TGEFM is honored to premiere the new video from Spirit Board. As much as we love being silly and cheeky, “DEADNAME” is a real and salient issue in today’s society. The act of referring to someone by their previous name, either inadvertently or (even worse) maliciously, is a no-no. Spirit Board pull no punches in their song, off of their Oct 2023 album Hell Is Real (Still In Ohio), and the video is both disconcerting and powerful.
Dom Savage relates:
Growing up trans is something you can’t understand unless you’ve lived it. “DEADNAME” is a taste of the desperation, the grief, and the fear that comes with trying to live authentically. The climax of the song echoed the catharsis and unholy relief that come in moments of self-inflicted physical pain designed to relieve some of the emotional tension with the breakdown after reminiscent of temporary relief that comes with permanent scars. The speaker addresses God directly as a representation of the countless nights I with my catholic upbringing and education spent begging to be anything but what I am. DEADNAME doesn’t have a happy ending because being trans doesn’t always have a happy ending. I hope the trans people who hear this song feel seen and heard and I hope everyone else gains some new understanding of the trans experience. We followed DEADNAME with The Fool because there needed to be a response. Some kind of tying up of the loose ends. With lines like “I never thought I’d stay alive so bury me with all my pride” and “fuck you, you can’t fuck with me,” The Fool tells the story of what comes after the explosive despair. The story of freedom.
Find more Spirit Board via their Linktree page, and they will be performing at the end of the month in Kentucky, as well as Erie, PA’s Rainbow Fest on 13 Apr 2024 (it’s a stacked all-dayer).
Feb 25th @ Southgate House Revival w/ A Sense of Purpose, Two Sides of Me and more
April 13th @ Rainbow Fest in Erie, PA
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He’s lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, and now within earshot of SFO in the Bay Area. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.
