"I don't often get to wear top-to-toe vintage," she said, showing off even her nylon stockings, as Biskup DJ'd on his Mac laptop.
There was a pause in the action for speeches from the best man, maid of honor and author Clint Catalyst, who waxed lyrical. ("Jessicka and Christian's union is an integral part of an ancient umbilical cord, connecting multi-talented musicians to visual artists to writers to performers to designers, in a symbiotic relationship that academics of future days will pigeonhole as a 'movement. . . .' "
Then Jessicka took the mic and commanded guests to "go forth and drink." Most were happy to follow her orders.
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Meet the Addamses
Jessicka and Christian had decided that once married, they would both lose their family names and start afresh. After considering Bubblestorm, Awesome, Applebottom and Deathblow, they settled on Addams, an homage to the macabre TV family. "It was time for a new bloodline," Jessicka said with a shrug. "Plus, the name Addams just fits well, like an old goth T-shirt."
No, their actual families weren't horrified. Nancy Gissing, the mother of the bride, could barely contain her emotion throughout the ceremony, which she said fitted Jessicka's personality exactly. "I would have been shocked if she'd done this any other way," she said.
Samantha Maloney, bridesmaid and drummer for Peaches (and formerly Motley Crue and Hole), graciously assumed the role of tour guide, showing guests around the space. Surrounded by twinkling views of the L.A. cityscape, the penthouse was built by haberdasher James Oviatt in 1927, whose high-end shop once occupied the ground floor. The place oozes decadence. Oviatt and his wife, Mary, were known for their lavish soirees, and signed photographs of their friends -- John Barrymore, Errol Flynn, Howard Hughes -- still line the walls.
Downtown continues to be a destination for hedonists. As the Addamses and their goth royalty entourage celebrated at the Oviatt, around the corner indie folk hero Devendra Banhart was onstage at the Orpheum theater, while members of the Strokes and Mexican heartthrob Gael Garcia Bernal looked on.
At the former St. Vibiana's cathedral, fashionistas had gathered for EcoNouveau, a green-themed runway show. And a stone's throw away, on Santa Fe and Fourth, trance freaks dressed in garish neons and Mylar danced off the last of the playa dust at the Burning Man Decompression party. Back at the Oviatt, the music segued from Sisters of Mercy to Christian Death to Kajagoogoo. Even at this iconoclastic affair, one wedding tradition refused to die -- crazy dancing. And the prize for best moves went, unsurprisingly, to the Easter Bunny, who by this point had revealed himself to be screenwriter Jeff Buhler.
"When Jessicka asked me to officiate the wedding as a rabbit, I thought it was a great idea," he said. "It exactly sums up our group of friends, you see."
Later he made a brave attempt at the splits.
