Sky Cries Mary is an American

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

/ trance musical group from Seattle, Washington, formed in the late 1980s by Roderick Wolgamott. Early band influences included European

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

bands such as Einstürzende Neubauten, Coil, and Test Department, and 1970s glam/punk artists including

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

, 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 Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

and Glass Hammer), Ron Nine ( Love Battery) on guitar, Kurt Danielson ( TAD on bass) and Gordon Raphael (producer for The Strokes). 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 Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow from The Posies. The second album, released in 1990, featured the same trio, joined by

Scott Mercado Scott Mercado (born c. 1964) was the original drummer of Sky Cries Mary and co-founder of the Seattle rock group Candlebox, a band reunited in 2006 with a "Best of" CD, live DVD (''Alive in Seattle'', 2007), and a latest CD called ''Into the Sun ...

, Alfred Butler, Stephen Brian-Salit, Mark Ultra, Kevin McCoy and

Jeff Guess Jeff Guess (born 16 February 1948) is an Australian poet. He has published fifteen poetry collections, written two textbooks on teaching poetry and edited numerous poetry anthologies. He has won many first prizes for his poetry and been awar ...

. 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

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and

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. 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 joined British progressive rock band

, 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 Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...

'', 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 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 ''Until the Grinders Cease'' is the debut album of Sky Cries Mary, released in 1989 through Lively Art. Track listing Personnel *Jon Auer – bass guitar, percussion, vocals *Roderick Wolgamott Romero – vocals, percussion *Ken St ...

'' (1989) Lively Art/New Rose Records. (1999)

World Domination Recordings World Domination Recordings was an indie rock record label founded by bass player and music entrepreneur Dave Allen in Los Angeles. From roughly 1989 to 1996 it released records by artists including Low Pop Suicide, The Elastic Purejoy, Stanfo ...

* '' Don't Eat the Dirt...'' (1990) Lively Art/New Rose Records * '' Exit at the Axis'' (1992)

/Capitol Records * ''

A Return to the Inner Experience ''A Return to the Inner Experience'' is the second album by the American band Sky Cries Mary, released in 1993 through Capitol Records. "Gone" was released as a single. Critical reception ''The Washington Post'' noted that "the sometimes-realized ...

'' (1993)

/Capitol Records * ''

This Timeless Turning ''This Timeless Turning'' is an album by Sky Cries Mary. It was released in 1994 through World Domination Recordings. Release To promote the album, Sky Cries Mary broadcast a complete concert live on the internet, the first band to ever do so. ...

'' (1993)

/Capitol Records * ''

Moonbathing on Sleeping Leaves ''Moonbathing on Sleeping Leaves'' is the fourth album by Sky Cries Mary, released in 1997 through Warner Bros. Records. It was the band's first album for a major label. Production The album was produced by Paul Fox and the band. Krist Novoseli ...

'' (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 for the movie ''

The Harvest ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

''. 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

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)