| Thought Industry | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Kalamazoo, Michigan USA |
| Genres | Avant garde metal Progressive metal Experimental music |
| Years active | 1989 – 2001 |
| Labels | Metal Blade Records |
| Members | |
| Brent Oberlin Mike Roche Jeff Borkowski Cam Taylor Mark Baldwin |
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| Past members | |
| Dan Roe Steve Spaeth Enzio Christopher Lee Herb Ledbetter Dustin Donaldson Jared Bryant |
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American progressive metal band Thought Industry (formerly named "Desecrater") in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1989 by vocalist/bassist Brent Oberlin, drummer Dustin Donaldson (who formed I Am Spoonbender in 1997), guitarist Christopher Lee Simmonds (aka Christopher Lee), and guitarist Steve Spaeth who replaced original Desecrater guitarist, Dan Roe. Spaeth left the band due to internal conflicts with Simmonds and started the band Clockmaker. The position was filled by guitarist Paul Enzio in time for 1992's "Songs For Insects", their Metal Blade Records debut. This was followed up by Mods Carve The Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh. 1996's Outer Space Is Just a Martini Away subsequently saw a significant change in the band's sound and lineup when Donaldson was replaced by Jared Bryant. Oberlin switched to guitar and Bassist Herb Ledbetter was added. Thought Industry continued to strip down their lineup and sound with 1997's moody "Black Umbrella", which saw the departure of Lee. Bryant, Enzio and Ledbetter also left the band in 1999 which prompted Oberlin to assemble an entirely new lineup for 2001's magnum opus Short Wave on a Cold Day. Engineer Mike Roche, who recorded Black Umbrella and filled in on bass from time to time, was added as a full time guitarist along with drummer Cameron Taylor, bassist Mark Baldwin and guitarist/keyboardist Jeff Borkowski.
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[1] Christopher Lee Simmonds continued on to perform as a singer/songwriter in the Chicago area through 1996. Simultaneously recording with Filter on 1997's "Title of Record". Simmonds also recorded 2 solo albums, toured the mid-west and east coast through late 2007 and re-located to Baltimore Maryland that September. There Simmonds established himself as a studio engineer and producer of many projects. Most notable would be Good Charlotte, Jimi's Chicken Shack, Marcy Playground, Underfoot, Bullhead and most of the local scene. Simonds continued on with his progressive metal nature and created what most consider to be the continuation of Thought Industry, Bullhead. Bullhead is a culmination of the most extreme of Simmonds' work. "Bullhead is the greatest musical outlet I have ever had! I can do what ever I want, however I want and it just gets better and better." ~Simmonds said in his first interview in more than 8 years with Metal Heads Magazine in the spring issue 2006.
As of November 2007, Simmonds is performing with his newest band, [2] The Static Dynamic, based out of Boston Massachusetts. There is a 10 song CD (self titled) distributed by Tunecore through iTunes and Rhapsody. Simmonds is currently recording the 2nd album from The Static Dynamic while performing weekly and embarking on the occasional east coast tour. Simmonds continues to perform as a solo singer/songwriter in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia on a regular basis.
As a singer for Cosmonaut, Oberlin released “Pipebomb Full of Nails” in 2004. Cosmonaut’s debut release was on Swollen Lip Records located in Ann Arbor, MI.
Their bio from cosmonautweb.com states:
Two assholes from Lansing (Jamesen’s Brian George and Josh Stacey) met another from Grand Rapids (The Veronica Speedwell’s Rodney Johnson), and schemed about a rock-band; but they didn’t have a singer. The aforementioned contacted an asshole from Kalamazoo (Thought Industry’s Brent Oberlin). The Michigan quartet named the group Cosmonaut after minutes of heated debate.
There do not appear to be any new tour dates or news more recent than 2004.
| Year | Title | Label |
| 1993 | Gelatin 7" | Metal Blade |
| Year | Title | Label |
| 1998 | Recruited To Do Good Deeds For The Devil | Metal Blade |