There had of late been a furor on the internet as to the goth status of Christmas, with a lunatic fringe posting that Christmas was even more goth than Halloween.
For a local take, I went to Oliver Graves, the deadpan wit whose viral sensation on America’s Got Talent made him one of the region’s leading goths overnight.
Cincinnatus Hibbard: Oliver, tell it to us straight—is Christmas goth?
Oliver Graves: Well, people do drag a dead tree into their house and make it the centerpiece.
They decorate it too. Sickening.
And why? Maybe because it’s the death of the year.
Dark times. What are you going to do for Christmas?
I dunno. Maybe watch Gremlins. Although if I watch Gremlins, I have to watch Gremlins 2…
‘Gremlins Take New York’…
… And then Looney Tunes—and that’s not Christmas at all… Words have no meaning…
Tell us about your big show, presiding over the corpse of the old year.
My New Year’s Eve show is at The California, in Santa Rosa. I’m performing; I’m hosting. There are two bands—Temptation, which is a New Order cover band, and Debased, which is a Pixies cover band.
Both danceable and goth-adjacent bands. That ought to go down well with The California’s slightly debauched theater-nerd following…
Yeah, they typically sell out on holidays.
You’ll be doing 30-minute sets. You like that length? Comics often get five or ten minutes in variety shows.
Oh, it’s so much better to be up there longer and not to stress about time. If I’m doing five minutes, I am very clearly picking my set—picking my jokes. I’m getting on, and I’m getting off. If I’m doing 30 minutes, I’m not sure what 30 minutes I might do. I’m free to follow in the direction of audience reactions. We’re just in the room having fun together.
I’ve never dressed full-out goth. How do things shift when you put on your goth?
Well, as a performer, it unlocks my attitude. Some comics drink or smoke weed. I just put on my wig, and it locks me in. But even off the stage, I know that people will be looking at me when I’m dressed this way. And at the same time, I’m relieved of the responsibility of reacting or responding to them emotionally. You get to be blank-faced.
That’s very interesting. You get to be there, but you don’t have to give any energy.
Or laugh at a comedian’s unfunny jokes…
What are other goth privileges or powers?
When you want to be left alone, you get left alone. You don’t have to worry about it. You can’t smile though—that’s an ice breaker—it ruins it.
That leads us to the dark humor that goes with it, the makeup. Give us a ‘goth joke.’
Well, I dated someone for awhile who was differently abled, and needed me to dress them and bathe them and generally take care of them. And my friend didn’t think that was a great relationship—even though it was very romantic—she didn’t think she could ever live like that. To which I pointed out—well, my girlfriend isn’t actually alive…
Necrophilia. How many minutes do you have on vampires?
Maybe two-three minutes. Mostly one liners—those go fast.
Who are you underneath the makeup?
Oh, just a nerd.
Learn more: Oliver Graves can be booked as an MC or comic for a comedy or spooky variety show on Instagram @olivergravesirl. Tickets for the big NYE show are between $25-$35 and can be purchased at caltheatre.com.
