King Lizzard

Infobox musical artist
Name= King Lizzard


Img_capt =Performing at the Beach, Las Vegas
Img_size =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Randall James Colmus
Alias = The Reverend Randy James
Born = birth date and age|1957|6|2
Died =
Origin = Detroit, Michigan
Instrument = Vocals
Rapping
Guitar
Bass Guitar
Synthesizer
Genre = Rock
Hard rock
Occupation = Musician
Male singers
Lyricist, Composer
Record producer
Years_active= 1997 to Present
Label= The Orchard (music label)
Associated_acts= Legacy
Living Karma
King Lizzard's Hearts of Darkness Band
URL= [http://www.kinglizzard.com/ Official site]
Notable_instruments = Gibson Les Paul electric guitar
Ibanez Destroyer electric guitar
Gibson Thunderbird bass guitar

King Lizzard (the Rev. Dr. Randall James Colmus ) is an American entertainer born June 2,1957 in Detroit, Michigan currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Biography

Early life

King Lizzard was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the city Rolling Stone magazine calls "the Liverpool of America, a gritty industrial city producing hard, loud rock since the sixties." King is only child of entertainer Johnny Colmus (who worked with and wrote songs for Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Ernest Tubb, among others, in the fifties, sixties and seventies) and Jean Sackman. His mother's side of the family were Polish/German Jews who converted to Catholicism, changing their name from Sackman to Benson during World War II. His father's side of the family were Latter Day Saint Mormons. He was raised by his maternal grandparents.

In 1962 an accident left him with permanent deformity of his left leg, which was corrected in 2007 with a full hip reconstruction.

In 1973 he moved to San Diego, California, where he attended college on an acting scholarship and gained degrees and honors in Film and Theatre Production. Because of his deformity King regularly played evil characters on stage, including Iago in "Othello" and Faust in Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus". He was also an extra in seven feature films from 1978-1989. He was set to go to USC film school, but the death of his grandmother and subsequent homelessness changed everything.

He began playing professional music in the seventies, his influences in music coming from Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper and Kiss, while his guitar playing was heavily influenced by Jimmy Page and Frank Marino of Mahogany Rush.

Early bands include Grand Cross, Whitewater, Sure and Anti.

Weaving music, theatre and multimedia together, King has worked professionally in the film and music business for over thirty years. He has acted in major motion pictures, the live stage, and has performed before stadium and arena crowds.

Legacy

From 1979-1982 he was bass player and co-songwriter for the band, Legacy (signed by a major label). They opened for top acts nationwide but never achieved headline status.

The Band broke up and King concentrated on acting and film production, his first love.

Las Vegas and Current

In 1997 he left California for Las Vegas and took up the axe again, as King Lizzard.In 1997-1999 he was the songwriter/ keyboardist for the techno-pop band "Living Karma."From 1999-2002 his vision got darker and louder with the Industrial/ Metal "King Lizzard's Hearts of Darkness Band."

He has written and produced over 100 Songs, Produced a film (The Last Day, 1983) and written 7 Screenplays.

In 2001 the title of "Las Vegas' Godfather of Metal" was bestowed upon him by internet radio station LVRocks. In July 2001 he married photographer Lana Gunn.King was a radio talk show host from 2001 to 2004 with his shows "Inside Sin City" and "The Sounds of Sin."In 2004 he became and ordained minister and received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.King plans to return to live performance sometime in 2008.

Discography

ingles

*The Patient in Room 666
*Living Karma
*Hurricane of Pain

Albums

*The Sin City Symphony (1998)
*The Patient in Room 666 (2003)
*Beyond Forever: The Best of KL (2005)
*King Lizzard...and friends (2006)
*REMIXED & REMASTERED: The Essential King Lizzard Vol. 1 (2007)

External links

* [http://www.kinglizzard.com King Lizzard Las Vegas] official website
* [http://www.queenlizzard.com Queen Lizzard Photography Site]
* [http://www.lizzardworld.com Lizzardworld Online Entertainment Magazine]