Rozz Williams ( born Roger Williams , born Roger Allen Painter , born Roger Alan Painter ; November 6, 1963 - April 1, 1998 ) is an American musician, member of several bands, the most famous of which are Christian Death and the Shadow Project . He organized the group Christian Death and achieved cult status among fans of gothic rock, is also considered one of the founders of the death rock style.
| Rozz Williams Rozz williams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| basic information | |
| Birth name | |
| Full name | Roger Alain Painter |
| Date of Birth | November 6, 1963 |
| Place of Birth | Pomona (California, USA ) |
| Date of death | April 1, 1998 ( 34) |
| A place of death | West Hollywood (California, USA) |
| Buried | |
| A country |  USA |
| Professions | musician producer |
| Years of activity | since |
| Genres | post punk gothic rock death rock dark cabaret |
| Aliases | Rozz williams |
| Collectives | Christian death Shadow project Premature ejaculation Daucus karota Heltir EXP |
| Labels | |
| rozznet.com | |
Content
- 1 Early period
- 2 Success
- 3 Leaving the group
- 4 Shadow Project and the revival of Christian Death
- 5 Late period
- 6 Death
- 7 Sites
Early Period
Roger Alan Painter was born November 6, 1963 in Pomona, southern California (Pomona, south California). He was the youngest child in a Southern Baptist family, and he and his two brothers and sister had to grow up in a strict religious setting. Young Roger began to be interested in music from the age of nine, listening to: David Bowie , Roxy Music , T-Rex , Alice Cooper , Iggy Pop , New York Dolls , etc. From childhood he knew that he would be a musician. A few years later, having become acquainted with the direction of Punk, he shaved his head in a sign of a challenge to society. By the age of 16, Roger decided that he was ready not only to listen to music, but also to compose himself. He took the name of Rozz Williams from a gravestone in his favorite cemetery. His first band, Crawlers to No , was later renamed The Upsetters . Rozz played the guitar and sang, although they never performed. Then the band The Assexuals was formed. He sang, played the organ and the guitar, Jill Emery played the bass and sang, too, Steve Darrow played the drums. They played at friends' parties, but never played real concerts. Another Rozz project was called Daucus Karota , where he sang, Jay played the guitar and Mary Torciva percussion. Christian Death was founded in October 1979. The name of the group was a distortion of the name of the famous fashion designer Christian Dior . Rozz sang, Jay played the guitar, James McGarthy on the bass. Then McGarthy brought George Belanger, the new drummer, to the band. They played their first gig with the 45 Grave band at the Hong Kong Cafe in the Los Angeles area of China, and they soon got a lot of fans.
Success
In the summer of 1981, McGarthy and Belanger introduced Rozz to Rick Higne , who played guitar in the band Adolescents . Rikk took the place of Jay, who lost interest in working with the group. McGarthy paid for his work in the studio, which recorded material for the Deathwish EP. The Dogs song hit the famous Hell Comes to Your House compilation album. Recording Deathwish and participating in the collection raised interest in Christian Death to a new level, and Lisa Fencher signed a contract for the group to work with her company Frontier Records. Their debut album, Only Theater of Pain, was released in March 1982. Ron Eti and Eva Ortiz participated in the recording of vocals, Rozz himself worked on the album cover design. The album was criticized in the press, but it was spotted. A commentator on a religious television program on Satanic influences broke a copy of the album on air. Concerts Christian Death have become more theatrical. Rozz sometimes went on stage in a wedding dress, blasphemed the crucifixion of Christ, presenting his own on the stage. These and other actions led to the fact that religious groups staged protests before concerts, burned copies of the group’s albums, and even managed to cancel some concerts. At this time, Rozz was invited to a party about the release of Pompeii 99, where he met with Valor Cand and David Glass. They discussed possible joint performances of Christian Death and Pompeii 99 , but in 1982 the group Christian Death broke up due to a mass failure to appear at a rehearsal because of a drug addiction that had suddenly visited everyone. French label L'Invitation Au Suicide released Only Theater of Pain in France in 1983, and Yann Fancy wanted Christian Death to tour Europe. Rozz, not currently having his own band, accepted the offer to join Pompeii 99. He wanted to name the new band Daucus Karota in honor of the hallucination from The Drug Experience, but it was better for Valor to use the name Christian Death: Rozz - vocals , Valor - guitar, Gitan DeMon - keyboards, backing vocals, David Glass - drums, and Constance Smith - bass. In this lineup, they performed in Los Angeles and its constituency, in the clubs The Roxy and Fenders Ballroom .
Leaving the group
The band’s American tour ended with an extravaganza show, “Path of Sorrows,” held at the Roxy Theater, Los Angeles on April 6, 1985. The program included films, a banquet and a Christian Death concert. Christina Fuller controlled the lighting, films, and four changes of Rozz's costumes. A few days earlier, their performance at the Hollywood Berwin Entertainment Center was recorded and released under the name The Decomposition of Violets. Jaff Williams and Bari Galvin also participated in these concerts. Soon, before the start of the tour in Italy, scheduled for June 1985, Rozz decided to leave the group, as he did not want to continue working with a routine rock style. He called Gitan, saying: “I have no more desire to continue this ... I'm leaving.” Rozz officially left the group in April 1985, leaving Valor and the others on tour in Europe. He asked Gitan not to continue under the name Christian Death, and Valor agreed to rename the band to "Sin and Sacrifice." After a while, it turned out that Valor did not keep his word, using the name Christian Death, to Rozz's complete indignation. Rozz felt that Christian Death was only his idea from the earliest years of the group, and that it was only his right to end its existence. Gitan remained faithful to Valor, although she shared Rozz's opinion. A few years later, Valor officially won the right to use the name, as Rozz did not take any legal measures in this regard.
The Shadow Project and the Rebirth of Christian Death
After parting with Christian Death, Rozz began working with Chuck Collison under the name The Happiest Place on Earth . Rozz explained this as "introducing street performances." Soon Rozz and Chuck resurrected Premature Ejaculation , working with tape recordings. Several performances followed at The Krypt Club. Very often, visitors to the concerts came under fire from pieces of meat and parts of dead animals thrown from the stage. One of the concerts took place under the highway, in front of a group of close friends. In 1987, Eve and Rozz moved to San Francisco, where they soon married. In the same place they organized the Shadow Project with Bari Galvin, David Glass and Joan Schumann - bass. The Shadow Project was played at Cover Wagon, a San Francisco club, and The Club with no Name in Los Angeles. The name of the group was taken from studies of the Hiroshima nuclear attack, where after the explosion there were shadows scorched on the concrete walls. At this time, there were numerous rumors that Rozz was dead or imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital. Therefore, Rozz resurrected what belonged to him - the legendary Christian Death. From the end of 1988 to the beginning of 1990, the group toured with: Rozz, Eva O, Rikk Agnu, Kashi - bass, and Kujo - percussion. After the tour, Rozz and Eve returned to Los Angeles, where they met with Jill Emery - bass, and Tom Morgan - percussion, to start a new direction for the Shadow Project. After several appearances in California, Paris entered the band - keyboards, and the band released their first album, the Shadow Project. At this time, Rozz was very passionate about Charles Manson, which was reflected in this recording. At the end of 1992, Rozz recorded his first recital album, Every King is a Bastard Son. The recording involved Paris, Ace Farren Ford, and Donato Canzonieri. In the same year, The Path of Sorrows was released; Rozz told the press that he was his favorite album.
Late Period
In the summer of 1993, the Shadow Project toured America with Rozz, Eve, Paris, Mark Baron - bass, and Christian Omar Madrigal Izzo - percussion. After the end of their performances in America, Eve and Paris left the band to start work on Eve's album, Demons Fall for an Angels Kiss. In this regard, the Shadow Project broke up on the eve of the October tour in Germany. Although all tickets and advertisements were issued on the Shadow Project, Rozz changed his name to Daucus Karota. Brian Butler (Brain Butler) replaced Eve on the guitar. At one of the concerts, Gitan Daemon met Rozz behind the scenes. She specially came to meet him from Amsterdam, where she had lived for several years. The Shrine, Rozz's new mini-album, was recorded in January 1994. The lineup has not changed except for the new guitarist Roxy. Joint concerts of Daucus Karota and Gitane DeMone in Europe took place all November 1994. Towards the end of the year, Rozz released an album under the name Heltir. The debut, Neue Sachlichkeit was recorded with the help of Ace Farran Ford, Christian Omar Madrigal Izzo (percussion), and Aaron Schwartz (harp). Dreamhome Heartache was recorded by Rozz and Gitan in Ghent, Belgium between March 28 and April 5, 1995 with the help of Peter Reckfelt. Ken Thomas, who worked with David Bowie on the Hunky Dory album, participated in the recording. Rozz and Gitan performed together in April, and then in December 1995. Tours in England took place in April 1996. Rozz's second recital album, The Whorse's Mouth, was recorded in 1996 with Rozz (vocals, bass), Paris (keyboards, clarinet), Ryan Homer - backing songs, Christian Omar Madrigal Izzo (percussion), and Anne Marie - violin . The album wore Genet shades, and was written with Homer, Rozz's cohabitant, at a time when both were very addicted to heroin. Rozz played bass for the band's EXP album, recorded in 1996 by Paris, Ryan, and Ace Farren Ford. One of Rozz's closest friends, Eric Christides, committed suicide in 1997. A special show of his memory took place at the club Perversion, Los Angeles, January 6, 1998. This was Rozz's last performance.
Death
Rozz was found hanging from his apartment on April 1, 1998. He was found by Ryan, with whom Rozz lived in West Hollywood. There was no posthumous note, and it is still not clear why Rozz decided to die. Alcoholism and drug addiction never influenced Rozz's mind, as he always found a way out of emotional problems. Close friends believe that Rozz was completely the master of his fate and that the day of April 1 meant a lot to him on a secret personal level. The funeral took place shortly after his death at the El Ray Theater, and a small group of close friends betrayed Rozz's ashes to the ground of Canyon Runyon. Rozz's latest work before his death presents the PIG film, released in early 1999. The production was attended by Nico B. - director, and Chuck Collison (sound engineer). In 2000, the book The Art of Rozz Williams was published, dedicated to the life and work of Rozz. On April 1, 2001, three years after suicide, a memorial meeting was held at the Hollywood Cemetery Forever Cemetery, West Hollywood, California. At the opening of the memorial, family members, friends of Rozz, and fans from all over the world came.