CKY (abbreviation of Camp Kill Yourself) is an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band from
West Chester, Pennsylvania
West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...
. Formed in early 1998, the group was originally centred around the trio of
Deron Miller
Deron John Miller (born May 21, 1976) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band CKY (band), CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Other bands Miller fronts include the p ...
on guitar and lead vocals,
Chad I Ginsburg on lead guitar and
Jess Margera
Jesse Margera (born August 28, 1978) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Prior to CKY, Margera performed in the band Foreign Objects with former CKY vocalist and guitarist ...
on drums.
The band debuted in 1999 with ''
Volume 1 Volume One, Volume 1, Volume I or Vol. 1 may refer to:
Albums
* ''Volume One'' (The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band album), 1966
* ''Volume One'' (Sleep album)
* ''Volume One'' (Fluff album)
* ''Volume One'' (She & Him album), 2008
* ''Volum ...
'', gaining underground recognition from its association with the
''CKY'' video series produced by Margera's brother, skateboarder
Bam Margera
Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV Reality tel ...
. After signing with
The Island Def Jam Music Group
Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American record label group formed on December 31, 1998, by Universal Music Group. Before 2014, IDJMG encompassed labels originally established under the umbrella of Island Records and Def Jam Recording ...
, CKY released its second album ''
Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild'' in 2002, which reached the top half of the US
''Billboard'' 200 chart. The 2005 follow-up ''
An Answer Can Be Found'' reached the US top 40, after which the band (with bassist
Matt Deis) released ''
Carver City'' on
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...
. In late-2011, following many years of tensions between himself and the other members, Miller left CKY.
Following Miller's departure, CKY spent several years making only sporadic live appearances. The band played shows with stand-in frontman
Daniel Davies during 2012 and 2015, before Ginsburg took over lead vocal duties for the group's studio return, 2017's ''
The Phoenix''. Deis, who had returned to the band in 2015, left CKY for a second time in 2019, after which Ginsburg and Margera performed with a string of touring bassists, and briefly as a two-piece. Since 2022, the group has been working on a sixth studio album, as well as touring with bassist Ronnie Elvis James, a former member of Ginsburg's 2015 solo band.
History
1998–2001: Formation and early releases
Deron Miller
Deron John Miller (born May 21, 1976) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band CKY (band), CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Other bands Miller fronts include the p ...
and
Jess Margera
Jesse Margera (born August 28, 1978) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Prior to CKY, Margera performed in the band Foreign Objects with former CKY vocalist and guitarist ...
originally met at high school in 1992 and later formed the band
Foreign Objects together, releasing ''
The Undiscovered Numbers & Colors'' in 1995.
Within a year, the pair had moved onto playing in a band named Oil, which featured live bassist Andy Smith and later Ryan Bruni,
releasing the
EPs ''Lifelines'' and ''Oil'' in 1996 and 1997, respectively.
The trio met
Chad I Ginsburg, who was then working as an
audio engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...
,
during recording sessions for their planned debut full-length album, and later enlisted him to finalize the first lineup of Camp Kill Yourself, a name which Miller conceived as "a perfect title for a horror movie".
The first name Miller proposed for the band was I Dismember Mama, after the
1972 horror film of the same name.
Ginsburg had previously performed in the band
Rudy & Blitz, which had signed with
sub-label
Ruffhouse in 1995 and recorded an album, though it was not released.

The band recorded its debut album between November 1997 and February 1998 at The Ground Hog Studio in
Holland, Pennsylvania
Holland is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Northampton Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Northampton Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located next to Newtown, Bucks Co ...
.
Speaking about the recording process to Guitar.com, Miller explained that the whole album took around two years to finish, mainly due to financial challenges, and that the writing process totalled up to four years.
Many of the sessions were funded by the frontman's father.
The music's first exposure came in one of Bam Margera's early stunt videos, ''Jump Off a Building'', which featured the track "Genesis 12a"; Margera would later enlist the band to provide music for his later videos, including the first ''CKY'' video in 1999.
CKY's debut albums, ''
Volume 1 Volume One, Volume 1, Volume I or Vol. 1 may refer to:
Albums
* ''Volume One'' (The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band album), 1966
* ''Volume One'' (Sleep album)
* ''Volume One'' (Fluff album)
* ''Volume One'' (She & Him album), 2008
* ''Volum ...
'' and ''
Volume 2'', were released in February 1999, made up mostly of the tracks featured in Bam's videos.
In promotion of ''Volume 1'', CKY joined the 1999
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...
, although after taking part in a protest started by fans regarding vending prices they were removed from the tour.
Later in the year, the band signed a record deal with
Volcom Entertainment
Volcom Entertainment, officially founded in 1995, in Big Bear, California, and currently based in Costa Mesa, CA is the brainchild of Volcom founder Richard Woolcott and theLINE's singer/guitarist Ryan Immegart. Ryan being Volcom's first spons ...
, who reissued ''Volume 1'' twice in early 2000 – firstly under the title ''CKY'', crediting the group as Camp, and secondly under the title ''Camp'', crediting the group as CKY. In February, the group fired Bruni as they were "disappointed by his abilities and performance" on the Warped Tour,
and he was replaced by Vernon Zaborowski in July, after Ginsburg briefly filled in on bass.
The band returned to the Warped Tour in 2000,
and the limited edition EP ''
Disengage the Simulator'' was released later in the year. CKY's music began appearing on ''
Jackass'' in October 2000, which is said to have generated "a flood of new fans".
2001–2004: ''Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild'' and chart success
In May 2001, CKY ended their partnership with Volcom and signed with
The Island Def Jam Music Group
Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American record label group formed on December 31, 1998, by Universal Music Group. Before 2014, IDJMG encompassed labels originally established under the umbrella of Island Records and Def Jam Recording ...
.
After more remastered reissues of ''Volume 1'', the band recorded its second studio album ''
Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild'' between November 2001 and January 2002,
and released it in September 2002.
The album gave the band its first experience of chart success, when it reached number 99 on the US
''Billboard'' 200.
The single "
Flesh into Gear" also charted, reaching number 39 on the ''Billboard''
Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
chart.
The group began touring the United States in promotion of the album, but in November was invited by
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
frontman
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose ( ; born William Bruce Rose Jr., February 6, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in ...
to perform in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
as the opening warm-up act for the
Chinese Democracy Tour, just three days before it was due to begin.
Speaking about the news, Margera revealed that CKY had to cancel two of their own shows in California in order to travel to the Guns N' Roses concert, but admitted that he was "psyched because that's probably the biggest tour of
heyear".
However, due to a delayed flight blamed on "mechanical troubles", Rose failed to arrive to Vancouver in time and the show had to be cancelled, inciting riots started by audience members. It was later announced that CKY would return to perform on the remainder of the United States leg of the tour, which was scheduled to run until January 2003. It was ultimately cancelled almost a month early.
CKY toured throughout the rest of 2003 on the Out on the Noose Again Tour, which was delayed when Ginsburg broke his tailbone after falling down a flight of stairs.
The band secured a high-profile support slot for
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
in May 2003, after frontman
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his raspy voice and intricate rhythm playi ...
personally approached Miller with the opportunity.
The band's first video album, ''
Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild: The Video Album'', was released in November 2003, featuring music videos for all ten tracks from the 2002 album as well as "
96 Quite Bitter Beings" and "Disengage the Simulator",
behind-the-scenes https://www Googlefinans.co=
In filmmaking, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK ( ...
features, and a three-hour documentary titled "CKY: Chopped & Sliced".
Two-track EP ''
Hellview'' was also released in 2003.
2004–2006: ''An Answer Can Be Found'' and Matt Deis
On April 7, 2004, the band returned to the studio to begin recording the follow-up to ''Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild''.
Band members periodically offered updates on the album, with Miller labelling it a "masterpiece" and "the best rock record of 2005", and Ginsburg calling it "an instant classic". Zaborowski was fired from the band in June 2004, with Ginsburg once again filling in on bass for a number of live shows.
"
Familiar Realm" was released as the lead single from the new album in May 2005, reaching number 32 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
''
An Answer Can Be Found'' followed in June, reaching number 35 on the ''Billboard'' 200.
According to
Nielsen SoundScan
Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
, the album sold 27,786 copies in the United States in its first week of release.
It was announced in July 2005 that former
All That Remains bassist
Matt Deis had replaced Zaborowski, performing his first show with the band on July 18 at the
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed The Whisky) is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulev ...
in
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757.
History
Most historical writing ...
. The new lineup set out on tour to promote ''An Answer Can Be Found'', joining the Rock Adio Tour arranged by skateboarding company
Adio Footwear with
Fireball Ministry and The Knives, which ran between August and September. Later tour dates included a headline performance at Skate Fest in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
, a UK stint with
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
between September and October, and a North American tour with
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, lead gui ...
in early 2006.
The band ended its partnership with Island in April 2006.
Speaking at the time, Miller explained that the band had been asking to leave the label since 2003, claiming it "had no idea how to market a band that doesn't write songs about breaking up with their girlfriends".
2006–2010: Roadrunner, ''Carver City'' and touring
In December 2006, it was announced that CKY had signed a global recording contract with
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...
, a label which both Miller and Margera praised.
Recording for the band's fourth studio album began at Ginsburg's Studio CIG Pennsylvania in January 2007.
In March it was reported that the band had almost finished recording the album, with the song titles "
Hellions on Parade" and "The Boardwalk Body" being confirmed.
Speaking about the production process, Margera commented that the band was approaching it differently than it did for ''An Answer Can Be Found'', which he described as "a total guitar record".
The band released another update in August, naming a number of new tracks and claiming that the album would be "easily out" by March or April 2008.
However, in October 2007 it was reported that there were internal tensions within the band.
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
reported that "there's trouble in the world of CKY", explaining that an altercation had broken out between Miller and Ginsburg following an incident after a gig in
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
,
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
.
Each of the two had different recollections of the situations – Ginsburg proposed that Miller had "quit CKY to pursue his own band", and that he and Margera would continue CKY without him; Miller retorted by claiming that he had, according to MTV, "overheard several of his bandmates talking smack about him in St. Louis", after which he took a brief break from the group in the hope that he would receive an apology from his bandmates.
After around a year with no updates, it was reported in October 2008 that the band was almost finished with the upcoming album. Recording was completed by November.
''
Carver City'' was officially announced in January.
Miller described the album as "the most collaborative and focused CKY effort to date", while Ginsburg applauded it as "more inventive and more layered than our past releases ... the most inspired album we have ever made".
"Hellions on Parade" was released as the first single from the album in April, followed by "
A#1 Roller Rager" on May 4. ''Carver City'' was released later in the month, charting at number 46 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and selling 11,000 copies in the US in its first week.
CKY began touring in promotion of ''Carver City'' in June 2009, performing dates in North America with support acts
ASG and
Graveyard
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...
until August, when the run ended with a "hometown show" in Philadelphia. Later in the year the band visited several countries in Europe, and in January 2010 played in Japan for the first time. Later tour dates in 2010 included performances at
Sonisphere Festival
The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It h ...
in the UK on August 1, which Miller described as "he biggest highlight of CKY's summer touring schedule by far", and shows in Australia and New Zealand.
2010–2014: ''B-Sides & Rarities'' and Miller's departure
In May 2010, it was announced on CKY's official website that Deis "could no longer commit" to the band. He was later replaced by Matt "Matty J" Janaitis. In September the band released the single "
Afterworld", which was the first song by the band to feature vocals by Ginsburg. The song was written for the third ''Jackass'' film, ''
Jackass 3D
''Jackass 3D'' (known as ''Jackass 3'' on home media) is a 2010 American 3-D film, 3D reality film, reality comedy film directed by Jeff Tremaine. It is the third installment in the Jackass (franchise)#Films, ''Jackass'' film series, and the sequ ...
'', and was included in its closing credits upon release in October. It was later revealed that the song would also be featured on an upcoming compilation album titled ''
B-Sides & Rarities'', which featured a number of previously unreleased and out-of-print tracks and was released in March 2011. In promotion of the album, CKY completed a US tour in March. ''B-Sides & Rarities'' was later released on
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
featuring a number of additional tracks in September 2011.
The future of the band was once again cast into doubt in July 2011, when members disagreed about its future. In a video titled "CKY – What Next?", Miller noted that he and Margera had the idea for each of the band's members to record individual albums and then release them as an overall "CKY" package, which Janaitis also supported.
However, Ginsburg was opposed to the plan, claiming that he would prefer to record a follow-up to ''Carver City''.
Miller presented an alternate version of events in an interview in October 2015, claiming that it was Ginsburg's idea initially to produce albums in other bands (Miller in
World Under Blood
World Under Blood is an American melodic death metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2006, the band originally featured vocalist and guitarist Deron Miller and drummer Tim Yeung, with bassist Risha Eryavac and guitarist Luke Jaeger c ...
, Ginsburg in
Rudy & Blitz and Margera in
The Company Band), before a disagreement between the guitarist and his former bandmates left him without a side project.
The rift escalated in the days and weeks following the release of the video, as Miller claimed on his
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page that Ginsburg had left the band, before himself announcing that he too would be "throwing the towel in" after completing the group's upcoming shows.
Margera cited Miller's alcohol abuse as one of the causes of the tensions.
The band performed a show dubbed "Christmas with CKY" on December 18 in
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...
, which Ginsburg labelled on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
as the last CKY show.

CKY returned in February 2012 with
Year Long Disaster
Year Long Disaster was an American rock band from Los Angeles. Formed in 2004, the band was composed of vocalist and guitarist Daniel Davies, bassist Rich Mullins and drummer Brad Hargreaves. Hargreaves was later replaced by Rob Oswald, and gu ...
vocalist and guitarist
Daniel Davies in place of founding frontman Miller, performing at the Australian festival
Soundwave
Soundwave or Sound Wave may refer to:
* Sound, a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave
* Acoustic wave, the wave which carries sound
Festivals
* Soundwave (Australian music festival), an annual music festival 2007–2016
* Soundwave Fe ...
.
In an interview at the festival with
The Pit FM, the band claimed that they intended to record new CKY material with Davies later that year.
After a year without CKY news, in March 2013 Margera posted on the "Ask CKY" section of the band's website to assure fans that the status of the group was still unclear, although he also noted that "5 or 6 awesome songs" had been written with Ginsburg and Janaitis which may be released as CKY. In October, Miller made a statement that he had changed his mind about relinquishing the band's moniker, and noted that he would be recording a new CKY album for a 2014 release whether he could reconcile with the other band members or not.
2014–2021: Frontman changes and ''The Phoenix''
In January 2014, Miller and Ginsburg shared a number of new photos of them together with guitars, indicating a potential reunion for the band. Miller expanded on the news on his Facebook page, revealing that he had reached out to "almost all former members" of the band but was unsure as to who would return, and that he and Ginsburg were working on at least eight songs together. Another update was issued in March, with Miller revealing that he and Ginsburg had "collaborated on a very mellow, melancholy song idea" recently, and that he wanted the new CKY album to serve as the soundtrack to a planned documentary about the band. Miller confirmed on February 12, 2015, that the reconciliation hadn't worked out, claiming that working with Ginsburg was "so irritating and so stressful
ehad no choice but to cut the chord".
That same day, it was announced that CKY would be performing at Canadian festival
Amnesia Rockfest in June.
Miller claimed that he knew nothing about the show and Ginsburg asserted that his focus was on his
upcoming solo album, although it was confirmed by Bam Margera that Jess would be involved in the show.
The band played the festival with Davies returning as frontman. However, Miller also used the CKY moniker (as "CKY + Foreign Objects") for a number of shows booked in 2015 with guitarist Kenneth Hunter, bassist Shaun Luera and drummer Tim Luera.
In an interview with ''The Sinner's Ball'' radio show in August 2015, Miller described his former bandmates as "pathetic sons of bitches" and condemned Davies' performances in the band as "embarrassing".
In a later interview in October, Miller claimed that he would be re-recording and re-releasing ''An Answer Can Be Found'', as well as a new album, under the name MechaCKY (later renamed
96 Bitter Beings).
In May 2016, it was confirmed that Ginsburg, Margera and Deis would be continuing as a three-piece CKY (with the guitarist also singing), performing at the Random Hero Festival (in honour of deceased CKY Crew member
Ryan Dunn
Ryan Matthew Dunn (June 11, 1977 – June 20, 2011) was an American stunt performer, television personality, and actor. He was one of the stars of the MTV reality stunt show '' Jackass'' and its film franchise.
Born in Medina, Ohio, Dunn rose ...
) in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
, in June and recording a new album in July at
Rancho De La Luna in
Joshua Tree, California
Joshua Tree is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 6,489 at the 2020 census. At approximately above sea level, Joshua Tree and its surrounding communities are located in the Hig ...
. The following February, the band announced its first tour as a three-piece, with 12 shows in the UK (their first in the country since 2011) scheduled for May 2017. Due to "popular demand", a second date at London's
Camden Underworld
Camden Underworld is a music venue in Camden Town, London, England. The venue is a part of the World's End pub, situated in the basement of the building. It has a capacity of 500 people.
History
Over the years The Underworld has become t ...
was later added to the end of the tour, while several other shows were upgraded to larger venues. The group also performed at all dates on the 2017
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...
, which ran between June 16 and August 6, 2017, and included 41 shows in the United States and Canada. In March 2017, CKY signed a worldwide deal with
Entertainment One Music
MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...
, and released their fifth studio album, ''
The Phoenix'', that June. Throughout October and November 2017, CKY toured the United States as the opening act for
HIM on HIM's
farewell tour.
On November 22, 2018, the band released an
EP titled ''Too Precious to Kill''. A vinyl-only release, it features three new songs and a
GG Allin
Kevin Michael "GG" Allin (born Jesus Christ Allin; August 29, 1956 – June 28, 1993) was an American punk rock musician who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. His live performances often featured transgressive acts, i ...
cover, "Bite It You Scum". The EP was released to streaming services the following year.
On June 3, 2019, the band announced that Deis had left the band. In a statement by Deis, the bassist explained that "I'm stepping aside to focus on myself and my family so that CKY can continue their dominant return with nothing holding it back." Former
A Life Once Lost
A Life Once Lost was an American metal band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
History
A Life Once Lost formed in 1999 in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After the release of their first album, '' Open Your Mouth for the Speechless... i ...
bassist Chris Weyh performed with the band for the Vans Warped Tour 25th anniversary show. Ginsburg and Margera performed as a duo using backing tracks for a subsequent European tour. CKY released "Fuck.Shit.Help. & Yeah" featuring late
Turbonegro
Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) is a Norwegian rock band, active from 1989 to 1998 and from 2002 to the present. The band combines glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock into a self-described "deathpunk" musical style.
History
Early years (19 ...
frontman
Hank von Hell, alongside
Anders Odden from
Cadaver
A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a Death, dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue (biology), tissue to ...
, on November 26, 2021.
2022–present: ''New Reason to Dream''
Ginsburg indicated in August 2022 that work on a new CKY album had begun. The band also announced that they would be performing at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival on September 7, 2023. In May 2024, the band is set to complete its first US tour in over five years, the New Reason to Dream Tour, to mark its 25th anniversary. On April 30, 2024, Ginsburg confirmed the upcoming album title as ''New Reason to Dream''. He also said that the album is in the
mixing process, and will be
released independently.
In November 2024, CKY was removed from a tour of the UK and Ireland in support of
Alien Ant Farm
Alien Ant Farm is an American rock band that formed in Riverside, California in 1996. They have released six studio albums and sold over 5 million units worldwide. The band's cover of Michael Jackson's " Smooth Criminal" topped the ''Billboard ...
, after frontman Dryden Mitchell accused Ginsburg of punching him in the face in the last of a string of incidents also involving members of the road crew and other bands. On March 9, 2025, the band announced that former live bassist Vernon Zaborowski had returned to fill in for the injured Ronnie Elvis James during the band's set for
Tool
A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...
's Live In The Sand festival in
Punta Cana
Punta Cana is a resort town in the easternmost region of the Dominican Republic. It was politically incorporated as the "Verón–Punta Cana township" in 2006, and it is subject to the municipality of Higüey (La Altagracia Province). According ...
,
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
.
Musical style
Music
A number of music critics have stated that it as difficult to categorize CKY into a specific musical genre. The band is categorized by
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
as
post-grunge
Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...
,
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
, and
stoner rock
Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sl ...
.
Due to the band's association with professional skateboarding (owed mainly to its link with
Bam Margera
Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV Reality tel ...
), its music has been dubbed as
skate punk
Skate punk (also known as skatecore and skate rock) is a skateboarding, skater subculture and punk rock Music genre, subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, sk ...
, but it is suggested by AllMusic's Greg Prato that this label was extinguished upon the release of ''Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild'', which features a "heavy
alt-metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
sound".
The group's sound has been described as stoner metal by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''s
Jenny Eliscu.
Writers at both
Blabbermouth.net
''Blabbermouth.net'' is a website dedicated to metal and rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the rec ...
and the
Ultimate Guitar Archive
Ultimate Guitar (Ultimate Guitar USA LLC), also known as Ultimate-Guitar.com or simply UG, is an online platform for guitarists and musicians, started on October 9, 1998 by Eugeny Naidenov and based in San Francisco, US. Its website and mobile ...
have described CKY as "genre-defying",
while
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
reviewer Nikki Tranter described the sound on ''Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild'' as "impossible to label".
Lyrics
CKY's lyrics cover a wide variety of themes. On ''Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild'', it is proposed by Tranter that a number of tracks are written about "the decaying state of humanity" and "the need for some kind of freedom", with the writer describing the lyrics as "relentlessly dark, yet beautifully written, observant and real".
On ''An Answer Can Be Found'', there are multiple songs said to be renouncing the idea of suicide.
The band has also written songs as part of ongoing storylines on a number of occasions – "
96 Quite Bitter Beings", "Escape from Hellview" and "
Hellions on Parade" (as well as an early demo called "Thanks for the Ride")
make up a series of songs about a fictional town called Hellview, the residents of which "doesn't take kindly to outsiders", and the songs on ''Carver City'' tell a story of a town named after a fisherman, who killed his crew and later returns to "curse the city".
Controversy
The fanbase of CKY is affectionately dubbed the CKY Alliance, and has been identified as particularly passionate about the band.
Miller has proposed that the Alliance is "almost more important than the band", praising them as instrumental in the band's success.
Following the release of ''Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild'', members of the Alliance "bombarded" ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine with "pissed-off e-mails" after it awarded the album two out of five stars in a negative review.
After they followed this with another poor review of ''An Answer Can Be Found'', Miller responded to writer
Jenny Eliscu, mocking her as "an aging, ugly skank" and mocking ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' themselves as "predictable, tiresome and unprofessional" to have even employed her. The band's fans followed by waging a "harassment campaign" against her, which included phoning and emailing her with death threats.
Critical reception
Albums by CKY have received acclaim from music critics. Common points of commendation include the band's mix of various musical styles,
the guitar performances of Miller and Ginsburg, the group's high production values,
and the experimental nature of many songs.
Other commentators, however, have identified and criticized a reliance on similar styles for multiple songs – ''An Answer Can Be Found'', for example, was criticized by a number of sources a lack of progression and invention.
A similar sentiment was echoed in relation to ''Carver City'' by
Blabbermouth.net
''Blabbermouth.net'' is a website dedicated to metal and rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the rec ...
writer Keith Bergman.
Members
Current members
*
Jess Margera
Jesse Margera (born August 28, 1978) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Prior to CKY, Margera performed in the band Foreign Objects with former CKY vocalist and guitarist ...
– drums, percussion ; backing vocals
*
Chad I Ginsburg – lead guitar, keyboards , lead vocals, rhythm guitar , bass , backing vocals
*Ronnie Elvis James – bass, backing vocals
Former members
*
Deron Miller
Deron John Miller (born May 21, 1976) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band CKY (band), CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Other bands Miller fronts include the p ...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards , bass
*
Matt Deis – bass, backing vocals, keyboards
*Matt "Matty J" Janaitis – keyboards ; bass ; backing vocals
Former touring musicians
*Ryan Bruni – bass, backing vocals
*Vernon Zaborowski – bass, backing vocals
*Rob "Murry" Valeno – keyboards, backing vocals
*
Daniel Davies – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
*Matt "Uncle Matt/Shitbird" Cole – keyboards, backing vocals
*Chris Weyh – bass, backing vocals
Timeline
Discography
*''
Volume 1 Volume One, Volume 1, Volume I or Vol. 1 may refer to:
Albums
* ''Volume One'' (The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band album), 1966
* ''Volume One'' (Sleep album)
* ''Volume One'' (Fluff album)
* ''Volume One'' (She & Him album), 2008
* ''Volum ...
'' (1999)
*''
Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild'' (2002)
*''
An Answer Can Be Found'' (2005)
*''
Carver City'' (2009)
*''
The Phoenix'' (2017)
*''New Reason to Dream'' (TBA)
References
External links
CKYon
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
*
{{Authority control
*
American post-grunge musical groups
American alternative metal musical groups
Hard rock musical groups from Pennsylvania
American stoner rock musical groups
Musical groups established in 1998
West Chester, Pennsylvania
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Alternative rock groups from Pennsylvania
Jackass (franchise)
1998 establishments in Pennsylvania