Draft:Tanz Waffen

Tanz Waffen was a synth-based duo based out of Austin, Texas. Translated from German, the name means "dance weapon". While the band started off as pure synth-pop, over time it became more goth and industrial eventually completely shedding the synth-pop sound.

The band initially was comprised of lead singer, lyricist, and occasional keyboardist and percussionist Nancy (Nanz) Campbell (now Nancy Wilde), and her then husband Jeff Campbell.

The band formed in 1985 after both members departed the band Secret Six which had been formed by Austin music legend Jesse Sublett. The band was active until 1991.

Tanz Waffen was exclusively a duo in the studio, but often augmented their live shows with percussionists and eventually a full time drummer Mike Soliz (singer for the metal band Militia ).

The band had some regional success touring and also had some nationwide underground success thanks to a collaboration with Razormaid Records, a DJ remix service, who released 4 songs by Tanz Waffen over a 3 year period.

Of those 4 releases, the song "Subversion" became the biggest hit and led to the band being discovered and signed by the German record label ZYX.

ZYX released a new mix of the song "Big Strong Man" (which had also been released on Razormaid). The song saw some play and moderate success, but following, neither the band nor the label wanted to continue their relationship.

In 1987, Tanz Waffen began a 4-year collaboration with new wave diva Lene Lovich.

They performed as Lovich's backing band for the first time in May of 1987, and then toured the US 3 times as both her backing band as well as the opening band, from 1988-1990.

The tours were centered around Lovich's involvement with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals . The first two tours saw them perform for huge crowds at both the Washington Monument and in NYC. The band also performed with the B-52's who were the hosts of both events.

With the advent of both hair metal and then grunge, and the musical landscape changing, Tanz Waffen struggled to find it's identity but eventually went with a more industrial metal sound and then merged with 2 members of the Austin band Mark of Kane to form a new band called Voodoo Dali in 1991.

Both Tanz Waffen and Voodoo Dali and Mark of Kane can be found on most major streaming platforms.