Draft:Miguel and the Living Dead

Miguel and the Living Dead are a Polish band founded in 2001 in Warsaw, playing a mixture of gothic rock, punk, deathrock and psychobilly. The group created a consistent stage image, performing in costumes and make-up, and composing songs referring to old horror films and the visual style of the 80s. The band's eclectic sound formula is influenced mainly by European gothic, punk and post-punk bands and American deathrock, as well as psychobilly, 50s and 60s rock and roll, surf, garage, rockabilly, country, and ska...

Formation and early years (2001-2004)
Miguel and the Living Dead originated as a one-man musical project created by Pete Vincent (aka Nerve 69 ) in 2001. The first songs were composed and recorded at home on a small PC, including: "Salem's Lot", "Night of Terror", "Aliens Wear Sunglasses", and "Train of the Dead". At the turn of 2003/2004, Pete Vincent was joined by former musicians of the post-punk band Eva: Slavik (vocals), Killer Klaus (bass guitar), and El Diablo (drums). In February 2004, the band played their first concert in Warsaw. Shortly before the live debut, the group's CD-R Demo 2004 was released. It contained five songs created between 2001–2003 and featured Pete Vincent and Slavik performing all instruments and vocals, respectively. In the spring of 2004, a new member joined the group, keyboardist Goozzolini, and the full five-piece line-up was completed. The musicians played a series of concerts in Poland (including the show at Old Skull in Warsaw, together with Phantom Limbs ), and also made their debut outside their native country, namely at the Punk Aid festival in the Czech Republic  alongside  The Damned, Sex Gang Children and The Last Days Of Jesus. During this period, the band was enormously supported by the group's friend and mentor, Polish alternative/goth music journalist, DJ, and founder of the Old Skull event series - Tomasz Zrąbkowski (aka Maniak, Ghostmaniac)

Alarm!!! and Postcards From The Other Side (2005-2007)


In July 2005, the band's debut Alarm!!! was released on the German-Austrian label Strobelight Records. The album received very good reviews in the professional press which resulted in increased popularity and performing concerts in Europe (Italy, France, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Germany ). In 2005, Miguel and the Living Dead changed their keyboardist, Goozzolini was replaced by Burza. The band's songs appeared on the compilations (Gothic Magazine, New Dark Age vol.3, Cold zine).

In 2006 the group played concerts in Great Britain, Austria and Germany. One of the most important live appearances of this period was certainly a very well-received show at the Wave Gotik Treffen Festival in Leipzig, in front of over 1000 people (alongside Clan Of Xymox, Combichrist, Dark Sanctuary, Deathstars, Decoded Feedback, Deine Lakaien, Feindflug, Katatonia, Lacrimosa, Nitzer Ebb, Samael, Theatre Of Tragedy, VNV Nation ). In July the band also performed at the famous Polish rock music festival in Jarocin, where they received a special mention from the jury. Allegedly, the only obstacle to winning the award was that the group had lyrics only in English. Released in the same year German compilation New Dark Age vol.4 included a new song called "Lycantropia, which was a harbinger of the band's upcoming second album.

In the summer of 2007, Miguel and the Living Dead released their sophomore work Postcards From The Other Side, this time on the Polish independent label Noise Annoys. The new album featured ten new compositions in a similar style to the debut. The songs from the new album, as well as from Alarm!!!, were presented at the prestigious European festival Castle Party 2007 in Bolków(along with such bands as The Legendary Pink Dots, Suicide Commando, Diary of Dreams, Front Line Assembly ). The new album received some positive reviews in the underground and official music press

Hiatus (2010-2017) and reunion (2017-present)
At the end of the summer of 2007, the band's leader Pete Vincent moved permanently to Great Britain. This resulted in the band temporarily suspending its activities. The group still would play occasional concerts in Poland and abroad, however, after performing a very well-received show at the famous goth/deathrock festival Drop Dead in Vilnius in 2010 Miguel and the Living Dead called it a day. All former band members remained active on the music scene though, performing and recording with numerous groups and projects such as Hatestory, Past, TZN Xenna, Wrony Na Sniegu, Miniskirt Blues, Devilish Presley, The Underrunners and others. In 2017, Miguel and the Living Dead resumed their activities with the following line-up: Slavik - vocals, Pete Vincent - guitar, Killer Klaus - bass, Staszek - drums (Syrbski Jeb, Hatestory), and Vins Vilaplana - keyboards (ex-La Casa Usher). With Pete and Vins (the latter of Spanish descent) permanently living in London, the band now became an international act split between two countries. The band began actively working on the new songs and preparing for the proper comeback. In April of 2019, the group officially returned to the stage, playing at the already legendary Old Skull club in Warsaw, the same one where they made their live debut in 2004. In October of that year, they performed at the Return To The Batcave festival in Wroclaw beside many popular international acts like Pink Turns Blue, Screaming Dead, Altar De Fey, Ötzi, and Bootblacks. Both band's concerts were very warmly received by the audience and consisted of the pre-hiatus classics as well as the new songs. In 2021, the debut album Alarm!!! was remastered and re-released on vinyl on the independent label Batcave Productions. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the band ceased its activities for the lockdown period but returned in 2022 playing several shows in Poland, including the Ultra Chaos Picnic Festival in Żelebsko and again at the Castle Party Festival in Bolków (next to New Model Army, Sex Gang Children, She Past Away, Screaming Dead, XIII. Století, Lacuna Coil, Blutengel, Nitzer Ebb, Me And That Man ). In the autumn of 2022, Miguel and the Living Dead set about recording a new studio album. The sessions were completed in the spring of 2023. In May, the band played their first post-reunion concert outside Poland at the famous Gothic Pogo Festival in Leipzig, Germany

In April 2024, the band celebrated the 20th anniversary of their stage debut and on this occasion, they performed at a special two-day edition of the Old Skull event at the Hydrozagadka club in Warsaw. It was also the 20th anniversary of Old Skull itself and, apart from Miguel and the Living Dead, Section 25, Corpus Delicti, 1984, Wieże Fabryk and Ksy performed there.

Current members

 * Pete Vincent – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2001-present)
 * Slavik – lead vocals (2003-present)
 * Killer Klaus – bass guitar, backing vocals (2004-present)
 * Vins Vilaplana – keyboards (2017-present)
 * Stach Wysocki – drums (2017-present)

Past members

 * Bartłomiej "Goozzolini" Guzowski– keyboards (2004–2005)
 * Mariusz "Niuniek El Diablo" Markiewicz – drums (2004-2010)
 * Krzysztof "Burza" Burzycki – keyboards (2005-2010)

Discography

 * Demo 2004 (2004)
 * Alarm!!! (2005)
 * Postcards From The Other Side (2007)