HorrorPops are a Danish punk band that formed in 1996. The band's sound is rooted in psychobilly, rockabilly, and Punk rock.
History
Band founders Patricia Day and Kim Nekroman first met when Day's now-defunct band, the punk rock group Peanut Pump Gun, opened for Nekroman's psychobilly band, Nekromantix, at a festival in Cologne, Germany in 1996. Despite both belonging to the subculture scene of Copenhagen, Denmark, the two had never met before, but they became friends over their mutual interest in alternative music. The two would eventually marry.
Day and Nekroman decided to form a band where they could experiment with many genres outside of their normal bands, and decided to start by switching instruments. Nekroman taught Day how to play an upright bass, while she taught him how to play guitar. The two began auditioning for a drummer, with Nekromantix guitarist Peter Sandorff even being a possible choice. They eventually chose Niedermeier to drum, a friend of Day's and a member of the band Strawberry Slaughterhouse, and officially started HorrorPops in 1998. After touring for a while as a trio, the band recruited Niedermeier's old bandmate, Caz the Clash, as a second guitarist.
In 2000, Day recruited two friends, Mille and Kamilla Vanilla, co-workers at the body piercing shop she worked at to act as go-go dancers for the band's live show. The group also recorded a 7 song demo for use in a press kit, but it was somehow leaked to the public, and resulted in two of the group's singles becoming club hits in Denmark. The group spent the next few years touring Europe, until 2003, when they began recording 6 more demo tracks. During this time, Caz the Clash became a father and left the band to focus on parenting. He was replaced by another Strawberry Slaughterhouse member, Karsten. Hellcat Records, Tim Armstrong's (of Rancid) record label, decided to sign HorrorPops based on their demos. The band was able to release a vinyl single in September 2003, and began a U.S. headlining tour.
The band's first full-length album, Hell Yeah!, was released in February 2004, but problems with getting work visas resulted in the band having to cancel U.S. tour dates. The band was able to make up for this loss via an opening stint for the Offspring in Europe. Mille left the band a short while later to go back to school, and was replaced with Naomi. The band soon relocated from Denmark to Los Angeles, California. The band's second album, Bring It On!, was released on September 13, 2005. Their third album, released on February 5, 2008, is called Kiss Kiss Kill Kill.
Timeline
1996
Patricia's former band "Peanut Pump Gun" (indiepunk rock) was opening for Kim Nekroman's band Nekromantix at the 1998 POPKOM in Cologne, Germany. Even though both bands were based in Copenhagen, Denmark neither of them had heard about each other before. The audience was a mix of psychobillies, punks and indierockers and the genre combination turned out to be a huge success. A few weeks after the show Patricia and Kim got together back in Copenhagen. Their mutual love for music like:"Blondie", "Depeche Mode" and "Siouxsie and the Banshees", Surf, Ska, Punk and Rock'n'Roll in general, led to the idea of forming a band with no commitment to any particular music style. They also wanted to do something that would take them out of the roles they already were known for and the first step towards that, was to swap instruments. Kim taught Patricia the basics on playing the upright bass and in return Patricia passed on to Kim from her guitar skills. Not long after, the duo were writing songs and a need for a drummer crept in.
1999/2000
The HorrorPops decided to bring in a couple of go-go dancers for their stage show, these being Day's co-workers, Mile and Kamila, when she had a job at a piercing shop. This was also the year HorrorPops recorded the album's first 7 songs (at Christiania's Ventura Recordings). These recordings, mainly intended for a band press kit when booking shows, were somehow copied and got multiplied all over the world. This led to the songs "Ghouls" and "Psychobitches outta Hell" becoming Copenhagen Club hits.
2001/2002
Mainly concentrating on live shows the HorrorPops built up a huge following and closed the year playing at the Legendary "Wild at Heart" club in Berlin, Germany.
2003
The demand for some kind of release motivated the HorrorPops to once again enter the Ventura Recording studio and lay down 6 more tracks. At this time Caz the Clash became a dad and he made the kid his priority........He got replaced by yet another Strawberry Slaughterhouse member Karsten. Hellcat Records were so impressed with the 13 songs and signed HorrorPops. A vinyl single containing "Ghouls" and "Psychobitches outta Hell" was released early September on Rancid Records and the full length album Hell Yeah got scheduled to hit the streets January 2004. With the single in hand HorrorPops ventured out on their first US tour as headliner for the "Aloha from hell tour" with 9 shows across California and Arizona. This also brought the first US interview to HorrorPops which happened to be with Vogue. With the band always finding humor in things and wanting to please 'the moms', HorrorPops ended up with a trendy and very funny article in Vogue. Later same year the band got a great preview of their upcoming show with Rancid in LA weekly and a fantastic show with Rancid and Tiger Army at the Wiltern, LA. This show brought HorrorPops out to a lot of new people.
2004
Hell Yeah! was released with a bang February 10; the interest in the band grew amazingly and when they did their release show at Amoeba Records, it was packed, to the surprise of everyone in HorrorPops. HorrorPops was then supposed to follow up with a grand U.S. tour, but got stuck in immigration paperwork and had to cancel the whole tour. The Offspring was just about to head out on their month-long European tour and with a 3-day warning HorrorPops got offered the chance to join them as main support. Horrorpops played every night for audiences numbering between 5000 to 16000 people, they then continued with their own 1½ month headline tour in Europe. Shortly after the European tour ended, Horrorpops returned to the states to play the Jimmy Kimmel show and a few California shows, but realizing the work that lay ahead and how time consuming the band had become, Mille had to leave the band to go back to school. Mille got replaced by another good friend of the band, Naomi, who was quickly renamed NoNo. HorrorPops started touring the states, first on Punks VS Psychos, then as main support for Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and then back to Europe for another tour. One tour took over the next in 2004 and the band to loved every minute of it. The Horrorpops also played in a movie called The Punk Rock Halocust and therefore made them more popular. Later, Karsten had to leave the band; he met the love of his life and wanted to spend time with her which was kind of hard to do with the band's tour schedule. HorrorPops played around 110 shows in 2004 and went back to Los Angeles to start work on their second album. They played one last show for the year in West Hollywood to announce their new guitar player.
2005
The HorrorPops second album, Bring It On!, was released featuring new rhythm guitarist, Geoff Kresge.
2006
The HorrorPops performing in
Montreal in 2006.
The HorrorPops spent most of 2006 touring Canada, Asia, Europe, and the States, including a Warped Tour stint.
2007
According to HorrorPops MySpace page, as of mid-February, the HorrorPops were in the studio recording their third album. The album is titled "Kiss Kiss Kill Kill" and was released on February 5, 2008. Later rhythm guitarist Geoff Kresge left, and the band went back to its original three-piece arrangement.
2008 and independent circuit
The aforementioned album, "Kiss Kiss Kill Kill," was released on Feb. 5 2008 and they began a currently ongoing North American tour. They began the tour with an electric show in San Luis Obispo, CA, USA where they have a fairly loyal following, and are currently touring with two bands from Los Angeles, CA. Their opening bands include Rocket, which is an all girl band, and The Pink Spiders, a pop punk band. They are on Vans Warped Tour all summer. After the release of their 3rd album, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill, they began to have much larger of a fan base.
'Barbie doll' controversy
In 23 December 2010, Patricia Day filed a lawsuit in an Indianapolis federal court against the Hard Rock casino, charging infringement of the right of publicity and false endorsement. In her lawsuit, the HorrorPops singer claims Hard Rock and Mattel have been selling a Barbie doll in her image without her authorization.
Mattel and Hard Rock have released a series of rock ‘n’ roll-themed Barbies, featuring pioneering female musicians such as Debbie Harry of Blondie, Joan Jett or Cyndi Lauper. In the lawsuit it is alleged that another doll, called the “Hard Rock Café Barbie Doll" or the “Rockabilly Barbie,” is made in the image of the HorrorPops lead singer but without direct acknowledgement of nor permission by Patricia Day.
Current lineup
Former members
- Casper "Caz The Clash" Holbek - rhythm guitar (1998–2003)
- Karsten Johansen - rhythm guitar (2003–2004)
-
Geoff Kresge - rhythm guitar (2005–2006)
Discography
Studio albums
EPs and singles
| Title |
Release date |
Label |
Additional information |
| Ghouls/Psychobitches Outta Hell |
September 2003 |
Rancid Records |
|
|
MissTake (CD single) |
|
Hellcat/Epitaph Europe |
|
|
MissTake (picture disc) |
|
Hellcat/Epitaph Europe |
Picturedisc Limited to 500 copies and 500 signed copies under pressing. Only sold on Tour |
Music videos
| Year |
Title |
Director |
Album |
| 2004 |
Ghouls |
Unknown Director |
Hell Yeah! |
| Miss Take |
Justin Purser |
| 2005 |
Where You Can't Follow |
Matt Heckerling |
Bring It On! |
| 2008 |
Heading for the Disco? |
Octavio Winkytiki |
Kiss Kiss Kill Kill |
| Boot To Boot |
Unknown Director |
| Horrorbeach Pt. 2 |
Octavio Winkytiki |
See also
