Rozz Williams
Rozz Williams (born Roger Alan Painter; November 6, 1963 – April 1, 1998) was an American singer and songwriter known for his work with the bands Christian Death, Shadow Project (with musician Eva O), and the industrial project Premature Ejaculation. Christian Death is cited by some as a pioneer of the American gothic rock scene as well as deathrock, and is considered to be one of the most influential figures of the scene. However, Williams disliked the "goth" label and actively worked to shed it during the 1980s and 1990s by focusing on punk rock, hard rock, cabaret, and spoken word music. Williams was also involved with his groups Daucus Karota, Heltir, EXP, Bloodflag, and his own version of Christian Death (Christian Death featuring Rozz Williams), along with recording a handful of solo albums. In addition to music, Williams was also an avid painter, poet, and collage artist.
Rozz Williams
Roger Alan Painter
Rozz Williams
Pomona, California, U.S.
April 1, 1998
West Hollywood, California, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- poet
- filmmaker
1979–1998
Christian Death, Shadow Project, Premature Ejaculation, Daucus Karota, Heltir, EXP, Gitane Demone
Williams committed suicide by hanging himself in his West Hollywood apartment on April 1, 1998. He was 34 years old.
Early life[edit]
Rozz Williams was born Roger Alan Painter on November 6, 1963, in Pomona, California, and was raised in a strict Southern Baptist family. His father Robert Norman Painter was an artist. Rozz had three older siblings (Janet, Bobby, and Larry).[1] After being expelled from his high school in Pomona for lack of attendance, he transferred to Claremont High School, where he was again expelled in ninth grade.[2]
As a child, he was a fan of David Bowie, Lou Reed, Roxy Music, T. Rex, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls.
Career[edit]
Early bands[edit]
At the age of fifteen, Painter formed his first band the A-Sexuals. In an interview with Nico B, Jill Emery stated of the A-Sexuals: "I thought it was funny because considering we were kind of coming out of the closet to a degree and we were, and in my mind later in life, like even last year, why can't the asexuals – and I don't mean the band; I mean in general — be in the gay parade too? Why can't they be in the back of it? Like, they are people too, and they have their preference, but it's just funny. We were just kids. We weren't that straight edge".[3] In addition to being the lead vocalist, he played the organ and guitar, with Jill Emery also contributing vocals as well as playing bass, and Steve Darrow on drums.[4] The A-Sexuals disbanded after a few months, with Emery and Darrow morphing the band into the Decadents at the end of 1978.[5]
Following this, Painter became friends with John "Jay" Albert, with whom he would attempt to form several bands with under names including No and the Crawlers. These groups never performed live and most rarely even rehearsed. In Mikey Bean's book Phantoms, Albert called them "nonexistent band[s]".[6] Around this time, Painter began an intimate relationship with Darby Crash, vocalist of the Germs, under whose influence he decided to take a stage name. There exists an urban myth that the name "Rozz Williams" was derived from a gravestone in Pemona, however in Phantoms, Albert, Darrow and George Belanger claim that this is untrue, with Belanger stating that the first name came as a suggestion from their friend Ann Miller.[7]
Personal life[edit]
Williams did not like to discuss his sexual orientation publicly, however in a 1997 interview with John Sabien Ellenberger for Golgotha Magazine, he called himself gay. In the same interview with Ellenberger, while discussing The Whorse's Mouth he revealed how he was hesitant to have his family listen to the album, Williams stated, "There's certain things I don't feel like need to be shared with them. It was a really difficult thing for me to call, and just say like 'well guess what? I'm gay'. You know, my mom's response was 'Well son, I'm not stupid.'"[31] In the 1980s, he was in a long-term relationship with performance artist Ron Athey,[32] and together they would both enter an intimate relationship with Eva O.[33] After Athey and Williams split, Williams would continue his relationship with Eva O,[34] whom he married in 1987,[35] and then divorced in 1998.[36]
Williams regularly performed in drag, a trait that put him at an inverse to the prevailing hypermasculinity of the hardcore punk scene he was involved in.[37][38] He began doing this as an act of rebellion against the jock types who became involved in punk.[39] Music archivist Danny Fuentes compared his style of performance to political activism, stating: "The gender bending of his persona and the in-your-face delivery made it a form of queer activism... that is what was brave about him, he never felt the need to explain himself."[40] However, as time passed it became intrinsically linked to his identity; he began to explore the practice of "living in drag", where for stretches of time he would only ever be seen in women's clothes, an aspect that lessened later in life.[41] Musician Anohni cited this aspect of Williams as influential upon both her understanding of her own identity and the style of performance in her group Blacklips, saying in an interview with Artforum that she "think[s] of Rozz more and more as such a foundational presence in a certain line of underground queer dreaming. Rozz... definitely had a huge impact on me and Johanna, as did Diamanda Galás."[42] Andrew D'Angelo too cited Williams as influential upon his understanding of gender and sexuality.[43]
Williams was raised in a strict Southern Baptist family, but abandoned this as he formed Christian Death. As the years went on, as he stated in an interview with Ellenberger, he eventually became a Satanist and practiced magic in the privacy of his home. However, in 1996, he stated in another interview with Ellenberger that he had developed a "personal relationship with God."[44]
And What About the Bells?, a collection of Williams' poetry compiled and edited by Ryan Wildstar, was released posthumously in 2010.[45] An updated, hardcover edition, featuring scans of Williams' journals, a new foreword, and an in-depth interview with Ryan Wildstar was released on June 9, 2023.
Suicide[edit]
In the introduction for the book And What About the Bells?, Ryan Wildstar (born Ryan Gaumer), Williams' friend and roommate of eight years, stated that on March 31, the night before Williams took his own life, they watched the film Isadora (1968), about dancer Isadora Duncan, during which Wildstar retired to bed despite Williams' protest, who said, "You don't even know how it ends!" Wildstar replied that he knew Isadora hangs to death at the end after her scarf gets caught on the spokes of her car's wheel, and went to bed. Williams made final phone calls to friends and family in the early morning hours the next day. Wildstar said that if he had not been distraught over the death of his boyfriend Erik Christides, who died of a heroin overdose on November 27, 1997 (Thanksgiving Day), he would have seen the warning signs to Williams' suicide more clearly.
On April 1, 1998, Williams hanged himself in his West Hollywood apartment, at the age of 34. His body was discovered by Wildstar, who heard worried messages on the answering machine and broke down the door to Williams' bedroom when he returned home that afternoon. Williams had left a rose on the coffee table in the living room, along with several items, including The Hanged Man tarot card. He left no note.[46] A memorial was held at the El Rey Theatre shortly after his death, and a small gathering of family and friends scattered his ashes at Runyon Canyon Park in the Hollywood Hills.[47]
Theories have arisen regarding the reason for Williams's suicide, including failing health, depression, bipolar disorder, financial instability, and his fascination with the number 1334, which can be found in the liner notes of his albums, in his signature, and also on his urn. It is also unknown as to why Williams committed suicide on April Fools' Day.
The cabinet in which he hanged himself as well as a few pieces of original artwork are on display at the LA Museum of Death.[48]
Legacy[edit]
Williams' creativity had a profound effect on the Goth subculture and was also influential in poetry and collage artwork. Annually, fans pay tribute to his life and work. In 2010, Gothic Beauty Magazine[49] and a short film Necessary Discomforts an Artistic Tribute to Rozz Williams[50] featured one such event at the Hyaena Gallery curated by A Raven Above Press.[51]
The Mountain Goats' 2000 album, The Coroner's Gambit, was dedicated to Williams, and several songs refer to singer John Darnielle's reaction to Williams' death.[52]
On April 1, 2018, to commemorate twenty years since Williams's death, Cult Epics and Dark Vinyl Records released two albums: In the Heart, recorded during the "Dream Home Heartache Tour", and On the Altar, from Williams's last European tour.
In 2018, Cult Epics released a box set to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his film Pig, which starred Williams. Only twenty-five were made. Each included one of the few remaining VHS copies of the film (numbered up to 1334), an exclusive t-shirt, a postcard, lobby cards, a limited edition print of one of Williams' collages, a commemorative pin, and a portion of the original 8 mm film strip. Each box was signed and dated by Nico B., and each VHS tape was signed as well.
Cult Epics had released also the book "The Art of Rozz Williams: From Christian Death to Death" in a Hardcover re-issue in 2018 as well "Christian Death: OTOP Photography by Edward Colver", in Hardcover and Softcover editions in 2022.