Opium Den was a 90's gothic rock band out of Boston. They have also described their music as psychedelic rock and art rock. Christian Gilbert's Spanish-classical influenced guitar playing is combined with the poetry of Annette Farrington's lyrics.
It was formed in the early 90's when Christian Gilbert and Mike Demma were looking for a singer for a psychedelic band they wanted to form. Annette was coming off touring with a Boston theater company and soon joined them. They then auditioned John De Gregorio as a bass player and they liked his unique style and musical creativeness.
Name:
The genesis of the name explained by Annette Farrington "the name invokes a multi layered meaning the social context and the literal meaning of an opium den. I wanted to invoke the state of where I thought the social consciousness lay. As a nation we are asleep in an Opium Den, asleep to consciousness and clarity. The drug being, materialism, greed, lack of connection to spirit. But we also wanted to invoke the transformative nature of being in a state of altered consciousness. We grew up in an apocalyptic society. There was so much fear, internal and outer. We felt a need to express the emotional struggle of finding a way to maintain a sense of purpose and hope in our lives."
Personnel:
Annette Farrington (formerly Annette Kramer), vocals, lyrics, guitar, recorder.,
Christian Gilbert, guitars.,
John DeGregorio, bass, flute, acoustic guitar.,
Mike Dema, drums, sounds.
