Urge Overkill is 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, formed in

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in 1986, consisting of Nathan Kaatrud, who took the stage name Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass). They are widely known for their song "Sister Havana" and their cover of

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

's " Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon", which was used in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

''. ''Oui'', their latest album, was released in 2022.

History

Formation, ''Jesus Urge Superstar'', and ''Americruiser'' (1986–1990)

Kato and Roeser met at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in 1985. They formed Urge Overkill (getting the name from a phrase in the lyrics of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

song " Funkentelechy") in Chicago in 1986, with drummer Pat Byrne, and released an EP, ''Strange, I...'', on

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American independent record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California on March 3, 1987. All of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1987. Several ...

. The EP was recorded by Kato's friend

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

. The full-length album '' Jesus Urge Superstar'' soon followed, again produced by Albini, and with Kriss Bataille on the drums. '' Americruiser'' saw a change in style. Jack "Jaguar" Watt (of the band Baron Lesh) was the drummer and their sound from then on has been described as a "Stonesy fusion of arena rock and punk". Produced by

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter who is the drummer and co-producer of the rock band Garbage. Producer of the diamond selling Nirvana album ''Nevermind'' (1991), Vig also pro ...

, ''Americruiser'' was widely praised, and scored a

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

hit with the lead single "Ticket to L.A."

''The Supersonic Storybook'' and ''Saturation'' (1991–1994)

Watt returned to Baron Lesh and was replaced by Blackie Onassis (real name: John Rowan) on the next album '' The Supersonic Storybook'', which was named by

Material Issue Material Issue was an American power pop trio from Chicago, Illinois. The band's trademark is pop songs with themes of love and Broken heart, heartbreak. A number of their song titles used women's first names. History Material Issue was formed ...

's Jim Ellison and was released in 1991. After opening for

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

on the American ''

Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a Record label#Major versus independent record labels, major label an ...

'' tour, Urge Overkill returned to the studio to record another EP '' Stull'' in 1992, which featured the tracks "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (produced and mixed by Kramer) and "Goodbye to Guyville". Having a strong following by this time, they jumped from their indie label Touch & Go to

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

. Despite some criticism for the label switch, Urge Overkill's major-label debut ''Saturation'' received strong reviews upon release in 1993, and to support the album, they opened for

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

on their ''Vs.'' tour. The single "Sister Havana" gave the band a hit record and broad recognition. In 1993, the band contributed the track "Take a Walk" to the AIDS relief benefit album '' No Alternative'' produced by the Red Hot Organization. As the band recorded a follow-up album, cult filmmaker

used the group's cover version of the

song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" in his 1994 film ''

''. When the movie became a hit, the song made it to number 59 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

''Exit the Dragon'', hiatus, and reformation (1995–2009)

Urge Overkill retained their sound for '' Exit the Dragon'', released in 1995. Kato and Roeser started feuding, resulting in Roeser leaving the band. Roeser went on to perform with Jim Kimball (formerly of

The Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas by vocalist David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims. They relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1989, where they found kindred spirits in ...

) as L.I.M.E. and with his brother John in the band Electric Airlines. Now a duo consisting of Kato and Onassis, Urge Overkill moved to

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

550 Music 550 Music (originally known as Sony 550 Music) was a unit of Sony Music Entertainment, which operated through Sony Music's Epic Records division while in activity. Launched in 1992, the "550" name was inspired by the address of the Sony building ...

in early 1997. After a break of several years, Kato released a solo album in 2000 titled ''

Debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Origin ...

''. Six of the album's 13 songs were co-written with Onassis. In 2004, Kato and Roeser reformed Urge Overkill without Onassis, recruiting former Gaza Strippers guitarist Mike "Hadji" Hodgkiss to play bass, keyboardist Chris Frantisak, and drummer Nate Arling. The reformed Urge Overkill performed shows at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, Double Door in Chicago, First Avenue in Minneapolis and the

Bowery Ballroom The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in Manhattan's Bowery neighborhood. The venue has enjoyed a fabled reputation among musicians as well as audiences. In 2013, industry insiders polled by ''Roll ...

in New York and continued to tour through Europe, North America, and Australia.

''Rock & Roll Submarine'' and ''Oui'' (2010–present)

On September 19, 2010, on the free form radio program ''Anything Anything with Rich Russo'' on WRXP-FM in New York, the first Urge Overkill song in 15 years was played. The song was called "Effigy". Russo also announced an Urge Overkill show on October 4, 2010 at Mercury Lounge in New York. Live shows began happening, including being the musical guest at a " Roast of

" on December 1, 2010. The band released '' Rock & Roll Submarine'', their first studio album in 16 years, in May 2011. A subsequent tour followed the release of the album. On October 8, 2011, Urge Overkill opened for

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...

at the Red Bull Riot Fest at the Congress Theater in Chicago. Urge Overkill had continued to perform live occasionally from 2012 to 2018. By 2019, the band had begun working on new material for the follow-up to ''Rock & Roll Submarine''. ''Oui'', their first studio album in 11 years, was released on January 28, 2022. Johnny "Blackie Onassis" Rowan died on 13 June 2023, at the age of 57.

Band members

Current members * Nash Kato – lead vocals, guitar * Eddie "King" Roeser – guitar * Nate Arling – drums * Adam Arling – bass Former members * Pat Byrne – drums * Kriss Bataille – drums * Jack "Jaguar" Watt – drums * Blackie Onassis – drums * Mike "Hadji" Hodgkiss – bass * Chris Frantisak – keyboards * Nils St. Cyr – guitar * Bonn Quast – drums

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Live albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Compilation appearances

* ''Hog Butcher For The World'' (Mad Queen Records) (1987) - "Last Train To Heaven"

References

External links

Official website

www.urgeoverkill.com - Latest tour dates/Mood Control
*
Urge Overkill
at ''

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 ...

'' * * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 Touch and Go Records artists Geffen Records artists Ruthless Records (Chicago) artists Alternative rock groups from Chicago Musical groups from Illinois 1986 establishments in Illinois