
Tag: goth

Dais Records’ 10 Year Anniversary Party: The Dark Fruits Of Persistence
Persistence is All. Those were the words projected over Drew Mcdowall, former member of Coil, as he wrapped up Dais Records‘ 10 year anniversary at the Regent. Prior to this, the night had been filled with dancing, disaffected swaying, and sweating buckets from the sub-tropic-humidity-zone hovering over Downtown Los Angeles like a specter. Ten years in the making, this night celebrated a fever dream that came into fruition. It was only until 2017 that the local success of Drab Majesty and High-Functioning Flesh and the global success of Youth Code made Dais Records’ sound and name instantly recognizable in L.A. With Drew McDowall, Drab Majesty, High-Functioning Flesh, Body of Light, and Cold Showers performing, Dais planned on celebrating this milestone of a decade by bringing in the next one with a bang. Hot weather is best remedied with cold music and no music sounds colder than goth and industrial. When I stepped into the Regent, Youth Code were standing behind the turntables DJ’ing all sorts of glitchy, dark, German sounding industrial music, shit like Laibach. The first band to offer their musical relief was Highland Park’s Cold Showers, a crisp sounding goth band, thick with 80’s and Depeche Mode feels.

PRAYERS and Candy Prove That Sex Cells at Echoplex
Sex Cells: The New Monthly Gathering From Lethal Amounts Lethal Amounts hosted what is becoming the baddest dance club night in L.A. this past Saturday. The Echoplex was brimming with activity- Party crews, fashionistas, fetishists and disco dollies came from all over California and abroad to show off their fashion sense, attitudes and dance moves at the new monthly residency, Sex Cells. Anyone who has attended a Lethal Amounts party knows that they are in for a good time. What helps set Danny Fuentes of Lethal Amounts Art Gallery apart from other promoters is that he doesn’t identify as one. First and foremost, Fuentes is a curator and gallery owner and thus, takes a completely organic approach when organizing an event. In doing so, his parties have an air of exclusivity that doesn’t come off as snobby and it attracts the kind of people he would consider good company. I had a chance to chat with him which led to a better understanding of his vision. “I throw myself into everything I do. I always ask myself first, ‘Would I like this? Would I go to this? Would I be impressed?’ If the answer is ‘maybe’ then it’s not good enough.

Gene Loves Jezebel Play Immigrant in Entirety at Part Time Punks Gig
There was a time in pre-smells-like-teen-spirit Los Angeles when the goth music scene was second only to glam rock. New romantics, death rockers or whatever you want to call them, made their presence known on the Sunset Strip and beyond. Teasing their hair, wearing dark eye makeup and clad in lace and silk, these creatures of the night chiseled out an undeniable chink in the old concrete understanding of gender roles and Gene Loves Jezebel were one of those bands. It wasn’t that these guys wanted to be women or were in any sort of gender crisis. They just had a different idea of what it meant to look good and in manifesting this, received an onslaught of attention from chicks offering to share makeup and hair products with the tortured souls of this music scene. Yes, I often think I might’ve joined them had I been alive in goth’s heyday. I would’ve pierced my ear with an Egyptian Ankh and worn rose-colored shades at night, seen Christian Death play the Roxy while Rozz Williams made out with strangers on stage. Gene Loves Jezebel, still very much alive and still singing songs about love and death, announced their participation in KXLU’s

Peter Murphy’s Flawless “Stripped Down” Set at The Observatory
Our adventure started at The Observatory in Santa Ana—no way could there be any better way to begin our shenanigans than with a “Stripped Down” set by the Bauhaus godfather of goth himself, Peter Murphy. When your Darkside homegirls come to town to catch an icon like Murphy, you prepare yourself for a slightly degenerate, mostly legal, goth girls night out on the town. After waiting for what seemed a lifetime, Peter Murphy made his way to the stage dressed completely in white with glowing, stark white hair to match. None of us have ever quite seem him like this and as if his appearance and voice weren’t enough, he commanded all eyes to the stage during a diva moment when he poured his bottle of water on some dudes head whilst sharply reprimanding him for “talking and drinking beer” during his set. Sorry Peter, if people wouldn’t have been drinking and listening to a DJ spin dance music for an hour and a half while waiting for you, they may have been less drunk and more likely to shoe gaze through your whole set. It’s always fun to see him lose it, though. It made us giggle remembering the