this one
MSD

MSD

"What Lies Beneath"

By Jason Koerner

Picture Marilyn Manson meets the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Add elements from every horror movie and nightmare you've ever experienced. Now couple `the look' with some "killer" music.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have ourselves a winner: MSD.

You could waste your hard-earned money and go see the hot new summer film "I Still Know What You Did Twelve Summers Ago" or whatever part the saga is up to now. This, of course, will only leave you disappointed by a yet again predictable series of ignorant decisions made by overpaid, undereducated actors/actresses. Or ... you could spend that money on something that's really scary, something that includes talent and better acting ... give up yet? Spell it M-S-D. Go see MSD `live `for a night of music and mayhem you won't forget - or regret.

Such Nice Young Boys...

The fine young men that make up this bunch are John Wells on vocals, Macus Wells on drums, Gote (originally from Houston, TX) on bass, and Robie and Samual (a San Fernando, CA native) on guitars. The guys in the band are not only great performers but are also quite considerate. An example: during the photo shoot for this article, besides helping each other with their blood and makeup, (completely ignoring the stares from my neighbor's children while changing on my deck), they were courteous enough to go to the store and pick up some carpet cleaner, still half-dressed in costume, to clean up the faux blood that soaked through the drop cloths onto my living room carpet. Thanks guys!

MSD

A Brief History about Halloween's Ambassadors to Louisville...

MSD was `born' on Halloween and has been on the rise in the Louisville music scene since October 1997. This night goes down in MSD history as the beginning of it all, the night they played their first show together (prior to Robie) at a party here in town. This was a bloody show, to say the least. The blood came from a butcher's shop. Hmmm ... cow blood + party = good time. This was a mere 15 days after Macus joined the band as drummer. The show was a success; and the make-up marathon continued.

Gote

In October of 1998, the band acquired guitarist Robie after his band fell apart. John, who, prior to the addition of Robie, sang and played rhythm guitar, was now able to focus purely on vocals. The band's power, intensity and fullness of sound went through the roof. They really hit the scene in 1999.

The five-piece band, then complete, moved forward headlong, developing their talents and searching for new ways to captivate audiences at their live shows. The props got more intricate, the costumes gorier, the music darker and the following grew immensely. An average turnout at a show now ranges between 500 and 700, with their web site getting three times that many hits a day. Their debut drew fifty at the old Tek World last year, so they figured they were doing something right.

"The band always has a great turnout, and the kids love the music," says Jennifer Chang, owner of Tek World. "They have a good stage presence. They also respect the venue, are very considerate and enjoyable to work with," she concluded.

Tek World sells much of their merchandise, which I watched fly off the shelves while I was talking with Jennifer and Percy Chang. This despite the band's disregard of money. They claim they just want as many people as possible to be exposed to their merchandise and music. All the profits go directly back into the band fund. In fact, their second CD release show (which will have already happened by the time this is in print) will COST them money.

A Picture Says a Thousand Words...