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History.

[Taken from the article on Wikipedia.]

Skinny Puppy formed in 1982 out of the partnership of cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton; instruments) and Nivek Ogre (Kevin Ogilvie; voices) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Key was dissatisfied with the direction of his then-current band Images in Vogue, and began Skinny Puppy with the intention of doing something "raw" and "real". Initially Key had planned Puppy to be a side project while he continued his work in Images, however, when Images in Vogue decided to relocate to Toronto [1] Key made Skinny Puppy his full time project.

An unconfirmed rumor has it that the band's name was derived from the skinny dog in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion attraction[citation needed]. Key has repeatedly commented on how the name was based on the concept of a "dog's eye view" of the world. Key had already created the name before Ogre joined the band and it was from this concept of "seeing through the keyhole" that Ogre penned the song K-9 (originally from Back and Forth) and voiced it in a rough growl that resembled that of a small talking beast. With engineer/producer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie (with no relation to the vocalist), Skinny Puppy began recording their first EP Back and Forth, which was self-released in 1983. The album drew the attention of Nettwerk Records, who signed the band in 1984. Key brought in Wilhelm Schroeder (a pseudonym of Bill Leeb) to play bass synth and background vocals in 1985, but by 1987 Schroeder had left the band to form Front Line Assembly. His departure was attributed to his lack of involvement and loss of interest in touring, as well as a desire to create his own project. Schroeder's departure allowed for the entry of Dwayne Goettel (synthesizers and samplers), who was classically trained and highly skilled as a pianist/keyboardist.

[Moving ahead six years because this is becoming really long.]

Ogre, Key, and Goettel signed a contract with American Recordings and traveled to Malibu, California, in 1993 to begin recording The Process, a concept album inspired by 1960s cult The Process Church of the Final Judgement, with Roli Mosimann producing. Deciding that Mosimann's style was too inactive, they eventually replaced him with Martin Atkins. Atkins's presence only heightened their frustrations, but for different reasons: Key and Goettel felt that Atkins was trying to pry Ogre away from Skinny Puppy so that Ogre could devote himself fully to Atkins' projects. They switched from Atkins to Mark Walk by 1995. The band's bickering and excessive drug use made the recording process take so long, and thus cost so much money, that American Recordings reduced Skinny Puppy's contract from three albums to one. Key would later tell the press that their creativity at the time was also badly affected by the company's pressure on them to create music that was similar to and as commercially acceptable as that of contemporaries like Nine Inch Nails. In 1995, Ogre quit Skinny Puppy to pursue other musical projects, which effectively ended Skinny Puppy. Goettel then fled back to Vancouver with the master tapes of the recordings. Days later, he was found dead of a heroin overdose in his parents' home. Ogre, Key and Rave completed The Process in his memory; and it was released in 1996.

Key continued his musical efforts in the bands Download and Tear Garden, as well as performing solo. Ogre collaborated with major rock acts KMFDM and Pigface, and since 1996 was mainly involved with ohGr, his collaboration with Mark Walk.

In 2000, Ogre and Key performed as Skinny Puppy at the Doomsday Festival in Dresden, and then toured together in 2001 to support Ogre's solo project, ohGr. In 2003 Ogre, Key, Mark Walk and various guests including Danny Carey of Tool recorded the new full-length Skinny Puppy album, entitled The Greater Wrong of the Right, which was released on May 25, 2004. Skinny Puppy toured in support of "The Greater Wrong of the Right" twice in 2004, during which several shows were filmed for Greater Wrong of the Right LIVE, which was released in September 2005. This live show became controversial due to content critical of President George W. Bush. A pro-Bush site called PABAAH attempted to boycott college radio stations that played Skinny Puppy's music. In a recent interview, Ogre claimed that the boycott actually increased record sales and radio airplay. Key has recently revealed that a new album is in the works.



Members - cEvin Key, Nivek Ogre, Mark Walk
Past Members- Wilhelm Schroeder, Dwayne Goettel

Wow, Mark Walk is an actual member? I thought he just contributed and assisted with live sets... But hell, if this is true, I must make it clear in the Official Thread straightaway.

I hope so! That's where we'll be doing most of our recruiting! (ie. brainwashing) smile

They don't call them 'Gods' for just anything. xp

He did A LOT on GWOTR, mind.

i am, i just hardly go there, and when i do, i only lurk.

I am, but I don't really fo there anymore.

Not many do know much about them.