The Mentally Ill was a punk band originating from

Deerfield, Illinois Deerfield is a north shore suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion extending into Cook County, Illinois. The population was 19,196 at the 2020 census. Deerfield is home to the headquarters of Walgreens Boo ...

in the late 1970s. Their 1979 7" single ''Gacy's Place'' named after notorious serial killer

John Wayne Gacy John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as " ...

, is considered by many to be one of the most unusual and legendary records of the early Chicago punk rock scene. They released another 7" record in 1982 entitled ''Sex Cells'', before fading into obscurity. The Mentally Ill reappeared in 1999 to record a full-length album with

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

, entitled ''Strike the Bottom Red''. In 2004,

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

released the ''Gacy's Place'' sessions in their entirety with a collection of old demo tapes on his well-known record label

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...

. On November 24, 2007, 28 years after the release of the ''Gacy's Place'' 7", The Mentally Ill played the You Weren't There afterparty at The Beat Kitchen, located at 2100 W. Belmont Ave. Chicago, IL. It was the first time The Mentally Ill played live, and the reviews of their performance were almost all positive. The band opened the set with "Tumor Boy" and closed with an encore of "Gacy's Place". On May 23, 2008 Mentally Ill performed at the three-day Totally Wired Festival Chicago – this was their second performance. The Mentally Ill have played a few shows each year since their reunion gigs.

Members

* Sado Marquis (Larry Gutkin) – Lead Vocals & Lyricist * Skitz Phrenic (Rob Herman) – Bass, Saxophone * Hans Dolittle (Richard Shleicher) – Guitar * Klaus Trofobic (Jon Ledwith) – Guitar * Special Ed (Richard Blatt) – Drums * Art MacQuilkin – Vocals on Sex Cells * Reggie Mars – Various instruments on Sex Cells

Releases

* ''Gacy's Place 7"'' (Autistic Records, 1979) – 300 pressed * ''Sex Cells 7"'' (Autistic Records & Snat 5 Records (1982) * ''Strike the Bottom Red'' (1999) ** Recorded by

** Not officially distributed * ''Gacy's Place: The Undiscovered Corpses CD'' (Alternative Tentacles, 2004) * ''Strike the Bottom Red'' (Reissue, First pressing on vinyl Almost Ready Records, 2015) ** Recorded by

* ''Gacy's Place 7"'' (Almost Ready Records Reissue, 2017) * ''Gacy's Place (Starbeat Session) '' (Almost Ready Records, 2020) * ''Gacy's Place (Limited Edition Cassette) '' (Almost Ready Records, 2021)

Sources

Alternative Tentacles Bio

Gacy's Place: The Undiscovered Corpses page on AT

KBD Records entry on Sex Cells with mp3s

The Beat Kitchen

References

External links

MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mentally Ill, The Punk rock groups from Illinois Musical groups established in the 1970s Alternative Tentacles artists