Chicago’s Most Eclectic Independent Music Publication

Latest News

  • Legendary Mask Maker, Zagone Studios, Approaches Fifty-Years Of Innovation Right Here In Chicago
  • Need Help Picking Out That Perfect Record Player For Your Latest Album Purchases? We’ve Got You Covered. Top 10 Best Vinyl Record Players In 2025.
  • Photo Gallery: Nitzer Ebb live in Chicago at The Riviera Theatre
  • Underworld At Radius: A Techno Baptism In Chicago
  • Two Guitar Greats Team Up For U.S. Tour, John 5 and Richie Kotzen Hitting The Road Together In October
  • Riot Fest’s 20th Anniversary Is Shaping Up As They Release The Daily Lineups For 2025
  • Home
  • Music News
    • Breaking News
    • Features
    • This Just In
    • Interviews
    • Reviews
    • ITLM OTRS
    • Local Loop
    • Musical Theatre
    • ChiBluesBro’s Jukebox Reviews
  • Media
    • Photos
    • Videos
    • Streaming Live
  • Events
  • Festivals
  • Promotions
  • About
  • Contact
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Youtube

Chicago Artist : Stabbing Westward

Apr 04, 2015 James Currie Local Loop 0


Chicago Artist : Stabbing Westward

Stabbing Westward was an American industrial rock band. They formed in 1985 in Macomb, Illinois and began recording in the 1990s. The band announced a dissolution in 2002.

Regarding the band’s name, Andy Kubiszewski said: “essentially when Chris and Walter were putting the band together, they had a gig and there was a deadline for a name for the band, so they pulled out a bunch of album covers and they pulled out a record cover and it had an excerpt from, I believe it was an Eisenhower speech, where he was talking about communism coming to the west and he used the phrase “stabbing westward,” and they went oh well, “Stabbing Westward”, that will work.”[1]

In truth, the phrase was used in a 1947 newsreel and spoken by an unknown announcer. The newsreel is included as part of the 1982 documentary film The Atomic Cafe.

Christopher Hall and Walter Flakus formed the band Stabbing Westward when they were in college. They came up with the name while working at the college radio station WIUS-FM. In a 1996 interview, Hall stated, “Since we went to Western Illinois University, Stabbing Westward had a certain ‘kill everybody in the school’ vibe to it! The school’s way out in farm country and the country is really close minded. I was walking around like Robert Smith with real big hair, big baggy black clothes, black fingernail polish and eye makeup. They just didn’t get it. We hated the town.”[2]

Moving to Chicago in 1986, the original lineup consisted of Hall on bass and lead vocals, Flakus on keyboards, and Jim Clanin on guitar (Clanin later purchased, and as of 2013, operates the Dairy Queen in Macomb, Illinois). In 1990, a four song demo tape was recorded by an early conception of Stabbing Westward. This “EP” called, “Iwo Jimma” featured an early version of “Violent Mood Swings” (titled, “Violent Mood Swing”) which eventually wound up on the compilation CD, The Cyberflesh Conspiracy. Each of the three remaining demo songs were later reworked over the years (“Shame [Do You Think God Is Dead]” became “Shame”, “P.O.M.F.” became “The Thing I Hate”, and “Plastic Jesus” became “Dawn”). Original version of Shame was written before Stabbing Westward got signed toColumbia Records. It had different lyrics and it was about God, religion, and war.

Hall took a brief break to tour with Die Warzau as that group’s percussionist before continuing work on Stabbing Westward. Hall and Flakus later recruited Jim Sellers on bass and Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails) on drums, as Hall had met Vrenna when playing in Die Warzau. Vrenna played drums on all the demo recordings that ultimately landed Stabbing Westward their record deal with Columbia Records. Those demo recordings included Violent Mood Swings, Lies, and Nothing. They were recorded at a studio in Evanston, Illinois and included Stuart Zechman on guitar. After Vrenna returned to Nine Inch Nails, the band hired Dave Suycott who was a high school friend of Flakus.

The trio added Wax Trax recording artist Stuart Zechman on guitar and David Suycott (Spies Who Surf Machines of Loving Grace) on drums. In 1993, the band recorded in Eden Studios; London, England with producer John Fryer. This resulted in their major label (Columbia Records) debut, Ungod, which hit stores in 1994. The band landed an opening slot on the Depeche Mode Exotic Tour in Summer 1994 and opened North American tour dates in Fall 1994 for Killing Joke, but Stabbing Westward album sales were still sluggish.

David Suycott abruptly dropped out of the band toward the end of the Ungod tour. Andy Kubiszewski was called in to replace Suycott’s position for the remainder of the shows. This fast replacement required Kubiszewski to learn all of Suycott’s parts while on his flight to meet with the band. Kubiszewski became a permanent fixture of Stabbing Westward.

Also, their song “Nothing” was featured in the “Club Hell” scene of the motion picture, Bad Boys, as well as during the closing credits of Johnny Mnemonic. The songs “Lies”, “Lost” and “Can’t Happen Here” were also all featured in the first Mortal Kombat movie. However, these songs weren’t featured on the CD soundtrack.

When Stuart Zechman departed the band after the Ungod tour due to personal differences,[1] the remaining band members found themselves without one of their major songwriters. New drummer Andy Kubiszewski took over some songwriting duties afterward. Prior to playing in Stabbing Westward, Andy had not only played drums in The The, recorded one song for Nine Inch Nails, and played in Prick, but had been the singer and songwriter in the Cleveland based Exotic Birds. Shortly after Zechmans departure Andy played the band dozens of demos and Exotic Birds recordings. Included were “What Do I Have To Do”, “Haunting Me”, “Sometimes It Hurts”, “Crushing Me”, “Slipping Away”, “Desperate Now”, and “Goodbye”. These tracks would later find space on both the Wither and Darkest Daysalbums. When the band headed to Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York without a permanent guitar player, they decided to play all the guitar parts themselves, with Sellers and Kubiszewski taking on most of the guitar duties. The band later recruited Mark Eliopulos after the Wither, Blister, Burn & Peelrecording sessions were completed to handle the live-element of the main guitar parts.

“Sometimes It Hurts” music video was supposed to be Wizard of Oz themed video, but the label feared they would be sued so they took out most references.

In 1996, the Wither Blister Burn & Peel LP became a success, landing them their first certified gold album, aided by the singles “Shame” and “What Do I Have to Do?” which granted the band heavy rotation on MTV, MuchMusic and radio. Tour mates for this album included Sponge.

Stabbing Westward relocated to Los Angeles, California where they began work on the 1998 album, titled Darkest Days. Darkest Days was envisioned as a four-act story by the band (but never marketed as such). This is the only release featuring studio work by Mark Eliopulos. The first single, “Save Yourself,” had success yet the album failed to sell as well as its predecessor. Stabbing Westward continued to tour with bands like Placebo, The Cult, Monster Magnet, and Depeche Mode, while playing numerous summer festivals.

The day before the band was to fly to Hawaii to record the follow-up to Darkest Days with producer Bob Rock, the band was dropped by Columbia Records.

The song “The Thing I Hate” was featured as the opening theme song to the game Duke Nukem: Time to Kill, which was also released in 1998. The song “Torn apart” was featured as a remix with Wink, on the Spawn movie soundtrack in July 1997. The song “What Do I Have to Do” was featured in 1997’s Masterminds. The song “Save Yourself” was featured in the 1998 films Urban Legend and Tekken in addition to the True Blood season five finale of the same name. The song “Haunting Me” was featured in the opening scenes of the teen horror flick The Faculty.

When signed to Koch Records, the band got new manager that wanted to turn the band into pop band. Christopher Hall, Walter Flakus and Mark Eliopulos were fighting against that decision. The manager fired Mark Eliopulos by pulling strings within the band and brought Derrek Hawkins as both a studio musician and live musician for the band, and a new producer, Ed Buller[3]

The demo of self-titled album was darker. Old guitar parts from demos were muted and the new guitarist wrote new guitar parts that were more pop influenced.[3]

The self-titled album, Stabbing Westward, was released in 2001 and featured the hit “So Far Away”. The album did well in Australia, but ultimately failed to sell worldwide.[3]

Their manager hired out 2 members from Stabbing Westward to another band. After that band the did not renew their record deal. Before a fifth LP could be recorded, Stabbing Westward formally announced on February 9, 2002 that they had broken up.

Christopher Hall, Walter Flakus, and Johnny Haro reunited at one of The Dreaming’s shows in Las Vegas on November 15, 2013.[8] Flakus would later join The Dreaming on a permanent basis. The band The Dreaming announced a North American tour in early 2015, featuring original Stabbing Westward founders Christopher Hall and Walter Flakus.

(source wikipedia)

facebookShare on Facebook
TwitterTweet
FollowFollow us
PinterestSave

  • tweet
Behind The Throne. Dub Trio Drummer, Joe Tomino. Chicago Artists : Crucial Conflict

James Currie

Related Articles
  • Legendary Mask Maker, Zagone Studios, Approaches Fifty-Years Of Innovation Right Here In Chicago
    Legendary Mask Maker, Zagone Studios,...

    Oct 25, 2021 1

  • Need Help Picking Out That Perfect Record Player For Your Latest Album Purchases? We’ve Got You Covered. Top 10 Best Vinyl Record Players In 2025.
    Need Help Picking Out That Perfect...

    May 20, 2025 0

  • Photo Gallery: Nitzer Ebb live in Chicago at The Riviera Theatre
    Photo Gallery: Nitzer Ebb live in...

    May 20, 2025 0

  • Underworld At Radius: A Techno Baptism In Chicago
    Underworld At Radius: A Techno Baptism...

    May 19, 2025 0

  • Two Guitar Greats Team Up For U.S. Tour, John 5 and Richie Kotzen Hitting The Road Together In October
    Two Guitar Greats Team Up For U.S....

    May 15, 2025 0

More in this category
  • Chicago’s Own: SONS OF RA, Progressive/Jazz Fusion Trio, To Release Debut LP, Standard Deviation, On Free Electric Sound In April
    Chicago’s Own: SONS OF RA,...

    Feb 11, 2025 0

  • Australian Alt-Rockers Atlas Genius Kick Off Tour Right Here In Chicago This Weekend And It’s Free!
    Australian Alt-Rockers Atlas Genius...

    Sep 06, 2024 0

  • The Annual Taste Of Chicago Makes A Late Return To Grant Park For A Place In The Summer Festival Season
    The Annual Taste Of Chicago Makes A...

    Sep 06, 2024 0

  • Chicago’s Own: Brigitte Calls Me Baby Makes Late Night TV Debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live
    Chicago’s Own: Brigitte Calls Me...

    Jul 26, 2024 0


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Photo Gallery

  • Photo Gallery: Nitzer Ebb live in Chicago at The Riviera Theatre

    Photo Gallery: Nitzer Ebb live in Chicago at The Riviera Theatre

    May 20, 2025
  • Photo Gallery: Ministry (The Squirrely Years Tour) live in Chicago at The Riviera Theatre

    Photo Gallery: Ministry (The Squirrely Years Tour) live in Chicago at The Riviera Theatre

    May 13, 2025
  • Photo Gallery: Japanese Breakfast @ Salt Shed 2025

    Photo Gallery: Japanese Breakfast @ Salt Shed 2025

    May 02, 2025
  • Photo Gallery: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds @ Salt Shed Chicago

    Photo Gallery: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds @ Salt Shed Chicago

    Apr 30, 2025
  • Photo Gallery: OK GO @ Riviera Theatre Chicago 2025

    Photo Gallery: OK GO @ Riviera Theatre Chicago 2025

    Apr 29, 2025

Recent Comments

  • John is just amazing. Seeing him live in this pla...
    8 months ago
  • I can't believe Ministry ignored their wonderful ...
    1 year ago
  • This message is for Charlie (Levi). I hope you a...
    2 years ago
  • fukin bangas mate
    2 years ago
  • Is this the Pantera reunion show as well? Seems l...
    2 years ago
May 2025
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Apr    

Popular Posts

  • Legendary Mask Maker, Zagone Studios, Approaches Fifty-Years Of Innovation Right Here In Chicago
    Legendary Mask Maker, Zagone Studios, Approaches Fifty-Years...

    Oct 25, 2021 1

  • Interview : Tommy Thayer Of KISS On Touring, His Musical Influences & New DVD
    Interview : Tommy Thayer Of KISS On Touring, His Musical...

    Aug 16, 2016 0

  • Al Jourgensen Doesn’t Fucking Care, But You Should
    Al Jourgensen Doesn’t Fucking Care, But You Should

    Oct 14, 2015 6

  • British Bluesman Robin Trower Scorches At Copernicus Center
    British Bluesman Robin Trower Scorches At Copernicus Center

    Apr 30, 2017 3

  • Run the Jewels Captures the Essence of Hip Hop in Blistering Aragon Concert
    Run the Jewels Captures the Essence of Hip Hop in Blistering...

    Feb 20, 2017 0

  • Social Distortion Plays Sold Out Show at House of Blues Chicago
    Social Distortion Plays Sold Out Show at House of Blues...

    Aug 10, 2015 2

UPCOMING EVENTS

There are no upcoming events.

SUBSCRIBE

Stay in the Loop!

Chicago, IL Regional Charts

https://www.reverbnation.com/main/charts

Categories

CALENDAR

May 2025
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Apr    
Spotify Top 50 Global

Archives

  • May 2025 (14)
  • April 2025 (26)
  • March 2025 (25)
  • February 2025 (13)
  • January 2025 (8)
  • December 2024 (13)
  • November 2024 (10)
  • October 2024 (12)
  • September 2024 (20)
  • August 2024 (15)
  • July 2024 (30)
  • June 2024 (17)
  • May 2024 (23)
  • April 2024 (19)
  • March 2024 (14)
  • February 2024 (16)
  • January 2024 (5)
  • December 2023 (7)
  • November 2023 (15)
  • October 2023 (5)
  • September 2023 (22)
  • August 2023 (9)
  • July 2023 (9)
  • June 2023 (12)
  • May 2023 (9)
  • April 2023 (11)
  • March 2023 (15)
  • February 2023 (18)
  • January 2023 (9)
  • December 2022 (4)
  • November 2022 (5)
  • October 2022 (12)
  • September 2022 (28)
  • August 2022 (28)
  • July 2022 (39)
  • June 2022 (21)
  • May 2022 (20)
  • April 2022 (13)
  • March 2022 (33)
  • February 2022 (21)
  • January 2022 (22)
  • December 2021 (11)
  • November 2021 (15)
  • October 2021 (16)
  • September 2021 (36)
  • August 2021 (21)
  • July 2021 (26)
  • June 2021 (27)
  • May 2021 (13)
  • April 2021 (13)
  • March 2021 (12)
  • February 2021 (4)
  • January 2021 (2)
  • December 2020 (7)
  • November 2020 (4)
  • October 2020 (3)
  • September 2020 (10)
  • August 2020 (6)
  • July 2020 (7)
  • June 2020 (3)
  • May 2020 (5)
  • April 2020 (3)
  • March 2020 (10)
  • February 2020 (22)
  • January 2020 (10)
  • December 2019 (8)
  • November 2019 (30)
  • October 2019 (30)
  • September 2019 (27)
  • August 2019 (41)
  • July 2019 (33)
  • June 2019 (27)
  • May 2019 (36)
  • April 2019 (25)
  • March 2019 (41)
  • February 2019 (22)
  • January 2019 (11)
  • December 2018 (17)
  • November 2018 (13)
  • October 2018 (34)
  • September 2018 (43)
  • August 2018 (26)
  • July 2018 (34)
  • June 2018 (23)
  • May 2018 (31)
  • April 2018 (24)
  • March 2018 (49)
  • February 2018 (48)
  • January 2018 (25)
  • December 2017 (10)
  • November 2017 (30)
  • October 2017 (10)
  • September 2017 (26)
  • August 2017 (25)
  • July 2017 (42)
  • June 2017 (37)
  • May 2017 (49)
  • April 2017 (54)
  • March 2017 (44)
  • February 2017 (39)
  • January 2017 (14)
  • December 2016 (22)
  • November 2016 (20)
  • October 2016 (20)
  • September 2016 (35)
  • August 2016 (46)
  • July 2016 (51)
  • June 2016 (23)
  • May 2016 (15)
  • April 2016 (18)
  • March 2016 (22)
  • February 2016 (27)
  • January 2016 (11)
  • December 2015 (8)
  • November 2015 (17)
  • October 2015 (21)
  • September 2015 (30)
  • August 2015 (54)
  • July 2015 (49)
  • June 2015 (44)
  • May 2015 (16)
  • April 2015 (6)
  • March 2015 (9)
  • February 2015 (9)
  • January 2015 (2)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (2)
  • October 2014 (1)
  • September 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (5)
  • July 2014 (1)
  • June 2014 (4)
  • May 2014 (5)
  • April 2014 (1)
  • March 2014 (1)
  • February 2014 (2)
  • January 2014 (2)
  • December 2013 (1)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (1)
  • September 2013 (1)
  • August 2013 (2)
  • July 2013 (3)
  • June 2013 (2)
  • May 2013 (5)
  • April 2013 (3)
  • March 2013 (1)
  • February 2013 (1)
  • May 2012 (2)
  • January 2012 (3)
  • September 2011 (1)
Tweets by BeInTheLoopChi

Tag Cloud

20th Anniversary (4) 2024 (30) 2025 (12) Al Jourgensen (4) Berwyn (5) C2E2 (6) Chicago (130) Chicago's Own (4) Chicago Theatre (6) City Winery (4) Concert (18) concert photography (26) concert photos (15) concert review (33) Country Music (6) David Lee Roth (4) Douglas Park (4) Festival (9) Grant Park (6) Illinois (6) images (8) Interview (4) In The Loop Magazine (37) james currie (4) john 5 (5) live (63) Lollapalooza (7) lords of acid (4) Metro (6) Ministry (7) Music Festival (6) Park West (4) Photos (7) Ravinia (13) Riot Fest (15) Riviera Theatre (5) rob zombie (6) Salt Shed (11) Sawyer Brown (4) Sold Out (6) solo tour (4) tour (24) Tour 2024 (13) Tour 2025 (8) United Center (8)

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
© 2025 In The Loop Magazine / All Rights Reserved.
  • Music News
  • Media
  • Festivals
  • Promotions
  • Venues
  • About
  • Gallery