19 August 1 -7, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents as the clubs and bars go, you gotta have good AC, especially when it’s almost 100 degrees at 9 p.m.” His own wardrobe reflects that too. “I love vinyl pants, I could wear them every day,” Laszlo says. “To be a little more comfort- able in Texas summer months, I like well-fit- ted cargo or plaid shorts, usually with a band T-shirt or hoodie. I like to accessorize with leather cuffs or wear bracelets on my wrists” Laszlo’s night at PANOPTIKON is mar- keted toward the old-school goth, spinning loads of Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Sis- ters of Mercy and Bauhaus. That initial wave of dark ‘80s music laid the blueprint for the aesthetics of modern goth culture. To some, the commercialized peripheries of being a goth cheapened the true essence of what the movement used to be. “Real goths don’t call themselves goth,” says Krystal Garcia, who moderates multiple DFW goth Facebook groups and helps pro- mote local goth bands. “Ninety percent of my closet is black, yes, but to me that just looks better on anybody.” Garcia started attending goth clubs in the late ‘90s. She jumped into the scene hoping to acquaint herself with the local goth music scene, but the clubs weren’t what she ex- pected. “I noticed there was a clear distinction be- tween people who would just go to the club and people who would actually go to see live music,” she says. “There’s a lot of people that just go because they like the clothes. It would get frustrating when you would see so many good bands come through that didn’t get the attention they deserved.” Crashing In J ay Gavit is trying to get local goth bands the attention they deserve. Known as DJ Crash, he spins records on The Cat- acombs on 89.3 KNON from midnight to 4 a.m. on Saturdays. The show was pitched as the audio after party for goths to tune into on their way home from PANOPTIKON. With the midnight – 4 a.m. show time, Ga- vit has to be a night owl. But being a goth in Texas, he didn’t need any sort of transition. “We joke about the fact that we’re vam- pires,” he says. “Crowds usually don’t really show up to our things until 11. Why is that? Summer in Texas is extreme, but the nights are nice. It’s cooler to go outside, so we just adjust to be more night people.” Some nights can still get up to high 80s, but that won’t curb Gavit. “Everything’s black,” he says. “You still ad- just a little bit. Not so heavy on layers. Not wearing gloves, not wearing jewelry. But you will never see goths wearing pastel shorts like groups of SMU [Southern Methodist Univer- sity] jocks.” We attended a live broadcast of The Cata- combs with Gavit at the helm and LeVey join- ing as a guest. Even on an audio-only show, the crew came dressed for an evil fashion runway. Gavit wore heavy eye shadow and red makeup that looked like burns on his face, with a black mop of hair that flopped with each turn. LeVey stopped by straight from PANOPTIKON, sporting three layers of black regalia complete with a hot pink Hello Kitty fanny pack. The crew was completed by Ga- vit’s regular co-host, Lily Lurid, and socialite Star Daniels, both dressed equally dark. When the midnight hour hit, Gavit turned off the overhead lights in the KNON studio and turned on a set of strobing lasers that zig- zagged around the room all night as he DJed. The five of us had entered our own mini goth club where we swapped ghost stories around a campfire between songs, except the club was an office room and the campfire was a set of LEDs. There’s an irreverence to the goth that many of us grew to love that night. I entered their territory wearing a baby blue T-shirt and ... I was welcomed and stayed till 4 a.m. when, ironically, a gospel show takes over the studio. Dallas haD projected highs of 95–98 de- grees next week. So what? We know how Maddie Fritz and Cameron Brand are going to dress in July at the Cicada in Fort Worth. We know the way Lillith LaVey is going to dance when Byron Laszlo queues up an- other track at Sons of Hermann Hall. We know they’re all going to tune in to The Catacombs hot and sweaty, but happy, be- cause they’re living the life they know they want to live. “The world is gonna come to a fiery end,” Gavit says. “Let’s dance, and look good doing it.” Vera “Velma” Hernandez Dallas goths say they’re used to the stares, but people make a lot of assumptions based on their appearance. Hottest Latin aduLt CLub in daLLas! Free Menudo all day sunday Happy Hour everyday 11aM-7PM open 11am-2am everyday 11044 Harry Hines boulevard // (214) 206-3820 scan for more info
