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Rozz Williams (born Roger Alan Painter November 6, 1963 – April 1, 1998) was an American vocalist and musician of several varieties, most famous for fronting the band Christian Death, then later Shadow Project with musician Eva O, though his main project throughout his career was the industrial Premature Ejaculation. He is also cited by some as a pioneer of the American Gothic scene as well as deathrock.

Other musical projects he was involved in include Premature Ejaculation, Daucus Karota, Heltir, and EXP. Williams also recorded several solo albums.

Biography [link]

Early life [link]

On November 6, 1963, Rozz Williams was born Roger Alan Painter in Pomona, California, and was raised in a strict Southern Baptist family with his three older siblings (one sister, two brothers) in Pomona, California. As a child, he was a fan of David Bowie, Roxy Music, T.Rex, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, and The New York Dolls. When he reached adolescence in the late 1970s, he became attracted to the punk rock music scene. In his teenage years, he found the name "Rozz Williams" on a Pomona gravestone and decided to use it as his own.

Performance in bands [link]

By the age of 16 he began performing in bands. He took the name of Rozz Williams from a gravestone he found in a Pomona cemetery. His first bands were called The Crawlers, No, then later The Upsetters. He sang and played the guitar, though the band never performed on stage. He then went on to form The Asexuals. In addition to being the lead vocalist, he played the organ and guitar, with Jill Emery also contributing vocals as well as playing bass, and Steve Darrow on drums. Their performances were limited to a few parties.

He then sang in a band called Daucus Karota with Mary Torciva on percussion and Jay on guitar. Jay and Williams then went on to form Christian Death in late 1979 with James McGearty and George Belanger. The name "Christian Death" was a play on words of the fashion designer Christian Dior. The band broke up temporarily in 1981, and Williams formed Premature Ejaculation with performance artist Ron Athey, with whom he had been living. After only a few live performances, including one which involved Athey eating a crucified road-kill cat, clubs began refusing to book them.

Williams then restarted Christian Death in the summer of 1981 with McGearty and Belanger, who also brought in guitarist Rikk Agnew, who had previously been with The Adolescents.

Agnew and Belanger left the group in 1982, with guitarist Eva Ortiz and drummer Rod China Figueroa stepping in as replacements for live performances. By the end of the year the band had broken up once again due to drug problems.

In 1983, Williams formed a new band under the Christian Death name, this time with former members of Pompeii 99, with whom Christian Death had performed at a live show the previous year. The new lineup consisted of Williams as frontman, Valor Kand on guitars, Gitane Demone on keyboards and providing backing vocals, Constance Smith on bass and David Glass on drums. Williams had been the only original member of Christian Death left when he departed the group in 1985, yet the remaining members continued to perform and release several albums under the original group name. The latter is commonly called Valor's Christian Death by Rozz's supporters since it was fronted by Valor Kand.

Williams released various material under different project names following his departure from the band; the first was Premature Ejaculation with Ron Athey, and then Shadow Project with Eva O, whom he married in San Francisco in 1987. The band lineup included Johann Schumann (bass) and also Barry Galvin and David Glass, both of who came from Valor's Christian Death. The name Shadow Project, was taken from the tests in Hiroshima following the nuclear bomb which left impressions or ‘shadows’, but no bodies.

Later on, Williams reformed Shadow Project with Eva O, Jill Emery (bass), Tom Morgan (drums), and Paris (keyboards). At the time, Rozz was increasingly falling under the influence of the philosophy of Charles Manson.

Williams also occasionally took part in Christian Death reunions during the late 1980s and early 1990s with Rikk Agnew, the guitarist on the band's first album. Williams and Eva O also released two new albums under the name Christian Death during the 1990s through Cleopatra Records, resulting in two bands being called Christian Death. Valor Kand had since acquired the legal rights to the band name, and for this reason Cleopatra was forced to release Rozz's albums as Christian Death featuring Rozz Williams.

In the summer of 1993, Shadow Project toured America. The band consisted of Williams, Eva, Paris, Mark Barone (bass) and Christian Omar Madrigal Izzo (drums). After this American tour, Eva O and Paris left the band to work on the Eva O Halo Experience CD Demons Fall for an Angel's Kiss. Shadow Project had come to an end; however a German tour for October had already been booked. Although all tickets, flyers and publicity for this tour would show Shadow Project, Williams had decided that the band name should change to Daucus Karota. He sang on the tour, Brian Butler was the guitarist, Mark Barone played bass and Christian Omar Madrigal Izzo was on drums. For one show Gitane Demone drove from her home in Amsterdam to Germany to meet up with Williams backstage. The Shrine EP by Daucus Karota was recorded in January 1994 with Mark Barone (bass), Chistian Omar Madrigal Izzo (drums) and Roxy (guitars). Daucus Karota returned to Europe for a month long European tour in November 1994, with Gitane Demone filling the support slot. The tour had Todd Dixon on drums, Mike Saavedra from Anal Kitties on bass and Brian Hansen on guitar. Brian had replaced Rolf Donath, who had been the guitarist for the band at shows in Los Angeles and Mexico during that summer.

In 1995, following his return from Europe, Williams joined forces with Paris and Ryan Wildstar to work on the spoken-word album, The Whorse's Mouth. The lyrics, co-written with Ryan Wildstar, chronicle a period of heroin addiction from which the two eventually escaped. Shortly following the recording of The Whorse's Mouth, Williams began playing bass for EXP, the musical troupe created by Paris and Ryan Wildstar. He went on to play bass on their self-titled debut album with bandmates Paris (keyboards), Ryan Wildstar (vocals), Doriandra (vocals), Ace Farren Ford (horns/violin), Justin Bennett (drums) and Ignacio Segovia (percussion).

Just a year before his death, Williams again paired up with Eva O to record the final Shadow Project album, From the Heart, an extremely intimate album with a notably stripped-down sound for the duo. He also recorded Wound of Exit, his last solo CD as Premature Ejaculation.

Painting, acting, and other interests [link]

In addition to his musical activities Williams had a keen interest in painting along with collaging, and several of his pieces have been exhibited. His attempts at establishing an acting career were less successful.

Death [link]

On April 1, 1998, Williams hanged himself in his West Hollywood apartment. His body was discovered by Ryan Wildstar, his friend and roommate of seven years. Also present were Sindie Ardia, his childhood friend and her husband (at that time) Sydney B. Lanex. Williams was 34. A memorial was held at the El Rey Theatre shortly after his death, and a small gathering of family and friends offered his ashes to the earth at Runyon Canyon Park in the Hollywood Hills.

Discography [link]

Christian Death (1979-1985, 1988-1994) [link]

• Death Wish EP (Fr. L'Invitation au Suicide) 1981
• Only Theatre of Pain (Frontier) 1982
• Catastrophe Ballet (Fr. L'Invitation au Suicide) 1984
• Ashes (Nostradamus) 1985
• The Decomposition of Violets (Contempo Records) 1990
• The Iron Mask (Cleopatra) 1992
• Skeleton Kiss EP (Cleopatra) 1992
• Stick A finger Down Its Throat (Vision Of Fire Music) 1992
• The Path of Sorrows (Cleopatra) 1993
• Iconologia (Triple X) 1993
• Sleepless Nights: Live 1990 (Cleopatra) 1993
• Invocations: 1981-1989 (Cleopatra) 1993
• The Doll's Theatre : Live OCT. 31. 1981 (Cleopatra) 1994
• The Rage of Angels (Cleopatra) 1994
• Tales of Innocence: A Continued Anthology (Cleopatra) 1994
• Death in Detroit (Cleopatra) 1995
• Death Mix (Cleopatra) 1996
• Death Club (Cleopatra) 2005

Shadow Project (1987-1998) [link]

• Shadow Project (Triple X) 1991
• Dreams for the Dying (Triple X) 1992
• Dead Babies/Killer (Triple X) Cassette 1992
• In Tuned Out — Live '93 (Triple X) 1994
• From the Heart (Hollows Hill Sound Recordings) 1998
• Shadow Project" 2005 (Release of demo handed around at shows circa 89)

Premature Ejaculation (1981-1998) [link]

• PE - Pt.1 (Happiest Tapes on Earth) Cassette 1981, double CD 2010
• PE - Pt.2 (Happiest Tapes on Earth) Cassette 1981, double CD 2010
• A Little Hard to Swallow (Malaise Music) Cassette 1982, double CD 2010
• Living Monstrocities/Descent (Happiest Tapes on Earth) Cassette 1985, double CD 2010
• Death Cultures (Happiest Tapes on Earth) Cassette 1987, CD 2010
• Assertive Discipline (Happiest Tapes on Earth) Cassette 1988, LP 1989, CD 1994
• Death Cultures III (Happiest Tapes on Earth) Cassette 1988
• Night Sweats (Happiest Tapes on Earth) Cassette 1988, CD 2010
• Blood Told in Spine (Happiest Tapes on Earth) Cassette 1988, LP 1991
• Death Cultures (Happiest Tapes on Earth) Cassette 1989
• Anesthesia (Dark Vinyl Records) CD 1992
• Necessary Discomforts (Cleopatra) CD 1993
• Estimating the Time of Death (Triple X) CD 1994
• Dead Horse Riddles (Malaise Music) Cassette 1994
• Error genetico (artificial hearing) 1995
• Wound of Exit (Hollows Hill Sound Recordings) double CD 1998

Happiest Place On Earth (1986) [link]

• Body of a Crow (Happiest Tapes on Earth) Cassette 1986, CD 2010

Daucus Karota (1979, 1986, 1993-94) [link]

• Shrine EP (Triple X) 1994

Heltir (1987-1998) [link]

• Il Banchetto Dei Cancri/VC-706 (Happiest Place on Earth) Cassette 1989
• 69 Rituals (Happiest Place on Earth) Cassette 1989
• Neue Sachlichkeit (Triple X) 1994

EXP [link]

• S/T (Hollows Hill Sound Recordings) 1996

Rozz Williams and Gitane Demone [link]

• Dream Home Heartache (Triple X) 1995

Rozz Williams (1992-1998) [link]

• Every King a Bastard Son (Cleopatra) 1992
• The Whorse's Mouth (Hollows Hill Sound Recordings) 1996
• Live In Berlin (Hollows Hill Sound Recordings) 2000
• Accept The Gift of Sin (live album) (Hollows Hill Sound Recordings) 2003
• "Flowers" on Projekt’s A Dark Cabaret compilation album 2005

Filmography [link]

• Pig (Cult Epics) 1998
• Cinema of Death

Notes [link]

External links [link]

• rozznet.com
• rozzwilliams.com
• Rozz Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• Rozz Williams at Find a Grave
• thebluehour.free.fr
• BluntGraffix.com - Rozz Williams