The Killjoys is a Canadian

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band who formed in 1992 in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

. The group enjoyed moderate success in Canada during the grunge/alternative rock heyday of the 1990s before disbanding in 1999. The band has reformed and disbanded on and off since 2002.

Overview

The Killjoys released their debut album '' Starry'' in 1994 through Cargo Records. In late 1994, the band signed with

Warner Music Canada Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Music of Canada, Ltd. (French: ''WEA Musique du Canada, Ltée''), often shortened to WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA Internationa ...

, and ''Starry'' was later re-released. The singles "Today I Hate Everyone" and "Dana" were played on

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

and MusiquePlus. Mike Trebilcock was also nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

with Antoine Moonen in 1994, for "Best Album Design" for "Starry". The band was also nominated for a Rock Radio Award for "Independent Artist of the Year". In 1996, the band released their second album, '' Gimme Five''. The album's lead single, "Rave + Drool", was included on the very first

Big Shiny Tunes ''Big Shiny Tunes'' is a series of rock albums compiled and released by the Canadian music television station MuchMusic, and through MusiquePlus in Quebec, from 1996 to 2009. The best-selling album of the series was ''Big Shiny Tunes 2'', which w ...

compilation album. The band received a

for " Best New Group" in 1997. In 1998, the band released their third album, ''

Melos Modos Milos or Melos (; , ; ) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. It is the southwestern-most island of the Cyclades group. The ''Venus de Milo'' (now in the Louvre), the ''Poseidon of Melos'' (now in the Nat ...

''. After filming a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

for the album's lead single "I've Been Good", the film was stolen by a crew member. The crew member demanded $13,000, threatening to destroy the film otherwise. The ransom was paid and the footage was returned safely. By May 1999, ''Melos Modos'' had sold more than 32,000 units. In 1999, The Killjoys signed to Shoreline Records. In April 1999, the band released a live album entitled ''Onenight and a Morningafter''. That same month, the band toured across

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (, also the Eastern provinces, Canadian East or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of Hudson Bay/ Hudson Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newf ...

with

I Mother Earth I Mother Earth, or IME, is a Canadian rock band. The band formed in 1990, reaching its peak popularity in the latter half of the 1990s. After an eight-year hiatus, it reunited in 2012. Between 1996 and 2016, it was among the top 150 best-selling ...

and

Finger Eleven Finger Eleven is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1990. They have released seven studio albums (six as Finger Eleven and one as Rainbow Butt Monkeys), with their album ''The Greyest of Blue Skies'' bringing th ...

on the Belvedere Rock tour. In 2000, lead singer/guitarist Mike Trebilcock released a solo album entitled ''Shield Millions''. After three years of inactivity, The Killjoys reunited in 2002 for another performance. A "

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

" compilation was released in 2005 called ''Essentials''. Gene Champagne formed Junior Achiever, and released "All the Little Letdowns" in 2008. His current band is The Unteens, and he is also the drummer for Canadian band Teenage Head. Mike Trebilcock is a film composer, scoring such films as the award-winning 2021 horror/comedy, Crabs!, and The Fight Machine, an action/drama film directed by Andrew T. Hunt, based on The Fighter by

Craig Davidson Craig Davidson (born 1975) is a Canadian author of short stories and novels, who has published work under both his name and the pen names Patrick Lestewka and Nick Cutter. Early life Born in Toronto, Ontario, he was raised in Calgary and St. C ...

. In 2011, The Killjoys were featured on a compilation entitled, "Today I Hate Everyone - Perfect Songs For A Crappy Day", alongside

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

, Ween and

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardc ...

. In March 2015, The Killjoys reunited for a show in Hamilton that coincided with the Juno Awards being held there that month. The band played a few more shows over the next two years, after which bassist Shelley Woods quit the band and the band decided to break up again. In 2022, The Killjoys reunited again, performing their first show since 2017 on October 1, 2022 at the

Horseshoe Tavern The Horseshoe Tavern (known as The Horseshoe, The 'Shoe', The 'Toronto Tavern' and The 'Triple T' to Toronto locals) is a concert venue at 370 Queen Street West (northeast corner of Queen at Spadina) in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and h ...

in Toronto. Killjoys live 2015

Popular culture

*"Rave + Drool", "Soaked", "Any Day Now", "Today I Hate Everyone" and "I've Been Good" were frequently included in the repertoire of Canadian Alternative DJ, DJ SDGV. *The songs "Monkeysucker" and "Everything" were used in the 1997 film

The Boys Club ''The Boys Club'' is a 1996 Canadian crime drama thriller film directed by John Fawcett, written by Doug Smith (story) and Peter Wellington (writer), and starring Chris Penn, Devon Sawa, Dominic Zamprogna, and Stuart Stone. It was released th ...

. *"Candyland" was used in the film "Sweet Karma" (2009). *"Today I Hate Everyone" was used in the 2014 film "

Wet Bum ''Wet Bum'' (retitled ''Surfacing'' in some international markets) is a 2014 Canadian drama film, directed by Lindsay MacKay. The film stars Julia Sarah Stone as Sam, a shy and self-conscious teenage girl struggling to assert herself with those a ...

Members

Mike Trebilcock is the band's primary songwriter, and he plays guitar and sings lead vocals. Gene Champagne plays the drums and Shelley Woods plays the bass and provides back-up vocals.

Discography

* '' Starry'' (1994), Cargo Records /

* '' Gimme Five'' (1996), Warner Music Canada * ''Melos Modos'' (1998), Warner Music Canada * ''Onenight and a Morningafter'' (1999), Shoreline Records * ''Essentials'' (2005),

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company (formerly Rhino Records Inc.) is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded ...

/ Warner Music Canada * ''Hi-Five'' (2006), Rhino Entertainment * ''Today I Hate Everyone - Perfect Songs For a Crappy Day'' (Various Artists) (2011), Warner Music Canada

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Killjoys, The Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian alternative rock groups Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year winners 1992 establishments in Ontario