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  • Release the Bats Long Beach

    Many people at least partially credit the current liveliness of the American deathrock scene to Long Beach California's Release the Bats club night. A who's who of American deathrock have played the club, including Dave Skott, Jeremy Meza, Shane Talada, Dinah Cancer, Douglas Avery, Daniel Ribiat, Lucas Lanthier, Fate Fatale, Patrick Mata, Gitane Demone, and so many more. The Release the Bats club night has received props from publications including Blue Blood, Starvox, Drop Dead, Tattoo Savage, and more. The photo of Jenn and Dave with the Release the Bats T-shirt below is from Blue Blood. Check out the whole interview on Starvox.

    Enter Dave & Jenn Skott and a wee night club called Release the Bats. For many, as you'll see in this article, Release the Bats was the anchor that kept Deathrock alive in the U.S. when all the other clubs were forgetting their roots.

    Dave Skott comments, "Release The Bats is a natural backlash to the mainstream Goth scene of today. In 1998, The Que Sera, a bar we frequent in Long Beach California, asked us if we'd like to throw their annual Halloween party. Myself & Jenn Skott, along with Jeremy Meza slammed their brains together over cocktails one evening and thought that an 'old school' Gothik party would be the best! Since, at the time almost all of the so called 'Goth' clubs were spinning techno and that one damn Virgin Prunes song, the media was eating the scene alive and trying to bury it in the same hole as the rave scene, we said 'f*ck this!' and brought the REAL DEAL out of the grave!

    RTB was actually only going to happen that one time but we received such GREAT responses from it we asked the Que Sera for another night ... [and] there ya have it! I think its safe to say that we figuratively slapped the entire scene in the face!"

    Still running today, stronger than ever, Release the Bats has become THE destination for deathrock bands to play live as well as a reason for many to actually move to California for those seeking refuge and a place to call home...