Murder 1 was founded in late '94 by Newark, NJ 'rogue' bassist/radio DJ Job the Raver &guitarist Captain Klingon of the stoner rock outfit Dense, Moist & Sticky. They were joinedby 17 year old Killing Machine drummer Boy Toy (from Elizabeth!!!) & vagabond blues rockvocalist DW Lee Fontaine. Killing Machine's Special K soon joined as 2nd guitarist. Thesound was heavily stoned & very loose, much like thier South Jersey brethren Monster Magnet.In March of '95, after his second DWI arrest in 6 months, Fontaine awoled & the gap wasfilled by blues rock purist Lene Gene Potts of Colossal Street Jam. By late '95, both Potts& Special K had bailed & former Digger frontman (and Newark school teacher!) Cakeboy wasbrought in. The sound took on a more "Stooges-Like" punk-laden turn. This fearsome foursomeexcelled in creating havoc! Klingon's onstage bong hits, BoyToy's constant fisticuffs,Cakeboy's nudity & Job's habitual misdemeanors caused bannings from many NJ, NY & PA clubs(only Newark's legendary Pipeline ever gave the band a "guarantee"). These antics were moredocumented than the early recordings! After his Rockland County "garden" was mowed down bylocal authorities, Klingon became despondent & was replaced in early '96 by 17 year old Coreguitarist G.Money. Despite his six pack a day habit, the 'kid' added fire & speed to the newrecordings and this lineup recorded the Joe Guzik produced seminal punk/metal opus "ShoppingFor Porn" in early '97. This slab of 'pure filth' is surely a late 90's punk classic!Touring hard over the next 18 months with Anal C*nt, Candy Snatchers, Downset, Savatage, USBombs, Step Kings and Kid Rock, replacement players were needed for the "ailing" Job &G.Money. This problem would further surface in years to come, but in '98, Shat/DillingerEscape Plan's Jeff Wood, Masred's Fred 'Shogun' Zoeller & Big Wig's John Grasso filled inadmirably on both bass and guitar. Higher and tighter than ever, it was the classic Job,Cakeboy, G.Money, Boytoy linuep that recorded the Mike Goldberg produced metallic firestorm"American Junkie" in 1999. This album also featured three quality vocal performances bydrummer BoyToy, who was now out of his "teen shell". His visionary punk/reggae version ofBob Marley's No Woman No Cry was aided by the vocal talents of Kid Rock! The boys hit theroad like juggernauts in Y2K, highlighted by a mainstage appearance at the titanic KXXRMinneapolis Edgefest, but with a dozen gigs left, G.Money shockingly quit M1 to attendRutgers University. Savatage's Chris Caffery, Anger's Terry Torino and Rhythm Trip's JonnyRod all filled the guitar gap, but none joined the band full time. During the chaos at theend of Y2K, Job & BoyToy teamed up with old friends Special K & Lene Gene Potts as well asFifty Cent Whore players Spanish Fly (bass), Cucu Crazycat (percussion) & Al Kinky (guitar)to form the mammoth Deep Purple & Hawkwind influenced sonic assault called Murder 1 BluesArmy. This lineup recorded the Job & Mad Mike Cullin produced Mordor Rising in early '01.Towards the end of this album's production, Job, BoyToy and Cakeboy brought in ex Solace &Killer Instinct axeman Iceberg as the full time Murder 1 guitarist. His Iommi meets Frehelycrunch combined with Job & BoyToy's love for "longform" 70's metal added a more classic hardrock aura to the band, much to the chagrin of punk stalwart Cakeboy. Regardless, thisfoursome started playing shows immediately. For three months, both Murder 1 & the BluesArmy were BOTH in full work/gig mode!!! Things took a bizarre turn after an M1BA gig at theBirch Hill Nite Club in Sayerville, as Special K quit the Blues Army sighting stagefright!He was replaced immediately for the northeast leg of the Clutch/Candiria/M1BA tour by noneother than Iceberg! This did NOT sit well with the already 'testy' Cakeboy, as the M1 BluesArmy spent the remainder of '01 playing hash parties, spaceouts & beer festivals. Anunrivaled EIGHTH member, piano/synth man Bramphetamine joined for band's final 5 shows! Aslightly damaged but enthusiastic Murder 1 started writing the follow up to American Junkiein '02, but the sessions were plagued with musical disarray, drug use and bitterness,eventually causing Cakeboy's departure. This left Murder 1 in one helluva predicament withstudio time pending with Daniel Rey!), ten shows booked, & NO frontman. Forced to bail onthe recording, the band did one show with Speed Kreature of Nebula & Donner Party famebefore once again calling upon the talents of Anger's Terry Torino to fill the void (thistime on vocals). The band then announced the full time addtion of Bramphetamine, who addedgallant backing vocals & killer ragtime piano. After the tour, the band auditioned quite afew singers (including a highly considered hardcore Philly native named Tim Borror!) butwere fairly convinced to move forward with Torino. It all changed the day Job boarded the(192) Rutherford to NYC bus next to the "king of herbs", former Novena & Punkinucle singerWill Naga. He auditioned later that week and was given the gig immediately! With oneovernight jam session, the band found peace between the signature punk/metal M1 sound andthe forward thinking jam out approach of the M1 Blues Army. Now sounding like the bastardspawn of a Led Zeppelin, Black Flag & Melvins musical orgy, this lineup would conquer, ifthey could only keep thier demons in check. Job was face to face with impending jailtimefor two drug posession charges earlier that year. He escaped with consecutive probations.Within a month the band was shopping a fresh demo and signed a new deal with The MusicCartel/Rise Above. Locking themselves in the studio for 13 days with a van load of whisky,beer and various chemicals, the band emerged with the classic Nelson Ayers produceddrug-rock epic "On High" which was released midway through '03. On the final day ofrecording, the band was joined in the studio by old bud Chris Caffery (who by this time wasriding the Trans-Siberian train to superstardom) for a scorching rendition of UFO's RockBottom. Eighteen gigs later, the new & "highly" improved Murder 1 found themselves on anational tour with Clutch, Throat & Mastodon! The DEA however were not fans of the 'rock'or the band's "habits" & this era of M1 fell from grace almost as fast as they climbed themusical mountain. Job faced more drug charges in '04, missing shows and stalling the band's"chronic" & "amped" up touring schedule. Fed up to the max, Iceberg actually quit the bandbriefly to join Symphony X frontman Russel Allan's side project Atomic Soul, but wasconvinced to rejoin Murder 1 a few weeks later. The band restarted the engine in '05 bywriting and recording a batch of new material, tentatively titled Escape From New York, butthe monkey was clinging hard to Murder 1's back, as Will Naga did time in the NYC tombs forposessing some of the highest 'grade' the NYPD has ever sniffed out. A few months later,Job was arrested in unrelated "toxic" events. Murder 1 was spiralingdownward & the band was forced to take time off to clean things up. Things really hit the"skids" in '05 when Job flipped his convertable over the guard rail of the New York StateThruway. Authorities are still searching for answers as to how he crawled out alive! Aregrouping of sorts took place towards the end of '06 as this now 'desperate band' begangigging again (including 3 celebrated high energy-rock shows at NYC's Snitch). Job becameconsumed in a fevered rock & roll work ethic by forming the 'psychadelic drug-punk cocktail'known as The Drugstore Cowboyz with Iceberg and old friends Cucu Crazycat & Speed Kreature.He also joined New Jersey supergroup The Cursed alongside Overkill's Bobby "Blitz"Ellsworth, Hades' Dan Lorenzo and Non Fiction's Mike Cristi. Leaving the completion ofEscape From N.Y for a later date, Job took on the massive production of a 10 year historicalAnthology including remastered recordings from '97 all the way to the present. This nuggetof handywork will be released this spring as Murder 1 has rekindled the fire and vowed aplethora of East Coast shows and of course, plenty of mayhemic chemistry!