MORTICIA came to life in 1985. The band was conceived by founder keyboards/vocalist Jodie Tanaka and drummer/vocalist Matt Bachelor. The duo would set out to create dark, moody and romantic music combined with their sense of camp and tongue-in-cheek humour. The band would be the premier goth/deathrock band in the Twin Cities and be able to walk the realms of punk, alternative and heavy metal being, embraced by a variety of scenes. Sharing the stage with local heavy metal heroes such as Impaler and Slave Raider, opening for punk icons like Wendy O Williams or sharing bills with deathrock giants as Alien Sex Fiend and Sex Gang Children, MORTICIA proved they could hold their own in any arena. In 1988 MORTICIA would release their follow-up LP "D.O.A" that's title track would be an unlikely cover of '70 psychedelic/progressive rock band Bloodrock. The cover-song choice would be a testament to the various influences in the band that would contribute to their unique brand of goth and deathrock. The 8-song album released on Channel 83 Records on vinyl would see the band's sound evolving even further branching into several directions creating their style and approach to the deathrock subgenre. To accompany the progressively theatrical sound and direction MORTICIA would begin to focus more than ever before on the visual aspect of the band's performance by using props and parlour tricks to enhance the experience of their live shows. A line-up change would occur once again seeing the departure of bassist Winter. With only the original founding duo of Tanaka and Bachelor remaining, bassist Timm Farrlor and guitarists Marko Nostrada and Dave Majerus, and later, Tim Kletti would join the band.
