Deathrock.com - The Home of creepy rock and roll. Gothic Punk Dark Alternative Horror Rock, music reviews, interviews, features, photos and news.

  • Bpeople

    Location: Los Angeles

    Active: late 1970s

    When Alex Gibson and Michael Gira (who would go on to form Circus Mort and then later, Swans) parted ways in a band called Strict Ids, Gibson joined forces with Paul Cutler (45 Grave), Pat Delaney (Silver Chalice, Deadbeats, Geza X, Romans), Rick Brody (Catholic Discipline, Shadow Minstrels) and Tom Recchion (LAFMS) as one of Los Angeles’ earliest post punk bands, Bpeople. Gibson was also in a prior band called Little Cripples.

    What they managed to accomplish was an arty jazz punk sound. They released the ‘Faulty Products’ 12”, and a self titled 7” single in 1981. A retrospective compilation was released in 1986, where the earlier bands material from Little Cripples surfaced. They also appeared on the noteworthy Los Angeles Free Music Society aka LAFMS ‘Darker Scratcher’ (45 Grave, Non, Monitor, Human Hands) and the ‘Let Them Eat Jellybeans’ (Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Feederz, Circle Jerks) Alternative Tentacles compilations.

    Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/232623-Bpeople

    Related: groups, members, location, compilations

    Video: documentary, outstanding live

    This profile is in development. Contributions?

  • Catholic Discipline

    Location: Los Angeles

    Active: 1979 – 1980

    Formed in San Francisco in 1979, Catholic Discipline soon moved to Los Angeles. Their founding lineup was Claude Bessy (editor, Slash Fanzine), Phranc (Nervous Gender) on guitar, Rick Brodey Morrison (husband to Patricia Morrison of The Bags and The Gun Club) on bass guitar. Robert Lopez of the Zeros, later known as El Vez, the Mexican punk Elvis, replaced original keyboardist Richard Meade, and in the drum seat former Bags member Craig Lee. In their short existence they never released anything official, but they became well known for their appearance in the groundbreaking documentary by Penelope Spheeris ‘The Decline Of Western Civilization’ (1980) along with The Germs, Black Flag, X, Fear and The Alice Bag Band.

    Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/317916-The-Bags

    Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Discipline

    This profile is in development. Contributions?

  • Shadow Minstrels

    Location: Los Angeles

    Shadow Minstrels were Los Angeles natives, whose early effort at gothic folk is a worthwhile rarity with only one mini-LP release. Rick Brodey, aka Rick Morrison was formerly in Catholic Discipline and spouse to Patricia Morrison.

    Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/1411116-Shadow-Minstrels

    This profile is in development. Contributions?

  • Wreckage

    Location: Los Angeles

    Active: 1989 – 2001, 2022

    Initially formed as Like Wreckage, they were one of the very active 1990s gothic rock bands from Los Angeles by way of English singer, Tony Lestat, with an often upbeat approach likening them to The Damned. Founding members included Billy Bones (soon upon joining Faith & The Muse in 1993 he would henceforth be known as William Faith) and one of Los Angeles’ most prevalent guitarists, Killjo Zapata, best known for his presence in early Deep Eynde, later Desmo Donte and a slew of appearances in other revered LA gothic and deathrock acts. Also in the roster was Kent Bancroft of Screams For Tina (Screams For Tina carried over the song ‘Like Wreckage’) and Tracy Wolfgang Garcia of 1977 Los Angeles punk band The Undertakers.

    Wreckage released the ‘Subways End’ 7” single and appeared on the Ghastly magazine Nosferatunes compilation. Their self-released album ‘Crawling From The Wreckage’ came out in 1994, and a collection featuring their early material as Like Wreckage followed in 1996, and in 1999 they put out Bad Vibes, an attempt at a more contemporary with that time, industrialized version that sounded little like anything prior barring the unmistakable vocals of Tony Lestat. In 2001 a posthumous best-of collection ‘Cryptology’ appeared. They reformed in 2022 for two new singles available on BandCamp, ‘Awake’ and ‘Falling Fountains’.

    Links:

    Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/22871-Wreckage

    BandCamp: https://wreckagegothpostpunk.bandcamp.com

    Related: Like Wreckage, Deep Eynde, Faith and the Muse, Desmo Donte, Screams For Tina, The Undertakers, The Damned, Tony Lestat, Billy Bones, William Faith, Killjo Zapata, Kent Bancroft, Tracy Wolfgang Garcia, Los Angeles

    This profile is in development. Contributions?

  • Nervous Gender

    Location: Los Angeles

    Active: 1978 – 1991, 2007 – present

    One of Los Angeles’ most aggressive proto industrial synth punk bands parallel The Screamers. Headed by Edward Stapleton and Gerardo Velazquez, Michael Ochoa, and prominent early queer performance artist Phranc. Other members through the years include Bruce ‘Ravens’ Moreland (Wall Of Voodoo, Weirdos), his brother Marc (Bags, Wall Of Voodoo) Mary Sims and Paul Roessler (both of 45 Grave), Don Bolles (Germs, 45 Grave). Their 1981 album ‘Music From Hell’ is a classic entry into the diversity of the early Los Angeles punk movement. Stapleton departed the band in 1988, though Velasquez and Ochoa performed with the band until 1991. Original member Gerardo Velazquez passed away March 28, 1992. Nervous Gender reformed in 2007, and Stapleton now maintains the project via Nervous Gender Reloaded.

    https://www.discogs.com/artist/198151-Nervous-Gender

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_Gender

    https://nervous-gender.bandcamp.com

    https://nervousgenderreloaded.bandcamp.com/

    Related: 45 Grave, Wall Of Voodoo, The Bags, Germs, Weirdos, The Screamers, Phranc, Los Angeles

    This profile is in development. Contributions?

  • Positive Noise

    Location: Glasgow, Scotland

    Active: 1979 – 1985

    Brothers Ross, Fraser and Graham Middleton, together with Russell Blackstock and Les Gaff formed the synth based Positive Noise in Glasgow, Scotland in 1979. They were one of the new wave of artists using electronic music as their medium such as Human League, Gary Numan, Flock of Seagulls and Icehouse. They signed to Statik Records (Chameleons UK, The Sound, Jeffrey Lee Pierce) and released three albums, supported by a good many singles. Their first LP ‘Ghosts’ commands a more strern and brooding motif, while later efforts explored more pop territory.

    Related: Leisure Process, Statik Records, Glasgow, Scotland

    https://www.discogs.com/artist/293706-Positive-Noise

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_Noise

    This profile is in development. Contributions?

  • Woundz

    Location: San Francisco

    Active: 1980 – 1981

    San Francisco punk and experimental band Woundz released one 12” and one cassette, also later referred to as simply Wounds. Paul Casteel was also in Black Athletes. Featured on the ‘Let Them Eat Jellybeans’ and the lesser known Red Spot compilations.

    References: Black Athletes, San Francisco

    https://www.discogs.com/artist/255071-Wounds

    This profile is in development. Contributions?

  • 100 Flowers

    Location: Los Angeles

    Active: 1981 – 1983

    Guitarist Kjehl Johansen with Kevin Barrett and John Jones co-founded punk band Urinals in 1978. They renamed as 100 Flowers (a reference to the Maoist campaign in 1950s China) in 1981 to signify a departure from their punk approach and went to a more progressive and post punk direction. They released two albums, one EP and appeared on the classic 1981 ‘Hell Comes To Your House’ deathrock-punk compilation album. After the Urinals reformed in 1996, they also put out a new album as 100 Flowers in 2019.

    https://www.theurinals.com

    https://www.discogs.com/artist/368935-100-Flowers

    Related: Urinals, Hell Comes To Your House, Los Angeles

    This profile is in development. Contributions?

  • The Web

    Location: Los Angeles

    Active: 1983-1985

    The Web was a short lived California dark punk band, one of the first projects of Johann Schumann (RIP) whose career included time in Christian Death, Mephisto Walz, Scarlet’s Remains and Shadow Project. Andi Hayes and TA Black later had a rock band Kill City. Though the band only released the ‘Walk On Glass’ single and a 12” for ‘Promise Me Nothing’, a posthumous collection was released in 2024 in Artifix Records.

    https://www.discogs.com/artist/738276-The-Web-3

    Related: Christian Death, Mephisto Walz, Scarlet’s Remains, Shadow Project, Johann Schumann, Los Angeles

    This profile is in development. Contributions?

  • Rubella Ballet

    Location: London

    Active: 1979 – 1991, 2000 – current

    Among the early anarcho bands coming from the squats of the London punk scene, Rubella Ballet stood out. Not only was their sound diverse and propelling, but their adoption of the day-glo aesthetic would become one of their biggest trademarks. They formed 1979 with Sid Truelove aka Sidation (later of Flux of Pink Indians), Gem Stone and Pete Fender (formerly of Fatal Microbes, later of Omega Tribe) going on stage spontaneously at a CRASS/Poison Girls gig. Zillah Minx would join after initial singer Annie Anxiety left. They would continue to share the stage with both bands on a regular basis. Siblings Stone and Fender are the children of Poison Girls singer, Vi Subversa. Their first releases were on the Poison Girls’ XNTRIX label. Their members would change several times around Zillah, until they ended in 1991, then reforming in 2000.

    https://www.discogs.com/artist/278401-Rubella-Ballet

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubella_Ballet

    This profile is in development. Contributions?