Name: Brain Warner

Birth Date: January 5, 1971

Birth Place: Canton, Ohio

Marilyn Mason's music career began in Tampa Bay, Florida in 1989.

Working occasionally as a music journalist and interested in the
freedom of speech that so many media types hold dear (ironic,
considering his future struggles for fair representation), Warner
created a band called 'Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids' with a
mission to "explore the limits of censorship". The band, consisting
of Manson, bassist Olivia Newton-Bundy (later replaced by Gidget
Gein), Daisy Berkowitz (guitar), keyboardist Zsa Zsa Speck (later
replaced by Madonna Wayne Gacy), and Sara Lee Lucas (drums), defined
themselves from the start. Each member choose a last name of a
notorious murderer and a forename of a prolific female celebrity.

Very quickly the band's shocking image caught the attention of Nine
Inch Nail's frontman Trent Reznor and his label, Nothing Records.
After gaining considerable local recognition, the band released their
first successful record, Portrait of an American Family, which was
soon certified gold. The success of American Family lead to Marilyn
Manson tour dates with NIN and the band's first taste of real
controversy. In 1994 Manson found two titles placed upon him:
"Reverend", from the Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey; and
"criminal", as he found himself in jail for exposing himself during a
Florida gig.

The lynch mob didn't really gain steam until Manson's 1995 release
Smells Like Children and the album's double-platinum success. Perhaps
it was the album's attention-grabbing title or the cold realization
that their children were buying Marilyn Manson's music in droves, but
parents began small protests around North America at the artist's
appearances and concert dates. Cries were loud about the demoralizing
persona of Manson and for the cancellation of tour dates.

The band quickly followed up on the success of Smells Like Children

and their new-found publicity with 1996's Antichrist Superstar, which
entered the American charts at #3 and produced the hit "The Beautiful
People". Despite the growing surge of anti-Manson sentiments,critical
acclaim was found for the new release. Despite the best efforts of
protestors, Marilyn Manson embarked on a sold-out world tour.

In 1997 the vocally-opposed found a voice in government when Senator

Joesph Lieberman, and future vice-presidential nominee singled out
Antichrist Superstar as "perhaps the sickest group ever promoted by a
mainstream record company." The band's next album, Mechanical Animals
(1998) followed what seems to be an unbreakable pattern for the band:
a platinum release. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the
publicity that shock-rocker Marilyn Manson has generated is how
gullible the press and the public have been in falling for his grand
persona. People who have never been to his concerts, listened to his
music or even read his lyrics are quick to cry to the foul he is
committing and the demons he is instilling on an entire generation of
young music-lovers. Marilyn Manson may show considerable talent in
the process of making music, but it is as a showman and media spin
doctor that he displays his greatest talents.