The Unholy Matrimony of Stanton and Szandora LaVey

The Henry Fonda Theater
Hollywood, CA

by Lexa Vonn
Photos by Lexa Vonn

Ugly Shyla photo by: Dr. Mangor

Posters by Keith Nelter

I first met Stanton LaVey back when I sang in the goth grrl band, Ophelia
Rising. We had a party pad apartment on Sierra Bonita Ave. in the heart of
Hollywood and would frequent the stores and restaurants that lay within
walking distance just a mere block away. One of these stores was a little
underground book and art shop with black walls called Odium. It was owned
by none other than Anton LaVey's grandson himself, Stanton LaVey. Among the
bookshelves, one could find everything from music videos to nazi porn.
There were sections on gangsters, serial killers, drug culture, magic and
many others. My band mates and I became fast friends with Stanton. He gave
me my first shot of real European absinthe complete with the wormwood, and
Odium was one of the first stores to carry our CD, 'Step 1: Acknowledge You
Are Part of the System.' It was stocked tactfully in the witchcraft
section. Eventually, Odium closed, Ophelia Rising broke up, and we all
moved to new apartments. A few years later, I would be reunited with
Stanton when I met his fiancé, hoola-hooping Satanic pin-up girl (and the very first Cryptgirl, -DN) Szandora as I was working the L.A. burlesque circuit. Szandora and I hit it off like
kindred souls and I kept in touch with the couple ever since. They came to
my birthday bash last year bearing the gift of a vinyl devil head purse
stuffed with retro adult novels left over from Odium. And when Rock City
was putting together our Halloween issue, I pitched them as the obvious
choice for a feature interview. All together, my memories of this couple
are none but the best, so when they told me of their plans to marry live
onstage on June 6th, 2006 (better known as 6-6-06); I jumped at the chance
to photograph the event.

It's hard to put into words what this event was like because it was so
overwhelming to everyone who witnessed it. When Stanton granted my coven
and I special all access passes, I had no idea how big the event would
actually be. We arrived early at the Henry Fonda Theater just in time to
get a chuckle out of witnessing Alexxa's ex-boyfriend, Omen from Ooze trying
to get in for free by pretending to be on the list. As we trotted past him
in our matching slip dresses and backstage passes, we knew the magick of the
evening was already present and in our favor. As we entered the building,
we passed by concession stands selling t-shirts for the event and proceeded
into the theater to catch the sets of BAD ACID TRIP and DEAD GIRLS CORP.

Sandwiched in between the musical acts were the comical commentaries of the
acting high priest and host, EL VEZ who adorned the stage in various jumpsuits of red vinyl and leopard skin. Very Classy! Then, the good stuff finally began. Stanton took to the stage behind a podium brandishing the
classic pentagram and lightening bolt insignia and recited "The Hymn of the Satanic Empire," originally performed by his grandfather. He was aided by
the background music of Alkaline Trio's MATT SKIBA and DEREK GRANT, who
adorned the stage in long black hooded capes. The recital was one of the
high points of the evening as an air of intense, almost spiritual energy
simmered through the focused and excited crowd of spectators.

After a brief intermission where we rubbed shoulders with MERLE ALLIN of the MURDER
JUNKIES and EXENE CERVENKA of X, we were treated to a few songs by 70?s
pimptastic legend, DOLEMITE and a performance art piece by spooktacular goth model and doll maker, UGLY SHYLA. Shyla, who is a long time friend of bride (and Cryptgirl/Promo Bitch of this goddamn magazine, -DN) Szandora performed her infamous live abortion scene. She entered the stage in a white dress and red contacts that covered the whole white of her eyes and stripped down to reveal a paper machete pregnant stomach. Taking a knife, she carved out a baby doll while splattering blood and gore everywhere!

Her performance literally bled into the opening number of 45 GRAVE'S set, who were next to rock the stage. 45 Grave kept the spirit alive with go-go dancers, balloons and silly string and finished off with their hit, "Partytime."

Then the moment we all had been waiting for arrived. The Satanic alter came
out and El Vez began performing the nuptials. Stanton stood on the stage in
a black and red tuxedo with what looked like crushed rubber detailing on the
vest and tie and a tall black top hat. Finally, we got to behold the
beautiful bride who was dressed in an original couture by DARK LORD 10
MILLION. The bodice was made of black lace and was form fitted with
corseted stitching to support Szandora's ample breasts that were otherwise
bare and peeking through. The dress consisted of layers of black petticoats
and had a matching veil. Each piece was detailed with a rubbery dripping
blood pattern that matched the bride's perfectly dyed flame red hair. The
couple appeared as nervous and giddy as any "normal" bride and groom as they
took vows to honor themselves as their greatest teachers as well as one
another and to always stay true to thy self.

There were no animal sacrifices or onstage orgies as the Christian right-wingers would have hoped for, but there was a black wedding cake with little dolls made in the
couple's likeness. After saying their vows, the cake was cut and fed to one another while a thousand fans cheered from the audience. The cake was baked
by Szandora's friend, Emma who is currently enrolled at the prestigious Cordon Bleu cooking school and I had the pleasure to taste a piece backstage. It consisted of red velvet cake, black cherries and black
chocolate frosting. Mmmm.Satan tastes yummy!

After the ceremony, the real party began as HANK WILLIAMS III took to the stage and was joined by none other than GLENN DANZIG! When they broke into "American Nightmare," the crowd, as well as the newlyweds, could barely contain themselves.

Also, hitting the stage with Hank III was LAMB OF GOD SINGER, RANDY BLYTHE who
jumped head first into the sea of screaming fans, and the boys from Alkaline
Trio who returned sans the capes.

The kaleidoscope jam session celebration seemed to go on forever as me and the girls made our way backstage to the dressing rooms where I was able to snag an exclusive interview with former wife of Anton LaVey and grandmother to Stanton, DIANE LAVEY. The former co-owner of the Church of Satan said that she couldn't be prouder of
Stanton. "I am so proud of him, not just for tonight, but for coming
through incredible odds to this moment to find this incredible jewel, his bride Szandora. I just loved her the moment I saw her." When asked what
Grandma LaVey thought of the concert, she had this to say, "This was my
first rock concert ever. It was really relatively peaceful and I think that
speaks well of the caliber of people that are drawn to the performers, drawn
to Stanton and Szandora, and hopefully drawn to our philosophy." Is this
the beginning of a new tradition? Only the happy couple knows for sure, but
they have both hinted that they would be planning similar events in the
future. "There's a lot of repairs to be made to Satanism," says Stanton.
"This is where the work really begins. We are trying to ride on my legacy
and what my grandfather started. I'd like to do something big and
monumental, say every other year. I'd like to do something worthwhile that
brings together a variety of different people that share one common interest
of self-expression, freedom of individual spirit, thought, and light. Our
honeymoon has been the last year and a half as far as I'm concerned." "It
was the Satanic fairy tale that I dreamed of my whole life and never thought
would happen," added Szandora. "And here we are on 6-6-06, all these people
came out and enjoyed themselves and had fun positively. That's what
Satanism is truly about. It feels great to be Mrs. LaVey."

www.stantonlavey.com

www.uglyart.net

www.backstageplastics.com

www.danzig-verotik.com

www.the7thhouse.com

www.dinahcancer.com

www.hank3.com

www.elvez.net

www.alkalinetrio.com

www.lamb-of-god.com

www.ggallin.com

www.badacidtrip.com

www.deadgirlscorp.com 

© 2006 Crypt Magazine. All Rights Reserved.