Fungal Infection: Mushroomhead Brings a Hardcore/rap Posse from Cleveland

It is called industrial metal. Some call it Nu Metal; regardless it is all about power. Big, heavy guitars with industrial beats and screaming distorted vocals. Put eight guys on stage with a gothic-vaudevillian look and names like “Skinny,” “Pig Benis” and “Gravy,” and give them guitars, drums, keyboards and turntables, and you end up with Cleveland-based Mushroomhead.
Mushroomhead began as a result of several Cleveland area musicians from various bands wanting to get together to jam. Since they were in other bands they decided to take the stage in painted faces and costumes. After a year they became a big hit and Cleveland’s most sought-after band. Eventually they left their other bands and began touring together.
Mushroomhead has come a long way since their humble beginnings. They have racheted their way to the top floor with a killer sound and magnetic stage presence. They make their first Northern Michigan appearance at Streeters’ Ground Zero nightclub Friday, December 10 and will be joined by local favorites Bad Monkey and Bile.

BLOGGER PANIC
Bands like Mushroomhead evoke controversy just by their mere presence. With one of the group’s two lead singers leaving the band a month ago to pursue other career interests, the group’s bloggers went into panic mode.
While group members won’t discuss the departure of founder and front man J Mann, they have said they wish him well and Mushroomhead will continue. A new singer known simply as Wayne from 3 Quarters Dead has replaced J Mann.
This isn’t the first time the group has had personnel changes in their 11-year history. They still maintain four of their original members including the group’s other singer, Jeffery Nothing, guitarist Bronson, keyboardist Shmotz and drummer Skinny who co-founded the band with J Mann. Bassist Pig Benis joined in 1995 and DJ Stitch and guitarist Gravy joined in 1997. So members were confident in their ability “power on” despite pulling out of a tour with the Insane Clown Posse earlier
this fall, furthering speculation of the
group’s demise.
Their first test was at their annual Halloween gig back in Cleveland. Hardcore fans turned out to see and hear how the band would sound. Mission accomplished, according to critics and bloggers who have reported that Mushroomhead continues to be explosive.
GOT IT ALL
Mushroomhead blends a two-guitar attack with techno beats while mixing rap/rock samples and a tribal drumming reverberation, creating an extreme eclectic sound. Combining their mechanized sound with permanent Halloween costuming and a psychotic stage presentation, they have built a huge worldwide following. A following that led them from obscurity at the Cleveland warehouse district to the international assembly line. Their popularity lead to signing with Universal Records and a two-album deal.
But Mushroomhead found that their style wasn’t compatible with major label politics and expectations. Despite the success of the group’s debut Universal release “XIII,” both parties opted out of working together on another project, leaving Mushroomhead with a label deal and furthering the speculation of the group’s future.
“We are not breaking up; parting ways with Universal was a business decision,” said Skinny. “We are busy on finishing up our DVD which will be out in early winter. For eight years we succeeded on an independent label. It will all work.”
The band has had precarious relationships with labels. In the 1990s when Mushroomhead was packing clubs and developing a huge underground following, fans wondered why the band couldn’t land a major label deal.
“It wasn’t that we couldn’t get a deal, it was getting the right deal,” said Skinny. “The offers were favoring the label and not us. That is where this issue with Slipknot came to the forefront – when we turned down Roadrunner Records in 1999 and they went searching.”

KNOTTY SITUATION
Slipknot denies that they copied Mushroomhead, but they formed in 1995, two years after Mushroomhead. In 1999, Slipknot changed its costuming, ending up with three outfits that were identical to Mushroomhead’s, including the bass player’s pig head. When Slipknot signed with Roadrunner in 1999, it became apparent to Mushroomhead and its fans that Roadrunner was looking to capture Mushroomhead’s success with a band willing to copy them.
“When you work for years developing your image and someone takes off without you, it is very discouraging,” said Skinny. “We never thought about giving up, just working harder.”
The working harder attitude has paid off. Despite questions of who copied whom, Mushroomhead has developed its image and, more importantly, a wider sound range than Slipknot.
“Everybody fights for what they want in a song,” said Skinny. “Everyone gets their way and that’s our strength. A song will start out sounding like metal until a cool piano part comes in or the turntables turn it into a rap song. We all bring our own tastes to the mix which gives the music diversity.”

CATCH IT LIVE
Mushroomhead definitely falls into the category of one of those bands who must be seen live to fully experience their music. Their stage show enlivens their music. Like a psychological movie thriller, fans are drawn in, standing and shouting in anticipation as to what will happen next.
Group members remember it wasn’t always that way.
“Yeah, in the beginning, I think it was our second show people were yelling ‘you suck’ and ‘get off the stage.’ We were wondering if it was going to work,” said Skinny. “We would have shows where only 25 people would show and we had 27 on the guest list, so we had some doubts, but we kept going because we all were in these other serious bands.”
Now Mushroomhead has become the serious band. The intensity is still there, as is the passion. Any doubts to this will be resolved Friday night. Doors open at 8 p.m. with Bile and Bad Monkey taking the stage first. Tickets are available in advance online at www.streetersonline.com or by calling the box office at (231) 932-1300.
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