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Patricia Day | |
|---|---|
 Day performing with the HorrorPops in Montreal in 2006. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Origin | Denmark |
| Genres | Rockabilly, psychobilly |
| Instruments | Bass, vocals |
| Associated acts | HorrorPops Nekromantix |
Patricia Day is the Danish upright bassist and lead singer for the rockabilly/psychobilly band, HorrorPops.
Patricia Day was born in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Patricia Day began her musical career performing with the Danish punk rock band Peanut Pump Gun. She met Nekromantix singer and bassist, Kim Nekroman, at the 1996 POPKOMM festival in Cologne, Germany, when Peanut Pump Gun opened for his group. Despite both belonging to the subculture scene of Copenhagen, Denmark, the two had never met before, but they became friends over their mutual interest in alternative music and the two eventually married. The two both loved Blondie, Depeche Mode and Siouxsie and the Banshees, as well as Surf, Ska, and Punk.
Day would later marry Nekroman. The two formed a band in 1996 called Horrorpops. Day is the lead singer and also plays upright bass. Day and Nekroman decided to form a band where they could experiment with many genres outside of their normal bands, and decided to start by switching instruments. Nekroman taught Day how to play an upright bass, while she taught him how to play guitar. The two began auditioning for a drummer, with Nekromantix guitarist Peter Sandorff even being a possible choice. They eventually chose Niedermeier to drum, a friend of Day's and a member of the band Strawberry Slaughterhouse, and officially started HorrorPops in 1998. After touring for a while as a trio, the band recruited Niedermeier's old bandmate, Caz the Clash, as a second guitarist.
In 2000, Day recruited two friends, Mille and Kamilla Vanilla, co-workers at the body piercing shop she worked at to act as go-go dancers for the band's live show. The group also recorded a 7-song demo for use in a press kit, but it was somehow leaked to the public, and resulted in two of the group's singles, "Ghouls" and "Psychobitches outta Hell" becoming club hits in Denmark. The group spent the next few years touring Europe, until 2003, when they began recording 6 more demo tracks. During this time, Caz the Clash became a father and left the band to focus on parenting. He was replaced by another Strawberry Slaughterhouse member, Karsten. Hellcat Records, Tim Armstrong's record label, decided to sign HorrorPops based on their demos. The band was able to release a vinyl single in September 2003, and began a U.S. headlining tour.
HorrorPops ventured out on their first US tour as headliner for the "Aloha from hell tour" with 9 shows across California and Arizona. This also brought the first US interview to HorrorPops which happened to be with Vogue. With the band always finding humor in things and wanting to please 'the moms', HorrorPops ended up with a trendy and very funny article in Vogue. Later same year the band got a great preview of their upcoming show with Rancid in LA weekly and a show with Rancid and Tiger Army at the Wiltern, LA. This show brought HorrorPops out to a lot of new people.
Hell Yeah! was released on 10 February 2004; the interest in the band grew and when they did their release show at Amoeba Records, it was packed, to the surprise of everyone in HorrorPops. HorrorPops was then supposed to follow up with a grand U.S. tour, but got stuck in immigration paperwork and had to cancel the whole tour. The Offspring was just about to head out on their month-long European tour, and with a three-day warning, HorrorPops got offered the chance to join them as main support. Horrorpops played every night for audiences numbering between 5,000 and 16,000 people, and then continued with their own 1+1⁄2-month headline tour in Europe. Shortly after the European tour ended, Horrorpops returned to the states to play Jimmy Kimmel Live and a few California shows. Mille left band to go back to school.
HorrorPops started touring the US, first on the Punks vs Psychos tour, then as main support for Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and then back to Europe for another tour. The band toured continuously in 2004. The Horrorpops also played in a movie titled The Punk Rock Halocust. Later, Karsten left the band. HorrorPops played around 110 shows in 2004 and went back to Los Angeles to start work on their second album..
The band soon moved from Denmark to Los Angeles. The band's second album, Bring It On! , was released on 13 September 2005 and featured their new rhythm guitarist Geoff Kresge. The HorrorPops spent most of 2006 touring Canada, Asia, Europe, and the States, including a Warped Tour stint. Kresge left the group before the band's next album, bringing the group back to three members.
Their third album, released on 5 February 2008, is titled Kiss Kiss Kill Kill . The band began a North American tour around the time the album was released. They began the tour with an electric show in San Luis Obispo, where they have a fairly loyal following, and are currently touring with two bands from Los Angeles. Their opening bands include Rocket , an all-female band, and The Pink Spiders , a pop punk band. They are on Vans Warped Tour all summer. After the release of their third album, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill, their fan base increased.
On 23 December 2010, Day filed a lawsuit in an Indianapolis federal court against the Hard Rock casino, charging infringement of the right of publicity and false endorsement. In her lawsuit, the HorrorPops singer claims Hard Rock and Mattel have been selling a Barbie doll in her image without her authorization.
Mattel and Hard Rock have released a series of rock ‘n’ roll-themed Barbies, featuring pioneering female musicians such as Debbie Harry of Blondie, Joan Jett or Cyndi Lauper. In the lawsuit it is alleged that another doll, called the “Hard Rock Café Barbie Doll" or the “Rockabilly Barbie,” is made in the image [1] of the HorrorPops lead singer but without direct acknowledgement of nor permission by Patricia Day. [2]
On tour, Day plays custom-created upright basses made for her by Nekroman. These basses weigh approximately half of what a normal bass does, have thinner bodies, and slimmer necks because her hands are much smaller than the average upright bass player. The smaller instruments are also easier to transport on tour. Like many psychobilly upright bass players, Day plays with a "slap" style, slapping the strings against the fingerboard simultaneously with playing her bass lines to create a percussive, rhythmic effect. Many psychobilly and rockabilly bassists who slap use non-steel strings, as steel strings are too hard on the hands. Day uses nylon bass strings and a Gallien-Krueger 1001RB head and 4X10 cabs to push out her sound while on tour. Her trademark is her heavily decorated white double bass, hand-painted by tattoo artist Baby Lou Tattoo.
Day is married to her bandmate Kim Nekroman.
On 14 March 2022, it was announced on the band's Facebook page that Day was battling cancer and that a GoFundMe page was set up for people to donate money to help Day pay for her medical bills. "If we decide to do a comeback tour after a 9-year hiatus, a pandemic will shut all shows down and remove all means of income. And of course, as the pandemic dwindles and touring starts to be possible, cancer decides to pay me a visit. Well, F Murphy and his god damn law and F cancer. I’m planning US shows for late summer & fall and Europe tours for ‘23 & ‘24 … and I can’t wait!!!" Day said. [3]
The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior in 2009. Their line-up rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist and occasional bass guitarist Poison Ivy comprising the only ever-present members. The addition of guitarist Bryan Gregory and drummer Pam Balam resulted in the first complete lineup in April 1976.
Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13. The band has released six studio albums and four EPs.
Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that mixes elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ramp[ing] up its speed to a sweaty pace, and combin[ing] it with punk rock and imagery lifted from horror films and late-night sci-fi schlock,...[creating a] gritty honky tonk punk rock." Dark imagery is also central to an offshoot of psychobilly known as gothabilly.
Slapping and popping are ways to produce percussive sounds on a stringed instrument. It is primarily used on the double bass or bass guitar. Slapping on bass guitar involves using the edge of one's knuckle, where it is particularly bony, to quickly strike the string against the fretboard. On bass guitars, this is commonly done with the thumb, while on double bass, the edge of the hand or index finger may be used. Popping refers to pulling the string away from the fretboard and quickly releasing it so it snaps back against the fretboard. On bass guitar, the two techniques are commonly used together in alternation, though either may be used separately.
The Meteors are an English psychobilly band formed in 1980. Originally from London, England, they are often credited with giving the psychobilly subgenre — which fuses punk rock with rockabilly — its distinctive sound and style.
The Nekromantix is a Danish-American psychobilly band founded in 1989 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their lyrics are generally structured around monster and horror themes. A central icon of the band's image is founder and frontman Kim Nekroman's "coffinbass", a custom-built double bass with a body in the shape of a coffin and a headstock the shape of a cross. Nekroman has been the sole constant member of the band. The current lineup consists of guitarist Francisco Mesa and drummer Rene "Delamuerte" Garcia, known as a guitarist and singer of the Canadian band "The Brains".
HorrorPops are a Danish punk band that formed in 1996. The band's sound is rooted in psychobilly, rockabilly, and punk rock.
The Quakes are an American psychobilly band from Buffalo, New York, United States. They were formed in 1986. When the band began in the late 1980s, there was no psychobilly scene to speak of in the United States. The Quakes moved to London to try to find an audience.
Mad Sin is a German psychobilly group that began in 1987. Their style is not "...constrained by the psychobilly tag but veer[s] into punk, country and metal influences too."
Kim Nekroman is the bassist and lead singer for the psychobilly band Nekromantix. He is from Denmark, and worked for the Danish Navy as a submarine radio operator for eight years before beginning his music career.
Hellbound is the debut album by the Danish psychobilly band the Nekromantix, released in 1989 by Tombstone Records. After a few initial performances the band played a large festival in Hamburg, Germany and were offered the recording contract which resulted in this album.
7 Shot Screamers is an American psychobilly band from St. Louis, Missouri in the United States.
Bring it On! is the second album by the Danish psychobilly band, HorrorPops. It was released on September 13, 2005 on Hellcat Records. It was recorded in Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, California during 2005. It was produced by Brett Gurewitz.
Dead Girls Don't Cry is the sixth studio album by the Danish psychobilly band the Nekromantix, released in 2004 by Hellcat Records. It was the group's last album with founding member Peter Sandorff, who had returned to the band several years previous after having been out of the lineup for most of the 1990s, and also their final album with his brother Kristian Sandorff. Prior to this release band leader Kim Nekroman had relocated to Los Angeles, California while the Sandorff brothers remained in Denmark. Recording was therefore rushed as the Sandorffs had to travel to California in order to participate. Following this release the Sandorffs left the band, and Nekroman found new members to fill out the lineup.
The Chop Tops were a rockabilly trio from Santa Cruz, California consisting of Sinner, Shelby (guitar), and Josh. The band was formed by Sinner in 1995, Shelby joined in 1999, and Josh took over bass duties in 2014. The band coined the phrase "Revved-Up Rockabilly" to describe their wild, upbeat blend of rockabilly, psychobilly, old punk, teddy boy, and surf music genres. The Chop Tops headlined their own national tours, toured with bands like Mad Sin and the Nekromantix, and opened for many bands including the Dead Kennedys, Suicidal Tendencies, Dick Dale, John Lee Hooker, and Chuck Berry.
Batmobile is a Dutch psychobilly band from Rotterdam and Breda, formed in 1983. They were the first band not from the United Kingdom to perform at the influential psychobilly club, Klub Foot and are considered the seminal Dutch psychobilly band.
The Thirsty Crows are an American Psychobilly/Rockabilly group from the South Bay area of Los Angeles, California. Thematically their songs tend to revolve around horror, binge drinking, and acts of revenge.
Stellar Corpses is a Punk rock band formed in Santa Cruz, California in 2005. The first lineup included singer, guitarist and primary songwriter, Dusty Grave, upright bassist Dan Lamothe, drummer, Matt Macabre and lead guitarist, Mr Grim. Their sound and style combines elements of punk, psychobilly, Horror punk, gothic rock and metal. Since their formation Stellar Corpses have continued to tour both in the US as well as internationally.
