Sky Cries Mary

Sky Cries Mary began life as a soundtrack vehicle for vocalist Roderick Wolgamott's theater work. Accompanied by Posies Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer, the first recordings were made on Wolgamott's 23rd birthday, shortly before he left his native Seattle to attend graduate school in Paris. There he landed a deal with the New Rose label and, upon arrival back in Seattle, the band completed its debut album in eight days. The harsh industrial soundscapes of Until the Grinders Cease appeared in Europe in 1989 (the album remained unreleased in the U.S. for another decade). Sky Cries Mary played three shows, including one opening for Pere Ubu, before Wolgamott returned to Paris to record a follow-up EP, Don't Eat the Dirt, with local musicians. One final cut was recorded in Seattle with Stringfellow and Auer, and again, the resultant clatter saw release in Europe only. Stringfellow and Auer bowed out, but Wolgamott's mood was shifting anyway. The emergence of a local rave scene connected him with electronic whiz DJ Fallout, while the nearly simultaneous arrival of the operatically trained Anisa Romero both prompted, and coincided with, Wolgamott's own realization that he had more to say through his music than "a simple outpouring of 'this is shit, you are shit, I am shit....'" Completing the lineup with bassist Joe Howard, drummer Ben Ireland, keyboard player Gordon Raphael, and former Patti Smith Group guitarist Ivan Kral, the increasingly theatrical and ambitious band found a home at the World Domination label in 1991, and debuted with the Exit at the Axis EP, recorded shortly before Kral quit for a solo career in late 1992. He was replaced by Marc Olsen of Sage and the band launched its first national tour, opening for Shriekback. The album Return to the Inner Experience...