2008 Woodie Awards
Dark times for goths
Former members say scene is dead
By Christopher Placek
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"It's been dead for a while," said Jeff Murrell, a 44-year-old attorney and 1995 Marquette Law graduate who said he quit the scene four years ago. "I just never realized it when it did die."
The underground movement emerged and became somewhat mainstream when concert promoters and club DJs "hoarded out" goth music and diluted it with pre-recorded, technology-based music like techno and noise, Murrell said.
"I hate it, I just hate it," he said. "It hurts my ears."
Gatherings of goths from around the world are still held. The Whitby Gothic Weekend is held twice a year in England, and was held this past weekend according to the festival's Web site. In addition, Gothicfest, which its Web site heralds as "The Official Expo for the Gothic Subculture," was held earlier this month in Chicago.
But Murrell said goth is not a subculture. And it only existed between the early 1980s and late 1990s, he said.
"What turned me off were people who you can't discern them from anything else," Murrell said. "So many people were being non-conformists, they conformed. They conformed in their non-conformity and ran off the cliff."
In 1999, Murrell defended the owner of a south side goth club that had applied for a liquor license renewal. The now-defunct Club Sanctuary, 1753 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., was the center of controversy following a Mother's Day 1998 bondage performance attended by undercover police who issued citations, said club owner Todd Novasic.
When Novasic wanted to transfer the liquor license from Club Sanctuary to his current club, Club Anything, 807 S. Fifth St., he said he had to apply for a new one. But following the April 1999 Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colo., it got harder for the local goth club to get a new license as stereotypes about goth set in, Novasic said.
Published: 10/30/07 Section: News
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 8
Crescentia
posted 10/30/07 @ 10:06 AM CST
I totally agree. I dropped out of the goth subculture four years ago also. I was in it from about 87 onwards and saw it turn into absolute garbage. There are kids enetering it that beleive every single thing that the manistream press makes up about it and turn themselves into stereotypes. (Continued…)
Christian
posted 10/30/07 @ 7:55 PM CST
The Goth scene may be dead in Milwaukee, but it is not dead. This subculture is in it's third decade of life and waxes and wanes like any music tribe. (Continued…)
britt-a-cide
posted 1/24/08 @ 5:06 AM CST
Fight for it! Why give up and let it die!
dan
posted 1/25/08 @ 12:30 PM CST
I used to be a crazy goth before i got my Hvac Degree, eh, i guess im still a crazy goth
Shade de Monesko
posted 1/30/08 @ 2:11 PM CST
I can not agree that Goth scene is over. Yes, of course it is different than it was in the beginning. But people change and we can not expect that the scene will not change. (Continued…)
terry
posted 3/04/08 @ 2:05 PM CST
Yes, we most certainly need to keep the scene alive! True it is waning, but like anything it will wax and wane, and change. But hopefully never die! There is so much beauty in the scene, and I for one hope it continues and will be supporting those people in London, club promoters, creators etc in keeping the scene alive and swooning!
Tony B
posted 3/04/08 @ 4:44 PM CST
Why do goth kids always wear women's jeans?
No one survived
posted 4/23/08 @ 2:18 PM CST
I'm from Germany. And in Germany we have got the same problem. The clubs are full of metal and techno kids. there is no goth anymore. Too much tolerance and the popularity of futurepop, hellectro and symphonic metal destroyed the gothic infrastructure. (Continued…)
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