1000 Homo DJs
| 1000 Homo DJs | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Genres | Industrial rock |
| Years active | 1988, 1990 |
| Labels | WaxTrax! |
| Associated acts | Ministry |
| Past members |
Buck Satan Officer Agro Ike Krull Wee Willie Reefer Viva Nova Count Ringworm |
1000 Homo DJs was a side project of industrial music band Ministry. The project was best known for a cover of Black Sabbath's "Supernaut", released by industrial label Wax Trax! Records.
1000 Homo DJs began as a side project to release outtakes from Ministry's The Land of Rape and Honey. The credits read "Another Luxa/Pan Production", which was the production pseudonym for Ministry members Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker.[1]
Members
The members of 1000 Homo DJs were identified by pseudonyms in the CD liner notes. However, most of their identities are fairly certain.
- Buck Satan: Al Jourgensen
- Officer Agro: speculated to be Jeff Ward,[2] but possibly Paul Barker or Martin Atkins[3]
- Ike Krull: Mike Scaccia
- The Temple of Drool Choir: Mike O'Connell, Wes Kidd, Brian St. Clair, Herb Rosen, Joe Kelly, David "Slash" Weidman, Jerry Rodgers
- Wee Willie Reefer: William Rieflin
- Viva Nova: also known as Mel'Amour and P.A.M., and later known as Vivanovachicago,[3][4] but often misidentified as Patty Jourgensen[2]
- Count Ringworm: Jello Biafra
Trent Reznor's contribution to "Supernaut" (see below) was uncredited.
Origin of name
In a 2004 interview,[5] Jourgensen explained that when he played demos (presumably those which became Apathy) for Wax Trax! co-owner Jim Nash, Nash replied, "No one's gonna buy this. It'll take one thousand homo DJs to play this for one person to buy it."
However, according to the Wax Trax! box set Black Box released in 1994, Jourgensen and Nash were in the label's office listening to an unauthorized remix of the Revolting Cocks' single "We Shall Cleanse the World". Nash comforted Jourgensen, who disapproved of the remix's existence, by assuring him that it would only ever be heard by "a thousand homo DJs."[6]
Trent Reznor's involvement
The nature of Reznor's contribution to 1000 Homo DJs' records has been debated. What is certain is that Reznor recorded the original vocals for "Supernaut." This performance was not officially used because Reznor's label TVT Records refused to allow his appearance on the release.[7] Reznor's version would ultimately be released as "Supernaut (Trent Reznor Vocal Version)" by TVT four years later on the retrospective Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years after TVT's purchase of Wax Trax!.
Jourgensen's immediate response to TVT's ultimatum is uncertain. An oft-repeated story tells that instead of recording new vocals, Jourgensen merely ran Reznor's performance through a distortion effect to mask its identity.[8][9] According to this story, every WaxTrax! recording of "Supernaut" contains Reznor's vocals. However, a dissenting group claims this is an urban legend, and that Jourgensen did record new vocals for the EP—albeit in a similar style to Reznor's initial performance.
Statements made by both Reznor and Jourgensen seem to confirm the latter view. In a 1992 Prodigy post regarding "Supernaut," Reznor said,
[I] finally told Al to redo it without me. The version that Wax Trax put out is Al, the version on the NIN [bootleg] single is me.[10]
Reznor referred to the two-track Suck bootleg, which contained the recording of "Supernaut" that later appeared on Black Box. Jourgensen made a similar statement in a 2003 interview. When asked whose vocals appear on "Supernaut," Jourgensen replied, referring to the WaxTrax! EP, Black Box, and Greatest Fits versions, respectively (and corroborating that only the "Trent Reznor Vocal Version" contained Reznor's performance, and that Jourgensen in fact sang on most versions of the song):
That would be me on the original, on WaxTrax! The later version released on TVT was Trent Reznor... then the remixed version had my vocals on it.[11]
Discography
Releases
- "Apathy" 12" single (1988, Wax Trax! Records)
- "Supernaut" 12" single/CD single)(1990, wax Trax! Records)
Compilation appearances
- V/A - Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years (1994)
- Contains "Supernaut (Trent Reznor Vocal Version)"
- V/A - Nativity in Black: Tribute to Black Sabbath (1994)
- Ministry - Greatest Fits (2001)
- Contains remix of "Supernaut."
- Ministry - Side Trax (2004)
- Ministry & Co-Conspirators Cover Up (2008)
- Contains remix of "Supernaut"
- V/A - The Black Bible (1998)
- Contains "Supernaut"
References
- ↑ Greene, Jo-Ann (1993-04-02). "Ministry". Goldmine. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
- 1 2 "1000 Homo DJs". Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
- 1 2 "1000 Homo DJs: The Players". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
- ↑ "Facebook.com - Vivanovachicago". Retrieved 2007-08-13.
- ↑ "Concert Review: Ministry". Orlando CityBeat reprinted in Pollstar. 1993-04-02. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
- ↑ Blackbox - WaxTrax! Records: The First 13 Years (CD Booklet). WaxTrax! Records. Chicago, Il.: TVT Records. 1994. p. 37.
- ↑ Bains, Jon. "Nine Inch Nails". Convulsion. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
- ↑ "Nine Inch Nails Biography". music.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
TVT ordered Reznor's vocals removed from ["Supernaut"], but Jourgensen actually just altered them slightly and said he'd re-recorded it.
- ↑ "Ministry FAQ: 1000 Homo DJs". Retrieved 2007-10-22.
No matter what you hear, Trent sings on all the versions of Supernaut out there. … Al went back into the studios and just distorted Trent's vocals to confuse the lawyers, label and so on...
- ↑ "Trent Reznor's Posts on Prodigy". The Nine Inch Nails Article Archive. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
- ↑ Warren, James (2003-05-21). "Ministry Interview: 20 Questions with Al Jourgensen". ministrymusic.org (official Ministry website) via Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 2007-03-13. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
