Slings and Arrows: Bringing Goth Back to D.C. Nightlife
- Sasha Jayne
- Dec 3
- 5 min read
Despite largely self-identifying as a metalhead, I’ve found increasing love for music with a more eerie flair. In pursuit of this new passion, I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Anastasia, a striking figure in the D.C. alternative scene, to talk about all things Goth. Beyond her online presence and fame in the Deathrock genre as lead singer for the band Cemetery Sex, Anastasia has reached local celebrity status as the founder and primary DJ for Slings and Arrows, D.C.’s monthly goth dance night.
Sasha: Give us the basics about Slings and Arrows—what should people know?
Anastasia: Slings and Arrows was started about three to four years ago out of the cafe of a Mediterranean restaurant in Mount Rainier, Maryland. It was started with a good friend of mine, Zazzy Moondust, who is also a former bandmate. We wanted to start a new night that catered to a different audience. We noticed that the D.C. alternative scene was missing a Goth scene that actually catered to today’s Goths. The existing group hadn't evolved with the trends of Goth whatsoever. So, instead of continuing to be a part of that, we wanted to break off and try something new. We secured this cafe venue, and I became a resident DJ for the very first time!
We’ve grown since then, and we've been spinning a variety of darkwave, industrial, new wave, traditional Gothic rock… whatever the crowd really likes and enjoys. If you ask me, I appreciate the diversity of the crowd and how I can spin some of the most out-there music, and some people will still really enjoy it! What matters to me is knowing that the subculture still has relevancy that spans across multiple age groups. Slings and Arrows was born out of a profound love for the Gothic subculture, rather than trying to cater toward a mainstream ideal of what it should be. It's kept growing ever since, and it's been really great to see the trajectory it's been heading.
For readers who have never been, what should they expect at one of your Goth nights?
So, I generally play a mix of darkwave, new wave, and industrial. You might even hear some pop songs every now and then… But, there are three artists that I swear I can never go a single night without playing. Those three artists are Patriarchy (they’re new), Pixel Grip (also new), and Boy Harsher. Those three, in my opinion, are the crown jewels of my setlist because they master the space in-between synth pop and Goth.
There are lots of misconceptions about Goth as a subculture—how would you define it? What does Goth mean to you?
I would say that you can effectively separate Goth into two groups. There are the Goths who really care about the classification of the music more than they care about anything else. Those are the kinds of people who will be very, very adamant about telling you that those big name bands like Type O Negative or Depeche Mode aren't actually Goth because they never put out an album that was definitively Gothic rock. From the perspective of quite literally defining the genres, I understand why some people will fall into that categorical Goth subculture. It's about preserving the history of the scene and trying to make sure that the genre isn’t overly convoluted.
I would consider the other category as more of a cultural Goth, or related to the media, or how you dress… There's been recently a lot of discussion in “Goth TikTok” about Goth culture. Everybody is talking about politics and how you have to be a leftist or a liberal, or wear all black… There's misconceptions for sure. I think that most people would say that there isn't one way to be Goth, whereas the people who are about categoricalism will tell you that Goth is about Gothic rock. I would say that the Gothic subculture has the most difficulty in having a unified scene compared to other alternative subcultures.
What’s the Goth scene like in D.C.?
Genuinely, it is a little cliquey, but the cliquey-ness extends far out of D.C. I promise you, in every major city where there's a Goth night, there's some other Goth night that hates the first, and they're just like, “I hate those people, they suck.” I started my night [Slings and Arrows] because I was doing the same. It wasn't about the type of music that they played. It was more about how they saw me starting my own event, and would fake-offer help, but then wouldn't follow through on it. Personally, I'm doing my best to make sure that D.C. continues to thrive, and I’m working to put us back on the map as a legitimate stop for bands to come through.
Does Slings and Arrows connect with your Deathrock band, Cemetery Sex?
Well, honestly, it was how I kicked off my band, in terms of getting us booked. I've booked my own band more than a few times. I would say that Slings has helped Cemetery Sex get a steady base of followers, just based off of the fact that I'm the host of the event. It's funny, Cemetery Sex, Slings and Arrows, and like me as an Instagram/TikTok personality, all feed into each other.
Slings and Arrows is at a new venue now—what else does the future hold?
Currently, we're doing really well at DC9. My next main thing is that I want to book more bands, and I want to bring more performers in general. It would be cool to have go-go dancers or even more drag performers. It would be cool to have more variety in that respect, because I would say the most important part of the D.C. Goth scene is how much it intersects with the queer community. That's just the nature of Goth as a whole. It's a magnet for all the people who are outcasted from society, more or less. I want to continue to build that connection between the queer community and the Goth scene. I want to find more opportunities for us to give back to the queer community, whether it means doing benefit shows, or hosting more definitively queer- friendly events.
Anything else for the readers?
The most important thing that there is to know is that if you ever make women feel uncomfortable, if you ever make queer people feel uncomfortable, if you ever make immigrants or anybody who's not white feel uncomfortable, you're never gonna be welcome in my scene. It's so incredibly important to respect the fact that at the end of the day, we're a community who are supposed to serve each other and not constantly cause division and hatred among each other. Don't be an asshole. If you're gonna pull up to my events, be open minded.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sasha Jayne is a junior in the College studying Psychology, and is one of the current Commentary editors as well as the current Social Media Manager. Their true loves and passions are metal and punk music, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and wearing excessive amounts of black clothing.