Mushroomhead



An Alternative/IndustrialMetal band from Cleveland, Ohio formed in 1993 in Cleveland Warehouse District. The band was originally established as a sideproject; to differentiate itself from the members' existing bands and to dispel any misconceptions about the group's sound and musical content, Mushroomhead used costumes, masks, and pseudonyms.

The band's imagery and energetic live shows resulted in both a good relationship with the band GWAR and a feud with Slipknot, which was largely a Fandom Rivalry due to fans perceiving a similarity between the two bands' respective images, and the fact that both bands have a large amount of members (currently 8) to accent an atmospheric sound. Soundwise, however, the two bands couldn't be more different; keyboards play heavily into Mushroomhead's sound.

Current Members

 * Jeffrey Hatrix (Jeffrey Nothing) – vocals (1993–present)
 * Waylon Reavis (Waylon) – vocals (2004–present)
 * Tommy Church (???) - guitar (2012-present)
 * Ryan Farrell (Dr. Farrell) - bass (2012-present)
 * Tom Schmitz (Shmotz) – keyboard (1993–present)
 * Rick Thomas (ST1TCH) – turntables, samples, electronics, water drums (2001–present)
 * Steve Felton (Skinny) – drums, percussion (1993–present)
 * Daniel Fox (Lil' Dan) – water drums, electronic drums, custom percussion (2009–Present)

Former Members

 * Joe Lenkey (DJ Virus) – turntables, electronics, samples (1993–1995)
 * Joe Kilcoyne (Mr. Murdernickel) – bass guitar (1993–1995)
 * Richie Moore (Dinner) – guitars (1993–1999)
 * John Sekula (J.J. Righteous) – guitar (1993–2001)
 * Jason Popson (J Mann) – lead vocals (1993–2004)
 * Marko Vukcevich (Bronson) - guitars, (2001–2006), turntables, samples (1995–2001), dancing (1993–1995)
 * Jessica Haney (Roxy) – dancing (1993–2000, dancing, no musical contributions)
 * Dave Felton (Gravy) – guitars (1999–2012)
 * Jack Kilcoyne (Pig Benis) – bass (1995–2012)

The band members themselves/live performance

 * Loads and Loads of Characters: The band currently has 8 members. At one point, there were originally dancers as part of the band line-up.
 * Shout-Out: Former lead vocalist J Mann wore facepaint stylized after the film Dead Presidents.

Lyrics/Themes/Concepts

 * Restored My Faith in Humanity: Many works deal with trying to invoke this, or hoping for this, with the best examples perhaps being "Save Us" and "Embrace The Ending". Though subverted in that faith in humanity itself isn't truly restored, more that there's a deep hope for humanity to live up to its potential.
 * Crisis of Faith: Like the above, this is often found in Mushroomhead's works. Though it's typically in the form of a deconstruction or subversion, in the decision that the faith they had is no longer needed (or is drastically changed). "The Need" is a good example of this tropes deconstruction.

Music/Music referential

 * Sampling: Their early albums featured samples from movies like Twin Peaks, Ed Wood, Se7en, Reservoir Dogs, The Silence of the Lambs, Reefer Madness, Waynes World and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.
 * Mix and Match Musical Genres: They are an Alternative Metal outfit that mix Industrial, Goth, Rap, Electronica, Punk, and even Death Metal into a unique sound.
 * Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: They usually write songs in the 8-9 range.