Sister Machine Gun

Last updated
Sister Machine Gun
Origin Chicago, Illinois
Genres Industrial rock
Years active1990–2007, 2015–present
Labels Positron!, TVT, Wax Trax!, WTII
Members Chris Randall
Past members
  • Steve Stoll
  • Chris Kelly
  • Miguel Turanzas
  • Guilherme Machado

Sister Machine Gun is an American industrial rock band originally based in Chicago, Illinois.

Contents

Sister Machine Gun was formed in New York City by Chris Randall and Guilherme Machado. After a short hiatus, the band signed with Wax Trax! Records and released their debut album, Sins of the Flesh , in 1992. The band went through several lineup changes over the years, with their sound evolving throughout their career. After leaving Wax Trax! Records, they moved to Randall's own label, Positron! Records. In 2007, the band disbanded, and Randall pursued a solo career. However, Sister Machine Gun returned in 2015 with a new album The Future Unformed, released on WTII Records.

History

The early years

Sister Machine Gun was formed by Chris Randall and Guilherme Machado in New York City. They performed at New Jersey's Pipeline, and New York's Limelight. The band went on a short hiatus after Chris Randall joined KMFDM's tour as a stage technician. [1] After the tour, Randall left New York City and relocated to Chicago. He then found work in the mailroom of Wax Trax! Records, [1] and began recording a demo with Jim Marcus and Van Christie of Die Warzau. The rough demo was given to Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM for mixing. [1] Konietzko passed the demo along to Jim Nash, head of Wax Trax! Records, where Randall worked. The label then signed the band to a record deal.

The Wax Trax! years

Sister Machine Gun's debut album Sins of the Flesh was released on Wax Trax! in 1992. [2] During this time, Chris Randall assembled a group of musicians to tour in support of the album. Tom Gaul and Steve Stoll joined the band, alongside Chris Kelly and Randall. Stoll left the band after this tour, and work on the next album began.

The Torture Technique was released in 1994. [2] Tom Gaul left midway through the recording process, after contributing to the album. New members were recruited for the upcoming tour. Guitarist Greg Lucas (later a member of Final Cut) joined, as well as drummer Scott Churilla (later a member of The Reverend Horton Heat's band). Sister Machine Gun went on to join the Angstfest tour with KMFDM and Chemlab.

After this tour, Kelly left the band. Prior to the recording of Burn , Sister Machine Gun went on another tour. The lineup during this time consisted of Randall, bassist Bob Jones, drummer Tom DeSalvo (former member of Chemlab), and Chris Smits on guitar.

The band then began work on the album Burn. Guitarist Geno Lenardo (of Filter) joined in the studio. Burn was released in 1995. [2] The album peaked at #9 on the CMJ Radio Top 200. [3] The title track became one of the band's most recognizable songs, as it later appeared on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack.

The tour line-up at this time consisted of Randall, bassist Richard Deacon, and drummer Kevin Temple (formerly of Die Warzau and later Apartment 26). This line up remained mostly consistent throughout the touring for Burn and Metropolis , with guitarists Pat Sprawl and Brian Sarche joining at various times.

The final Sister Machine Gun album on Wax Trax!, Metropolis, was released in 1997. [2] The album spent more than 14 weeks on the CMJ Radio Top 200 chart, peaking at #7. [4] Reeves Gabrels did guitar work on the album.

The Positron! years

After 1997's Metropolis album, Sister Machine Gun left Wax Trax. The rest of the band's material was released on Randall's Positron! Records, [2] the record label he founded and operates with his wife, Lisa. The band's sound changed considerably after their move to the new label.

In 2007, Sister Machine Gun officially disbanded and Randall began a solo career.

New material (2015)

On November 5, 2014, a Facebook page for Sister Machine Gun was launched, along with a teaser image announcing the project's return in early 2015 on WTII Records. [5] This image was also shared on Randall's personal Facebook account with the caption, "Remember that thing I said I'd never do again? Yeah. I'm doing it. Spring '15 on WTII Records."

On March 13, 2015, the band released The Future Unformed .

Primary member history

Guilherme Machado joined Randall in Chicago for the recording of the band's debut album, Sins of the Flesh. After recording some guitar parts, Machado left the band. After the completion of the album, Chris Kelly joined the band. After Kelly's departure in 1995, Randall continued the band primarily as a solo project. Miguel Turanzas joined the band in 1999, and continued as a member until it was disbanded in 2007.

Partial discography

Studio albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMFDM</span> German industrial band

KMFDM is a multinational industrial band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Rieflin</span> American musician (1960–2020)

William Frederick Rieflin was an American musician. Rieflin came to prominence in the 1990s mainly for his work as a drummer with groups such as Ministry, the Revolting Cocks, Lard, KMFDM, Pigface, Swans, Chris Connelly, and Nine Inch Nails. He worked regularly with R.E.M. following the retirement of Bill Berry in 1997. He was a member of King Crimson from 2013 until his death in 2020.

<i>Nihil</i> 1995 studio album by KMFDM

Nihil is the eighth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on April 4, 1995, by Wax Trax! Records. The album marked the return of former band member Raymond Watts and the first appearance of journeyman drummer Bill Rieflin, and was mostly written by frontman Sascha Konietzko.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acumen Nation</span> American industrial rock band

Acumen Nation is an American industrial rock/metal band from Chicago, Illinois.

<i>Adios</i> (KMFDM album) 1999 studio album by KMFDM

Adios is the eleventh studio album released by German industrial band KMFDM. The album was originally conceived as the group's parting shot to its longtime record label, Wax Trax! Records, but it ended up also signaling the break-up of KMFDM itself until the band reformed in 2002. Recorded in Seattle, Washington, this was the last album to feature En Esch and Günter Schulz, who both went on to form Slick Idiot. Following the break-up, founding member Sascha Konietzko created the band MDFMK, before reforming KMFDM in 2002 without Esch or Schulz.

<i>Angst</i> (KMFDM album) 1993 studio album by KMFDM

Angst is the seventh studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on 13 October 1993 by Wax Trax! Records.

<i>Symbols</i> (album) 1997 studio album by KMFDM

The tenth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, titled with a set of five unpronounceable, non-alphabetic symbols and commonly known as Symbols, was released on 23 September 1997 by Wax Trax! Records.

Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that year, they opened a store under the same name in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. During the 1980s and 1990s, the accompanying record label became a strong presence on the industrial music scene as well as the punk rock scene in Chicago, and an outlet for European bands. The label was purchased by TVT Records in 1992 and was discontinued in 2001. In 2014, it was re-established by Julia Nash, daughter of co-founder Jim Nash.

<i>Xtort</i> 1996 studio album by KMFDM

Xtort is the ninth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on June 25, 1996, by Wax Trax! Records. It was recorded from the end of 1995 through early 1996, shortly after the death of Wax Trax! co-founder and band friend Jim Nash. Xtort features a variety of guest artists from the industrial music scene and studio musicians from other genres, but includes limited participation from core member En Esch.

Chemlab is an American industrial rock band formed in Washington D.C. in 1989 by Dylan Thomas More, Joe Frank, and Jared Louche. Influenced by the pioneers of the industrial genre, such as Throbbing Gristle, Chemlab mixed experimental sounds with rock and metal within an electronic framework. They released their first EP 10 Ton Pressure (1990), parted ways with Frank and moved to New York City, their base for the duration of their career. Chemlab released their debut album Burn Out at the Hydrogen Bar in 1993 and toured with acts such as White Zombie, KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails, 16volt, and GWAR.

WTII Records is an independent record label created in 2001 by former Wax Trax! Records employee Bart Pfanenstiel, and David Schock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juke Joint Jezebel</span> 1995 single by KMFDM

"Juke Joint Jezebel" is a song by industrial rock group KMFDM from their 1995 album Nihil. It is KMFDM's most widely known song to date, with around three million copies of the song sold across various releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Die Warzau</span> Chicago-based musical group

Die Warzau was an American industrial music band formed in 1987 by Jim Marcus and Van Christie.

<i>Metropolis</i> (Sister Machine Gun album) 1997 studio album by Sister Machine Gun

Metropolis is the fourth studio album by Sister Machine Gun, released on July 15, 1997 by TVT and Wax Trax! Records. The album spent more than 14 weeks on the CMJ Radio Top 200 chart, peaking at #7.

<i>Black Box – Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years</i> 1994 box set by various artists

Black Box – Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years is a box set album compiling songs released on Wax Trax! Records between 1980 and 1993. Black Box commemorates Wax Trax!'s output as an independent record label prior to its purchase by TVT Records. In particular, Black Box celebrates Wax Trax!'s place as the seminal American industrial label, featuring acts such as Ministry, KMFDM, Meat Beat Manifesto, Coil, Laibach, and many others.

Chris Randall is an American musician and the current frontman of Sister Machine Gun. In 1998, he created a side-project called Micronaut, focusing on more instrumental music that was not necessarily appropriate for Sister Machine Gun.

<i>Burn</i> (Sister Machine Gun album) 1995 studio album by Sister Machine Gun

Burn is the third studio album by Sister Machine Gun, released on October 24, 1995 by TVT and Wax Trax! Records. The album peaked at #9 on the CMJ Radio Top 200.

This is the discography page for the industrial band Sister Machine Gun.

<i>Sins of the Flesh</i> 1992 studio album by Sister Machine Gun

Sins of the Flesh is the debut studio album of Sister Machine Gun, released on December 29, 1992, by Wax Trax! Records. It was produced with the aide of KMFDM composer and musician Sascha Konietzko.

<i>The Torture Technique</i> 1994 studio album by Sister Machine Gun

The Torture Technique is the second studio album by Sister Machine Gun, released on March 15, 1994 by TVT and Wax Trax! Records. The album spent eight weeks on the CMJ Radio Top 150 peaking at #46, and nine weeks on the CMJ RPM Charts peaking at #10.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Burn, John. "Sister Machine Gun Bio". All Music Guide. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sister Machine Gun Biography". Chris Randall. Archived from the original on August 10, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  3. ↑ Frampton, Megan (19 Feb 1996). "CMJ Radio Top 200" (PDF). CMJ New Music Report. Great Neck, NY: College Media, Inc. 45 (462): 6–7. ISSN   0890-0795 . Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Frampton, Megan (3 November 1997). "CMJ Radio Top 200" (PDF). CMJ New Music Report. Great Neck, NY: College Media, Inc. 52 (544): 6–9. ISSN   0890-0795 . Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "Facebook: Sister Machine Gun". Facebook . Retrieved November 5, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.