Sky Cries Mary

Sky Cries Mary is an American psychedelic rock/trance musical group from Seattle, Washington,[1][2] formed in the late 1980s by Roderick Wolgamott and Ben Ireland.[3]

Sky Cries Mary
Roderick Wolgamott, Sky Cries Mary, 2018
Background information
OriginSeattle, Washington, United States
GenresPsychedelic rock, trance, industrial, space rock
Years active1988–99, 2004–2009, 2013–2015, 2016–present
LabelsLively Art/New Rose Records, World Domination Recordings/Capitol Records, Warner Bros. Records, Collective Fruit Records, Hoodooh Music, Trail Records
Associated actsLove Battery, The Fags, The Wasters, The Walkabouts, Vaporland, TAD, Shriekback, Yes, Lou Reed, Jack Endino, Sunshine Cake, Krist Novoselic, No Futuro
MembersRodrick Wolgamott
Ben Ireland
Kevin Whitworth
Jack Endino
Curt Eckman
Debra Reese
Past membersKurt Danielson
Ron Nine
Ivan Kral
Anisa Romero
Jon "Juano" Davison
Jon Auer
Ken Stringfellow
Scott Mercado
Alfred Butler
Stephen Brian-Salit
Mark Ultra
Kevin McCoy
Jeff Guess
DJ Fallout (Todd "TR" Robbins)
Joe Skyward (Joseph E. Howard)
Marc Olsen
Gordon Raphael
Jeff Greinke
Jeremy Moss
Michael Cozzi
William Bernhard
Kent Halvorsen

Early band influences included European industrial music bands such as Einstürzende Neubauten,[4] Coil, and Test Department, and 1970s glam/punk artists including Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and David Bowie.

Notable band alumni include Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies, vocalist Anisa Romero, Michael Cozzi of Shriekback, Jon ‘Juano’ Davison (later of Yes and Glass Hammer), and Gordon Raphael (producer for The Strokes).

In 2016, founding members Wolgamott and Ireland premiered a new line up including Ron Nine (Love Battery) on guitar, and Kurt Danielson (TAD) on bass. They performed live at Sunset Tavern on November 26, 2016.

History

The band's first album, from 1989, featured Roderick Wolgamott playing with Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow from The Posies. The second album, released in 1990, featured the same trio, joined by Scott Mercado, Alfred Butler, Stephen Brian-Salit, Mark Ultra, Kevin McCoy and Jeff Guess.[4] In 1991, the band became a septet with Roderick Wolgamott, Anisa Romero, DJ Fallout (a.k.a. Todd "TR" Robbins), Joseph E. Howard (a.k.a. Joe Skyward), Ben Ireland, Marc Olsen and Gordon Raphael. It was during this time they recorded A Return to the Inner Experience.[4] Cozzi replaced Olsen on the fifth through seventh albums. In 1994, Davison replaced Joe Howard. William Bernhard joined the band in 1998 after Cozzi left to pursue other projects.

Sky Cries Mary had broken up in 1999, shortly after the release of Seeds, because band members wanted to work on other projects. They regrouped in various configurations including Hana, which featured Anisa Romero, Jeff Greinke, and Ben Ireland, and No Futuro, an experimental musical project helmed by Roderick Wolgamott, William Bernhard, and Jeremy Moss. In 2004, the band (composed of Wolgamott, Romero, Ireland, Davison, Cozzi and Bernhard) regrouped after they won the rights to their music back from their old record company and subsequently released their first live album Here and Now. Two years later they followed it up with the release of Small Town.

In 2008, Sky Cries Mary's founder, Roderick Wolgamott and Anisa Romero were featured along with Sting and Russell Simmons on Lokah's debut release, The Ivy Ceiling.

Sky Cries Mary were one of the first bands to have an 'internet only' concert, an effort that was directed by former member McCoy.[5]

In 2012, bassist Jon Davison joined British progressive rock band Yes, performing as their lead vocalist. As a result, he was unavailable to rejoin the band when they reconvened in 2016.

In 2016, founder Roderick Wolgamott premiered a new line-up, alongside original drummer Ben Ireland, guitarist Ron Nine (Love Battery) and bassist Kurt Danielson (Tad).

In 2017, the band co-wrote and digitally released "War Song", a new single co-written by Wolgamott and Ron Nine. The band recorded several new songs, at Sound House with Jack Endino, who engineered Nirvana's Bleach, and Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger. Later in 2017, Jack Endino along with Curt Eckman (The Walkabouts), and Kevin Whitworth (Love Battery) joined the group. In September 2017, they headlined at Psychfest in Seattle. Together, the band recorded more songs, including re-releases of some very early Sky Cries Mary material.

A new album, Thieves and Sirens, included songs from their most recent collaborations and was released digitally in 2017. A vinyl and CD release of Thieves and Sirens was issued in 2018 following live appearances in March and April.

On March 25, 2020, a new album entitled Secrets of a Red Planet was released on Trail Records.[6]

Discography

Their song "The Elephant Song" was featured on the soundtrack for the movie The Harvest. Their song "Shipwrecked" was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Tank Girl. Their song "Cornerman" was featured in the movie Higher Learning, playing from a jukebox.

References
  1. Thompson, Dave. "Small Town". Allmusic. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  2. Alden, Grant (2007). "Sky Cries Mary". Trouser Press. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  3. Thompson, Dave. "Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  4. Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 358/9. ISBN 0-7535-0427-8.
  5. Strauss, Neil (November 22, 1994). "Rolling Stones Live on Internet: Both a Big Deal and a Little Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  6. "Sky Cries Mary – Secrets of a Red Planet". Discogs. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
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