Klaus Nomi: Personality Construct

Prior to watching this film, I did not really know who Nomi was, but I had some vague familiarity with him. I think it must have just been as one of my classmates pointed out, he is one of those character types that has been digested by American pop culture and regurgitated in small pieces every now and again as new stars in the mainstream spotlight see fit to take cues from Nomi. There were many good perspectives and concepts that came up in our discussion regarding his appearance as a deliberately constructed persona who may have merely stumbled upon post-modernism. But what really strikes me is that no matter how many of his "friends" were interviewed, one could never get much of a feeling from the documentary as to Nomi's "real" or private identity. Maybe he became completely consumed by the character that he designed to play for the rest of his life, but I have to believe he was something else initially and once he was there on his deathbed, with everyone too afraid of Aids to come and visit the sad and lonely performer. It is sad that things ended up that way and that it seems somehow fitting in the eyes of certain people that he had such a dramatic end, but it is also understandable. I don't think Nomi realized everyone he pushed away in his search to achieve a tangible fame, until he needed those whom he alienated. At any rate, I understand that a lot of figures since have developed similar stage characters to stick with, but there is more ambiguity in Nomi. How conscious was his stage character's development? I have to wonder whether some of the aspects and character traits were not just parts of his imagination ready to surface or things that were already close to him and just seemed natural to develop further and accentuate or exaggerate. It seems like he became virtually indistinguishable from his stage self, and that makes me wonder how intentional each aspect of that personality was for him. Perhaps his imagination and intuition led him naturally down the path of such a character combining opera and other types of music in a unique juxtaposition. I think, in some ways that separates him from those figures who came later trying to find some sort of strange, yet memorable gimmick to cling to in hopes that it would catapult them effortlessly to fame. Little bits of many things remind me of Klaus and I think that shows a remarkable impact for such a performer that really only produced about three albums without much behind them. An example is a rather minor connection I made with a musician that I admire, (not personally, but for his music in content and style, as well as the great obstacles he has overcome just like Klaus) Chris Volz. Volz is a vocalist that founded some bands I listen to like Flaw and Five.Bolt.Main, and then went on to make a solo album that turned out a little strange in my opinion. Volz lived with a stepmother when he was young and she trained him vocally because she was an opera singer. Later, Volz had gone through a very difficult childhood including experiencing the suicide of his stepmothere and he went on to form hard rock or metal alternative bands like those mentioned. What I like about him is that he incorporates those experiences he's had into his music and feeds off of them to create something that many "angry teenagers" can enjoy or at least relate to. He also has a unique vocal style due to the formal opera kind of training that he received. He is able to display a beautiful voice and then switch in a brief moment to yells and screams of agony and betrayal only to return to a soft and gentle melody. I find all of these characteristics interesting parallels to Klaus and although I see no direct correlation, I am sure that some of the Chris Volz type musicians in the world could not survive today without having had certain avenues paved by the likes of Klaus Nomi.


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Jordan Severson