Chaotica (band)

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Chaotica
Origin	Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA
Genre(s)	Industrial rock Alternative rock Industrial metal
Years active	1997 – Present
Label(s)	Cold Fusion Records
Website	www.chaoticamusic.com
Members
Danny Chaotic Gary Toth Jeff-X Ratprick
Former members
Shane Semler Johnny Evil

Chaotica is a U.S. based industrial rock band created by Danny Chaotic, who writes, performs, produces, and records the majority of the music on the band's albums and studio recordings.^[1] Originally formed in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1997,^[1] Chaotica offers high-energy music composed of a combination of elements from industrial, nu metal, techno, dance, and alternative rock music genres. Chaotica also consists of a live act, with active band members residing in various states throughout the U.S.

Contents 1 Studio Recording 2 Career 3 Music Style 4 Live 4.1 Members 4.1.1 Current members 4.1.2 Previous Members 5 Discography 5.1 Albums 5.2 Singles 5.3 Compilations 5.4 Music Videos 6 Band History: At a Glance 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Studio Recording

Chaotica's approach to the creative songwriting process is likened to other "one-man-band" models,^[2] such as Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails or Klayton of Celldweller; however, the uniqueness of Chaotica's arrangement is in the collaboration of its members. Danny Chaotic, the band's main creative influence, resides in Phoenix, Arizona, yet collaborates with fellow out-of-state band members (and other contributors such as Patrick Korst, Indiana-based Producer and Studio Engineer) on recording projects via use of the Internet. By sending partially recorded songs through the Internet, the band members are able to record their own studio performances, thereby effectively contributing to the project. The full band has never actually recorded music in the same physical location, but has often regrouped to rehearse, perform live concerts, and participate in music videos.

[edit] Career

Chaotica has achieved notable successes throughout their career, thus far. The band has been featured in several national trade magazines,^[3] including CMJ, Virtually Alternative, and Radio & Records, and has been featured in compilation albums^[1] including the Modrox and Virtually Alternative samplers (containing new artists added to commercial radio rotation), BLC Productions: Annihilation & Seduction,^[4]and charted on several Internet music download websites, including the original MP3.com,^[5] IUMA,^[6] and MySpace Music.^[7] The band has produced three music videos, two full length albums and one remix album, achieved national commercial and college radio airplay, and was selected to appear on the eXtreme Essentials compilations for 4 years in a row (eXtreme Essentials are CD compilations containing artists chosen by a competitive city-wide music competition hosted by Fort Wayne commercial radio stations WEJE / WXTW).

Most notably is Chaotica's work with industrial rock band gODHEAD, in which Chaotica contributed a remix of gODHEAD's remake of "Eleanor Rigby," which appeared on their EP "Eleanor Rigby Remixed,"^[8] released by Marilyn Manson's now defunct record company, Posthuman Records and Priority Records (parent company). Other contributing artists included Lords of Acid and Sonic State.

Chaotica's first single entitled "Unstable" from their Prison of Decay album was the band's first commercial "hit" when it charted in the Top 50 of the FMQB Alternative Specialty Airplay Charts in late 2007.^[1] It was played by commercial radio stations across the U.S., including XM Satellite Radio stations. The song's popularity helped the band to achieve a Top 20 position in the MySpace Music Charts^[7] within the "Top Industrial Artists in the U.S." category in 2007. Chaotica's official MySpace page brought in over 50,000 song plays and profile views and collected over 15,000 "fans" by 2008.^[3]

Chaotica is currently releasing music through Phoenix, Arizona-based indie record label and music publisher Cold Fusion Records.

[edit] Music Style

Chaotica's music is satirical in nature, with lyrical content known for exploiting the less desirable aspects of human nature.^[9] With subject matter ranging from exposing society's flaws, to the injustices endured by the innocent, Chaotica's uniqueness is in the delivery. Despite the dark subject matter, Chaotica's sound is uncharacteristically "upbeat," with catchy, almost danceable hooks and choruses that are atypical of the musical genres from which the band is representative. This unorthodox approach is not typically observed in traditional industrial or gothic rock genres, but is a notable characteristic of Chaotica's unique "cross-pollination" of musical styles.

Instrumentally, Chaotica's music is heavy, contains fast tempos, and is primarily percussion-driven. While remaining heavily based on the audio generated from synthesizers and mechanical-sounding programming, a more organic sound is achieved with the incorporation of distorted guitars playing heavy power chords, and raw, gritty vocals.

[edit] Live

Chaotica's live act has primarily performed in clubs across the Midwest, often filling venues to capacity due to their stage antics and theatrical special effects. Evidence of the band's high energy performance can be seen in their music video for the song Ultra Violence (released in 1999) which is composed entirely of footage from various live concert performances.^[10]

[edit] Members

[edit] Current members

• Danny Chaotic - Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
• Gary Toth - Lead Guitar
• Jeff-X - Drums
• Ratprick - Bass

[edit] Previous Members

• Shane Semler - Bass (ShadowJack / The Dark Aeons)
• Johnny Evil - Drums; Bass

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• Turbocharger (LP, 1999, Self-released)
• Offset Impact (LP, 2002, Self-released)
• Prison of Decay (LP, 2006, Cold Fusion Records)

[edit] Singles

• "Where Was God?" (EP, 2001, Self Released)
• "Eleanor Rigby" (Chaotica Remix)" (EP, gODHEAD: Eleanor Rigby Remixed, 2001, Posthuman Records / Priority Records)

[edit] Compilations

• Extreme Essentials Vol. 3 (WEJE Radio, 1999, featuring "Black Rose")
• Extreme Essentials Vol. 4 (WEJE Radio, 2000, featuring "Powerdrill")
• Virtually Alternative Vol. 127 (Virtually Alternative Magazine, 2001, featuring "Powerdrill")
• Modrox New Music Sampler Vol. 16 (2001, featuring "Powerdrill")
• Extreme Essentials Vol. 5 (WXTW Radio, 2001, featuring "Where Was God")
• Extreme Essentials Vol. 6 (WXTW Radio, 2002, featuring "Ultra Violence Remix")
• Annihilation & Seduction (BLC Productions, 2003, featuring "Ultra Violence")

[edit] Music Videos

• Ultra Violence (1999)
• Unstable (2007)
• When She Falls (2008)

[edit] Band History: At a Glance

Danny Chaotic created the Chaotica project in 1997 when he began writing industrial metal music for his first full length album, which would later be titled Turbocharger when it was independently released by Chaotica in 1999. Soon after, Danny Chaotic recruited talented local musicians to take Chaotica's music to the stage while living in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The original live band consisted of Danny Chaotic, Gary Toth, Shane Semler, and Johnny Evil.

Chaotica's live act began touring small clubs and concert venues in the Midwest, often filling clubs to capacity due to the band's high-energy performances and their utilization of lighting and video effects during live shows. Chaotica's live performances are known for wild stage antics, such as smashing computer keyboards on each other while continuing to perform, and throwing 6-foot inflatable phalli into the crowd.

For 4 years running, Chaotica won local radio contests to appear on compilation albums produced by area commercial alternative rock radio station X-102 WEJE (later known as WXTW) consisting of local talent. Chaotica released a music video for their first single "Ultra Violence" compiled from footage from their live performances.

Chaotica went on to record a stand-alone single entitled "Where Was God?," a darker song depicting the injustices of child sexual abuse, that won a spot on the WXTW compilation album "Extreme Essentials Vol. 5. Chaotica began receiving notable airplay from college and commercial radio stations from 2001-2002, especially when they released their limited-production remix album entitled Offset Impact.

Chaotica moved on to work with Marilyn Manson's now defunct record label "Posthuman Records" to remix the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" covered by the industrial rock band gODHEAD. Lords of Acid also contributed to the remix project. Following that, Danny Chaotic left Indiana and moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he began recording tracks for the band's second album, Prison of Decay, which was released by independent record label Cold Fusion Records in late 2006.

Chaotica finished Prison of Decay in August of 2006, but the first single from that album would not hit the airwaves until late 2007. "Unstable," the first single from Prison of Decay (published by Phoenix-based indie label, Cold Fusion Records) was a hit on commercial radio across the U.S. and charted in the Top 50 of the FMQB Alternative Radio Charts after getting specialty and regular rotation airplay on commercial stations including KUPD (Phoenix), KFMA (Tucson, AZ), KRQR (Chico, CA), WPLA (Jacksonville, FL), WTFX (Louisville, KY), WEND (Charlotte, NC), WSFM (Wilmington, NC), Waitt Radio Network, KTEG (Albuquerque, NM), WXEG (Dayton, OH), KACV (Amarillo, TX), KMRJ (San Diego, CA) and XM Squizz.

"Unstable"also garnered a strong show of support on the web, as it helped the band achieve over 50,000 song plays on MySpace, catapulting them into the Top 20 MySpace Industrial Artists in the U.S.

The music video for "Unstable," was also released in High Definition in 2007 and made its way across regional cable networks and retail stores nationwide. The video also was picked up by high profile video websites (like Rollingstone.com, AOL Music, and Yahoo! Launch) and achieved over 20,000 views on YouTube in a few days.

Soon to follow, Chaotica released "When She Falls" in 2008, their second single from Prison of Decay. The band scored an endorsement deal with Canadian clothing design company "Futurstate" and featured their clothes in the high-definition music video for "When She Falls."

CHAOTICA is currently releasing music through indie label Cold Fusion Records via a non-exclusive publishing agreement.

[edit] References

Additional Sources:
1. Chaotica Press Kit. Chaotica Press Kit. Cold Fusion Records. Retrieved on June 10, 2007
2. Chaotica One Sheet. Chaotica One Sheet. Cold Fusion Records. Retrieved on June 10, 2007

[edit] External links

• Official Chaotica Website
• Official MySpace Artist Page
• Chaotica Music Samples
• Chaotica Music Videos
• Chaotica YouTube Channel
• UBL Listing
• Cold Fusion Records