Ministry are celebrating Halloween by digitally releasing a new EP titled “Everyday (Is Halloween) – The Lost Mixes.” A vinyl pressing will also be available on November 20. Here’s the track listing:
01. “Everyday (Is Halloween)” (Dirt mix)
02. “Everyday (Is Halloween)” (Dirt dub)
03. “Playground”
04. “I See Red” (instrumental version)
There is only 14 more days until the 2020 presidential election and Ministry are getting ready by releasing a new video for their song “Git Up Get Out ‘N Vote.” That track is from the band’s 2012 album “Relapse.” With this news, Al Jourgensen has also released a “Soundtrack To Your Election” playlist. You can find that HERE. More surprises are also being planned for the next two Tuesdays as well.
Ministry have teamed up with hockey-themed brand Puck Hcky for a new merch collection. You can see what they have to offer HERE. Puck Hcky CEO Matt Marini said the following about the collaboration:
“We are so excited and proud to launch the new Ministry X Puck Hcky collection. Ministry has been one of our favorite bands for a long, long time… Plus the fact that Al [Jourgensen] is a huge hockey fan just ties it all together perfectly! We hope you all enjoy the collaboration as much as we enjoy bringing it to you!”
Ministry have postponed their U.S. tour with KMFDM and Front Line Assembly due to the coronavirus pandemic. The trek is now scheduled to take place next year.
Ministry commented:
“Ministry will be rescheduling the upcoming Industrial Strength Tour due to ongoing restrictions regarding social gathering. The tour will now kick off March 31, 2021, hitting all the same markets with an additional date in Salt Lake City. KMFDM and Front Line Assembly remain on the lineup.
Original tickets will be honored for the new show dates in 2021; or, ticketholders can receive refunds at the point of purchase. For the Dallas show date only, original ticketholders have been automatically refunded and will need to repurchase tickets for the new 2021 date, starting today at https://ministrygasmonkey.eventbrite.com/“
As previously reported, Ministry will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of “The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste“ on this run. Here’s the new dates:
03/31 Seattle, WA – Showbox Sodo
04/01 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
04/02 Missoula, MT – Wilma Theatre
04/03 Salt Lake City, UT – The Union
04/04 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
04/06 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
04/08 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
04/09 Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
04/10 Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
04/11 Niagara Falls, NY – Rapids Theatre
04/12 Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre
04/14 Boston, MA – House of Blues
04/15 Huntington, NY – The Paramount
04/16 Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont
04/17 Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
04/18 Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
04/20 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
04/21 Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
04/23 Houston, TX – House of Blues
04/24 Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Live!
04/25 San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theater
04/27 Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
04/28 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
04/29 San Diego, CA – House of Blues
04/30 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
05/01 San Francisco, CA – The Warfield Theatre
Ministry have premiered a new song titled “Alert Level.” This track will appear on the band’s upcoming album.
Al Jourgensen commented:
“We finished the song in January and it sounded great during rehearsals for our Australia/Japan tour dates, before we went into quarantine.
The original plan was to finish the new record before the July ‘Industrial Strength’ U.S. tour so we could have an Election Day release, but in lieu of the circumstances—and how relevant the song feels for these bizarre times—we decided to release ‘Alert Level’ now.”
Ministry are also asking fans to answer the question “How concerned are you?” with a 30 second video. You can share your response with #MinistryAlertLevel and the band will choose the most meaningful ones to share. Jourgensen said the following about that:
“Considering that this song features the question, ‘How concerned are you?’ I’ll be interested to see how folks answer it themselves.”
Jourgensen also recently discussed “Alert Level” on Bill Burr’s “Monday Morning Podcast.”
In other news, Ministry have also launched a website to get their fans registered to vote.
Ministry have launched a mysterious countdown timer on their official website. It is unknown what the band are teasing, but the clock will hit zero on Friday (April 24).
It looks like Ministry are working on a new album. The band said the following about that:
“Until further notice…we’ll be quarantined in the studio making a new record. 👽”
Bill Rieflin has sadly passed away at the age of 59 following a battle with cancer. Rieflin played drums for Ministry from 1986–1994 and also performed with numerous other bands including: R.E.M., King Crimson, Lard, Revolting Cocks, KMFDM, Pigface, Swans and more.
Ministry issued the following statement:
“Today we lost a wonderful artist, tremendous human being and an integral part of Ministry’s developments and success…
Safe travels my brother on the way to your next universal gig.
R.I.P. Bill Rieflin
#MinistryBand #WeAreMinistry #Ministry #Revco #RevoltingCocks #Lard #1000HomoDJs #LeadIntoGold #KMFDM #Swans #NineInchNails #REM #KingCrimson #Drummer #BillRieflin #RestInPeace”
R.E.M.‘s Michael Stipe also commented:
“Bill Rieflin (1960-2020)
It is with heavy hearts we acknowledge the death of our dear friend and consummate drummer, Bill.
Bill sent me this picture last week of him and Lenny Kaye earlier this month when the Patti Smith Group were in town and they got to hang out. He was elated to see such great friends and gather at his favorite weird Chinese-American diner.
A forever memory is decades old, when I first met Bill at a late night Policeman’s bar in Seattle, sat at a greasy table drinking scotch, and we listened to ‘Birdland’ off the jukebox in reverent silence and awe. His attentiveness to that song then and there indicated a lot to me about what it would be to work with Bill— which commenced to create some magical and beautiful collaborations and life long friendships.
And so to Bill now, he is among all the fine points of the stars and we are looking up with love— and with our own reverence for his beauty, his humor, his relentless curiosity and of course his incredible musical ear, his time here with us so precious and golden. —Michael“
KMFDM briefly commented as well:
“RIP Bill Rieflin, my dear dear friend and partner in crime of 30+ years.”
Billboard have shared a new investigative report from Spin with some disturbing allegations against Ministry’s Sinhue “Sin” Quirin. The guitarist has been accused of having sex with two underage girls in the early 2000s.
One accuser, named Kelly Longoria, says she met Quirin in San Antonio, TX during a Dope show in 2002 when he was performing in Society 1. She was only 15 at the time, while Quirin was 33. Longoria says that he lied about his age, saying he was 28, and that he knew she was underage. They reportedly exchanged contact info and later went on to start a sexual relationship. Eventually, Longoria’s friends and family informed the police.
The other accuser, who was identified as “Brooke,” is an entertainment industry worker who says that she met Quirin in Portland, OR during a Society 1 show in 2005. She was barley 16 at the time, but he ended up initiating a sexual relationship with her. While Brooke’s mother was out of town, the members of Society 1 stayed at her house and Quirin had sex with her after the band were informed that her and her friends were minors.
Quirin has denied the allegations through his attorney, but it’s worth noting that there is more evidence to support their claims. Lacey Sculls, who dated Quirin in 2010 while they were touring with Lords of Acid, said she ended up breaking up with him after she found out about him having sex with Longoria while she was underage. She even provided Spin with emails from Quirin and social media comments from Society 1 frontman Matt Zane in which they allegedly admitted to sexual misconduct. Sculls also went on record with the San Antonio, TX police to help support Longoria‘s accusations.
On top of this, another woman named Beth George claimed that Quirin previously hired her as a social media consultant and that she noticed that he was receiving alarming messages from underage girls. She also claimed that she was fired after confronting him about it. However, Quirin‘s attorney claimed that the guitarist never hired George.
Ministry have yet to officially comment, but frontman Al Jourgensen did have his attorney issue a statement:
“Mr. Jourgenson (sic) is unaware of any of potential nefarious activity by any member of Ministry during their respective tenure(s) with the band including but not limited to Mr. Sin Quirin.”
You can find more details about the situation via Billboard.
Ministry have announced a summer tour with KMFDM and Front Line Assembly. Al Jourgensen commented:
“‘The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste‘ just turned 30. Who knew we’d still be around to see this day. But since we are alive and kicking, we figured we’d hop in the way-back machine and recreate the infamous original tour with KMFDM, and add in Front Line Assembly as well. Don’t miss it this time because we’ll be in wheelchairs for sure in another 30 years. May the fence be with you!”
Tour Dates:
07/01 Seattle, WA – The Showbox Sodo
07/02 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
07/03 Missoula, MT – Wilma Theatre
07/05 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
07/07 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
07/09 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
07/10 Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
07/11 Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
07/12 Niagara Falls, NY – Rapids Theatre
07/13 Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre
07/15 Boston, MA – House of Blues
07/16 Huntington, NY – The Paramount
07/17 Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont
07/18 Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
07/19 Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
07/21 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
07/22 Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
07/24 Houston, TX – House of Blues
07/25 Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Live!
07/26 San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theater
07/28 Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
07/29 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
07/30 San Diego, CA – House of Blues
07/31 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
08/01 San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
