Dwayne Goettel

Dwayne Rudolph Goettel (February 1, 1964 – August 23, 1995) was a Canadian electronic musician, best known for his work in the industrial music group Skinny Puppy.

He met Darrin and Stephen Huss in 1982 and formed the band Psyche, one of only a handful of electronic acts in Edmonton at the time.

He contributed keyboards for the group and joined them for their live debut in December that year.

He was also involved with the band Voice, helping them record their debut EP, Anno di Voce, before they changed their name to Office.

Goettel formed the band Water with longtime acquaintance Mandy Cousins (also known as Sandy Weir) in 1985.

The duo recorded demos in an Edmonton night club called Krieg, but never released their material commercially.

Goettel met Skinny Puppy in 1985 when Water opened for the band as part of their Bites tour.

He had impressed founder and keyboardist CEvin Key with his performance and the two befriended each other.

Key asked him to join Skinny Puppy when it had become apparent that keyboardist Bill Leeb was uninterested in continuing on with the band.

Starting his career playing for a variety of acts around Edmonton, he joined Skinny Puppy in 1986 following the departure of keyboardist Bill Leeb.

A classically trained pianist, he helped to broaden Skinny Puppy's sound with his extensive knowledge of equipment and sampling.

He assisted bandmate CEvin Key on a number of side projects such as The Tear Garden and Doubting Thomas, and helped form the experimental electronic group Download.

He also created the independent record label Subconscious Communications with friend and colleague Phil Western as a means to release his solo work.

Goettel joined in 1986 during the recording of their second album, Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse, on which he made his first contributions.

Goettel's extensive technical knowledge and experience in production helped to bring variety to Skinny Puppy's music and steered them away from their synth-pop roots towards a more uniquely industrial sound.

He quickly immersed himself into the group and its musical approach, and began applying new techniques in the band's implementation of noise.

Their sound continued to evolve with 1987's Cleanse Fold and Manipulate, which marked the beginning of the group's exploration into more experimental territory.

Their follow-up a year later, VIVIsectVI, saw the group touring in support of animal rights.

On stage, Goettel assisted Key as both a keyboardist and percussionist while singer Nivek Ogre acted out his elaborate theatrics.

While performing in Cincinnati, an audience member mistook a stuffed dog Ogre was dissecting to be a real animal and alerted the authorities.

Two plainclothes officers entered the band's dressing room and arrested Ogre, Key, and tour manager Dan McGee for disorderly conduct.

Goettel, who mistook the officers for fans and had been rolling a joint in the corner of the room, was able to leave before the arrests were made.

In 1989, Skinny Puppy released the album Rabies which featured Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen.

The album was a commercial success for the group but had received a mixed reception from fans.

Goettel had initially been happy with the album, saying that he enjoyed working with Jourgensen and that it was his favorite Puppy album to date.

"We all like it, and I can see the worry in people's eyes, but it doesn't worry us. We did it, and we like it, and I'm not worried about doing another just like it, you know?"

He thought it was natural for Skinny Puppy to team up with Jourgensen and make an album, and believed it was the best option at the time.

He later changed his position, telling Alternative Press in 1991 that while some of the material on Rabies was good, the completed product was "less within the Skinny Puppy vision", a sentiment his bandmates agreed with.

He told Peter Day of WMXM 88.9 that Rabies was simply the result of a crossroads of ideas:

"Almost in a way it allowed us to go back and re-emphasize where it is we're coming from in the first place ... I mean, at the time the way things were going, Ogre was exploring a lot of things and wanted to go out and do things and at the same time, Kevin and myself were doing other projects. It seemed natural, it seemed like the thing that was required at that time ... Skinny Puppy fans were writing us saying, 'What's happened to you guys you guys aren't gonna go all hard core on us now.' Obviously were not going to do a Ministry trip exactly. What good is it if everybody is listening to hardcore guitars right now. Skinny Puppy obviously is going to flirt with it, but that's Al's trip, so he can take it and go wherever that's supposed to go."

In 1993, Skinny Puppy moved to Los Angeles to produce their eighth studio album, The Process, through American Recordings.

The production was marred by rampant drug use and band infighting, and ultimately halted in 1995 when vocalist Nivek Ogre quit the band.

Goettel and Key, in an attempt to salvage the album, returned to Canada with the master tapes.

Goettel went into rehab for his drug addictions and returned to live with his parents in Edmonton.

On August 23, 1995, Goettel was found dead at the age of 31 in his parents' home; he had died from a heroin overdose.

The Process was eventually completed and released in his memory.

Goettel's interest in making music developed when his family moved from High Level, Alberta, where he played trumpet for his high school band, to Edmonton.

While there, he learned to play piano and began participating in the local music scene.

His first piece of equipment was the Korg MS-20, which he bought for $800.

"I didn't even tell my parents. I'm up in my room, my mom walks in and she's like 'What's that!' And I'm sitting there with all these little keys and buttons going 'piszzshew'".