Life is sacred, don't let it pass
Take my desire, break from your past
You're the Goddess, I'm the beast
Join me in life's wanton feast
The name The Imperial Orgy comes fom an ancient Greek phrase meaning 'the feast of life.'
Have you experienced The Imperial Orgy?
BIO
The members of The Imperial Orgy are not your usual rock and roll types. The Imperial Orgy is made up of a hodgepodge of oddballs and misfits who have joined together to form a musical family. Their live performances are a celebration of the uniqueness of the individuals. This attitude seems to spark audience members to drop their own inhibitions and follow suit.
The Imperial Orgy is seething with a desire to inject pop culture with a healthy dose of fun and adventure. When the Imperial Orgy takes the stage one immediately senses a party is taking place and everyone's invited. On occasion the musicians explicitly mock their own stereotypes by hanging signs over their chests labeling themselves as "ni**er," "hick," "kike," "c*nt," "chink," etc. Once the barriers of restraint have been broken, the show becomes a no holds barred free-for-all.
HISTORY
The Imperial Orgy emerged from the primordial muck in the backwoods of the Appalachian Mountains in rural Pennsylvania. At the time, Caeser Pink was stricken with nausea from a decaying American culture. From a society commercialized, materialistic, shallow, apathetic, lulled into complacency, obedient to authority, and worshipping mediocrity.
In 1993, as Caeser prepared to join the ranks of college drop-outs, he lured a
group of the best minds from his cohorts within the Film Department of the
Penn State University, convincing them to help fulfill his vision for a surreal multimedia
concert presentation he called The Imperial Orgy.
The Imperial Orgy was designed as an insult to the icons and idols of popular
culture, an attack aimed straight at the heart of conformity, a gob of spit hurled
into the face of the gods...
But above all else, it was a call to rebirth as free spirits
and independent thinkers.
Caeser began with a simple plan – there would be absolutely no limitations
on creative freedom either musically or within the lyrics. And the live
performance would use any art form available with which to communicate their
iconoclastic message to the audience.
For a year the group worked nightly in a dirty basement in Lewistown, PA
writing and rehearsing. When they were finally ready to release their musical
Frankenstein onto the unsuspecting public, they could not find a theatre willing
to let them present the performance. Instead the group was forced to present
their work in a small bar that usually featured top 40 cover bands. The audience reaction was riotous.
In the months that followed, hail and brimstone rained down from the heavens as
The Imperial Orgy repeated their performance at local clubs and bars. The
newspaper headlines screamed, “Performance Cancelled Due To threats from
Religious Organizations,” “Posters Banned From University,” “Feminists Protest
Pink’s Sexual Message.”
But at the same time a community of artists, activists, and seekers grew around The
Imperial Orgy. Pink’s message of freedom and liberation became a catalyst
for political, spiritual, and sexual awakening for those that joined The
Imperial Orgy tribe.
After a year The Imperial Orgy abandoned the confines of Central, PA and
moved to New York City. A place where their musical congregation was free to
grow, and from which they could take their message to the world at large.
Whether musically or socially, the Imperial Orgy excludes the prejudiced. The music fan who limits their tastes to a particular style of music, or who are uncomfortable with a socially open environment, will surely find some aspect of the Imperial Orgy offensive. But for those who have no restraints to hold them back from savoring the feast....
...the Imperial Orgy is waiting
EVENTS TIMELINE
1993 Formation:
The musicians that would soon become The Imperial Orgy, begin rehearsing in the basement of bass player Ron Boi Aurand in Lewistown, PA.
1993 - Test Run:
The Imperial Orgy performs their first gig as a four piece band at the Beirhaus, a small club in Central, PA. The audience reaction to this, and a second performance at the Chestnut Street Hotel, is hot and frienzied. Many of the performance rituals that became a part of The Imperial Orgy experience were born spontaneously in these early performances.
1994 - Religious Group Threats Cancel Show:
The Imperial Orgy's first performance as a full 7-piece multimedia group was cancelled when a anti-publicity stunt spiralled out of countrol. According to the local newspaper people called the club saying they would riot if the concert was allowed to continue. The newspaper claimed they were getting an average of four calls an hour complaining about the event. Evidence pointed to the local Jehovah's Witeness church being the main compaigners against the performance.
1994 - Flyers Banned:
The Imperial Orgy's flyers were banned from Penn State University campus because "they were disturbing to some students." Afte the Daily Collegian newspaper ran several articles about the banning, the university backtracked. University lawyers told the newspaper that the flyers were never banned, and that it was all a misunderstanding.
1994 Police Raid:
The Police were called to The Imperial Orgy's performance at Stony's Posthouse Tavern in State Colelege, PA after once of the club's bouncers got over-excited by the performance and threated to assault Pink if he did not tone down the show. At the time of the threat, Pink was holding a female audience member in his arms and singing to her.
1994 - CBGBs:
The Imperial Orgy makes their New York City debut at the legendary CBGBs club, and had the dubious honor of blowing the historic venue's power circuits during their fourth song. Soon after, most of the band members relocated to New York City permenatly.
1997 - Website Debut:
.The Imperial Orgy Experience website used the internet as a self-contained artistic medium and presented an introspective spiritual journey of self-discovery. The website visitor wandered through a mandela maze where they learned about The Imperial Orgy through writings, photos, music, and video. At the same time they are asked to tell about their own experiences, social/political views, and spiritual beliefs. The unique design and content of the site landed the group on the cover of Europe’s .Net Magazine.
1997 - Imperial Orgy Website Banned!
The Imperial Orgy website went down briefly when the company hosting the site refused to allow it access to the internet. In an email Jonathan Cousar of the company Website Host stated that he found their web site "to be religious (sic) offensive.. and racist." In a second email he stated, "We will not host a site that mocks the God we believe in."
1998 - Street Theatre:
The Imperial Orgy presented a surreal street theatre protest titled Our Daily Bread in front of the New York Stock Exchange. During the event costumed and masked performers laid loaves of Wonder Bread every few feet along the sidewalks in the Wall Street area. Attached to each loaf was a letter from Satan offering to buy people’s souls in exchange for all the products and possessions one can attain by chasing money and materialism in a lifestyle that leaves no time for spiritual introspection.
2000 - The Imperial Orgy TV Series:
IOTV was a 13 episode arts variety show was broacast in cities across the U.S, Australia, France, and Amsterdam. The show features artist interviews, experimental films, music videos, documentary profiles, and comedy skits.
2002 - The Imperial Orgy Masquerade Ball:
The Imperial Orgy Masquerade Ball was presented at Webster Hall. The event featured dozens of performers on multiple stages, 5-DJs, far-out fashion shows, erotic theme rooms, interactive art installations, educational and vendors booths, and a full scale BDSM dungeon. The performers included Amber Ray, The Pontani Sisters, the Bombshell Burlesque, The Dukes Of Dykedom, and of course, a performance by Caeser Pink & The Imperial Orgy.
2003 - The Arete Living Arts Foundation:
The Imperial Orgy formed the federally recognized 501c3 non-profit, The Arete Living Arts Foundation. The organization helps fund performances and events, and to promote new artists in a variety of fields who create work that is innovative in form or expresses a unique point of view. Another project funded by Arete Living Arts was a series of free computer classes in web design, video editing, and graphic design. The classes were offered to economically disadvantaged people in the rural areas of Pennsylvania near where The Imperial Orgy began.
2006 - Gospels Hymns for Agonstics & Atheist:
The Gospel Hymns CD mixed elements of traditional gospel lyric and industrial blues with the goal of presenting spiritual music that transcends religious denominations. The CD was banned from many college radio stations by music directors who feared it's unconventional message. Reviewers hailed it as a masterpiece at newspapers in Los Angeles, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York.
2007 - All God's Children:
Again, the CD was banned from many college radio stations, often for the most ridiculos reason: "We don't want to subject our listeners to a group that portrays Mickey (mouse) as a Nazi" - Amber Kain of WFCF Radio, FL, "Our head music director is Jewish so we will never play that CD" - Tricia Galinat of WVOF Radio, CT, "I refuse to play that kind of sacrilegious music on my station. It is ungodly and unethical" - WEXP Radio, PA, "Our DJs aren't mature enough to say the band's name without giggling" - WBER Radio, NY. The CD presented a music mix of punk energy and social satire. Critics praised the disc for bringing social criticism and humor back into rock music
2009 - Satorism I Exhibition:
The Imperial Orgy took over the Chashama Art gallery on 41st Street to present a multimedia concert and art exhibition. The exhibition was based on the concept of Satorism: art that inspires personal, political, spiritual, or sexual awakening. The artist featured included Stephen Woods, Jorge Namerow, Jody Fallon, Jennie Booth, Liya Sheer, Keith Duncan, Helene Ruiz, and Danylo Pelonis, photographers Cheryl Fallon, Steve Geyer, and Joyce Isabelle, and the premier of the Caeser Pink film Temple Paintings #2.
2010 - The Imperial Orgy goes into Orbit!
The Imperial Orgy blasted into outer space when Stephanie Wilson, an astronaut aboard the Discovery space shuttle took the group's All God's Children CD into orbit for the listening pleasures of the international space station. The CD was played for the seven-member crew aboard Discovery which was on a 13-day mission carrying supplies and science equipment for the space station.
2012 - The Murder Of The Holly King:
Pink's literary work chronicles his cross country trip to expore America in the days and weeks following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. To promote the book, Caeser traveled thoughout New England presenting readings and acoustic music at book stores and coffee houses.
2013 - Strength In Union:
Pink entered a musical sabatical to direct the documentary series Strength In Union, which tells the story of the history of the American labor movement. The film, (as yet unrelased) will tell America's history from the point of view of the nation's working people an their struggles for economic justice.
2016 - A Whole New Way Of Makin' It Happen!
Recording and Mixing sessions began to comlete a new album titled A Whole New Way Of Makin' It Happen!. The album features appearances by guitar virtuoso Reeves Gabrels (Tin Machine, The Cure, David Bowie), aclaimed avant garde pianist Mick Garson (David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, No Doubt, Smashing Pumpkins), a full Do-Wop group, and sports announcer Dave Burman.
2019 - Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Music Video:
The Imperial Orgy produced a music video for their song Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! The video required a dozen actors and dancers, a wide variety of constumes, and a 20-foot green screen. Although the song was written in 1994, the message is perfect for our times, using social satire to speak against the racism of bigotry of the Trump Era. Click here to view the video.
2020 - The Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Video Wins Awards!
All year The Imperial Orgy's Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! video won awards from Film Festivals around the world.
2023 - The Presciption Video Release.
The Prescription music video deals with the issue of perscription druh addiction. The video required
five days of shooting at different locations and a cast of nearly one hudnred people. The video has won at the London
Music Video Festival and the Euro Music Video Film Festival.
2024 - A Whole New Way Of Makin' It Happen! Release.
The long awaited album A Whole New Way Of Makin' It Happen! was released in January. It is available for digital download, on CD, and in a deluxe two album set with a beautiful
Trifold cover with red and amber vinyl.
