Sky Cries Mary is an American

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

musical group from

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, formed in the late 1980s by Roderick Wolgamott. Early band influences included European industrial music bands such as

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The band currently comprises founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments, percussion, ...

, Coil, and Test Department, and 1970s glam/punk artists including

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

, and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

. Notable band alumni include Jon Auer and

Ken Stringfellow Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow (born October 30, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. Best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star, Stringfellow's discography include ...

of The Posies, vocalist Anisa Romero, Michael Cozzi of Shriekback, Jon ‘Juano’ Davison (later of

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

and

Glass Hammer Glass Hammer is an American progressive rock band from Chattanooga, Tennessee, created and led by Steve Babb and Fred Schendel. Babb and Schendel, who founded the band in 1992, are the only constant members in the lineup, having surrounded the ...

), Ron Nine ( Love Battery) on guitar, Kurt Danielson ( TAD on bass) and Gordon Raphael (producer for

The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

). In 2018, guitarists Jack Endino and Kevin Whitworth, alongside bassist Curt Eckman and vocalist Debra Reese were invited to join the group. They have performed live several times in the Pacific Northwest, notably at Seattle Hempfest (2019). The most recent lineup recorded and released three studio albums on Trail Records: In 2021 "Wandering in the Vastness" was released digitally and on CD by Trail Records. A vinyl pressing followed in 2022. In 2022 Trail Records also released a vinyl pressing of "Secrets of a Red Planet". In 2023 the album "Everything Goes Somewhere" was released on vinyl featuring cover art by Scottish painter Fergus Hall, who has also created cover art for artists like King Crimson, he also created a "Tarot of the Witches" seen in the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die"

History

The band's first album, from 1989, featured Roderick Wolgamott playing with Jon Auer and

from

The Posies The Posies were an American rock band. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. Their music has its origins in Merseybeat and the Hollies. They are influ ...

. The second album, released in 1990, featured the same trio, joined by Scott Mercado, Alfred Butler, Stephen Brian-Salit, Mark Ultra, Kevin McCoy and Jeff Guess. In 1991, the band became a septet with Roderick Wolgamott, Anisa Romero, DJ Fallout (a.k.a. Todd "TR" Robbins), Joseph E. Howard (a.k.a. Joe Skyward), Ben Ireland, Marc Olsen and Gordon Raphael. It was during this time they recorded ''A Return to the Inner Experience''. Cozzi replaced Olsen on the fifth through seventh albums. In 1994, Davison replaced Joe Howard. William Bernhard joined the band in 1998 after Cozzi left to pursue other projects. Sky Cries Mary had broken up in 1999, shortly after the release of ''Seeds'', because band members wanted to work on other projects. They regrouped in various configurations including Hana, which featured Anisa Romero, Jeff Greinke, and Ben Ireland, and No Futuro, an experimental musical project helmed by Roderick Wolgamott, William Bernhard, and Jeremy Moss. In 2004, the band (composed of Wolgamott, Romero, Ireland, Davison, Cozzi and Bernhard) regrouped after they won the rights to their music back from their old record company and subsequently released their first live album ''Here and Now''. Two years later they followed it up with the release of ''Small Town''. In 2008, Sky Cries Mary's founder, Roderick Wolgamott and Anisa Romero were featured along with Sting and

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has p ...

on Lokah's debut release, ''The Ivy Ceiling''. Sky Cries Mary were one of the first bands to have an 'internet only' concert, an effort that was directed by former member McCoy. In 2012, bassist Jon Davison joined British progressive rock band

, performing as their lead vocalist. As a result, he was unavailable to rejoin the band when they reconvened in 2016. In 2016, founder Roderick Wolgamott premiered a new line-up, alongside original drummer Ben Ireland, guitarist Ron Nine ( Love Battery) and bassist Kurt Danielson ( Tad). In 2017, the band co-wrote and digitally released "War Song", a new single co-written by Wolgamott and Ron Nine. The band recorded several new songs, at Sound House with Jack Endino, who engineered Nirvana's ''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

'', and Soundgarden's ''

Badmotorfinger ''Badmotorfinger'' is the third studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on October 8, 1991, through A&M Records. Soundgarden began the recording sessions for the album with new bassist Ben Shepherd in the spring of 1991. The a ...

''. Later in 2017, Jack Endino along with Curt Eckman ( The Walkabouts), and Kevin Whitworth ( Love Battery) joined the group. In September 2017, they headlined at Psychfest in Seattle. Together, the band recorded more songs, including re-releases of some very early Sky Cries Mary material. A studio album, ''Thieves and Sirens'', included songs from their most recent collaborations and was released digitally in 2017. A vinyl and CD release of ''Thieves and Sirens'' was issued in 2018 following live appearances in March and April. On March 25, 2020, ''Secrets of a Red Planet'' was released on Trail Records. In January 2022, ''Wandering in the Vastness'' was released on Trail Records. In August 2023, ''Everything Goes Somewhere'' was released on Trail Records.

Discography

* '' Until the Grinders Cease'' (1989) Lively Art/New Rose Records. (1999) World Domination Recordings * '' Don't Eat the Dirt...'' (1990) Lively Art/New Rose Records * '' Exit at the Axis'' (1992) World Domination Recordings/Capitol Records * '' A Return to the Inner Experience'' (1993) World Domination Recordings/Capitol Records * '' This Timeless Turning'' (1993) World Domination Recordings/Capitol Records * '' Moonbathing on Sleeping Leaves'' (1997) Warner Bros. Records * ''Fresh Fruits for the Liberation'' (1998) Warner Bros. Records * ''Seeds'' (1999) Collective Fruit Records * ''Here and Now'' (2005) Hoodooh Music * ''Small Town'' (2007) Hoodooh Music * ''Space Between the Drops'' (2009) Trail Records * ''Taking The Stage: 1997-2005'' (2011) Trail Records * ''Thieves and Sirens'' (2017) Trail Records * ''Secrets of a Red Planet'' (2020) Trail Records * ''Wandering in the Vastness'' (2022) Trail Records * ''Everything Goes Somewhere'' (2023) Trail Records * ''Immortal Jellyfish'' (2025) Trail Records Their song "The Elephant Song" was featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

for the movie '' The Harvest''. Their song "Shipwrecked" was featured on the soundtrack for the movie ''

Tank Girl Tank Girl is a British comic created by Alan Martin (writer), Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett. It first appeared in print in 1988 in the British comics magazine ''Deadline (magazine), Deadline'', and then in the solo comic book series ''Tank Girl' ...

''. Their song "Cornerman" was featured in the movie ''

Higher Learning Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

,'' playing from a jukebox.

References

External links

Sky Cries Mary homepagebook excerpt from The Patti Smith Story regarding guitarist Ivan KralWFDU radio interview following release of Small Town 2016 Between You and Me podcast with Roderick WolgamottNoisey interview with Jack Endino
{{Authority control Musical groups from Seattle American psychedelic rock music groups American trance music groups Musical groups established in the 1980s 1980s establishments in Washington (state)