Powerman 5000 (sometimes abbreviated to PM5K) is a Boston-based rock band formed in 1991. Through the span of over a decade, the group has released several albums and gained their highest commercial success with 1999's science fiction themed Tonight the Stars Revolt!. Frontman Spider One is also the younger brother of Rob Zombie, and their styles have often been a source for comparison. He is also the only original member & founder.
Biography
Early years (1991–1996)
In 1991, Spider dropped out of art school and bought a cheap 4-track home studio and drum machine. Working under the title "MC Spider," he recorded Much Evil with producer Lamar Lowder. Building on local success, he built a band under the name Powerman 5000. Their style was in the nature of rap/metal that had yet to gain popularity. In 1993, longtime guitarist Adam 12 joined the band. In 1994 and 1995, Powerman released two independent records, True Force and The Blood Splat Rating System.[1] Both albums were local successes. In 1996, they performed on the second stage of Ozzfest and appeared on an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 where David and Donna filmed a music video for their song "Strike the Match."
Dreamworks and Tonight the Stars Revolt! (1997–2002)
In 1997, the band signed to Dreamworks Records and released a re-recording of The Blood Splat Rating System (with two new tracks) titled Mega!! Kung Fu Radio.[1] The band toured, performing on the main stage at Ozzfest 1997 but haven't appeared since. They released singles such as "Organizized" and "Tokyo Vigilante #1". In 1999, guitarist M.33 (Mike Tempesta) joined the band as they got their biggest break. Creating a strange fusion of science fiction (which had always interested Spider) and "Action Rock" (the term for their own high-energy powerful rock), they released Tonight the Stars Revolt!, which contained the hit singles "When Worlds Collide," "Nobody's Real," and "Supernova Goes Pop." The album sold over a million copies.[2]
A follow-up album to Tonight the Stars Revolt! was released titled Anyone For Doomsday?. The album was recorded and a single, "Bombshell," had been released to radio stations. But the album was canceled just before its scheduled release[2]. Anyone For Doomsday? was later released under Spider's own new label, Megatronic Records, but went out of print due to legal issues. Arguments exist as to whether the record was canceled due to the events of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the negative title, but the album was finished and scheduled to be released in August 2001, one full month before the attacks. Spider has said in interviews that the album was dropped because it sounded too much like the previous album and that he wanted to release something fresh and different instead of repeating himself. Conflicts thereafter caused longtime members Dorian 27 (Dorian Heartsong) and Al3 (Allen Pahanish) to leave the band. Ad7 (Adrian Ost) and Siggy Sjursen were brought in to replace them.
One of the greatest mainstream exposures to the band came from their original remake of the classic 1980's club hit "Relax," originally by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The recrafted version was featured prominently during the credit roll for the 2001 comedy film Zoolander, and helped spread the band's appeal.
Transform (2003–2005)
In 2003, the band released Transform, a more punk-fueled album, completely dropping the costumes that had been featured throughout the band's Tonight The Stars Revolt! era. Containing the hit singles "Free" and "Action," Transform relied less on industrial metal effects.[1] After the album's release, Dreamworks Records was bought out by Interscope Records, and Powerman 5000 decided not to make the move. Undeterred, Spider continued with his own offshoot label, Megatronic Records. In 2005 new music was released, under Spider's new label, in the form of a rarities album titled The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Vol. 1 and in new music from an upcoming[when?] album.
Destroy What You Enjoy (2006–2007)
A new tour was also started, but M.33 had been kicked out of the band for starting fights and Adam 12, while present on the upcoming album, was not touring. Former Alien Ant Farm guitarist Terry Corso and former Halfcocked (the first band on Spider's label) guitarist Johnny Rock were brought in to round out the live show. The band then signed to DRT Entertainment, who released the album entitled Destroy What You Enjoy on August 1, 2006. The song "Wild World" was the first single on the album.
Somewhere on the Other Side of Nowhere (2007–2009)
On May 21, 2007, Powerman 5000 claimed via a MySpace blog post that they will be releasing a new studio album in 2007. The following is taken directly from said post: "Considering the bands track record of putting out cds once every three years it seems hard to believe that, yes we will put out a new disc in 2007!! It's all just beginning to develop and the wheres, whos and whats are to be determined but new rock is on the way!!" However no more details have been released regarding the album and the album failed to meet a 2007 release as well as a 2008 release.
On January 28, a preview of tracks from their upcoming 6th studio album were posted on the groups MySpace page. The tracks for preview are entitled: "Super Villain," "V is for Vampire," and "Horror Show." Powerman 5000 posted that "Super Villain" would become available for digital purchase on February 10 via iTunes and Amazon.com. The release date was pushed back several times to a Spring release.
On April 7, 2009, Powerman 5000 released a blog on their MySpace page stating that Anyone For Doomsday? has officially been re-released. The legal battle ended and the album was released under the SKG Music License. The album is available on iTunes as a digital download. On April 21st, the band released "V is for Vampire", the second single from their upcoming album, which is planned for a summer release.
On July 7th, 2009, Powerman 5000 released a blog on their Myspace page [1] stating that the new album has been finished, and that a release date, track listing, artwork, and additional tour dates was coming soon. On July 27, 2009, Powerman 5000 appeared on Rockline, announcing the title of the new album as "Somewhere on the Other Side of Nowhere". A Tentative release date of October 6 was also announced. Two days later, three new songs were leaked onto YouTube, including "Timebomb", "Make Us Insane", and "Show Me What You Got". The songs have since been removed from the site due to copyright restrictions. On Myspace Spider posted a blog talking about the three leaked songs filled with comments of the fans liking the music.
On September 6th, 2009, Powerman 5000 released the album cover design along with the promotion of their upcoming tour starting on October 24th. They have also released two new promotional videos on YouTube [2] [3] for their new album, confirming its release date as October 6th. In the same blog post, the band stated that they will be shooting a new music video for their first single "Super Villain" and will be starting a national tour afterwards.
On October 1st, the full track "Do Your Thing" was leaked onto YouTube.[4] The song was apparently taken from the Megatronic Records Forum, in which frontman Spider One currently owns. The CD "Somewhere On The Otherside Of Nowhere" was officially released on October 6th in the U.S. and was available in Canada on October the 20th, two weeks after the reported release date.
Powerman 5000 in other media
Various Powerman 5000 songs have been used in media, including television film soundtracks, and video games. This includes such game titles as John Madden NFL 10' 'FreQuency, Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder, NASCAR Thunder 2004, SX Superstar, Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2, the Twisted Metal series, Shadow the Hedgehog, Nhl Hitz 2003 , and WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW. Film soundtracks such as Evolution, Freddy vs. Jason, Titan AE, Little Nicky and Zoolander have all featured the work of Powerman 5000. The song "Bombshell" was also used extensively as the entrance music of the WWE tag team the Dudley Boyz. The game WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW featured three new songs from the band. Spider hoped the songs would gain popularity from the game alone, seeing the success of music through video games.[3]
Soundtrack List
Band members
- Current
- Spider One – lead vocals (1991–present)
- Velkro (Dave Pino) – lead guitars (2007–present)
- Evan 9 (Evan Rodaniche) – rhythm guitars (2007–present)
- X51 (Gustavo Aued) – bass (2008–present)
- GFlash (Gordon Heckaman) – drums, percussion (2008–present)
- Former
- DJ Brian – turntables/keyboard (1991–1994)
- Lamar Lawder – production (1991–1994)
- Jordan Cohen – percussion (1994–1998)
- Dorian 27 (Dorian Heartsong) – bass (1991–2001)
- Al 3 (Allen Pahanish) – drums, percussion (1991–2001)
- M33 (Mike Tempesta) – rhythm guitars (1999–2005)
- Adam 12 (Adam Williams) – lead guitars (1991–2005)
- Johnny Rock (Johnny Heatley) – lead guitars, backing vocals (2005–2007)
- Terry Corso – rhythm guitars (2005–2007)
- Siggy 00 (Siggy Sjursen) – bass (2002–2008)
- Ad7 (Adrian Ost) – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–2008)
Discography
Full-Length Albums
Compilations
References
External links
|
Powerman 5000 |
|
Spider One · Evan Rodaniche · Dave Pino · Gustavo Aued · Gordon Heckaman
Adrian Ost · Siggy Sjursen · Johnny Rock Heatley · Terry Corso · Adam 12 · M.33 · Al 3 · Dorian 27 · Jordan Cohen · Lamar Louder |
|
| Studio albums |
|
|
| Extended plays |
|
|
| Compilations |
|
|
| Singles |
"Tokyo Vigilante #1" · "Organizized" · "When Worlds Collide" · "Nobody's Real" · "Ultra Mega" · "Bombshell" · "Relax" · "Free" · "Action" · "Wild World" · "Super Villain" · "V is for Vampire"
|
|
| Related articles |
|
|
