In The Loop Magazine WAX TRAX! Dance Party w/ Thrill Kill Kult Spotlight - Benefit for Charles Levi

WAX TRAX! Dance Party w/ Thrill Kill Kult Spotlight – Benefit for Charles Levi

Jun 29, 2026 admin_bitlc Breaking News, Features, Local Loop, Music News, Reviews, This Just In 0

By James Currie

In The Loop Magazine rally’s around our friend and iconic bassist for many of our Chicago bands, Charles Levi. We support him and care for his well being and if you danced to any of his music, so should you.

Levi has been a staple in the music industry for decades providing that backing groove for bands like My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Pigface, Black From The Dead and more. Sadly, for the last few years, he’s been going through a tough time as his physical health is failing and he’s been unable to support himself as he’s been bed ridden most of the time. The Chicago scene and music industry has stepped up and been providing support through many ways and this latest one is shaping up to be a massive celebration of Charles Levi, his music career and those who helped shape his legendary status all in hopes to raise money to help his crushing medical bills.

More below.

Music community rallies around ex-Thrill Kill Kult bassist Charles Levi amid health crisis

Charles Levi campaign video https://youtu.be/X-juL3yx-a8
GoFundMe campaign for Charles Levi www.gofundme.com/f/charles-levi-housing
Wax Trax – Charles Levi Facebook event www.facebook.com/events/970156038962391
Get Tickets https://WaxTraxCharlesLevi.eventbrite.ca

The industrial and alternative music communities are mobilizing a coordinated fundraising and tribute campaign to support pioneering bassist Charles Levi at a difficult time. Known for his foundational work with My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Pigface, Levi is facing severe, ongoing medical complications that have left him in urgent need of housing stability, long-term care, and essential living support.

Charles Levi’s career spans over four decades, launching in the late 1980s. His distinctive bass style became synonymous with the legendary Wax Trax! Records era, a pioneering force that fundamentally shaped industrial and alternative music culture. Beyond his defining role in My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Levi has been a prolific collaborator, contributing to some of the scene’s most influential underground projects, including KMFDM, Project .44, Haloblack, ConformCo, H3llb3nt, Black From the Dead, and The Urban Soundtrack. He has also appeared in several films, including “The Crow”.

Levi’s health crisis began in 2021, when he was hospitalized in critical condition due to sepsis and multiple organ failure. His medical challeges since then include a stroke, major internal surgery, a below-the-knee amputation, and the implantation of a cardiac ICD device. Levi now lives with the long-term realities of vascular dementia and severe mobility impairment, with his fiancee Dani providing full-time care. While he receives a nominal amount of disability support, it fails to cover the staggering costs of his specialized care, essential medications, and daily living expenses, leaving a massive financial shortfall that the community initiative aims to close.

As part of a multi-tiered effort to gather financial relief and creative solidarity, DJ Lazarus is hosting a hybrid benefit event in Toronto on Friday, July 3rd, which will be broadcast globally via Twitch to allow fans worldwide to participate and donate. The “WAX TRAX! Dance Party with Thrill Kill Kult Spotlight” will take place at Toronto’s Ground Control (1279 Queen St West), involving DJs, visuals, and programming that celebrates the Wax Trax! era and its artists. Doors open at 10pm and admission is a minimum $10 donation via Eventbrite or at the door with all proceeds going to Charles Levi’s care.

“Charles Levi has been a beloved and influential figure within the music scene for decades. Friends, collaborators, artists, promoters, and fans from around the world are coming together in a coordinated fundraising campaign and community tribute that expands the Benefit for Charles Levi event in Toronto into a broader effort for participation everywhere,” says DJ Lazarus.

“We are collecting short video messages from musicians, producers, DJs, promoters, and others for a tribute video celebrating Charles’ impact. Acclaimed artist Simon Paul, known for his work with Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and other industrial music icons, is creating a limited-edition poster for the campaign as a fundraising item. A video booth at the event will also capture messages, memories, and words of support, building a lasting archive of appreciation and solidarity for Charles.”

This grassroots relief effort is organized and supported by a coalition of community figures, including DJ Lazarus, Ali Jafri (The Shadow Majlis, Pigface), Ground Control, Chris Lewis, Matthew Potter, Simon Paul, Joe Average and Joey Galvan of the Industrial Amputation podcast, and Shameless Promotion PR.

While this Toronto benefit event will serve as a local activation point within this broader campaign, a GoFundMe campaign is also underway, serving as the central coordination point for direct support in terms of supporting housing costs, medical care and essential living needs.

Donations to his housing and care can be made at www.gofundme.com/f/charles-levi-housing

As alternative forms of support may also be possible, feel free to reach out to [email protected]

Keep up with Charles Levi
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