The Undead

The Undead
Background information
Origin New York, NY
Genres Horror punk, punk rock, hardcore punk
Years active 1980–present
Labels Stiff, Post Mortem
Associated acts Misfits
Members Bobby Steele
(See #Lineups)
Past members (See #Lineups)

The Undead is an American horror punk band formed in October 1980 in the East Village, New York City by Bobby Steele (vocals and guitar), Chris "Jack" Natz (bass) and Patrick Blanck (drums). Steele (then of the Misfits) and Natz had been playing with drummer Richie Matalia as a side project called the Skabs. When Matalia departed and Steele was fired from his main band the Misfits, the trio of Steele, Natz and Blanck formed the Undead.[1]

History

The Undead live in Indianapolis, Indiana, 2000

The Undead released their first EP, 9 Toes Later, in 1982. A few months later, Natz and Blanck left the band, replaced by Brian "Payne" Aliano on bass and Bobby Savage on drums. This lineup released the "Verbal Abuse" single in 1983. Steve Zing (of Mourning Noise and later Samhain) then took over as drummer. Between 1983 and 1986, Aliano and Zing performed with the band intermittently, while many other musicians played in the Undead for short periods. Aliano and Zing finally quit the band in December 1986.

The Undead have released numerous singles and EPs. Their full-length studio albums include Act Your Rage (1989), Til Death (1998), Dawn of the Undead (1991) and The Morgue, The Merrier (2015), as well as a 2007 full-album cover version of the Misfits' 12 Hits From Hell, released only as a download. The group went on hiatus from live performance between late 2002 and early 2006.

Return of the Undead

The Undead returned to the music scene in 2006 with a lineup of Steele on guitar and vocals, Joel Gausten on drums and Joff Wilson on bass. They played CBGB on Saint Patrick's Day (also Steele's 50th birthday) as well as a free show at Tompkins Square Park in June of that year. September 2006 saw the remastered rerelease of Dawn of the Undead. Band profits were used to fund Steele's lawsuit against his landlord who allegedly ignored his demands to fix weather-related water damage to Steele's apartment. Wilson left the band in July 2007, and Gausten in September 2008 (the latter became involved in the experimental project Effectionhate).

The Undead recorded their own version of the infamous "lost" Misfits album, 12 Hits from Hell, and made the full recording available as a stream on the band's website on October 31, 2007. This release was quickly followed by a new single, a cover of the Misfits' "Halloween", on Germany's No Balls Records.

Former drummer Blanck (who later played in the bands Damage, Virus and the Blacksnakes) died on January 2, 2001 in a diving accident in the Dominican Republic. Ex-bassist Roxy Michaels died in 2005. Original bassist Natz later played in Virus, the Blacksnakes and Cop Shoot Cop.

Steele released a solo album called Bobby in 2009. He reformed the Undead again in late 2012 with Paul Mauled (bass), Serial Bill Gotta (drums) (of the Bad Whoremoans) and Diana Steele (keys and vocals). In 2015, Boris was recruited to play drums. The band released the album "The Morgue... The Merrier" in October 2015. In 2016, Ryan Switzer (bass and vocals) and Joe Stoker (drums) joined the band. In spring 2017, the Undead announced that they are currently working on a new EP, titled Having an Undead Summer.[2]. As of May 2017, the band's lineup had changed to include bassists Jason Fresta and Johnny James Gatyas, replacing Switzer.[3][4]

Releases

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Lineups

Current lineup


Former members

Guitarists

Bassists

Drummers

References

  1. ↑ https://jgtwo.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/undead-singerguitarist-bobby-steele-the-jg2land-interview/
  2. ↑ http://theundead.com/?page_id=1602
  3. ↑ http://theundead.com/?page_id=1602
  4. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheUndeadband/about/
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