Marilyn Manson Biography
Love
him or hate him, the self-proclaimed "Antichrist
Superstar" Marilyn Manson was indisputably among
the most notorious and controversial entertainers of the
1990s.
Celebrated by supporters as a crusader for free speech
and denounced by detractors as little more than a poor
man's Alice Cooper, Manson was the latest in a long line
of shock rockers, rising to the top of the charts on a
platform of sex, drugs and Satanism. Though widely dismissed
by critics, his brand of metal nevertheless struck a major
chord with the youth market -- on the strength of a masterfully
orchestrated marketing campaign, he became a mainstream
anti-hero, much to the chagrin of conservative politicians
and concerned parents. Manson was born Brian Warner in
Canton, Ohio; at the age of 18, he relocated to Tampa
Bay, Florida, working there as a music journalist. In
1989, he became friends with guitarist and fellow outsider
Scott Mitchell; they decided to form a band, with Mitchell
rechristening himself Daisy Berkowitz and Warner adopting
the name Marilyn Manson [play
at MansonPoker.com].
With the addition of bassist Gidget Gein and keyboardist
Madonna Wayne-Gacy, the group -- originally dubbed Marilyn
Manson and the Spooky Kids -- begin self-releasing cassettes
and playing gigs, their Gothic stage show notable for
Manson's elaborate make-up and homemade special effects.
Jettisoning their drum machine in favor of one Sara Lee
Lucas, the band's sound began taking on a harder edge,
and by 1992 they were among the most popular acts in the
South Florida area. In 1993, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor
came calling, offering both a contract with his Nothing
Records label as well as the chance to open for NIN the
following spring; Manson accepted both offers, and the
group's debut LP, Portrait of an American Family, appeared
during the summer of 1994. With new bassist Twiggy Ramirez
replacing Gein, the group's notoriety began to soar --
most infamously, during an appearance in Salt Lake City,
Manson ripped apart a copy of the Book of Mormon while
on-stage. The Church of Satan's founder Anton LaVey also
bestowed upon him the title of "Reverend."
While some onlookers dismissed Manson's behavior as crass
audience manipulation, his cult following -- comprised
almost entirely of disaffected white suburban teens --
continued to swell, and with the release of the 1995's
Smells Like Children EP the band broke into the mainstream,
propelled by their hit cover of the Eurythmics' "Sweet
Dreams (Are Made of This)." Berkowitz quit a short
time later, and was replaced by guitarist Zim Zum; their
next LP, 1996's Antichrist Superstar, debuted at the number
three spot on the pop album charts. As Manson's popularity
grew, so did the furor surrounding him -- his concerts
were regularly picketed by civic groups, and his music
was the subject of widespread attacks from the right-wing
and religious fronts. Again, however, his quick embrace
of the media spotlight called into question the true sincerity
of his revolutionary aims -- with a cover story in Rolling
Stone and a best-selling autobiography, The Long Hard
Road Out of Hell, some onlookers doubted whether Manson
had sold his soul to Satan, or just sold his soul, period.
The glam-inspired Mechanical Animals followed in 1998,
with the resulting tour yielding the live Last Tour on
Earth a year later.
Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) came
out at the end of 2000. The band toured to support the
album in 2001 and during a July show in Michigan, Manson
was charged with criminal sexual conduct after performing
an alleged offensive act on a security guard. December
saw Manson's version of "Tainted Love" appear
on the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack while another
security guard filed a civil suit alleging Manson had
rubbed his pelvis on the guard's head. The July 2001 sexual
conduct charges were lowered to a misdemeanor in January
of 2002 and the civil suit was dropped soon after. May
of 2003 saw the release of The Golden Age of Grotesque,
which spent a week on top of the album charts and ended
up on more than a few critics' year-end Top Ten lists.
In April of 2004 the album Lunch Boxes and Choklit Cows
appeared, credited to Marilyn Manson & the Spooky
Kids -- Spooky Kids being the name of Manson's earliest
band. Manson fought the release and court-ordered some
artwork removed that was too close to the art to which
the singer owned the copyright. At the end of September
the Lest We Forget collection was released, covering the
highlights of Manson's career and including a new cover
version of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus."
After his marriage with model Dita Von Teese went downhill,
Von Teese effectively left Marilyn and moved out of his
house. Manson sunk into a bit of depression, and was subject
to "the classic rock and roll scenario of people
robbing me behind my back", as Manson himself put
it. Marilyn left his studio environment and got a fully-furnished
studio home, where he could literally "write a song,
walk down two doors and record it." Commenting on
the new creative environment, Manson feels "liberated."
Marilyn plans on releasing a new album, "Eat Me,
Drink Me" and has released a song from it titled
"If I Was Your Vampire". Marilyn's full intention
thru-out the album is to seduce someone, but he hasn't
mentioned who. Marilyn and his band will be performing
a World Tour upon the release of the new album.
Source: http://www.marilynmanson.com