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Urge Overkill

Few bands ever lusted after rock stardom quite as blatantly as Chicago's Urge Overkill. Although they draped their quest for stardom in a cloak of ironic detachment, it's quite clear the trio members expected that if they acted like stars, they would become stars. For a while, their stylish, retro-'70s outfits, matching medallions, and heavy Cheap Trick homages earned the group a popular following in alternative rock circles. The SuperSonic Storybook and the Stull EP were both underground hits in the early '90s, before alternative rock became big business. Once alternative rock entered the big leagues, it seemed likely that Urge Overkill, with their exceptionally accessible combination of arena rock, power pop, and underground punk, would follow Nirvana to the top of the charts, but mainstream America never quite understood their ironic outlook, embracing the group only after their cover of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" was used in a key scene in Pulp Fiction. Instead of breaking down the doors to stardom, the song proved to be a breaking point. Exit the Dragon, the first album released after the hit single, stiffed, receiving little radio or MTV support and the band soon went into exile, which lasted 16 years. When they reemerged with Rock & Roll Submarine, the official members consisted of Nash Kato and Eddie "King" Roeser, the pair of singer/songwriters who'd anchored the band since its inception. The duo kept Urge Overkill running through thick and thin, and returned after a lengthy hiatus in 2022 with Oui. Of course, Urge Overkill were always unlikely candidates for rock stardom. The group's core members, Nash Kato (occasionally billed as National Kato) and Eddie "King" Roeser, were Midwest suburbanites who met at college in Chicago. Taking their name from a Parliament song, the duo formed Urge Overkill in 1985 with drummer Jack Watt (billed as "the Jaguar") and recorded their debut EP, Strange, I... with Kato's roommate Steve Albini the following year. Neither Strange, I... nor its full-length follow-up, the Albini-produced Jesus Urge Superstar, gained much attention, so the group started to revamp its sound beginning with the Butch Vig-produced Americruiser, a 1990 album anchored by "Ticket to LA," their most successful attempt at mimicking arena rock to date. Drummer Blackie Onassis was added to the band prior to the recording of its third album. With Onassis in the band, Urge Overkill landed on their Stonesy fusion of arena rock and punk, as well as their idea to act like stars. The new Urge Overkill debuted on 1991's The SuperSonic Storybook, a 1991 album that earned significant underground attention thanks to strong reviews and a slot opening for Nirvana on the American Nevermind tour. Urge Overkill wrapped up their time on Touch & Go with Stull in 1992, an EP produced by Kramer that featured both a cover of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" and "Goodbye to Guyville," a kiss-off to the Chicago indie rock scene the band had alienated; Liz Phair would later borrow the term for her acclaimed debut album, Exile in Guyville. Signing with DGC, Urge Overkill entered the studio the Butcher Bros., a production team that primarily worked with hip-hop acts like Cypress Hill, the Fugees and Kris Kross. The resulting Saturation was savvy, stylish and loud, earning the group its first modern rock and MTV play with "Sister Havana" and "Positive Bleeding" upon the album's release in 1993. A year later, Urge Overkill earned their first pop hit when Quentin Tarantino included their version of "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" on the soundtrack to his smash film Pulp Fiction. "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" placed Urge Overkill on the cusp of success but internal tensions in the band started to boil. They managed to deliver the dark, roiling Exit the Dragon in 1995 yet the group began to fracture during its supporting tour. Within a few weeks, the band was scrapping concerts and by the end of the year, Blackie Onassis was arrested for heroin possession. Urge Overkill spent the early months of 1996 regrouping but the damage had already been done. By the end of the year, Eddie "King" Roeser left the group. Kato and Onassis continued as a duo, leaving DGC for Sony's 550 Music in early 1997. Adding guitarist Nils St. Cyr as Roeser's replacement, the band finished a record for 550 but the label was dissatisfied with the results, so they dropped the band. At that point, Urge Overkill disbanded. Nash Kato released his solo debut, Debutante, in early 2000. Debutante featured six songs co-written by Onassis. It was his last high-profile musical gig: he got clean in the 2000s and focused on recovery before his death at the age of 57 on June 13, 2023. Kato and Roeser mended fences in the early 2000s, reuniting Urge Overkill without Onassis for a worldwide tour in 2004. Over the next few years, Urge Overkill played a few festival dates and one-off shows, before finally heading into the recording studio in 2010 to record a new album. The resulting Rock & Roll Submarine, Urge Overkill's first album in 16 years, appeared in May of 2011, and featured ex-Polvo drummer Bonn Quast and ex-Gaza Strippers bassist Mike "Hadji" Hodgkiss. Urge Overkill played on occasion throughout the 2010s, yet no new material was forthcoming until the 2022 release of Oui. Containing a cover of Wham!'s "Freedom," Oui picked up where Rock & Roll Submarine left off, offering thick, sinewy rockers reminiscent of Exit the Dragon.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Discography

18 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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