Toronto goth scene
The Toronto goth scene, the cultural
History
In the UK, where
Early years: "Batcavers", "Blitz", "Punks", and "Freaks"
In Toronto, the subculture that eventually would morph into "Goth" was an eclectic and varied group that existed prior to 1982 and was a cultural blend of New Romantic, Post-punk, and Hardcore punk enthusiasts. There were various terms in use for members of this scene, including "Batcavers", "Blitz", and "Freaks", but often "punk" was used to describe the look (especially for outsiders). Inclusion had no specific requirements beyond participation in the music scene, it was more diverse than other goth/punk scenes. The "freaks" at this time included fans of specific music genres, and did not exclude people of colour, transgender people, gay people, or any others who participated in the Toronto underground music scene.[3]
Some "freaks", notably
Paul Samuels, co-owner of Goth Club 'Savage Garden', one of Toronto's longest running goth bars, reported "we were wearing [pointy] skull buckle boots, black jeans and tour t-shirts; after that it was the frilly shirts with long sleeves. Then I mashed in make-up and black, backcombed hair with lots of hairspray. We became the freaks of the town."[6]
The word "freak" was not derogatory; those who called themselves "freak" tended to call everyone in this music scene "freak". In this group were the same individuals who would later become known as "the goths" after 1988. However, unlike concurrent goth subcultures elsewhere, many of these "freaks" were primarily fashion-oriented as opposed to identifying as strongly with gothic rock genre of music in particular.
The area between
Live venues in the
Club Scene
The central hub and breeding ground for the subculture later to be known in Toronto as "goth" was the city's after-hours clubs, beginning with Voodoo on St. Joseph Street (1981–1985), Kongo on Hagerman St. (1983-4), Klub Domino on Isabella (and later Yonge St.) (1979–85), Iguana Lounge on Pears Ave, and perhaps the peak of this early period was Pariah, a Wednesday club night that would run from 10 until dawn, which originated at Kongo in 1983, originally launched by Lynn McNeil, with Siobhan O'Flynn DJ'ing.[12] After closing at the Kongo on Hagerman St., Pariah relaunched with Siobhan O'Flynn and Stephen Scott running the after hours night at the much larger Twilight Zone on Richmond Street (1984–87), owned by the Assoon Brothers.[13] Other prominent DJs from this period included Dave Allen, Pam Barnes, Ivan Palmer, Donny Cochrane, Dan McKay, and others.
Clubs also part of the scene in this period were: the Silver Crown, Club Z (Batcave Night), Catwalk, Nuts and Bolts, and slightly later: Empire Club, Club Noir, Night Gallery, and Lizard Lounge.
Also worthy of note is Century 66 - a restaurant attended and staffed by many members of the scene with a futuristic and dark decor, and the location of many events, including Brian Eno's Thursday Afternoon installation in December 1984.[14]
Emergence of Goth beginning 1988
It was 1988 that "Goth" arrived in Toronto. The term "Goth" began to be used to refer to those "freaks" who centred on
The mid-1980s - 1991 saw the emergence of proto-type gothic bands appeared such as Vital Sines, Breeding Ground, National Velvet and The Furies.
The year 1989 also saw the opening of a dedicated Gothic fashion store, Siren,
Industrial music became a major additional style popular in the Toronto goth scene; Skinny Puppy a Vancouver-based Industrial band inspired an interest in animal rights in many "Industrial-goths" in Toronto.[5] Also at this time, bands such as Depeche Mode, although not goth themselves, were very influential in attracting mainstream music followers into the goth subculture in Toronto.[21] On September 3, 1992, a bar named "Sanctuary: The Vampire Sex Bar" opened on Queen Street West, in step with the increasing popularity of vampiric-goth archetypes. Sanctuary originally imposed a gothic dress code to strictly adhere to the gothic fashion aspect of the scene.[5] Sexual activity did not actually occur in the bar.[22] The book, "Tales From Sanctuary: The Vampire Sex Bar" (1997) documented tales and anecdotes from Toronto's alleged "vampire" scene.[2]
By the mid 90s, and continuing thereafter, Toronto goths held regular BDSM or goth fetish nights. Costuming was a major aspect of this event. Unlike purist fetishists, goths were more likely to be found laughing or taking turns. Sex and sexuality also played a larger part at goth fetish nights than purist fetishist events.[23]
Increasing mainstream influences
Canadian fantasy author, Tanya Huff, wrote a series of supernatural detective novels known as the Blood Books between 1991 until present, featuring a fictional historical romance author, Henry Fitzroy, who happens to be a vampire. The series is set in Toronto and uses familiar landmarks. In 2007, this series was adapted for television under the title Blood Ties.
The
In Toronto, the goth subculture became widespread enough that the media referred to it as "pop-culture",[26] in contrast with the term "cult" that would be applied in later years. In 1998, Johnson Cummins, a music journalist for the Montreal Mirror, reported that Toronto had a higher concentration of goths than anywhere else in the world and that anyone walking down Queen Street could not avoid seeing many of them. At this time, Mitch Krol, lead singer of the Toronto-based goth band Masochistic Religion, became disenchanted with direction of the Toronto scene, calling it shallow, pretentious, primarily concerned with money and glam, and stating that it was no longer goth. Masochistic Religion thereafter relocated to Montreal, Quebec.[27]
School shootings and decline in popularity
In 1999, a school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado created a public backlash against local goths and especially gothic youths as some teachers and parents suddenly began to view goth fashion with suspicion and mistrust.[28] Violence of any kind had always been very rare at Toronto goth clubs, and notable figures in the goth community spoke to the media against associating violence with "goth". They insisted that the shooters were not goths, did not listen to goth music, and that goths were non-violent and pacifistic.[29] Certain elements of the media, notably the local entertainment and culture media, also defended goths. Eye Weekly columnist Donna Lypchuk wrote, "I've been laughing for the past two weeks as talking heads blame the goth subculture for the killings in Colorado. The mainstream goth movement, which has been around for at least 25 years, is not secret enough to be a subversive society."[30] Five months later a report from authorities in Colorado confirmed that the shooting was not related to goth subculture, and stated that the shooters held goth music in "contempt".[31]
The
Regardless of the fact that the Columbine Shooting was not related to goth subculture,
The Toronto goth scene today (2015–present)
While goth has declined in popularity in Toronto, a loyal following still exists, congregating at clubs such as Nocturne[40] (the former Savage Garden[41]) on Queen Street West for the weekly Black Friday nights and various monthly and other regular events, and The Orb (popularly known by its previous name, The Devil's Cellar), which is in the basement of Celts Pub on Dundas Street West, for the monthly Dracula's Daughter night. A Goth Pub Social event also takes place on a monthly basis at Pauper's Pub on Bloor Street West, and Borderline Plus, a clothing and accessories store on Queen Street West, caters primarily to the goth/industrial scene. Velvet Underground, a stalwart of the alternative scene and once home to weekly live broadcasts by Toronto FM station 102.1 The Edge,[42] closed its doors at the end of August 2015[43] due to its owner, Liberty Entertainment Group, deciding to focus on its wine bars. The last event was the final night of the 2015 iteration of the Aftermath Festival. Velvet Underground was reopened by a local entertainment group Embrace Presents on February 12, 2016 but as a live music venue.
Subcultural traits
Toronto's goths have been noted for subcultural traits which are not noted for goth subcultures in general.
Mainstream acceptance
According to
However, according to Matthew Didier, founder of The Toronto Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society and regular contributor to the CFRB paranormal radio show "Mind/Shift", speaking of Torontonian goths "They want to be 'professional' and be accepted for their contributions to whatever than shunned. They want to be "The Goth Lawyer" or "The Goth Accountant"... not the scary person in the gutter."[5] According to Time Out Toronto, a tourist guide published in 2005, the local goths had a slogan: "Making Toronto a darker place."[45]
This may be consistent with the multicultural nature of Toronto. According to the United Nations Development Programme, Toronto has the second-highest percentage of foreign-born population among world cities. Multiculturalism became official policy in Canada in 1971, before any other country in the world.[46]
Rightfully or not, in Toronto, after the
Apparently heightened emphasis on fashion
Fashion is widely considered to be part of the
In 1998, Mitch Kroll, lead singer of the, then Toronto-based, goth band, Masochistic Religion, criticized "the people who were calling themselves goth in Toronto" for their shallow over-emphasis on fashion, calling them "glam".[27]
After the Columbine Massacre in 1999 one notable goth club owner in Toronto, Lance Goth, commented to the media that he believed the shooters "weren't the least bit goth. They didn't even dye their hair black."[29]
It is not clear after 1999 whether what remains of Toronto goth subculture, emphasizes fashion more, less, or the same as goth subculture elsewhere.
Historic subcultural events
In 1998, Toronto was host to Convergence IV, an annual North American meeting of net.goths.[49] [50]
Events included:
- Masochistic Religion and DJs Michael Salo and Greg Clow played at the Opera House on August 21, 1998.
- Faith and the Muse, Rhea's Obsession, the Changelings and My Scarlet Life with DJ Marylace played at the Opera House on August 22.
- An April March and DJs Lady Bathory and Lord Pale played Clinton's on August 23, with the goth/medieval magick sideshow Carnival Xaotika as the added attraction.[51]
List of Toronto goth bands
A number bands that have performed and recorded
- The Birthday Massacre
- Rhea's Obsession
- Dream Corrosion
- Breeding Ground
- Vegasphere
- National Velvet
- Vampire Beach Babes
- Bitter Fall
- Vital Sines[52]
- Johnny Hollow
- Ariel
- Mindless Insurrection
- Parade
- Sex Without Souls
- Walls of Jericho
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-57859-071-1.
- ^ Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. 1997. Archived from the originalon 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ a b Madame Webb; M.C. and A.L. "Toronto Gothic History". Madamme Webb's Sight. Archived from the original on 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
- ISBN 978-0-312-30696-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g Matthew Didie (2006-10-23). "So Goth it Hurts - The Lost Post..." One Old Green Bus. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ a b Liisa Ladouceur Lords Of The New Church Archived 2014-11-08 at the Wayback Machine This Magazine - May 2005
- ^ a b Hans Boldt & Sylvana Grisonich-Boldt (2006-08-21). "Toronto - West Queen West". boldts.net. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ DK Travel. "Toronto: Kensington Market". Eyewitness Travel Guides. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
- ^ Hans Boldt & Sylvana Grisonich-Boldt (2006-08-21). "Toronto - Kensington Market 2006". boldts.net. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ S.Black "The Toronto Scene 1977–1987 - Some of the Dives" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Punk History Canada
- ^ )
- ^ "Then & Now: TWILIGHT ZONE (Extended mix)". 16 March 2017.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Pariah Footage (No Audio)". YouTube.
- ^ "Brian Eno's Video and Audio Installations".
- ^ "Goth" www.dictionary.com
- ^ Rumack, Leah. "Local Goths Feel Fallout, Apr 1999". Now Magazine. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via PressReader.
- ^ "Toronto Goth Subculture" - cached CTV News Toronto - early 1990s news report
- ISBN 0-312-30696-2.
- ^ "Society History". The Dark Place. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ Victoria Scrozzo (2006-08-14). "Interview with the vampire". The Eyeopener Online. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
- ^ Alan Cross,"Ongoing History of New Music: (Good) Goth Part 2" CFNY 102.1 The Edge
- ^ Nancy Lyon. "Toronto: the Good City that would be Bad". Travel Reviews from Travel Intelligence. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ISBN 0-312-30696-2.
- ^ Kristin Harris (June 23 – July 2, 2006). "Forever Knight Filming Locations in Toronto". Forever Knight: Knight Vision. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
- ISBN 978-0-449-90904-1.
- ^ Leah Rumack (April 29 – May 5, 1999). "Strange places where evil lurks". NOW magazine. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ a b Johnson Cummins (1998-10-22). "Like a bat out of hell >> Masochistic Religion's exile from goth-ville". Montreal Mirror. Archived from the original on 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
...Mitch Kroll and his merry band of gothsters Masochistic Religion.
- ^ Briggs, Bill (April 22, 1999). "The Denver Post Online - Columbine Massacre". extras.denverpost.com. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
- ^ a b c Leah Rumack (April 29 – May 5, 1999). "Goth shock". NOW magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ Donna Lypchuk (1999-05-06). "Necrofile - You and me against the world". Eye Weekly. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ a b Cullen, Dave (23 September 1999). "Inside the Columbine High investigation". Salon. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ B.A. Robinson (2006-09-23). "The Goth culture: its history, practices, stereotypes, religious connections, etc". Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ a b Aparita Bhandari "Aging Goths seek out fresh blood" - cached here Archived 2009-01-05 at the Wayback Machine Toronto Star June 21, 2002
- ^ club-history Sanctuary Archived November 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Jeckyl/Hyde The Savage Garden Of Good and Evil (July 29th 2001) Torontogoth.com
- ^ Sandee Rager Sublime City: Toronto's Dark Renaissance Archived 2006-10-22 at the Wayback Machine MarsDust Music
- ISBN 0-312-30696-2.
- ^ Marc Weisblott (2005-11-15). "Pale by comparison". Paved Word Press. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
- ^ Michele Mandele Stay home, you freaks! Toronto Sun, Sept 17, 2006
- ^ Sutherland, Ryan. "NOCTURNE : Nightclub : Lounge : Cocktail Bar". www.nocturneclub.com. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
- ^ "Nocturne breathes life into Toronto's weird scene". Retrieved 2015-09-22.
- ^ "102.1 The Edge is reviving 'The Spirit of Radio' with Scot Turner". AUX.TV. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
- ^ "Velvet Underground says goodbye". 2015-08-25. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
- ISBN 0-312-30696-2.
- ISBN 1-904978-32-0. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ISBN 978-0-14-100676-5.
- ^ Rachel Ross "Goths on the job" - cached Toronto Star Oct 12, 2004
- ^ Holly Goes CHOOSE YOUR ALTERNATIVE Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Eye Weekly Newspaper
- ^ Convergence IV Collective (2006-11-03). "A Brief History of Convergence". Convergence IV. Archived from the original on 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
- ^ "Welcome to altgothic.com". altgothic.com. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ CINDY MCGLYNN Weekend of the living dead Eye Weekly
- ^ Rick Winkle, James Gray and Gord Wilson "Vital Sines"[usurped] The Canadian Pop Encyclopedia
External links
- Goth Girls 1 Satirical video featuring the fate of Sanctuary: Vampire Sex Bar.
Canoe.Ca - segment featuring Toronto's goth scene, music from local bands, Minx Clothing, and Club Neutral.
- The Lilith Gallery of Toronto
- Toronto-Goth.com – news and resource for Toronto's goth scene (No longer exists)