An Interview of With a Former (Industrial) Goth

          As mentioned before, my cousin thrived in the industrial goth scene in the 2000s. She attended

highschool between 2002-2005, which was the height of her "phase". This was the time in which she changed her hair to purple, pierced her lips, tongue, and nose. Along with that, all she wore was black and I remember her forcing The Nightmare Before Christmas on me as a child, countless times. For the purpose of this project, I was given the opportunity to interview her about her perception of the scene in the early 2000s, and her experiences. Since then, she's had two kids and is settled down. It was definitely informal, as I asked her questions as it went along with a few questions planned out. Although she was not a trad-goth, she still hung out with the "goth kids" social group.

Where did you go to highschool? What social circle did you find yourself being a part of? 

           [laughs] You know where I went to school, but if we must, I went to Roseville highschool. My graduating class was 2006. It was a shit show, but isn't all highschool experiences sort of like that? Uh, I hung out with the "weird" kids, like the social rejects. No one really wanted to approach us or be friends with us, I guess 'cuz we looked scary? I mean, I probably wouldn't want to approach the 2004 version of myself either. The word you're looking for is probably "goth", but I think we were a mixture of all those alternative types. Some of us were a bit more into it, and others just needed people to sit with at lunch. Or people to do drugs with, since they all thought we dealed. 

What kind of music did you listen to? 

         I listened to a lot of punk, industrial music. Although even I couldn't deny a good cure song every now and then. But mostly nineties stuff, like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. God, I was in love with Marilyn Manson, back in his peak. I thought I was going to marry him, so I guess I focused on being more like him. Dressing like him and stuff. I also listened to a lot of metal, but only because Patrick [her boyfriend / husband of the time] was into that stuff and I worked hard to impress him in the beginning. So yeah, lots of industrial, aggressive music with the occasional classic.

Can you explain the Marilyn Manson concerts to the best detail? 

        They were absolutely crazy, holy. Those experiences are probably my best memories of my highschool experience. You know, he's not the best singer in real life, but he still put on a really great show. Can't really argue with the aura he carried with himself. I've seen him live maybe, four? times? I would have to drag Patrick with me to them. They were violent, passionate crowds. A lot of the way Marilyn Manson fans dance can be dangerous to anyone standing in within five feet of them. Lots of thrashing, lots of flailing arms. I like to imagine I embodied the perfect Marilyn Manson fan of the time, but I probably didn't. 

What about clothes? Did you have a particular favorite piece of clothing or makeup technique?

         Well, Hot Topic was sort of the popular place to get clothes at, but really, most of the things I wore were hand-me-downs from my dad or older brother. I definitely liked the baggy, manlier type of clothing, cause I really couldn't give a shit about my appearance as much as I should.  Besides my hair, I really cared about what my hair looked like. I think I gave Nana a heart attack when I first dyed it, but she was really upset with me about my lip and tongue piercing. But you know, she overreacts to things. My first tattoo was probably the worst. But uh? Favorite piece of clothing? ...Probably my boots. Mainly because I wore them everywhere, and loved them even more when they got dirty. The big platforms were great at feeling powerful, walking around Roseville High. I liked the chains too, but who doesn't like the chains? As for makeup, I really loved pale skin. I wanted to look like a vampire, but at the time pale foundation didn't really exist. I would steal my mom's baby powder to puff onto my skin after foundation. Probably not the best because I had horrible acne, and it probably didn't look too great.. [laughs] but I really thought it looked good.

Do you ever miss being young and apart of the scene?           

        No. highschool was horrible for me. My kids are my life now and please, for god's sake, don't take me back to that hellhole. But, yeah, maybe sometimes I wish I could wear chains without looking like that wannabe, scary mom picking her daughter up from kindergarten. 

What did your friends do for fun? 

          I probably shouldn't be admit to some of the things we did, ha! Like I said, we were the weird kids, we did weird things. We liked breaking into the cemetery next to the high school when it was nighttime. We'd walk around and try to scare each other with fake horror stories. I'm surprised we never really got caught. For the.. most part. We'd also love going over to my friend Eric's house, he had a basement that become our normal hang out. He had cool lamps and would turn them on, then play weird, ambient music. You know, things teenagers did. Ahem. We weren't really the group of people to go out and party with others, at one point we convinced ourselves we were too good for them. But in all honesty, we were just never invited. I don't really mind though. I enjoy some of the memories. 

Would you ever return to the scene? 

        I'm sort of enjoying my life right now, I don't ever see myself going back to what I was in highschool. Most of us don't, it's sort of embarrassing to me. I mean, I still love certain things, I got spooky things... [she pulls out her wallet from her purse that's embellished by skulls and bats] ...See! Anyways, I never thought of myself being completely full-fledged goth or industrial. I just went with the flow, so probably not.

What would you say is different about goth now?

        Oh, uh, everything? Do people still dress up as goths? I haven't really seen anyone dressed like the way I did in highschool ever. Did you have a goth clique at your highschool? [I shake my head no] Yeah, huh.. Maybe that goth is used as a term for everything now, rather than a specific look and person? Wait, why are you even doing this project?  

What kind of advice do you have for me or other goth people about the scene? 

        Don't do drugs. As much as someone says it's cool, well... actually don't. Also, you're going to make mistakes, and you'll most likely look back in ten years and cringe a bit at yourself. That's okay, just enjoy yourself in the moment. Don't strive to be super popular, and have fun being yourself... Are we done now?