Keith Caputo
Encyclopedia
Keith Mina Caputo is the lead singer and a founding member of the New York
heavy metal
band Life of Agony
.
. Drummer Sal Abruscato
was recruited soon afterwards. After signing with Roadrunner Records
, they debuted with the 1993 album River Runs Red. Shortly after the release of a third album in 1997, Caputo claimed that his heart was no longer in the type of music they performed and left the group.
After leaving the group, Caputo formed with Absolute Bloom, but that band broke up in July 1998. Later, Caputo helped to re-form the Brazilian band Freax, which had broken up over ten years earlier. They developed a self-titled album in 2003.
Caputo also worked extensively on a solo career in the 1990s and released two studio albums.
The original line-up of Life of Agony reunited for two sold-out shows at New York's Irving Plaza on January 3 and 4, 2003. The reunion resulted in several more shows and appearances on European festivals, as well as the recording of Broken Valley (2005), the band's first new material since 1997.
In 2003, Caputo formed a group consisting of New York musicians Mike Shaw (Bass) and Dan Platt (guitars) along with Dutch musicians Jochem Van Rooijen (drums) and Jack Pisters (lead guitars) that toured and recorded what became the album Live Monsters (2004).
In 2005, Caputo provided vocals for the song "Tired N' Lonely" on the Roadrunner United
: The All-Star Sessions album.
On May 1, 2006, Keith Caputo released his third solo album Hearts Blood On Your Dawn which was only sold at his live shows, via mailorder through his website, and in the iTunes Store
.
In 2007, Caputo recorded a fourth solo album, A Fondness For Hometown Scars, which includes a guest appearance by Flea
(of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
) on trumpet, amongst others. In 2008, he toured in support of this release, with a band composed of Dutch musicians Ryan Oldcastle (guitars), Axel van Oort (bass guitar), and Jochem van Rooijen (drums). The album was produced by Martyn LeNoble
and was released in Europe in April 2008 by Dutch label Suburban Records
. Caputo participated as a guest singer on Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation
's track "What Have You Done", the first single (and second track) from their 2007 album, The Heart of Everything.
Keith also guested on the track "Free Speech (Will Cost You)" on the album Memory Rendered Visible by the band Both Worlds released on Roadrunner Records. He also provided additional backing vocals on Type O Negative
's release Bloody Kisses.
In 2011, Caputo formed a side project with Ryan Oldcastle and Michael Shaw called The Neptune Darlings, and released an album on September 15, 2011 called Chestnuts & Fireflies. The style of this CD has been called "geek rock" by The Advocate
magazine.
from male to female
and began referring to herself with female pronouns. Now known as Mina Caputo, she doesn't mind when fans continue to refer to her as Keith. Caputo has a girlfriend who works as a make-up artist.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Life of Agony
Life of Agony
-Formation and River Runs Red :The band was formed in the summer of 1989 by singer Keith Caputo, bassist Alan Robert and guitarist Joey Z. After playing with several drummers, they enlisted Type O Negative drummer Sal Abruscato before recording the debut album River Runs Red after they signed to...
.
Career
Caputo started Life of Agony in 1989 with guitarist Joey Z and bassist Alan RobertAlan Robert
Alan Robert is a singer/songwriter/artist, best known as the bassist in the New York-based band Life of Agony.- Life of Agony :...
. Drummer Sal Abruscato
Sal Abruscato
Sal Abruscato is a former drummer for Type O Negative. Currently playing in Life of Agony and Supermassiv. He is also the frontman for his own band called "A Pale Horse Named Death" which has released one album titled "And Hell Will Follow Me"...
was recruited soon afterwards. After signing with Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
, they debuted with the 1993 album River Runs Red. Shortly after the release of a third album in 1997, Caputo claimed that his heart was no longer in the type of music they performed and left the group.
After leaving the group, Caputo formed with Absolute Bloom, but that band broke up in July 1998. Later, Caputo helped to re-form the Brazilian band Freax, which had broken up over ten years earlier. They developed a self-titled album in 2003.
Caputo also worked extensively on a solo career in the 1990s and released two studio albums.
The original line-up of Life of Agony reunited for two sold-out shows at New York's Irving Plaza on January 3 and 4, 2003. The reunion resulted in several more shows and appearances on European festivals, as well as the recording of Broken Valley (2005), the band's first new material since 1997.
In 2003, Caputo formed a group consisting of New York musicians Mike Shaw (Bass) and Dan Platt (guitars) along with Dutch musicians Jochem Van Rooijen (drums) and Jack Pisters (lead guitars) that toured and recorded what became the album Live Monsters (2004).
In 2005, Caputo provided vocals for the song "Tired N' Lonely" on the Roadrunner United
Roadrunner United
Roadrunner United was a project organized by the heavy metal record label Roadrunner Records to celebrate its 25th anniversary. It culminated in an album released worldwide on October 11, 2005, entitled The All-Star Sessions...
: The All-Star Sessions album.
On May 1, 2006, Keith Caputo released his third solo album Hearts Blood On Your Dawn which was only sold at his live shows, via mailorder through his website, and in the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
.
In 2007, Caputo recorded a fourth solo album, A Fondness For Hometown Scars, which includes a guest appearance by Flea
Flea (musician)
Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
(of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
) on trumpet, amongst others. In 2008, he toured in support of this release, with a band composed of Dutch musicians Ryan Oldcastle (guitars), Axel van Oort (bass guitar), and Jochem van Rooijen (drums). The album was produced by Martyn LeNoble
Martyn LeNoble
Martyn LeNoble is a Dutch bassist and founding member of Porno for Pyros.LeNoble started his musical career by playing bass in a Dutch punk rock band when he was 14. In 1989, he moved to Los Angeles and played with the likes of Thelonious Monster and The Too Free Stooges...
and was released in Europe in April 2008 by Dutch label Suburban Records
Suburban Records
Suburban Records is a record label based in The Netherlands. In 1999 Suburban Records, the inhouse label of Suburban Marketing & Distribution was created giving a home to bands like Peter Pan Speedrock, El Guapo Stuntteam, Hermano, Astrosoniq, Keith Caputo and the latest signings Shaking Godspeed,...
. Caputo participated as a guest singer on Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation
Within Temptation
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic gothic metal/rock band founded in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. Their music is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material, such as Enter, was gothic metal. In an interview, Den Adel said they fell into a...
's track "What Have You Done", the first single (and second track) from their 2007 album, The Heart of Everything.
Keith also guested on the track "Free Speech (Will Cost You)" on the album Memory Rendered Visible by the band Both Worlds released on Roadrunner Records. He also provided additional backing vocals on Type O Negative
Type O Negative
Type O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...
's release Bloody Kisses.
In 2011, Caputo formed a side project with Ryan Oldcastle and Michael Shaw called The Neptune Darlings, and released an album on September 15, 2011 called Chestnuts & Fireflies. The style of this CD has been called "geek rock" by The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
magazine.
Personal life
In July 2011, after performing for more than twenty years as a man, Caputo announced plans to transitionTransitioning (transgender)
Transitioning is the process of changing one's gender presentation to accord with one's internal sense of one's gender - the idea of what it means to be a man or woman...
from male to female
Trans woman
A trans woman is a male-to-female transsexual or transgender person and the term trans woman is preferred by some individuals over various medical terms. Other non-medical terms include t-girl, tg-girl and ts-girl...
and began referring to herself with female pronouns. Now known as Mina Caputo, she doesn't mind when fans continue to refer to her as Keith. Caputo has a girlfriend who works as a make-up artist.
Albums
- River Runs RedRiver Runs Red (album)River Runs Red is the first album released by Life of Agony in 1993 through Roadrunner Records . The album is considered a concept album...
(1993) - UglyUgly (album)Ugly is the second album released by Life of Agony in 1995 through Roadrunner Records .-Track listing:-Bonus tracks:A limited metal case edition of Ugly contains two additional tracks:...
(1995) - Soul Searching SunSoul Searching SunSoul Searching Sun is the third album released by Life of Agony in 1997 through Roadrunner Records .-Track listing:# "Hope" # "Weeds" # "Gently Sentimental" # "Tangerine"...
(1997) - 1989-19991989-19991989–1999 is a compilation album released by Life of Agony in 1999 through Roadrunner Records . It contains nine songs from the demos the band released, some bonus tracks of previous releases as well as a few extra tracks. The chorus for "Dancing with the Devil" was eventually kept to be used for...
(1999) - Unplugged at the Lowlands Festival '97Unplugged at the Lowlands Festival '97Unplugged at the Lowlands Festival '97 is a live album released by Life of Agony in 2000 through Roadrunner Records .Only the first 8 tracks were recorded live at the Lowlands Festival on August 23, 1997. Track 10 was recorded live on August 24, 1997 in Cologne, Germany...
(2000) - The Best of Life of Agony (2003)
- River Runs Again: Live (CD/DVD) (2003) (Live)
- Broken ValleyBroken ValleyBroken Valley is the fourth album released by Life of Agony. It was released in 2005 through Epic Records .- Track listing :All songs by Alan Robert.# "Love to Let You Down" – 3:40# "Last Cigarette" – 2:56# "Wicked Ways" – 4:02...
(2005)
Albums
- Died Laughing (1999/2000)
- Died Laughing Pure (2000) (acoustic versions)
- Perfect Little Monsters (2003)
- Live Monsters (2004) (Live performances)
- Heart's Blood On Your Dawn (2006)
- A Fondness For Hometown Scars (2008)
- Dass-Berdache / Essential Rarities and Demo Cuts (2008)
- Cheat (EP) (2009)
Guest appearances
- Additional Vocals - Bloody KissesBloody KissesBloody Kisses is the third album by Brooklyn band Type O Negative. It marked significant stylistic growth for the band in terms of songwriting and production values, and it is also the last recording to feature Sal Abruscato on drums...
by Type O NegativeType O NegativeType O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"... - "Free Speech (Will Cost You)" (with Both Worlds) (1998)
- "Tired 'n Lonely" - Roadrunner UnitedRoadrunner UnitedRoadrunner United was a project organized by the heavy metal record label Roadrunner Records to celebrate its 25th anniversary. It culminated in an album released worldwide on October 11, 2005, entitled The All-Star Sessions...
(Vocals and Piano) (2005) - "What Have You DoneWhat Have You Done"What Have You Done" is the first single from Dutch symphonic metal/rock band Within Temptation's fourth studio album The Heart of Everything . The song features guest vocals from Life of Agony's lead singer Keith Caputo and it was released as the album's first single in early 2007 . It became...
" (with Within TemptationWithin TemptationWithin Temptation is a Dutch symphonic gothic metal/rock band founded in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. Their music is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material, such as Enter, was gothic metal. In an interview, Den Adel said they fell into a...
) (2007)