Al Jourgensen

Encyclopedia : A : AL : ALJ : Al Jourgensen

Al Jourgensen (born October 8, 1958 in Havana, Cuba), is an American musician best known as the hard drinking, chain-smoking founder and frontman of the industrial band Ministry. He is sometimes credited as Alain Jourgensen, Alien Jourgensen, Hypo Luxa (his alias as a music producer), Dog, Alien Dog Star and Buck Satan. He is a member and/or founder of several industrial bands, working as a singer, guitarist or keyboard player.

Contents

1 Biography
2 Professional life
3 Political views
4 Projects
5 References

Biography

Jourgensen was born to a Cuban mother and a Norwegian father. His father was a stock car driver, also known as a mechanic for legendary Formula One driver Dan Gurney. Jourgensen was raised in Chicago, Illinois and Denver, Colorado, eventually attending the University of Colorado. He worked as a radio DJ out of college, until becoming a professional musician by joining the band Special Affect.

Jourgensen was married to Patty Marsh from 1984-1993, and he has one child from that marriage. He remarried in 2002 to Angelina Lukacin.

Known for often appearing intoxicated on-stage, Jourgensen has been seen guzzling whiskey and smoking cigarettes while performing. His lyrics reveal many aspects of his life, such as his heroin and cocaine addiction, alcoholism, and his political opinions. These were greatly influenced by the beat generation (William S. Burroughs collaborated on some of his tracks).

Jourgensen has had a life-long affinity for drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, which culminated in the 1995 police raid of Ministry's Texas headquarters and Jourgensen's arrest for possession. He received a five year probation sentence, a time that he recalls as the darkest in his life. As of 2003, he maintains that he has been drug-free.

Professional life

Jourgensen formed Ministry in 1981 after he left the band Special Affect, which was a new wave/synth pop band (notably including Frankie Nardiello, founder of My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult). Early singles by Ministry and Jourgensen's other projects were released on Wax Trax! Records.

Ministry's 2006 album, Rio Grande Blood, as well as the 2006 Revolting Cocks album Cocked and Loaded were released on Jourgensen's new record label, 13th Planet Records. He formed this label after falling out with the mainstream agendas of major industry labels. [link]

Jourgensen appeared as a fictional musician in the film , and has had a number of songs appear in other films.

Political views

Jourgensen is one of the more outspoken musicians in the industry today, espousing left-wing views and frequently offering scathing criticism of right-wing politicians. Beginning with Ministry's 2004 album Houses of the Molé, his favorite target has been U.S. President George W. Bush. The theme continues on Ministry's 2006 offering, and in Jourgensen's various side projects.

Jourgensen's political ideals have estranged some fans who believe he should avoid expressing his views on the public stage. [link]

Projects

References

[Ministrymusic.com]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.