Joseph Poole, better known as Wednesday 13 (born August 12, 1976), is a rock musician from Charlotte, North Carolina. He is most famous for his role as the frontman of Wednesday 13 (band). He has also played in several other bands, including Psycho Orchestra, Maniac Spider Trash, the Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13, Wednesday 13 and Bourbon Crow.
Poole currently resides in Landis, North Carolina, he lives with his wife Roxanne (Mrs. 13) and his daughter Zoie. Poole is a huge fan of campy horror movie parodies and mildly macabre TV shows such as The Munsters and The Addams Family (the latter being the source of his "Wednesday" moniker), which influence his tongue-in-cheek lyrics greatly. He also created a set of cartoon characters with his wife called the Thirteen Dead Kids, which was released as a clothing line. A book was supposed to be released, though this never happened due to Poole's touring schedule and the lack of publisher.
Poole's musical career began in 1992 when he played guitar in the band Mizery which later became Psycho Opera which also featured guitarist Abby Normal, drummer Jeff Washam, bassist Micheal Patrick and lead vocalist Todd Cage. Poole left that band to be the lead vocalist and form Maniac Spider Trash alongside Abby Normal, Michael Patrick and Sicko Zero. From 1992 through 1996, he fronted the band, despite never reaching a degree of success. The band released one EP, Dumpster Mummies, before disbanding. Poole went on to form the Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13, which included Maniac Spider Trash's guitarist and drummer Abby Normal and Sicko Zero, respectively.
Between 1996 and 2002, the Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 released five studio albums and six EPs. They were also featured on tribute albums for Alice Cooper, and Sweet. The band broke up in 2002, around the time Poole was drafted by Murderdolls guitarist Tripp Eisen to front the side project, which enjoyed much more success than that of his previous bands, particularly in Japan and the United Kingdom.
The Murderdolls released an EP and one studio album, Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls, before announcing their indefinite hiatus. After this, Poole began performing in a solo band, under the "Wednesday 13" moniker, and with the help of fellow musicians Piggy D, Kid Kid and Ghastly, he released his first solo album, Transylvania 90210: Songs of Death, Dying, and the Dead during summer 2005.
In May 2006, the Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 announced their reunion, which was followed by a tour with one of Poole's idols, Alice Cooper, and a box set of the band's discography, entitled Little Box of Horrors. However, the band remains mostly inactive, as Poole has kept focus on Wednesday 13 and an outlaw country side project, Bourbon Crow, which also features Wednesday 13 bassist Kid Kid.
In early 2006, Piggy D, Kid Kid and Ghastly left Wednesday 13 to pursue other options. Still, Wednesday 13's second studio album, Fang Bang, featured drumming and background vocals by Ghastly and Kid Kid, respectively. The album was released on September 12, 2006 worldwide, although it had been released in Europe a month prior.
In February 2008, a Wednesday 13 DVD, titled Weirdo A-Go-Go, was released by Poole. This was followed months later by the band's third studio album, Skeletons, as well as a complimentary EP entitled Bloodwork, which were each self-released on April 29, 2008. Skeletons was meant to precede the Bloodwork EP by one month, however by the release date of Skeletons, Bloodwork had also become available for digital download.
In October 2008, Wednesday 13 released his first Live cd/dvd entitled Fuck It, We'll Do It Live.
[edit on Wikipedia] Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13
Continuing the horror comedy theme, the tours Poole headlines often sport humorous names:
- March - October 2004: Wednesday 13's Graveyard a Go-Go Tour Europe/US
- November 2004: Look What the Bats Dragged in Tour Europe
- April 2005: 13's April Ghouls Tour US/Europe (with The 69 Eyes)
- April - May 2005: From Here to Horrorwood US Tour US (with Deadstar Assembly)
- May - June 2005: European Tour (Festivals) Europe
- September 2005: 6 Feet Down Under Tour Australia
- September - October 2005: Damned in Japan Tour Japan
- October 2005: Haunted Halloween Mini West Coast Tour US (with King of Creeps, Alice Cooper)
- November 2005: Tour from the Crypt Europe
- July - September 2006: Till Death Do Us Party USA Tour US
- September - October 2006: Till Death Do Us Party World Tour Europe
- January - February 2007: Wednesday 13's American Werewolves Tour '07 US (with Vains of Jenna)
- March - May 2007: Wednesday 13's European Werewolves Tour '07 Europe
- June - July 2007: MonsTour US
- October 2007: Ghouls on Parade Tour US (with Trashlight Vision and AntiProduct)
- November 2007: U.K. Fan Bang Tour Europe
- January - March 2008: All American Massacre Tour US (with The Vincent Black Shadows, The AKA's, Creature Feature)
- May 2008: 2008 SkeleTour Europe
- July-August: 2008 SkeleTour US
- October-November: 2008 SkeleTour Europe
- February-March 2009: 'Unknown Tour Name' North America
