Review from Rock Fiend International

From Rock Fiend International

MOCKINGBIRD LANE
2003 Demo
(Self Released)
Rating: 3.5

 Few things frustrate me more than great songs not given the treatment they deserve. And the first song on this cd, "Taken Under" is indeed a great song. The problem is that I have a hard time listening to it on this demo because I'm torn between taking simple pleasure in how good the song is and being frustrated by what the song isn't. What it is is a fantastically catchy and infectious Goth-Rock song which unfortunately sounds as though it was recorded on a cheap boombox at the bottom of a swamp. OK, I realize the word, "demo" is printed prominently on the cover and have taken that into consideration. The fact of the matter is this is the kind of song that would benefit greatly from some bombastic over-production. The other songs on the CD "I...Vampire" and "Wolfshead" are pretty straight forward, run-of-the-mill Goth-tinged Horror Rock. That kind of stuff generally sounds OK when recorded on substandard equipment. Obviously, any song can benefit from better production but there's really no point in putting a flea market velvet Elvis painting in a gold-encrusted frame. There's also a cover of "She" on here in case there's anybody out there who hasn't heard enough Misfits covers.

-Big Tony O'Farrell

Review from the Midnight Calling e-zine June '04

The e-zine Midnight Calling is back on-line with an old interview they did with us and a review of our 2003 Demo. Go check it out!

From the Midnight Calling E-zine at: http://www.midnightcalling.com


Mockingbird Lane - 2003 Demo

 This demo by Oklahoma's deathrock band Mockingbird Lane starts with their single "Taken Under" (along with an excellent acoustic version) and then launches into a rousing cover of the Misfit's "She". The hard driving "I Vampire" and "Wolfshead" are soon to be released on a upcoming compilation. We hope we can soon hear a full length release from Mockingbird Lane. This is some good stuff! Enough said! (Aiden)

Dead and Buried Playlist 04-06-04

Dead and Buried playlist - 04 06 04


Cavey Nik
Wreckage - Devil's Little Helper (Lucifer Mix)
The Prids - The Problem
The Vanishing - Princess Poison
Gothic Girls - Devil
Ghost Train - Date With the Devil
Agent X - Bad Girls go to Hell
Coffin Shakers - Pale Man in Black
Deadbolt - Billy's Dead
The Cramps - Elvis Fuckin' Christ
Mockingbird Lane - I....Vampire
The Rabies - Psycho Teenage Mutant Massacre
Secret Cervix - Fuck You
Antiworld - Nekromance II

DJane Darlin' Grave
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Slowdive
X Mal Deutschland - Mondlicht
Tragic Black - Tattered and Shredded
Paralis Permanente - Esto no es
New Days Delay - Far Away From Everything
Black Ice - Invisible
Concrete Blonde - Still in Hollywood
The Boys Next Door - The Night Watchman
Lene Lovich - Lucky Number
Play Dead - Blood Stains Pleasure
The Smiths - What Difference Does it Make?
Shadow Project - Static Jesus
Tones on Tail - Burning Skies
The Glove - Like an Animal

Martin Oldgoth
Gun Club - Sexbeat
Dormannu - Degenerate
Flesh for Lulu - Subterraneans 12"
The Cult - Brothers Grimm
Killing Joke - Dominator
Specimen - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Trick or Treat
Astrovamps - Everyday is Halloween
The Stranglers - Get a Grip on Yourself

Cavey Nik
Bauhaus - Passion on Lovers
The Cure - Play for Today (live)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Israel (live)
Virgin Prunes - Walls of Jericho
Devilish Presley - Black Leather Jesus
The Vanishing - The Dissafectionate (R)
Cranes - Focus Breathe (R)
Cocteau Twins - But Im Not
The Chameleons - Mad Jack
Cardiacs - Burn Your House Brown (R)

DJane Darlin' Grave
Dresden Dolls - Girl Anachronism
The Cure - Plastic Passion
Clair Obscur - Froh
Christian Death - Sleep Walk
The Deep Eynde - Hoodoo
Test Dep't - Shock Work
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Slowdive
The Prids - Contact
Nina Hagen - The Lord's Prayer
Eat Your Make up - Holy Bats
Cinema Strange - En Hiver
Frankenstein - Lovecraft
Joy Division - She's lost Control
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Weeping Song
March Violets - I Love You

Martin Oldgoth
DAF - Der Mussolini
Cabaret Voltaire - Nag Nag Nag
The Cramps - Garbage Man
King Kurt - Zulu Beat
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field
The Wake - Watch Tower
The Mission - Over the Hills and Far Away
Adam and the Antz - Deutscher Girls
Roy Orbison - Pretty Woman
New Model Army - Lights go Out
Rosetta Stone - Cimmerian

Cavey Nik
Alien Sex Fiend - Another Planet (R)
Joy Division - Transmission
Tea House Camp - Poor Tom
Sisters of Mercy - Floorshow
Neva - Louchald
Passion Play - Falling Upwards
Horrorpops - Girl in a Cage
Daisy Chainsaw - I Feel Insane
Cult of the Psychic Fetus - Dead Bride

DJane Darlin' Grave
Sleepin Dogs Wake - Toys for Alice
Ausgang - Here it Comes
Malaria - Kaltes Klares Wasser
Specimen - Hex
Tuxedomoon - No Tears
The Cure - Primary
Love and Rockets - No Big Deal

Review from Urotsukidoji's Pad

UROTSUKIDOJI'S PAD


MOCKINGBIRD LANE :
2003 DEMO


Straight outta OKC (that's Oklahoma City) comes the Death-Rock / Horror-Punk band known as Mockingbird Lane. The band, fronted by Christophe, has been around in one form or another since the early to mid 90's, but never got serious until 2002. The band has had more line up changes than the Misfits, with reportedly almost no two shows ever having the same members on stage. At the moment, the group is: main man Christophe - vocals, guitar, bass, & synths; Blizzard (a bona fide Satanist) - drums, bass, programming, & backing vocals; Doruinn Flur - guitar, synths, & backing vocals; BJ - backing vocals, guitar, bass, & drums. This of course will probably change any second. These guys seem to be the real deal, gothic and horror influences abound. At one point the band was even using a supposedly haunted funeral chapel in the town of Noble as a practice space! Sometimes even having to practice around the dead body that was on display earlier in the evening! To date, the band only has two releases to their credit, a CD single, and this five-track demo. What we have here is the song "Taken Under" (both plugged and unplugged versions), a cover of the Misfit's classic "She", and two more originals ("I... Vampire" and "Wolfshead"). The best of the bunch is Taken Under, which is why I guess we're treated to two versions. I'm not sure which I like best, "rockin' out" is always a plus, but the acoustic take on the song is pretty cool. In any regards, this is the most Goth-esque of the bunch. Once we reach the familiar sounds of She, it seems like the Misfits influence sinks its teeth into the band for the remainder of the disc. The production here is pretty lo-fi (read crappy), with odd sounding guitar and bass tones that one usually finds associated with outer fringe Stoner-Rock bands. But somehow, it helps, sort of adding an aura of street-level authenticity to the whole affair. What's the bottom line you ask? Well, it's very enjoyable stuff, especially if like me, you have a taste for horror-tinged Punk and all things dark. The real only problem is that this is not much more than a tease, come on Christophe, give us a full-length to sink our fangs into. For more info, you can check out the band's official page.RATING = 7 Death-Rock / Horror-Punk (Released 2003)

Review from Oklahoma Rock Dot Com

MOCKINGBIRD LANE - 2003 Demo

 The blandly-titled five-song 2003 Demo from Mockingbird Lane is a good listen for fans of death-rock and horror-punk. The recording quality is minimal at best and the tracks are muffled throughout. Christophe's dark and low vocals lend way to screeching, trebly and seemingly never-ending guitars. Most of the drum recordings on the disc are drowned out by the guitars. Bringing the drums up in the mix would benefit many of these songs. The opening track "Taken Under" is a tale of heartbreak and worthlessness with a good hook. The disc also includes an acoustic version of the same song, which is about a minute longer than it should be. I wish other local bands would take a cue from this and add an acoustic track to some of their releases. "She" is a Misfits cover and is pulled off pretty well.  Nothing too over the top and stays pretty much to form of the original. "I...Vampire" is the fastest moving original track of the bunch. Christophe's vocals sound like something out a B-movie horror flick. "Wolfshead" could be pulled off better with a higher quality recording. The backup "woah-oh-ohs" are ill-timed and just don't fit. However, the guitar work on this track is commendable.From what I can gather, Mockingbird Lane has gone through numerous changes and is probably still trying to evolve as a band. If they stick to their d-rock, horror-punk style, this quality of recording will do just fine. Minimalism has always been a streamline for this style.- Ryan La Croix, 02/09/04

Review from Black Angel Promotions

MOCKINGBIRD LANE - 2003 Demo

 Mockingbird Lane are a death/horror rock band based out of Oklahoma … and I'll be reviewing their five tracks "2003 Demo". Two versions of the love lost song "Taken Under", the "single mix" and an "acoustic mix". I guess it's good in that it shows another side of the band, but the acoustic mix didn't do much for me, I prefer the single version. They do a cover of The Misfits "She"… one thing about covers is that I like to hear a band do something different with the original and make it their own rather than just a carbon copy, which is the case with Mockingbird Lane's version. The last two songs are what make the demo sustainable, "I … Vampire" and "Wolfshead" are great songs.Not bad at all for a fairly new band. I look forward to hearing this band grow in the coming years and progress. The 2003 Demo is available on their site. (Bobby)

Interview from Oklahoma Punk Scene Dot Com Issue #6

Mockingbird Lane is a goth punk/horror rock/death rock band from the Oklahoma City
metro area. The band has a new CD available entitled "2003 Demo." This interview was
conducted with lead singer/guitarist Christophe via email Oct. – Nov. 2003.

--Dave Brown



Dave: How did Mockingbird Lane get together? How has the band changed since
forming?

Christophe: Well, Mockingbird Lane has sort of been around off and on since the mid
90's. Never anything serious until I put it together again in May 2002. In the beginning it
was always just me, now it is Blizzard too. The current version of M.L. formed shortly
after the demise of Therogy. I was having my birthday party up at 66 Bowl and needed
another band to play. So I grabbed John & Brooke from Therogy probably less than a
week before the gig and taught them some songs. After the show I decided to keep doing
it. No more playing around in other people's bands. This is what I always wanted, and I
was more confident in myself as a songwriter to do it now. As for the band changing
since then... It's changed in a lot of ways. For one, we had a different line-up almost
every show because no one wanted to do it. They either hated the music, hated me, or
hated anything that resembled work. lol. I have so many stories I could tell about these
people, but I think it would be better left unsaid. There were a few who just couldn't do it
though. Like John, for a while he was touring with The Mimsies on the Warped Tour
and then he also moved to L.A. Over time some of the songs have changed a bit,
depending on the skill level of who was in the band at the time. We also got faster and
heavier there for a while because of certain metalheads that were filling in. Other than
that it has not been much else.

Dave: Your music seems to pull a lot from Goth influences. Do you consider
Mockingbird Lane a Goth band?

Christophe: I guess so. I consider it more Death-rock than goth, but they are basically
the same thing. All of the bands I have loved since I was a kid pulled a darker influence
into their songs. I was raised on pre-metal Alice Cooper. Songs like "Dead Babies" & "I
Love The Dead". I also remember wanting to be just like Ian Astbury from The Cult. I
listen to a lot more Goth bands from the 80's than any of the punk. So yeah, I guess we
are, I have a lot of gothic influences.

Dave: According to your web site you have done some music for and work with a
couple of independent films. How did you become involved with these projects? What
films have you worked with and how is the Oklahoma independent film scene (for lack
of a better term)?

Christophe: Well, both films are from local director Shawn Lealos
(http://www.starvingdogs.biz/). I became involved with him through his girlfriend at the
time. I used to work with her and she introduced us and had him listen to my songs. That
is how "Taken Under" got chosen to be on "I Know What You Need." Then when he
started on "The Devil's Playground" he just called me up because I was big, I think. lol.
As for the Oklahoma independent film scene, I don't really know other than that. All of
the other films I know are from the 80's. There was "Terror At Tenkiller" which was so
bad I loved it, and one with Tom Savini in it about Jack The Ripper. Oh, and Weird Al's
"UHF" was filmed in Oklahoma too. Sadly, that is my knowledge of Oklahoma films.

Dave: You use a lot of dark imagery in your music and on your web site. Are you fans
of the science fiction/horror genre? If so, what are some of your favorite books, films,
and television shows?

Christophe: My life revolves around it. My favorites for TV are "The Munsters" (kind of
obvious isn't it) and "Rod Serling's Night Gallery." Books, would be anything by H.P.
Lovecraft, "Rosemary's Baby" by Ira Levin, Clive Barker, Poppy Brite. A couple films
are George Romero's "Martin" & Craven's 1st "Nightmare On Elm Street." There are so
many more on all three mediums. I just grabbed a few from the top of my head. I could
go on for days.

Dave: How many releases does Mockingbird Lane have out? Do you have any plans for
a full-length album?

Christophe: So far, there are two releases. The "Taken Under" limited single and the
"2003 Demo." I think we are planning on maybe doing a short 6-song EP first and maybe
doing a full album later. I have not really put too much thought into it. I have not found
the members to complete the line-up as of yet and have been to busy teaching new people
to really work on all of that type of thing.

Dave: Not to ask a stupid question, but what exactly is death-rock? I've always thought
that was a form of heavy metal.

Christophe: No, it's not. Death-rock is basically, in simplest terms, goth-punk. Before
everyone started throwing the term "Gothic" around that is what they called the music.
Although, the bands at the time rocked a lot harder than all of the whiny goth bands of
today. Then you had bands like 45 Grave, Souxsie & The Banshees, The Damned, Eva O,
etc., etc. The bands had come from the punk scene of the time. I could give a history
lesson but it would be better to just go to http://www.deathrock.com/ for a good listing of
bands old and new.

Dave: Please forgive my barrage of questions about your band and the goth & punk
scenes but I have been reading up on goth recently and dying for someone to talk to about
it. Anywho... I found a pretty good site called A History of Goth
(http://www.scathe.demon.co.uk/histgoth.htm). The site goes through a fairly detailed
history of the goth scene and how it was born out of the punk scene. To me goth is a part
of punk (like hardcore, emo, and oi), but at some point there was a real break between the
two scenes. Now there seem to be a group of bands that are (whether it is intentional or
not) breaking down the barrier between the two scenes. Bands like The Undead, The
Independents, Mockingbird Lane, The Staggers, psychobilly bands like Tiger Army and
The Nekromantics, and the re-formed Misfits seem to appeal to punks and Goths alike.
Do you think this is a result of people disaffected with the goth and punk scenes or is this
something different altogether?

Christophe: I really don't know what to tell you. I've never really been "in" on the scene.
I do not know if people have become disaffected. I live in my bubble away from the
world. I have never even heard The Staggers, Tiger Army, or The Nekromantics. lol. I've
never paid much attention to anything outside of my direct line of vision.

Dave: What is your favorite movie to watch on Halloween?

Christophe: I've never had a favorite one to watch at a particular moment. It all just
depends on my mood or who I am with. Hell, I never even get to stay home to watch
movies on Halloween anymore. I am always playing a concert.

Dave: You recently performed an acoustic show at the Book Beat. How did that go?
What have been some of your favorite shows?

Christophe: Actually the Book Beat show is not until the 29th of this month. I have yet
to see how it will go. It is not my first acoustic show, but it is my first since Mockingbird
Lane started playing shows. I do my version of the singer/songwriter thing. I will
probably be doing only a couple M.L. songs. As for my favorite shows, right off the bat I
can say Lawton. They treat us well there. The kids are fun. The last show we played there
on Samhain, Dammit from Day Of The Sick sat in on bass and Corey from Eerie Ln.
sang on a song. It was a lot of fun. The girls don't get mad when I tie them up in that
town. So that is always a plus. Plus I got punched twice in one night. Once by a little girl
and once by Dammit, before he tried to stab me. It was definitely a fun time. One of the
funnest I have ever had.

Dave: Any final thoughts?

Christophe: Yeah, everyone should come out to our shows sometime. All the people
complaining that we never play anywhere near them need to talk to their local clubs and
get them to book us. We will play anywhere. And there have been a lot of people talking
shit as well. My suggestion to everyone who has not heard us, see for yourself what you
think. Don't be part of the herd, form your own fucking opinion. You can download
mp3's at our site and try to make it out to a show. Don't forget to check out our website
(http://mockingbirdlane.bravepages.com) and to shoot us an e-mail and let us know what
you think of everything.

Oklahoma Music Guide book released

OKLAHOMA MUSIC GUIDE: BIOGRAPHIES, BIG HITS, & ANNUAL EVENTS (Nov. 2003)- Written By George O. Carney & Hugh W. Foley, Jr. This book was released by New Forums Press Inc. It features: An in-depth essay on music from Oklahoma; 200 biographical entries of significant musicians, groups, tribes, and musical movements from Oklahoma; A list of 350 #1 songs written or performed by musicians with Oklahoma ties; A list of more than 500 place based songs that mention Oklahoma in the title or lyrics; A list of more than 200 annual musical events in Oklahoma; A master list of more than 2000 musicians, groups, or tribes being considered for the 2007 centennial edition of the Oklahoma Music Guide; & Several, never-before-published photographs and images. Mockingbird Lane was mentioned in the master list being considered for the 2007 edition. Check out the website here: http://www.oklahomamusicguide.com/