Thrill Kill Kult play Teragram Ballroom Nov. 4 and The Casbah Nov. 5; promo pic
Celebrate 30 years of high energy craziness with My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult (TKK) at 80’s Bar Nov. 3, Teragram Ballroom Nov. 4, and The Casbah Nov. 5. They’ll be performing their first two iconic Wax Trax! albums I See Good Spirits And I See Bad Spirits and Confessions Of A Knife.
Forming in the late 80’s, TKK was one of the early Wax Trax! Label bands alongside Ministry, Front 242, KMFDM, Frontline Assembly and others who were part of the early industrial music scene. However, TKK was also known for their tongue-in-cheek, sometimes hilarious, lyrics and samples and nods to B horror films. Not to mention outrageous live sets and props.
I See Good Spirits And I See Bad Spirits album cover
Songs such as “A Daisy Chain 4 Satan,” “Sex on Wheelz,” “The Devil Does Drugs,” among several others became alternative radio hits.
Concert Guide Live caught up with founders Groovie Mann and Buzz McCoy on a recent tour and this is what they had to say.
CONCERT GUIDE LIVE: What do you remember about the first TKK live show?
THRILL KILL KULT: Our first show was a Halloween show at the Riviera in Chicago. Robert Englund aka Freddy Krueger was there to introduce us! We had no idea what we were doing. We put the band together literally within a week or so of the performance and practiced in our drummer’s parent’s basement! The show itself is kind of a blur.
Confessions Of A Knife album cover
CGL: We take the computer for granted now but in the early days, touring must have been quite different. Any particular mishaps or surprises come to mind?
TKK: Our set up remains basically the same. We’ve just replaced the old drum machines and sequencers with a laptop now. A bit less to set up and a lot less midi cables to deal with. Actually, we had more mishaps when we first started using a computer on stage because it would freeze up sometimes. Luckily those days have passed and laptops and associated software are much more reliable now.
CGL: What sort of setlist will you be playing? Do you have a particular song you look forward to playing live?
TKK: It will be a very dance oriented set list, with some remixes thrown in. Our favorite song to play changes nightly, depending upon our mood. Some nights they’re all our favorite, other nights we’re sick of them all!
CGL: Lyrically, do you consciously set out to push the limits, or is it more of a natural process, writing what comes to mind and what you like?
TKK: We don’t consciously set out to push buttons or be provocative. It’s just the way we write.
CGL: Do you have any new favorite B movies from the last few years?
TKK: There was a film called “Sexy Evil Genius” which wrote TKK into the story line and used a couple of our songs. That was cool, and a bit flattering.
CGL: As a final question, do you have any pre-show routines/rituals?
TKK: Besides alcohol? Haha. No. No séance or prayer circles for us.