SUICIDE PUPPETS – MELTING FACES ONE SHOW AT A TIME
Cover Story By: Rachel Rocks
Blasting their audience to bloody bits with sonic shrapnel, the Suicide Puppets, featuring Twisty Suicide on vocals, Jonny Suicide on bass and back up vocals, Steven Suicide on guitars, Donnie Von Gailinger on guitar, Veritas Suicide on drums, and their newest member, Tattuicide also on guitar, the Suicide Puppets deliver nothing less than a brutal battery of amplified aggression. The shell shocked fans are left crawling out of the debris, having survived an explosive theatrical performance from which they won’t soon recover from or ever forget!
The Suicide Puppets have been playing area stages since 2006. They always go above and beyond at every show with their performance and with their stage set-up. Not only do they do obvious face make-up, but they have various props that help set the scene before their intense music even starts. Just watching them set up their stage has already made people a little nervous about what they are about to witness. I asked the guys what it’s like when they start playing at a new venue where most people haven’t seen their show yet, Donnie described it best, he said, “The first two songs they usually are just staring at them with their mouths open a little bit and occasionally you see them actually saying.. what the f**k! Before too long they are usually dancing along, and by one of their crowd favorites, “Porn Star” they are not only dancing along, but singing along too. Even though I’ve known Jonny for years, since we grew up in the same town, I was still shocked when I saw Suicide Puppets for the first time. I remember going through all of the different phases, and I could actually feel what Donnie was saying. Their shows are definitely filled with shock and awe! I am just always impressed by how much they go all out for every show. People always say they are sick of the seeing the same old show by all of the bands, well I guarantee you, if you give Suicide Puppets a chance, it will be unlike anything you’ve ever seen or heard before!
Their songs are originals. There really isn’t anything or anyone quite like Suicide Puppets. Even their overall tone of their amps is different than everyone else’s because it is a custom Twisty Suicide set-up. With a lot of trial and error they have found ways to create their own sound that some people refer to as a “Sludge-hammer – thick, heavy, and powerful!” For a few years they even felt like they were well ahead of technology when it came to all of their electronical gadgets, but the world of technology advances so quickly and now they are struggling to find the parts they need to make it all work they way they need it. They won’t let that stop them, they’ll just keep playing their hearts out and making sure they are putting on the best show possible.
One piece of technology that has made their lives so much easier is their computer software they use when creating new music, Acid Pro Software. Twisty writes the lyrics to most songs, but Tattuicide has been writing some new music too, and all of the guys add in their own twists and quirks. Back when they first started, Twisty would be burning CDs and giving it to the guys to listen to, now they can just email each other tracks, and pieces of tracks and mix it all together themselves and before they know it, a new song is born! They’ve already written two CDs and they are working on their 3rd. They are also working on doing their first official music video with their latest song that Tattuicide wrote, called “Blacken Days.” They are going to have the video recording done by ‘Fantastic Joe’ sooner than later. They had a very special guest when they were recording “Blacken Days,” John Bechdel from Ministry played all of the keyboard parts. They are hoping he’ll also be in part of the video, but that’s yet to be decided, they are just honored that he helped them record it. Some of their more popular songs by their fans are “Send Me an Angel,” “See Me,” “Absolute Sinner,” etc.. You can tell just by the titles of their songs that they don’t dance around any of the touchy subjects of society, they just say what’s on their minds, and they hold nothing back. It’s actually quite refreshing, and by the end of a set people that are listening to their lyrics are screaming, “YES!” because trust me, if you are honest with yourself and your feelings, you will totally agree with each and every word.
Finding clubs that will let them play their music to their fans is not an easy thing to do. They are very thankful to each and every one of them, some of the most frequented venues are Johnny Joe’s, (they actually have a show there on Saturday, June 9th), Tourist Inn (they are there July 7th), The Depot (June 23rd), Reverb, etc.. They are also grateful for all of the festivals and special events that invite them to play too. On June 2nd they are playing as part of the Spring Roosterpalooza and they’ll be back in the Fall on Sept 29th in Spring Grove, PA. One big show to start planning for now is October 10th they are opening for Doyle at Reverb in Reading. In the last 12 years they’ve had quite a few opportunities opening for National Acts: Misfits, DOPE, Mushroomhead, Balzac, Davey Suicide, etc.. They are extremely thankful for every opportunity they get the chance to play. They love getting out and playing for the people, after all, that’s what it’s all about!
We all wanted to give a HUGE shout out to Christine C. Photographie for the cover and inside shots of Suicide Puppets. Christine is an amazing photographer and a huge Suicide Puppets fan, so it worked out perfectly to have her provide the pictures for us. If you need any super awesome live shots of your band, check out Christine’s ad in this issue and give her a call to come out to your show.
The Suicide Puppets have had some member changes along the way and they are grateful to everyone that have helped them become who and what they are, listed in no particular order: Lame Suicide: keyboard programmer, Shannon Huss, on guitar, Tommy (DJ Metal) Michel, DJ and Programmer, and Daniel (Detail) Lara for filling in on Drums from 2013-2018 while Veritas was living in Colorado.
If you would like to get Suicide Puppets to play at your venue or special event, you can reach out to their manager, Bill O’Brian, at: obrianmusicmanagement@gmail.com. The Suicide Puppets are very grateful that they have a manager that works on all of the fine details of booking their shows, and keeping everyone happy. You can also check out their ad in this issue for more details on upcoming shows, etc. Please take a moment and like them at Facebook.com/suicidepuppetsband, or simply visit their website, www.suicidepuppets.com.