Marilyn Manson Biography

Marilyn Manson is an artist whose off stage antics ensures that he is never really out of the limelight. Rumor has it that Marilyn Manson has never been photographed without his make-up. The fact that a music artist requires make-up in the first place does not seem to have any adverse effect on Marilyn Manson's ever expanding legion of fans. Marilyn Manson was born, Brian Warner Canton on January 5th, 1969.

One of the reasons for Manson's success is his ability over the years to build a cult like fan following. Manson has never been a singer of choice for the masses but that itself is added incentive for his fans to swear undying allegiance to him. The name Marilyn Manson is a combination of the first names of Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson. These two are generally recognized as America's most loved and most hated individuals. The band is eponymous has undergone many line-up changes.

The present composition of the band is Marilyn Manson "Vocals, Ginger Fish (Kenny Wilson)" Drums, Madonna Wayne (M.W.) Gacy a.k.a Pogo (Stephen Bier, Jr.) - Keyboards & Drums, Tim Skold - Bass Guitar and Mark Chaussee - Lead Guitar. The surnames of almost all the members are names of serial killers.

In 1989 in Southern Florida, Manson, an Ohio-born photojournalism major, and Daisy Berkowitz, a guitarist came together and formed a band. They later added gadget Gein and Madonna Wayne Gacy. The band was formed with the mission statement that it would push the envelope when it came to censorship.

The group was originally known as Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids began self-releasing cassettes and playing gigs, their Gothic stage show notable for Manson's elaborate make-up and homemade special effects. The break through year for Marilyn Manson was in 1993 when they bagged a contract from Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. It was for his new label called Nothing. This landed them a spot on Nine Inch Nails's 1994 tour.

The release of Smells Like Children EP got the band their first taste of commercial success. Their next album was1996's Antichrist Superstar, it debuted at the number three spot on the pop album charts. Manson even came out with a best selling autobiography called The Long Hard Road Out of Hell. In 1997, the owner of Calgary's Max Bell Centre had Manson's July 25 show canceled, citing "immorality" and the band's "use of animals on stage." Another concert in Portland was canceled a few days later due to Manson's reputation, and the venue's inability to get insurance for the gig.

The next album was a spoof on the media and high society called Mechanical Animals which released in 1998. Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) came out at the end of 2000. The band toured to support the album in 2001 and during a July show in Michigan, Manson was charged with criminal sexual conduct after performing an alleged offensive act on a security guard. In another case it was alleged by a security guard that Manson has rubbed his pelvis on the guards head.

Manson is often described as a follower and ordained minister of the Church of Satan. In 1994, Manson met Dr. Anton Szandor LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan. Dr. LaVey named Manson as a priest of the Church of Satan.

Celebrated by supporters as a crusader for free speech and denounced by detractors as little more than a poor man's Alice Cooper, Manson was the latest in a long line of shock rockers, rising to the top of the charts on a platform of sex, drugs and Satanism. Marilyn Manson's skill in crafting boldly creative imagery and brutally powerful statements has catapulted his band and persona into the mass media spotlight.

Following the Columbine High School massacre, there were accusations that killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were influenced by Manson's music (along with that of other bands in the gothic/industrial genre), despite statements by both Harris and Klebold that they were not fans of Manson. Out of respect for the victims, Manson canceled appearances in Denver until the 2001 Ozzfest.

In the critically acclaimed documentary Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore interviewed Manson about the tragedy. When asked what he would say to the two if he had a chance to talk to them before the killings, Manson replied "I wouldn't say a single word to them; I would listen to what they have to say, and that's what no one did."

Manson is constantly innovating with his music and his look. The combination of look and sound form a type of expression that brings him great success. Manson has proved him self to be extremely versatile with an ever expanding creative repertoire.