Stabbing Westward History and Timeline

1985

1985-Chris Hall and Walter Flakus, both friends since high school, are students at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois. Both Hall and Flakus are floating in and out of various local cover bands, but they soon discover that they are completely bored with playing covers and decide to work together on their own original music, and thus Stabbing Westward was born. Since SW lacked the number of hands to play as a full-piece band, they uses drum machines and MIDI, which made their music sound very industrial. Stabbing Westward was kind of a little weekend side project nobody knew about.

1990-92'

1990-Chris Vrenna joins as drummer, Stuart Zechman becomes the new guitarist, and Jim Sellers fills the void at bass. With a now complete lineup, SW records a 4 song demo entitled Iwo Jimma. The tape manages to catch some peoples' attention.

1991- Cargo Records features "Violent Mood Swings" on their Cyberflesh Conspiracy CD sampler.

1992-The band records a new demo featuring Nothing, Lies, and Throw. This prompts Columbia Records to offer Stabbing Westward a record deal.

1993-94'

1993-Before the band heads to the studio to record their first album, Chris Vrenna leaves band and is replaced by Dave Suycott. The band records Ungod in 1993 in London, England. It is finished in 6 weeks. S

1994-Stabbing Westward embarks on a U.S. and European tour. Stabbing Westward tours with with Therapy, Machines of Loving Grace, and Paw. Half-way through the Ungod tour, drummer Dave Suycott quits the band and is replaced by a fill-in drummer, Andy Kubiszewiski (whom was a friend of SW's management at the time). Stabbing Westward ends the Ungod tour on a high note by openening for Depeche Mode on DM's Faith and Devotion tour. At the end of 1994, after 14 months of touring promoting Ungod, Stabbing Westward manages to create a small, but devout cult following. There is good chemistry between Andy Kubiszewiski and the rest of the band. Andy becomes an official member of the band and starts writing songs with Chris.

1995-96

1995-The band begins to write material from scratch for a new album in Libertyville, Illinois in the beginning of 95'. When writing for the new album began, the band and guitarist, Stuart Zechman, came to a creative impasse and Stuart got axed from the band. The band improvises without Stuart as their guitar player and continues to write demos.

The band heads to a haunted barn in upper-state New York to record Wither Blister Burn and Peel . At the end of 1995, Stabbing Westward's 2nd album is completed. The band still needed a touring guitarist. The band held auditions but couldn't find anyone they liked. Soon enough, Chris and Andy discover the young and talented guitarist Mark Elioupolus at a Napa Auto parts store in Round Lake Beach, Illinois. Mark joins SW for the upcoming tour.

1996-WBB+P is released in January. A promotional club tour is followed by opening stints with Kiss and the Sex Pistols. Wither Blister is getting great exposure with massive radio play of the singles "Shame" and "What Do I Have To Do" and heavy video rotation on MTV. WBB+P goes Gold in September and the Wither tour concludes in December. Columbia feels SW is hot and wants them to immediately hit the studio to record a follow up album. Mark becomes an official member of the band after the Wither tour.

1997-99'

1997-Band moves from Chicago/northern Illinois to L.A. They begin to write a follow-up to Wither Blister . In June the band enters studio and records Darkest Days. Initial Recording of the album is done by Summer's end, but SW stays in studio well into the fall and winter to fine-tune the album.

1998-Album has strong showing upon its release in April. The first single 'Save Yourself' is a major radio hit. A U.S. club tour is disrupted in May by a injury to drummer Andy Kubiszewski while rollerblading before a show in Madison, WI. Some dates are postponed. Chris Vrenna, Geoffe Dugmoore, and Johny Haro fill in while Andy recovers. Andy makes his comeback in August in Indiana during a radio-festival tour. SW opens again for Depeche Mode on their "Singles" tour in November.

1999-Stabbing hits the road in February for the "Haunting Me" headlining U.S. club tour which ran until May. Flick and Placebo are the opening acts. After a year on the road, Stabbing Westward takes a long-deserved vacation.

2000-02'

2000-The band had written 10 new songs for a new album that was to be produced by Bob Rock. In June, the day before the band was to fly out to Hawaii to record album #4, Columbia drops SW as well as 12 other bands. The band soon shops for a new record dealand is soon signed onto the independent label Koch, whom gives the band total artistic independence (something they felt they weren't getting from Columbia). In October they record album #4 in San Francisco with producer Ed Bueller, who radically refines the bands sound and production techniques. Mark Elioupolus (guitar) doesn't like the direction the band is heading in, so he quits the band. Bueller's friend, guitarist Derrek Hawkins, takes Elioupolus' place.

2001- The new album is released in May and hits #47 in it's first week. It receives mixed reviews (especially amongst fans of the older sound). The band goes on a U.S. club tour in the spring, with new guitarist Derrek Hawkins. SW opens for the Cult in June but jumps ship 2 weeks into the tour. Afterwards, the band finishes out 2001 with a handful of Radio-festival dates and lands a slot opening for Live on an Australian/New Zealand tour. Derrek Hawkins leaves the band before the tour with Live. He is replaced by Andy's friend from The The Keith Joyner. In late 2001, SW and their new label Koch part ways.

Stabbing Westward, without a record label, begins writing material for a fifth album in late 2001/early 2002. In February 02', the members of Stabbing Westward collectively decide to disband and go their separate ways.