A Bit O'This & That

Courtney Love's "anarchy violinist" returns to the stage and is keeping the spotlight all to herself. Fresh off the road as Ms. Love's touring bandmate, and with appearances on Leno and Letterman, glossy magazine centerfolds, and guest spots on the albums of such artists as Love, Billy Corgan, and more under her corset strings, Emilie Autumn's devilishly dark lyrics and industrial-strength voice reinvent "gothic" for the masses. Chosen by Interview Magazine as one of their "14 Artists to Watch," EA's theatrical stage show is a sexy circus of gothic burlesque backed by her all-girl band known underground as the Bloody Crumpets. But as the sole composer, performer, and producer of her dramatic new album, "OPHELIAC," EA gets personal. Written in the style she calls "victoriandustrial," "OPHELIAC" draws upon EA's influences as a child prodigy classical violinist and combines them with her passion for the harsh industrialism of Laibach & Front 242, the sublime melodicism of Depeche Mode, and the drama of Moi Dix Mois and Visual Kei. Accentuated by EA's signature metal-style violin shredding, heartbreakingly lush strings, and menacing lyrics growled with enough intensity to make your hairs stand on end, the resulting noise is a harpsichord-heavy romp through Victorian asylums where screaming is allowed and girls always get revenge. 2007 and 2008 were filled with nearly non-stop European touring from EA and her traveling circus, and the Asylum stage show has grown with each incarnation, quickly changing viewer's expectations from rock show to Broadway musical. November 2008 marked the first Asylum show in the US, a sold out New York extravaganza, and 2009 will bring the touring production back to the US for the first complete North American Asylum Tour. The 2009 tour will be called The Asylum: The Gate Part II, and tickets are already available for pre-sale. Of course, for those wanting to get past the Asylum gates, EA's new book, "The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls" will be released in January 2009. Written and lavishly illustrated by EA, "The Asylum..." book is perhaps the most complete account of bipolar disorder ever penned, and will take readers behind the doors of both a modern day psych ward and a victorian insane asylum in this true life horror tale of madness, murder, and medical experimentation. But beware: It is much easier to get into the Asylum than it is to get out...