David J Eliade - Part 2

TWO DAVID ELIADES:

Extract from LFG post (October 23 2007):
Speaking of privacy, we're about to print up special Fucked Up privacy face-masks in response to this. Get in touch with Octavio St Laurent, our privacy expert to get your own pair (for both of your faces).

DAVID ELIADE #1 - The Masked Man:

David Eliade: Visuals, spiritual and political guidance. Eliade is the "fifth Beatle", so to speak, and manages Fucked Up from behind the scenes. He has designed their logo, records, and influenced most of their lyrics. (From Wikipedia):

David Eliade #1 uses a mask (and sometimes other people), to conceal his true identity. You can read more about him in Part 1

Two Faces of David Eliade - an artists impression, by Brian Walsby

DAVID ELIADE #2- The Man Behind The Mask:

David Eliade #2 is a fictional character who appears in a number of Fucked Up songs. He may be related to his namesake, but comes across as a lesser being; maybe a Clark Kent to David Eliade #1's Superman, but lacking the comfort of knowing his alter-ego.

Forbidden Fruit: Original Sin

Alternatively the relationship might be considered akin to Father and Son; not the traditional family relationship, but one where the Father is omnipresent and the Son is a manifestation of the Father, that gets sacrificed and resurrected.
Or something.

Alternatively the David Eliade character appearing on Fucked Up records and  merchandise can be viewed as a form of commodification, whereby David Eliade, the ideas man becomes a concept used to market Christmas records and rock operas.

Alternatively the first David Eliade might just be an idea, and the second version might be the idea coming to life.

David: Despairing child. 

Alternatively they might be twins... There are lots of other alternatives once you get going, but leaving them aside, the rest of this page considers the available information regarding this David's character.

In the material released prior to the "David Comes To Life" LP,  David Eliade is portrayed as a despairing individual, someone who craves the reassurance of religious faith, but can't make sense of it.

He is represented in pictures by different individuals and seems to be an everyman character, for anyone that has questioned fundamental things, such as the point of life, etc.

David was a boy, just a letch - A simple means of birth, oh so sick - Another wasted life, like so many before - But David wanted better, so much more. (''David Comes To Life'' lyric, 2006)

David: Despairing adult.

Damian Abraham: "I'm still wrestling with the same problems, I hope that someone can look over the entire catalog of the band, and what would begin to emerge, hopefully, would be this image of a band that's constantly questioning. We're not trying to provide answers for anyone, because we're just as flawed as anyone else. I think that's what we're trying to portray in David, too. He's not a smart person. David's a dumb person like everyone in this world is dumb. Everyone here is capable of making incredibly stupid decisions. It is questioning the God above, questioning the God below, but also questioning the world that needs the God in order to function." (NPR Interview May 30 2011)

It's an abomination to the old gods that we have finally made our own - It delivers us divinity, let's celebrate him one and all - It's the First Noel, put the mask up on the mantel, stare into the hollow eyes... ("David Christmas" lyric).

David: A Letch wasting life.

Josh Zucker: We had this David Eliade character for a long time in the band. We wrote the songs "David Comes To Life" and "David Christmas" and "David's Plan", which have been like more and more this story about this amorphous character. (Quote from "David Comes To Life" LP Preview Video) 

Let them try to tell us that he is kind and understands - Well I don't believe in fairy tales, or take stock in an invisible man - The only thing that makes this life seem worse is having stood before the pearly gates and having seen St Peter first - Let them trudge through life so convinced of his love - I stare into that starry night and see the terror that looms above. ("David's Plan" lyric) 

David: smiling brightly. For a moment.

Damian Abraham: David Eliade fills a void that we need filled. He's more than just a person, he's an idea and as such he fills all the roles we need him to fill. (Interview Extract MIXTAPE 4 SIDE ONE 2011)

Jonah Falco: We made David a character in case we needed a character to base the rest of our lives around... It gave a point to all the meandering and silly tangents that we’ve been involved in over the years. (Extract from Now Toronto article Nov 10 2011)

I was born when God was looking away. Life couldn't be this hard, I must be a mistake. When she left me, I thought I'd seen my last day. I was so close to the end, I was just a letch. Another wasted life, pushed to the edge. ("Do All Words Can Do'' Lyric)

David, literally not looking on the bright side.

David: Miserable again.

DAVID ELIADE - A LIFE IN LYRICS

He Wasted a Lifetime
In the lyrics for the song "David Comes To Life" ("Hidden World" LP), we are told that his is 'another wasted life', this is repeated in "Do All Words Can Do" and could mean his life has been squandered, or that it's barren, or both. The 'wasted life' theme is repeated in the lyrics of "Crusades", a song referencing systems of control and zealotry, perhaps hinting that his life as been wasted by an acceptance of these.

He's Just a Letch
This reference precedes the 'wasted life' description in both songs. Most commonly associated with themes of desire and lust, an interesting alternative use is attributed to De Quincy: Some people have a letch for unmasking impostors, or for avenging the wrongs of others.

He's Forever Going on About God 
Paradoxically David seems to blame God for his problems, whilst doubting his existence.

He's not Bright
Described variously by adjectives such as 'dumb' and 'dim', he needs illumination or maybe illuminationism, which is perhaps why he sought employment in a light bulb factory.

David, wondering why his cup is half empty and whether the ornamental knight on horseback lamp has anything to do with the Parsifal reference in the Jade Tree Profiles picture below?

Twins:
Gemini, which is Latin for twins, has taken on many identifications and meanings through the ages. Gemini is most commonly understood to represent the twin brothers Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology who were fraternal twins, born of the same mother, but having different fathers. The Tarot card associated with Gemini is "The Lovers", which portrays Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve are thought to have been created at the end of the age of Gemini—the inseparable figures being an allusion to the beginning of mankind. (Cropped From Wikipedia)

David J Eliade - Part 1

INVISIBLE LEADER

Introduction:
Before he became a fictional character in a rock opera / musical / concept record thing, David Eliade was (and maybe still is) the invisible leader of Fucked Up. This page comprises clippings from interviews etc arranged in chronological order.

You can make friends with David on Facebook



DAVID ELIADE ANNOUNCEMENT (LFG Post Feb 14 2006):

Under New Management
If you have a question about Fucked Up, or would like to contact them regarding interview requests or philosophical queries, please feel free to contact David Eliade at vibrationandhum@hotmail.com. He is the newest member of the FU family and is eager to discuss all matters.
Triumph of Life!
(1)

JADE TREE PROFILES: 

(2)

Lyrical Miracle
His role as manager was announced in 2006, but he had been closely involved before this time, notably having conducted the MRR interview in 2004. Perhaps most telling is the change in lyrical content that took place following his arrival:

Pre-Eliade Lyrics:

I went to my job even though I hate it, I need the money or else I'll get evicted. They said ''we're sorry'' there's no room for me, onto the curb with no money no dignity, I'm circling the drain. (''Circling The Drain'') 

On the streets the police, in my house the police, gotta run the police, they gotta gun the police, a shitty band the police, I ain't no fan the police  (''Police'')

Generation, holding my breath, no hesitation, freedom or death (''Generation'')

Post-Eliade: 

The bees decide who listens and who speaks. Their golden mead is fed to heads we keep. New worlds and paths do these new minds conceive. (''Looking For Gold'')

We spill out of the fish turn Pisces to twins, divide twelve into six, two halves of a whole tug at a singular soul wound round a staff. (Two Snakes)

A reversed Oedipal complex based on power and not on the sex. (Son The Father)

TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2006 (Image at top of Post):

Band meeting with Eliade dressed in oriental changshan / bath robe.

MIXTAPE 2 SIDE ONE 2006:

Intro to David Comes to Life song:

''This goes out to the supreme exalted high master, the grand dragon, David Eliade! 

Colonel Clink Mother Fucker, Colonel Clink''

C Link

Mixtape Sleeve Notes for David Comes to Life song:

None of us can really remember where or when we met David, but it seems like a long time ago. Originally this song was called "Ian"-something something, and was going to be in reference to Ian Dickson, who we had recently kicked in the balls rather severely.

While writing it at practice (about 2 weeks before we recorded the Hidden World LP) one of us said "Wait, maybe it should be about David, and be called David Comes to Life?" And David was born. This is a rare unmixed version without the backup vocals over the last chorus. Alternately, one morning while we were doing backups and pre-mixing, it was early enough that only me and Beat were in the studio. We did a version of this song that has a lush 14 part vocal harmony at the end of the song. By the time we got to the 5th and 6th overdubs, we were clapping, whistling and laughing.
I would have included this version but I couldn't find it.

Interview extract on Mixtape:

(Triumph)
Is it David's movie?
Oh, that one. He's (i.e Eliade) kind of bank-rolling my screenplay. He likes punk bands but he's also like an industry guy, he's a mover and a shaker, he has a few million dollars.

(3) Mixtape 2 Side One

SCENE POINT BLANK INTERVIEW (LFG Post Nov 29 2006):

Scene Point Blank: You've made a lot of references to David Eliade; how did you come into contact with him and what kind of effect has he had on Fucked Up?

10,000 Marbles: We met him at a show in NYC once. It's like how they say in the Kabbalah tradition - you can't seek a teacher, but one will appear in your life when you are ready. He showed up at the right time for us. He's like an invisible hand, we don't have much contact with him but he influences us a lot. I chat with him on the phone sometimes, but we only see him in person every six months or so, and we'll do a lot of heavy chatting and planning when we're together. He gives us a lot of influence; I don't really want to say a lot more than that.

10.26.06 The El Mocambo, Toronto: Marbles in DE mask 

(One of The Hidden World Release shows)

Scene Point Blank: Fucked Up has always seemed to be a band with ambitious plans for the future so what's on your agenda in the days to come?

10,000 Marbles: "David Comes to Life" soundtrack LP, "David Comes to Life" musical, Nation 12", another double LP, Army of Goldfaces, "Triumph" movie soundtrack (directed by David Eliade), split 12" with Mind Eraser, Black Sun side project (collaboration with Wyrd Visions), and Cassie remix 12".

(4)

Unidentified image - may be same show as above?
Damian apparently raising arms in salute / worship of female David Eliade

SKYSCRAPER MAG INTERVIEW (LFG Post Dec 20 2006):

The band relaxing at home with David Eliade

(Photo by Emma Lee)

The interview appears on LFG with the picture on the right, along with a number of hidden references to neoism and collective pseudonyms; some examples are pasted below:

Fucked Up are known for nothing if not their confusing discography... 

...I like that people buy the records I make,but I also hate them enough to make their lives a bit more trying, but making records they'll never be aMonty Cantsinble to own...

...I hope people like the record. I hope people just don't say "this is awesome" or like "this sucks" or "is too long", I hope that it hits peoKaren Eliotple I guess in someway. There are also some really specific reactions we're looking for, but again, there's sigils in the art to do that, so I can't talk about those ones...

We don't really have an agenda and I want there to be a lot of wLuther Blissettays people can perceive this,
so thats why we try and wear a lot of different hats. The next project we are going to start working on once Mr. Jo gets back from Japan is the "David Comes To Life" musical, and me and him are going to score a film for David Eliade.

TRENT ARTHUR INTERVIEW (LFG Post Jan 26 2007)

Arthur: When is the rock opera and movie coming out?

Mr. Jo: This project will certainly take some time, but some designs for the “David” musical are already being laid. You’d have to ask David [Eliade, the band’s elusive manager] about the film, though. Those are his connections, not necessarily ours.

(5)

'FRENCH ZINE' INTERVIEW EXTRACT (LFG Post Aug 28 2007)

What's the role of David Eliade in Fucked Up?
David is the coiled filament himself. Our job is to sit in front of giant microscopes to make sure
he doesn't come unravelled. He is the electric DNA at the bottom corner of our music factory.

Is there a connection between David Eliade and the song "David Comes to Life"?
David told us that he was born with 3 strands of DNA instead of just 2. He said the third one was covered with an osmium coating, and made him the first living cyborg. When he came to life it was like he was born backwards, so we had to write the song in reverse order and upside down by having some people hold mirrors to mirrors in our practice space. Decoding the upside down backwards lyrics was a huge pain in the ass. David claims to be able to do all these crazy things like see gas and oxygen molecules. We sometimes think he's kind of retarded, but then also like a weird genius. No one has ever met his father, if you know what i'm saying. Anyhow, the connection is that "David Comes to Life" is about jesus christ.

(6)

'ALTERNATIVE PRESS' ZINE INTERVIEW EXTRACT' (LFG Post Oct 23 2007)

Your blog directs people who click the name of your alleged manager/guru, David Eliade, to an entry for collective pseudonyms. Why do I think that's not accidental?
10,000 MARBLES: David is currently undergoing a massive personality crisis. He's still a bit immature: Like some self-referential teenager, his reaction to constantly having his identity and existence questioned, is to try and stop existing altogether.









'JAGGED VISIONS' ZINE INTERVIEW EXTRACT' (LFG Post Nov 04 2007)

Full version with updated pictures and different links on Jagged Visions Zine site HERE & HERE

Are you related to the Romanian philosopher and writer Mircea Eliade?
Well, the "Eliade" part of my name is a pseudonym, and absolutely it's taken from Mircea. The plan with Fucked Up has never been to waste words - we try to pill as many meanings into each word as we can, so that no word on the paper is wasted. It's also the rule to use fake names as much as possible, partly for the same reason, but also for anonymity, so we can walk away from it when we are finished without the residue.

Given that the band has a DIY punk background, do you ever have arguments with the band members about the musical and commercial directions the band should take?
At first we argued. I tried to explain their greater influence and potential. This is how it has been before - artists often need to be shown the way and have their art put in a greater context. I try not to interfere to much in the musical aspects of the group because that isn't my strong point, but I do show them things there too. I mean I try not to be too heavy handed in any aspect of the group because I want them to be able to stand behind everything they've done as their own, but I am a part of the group and do have an influence.

What is Wilsim Publogy?
Wilsim Publogy was an offshoot of Romanian Manicheanism, and the whole Gnosticism trip. It sees cosmology in the same way as the Gnostics, in that the universe, or the being, or whatever, is split into these two forces, "light" and "dark", or what have you, but differs in that Publogy doesn't see the forces as neccesarily opposite, but the same. It's more into dualism, more along the lines of Vedantic Hinduism, who thought in terms of the "non duality of duality". The whole Kabbalist "two poles" idea where the opposing forces are actually just different expressions of the same thing. We tried to be influenced by this when we were making Hidden World, and it shows up in songs like Triumph of Life, and Two Snakes and was the inspiration for the cover art. Actually, that's another way Mircae comes back in, the quote we used from him in the record; "to be no longer conditions by a pair of opposites results in absolute freedom". Especially in the world now where you've got your two political ideas, everyone has these strong feelings of wrong and right - we're living in an age where the multitude has been slashed into these singular opposites where life is a series of choices between two opposites, and there are really only two ways of existing, you know "right" or "left". It's important I think to try and pull the crate back open, try to release these other ways of existing. And to do that we try to just take away the divisions and the opposites and just shine through Wilsim Publogy.

Is Wilsim Publogy about knowledge or does it also influence your (moral) behaviour in daily life?
It’s the knowledge we use to live. Publogy informs all of my decisions, it is my cosmology. It’s the thing I refer to when I need to make decisions. I see WP in everyone around me, I use it to evaluate other people, situations I find myself in. It is a doctrine for living to me.

Do you see Fucked Up as a "Gesamtkunstwerk" or just a band? And in what extent do you see them as a contemporary manifestation of Dada or neo-Dada movements?
Well we're starting to work on the David Comes to Life LP, which will try to incorporate more than just music into the presentation. We want to package it as a memory stick so that it can incorporate an albums worth of music, the play, the documentary, the musical, the movie, you know the whole deal. Soon I think media will be presented more along the lines of size rather than style - instead of buying an LPs worth of music from your
favourite band, you'll buy a gigabyte's worth, so we're trying to get with that. It's the whole indie-vertical-integration American Apparel style that is really taking off, now you've got record companies that are getting into publishing and management, it's like this disaster style economics where everyone is sensing this foreboding doom and trying to scoop up as much as they can before the bottom falls out.
But ultimately Fucked Up is just a band. We tried to reference surrealism with Baiting the Public, but none of that kind of art really matters any more, things are too reversed to be able to make any sort of meaningful impact.

In the inlay of the Hidden World booklet is a text about the origin and harmony of the world: "Vibrations and hums the quantum sum where we're from" . You do not have to explain quantum physics, but can you explain your general idea of balance in the cosmos?
Well its the Wilsim Publogy trip again - we just feel the constant hum of unification throughout the cosmos. That piece ("Looking for Life") is about seeing the cosmos as one massive conduit for creating life. One of the quantum realities deals with the idea that maybe when you turn your back there's nothing behind it, that the physical reality we're surrounded by is manifested inside our heads, rather than outside it. So if there is no human consciousness, who manifests the universe? It's this nice one-sided romanticized view we decided
to run with - there is a picture by Kubin we used on the Year of the Dog12" that shows satan ejaculating humanity onto the earth, and it's sort of the same view - the 14 billion years of space was the preparation for the consciousness that would be able to bask in the glory. That text is trying to follow the evolution of life through time and into the future. We like to see the balance in the cosmos as just that, a cradle for life. How there is the pattern of self-replication, at every level, that manage this constant reclycing of materials to keep pushing life and existence into the future.

Are there any final misunderstandings about David Eliade you want to eliminate?
That I don't exist!

(7)

EXTRACT FROM 'STAY AT HOME MOMS GUIDE' BY OCTAVIO ST. LAURENT. (LFG Post Nov 12 2007)

The band has a manager called "David Eliade" who some people think is fake, and others aren't so sure about. Although I did have coffee with him this morning (he is my landlord).
(8)




EXTRACT FROM DAVID CHRISTMAS REVIEW PUNKNEWS.ORG (Feb 2008)

The A-side contains the main song, "David Christmas," which serves as the teaser for Fucked Up's next album, The Chemistry of Common Life. Though the song may be interpreted in multiple ways (á la most of Fucked Up's releases), the basic theme of the song is that Christmas is messed up and instead of worshipping Jesus, we should worship Fucked Up's "manager," David Eliade (who may or may not actually be a real human being).
(9)

'David Mask'
From 'Get to Know You' Post LFG (May 20 2008)

MIXTAPE 3 SIDE ONE 2009
Interview Extract: (some use of 'like' omitted)

He's just like in charge of everything that is our band
Doe's he have any supernatural power?
No. It's like we're like his supernatural powers, he's like an arm and we're like his five fingers, we're the way that David can leave his mark on the physical world.
David's idea is that action movies are the new drug (reference then made to 'Religion is the Opium of the People'). We live in the 21st century now and it's like the only thing a billion people on the planet will see of the same thing is a big-budget action movie, so David's idea is that action movies are the easiest way to get at the most peoples brains, so his movie is going to be like, I don't know, it's going to be amazing, it's going to cost the most money of any movie, it's going to have the most weird-ass stunts and it's going to fuck the most people up. Ever.

Interview extracts (around 14.00)
...that's the thing with David, nobody ever really gets to meet him, he doesn't really come to shows or like hang out on the scene or whatever...
...(Triumph & Terminator) Yeah, Triumph (of Life) is like... We don't know everything about David and one of the things we don't know is how he got involved in the movie industry...This afternoon we divided the... films into ATL and BTL - which is Before True Lies and After True Lies. True lies is like the genus* point of American films and describes how we as a band feel about Schwarzenegger...
...(Damian interrupts) No I would like to interject here and say that some of us do not buy David's bullshit theory of god-damned bad action movies... some of us enjoy, you know the work of... movies that don't have Arnold Schwarzenegger in them... The Fucked Up project is not concerned with True Lies.
(10)

*This is copied as heard off the tape, so it might be genus, genius, venus, penis or something else. Listen to it and see what you think.

''One of the only known depictions of the mysterious David Eliade''
(11)

MASKS

Wikipedia:  In medieval Europe masks were used in mystery and miracle plays to portray allegorical creatures, and the performer representing God frequently wore a gold or gilt mask.

In Ancient Egypt Gold was thought to be the substance which formed the skin of the gods.

Spoiler for David Eliade - Part 2 (to follow)

MIXTAPE 4 SIDE ONE 2011
Interview Extract:
(DA Speaking) David Eliade fills a void that we need filled. He's more than just a person, he's an idea and as such he fills all the roles we need him to fill.
(12)

(1) LFG

(2) Jade Tree Profiles
(3) Mixtape 2 Side One

(4) Scene Point Blank Interview (LFG Post)

(5) Trent Arthur Interview (LFG Post)

(6) French Zine Interview (LFG Post)
(7) Jagged Visions Zine Interview (LFG Post) and on Jagged Visions Zine site HERE & HERE(8) Stay at Home Moms Guide by Octavio St Laurent (LFG Post)
(9) Punk News Review
(10) Mixtape 3 Side One
(11) Caption from FU store
(12) Mixtape 4 Side One