Global InformationAl Jourgensen information
Al Jourgensen | |
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 Jourgensen performing with Ministry in West Palm Beach, Florida in 2023. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alejandro Ramírez Casas |
| Also known as | The Alien, Alien Jourgensen, Alain Jourgensen, Hypo Luxa, Dog, Alien Dog Star, Buck Satan, Buck Santa, Uncle Al, Enchanted Al, Al F***-ing Jourgensen |
| Born | October 9, 1958 Havana, Cuba |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
| Member of |
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| Formerly of |
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| Website | ministryband |
Alain David Jourgensen[6][a] (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas;[11] October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is the frontman and lyricist of the industrial metal band Ministry, which he founded in 1981 and of which he remains the only constant member. He was the primary musician of several Ministry-related projects, such as Revolting Cocks, Lard, and Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters. Jourgensen is a prominent figure in industrial music,[sources 1] influencing numerous other groups and musicians, both in alternative and industrial-associated acts.
Born in Havana shortly before the Cuban Revolution of 1959, at the age of three Jourgensen moved to the United States with his family, and was raised mainly in Chicago and Breckenridge, Colorado. He developed an interest in music at a young age, and was involved in several short-lived bands, as well as briefly performing in the backing band of drag performer Divine.
Jourgensen formed Ministry in 1981 in Chicago and received significant attention from music press regarding the band's 1983 debut studio album, With Sympathy. His subsequent releases in the 1980s, most prominently Ministry's The Land of Rape and Honey (1988) and The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989), showcased his stylistic transition; in the early 1990s, he achieved mainstream success with Ministry's fifth studio album, Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs (1992). The next few years were marked by publicity surrounding Jourgensen's substance abuse which negatively affected his creative output and resulted in a period of severe depression; during this time, Jourgensen and Ministry appeared in the 2001 Steven Spielberg film A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
In 2005, Jourgensen established his own record label, 13th Planet Records, through which several Ministry records, among others, were released until the early 2010s. Currently Jourgensen and Ministry are signed to Nuclear Blast Records
- ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (March 27, 2013). "Ministry's Last Stand Brings Al Jourgensen 'From Beer to Eternity'". Noisey Vice. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ^ CoS staff (August 28, 2014). "Top 11 Influential Minds of Industrial Metal". Consequence of Sound. 7. Al Jourgensen (Ministry). Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ^ Kaufman, Spencer (January 19, 2014). "Ministry Mastermind Al Jourgensen to Enter Rehab for Alcohol Abuse". Loudwire. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ^ Dean, John (October 14, 2013). "Before They Were Metal". Noisey Vice. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ^ Rod Smith (March 27, 2014). "Wax Trax: An Introduction". Red Bull Music Academy Daily. Red Bull Music Academy. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- ^ Cadrey, Richard (March 1996). "Avalanche in 4/4". Pulse! – via Prongs.org archive.
- ^ a b Heim, Chris (December 29, 1989). "Ministry's Musical Vision Goes Beyond The City Limits". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Blush, Steven (October 1991). "Cult of Personality". Spin Magazine. Vol. 7, no. 7. pp. 77–78. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ Ohanesian, Liz (April 12, 2016). "To Get His Weed Card, Ministry's Al Jourgensen Said He Was Invisible — and It Worked". L.A. Weekly. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
- ^ "Ministry". Metal Storm. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ^ Jourgensen, Al (September 8, 2015). Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen. Hachette Books. ISBN 978-0-306-82464-7. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
LATimes'92was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Ministry: Houses of the Mole (Sanctuary)". Reviews. CMJ New Music Report. No. 870. June 28, 2004. p. 6. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
- ^ Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, p. XIII.
- ^ Graham Hartmann (November 4, 2016). "10 Greatest Industrial Rock + Metal Bands [Watch]". Loudwire. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
- ^ Sean Edgar (November 15, 2017). "Photos: Death Grips & Ministry Combined for a Post-Industrial Maelstrom". Paste. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
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