Jessicka

Jessica Fodera (born October 23, 1975), better known by her stage name Jessicka, is a professional musician and artist. She was the lead singer of the alternative rock band (Jack Off Jill until its separation in 2000, and is now the lead singer of another alternative rock band, Scarling. She is a friend of Marilyn Manson, and performed with him, among others, in the short-lived Mrs. Scabtree project. She dated Jeordie White from 1992-1997.

Biography

Jessicka was born in Sunrise, Florida. In 1991, she met Marilyn Manson at a local bar called Squeeze. The two became friends and he urged her to start a band, which would later be called Jack Off Jill. Over the next 10 years Fodera would be involved in such bands as Jack Off Jill, Mrs. Scabtree, Messy, and more currently, Scarling. She and Manson have remained good friends.

Jack Off Jill

After a few failed attempts at starting a band, Jessicka met Tenni Arslynian while attending Piper High School. They had begun writing songs, but had not yet formed a complete band when Robin Moulder and Michelle Oliver joined them to create the band Jack In Jill. In 1992, Jack In Jill got their start when they were asked to open for fellow Floridian and long time friend Marilyn Manson and his band, Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids at a Davie, Florida nightclub called The Plus 5 Lounge. Before advertisements for the show were printed, Manson suggested a name change to Jack Off Jill, which the foursome accepted. Dreadlock-clad Jessicka was the center of all the hype and attention that JOJ received. She delivered her vocals in an angelic to banshee-like voice and performed on-stage antics dressed in Goth or kinderwhore attire, that included stripping young men on stage while the band and crowd taunted the exposed fans, as well as writing the word cunt on her body, slicing her arms on-stage with a razor and covering the audience with multi colored spit, candy, and her own blood. In early 1993, Jessicka and Manson formed Mrs. Scabtree. Scabtree was a side project where Manson played drums, while Jessicka shared vocal duties with then boyfriend, Jeordie White, known later as Twiggy Ramirez. In late December 1994, Jessicka spent a night in jail when she and Manson were arrested after a concert in Jacksonville, Florida after being accused by the town's Christian Coalition of America|Christian Coalition for breaking the town's adult entertainment codes. Both singers were charged with misdemeanors. Though Jessicka's onstage behavior was often labeled as shocking, she's never claimed to be a shock rocker. It did not help that after a four year relationship, then boyfriend Jeordie White, began to mimic Jessicka's dress and appearance, making critics' comparisons draw even closer. At this time Jessicka increasingly cut herself on and off stage, which earned her the title of Patron saint of self injury, a line that would later resurface in the lyrics to Jack Off Jill's song, "When I Am Queen". The band released their first full-length Sexless Demons And Scars, on September 9, 1997, then hit the road on several national tours throughout the U.S. and Canada. Once back in Los Angeles, Jessicka began to question her commitment to Jack Off Jill. At this time not only were she and band mate Robin Moulder not agreeing on the band's direction but she and mentor Manson were no longer on speaking terms. The initial strain in their relationship was due to the involvement of Manson's ex-guitarist Scott Putesky in JOJ, and Jessicka's ongoing feud with ex boyfriend, Twiggy Ramirez. In early 1998 after reading Manson's semi-autobiographical book The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell, and finding her role in the story had been reduced to a mere mention as a groupie, she decided to contact Manson. She found out that Manson believed that she had employed Putesky in retaliation to how she was negatively depicted in the book. Their renewed friendship is speculated to be the reason why by early 1999, Putesky was no longer a member of Jack Off Jill and the band were asked to take the opening slot on the Marilyn Manson /Monster Magnet / Hole, tour after Hole departed. By most accounts, the split was amicable. On July 17, 2000, JOJ released their second full-length CD, Clear Hearts Grey Flowers, just as their label was preparing to close its doors. They were joined onstage by producer Chris Vrenna on drums. JOJ officially called it quits in late 2000.

Scarling.

After taking a break and making Los Angeles her permanent residence, Jessicka was invited in 2001 by guitarist Christian Hejnal to perform guest vocals on his solo album . They began recording and rehearsing together and eventually recruited the musicians who would form the first and very short-lived lineup of Scarling. in 2002.In early 2002 Jessicka was introduced to Long Gone John, owner of Sympathy for the Record Industry, by mutual friend Mark Ryden. On March 19 2003 Scarling.'s debut single, "Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole", was released on John's label. Its cover featured an illustration entitled "Wound 39" by artist Mark Ryden. In April 2004, Scarling released their first album, the seven-song, thirty-three-minute Sweet Heart Dealer, which again utilized the team of Ryden and Vrenna.

In the autumn of 2004, Scarling. was invited to join the lineup of the Robert Smith curated Curiosa Festival, performing on select West Coast dates alongside Jessicka's long-time favorite, The Cure. Smith described the band's music as "dark, desperate, chaotic, gorgeous pop music, the sound of the end of the world" and nominated Sweet Heart Dealer for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize. In December 2005, after releasing their second full length album "So Long, Scarecrow", Scarling. embarked on its first UK tour, creating a buzz for themselves and selling out most venues. While in Europe, Jessicka attended long-time friend Manson's wedding to burlesque performer Dita Von Teese on December 3, 2005, in a secular ceremony in County Tipperary, Ireland. In 2006 Jessicka continued to tour in the US and Europe with Scarling, touring with such bands The Wedding Present]and Depeche Mode. Scarling. are expected to begin working on their third full length album in 2007.

Personal life

Jessicka is bisexual and has been open about her sexual experiences with both men and women. She has been romantically linked to musicians such as Jeordie White, guitarist Clint Walsh ((Tweaker), Carlos Dengler from Interpol and Scarling guitarist Christian Hejnal. On February 14, 2006, while on a break from touring, she and guitarist Christian Hejnal were engaged.

Discography

• Children 5 and Up' (Jack Off Jill, 1993)
• 'The Boygrinder Sessions (Jack Off Jill, 1994)
• Cannibal Song Book (Jack Off Jill, 1995)
• Cockroach Waltz' (Jack Off Jill,1996)
• Sexless Demons And Scars (Jack Off Jill, 1997)
• Clear Hearts Grey Flowers (Jack Off Jill, 2000)
• Soundtrack, American McGee's Alice (2001)
• Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole (Scarling., 2003)
• Sweet Heart Dealer (Scarling., 2004)
• Humid Teenage Mediocrity (Jack Off Jill, 2005)
• So Long, Scarecrow (Scarling.,2005)
• Staring To The Sun (Scarling., 2006)