If there's been one certainty in the Valley's goth and industrial scenes during the past several days, it's that nothing's for certain.
As we previously reported, DJs like Apollynon and Aeternum put on what they thought were the final goth/industrial sessions at Sanctum this past weekend, as it was widely rumored that the club was undergoing a possible ownership or format change. The plan was to relocate their events over to Monsterland in Mesa and pick up where they'd left off at the similarly spooky haunted house/nightclub.
During the last 24 hours, however, everything went crazy after two big bombshells were dropped on the goth scene.
See also: - Mesa's Monsterland to Close Next Weekend - Club Candids: A Final Night of Goth and Industrial Music at Sanctum - DJ Dossier: Apollynon
First, Monsterland's owners announced yesterday afternoon that they're closing the place on Saturday, January 19. And then late last night, Up on the Sun learned that goth nights will still be taking place at Sanctum after the club's possible reboot was nixed for the time being.
Needless to say, the heads of many in the scene haven't stopped spinning, including the melon of Apollynon. When we spoke with the DJ, known to his mama and papa as Mark Peskin, about all the madness he dropped a humorously apt reference to Bill Murray's memorable line from Ghostbusters about, "dogs and cats living together...mass hysteria!"
In the span of less than a day, the 33-year-old's fortunes bounced around in full tilt boogie fashion. He went from gearing up for the debuts of his various gothy and fetish-friendly monthlies -- including Black Mass, TekNoir, and Reform School -- at Monsterland to scrambling for new locations for said nights after word broke of the Mesa venue's closure to ultimately learning that Sanctum would once again run DJ events, albeit for the immediate future.
(Apparently, whatever alleged deals that were taking place behind the scenes at Sanctum were called off or fell through).
As for Monsterland, as our sister blog Jackalope Ranch reported on Wednesday, its impending closure stems from the owners running outta cash after an expensive addition of a bar and dance club to go along with its haunted house.
While both the goth/industrial/fetish/fringe/burlesque scenes all seemed to latch onto the place and booked multiple events (including an epic performance by Combichrist on Halloween night) at Monsterland, there's wasn't enough cash or warm bodies coming in to keep it afloat.
The news of Monsterland's closing came as a complete surprise to Peskin, who had already scheduled the next edition of Black Mass, a vampire-inspired "Fang Party," to take place on Friday, January 18, at the venue. While he told Up on the Sun that the event will still take place as planned, he's depressed by the news of Monsterland going R.I.P.
"With Monsterland closing it means we lose another great venue and the goth scene continues to search for a home. We have a great scene and a steady following," he says. "[Monsterland] wanted us, we just came along too late in the game for it to work for either if us."
According to Monsterland's staff, other events scheduled to take place at the venue prior to the January 19 closure are still on. That includes this Saturday's gig by aggrotech/industrial bands God Module and Bind.Torture.Kill.
According to Monsterland's staff, other events scheduled to take place at the venue prior to the January 19 closure are still on. That includes this Saturday's gig by aggrotech/industrial bands God Module and Bind.Torture.Kill.
In the meantime, Peskin is already hunting for yet another place to throw his parties after believing he'd found a new home post-Sanctum.
"Yes it's a set back, but we will find a place to call home again and I will continue to work with other promoters in the Valley to bring greats nights to our scene. Change necessitates evolution and as always we will evolve."
