KILL DR.LAURA: Biography
They rage against the cookie cutter life of the American Slob". They think they can coax Isaac Hayes out of retirement with Oh Chef". And lets just say theres a restraining order against them from a certain right wing radio talk show host. In short, theyre the rawest, snarlinest, most ironically hip band to come out of the 91362 area code sincewell, ever. They are Kill Dr.Laura.
Remedial band camp. 1990. Julie Viens (vocals), Darren Selesnow (guitar) and Stephen Munshi (drums) meet in the camp mess hall while waiting in line for seconds of American chop suey. The bond was immediate, as is usually the case when fans of the Dead Milkmen, Dokken, and Scottish keg tossing music first meet.
Their friendship outlived the 5-week coming of age camp odyssey, when they returned to their respective suburban homes, vowing that their creative union would outlast the Bush presidency. Unbeknownst to them, it would take until the second Bush presidency for them to finally get something recorded. The way we look at it," explains vocalist and songwriter Julie Viens, weve been waiting for the world to be ready for us. I think itswaithold onnow its ready."
Indeed, the time is ripe for Kill Dr.Lauras retro, hi-brow punk/lo-fi new wave sound, if only to remind us that it used to be about the music and the message, not about the corporate soft drink endorsements. We are actually available for soft drink endorsements," clarifies Stephen Munshi, making thirsty sounds. Munshi lives in the high desert where he is a medical guinea pig at a nearby college. He is thirsty a lot and sometimes has hives.
The bands first EP was released in early 2006 and represents 16 years of occasionally playing on weekends and sometimes planning to get together for miniature golf. On several occasions, songs have been written on Jack in the Box napkins at 2:30 AM under mysterious circumstances. I believe that makes us the hardest working band in show business," claims Darren Selesnow. Hey, its not about quantity, its about quality," reminds Selesnow. These songs are the voice of a generation." Selesnow spends his days knitting sweaters for the elderly and talks to cats.
Then there is Charlene, after showing up for a photo shoot one day, the band was dazzled by her bass and bangin' triangle skills. Like any good wine that goes with a meal, Charlene has become a staple in the Kill Dr. Laura diet.
In a crazy mixed up world of politics and war and mothers wearing pink velour sweatsuits to the supermarket, it takes a band of brave visionaries like Kill Dr.Laura to hold up the mirror and make us see things as they really are. Can they change the world? Probably not. Are they thirsty? Yes, one of them is.
