Getting away with Professional Murder Music
Getting a major-label deal was easy for Professional Murder Music. The hard part was defining a style and finding the right combination of players.
“It took several years for me and (bassist) Jeff (Schartoff) to get this thing off the ground,” singer-keyboardist Roman Marisak said recently. “I had been in many bands before this, like Human Waste Project. I spent so much time writing and building my own studio. Then we found (guitarist) Brian (Harrah) and (drummer) Justin (Bennett), and everything clicked.
“We finally recorded our own EP in ’98 and sold it through the Internet and that started to create a buzz. And we toured with everybody – Static-X, Orgy, Fear Factory. We worked really hard.”
Signing with Geffen/Interscope took only three months. Before they even began work on their first album, they found themselves playing in 5,000-seat venues with Kid Rock and Powerman 5000.
“That really helped,” Marisak said. “It got some people to know us before we even had an album out. It made them go, ‘These guys are cool. I can’t wait till the record comes out.’ It built up an anticipation.”
The band’s self-titled debut LP came out on May 22. Produced by Toby Wright (Metallica, Alice in Chains), the album was mixed by Tom Lord-Alge (Peter Gabriel, Oasis) with Skinny Puppy’s Dave Ogilvie, and features contributions from Limp Bizkit producer DJ Lethal on keyboards, guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen of A Perfect Circle on “Fall Again” and Siouxsie & the Banshees cellist Knox Chandler on “Sleep Deprivation” and “Darker.”
Since the album’s release, PMM has toured with the likes of Staind, Cold and Monster Magnet.
“We’ve started to develop a following,” Marisak said. “That’s so gratifying, knowing people dig what we do.”
PMM ON THE WEB: Get hooked @ www.murdermusic.com.
About the Author
Gerry Galipault Gerry Galipault debuted Pause & Play online in October 1997. Since then, it has become the definitive place for CD-release dates — with a worldwide audience.
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