Cold at the Top:
The Story of Ice Princess Productions

Written by A. K. Smith
(Edited by V. Sorrow)
2007-2013

For every social movement to thrive there must be the movers and the shakers within its collective. It takes more than words to carry on the passion and beliefs of a generation. It takes action and a deep commitment not only to one’s own beliefs, but also what the people want. A mover or shaker succeeds in this by making a connection with those who share the same vision.

The Gothic subculture has seen its share of souls dedicated to its own survival for the last few decades. From its birth from the ashes of Punk, through its media exploitation, and to the present day where it still continues to elude outsiders, Gothic is celebrated through music, fashion, and dance worldwide. This celebration is found in local concert halls, nightclubs, and even in the comfort of one’s home. However, someone had to be there to play the notes, or to host the event for Gothic to be embraced. A mover or shaker had to realize her own passion, so that others would have the opportunity to immerse themselves into the dreary, mysterious delight of Gothic.

Veronika Sorrow has been a proponent for the Los Angeles Gothic scene for over a decade. She has been behind the wheel of Ice Princess Productions, her own self-financed business that has given birth to a series of popular clubs in the Los Angeles area featuring Wake, Funeral, and Burial.

Essentially, the story of Ice Princess Productions is the story of Veronika’s vision for the Gothic underground. It is her story. It is a tale of struggle, perseverance, life, and death. It starts from the end of an era and continues throughout Goth’s demise and eventually to its revival. It is innovation with preservation in mind. It is with integrity. It is passionate.

The Punk movement of the 70’s had imploded before the decade had ended. Nevertheless, this gave way to a handful of Post- Punk movements such as Gothic, Deathrock, New Wave, New Romantic, and the rise of college radio. In the 1980’s Los Angeles would turn to radio station KROQ for an alternative to most Top 40 music. A young Veronika along with others had found their adolescent soundtrack on the airwaves

Premiere “KROQ bands” of the time such as The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees had not only reached into her record collection, but had found a way into her wardrobe. The passion of these bands had transcended beyond what could be perceived by the ear. It would help fate decide how people would visually identify Veronika and Ice Princess Productions for years to come. This would eventually play into part of her appeal as a musician and club owner. If every product had to wear a badge of recognition, then Veronika’s looks would defiantly be part of that association to Ice Princess Productions.

At the age of fifteen, Veronika had her first nightclub experience. It was an encounter at Glendale’s Music Exchange that led to her discovery of Marilyn’s Backstreet in Pasadena. KROQ disc jockeys would regularly spin the music. It was a hot nightspot for any young punk under twenty-one in search of kindred souls where music meant everything. Music was always first as it dictated your clothes, your attitude and your friends.

In her first nightclub escapade, she found what she would remember as “The most beautiful thing”; Goth kids shadow-dancing in the corner. Her eyes bared witness to her beloved music being physically emulated and celebrated by her peers. It left an everlasting impression on her that evening forward. Dance had cast its glorious shadow over the sounds that moved her heart.

The Los Angeles Gothic underground has landmarks to remind us of its roots. Perhaps most would agree that certain institutions, however far they may have strayed from their original vision, are remembered or in some cases mourned. Mike Stuart and Bruce Perdew’s Helter Skelter is certainly an institution that was a safe haven for a generation.

But like so many things held sacred, it too came to pass. Although its initial run lasted for seven years, Veronika recalls it didn’t take so long for it to outlive its own usefulness before its closure. The early 1990’s showed a dramatic increase in commercial interest in the underground arts, weather it was Gothic, Mod or Punk. In the face of all this, KROQ was bought by the corporation, Lollapalooza and MTV became good friends, and New Wave was definitely a thing of the past as the world welcomed Grunge.

The Post-Punk era had seen its day the moment Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” conquered the airwaves. Although some may argue that the Grunge movement broke “Alternative” music into the mainstream, it was the eventual over saturation of the genre itself that depleted the magic of Post-Punk. Thus, acts such as The Cure and Siouxsie & the Banshees suffered throughout the decade by new material scrutinized by fans (“Wild Mood Swings”), or lower record sales (“The Rapture”).

Sorrow recalls what all of this was doing to the Gothic scene. Acts like Nine Inch Nails, and Marilyn Manson watered down the magic. However, the real irony she claimed was that these acts were not even really Gothic. Even the revered Depeche Mode was mistaken for Goth, being what she described as “dark disco”. Sorrow wasn’t even disenchanted with the music itself, so much as the fact that the promoters of Helter Skelter fell into this huge corporate cash trap. As the legend of Helter grew, so did the number of “normies” accepting Goth as a household name. The best-kept secret in the city, expanded into several incarnations (and still do to this day), and grew farther away from the intimacy that its loyal followers initially fell in love with. Los Angeles Gothic had sold out.

In the midst of sacred institutions mutating, and a decline of passion enveloping the scene, Veronika was becoming concerned with a lack of a united front among all of this change. Someone was bound to step up in the face of greed and adversity and attempt to restore unity and integrity into the city’s decaying scene.

“Wake is sadly watching what seems to be the demise of the Gothic scene. I desired to create a sanctuary for those people that believed in the Gothic arts. I wanted to redefine and recapture the emotional meaning that seemed almost hopelessly lost to a money-hungry empire that was L.A.’s last ‘Gothic club’. I knew there was more to it. I wanted change, and I wasn’t the only one…. We must unite and the Goths must take over, and not let an entity-making bank off our scene do it. So we urge to please come and support this Gothic movement. This is not just a danse club, this is a place to unite…” Veronika Sorrow (an excerpt from a Wake flyer)

Somewhere in Costa Mesa in 1994, Wake was born. Unknown to Veronika at the time, the opening night of Wake would be the maiden voyage of the Ice Princess enterprise. However, this wasn’t only the start of something new for Veronika personally; it would also be the beginning of a new chapter in Los Angeles Gothic.

Veronika had stumbled upon an underground rave haven known as the Blood Bank at The Theatre Gallery in Costa Mesa, by following a dingy little flyer. The venue itself was in an industrial strip-complex that was an auto shop / art gallery by day and a raver’s sanctuary by night. Late one evening with some friends she approached the owner with an idea to run a Goth club. His response was sparked with enthusiasm, mentioning that some other fellow was DJ’ing some “Gothic thing” there as well. Evidently DJ Shane (of Element) had agreed to be Wake’s first disc jockey.

Wake was an after-hours club that was open from midnight until six o’ clock in the morning. Club goers had the option of not only an after-hours dance club, but they had the choice of supporting a truly underground establishment miles from Hollywood. Although Wake lacked the amenities of any well-established dance club of the time, it did offer a true underground feeling that was becoming scarce elsewhere.

As the word spread about Wake, its only rival club at the time Helter Skelter didn’t see the formation of a new Gothic club a good thing. This was evident the evening that Veronika was present in front of Helter Skelter, where she encountered the promoters. As the story goes, they expressed to her their dismay for the “shit” that had been talked about on her flyers. Although, the early Wake flyers did tell a tale of disenchantment towards the scene, for the record no specific club or promoter was cited. In a small scene however, the inference was obvious.

Although unity and mutual support had been on Veronika’s mind, Helter Skelter stated that they would never support her. From that moment on she had divorced herself completely from that particular establishment. The last nail in the coffin had been hammered and Veronika never set foot in another Mike & Bruce club again.

Wake’s original location would fall prey to the law. This certainly wouldn’t be the last time Ice Princess Productions would have entanglements with the police. From the beginning Veronika would be faced with the constant hardships of securing a lasting venue. The Theatre Gallery was busted four o’clock in the morning for its “illegal” activity, despite an attempt to convince the cops that it was simply a birthday party. The incident itself could be regarded as a harbinger for Wake’s tumultuous existence to come, as the constant moving of operations throughout the Los Angeles area followed.

Every venue that Wake called home is each an installment of Ice Princess Productions. Every venue has its own story, with a similar ending. Nights of dancing, drinking, lust and Rock n’ Roll could summarize any nightclub. However, Wake was supposed to be a cultural gathering. It was not only a Gothic club, it was destined to be a Gothic experience. If the Hollywood scene was about the numbers, then Wake was about the music, the aesthetic and the raw emotion of every song ever spun. It wasn’t a place to get your name out to the masses, or “the place to be seen”. Through and through, it was a grassroots movement for the underground. It was the underground for the underground.

Wake had enough house and guest DJ’s to affirm its clout throughout the Gothic community in Los Angeles. Regular disc jockeys that spun included DJ Scott Patterson (formerly of D.O.A. in Hollywood), Shannon (formerly of Icon in Riverside), Pete Blender, and Michael Archangel (a follower of Wake since its early days). Guests included DJ’s Shok, Bat (of Madeline’s Tomb), and Jen & Dave of Release the Bats fame.

To simply say that Wake was a response to the changing events in the dark arts wouldn’t be saying enough. Although there may be truth to that, Wake was the first attempt at recreating the vibe that The Scream and Helter Skelter had in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. As devoted as Sorrow had been to the early days of Helter, she found purpose in preserving that feeling with her own club. Perhaps what kept Wake alive for years was the spirit it upheld from a time that many have closed the door on by now. As odd as it may sound for any business venture, Wake was never really about money. To begin with, Wake wasn’t started with the intention of launching a business. Indeed with every night that followed, it would show signs of a business being formed nonetheless.

The very concept of Ice Princess Productions surely came after the fact. Her missions, if you will, were shoes to be filled along the way of its venture. While Ice Princess was evolving out of an afterthought, Veronika forged her own path in the Los Angeles club world, lying to rest the fond memories of Marilyn’s and Helter Skelter.

Booking various Gothic bands and artists local to the area earned Veronika and Wake respect throughout the scene. Wake had earned a reputation to be another outlet not only for up and coming groups, but legends as well. London After Midnight, Stone 588, The Deep Eynde, and The New Ambassadors of Love were among the up and coming. Eva O and members of Shadow Project graced the stage of Wake at different times. On top of the list was the late Rozz Williams with his current project of the time, Heltir. However, Rozz never quite found the stage to perform due to his drug induced state. Allegations of this would prove to be anything but shocking as this came relatively soon before his suicide in 1999.

Although Veronika had established her presence in the scene with Wake, the outside world would have something else to say occasionally. Youth movements have always suffered scrutiny from the older generation. Goth is defiantly no exception to this rule. Generation gaps have never been the only source for this type of scrutiny, as the rest of the world would find it difficult to understand the idea behind Gothic.

Certain venues would shut the door on Wake because of its dark nature. Veronika would have to contend with a type of discrimination or prejudice from venue to venue. It wasn’t only felt from the owners of an establishment, as waves of it came crashing from some of the regulars that were not educated about Goth. Perhaps some of this prejudice was to blame on the media or, more specifically due to the events of Columbine High School, Colorado.

This factor accompanied by a few others contributed to Wake’s fickle nature of not only being on the move, but being on hiatus between locations. The Ice Princess herself, Veronika Sorrow, found herself as a gypsy, only able to give her following a taste of her vision before setting up camp elsewhere. Wake would experience being off the map for over a year while Veronika would invest her energies in other endeavors.

Shadowrealm was a joint project shared between Veronika and Blade Rhino of Vampiricus in 2000. Operations commenced in Alhambra for a few months until it was apparent that both promoters had clashing views on what direction the club should go. Shadowrealm is an interesting footnote in the history of Ice Princess Productions simply because it was the only ongoing joint effort to date. It did experience a measure of success as acts such as Cinema Strange, Attrition, and Diva Destruction took the stage in front of enthusiastic crowds.

Wake would return one last time for a string of nights in Glendale. It was at this very last location of Wake where her friend Andy joined the crew to DJ for its remaining nights. Andy would use the alias of “sPlit” and eventually serve as Veronika’s right hand man as their relationship would eventually grow beyond friends. As their friendship began, Wake’s attendance came to an all time low. It soon became apparent that few souls were lingering in the thick fog that once consumed the dance floor. Fog was about the only thing hiding the emptiness that could be seen and felt by Veronika.

Wake came to pass on September 29th, 2002. During its eight year run, it witnessed changing trends within the Gothic scene. Some had moved on from the nightlife and onto marriage, careers or even death. A change in social outlook, music, and style found many Goths straying towards other realms. Some fell into the world of Industrial music, arguably a cousin of Goth, nonetheless underground in spirit. Others had thought to have graduated from the scene, onto the Brit-Pop / Mod craze of the late 1990’s. Many ex-Goths could be found at Café Bleu, a once popular nightspot in West Hollywood.

For whatever reason why Wake died while other clubs prospered remains open. Perhaps only a handful in the end really understood what Ice Princess Productions was trying to promote. Gothic unity was somewhat of an alien concept to many in the scene. Why had institutions such as Perversion and Stigmata prevailed? An antidote to this could be that unlike Wake, most other clubs devolved, and focused their sights to solely increase profits. Although Goth may have been the foundation of these entities at one time or another, in the end their efforts never seem to focus on preserving Goth with any sort of dignity. Eventually their perpetual stream of spin off clubs strayed further and further from Gothic altogether.

Whether Goth was evolving from its “Deathrock” roots and on to a more dance friendly aesthetic, or if it was simply dying and in need of some rejuvenation is also open to question. However, one thing was certain; a generation of “Goths” had grown older. All those that had entered the scene through Marilyn’s, The Scream, and Helter Skelter were no longer kids. All in all those names had been become nothing more than relics to a new generation that was about to enter and embrace the dark underground.

This is a comprehensive list of the venues Wake called home throughout the years:
    1. Theatre Gallery (auto shop / after-hours nightclub), Costa Mesa / 1994
    2. Eagles (cowboy bar), Eagle Rock
    3. Micah’s (coffee house), Pasadena
    4. Cuernavaca (Mexican Restaurant), Pasadena
    5. Hell’s Gate (lounge), Hollywood
    6. The Muse (in the underground), Pasadena
    7. Q’s (Billiards and dance hall), Pasadena
    8. The Fire House, West Hollywood
    9. Elektrik Café (in the basement), Pomona
    10. Encounters (gay bar), Pasadena
    11. Lush/The Cage Club, Glendale / 2002
"Wake has passed away on this day of our lord, the 29th of September 2002 C.E. A funeral is being held various Fridays of the month in her honour. She lived a full life and passed on from this world at the age of 8 years. It was told she died of a broken heart, of being forgotten. But Wake was indeed, loved and cherished by many, many souls, and will eternally be kept in the hearts of her family. She is survived by her mother, Miss Veronika Sorrow. But weep not; Wake will be there in spirit…at each and every Funeral Party. Open casket viewings are held at 618 E. Colorado Blvd, in Pasadena.

May the lord and his darkest angels keep her soul forever."

(Wake’s emotional eulogy on Bubastis.com)

As the face of music changed in the 1990’s, so did its followers. The beginning of the new millennium would bring about a new generation of black clad youth looking for an outlet. Like the previous generation, they too were in search of an asylum.

Funeral opened its doors to attendees of all ages on October 4, 2002. Ice Princess Productions was now entering not only a new chapter in its existence, but would also cross the threshold of those under eighteen years of age. Indeed Veronika was now truly following in the spirit of Marilyn’s Backstreet.

It had all made too much sense to Veronika at the time of Wake’s death. She blamed the demise of Wake partially on her own generation’s age and jadedness. It seemed to her at the time that many had lost the passion for the music and for the Gothic movement itself. So, when this occurred, Wake ended. However, Veronika had put the pieces together and realized that a funeral always followed a wake. It was a poetic approach to keeping Ice Princess Productions alive and relevant.

By day Veronika has been an educator and caregiver to the young. It has always been in her heart to look after youths and ensure a safe passage through their critical stages of development. In a way this would be the blueprint behind her intentions of starting Funeral. No matter what the age range would be, all those that would attend would have one thing in common: the music.

An Indian restaurant in the heart of Pasadena would be Funeral’s premiere location. As news spread by flyering and word of mouth, the public, young and old, slowly crept through the candlelit back alley, down the hallway, finally finding themselves for many, inside their first nightclub. The first couple of evenings defiantly seemed to strike a chord with the local youth, as half of the attendees were underage. Aside from dance being the main attraction, the club showcased live bands and spooky avant-garde performance artists.

Funeral’s beginnings can be looked upon like that of its predecessor Wake. This was an endeavor on which Ice Princess commenced with a degree of caution. Although the reception hall was well decorated with a ghoulish atmosphere such as lace and candles, again Veronika’s sights on how far she was willing to take this venture were relatively modest at the time. After all, so much money had been invested running Wake over the years. This time, she was reluctant to shell out another endless stream of cash just to keep things going.

Just as Funeral was gaining impetus and a spot in the Los Angeles Times Calendar section, an old adversary would see to it that Veronika would have to put up a fight to keep the ship afloat. The authorities would shut down Funeral and bring operations to a grinding halt due to the restaurant itself lacking the proper permits to allow dancing. Thus, the evening concluded at a party at Veronika’s house.

Months later in early 2003, Funeral awoke from its slumber and reopened in Altadena at the Dance House. This was a mirror-walled dance studio by day that would transform into Funeral’s temporary home by night. Although the venue’s owner prohibited the sale of alcohol, this had no impact on the spreading news of Funeral’s return and growing popularity. Acts such as Astro Vamps and Cinema Strange were among the highlights of this era.

Funeral was bound for a shifting of venues to call home, sharing the similar fate of her older sister Wake. Overnight Veronika, her crew, along with the under aged and elder Goths, moved to the former Eagle Theatre in Eagle Rock. By 2003 the dilapidated theatre had been closed to the public for years. The aesthetic couldn’t have been more suited for Funeral. Sorrow witnessed the club’s most successful night for its one-year anniversary when Dinah Cancer’s Penis Flytrap performed in front of over two hundred and forty people. The night’s soaring numbers however would only secure the fact that Funeral was going out in a bang as news of the property being sold to a religious group would shut the club down for the next six months.

Veronika had come this far in one year but was faced with familiar ghosts. Already in one year Funeral had experienced three venues. During this six-month period between homes Veronika would shop for a new one. Three nights were held at the American Legion Hall in Eagle Rock, just seconds away from the Eagle Theatre. Ultimately, Veronika and Andy pled with the war veterans of the hall during a formal meeting to keep Funeral going. Their request to stay fell on deaf ears, as it was evident that the veterans deemed Funeral’s following as a group of misguided, unpatriotic, reckless youngsters. It wasn’t too long that Veronika had gotten word of an available venue in El Monte. The Elk’s Lodge would prove to be one of the most successful locations for nearly a year.

On the move, Funeral’s momentum was not affected at all. If anything it was always ensured that things stayed fresh with something different offered at each location. The El Monte Elk’s Lodge featured some new additions to the club such as a spacious second room for the bar, live bands and socializing. Eventually a third room would be a dedicated to Industrial Dance -- something Veronika approached with sever caution.

An unfortunate physical altercation between two patrons in the Industrial room would shorten the lifespan of Funeral at this location. The incident called attention to the local authorities, and thus served as the catalyst to heighten already existing tensions between the Ice Princess and the members of the Lodge. The last evening ended in upset and tears, as other nights in years past had. A cluster of events were booked with the Knights of Columbus directly across the street shortly before that fateful final evening at the Lodge. Here is where Veronika booked the legendary Gene Loves Jezebel. Soon followed Eva O, marking her return from a long period of absence from the scene.

Despite Eva O being one of the most anticipated performers, it was unfortunately the night that the El Monte police department raided the place and pulled the plug on the entire evening. Veronika was fined and nearly arrested, including the venue owner, for not having the proper permits. In essence, the city of El Monte had shown its true conservative colors and permanently banned Funeral for good. There was speculation that the bust was premeditated for weeks. However, operations in El Monte were a turning point for Funeral as it did thrive there for a long while compared to previous locations.

Funeral’s next venue would challenge how far people were willing to go to attend the event itself. It was a test of whether the club could truly still be a success miles away from the city of Los Angeles. Having it in Pomona across the street from the famous Glass House didn’t seem to hurt business too much as The Tiki Room was its home for over a year and a half. This location offered an ample stage for bands and a large space for the most important thing of all, dancing.

The Tiki Room would also be the home venue for Veronika’s band The Chaste. The Chaste was formed in January of 2006 that included Andy on bass, Mat Greaves on guitar and James Hazley on drums. Practice sessions were held in Veronika’s home in Pasadena. They quickly gained growing interest and popularity within the scene and on the internet. They spent the year playing at various clubs in Southern California.

Although Veronika had spent years focusing on her clubs it had always been her wish to start her own band. She had experienced some musical exposure years ago on the Projekt Records label as her work can be found on various compilations to this day. Her beautiful rendition of the classic “Little Drummer Boy” can be heard in the motion picture “Reindeer Games”.

Bands that were normally heard at her clubs inspired the sound and style of The Chaste. They were regarded as a band that had reawakened the older spirit of Gothic, while searching for a new direction beyond the confines of the genre itself. In a time were a number of local acts had gone down the road of creating beats and melodies through electronic means, The Chaste was a true Rock n’ Roll band. The Chaste became the house band for Funeral and thus resulting in their “home field advantage”.

Although Funeral was by now a well-established name in the club scene, the constant demands to prevent it from becoming redundant presented its challenges. It was essential to keep the music format fresh, while not straying too far off from the classic dance floor favorites. All three resident DJ’s, Sorrow, sPlit, and Pivot would periodically introduce new songs to the rotation to keep attendees interested. The unique element of playing classic Punk bands such as the Clash, Ramones, and Dead Kennedys truly distinguished Funeral from other Gothic clubs. Another way to keep the club innovative in terms of offering something different were guest DJ’s from all around the scene such as Perversive and Style from Las Vegas. From the beginning it was intentional to stand out from other clubs by offering a broader format.

Initially, Funeral was held twice a month. However, the decision to go monthly coincided with Veronika’s plan to open an event closer to home. The tomb doors for a new club, Burial, opened in 2006 in Veronika’s home town of Pasadena. Coincidentally, Burial would be held at the Terrace, formerly known as Cuernavaca years ago (where Wake existed once upon a time).

Burial’s successful debut wasn’t only in part to a closer location. Some of it was owed to Veronika’s events baring the mark of quality and integrity no matter what it was called. If an event entered the nightlife under the Ice Princess banner, people would come. It had taken Veronika years to accomplish this on her own terms.

Sadly, the owner of the Terrace regarded Burial as an experiment. In the end the decision was made to kick out the Goths and cater to a much trendier crowd that would bring in more profit for the owner. It has been proven repeatedly of how differently the underground rates success compared to the mainstream. Nevertheless, Burial continues to thrive in Pasadena once a month at a new location.

Funeral once again closed its doors in January of 2007. The closure was not due to a lack of interest. Rather the owners of Tiki decided it was time to demolish the building and concentrate their efforts into their new venue in Arcadia. Near the end of the nights in Pomona, Veronika collaborated with Ralph E. Nigma and Eric Dead of Red Light. The evening featured two rooms, each one dedicated to its own club. By this time many bands had graced the stage at this location such as Babylonian Tiles, Kastle Grey Skull, Scarlet’s Remains, The Last Dance and an acoustic make-up set by Eva O.

Another chapter was closed in the history of the club and for Ice Princess Productions. Funeral would be on hiatus but would eventually return later in the year. However, upon its resurrection Veronika would have to alter one of its major themes in order to secure its future.

The owners of Tiki had expressed much interest in keeping their business relationship alive with Veronika simply because Funeral had provided a steady stream of patrons entering through their business. Plans were set to reopen at their new location in Arcadia, but on the agreement that it would now be an 18+ club. Unfortunately, some of the underage crowd had become too much of a liability not only for the owners, but for Funeral as well.

Funeral was warmly welcomed back with much enthusiasm partially due to its nearer proximity to Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles. This time around Funeral would abandon its regular monthly engagements and be open for business around certain holidays throughout the year.

This is a comprehensive list of the venues Funeral called home throughout the years:
    1. Sitar (Indian restaurant), Pasadena / 2002
    2. The Dance House, Altadena / 2003
    3. Eagle Theatre, Eagle Rock / 2003
    4. American Legion Hall, Eagle Rock / 2004
    5. Elks Lodge, El Monte / 2004 - 05
    6. Knights of Columbus, El Monte / 2005
    7. The Tiki Room/Yesteryears, Pomona / 2005 - 07
    8. Arcadia Blues Club (ABC), Arcadia / 2007 - present

Presently, Veronika has completed recording The Chaste’s debut album One Year with John Seput of Division Six. Although the band's line-up has changed, it is yet only the beginning of its existence. With Veronika at the helm of this project, it will go on and bring further recognition to Ice Princess Productions.

Ice Princess Productions is always a work in progress as its creator refuses to be stopped by the many obstacles that have stood in her way. Since the early 1990’s, Veronika Sorrow has risen to the occasion many times to keep the music going and to never let her vision anf her favorite sounds be forgotten. Whether as the mastermind behind a series of dance clubs or bands, she has earned recognition throughout the Gothic community, and with that much respect.

Rising to the top of her game has also brought a degree of controversy surrounding the charismatic Veronika. But regardless of what some opinions might be, there is no debating her passion for music. No event or song from Veronika will ever be in question of its sincerity. Upon entering the world of her production company as a patron, member of her crew, or casual observer, one will always leave with the impression that she means business, but from the bottom of her heart. Veronika’s perseverance is a gift to the Gothic / Deathrock community and to the world.

From first time club-goer to matriarch of the L.A. Gothic scene, Veronika Sorrow has fought an uphill battle to share her vision with countless souls. No matter the outcome at any point of her career, the fight is never in vain so as long as her enterprise is embraced and remembered. Thus the legacy of Ice Princess Productions is intact.

During the past two decades the Ice Princess has emerged as a force to be reckoned with. Veronika’s entrepreneurial abilities and leadership has had a rippling effect across the Gothic scene. The impact of her deeds has forever solidified her pivotal role as a mover and shaker. Styles come and go just as people and venues do. But doing it for the music with heart and soul is something that will remain eternal.










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