Founded in 1993, in Cleveland, Ohio, Mushroomhead built a large underground following due to their aggressively artistic sound, highly theatrical stage show and peerless business savvy. Just how hard the band hit is illustrated thusly:
"We played our first show on a Saturday, says founder and drummer Skinny. Three days later, we got a call to play with GWAR at the Cleveland Agora in front of 2,000 people, our second show ever!
Mushroomhead quickly rocketed to regional prestige, opening for more national acts (Marilyn Manson, Down, Type O Negative) and headlining their own gigs. The reason for their ascendance was a singular, original, aesthetic eight guys decked in matching jumpsuits and disturbing over-the-head masks playing unbelievable, unsettling music. You see, Mushroomhead's music unfolds like a waking dream. It is at once surreal and vivid, intense and intelligent, and impossible to ignore.
Mushroomhead demands your attention, but is willing to work for it. From 1995 to 1999, the staunchly DIY band released four independent albums (1995's Mushroomhead, 1996's Superbuick, 1997's Remix, and 1999's M3) via their own Filthy Hands Company imprint. They toured regionally in support of each release, watching support swell with each run. Soon, labels were calling.
In 2000, the band signed with Eclipse Records to release XX, a compilation of tracks from the four prior albums, which sold a combined 50,000 units in the first four months. Based on these sales and robust word-of-mouth, Universal Records picked up the band and re-released a re-mixed version of XX. In short order, the band had lensed a video (Solitaire/Unraveling, produced by Dean Karr) and were landing on film soundtracks (The Scorpion King, XXX, Freddy vs. Jason, and the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).
The album went on to sell 300,000 copies as the always-impassioned, sometimes eerie soundscape that is Mushroomhead reached an apex. Since 1993, when the Cleveland-bred octet formed as a side project, no other band was wearing masks and jumpsuits and purveying ultra-melodic, ultra-dramatic music as influenced by Faith No More and Pink Floyd as it was by hardcore, metal and even techno.
The band was an oasis in a sea of sameness and in XX, Mushroomhead's years of hard work and hard music had come to a fearsome fruition.
Multiple tours of the US, Europe and Canada followed, highlighted by a side stage run on Ozzfest 2002 (in both Europe and the USA). In 2003, the group released XIII, on which the band's austerely melodic metal was more richly realized. XIII matched XX in sales as Mushroomhead continued touring the world and watching their fan base, well, mushroom. But in the midst of a subsequent tour, the band parted ways with Universal Records and, shortly thereafter, vocalist J-Mann. Such changes would slow a lesser band down
but this is Mushroomhead.
We're doing what we've always done, says Skinny, Which is going back to square one. He refers to the band's DIY-from-day-one ethos Mushroomhead is responsible for its own success. It was their sweat, their enthusiasm, their talent, that made them what they are today: an unmitigated force. Armed with new front man Waylon, whom Mushroomhead heard when his band 3QuartersDead opened for them, the band is continuing its forward momentum.
Kids are coming to shows, says Skinny, With their faces painted just like him [Waylon wears a hummingbird scheme taken from the film The Cell]. And we've gotten a lot of positive feedback from everywhere (especially out of Cleveland, where our most hardcore fans live). They say, He did a great job, he sounds just like [J-Mann] but he also has his own voice."
True to its cottage industry roots, Mushroomhead is wasting no time in getting new product to its fans, producing art on its own terms. The self-managed, self-contained band recently produced, directed, shot and edited Volume 1, a DVD compilation of live performances, music videos and behind-the-scenes footage due for release July 26 via Filthy Hands with distribution via Lumberjack. A summer and fall tour with Dope will follow, culminating in the release of Mushroomhead's as-yet-untitled 6th album. This, as they march on under the mantra: "New life, new blood, back to square one" - adapting to the constant evolution that is Mushroomhead.
The band signed a new contract with Megaforce Records in December 2005.
BIOGRAPHY (2005)
The Bio below is Current as of 29 June 2008
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 nu-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 1998.1 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
Mushroomhead liveIn 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 had 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, is not featured in "Volume 1", though he is 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.
Mushroomhead has been labeled as alternative metal, heavy metal, shock rock and even nu metal. But Jeffrey Nothing has said that the band is not 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."
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 did not come without controversy, see the section below for more information.
Since 1999, Mushroomhead has had an on-and-off rivalry with Iowa-based band Slipknot. The feud erupted due to the image between the bands. Many fans of Mushroomhead say Slipknot stole Mushroomhead's image;their 'masked' look. In an interview with Soundbites, then, former lead singer of Mushroomhead Jason Popson stated, "It seems a little strange, because they look so much like us it's like we're the crappy version of slipknot -- they have the more members and some of the same masks, and they can play their instruments where as we can't play for shit. I addmit that we borrowed material from their 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 is 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 will not be appearing tonight, which was greeted by chants of "Slipknot rules!" 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 booing 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
