DJ Lazarus Brings Toronto's Goth Scene Back to Queen West
Lloyd Warren, better known as DJ Lazarus, has quietly built Ground Control into a sanctuary for Toronto's underground nightlife.
Long before goth became a Halloween costume aisle, Lloyd Warren was spinning moody new wave and industrial music on York University's radio station in the early hours, when even the most dedicated club kids were asleep. Today, under the moniker DJ Lazarus—a name inspired by a man who rose from the dead, which feels fitting—Warren has resurrected Toronto's goth scene at Ground Control, a Parkdale club that's quietly become essential to the city's underground music culture.
Ground Control isn't trying to be trendy. It's devoted to everything outside the mainstream: David Bowie shrines, "Goth AF" trophies, and a dance floor where the music dictates the mood rather than the other way around. The venue has become a sanctuary for people looking for nightlife that doesn't feel algorithmically optimized or designed by a corporate brand.
Warren's commitment to the scene runs deep. He's not a curator picking hits from a playlist; he's a custodian of a specific aesthetic and community that most of Toronto's nightlife industry abandoned years ago. Ground Control doesn't have a VIP section or bottles of champagne. It has a sound system, a devoted crowd, and the kind of devotion to craft that makes Toronto's live-music world worth paying attention to.
The resurgence of goth in Toronto—visible in the popularity of venues like Ground Control and the community that gathers there—speaks to a hunger for nightlife with values. People want to go places where the vibe is protected, where the music comes first, where you're not being sold something. Lazarus has built exactly that.