11 Days to Dragon*Con: Band Profile, Aurelio Voltaire
Does anyone not know who Voltaire is? I mean, anyone reading this Dragon*Con countdown? I feel like Voltaire is one of those Dragon*Con staples, like the Crüxshadows, or Emerald Rose. He’s sort of a folksy-macabre-storyteller singer (and he also does movies and comics and TV and toys, he’s pretty busy). I guess, to me, he’s sort of like Marc Gunn in that I can see his appeal, but I don’t really get it? I went to Voltaire’s show in 2010 and it was certainly entertaining enough, he’s very charismatic and puts on a great live show, but I wasn’t inspired to go out and buy a CD afterward. But props to him for having a great stage name (shout out to 10th grade English!), and great website image (on a flaming unicorn!) and also for being Cuban American. Diversity in the house, right? I feel like most of the previous bands I’ve profiled have been extremely white. Also, why is there no Dragon*Con hip hop group? This is Atlanta, how has no one crossed into sci-fi hip hop yet? That’d be amazing.
Also, I like his top hat. Top hats are cool.
Music time!
Everyone knows the “Brains!” song, right?
So this song is called “Riding a Black Unicorn,” which is a wonderful song title, truly. Actually, I sort of love this song. Voltaire has just risen in my esteem a bit.
So that’s another one of his classics. Y’all get the idea.
I’d like to point out here that one of my friends declared “I can’t stand that guy,” when I told him that I was profiling Voltaire. So that makes me feel a bit better about not being head over heels regarding Voltaire–although that “Riding a Black Unicorn” song is still phenomenal and I love it.
Talking points:
–Macabre-folksy singer-songwriter in a top hat
–Brains!!! (Aka Dragon*Con staple)
–RIDING A BLACK UNICORN.
One thumb up. For the black unicorn song.
August 19, 2012 at 1:04 pm
Actually, that is his real name not a stage name. And I would recomend you give his older stuff a try. Around 2010 he was doing some “different” stuff that I wasn’t a big on either. For example you might try the song Nearly Human, and When your Evil is even more of a staple then rains
August 21, 2012 at 2:09 pm
That’s a fancy real name–Voltaire isn’t Cuban last I checked, although I’m sure there’s a story about it I could find if I rooted around the internet long enough. Anyways, thanks for the comment! 9 days!
August 21, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Aurelio Voltaire Hernández is his real full name.
September 6, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Yes, Aurelio Voltaire Hernández is a Cuban immigrant. He moved to New Jersey with his family when he was a year old. I absolutely adore both him and his music, so if there’s anything else you’d like to know about him, just ask. I’m an expert. LOL
August 21, 2012 at 2:02 pm
I like Voltaire. Try going to one of his panels, not just the concert. If you do, ask him to tell the story of being banned from Dragon*Con for life.
August 21, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Hi! Thanks for the comment. One of my Facebook friends says that she likes Voltaire as a person but she doesn’t dig his music (and that this makes her feel bad!) and I am in general agreement of this statement. Every time I see him give an interview or catch a film clip of him I think he is super interesting, articulate, and intelligent! But I just don’t “get” his music (except the unicorn song which is amazing). I’ll check out what time his panel is and maybe stop by–I bet he’s super entertaining as a speaker, and that sounds like it’d be a great story!