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1.0 History

1.1 Formation

1.2 Lineup changes

1.3 International success

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Nekromantix Wiki Information

The Nekromantix is a Danish-American psychobilly band formed in 1989 in Copenhagen, Denmark and currently recording for Hellcat Records. Their music is generally structured around monster and horror themes which are reflected in their album and song titles, lyrics, artwork, and stage show. A central icon of the band's image is bassist/vocalist Kim Nekroman's "coffinbass", a custom-built, very deep double bass with a body in the shape of a coffin and a headstock the shape of a cross.

The band has had changing lineups throughout its career, with founder Kim Nekroman as the sole constant member. The current line-up consists of Nekroman, guitarist Franc, and drummer Lux. Throughout the band's first 11 years they released five albums on various European record labels, which were only available in the US as imports. The group crossed over to American audiences in the early 2000s by signing to the Los Angeles-based Hellcat Records label, through which they have released three albums since 2002. The Nekromantix' eighth album, Life Is a Grave & I Dig It! , was released in April 2007.

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History

Formation

The Nekromantix were formed in 1989 in Copenhagen by Kim Nekroman after he left the Danish Navy, in which he had been a submarine radio operator. ^[1] Deciding to launch a new career in music, he initially played drums in a rockabilly band prior to the foundation of Nekromantix. Learning to play the double bass and to sing, Nekroman set about forming a horror-themed psychobilly band with himself as the frontman. Initially consisting of Nekroman, guitarist Paolo Molinari and drummer Jens Brygman, the band took the name Nekromantix. ^[2] ^[3] A centerpiece of the band's image was Nekroman's self-constructed "coffinbass," an upright bass in the shape of a coffin. The first of these was constructed using an actual child-sized coffin, but over the years he has constructed new models in order to achieve better acoustics and collapsibility for easier transportation. By the time of the band's first official recordings, Molinari and Brygman had been replaced respectively by Peter Sandorff and Sebastian, who used the pseudonym Peek. ^[4]

After six months of practice and two local performances in Copenhagen at the Stengade 30 club, the Nekromantix appeared at large psychobilly festival in Hamburg, Germany. Their performance earned them a recording contract with Tombstone Records for their first album Hellbound . The band began touring Europe and built a name for themselves in the European psychobilly movement, which at the time was largely dominated by British acts. In 1991 the band released their second album Curse of the Coffin through Nervous Records and supported it with a music video for the title track which received some play on the MTV program Alternative Nation .

Lineup changes

In 1992 both Peek and Sandorff left the band. They were replaced by guitarist Jan Daggry and drummer Tim Kristensen, who used the stage names Ian Dawn ("Dawn" being an English translation of the Danish name Daggry) and Grim Tim Handsome. This lineup recorded the album Brought Back to Life , released in 1994, which earned a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Heavy Metal Album." Daggry then left the band and was replaced on tour first by Emil Oelund and then by Thormod, until the band found new permanent guitarist Søren Munk Petersen. The Nekroman/Petersen/Kristensen lineup recorded 1996's Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend . During this time the band toured most of Europe including Finland, Germany, the UK, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, and France, and also toured Japan. They began to achieve cult status in the United States, where their albums were as yet only available as imports.

At a 1996 festival in Cologne, Germany Nekroman met fellow Copenhagen native Patricia Day, with whom he launched a new band called HorrorPops with himself on guitar and Day on double bass and lead vocals. The two would later marry, and their activity with HorrorPops put the Nekromantix on hold for several years, during which Kristensen and Petersen both left the band.

International success

In 1997 Peter Sandorff returned to Nekromantix, bringing along his brother, Kristian, to play drums. In 1999 the band played a tenth-anniversary performance at Stengade 30 in Copenhagen, where they had performed their first shows after forming the band. This performance was recorded by Danish National Radio for a series of live shows and released the following year as the live album Undead 'n' Live . In 2000 the Nekromantix played their first performances in the United States, beginning with the first annual New York City "Psychobilly Rumble" and continuing with a nine-date tour of the west coast. In February 2001 Nekroman gave a demo of new songs to Rancid singer/guitarist and Hellcat Records label owner Tim Armstrong, a longtime fan of the band. The Nekromantix soon signed to the Los Angeles-based Hellcat and released the 2002 album Return of the Loving Dead . Recorded in Denmark, it was the band's first album to be widely distributed in the U.S. and helped make them part of an emerging psychobilly movement on the west coast centered around the Hellcat label and spearheaded by bands such as Tiger Army. The album was supported with a music video for the song "Gargoyles Over Copenhagen" and the band toured the United States several times.

Move to America

Following the release of Return of the Loving Dead Nekroman relocated to Los Angeles, touring and recording two albums with the HorrorPops. The Sandorff brothers remained in Denmark, and recording of the Nekromantix' 2004 album Dead Girls Don't Cry was done almost entirely in Los Angeles, with only Peter Sandorff's backing vocals recorded in Copenhagen. In April 2005 the Sandorffs left the band leaving only Nekroman in band. ^[5] To replace them Nekroman recruited guitarist Troy Russel (Tröy Deströy) and drummer James Mesa (Wasted James) of the California-based psychobilly band the Rezurex. That year the band's third album Brought Back to Life was remastered and re-released by Hellcat under the title Brought Back Again .

Recent activity

In May 2006 Meza left the Nekromantix, later joining Tiger Army. He was replaced by Andrew Martinez (Andy DeMize) of The Rocketz. The Nekromantix' most recent album, Life Is a Grave & I Dig It! , was released in April 2007. In November 2007 the band announced Tröy Deströy's departure to focus on a solo career. Pete Belair of the Australian band Firebird was announced as the band's new guitarist and performed with them during their 2008 tours, living in Australia complicated things and Franc, formerly of Barcelona-based Nightbreed and Ultimo Asalto, joined as a permanent guitarist. ^[6]

On January 11, 2009 Martinez was killed in an automobile collision. ^[7] ^[8] The following month it was announced that Lux, formerly of Mystery Hangup and Sacred Storm, would be Martinez's replacement. The band's first female member, Lux stated that the Nekromantix would tour North America with Reverend Horton Heat during the summer and record a new album later in the year. ^[9]

Band members

(1989) Rehearsals and live shows only	Kim Nekroman – Contrabass, vocals Paolo Molinari – guitar Jens Brygman – drums
(1989–1993) Hellbound Curse of the Coffin	Kim Nekroman – Contrabass, vocals Peter Sandorff – guitar Peek – drums
(1993–1995) Brought Back to Life	Kim Nekroman – Contrabass, vocals Ian Dawn – guitar Grim Tim Handsome – drums
(1995–1996) Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend	Kim Nekroman – Contrabass, vocals Søren Munk Petersen – guitar Grim Tim Handsome – drums
(1997–2005) Undead 'n' Live Return of the Loving Dead Dead Girls Don't Cry	Kim Nekroman – Contrabass, vocals Peter Sandorff – guitar Kristian Sandorff – drums
(2005–2006) Live shows only	Kim Nekroman – Contrabass, vocals Tröy Deströy – guitar Wasted James – drums
(2006–2007) Life Is a Grave & I Dig It!	Kim Nekroman – Contrabass, vocals Tröy Deströy – guitar Andy DeMize – drums
(2007–2008) live shows only	Kim Nekroman – Contrabass, vocals Pete Belair – guitar Andy DeMize – drums
(2009–current)	Kim Nekroman – Contrabass, vocals Franc – guitar Lux – drums

Current members

Kim Nekroman – Contrabass, vocals (1989–present)
Franc – guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)
Lux – drums (2009–present)

Past members

Paolo Molinari – guitar (1989)
Jens Brygman – drums (1989))
Peek (Sebastian) – drums (1989–1993)
Peter Sandorff – guitar, backing vocals (1989–1993, 1997–2005)
Ian Dawn (Jan Daggry) – guitar, backing vocals (1993–1994)
Emil Oelund – guitar (1994–1995)
Thormod – guitar (1995)
Søren Munk Petersen – guitar, backing vocals (1995–1996)
Grim Tim Handsome (Tim Kristensen) – drums (1993–1996)
Kristian Sandorff – drums (2000–2005)
Wasted James (James Meza) – drums (2005–2006)
Tröy Deströy – guitar, backing vocals (2005–2007)
Pete Belair – guitar, backing vocals (2007–2008)
Andy DeMize (Andrew Martinez) – drums (2006–2009)

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Label	Other information
1989	Hellbound	Tombstone	First album.
1991	Curse of the Coffin	Nervous
1994	Brought Back to Life	Intermusic	Re-released in 2005 by Hellcat Records as Brought Back Again .
1996	Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend	Record Music DK
2000	Undead 'n' Live	E.S.P./Kick Music	Live album
2002	Return of the Loving Dead	Hellcat
2004	Dead Girls Don't Cry
2007	Life Is a Grave & I Dig It!

Singles

Year	Song	Label	Other information
1994	"Jack the Stripper"	Intermusic	Single from Brought Back to Life . Backed with "Monster Movie Fan" and "Horrorscope," also from the album.
1996	"Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend"	Record Music	Backed with "Light My Fire" and "Night Nurse." Both "Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend" and "Night Nurse" are different from the later album versions. A vinyl version of this single was included with LP version of Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend .
2004	"Dead Bodies"	Rancid	Cover of a Rancid song. Backed with "Gargoyles Over Copenhagen" from Return of the Loving Dead , "Driller Killer" from Brought Back to Life , and "Backstage Pass to Hell" from Dead Girls Don't Cry .

Videography

Music videos

Year	Title	Album
1991	"Curse of the Coffin"	Curse of the Coffin
2002	"Gargoyles Over Copenhagen"	Return of the Loving Dead
2007	"Horny in a Hearse"	Life Is a Grave & I Dig It!