Recognize the exotic vamp on the left? Here in town she is businesswoman Carmen Marusich. She and husband Niels Hobbs founded the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council in the Arcade and produce the biennial convention devoted to H. P. Lovecraft, NecronomiCon.
But Carmen leads another life; she has been performing on and off since 1990 as Arena Rock, one of the Bomb Gang Girlz, the backup singers for goth-industrial rockers, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult (TKK). The band will be celebrating thirty years of performing with a tour focusing on two of their first iconic Wax Trax! albums, “Confessions of a Knife” and “I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits.” And I find it astonishing that the two founding members, Groovie Mann and Buzz McCoy, have been on board for the whole ride.
But before you get too excited . . . Providence is not a stop on this tour. They kick off in Arizona, end up in San Diego, with a Halloween Bash in San Francisco which seems just perfect. But many local fans and friends are hoping that a second northeast tour could happen in the spring.
When this fall tour wraps up in early November, TKK will be participating in a panel — along with Wax Trax! stablemates Front 242, Ministry, and the Revolting Cocks — following a screening of the new documentary “Industrial Accident: The Untold Story of Wax Trax! Records.” (Wax Trax! started as a record store in Chicago and morphed into the preeminent industrial label of the 1980s and ’90s, a nexus of the new wave, punk rock, and industrial music scenes.)
This means Carmen will have to be away from Lovecraft Arts & Sciences for several weeks. Niels and Anthony will have to cover her shifts. I dropped into the store recently where Carmen answered some questions about her life as a Bomb Gang Girl, the documentary, and the upcoming tour. The following was edited for clarity.
BC: When was the last time the band was together?
CM: The band tours almost every year. They’ve been together since 1987.
BC: When was the last time you played with the band?
CM: Just this year in May, I was flown out to Kansas City and for the Goth Prom in Denver.
BC: What role do you have in the band?
CM: I’m a Bomb Gang Girl . . . backup singing and dancing. And I was the co-producer of the 1995 album “Hit and Run Holiday.”
BC: So when do you leave?
CM: I’m flying out to L.A. on the 28th. We start rehearsal on October 1st, and then rehearse for three days, and then our first gig is in Mesa, Arizona. We’re going to be driving in a van, a fancy van. We usually rent a Mercedes Sprinter van.
BC: How many people are in the van?
CM: I think the lineup on stage is gonna be five of us and then we have a sound person. When there used to be more of us we used to travel in a big tour bus where you sleep on the bus, and the bus would drive all night, and you wake up in a new city. But now that everybody is older they prefer (not me) but they prefer to sleep in hotel rooms at night. So that’s why they have elected to drive all day . . . drive ourselves. And then at the end of the day we can have showers and sleep better and those things. I’ll miss getting to explore the cities during the day because I kind of liked doing the overnight drives.
BC: What cities are you looking forward to?
CM: I’m definitely looking forward to San Francisco on Halloween. I still have friends in San Francisco and in L.A. as well. . . And we’re doing a big show in Chicago which is where the band is from originally . . . and our original record label Wax Trax, the famous Chicago punk rock record label.
BC: That was featured in the Chicago episode of Dave Grohl’s show ‘Sonic Highways’ (on HBO).
CM: Yeah he’s in the movie. He’s one of the people interviewed in the film. I’m not sure what date we will be in Chicago but that’s basically our home turf . . . I lived in Chicago for a while. Then when we get back to L.A. at the end of the tour, on November 9th, there’s going to be a special screening of the Wax Trax documentary. We’ll be doing a panel discussion after the movie, so I’ll be sticking around in L.A. (Go here for movie trailer.)
BC: How did the band come together?
CM: Mars [Marston Daley] and I were friends in Boston in the 80’s. His stage name is Buzz McCoy and my stage name is Arena Rock. Buzz and I were in a band called Godbox in Boston from 1985 to 1987 . . . it was an early goth industrial band in Boston. In 1987 we had an opportunity to go to Chicago to become part of Wax Trax Records and I opted to stay in Boston. He went to Chicago and reformed the band under the name My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. So my affiliation with Mars goes back to 1985.
BC: Who came up with name of the band?
CM: We used a lot of samples in the beginning. I don’t really know how Mars and Franke came up with the name. Groovie Mann is the lead singer. His name is Franke Nardiello and he’s from Chicago. He was working at the Wax Trax record store when Mars moved to Chicago so he and Franke got together and they are the ones who named the band. Franke used to be in a band called Hammerhead Housewives before that.
He was also in a band with Al Jourgensen (later of Ministry) very early on, late 70′ early 80’s. Ministry was also a Wax Trax band . . . so we were a part of that whole family. The way we hooked up with Wax Trax was Mars. Basically Ministry were recording an album in Boston in the late 80’s and they went on tour. They ended up stealing a band from Boston, a band called the Blackouts. Roland Barker and Paul Barker and the drummer Bill Rieflin were in a band called the Blackouts. So somehow, I don’t know how, Al convinced them to be in the band Ministry.
[Time out to wait on customers.]
CM: So they all went on tour, and right as the they went on tour, Roland quit and they called us to see who could tour as keyboard player for Ministry. Mars went to be the keyboard player for the tour and that’s how we got the Wax Trax connection. He brought a tape of God Box to them to the label.
So Wax Trax was Ministry’s label. Ministry, FDM [KMFDM], God Flesh, Pale Head, Pink Face, all those bands are Wax Trax bands. The label had this sound . . . you know how people refer to “Sub Pop bands”? So these were Wax Trax bands and that’s what this new documentary is about.
BC: They’ve never stopped being a band and performing, but the cast of characters does change.
CM: Yeah. The two main guys stayed the same. Mars [Buzz McCoy] and Franke. Buzz grew up on the Cape — he’s a Boston guy. Frank is from Chicago and they met in Chicago and each independently moved to LA. And now the band is based in L.A. The original Bomb Gang Girls were all from Chicago.
BC: How many Bomb Gang Girlz are going to be on this tour?
CM: It’s just me. And I assume that when we play Chicago, whichever original ones are there, the girls will get up on stage with us. I think one of the girls lives in L.A. so she maybe she’ll show up for the L.A. show. I don’t know. One of the originals, Jaquie Blaque.
BC: I believe I first learned of your connection with TKK from Josh Kemp [Mahi Mahi, Beta Motel] so you have you played in Providence in the past?
CM: I know Josh was there. Mahi Mahi opened for us at Hell. . . Usually Providence gets skipped over and they just play the Middle East [Cambridge]. I performed at the Middle East last year and the year before.
[I asked Mr. Kemp if he remembered the Hell show. “Yeah, it was a blast playing with them. Groovie Mann (Franke) is the real deal. Total natural rock star.”]
CM: It would be nice to have a Providence gig because there are so many people who want to see the band because they know me and are curious.
BC: I know many people who want this to happen.
CM: It would be fun. I would love it.
Niels took the picture below.
Behind the counter in the store a couple of years ago.
