CKY

Originally hailing from West Chester, PA, the roots of CKY stretch back to 1992, when friends Deron Miller (vocals, guitar) and Jess Margera (drums) met in high school math class, eventually forming the group Foreign Objects together; they issued the five-song EP The Undiscovered Numbers & Colors on the Distant Recordings label in fall 1995. By the next year, the two had begun releasing less metal, more radio-friendly music under the name Oil, though continuing to record Foreign Objects work on the side. Picking up their third live bassist, Ryan Bruni, they released two more EPs, 1996's Lifeline and a 1997 self-titled one. During recording sessions for their debut full-length, the Oil trio met producer Chad I. Ginsburg (aka CIG), who was soon asked to join on permanently as their second guitarist. This addition marked Oil's 1998 dissolution and CKY's birth, as the guys stopped trying to appeal to the mainstream and changed their name to Camp Kill Yourself (Miller thought up the name, thinking it would make a perfect title for a horror movie). Demos were recorded and the quartet caught a break when Margera's pro-skateboarding brother, Bam, was featured doing wacky acts on the video Jump Off a Building, which featured a song ("Genesis 12a") from CKY. Bam was offered to do other videos and called upon his brother's band to supply the soundtracks -- resulting in the release of the 1999's CKY, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, which included all the songs from the videos. Camp Kill Yourself appeared as part of the 1999 Warped Tour, though they were kicked off near the end after joining a fan-generated protest of tour vending prices. The band had also signed with Volcom, reissued Camp Kill Yourself, Vol. 1 with different artwork, and officially changed their name to CKY (quickly altering...