HeadCrash

Well… it’s been 10 years since the big split with HeadCrash, and I have been thinking about the band a lot lately. A few months back, I was sitting at work listening to my Ipod… the title track “Direction of Correctness” from the LP-CD “Direction of Correctness” randomly came on… I hadn’t listened to that record in years, and the track blew me away. HeadCrash used to open with this song back in 1994. I was totally rocking out, thinking about the old days, thinking about how much fun we had creating and playing this music. There are so many good memories and of course, especially at the end, lots of bad memories. I have my own resentments, my own grudges, my own beef with the way things went down and I put a lot of energy into airing how I felt about it, in the years that came and went since the split. When the band got back together in 2001, minus most of the original members, I let my emotions fly. Then, when I created this page in 2006, I focused it exclusively on what the band had done since 2001, instead of focusing it on all the great things the whole band had done, all along the way, since 1992. This profile of the band should celebrate what the project and the band created, including ALL members past and present. I’ve decided to redo this entire page, to dedicate it to what was built and who built it— the whole truth instead of my previous interpretation of the truth. This isn’t about trying to sort out who was right and who was wrong or whether apologies are in order, from me or anyone else… I’d rather focus on the positive things that were forgotten: the energy that was put into this project, the connections between the band members that came and went, the stages the band played, and the CDs & DVDs the band put out along the way. Everyone who ever did something for HeadCrash should be proud of what went down, and considering how quickly the clock is moving— if someone doesn’t do something to keep these memories alive, this will all slide into the sands of time as a source of bitterness and resentment, rather than a celebration of the party that raged from 1992-1999 (and beyond), from Europe to the USA and back. I had originally intended to time this edit with the end of April 2009 (for the obvious reasons) but I have some time on my hands right now, and I can’t be sure that I’ll have that time in April. So, for what it’s worth, here we go…

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A Brief History of HeadCrash....

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HeadCrash formed as a studio project in 1992. Electronic artists Fritz Weber and Ulli Franke had been creating club tracks for some time and with guitarist Herv Meyzsner, together they gave birth to an edgy guitar-driven/electronica sound that would be replicated by many, in the years to come. They shopped the project to a few vocalists and finally zeroed in on Allen Wright, the vocalist for Wedding Tackle (a hardcore band that Herv also played in at the time). Allen’s vocal tracks defined the project, plain and simple. His politically charged flows and in-your-face delivery blew the doors off everything that everyone was doing at the time, creating an explosion in the scene. After recording the Scapegoat EP-CD for the industrial label Zoth Ommog in 1993, the project took off… 5000 copies came and went in a matter of days. This EP set the stage for a major deal with East-West/Warner and in late 1993, the Direction of Correctness LP-CD was produced with Tommy Newton (Area 51 studios). In the middle of that production, Fritz committed suicide for reasons unknown to anyone. The 4 piece studio project became a 3 piece studio project in the blink of an eye.

The Direction of Correctness LP-CD and the deal with East/West-Warner brought up a big question: Will there be a live band? In the planning stages for this live band, Allen called me up and asked me if I would be interested in running the vocals with him, and I told him I would. I tried out late December 1993 and was asked to be part of the band. The project acquired me, Roger (Spermbirds) to play guitar, and Nico Berthold to play drums, in preparation for a small showcase tour that would begin March 9 th , 1994, at Café Glocksee in Hannover (Germany)... The studio project of 3 became a band of 6 in a matter of weeks.

The band of 6 toured heavily across Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic throughout 1994, with the single/video for Black Gold and the single/video for “Freedom” (featuring a MAXI-CD with a brand new recording of “Freedom” + new bonus tracks) as promotion. These shows became a defining moment for the band, as the long standing friendship between Al and I was forged into a dual frontman attack, honed on the energy we gleaned from each other. We annihilated stage after stage as the band gained notoriety for its live shows. Our tour opening for Boo-Yaa Tribe in fall of 1994 was followed by a headlining tour, featuring Junior of War Dance on guitar (conflicting schedules with Spermbirds kept Roger out of this tour). We began preproductions for the Overdose on Tradition LP-CD in 1995 and after producing the record with Jonathan Burnside in ....San Francisco...., we acquired Otto Van Alphen on bass guitar. The band of 6 became a band of 7.

HeadCrash toured heavily following the release of the Overdose on Tradition LP-CD in 1996, with the single/video for Safehouse as promotion. We did a tour with Thumb and a number of high profile shows to include WDR Rocknacht, the Bizarre Festival, and the Strange Noise Festival. This LP-CD was picked up by Elektra in the ....USA...., leading to a separate record contract and promotional tour. We played the Foundations Forum in ..Los Angeles.. and did a short tour of ....California.... in the fall of 1996 before embarking on another European tour, to support our Fresh Ingredients EP-CD, featuring remixes and live recordings. It was late in 1996 that Uli and Nico parted ways with the band, and it was somewhere in this time period that we severed connections with East-West/Warner as well. We found ourselves going into 1997 with no studio and no label support. The band of 7 became a project of 5.

Allen, Herv, Rog, Otto, and I didn’t hesitate in moving forward. Herv and Rog both built small studios in their apartments and we began pre-producing new tracks. Lars O’Vogt (our manager at the time) took a position with Sony and began shopping our new demos within the company. He finally landed us a contract with Dragnet, an up and coming label under the Sony umbrella. After trying out new drummers, we finally zeroed in on Matthias Liebetruth and began productions on the Lifeboat LP-CD with Tommy Newton shortly thereafter. Sony released the Lifeboat LP-CD in May of 1998 and we began touring immediately, in support of this record. The project of 5 became a band of 6 once again.

With the Asphalt Ostrich single/video as promotion, HeadCrash toured heavily across Europe and the ....UK...., with highlights on a number of major stages to include the Bizarre Festival, and Rock am Ring/Rock im Park. Much to our surprise, it was in this time frame that Rog decided to leave the band for personal reasons. He was replaced by Allard Zwemstra, and the show went on. Despite the release of another single (Snake in the Grass MAXI-CD), HeadCrash found itself on the back burner as Sony moved to take advantage of the emergence of German hiphop and the new wave of German goth. HeadCrash was under great pressure to follow up the Lifeboat LP-CD with something more commercial, and this led to serious tension between the members of the band. We began pre-productions of the Pulse LP-CD (working title) and tracked around 10 songs but as 1998 passed into 1999, HeadCrash parted ways with Sony. To make a very long story short, the band of 6 crashed and burned in early 1999. We played two final shows in K-Town, one at the Fillmore in February and one final farewell concert at the Kammgarn in April of 1999.

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After two years’ worth of silence, Herv and I picked up the pieces in 2001. Sadly enough, this reformation did not include Allen, Otto, Allard, or Matthias. Allen, Otto, and Allard had already formed “End of April” and we could not mend the bridges enough to continue as the original HeadCrash, with them on board. The band of 6 re-emerged as a band of 4. Herv and I tracked the 2002 DEMO-CD with Justin (Senser) on bass guitar and Paul Stone on drums. We hit the studio again in 2003, and put out the Peas in a Pod EP-CD later that year. Most of the recordings for these two sessions ended up on the [Cranium] LP-CD released by Rookie Records in 2006. This CD is available through Rookie Records, or the user ID secretcompass on Ebay. HeadCrash has played a few shows here and there since the reformation in 2001 (most notably, the Spermbirds 20 years anniversary show in K-Town, December of 2005) but for some of us, our lives as husbands and fathers have taken hold and the band is no longer our priority anymore. We are all still involved with music, in one form or another, so I wouldn’t rule out new recordings or live shows, but for now… the band is at a standstill.

I will be uploading a wide assortment of photos and videos in the weeks to come, in celebration of HeadCrash, one of the most blistering verbal and musical assaults to ever hit the airwaves. 100,000+ CDs and 300+ live shows later… I want to take this time to say thanks to everyone who ever lent a helping hand. Thanks to all the members of the project and the band past/present, the bands we played with, the local K-town and Pirmasens music scenes, and every single fan that ever came to the shows/put us up for the night/bought our CDs/bought our merchandise/etc.etc.etc.- THANKS for the rollercoaster ride I will never forget. I am honored to have been asked to be a part of it, I am honored to have had the opportunity to voice my opinion, and I am honored to have met so many great people along the way. I never took any of it for granted.

Until the next time around…

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-shane

February 2009

***July 2009 Update***

The entire HeadCrash back catalogue, the Lungbutter "Release" LP-CD, and the Peace Officer "Insurgency" LP-CD are all available now as legal downoads from I-Tunes (worldwide), Amazon.com, Napster.com, and Rhapsody. These albums include:
-HeadCrash : Scapegoat EP-CD, 1993. Originally released on Zoth Ommog. HeadCrash's first studio effort! Allen (vocals), Herv (guitars), Ulli & Fritz (electronics).
-HeadCrash : Direction of Correctness LP-CD, 1994. Originally released by Autarc/East-West/Warner. Produced by Tommy Newton at Stairway to Heaven, Hannover (Germany). This was the project's first full length record.
-HeadCrash : "Freedom" MAXI-SINGLE CD, 1994. Originally released by Autarc/East-West/Warner. Produced by Tommy Newton at Stairway to Heaven, Hannover (Germany). This was the band's first recording session, featuring live band additions Shane Cooper (vocals), Nico Berthold (drums), and Roger Ingenthron (guitar).
-HeadCrash : Overdose on Tradition LP-CD, 1995. Originally released by Autarc/East-West/Warner and re-released by Discovery/Elektra/Warner. Produced by Jonathan Burnside at the Razor's Edge in San Francisco.
-HeadCrash : Fresh Ingredients EP- CD, 1996. Originally released by Collective 5/East-West/Warner. Remixes by Mark Pistel (Consolidated), ect. and Live Tracks from Europe's biggest festivals.
-HeadCrash : Lifeboat LP-CD, 1998. Originally released by Dragnet/Sony. Produced by Tommy Newton at Area 51, Hannover (Germany). Considered the most powerful of all the HeadCrash recording sessions.
-Lungbutter : Release LP-CD, 1996. Originally released by Collective 5/East-West/Warner. Shane, Otto, and Nico's side-project with Markus (Spermbirds) and Ludwig (Arts and Decay). The one and only record to emerge from this project. "Post hardcore/Industrial/Metal" .... .
-Peace Officer : Insurgency LP-CD, 2009. Dub, Hip/hop, Ska, Reggae, Punk, and lots of GFYS. Features Shane from HeadCrash.
The latest HeadCrash record, [Cranium] LP-CD, released in 2006, is also available on I-Tunes, and on Ebay.
If you're interested in supporting the musicians who made this music, please consider legal downloads from these sites. If you have any questions, please ask...