How A.I. Killed The Dead Boys
By James Conrad.
The pioneering punk band the Dead Boys was formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1975 under the original name Frankenstein when guitarist Eugene “Cheetah Chrome” O’Connor and drummer Johnny “Blitz” Madansky teamed up after the dissolution of their previous band, Rocket From The Tombs, adding second guitarist Jeff Halmagy a.k.a. Jeff Magnum, bass player William “Jimmy Zero” Wilden and Morrisonesque lead singer Stiv Bators. During their first run, they released two classic albums, Young, Loud And Snotty and We Have Come For Your Children. Unfortunately, by 1979, internal tensions, drug abuse, conflict with Sire Records owing to poor album sales and disagreements over creative control took their toll, and the band went “Down In Flames,” to quote one of their song titles. The death of Stiv Bators in 1990 from a traumatic brain injury resulting from being knocked off a motorbike by a passing motorist seemed to permanently preclude any chance for a reunion.
Nonetheless, in 2017, Cheetah Chrome assembled a new lineup of the Dead Boys to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of their first album, enlisting Jake Hout from the San Francisco deathrock band Altar De Fey as the new lead singer. Though many fans were ungracious, dismissive and unable to imagine anyone but Stiv Bators at center stage, Jake Hout would hold it down as lead singer for the next seven years, honoring Stiv Bators’ example without coming across as a facsimile.
Unfortunately, conflict has arisen between Cheetah Chrome and Jake Hout. On November 24, Hout announced via Facebook and Instagram:
“It is with a heart shot full of led that I’m forced to announce that I am NO LONGER the singer of DEAD BOYS! Due to unreconcilable (sic) artistic differences with Cleopatra Records I must recuse myself. They intend to put out a record with a fakeass robot A.I. Stiv Bators voice on it! They wanted my voice to be the template for the fake robo-Stiv voice and I absolutely can NOT do that. It’s against my religion. Its heartless plagiarism of my own Guardian Angel and it can absolutely NOT happen. Stiv Bators ain’t no fucking robot! And I ain’t no fucking robot neither! I Am Jake Fucking Hout! I am the singer of ALTAR DE FEY! Everyone knows that!***
“***(actually only cool people know that)”
Immediately, Cheetah Chrome pushed back, stating:
“It has come to my attention that our former singer is disparaging the band and label over something he does not completely understand that has been explained to him repeatedly by myself and Cleopatra Records. Jake has his issues with AI, as do I. There are no plans I am aware of to use Stiv’s voice on any recordings at this time. I am looking to have an open mind and not cut my nose off to spite my face over something I don’t really understand, and kill possible artistic advantages or revenue streams for the entire band over my personal feelings. Apparently Jake is. They say ignorance is bliss, well, Jake, you must be happy as a pig in shit today.”
In another post, Cheetah added, “Jake was asked to stay many times while we got more info on AI to make an informed decision on it.” He went on to call Jake Hout “very selfish, foolish and short sighted,” made a cheap shot alleging that the latter has a drinking problem and even childishly disparaged Altar De Fay for good measure. Most puzzlingly, in spite of his apparent willingness to use AI on a new Dead Boys album to replicate Stiv Bators’ voice, he declared, “If ya want the real thing, the punk credibility is here, and yer most welcome.”
Jake Hout also clarified that “Cleopatra [Records] said it would be an A.I. record but Cheetah assured me it would NOT. But the opening line of the contract reads…’Artist has agreed that such Performances shall be Vocal performances (the “Performances”) utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for purposes of creating works based on the original voice of Stiv Bators, to be used on Company’s master recordings of the songs’….So I said no. I told Cheetah immediately I would be forced to quit publicly. And tell everybody why. And that it would probably go off like an H-bomb. This was in August. I reminded him frequently. Daily by the end. To no avail. I know that there are grey areas with line-up changes and artistic tools etc. There’s a massive irony here, I actually sympathize with the ‘no Stiv, no Dead Boys’ crowd. I get it! I always have! But, for me personally, A.I. is the bridge too far. I always tried to do right by Stiv and bring his music to life with heart and blood and passion and spirit. A.I. ain’t got none a that (sic) stuff.”
Not surprisingly, the backlash came thick and fast, with a total consensus that “AI ain’t punk rock.” Meanwhile, the Dead Boys’ quest for a new singer has begun, but if any prospects come under the impression that their voices may be used as a template for an AI replication of the late Steven John Bator, it’s doubtful that they’d want to even audition. What would be the point, in that case?
Doubtlessly, Cheetah Chrome should have left well enough alone and flatly refused the very idea of recording an album using an AI facsimile of Stiv’s voice.
This is not the first time that Cleopatra Records has been reproached for planning to use artificial intelligence to create artificial recordings of a long-deceased musician. In May 2024, the label was criticized by the surviving family, colleagues and contemporaries of late Small Faces and Humble Pie singer Steve Marriott for planning to use AI to replicate his voice for new recordings. As was stated before, artificial intelligence will not bring the dead back to life and the very idea of using AI to milk the fans of a helpless dead artist for money is disrespectful and distasteful at best.
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