The Dark Young was my second Boston band. We were a Gothic/Art-Rock/Performance-poetry outfit, and we confused booking agents and rock club crowds from 1991-1995. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my creative life. Our sound was something like mid-70's King Crimson, but we also had the poetry aspect (which is where the Goth part came in). Aside from our crimsonesque originals, we played covers of everything from "Bluejay Way", by the Beatles, and "Down in the Hole", by Tom Waits, to the old tango song "Sus Ojos Se Cerraron", by Carlos Gardel, and the art song "Polo", by Spanish classical composer Manuel de Falla. I also have a fond memory of playing parts of King Crimson's "Doctor Diamond", and Deep Purple's "Bloodsucker" both on the same night at the Middle East bakery in Boston! We rocked the shit out of that coffee house, and they loved it! I didn't write many songs for the Dark Young, since we had a brilliant song writer in our guitarist, Mac Randall, who already had a back catalog of literally a hundred or so songs to choose from. The only works I brought to the band were my poems, most of which are already featured throughtout this site (ie. "Gargoyle", "Tasty Little Muffins", etc.). I did bring in some old numbers from my days in the folk duo, the Gloom Twins, which I was in with my old friend Derek Fetler, from around 1989-90. One of them was the number "Femme Fatale", which is presented here in a slightly altered version. To see some more Gloom Twins lyrics, click here. Some of them are a little ingenuous, and make me cringe, but it was all earnest, and in good fun. The only song I really wrote with Mac was the back-handed tribute to industrial rock, called "Tetragramophone". The title came from a perversion of the word Tetragrammaton, another name for The Creator (Jehova). I crossed the aforementioned name with gramophone, creating a sort of god-of-the-turntable, who terrorizes a would be partner. This tune, like the 40 Grit song "Ride My Grill", is my way of poking fun at rock lyrics, especially metal and industrial, which tend to be moronic, misogynistic, violent, and nihilistic. I hope none of you readers actually believe that I endorse violence or hatred of any kind, for I am steadfastly against it. Besides, both of these songs have some obvious fantasy elements to them, and are not to be taken seriously in any way, shape, or form. That having been said, it is fun to just spout crazy shit, and see the crowd freak out over it! The other piece featured here is the poem "Flower of Evil", which is a blatant rip off of Charles Baudelaire! Hey, if Leslie West can do it, and get away with it, so can I.It's included here because the piece was performed as a sort of screamy punk song. I hope you enjoy these pieces, as much as I did. |
| THE DARK YOUNG HISTORY |
| THE DARK YOUNG LINE-UPS: Manny Arenas: vocalissimo, poetry, dry wit Mac Randall: b-vox, guitar, spider stylings "Dark" Mark White: bass Jeremy Woodruff: flute, alto & baritone sax Dave Brandt: drums (1991-92) Jonno Deily: drums, percussion (1992-93) Geoff Chase: drums, percussion (1993-95) |