Editing Urge Overkill

{{Short description|American rock band}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2011}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist  <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name            = Urge Overkill
| image           = Urgeoverkill.jpg
| caption         = Urge Overkill performing in 2004
| background      = group_or_band
| origin          = [[Chicago]], Illinois, United States
| genre           = [[Alternative rock]], [[hard rock]]
| years_active    = 1986–1997, 2004–present
| label           = [[Ruthless Records (Chicago)|Ruthless]], [[Touch and Go Records|Touch and Go]], [[Geffen Records|Geffen]]
| associated_acts =
| website         = {{URL|http://www.urgeoverkill.com/}}
| current_members = Nash Kato<br />Eddie "King" Roeser<br />Nate Arling<br />Adam Arling
| past_members    = Johnny "Blackie Onassis" Rowan<br />Nils St. Cyr<br />Chris Frantisak<br />Mike "Hadji" Hodgekiss<br />Brian "Bonn" Quast<br />Burf "Sandbag" Agnew<br />Patrick Byrne<br />Kriss Bataille<br />Grumpy "Crabnar" Carnitas<br />Jack "The Jaguar" Watt<br >Chuck Treece<br />Scott “Fever” Evers}}

'''Urge Overkill''' is an American [[alternative rock]] band, formed in [[Chicago]] in 1986, consisting of Nathan Kaatrud, who took the stage name Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass guitar).<ref name="Larkin"/> They are widely known for their song "Sister Havana" and their cover of [[Neil Diamond]]'s "[[Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon]]", which was used in [[Quentin Tarantino]]'s ''[[Pulp Fiction]]''. ''Oui'', their latest album, was released in 2022.

==History==
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 (band)|Parliament]] song "[[Funkentelechy]]") in Chicago in 1986,<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=1205}}</ref> with drummer Pat Byrne, and released an [[Extended play|EP]], ''Strange, I...'', on [[Ruthless Records (Chicago)|Ruthless Records]].<ref name="Larkin"/> The EP was recorded by Kato's friend [[Steve Albini]]. The full-length album ''[[Jesus Urge Superstar]]'' soon followed, again produced by Albini, and with Kriss Bataille on the drums.

''[[Americruiser]]'' saw a  change in style. Jack "Jaguar" Watt (of the band Baron Lesh) was the drummer and their sound from then on has been described as a "Stonesy fusion of arena rock and punk". Produced by [[Butch Vig]], ''Americruiser'' was widely praised, and scored a [[Campus radio|college radio]] hit with the lead single "Ticket to L.A." Watt returned to Baron Lesh and was replaced by Blackie Onassis (real name: John Rowan) on the next album ''[[The Supersonic Storybook]]'', which was named by [[Material Issue]]'s [[Jim Ellison]] and was released in 1991.

After opening for [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] on the American ''[[Nevermind]]'' tour,<ref name="cos">{{cite magazine|last=Meredith|first=Kyle|title=Urge Overkill on Saturation's 25 Anniversary and Touring with Nirvana|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/08/kyle-meredith-with-urge-overkill/|magazine=[[Consequence of Sound]]|date=August 1, 2018|access-date=June 17, 2019}}</ref> Urge Overkill returned to the studio to record another EP ''[[Stull (EP)|Stull]]'' in 1992, which featured the tracks "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (produced and mixed by [[Kramer (musician)|Kramer]]) and "Goodbye to Guyville". Having a strong following by this time, they jumped from their indie label [[Touch and Go Records|Touch & Go]] to [[Geffen Records]].<ref name="cos"/> Despite some criticism for the label switch, Urge Overkill's major-label debut [[Saturation (Urge Overkill album)|''Saturation'']] received strong reviews upon release in 1993,<ref name="Larkin"/> and to support the album, they opened for [[Pearl Jam]] on their [[Vs. Tour|''Vs.'' tour]]. The single "Sister Havana" gave the band a hit record and broad recognition.<ref name="cos"/>

In 1993, the band contributed the track "Take a Walk" to the AIDS relief benefit album ''[[No Alternative]]'' produced by the [[Red Hot Organization]]. As the band recorded a follow-up album, cult filmmaker [[Quentin Tarantino]] used the group's cover version of the [[Neil Diamond]] song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" in his 1994 film ''[[Pulp Fiction (film)|Pulp Fiction]]''. When the movie became a hit, the song made it to number 59 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/surf-music-and-seventies-soul-the-songs-of-pulp-fiction-20140521/urge-overkill-girl-youll-be-a-woman-soon-0556827 | title=Surf Music and Seventies Soul: The Songs of 'Pulp Fiction' | date=21 May 2014 | publisher=Rolling Stone | access-date=July 7, 2014}}</ref>

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 (Nash Kato album)|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, West Hollywood|The Troubadour]] in West Hollywood, [[Double Door]] in Chicago, [[First Avenue (nightclub)|First Avenue]] in Minneapolis and the [[Bowery Ballroom]] in New York and continued to tour through Europe, North America, and Australia.

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 (comedy)|Roast]] of [[Quentin Tarantino]]" on December 1, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sentimentalistmag.com/2010/09/16/urge-overkill-returns-with-new-song-tarantino-roast/|title=Urge Overkill Returns with New Song, Tarantino Roast|website=Sentimentalistmag.com|access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://maytherockbewithyou.com/mtrbwy/2011/10/urge-overkill-rock-roll-submarine-australian-tour-2012-3/|title=Urge Overkill – 'Rock & Roll Submarine' – Australian Tour 2012|work=May the Rock Be with You|date=October 27, 2011|access-date=February 23, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://urgeoverkill.com/tour/|title=Tour - Urge Overkill|work=urgeoverkill.com|access-date=February 23, 2020}}</ref> By 2019, the band had begun working on new material for the follow-up to ''Rock & Roll Submarine''.<ref name="cos"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://wgnradio.com/2015/08/27/nash-kato-and-eddie-roeser-urge-overkill/|title=Chicago band Urge Overkill: "What we seem to be good at is the rock"|work=[[WGN (AM)|WGN]]|date=August 27, 2015|access-date=February 23, 2020}}</ref> ''Oui'', their first studio album in 11 years, was released on January 28, 2022.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.antimusic.com/news/urge-overkill-new-song-forgiven-011022/|title=Urge Overkill Share New Song 'Forgiven'|website=antimusic.com|date=January 10, 2022|access-date=February 11, 2022}}</ref> Johnny "Blackie Onassis" Rowan died on 13 June 2023, at the age of 57.<ref>{{cite web |last1=DeVille |first1=Chris |title=Urge Overkill Drummer Johnny "Blackie Onassis" Rowan Has Died |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2227049/urge-overkill-drummer-johnny-blackie-onassis-rowan-has-died/news/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=14 June 2023 |language=en |date=14 June 2023}}</ref>

==Band members==
'''Current members'''
* Nash Kato – lead vocals, guitar 
* Eddie "King" Roeser – guitar
* Nate Arling – drums
* Adam Arling – bass

'''Former members'''
* Pat Byrne – drums
* Kriss Bataille – drums
* Jack "Jaguar" Watt – drums
* Blackie Onassis – drums
* Mike "Hadji" Hodgkiss – bass
* Chris Frantisak – keyboards

==Discography==
===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Label
! colspan="4"| Peak chart positions
|-
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| [[Billboard 200|US]]<br /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/430699/urge-overkill/chart?f=305|title=Urge Overkill – Chart history (Billboard 200)|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=December 21, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223111833/http://www.billboard.com/artist/430699/urge-overkill/chart?f=305|archive-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref>
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| [[ARIA Charts|AUS]]<br /><ref name="AUS">Peaks in Australia:
* All except noted: {{cite web|url=http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Urge+Overkill|title=australian-charts.com – Discography Urge Overkill|publisher=Hung Medien|access-date=December 21, 2016}}
* "Positive Bleeding": {{cite Ryan|page=290}}</ref>
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| [[Official New Zealand Music Chart|NZ]]<br /><ref name="NZ">{{cite web|url=https://charts.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Urge+Overkill|title=charts.nz – Discography Urge Overkill|publisher=Hung Medien|access-date=December 21, 2016}}</ref>
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| [[UK Albums Chart|UK]]<br /><ref name="UK">{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/29185/urge-overkill/ |title=Urge Overkill {{!}} full Official Chart History |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=June 8, 2020}}</ref>
|-
| 1989
! scope="row"| ''[[Jesus Urge Superstar]]''
| rowspan="3"| [[Touch and Go Records|Touch and Go]]
| — || — || — || —
|-
| 1990
! scope="row"| ''[[Americruiser]]''
| — || — || — || —
|-
| 1991
! scope="row"| ''[[The Supersonic Storybook]]''
| — || — || — || —
|-
| 1993
! scope="row"| ''[[Saturation (Urge Overkill album)|Saturation]]''
| rowspan="2"| [[Geffen Records|Geffen]]
| 146 || 16 || — || —
|-
| 1995
! scope="row"| ''[[Exit the Dragon]]''
| 129 || 6 || 50 || 88
|-
| 2011
! scope="row"| ''[[Rock & Roll Submarine]]''
| UO
| — || — || — || —
|-
| 2022
! scope="row"| ''Oui''
| [[Omnivore Recordings]]
| — || — || — || —
|}

===Extended plays===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Label
|-
| 1986
| ''Strange, I...''
| [[Ruthless Records (Chicago)|Ruthless]]
|-
| 1992
| ''[[Stull (EP)|Stull]]''
| Touch and Go
|}

===Live albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Label
|-
| 2004
! scope="row"| ''Live at Maxwells 2/5/04''
| [[eMusicLive]]
|}

===Compilation albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Label
|-
| 1992
! scope="row"| ''The Urge Overkill Story''
| Shagpile
|-
| 1993
! scope="row"| ''The Urge Overkill Story...Stay Tuned: 1988–1991''
| Touch and Go
|-
| 2012
! scope="row"| ''Icon''
| Universal
|}

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! colspan="6"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Album
|-
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| [[Billboard Hot 100|US]]<br /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/430699/urge-overkill/chart?f=379|title=Urge Overkill – Chart history (Billboard Hot 100)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 21, 2016}}</ref>
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| [[Alternative Songs|US<br />Alt.]]<br /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/430699/urge-overkill/chart?f=377|title=Urge Overkill – Chart history (Alternative Songs)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 21, 2016}}</ref>
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|US<br />Main]]<br /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/430699/urge-overkill/chart?f=376|title=Urge Overkill – Chart history (Mainstream Rock)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 21, 2016}}</ref>
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| [[ARIA Charts|AUS]]<br /><ref name="AUS"/>
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| [[Official New Zealand Music Chart|NZ]]<br /><ref name="NZ"/>
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%"| [[UK Singles Chart|UK]]<br /><ref name="UK" />
|-
| 1987
! scope="row"| "[[Wichita Lineman|Lineman]]"
| — || — || — || — || — || —
| {{N/A|Non-album single}}
|-
| 1990
! scope="row"| "Ticket to L.A."
| — || — || — || — || — || —
| ''Americruiser''
|-
| 1991
! scope="row"| "Now That's the Barclords"
| — || — || — || — || — || —
| {{N/A|Non-album single}}
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1993
! scope="row"| "Sister Havana"
| — || 6 || 10 || — || — || 67
| rowspan="4"| ''Saturation''
|-
! scope="row"| "Dropout"
| — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"| "Bottle of Fur"
| — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"| "Positive Bleeding"
| — || 23 || 40 || 61 || — || 61
|-
| 1994
! scope="row"| "[[Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon]]"
| 59 || 11 || — || 21 || 19 || 37
| ''[[Pulp Fiction (soundtrack)|Music from the Motion Picture Pulp Fiction]]''
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1995
! scope="row"| "The Break"
| — || — || 34 || — || — || —
| rowspan="3"| ''Exit the Dragon''
|-
! scope="row"| "View of the Rain"
| — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"| "Somebody Else's Body"
| — || — || — || 47 || — || —
|-
| 2011
! scope="row"| "Effigy"
| — || — || — || — || — || —
| ''Rock & Roll Submarine''
|}

===Compilation appearances===
* ''Hog Butcher For The World'' (Mad Queen Records) (1987) - "Last Train To Heaven"

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150731043926/http://urgeoverkill.com/ Official website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150731043926/http://urgeoverkill.com/ www.urgeoverkill.com - Latest tour dates/Mood Control]
* {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p14610|label=Urge Overkill}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060424085540/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/urgeoverkill Urge Overkill] at ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
* {{discogs artist|Urge Overkill}}
* {{IMDb name|0653873}}

{{Urge Overkill}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Musical groups established in 1986]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1997]]
[[Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2004]]
[[Category:Touch and Go Records artists]]
[[Category:Geffen Records artists]]
[[Category:Ruthless Records (Chicago) artists]]
[[Category:Alternative rock groups from Chicago]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Illinois]]
[[Category:1986 establishments in Illinois]]