Gotham Road (or Gotham Rd.) is a
horror punk
Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by t ...
/
heavy metal band formed after the demise of the band
Graves by
Michale Graves
Michael Emanuel (born March 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Michale Graves, is an American singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist for the 1990s re-incarnation of the horror punk band Misfits from 1995 to 2000, leaving briefly ...
, Carlos "Loki" Cofino, J.V. Bastard and Paul Lifeless.
History
Formation
The band first formed under the assumed name of Graves and recorded a demo in 2002 which was essentially composed of re-recorded Graves songs with a heavier musical element. In 2003, the group went on to change its name to Gotham Road and recorded the ''Seasons of the Witch'' EP which contained five new songs as well as two reworked Graves songs.
Gotham Road went on the "Seasons of the Witch Tour" to support the EP in 2003. The following year they recorded a three-song demo and thus departed on their sixty city "Mourning Light Tour", during which the band was denied entry to Canada and had to cancel subsequent shows. The band had also booked a European tour which they had to cancel due to venues backing out according to Graves due to his outspoken "
conservative punk
Conservative Punk was a website that promoted conservative views in the punk subculture. It was created by Nick Rizzuto, an employee of a New York City rock radio station, partially in response to the left-liberal group Punkvoter (created by ...
" views.
The band would go on to play numerous shows and, in December 2004, played a farewell show before Michale Graves' departure for the
Marines
Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
.
Graves was then approached by Horror High Records to record a solo album, the subsequent album ''
Punk Rock Is Dead'' featured Paul Lifeless on drums. He was later honorably discharged from the Marines due to a back injury, and embarked on a tour to promote his new album that featured the members of Gotham Road as his backing band as well as openers
Trashlight Vision. Few one-off Gotham Road shows followed.
Hiatus
The band has, as of late, been on indefinite hiatus as each of the members have all gone on to different projects. Michale has continued on with his solo efforts, taking JV Bastard along as a touring bassist for his solo band; Paul Lifeless went on to work with Know Your Enemy and currently
Mister Monster as well as The Banner; Loki and JV Bastard recently formed The Doomsday Prophecy, a metal band which has been developing a cult following in the New York/New Jersey area.
Reunion
On April 12, 2008, Gotham Road reunited for one show in
Belmar, New Jersey
Belmar is a Borough (New Jersey), borough located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,907, an increase of 113 ...
. The band also re-released their CD ''Seasons of the Witch'' through
MP3
MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...
download, replete with eight bonus tracks. The band also contributed two songs to the German compilation CD ''
Get Acquainted Vol. 1''.
The latest word is that due to Paul's obligation to his successful hardcore band The Banner he will not rejoin the band in the immediate future. Paul currently plays in the punk/surf band Killed by the Bull from
North Jersey
North Jersey, also known as Northern New Jersey, comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. As a distinct toponym, North Jersey is a colloquial one rather than an a ...
, which also features ex-members of the Banner as well as Captives and Distance.
On December 31, 2009, Gotham Road played a show at Dingbatz and then again on January 4, 2014 as part of a benefit show for a friend of the bands.
Members
* Michale Graves – vocals
* Carlos "Loki" Cofino – guitar
* J.V. Bastard – bass
* Paul Lifeless – drums
Discography
* Untitled five-song demo (2003)
* ''
Seasons of the Witch'' (2003) – EP
* Untitled three-song demo (2004)
* ''
Seasons of the Witch'' (2008) – internet-only LP
* Sampler: ''
Get Acquainted Vol. 1'' (2008) (including "On My Way" and "Say Something")
* Sampler: ''Get Acquainted Vol. 2'' (2009) (including "All the Cars" and "You Awful Me")
* Sampler: ''The Sound of Horror Vol. 1'' (2010) (including "On My Way")
References
External links
Gotham Road's official website
{{Michale Graves
Heavy metal musical groups from New Jersey
Musical groups from New Jersey
Horror punk groups