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Regicide/Smudge/Stain/Kilgore Smudge/Kilgore.....
The band that was eventually known as Kilgore, had started out of a Providence, RI catholic high school's unique music program. Instead of a marching band or concert band, the bands played contemporary rock, classic rock, jazz and blues covers. With their love of metal...Brian, Bill, Smitty, Mike and Jay formed an original band known as Regicide then after graduation know as Smudge . They released their first demo cassette Spill (1993) and began playing numerous shows in Providence at Club Confetti, The Living Room, Club Babyhead, and Lupos' Heartbreak Hotel.
After discovering an Australian pop-punk band by the same name, they changed their name to Stain . As Stain , the band formed a bond with numerous local Providence bands: Times Expired, Shed, Moshall Law, State of Corruption, Freak Show, Richard, Second Skin, and many more. In 1994 , they released another cassette demo entitled Die Cast (1994) . It was the release of Die Cast of brought the band to the attention of Unsound Records and signed to recording contract. It was at this time the band noticed a local Springfield, MA band by the name of Stain. They decided to change a name no band could possibly have Kilgore Smudge . The name was a nod to their original name and also to the literary character "Kilgore Trout" from Kurt Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions.
After numerous tours, Kilgore Smudge released the full-length album Blue Collar Solitude (1995) . The record release party managed to sell out one of the final shows at Club Babyhead. The album also spent numerous months at the top of the Metal College Radio charts. The band then continued to tour well into 1996. The schedule began to tire Smitty, who decided to call it a day. Enter Steve Johnson on Bass duties. The band began working on the follow-up to Blue Collar Solitude with a series of recordings known as "The Stalemate Sessions". The songwriting and music took a darker turn. The band was somewhat unsure of the material, as well as the record label. Tensions began to mount, confidence was slipping...A dark cloud took its toll with Brian McKenzie leaving the band. Brian continues to play as a singer-songwriter....
The band continued to write and record demos for what would become A Search for Reason . Confidence was regaining as the record contract was extended to Revolution Records/Warner Bros. The band flew out to Los Angeles for 4 months to write, rehearse and record the album. The band chose Ed Stasium (The Ramones, Talking Heads, Living Colour, Biohazard, Reverend Horton Heat) as their producer. The final product A Search for Reason (1998) was released in early 1998 to excellent reviews. As a new management deal was inked, the band landed a spot on Ozzfest 98' . Two weeks before going out on another tour, Marty O'Brien was asked to join the band to replace Steve Johnson on Bass. Kilgore continued to tour for the rest of the year and played its last show on New Years Eve of 1998.
Vocalist Jay Berndt left the band in early 1999 to pursue a family life. He now plays with Providence band The Brimstone Assembly . The rest of the band moved to Los Angeles to look for a new singer and continue on. Marty O'Brien began playing with Tommy Lee's Methods Of Mayhem and now plays with LA band 3-Faced . Mike Pelletier began scoring video game soundtracks and now plays with In For The Kill . Bill "Bilgore" Southerland moved back to Providence and has been working with children for the last few years.
In Spring of 2007, original members Jay Berndt, Brian McKenzie, Bill Southerland, and Jason "Smitty" Smith will be reuniting to play a show on May 19 at Jake's Bar in Providence, RI.
The show is a benefit called "Fight to Remember" and all proceeds will go to the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and The National Philanthropic Trust for breast cancer treatment and research.
This is the first time KILGORE has played since 1998 and for the first time with McKenzie and Smith since 1996. They will be performing numerous songs from their two releases, "Blue Collar Solitude" and "A Search For Reason" as well as songs from early demos. As far the future of KILGORE...well that remains to be seen.
Some of the Bands that Kilgore (Smudge) played with:
Biohazard,
Clutch,
Coal Chamber,
The Cro-Mags,
DRI,
Fear Factory ,
Godsmack,
Incubus,
Judas Priest,
Life of Agony,
Limp Bizkit,
Marilyn Manson,
Megadeth,
The Melvins,
The Misfits,
Monster Voodoo Machine,
Motorhead,
Nothingface,
Ozzy Ozbourne,
Pennywise,
Sam Black Church,
Sevendust,
Sheer Terror,
Shelter,
Sick of It All,
Slayer,
Snot,
Soulfly,
Staind',
Stompbox,
Sublime,
System of a Down,
Tool,
Ultraspank
