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The Birthday Massacre (sometimes abbreviated as TBM) is a Canadian synthrock band, formed in 1999 in London, Ontario and currently based in Toronto, Ontario.
The current lineup consists of Chibi (vocals), Falcore (guitars), Rainbow (guitars), Owen (synthesizers), Nate Manor (bass) and Rhim (drums).When the band formed in 1999, they were known as Imagica.
This name was inspired from the fantasy novel Imajica (1991) by Clive Barker.
In 2002 they changed their name to The Birthday Massacre in order to avoid confusion with another group.So far, TBM have released five studio albums: Nothing and Nowhere (2002), Violet (2005), Walking With Strangers (2007), Pins and Needles (2010), and Hide and Seek (2012).They also issued the DVD Blue (2005), the live album/DVD Show and Tell (2009), and the EPs Violet (2004), Looking Glass (2008), Imaginary Monsters (2011).Imagica (1999-2001)The group originated in London, Ontario, under the name Imagica with members using pseudonyms and nicknames instead of their birth names.
The group's original lineup formed when Rainbow met Chibi at Fanshawe College, studying in the same fine-arts program.
After having dinner one night the two decided to start a band for fun as they were already hanging around writing music together.
Rainbow recruited childhood friend Michael Falcore to join on guitar since they had already been recording music together in high school.
Aslan, who was also attending the same college, became roommates with Rainbow and joined on bass.
In mid 2000, Dank, a long-time friend of Chibi's, joined to play live keyboards but left the group shortly before they relocated to Toronto.After months of rehearsals and writing songs, they played their first gig on October 28, 2000, at Diversity night club in London.
The band released a seven-song limited-edition demo CD at the show which had been recorded on a four-track cassette recorder during a time when the group was recording cover songs for fun.
There were 40 hand-numbered copies of the demo which included the first recorded version of the song "The Birthday Massacre" (later renamed "Happy Birthday").During this time, the band also met Rhim, Owen and Brett Carruthers who all attended the same college.
In addition to this, later in October 2006, Terry McManus, Professor of Music Business and Entertainment Law at Fanshawe College, would join as the band's personal manager.Since its inception, The Birthday Massacre have described the band as an audio-visual project.
In a 2009 interview, when asked about why they had started the band, Rainbow stated: "I think more than just being a band, it's a way to sort of incorporate, not just music, but other things.
So I think more so than just music, the idea of having a band, and being able to perform, and being able to do artwork, to do music...
all these different avenues." Neither Rainbow, Chibi nor Michael Falcore had been in any previous bands and have expressed in multiple interviews that the group formed naturally as a result of spending time together as friends.Nothing & Nowhere (2001–03)In 2001, the band relocated to Toronto, except for Michael Falcore who was already living in Toronto studying video production.
They began recording a new album which they announced would be available through the official website beginning May 31, 2002, in another limited edition of 500 to 1,000.Shortly before releasing the CD, the band opted to change their name from Imagica to The Birthday Massacre in order to avoid confusion with a California metal band with the same name.
The band chose the name "The Birthday Massacre" since people were already familiar with the song of the same title.In July 2002, The Birthday Massacre independently released a limited-edition CD entitled Nothing and Nowhere.
In 2003, Adm joined the band on live keyboards and O.E left to focus on his own band Tepid Lust, later to become Isle of Dogs.The band began playing more live shows in London, Toronto, Oshawa and Montreal.
Rhim was drumming for the band during these years, rotating between playing for fellow London band Aphasia.On February 9, 2005, Rhim posted on his LiveJournal that he was now a permanent member of The Birthday Massacre and that the band has his "110%unwavering, full-throttle, metronomic fabulousness...now 24-7."2003 also saw the creation of the band's Flash website NothingAndNowhere.com., designed by Aslan and the band which included unreleased music and hidden objects throughout the site.While studying fine arts, the group learned about color theory and chose the color violet to represent the band's themes.
Rainbow said in an early interview: "Violet is the color of the tragic comedy.
We associate it with fantasy and melancholy.
These themes make up much of the band's lyrical inspiration.
The color also mirrors our sound dynamic.
Our music mixes contrasting elements.
In turn, violet is the sum of two contrasting colors: Red and Blue." The band established their signature sound and visuals during this time and later when they signed to their labels retained complete artistic freedom.Violet (2004–06)On July 20, 2004, The Birthday Massacre again independently released an EP, Violet, and at the end of the year, re-released Nothing with new sleeve artwork.
In the fall of 2004, Kai Schmidt, former member of electronic group Funker Vogt, signed the band to his label in Germany.
They released a remastered and expanded LP version of Violet in Europe, including updated album art in a Digipak case.
Adm left the band shortly before signing to Repo Records and can be seen in the original group photo on the nine song EP but is absent in the Digipak and LP version.
In 2004, Brett Carruthers briefly joined the band on live keyboards.
2004 saw the band touring outside of Canada for the first time, playing the states of NY, OH, IN, MI, IL, VA, PA and MD performing with American bands 51 Peg, Deadstar Assembly, Celldweller and Crossbreed.In 2005, the band signed to Metropolis Records and re-released Violet.
In August, the band began a series of international tours taking them to Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Hungary, Czech Republic, Belgium, Spain and UK.
Also in August the band released a DVD with the video for Blue by Dan Ouellette.
Owen joined on keyboards first assuming the name Waffles, then O-en, then finally using his given name.
Owen previously met The Birthday Massacre when playing in another band called Electric Knife Fight and joined just after the Blue filming was completed and therefore missed making an appearance in the video.
On New Year's Eve the band performed in Los Angeles, California, at Bar Sinister.In early 2006, the Birthday Massacre toured North America, playing across Canada, the United States and Mexico on their "Broken Minds" tour sharing the stage with KMFDM, Schoolyard Heroes, Suicide City and The Start.
They toured Europe again with bands Das Ich, Jesus on Extasy and Dope Stars Inc; playing in France, Italy, and Poland's Castle Party 2006.
Through its European debut, "Violet" was seen as the new hope in the alternative scene and ranked high in the alternative charts.
In several countries, the band made it onto the front pages of magazines; performing at some of Germany's largest music festivals, including the annual Highfeild and M'era Luna summer festivals.
Also in 2006 the band recorded a remix of the song Straight to Video by Mindless Self Indulgence.
Later in 2008, the band would record a second remix, this time of the song Never Wanted to Dance with the addition of Chibi's vocals.Walking With Strangers, Looking Glass, and Show and Tell (2007-09)On January 1, 2007, a demo version of the song "Kill the Lights" was released for streaming on the band's Vampirefreaks profile, which remained for several years the number one ranked profile for the highest amount of listeners.
In June, the band announced it was working on a new record with Canadian producer and engineer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie and that Aslan was leaving to start a new project and that O.E would be returning to the lineup on bass duties.
In August, the band began planning a new video to be directed again by Dan Ouellette.On September 11, 2007, the band released Walking with Strangers in North America, entering at No.
10 on the Billboard "Top Heatseekers" chart for September 29.
The album was released in Europe on September 21 and in the UK on 22 October.
Artwork was created by JUNO Award winner, Vincent Marcone of Johnny Hollow.
In October and November, the band toured Europe and the U.K with German band Psycho Luna, and during a performance in Hamburg, a film crew taped the performance, a recording which would later become the "Show and Tell" live recording after being remixed and edited.Primary filming of the Looking Glass video took place February 10–11, 2008 directed by Dan Ouellette.
Extras were culled from The Birthday Massacre’s fan base and all 35 masks were handcrafted.
The Looking Glass video was released on the band's official YouTube channel on April 1, 2008 and distributed as a video data file on the Looking Glass EP which was released in May 2008.
It contained several remixes by high-profile electronic artists such as Dean Garcia, Jamie Miller and Dave Ogilvie.
Beginning in June, the band embarked on a large American tour, opening up for Mindless Self Indulgence, and sharing shows with Julien-K, Fake Shark - Real Zombie!, London After Midnight and Combichrist.
They would further tour America with bands Tub Ring, Hollowboy and Creature Feature.
November 2008 also saw the band touring Australia for the first time.On May 5, 2009, the band released their Show And Tell CD, featuring 16 live tracks from their show in Hamburg, Germany, filmed at Knust, which occurred during their 'Walking With Strangers' European Tour in 2007.
The DVD portion of the show was released on October 2, 2009, in Europe and in North America on February 9, 2010.
Chibi can be heard in the opening seconds of the performance saying Hi Everyone!.
During the summer of 2009, Chibi recorded vocals for former WWE Diva Katie Lea Burchill's entrance theme, "Hurt You".During the spring and summer of 2009, the band went on tour with bands I Am Ghost and Dommin in both North America and Europe.
In late July 2009, the band was featured on a contest called 'Book The Band', at Virgin Mobile Festival, which took place online and allowed fans to vote repeatedly.
On August 17, The Birthday Massacre was declared winner of the contest and was given 100 tickets to hand out to the most devote fans who voted for the band.
They performed at the festival on August 30, 2009, held at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD.
Chibi stated in an interview, that since the band is unable to write while touring, the band took a year off to write and record a new album.Pins and Needles and Imaginary Monsters (2010-12)In early July, the band shot a video for "In The Dark" which was directed by Michael Falcore and Rodrigo Gudiño, founder and publisher of Rue Morgue Magazine.
It premiered on August 28, 2010, as part of Rue Morgue's Festival of Fear and was released to the general public on YouTube on September 7, 2010.
The video pays homage to A Nightmare on Elm Street and Legend among other Horror and Fantasy films.On September 14, 2010, The Birthday Massacre released the album, Pins and Needles which was recorded in Toronto and in a basement studio in Dundas, Ontario, hometown of Rainbow and Michael Falcore.
The album marked the first time the band released all new material on an album and was produced differently from previous albums by using the same guitar and drums tones on each track.
Album artwork was created by Vincent Marcone, as well as artwork contributions from Natalie Shau, and Aslan.
The album artwork also differed in that it broke from the traditional silhouette art found on other releases.The band toured America opening up for Otep in July and August then in October toured the UK with fellow Canadian act Raggedy Angry.
In November, they continued touring America on a co-headlining run with Black Veil Brides, along with Dommin and Aural Vampire as supporting acts.
The band also made a lineup change by adding Nate Manor, formally of Wednesday 13, to replace O.E on bass.
The tour's setlist featured five to six tracks off of Pins and Needles, with "Always" and "Midnight" rotating during different shows.
2010 also saw the launch of the band's new website TheBirthdayMassacre.com created by Owen and the group.
Later that year, Owen would also co-create a new online comic strip called "Disappointing Monsters".In early 2011, the band played the Opera House as part of JUNOFEST with fellow Toronto band Die Mannequin and Montreal band Ariel.
On May 21, 2011, The Birthday Massacre announced that Imaginary Monsters would be released on August 9, 2011, through Metropolis Records.
Later in the summer it was announced that the band would be the support act for an upcoming North American tour by artful Japanese metal band Dir En Grey beginning in December.
On August 4, 2011 the band released the Imaginary Monsters EP to listen to in full on their Myspace profile.
Imaginary Monsters includes remixes of tracks from their 2010 album Pins and Needles by Combichrist, SKOLD, Kevvy Mental & Dave Ogilvie, Tweaker, and Assemblage 23.
The EP also features the video for In The Dark.
On November 29, 2011, the band embarked on a small headlining tour across Southeastern United States and on December 4, 2011, joined as the supporting act for Dir En Grey.Hide and Seek (2012-13)Hide and Seek was recorded between January and July in 2012 and was released on October 9, 2012.
The band was on tour supporting the new album through early December 2012 with William Control, Aesthetic Perfection, and Creature Feature.An instrumental track titled "Night Shift" was made available as a free download at Rue Morgue.
According to M.
Falcore, the track is a homage to John Carpenter movie soundtracks and will be used as the band's intro music during their 2012 North American tour.
On October 16, 2012, Hide and Seek was released and was received warmly by fans and critics, debuting at number 138 in the Billboard 200 charts.According to TBM's official Facebook page, on January 30, 2013, after being excluded (due to unforeseen reasons) on the Extreme Thing tour.In 2013, the band performed two shows in Russia (in Moscow and Saint Petersburg) and one at Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival.The band performed a brief tour Fall 2013, co-headlining with Emilie Autumn.Sixth album and PledgeMusic project (2014-Present)In mid 2013, the band officially announced that they were working on a new album.
On February 5, 2014 the band announced that their next album would partly be funded by a crowdfunding project on PledgeMusic in cooperation with their label, Metropolis Records.
The project launched on February 7, 2014, offering pledgers a number of incentives and bundles in return for their support.
In under 24 hours, the band was able to meet their goal.
The project is also notably the first time that fans will be able to relay their thoughts and opinions with the band in regards to the album as the album's production progresses.Music styleThe Birthday Massacre are known for their unique sound.
Their style is usually described as alternative rock, synthrock, New Wave, industrial, Dark Wave TBM described their music style on their Facebook page as rock / New Wave / synthpop.The band list the influences on their music on their Facebook page, including rock, industrial, metal, New Wave, 80's soundtracks, horror, fantasy and sci-fi movies.
The page also lists some of the band's favorite artists, including Dommin, Aural Vampire, Die Mannequin, Schoolyard Heroes, theStart, Deadsy, The Faint, The Cure, Curve, Tub Ring, Creature Feature, Julien K, Mindless Self Indulgence, The Knife, Depeche Mode, The Corner.