MC: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Club 1334 are the only clubs in Australia dedicated to deathrock and related music. How did you decide to start Club 1334? Was it the success of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang or other factors as well?

PD: Yes it was the success of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang that led us to setting up 1334. The one thing that was lacking from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was Trad Goth or as some people may put it Old School/90’s Goth. So we decided that we would set up a club that was devoted to Deathrock and Trad Goth. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is very much a Deathrock, Post Punk, Horror Punk party with a bit of Psychobilly thrown in for good measure.

What we have noticed since setting up 1334 is that a lot of Trad Goth fans are coming out of the wood work…we can only hope that more will do the same. It has taken us around 2 years to break the dominance of EBM in clubs and I think people can start to see this. We are seeing a distinct lack of PVC/Cyber fashion out at clubs and more Big Hair/Mohawks/Ripped fishnet etc. In Melbourne we now have people that are referred to as Deathrockers, this makes for some very promising times ahead.

Finally the music direction is also changing. Nu Metal & EBM are moving out of the goth scene & being played less in goth clubs & creating a scene & niche clubs for themselves.

MC: I recently saw that you have a partnership with Cabaret Nocturne. This is great! In my area, most of the “goth” DJ’s generally refuse to even acknowledge deathrock exists; much less admit that it’s viable for a club. How is the partnership going?

PD: It is going very well, Cabaret Nocturne are very supportive of the Deathrock scene. We are based at a 2 level venue called Tilt Bar, we are on the second level and Cabaret Nocturne are based on the lower level. The scene in Australia is not like parts of Europe where it is not uncommon to see 300 people at a club on a weekly basis. It was put forward some time ago that we should join forces and run as a super club. We are no longer in competition with other major clubs…what we do now is support each other, we promote each other and work together for the scene. This gives people the opportunity to move between levels & listen/dance to different styles if they want to. People downstairs who are curious about Deathrock can come upstairs have a look & listen and stay around if they like what they hear. It has been one of the best ideas in a long time and I feel it has breathed some new life into our scene.

MC: Like you said on one of your sites, there is simply too much great deathrock coming out, and people need to hear it. For years we heard from EBM DJ’s that Deathrock will “clear the dancefloor” and “no one wants to hear it”. Have you encountered anything similar in your area?

PD: Very much so, there seems to be an Us (Deathrock) VS Them (EBM) attitude going on at the moment and it is not just in Australia. I think a lot of Deathrockers and Old School Goth fans feel that EBM killed the Goth scene and rightly so. When EBM hit our clubs a lot of Deathrockers and Old School Goths just gave up and never went out anymore. I think a lot of it had to do with the lack of musical knowledge that EBM dj’s displayed coupled with the repetitive electronic beats. A number of years ago it was very common for a request to be made for bands like Alien Sex Fiend or Screams for Tina and to be given an answer by the resident DJ that went like so” We are a Goth Club, we don’t play that style of music” or “I cant play 45 Grave or Corpus Delicti as no one will dance”. I think now with the explosion of Myspace a lot of bands like Tragic Black, Scarlet Remains, Rhombus and Redemption can finally promote themselves on a level playing field. It is not all about EBM anymore & from some of the reactions of EBM fans in this country one could say they are more than a little concerned that EBM will die and disappear.

MC: There have been fears that as Deathrock becomes more popular, it may face the same dilution that happened to the Goth scene in the ‘90s. What do you think?

PD: It could very well have the same dilution that happened to the Goth scene in the ‘90s but I think this time though we are more prepared. With Drop Dead and Deathrock Magazine releasing glossy publications, people dressing in more than just army pants and a tight black t-shirt, bands releasing albums on a regular basis, puts us in a good position. I think back in the 90’s we became complacent and due to this we had 5-6 years of shit music being played at clubs (EBM). People left the scene and became very anti Goth. With the benefit of hindsight I don’t think this will happen again. We have a saying at Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and 1334 and that is Music, Fashion, Mohawks…Unashamedly Deathrock. It fits in very well.

MC: What do think of some of the debates over which bands are deathrock and which aren’t? Do you think there is a concise definition of the genre?

PD: Deathrock has a distinct look & sound to those who are a part of it but from an outsider’s perspective not as much I think, some people seem to confuse Deathrock with Punk but in time this will change.

I think there has to be a clear definition of the genre, if you don’t, you will have Wave bands being called Deathrock and Nu-Metal bands being Wave bands. I can see why the debates have happened, with artists like Evanesance, Manson even to bands like VNV Nation to Funker Vogt being classified as Goth. People don’t want the same thing to happen again and that is bands like Korn or Slip Knot being classified as Deathrock or Goth. We as a scene have to make sure that this doesn’t happen.

MC: What is your favorite medium for spinning: vinyl, CD, computer, etc? Do you have any pros or cons about publishing set lists?

PD: I haven’t spun vinyl in over 15 years…some clubs just don’t cater for Vinyl so I am more of a CD man myself due to that reason. I have no problems publishing not only my set lists but those of all my djs at 1334 or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. I see it as a very good medium for promotion. If we don’t publish the set lists no one will know what music is played. If people don’t know what music is being played they may not come to our Deathrock clubs. If people don’t come to the local club it means one less punter. One less punter = one less potential Deathrock fan.

It is ok if Deathrock dj’s don’t publish their set list’s?. It is up to them in the long run…but I will say that by not publishing your set list you are in actual fact not doing your bit to support the bands that are putting music out for all of us. The bands do their bit for the scene by getting their music released. The dj does their bit by playing it in front of 50 people or 400 people. But the dj can do more by publishing their set list…by doing so they are supporting the artists that are supporting us.

MC: What are some of the most difficult things about running a club event?

PD: Setting up the club is a pain in the behind. By setting up I mean arriving at the club early & putting up the decorations and lots of them…Skulls, ripped up material, cobwebs, more skulls, candles, more cobwebs and the odd bat here and there….& then taking them all down before we go home.

We are lucky to have great venue management & security & our dj’s are all fantastic to work with which alleviates a lot of stress to start with. There are lots of things that do need to be done & it can be tiring but in the long run it is very satisfactory when someone comes up to you at the end of the night and tells you that they loved hearing Gotterdammerung and that they never dreamed of them being played at a club. Positive feedback is fantastic, I think that is when you can walk away and know you are doing a good job.

MC: Who are some of your favorite Dearthrock bands or artists?

PD: Tragic Black, Deadchovsky, Scarlet Remains, Mz Ann Thropik (Australia), Chron Gen, Shadow Reichenstien, Gorgonas, Seems Twice, Quidam, New Days Delay, Scarlet and the Spooky Spiders, La Pesta Negra, All Gone Dead, Brygada Kryzys, Naughty Zombies, Circus Mort, Eva, Phaidia, Diaframa, Dark Day, Strange Dolls Cult, Kastle Grey Skull, Miguel and the Living Dead, Chants of Maldaror, Rosa Crux, Frustration, Gotterdammerung, Cemetery Girlz.…I could continue but the list would be too long.

MC: What sort of plans do you have for the future?

PD: I would like it if Deathrock in Australia was to become the number one choice of music to be requested in clubs. Last weekend it was really exciting to take Kiss Kiss Bang Bang to Brisbane & it was really well received & because of this I will be taking Kiss Kiss Bang Bang back to Brisbane and then on to Sydney later in the year and hopefully, (cross fingers), Adelaide. I am hoping that we can bring a Kiss Kiss Bang Bang party to every state in the country eventually. The way we look at it, we are doing our bit to promote the music that we love. We are not doing it for the money & as long as people want to come along & dance we will put on a party for them. In the next year or so I look forward to setting up my own record label & have some interesting ideas in the works. You will have to stay tuned for details on that.

MC: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

PD: There is some great Goth music coming out of Australia bands like Mz Ann Thropik, Schadenfreude, Les Aristocrats, Brigitte Handley & The Dark Shadows are all flying the flag for guitar based Goth music. Keep an eye for some up and coming releases by these bands. We hope to see you all at WGT 2007.

www.myspace.com/mzannthropik

www.myspace.com/schadenfreudeband

www.myspace.com/thearistocratshateyou

www.myspace.com/brigittehandley