Dinah Cancer
Encyclopedia
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of Mary Simms. She is a vocalist, best known for her band 45 Grave
45 Grave
45 Grave are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985 but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. 45 Grave are noted as one of the first bands to mix punk rock with horror-themed lyrics, thereby positioning them as...
, one of the founders of the genre of music known as "deathrock
Deathrock
Deathrock is a term used to identify a sub-genre of punk rock incorporating horror elements and spooky atmospherics, that emerged on the West Coast of the United States in 1979.-Characteristics:...
".
Biography
Cancer's first band was Castration Squad, an all women punk bandAll-women band
An all-female band is a musical group composed of female musicians exclusively. A distinction is made here with a girl group, in which the members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universally followed.-1920s-1940s:In the Jazz Age and during the 1930s, "all-girl" bands such as...
formed by Alice Bag
Alice Bag
Alice Bag is a punk rock singer. She is famous for being a member of The Bags, one of the first and most popular bands on the L.A. punk scene. She is also a member of Stay at Home Bomb and teaches at inner city schools. She was also in the band Castration Squad with Phranc.-External links:*...
of The Bags
The Bags
The Bags were an American rock band formed in 1977. They were one of the first generation of punk rock bands to emerge out of Los Angeles, California.-Career:...
. It was in this band that she went by the moniker "Mary Bat-Thing". Cancer was also in Vox Pop and sang backup for Nervous Gender
Nervous Gender
Nervous Gender is a punk band founded in Los Angeles, California in 1978 by Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton, Phranc and Michael Ochoa.Their use of heavily distorted keyboards and synthesizers made them, along with The Screamers, one of the original innovators of what is today called...
in the 1980s. In 1981, 45 Grave was formed. Bassist Rob Graves
Rob Graves
Robert Douglas "Rob" Graves is an American songwriter, musician, and producer. He is most well known for his work with Grammy-nominated and Dove Award winning band Red....
had been in The Bags
The Bags
The Bags were an American rock band formed in 1977. They were one of the first generation of punk rock bands to emerge out of Los Angeles, California.-Career:...
, keyboardist Paul Roessler
Paul Roessler
Paul Roessler was a prominent member of the L.A. punk scene during the late 1970s and '80s. He played keyboards in bands such as The Screamers, Twisted Roots, 45 Grave, Nervous Gender, SAUPG, Geza X and the Mommymen, Mike Watt and the Secondmen, Nina Hagen and The Deadbeats...
had played in The Screamers
The Screamers
The Screamers were a punk rock group active in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1970s. The Screamers were pioneers of a genre now known as "synthpunk," and can also be classified as art punk....
and Nervous Gender, and Don Bolles had drummed for Nervous Gender and The Germs
The Germs
The Germs are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band's early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and their most consistent drummer Don Bolles. Germs have since reformed in 2005 with Shane...
. With the addition of Paul Cutler on guitar, the band found success with the release of their first single "Black Cross" in 1981, and their contributions to the compilation Hell Comes To Your House
Hell Comes To Your House
Hell Comes to Your House is an American Deathrock and punk compilation that chronicles the emergence of Deathrock as a genre.The album was originally released in 1981 but reissued in 1998...
. They are considered one of the originators of "deathrock" and helped form the sound and aesthetics of what would come to be known as Goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
.
Cancer dated Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx is an American musician, songwriter, author, fashion designer, radio host, and photographer, best known as the co-founder and bassist of the band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a member of Sister before going on to form London with his Sister band mate Lizzie Grey...
of Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
for a period in the early 1980s, before marrying Paul Cutler while both were members of 45 Grave.
45 Grave broke up in 1985. However, due to the success of the LP Autopsy, released in 1987, the band reformed the next year and commenced touring and recording a new album, Only The Good Die Young, released in 1989. The band came to a permanent halt with the death of Rob Graves Ritter in 1991 from a heroin overdose. Cancer remarried briefly and had two daughters named Ilse and Eirika before separating from her second husband.
After her separation from her second husband, Cancer went back to using her birth name, Mary Simms, and focused all her energy on raising her children. She became an early childhood development teacher. During this time her music was featured in the movie "Return of the Living Dead
Return of the Living Dead
The Return of the Living Dead is a 1985 American zombie film that was followed by several sequels. The film was written and directed by Dan O'Bannon and starred Clu Gulager, James Karen and Don Calfa....
". She resisted calls by people to start playing music again for several years until she felt her daughters were old enough to understand what she was doing.
Eventually, Cancer joined the band named Penis Flytrap, who released an album before she and drummer Hal Satan left that group to form Dinah Cancer and the Grave Robbers
Dinah Cancer and the Grave Robbers
Dinah Cancer and the Grave Robbers are a renewed version of classic deathrock band, 45 Grave. After 45 Grave disbanded, frontwoman Dinah Cancer and bandmember Lisa Pifer formed "Dinah Cancer and the Grave Robbers", continuing in the style of 45 Grave....
.
Currently, Cancer is performing in the latest version of 45 Grave with Brandden Blackwell (bass), Frank Agnew (lead guitar), and Tom Coyne (drums).