God Lives Underwater

God Lives Underwater
Company type	Band
Industry	Music
Founded	1993 in Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Founder	David Reilly, Jeff Turzo
Headquarters	Perkiomenville, United States
Products	Music albums, EPs

God Lives Underwater emerged as an American rock ensemble in 1993, originating from Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania. The group was founded by vocalist and programmer David Reilly alongside guitarist and programmer Jeff Turzo. Subsequently, guitarist Andrew McGee and drummer Adam Kary joined the lineup, with Kary being replaced by Scott Garrett in 1998. After independently recording and distributing a self-titled EP in late 1993 and throughout 1994, the band secured a contract with Rick Rubin's label, American Recordings, which officially released the EP nationwide in early 1995. That same year, their debut full-length album Empty was issued. Later on, they signed with A&M Records and unveiled Life in the So-Called Space Age in 1998, which included their most notable hit "From Your Mouth". After facing internal difficulties and changes in record labels, their final studio album Up Off the Floor came out in 2004. Tragically, Reilly passed away unexpectedly at age 34 on October 16, 2005.

Formation and God Lives Underwater (1993–1995)

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, David Reilly produced home-recorded demos where he performed most of the vocals and instrumentation himself. He later partnered with studio engineer Jeff Turzo, who had experience working with acts such as Pop's Cool Love and Fishbone. The two, longtime acquaintances from high school in Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania, collaborated to create an electronica- and industrial-inspired band called God Lives Underwater. By late 1993, they had independently recorded a six-track demo. Throughout 1994, they self-released the God Lives Underwater EP while actively pursuing label interest. Producer Rick Rubin eventually signed them to his label American Recordings, which issued the EP nationally in January 1995. To develop their sound further for live performances and recordings, drummer Adam Kary and guitarist Andrew McGee were added to the ensemble. The EP reached No. 82 on the CMJ Radio Top 150 chart. Its single "No More Love" was accompanied by a music video filmed near a nuclear power facility. Additionally, the song "Drag Me Down" was featured in the soundtrack of the film The Doom Generation.

Approximately four months after its release, "No More Love" was included on the soundtrack for Johnny Mnemonic, supported by a second music video that combined footage of the band with scenes from the movie. In early 1995, God Lives Underwater embarked on a national tour alongside Maids of Gravity, a group formed by Eddie Ruscha, formerly of Medicine. A June concert in Rochester, New York, marked by audience disturbances leading to police deploying pepper spray, resulted in drummer Kary being assaulted and Reilly being arrested on charges of inciting a riot; Reilly later pleaded guilty and completed community service. Meanwhile, Reilly and Turzo contributed two tracks under the pseudonym Heavy to a Nitrus Records compilation titled The Compilation, while McGee submitted two songs under the alias Sputnik.

Empty and increased activity (1995–1997)

Throughout 1995, God Lives Underwater worked on their first full-length album. In September of that year, their track "Tortoise" was featured in the film National Lampoon's Senior Trip. The album Empty was released by American Recordings in October and climbed to No. 83 on CMJ’’s Top 200 chart. The tracklist included "No More Love," while singles such as "All Wrong" and "Don't Know How to Be" were promoted separately. The music video for "All Wrong" debuted exclusively on MTV’s program 120 Minutes.

The band conducted a U.S. tour supporting KMFDM, followed by a European tour alongside Filter. Subsequently, they headlined their own U.S. tour before opening for Spacehog. Following a performance in Florida, God Lives Underwater was removed from Spacehog’s tour amid claims that they were attracting larger audiences and generating greater merchandise sales; Spacehog cited concerns regarding fan conduct.

In early 1996, God Lives Underwater composed original tracks for the PlayStation and PC game Slamscape, which included bonus videos for "No More Love" (the 1994 version), "Don't Know How to Be", and "All Wrong". Although the game received mixed critical reception overall, reviewers praised the band's musical contributions. That year also saw them contribute "Weight," an outtake from Empty, to the compilation Mortal Kombat: More Kombat. Additionally, they toured briefly with Far across the United States.

Towards late 1996, Dave Alverado joined as a fifth member to bolster live performances with additional bass; however, he departed by 1997, returning the group to its original four-piece lineup. After extensive touring efforts, manager Gary Richards established 1500 Records in partnership with major label A&M Records, securing distribution rights and signing God Lives Underwater as one of its inaugural artists.

Life in the So-Called Space Age and Peak Popularity (1997–2000)

In 1997, God Lives Underwater entered the studio in Los Angeles, California to record their next album with producer Gary Dobbins. Internal creative conflicts resulted in the departure of drummer Adam Kary, who was succeeded by Scott Garrett, known for his previous work with The Cult and Pop's Cool Love.

The album Life in the So-Called Space Age, released in March 1998, stands as the band's highest-selling record, moving over 90,000 units. It reached No. 6 on the Billboards Heatseekers chart and attained No. 137 on the Billboard 200. The leading single, "From Your Mouth", climbed to No. 17 on Billboards Modern Rock Tracks and secured the No. 18 spot on R&R's Alternative Top 50 list. Its music video, directed by Roman Coppola, showcased a continuous reverse shot featuring competitive eater Hirofumi Nakajima. Another track, "Rearrange", achieved modest commercial recognition. To promote the album, the band toured across the United States alongside Stabbing Westward and Econoline Crush.

In 1998, God Lives Underwater took the lead in assembling the Depeche Mode tribute compilation For the Masses, released through 1500 Records. They initiated this project and contributed their rendition of "Fly on the Windscreen". The album featured contributions from notable acts including The Cure, The Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones, and Rammstein, ultimately reaching No. 69 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Challenges and Up Off the Floor Era (2000–2004)

Work on their subsequent album commenced in 2000 but was significantly delayed due to financial setbacks experienced by manager Richards and complications following the sale of 1500 Records to Riffage. The band faced personal tragedy when Reilly’s fiancée, Monica "Seven" Young, passed away in an accident, profoundly impacting him and leading to increased substance use and emotional hardship.

Their live performance on July 13, 2000, in Hollywood—which included unreleased songs—became their final show. Early in 2001, they recorded a cover of David Bowie's "Fame" for the soundtrack of the film 15 Minutes, marking their last release under 1500 Records before Riffage declared bankruptcy and dropped them ahead of their album’s launch.

Between 2001 and 2003, individual members pursued separate endeavors: Turzo concentrated on production work for groups such as Incubus; Garrett briefly rejoined The Cult; McGee withdrew from active music involvement; Reilly released a solo project and collaborated with Kary to form Fluzee.

By late 2003, Spanish label Locomotive Music secured exclusive rights to release the finished album through an upfront payment. Named Up Off the Floor, it debuted in early 2004 but suffered from numerous production flaws—including typographical errors in liner notes, omitted tracks such as "Fame", and inferior audio quality due to use of non-master sources. Despite these setbacks, Locomotive promoted the single "Tricked", which failed to gain significant traction.

Reilly’s Passing and Later Developments (2004–2014)

Following the release of Up Off the Floor, God Lives Underwater ceased activity. In 2005, Reilly signed with RuffNation Records, affiliated with Universal Music Group, where he began developing new material influenced by his fiancée’s death alongside former Spiritualized guitarist Gregg Hale. Unfortunately, Reilly passed away in October at age 34 due to complications from an infection.

In 2006, Turzo formed Wired All Wrong with Matt Mahaffey from Self; Garrett and McGee later joined as drummer and guitarist respectively. In 2007, Brian Paone authored Dreams are Unfinished Thoughts, documenting his experiences with Reilly and the band. Reilly’s solo album under RuffNation/Universal titled How Humans Rx saw a limited release in 2010, followed by additional unreleased recordings and an updated Paone biography published in 2014 covering events up to that year.

Members

David Reilly – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming (1993–2005); deceased 2005
Jeff Turzo – guitars, bass, keyboards, programming (1993–2005)
Andrew McGee – guitars, backing vocals (1994–2005)
Adam Kary – drums, percussion (1994–1998)
Dave Alverado – bass (1996–1997)
Scott Garrett – drums, percussion (1998–2005)

Discography

God Lives Underwater (1994)
Empty (1995)
Life in the So-Called Space Age (1998)
Up Off the Floor (2004)

External links

Official website of God Lives Underwater
Bush, John. "Biography & History of God Lives Underwater." AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/god-lives-underwater-mn0000559040/biography.
Discogs page for the artist