The Love Kills Theory is an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band based in New York City. They were formed in 2006 by

Cevin Soling Cevin Soling is an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, musician, music producer, and artist. Soling writes articles and books in addition to producing documentaries, animations, short films, and feature films that engage in social critique ...

, and in January 2007 they released their debut album '' Happy Suicide, Jim!'', a thirteen track CD with philosophical and anti-consumerist themes. The band's original lineup consists of Bill Brandau on keyboard, Cevin Soling on vocals and guitar, Jim Minics on guitar, Darren Pilato on bass, and Jaron Stewart on drums.

Founding

The band was originally formed by Cevin Soling. Soling had grown up listening to

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. After his last band

The Neanderthal Spongecake Cevin Soling is an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, musician, music producer, and artist. Soling writes articles and books in addition to producing documentaries, animations, short films, and feature films that engage in social critique ...

broke up in 2001, Soling had accrued a number of songs he had written, and in 2006 he began contacting musicians he had played with or was friendly with to form a band. Bill Brandau, who had played with Soling in The Neanderthal Spongecake and had previously been in The Vinnie Barbarino Experience, took on keyboard duties. Darren Pilato was asked to play bass, and Jaron Stewart of the band

Merkaba Merkabah ( he, מֶרְכָּבָה ''merkāvā'', "chariot") or Merkavah mysticism (lit. Chariot mysticism) is a school of early Jewish mysticism, c. 100 BCE – 1000 CE, centered on visions such as those found in the Book of Ezekiel chapter 1 ...

was included after also working on Soling's previous album release, ''

When Pigs Fly The phrase "when pigs fly" (alternatively, "pigs might fly") is an adynaton—a figure of speech so hyperbolic that it describes an impossibility. The implication of such a phrase is that the circumstances in question (the adynaton, and the circ ...

''. Jim Minics joined as guitarist; his 2003 band Minix had been a semi-finalist in the Independent Music World Series. They are based in New York City. The band name was largely inspired by author

Neil Postman Neil Postman (March 8, 1931 – October 5, 2003) was an American author, educator, media theorist and cultural critic, who eschewed digital technology, including personal computers, mobile devices, and cruise control in cars, and was critical of ...

's summation of ''

Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarch ...

'', where instead of being subjugated and destroyed by things we hate, humanity is oppressed by the things they love.

''Happy Suicide, Jim!''

On January 9, 2007 the band nationally released their debut CD '' Happy Suicide, Jim!'' It was published on Soling's Xemu Records, mixed by Martin Trum, engineered by Jim Sommers, and produced by Soling. All 13 songs were recorded at

The Loft The Loft may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * The Loft (British band), a British indie band * The Loft (Danish band), a Danish band * ''The Loft'' (film) (2014) an American film * The Loft (Sirius XM), a music channel on satellite rad ...

, Cheektowaga, and Penny Lane in New York City. In January the album peaked at number 162 on

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

s Top 200. The album was also No. 1 on KZMU and had a long run in the top 5 albums in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The song "Authenticity" was played and featured on the

Public Radio Exchange The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...

. The album cover and name are a reference to cult leader

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide", ...

Style

The band members have specified they prefer "

" as a descriptor, though reviewers have also described them as

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

and

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

. Reviewers have described a similarity to the intellectual rock bands in the early 1990s, such as

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

, and

Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band c ...

Lyrical themes

All lyrics are written by Soling, who claims to be influenced by writers such as

Guy Debord Guy-Ernest Debord (; ; 28 December 1931 – 30 November 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationis ...

, founder of the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

, and

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxley ...

, author of ''

'' and ''Yellow Chrome''. They also focus on the "bio-genetic studies on the evolution of despair" and outline opposition to the instant gratification of consumer culture.

Lineup

;Present *

– vocals, guitar * Bill Brandau – keyboards * Jim Minics – guitar * Darren Pilato – bass * Jaron Stewart – drums ;Additional members *Zy O. Lyn – violin * Susan Dylan – violin *Ben Kalb – cello *Dan "Schmitty" Smith – guitar *Dave Dudek – guitar *Melinda Stewart – vocals *Dana Goldstein – vocals *Deborah Smith – vocals

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Love Kills Theory Musical groups established in 2006 Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City