This has been a killer year for CVLT Nation, and one of the coolest things about this year has been the humans we have met, some only in the virtual world and others in both. There have also been some sad times, the biggest being the untimely passing of Kenn Kroosaficks. He helped run the Facebook page DEATHROCK: Not just for 1980’s Californian Vampires, and he also became a writer for CVLT Nation. What I remember about Kenn was that he was always so positive, and his messages would always bring a smile to my face! His passion and knowledge of Deathrock was pretty amazing – I really respected the fact that he supported new bands just as much as the older bands. Kenn died way to young, but every time something about Deathrock or Peace Punk goes up on the site, it will be inspired by him. That’s why today, on our anniversary, we are reposting this in Kenn Kroosaficks honor, may your ghost haunt us forever!
Labels suck, because they mean so many different things to different people, and usually don’t accurately capture the things that they are try to put into a box. Deathrock is one of those labels that was created by the media in the early 80’s to describe a way of dressing and a form of music. The interesting thing is that those creating the music did it without wanting to be labeled. When Christian Death and 45 Grave started, there was no such thing as Deathrock, it was just them being themselves. Then you had the attire of this movement – I remember being a young punk during this time, and it just seemed that by default many of the females that were a part of the scene adopted the look that would later become Deathrock or Goth. Here is a little secret: by 83/84, you would see many male hardcore kids (ie Shawn Stern from BYO, Marlon from Another State of Mind, and myself included) at the weekly Dirge parties dancing to Bauhaus, because that’s where all the girls were! Then in England you had the rise of the batcave movement, which was an awesome world unto itself. This scene produced some killer artists, fashion designers and filmmakers, and gave British youth a new way to express themselves. As I have said before – one of the coolest things about this era is the way that the lines of division were being erased, Peace Punks hung out hard with Deathrockers on both sides of the pond. Today, CVLT Nation would like to share with you a gallery of photos that offer a look into a world that still influences the universe. You can hear this era in bands like Lost Tribe, Death Charge and Puerto Rico Flowers, and this generation made a mark on fashion that will be felt until the end of time. So after the jump, see how the ghouls got down during the haunted 80’s!
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