Shadow Project. {Photo by K. Seki.
I believe in Goths. Dark, morbid, sexual, frightiningly loud and spooky. I went to the monthly Part Time Punks night at the Echoplex to see Terminal A, the Gitane Demone Quartet and Shadow Project 1334 play. The Echoplex felt like a graveyard–people in black, with powdered white faces and dark make-up, reminding me of Theda Bara films. Classic sombernauts of time, floating in the river of music, seductive lighting and brilliant imagery projected on the big screen on stage behind the musicians.
Terminal A, a regular opener for the other two bands, is a synthesizer duo with Colin Peterson and Lee Busch playing and singing along with backing tracks. Gitane Demone’s quartet includes Rikk Agnew (Adolescents, Christian Death) and Paul Roessler (Screamers, 45 Grave, Twisted Roots).
Shadow Project is Eva O’s band with members of Christian Death, as well as Eva’s daughter Scarlet. The original Shadow Project was Eva O and the late Rozz William’s band in the 90s. It is the first time in 27 years that members of the supergroup have come together again. Eva, with her daughter, Scarlett Dream, William Faith, and Steven Grey have resurrected the band for just 13 shows.
All of the musicians come from the beginning of the Gothic/Deathrock movement in LA. All of them are revered in Europe; Both bands just played the 2019 Darkwave Festival in Germany. Both are darkly delicious.
The clock struck midnight and the invisible bats were summoned to awaken from their sleep in the rafters, and I am bitten by my love of this music all over again.
