The Joy Thieves began in December 2017, when Chicago drummer/musician Dan Milligan began assembling a group of musicians to contribute to a new industrial rock recording project. Word of the new “supergroup” began spreading over the course of the next year, as notable musicians Chris Connelly, David Suycott, Howie Beno, Matt Noveskey, Andy Gerold, and Louis Svitek became involved. In early 2019, The Joy Thieves signed a record deal with London’s Armalyte Industries. On May 31, 2019, the band released a music video for the title track of their debut EP, This Will Kill That. Sung by Chris Connelly, he described the song as “a direct reference to Victor Hugo’s prophecy that the printed word would make the church obsolete.” It was also written in response to a series of nightmares that Dan Milligan was having, as he was writing music for the EP. This Will Kill That was officially released on June 28, 2019, and it featured appearances by Andy Gerold, and David Suycott. On October 4, 2019, The Joy Thieves released their second EP, Cities In Dust, as a free download on Armalyte Industries. In addition to their remake of the Siouxsie and the Banshees’ song, Cities In Dust, the 6-song EP included remixes of songs from This Will Kill That, with contributions from John Fryer, Howie Beno & Brandt Gassman, and Armalyte Industries label-mates, i! On October 14, 2019, they released the music video for Cities In Dust. On March 6, 2020, the band released a video for the title track for their third EP release, A Blue Girl, and Armalyte Industries released the EP on March 13, 2020. Created by an even larger cast of musicians than their previous two releases, A Blue Girl features appearances by Chris Connelly, Howie Beno, Marcus Eliopulos, Andy Gerold, Matt Noveskey, Julian Beeston, Louis Svitek, and more. The band also released a lyric video for The Badlander on March 27, 2020. On May 15, 2020 The Joy Thieves released an unannounced EP titled Genocide Love Song, as well as an accompanying video. The song, the video, and the remix were conceived, recorded, mixed, mastered, and released during a single week of the lockdown during the COVID-19 quarantine. Dan Milligan and Chris Connelly wrote the song as a scathing indictment of the government; specifically how their handling of the COVID-19 situation was leading to unnecessary deaths, including the death of Milligan’s uncle. )
Members
The Joy Thieves are an ever-growing, ever-changing collective of musicians. The following is a partial list of members, along with a list of other musical projects in which they have been involved.
