Vintage deathrockers from New York City, The Naked and the Dead were cult figures in Gotham's small but fervent mid-1980s post-punk/proto-goth scene. The predominantly teenage quartet mixed pulsing, acrobatic basslines and waves of dark, piercing guitar, with tribal drum tattoos and sirenlike vocals. Constructing complex songs full of unusual time changes, they nonetheless avoided the dour and gloomy in favor of a kinetic, punkish intensity with its own brand of moody power.
The Naked and the Dead formed in April 1985, when guitarist and fanzine editor Greg Fasolino (previously of The Oppressed , Outcry , and The Cave) and vocalist Lorianne Oakley, two denizens of the legendary defunct Queens punk club Subway, joined forces with bass prodigy Christopher Bollman (the three had met one month prior at an Andi Sexgang gig at the Peppermint Lounge) and preliminary drummer John Grady. The original lineup was completed that June when the inventive David Patti replaced Grady behind the drumkit, and the foursome took their name from a then-obscure track by Sexgang.
The Naked and the Dead made their controversial live debut on August 3, 1985 at Subway, followed by a pair of packed gigs at CBGB, highlighted by their haunting compositions ("Kisses Like Death," "Faith Floods Down") and blistering covers (UK Decay's "Duel," Sex Gang's "Sense of Elation," and The Stooges' "Real Cool Time").
On September 15, 1985, the foursome entered Hi Five Studio in Manhattan to record four unique tracks ("Taboo," "Cassandra," "Carousel," and "The Gate") with producers Joe Truck and Andy Trash (of Chop Shop / Scarecrow ) and engineer Tim Williams. The resulting demo cassette garnered airplay on WNYU's "Demolition" and WSJU's "Radio Free Flushing" college radio programs, and the tape was reviewed in a couple of fanzines such as Flipside (by early supporter Katz Seki) and Sound Choice.
Fatally hobbled by the difficult task of reaching beyond the small, isolated scene of mid-Eighties NYC (which mainly comprised their friends Chop Shop, Of a Mesh , Concrete Witchdoctors , and Fahrenheit 451), the band in its original form dissolved in December 1985.
The members soon dispersed to newer bands. Bollman went on to form The Children's Zoo in 1986 with vocalist Robert Conroy (later of Morricone Youth and Misty Roses); Fasolino played in Burning Rome, Rawhead, Goatblood Sacrifice , Pump, Wrench, They Eat Their Gods, Lusting for the Cheetah , Sea of Fur , The Sea Beasts, and The Deno Blues Gang, and worked as a music journalist; Oakley gave up singing but played bass with Burning Rome, Rawhead, and Pump; while Patti drummed for moody goth-rockers The Ochrana during 1987-89.
By the end of the Eighties, however, all had stopped actively performing music and moved on to careers, travels, and eventually families.
In summer 2000, a small, mildewed box of mystery was unearthed, a fragile reel of tape containing the The Naked and the Dead’s four studio recordings from 1985. Once remastered and restored by friend Steve French (of Starclub), the tunes were released along with the remaining 1985 live and rehearsal material as an eponymous CD issued on their own Moorleichen Recordings). When posted as mp3s, these old songs spurred a surprising wave of interest in this long-forgotten band. The influential site Deathrock.com put up a tribute page and encouraged the idea of a reunion, and other DJs worldwide began spinning the old songs. By the time StarVox online magazine had published a massive overview interview in their April 2002 issue, Christopher Bollman and Greg Fasolino had been personally reunited with their old friend David Patti.
It was only a short, fateful step towards a real, authentic reconjuring of the old Naked and the Dead magic; once taken, things fell into place almost as if the entire process had been planned all along. From the ancient bog of the Eighties, something dark and fierce reemerged, unscathed by its long dormancy. Lacking only a vocalist (original singer Oakley having relocated to New Orleans long ago), the original three members found the perfect replacement in Julia Ghoulia, a fan of the band and Brazil-to-New York transplant reknowned for her sultry work fronting Sao Paulo goths Sleepless (and as keyboardist of The Brides ).
Rehearsals began in June 2002, and a new wave of songs ("Exit Through the Plastic, "Life on Trial," "Gravity Defied," "Happy Ending Package," "Party Time at the Funeral Parlor") quickly sprouted and took haunting root. Old instrumental "Crown of Thorns" was revamped and given lyrics by Ms. Ghoulia, becoming the new favorite "Aftereffect."
Interest in the band continued to grow, spurred by a remix of Naked and the Dead classic track "Cassandra," released on StarVox's CD compilation Trinity Vol. 1 in October 2002. Arisen from their premature burial in 1985, The Naked and the Dead were like ghosts reborn from a distant, poorly-known sonic era of the city's music history, from a time when there was no internet, when alternative rock was not a viable consumer commodity, when making music with a dark edge was an act of faith and iconoclastic passion.
The first Naked and the Dead live performance since 1985 took place on December 15, 2002 at Brooklyn's Great Lakes pub, including old classics, the new material, and a powerful rendition of Ghoulia's song from Sleepless, "The City's on Fire." Additional shows were booked, but were canceled when David Patti’s work duties left him unable to continue with the band. He departed on New Year’s Eve 2002. Following a final three-song home demo ("My Plastic Faces," "Victimless Murderer," and instrumental "Chiming Song"), Julia Ghoulia also left the band on February 2, 2003, to concentrate on her continuing work with The Brides. At this point, The Naked and the Dead went into hibernation.
In 2003, bassist Christopher Bollman and guitarist Greg Fasolino formed Bell Hollow . Fasolino also recorded with his son Rudi during 2005-2006 as The Green Monster Band .
The "Trinity Mix" of "Cassandra" was released again in 2004 on the German compilation CD Dark Awakening Vol. 4".
In celebration of the band's 20th Anniversary, The Naked and the Dead (Christopher Bollman, Greg Fasolino, and Julia Ghoulia, joined on drums by Julia's bandmate from The Brides, D.W. Friend) performed a special reunion concert at the 2005 Drop Dead Festival at The Knitting Factory in NYC, in front of an international crowd of fervent fans. "Victimless Murderer" was given its live debut, but it was an intense rendition of oldie "Carousel" that proved to be The Naked and the Dead's finest concert moment to date.
The Naked and the Dead CD collection (a complete set of 1985 material comprising 19 tracks) was reissued in 2007, available by mail order only for $11.99 per CD, via Lulu.com.
In January 2009, The Naked and the Dead released an eponymous 8-song album on iTunes (worldwide), comprising all the original songs from 1985 ("Cassandra," "Taboo," "Carousel," "The Gate," "Faith Floods Down," "Kisses Like Death," "Cat of the Nine," "Godfather Grimorie").
Labels interested in licensing tracks, please contact The Naked and the Dead via email ([email protected]).
DISCOGRAPHY
The Naked and the Dead (demo cassette; 1985, Rue Morgue Records)
The Naked and the Dead (CD collection; 2001, Moorleichen Recordings)
The Naked and the Dead (CD collection reissue; 2007, Lulu.com)
The Naked and the Dead (collection; 2009, iTunes)
Compilations:
Trinity Vol. 1 (2002, StarVox/Darkcell Digital) - "Cassandra"
Release the Rats (2003, Creepy Rat Records) - "Taboo"
Dark Awakening Vol. 4 (2004, COP Int'l) - "Cassandra"
GIGOGRAPHY
08-03-1985 - Subway, Rego Park, NY
08-12-1985 - CBGB, New York, NY
08-31-1985 - CBGB, New York, NY
12-15-2002 - Great Lakes, Brooklyn, NY
10-28-2005 - Drop Dead Festival, The Knitting Factory, New York, NY
Site created and maintained by Greg Fasolino
