Where's The Goth?

by T. I. Fraser

It's been almost ten years since Marilyn Manson debuted with Get Your Gunn, more than 20 years since Pornography became an audio experience, and over 30 years since Alice Cooper first told us to Love It to Death. Hell, let's face it, it's been half a century since Johnny Cash showed up in a preacher's robe signing about murder, and with his recent covers of "Personal Jesus" and "Hurt" one might assume that gothic culture has really come full circle. But aren't there any new trends in the fashion that never sleeps? Once you dawn your black lipstick and put fishnets on your arms, do you say, "Now what?" Here are some ideas about where Orlando stands in the sweet embrace of the vampires and spooky spiky-collar kids.

It's important to take inventory of what it means to be a "goth" today. This isn¹t the realm of necronerds who can't find enough religion in religion that TV would have you believe. Well, not solely. "Mostly, goth seems to come from a sense of humor," says Tod, former employee of Terror on Church Street. "These aren't mopey people. They¹re smart and funny. They just see blasphemy and death as having lighter sides."

So if you fall into this category of laughing at the morbid, you might be wondering where your proverbial comedy club is. The central repetitive answer you'll get in this town is Independent Bar on Orange Avenue Wednesday nights. Though it hasn¹t been Barbarella's for nearly a year now, everyone I asked still called it "Barbs." Here the freaks, or fans of the movie Freaks, flock like a murder of crows. Owner John Gardner loves Goth Night. "It's a good crowd," he says. "Really free-spirited people."

It's a hit with the bouncers, too. "The fight ratio is low," says Goth Night veteran Jay. "If something does start up, it's almost always between girls."

And what beautiful girls they are. The men, too. Fuck metrosexual, the necrosexual is so hot, it's scary. The seductive dancing found in the backroom will melt anyone¹s vinyl pants. Where does the dance style come from? "It¹s sort of like the Renaissance meets Mad Max," explains Tybalt, Prince of Cats.

But the dancing isn¹t the only thing that makes these coffin escapees so visually stimulating. "Three words: Pleather, Leather, and PVC," sets forth the Lady Anonymous. Yes, the fashion demon inherent in the underground can¹t be denied. Of course, nowadays every cheerleader, lawyer, and Lou Pearlman with a couple hundred to blow can just check out any of the local Hot Topic stores for some of the hottest apparel for the afterlife (and believe me, I ain¹t knockin¹ it). For something with a little more local flavor, check out the newly opened Haunted Universe on 436. The owner, who goes by the dark mysterious moniker of Brian, says he's aiming for a place where the prices are a little lower and the selection is a little more rare. "It shouldn't cost people a fortune to look how they want to," he tells me. He also plans on featuring clothes made by natives.

For those looking to deviate even farther from the path, check out www.antibabe.com. Here you can see fashions designed by Jodi. But beware; some of these are a little extreme for younger Princes and Princesses of Darkness.

Goths have their own media, too. If you're looking for some good underworld cinema (and you're smart enough not to see Underworld) check out Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, the sequel to the 1985 anime classic. "That's the best goth movie I¹ve seen in a while," says Scott, crossing his legs and swishing his skirt. And David Lynch's Mulholland Drive getting nominated for Best Director proves goth is moving forward, even in the daylight.

The music may have the most important role. "The music is dancier now," says the recently un-retired LD, DJ for Independent Bar's Goth Night. A quick trip to www.clubnecropolis.com gave me the playlists for DJ LD, among others, who do the Goth Night rounds. Bands like Android Lust and Assemblage 23 adorn the list, along with old favorites like Echo and the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, and Alien Sex Fiend.

Just so you know, while we're on the topic of musical tastes, the rivethead is still out there as well. These violent half-strains of goth and punk continue to roam the night, searching out the harder industrial sounds. Michael, on his way out of Alpha Bar, admitted he was "of a dying breed," but certainly not dead. Or undead. Or, well... you get the idea.

One money saver to the goth vogue: drugs are out. "Drugs went out in the late nineties, didn't they?" asks Shyystarr, almost not rhetorically. While there was an admission of smoking from skull-shaped bongs, everybody seemed to agree that hard drugs- the kind that can end a scene as quickly as it starts- blew out from under the bathroom stall a few years ago.

Take all these elements and smush them together and what have you got? "It's dark, sexy, and inviting," says Sonia, possibly talking about herself. Amen to that, sister.

If you're of the gothic persuasion and you¹re still shaking you're head and saying that goth in this town is dead (and not in a good way), go to www.gothicorlando.com. Here you'll find short fiction from local macabre authors, lists of gothic architecture, and businesses sympathetic to your cause. You can even post a profile so the others know you¹re coming before you're even there. How spine-chilling is that? Also, if you listen closely, you'll hear rumors of a gathering at UCF on Saturday nights from 9-11. Check it out on the patio behind the Student Union. Those of you with a real "die hard" will can make connections to the live-action Vampire: The Masquerade games through these meetings.

Maybe Legions of the Damned aren't quite the legions that they once were around here. "The numbers have definitely gone down," confirms Sean, also a DJ at Independent Bar. "And there aren't nearly as many shows." Or maybe the movement is just falling farther into the Pits of Hell. But, thanks to Saturday Night Live, there is one thing that we will always know for sure:
"Orlando is so much more goth than Tampa."|

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