FAQ

Q: (New) My Friend request policy...{Myspace.com}

A:  I’m adding this as an update to my FAQ regarding friend requests to my Myspace page.  Generally, I’m fairly easy going about friend requests.  If it genuinely appears like your site is generated from a Myspace codes generator and you appear to be a genuine person and not a Bot trolling for new people to spam, Ill add you usually without problem.  You don’t even need to share my same interests.  You can have your own, most of my personal and close friends don’t share my interests in Goth and Industrial music.   As a matter of fact, most don’t even share my same preference in food.  My acceptance and love is generally equal for everyone.

My policy as it stands right now; I briefly review the page of each and every person who sends me a request to add to my site by clicking on your Myspace ID.  If that immediately takes me to a porn pop-up, a web cam girl chat site, a penis enlargement help site or any other piece of garbage.  I am NOT interested in adding you to my list. I’ve stated this before If I want it at all, Ill Google it!  Until then, do not spam me with your posts, fake friend requests or general garbage.  Take your spam bots and go find some other unsuspecting lonely 30 something desperate male.   I am to date, NOT interested!   Yes I understand the slogan She’s Hot and she’s here! You perhaps don’t get this.  I do not care!

Q: (New) My policy regarding material for review

A:  Generally, I don’t limit my reviews to just music.  If you have literature or fashion portfolios, artwork or photography for me to review, I am more than willing to sit down and review the material and contact one of the publications currently accepting my freelance submissions.   Again, I try to stick with material in my chosen Genres.

Previous Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Why do you as a Christian allow or support other Non-Christian and often very Anti-Christian bands?

A:  The truth is, God gives gifts to each and every person and then allows us the free will to choose how to use it.  Therefore, I can see great talent and ability, God given talent and ability, used by a great many people.  How they choose to use it is their choice and I support them being able to use their gift in a quality manner.  More over, it is my goal to be an ambassador of my faith and I cannot properly use that role if I merely sit in a pew and pat my fellow Christians on the back for staying in my stained glass bunker.  An ambassador goes and lives with the people, eats with the people, and talks with the people he is representing his Kingdom to.  It is often fraught with peril but well worth it in my view to share some amount of grace through lasting relationships with the people I love.

Q: Is that your real snake? (Pic no longer available, I had it as my profile Pic for about six or seven months)

A: Yes, I've had her since my sophomore year in High School ever since she was only a foot long.  Her name is Josephine and she is darling sweet.  I refer to her as my first daughter.  My actual biological daughter is more aptly put, my Twenty first daughters.  Behind all my other Snakes, Tarantulas, Spiders, Scorpions, Centipedes, Roaches, Toads, Frogs, Lizards, Rats and etc. Still, I love her so much because she never ceases to surprise me.

Q: Why do you seek to write for "Satanic" publications?

A:  Generally speaking, the Goth and Industrial movement has never been about "Satanism", often and more aptly put it is rather all encompassing while still rejecting any one religion.  It keeps the trappings of a great many faiths while never really accepting any.  There have been Goths that have been Satanists but in reality, there have been Goths who practice (while sometimes not openly) a great many faiths.  I find myself in the camp of Christian Goths, correctly put, A Goth who returned to his faith in Christ.  Initially, I fell in the camp of Christians who became Goths in order to save the Goth kids.  I have learned that I cannot "save" anyone.  I can only introduce someone to the savior.  I cannot die on a cross for the world, nor in reality would I really want to.  Not when it has already been accomplished once.

As far as writing for "Satanic" productions, I seek to write for Goth magazines because the Goth Rock genre is where I call home.  It is dank, dark, mysterious and spooky; it is where I can apply my talents most effectively. It is not the Goth genre that originally drew battle lines; it was the Christian culture that said that a line must be drawn between us and them.  Forgetting that it is all too often those on the outside that we are called to help, to love, to serve.

Q: How can you call yourself Goth, you don’t look "Gothic"?

A: The Goth movement is by nature very diverse (upon further exploration) than one might suspect.  A great many tribes, delineations, and organizations exist within the Goth movement. It is more than merely the Romantigoths in old world attire; it is more than Vampires and Death Rocker zombies.  I find myself sometimes blending between the Rivet Heads and Romantigoths anymore.  At the time I entered into the Goth movement, I found that Romantigoth and Deathrocker were synonymous with the same movement and only later after making contact with people outside of my community did I find there were differences.  I wore black and leather and chains because it is comfortable and secure.  I wore cloaks and moccasins because it was better in the summer than leather jackets and chains.  I don’t generally wear a lot of "Hot Topic" type clothing (though I shop the 50% off the 50% off clearances religiously for 3XL t-shirts and accessories) because I am large, overweight, and can’t generally fit into their clothing. These days there are no Goth big and tall shops.  Until then, I have to settle for E-bay or making it myself. 

(New) Though for those interested in great home made custom outfits, you need to check out Lectras designs at Dementia Clothing at www.dementiaclothing.com.  Very well made custom work for any size.

Q: Do you support conservative hate group X (Insert church name here) as a Christian?

A:  No... I do not...  I have argued with a great many conservative "Christian" organizations regarding their attitude of hate and abuse.  I reject hyper Calvinism because I believe it to be another attempt of man to add his own spin to Gods loving plan for humanity for mans own power and gain.   I do not believe Christ who was our example is the one that gave us this attitude of destruction. Apologetics aside (Because that is a whole lecture in and of itself), If Jesus is my example who touched the lepers, the unclean, ate with prostitutes and tax collectors, hugged the pagan children, healed the paralytics, and said Gods kingdom is being started with the people that society rejects.. I am apt to believe that he does not hate nor seeks to destroy any one society, sub-culture, or movement because of their sins.  I am left to ask the question, Was Jesus sacrifice on the cross enough to cover our sins or not?  If it was not, we as Christians have as much hope in salvation as the people Hyper-Calvinists claim have NO HOPE.  If we cannot love, God cannot love us.  If it was not enough, then Salvation is not by Grace and therefore a works based Salvation, and Paul and therefore Gods word are both made to be a liar.   Paul said, for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph 2:8-9)  If it was enough to purchase mans salvation, we need to realize that these people are loved as much as we are. Get off of your pew and go do something about it.

Q: Why do you support missions to the Romany (Gypsy) people, don’t you know they are the devils children?  (Actual question a Christian asked me once on Myspace)

A: See the above and realize your own prejudices are blinding you.

Q: Why use Myspace as a Christian?  Don’t you know it supports porn?

A: True enough, I know that Myspace while it does not allow nudity of any form often allows adds for dating services and escort services. It allows ads for Webcam girls and a great many other things.  Sure I question it when one of the search criteria’s on their search engine is "Body Type".  And I don’t believe anyone needs to search for a 16 year old with the Sexual Orientation as Swinger.   But just because Myspace has it on there, does not mean I need to support it or use it for that purpose.  I use it to network with bands, production agencies, friends, and contacts.  The internet is a great tool; Myspace is one use of that tool.  It is either a tool of great information and the ability to contact people nationwide, or it is a quagmire of filth.  It all depends on how you use it.  I should also add, for you to e-mail me on Myspace, you also need to have a Myspace page.  This of course exposes you to the same return question with the added; why do you criticize others for having a Myspace page when you yourself are also connected to Myspace? 

Q: Who do you currently write for now?

A:  Currently I write for The Unscene Zine (www.theunscenezine.com) and I have a small gig writing for the Christian mag Automata with an interview and a few other items to be due out in the next couple of months.  You can order it through www.flamingfish.com. I also have submissions due out soon for Morbid Outlook Magazine and recently had my submissions published for an RPG company called Golgotha Games.  I also have a band interview due to be published in Drop Dead Magazine.

Q: What other publications are you looking to write for?

A:  YOURS!  If you have a publication looking for submissions (time allotted of course) please contact me and leave me a message.  I would love to find a regular Goth production that seeks freelance submissions.

Q: What is The First Church of the Living Dead on your website, is it a cult, do you run it?

A:  I do not run TFCOLD, I do support it and its work emphatically. The actual founder is Tiavi Rudrow and Leesa (On Tiavi's top 8) on my top 8 list. A man with a great vision for underground service and a love for things dark, mysterious and beautiful.  It is not a cult as it does not deny nor even shift or skew any orthodox (small o) Christian doctrine.  I do not run it... It is however something I support and lend every effort I can to encourage the group, its service, and its message.

Q: Do you role play in X game...

A:  I have LARP'd (Live Action Role Played) in a number of different organizations including but not limited to The Camarilla, The Society for Creative Anachronism, Amptguard (really geeky there), and the ill fated Eugene by Night group incarnations 1(I was a founding member) through 15.  I have played multiple different table top games.  Currently, I don’t have time.  I do miss it and enjoy the circumstance and have sent submissions to some game companies including www.golgothagames.com makers of Spiritual Warfare, a Christian RPG system.  I would like to submit ideas and writings for other game companies but that is few and far between.  I do not hold that RPG's are satanic.  To say that RPG's as a whole are satanic is like saying "I play Monopoly to achieve spiritual divination into the stock market" or "I play Yatzee to achieve enlightenment into Oblivion and Entropy".  Rather silly when you realize that it is just a game after all.  I do not deny that people have taken it too seriously.  I would wager that people take a great many things too seriously.  If you cannot live without your character or live your life without drawing analogies to games, you need to put it up for while and take a long walk in a sunlit park and feed the ducks and realize there is more to life than your 10th Generation Brujah Vampire...  (Or 4th Gen Tremere depending on how Twinkie you really get.  If you don’t understand, be grateful.)

Q:  Are you a pastor or minister?

A: No... I am not a minister or pastor of any organized or unorganized denomination.  Generally within the denomination that I call home, that being the Pentecostal Church particularly with the Assembly of God or Open Bible branches, people who have been divorced once are generally unable to become licensed ministers or pastors.  Don't feel bad.  Truth be told, I don't want the responsibility.  To pastor a church, you need to be able to dedicate your life full time to your family and your church family.  Right now my priorities are my immediate family and they are more than enough of a loving handful.

Q: How do I submit a demo for you to write a Review of?

A:  Generally, a simple e-mail request is where I start.  I then contact one of the four publications I write for and ask if they'd be interested in publishing my review of your band.   The Unscene Zine is a publication of The First Church of the Living Dead and generally speaking, they review many Christian and Non-Christian bands, art works, and films.   I would love to send more submissions of quality bands for them to publish.  Automata is strictly a Christian Goth, Electronic, EBM, Industrial publication.  They have a standard of only reviewing Christian Bands or Bands fronted by Christians in their publication.  Drop Dead is predominantly a Deathrock and other dark music mag but generally steers clear of the more glam and pop oriented Goth genres.  Morbid Outlook is interesting but more informational and lifestyle oriented than it seems musically oriented.  If any publication shows interest, I'll contact you back with my address to submit the demo through, no e-mail demo submissions please, too many viruses on my computer already.  I will then write up an e-mail review submitting it to my publisher and to you for your press kit.

I generally prefer bands that fit in my chosen milieu; Goth, Industrial, EBM, Electronic, Trance, etc. I am attempting to track down other Goth and dark music publications to write for and would dearly love to review other upcoming Deathrock or Darkwave acts. 

(New) No Emo please  With all do respect, Emo to me is the audio equivalent to chewing on tinfoil.  It is flat, passionless, flaccid, uneducated and dull.  And yes, I consider reading books to be very cool! 

Q: I have a small publication interested in publishing your reviews, what do you charge?

A:  Currently I do not charge.  I am not at a place to charge a fee and I'm pretty "Small Potatoes" right now. I'm attempting to build a name for myself so all I ask is that if my review is published, I get a copy to use in my portfolio for later publication and resume use and that it's published under my sobriquet Dr. Raven. 

Any further questions please drop me a line and I'll add it to the FAQ.

Dza Devlesa

Dr. Raven