Jack Off Jill
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Jack Off Jill was an American
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 from
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...
, founded in 1992 by vocalist Jessicka, drummer Tenni Ah-Cha-Cha, bassist/keyboardist Agent Moulder, and guitarist Michelle Inhell. Though these four women were the initial founders, nine members rotated through the group in its life-span, including Scott Putesky, guitarist and co-founder of
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...
. The band lasted nine years, with only Jessicka and Moulder remaining throughout the initial run. The band reunited in 2015 for a number of shows, with Jessicka, Tenni, Inhell, and bassist Helen Storer.


History

Tenni Arslanyan met Jessicka while attending Piper High School in
Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 97,335 at the time of the 2020 census. History Early history In ...
. They began writing songs, and were joined by Moulder and Inhell to create the band that would become Jack Off Jill. Jack Off Jill's first show was a club called Ironworks in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Their second show was opening for
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...
and his shock-rock outfit, Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids, at a Davie, Florida night club called The Plus Five Lounge. Manson went on to produce their early demos and had them open most of his shows. During this time the band served as the opening act for many female-fronted national acts such as Joan Jett, L7, Silverfish, Tribe 8, Fetchin' Bones and the Lunachicks. Singer Jessicka's on-stage antics included covering the audience with fake blood and throwing candy. In early 1993, Jessicka performed with Manson's ephemeral side project, Mrs. Scabtree. They took inspiration from the riot grrrl movement, with songs addressing serious issues such as
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
, domestic abuse, self harm, depression,
patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...
, and female empowerment. In 1993, Jack Off Jill's front woman Jessicka coined the term "riot goth" to describe their music and aesthetic. On December 27, 1994, Jack Off Jill joined Marilyn Manson on venues through Florida. While playing Club 5 in
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, Manson and Jessicka were arrested for violating the town's adult entertainment codes. Neither singer was charged. Jack Off Jill released several independent records: ''Children 5 and Up'' (produced by Marilyn Manson), ''The Boygrinder Sessions'', ''Cannibal Song Book'' (produced by Jeremy Staska, JOJ and Manson), ''Cockroach Waltz'', and several 7" singles. On April 8, 1994, while playing a benefit show for Rock Against Domestic Violence with Babes in Toyland and 7 Year Bitch at the Cameo Theatre on Miami Beach, the band caught the eye of record labels. Los Angeles-based Risk Records later signed them in January 1997. The band replaced both Ah Cha Cha and Inhell with new members because the two were not ready to leave Florida. They released their first national 7" record, ''"Girl Scout"/"American Made",'' in March 1997. On September 9, 1997, their first full-length album, '' Sexless Demons and Scars'' (produced by Gumball's leader Don Fleming, who co-produced
Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...
's '' Pretty on the Inside''), was released. After touring with
Lords of Acid Lords of Acid is a Belgian electronic music group, originally formed in 1988 by Praga Khan, Oliver Adams, and Jade 4U. The band is known for their provocative lyrics, blending techno, acid house, and industrial music with themes of sexuality, dr ...
, Jack Off Jill headed to Los Angeles to complete 1998's ''Covetous Creature'', a remix EP of songs from ''Sexless Demons and Scars'', with the help of Scott Putesky (a founding member of Marilyn Manson) and new drummer Claudia Rossi. Jack Off Jill hit the road on a national tour with
Psychotica Psychotica are an American industrial band, formed in 1994 by Pat Briggs and Tommy Salmorin with a band consisting of Paul Kostabi, cellist Enrique Tiru Velez, backing vocalist Reeka, and drummer Buz. They have released three albums. Psych ...
, joined along the way by Switchblade Symphony. The band road-tested new songs in March 1999 when JOJ played four dates on the Marilyn Manson Rock Is Dead Tour, after
Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...
departed.''MTV.com'':
/ MTV news March 22, 1999
". Retrieved June 18, 2007.
With Putesky no longer in the guitar position, JOJ enlisted the help of Jessicka's then-boyfriend guitarist Clint Walsh, original JOJ guitarist Michelle Inhell (née Oliver), and drummer Norm Block (formerly of Plexi) for the tour. On July 17, 2000, JOJ released their second full-length CD, ''Clear Hearts Grey Flowers'' on Risk Records, that featured a cover by artist Mark Ryden and was produced by
Chris Vrenna Chris Vrenna (born February 23, 1967) is an American musician, producer, engineer, remixer, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna played drums for the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from 1988 until 1996, and was ...
of Tweaker and
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...
. Jack Off Jill played its last show at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in April 2000. They were joined onstage by guitarist Helen Storer of the UK all-female band Fluffy (and later of Thee Heavenly Music Association) and producer Chris Vrenna on drums.


Breakup and aftermath

Jack Off Jill officially disbanded in the year 2000. Jessicka founded noise-pop band Scarling. in 2001. Moulder began her studio project TCR. Tenni Ah-Cha-Cha and Michelle Inhell's (née Oliver) founded Set to Zero. In 2010 Tenni Ah-Cha-Cha began playing with Zombie Queen out of Asheville, NC. Claudia Rossi founded a group called One Of The Loudest Tragedies Ever Heard. Putesky worked on his solo project, Three Ton Gate. Post-breakup, critics have touted JOJ as "riot-goth legends" and refer to Jack Off Jill's final album as "excellent, yet under-appreciated". Former band member Jeff Tucci (Ho Ho Spade) died on November 27, 2014, of a drug overdose. In September 2013, founding member of Marilyn Manson and Jack Off Jill guitarist Putesky was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer. He died on October 22, 2017. On May 26, 2021,
Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...
released a cover of Jack Off Jill's song "Fear of Dying". The cover mainly keeps in line with the original song which was recorded as a single for their final album, '' Clear Hearts Grey Flowers''.


Reunion

A reunion had been discussed by the band members in the preceding years, but they did not have the time to organise one. When Jessicka Addams suffered a serious health emergency in 2013, she decided it was "now or never". On April 7, 2015, Bust.com announced a Jack Off Jill reunion show at The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC on July 18 as well as a Pledgemusic campaign offering "Golden Tickets" and other Jack Off Jill rarities related to the show. Other reunion shows in the tour included Manchester (October 19), London's Electric Ballroom (October 21) and Heaven Nightclub (October 23), where they were joined on stage by ( Scott Putesky), a founding member of Marilyn Manson. Their last London show was also on Jessicka's birthday, and was an emotional show for all of the fans and the band, especially due to both Jessicka's and Scott's health problems. They announced via their facebook page that these shows would be their last saying, "It's been an honor & a pleasure friends." The 2015 roster consisted of Jessicka, Tenni Ah-Cha-Cha, Michelle Inhell (née Oliver), and Helen Storer. Original bassist Robin Moulder was not involved in the reunion shows. Jack Off Jill is referred to by several publications as "Riot Goth Legends" and "Cult Heroes"Pettigrew.Jason Singer Jessicka Addams stated that their show at Heaven in London on October 23, 2015 (her birthday) would be Jack Off Jill's final show.


Members


Reunion lineup

* Jessicka (Jessicka Addams) – vocals, lyrics (1992–2000, 2015) *Michelle Inhell (Michelle Oliver) – guitars (1992–1996, 2015) * Helen Storer – guitars (2000), bass (2015) * Tenni Ah-Cha-Cha (Tenni Arslanyan) – drums (1992–1996, 2015)


Former members

* Agent Moulder (Robin Moulder) – bass, piano, keyboards on "My Cat" credited as the big white dancing beav (1992–2000) *Lauracet Simpson (Laura Simpson) – drums (1996–1997) *Ho Ho Spade (Jeff Tucci) – guitars (1996–1997; died 2014) * SMP (Scott Putesky) – guitar (1998–1999; died 2017) *Claudia (Claudia Rossi) – drums (1997–1999) * Clint Walsh – guitars (1999–2000)


Live members

* Norm Block – drums (1999–2000) *
Chris Vrenna Chris Vrenna (born February 23, 1967) is an American musician, producer, engineer, remixer, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna played drums for the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from 1988 until 1996, and was ...
– drums (2000)


Timeline


Discography


Albums


Singles


EPs


Compilations


Cassette demos

1 indicates the demos were never released.


See also

* List of all-female bands * Gidget Gein * Jessicka


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control 1992 establishments in Florida 2000 disestablishments in Florida All-female punk bands Alternative rock groups from Florida Musical groups reestablished in 2015 Musical groups disestablished in 2015 Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Musical groups from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Sympathy for the Record Industry artists Riot grrrl bands American gothic rock groups Musical quartets from Florida Mixed-gender bands