In 1988, artist, vocalist and song writer Myke Hideous formed the dark/heavy foundations of the cult band known as The Empire Hideous. Through hard work, perseverance and many line-up changes, The Empire Hideous developed into the foremost unique dark rock band of the NYC metropolitan area.
Myke Hideous is the only original member to see the band rise to its popularity. He is the force behind the music, writing and composing, as well as choreographing all stage performances and props in the past.
What truly set The Empire Hideous apart from its peers was the live performance. Defiant, hard driving music weaving its dark tapestry around Mykes apocalyptic lyrics while skulls, cobwebs, smoke and torn white mesh curtains enveloped the band members, reflecting the white lights like a silent horror movie. Appearing onstage like a ringleader of a twisted carnival, Myke would lay claim to the nightmare that would escape from the deep recesses of his collective unconscious. Powerful and passionately, Myke would paint a picture for the mind of torture and disillusionment, pain and bitterness of a world gone terribly wrong. Behind him, his very own army of darkness, relentlessly marching in step. Song by song, the music would strip away the thin layers that protect the viewers sanity until they were forced to face a world that is not quite as beautiful as it once seemed.
Rounding out the drama, the audience was often treated to Mykes creepy and somewhat cryptic performances: a mad doctor extracting guts from a Halloween pumpkin, an invalid confined to wheelchair stroking his long dead kitty cat Spooky, his reenactment of Christ getting whipped (for real!) in time to the Jesus Christ Superstar cover The 39 Lashes, sucking the blood from lifelike babies, and having his face pierced with hypodermic needles. All executed by Myke with a little help from some very special friends. An Empire Hideous performance would always promise to be expressive, energetic and infused with imagery and emotion.
The Empire Hideous have performed in venues around the country and have participated in special events and tours such as: The Pilgrimage Tour 93, (which was the first American Goth Fest of its kind and has been mimicked ever since by other bands of the scene); Vampyres Ball (..s I, III, IV & V); Mephisto Cathedra (..s I & II); Dark Harvest (.. II); A Night Of Misanthropy (..s III & IV); a more notable special performance in 96 for USA Networks Up All Night Halloween special with hostess Rhonda Sheer, where several performance clips were featured throughout the airing of 2 Halloween movies and broadcast nationally; Time Tour 97, (a mini tour of Eastern/North America and the Midwest) and most recently A Dark World Only Gets Darker Tour 02, (a mini tour of East and West Coasts).
Last We Left Off
After having independently led the band through a 10 year span, Myke decided it was time for a change. Without a recording deal and a serious label to back the band financially there wasnt much more he could do. Lack of money always seemed to hinder the bands progression.
Finally, Myke reached an end in the path he had paved for so many years. In late December, 1997, Myke announced to the band members that he was breaking up the bands line up and moving on. The last set of priorities the band would fulfill together would be to perform their last gig together and record a list of Hideous songs that had never been released to the public before.
On January 1st, 1998, The Empire Hideous recorded a live 8 hour session of more than 20 songs in a recording studio somewhere in NJ. Plans to release this recording session would be made in the future by Myke and Jeff.
The final show was booked for February 15th, 1998, at The Bank in NYC. That evening, the club sold out to a crowd of over 750 dedicated fans, marking the second time Hideous would play to a full house at this particular venue! For this event, Myke's forehead was pierced onstage during the set with 8 hypodermic needles. Reaching the end of the performance, the set was topped off with Mykes version of My Way, (ala Sid Vicious). That evenings show was recorded for prosperity sake, and would be released at a later date.
For 3 months Myke tried to sort out his life and determine what was to come next. One early May morning, Myke got a call from bassist Jerry Only asking him to join The Misfits as the new lead singer and go on tour to Europe and South America. Myke accepting the position and ventured off to Europe for his first major touring experience! By the end of this journey, Myke had performed to over 100,000 people and had instantly become part of this punk bands legacy.
Unfortunately, after having differences with the band members Myke parted ways with The Misfits. However, it didnt take long until he got back into the swing of things.
In less than two months, Myke joined up with guitarist Jeff Austin and booked time in a recording studio to master what would become:
Im Dead, You're Dead, We're All Dead-Live (The Bank-2/15/98) and
Victim Destroys Assailant (13 tracks of previously unreleased and re-worked material) Both efforts being added to the Hideous track list upon their release on Halloween 98.
In addition, Myke started the foundations of SpySociety99. A punk-rock-n-roll, psycho-billy band with attitude and plans to take over the world. SS99 even drew the attention of such talents as Reeves Gabrels (guitarist for David Bowie) and Gidget Gien (bassist for Marylin Manson).
Myke also recorded the first album with DD Vernis, Bronx Casket Co, on Massacre Records in Germany.
The Present - The Empire Hideous Rises Again
Myke has recently written an autobiography of his musical career of the past 10 years entitled: King of an Empire to the Shoes of a Misfit (The Memoirs Of Myke Hideous). It was released November 2002 by Author House Publishers. (http://www.authorhouse.com)
Preparations were made to start rehearsals in June of 2000 for two gigs that would take place on the East Coast only. No dates were confirmed, but offers for other performances began to roll in.
Since then Myke and Jeff wrote, produced and released the first Empire Hideous full length in five years entitled: Say Your Prayers on HellS Hundred Records and are currently writing new material for the new album as well as preparing for tours across the country.
First of all a warm thank you to you for all the support and friendship you shared with us over time.
We have just finishing up recording and mixing of the new song and the filming of our new videoclip. Now we will show you the process of the making of this new videoclip in a mini series about it. The first part is already online, more are to come. Check them out in our video section. And leave a comment there if you like what you see.
With the best regards and the best wishes for the week,
Horatio of ROZENCRANTZ
Now you can watch two making of videos of our new video clip. Check them out in our video section!
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