Nekromantix
From Punkopedia - The Punk, Hardcore, and Indie Encyclopedia
| Nekromantix | |
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| Music genre(s) | Psychobilly |
| Homebase | Los Angeles, CA |
| Years active | 1989-Present |
| Current Status | Active |
| Notable Records | Hellbound, Curse Of The Coffin, Brought Back To Life, Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend, Return Of The Loving Dead, Dead Girls Don't Cry |
| Label(s) | Hellcat Records, Nervous Records, Tombstone Records |
| Website | Official website |
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The Nekromantix are a Danish-American psychobilly band formed in 1989 in Copenhagen, Denmark and currently recording for Hellcat Records. The band's name is a portmanteau of the words "necromancy" and "romantics," with an "x" in place of the ending letters "cs." Their music is generally structured around monster, horror, and science fiction themes which are reflected in their album and song titles, lyrics, artwork, fashions, and stage show. A central icon of the band's image is bassist/vocalist Kim Nekroman's "coffinbass," a custom-built double bass with a body in the shape of a coffin and a head the shape of a crucifix.
The Nekromantix' lineup has fluctuated several times throughout their career but has always centered around bassist/vocalist Kim Nekroman, the group's founder and sole remaining original member. Guitarist Peter Sandorff, another founding member, served two stints in the band: from its founding in 1989 until 1993, and again from 1997 to 2005. During his second stay in the band's lineup his brother Kristian Sandorff served as drummer. Throughout the band's first eleven years and four lineups they released five albums on various European record labels, most of which were only available internationally as imports. Their fourth lineup, consisting of Nekroman and the Sandorff brothers, proved to be their most stable and helped the group cross over to American audiences by signing to the Los Angeles-based Hellcat Records label, through which the band has released three albums since 2002. In 2003 Nekroman relocated to Los Angeles while the Sandorffs remained in Denmark, and in 2005 the brothers left the band. They were replaced by California musicians Tröy Deströy and Andy DeMize for the band's eighth and most recent album Life is a Grave & I Dig It!, released by Hellcat in April 2007.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation
The Nekromantix were formed in 1989 in Copenhagen by Kim Nekroman after leaving the Danish Navy, in which he had spent eight years as a submarine radio operator. Deciding to launch a new career in music, Nekroman initially played drums in a rockabilly band but was soon drawn to the psychobilly movement spreading throughout Europe's underground music community. Learning to play the upright double bass and to sing, Nekroman set about forming a horror-themed psychobilly band with himself as the frontman. He soon recruited guitarist Peter Sandorff and a drummer who used the stage name Peek. The band took the name Nekromantix. The first such "coffinbass" was constructed using an actual child-sized coffin, but over the years Nekroman has constructed several subsequent models in order to achieve better acoustics and collapsibility for easier transportation.
After only six months of practice and two local performances in Copenhagen at the Stengade 30 club, the Nekromantix appeared at large psychobilly festival in Hamburg, Germany. Their performance earned them a recording contract with Tombstone Records for their first album Hellbound. The band began touring Europe heavily and built a name for themselves in the European psychobilly movement, which at the time was largely dominated by British acts. In 1991 the band released their second album Curse of the Coffin through Nervous Records and supported it with a music video for the title track which received some play on the MTV program Alternative Nation.
[edit] line-up Changes
In 1992 both Peek and Sandorff left the band, Sandorff to pursue his degree in architecture. They were replaced by guitarist Jan Daggry and drummer Tim Kristensen, who used the stage names Ian Dawn (Daggry is actually "Dawn" in danish) and Grim Tim Handsome. This lineup recorded the album Brought Back to Life, released in 1994, which earned a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Heavy Metal Album." Daggry then left and was replaced by Søren Munk Petersen for 1996's Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend. During this time the band toured most of Europe including Finland, Germany, the UK, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, and France, and also toured Japan. They began to achieve cult status in the United States, where their albums were as yet only available as imports.
At a 1996 festival in Cologne, Germany Nekroman met fellow Copenhagen native Patricia Day, with whom he launched a new band called Horrorpops with himself on guitar and Day on double bass and lead vocals. The two would later marry, and their activity with Horrorpops put the Nekromantix on hold for several years, during which Kristensen and Petersen both left the band.
[edit] International Success
In 1997 Peter Sandorff returned to Nekromantix, bringing along his brother Kristian to play drums. The Nekroman/Sandorff/Sandorff lineup proved to be the group's most stable and remained intact until 2005. In 1999 the band played a tenth-anniversary performance at Stengade 30 in Copenhagen, where they had performed their first shows after forming the band. This performance was released the following year as the live album Undead 'n' Live. In 2000 the Nekromantix played their first performances in the United States, beginning with the first annual New York City "Psychobilly Rumble" and continuing with a nine-date tour of the west coast. In February 2001 Nekroman gave a demo of new songs to Rancid singer/guitarist and Hellcat Records label owner Tim Armstrong, a longtime fan of the band. The Nekromantix soon signed to the Los Angeles-based Hellcat and released the 2002 album Return of the Loving Dead. Recorded in Denmark, it was the band's first album to be widely distributed in the U.S. and helped make them part of an emerging psychobilly movement on the west coast centered around the Hellcat label and spearheaded by bands such as Tiger Army. The album was supported with a music video for the song "Gargoyles Over Copenhagen" and the band toured the United States several times.
[edit] Move To America
Following the release of Return of the Loving Dead Nekroman relocated to Los Angeles, touring and recording two albums with the Horrorpops. The Sandorff brothers remained in Denmark, and recording of the Nekromantix' 2004 album Dead Girls Don't Cry was done almost entirely in Los Angeles, with only Peter Sandorff's backing vocals recorded in Copenhagen. In April 2005 the Sandorffs left the band on good terms. To replace them Nekroman recruited guitarist Troy Russel (Tröy Deströy) and drummer James Meza (Wasted James) of the California-based psychobilly band The Rezurex. That year the band's third album Brought Back to Life was remastered and re-released by Hellcat under the title Brought Back Again.
[edit] Recent Activity
In May of 2006 Meza left the Nekromantix to become the new permanent drummer in Tiger Army and was replaced by Andrew Martinez (Andy DeMize) of The Rocketz. The Nekromantix' most recent album, Life is a Grave & I Dig It!, was released in April 2007.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Title | Label | Format | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Hellbound | Tombstone Records | LP/CD | First album. |
| 1991 | Curse of the Coffin | Nervous Records | LP/CD | |
| 1994 | Brought Back to Life | Intermusic | LP/CD | Re-released in 2005 by Hellcat Records as Brought Back Again. |
| 1996 | Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend | Record Music DK | LP/CD | |
| 2000 | Undead 'n' Live | E.S.P. Recordings/Kick Music | LP/CD | Live album |
| 2002 | Return of the Loving Dead | Hellcat Records | CD | |
| 2004 | Dead Girls Don't Cry | Hellcat Records | LP/CD | |
| 2007 | Life is a Grave & I Dig It! | Hellcat Records | LP/CD |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | Label | Format | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Jack the Stripper" | Intermusic | CD | Single from Brought Back to Life. Backed with "Monster Movie Fan" and "Horrorscope," also from the album. |
| 1996 | "Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend" | Record Music DK | CD | Backed with "Light My Fire" and "Night Nurse." Both "Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend" and "Night Nurse" are different from the later album versions. A vinyl version of this single was included with LP version of Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend. |
| 2004 | "Dead Bodies" | Rancid Records | 12" vinyl | Cover of a Rancid song. Backed with "Gargoyles Over Copenhagen" from Return of the Loving Dead, "Driller Killer" from Brought Back to Life, and "Backstage Pass to Hell" from Dead Girls Don't Cry. |
[edit] Music videos
| Year | Title | Album | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Curse of the Coffin" | Curse of the Coffin | |
| 2002 | "Gargoyles Over Copenhagen" | Return of the Loving Dead |
[edit] Members
[edit] Current Members
- Kim Nekroman - double bass, vocals (1989–present)
- Tröy Deströy (Troy Russel) - guitar, backing vocals (2005–present)
- Andy DeMize (Andrew Martinez) - drums (2006–present)
[edit] Former Members
- Peek - drums (1989–1993)
- Peter Sandorff - guitar, backing vocals (1989–1993, 1997–2005)
- Ian Dawn (Ian Daggry) - guitar, backing vocals (1993–1995)
- Søren Munk Petersen - guitar, backing vocals (1995–1996)
- Grim Tim Handsome (Tim Kristensen) - drums (1993–1996)
- Kristian Sandorff - drums (2000–2005)
- Wasted James (James Meza) - drums (2005–2006)
