Gitane Demone

Gitane Demone
Gitane Demone in 2007
Background information
Born	(1958-05-16) May 16, 1958 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Origin	Los Angeles, USA
Genres	Deathrock, gothic rock, dark cabaret, jazz
Years active	1985–present
Associated acts	Pompeii 99 Christian Death Rozz Williams Hedone Tears
Notable instruments
Vocals, piano, guitar

Gitane Demone (born May 16, 1958) is a singer and musician. She was a member of Christian Death in the 1980s, and is currently a solo artist.

Pompeii 99 and Christian Death

After answering an ad placed by Valor Kand in 1981, Demone joined his band, Pompeii 99. The pair also become lovers, giving birth to a son, Sevan, in 1984, and later a daughter, Zara. Demone stayed with the band when it joined with Rozz Williams in 1983 to become the new lineup of Christian Death.^[1][2] Demone split from both Kand and Christian Death in 1989.

Solo History

Demone may have had an obvious background in punk and deathrock/gothic rock, but she also had a passion for jazz and a number of legendary female vocalists, most notably Billie Holiday. Her rubber-clad S&M visual image was no less intriguing, with the fetish theme carried through into her lyrics.

Demone released a couple of EPs early in her solo career (eventually collected on the compilation Facets in Blue). She then renewed her friendship with former bandmate Rozz Williams, touring together and then recording an album, Dream Home Heartache, in 1995, which included both cover versions and their own material. She then paired up with Mark Ickx to produce a full-length album, released under the name Demonix, around the same time.

Demone recorded an album of her own, Am I Wrong?, in 1997. She also continued to provide guest vocals for bands on both sides of the Atlantic, and also released a compilation of the songs she sung in her Christian Death days. A second studio album, Stars of Trash (again self-penned, but recorded with the assistance of the band Dreadful Shadows), followed in 2000.

In 2008 a two-disc DVD titled Life After Death was released by Cult Epics, featuring footage from throughout Demone's career, including a live performance with Williams.

Demone is currently involved in a project called the Crystelles with daughter Zara Kand.

She has also performed with the experimental noise band +DOG+.

Discography

• A Heavenly Melancholy EP (1993)
• Lullabies for a Troubled World EP (1993)
• Facets in Blue (1993 - compilation of previous EPs)
• Love for Sale (1993 - Live in Bern)
• With Love & Dementia (Live in Cannes 1984) (1994)
• Never Felt So Alive (1994 - as Demonix)
• Dream Home Heartache (1995 - as Rozz Williams and Gitane Demone)
• Am I Wrong? (1997)
• The Happy Hour (1997 - with The Alpha Project)
• Life in Death '85-'89 (1999 - collection of all of the Christian Death songs she sang)
• Never Felt So Alive (The Lost Mixes) (1999 - as Demonix)
• Stars of Trash (2000)
• Solitary War CD single (2000)
• Life After Death DVD (2008)
• Attach and Detach (2010) (with current band the Crystelles)
• The Reflecting Shadow (2013)

References