Scott Putesky

Scott Putesky

Scott Mitchell Putesky (born April 28, 1968), more famously known as Daisy Berkowitz, is an American musician, and was the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock group Marilyn Manson. He left the band in 1996, however, halfway through the recording of Antichrist Superstar.

Background

Putesky's first instruments were the flute and the snare drum, and in 6th grade joined the school's chorus, for which he apparently had a talent. His early loves were drawing, movies and Star Wars. His first record was the Star Wars soundtrack, and the influence that it had on him can be seen in much of his original artwork, which consists of aliens and spaceships. In the late 1970s, when Scott was in his early teenage years and punk had given way, he found admiration for artists such as David Bowie and Talking Heads, influences that are apparent in his later work. His stage name, Daisy Berkowitz, is derived from the Daisy Duke character from 1970s sitcom "Dukes of Hazzard" and David Berkowitz, serial killer nicknamed "Son of Sam".

Early career

Putesky's discovery of MTV after his moving to Fort Lauderdale in 1980 gave him the inspiration to save up to buy a small Casio keyboard. He taught himself to play, and later, in 8th grade, took guitar lessons. Influenced by his early favorites, Putesky learned to play songs by The Cure and U2, leading to his development of an odd personal style sometimes described as a fusion between blues and grunge. Putesky's first band, "The Flying Eggbeaters" featured schoolmates Tom Wolf and Jim Neuman as drummer and bassist. This gave him the experience needed to later go on to other bands, such as "Blue China" and "Ear Wacks".

A period of drifting followed, in which Putesky attended a local art college where he majored in advertising design. Though his musical abilities were sidetracked, he began to visit local metal clubs such as The Gutter and The Cell. In 1988, after being given a small 4-track recorder by his parents, he bought a bass guitar and a drumkit to record his music with a full ensemble. At this time, Scott also played with a surf-rock band called "The Hodads", and later formed a band named "Kinetic Ritual" with Hodads' bassist Rick Waters and future 'Spooky Kid' Fred Streithorst on drums. Another drifting period soon set in, however, as Putesky was unsure where to take his unique style.

Marilyn Manson

Putesky and Brian Warner met at a Fort Lauderdale club called The Reunion Room and later at a local after-party in December 1989. The two created the concept of Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids poking fun at American media hypocrisy and its obsessions with serial killers and beautiful women.

Putesky, who had at this point had developed his own poetry but not yet worked lyrics into his music, began to meet up with Warner and brainstorm character and show/event ideas after Warner asked for help to start a band as a creative outlet for his poetry writing. Putesky played guitar, bass, keys as well as programmed a Yamaha RX-8 drum machine and taught Warner about vocal performance, recording and arranging and dual input from both parties gave the band its darkly psychedelic style, and as early as January 1990, they began to record on Putesky's 4-track songs like "Red Head","White Knuckles", "Cake and Sodomy" and "Dogma". By March they had assembled a band with Warner's Broward Community College schoolmate Brian Tutunick, better known as Olivia Newton Bundy (Olivia Newton John + Ted Bundy), and Perry Pandrea, a 'gawky' teenager given the moniker Zsa Zsa Speck (Zsa Zsa Gabor + Richard Speck). The band played its first show at Churchills, a club in Miami April 28, 1990 opening for the popular local band "The Goods". Warner was so nervous he vomited early in the set which added to the show and began his reputation for entertaining with disgust.

Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids, with its mix of psychedelic industrial rock and mixed metaphors quickly built a cult following, due in part to flyering parking lots long before they played out, in southern Florida, playing at clubs such as Squeeze and The Reunion Room, and later opening for several national acts such as Danzig. The group also won a number of Slammie Awards, Florida's version of the Grammy, for metal acts. In August 1992, Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids played their last show, renaming themselves (or rather, being renamed by their enigmatic vocalist) to the shorter Marilyn Manson. The line-up had by that time changed to include Fred Streithorst as Sara Lee Lucas on drums, Brad Stewart as Gidget Gein on bass, and Stephen Bier as Madonna Wayne Gacy on keyboards.

After signing with Trent Reznor's label Nothing Records in the summer of 1993 (Warner had interviewed Reznor years before and remained in touch — Reznor, when asked to come and see a show, was suitably impressed and offered them a contract on the spot) and began work on their first album, Portrait of an American Family. " Though Marilyn Manson built up a strong local fanbase throughout these years, it was not until their 1995 release Smells Like Children that they caught the ear of the world with the darkly gothic cover of Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams". In February 1995, after opening for Danzig, having two headlining tours, and making three more music videos, the band headed back to the studio to begin work on Antichrist Superstar.

At this point, creative differences between Warner and Putesky reached their peak - Putesky, somewhat introverted on stage compared to the riotous antics of Manson, Gacy and Ramirez, began to be pushed off stage by Manson, find his equipment mysteriously broken, and was criticized at every possible opportunity - his image was, according to Warner, just not shocking enough. Excluded from photoshoots and videos (he features less than any other bandmember in the "Dope Hat" video, for example) and ignored by production crew, his feelings of isolation and frustration grew. Apathy, however, soon turned into active victimization, and before Antichrist Superstar was completed, an airline ticket for a one-way flight back to Fort Lauderdale mysteriously appeared in the studio. Putesky said nothing, returning home.

Post-Marilyn Manson work

Abandoning the Daisy Berkowitz moniker in favor of his own initials SMP, Scott began recording demos for his first solo project, Three Ton Gate was named for the massive coral gate at the entrance of the Coral Castle in Homestead, FL. A three-song demo,3x3 was his first musical undertaking post Marilyn Manson. The tape featured rough tracks written and performed entirely by Putesky, under the name Scott Mitchell(his first and middle names). Shortly thereafter, Scott hired Tyreah James to handle the vocals for the full-length Three Ton Gate release, "Vanishing Century" based on the 3x3 demo tapes. Scott produced Tyreah's vocals in the studio for all the basic tracks at the now defunct Digital Beach Recording Studio in Fort Lauderdale. The disc was released in 1997 in limited quantities, and sold out its entire run of pressings. Copies of the disc can occasionally be found on e-bay. The album, written entirely by Scott Mitchell, was the first Three Ton Gate official release and featured gothic vocalist Tyreah James. At the same time, Putesky was playing live shows in a whimsical side project called the Linda Blairs created by Jack Off Jill singer Jessicka as an opening act for her band's shows. The Blair's featured several unknown South Florida musicians who performed cover tunes previously recorded by female fronted 80's rock bands. The Linda Blairs did several live performances dressed in drag. Focusing so much time on the side project detracted Scott from his creative genius with Three Ton Gate and the project with Tyreah soon faltered and was put aside.

In late 1998 Scott joined up with longtime Marilyn Manson collaborators Jack Off Jill, replacing departing member Ho Ho Spade and playing live guitar on their 1999 West Coast tour which lasted for only a handful of gigs. His first recorded work with the band was the 1998 EP Covetous Creature, to which he lent guitar and some production. By early 1999, SMP was no longer a member of Jack Off Jill. Putesky himself is vague, but he tells MTV News that the parting was an amicable. He returned once again to Ft. Lauderdale to resume work on his own music, primarily seeking a live band to perform his Three Ton Gate material. In the meantime, he successfully sued Marilyn Manson for what he claimed were unpaid royalties for his contributions to Antichrist Superstar. In the same lawsuit, Putesky was also awarded the rights to 21 unreleased recordings by Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids.

Following his settlement with Manson, Putesky kicked around several solo and collaborative projects, including continuing to develop Three Ton Gate as a vehicle for film soundtrack work, joining the backing band of Israeli-born musician Michal Towber, and lending his songwriting skills to Washington, DC, industrial-rock band Godhead (who would later, ironically, become the first and only band on Marilyn Manson's record label, Posthuman Records). He also reestablished the Rednecks on Drugs project with friend and fellow musician Rich Penny (who was also in the Linda Blairs).

Eventually, Rednecks on Drugs metamorphosed into Stuck on Evil, essentially a hard-rock band with gothic, Southern rock, and early rock & roll influences. Stuck on Evil recorded a 10-song full-length album, Suntanic, produced by Scott Putesky, in 2001. Their plan for a national tour starting in August of that year was ruined, however, by September 11 and a bone-breaking accident on the part of vocalist John Cain Riley. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the subsequent condemnation of "evildoers" by President George W. Bush, the band decided to drop the word evil from its name. Explained Putesky: "Stuck on Evil -- it's a joke! And then nobody got the joke, and therefore it became a silly name, and all of a sudden having evil in your name wasn't so funny." Riley agreed: "With the whole nation up in arms about evildoers, it just wasn't a good name to have."

Reverting to the original name of Three Ton Gate, Putesky recorded the album Lose Your Mind for his own Scorpion Rising label in 2003.

In September 2008, it was reported that Putesky had sided with Stephen Bier (ex-Marilyn Manson keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy) in the latter's lawsuit against Manson. Also in his official My Space he has stated that he will have collaborations with Bier making music in 2009.

Discography

• Various (Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids, 1990-1993)
• Portrait of an American Family (Marilyn Manson, 1994)
• Smells Like Children (Marilyn Manson, 1995)
• Antichrist Superstar (Marilyn Manson, 1996)
• Vanishing Century (Three Ton Gate, 1997)
• Covetous Creature (Jack Off Jill, 1998)
• Suntanic (Stuck on Evil, 2001)
• Lose Your Mind (Three Ton Gate, 2003)
• Guest appearance on The Chrome Recordings (TCR, 2004)

Written songs in Marilyn Manson

• Cake And Sodomy
• Lunchbox
• Organ Grinder
• Cyclops
• Dope Hat
• Get Your Gunn
• Wrapped In Plastic
• Dogma
• Snake Eyes And Sissies
• My Monkey
• Misery Machine
• Irresponsible Hate Anthem
• Tourniquet
• Wormboy
• Man That You Fear