Murder 1 was founded in late 1994 by Newark, NJ renegade bassist & radio DJ Jon Nardachone aka Job the Raver & guitarist Captain Klingon of the slacker rock outfit Dense, Moist & Sticky. They were joined by 17 year old Killing Machine drummer Tony Yarussi aka Boy Toy (from Elizabeth!) & vagabond blues rock vocalist Lee DW Fontaine. Killing Machine's Special K soon joined as 2nd guitarist. The sound was heavily drugged & very loose, much like their South Jersey brethren Monster Magnet. In Spring of '95, after his second DUI arrest, Fontaine awoled & the gap was filled by blues rock purist Lean Gene Potts of Colossal Street Jam. By late '95, both Potts & Special K had bailed & former Digger frontman (and Essex County school teacher!) Cakeboy was brought in. Honing their "skills" at the legendary Pipeline in Newark, the sound took on a filthier punk-laden turn ala Flipper or Stooges. Hoboken based indie label Tarr Records released a Murder 1 split 7" single with fellow NJ fuzz rockers Core, complete with artwork by Cakeboy's art student & future My Chemical Romance leader Gerard Way! This fearsome foursome excelled in creating havoc! Klingon's onstage bong hits, BT's teenage temper tantrums, Cakeboy's chronic nudity & Job's speed & opioid issues, caused bannings from many NJ, NY & PA clubs. These "antics" spread faster & further than the early recordings & were captured in the NJ punk rock documentary "Urine NJ" as well as the Matt Zane produced "Backstage Sluts". After his Rockland County cannabis"garden" was mowed down by local authorities, Klingon became despondent & was replaced in early '96 by 17 year old Core guitarist G Money. Despite his robust drinking habit, the 'kid' added fire & speed to the new songs and this lineup recorded the Joe Guzik produced seminal punk/metal opus "Shopping For Porn" in early '97. This slab of 'pure filth' is surely a late 90's punk classic! Touring hard over the next 18 months with Anal C*nt, Candy Snatchers, Downset, Savatage, US Bombs, Step Kings and Kid Rock, replacement players were needed for the habitually "ill" Job & G Money. Shat & Dillinger Escape Plan's Jeff Wood, Masred's Fred 'Shogun' Zoeller & Snag & Big Wig's John Grasso filled in admirably on both bass and guitar. Higher and tighter than ever after a 6 month vacation, it was the classic Job, Cakeboy, G Money, BT lineup that recorded the Mike Goldberg produced metallic firestorm "American Junkie" in 1999. The album's highlights were three tuff as nails but straight from the heart vocal performances by drummer BT, who was now out of his "teen shell". His visionary punk/reggae version of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" was aided by the vocal talents of longtime M1 friend Kid Rock! The boys hit the road like juggernauts in Y2K, highlighted by a mainstage appearance at the titanic X-Fest in Minneapolis, but with a dozen gigs left, G Money abruptly quit M1 to sober up & attend Rutgers University. Savatage's Chris Caffery, Anger's Terry Torino, Mudbox's Tony Hermosilla and Rhythm Trip's Jonny Rod all filled the guitar gap, but none joined the band full time. During this turbulent period at the end of Y2K, Job & BT teamed up with old friends Special K & Lean Gene as well as 50 Cent Whore players Spanish Fly (bass), Jimi Cucu Crazycat (vox/percussion) & Al Kinky (guitar) to form the mammoth Deep Purple, Saint Vitus & Hawkwind influenced sonic assault called Murder 1 Blues Army. This lineup recorded the Job & Mad Mike Cullin produced "Mordor Rising" in early '01. Simultaneously, Job, BT and Cakeboy brought in ex Solace & Killer Instinct axeman Jason Freudberg aka Iceberg as the full time Murder 1 guitarist. His Iommi meets Frehely crunch combined with BT & Job's love for longform 70's metal added a more classic rock aura to the band, much to the chagrin of punk stalwart Cakeboy. Regardless, this version of M1 began playing shows to frenzied audiences immediately. For three months, both Murder 1 & the M1 Blues Army were BOTH in full work/gig mode! All was copacetic until Special K suddenly quit the Blues Army sighting exhaustion & stagefright. He was replaced immediately for the northeast leg of the Clutch/Candiria/M1BA tour by Iceberg, who had been waiting in the wings. This did NOT sit well with the already 'testy' Cakeboy, as the freeform M1 Blues Army spent the remainder of '01 playing hash parties, spaceouts & beer festivals. An unrivaled 8th member, piano/synth man Bramphetamine joined at this time as well. A slightly damaged but enthusiastic Murder 1 started writing the follow up to "American Junkie" in early '02, but the sessions were plagued by musical disarray, ego clashes & drug use, eventually causing Cakeboy's departure. Forced to cancel studio time with former Ramones producer Daniel Rey, Job called upon long time bud Steve "Speed" Kreature of Nebula & Donner Party fame to perform some emergency gigs before once again calling upon the talents of Anger's Terry Torino to fill the longer term void (this time on vocals). The band also announced the full time addition of Bramphetamine on co-vocals & "ragtime" piano. After some "racy at best" shows, the band was fairly convinced to move forward with Torino. That changed the day Job boarded the (192) Rutherford to NYC bus and met the "king of herbs", former Novena & Punkinuckle singer Will "Naga" Chiolo. He auditioned the following night and was given the gig as the band finally found peace between the signature punk/metal M1 sound and the forward thinking jam out approach of the M1 Blues Army. Sounding like the bastard spawn of a Led Zeppelin, Black Flag & C.O.C. musical orgy, this lineup was ready to conquer, if they could only keep their demons in check. Job was face to face with impending jail time for two drug possession charges in '01 & '02, but was given consecutive probations and a suspended sentence. Within a month the band was shopping a fresh demo and signed a new deal with The Music Cartel/Rise Above in early 2003. Locking themselves in the studio for 13 days with a van load of whisky, beer and freshly mixed chemicals, the band emerged with the classic Nelson Ayers produced drug-rock opus "On High". During the final night of recording, the band was joined in the studio by old bud Chris Caffery (who by this time was riding the Trans-Siberian train to superstardom) for a scorching rendition of UFO's Rock Bottom. Two months and sixteen gigs later, the new & "highly" improved Murder 1 found themselves on a national tour with Clutch & Mastadon! The DEA however, were not fans, as Job was arrested again in '04, forcing another M1 hiatus. Frustated and battling his own demons, Iceberg quit the band briefly to join Symphony X frontman Russell Allan's side project Atomic Soul, but was convinced to rejoin Murder 1 a month later. The band briefly restarted the engine in '05 by writing a batch of masterful new material, tentatively titled "Deathwish" but the monkey was clinging hard to Murder 1's back, as Will Naga was jailed for possessing some of the highest 'grade' the NYPD has ever sniffed out. A few months later, Iceberg was charged with the first of two DUI's and Job was chased down & arrested in Passaic for multiple parole violations. Murder 1 was spiraling downward & the band was forced to take even more time off to clean up it's act. Things nearly ended for all time in early '06 as Job flipped his convertible over the guardrail of the New York State Thruway, nearly killing himself and his longtime girlfriend . A regrouping of sorts took place in early '07 as this now 'desperate band' began gigging in NYC and picking up the pieces of the broken "Deathwish" aka "Escape From New York" sessions. In the meantime, Job became consumed in a fevered rock & roll work ethic and formed the 'psychedelic drug-punk cocktail' known as The Drugstore Cowboys with Iceberg and old friends Jimi Cucu Crazycat & Speed Kreature. A CD titled "E.C.H.O." will eventually see the light of day. Job also cleaned up his act just in time to join New Jersey blues/metal supergroup The Cursed alongside Overkill's Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth, Hades' Dan Lorenzo and Non Fiction's Mike Cristi, and released the "Room Full of Sinners" CD on Locomotive Music in late 2007. But like a great love affair or addiction, Murder 1 have waged war with thier collective demons and once again slowly risen from the dead! After playing a few dozen gigs in 2008, M1 completed two titanic projects in early '09. The first being the Job produced 18 song Live CD titled SPEED KINGS LIVE! This "retrospective" concert release will go down in the annals of NY/NJ rock & roll history as either a brilliant career rejuvenation (or) stand as a sonic death knell for all things metal-punk influenced. Secondly, the "Chinese Democracy" of the tri-state area, Murder 1's "Escape From New York" will finally see the light of day in early summer 2009! Those close to the M1 camp say it's a combined masterwork effort of progressive punk musicianship, teary eyed vocals, east coast drug culture lyrics and straight up pop-rock production. Recorded by Iceberg & Ben Elliot, this long awaited follow-up to "On High" features some well known live standards like "Country Girl", and "Deathwish", some totally unexpected aural emotional flings such as "Maria", "Desperate Man" and "Murder 1 (The Charge I Heed)", as well as a special "Iceberg adapted" David Bowie cover "Suffragette City", that was also featured on the official NYC/NJ Bowie Trbute CD "Heroes". "Escape From New York" is an 11 song golden nugget of Rock & Roll handiwork from a band who has been around a New York City block as well as in the New York City tombs time & time again! Rumor has it, Murder 1 will soon announce a series of headline shows where the band will play the EFNY opus from start to finish, before galloping into a set of old school classics!
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