Urge Overkill
is an alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, United States, consisting of Nathan "Nash Kato" Kaatrud (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass guitar). Their cover of Neil Diamond's song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" appeared prominently in the movie Pulp Fiction
, and became a hit in 1994.
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URGE OVERKILL TICKETS
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History
Kaatrud and Roeser met at
Northwestern University in 1985. They formed Urge Overkill (getting the name from a phrase in the lyrics of the
Parliament song "
Funkentelechy") in
Chicago, with drummer Pat Byrne, and released an
EP,
Strange, I...
, on Ruthless Records. The EP was recorded by Kaatrud's roommate,
Steve Albini. A full length album,
Jesus Urge Superstar
, soon followed, again produced by Albini, and with Kriss Bataille taking over the drums. These two releases showcased a
noise-rock sound common to other Chicago acts of the period.
Their next effort,
Americruiser
, saw a drastic change in style. Jack "Jaguar" Watt of
Baron Lesh and
the Still was the new drummer and their sound from then on has been described as a "Stonesy fusion of arena rock and punk". Produced by
Butch Vig,
Americruiser
was widely praised, and scored a
college radio hit with the lead-off track, "Ticket To LA." Watt returned to Baron Lesh and was replaced by Blackie Onassis on the next album
The Supersonic Storybook
, released in 1991.
After opening for
Nirvana on the American
Nevermind tour and
Pearl Jam on the
Vs. tour, Urge Overkill returned to the studio to record another
EP,
Stull
, in 1992 which featured the tracks, "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" and "Goodbye to Guyville." Having a strong following by this time, they jumped from their indie label, Touch & Go to major label,
Geffen Records.
Despite much criticism for the label switch, Urge Overkill's major-label debut,
Saturation
received strong reviews upon release in 1993. Pop success wasn't forthcoming however, with singles "Sister Havana" and "Positive Bleeding" receiving only limited airplay.
As the band recorded a follow-up album, cult filmmaker
Quentin Tarantino used the group's
cover version of the
Neil Diamond song, "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," in his 1994 movie
Pulp Fiction
. When the movie became a hit, the song made it to the Top 50 on the
Billboard Top 100.
Urge Overkill retained their sound for their next album,
Exit the Dragon
, released in 1995. The uncommercial first single "The Break" flopped, and the following tour ended earlier than planned. Onassis was arrested on drug charges toward the end of the year. While the band was recuperating, Kaatrud and Roeser started feuding, resulting in Roeser leaving the band. Roeser went on to perform with Jim Kimball (formerly of
The Jesus Lizard) as L.I.M.E. and with his brother John in the band Electric Airlines. Now a duo consisting of Kaatrud and Onassis, Urge Overkill moved to 550 Music in early 1997. An attempt was made to fill Roeser's role in the band with guitarist Nils St. Cyr, but this led nowhere, and the band split after being dropped by the label.
After a break of several years, Kaatrud and Roeser reformed Urge Overkill without Onassis, recruiting former
Gaza Strippers guitarist Mike "Hadji" Hodgkiss to play bass, keyboardist Chris Frantisak, and drummer Nate Arling, who was later replaced by Brian "Bon" Quast from
Cherry Valence.
In 2004 the reformed Urge Overkill performed shows at
The Troubador (Los Angeles),
Double Door (Chicago), and
Bowery Ballroom (NYC) and continued to tour through Europe, N. America, and Australia. As of June 2009 the band is in the studio preparing a new album.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles and EPs
Live Albums
Singles Chart Positions
- "Sister Havana" (1993; #6 US Modern Rock, #10 US Mainstream Rock)
- "Positive Bleeding" (1993; #23 US Modern Rock, #40 US Mainstream Rock)
- "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (1994; #11 US Modern Rock, #59 US)
- "The Break" (1995, #34 US Modern Rock)
Compilations
Soundtracks