Sky Cries Mary is an American psychedelic rock/

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

musical group from

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

, formed in the late 1980s by Roderick Wolgamott. Early band influences included European industrial music bands such as

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals; guitar; keyboard) and N.U. Unruh ( custom-made instruments; p ...

, Coil, and

Test Department Test Dept, sometimes credited as Test Department is a British industrial music group from London, England, that was one of the most important and influential early industrial music acts. Their approach was marked by the use of "found" materia ...

, and 1970s glam/punk artists including Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. Notable band alumni include

Jon Auer Jonathan Paul "Jon" Auer (born September 29, 1969) is an American musician who co-founded the power pop band The Posies, along with Ken Stringfellow. Auer and Stringfellow also participated in the rejuvenated Big Star and in 2003 released ''Priv ...

and

Ken Stringfellow Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow (born October 30, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. Best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star, Stringfellow's discography includ ...

of The Posies, vocalist Anisa Romero, Michael Cozzi of Shriekback, Jon ‘Juano’ Davison (later of Yes and

Glass Hammer Glass Hammer is an American progressive rock band from Chattanooga, Tennessee, created and led by Steve Babb and Fred Schendel. Babb and Schendel, who founded the band in 1992, are the only constant members in the lineup, having surrounded the ...

), Ron Nine (

Love Battery Love Battery was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. History Love Battery was formed in 1989 by former rock band Room Nine leader Ron Nine (b. Ron Rudzitis), guitarist Kevin Whitworth (ex-Crisis Party), bassist Tommy "Bonehead" S ...

) on guitar, Kurt Danielson ( TAD on bass) and

Gordon Raphael Gordon Raphael is an American record producer and musician from Seattle, Washington, and New York, currently living in Hebden Bridge (UK), after a few years in Berlin. Raphael is most widely known for his work with The Strokes, whom he met while ...

(producer for

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

). In 2018, guitarists Jack Endino and Kevin Whitworth, alongside bassist Curt Eckman and vocalist Debra Reese were invited to join the group. They have performed live several times in the Pacific Northwest, notably at Seattle Hempfest (2019). The most recent lineup recorded and released three studio albums on Trail Records. The newest release, Wandering in the Vastness is available digitally, or on CD. A vinyl pressing is expected in 2022.

History

The band's first album, from 1989, featured Roderick Wolgamott playing with

and

from

The Posies The Posies were an American power pop group. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. Their music has its origins in Merseybeat and the Hollies. They are ...

. 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. 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''. 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. In 2012, bassist

Jon Davison Jon Davison (born January 16, 1971) is an American singer, musician and songwriter who has been the lead vocalist of progressive rock band Yes since 2012. He is also known as the former lead singer of progressive rock band Glass Hammer from 2 ...

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 (

) 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 ''Badmotorfinger'' is the third studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on October 8, 1991, through A&M Records. Soundgarden began the recording sessions for the album with new bassist Ben Shepherd in the spring of 1991. The al ...

''. Later in 2017, Jack Endino along with Curt Eckman (

The Walkabouts The Walkabouts were an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984. The core members were vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman. Although the rest of the line-up changed occasionally, for most of the time ...

), and Kevin Whitworth (

) 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 studio 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, ''Secrets of a Red Planet'' was released on Trail Records. In January 2022, ''Wandering in the Vastness'' was released on Trail Records.

Discography

* '' Until the Grinders Cease'' (1989) Lively Art/New Rose Records. (1999) World Domination Recordings * '' Don't Eat the Dirt...'' (1990) Lively Art/New Rose Records * '' Exit at the Axis'' (1992) World Domination Recordings/Capitol Records * '' A Return to the Inner Experience'' (1993) World Domination Recordings/Capitol Records * '' This Timeless Turning'' (1993) World Domination Recordings/Capitol Records * '' Moonbathing on Sleeping Leaves'' (1997) Warner Bros. Records * ''Fresh Fruits for the Liberation'' (1998) Warner Bros. Records * ''Seeds'' (1999) Collective Fruit Records * ''Here and Now'' (2005) Hoodooh Music * ''Small Town'' (2007) Hoodooh Music * ''Space Between the Drops'' (2009) Trail Records * ''Taking The Stage: 1997-2005'' (2011) Trail Records * ''Thieves and Sirens'' (2017) Trail Records * ''Secrets of a Red Planet'' (2020) Trail Records * ''Wandering in the Vastness'' (2022) Trail Records Their song "The Elephant Song" was featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

for the movie '' The Harvest''. Their song "Shipwrecked" was featured on the soundtrack for the movie ''

Tank Girl ''Tank Girl'' is a British comic book character created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, and first appeared in print in 1988 in the British comics magazine ''Deadline''. After a period of intense popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ...

''. Their song "Cornerman" was featured in the movie ''

Higher Learning ''Higher Learning'' is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by John Singleton and starring an ensemble cast. The film follows the changing lives of three incoming freshmen at the fictional Columbus University: Malik Williams ( Omar Epp ...

,'' playing from a jukebox.

References

External links

Sky Cries Mary homepagebook excerpt from The Patti Smith Story regarding guitarist Ivan KralWFDU radio interview following release of Small Town 2016 Between You and Me podcast with Roderick WolgamottNoisey interview with Jack Endino
{{Authority control Musical groups from Seattle American psychedelic rock music groups American trance music groups Musical groups established in the 1980s 1980s establishments in Washington (state)