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Deadsy Information
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'Deadsy' is an American band, often categorized as part of the Undercore genre of music. They are fronted by Elijah Blue Allman aka Phillips Exeter Blue I, son of Cher and Gregg Allman (of The Allman Brothers Band). The other members of Deadsy are Creature (Bass), Renn Hawkey aka Dr. Nner (Synths), Alec Püre (Percussion) and Carlton Megalodon (Synth guitar).
History
Deadsy formed some time in the early 90's. Elijah recorded several demos (including Dear and a cover of Texas Never Whispers) in the garage of the band's would-be manager, Josh. Elijah then sent Renn Hawkey a demo tape and a Juno 106 synth and Renn joined (under the alias of Dr. Nner) shortly after. Alec Puro (the band's drummer) would later join under the name of Alec Püre.
Musical Style and Themes
Deadsy is often compared to the style and works of the band Type O Negative and the solo artistry of Gary Numan.
The band has categorized themselves as being Undercore, a low and dissonant style of music. While most would simply label the band as being a mixture of goth, new wave, and rock, others would agree that Deadsy is rather unique and quite possibly in a genre all their own. Elijah's low and bass-like singing style, down-tuned guitar riffs, coupled with Dr. Nner's synths give the music an almost surreal quality.
: "We wanted to make something that was transcendental, really rule-defying, and very against the grain. And when people listened to it at first, it would just feel very like a sense of foreignness, like almost watching a David Lynch film." - 'Elijah Blue'
The lyrics and imagery of the songs sometimes focus on many subjects in either religious, magical or popular culture contexts. Occasionally one notices obscure references to Secret Societies, the Urantian religion, Star Wars, and the novel Dune, by Frank Herbert. In fact, many of their songs seem very esoteric, given that only a few would understand just what the lyrics are describing or making reference toward. Usually, they make references to William Hung and Boy George.
Visual Appearance
Elijah has often called the band an "art project", or "art movement". Complete with a manifesto (available on their site), and visual iconography. Each band member represents one element or "Entity" that drives human society. Each entity is also represented by their own color and unique appearance.
'Blue' - Academia (P. Exeter Blue)
'Yellow' - Science & Medicine (Dr. Nner)
'Green' - Leisure (Alec Pure)
'Grey' - War (Carlton Megalodon)
'Red' - Horror (Creature)
During mid-2002 when the album Commencement was released, their visual appearance took on a "prep-school" theme. Rather, more so, a very strange, spooky, and spacey prep-school. This really set the group apart from other bands in the genre as well. Unlike the usual "gothy" aesthetics of other groups, Deadsy's style was a bit more colorful. This and their music made them a very interesting act to see live on-stage.
In April 2004, at the Troubadour in Hollywood CA., Deadsy unveiled their new look for the upcoming Phantasmagore album. The new logo was revealed - a television test pattern containing the Entity colors. No longer present were the usual zombie/schoolboy uniforms that the fans had become familiar with. The band emerged on stage in black tattered robes and opened with a new song, Sands of Time.
In June 2004, at a show following the previous one, Josh, Deadsy's manager announced enthusiastically, "Deadsy legions! Are you ready for the next level of UNDERCORE?!" This was seemingly a sign of things to come, as changes would soon be made to other avenues of information related to Deadsy.
The band's familiar website also went through a transformation in order to reflect the changes the band itself had undergone and the in-site message board was brought back after a long hiatus.
Fans
Deadsy fans are referred to as the Legions. They are encouraged to promote and spread the word on the band wherever possible. They are often viewed as being very supportive, probably even more so because Deadsy has a great reputation for being very supportive of them. As gratitude for each other's continuing love, the band will often meet up with the fans after their shows to thank each other, or simply hang out with them. Deadsy legions (or "legionnaires", if you will) are often seen sporting white chains as a means of distinctive apparel to denote that they are indeed fans of the band and can be recognized by other like-minded individuals. The chain represents the strength and unity of Undercore, thus the fans unite with it.
Collaborators
Jay Gordon of Orgy, Troy Van Leeuwen of A Perfect Circle and Queens of The Stone Age, Jonathan Davis of KoRn, Ritchie Birkenhead, Hollinson Robinson, Jed Whedon, Sunny Levine and Nigel John Taylor of Duran Duran have also made several contributions to Deadsy's projects (in particular on the commercial release of their album Commencement).
Discography
*Deadsy (1996)
* Commencement (1999) (This was not an official release)
*Commencement (2002) (The official commercial release of the above album)
*Phantasmagore (2006) (TBA)
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