History
The band was founded in 1993 by vocalists Jeff "Nothing" Hatrix and Jason "J Mann" Popson, guitarists John "JJ Righteous" Sekula and Richie "Dinner" Moore, bassist Joe "Mr. Murdernickel" Kilcoyne, keyboardist Tom "Shmotz" Schmitz, drummer Steve "Skinny" Felton and DJ Joe "DJ Virus" Lenkey. [3] Live performances also featured dancers Jessica "Roxy" Haney and Marko "Bronson" Vukcevich, the latter also being video editor, alongside hired talent such as fire-breathers and gymnasts.
After releasing a demo and their self-titled debut album, Joe Kilcoyne left in late 1995 and was replaced by his brother, Jack "Pig Benis" Kilcoyne. Joe Lenkey departed the band in early 1998, and was replaced by Bronson. Next to depart was guitarist Richie Moore, who was replaced by Skinny's brother Dave "Gravy" Felton. JJ Righteous also left a year later, in his absence, Bronson moved to guitar, and Rick "St1tch" Thomas joined as DJ, moving to more experimental electronics by 2003.
In mid 2004, Jason Popson left the band to take care of his estranged terminally-ill father. [4] He was replaced by Waylon "Wizlo" Reavis. [5] Bronson departed in May 2006 to study film production, he was not replaced, meaning the band had only one guitarist, however, he contributed songwritting to 2 songs from the Savior Sorrow album before his departure. [6] Later in 2006, they incorporated water drums into their show and were joined by touring water drummer Daniel "Lil' Dan" Fox, who later became an official member in 2009 with St1tch and Skinny gradually becoming more prevalent on the instrument as well.
In February 2012, Dave Felton was fired via mail, Pig Benis left to concentrate on his family life and Lil Dan left some months later to work as a touring drummer and drum tech for Marilyn Manson and Dope. They were replaced by Tommy Church, Ryan "Dr. F" Farrell and Robert "Roberto Diablo" Godsey respectively. Dr. F had previously contributed to additional songwritting for the previous 2 albums in the studio. Popson also returned in August 2013 for the band's 20th anniversary, [7] [8] performing vocals alongside Hatrix, Reavis, and Skinny's then wife Jackie LaPonza as a touring female vocalist. [9]
Schmitz departed in 2015 causing turmoil within the band, leading to Reavis being fired after a heated altercation with both Skinny and Stitch, and hinting that Mushroomhead operated as a dictatorship run by Skinny and Stitch under his wing. [10] The former members weren't replaced, St1tch sampled and programmed Shmotz pre-recorded keyboard parts live, eventually splitting duties with Skinny while Dr. F took the role of keyboards songwritting chief in studio, with Hatrix and Popson continuing as dual vocalists. Hatrix and Church both departed in March 2018 as a result of further conflict. [11] [12] They were replaced by their former tour roadies Steve Rauckhorst and Tommy "Tankx" Shaffner respectively. [13] [14] LaPonza went on hiatus and Shaffner departed in mid-2021, the latter being replaced by Joe "Jenkins" Gaal.
In 2022, J Mann and ST1TCH went on touring hiatus and Skinny suffered back injuries. As such the line-up was reworked to feature Skinny as both DJ and water drummer in addition to visual design, new members Scott Beck and Aydin Michael joined as a new vocalist and drummer respectively, and onstage Jordan Gannon became a touring water drummer. [15] The band were also rejoined by Gravy, returning as an occasional touring guitarist and returning to a dual guitarist line-up. [16] Gravy and LaPonza's return, Popson's retirement and Skinny's reconciliation with Reavis are considered indicators of the winding-down of conflict, however tensions still exist between the band, Hatrix and Church. As such, in 2024, following the announcement of Call the Devil , Hatrix attempted to form 'Jeffrey Nothing's Mushroomhead', composed of other former members of the band, confirming members Church and Marko "Bronson" Vukcevich.
On August 16, 2024, it was reported that Jeffrey Nothing had filed a lawsuit against Felton in regard to unpaid royalties and copyright infringement. [17] [18] Nothing's attorney Ronald Stanley alleged that Felton had siphoned income under the alias of 'Tenafly Viper' as well as an unknown publicist and unknown writer. Stanley claims Nothing is owed at least $3.5 million and is entitled to use of band insignia. [17] [19] In March 2025, Godsey was replaced by Simon Kanaris.
