Jinx Titanic | |
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Jinx Titanic 2007
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Background information | |
Birth name | John Patrick Kamys |
Also known as | Jinx Titanic |
Born |
Chicago, IL, U.S. |
September 21, 1968
Genres |
Punk rock Rockabilly Pop rock Alternative rock Incidental music Theater Music |
Occupation(s) | Composer, Singer, Songwriter, Recording artist, Author, Actor, Comedian |
Instruments | Voice Piano Keyboards |
Labels | Big Dixie |
Associated acts |
Avalanche Rescue Team Bob Mould Charming Beggars Chicago Symphony Orchestra Dead Electric Love Kit John Kamys Moto Polymer Verbow |
Website |
Jinx Titanic John Kamys |
John Patrick Kamys, (born September 21, 1968, Chicago, IL) better known by his stage name Jinx Titanic is an American composer, singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author, best known for his outrageous stage persona, and image as the beer-swilling, cigar-smoking, sexually-candid, lead singer of the eponymous rock band. Occasionally he will appear as a stage actor, movie actor, comedian, television personality, or host, and is also considered a notable member of the Queercore and Homocore movements.
Before taking on the persona and public life of Jinx Titanic, Kamys worked regularly in Chicago as a composer and songwriter. His first score for theater was written in 1994 for Teatro Vista’s production of Romulus Linney’s play Ambrosio. Henry Godinez, Goodman Theatre resident artistic associate and curator of The Goodman’s Latino Theater Festival played the title role. At the time, Godinez was also scheduled to direct Jose Rivera’s new play Cloud Tectonics at the Goodman Theatre and asked Kamys to create the score. Cloud Tectonics was a critical success, considered one of the 10 best productions of 1995 by both The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun Times, and Kamys went on to receive a Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for his score. Though he did not win the award at that time, eventually receiving the "Jeff" in 1998 for his work for El Paso Blue at the Next Theater Company, the success of Cloud Tectonics initiated a longstanding collaborative relationship between Kamys, Godinez. Teatro Vista, and The Goodman Theatre.
In 1999 he released his first solo recording, a clash of genres and pop-forms titled Supremacist. According to the review by author and syndicated columnist Gregg Shapiro, then a writer for the Windy City Times, and Outlines, the recording was “unabashedly sexy and powerful,” with “moments of dark and unexpected beauty.” Though sales of the recording were considerably small, the work was artistically solid enough to garner two GLAMA (Gay and Lesbian American Music Award) nominations for Best New Artist, and Out Song Trade.Trade a blend of alternative rock and Hip Hop would also appear in a Heavy Metal version on both Super 8 Cum Shot Volume II and JINX TITANIC Booted & Cuffed. Also from Supremacist the punk song Your Hearse Is Here would later be re-recorded for Super 8 Cum Shot Volume I, and eventually find its way onto the MTV show The Real World. Supremacist is currently out of print and unavailable in a digital format.