My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
Origin	Chicago, Illinois,U.S.
Genres	Industrial rock,industrial dance
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Interscope/Atlantic,Red Ant,Rykodisc,SleazeBox,Wax Trax!/TVT
Members	Groovie Mann Buzz McCoy Mimi Star Arena Rock Justin Bennett
Past members	Jacky Blacque Shawn Christopher Davey Dasher Sekret Dame DeZyre Brett Frana Dick Fury Kitty Killdare Linda LeSabre Lydia Lunch Curse Mackey Bruce Manning Otto Matix Ruth McArdle Sinderella Pussy Arena Rock Pepper Somerset Brian St. Clair Skip Towne Thomas Thorn William Tucker Charles Levi Westin Halvorson Xtina X Alex Uberman
Website	mylifewiththethrillkillkult.com

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult(often shortened toThrill Kill KultorTKK) is an American electronicindustrial rockband originally based inChicagoand founded by Groovie Mann (born Frankie Nardiello) and Buzz McCoy (born Marston Daley). They became known in the 1980s as pioneers of theindustrial musicgenre – although by the early 1990s they had changed to a more disco-oriented sound – and as a frequent target of censorship groups, including thePMRC,which objected to the band's humorous and satirical references toSatan,Jesusand sex in their song lyrics and stage shows.

During the early 1990s, Thrill Kill Kult had several hits on the U.S. dance club andalternativecharts.They also contributed songs to several movie soundtracks and appeared in the 1994 filmThe Crow.The band has continued to record and tour with a rotating lineup in addition to core members Mann and McCoy. In 2017, the band celebrated its 30th anniversary.

History

Nardiello and Daley met in spring 1987 while touring together with the bandMinistry.Soon after, Nardiello and Daley began to conceive anart filmto be calledMy Life with the Thrill Kill Kult– a headline taken from a British tabloid Nardiello had noted a few years prior when he lived in London. The film was never completed, but the music they had recorded for its soundtrack appealed toWax Trax! Records,who released the completed songs as a three-trackEP.

Dubbing themselves Groovie Mann (Nardiello) and Buzz McCoy (Daley), they launchedMy Life With the Thrill Kill Kult.When the first EP sold well, a full-length album,I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits,followed in 1988. Both attracted attention fromcollege radiostations and dancefloors, as well as religious groups who balked at the overtlyoccultimagery in both the music and the artwork of the releases. The group continued to stoke controversy with each subsequent release, which included a remix EP entitledNervous Xians,and they became even more popular with release of the12-inch single"Kooler Than Jesus".

Thrill Kill Kult's second album,Confessions of a Knife...,became one of the best-selling releases on Wax Trax!, and continued to goad parental groups with song titles like "A Daisy Chain 4 Satan" and "Rivers of Blood, Years of Darkness".

Along with labelmatesMinistry,KMFDM,andFront 242,Thrill Kill Kult helped develop theindustrial musicgenre, but they themselves continued to evolve, creating a sound that was not easily identified or categorized. It was electronic club music with heavy beats, reminiscent of bothdiscoandfunk,yet amplified to a sometimes abrasive level. Thrill Kill Kult reflected a shift where dance records could be ominous and aggressive, and they laced their music with riffs and references that would seem more at home in aheavy metalgroup. One of their most distinctive characteristics is their use ofspoken-wordsampleslifted fromB-moviesand old television shows.

At the onset of their career, the band's music was known as having a "satanic"theme, although used in a satirical sense. The occult element of the band has moved to the background in recent years, as they have focused more on their sleazy disco sound although still laden with satire. The 1991 albumSexplosion!marked TKK's leap toward morepsychedelichousebeats and their later grind houseloungesound. Later albums expanded upon these sounds and explored new directions as well, such as the 1995InterscopereleaseHit & Run Holiday,which combined the Kult's signature electronic sound with apsychedelicsurf rock/go-gotheme reminiscent of 1960sgarage rockand more modern acts likeThe B-52's.

Live shows

Mann and McCoy recruitedThomas Thorn(a.k.a. Buck Ryder) to play keyboards and administer samples on the band's first tour. Brian Gillespie (a.k.a. Skip Town) from The Five and laterConcussion Ensembleplayed a classic Slingerland Silver Sparkle drum set with sample triggers. The live act also featured female backup singers referred to as "The Bomb Gang Girlz",among the first of whom were Jacky Blaque, Rhonda Bond and Kitty Killdare.

Thorn soon departed amicably from the live act to form his own band,The Electric Hellfire Club(which embraced the overtly Satanic themes that My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult had only flirted with).

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult kept adding a revolving cast of characters to their stage show that, over the years, has included No Wave chanteuseLydia Lunch,bassist Charles Levi, guitaristWilliam Tucker,Chris "Curse" Mackey from the bands Evil Mothers and Grim Faeries, Lady Galore fromLords of Acid(who appeared in TKK as Cherrie Blue), and a great number of artists, sound technicians, musicians, and filmmakers. Creatively, however, the core of the band has always been Mann and McCoy, both on record and in the live act.

The "Sexplosion!" tour in 1991 achieved a particularly edgy reputation. In addition to its staging, which featured a bar and bartender onstage with the band, the show also featured a male/female duo known as Ten and Avaluscious White, who appeared onstage dressed in a number of different guises. At one point, Ten was dressed as Jesus strapped to a cross and featuring a large blackdildoor alternately a large sausage between his legs, while Avaluscious White dress as a demon girl simulatedoral sexon him. This created controversy and protest in a number of American locations, adding to the band's notoriety.

In the summer of 2010, the band once again hit the road withLords of Acid,with whom they toured on the Sextacy Ball Tour in 1995.The 2010 tour was originally titled Sextacy Ball 2, but was changed to the Sextreme Ball for legal reasons.

In 2012, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult announced their 25-year anniversary tour covering over 30 dates in the US tour featuring direct support byLeft Spine Down.

Record labels

Thrill Kill Kult left Wax Trax! Records after their third album,Sexplosion!,surpassedConfessionsto become the biggest seller on the imprint, and major labelInterscope Recordstook notice.TKK signed to Interscope, which re-releasedSexplosion!and garnered the band their most familiaralternativeradio hit, "Sex on Wheelz".Their following two albums,13 Above the NightandHit & Run Holiday,were recorded for Interscope until they parted with the label in 1996. The band's subsequent album,A Crime for All Seasons,was released on Red Ant Records.

In 2001 the albumThe Reincarnation of Lunaappeared on their own Sleazebox Records imprint, distributed byInvisible Records.The band released a companion piece toLunacalledGolden Pillz: The Luna Remixes,as well as a live album calledElektrik Inferno.Rykodiscbecame the band's next and most current home after putting out the rarities compilationDirty Little Secrets.Rykodisc eventually released My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult's entire back catalog, as well as a new "best-of" compilation, a non-stopmegamixalbum featuring mash-ups of tracks from different eras called (Diamonds & Daggerz), and a long-unreleased project entitledGay, Black & Married.

In 2009, the band's own SleazeBox Records joined forces with Italy's Rustblade label and have together released TKK's most recent CDsBlood + Dope + Sin + Gold(2008),Death Threat(2009) andSinister Whisperz(2011).

Soundtracks

Thrill Kill Kult has contributed songs to soundtracks of several movies, includingCool World(1992),Totally Fucked Up(1993),The Crow(1994),The Flintstones(1994),Showgirls(1995),Baseketball(1998),The Amityville Legacy(2016) andNemesis 5: The New Model(2018). They were used in dialog forThe Doom Generation(1995) andSexy Evil Genius(2013). They also appeared inThe Crowperforming in the nightclub shootout scene.

Related projects

Both Mann and McCoy have worked on various side projects and with other bands and musicians.

Groovie Mann

• Special Affect– with Marty Sorenson on bass,Al Jourgensenon guitar andHarry Rushakoffon drums
• Drowning Craze
• Darling Kandie – withWilliam Tucker
• FredEP withFred Giannelli
• The Katastrophe Klown
• Trash Deity

Buzz McCoy

• Rota – as a producer for a cover ofKiss's "Do You Love Me?"
• Excessive Force– withSascha KonietzkoofKMFDM
• Pigface– on live albumWelcome to Mexico... Asshole
• Cherrie Blue – with Ruth McArdle (a.k.a. Lady Galore) fromLords of Acid
• Bomb Gang Girlz

McCoy has also remixed tracks for bands such asRadio Iodine,KMFDM,Evil Mothers,Pigface, Voodou, andProfessional Murder Music.

Wax Trax! Deejays

As an original Wax Trax! artist, Buzz McCoy returned to Chicago February 23, 2007, to DJ Classic Wax Trax! rarities and remixes from his personal collection at famed TKK hangout, Berlin Chicago.

Discography

Main article:My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult discography

• I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits(1988)
• Confessions of a Knife...(1990)
• Sexplosion!(1991)
• 13 Above the Night(1993)
• Hit & Run Holiday(1995)
• A Crime for All Seasons(1997)
• The Reincarnation of Luna(2001)
• Gay, Black and Married(2005)
• The Filthiest Show in Town(2007)
• Death Threat(2009)
• Spooky Tricks(2014)
• In the House of Strange Affairs(2019)

External links

• Official website
• February 23, 2007 Buzz McCoy DJs Classic Wax Trax! remixes and rarities from his personal collection
• FAQ, somewhat dated but still useful
• Annotated Discography
• Interviews with the band from 1990 to 2002
• Interview with Groovie Mann
• Trouser Press Overview