Tag: Voltaire

11 Days to Dragon*Con: Band Profile, Aurelio Voltaire

· 6 Comments ·

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.

35 Days to Dragon*Con: Band Profile, Ego Likeness

· 1 Comment ·

So my first reaction to Ego Likeness‘ website was “eeee gothy.”  The group was created by Steven Archer and Donna Lynch, who are married and live in the DC area with two hairless cats, which is awesome.

English: Ego Likeness
English: Ego Likeness (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pretty gothy right?  So I said to myself: “I bet they sound like the Crüxshadows.”Lo and behold:

Okay, so maybe not as dancey as the Crüxshadows, but it definitely has the dark, electronica vibe going for it.  Shall we try another?

That’s a little dancier, right?  Also, lady vocals!

Here’s some grainy, shaky footage of their live act:

As is to be expected, they have toured frequently with the Crüxshadows and have played Dragon*Con several times.   They’ve also opened for Voltaire.  They fall squarely into the gothy electronica group of bands at Dragon*Con, which I generally prefer to the folksy Celtic music group of bands at Dragon*Con–even though all the gothy electronica groups sort of blend together for me unless I specifically know them or their music (ie: Crüxshadows).  Still, it is easier for me to dance to the gothy electronica music than the folksy Celtic music–sorry men in kilts.  Just in case you were curious, here is their Dragon*Con website profile.

Talking points:

-Anchored by a married couple

-Opened for the Crüxshadows and Voltaire

-Gothy electronica

Two thumbs up!  More black eyeliner and synth please!