Aurelio Voltaire Hernández (born January 25, 1967), professionally known as Aurelio Voltaire or simply as Voltaire, is a Cuban-American musician, singer, and composer. His professional name is Voltaire, his given middle-name.

Name

In the past, when asked about his real name, Voltaire avoided the question or implied that his real name is in fact Voltaire. Voltaire chose to use his middle name as his performance name because his namesake "saw through the hypocrisies of humanity and commented on them through satire. In essence, he was able to educate people about the world around them by making them laugh." According to the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

where he is employed as an instructor, Aurelio Voltaire's real name is Aurelio Voltaire Hernández. Voltaire attributes "Acoustic Guitar and Vocals" on '' Ooky Spooky'' to Aurelio Voltaire Hernández. Since then he has signed his name as Aurelio Voltaire, and is more open about it in public appearances. His stage name is now "Aurelio Voltaire" for the following reason: "I got tired of there being other people releasing albums as Voltaire. There's an indie band in Germany and some American guy who makes instrumental hip hop. Like, do these people not do a fuckin' Google search before naming their bands? Anyway, it was just easier to distinguish myself from them by using my first name."

Background

Aurelio Voltaire's father died when he was four months old. At ten months old, Voltaire emigrated to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

with his mother and sister remarried. However, he states that he did not enjoy residing there, stating he was a victim of bullying because of his heritage and strange hobbies and interests. At the age of ten, Voltaire was inspired by the films of

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mi ...

('' Jason and the Argonauts'', ''

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' is a 1958 Technicolor heroic fantasy adventure film directed by Nathan H. Juran and starring Kerwin Mathews, Torin Thatcher, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer, and Alec Mango. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures ...

''), and began animating on a super 8 camera. By piecing together snippets of information from

fanzines A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share ...

, he eventually was able to teach himself how to make foam rubber animation models and animate them. His stepfather was abusive, considering Voltaire's strange hobbies and interests to indicate he was homosexual. A family friend sexually molested him from infancy into his teenage years. His girlfriend at the time committed suicide, which made him consider doing the same. Before he followed through, he promised himself to live one more day, doing and saying what he wanted to do and say. This allowed him to stand up to the people who were bullying him, and instantly elevated his self-esteem. Though he considered committing suicide again the next day, he was able to hold it off indefinitely. At the age of 17, he ran away from home and moved to New York City. His first job there was an animator with

Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...

. Voltaire says that he loves New York, and that the only other place he would be happy living is Tokyo.

Musical style and career

Voltaire's music has strong roots and connections to European

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

as well as other influences such as the goth scene. However, many listeners find his music hard to classify. Although it has a sound reminiscent of European folk music, many people claim it to be

dark wave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

; perhaps as this is a label often given to many other artists from

Projekt Records Projekt is a Portland, Oregon-based independent record label started by Sam Rosenthal in 1983. Projekt releases music in the styles of darkwave, ambient, shoegaze, gothic rock, ethereal, dream-pop, and dark cabaret. Projekt artists include S ...

, and a word often used to mean many things by the label themselves. His music has also been linked to

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

, with ''Lexicon Magazine'' using the term "goth cabaret", possibly referring to dark cabaret, a term often used to describe some bands Voltaire cites as his influences. Voltaire has also been linked to the steampunk scene with Victorian-era horror related subjects, and some of his visual and music styling, and in recent years he has become a favorite at major steampunk conventions such as the Steampunk World's Fair. New wave has also been used to describe Voltaire's music by some reviewers. Voltaire describes his own music as "Music for a parallel universe where electricity was never invented and Morrissey is the queen of England". He says that bands and artists who influenced his music are Rasputina, Morrissey,

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, Cab Calloway and Danny Elfman. The first band that Voltaire played in (during junior high school) was called "First Degree". At this age, he was a fan of Duran Duran, but then began listening to gothic music, most notably bands such as

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

and

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

. It was not until later that he began participating in the goth scene; it did not at first occur to him that there was a goth scene at all. As an adult, Voltaire formed a band which included a violin, a cello, drums, and himself as the vocalist and the acoustic guitar player. Within a year, Projekt Records signed them and by June 1998 they released their first album called '' The Devil's Bris''. Two years later their second album, '' Almost Human'' was released. One of Voltaire's popular hits is " BRAINS!", a song written for the Cartoon Network show ''

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' is an American Animated series, animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It follows Bill ...

'', aired in the episode "Little Rock of Horrors". He also wrote "Land of the Dead" for ''

Billy and Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure ''Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure'' is a 2007 made-for-television animated adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Cartoon Network Studios, and is the first made-for-television film based on the animated series '' The Grim Adventures of Bi ...

'', which plays in the opening sequence. As an avid fan of '' Star Trek'', Aurelio Voltaire frequently attends science fiction conventions, and released a four track EP called ''Banned on Vulcan''. It was a set of comedy recordings poking fun at characters from the show. On the side, Voltaire is also the lead vocalist of a New York City based new wave quintet known as The Oddz. Voltaire performed a musical special for Artix Entertainment in their MMO game ''

AdventureQuest Worlds ''AdventureQuest Worlds'' (often shortened to ''AQ Worlds'' or simply ''AQW'') is a browser-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released by Artix Entertainment in 2008. Gameplay Players are asked to choose from one of f ...

'', altering some of his songs in '' To the Bottom of the Sea'' to suit their standards. Over 32,000 players attended. It was released at 8:00 pm on Friday the Thirteenth of March 2009. On September 2, 2011, Voltaire released his eighth studio album: '' Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children''. Participating musicians include Rasputina frontwoman

Melora Creager Melora Creager (born March 25, 1966) is an American cello, cellist, singer-songwriter, performing artist and founder of the rock band Rasputina (band), Rasputina. Early life, beginnings and Rasputina Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, M ...

on cellos, Brian Viglione on drums, former

bassist David J on bass and

Franz Nicolay Franz Nicolay (born 1977) is an American musician and writer. He is best known for playing the accordion and piano in The World/Inferno Friendship Society and keyboards in The Hold Steady from 2005 to 2010 and again from 2016 onwards. He is als ...

on accordion. On September 2, 2012, Voltaire released his ninth studio album, '' BiTrektual''. It contains songs parodying '' Star Trek'', '' Star Wars'' and '' Doctor Who'', and featured guest appearances by Jason C. Miller,

Tim Russ Timothy Darrell Russ (born June 22, 1956) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on '' Star Trek: Voyager'', Robert Johnson in ''Crossroads'' (1986), Casey in '' ...

Garrett Wang Garrett Richard Wang () (; born December 15, 1968) is an American actor. Wang is known for his role in '' Star Trek: Voyager'' as Ensign Harry Kim. Early life Wang was born in Riverside, California, to Taiwanese immigrant parents. He has one ...

and

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Cowboy in '' Innerspace'', Coach Cutlip on '' The Wonder Years'', Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series ''China Beach'', the Doctor on '' S ...

. In 2014, his tenth album, '' Raised by Bats'', was released. Contrasting with the dark cabaret instrumentation of most of his album, ''Raised by Bats'' is more

death rock Death rock (or deathrock) is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genre ...

—and gothic rock-inflected, and it counted with guest appearances by Ray Toro of

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist ...

, Craig Adams of The Mission, Julia Marcell and much more.

Band members

Although often credited and pictured as a soloist, Voltaire has a band. His band occasionally performs in live acts, but does not feature on his live album, ''Live!''. The current lineup is: * Vocals/Guitar: Aurelio Voltaire * Violin: Hannah Thiem * Violin: Maxim Moston * Violin: Ben Lively * Cello: Melora Creager * Drums: Brian Viglione * Bass: David J * Horns: The Red Hook Ramblers * Accordion: Franz Nicolay * Banjo: Smith Curry * Tuba: Joe Tuba

Television

Voltaire was hired for his first directing job in 1988 with MTV, creating the "MTV-Bosch" station ID in the style of

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on o ...

. The stop motion tour of the hellish ''Garden of Earthly Delights'' won several awards including a Broadcast Design Award. This station ID was included in a capsule of 21st century media that was shot into space. He has also made morbid station IDs and for clients such as Cartoon Network,

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. ...

and its Animation Station block,

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

, and

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

. Besides his work with commercials, he has made short films and series such as ''Rakthavira'' and ''Chi-Chian''. ''Chi-Chian'', based on an ID he did for the Sci-Fi Channel, is now a 14-episode flash animated series on Syfy's website. Before that, ''Chi-Chian'' started out as a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series that included 6 issues (published by

Sirius Entertainment Sirius Entertainment was an American comic book company which operated from 1994 to 2007. Sirius Entertainment was founded by Robb Horan, Joseph Michael Linsner, and Larry Salamone, Fassbender, Tom. "A Sirius Interview: With Two Sirius Guys," ...

), which eventually evolved into the Flash-animated series. He currently teaches stop motion animation at the

in New York City, as well as animating, directing, and singing. Voltaire has written two of his songs especially for the TV show ''

'': " BRAINS!" and "Land of the Dead". Appeared on the Discovery Channel series, Oddities, in 2012, buying a "slice of brain" for a music video prop. On his YouTube channel ''The Lair of Voltaire'', Voltaire publishes the video series ''Gothic Homemaking'', a guide to gothic style.

Film

Voltaire has acted in movies. One movie he appeared in as the character "Verrill", was ''Model Hunger'' (2016). He additionally contributed a cameo as the exorcist Altair in ''The Velocipastor'' in 2017. Voltaire will be appearing in visual companion content for

American Murder Song American Murder Song (sometimes abbreviated AMS) is an American musical act founded in 2016 by cult film composers and performers Terrance Zdunich and Saar Hendelman. The project uses the murder ballad genre to explore American history, especi ...

as Unwed Henr

The first video featuring his character was released at the 2016 Steampunk World's Fair and later on YouTube.

Art and writing career

In addition to ''Chi-Chian'', Voltaire has also produced a comic book series called ''Oh My Goth!'', also known as ''OMG!'', which started as his own eight-page religious tracts inspired by

Jack Chick Jack Thomas Chick (April 13, 1924 – October 23, 2016) was an American cartoonist and publisher, best known for his fundamentalist Christian "Chick tracts". He expressed his perspective on a variety of issues through sequential-art morali ...

. Stories include him being chased by minions of Satan as they try to prevent him from playing his next show. These short pieces often led to information about his next show. After two issues of the ''Chi-Chian'' series were published, he convinced

to publish ''Oh My Goth!'', which included four issues that were later collected into a trade paperback. Voltaire has also made a sequel to the ''OMG'' series called ''Oh My Goth! Humans Suck!'' Voltaire has also produced a ''DEADY'' series as well as releasing books such as ''What is Goth?'', ''Paint it Black'', and "Call of the Jersey Devil", a novelization of a script of the same name. In early 2004, for his ''DEADY'' comic book, Voltaire signed a deal with Toy2R. The first toy that was created was a 2-inch posable ''DEADY'' key chain for the company's "Qee Bear". It was released at San Diego Comic Con and sold out. A second figure, an 8-inch ''DEADY'' figure was created in January 2005 and could be redeemed on aqworlds for a rare non-member only digital pet. In June 2007 the Deady Minigame was released on ebilgames.com, a site hosting various minigames created by

Artix Entertainment Artix Entertainment, LLC is an independent video game developer and publisher founded by Adam Bohn in October 2002. It is best known for creating browser-based role-playing video games—including ''AdventureQuest'', ''DragonFable'', ''MechQuest ...

. AE's

Massively multiplayer online game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are ...

AQWorlds ''AdventureQuest Worlds'' (often shortened to ''AQ Worlds'' or simply ''AQW'') is a browser-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released by Artix Entertainment in 2008. Gameplay Players are asked to choose from one of f ...

also featured a Friday the 13th event featuring songs by Voltaire. Voltaire voiced his in-game persona for the occasion. In 2008, Voltaire shot the Animation short film ''X-Mess Detritus''. The movie was the third film of his directorial career; the others are Transrexia (1993), Rakthavira (1994) and Transrexia II (2008). In mid-2013, Voltaire had written a novel called ' Call of the Jersey Devil' which is available on Amazon. He is currently writing another novel called 'The Legend of Candy Claws' which is about a bat that steals candy from naughty children on Halloween, and gives it to good children on Christmas. According to his official Facebook page, he was in the process of making Candy Claws Plush Teddies. (after his Black Unicorn / My Little Pony Plush Teddies were a huge success).

Personal life

Voltaire married his long-time girlfriend, Jayme, on October 1, 2009, at the

Angel Orensanz Center The Angel Orensanz Center is an art and performance space on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was originally built as a synagogue, running through a succession of congregations and continues to be used as one occasionally. The ...

in New York City. Voltaire has a son, Mars, from a previous relationship, born in 1998. Voltaire is an agnostic. On September 25, 2013, Voltaire announced on his official blog, that he and his wife were to be divorced. Saying, "On October 1st of this year, my wife and I would be celebrating our 4th year wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, it's not to be. After nearly four years of marriage and a couple more of dating, we are parting ways. It saddens me so deeply that things didn't work out. It's been a difficult process for both of us to come to this decision, one that I really don't wish upon anyone. Nothing is worse than seeing your best friend in pain." He is currently engaged to Mayumi Toyoda.

Books

* Voltaire (2002). ''Oh My Goth! Version 2.0''. Sirius Entertainment. * Voltaire (2003). ''Oh My Goth!: Presents the Girlz of Goth!''. Sirius Entertainment. * Voltaire, Chris Adams, David Fooden (2003). ''Chi-Chian: The Roleplaying Game''. Aetherco/Dreamcatcher. * Voltaire (2004). ''Deady the Malevolent Teddy''. Sirius Entertainment. * Voltaire (2004). ''Deady the Terrible Teddy''. Sirius Entertainment. * Voltaire (2004). ''What Is Goth? – Music, Makeup, Attitude, Apparel, Dance, and General Skullduggery''. Weiser Books. * Voltaire (2005). ''Deady the Evil Teddy''. Sirius Entertainment. * Voltaire (2005). ''Paint It Black – A Guide to Gothic Homemaking''. Weiser Books. * Voltaire (2007). ''Deady: Big in Japan''. Sirius Entertainment. * Aurelio Voltaire (2013). ''Call of the Jersey Devil''. Spence City. * Aurelio Voltaire (2013 / 2014) The Legend of Candy Claws

Discography

* '' The Devil's Bris'' (1998) * '' Almost Human'' (2000) * '' Boo Hoo'' (2002) * '' Then and Again'' (2004) * '' Ooky Spooky'' (2007) * '' To the Bottom of the Sea'' (2008) * '' Hate Lives in a Small Town'' (2010) * '' Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children'' (2011) * '' BiTrektual'' (2012) * '' Raised by Bats'' (2014) * ''Heart-Shaped Wound'' (2017) * ''What Are the Oddz?'' (2019) * ''The Black Labyrinth / A Requiem For the Goblin King'' (2022)

Compilations

Tracks by Voltaire also appeared on these compilation albums, sorted by year. * '' Spooky Songs for Creepy Kids'' (2010) 1999 * ''Unquiet Grave #3'' (

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, D ...

) : Featured a remix of the song "The Man Upstairs". 2000 * ''Promo 11'' (

) : Featured the song "Anastasia". 2001 * ''Promo 12'' (

) : Featured the song "Anastasia". * ''

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

Tribute: Songs of a Goddess'' (

) : Featured the song "Caught a Lite Sneeze". 2002 * ''Promo 17'' (

) : Featured "The Vampire Club". * ''Projekt: Gothic'' (

) : Featured the song "When You're Evil". 2003 * ''Projekt: The New Face of Goth'' (

) : Featured the songs " BRAINS!" and "Goodnight Demon Slayer". * ''Promo 21'' (

) : Featured the song "The Vampire Club". 2004 * ''Strange as Angels: A Tribute to The Cure'' (Failure to Communicate Records) : Featured the song "Lovesong". * ''Holiday Single 1'' (

) : Featured the song "Peace in the Holy Land", by Voltaire, featuring

Unto Ashes Unto Ashes is an American musical ensemble based in New York City that incorporates madrigal, folk, and elements of neo-medieval and darkwave. Founded by Michael Laird and Susanna Melendez in 1997, the band has released eleven full-length CDs ...

. * ''Promo 20'' (

) : Featured the song "The Vampire Club" * ''Promo 23'' (

) : Featured the song "The Vampire Club" 2005 * ''A Dark Noel'' (

) : Featured the song "Peace in the Holy Land", by Voltaire, featuring

. 2006 * '' Where's Neil When You Need Him?'' (

Dancing Ferret Discs The Dancing Ferret entertainment group is an unofficial collective name for Dancing Ferret Discs and Dancing Ferret Concerts. It was started by Patrick Rodgers (a.k.a. DJ Ferret) in 1995 with the formation of Dancing Ferret Concerts. The company m ...

) : Featured the song "Come Sweet Death", by The Oddz, with Voltaire. * ''The Projekt Almost Free CD'' (

) : Featured the song "Cannibal Buffet (Promo Mix)" * ''.2 CONTAMINATION: A Tribute to

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

'' (Failure to Communicate Records) : Featured the song "China Girl". * ''Asleep By Dawn Magazine Presents: DJ Ferret's Underground Club Mix#2'' (

) : Featured the song "Day Of The Dead". 2007 * ''Almost Free CD 2007.1'' (

) : Featured the song "Zombie Prostitute". 2008 * ''To The Bottom of the Sea'' (Mars Needs Music) : Voltaire's first wholly self-produced and self-released album. : Songs from the album were performed by Voltaire through an

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

in the online game

. 2009 * ''Every Machine Makes A Mistake: A Tribute to Radiohead'' (Failure to Communicate Records) : Featured the song "Wolf At The Door".

References

External links

* * *
interview with Sepiachord.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voltaire 1967 births American agnostics American animators American baritones American comics artists American comics writers American male screenwriters Cuban emigrants to the United States Cuban screenwriters Male screenwriters Cuban male writers Cuban musicians Dark cabaret musicians Goth subculture Living people Musicians from Havana Projekt Records artists School of Visual Arts faculty Singers from New Jersey Steampunk music American rock guitarists American new wave musicians