The God Machine : another biography
Capable of producing work of the most devilish intensity, American bred but UK based band God Machine briefly sparked in the '90s before they were overtaken by tragic events. Melding Black Sabbath styled riffs with more detached, freeform passages, the band engendered a strong critical reaction throughout their brief existence. Comprising Robin Proper-Sheppard (vocals/guitar), Jimmy Fernandez (bass) and Ronald Austin (drums), they formed in January 1990 when all three, who had been friends at high school, elected to move from San Diego, California, to England to form a band. Without money or equipment, they soon found themselves hungry and homeless, until they broke into a disused apartment in Camden, north London, and furnished it with items stolen from an abandoned pub. They then found jobs (illegally) selling fruit at the nearby market, saving the money to buy instruments.
Six months elapsed before they had enough to make the necessary purchases, and a further six months while they learned to play them. They soon amassed a significant following in British indie circles reared on the imported sounds of Sonic Youth and Big Black, though when they elected to return to America their illegal immigrant status meant they had to first stow away on a ferry from England to Ireland. On the back of a series of well-received EPs for Fiction Records the band toured the UK with My Bloody Valentine and announced their first album, SCENES FROM THE SECOND STOREY. A powerful, almost tribalistic assault on the senses, its brutal aesthetic was the key to its impact.
Not content with their travels thus far, the trio journeyed to Prague to record a follow-up set. However, in May 1994, one day after its completion, Fernandez became ill. On 23 May he died from a cancerous brain tumour, aged 28. As Sheppard declared: 'The only thing I was really beginning to identify with was our music, and now our music has essentially cased to exist, or the band identity has ceased to exist.' ONE LAST LAUGH IN A PLACE OF DYING thus became an epitaph to both Fernandez and the God Machine.
Transcribed by
ChkingHzrd@aol.com