Before there was Machine Gun Kelly (the guy) there was Machine Gun Kelly (a band from Ottawa)
[Before Machine Gun Kelly/MGK appeared, there was an Ottawa band of that name. Whatever became of them? Former member Sean Reay gets us caught up. – AC]
Ottawa Once Had Its Own Machine Gun Kelly
When you hear the name Machine Gun Kelly today, you probably think of Colson Baker—the Cleveland-born rapper-turned-pop-punk-star who’s made headlines everywhere from the Billboard charts to the tabloids. But rewind a quarter-century and head north to Ottawa, and you’d have found a very different Machine Gun Kelly: a five-piece alternative rock band that left its mark on the capital’s music scene between 1994 and 2000.
The Band
Machine Gun Kelly came together in 1994, fronted by Sean Reay on lead vocals and guitar. The lineup included Hazel Figurine (lead guitar), Tanya Onysko (violin, formerly of Black Triangle), Graydon Gardner (bass), and Russell Lovat (drums). With violin woven into muscular guitars and driving rhythms, the band carved out a distinctive place in Ottawa’s alt-rock ecosystem.
Their influences drew heavily from the darker textures of Faith No More and The Afghan Whigs, with a healthy dose of the early Seattle sound in the mix. In the mid-’90s, that meant they stood shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the more adventurous bands trying to bridge alternative rock with something moodier and more dramatic.
The Name
The name came from infamous Prohibition-era bank robber George “Machine Gun” Kelly. At the time, the Ottawa group thought they were in the clear—until the early days of the internet revealed a St. Louis metal band with the same name. What followed was a short-lived but entertaining exchange of “back-and-forth threats” over name rights, proving that even before Google, rock bands could stumble into turf wars online.
The band’s logo came courtesy of Pascal Borachi, former bassist of local favorites Love Chain, giving the group a sharp visual identity to match their sound.
The Music
Machine Gun Kelly were prolific during their six-year run:
- Lego King (1994) – 5-song demo tape
- Boy in a Mansuit (1998)–full-length CD released to a sold out Barrymore’s Music Hall in 1998
- Tank EP – 3-song collection recorded at Ottawa’s Little Bullhorn Studios and never released
The Boy in a Mansuit release night has since become the stuff of local scene legend. With the help of radio champions like Janet Eastman (CHEZ 106) and Kath Thomson (The Bear 106.9), the band drew a capacity crowd at Barrymore’s—even though Marilyn Manson was performing the same night across town at the Congress Centre.
The Gigs
Like most Ottawa bands of the time, Machine Gun Kelly were regulars at Zaphod Beeblebrox and Barrymore’s, two of the city’s most important alt-rock venues. But they also landed some memorable higher-profile slots.
In 1998, they opened for Jeff Healey at the HOPE Beach Volleyball Festival, introduced by Johnny Vegas (the late comedian Mike MacDonald’s brother). That same summer, they hit the stage at the SuperEx, further cementing their local reputation.
By 1999, the band was performing at the Rivoli on Queen Street with Toronto’s Pilate (later known as Pilot Speed), a group that would go on to national recognition.
The End
Despite local momentum, Machine Gun Kelly never managed to break nationally. After two summers of gig swaps and mounting road miles, the dream of becoming a full-time touring act ran up against reality. By 2000, several members had lost interest in enduring the grind, and the band quietly dissolved.
The Legacy
Today, Machine Gun Kelly is a global brand attached to a very different kind of music and personality. But Ottawa had its own version first: a scrappy, violin-laced alt-rock band that made its mark on the city’s clubs, landed airplay on both CHEZ 106 and The Bear, and had their shirts displayed on every rock music fan in town. It’s one of those curious footnotes in Canadian music history: a reminder that for every household name, there are a dozen regional bands that mattered deeply to their scenes, if only for a while. Ottawa’s Machine Gun Kelly may be gone, but for those who were
Listen to Tank EP here.
