The Gothsicles
| The Gothsicles | |
|---|---|
| Origin |
Madison, Wisconsin Chicago, Illinois |
| Genres | Electronic body music (EBM), industrial, powernoise, dark electro |
| Years active | 2003-present |
| Labels | Negative Gain Productions, WTII Records, Sonic Mainline Records |
| Associated acts |
Angelspit, Caustic, Null Device, Modulate, etc. Side Projects: Gothsticulate, False Edge, Hardcore Pong, Khionik, The Causticles, Dinosaur Tank, The Funny Music Project |
| Website | TheGothsicles.com |
| Members | Brian Graupner |
The Gothsicles is an American industrial and Electronic body music (EBM) band based out of Chicago, Illinois. The group was formed in Wisconsin in 2003 by Brian "darkNES" Graupner, who handles vocals and synthesizers, and is the sole consistent member.[1] The band has a rotating lineup of live musicians, including Matt Fanale of Caustic, Matt Slegel of Angelspit, and Micah Skaritka of Cruciform Injection.[1] The band released its first LP, NESferatu, in 2006. Following albums included Sega Lugosi's Dead (2009), Industrialites & Magic (2011), and Squid Icarus, which was released on December 15, 2014. According to COMA Music Magazine, "The Gothsicles are one of the forerunners in Industrial Music for the Nerdy Masses."[2]
Known for "spastic" and energetic live performances,[3] they have performed at major festivals such as Infest,[4] Kinetik Festival, Resistanz, C.O.M.A., Reverence Festival, Eccentrik Festival, and Blacksun Festival. The band has had songs remixed by artists such as Boole, and side projects include Dinosaur Tank, Gothsticulate with Caustic and Modulate, False Edge with Death of Self,[5] and Khionik, a version of The Gothsicles that releases party music.[5] Graupner has also formed The Causticles, a collaboration with Caustic,[5] and Hardcore Pong with Angelspit.[5]
History
2003-05: Founding
The Gothsicles was first formed around 2002 as an industrial and electronic body music (EBM) band in Madison, Wisconsin.[3] Later based in Chicago, Illinois, members include Brian "darkNES" Graupner (vocals, synthesizers), plus a rotating lineup of live musician that has included Matt "Sega Lugosi" Fanale (vocals), and Dan "Turbo Gothic 16" Clark (production, programming).[6]
The Gothsicles officially started[1] June 24, 2002 when The Gothsicles’ entry in a remix contest for the band Freezepop was selected as a winner[7] Founding member Graupner, who writes the majority of their lyrics, had long been interested in diverse music genres. After being exposed to industrial and EBM in high school, he had become an avid fan of bands such as And One, who according to Graupner "sort of proved you could make goofy industrial music work."[8] The band's name was chosen because Graupner found it "hilarious" in college.[1] In 2003 The Gothsicles self-released the EP Etherblisster, and over the next several years performed the songs at festivals such as Reverence.[2]
2006-09: NESferatu
Produced by Dan Clark of The Dark Clan, NESferatu is the first full-length album by The Gothsicles.[9] Released in September 2006 on Sonic Mainline Records, the album's diverse themes include platform games, Konami, type fonts, and the importance of using turn signals. The end of the album includes remixes by artists such as Epsilon Minus,[9] a Canadian techno duo that briefly reformed for the remix. According to Local Sounds Magazine, "this CD is one of the few examples of dark electronic comedy out there."[10] Wrote critic Aaron Coats of Inside Pulse, "seventy percent sarcasm and thirty percent absurdity, this amusing album is both an ode to the goth cliche and a tribute to 8-bit gaming."[11] Wrote Leslie Benson of NUVO in a positive review, "with video game clips and Pulp Fiction samples, some EBM beats and a Saved by the Bell’s Screech kind of lyrical comedy, the album even pokes fun at itself."[12] The band toured in support of the album, and a free remix CD, NESferaTWO, was released on February 23, 2009.[13]
| "It may seem silly to use the term 'matured,' given the nature of their music, but The Gothsicles have done just that. It's apparent right from the start with 'Infl8-R' that the level of production has gone way up. Not that there was anything wrong with what we heard on NESferatu, but with this album the band opens up the floodgates of sound and assaults you with some serious EBM arrangements, as well as the more traditional 8-bit synth lines." |
| — Plastiksickness[14] |
The Chicago-based WTII Records signed the band in 2008,[15] and their first album on WTII, Sega Lugosi's Dead, was released on March 31, 2009. Produced with help from Andrew Sega of Iris, it features artwork by Bogart Shwadchuck and Vlad McNeally.[9] Plastiksickness called the album "matured," praising the production and "serious EBM arrangements."[14] In April 2011 they played music from the album at the first Resistanz Festival, held in Sheffield. Wrote Sound Sphere Magazine about the show, "the riotously funny Gothsicles... proudly displayed their geek chic and love of retro games consoles with hits like ‘Konami Code IV’ and ‘One Second Ghost’. This notoriously nerdy group really riled the crowd into a frenzy."[16]
2011-14: Industrialites & Magic and Squid Icarus
Released on August 9, 2011 on WTII Records, their third album Industrialites & Magic was again written by Brian Graupner, with Dan Clark producing most tracks.[9] The album features guest vocals from Caustic, Xuberx and Critical System Error.[17] Like their previous releases, the end of the album has remixes by groups such as Leather Strip, Caustic, and Yendri, Boole. Topics were again diverse, and their track "Save That Mermaid" is a reference to The Goonies II video game.[18] The album peaked at No. 1 at Amazon.com in the "Goth and Industrial" category for most downloaded album.[19] A music video for "Save That Mermaid" was released in August 2011, and was named Video of the Day by COMA Music Magazine.[18]
 The Gothsicles - "Save Dat Mermaid" (2011 official music video) | |
|
The Gothsicles - "Ultrasweaty" (2014 official music video) |
As of early 2014, Graupner confirmed he'd completed an album that he called "the best thing I've ever done."[20] The Gothsicles' 2014 album Squid Icarus came out on December 15, 2014 on Negative Gain Productions, after a Kickstarter campaign. The album has features by Angelspit and Cyferdyne, and the artwork was created with the help of Angelspit and fashion photographer Emily Gualdoni.[21] Brutal Resonance called the album "brilliant," praising the production value by guest producers such as Assemblage 23, Faderhead, Rotersand, Christ Analogue, and Haujobb.[21] Intravenous Magazine described the album as a "love letter to geek culture," and "their most club-friendly and well-rounded outing to date. The classic Gothsicle elements are all present such as Graupner's bat-shit crazy vocals, the 8-bit leads, and of course more nerdy nods than anyone would rightly admit to getting."[22] According to IDie:YouDie, the album "definitely feels like the best transference of the band’s live energy over to record we’ve yet heard."[23]
Touring
Beyond regularly touring in Wisconsin and Illinois, since 2003 the band has performed at a number of major festivals. They were frequent performers at the Reverence Festival held in Madison, Wisconsin, appearing from 2004 to 2009.[18] Other early notable shows include GenCon from 2004 to 2007, CONvergence from 2006 to 2007, and MarsCon 2006 to 2008.[18] They were on stage with Caustic at the Indoctrination Festival in Chicago in 2006, and were the opening act at the British alternative event Infest 2007,[18] where they were reviewed positively by the BBC.[4] Also in 2007 they performed at Eccentrik Festival, a goth and industrial festival in Raleigh, North Carolina,[18] and appeared at the final rendition of Blacksun Festival in New Haven, Connecticut.[18]
In March 2009 the band embarked on the Vampirefreaks.com 'It Ain't Dead Yet Tour' with Caustic and Pr0metheus Burning.[24] They toured 12 cities in a period of 2 weeks which spanned across the Midwest and East Coast.[25] They performed at the Kinetik Festival in 2010 in Montreal,[18] also writing the song "Holy Shit We're Playing Kinetik!" for the occasion. The band also wrote a song dedicated to their first performance at Resistanz Festival, to be included on the festival's compilation CD. Explained Graupner, "When festivals of that caliber want me on their bill, I get amazingly effin’ pumped and those songs are the result. It would be dishonest of me to write any other kind of track for those comps."[3] They have performed three times at the Montreal industrial music festival C.O.M.A., appearing in 2010, 2012, and 2013. In late 2012 The Gothsicles undertook a tour of the United States with bands such as Deviant UK, for all the emptiness, Die Sektor. In June 2013 they performed at Terminus Festival,[26] and in the summer of 2014 toured Canada as part of the Minitour with for all the emptiness and Hätz.[26]
Side projects, vlog
The Gothsicles frequently collaborate with other musicians and have formed various side projects,[5] including Dinosaur Tank, and Gothsticulate, which involves Caustic and Geoff Lee's EDM project Modulate. The band False Edge is an "industrial darkness" collaboration The Gothsicles with Death of Self,[5] while Khionik is a version of The Gothsicles that releases party music.[5] The band has also formed The Causticles, a collaboration with Caustic.[5] About the Causticles project, Graupner stated "We made a ton of progress initially with basically me remixing aborted Caustic tracks, and then really started to get into a real cohesive interworking of new material."[6] The group also operates the Hardcore Pong video game and music vlog with Australian group Angelspit.[5]
Style and equipment
- Style and influences
The Gothsicles are known for blending various electronic genres, particularly industrial music, electronic body music, and industrial offshoots such as dark electro. COMA Music Magazine wrote that the band creates "oddball EBM" that's "fun, loud and entertaining."[18] Graupner has cited artists such as Atom and his Package,[3] Weird Al,[6] and Neotek as influences.[8] Though the band's songs address diverse and often random topics, lyrics regularly reference the classic NES console[6] and games such as Contra, River City Ransom, and Goonies II.[3]
- Live shows and equipment
Their "spastic" live shows are energetic[3] and often include visual elements such as video.[6] The live band consists of Brian Graupner and a rotating lineup of musicians such as Matt Fanale,[6] with occasional guest production from artists such as Dan Clark.[6]
Members
Studio and live
- Brian "darkNES" Graupner (2003–present) - vocals, synthesizers, songwriting[18]
Live members
- Current as of 2014[19]
- Micah Skaritka
- Brendin Ross
- Dan Clark
- Josev F
- Matt Fanale
- Mikey Hell
- Edwin Locke
- Rainer Chaney
- Matt Slegel
- Syrinx
- Thomas Howell
- DOS://Boot
- Bogart Shwadchuck
- Kristian Melegi
- Hari Garou
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album title | Release details |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | NESferatu |
|
| 2009 | Sega Lugosi’s Dead |
|
| 2011 | Industrialites & Magic |
|
| 2014 | Squid Icarus |
|
Extended plays
| Year | Album title | Release details |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Etherblisster |
|
| 2009 | NESferaTWO |
|
| 2012 | AXE BATTLE: A Remix EP |
|
| 2014 | Songs From the De-EP |
|
| 2015 | The Nyarlat Hot EP |
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | Release details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Konami Code III (Revolution)" | Ehterblisster EP | Self-released (2003) |
| 2004 | "Daisy Chain 4 Satan (TKK cover)" | Single only | Self-released (Oct 2004) |
| 2005 | "Theme From 'So You've Decided To Become A Goth'" | Single only | Self-released (May 3, 2007) |
| 2006 | "Konami Code" | NESferatu | Sonic Mainline (Oct 23, 2006) |
| 2007 | "Holy Shit, We're Playing Infest!" | Single only | Self-released (Oct. 2007) |
| 2009 | "Nine Dudes Freaking Out" | Sega Lugosi's Dead | WTII (Mar 31, 2009) |
| "Everyone Should Play V : TES ('Cause Somebody's Gotta Be Worse Than Me)" (ft. Ben Peal) |
Single only | Self-released (Nov. 15, 2009) | |
| 2011 | "Save Dat Mermaid" | Industrialites & Magic | Music video (Aug 2011) |
| 2013 | "Terminus Festival Is Gonna Be Awesome" (ft. Panic Lift) |
Single only | Self-released (Jun 25, 2013) |
| 2014 | "Ultrasweaty" | Squid Icarus | Music video (Dec 2014) |
Compilations
| Year | Single name | Album | Release details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "DEATHKEY" | Songs In The Key Of Death: A Deathkey Compilation | Sonic Mainline |
| 2010 | "Holy Shit, We're Playing Kinetik" | Kinetik Festival Volume Three | Kinetik |
| "Jim, Let Me Know When You Can Drink Again (Extreme Party Stylezz)" | Electronic Saviors: Industrial Music to Cure Cancer | Metropolis (Feb 9, 2010) | |
| 2011 | "The First Band Ever To Play Resistanz Festival (We're #1)" | Resistanz - International Industrial Music Festival | Resistanz |
| 2012 | "Who Wants To Join Our Superhero Team, Right Now It's Just Me And Jim" |
Electronic Saviors Volume 2: Recurrence | Metropolis (May 8, 2012) |
Remixes by The Gothsicles
| Year | Title | Original artist | Album | Release details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "Idol (Poison Control Mix By The Gothsicles)" | Darker Days Tomorrow | Single only | Erisian Records (Mar 13, 2012) |
| "Empty (Jam Master Cleanse Remix by The Gothsicles)" | Death of Self | Bugs Crawling out of People | Apr. 6, 2012 | |
| "Best I Can Do (Best of Madtown Electro-Synth Part 2 Rmx By the Gothsicles)" |
Stochastic Theory | Single only | Self-released (Sep. 18, 2012) | |
| 2013 | "Cephalopod (Incompetechno rmx by The Gothsicles)" | Kevin MacLeod | Single only | Self-released (Jan. 7, 2013) |
| 2014 | "Cracks Start To Show (Battle Armor Skeletor rmx by The Gothsicles)" |
Deviant UK | AnalogueTrash Records: Label Sampler Vol. 1 | AnalogueTrash Records (Dec. 10, 2014) |
| "Product (Unit G rmx by The Gothsicles)" | Projekt F | Under the Skin | Dec 19, 2014 | |
Remixes of The Gothsicles
| Year | Title | Remixer | Album | Release details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Konami Code (Epsilon Minus Remix)" | Epsilon Minus | NESferatu | Dec 12, 2007 |
| 2009 | "Nine Dudes Freaking Out (Alter Der Ruine Remix)" | Alter Der Ruine | Sega Lugosi's Dead | WTII (Mar 31, 2009) |
| "Nine Dudes Freaking Out (Boole Remix)" | Boole | WTII (Mar 31, 2009) | ||
| "I Thought The CD Player Was Skipping... But It Was Just a Cyanotic Song (Cyanotic Remix)" |
Cyanotic | WTII (Mar 31, 2009) | ||
| 2011 | "My Guy Died (Boole Remix)" | Boole | Industrialites & Magic | WTII (Aug 9, 2011) |
| 2015 | "Death Touch (VanDamnanator Mix by God Module)" | God Module | Nyarlat Hot EP | WTII (Jan 20, 2015) |
| 2015 | "Death Touch (God Van Dammet Remix by BALLPEEN)" | BALLPEEN | Nyarlat Hot EP | WTII (Jan 20, 2015) |
| 2015 | "On Another Plane (F_cked by Projekt F" | Projekt F | Nyarlat Hot EP | WTII (Jan 20, 2015) |
Further reading
- Interviews
- "The Gothsicles: an interview with DarkNES". Connexion Bizarre. June 27, 2011.
- "An Interview with Brian of The Gothsicles". IDie:YouDie. August 9, 2011. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- "Interview- The Gothsicles". Grave Concerns Zine. August 26, 2013.
- "Interview with the Gothsicles". RobexLundgren.com. June 3, 2014.
- Discographies
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 Lundgren, Robex (June 3, 2014). "Interview with the Gothsicles". RobexLundgren.com. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
- 1 2 Angeney, Tiffany (August 9, 2011). "CD Review: The Gothsicles – Industrialites & Magic". COMA Music Magazine. coma-online.com. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "An Interview with Brian of The Gothsicles". IDie:YouDie. August 9, 2011. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- 1 2 Dott, Dr. (April 9, 2007). "Infest 2007". BBC. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Side Projects". thegothsicles.com. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chausse, Kathleen (June 27, 2011). "The Gothsicles: an interview with DarkNES". Connexion Bizarre. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ Freezepop.net: Archives and Contests Archived November 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- 1 2 Lunney, Lisa (August 26, 2013). "Interview- The Gothsicles". Grave Concerns Zine. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- 1 2 3 4 "The Gothsicles". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ Bunny, Sean (November 10, 2006). "THE GOTHSICLES – NESferatu". Local Sounds Magazine. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ Coats, Aaron (September 28, 2006). "The Gothsicles – NESferatu Review". Inside Pulse. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ Benson, Leslie (December 27, 2006). "Wisconsin's Nintendo synthpop comedy". NUVO. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ "The Gothsicles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- 1 2 "The Gothsicles - Sega Lugosi's Dead". plastiksickness. May 4, 2009. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ "About". WTII Records. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ "Live Review: Resistanz Festival 2011 [The Corporation, Sheffield]". Sound Sphere Magazine. April 11, 2011. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ "Industrialites & Magic". WTII Records. 2011. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Video of the Day: The Gothsicles – Save Dat Mermaid". COMA Music Magazine. coma-online.com. August 12, 2012. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- 1 2 "The Gothsicles". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ Zzight, Leon (November 2014). "Interview with the Gothsicles". Archive Today.
- 1 2 Gullota, Steven (2014). "Squid Icarus Review". Brutal Resonance. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ Palfrey, Sean M. (December 2, 2014). "Review: The Gothsicles - 'Squid Icarus'". Intravenous Magazine. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ↑ "Squid Icarus". IDie:YouDie. December 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
- ↑ Caustic It Ain't Dead Yet Tour 2009
- ↑ Kinetic Noise: March 6, 2009
- 1 2 "Live shows". thegothsicles.com. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
External links
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