Stabbing Westward
Stabbing Westward | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Macomb, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres |
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| Years active | 1986–2002, 2016–present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts |
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| Website | stabbingwestward.com |
| Members | Christopher Hall Walter Flakus Mark Eliopulos Carlton Bost Bobby Amaro |
| Past members | Jim Sellers Andy Kubiszewski Stuart Zechman David Suycott Chris Vrenna Jim Clanin Johnny Haro |
Stabbing Westward is an American industrial rock band. Christopher Hall and Walter Flakus formed the band in 1986[1] in Macomb, Illinois. The band released an extended play in 1992, followed by four studio albums from 1994 to 2001. Stabbing Westward announced a dissolution on February 9, 2002.[2] Two compilation albums were later released in 2003. Stabbing Westward reunited in 2016 to celebrate their 30th anniversary together,[3] and has since continued to perform live shows.
Christopher Hall and Walter Flakus formed the band Stabbing Westward when they were in college. They came up with the name while working at the college radio station WIUS-FM. During an interview in 1996, Hall stated, "Since we went to Western Illinois University, Stabbing Westward had a certain 'kill everybody in the school' vibe to it! The school's way out in farm country and the country is really close minded. I was walking around like Robert Smith with real big hair, big baggy black clothes, black fingernail polish and eye makeup. They just didn't get it. We hated the town."[4]
Contents
1 History
1.1 Early years (1986–1992)
1.2 Ungod (1993–1995)
1.3 Wither Blister Burn & Peel (1995–1997)
1.4 Darkest Days (1998–2000)
1.5 Stabbing Westward and breakup (2001–2002)
1.6 Post-breakup (2003–2010)
1.7 Reunion (2010–present)
2 Members
2.1 Current Members
2.2 Former Members
2.3 Timeline
3 Discography
3.1 Studio albums
3.2 EPs
3.3 Compilation albums
3.4 Singles
3.4.1 Promotional singles
3.4.2 Other songs
3.5 Music videos
4 Gallery
5 References
6 External links
History
Early years (1986–1992)
Moving to Chicago in 1986, the original lineup for Stabbing Westward consisted of Hall on bass and lead vocals, Flakus on keyboards, and Jim Clanin on guitar. In 1990, an extended play tape was recorded by an early conception of Stabbing Westward. The EP, called Iwo Jesus, was released in 1992 and featured four songs: an early version of "Violent Mood Swings" (titled "Violent Mood Swing"), "Plastic Jesus," "P.O.M.F.," and an early version of "Shame." "Violent Mood Swing" was also included on the 1992 compilation CD The Cyberflesh Conspiracy.[5]
Hall took a brief break to tour with the band Die Warzau as that group's percussionist before continuing work on Stabbing Westward. Hall and Flakus later recruited Jim Sellers on bass and Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails) on drums, as Hall had met Vrenna when playing in Die Warzau. Vrenna played drums on all the demo recordings that ultimately landed Stabbing Westward their record deal with Columbia Records. Those demo recordings included "Violent Mood Swings," "Lies," and "Nothing." They were recorded at a studio in Evanston, Illinois and included Stuart Zechman on guitar. After Vrenna returned to Nine Inch Nails, the band hired David Suycott, who was a high school friend of Flakus.[citation needed]
Ungod (1993–1995)
The trio added Wax Trax recording artist Stuart Zechman on guitar and David Suycott (Spies Who Surf, Machines of Loving Grace) on drums. In 1993, the band recorded in Eden Studios; London, England with producer John Fryer. This resulted in their major label (Columbia Records) debut album, Ungod, which was released on February 15, 1994. The band landed an opening slot on the Depeche Mode Exotic Tour in summer 1994 and opened North American tour dates in fall 1994 for Killing Joke, but Stabbing Westward album sales were still sluggish.
David Suycott abruptly dropped out of the band toward the end of the Ungod tour. Andy Kubiszewski was called in to replace Suycott's position for the remainder of the shows. This fast replacement required Kubiszewski to learn all of Suycott's parts while on his flight to meet with the band. Kubiszewski became a permanent fixture of Stabbing Westward.
The "Thread Mix" of the song "Violent Mood Swings" was included in the soundtrack to the 1994 film Clerks. The song "Nothing" was featured in the 1995 motion picture Bad Boys, but was not included on the film's soundtrack release. "Nothing" was later included in the credits of the movie Johnny Mnemonic and both it and "Lost" were featured on the movie's soundtrack. The songs "Lies," "Lost," and "Can't Happen Here" were also all featured in the first Mortal Kombat movie in 1995; however, these songs weren't featured on the CD soundtrack.
Wither Blister Burn & Peel (1995–1997)
When Stuart Zechman departed the band after the Ungod tour due to personal differences,[6] the remaining band members found themselves without one of their major songwriters. New drummer Andy Kubiszewski took over some songwriting duties afterward. Prior to playing in Stabbing Westward, Kubiszewski had not only played drums in The The, recorded one song for Nine Inch Nails, and played in Prick, but had been the singer and songwriter in the Cleveland-based Exotic Birds. Shortly after Zechman's departure, Kubiszewski played the band dozens of demos and Exotic Birds recordings. Included were "What Do I Have to Do?", "Haunting Me," "Sometimes It Hurts," "Crushing Me," "Slipping Away," "Desperate Now," and "Goodbye." These tracks would later find space on both the Wither and Darkest Days albums. When the band headed to Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York, without a permanent guitar player, they decided to play all the guitar parts themselves, with Sellers and Kubiszewski taking on most of the guitar duties.
In 1996, the Wither Blister Burn & Peel LP became a success, landing them their first certified gold album, aided by the singles "Shame" and "What Do I Have to Do?" which granted the band heavy rotation on MTV, MuchMusic and radio. Tour mates for this album included Sponge. "What Do I Have to Do?" was featured in 1997's Masterminds, as well as in the episode "Tempest" of Smallville years later. The band later recruited Mark Eliopulos after the Wither recording sessions were completed to handle the live element of the main guitar parts.
Darkest Days (1998–2000)
Stabbing Westward relocated to Los Angeles, California where they began work on the 1998 album, titled Darkest Days. Darkest Days was envisioned as a four-act story by the band (but never marketed as such). This is the only release featuring studio work by Mark Eliopulos. The first single "Save Yourself" had success yet the album failed to sell as well as its predecessor. Stabbing Westward continued to tour with bands like Placebo, The Cult, Monster Magnet, and Depeche Mode, while playing numerous summer festivals. Due to a broken collarbone, Kubiszewski was forced to sit out the remainder of the touring cycle. He was replaced for three dates by former drummer Chris Vrenna, then Johnny Haro for the remaining dates. Haro joined Econoline Crush after Kubiszewski's return.
The music video for "Sometimes It Hurts" was supposed to be Wizard of Oz-themed,[citation needed] though most of the references were eventually removed.
The song "The Thing I Hate" was featured as the opening theme song in the Sony PlayStation game Duke Nukem: Time to Kill, which was released in September 1998. A remixed version of the song "Torn Apart" was featured on the Spawn movie soundtrack in July 1997. The song "Save Yourself" was featured in the 1998 films Urban Legend and Tekken, in addition to the 2012 True Blood Season 5 finale. The song "Haunting Me" was featured in the opening scenes of the 1998 teen horror flick The Faculty.
In 2000, the day before the band was to fly to Hawaii to record the follow-up to Darkest Days with producer Bob Rock, the band was dropped by Columbia Records.
Stabbing Westward and breakup (2001–2002)
After signing with Koch Records, the new manager wanted the band to create an album with a heavy pop influence. Christopher Hall, Walter Flakus, and Mark Eliopulos fought against the decision. Mark Eliopulos was fired by the manager who then brought in Derrek Hawkins as both a studio and live musician, as well as a new producer, Ed Buller.[7]
The demo for the self-titled album was considered too dark. Old guitar parts from the demos were muted and new pop-driven riffs were created by the new guitarist.[7]
The self-titled album, Stabbing Westward, was released on May 22, 2001 and featured the hit "So Far Away". The album did well in Australia, but ultimately failed to sell worldwide.[7] Before a fifth LP could be recorded, the band did not sign for a new record deal and formally announced on February 9, 2002 that they had disbanded.
Post-breakup (2003–2010)
- Lead singer Christopher Hall formed the Los Angeles-based band The Dreaming in 2001. They released their debut album Etched In Blood in June 2008. Songs from the album received airplay on XM Satellite Radio and rock stations nationwide. The album was distributed in Hot Topic and Best Buy. The band spent three years touring as a headliner and co-headliners with bands such as Trust Company and Flaw. In November 2011, the band released its second album, Puppet. It reached #32 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.[8] Their third album, Rise Again, was released in February 2015. From the Ashes, a remix album, was released in June 2017.
- Walter Flakus has been working with The Clay People and Chokt. He is the APD/Music Director/Afternoon host for Chicago alternative station 101 WKQX. He joined Hall's band The Dreaming in 2015.
- Jim Sellers and his wife opened a natural foods market called Sellers Market in 2005. It appears to have closed in 2012.[9]
- Jim Clanin left the music industry. He owned and operated a Dairy Queen in Illinois.
- Andy Kubiszewski has filled in as the drummer for a handful of Prick shows, joined a new project called Affected with Chris Schleyer, written and produced several songs for the popular Russian pop duo t.A.T.u., and has composed music for dozens of TV shows, including Monster Garage, Monster House, Ax Men, America's Toughest Jobs, The Colony, and most recently Storage Wars. Other film credits include Jam. Andy also composes the music to the popular Habla Blah Blah line of kids CDs.
- Mark Eliopulos played guitar in the bands Violent New Breed, HTH, Super Model, and Brave Ulysses.
- Johnny Haro joined Econoline Crush after briefly playing drums for Stabbing Westward. He eventually formed The Dreaming along with Christopher Hall.
- Stuart Zechman retired from the music industry. He moved to New York and started a family.
- David Suycott joined Machines of Loving Grace in 1995 as their new drummer. He continues to do production and remix work with various bands.
- Derrek Hawkins continued to work in the music industry, notably contributing to the song "Outer Space" on Ace Frehley's 2009 solo album Anomaly.
Reunion (2010–present)
In June 2010, a rumor was afloat that Stabbing Westward would reunite to tour and possibly work on new material;[10][11] however, this proved false. In July 2012, a fan created a petition which asked frontman Christopher Hall to reconcile with his former Stabbing Westward bandmates for a reunion tour;[12] again, the reunion never happened.
Christopher Hall, Walter Flakus, and Johnny Haro reunited at one of The Dreaming's shows in Las Vegas on November 15, 2013.[13] Flakus would later join The Dreaming on a permanent basis.
Stabbing Westward reunited in 2016 for two shows, which coincided with the band's 30th anniversary. The first took place in Chicago on September 22, 2016 as a part of the Cold Waves Festival, a charity festival benefiting suicide prevention causes. The lineup featured Christopher Hall, Walter Flakus, Mark Eliopulos, and Johnny Haro along with Carlton Bost (mainly known from The Dreaming, and also the reunited bands Orgy and Berlin). Jim Sellers did not take part in the reunion because of work commitments. The second show took place at Dracula's Ball in Philadelphia on October 31, 2016 at the Trocadero Theatre.[14]
In a January 2017 interview with audioBoom, Walter Flakus was asked if there will be more Stabbing Westward reunion shows in the future. His response was, "We'll see. I don't have anything planned yet, but I'm always open to opportunities. It was great to get back on stage and play those songs again."[15] Dates for a full tour began to be announced in February 2017.[16] The band also performed at the 2017 edition of Cold Waves Festival in Chicago, Illinois.[17]
New material has been released since the band returned to playing live shows: a re-recorded version of the song "Plastic Jesus" (released on the Cold Waves V compilation on September 22, 2016) and a new song called "Home in You" (released on the Cold Waves VI compilation on September 28, 2017).
As of August 17, 2018, Johnny Haro had been "let go" from the band, and will not be participating in any further band activities. In his Facebook post of that date, he also states that "The Dreaming is done." Stabbing Westward announced Bobby Amaro, from Orgy, as a replacement for Haro. The band embarked on a U.S. tour from October to December 2018 by celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of Darkest Days and performing the album in its entirety, along with other songs. A spring 2019 tour is also in the works.
Members
Current Members
Christopher Hall - vocals, guitar, keyboards, drum machine programming (1986–2002, 2016–present)- Walter Flakus - keyboards, programming, backing vocals (1986–2002, 2016–present)
- Mark Eliopulos - guitar, backing vocals (1995-1999, 2016–present)
Carlton Bost - bass (2016-present)- Bobby Amaro - drums (2018-present)
Former Members
- Jim Clanin - guitar (1986–1990)
Chris Vrenna - drums (1992, 1998)- David Suycott - drums (1993–1994)
- Stuart Zechman - guitar (1993–1995)
- Jim Sellers - bass (1992–2002)
Andy Kubiszewski - drums, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1994-2002)- Derrek Hawkins - guitar, backing vocals (1999–2002)
- Johnny Haro - drums (1998, 2016–2018)
Timeline
Color denotes main live duty.
Discography
| Stabbing Westward discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 4 |
| Compilation albums | 2 |
| Music videos | 7 |
| EPs | 1 |
| Singles | 9 |
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. [18] | U.S. Heat.[citation needed] | U.S. Ind. [19] | AUS [20] | ||||
| 1994 | Ungod
| — | — | — | — |
| |
| 1996 | Wither Blister Burn & Peel
| 67 | 1 | — | — |
|
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| 1998 | Darkest Days
| 52 | — | — | 79 |
|
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| 2001 | Stabbing Westward
| 47 | — | 2 | 97 |
| |
| "-" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
EPs
| Year | Name | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Iwo Jesus[citation needed] | Self-released |
Compilation albums
| Year | Name | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Essential Stabbing Westward | Sony |
What Do I Have to Do? |
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Airplay [23] | US Modern [24] | US Main. [25] | AUS [20] | ||||||||||
| 1993 | "Violent Mood Swings"[citation needed] | — | — | — | — | Ungod[citation needed] | |||||||
| 1994 | "Lies"[citation needed] | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Nothing"[citation needed] | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1996 | "What Do I Have to Do?" | 60 | 11 | 7 | — | Wither Blister Burn & Peel | |||||||
| "Shame" | 69 | 14 | 7 | — | |||||||||
| 1998 | "Sometimes It Hurts" | — | 39 | 20 | — | Darkest Days | |||||||
| "Save Yourself" | — | 20 | 4 | 64 | |||||||||
| 1999 | "Haunting Me" | — | 34 | 19 | — | ||||||||
| 2001 | "So Far Away" | — | 21 | 23 | 85 | Stabbing Westward | |||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
- The songs "What Do I Have to Do?" and "Shame" were not released as commercial singles, and they charted on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay as they received airplay.
Promotional singles
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "I Don't Believe"[citation needed] | Wither Blister Burn & Peel |
| 2001 | "Angel"[citation needed] | Stabbing Westward |
Other songs
- "Dawn" was featured on the Escape from L.A. soundtrack in 1996.
- "Torn Apart" (Wink Remix) was featured on the Spawn soundtrack in 1997.
- "So Wrong" was featured on the Bride of Chucky soundtrack in 1998.
- "Top of the World" (The Carpenters cover) was featured on the Triple M Musical Challenge II compilation in 2001.
- "Bizarre Love Triangle" (New Order cover) was featured on the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack in 2001.
- "Plastic Jesus" (re-recorded song, originally from the Iwo Jesus extended play) was featured on the Cold Waves V compilation in 2016.
- "Home In You" was featured on the Cold Waves VI compilation in 2017.
Music videos
| Year | Title[citation needed] |
|---|---|
| 1994 | "Lies" |
| "Nothing" | |
| 1996 | "What Do I Have To Do?" |
| "Shame" | |
| 1998 | "Sometimes It Hurts" |
| "Save Yourself" | |
| 2001 | "So Far Away" |
Gallery
Christopher Hall
Bobby Amaro
Carlton Bost
Mark Eliopulos
Walter Flakus
References
^ "Stabbing Westward to reunite for 30th anniversary". axs.com. Retrieved 26 January 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "The Dreaming – Metropolis Records". www.metropolis-records.com. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
^ "KMFDM, Stabbing Westward to headline Chicago's Cold Waves Festival 2017". AXS. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
^ Interview by George Lecorchick, R & R Reported, April 1996
^ "Cyberflesh Conspiracy - Various Artists - Release Info". AllMusic.
^ "Entertainment Ave! The Concert Hall - A Question & Answer Interview with Andy Kubiszewski of Stabbing Westward, November 21, 1996". Entertainmentavenue.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
^ abc "Christopher Hall Interviewed about Stabbing Westward & The Dreaming". YouTube. 2011-11-09. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
^ "The Dreaming - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
^ Frojo, Renee (2012-10-30). "Sellers Markets shutters in Financial District, prepares for express shops". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
^ "Stabbing Westward Reunited; Planning Tour This Year". tunelab.com. 8 June 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
^ "Stabbing Westward "Reunion" Update". tunelab.com. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
^ Garcia, Mike. "STABBING WESTWARD reunion in the works?". Idioteq.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
^ "» The Dreaming | Stabbing Westward Reunion". Musictourreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
^ "Dracula's Ball Halloween 2016". draculasball.com. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^ "071 – WALT FLAKUS – on Stabbing Westward's rise, fall, and rebirth; his radio career; and filling in for the great Matt Pinfield". audioboom.com. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^ "Stabbing Westward - Tickets - Trees - Dallas, TX - April 28th, 2017". treesdallas.com. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^ Lee, Christopher (30 March 2017). "Cold Waves Festival Announces 2017 Lineup Featuring Front 242, KMFDM and Stabbing Westward". music.mxdwn.com. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
^ "Stabbing Westward - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
^ "Stabbing Westward - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
^ ab Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
- Top 100 peaks to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- "Save Yourself": "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 04 Oct 1998". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- Top 100 peaks to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
^ abcd "Ask Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^ ab "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2015-04-15.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
^ "Stabbing Westward - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
^ "Stabbing Westward - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
^ "Stabbing Westward - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
External links
- Allmusic entry for Stabbing Westward
- The Dreaming Myspace Page
- @ MTV News Archive
- Fortune City entry for Stabbing Westward
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