Eva O
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Eva Ortiz (born January 11, 1961), better known as Eva O, is a music artist most notable for her previous works in Christian Death and a band she formed with her then-husband Rozz Williams called Shadow Project. Regarded as a veteran and "one of the most striking figures of the American Gothic scene," Eva O has had a significant influence on the emerging
death rock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, prima ...
movement, which garnered her the "Queen of Darkness" title from the press and audience. She is known for her heavy guitar playing style and dramatic, authoritative vocals. She now releases solo albums with her band Mz O and Her Guns, as well as having recently joined a variation of Christian Death (known as Christian Death 1334) with original members and while she takes on vocal duties in place of the late Rozz Williams.


Biography

Eva was born on January 11, 1961, in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, and moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, in 1979 in hopes to start a
rock band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...
and be a rock star. She started a local, all-girl
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band in
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known as the Speed Queens, and played with them from 1980 to 1982. Speed Queens broke up before they could release any songs, and she and bassist Sandra Ross started the
Super Heroines The Super Heroines were an American deathrock trio formed in Los Angeles during the early 1980s. However, unlike other early deathrock bands such as Christian Death and 45 Grave, Super Heroines did not carry on a traditional goth sound, instead ...
. This group earned a following on L.A.'s deathrock scene of the early 1980s. About the same time, she met Rozz Williams, who was starting the band Christian Death. Eventually Eva O contributed to the band's 1982 album '' Only Theatre of Pain'', which was a highly influential album on the emerging American deathrock movement. The Super Heroines released several albums, and when
Rikk Agnew Richard Francis "Rikk" Agnew Jr. (born December 9, 1958) is an American musician with a career spanning more than 40 years. A multi-instrumentalist, he has previously been a member of some of the most influential bands of the Orange County ...
left Christian Death, Rozz asked Eva to fill in on guitar. She was in Christian Death for a short time before they added two more members, one of whom later played some shows with the Super Heroines. The Super Heroines made their last album, ''Love and Pain'', in 1983; but it was not released for another 8 years. In the mid-1980s, Eva became involved with personal demons and a strong distaste for the world. She spent a lot of time with
Richard Ramirez Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramirez (; February 29, 1960 – June 7, 2013), better known as Richard Ramirez, was an American serial killer and sex offender whose killing spree occurred in Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area in the ...
, with whom she claims she was in a relationship. She corresponded with him after his incarceration for a brief time, but did not meet him before his notorious killings made him famous. Ramirez committed several murders in San Francisco and stood trial there. Eventually, Eva got back together with Rozz and moved to San Francisco with him. While there, she became interested in the writings of Anton LaVey and
Boyd Rice Boyd Blake Rice (born December 16, 1956) is an American experimental sound/noise musician using the name of NON since the mid-1970s. A pioneer of industrial music, Rice was one of the first artists to use a sampler and turntable as an instrum ...
and started to suffer from depression. Out of boredom, she and Rozz started another band known as Shadow Project; they released two albums in the 1990s with that band. They described their music as "a strange mixture of metallic death rock and punk." It was after their second album, ''Dreams for the Dying'', that Eva and Rozz started to write even darker, more depressed and rage-filled subject matter, which was a reflection of the internal struggle they were having in their personal lives. Although Eva never considered herself to be an official member of Christian Death, her participation in that band and Shadow Project earned her the "queen of darkness" title. Christian Death reunited and released two more albums, but the lineup that the band used on those albums was essentially just everyone from Shadow Project. Shadow Project went on one final tour after recording a live album, ''In Tuned Out''. Tired of Rozz getting most of the credit for the Shadow Project work (much of which she wrote), Eva O went solo and released ''Past Time'' in 1993 on Cleopatra Records. The album featured material from her days with the Speed Queens, Super Heroines, and Christian Death, as well as three new solo songs. In 1994, she began working on her second solo album, which she was originally going to call ''Angels Fall for a Demon's Kiss'', but after studying more about the classic hierarchy of angels on both sides of the good-vs-evil spectrum, she ended up becoming a Christian and rewriting the entire record and renaming it ''
Demons Fall for an Angel's Kiss Eva Ortiz (born January 11, 1961), better known as Eva O, is a music artist most notable for her previous works in Christian Death and a band she formed with her then-husband Rozz Williams called Shadow Project. Regarded as a veteran and "one ...
''. Produced by
Johnny Indovina Human Drama is an American alternative rock band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Indovina, formed in 1985.Raggett, Ned " Human Drama Biography, Allmusic. Retrieved March 24, 2016 The band released six studio albums before splitting in 2005. Th ...
, the album was tamer and calmer in comparison to her previous rugged and wild material. Rozz Williams committed suicide on April 1, 1998; the last Shadow Project recording titled ''From the Heart'' was released on May 12 of the same year. An acoustic album, From the Heart's lyrics represented influences of Eva's positive views. After numerous reworkings and remixings, Eva finally completed her ''
Damnation (Ride the Madness) ''Damnation (Ride the Madness)'' is the 1999 studio solo album of the American deathrock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music subgenre that merges punk rock and post-punk with Gothic fiction, gothic and glam rock visuals and elements of ...
'' album in 1999 and in 2005 its follow-up ''
Damnation/Salvation ''Damnation/Salvation'' is the 2005 studio solo album of the American deathrock veteran musician Eva O, released on the Dark Dimensions and Alice In... labels. Overview ''Damnation/Salvation'' is the second part of the Damnation installment that ...
'' album and released it on the German death-metal label
Massacre Records Massacre Records is an independent record label based in Abstatt, Germany, specializing in bands from the heavier genres of metal. The label was founded in 1991 by Torsten Hartmann. Associated with Massacre Records are the marketing and music ...
in 2005. Among the performers on it are Josh Pyle (keyboards/programming), River Tunnell (bass), and Kristian Rosentrater (drums), all members of the industrial band Audio Paradox. ''Damnation/Salvation'' is a detailed chronicle of her involvement with the occult and Satanism climaxing with her encounter with Jesus. It has been repeatedly turned down for distribution in the United States due to its subject matter. She emphasizes that people need to listen to the entire album to understand its full meaning, rather than judging it by its cover, track listing, and the lyrics of the first several songs. 14 years after Eva's conversion to Christianity in 1993, rumors had it that Eva began drifting away from her faith. In a Summer 2007 issue of ''Deathrock'' magazine, author Philip Henken wrote in the article "The Story of O" about Eva that "when I ask her about the Christian conversions, she tells me she's left being born-again behind." Eva states in the interview: On August 8, 2008, Eva married Edwin Borsheim, of the band Kettle Cadaver. By 2014, Eve O. had returned to her faith:


Discography


Solo work as Eva O

* ''Past Time'' (1993) * ''
Demons Fall for an Angel's Kiss Eva Ortiz (born January 11, 1961), better known as Eva O, is a music artist most notable for her previous works in Christian Death and a band she formed with her then-husband Rozz Williams called Shadow Project. Regarded as a veteran and "one ...
'' (1994, originally called ''Angels Fall for a Demon's Kiss'' but rewritten/renamed before its release) * ''Eva O Halo Experience'' (video) * ''
Damnation (Ride the Madness) ''Damnation (Ride the Madness)'' is the 1999 studio solo album of the American deathrock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music subgenre that merges punk rock and post-punk with Gothic fiction, gothic and glam rock visuals and elements of ...
'' (1999, Massacre Records, Review: ''HM Magazine'') * ''
Damnation/Salvation ''Damnation/Salvation'' is the 2005 studio solo album of the American deathrock veteran musician Eva O, released on the Dark Dimensions and Alice In... labels. Overview ''Damnation/Salvation'' is the second part of the Damnation installment that ...
'' (2005, Massacre Records) *The Rise of Eva O (2018)


As a member of Christian Death

* '' Only Theatre Of Pain'' (1982, Frontier Records) * '' Iron Mask'' (1992, Cleopatra) * '' Path of Sorrows'' (1993, Cleopatra) * ''
Rage of Angels ''Rage of Angels'' is a novel by Sidney Sheldon published in 1980. The novel revolves around young attorney Jennifer Parker; as she rises as a successful lawyer, she gets into a series of ongoings that lead to intrigue with the mob and a rival ...
'' (1994, Cleopatra)


As a member of Super Heroines

* ''
Cry for Help "Cry for Help" is a song by English singer-songwriter Rick Astley, released as the first single from his third studio album, '' Free'' (1991). It was written by Astley and Rob Fisher, formerly one half of the 1980s pop outfits Naked Eyes and ...
'' (1982, Bemis Brain/Enigma) * '' Souls that Save'' (1983, Bemis Brain/Enigma) * '' Love and Pain'' (1993, Cleopatra)


As a member of Shadow Project

* '' Shadow Project'' (1990, Triple X) * '' Dreams for the Dying'' (1993, Triple X) * ''
In Tuned Out Shadow Project was a rock band formed in 1987 featuring former members of Los Angeles deathrock groups Christian Death and Super Heroines. After recording two LPs the group experienced a three-year hiatus, reconvening for a third and final albu ...
'' (1994, Triple X, live album) * '' From the Heart'' (1998, Triple X)


See also

* Rozz Williams * Christian Death * Shadow Project *
Super Heroines The Super Heroines were an American deathrock trio formed in Los Angeles during the early 1980s. However, unlike other early deathrock bands such as Christian Death and 45 Grave, Super Heroines did not carry on a traditional goth sound, instead ...


References


External links

* *
Eva O's MySpace
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eva O Living people 1961 births Death rock musicians American women punk rock singers American gothic rock musicians American punk rock singers Christian Death members American musicians of Mexican descent 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American women guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Hispanic and Latino American musicians 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American women singers American post-punk musicians 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Converts to Christianity