Everything about Mushroomhead totally explained
Mushroomhead is a
band from
Cleveland,
Ohio. Formed in 1993, the band’s music can be described as a
synthesis of
alternative,
heavy metal, and
elektro industrial influences. The members of Mushroomhead have identified themselves by each adopting
masks or facial disguises as well as individual
pseudonyms. Mushroomhead is identified by its distinct “X Face” logo – commonly worn boldly on the masks of most members, as well as clothing and associated merchandise.
History
1993-1995
In 1993, Mushroomhead was established as a side project. To differentiate itself from members’ existing bands and to dispel any misconceptions about the group’s sound and musical content, Mushroomhead adopted costumes,
masks and
pseudonyms.
Mushroomhead played its first show in 1993. Days later, the octet found itself on stage alongside established metal band
GWAR. “We played our first show on a Saturday,” said the band’s drummer, Skinny, in an article for Mushroomhead’s official website. “Three days later, we got a call to play with GWAR at the Cleveland Agora in front of 2000 people – our second show ever!”.
In 1995, Mushroomhead released its self-financed debut album with Filthy Hands Co., “
Mushroomhead”. For the members, Mushroomhead became a priority with their original bands breaking-up. The band’s line-up saw many changes throughout the 1990s, stayed active, steadily releasing music and gaining new fans.
1995-2000
The late 1990s held controversial myths and legends for Mushroomhead. Record labels began to take notice of Mushroomhead and expressed interest in the Ohio outfit, most notably
Roadrunner Records. In 1998, the band came close to signing with Roadrunner Records, however, due to the two parties’ inability to reach a mutual agreement, pen never touched paper. One year later, a nine-piece metal band from
Des Moines, Iowa –
Slipknot – debuted on Roadrunner Records with its 1999 album “
Slipknot”. Slipknot lead singer
Corey Taylor has stated that Slipknot had never heard of Mushroomhead until they were recording their debut album in 1998.
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After Roadrunner's acquisition, controversial similarities could be seen. (see
Rivalry with Slipknot for more information)
The 1999 signing of Slipknot to Roadrunner Records led to changes within Mushroomhead. The band felt their image had been stolen for financial gain and subsequently “killed” their individual characters. Their once colorful costumes, camouflage and rubber masks, were replaced by a black uniform. Later, cartoon style X marks over each eye were added to further illustrate the death of the group’s image. This X mask design later lead to the “X Face” logo which today is recognised as the band’s symbol. These changes were also reflected on the band’s 1999 release “
M3”.
2000-present
In 2001, Mushroomhead released a compilation album titled “
XX” on the independent label
Eclipse Records. Later in the year, the band signed with major label
Universal Records and the compilation was remastered and re-released internationally. The release of this album lead Mushroomhead to major tours, national and international including
Ozzfest 2002 as well as television exposure via its first music video “Solitaire/Unraveling”.
XX sold 300,000 copies.
2003 saw the release of
XIII, their first album of entirely new material for Universal Records. The album produced the single "Sun Doesn't Rise" which was featured on MTV:Headbangers ball soundtrack and
Freddy Vs Jason. Also featuring the hidden track "Crazy" a cover song originally by
Seal. The album debuted at No. 40 on the Billboard Top 200 charts and sold 400,000 copies worldwide.
After an extensive world tour, singer J Mann (aka
Jason Popson) announced that he'd left the band in August 2004 due to exhaustion and personal reasons. A major reason for his departure was the fact that his father was sick and he wanted to be there for him.
In August of 2005, Mushroomhead self-released its first
DVD on its own Filthy Hands label – “
Volume 1”. Produced, directed, shot and edited by the band, “Volume 1” covers the band’s rise in the 2000s with live performances, music videos and behind the scenes footage. Waylon, however, isn't featured in "Volume 1", though he's given a camera operator credit.
While on the road in 2005, Mushroomhead began the process of writing new material and recording a new album. In December of 2005, Mushroomhead signed with
Megaforce Records, ensuring the new albums availability nationally and internationally.
On
June 6 2006, Mushroomhead launched MushroomKombat - an interactive
flash feature as a part of the band's official website. The mini-game pits band members against each other in a
Mortal Kombat-style environment, each member having a unique
fatality.
Mushroomhead headlined with
Dope,
Nocturne, and
New Orleans locals
Invain played a show on The Music For Freedom Tour sponsored by
Jägermeister at the
House of Blues in
New Orleans,
Louisiana on Tuesday, August 16, 2005. This show was one of the last big acts to play in New Orleans for a long time due to
Hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans on August 29, 2005.
Savior Sorrow debuted at #73 on the
Billboard 200 charts with sales exceeding 12,000. The band's label stated that sales were closer to 25,000 with the inclusion of sales made while on tour.
SoundScan issued an apology the day following the release of sales data due to mistakes made in estimates. The primary reason given was the lack of inclusion of sales from the
Best Buy retailer chain. Sales of Savior Sorrow were roughly 26,000 and the chart entry place was closer to the #30 spot than #73. Savior Sorrow's chart position was later officially adjusted to #50. Simple Survival, the pre-released single to
Savior Sorrow, was placed at #39 on the Billboard
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart one week after the release.
Drummer Skinny has stated that while on the Jägermeister-sponsored tour, Mushroomhead has been filming around the clock, capturing the action on and offstage. The footage will be compiled into the band's second DVD, tentatively titled "Volume 2,"
On December 29, 2007, Mushroomhead won Video of the Year 2007 on the MTV2 Headbanger's Ball for "12 Hundred" from the "Savior Sorrow" record.
Jeffrey Nothing will release a solo album entitled
The New Psychodalia in 2008.
Genre Dispute
Mushroomhead has been labeled as
alternative metal,
heavy metal,
shock rock and even
nu metal. But
Jeffrey Nothing has said that the band isn't nu metal, and when asked for the band's genre, he said, "We play what we feel when it happens we try to expand territory with each new release."
Image
As stated above, the band originally adopted masks and stage names to not conflict with their original bands. The band's look has evolved over the years with each release. Their current masks, as one of their producers confirmed, are them coming back from hell after being killed in war. This decision to mask themselves didn't come without controversy, see the section below for more information.
Rivalry With Slipknot
Since 1999, Mushroomhead has had an on-and-off rivalry with Iowa-based band
Slipknot. The feud erupted due to the image similarities between the bands. Many fans of Mushroomhead claim Slipknot stole their 'masked' look, and vice-versa. In an interview with Soundbites, then, lead singer of Mushroomhead Jason Popson stated, "It seems a little strange, because they look so much like us -- they've the same number of members and some of the same masks, and it was a little too strange that their record label had this material. I think it's obvious that they borrowed material from our show."
Members of Slipknot claim to have not heard of Mushroomhead until they were recording the demo of their first album in 1998 and in fact had started wearing masks and jumpsuits in late 1992. An incident between Mushroomhead fans and Slipknot themselves occurred when Slipknot trekked to Cleveland as part of their tour in support of their debut album. Mushroomhead fans flocked to the concert and peppered Slipknot with batteries forcing them off-stage. In a press conference, Slipknot lead singer Corey Taylor stated that members of Mushroomhead had encouraged fans to do these acts. However, Mushroomhead has publicly stated that the band in no way encourages this sort of behavior. In a May 2007 interview it Imhotep.com, singer Jeffrey Nothing stated that the day after the Cleveland incident, his then girlfriend went down to the venue and the members of Slipknot and some of their crew harassed her saying: "You're wearing a Mushroomhead shirt, fucking bitch." Nothing went on to say, "The bottom line is: here's our city, our fans support us completely! They felt just as fucked over by these puny 'Clowns' as us and they aren't afraid to show it. Welcome to Cleveland, bitches.” In 2005 Mushroomhead dressed as Slipknot for three shows in the northeast Ohio area, avidly mocking the band.
Mushroomhead's 2006 Midnight
Halloween performance started with an announcement over the PA: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Slipknot won't be appearing tonight,” which was greeted by chants of “FUCK SLIPKNOT!” from the cadre of fans in the pit. Soon after, the lights came up, revealing their Nightmare Before Christmas-themed set, complete with falling snow. St1tch and Little Dan (Skinny’s drum tech and drummer for Ventana) came out wearing masks from two members of Slipknot. Dan wearing Chris Fehn’s mask with the Pinocchio-style nose, Stitch wearing Shawn “Clown” Crahan’s mask. When they weren’t playing the large drums at the front of the stage, Dan proceeded to masturbate his mask’s nose, and St1tch took off his mask and flipped it off, eliciting fits of laughter from both of their fans. After the show, Pig Benis grabbed a Slipknot-hat from a kid in the front row and proceeded to wipe his rectum with it, then threw it back into the crowd.
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Tour
Mushroomhead tours nationally and internationally. Some of the bands they've toured with are:
Psyclon Nine,
Marazine, and others.
Band members
Current
Former
"Dinner" – (Richie Moore) Lead guitar (1993–1998)
"DJ Virus" – (Joe Lenkey) Turntables (1993–1995)
"J.J. Righteous" – (John Sekula) (Rhythm guitar 1993–2001, was sole guitarist from 1998–1999)
"Mr. Murdernickel" – (Joe Kilcoyne) Bass (1993–1995)
"Roxy" – (Jessica Haney) Dancer/electronics (1993–1997, 1999–2000)
"J Mann" – (Jason Popson) Vocals (1993–2004)
"Bronson" - (Marko Vukcevich) Dancing/samples (1993–2000) Rhythm Guitar (2000–2006)
Guests
Dan Fox- Water Drums/Percussion (2006-present)
"Chamberlain" – Juggler
Mandy Lascko – Vocals ("Mommy")
The Heathers - Vocals ("Big Brother")
Scot Edgell – Vocals ("The Final Act", "The New Cult King")
Devon Gorman – Vocals ("Our Own Way", "One More Day")
Jens Kidman – Vocals ("The Dream is Over")
Sean Kane - Vocals ("Tattoo")
Discography
Mushroomhead - 1995
Superbuick - 1996
M3 - 1999
XX - 2001
Remix 2000 - 2002
XIII - 2003
Savior Sorrow - 2006Further Information
Get more info on 'Mushroomhead'.
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