|
In February 1993,
out of the ashes of a band called Mr. Meaner, Bangcock
was formed. The members were: Rick Von Lienen on guitar and vocals;
Tom Ehlts on guitar and vocals; Marcus Allann on drums and vocals;
Bob Mays on bass. Rick, formerly of Mr. Meaner, never
broke stride in the move, but many changes were yet to be made.
Four months later, Bob was gone and Brad Martens took over the
bass chores. But his time in the band was also short lived. Before
the end of 1993, Eric Lee would do his first stint in this band.
Bangcock marched on until May
1994, when Tom Ehlts announced that he was moving to another
level and left the band. He was replaced by Tomas T, from Over
the Limit. Then the band began to gel. Songs were being written,
and audiences were being rocked. In March 1995, personal problems
took their tool on Eric Lee, and he left the band. He was replaced
by Barton Peterson. April 1995 saw the beginning issue of the
Bangcock Insider, a newsletter dedicated to the fans.
A fan club was also started, which has proved to be very loyal.
It was that same summer, Marcus Allann decided to leave the band.
Drummer Fast Freddie Seltrecht, who's past bands include Vicious
Circle, joined in adding his thunderous pounding to the group.
Before the end of June 1995, opportunities forced another change
in the band. Eric Lee rejioned the band for a trip to Kansas
City.
It was at this point that the band decided
to change the name. After a long debate, Doktor Maxx was
chosen. With a new name, it was also time to begin recording
a CD, which would eventually be called Klowns of God.
Recording began in April 1996, but health reasons forced Eric
to bow out of the band before it could be completed. Enter Hodgy,
the virile young bassist from Sick.
Several mixes ,many months, and thousands
of dollars later, the CD was finally pressed. Released in February
of 1998, the disc is round and shiny on one side, with a spell-binding
Doktor on the other. Opening with "Eyre Via Sentience"
before blasting into the favorite set opener "Feel it
Comin", the band takes no prisoners. Klowns Of God
is filled with bombastic rockers like "Hungry"
and "Not For The Money", and powerhouse stomp-a-longs
such as "Rubicon". Fast Freddie's "Fun
In A Bottle" fades a vomiting Hodgy into the lush keyboard
heavy intro of "Cryin' Out For Love". Rounding
out the disc is the majestic "Embrace The Shine",
a fitting denoumont to the journey which is Klowns Of God.
Not only does Doktor Maxx
have their debut CD under their belt as a testament of their past and
an oracle of the things to come, they also live their lives LIVE, by putting
on a monstrous, non-stop live show. Blending the hot cuts of the CD with
some ass-kicking cover songs, this band is something to see. The interplay
between members makes you want to get involved, compared to many bands
that look as if they took a whiskey chaser with their Quaaludes before
they went on stage. Rick and Tomas T's guitars create a wall of sound
over Fast Freddie's chest-pounding drums. Hodgy never stops moving, bouncing,
running, beating the shit out of his bass. It only gets better and better.
|