Biography
Though William Tucker is primarily known as a guitarist, he also played bass, keyboards/samplers (and drums and trumpet growing up) and was an accomplished programmer, songwriter, arranger, producer, engineer, mixer, remixer and film scorer. His musical influences were mostly "classic", such as Bowie, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, The Meters, old funk and disco, etc. and his own work ranged from intimate acoustic to heavy duty industrial and rock.
Born in 1961 Edwin William Tucker grew up in the New Jersey area where, throughout the '80s, he was involved in a number of bands / projects including Regressive Aid (with future Gone and Rollins Band members Sim Cain and Andrew Weiss), Scornflakes (Regressive Aid plus Chris "Boy White" Chang), Lunchmeat 2000 (members of Regressive Aid and The Groceries), St. Celelia (with Amor Fati), the Swinging Pistons (with Andy of The Groceries), Sex Dog Helicopter, Cleft Palate (with Chris Chang), Leather Studded Diaphragm and 15.
From 1980-83 Regressive Aid and Scornflakes, who were both greatly influenced by post punk and early industrial music - the latter completely improvised - released records on their own Rhesus Records and played many shows opening for bands like Gang of Four, Billy Idol, Bow Wow Wow, Romeo Void, Swans, Flipper, Butthole Surfers, G.B.H., Black Flag, the Ramones and the Dead Kennedys. Also during this time Tucker hosted the "Uncle Williams Holiday Death Camp" radio program on WTSR at Trenton State (85-86) and gave guitar lessons, most notably to Mickey Melchiondio (aka Dean Ween of Ween). In an interview, Aaron Freeman (aka Gene Ween) declared that Tucker taught Mickey "everything he knew about the guitar, as bad as it could sound and as good as it could sound." The New Brunswick, NJ scene included Cleft Palate, Leather Studded Diaphram (with Eric Gladstone - bass/vocals, Ethan Stein - drums) and Moby Dick (with Cliff Livingston, Kara, Ethan Stein). Tucker co-produced a demo by Moby Dick at Trax East Studio in 87/88. Tucker worked at the Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, NJ for awhile and was often seen at Court Tavern in New Brunswick and City Gardens in Trenton, NJ. It was at a Cleft Palate show that Tucker met Martin Atkins and was subsequently drawn with him into the Chicago scene. Cleft Palate and Leather Studded Diaphram signed on for Invisible Records first release, the compilation LP "What You Can't See Won't Hurt You" and Tucker moved to Chicago ...
Upon arriving in Chicago Tucker, already a WaxTrax! fan, almost immediately began working within the Invisible and Wax Trax! Records camps: a Cleft Palate track on Invisible's debut compilation, playing guitar on Ministry's 1989 tour, quickly followed by recording and touring with Pigface. It was on these tours that Tucker, along with most everyone else, partook in everything such a tour can provide. Throughout the '90s Tucker also recorded, played live and/or worked with KMFDM, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, the Revolting Cocks, Chris Connelly, The Swinging Junkies, The Final Cut, Hyperhead, 16 Volt, Chemlab, Foetus, Thanatos and Chainsuck. It was with Connelly (and later Thanatos and Chainsuck) that Tucker began to explore an often quieter and more melodic side resulting in some of his all-time favorite work. For more detailed information on his life and work see the 1998 Damn 'zine interview.
William Tucker took his own life on May 14, 1999. He was 38-years-old ...