Formation, Jesus Urge Superstar, and Americruiser (1986–1990) Kato and Roeser met at
Northwestern University in 1985. They formed Urge Overkill (getting the name from a phrase in the lyrics of the
Parliament song "
Funkentelechy") in Chicago in 1986, with drummer Pat Byrne, and released an
EP,
Strange, I..., on
Ruthless Records. Urge Overkill returned to the studio to record another EP
Stull in 1992, which featured the tracks "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (produced and mixed by
Kramer) and "Goodbye to Guyville". Having a strong following by this time, they jumped from their indie label
Touch & Go to
Geffen Records.
Exit the Dragon, hiatus, and reformation (1995–2009) Urge Overkill retained their sound for
Exit the Dragon, released in 1995. Kato and Roeser started feuding, resulting in Roeser leaving the band. Roeser went on to perform with Jim Kimball (formerly of
The Jesus Lizard) as L.I.M.E. and with his brother John in the band Electric Airlines. Now a duo consisting of Kato and Onassis, Urge Overkill moved to
Sony's
550 Music in early 1997. After a break of several years, Kato released a solo album in 2000 titled
Debutante. Six of the album's 13 songs were co-written with Onassis. In 2004, Kato and Roeser reformed Urge Overkill without Onassis, recruiting former
Gaza Strippers guitarist Mike "Hadji" Hodgkiss to play bass, keyboardist Chris Frantisak, and drummer Nate Arling. The reformed Urge Overkill performed shows at
The Troubadour in West Hollywood,
Double Door in Chicago,
First Avenue in Minneapolis and the
Bowery Ballroom in New York and continued to tour through Europe, North America, and Australia.
Rock & Roll Submarine and Oui (2010–present) On September 19, 2010, on the free form radio program
Anything Anything with Rich Russo on WRXP-FM in New York, the first Urge Overkill song in 15 years was played. The song was called "Effigy". Russo also announced an Urge Overkill show on October 4, 2010 at Mercury Lounge in New York. Live shows began happening, including being the musical guest at a "
Roast of
Quentin Tarantino" on December 1, 2010. The band released
Rock & Roll Submarine, their first studio album in 16 years, in May 2011. A subsequent tour followed the release of the album. On October 8, 2011, Urge Overkill opened for
Weezer at the Red Bull
Riot Fest at the
Congress Theater in Chicago. Urge Overkill had continued to perform live occasionally from 2012 to 2018. By 2019, the band had begun working on new material for the follow-up to
Rock & Roll Submarine.
Oui, their first studio album in 11 years, was released on January 28, 2022. Johnny "Blackie Onassis" Rowan died on 13 June 2023, at the age of 57. ==Band members==