new millennium, this album expresses emotional truths, soul searching, and intense individualism from our favorite Swedish trio. Covenant pierced the American club scene about five years ago, and now there is no going back. Now that we have goth anthems like “Call the Ships to Port” and “We Stand Alone,” as well as the somber, romanticized “Winter Comes,” your CD player may not have another album in it for weeks. Covenant United States of Mind, Metropolis Records, 2000 It’s no wonder this band has evolved into a style (and unfortunately, a cliché) of the neo-goth/EBM movement. Bridging synthesized percussion grooves with sensual, testosterone-driven vocals, the songs pound into your core down through your feet. The lyrics “Everything I’ve touched… has died” in “Like Tears in the Rain” attunes to the melancholy lover in all of us. The solid album speaks to the

The Crüxshadows Ethernaut, Dancing Ferret Discs, 2003 Hard to resist, the druid/ succubus hybrid vocals on the first song sum up the whole album — swarming gypsy tomfoolery. Featuring the best version of “Cassandra,” the album also includes a good mix of the jigworthy “Love and Hatred,” both also on Fortress in Flames. The sly song, “The Sentiment Inside,” sits unkempt between tighter tracks, while wellversed, poetic words laid neatly upon enrapturing music unveil another version of “Winter Born (This Sacrifice).” It seems the band has a knack for releasing the same golden songs over and over again. It’s okay. We forgive you. We just can’t get enough of The Crüxshadows. And keep playing that demon fiddle, Rachel McDonnell! The Crüxshadows Fortress in Flames, Dancing Ferret Discs, 2004 Electrically charged with as much synthesized piano and real violin as you could desire, the album opens with the steady voice of vocalist Rogue on “Dragonfly.” Proud and righteous, the band has proven itself with its staying power. Although similarly themed musical structures hold each song together from album to album, the band has formed a trademarked sound that lulls the listener with a welcomed comfort. Though Rogue is not androgynous, his voice, blended with the romantic strings of the soothing violin, equates a compelling harmony of both genders and instruments. Remixes of “Cassandra” and “Citadel (Absurd Minds mix)” will plant themselves in your memory banks, bleeding into other Crüxshadows thoughts. The Cure The Cure, Geffen, 2004 For those afraid of change and growth, this album may suit you well, as it sounds similar to every other Cure album, with only one track worth purchasing as a single. “Anniversary,” track five, hit me hard when I first heard it. The fragile emotional state of singer Robert Smith as he sings his lament to another love lost proves that The Cure is still untouchable in many respects. Smith will always be one of the best goth/darkwave/ ’80s indie “pop” figureheads. He gets his messages across with simple lyrics and aching music. Depeche Mode Speak and Spell, Sire Records, 1981

Search the racks of a Half-Priced Books store, and you may find this appalling debut LP of a now beloved staple of 1980’s electro-pop music. A far cry from deeply sensual, spiritually themed singles from albums such as Songs of Faith and Devotion, Speak and Spell features repetitive, Casio keyboard-ish music (“New Life”) and uninspired lyrics (“Dreaming of Me”). However, a redeeming factor is that it includes a Top Ten hit from the U.K. during that time, “Just Can’t Get Enough.” The album also serves as a glimpse into where our favorite boys in black began. Their melancholy flavor is foreshadowed in this album (via “Tora! Tora! Tora!”), but the band didn’t find its niche until a few years later. Die Krupps Odyssey of the Mind, Cleopatra Records, 1996 An angry hardcore/industrial merger with harsh hip-hopesque vocals, the album could double as the soundtrack to an amateur horror movie. Urban, extreme German tracks overuse distortion and random noise to confuse the listener. At least the music on “Eggshell” is distinguishable. You’ll find a few instances here and there where the music will urge you on, like in “Scent,” but to each your own. One thing’s for sure, unless you’re bent on using those steel toes on your boots, this album won’t get your creative juices flowing. Dope Felons and Revolutionaries, Sony/Epic, 1999 Gritty and political, these tattooed industrial boys streamline hardcore antics with raucous metal-like anthems. Colorful aggression with Rob Zombie-eqsue vocals make this album a bullet ride of apathy. The album’s salvation is Dope’s shitkicker version of Dead or Alive’s single, “You Spin Me ‘Round (Like a Record).” Ego Likeness Water to the Dead, Dancing Ferret Discs, 2004 An invigorating musical meditation, this album exhibits well-written tracks full of personal meaning and atmospheric music. Earthfriendly and aware, the almost spiritual songs spring from those invoking the water to those invoking the earth. Highlights include the disc’s namesake song, an effigy to forgetting the dead, “16 Miles,” a disturbing hint at escaping domestic violence, “Wayfaring Stranger,” a simple, haunting cover of a traditional tune sung by vocalist/pianist Donna Lynch, “Above the Soil (Isabel’s version)” sung by Steven Archer, and “Wolves,” a piano-led hymn about self-regret. The band couldn’t have recorded such a stellar album without fellow musicians Justin Sabe, Adam Goode, Tim McCracken, and David O’Donnell.

Haujobb Polarity, Metropolis Records, 2001 Riding the electronic industrial revolution, this bizarre, technologically-savvy album sounds like a computer hacker’s ideal. Like music ripped from a Borg collective, the tracks rely heavily on programmed noise and rhythms. Vocals are soft and slightly robotic in parts. Overall, the repetitive nature of the dark disc may get you down, and the tracks may also put you in a forgetful trance.

Hungry Lucy Best New Band of 2004 To Kill a King, Hungry Lucy Music, 2004 Rarely does a song stay with you; rarely does a voice linger as if it was your own. For darkwave duo Hungry Lucy, however, the band’s eclectic, deeply rooted Renaissance-style haunts the listener with every breath of sound. Releasing its third CD, To Kill a King, Hungry Lucy’s album ambitiously tells the tale of a fool falling into a feverish, obsessive love. The songs evoke images of castle walls encasing a shameful, controlled lover who seeks freedom at any cost. It is the journey of the queen and how she kills her king. It is also the story of a soul lost among stars and dreams planted carefully in the earth. To Kill a King shows these delicate dreams as they grow into a cloudy, perfumed collection of personal redemption. Storytellers and songwriters by nature, sultry-voiced Christa Belle and electro-organic sampling guru War-N Harrison blend Europop with the aged vision of melody-driven gothic synth beats. Drifting between atmospheric states of omniscient warmth and distant and chilled lyrics, the 17-song album will appeal to fans of underground, vampiric themes, as well as fans of classic styles of jazz and blues. A new age tribute to structured songs of trance-inducing waves stirred with driven, danceable club remixes, To Kill a King offers quality musicianship in every track. Highlights of the album include the somber “High Price of Mistakes” and the selfless acceptance of unconditioned love expressed in “Rainfall.” Seeking self-comfort, “The Chase” and “Shine” create backdrops for reflection, while continued on pg. 36

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spin me ‘ROUND vocals on “A Lifetime Remains” justify an instrumental break. The more jaded, drum-led tracks that tease with a taste of silver seduction include the title track, as well as “You Are,” and the electric remix of “The Chase.” The tracks encourage gypsy-swayed, liquid dance grooves, and of all the songs on To Kill a King that most speak to the inner child, “Stars” urges that vulnerable youth in each of us to tread carefully and protect the dreams we plant. Kristy Venrick of The Azoic and Alexx Reed of ThouShaltNot provides additional vocals on the album. Making a name for itself internationally since its inception in 1998, Hungry Lucy, the Hamilton, Ohiobased duo, has already toured with darkwave royalty — Wolfsheim and The Crüxshadows. The innocence of Christa Belle and the musical vision of War-N Harrison leave the listener breathless. To Kill a King represents the best of what gothic and EBM artists are writing these days. It’s the best of both worlds. Informatik Nymphomatik, Metropolis Records, 2002 It doesn’t get much better than this baritone duo. A highoctane, amped-up song of ecstasy and self-exploration, the first track, “Flesh Menagerie” may entice you to plan an adult evening for you and your special someone. With songs that spark daydreams of indulgence and guilt, Nymphomatik will either cause you to rethink real love on “Hopeless” or run after your ex with head in hands (“A Matter of Time”). Track four will teach you “Physical Education,” and you’ll learn to keep hope alive in “Over.” And rremember, you’re never man or woman enough not to apologize if it’s warranted. Take it from Informatik. These musicians know what they’re talking about. Kill, Switch… Klick Alt., Cleopatra Records, 1997 Hardcore industrial with deep bass beats, distorted vocals, and sound clips, Kill, Switch… Klick is not to be confused with Kill, Switch, Engage. Instead, this band questions propaganda in “Shitkicker (Sudden Vertigo),” takes a new look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” on “The American” — kind of a rap about discrimination and liberation, and unleashes diabolical instrumentals on “Konsonent.” This political album will not impress most listeners. It’s an acquired taste. Ignoring the lyrics and absorbing the music, you’ll find a lot of heavy bass, voiceovers, hip-hop drumming, and programmed electronic sounds.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

spin me ‘ROUND Mira Mira, Projekt, 2000 One of Projekt’s glittering gems, Mira’s vocalist Regina Sosinski tugs at heartstrings with a girlish, crystalline charm. Lo-fi guitar, bass, and drum accompaniment intensify her lyrical messages, especially on “Cayman,” a tune dedicated to a cat. The album makes for a quick soother during daily rush hour traffic, offering a romantic escape with some rock elements. The Mission UK God’s Own Medicine, Polygram Records, 1990 Though critics have labeled this not this best Mission UK album to date, this reviewer must disagree. Opening with the moody “Wasteland,” the howling guitars, steady bass, and simple drums make the album a classic. Far from EBM and industrial music, the sounds of this staple goth band keep things in the first generation of the genre. Highlights are “Blood Brother,” “Severina,” “Love Me to Death,” and “Island in a Stream,” which you may find yourself burning onto many homemade compilation CDs. The band’s style at this time is a sign of its times. It was released on the heels of the 1980’s Bauhaus movement. Neuroticfish Gelb, Strangeways, 2005 The best example of Neuroticfish, a quickly embraced solo artist bent on writing songs questioning his own behavior, Gelb is a musthave of 2005. Clubgoers have taken to the amusing “They’re Coming to Take Me Away” — as if men in white coats could just snag us subcultural deviants up out of nowhere and wipe the slate clean! Sorry. We’re here to stay. A strong contender for one of the top EBM (yet don’t label it that to artist Sascha Mario Klein’s face) albums of its year, other highlights include the well-received single now on numerous compilations, “The Bomb,” and the bittersweet “Why Don’t You Hate Me?” Burn that, pop it in the mail to that ex of yours who won’t leave you alone, and see if they budge. Or just keep it (and them) under your thumb. Neuroticfish Les Chansons Neurotica, Strangeways, 2002 Uncouth and slightly intangible, this novelty album sounds like the leftovers of Gelb, though the digital music empire could thank this collection for adding to its cause. Pogoing notes that feel like EBM, you must remember this is the oneman band that flaunts “EBM is dead!” German lyrics interlace parts of the tracks, making the album a faster offshoot of Wolfsheim. “Stop & Go!” sheds a darling hue of childlike innocence until adding the oh-so-clever lyrics “Stop…. Go!” throughout the entire piece. Seriously…. Stop.

Unfortunately, there are only a few standout songs on this album. “Wake Me Up” might get your blood pumping, and the notion on the song of waking the singer up when he’s dead makes for a few chuckles. Too many of the rhythms are alike on the album, though. Stick to Gelb if you’re new to Neuroticfish. The Shroud In the Garden, Projekt, 2002 A natural muse, sensual vocalist Lydia Fortner whispers and sings atmospherically — a flickering candle’s flame of femininity. Eerie electronic sounds and some guitars make “Mirrorworld” a track worthy of foot tapping and head nodding. Some compare her sound to that of Claire Voyant’s Victoria Lloyd or Gitane Demone, but she has a vibe of her own. Laidback and mysterious, not only does the title track shine, but also “Green Velvet” and “Black.” Twenty Ripped Angel Days Full of Night, Lime, 2004 How many times can one growling hardcore industrial band repeat the lyrics “Die?” Probably about 30 times too many. Though the band markets itself well — hey, its group photo is pretty hot — the music lacks style. It’s like biting into a good-looking piece of what you believe to be milk chocolate, only to taste a bitter, semisweet dark chocolate instead. Like little spawns of Satan, Twenty Ripped Angel gallivants about with evil lyrics and scratchy, pitch-black guitar riffs and percussion sounds. Various Artists The Darkest Millennium, Cleopatra Records, 2000 The compilation begins familiar enough with the sultry candygoth vocals of the Switchblade Symphony ladies on “Wicked.” Then the album splits into a gritty cover of INXS’ “Devil Inside” covered by the Electric Hellfire Club. A few oddball, unsyncopated songs are thrown in the mix with veteran musicians such as Gary Numan on “Dark” and fresh aural executioners like Bella Morte on “The Rain Within Her Hands,” whose synth percussion will ring as the background for hearty frontman Andy Deane. Who could resist the charming debauchery of “Sin City” by the Genitorturers, pinpointing priests who hire prostitutes in this edgy, kickin-the-teeth track? Even more appreciated is Bella Morte’s “Wasteland,” exhibiting some of the Virginian band’s best work from the mid‘90s. Hey, Danzig’s even on the album! Disc two, Goth Oddity, is a special tribute to David Bowie, featuring Kommunity FK’s cover of “Andy Warhol,” Trance to the Sun’s cover of “China Girl,” and The Mission UK’s cover of “After All,” among many others.

Various Artists Goth’s Undead, Cleopatra Records, 1997 A well-balanced mosaic of staple goth bands, this miniature collection of sweet and sour songs fluctuates from a remix of Switchblade Symphony’s “Sweet (3.1 Whatever Mix by Rosetta Stone)” and The Shroud’s “PixyLed” to Element’s “The Sound of Angels” and the natural tribal-laced “The Angels (Laibach mix)” by Christian Death on disc one. Disc two continues to dip into the genre. Not quite as much of an earful as disc one, it omits most of the best classic goth bands from A to Z but at least features Poetry of Shadows’ “Lady Winter” and Ikon’s “Communion.” However, if you want a comprehensive collection of goth singles, find The Goth Box by Cleopatra Records, released in 1996. It has more than 50 unbelievable bands featured on it. But you may find the Goth’s Undead dual album set for as low as $10 at a used record store. If so, buy it. No questions asked. If not, it’s not worth hunting for unless you have access to eBay. But don’t pay more than $15 for it. Various Artists Heavenly Voices, Cleopatra Records, 1998 Sixteen tracks of beautiful soprano and alto fall like drops of dew to serenade the listener. The album shows just how much the piano was meant for the female voice. Throw in a flute, and you’re near perfection. The harmony of voices, guitar, and bass on track three bring the mind’s eye to a mist-covered sea where the lady of the lake is sure to sleep. For those of us who prefer to listen to female-fronted goth bands for their emotionally healing qualities, the album’s sample of some of the genre’s current women all-stars include Rise with “Pure Hands” and Sleeping Dogs Wake with “Swan Song.” These delicate songs of the tragedy of the heart will help soothe the spirit and maybe even help with insomnia. However, keep in mind that a few of the last songs are heavier than the earlier parts of the album. Various Artists In Goth We Trust, Music Video Distributors, 2004 Sold as part of a DVD set, this healthy dose of “cookie monster” growls and metal riffs thrown in a blender with lighter tunes composed with the basic four rock components (drums, guitar, bass, vocals), makes for a tasty Polish cocktail. The disc may pleasantly surprise you with new sounds, some less aggressive than others, but most are unique to us here in the Midwest who think we’ve heard it all. It’s always kitschy to hear singers from other countries record vocals in English. They seem to have a fresher perspective on our often dumbed-down language. They enunciate differently, making

English sound sexier than many of us “natives” do. Give this album to a goth veteran, and they just might get a kick out of it. Some bands featured on the album include God’s Bow, Asgaard, and Nocturia. Buy the DVD that it’s sold with for great live music videos of the modern Polish gothic industrial scene.

singles per band remixed by such artists as Hungry Lucy, Neuroticfish, and Stromkern. The Dreamside shines with evocative female vocals, Paralysed Age surprises with rock-driven tracks, and ThouShaltNot unveils intellectual, Voltairelike songs, but The Crüxshadows’ singles are the same as usually released on compilations.

Various Artists Mick Mercer’s Gothic Rock, Cleopatra Records, 1991 Known as a well-respected goth music journalist in some circles, Mick Mercer put this compilation together to accompany his book, Gothic Rock (no longer available in print but can be purchased online in CD format at www.mickmercer.com). Classic goth musicians featured include Bauhaus, Christian Death, and Gitane Demone. This is far from the EBM craze released on modern compilations. These bands form our roots, though some new wavers may be more than thrilled that the genre has expanded since the ’70s. Track two opens with a sound similar to the music in “Taste You” by Melissa Auf der Maur, almost a tease by proxy. The album itself is a tease, because Mercer chose oddball songs to include in the collection. A better option would be to pass on this album and opt for any Bauhaus or Christian Death release.

VNV Nation Empires, Metropolis Records, 2000 A solid duo of careful songwriters who stick to what they know and like, Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson of VNV Nation compose spacedout slow instrumentals, all via computer programming, and punchy EBM tracks often heard at nightclubs. Not as heavily in the spotlight as in recent years, the band’s loyal followers still appreciate songs like the everloved “Standing.” VNV’s musical repetition may appeal to ravers and neo-goths alike. Probably not its strongest album, Empires does shine on tracks, including the bare bones confessional “Distant (Rubicon II),” the peaceful “Darkangel,” and the sorrowful finale, “Arclight.”

Various Artists Best Compilation of 2004 Psycho Tina’s House of Horrors, Cleopatra Records, 2004 Jump directly into the best Cure remix you’ve probably ever heard — Blank & Jones’ mix of “The Forest.” Throw the album in your car’s CD player while driving down the highway, and it’s a better pickme-up than coffee. It’ll transport you to a downtown nightclub at the height of its orgasmic weekend fever. Glam meets classic goth the rest of the way through the album, even adding some EBM in the juicer with Apoptygma Berzerk’s “Fade to Black.” Other intense, instantly gratifying songs include Zeromancer’s “Stop the Noise!,” which will grow on you, Effcee’s “Perfect,” the bisexual’s anthem (the Fear Cult’s version of “Girls & Boys”), and New Skin’s “Cherry Flowers and Bedroom Songs (Soil & Eclipse mix).” Various Artists Vier Factor #1, Dancing Ferret Discs, 2003 A 16-track collection of songs by The Crüxshadows, The Dreamside, ThouShaltNot, and Paralysed Age, Vier Factor #1 includes four

VNV Nation Matter + Form, Metropolis Records, 2005 Starting off with an eerie intro, Matter & Form suddenly breaks into a solidly written electronic thump of the sounds we’re used to from this duo. “Chrome” makes sure that we know composer Ronan Harris is “still talking,” though we may not be listening well enough. On this album, he makes sure that we hear him loud and clear. This disc gives us what we expect from VNV Nation — power tracks of danceable, aggressive EBM/industrial rock. Uncomplicated, yet poetic lyrics drive the stories told this time around. Strong points on the disc are the gentle ballad “Endless Skies,” “Homeward,” and “Arena.”

Wolfsheim Best European Album of 2004 Casting Shadows, Metropolis Records, 2003 A must-have album, the slow and sultry Casting Shadows has probably been overplayed at clubs over the past few years, but it still remains a key piece of the new darkwave movement. The German duo makes it easy to daydream about love. Not every song should be about death and hate! That’s why Wolfsheim stands out. It gives us permission to be happy and hopeful with songs like “Everyone Who Casts a Shadow,” “Approaching Lightspeed,” and “Care for You,” without sounding like a pop outfit.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

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Desert Dracula

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An actor’s journey from Ohio to Iraq and back

frame to attract girls’ glances. He wore his light brown hair shaggy, as if to say, “I don’t care, but at least I look good.” This bad-boy listened to Nine Inch Nails before the band slashed razorblade cuts across his generation’s wrists. He was Stebbins High

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Anderson

e was the James Dean in high school who made wearing a black leather dog collar a trend. He smoked Marlboros and wore sunglasses to shade his blue-green eyes. He wore jeans too tight for his body, curving against his

by LESLIE BENSON

In the mid-’90s, Nicholas Anderson’s wardrobe included a leather jacket and a spiked collar, which his schoolmates soon also started wearing.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

School’s rebel — a homegrown Dayton, Ohio, trailblazer. But Nicholas Anderson — now in his 20s — shifted gears when he joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2000. Anti-conservative, Anderson found himself at a crossroad after quitting a job at Jiffy Lube. An Army commercial convinced him to talk with a recruiter, and he joined for financial and job security, despite his hesitation to conform. Fearing an active duty position in the military and wanting to avoid complete military control over his life, he signed up with hopes to train as an apache pilot, which would have commissioned him to a warrant officer rank. Instead, he picked the Army Reserve, which made him a private. Reserve officials quickly promoted him three ranks to specialist and gave him his duty for the next few years — driving a gun truck. Anderson served his dutiful one weekend a month and two weeks a year to pay for rent and a budding acting career. While bartending at 1470 West, a Dayton gothic nightclub, he tried to raise money to move to California. After years of acting in high school theater, modeling for commercial photographers, dancing in local goth nightclubs, and jockeying countless odd jobs, he was ready for a shot at Hollywood. But glitz and glamour turned to grit and grime when Anderson’s unit was put on active duty in January 2003, shipping him and the 705th Transportation Company to the battlefields of Iraq. Encountering a theatrical set like no other, Anderson’s Hollywood aspiration still remained intact. His radio handle, “Hollywood,” even followed him to the desert after one of his commanders saw him wearing a lavish coat and sunglasses back in the U.S.

ow, more than a year since his return from Iraq, “Hollywood Anderson” shares his story — that of a rebel who never gave up his dream, even in the midst of battle.

The actor

Anderson received his introduction to theater in the mid-1990s during the Stebbins High School production of “The Time Machine” when a friend invited him to a rehearsal. The technical team had troubles with a faulty light board, but Anderson volunteered to help and somehow got it to work in a matter of minutes. He became the new director of lighting for the production. A Drama Club membership influenced his decision to serve as the technical director for the next production, “The Importance of Being Earnest.” He not only memorized the entire play but also acted, managed the props and gave stage cues. When his peers learned his talent for memorization, he was asked to audition for “Ask Any Girl.” There, he received his first acting role as Mr. Wheeler, the father of the leading girl. “I wasn’t really interested in acting then,” Anderson says. “I wouldn’t cut my hair. I thought, ‘I’m not gonna sacrifice for this,’ but then acting became more and more what I wanted to do.” Although Mr. Wheeler was his first acting role, Anderson had been acting since his youth as a role-player in White Wolf and Dungeons and Dragons-style games. At age five, he followed his father to gaming conventions. Nine years later, he had his favorite role-playing experience. He and a friend were playing “Call of Cthulhu.” The two were mob brothers, one tough guy, Brick (played by Anderson), and the other, the

brains of the operation. They had their own codes and played out action-packed storylines. Then, about 10 years later, the “brothers” met again. “I was bartending at 1470’s, and this guy came in who looked familiar. Then it clicked. It was the guy who had played my brother,” Anderson says. “He laid a $50 tip on the counter, and after that, his drinks were free.” While in his late teens, Anderson and his childhood best friend, Greg Edwards, took role-playing a step further. They saw a flier at Bookery Fantasy, a local comic and game shop, for a new game by White Wolf, called “Vampire: The Masquerade.” Intrigued, they found a gaming group playing “Vampire” above the Rathskeller at Wright State University in Dayton. The experience became the next step into Anderson’s growing gothic lifestyle. He started playing a Toreador type vampire — a member of the undead with an expensive taste in beautiful objects and people. Like a modern Dracula, Anderson’s character, Savant, used seduction to appease his taste for blood. Savant became an Internet handle that would follow Anderson through his 20s. Anderson’s extensive role-playing experiences eventually led him to the theater. After landing several small roles in local productions, many of which didn’t reach completion, he joined Wright State University’s Department of Theatre. There, the focus on the “triple threat” performer — one skilled in acting, singing and dancing — discouraged Anderson, who felt that their overdramatic stage life was not for him. “I dropped out of college and stopped acting again,” he says. However, group experiences with improvisational acting paved his way to film acting — the medium Anderson felt was his niche. He

looked to the bright lights of Los Angeles with dreams of a film career and finally received a minor part as a cop in a short, Dayton-based film, Missing. “Film is what I breathe,” he says. “My life isn’t going to be complete until I’m acting. I don’t even care if I just do commercials. That would be success in my eyes.”

Hollywood hits Iraq

But another film role would have to wait. Although he secured an acting agent in Los Angeles, the dawn of “Operation Iraqi Freedom” disrupted Anderson’s plans to move to California. The Army deployed him to Fort Knox, Kentucky, in January 2003. Two months later, he and seven others arrived at a port in Kuwait where they secured several trucks. Driving the trucks would become their duty for the next year. Soon, they rejoined the 705th Transportation Company at Camp Anaconda, Iraq, called Mortaritaville for the frequency of its mortar attacks, north of Baghdad near Balad. Before Anderson moved to Anaconda, he had delivered fuel there from Camp Dogwood, a base southwest of Baghdad. Anaconda was new at that time, still strewn with wreckage from a former Iraqi jet plane warehouse. During the early days at the camp, Anderson found a dark brown leather pilot’s cap on one of the defunct missile launching systems and began wearing it with goggles — bringing humor and style to a serious situation. During his stay in Anaconda, he also spent much of his time with his friends driving missions in their two and a half ton gun truck, named The Pig. continued on pg. 40

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

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he Pig

The Pig had its canvas ripped off and the back filled with sand bags. Anderson drove the truck more than eight hours a day to and from battles. He wouldn’t let anyone else drive it, since he wanted to protect his friends and was confident he could do so best by manning the vehicle. “My two best friends were in the back of the gun truck with me — one on machine gun and one (Christopher Kmoch of Madison, Wisconsin) on an MK-19, a machine gun grenade launcher that shot 40mm explosive rounds at a tremendous rate,” he says. “Our job was to drive to wherever an attack was happening to make sure our convoy got through safely.” “That truck drove with me on every mission,” he continues. “Then, at the end, it stopped running. It retired the day I drove my last mission. The Army hadn’t ever seen anything like it. They couldn’t explain why it wouldn’t work anymore. I like to think we had a special bond. It kept me alive.”

often in t h i s area, known a s the “Sunni Tr i a n g l e ,” which also included Baghdad and Fullujah. Anderson was one of 22,500 U.S. troops stationed in Anaconda. He saw “dust farms” stretching across the horizon, while a field of sunflowers on the other side of the camp made him wish for home. However, unfamiliar odors — the chemical smell of the camp blended with authentic Iraqi food and sweating bodies — dissuaded any likeness to the United States. He even had to drive past the remains of three dozen rotting sheep on the highway, a parallel to the hundreds of living domesticated and wild animals that roamed the region. He also saw camels, dogs, birds, foxes, and donkeys that pulled carts. Often, he heard the hooting of

Camp Anaconda

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Anderson

Long before The Pig’s eventual retirement, Anderson’s unit was assigned to stay in Anaconda for six months, but the Army postponed their return date past Christmas and into the summer of 2004. Six months turned into a year and a half away from home, dreams of Hollywood fame and, not least of all, safety. Anaconda, covering more than 15 square miles, was the primary U.S. military hub in the region during “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” House raids and arrests occurred

Anderson rests in a military tent.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

an owl and eerie howling noises from creatures like dogs, which he never saw. “They sounded like ghosts shrieking,” he says Among desert ghosts, Anderson passed prominent Biblical sites — impressions of former kingdoms. He traveled to Babylon, Baghdad, and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. “It was kind of cool to see soldiers get baptized in the Euphrates,” he says. “I thought about doing it but never got the chance.” As in the Bible, plagues of insects and vermin reached Anderson’s camp. First, swarms of mosquitoes and flies invaded the camp. Wasps followed and, finally, Anaconda was overrun by mice. “We killed hundreds of mice daily,” he says. “If I caught one in a glue trap, I’d drown it. It was much quicker and more humane than smashing it — and less gory.” In response to the mice, a mysterious orange tiger cat visited camp for a few days, reminding Anderson of his calico, Honey, back home. The cat soon disappeared, followed by hoards of dogs infiltrating camp. Most were domesticated, but some aggressive beasts

would approach soldiers’ cots in packs as the soldiers slept. Fortunately, the dogs left Anderson alone — all except for a puppy his unit adopted and named Sable, after a porn star. The dog traveled with the unit on missions from the time they worked in Dogwood until they moved to Anaconda. However, the dogs in Anaconda began catching a canine disease, and the soldiers had to put Sable and other dogs to sleep. Meanwhile, every night, mortar attacks peppered the camp. In early July 2003, American forces were attacked in two separate incidents in Balad. The ambushes left 18 American soldiers injured and 11 Iraqi fighters dead. Such attacks usually involved machine guns and rocketpropelled grenades, as well as highly accurate mortars, fired from as far away as four miles. Shortly after the first ambush, four of these mortar rounds were fired into Anaconda, leaving 16 soldiers wounded. Anderson remembers the violence clearly. He and his best friend, Kmoch, who manned the MK-19 machine gun grenade launcher in Anderson’s gun truck, were sitting far from camp drinking shots of Jack Daniel’s. They thought the colorful flares from the camp were part of a surprise Fourth of July celebration. Instead, the camp was being struck by enemy rockets. “Every night in Balad, our place was mortared or attacked,” Anderson says. They punctured some tankers, and, one night, they just missed our bathrooms. All I could think about was that ‘M*A*S*H’ episode when Colonel Blake was in the ‘shitter’ and got hit.” “During an attack, everything got really quiet — almost peaceful,” he continues. “It was like The Matrix with what seemed like millions of bullets flying by you.” When not in the midst of battle, Anderson and other soldiers had to avoid contact with foreign objects on the sides of roads. Iraqi insurgents hid roadside bombs on overpasses and buried homemade explosives in the sides of roads, behind guardrails, in blocks of ice, in trash cans, and in dead animal carcasses. There were also landmines. Anderson had wanted to take home an Iraqi soldier’s helmet, but after learning explosives were being planted in the abandoned helmets, he declined. For troops looking for an escape from these daily attacks, such souvenirs were adequate trophies of battle.

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Anderson

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Anderson says his gun truck, The Pig, kept him alive during his stint in Iraq.

owever, music provided the most escape for soldiers. Anderson, remembering his history of partying until dawn, preferred listening to gothic and industrial music — any “angry songs.” “I bulldogged cars out of the road listening to Skinny Puppy and KMFDM,” he says. “And whenever I had a new person riding with me in my truck, I made them listen to ‘Bombs over Baghdad’ by Outkast, so they could say they listened to it while driving through Baghdad.”

parts of Europe. The two left the PX never to meet again, but it was this memory of home and of the music he loved that helped keep Anderson going in the days ahead.

Breaks between battles

Back in Camp Anaconda, listening to CDs, skinny-dipping, and playing games were some of the activities that helped the days pass. One comfort, a 29inch television, sat in Anderson’s 6-by-4 foot “room” — created by privacy walls set up by him and other soldiers. During short breaks from missions, he played video games like “Grand Theft Auto” and “Tetris” on his X-Box when not sleeping on his cot in the company’s warehouse or on the cushioned bench in The Pig. When the camp first got satellite, soldiers watched mostly Kuwait shows, but they’d also trade DVDs from television series such as “M*A*S*H,” “Frasier,” “Smallville,” and “Friends.” Anderson and his friends also paid each other to complete dares similar to the television show “Fear Factor.” He admits to having snorted ground pepper. For Anderson, reading books and letters from home became a favorite pastime. He wrote to friends and family, and his parents often sent care packages filled with toiletries and snacks. “My mom even sent me a two-foot-tall Christmas tree, and one of my friends sent me a box of Boo Berry

Iraq Qatar and other R&R

Anderson and other troops did not spend all of their time in the Middle East witnessing violence. They also went to Qatar, a small, wealthy country near Kuwait, for four days of rest and relaxation — water-skiing, jet skiing, and swimming in the Persian Gulf. It was in Qatar that Anderson found remnants of home and of his rebel youth. “I was in the PX (military convenience store), and a remix of a Depeche Mode song came on the radio in either Japanese or Korean,” he says. “Another guy in the PX and I just looked at each other.” The pair bonded over music: Skinny Puppy, KMFDM, and Sisters of Mercy. The other American soldier had seen KMFDM and New Order, among other bands, perform fledgling gigs in Germany and other

cereal,” he says. “I ate it with this milk we had that never goes bad.” Anderson’s bartending days also proved useful as mixed drinks were common. “We’d buy whiskey off the side of the road, although the Army didn’t want us to drink alcohol,” he says. “I made sour mix out of lemonade-flavored Kool-Aid. That way, we had whiskey sours.” Other drinks he made were cappuccinos made of goat’s milk, instant coffee, and sugar to go with the soldiers’ MREs (meals-ready-to-eat). The temperature in Iraq was often as high as 140 degrees Fahrenheit, eliminating the need to heat the food. Anderson also tried Iraqi food — pita bread filled with chicken, cucumbers and tomato, and hamburgers with fried eggs on them.

Iraqi life

Tasting authentic food and getting to know some of the locals opened Anderson’s eyes to the reality of life in Iraq. “The majority of the Iraqi people were glad Americans were there, except, of course, for the insurgents,” he says. “Before us, Iraqis weren’t allowed to leave the country or have a cell phone. Now Iraqis play video games and watch real TV, not just Al-Jazeera.” For some of the youth, Anderson said, life improved after the American troops came. He noticed the beauty of many young Iraqi women but scowled that for adult females, “they work ‘em ‘til they’re ugly.” The innocence of youth, however, could be seen in Iraqi children, even in the midst of war. “The kids would beg us for food and try to sell junk to us,” Anderson says. “We figured out that they’d dance if we clapped a certain way, so we would clap our hands every time we came home from a mission. They’d dance, and it made our day.” Anderson’s days were not all full of clapping and laughter, however. When he first arrived in Iraq, his commanders had warned the troops to prepare for the worst. Insurgents, it turned out, were using their children as shields when American convoys drove through Iraqi streets. “They told us to be prepared to run over a child,” Anderson says. “That was the only time I cried. After that, I hardened up.… For the most part, the memories run together.” continued on pg. 42

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

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e said that disinterested attendants and lost paperwork add unnecessary stress to an already stressful situation for him and fellow veterans.

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Anderson

Supporting veterans

With a knack for leadership and team spirit, Anderson overcame fears and watched over his fellow soldiers while driving a gun truck on missions in Iraq. He served in Camp Anaconda, Balad, for about a year.

Reflections

nderson returned to Fort Knox in March 2004. Although physically unscathed, the mental and emotional anguish of the experience had taken its toll. Plagued with nightmares and sudden bursts of anger, the actor returned to Ohio in late spring 2004 with the 705th Transportation Company. He and many fellow soldiers were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. “They’d overworked us,” he says. The Army took the initiative to battle post-traumatic stress disorders during “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” after finding increased amounts of soldiers with the disorder. The Army sent “Brain Rangers” — psychiatrists and psychologists — to visit remote areas where soldiers were fighting to debrief them on their experiences and attempt to offer a mental health offensive. In Anderson’s case, he said the team didn’t work hard enough. With so many soldiers stationed in and around Iraq, the “Brain Rangers” couldn’t impact everyone’s life. And with Anderson, they didn’t.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

According to the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the disorder occurs following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as military combat. Symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, and feeling detached or estranged. Such physiological and mental stressors now affect Anderson’s daily activities. While he awaits possible financial restitution from the government as well as drug therapy, he has chosen psychotherapy to deal with his disorder. Despite the emotional strain the war has taken on Anderson, his dream of becoming a film actor is still intact. Somehow, he survived the Middle East without losing fellow soldiers in his unit. For their bravery and friendship — experiencing “the closest bond you will ever know, even over that between a husband and wife,” — Anderson and about five of his comrades got tattoos commemorating their life-altering journey to the desert and back. In black script, the letters H.D.M.F. (hard dick motherfucker), are proudly

displayed on the top of Anderson’s back, as well as on his fellow soldiers’. “I told my grandpa, who’s against tattoos, that I got it. I didn’t tell him what it meant, but I said ‘it’s an Army thing,’ and he told me it’s okay,” he says. With support from his family and friends, Anderson has spent the past year and a half trying to rebuild his life. Although his plans to move to California have been delayed, he wants to reclaim his dreams. Still waiting for the remainder of his governmental benefits from serving in the war, he has temporarily given up bartending, as well as drinking alcohol, to keep a clear mind. “I gave up drinking because alcohol blocks inhibitions, and I don’t need that now,” he says. Dealing with depression and insomnia, Anderson’s counseling sessions seem to be helping until he can afford his prescriptions. “Once my insurance ran out from the military, I couldn’t afford therapy, so now I go to the Dayton VA Center for free,” he says. However, Anderson has become fed up with the bureaucracy at the center.

At first, when he came home, Anderson brainstormed ways to form a non-profit organization to benefit other veterans who, like himself, haven’t received financial benefits promised by the government in a timely manner. “It’s so hard for veterans to get the things they need,” Anderson says. “Convicted criminals get a roof over their heads, three square meals a day, an education, and books to read. Meanwhile, we have veterans left on the street because they haven’t gotten their benefits in time.” “I wanted to start a non-profit organization for veterans who are about to lose their homes and can’t afford food,” he continues. “Red Cross, the Army Emergency Relief, VFWs, and American Legions do stuff to help, but it’s not enough. Sometimes it takes up to six months before anything’s done. They often have to turn a lot of veterans away. Many places won’t help veterans unless they are on active duty.” As a first move, Anderson decided to sell a pencil on eBay to raise money for veterans. “The highest bid was $36, but eBay killed it since I’m not yet an authorized non-profit organization,” he says. “They have a separate system for charity drives.” Fundraising didn’t seem enough, so Anderson decided his local VA Center needed a facelift. He wrote to his congressman and plans to file a formal complaint about the center with an ombudsperson. “They are rude and inconsiderate,” he says about the center staff. “The center needs a total reform.” With the laptop computer Anderson purchased while on leave from Iraq, he now escapes stress by using software to mix his own music. His flame for goth and industrial bands has never flickered, though he says, since the war, his tastes have expanded. “I’m listening to a lot more metal,” he says. The desire to listen to angrier music stems from Anderson’s posttraumatic stress disorder, which makes him lose his temper over small matters — things over which he feels he has no control. “Eventually, I’ll become myself again, once I don’t have to worry about money or feel like I am going to snap — once I’m out of

“Eventually, I’ll become myself again...” - Nicholas Anderson the military,” he says. “I’ve got no control over my life right now, and it’s driving me crazy.” The next time Anderson ventures into a nightclub, it may have to be to the beat of a remixed Cher song instead of KMFDM. He will have to reclaim the days when he stood like a gothic messiah — a drink bearer — in the middle of a desert of dancing bodies. “I’m over alert,” he says. “It gets overwhelming. It feels like everything’s coming over me.” It may be awhile until this Hollywood-bound rebel puts on another black dog collar, tight jeans, and sunglasses. Dressed now in a jean jacket and pants, he may look different than his high school days. Though, even with the “walls caving in,” Anderson holds onto to his goal of becoming an actor, one day finally making it to Los Angeles with his dreams of James Dean-like Anderson often hung out at gothic nightstardom intact. clubs like Ohio’s Club DNA, now closed.

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Anderson

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Ohio back home in

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

The Cat’s Meow

15 minutes

From glam to goth to fetish, Kidtee Hello Photography will make you look beautiful, no matter what your style

Model: Dawn of Ohio | Photo by Kidtee Hello

by LESLIE BENSON

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

15 minutes

15 minutes On Kidtee Hello Addictions: Aside from photography, Hello loves

or a small town girl who grew up in Michigan City, Indiana, the closest Kidtee Hello got to the bright lights of big city glamour was flipping through Maxim, Playboy, and fashion magazines to gaze in awe at the vivid imagery contained therein. Not fitting into any social box, Hello was eventually labeled “goth” by her high school peers, even though she also listened to musicians such as Tupac and Pantera when she was younger. “I didn’t fit in any scene,” she says, “In my hometown, we couldn’t afford to have a scene! It was such a small place, but we were all friends.” When she decided to experiment with artistic expressions, Hello and her best friend, Jillian (now model Lucidity), took photos of each other with disposable cameras. Photography grew into more than a hobby after she realized she wanted to try making a living from it. Now a well-known goth, glam, and fetish photographer in Dayton, Ohio, though she doesn’t usually bill herself as such, Hello has dubbed her one-woman production company “Kidtee Hello Photography,” after her favorite

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Models: Jamie and Jacurutu:3 | Photos by Kidtee Hello

Model: Kidtee Hello | Photo by Kevin Foureman

everything about Hello Kitty and Yu-Gi-Oh! She can be found watching classic black and white movies, “because those women knew what beauty was about.” She reads Anne Rice, Aphrodite Jones, and Poppy Z Brite. “Oh, and of course, let’s not forget about our evil addiction, Myspace,” she says.

In Her Collection: “I get a lot of visuals from the music

I listen to — lately industrial and darkwave bands such as Atreyu or AFI.”

Inspiration: “I would say the most respected photographer

I know is Scott Church; his work always blows me away every time,” she says.

Social Butterfly: She can be found dancing in nightclubs wearing spunky, ripped tops.

cartoon cat, and has snapped photos of countless Midwest goth scene members and club life. With a keen eye for all things beautiful, Hello says she just knows when a picture has the “wow” factor. “The lighting and subject’s position have to be right,” she says. “My problem is picking the one that is the best. I have trouble narrowing it down.” She uses a Cannon Digital Rebel 6.3 megapixel camera as her holy grail (she says it’s the most cost effective for what it does at around $1,000). But she also sometimes sidesteps from the conveniences of technology to snap photos with a Cannon Rebel G2, which utilizes film (remember film?) that offers spectacular color in its images. Fellow photographer Kevin Foureman of Dark Mannequin Designs and model Lady Atropos soon introduced Hello to group shoots. She reveled in the opportunity to photograph dozens of goth and fetish models from Ohio and later New York in various group settings. “I really don’t stand from the crowd other than the camera around my neck and my willingness to

half-homemade

skirts

and

cute

approach just about anyone regardless of ego or their station in life,” she says. Her networking abilities skyrocketed, landing her online spots with the Ohio Scene, Wicked Talent, and RetroKitten photography. She’s also a member of Model Mayhem and deviantART. Currently a student at the Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology, Hello surrounds herself with high-tech equipment to excel her art form. “The teachers know what they’re talking about,” she says. “They’re supportive and excited for me.” Thus far, her work has been published in issue two of Red Scream magazine, and last summer she showcased her images in art shows such as “Propaganda” at Pearl Nightclub in Dayton, Ohio, and at “BackDrops,” an art collective through deviantART, at the Acme Art Company in Columbus. Models that have worked with Hello include Isis 18 and Lygia Travesty, vocalist for Temple of Misery (http://templeofmisery. net). “Kidtee is so full of energy and ideas that I feel energized after working with her,” says model Isis 18. continued on pg. 48

Jamie of Ohio and Pennsylvania An Earful: Jamie listens to Skinny Puppy, Hanzel und Gretyl, Velvet Acid Christ, Jacurutu: 3, Bile, Dope, and other bands.

Hardcore Doll: This body

piercer and cosmetic tattoo artist boasts 36 tattoos and 35 body piercings. Her dreadlocks are pink, blue, black, and purple. “How you see me in my pictures is how I look and am in real life,” she says.

What Haunts Her: Jamie

loves to create hair falls and sell them. She plays Mortal Kombat religiously and loves fun Hello Kitty merchandise.

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

15 minutes

Blood Lust: Some of Christoph’s

favorite bands include Covenant, VNV Nation, Tapping the Vein, and Rammstein.

Good Guy: He says the worst goth

stereotype is that goths are all tragic or evil.

Kidtee pouts for the camera.

Kidtee Online: deviantART: www.kidteehello.deviantart. com/gallery Model Mayhem: http://modelmayhem.com/ member.php?id=4702 Ohio Scene: http://ohioscene.nrkprod.com

Horror Heavy: He reads books by

15 minutes

Personal Web site: www.geocities.com/kidteehello RetroKitten: http://profiles.retrokitten.com/ KidteeHello Wicked Talent: www.wickedtalent.com; User #389

Model: Misty | Photos by Kidtee Hello

Christoph of Ohio

Misty of Ohio

Photo by Kidtee Hello

Model: Christoph | Photos by Kidtee Hello

“S

he is one of the most fun people you will ever work with,” agrees Travesty. “She’s very creative and knows how to make her vision come alive on film.” Braille of Braille Korp., with whom Hello collaborates musically as a singer and collaborator, says she is a phenomenal photographer. “She has a cutting edge concept of the way the body and the flesh look on film,” he says. “She’s one of the best human beings I’ve worked with.” And Hello adores the models with which she has worked. “Most of the time they can understand my style—the looks, the poses—but my influences are from Maxim, Playboy, and avant garde movies like Pie and Requiem for a Dream,” Hello says. “They inspire the best and worst out of me.”

Stephen King a.k.a. Richard Bachman.

Stylish Lad: He shops at Sentiments

Rock City and used to frequent Spunk when it was still open. He also visits The Mission Boutique near Cleveland, Ohio.

Lucidity of Ohio

Raziel “Rozz” J. Graves of Ohio

Wide Grin:

Personal page: www.myspace.com/vae_victis Monkey Bones: www.monkeybonestattoo.com

Lucidity believes the worst goth stereotype is that goths don’t smile. She claims purple shoelaces make her smile.

Witty Words: She stands out due to her “blatantly dripping sarcasm.”

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Piercing Beauty: Rozz works as a body piercer at Monkey Bones in Beavercreek, Ohio. His biggest inspirations are David Vidra, Randy Gains, Steve Hayworth, and Jim Ward, “piercing gods.” His favorite body parts to pierce are ears. “It allows me to show my skill and flex my artistic muscle,” he says.

Model: Rozz | Photo by Kidtee Hello

because of his long, strawberry blonde hair.

Model: Lucidity | Photo by Kidtee Hello

Main Mane: Christoph stands out

Simple Man: “I was probably one of the last few to have long straight hair — always wearing it androgynously,” he says. “But just recently, I decided after 15 years of straight hair (that) it was time for a change, so I dreaded it.... I love making a good appearance, but shortly after the attention whore in me is sated, I’m to the bar and roaming around socializing with friends.”

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

15 minutes

Clara Turk of Ohio

Cult Films: This business student

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

Model: Braille of Ohio | Photo by Kidtee Hello

and model is “big on cheesy horror movies,” she says. “Some of my favorites include Cannibal! The Musical, Silent Night Deadly Night (and its sequel), and Killer Klowns from Outerspace.”

Muse: Clara has been her mother’s

artistic muse since childhood and the object of many of her paintings.

Proud Roots: “I come from an

ethnic background,” she says. “My maternal family is English, but the dominant features of my paternal Mediterranean family prevail.”

Well Versed: Her affinity for

reading stems from admiration for authors William Faulkner, Arthur Miller, and Ursula Hegi.

Model: Clara Turk | Photos by Kidtee Hello

http://modelmayhem.com/ ClaraTurk www.onemodelplace.com Model ID: 192091 www.freelancemodels.com Model Number: 7649

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

D’espairsRay headlines Sugoicon with Trashlight Vision For more information:

Fall 2005 – Winter 2006 | Echo Immortalis

your original magazine story queries to the Editor of Echo Immortalis for possible publication in a future issue...

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Trashlight Vision opens at Sugoicon. The room was once again black. Suddenly the intro music started, and the crowd began to roar with joy. D’espairsRay opened with “Born,” leaving the lyrics “welcome to ...nothing to worry about” echoing in my head for a long time. Then came the onslaught, a mixture of some of the band’s well-known singles and lesser-known b-sides. Hizumi leaned back and forth into the crowd and showed his gratitude by speaking to them when he could. Unfortunately, he knew very little English, but the crowd could have cared less. When the initial set was over, fans were somewhat skeptical of an encore. (The band had a long drive ahead of them to New Jersey, and it was only the second day of the tour.) After a good five minutes of the crowd screaming in unison, D’espairsRay ended the night with three additional songs and a loud “Thank you!” for all to hear. And of course, Zero fell into a crowd of fans and basked in the horde of people trying to caress him while he lay on the floor. For those of you open to new music, ready for an in-your-face band, and not afraid of Japanese, check out D’espairsRay’s first full-length album, Coll:set, and keep your eyes peeled for further U.S. tour dates.

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style appeals to fans over here. Yet the thing that makes D’espairsRay different from any other band is its passion and the style of its music. The haunting vocals and anguishing screams from Hizumi, the throbbing bass of Zero, and the simplistic, yet aggressive guitar riffs of Karyu, topped off with the heavy and upbeat drumming of Tsukasa, is what makes this band stand out from the rest. Remember, visual kei is not just about the music. Anyone who attended any of the band’s concerts on this past tour could tell you, especially those who attended Sugoicon near Cincinnati, Ohio, October 28 - 30. For those of you who don’t know, Sugoicon is one of Cincinnati’s annual anime conventions, bringing otaku (anime fans) together from all over the tri-state and beyond. This past convention brought anime industry veterans Christopher Ayres and Jan Scott-Frazier, among others. With panels, video games, free anime screenings, and competitions, you’d have had to try hard to get bored. The setting of the sun meant nothing to convention attendees, though. That’s when the real fun started. Trashlight Vision took the stage at 9 p.m., filled with energy and a stage presence reminiscent of old-school glam bands. Trashlight Vision did much more than impress; many would say they astounded. Although it was an awesome band, what the fans were waiting for was about to hit the stage.

Hello

“P

ain and sorrow!” No matter what way of life you are involved in, all of us have experienced these feelings. This is the message you may get from the music of D’espairsRay. Hailing from the land of the rising sun — Japan, Hizumi (vocals), Karyu (guitar), Zero (bass), and Tsukasa (drums) are ready and willing to go to the ends of the earth to spread their word — even if it means flying half way around the world to America to spread their “Infectious Mania.” This has not been their first time in the states; this is actually “Infectious Mania Act II,” and they are playing at venues from New York to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — even near Cincinnati, Ohio. Teaming up once again with old friends from their last U.S. tour, Trashlight Vision, fronted by Murderdolls guitarist Acey Slade, and new comrades The Genitorturers, this was definitely a promising tour. Mistaken when first heard, D’espairsRay may be thought of as a goth/industrial band. Even though they are definitely on the goth-y side, they are a visual kei band, a style of Japanese music in which the band’s outfits and on-stage performances are as important as its music and CDs. Of course it is not the only visual kei band trying to get its hand into the proverbial cookie jar that is the U.S. Bands such as Dir en grey and Phantasmagoria, just to name a few, have also been seen how much their musical

www.despairsray.jp/

Models: | Photo by Kidtee Model:Kaos Ebony | Photo byHello Kidtee

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Trashlight Vision | Photo by Jeremy B.

J-rock!

D’espairsRay | Photo courtesy of Jhouserock

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